explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1695: Code Quality 2

2016-06-21T14:14:29Z

SaxTeacher: add section Navy weather forecast

Edward Estin Cummings was a poet (pseudonym e e cummings) who used capitalization, punctuation, and line breaks in unconventional ways. When a new user creates an account that duplicates an existing user name, many websites will suggest a user name with the user's first name followed by a string of digits. [[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 14:42, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

I really love these ones :) I hope there will be a part 3. Can we please make a contest for these?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.83.246|162.158.83.246]] 15:22, 17 June 2016 (UTC)
:Yes please! How about:
<nowiki>"It's as if you used a kaleidoscope while following a style-guide written in Rongorongo & applied a pseudo-random number generator to the Unicode table for all your regular expressions. Also, you're not supposed to use line-breaks to draw letters using pipe symbols when defining your variables."</nowiki>
(A nice [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boustrophedon#Reverse_boustrophedon example of the Reverse Boustrophedon format used in Rongorongo])
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.68.137|162.158.68.137]] 22:05, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

I know Ponytail is female but I keep reading her voice as TJ Miller's character from the movie Deadpool.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:45, 17 June 2016 (UTC)
:Are you also a fan of Dr. Mrs. The Monarch, from Venture Bros? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.68.137|162.158.68.137]] 22:05, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

"This is further compounded by Ponytail's suggestion that Cueball made rampant use of JavaScript reserved words in his declarations, which is strictly forbidden by the language." I don't think Ponytail made any such suggestion. I think all Ponytail is suggesting is that reserved words occur more often than they would in an ordinary scrabble game. A "house rule" giving triple points for using particular words would explain their high frequency.

Of course in pretty much any program reserved words do occur with high frequency, it's hard to write without them. There is also heavy overlap in the list of reserved words in different languages, so that the program might not be in javascript. A typical C program uses lots of javascript reserved words.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.59|108.162.218.59]] 16:12, 17 June 2016 (UTC)
:I agree, and as "the program runs fine for now" it appears to be at the very least a syntactically correct program. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.76|141.101.104.76]] 21:17, 17 June 2016 (UTC)
:I also agree that it's highly speculative to assume that Cueball's use of reserved words is necessarily erroneous; However, that may be the funnier interpretation, as it indicates an even higher level of improper usage. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.68.137|162.158.68.137]] 22:05, 17 June 2016 (UTC)
:I interpreted it quite differently: that he uses variable names very similar to reserved words. For example, "stririg" or "strlng" for a string. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.70|173.245.52.70]] 11:12, 19 June 2016 (UTC)

Do we really need the "funny bus crash" photos in the transcript?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.123|141.101.98.123]] 20:01, 17 June 2016 (UTC)
:"Funny" bus crash is redundant, in my antisocial opinion. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.68.137|162.158.68.137]] 22:05, 17 June 2016 (UTC)
::No we do not need them. Feel free to delete them. They are though not in the transcript (where they would for sure not belong). The transcript shoudl genreally have no links. They are in the explanation above the transcript as is also the case with the crash photos. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:43, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

"It works fine for now" is the reason we still have such a hard time figuring out genetics.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.83|172.68.35.83]] 05:57, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

Somehow the "OCR on the photo of a ''Scrabble'' board" line reminded me of [[1685: Patch]]. [[User:Tepples|Tepples]] ([[User talk:Tepples|talk]]) 22:43, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

Much shorter insult, courtesy StackOverflow: "The garbage collector is broken".
"What? Impossible!" "Surely. Your program is still there." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.84|162.158.201.84]] 08:37, 20 June 2016 (UTC)

=== "Navy weather forecast" ===
The link given in the explanation to a navy weather forecast is to a graphical weather forecast product. This doesn't make sense, since Randall was clearly referring to a textual weather forecast product. I believe the type of weather forecast Randall intended to reference is an aviation weather forecast, which is textual, not graphical, and is indecipherable to a lay person (pilots must learn how to read them during their training). An example of such a forecast is the blue text on [https://www.aviationweather.gov/static/help/taf-decode.php this page explaining how to decode them] —[[User:SaxTeacher|SaxTeacher]] [[User talk:SaxTeacher|(talk)]] 14:14, 21 June 2016 (UTC)

1622: Henge

2015-12-28T18:51:51Z

SaxTeacher: /* Explanation */ fix capital

{{comic
| number = 1622
| date = December 28, 2015
| title = Henge
| image = henge.png
| titletext = I've got the Craigslist post ready to go! I wasn't sure what category it should go in, so I listed it as property and put that it has 'good sun exposure.'
}}

