1096: Clinically Studied Ingredient

2012-08-19T04:12:03Z

Sabre Runner: /* Explanation */ Elaborated on Roger Ebert

{{comic
| number = 1096
| date = August 17, 2012
| title = Clinically Studied Ingredient
| image = Clinically Studied Ingredient.png
| titletext = Blatantly banking on customers not understanding that it's like a Hollywood studio advertising that their new movie was 'watched by Roger Ebert'.
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is poking fun at a phrase which some ads use to boost sales of their product. They state that their product contains a "clinically studied ingredient", which consumers assume means that the product itself has been clinically tested and proven. However, the phrase is very ambiguous. Firstly, only a single ingredient has necessarily been studied, not the combined effect of all the ingredients in the product (which can produce drastically different effects). Secondly, the phrase just states an ingredient was clinically studied, and doesn't mention the findings of that study (which, for all we know, could have found the ingredient to be ineffective or harmful). In other words, the phrase is used in shrewd marketing techniques.

In the comic, we come in the middle of a conversation with a female character (which may or may not be [[Megan]] - it is unclear) telling [[Cueball]] that she's been tested. Although, she doesn't state what she was tested for, the implication is that they were talking about {{w|STD}}s. However, Megan does not reveal the results of the tests. When Cueball inquires, Megan acts like he is being unreasonable to also want that information. In this way, [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] is making an analogy to how the marketer might think consumers would be unreasonable to want to know the ''results'' of the clinical studies on the ingredient.

In the title text, {{w|Roger Ebert}} is a famous film critic. A critic whose favourable reviews are few and far between. However, we can expect most big name movies to be watched by him. Simply stating that he saw a movie doesn't necessarily mean that he liked it.

{{Comic discussion}}

1091: Curiosity

2012-08-07T11:54:07Z

Sabre Runner:

{{comic
| number = 1091
| date = August 6, 2012
| title = Curiosity
| image = Curiosity.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = As of this writing the NASA/JPL websites are still overloaded. Trying CURIOSITY-REAR-CAM_[256px_x_256px].torrent.SwEsUb.DVDRip.XviD-aXXo.jpg instead.
}}

== Description ==

This comic is a reference to the {{w|Curiosity rover|NASA Mars Rover "Curiosity"}} landing on Mars on August 5, 2012 at 10:31pm PDT (August 6, 2012 at 5:31am GMT). NASA live-streamed the landing, but demand for the feed caused server issues. Thus, the time spent trying to download the landing images could be used as an excuse for things such as being late for work, falling asleep during the day, or just about anything demanding one's attention.

The image text is a reference to {{w|Torrent file|torrents}}, which are a more resilient way to download files, due to the decentralized BitTorrent protocol, where the more people there are downloading a file, the more available it is. The name is a play on the file naming convention of release groups who name their files containing data on the file; source (CAM = Camera capture), language (SwEsUb = Swedish subtitles), source (DVDRip = Ripped from DVD), encoding (XviD = XviD codec) and group name ({{w|Axxo|aXXo}} = aXXo, a well known DVD movie releaser). Given that the filename is loaded with keywords that are irrelevant for a still image file, it is unlikely that this torrent will contain the expected pictures.

[http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/msl5.html The first images received from Curiosity] via the {{w|2001 Mars Odyssey|Odyssey}} orbiter were low-resolution thumbnails taken from the rover's rear-facing camera, thus the file name CURIOSITY-REAR-CAM_[256px_x_256px].

{{Comic discussion}}

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1096: Clinically Studied Ingredient

1091: Curiosity