==Explanation==
The Manhattan thing is a reference to {{W|Manhattanhenge}}, the phenomenon that causes the setting sun to align with the east-west streets of the main grid of {{w|Manhattan}}, {{W|New York City|New York}}, causing a very special light display. This happens twice a year. Manhattanhenge is itself named after {{W|Stonehenge}}, an ancient monument with several big stones, where the heel stone, and the embanked avenue, are aligned to the sunset of the {{W|winter solstice}} and the opposing sunrise of the {{W|summer solstice}} (thus creating on purpose the effect seen today in Manhattan). Hence the title of the comic.

In this comic [[Ponytail]] tells [[Cueball]] that ''One day a year, the sun sets directly between these two trees.'' However Cueball realizes that the setting sun would lineup with almost any two trees on any given day. This is due to the fact that any two trees that are close together and one is further north would allow a setting sun to set between them, as the viewer of the sunset would simply need to move themselves to make the alignment work.

The twist comes when Ponytail and Megan attempt to capture the sun with a net, as it is revealed that the sun is actually setting at the point between the two trees rather than behind the trees when viewed from the east side. This is of course not possible; the last panel and the title text continue this surrealistic scenario.

The title text refers to {{w|craigslist}}, a web site where the girls plans to offer the sun for sale in hopes of getting rich. Craigslist is a {{w|classified advertisements}} website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, items wanted, etc. One of the girls tells that she was uncertain as to under which category she should list a "Sun for sale". But she put it under property (as in real estate). To advertise the "property" she put "''that it has 'good sun exposure''", a common description of real estate. Being the sun itself, and having lasted already 5 billion years under its own intense radiation, you could phrase it like it has lasted well under sun exposure. On the other hand you could claim that it has never really been exposed to any external sun radiation, as the star light hitting the sun from other suns (stars) is very limited, even over 5 billion years.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are walking towards two the trees from the left (Cueball has just passed the first tree) and Megan is walking towards them fro the right. Ponytail spreads her arms while talking.]
:Ponytail: One day a year, the sun sets directly between these two trees.
:Cueball: Oh, cool - like the Manhattan thing.

:[Cueball stands alone in a beat panel without a frame.]

:[Shining light appears at the top of the frame (below Cueball's text). Cueball is lifting his hand, looking at the girls in front of him while Ponytail walks straight under the light looking up and Megan standing to the right looks up and points at the light.]
:Cueball: Wait, isn't that true every day for pretty much any two trees?
:Megan: Shh, here it comes!

:[Cueball lifts both arms up and look on as Ponytail bending back suddenly holds a butterfly net up towards the "setting" sun that approaches the net while Megan is holding a bag open. Both are looking at the sun.]
:Cueball: Wait, what?
:Ponytail: OK, got the bag?
:Megan: Yup, grab it!
:Ponytail: We're gonna be ''rich!''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

1622: Henge

2015-12-28T18:51:28Z

SaxTeacher: /* Explanation */ fix punctuation

{{comic
| number = 1622
| date = December 28, 2015
| title = Henge
| image = henge.png
| titletext = I've got the Craigslist post ready to go! I wasn't sure what category it should go in, so I listed it as property and put that it has 'good sun exposure.'
}}

==Explanation==
The Manhattan thing is a reference to {{W|Manhattanhenge}}, the phenomenon that causes the setting sun to align with the east-west streets of the main grid of {{w|Manhattan}}, {{W|New York City|New York}}, causing a very special light display. This happens twice a year. Manhattanhenge is itself named after {{W|Stonehenge}}, an ancient monument with several big stones, where the heel stone, and the embanked avenue, are aligned to the sunset of the {{W|winter solstice}} and the opposing sunrise of the {{W|summer solstice}} (thus creating on purpose the effect seen today in Manhattan). Hence the title of the comic.

In this comic [[Ponytail]] tells [[Cueball]] that ''One day a year, the sun sets directly between these two trees.'' However Cueball realizes that the setting sun would lineup with almost any two trees on any given day. This is due to the fact that any two trees that are close together and one is further north would allow a setting sun to set between them, as the viewer of the sunset would simply need to move themselves to make the alignment work.

The twist comes when Ponytail and Megan attempt to capture the sun with a net, as it is revealed that the sun is actually setting at the point between the two trees rather than behind the trees when viewed from the east side. This is of course not possible; the last panel and the title text continue this surrealistic scenario.

The title text refers to {{w|craigslist}}, a web site where the girls plans to offer the sun for sale in hopes of getting rich. craigslist is a {{w|classified advertisements}} website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, items wanted, etc. One of the girls tells that she was uncertain as to under which category she should list a "Sun for sale". But she put it under property (as in real estate). To advertise the "property" she put "''that it has 'good sun exposure''", a common description of real estate. Being the sun itself, and having lasted already 5 billion years under its own intense radiation, you could phrase it like it has lasted well under sun exposure. On the other hand you could claim that it has never really been exposed to any external sun radiation, as the star light hitting the sun from other suns (stars) is very limited, even over 5 billion years.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are walking towards two the trees from the left (Cueball has just passed the first tree) and Megan is walking towards them fro the right. Ponytail spreads her arms while talking.]
:Ponytail: One day a year, the sun sets directly between these two trees.
:Cueball: Oh, cool - like the Manhattan thing.

:[Cueball stands alone in a beat panel without a frame.]

:[Shining light appears at the top of the frame (below Cueball's text). Cueball is lifting his hand, looking at the girls in front of him while Ponytail walks straight under the light looking up and Megan standing to the right looks up and points at the light.]
:Cueball: Wait, isn't that true every day for pretty much any two trees?
:Megan: Shh, here it comes!

:[Cueball lifts both arms up and look on as Ponytail bending back suddenly holds a butterfly net up towards the "setting" sun that approaches the net while Megan is holding a bag open. Both are looking at the sun.]
:Cueball: Wait, what?
:Ponytail: OK, got the bag?
:Megan: Yup, grab it!
:Ponytail: We're gonna be ''rich!''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

1622: Henge

2015-12-28T18:50:16Z

SaxTeacher: /* Explanation */ fix capitalization of craigslist

{{comic
| number = 1622
| date = December 28, 2015
| title = Henge
| image = henge.png
| titletext = I've got the Craigslist post ready to go! I wasn't sure what category it should go in, so I listed it as property and put that it has 'good sun exposure.'
}}

==Explanation==
The Manhattan thing is a reference to {{W|Manhattanhenge}}, the phenomenon that causes the setting sun to align with the east-west streets of the main grid of {{w|Manhattan}}, {{W|New York City|New York}}, causing a very special light display. This happens twice a year. Manhattanhenge is itself named after {{W|Stonehenge}}, an ancient monument with several big stones, where the heel stone, and the embanked avenue, are aligned to the sunset of the {{W|winter solstice}} and the opposing sunrise of the {{W|summer solstice}} (thus creating on purpose the effect seen today in Manhattan). Hence the title of the comic.

In this comic [[Ponytail]] tells [[Cueball]] that ''One day a year, the sun sets directly between these two trees.'' However Cueball realizes that the setting sun would lineup with almost any two trees on any given day. This is due to the fact that any two trees that are close together and one is further north would allow a setting sun to set between them, as the viewer of the sunset would simply need to move themselves to make the alignment work.

The twist comes when Ponytail and Megan attempt to capture the sun with a net, as it is revealed that the sun is actually setting at the point between the two trees rather than behind the trees when viewed from the east side. This is of course not possible; the last panel and the title text continue this surrealistic scenario.

The title text refers to {{w|craigslist}}; the website where the girls plans to sell the sun so they can get rich. It is a {{w|classified advertisements}} website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, items wanted, etc. One of the girls tells that she was uncertain as to under which category she should list a "Sun for sale". But she put it under property (as in real estate). To advertise the "property" she put "''that it has 'good sun exposure''", a common description of real estate. Being the sun itself, and having lasted already 5 billion years under its own intense radiation, you could phrase it like it has lasted well under sun exposure. On the other hand you could claim that it has never really been exposed to any external sun radiation, as the star light hitting the sun from other suns (stars) is very limited, even over 5 billion years.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Cueball are walking towards two the trees from the left (Cueball has just passed the first tree) and Megan is walking towards them fro the right. Ponytail spreads her arms while talking.]
:Ponytail: One day a year, the sun sets directly between these two trees.
:Cueball: Oh, cool - like the Manhattan thing.

:[Cueball stands alone in a beat panel without a frame.]

:[Shining light appears at the top of the frame (below Cueball's text). Cueball is lifting his hand, looking at the girls in front of him while Ponytail walks straight under the light looking up and Megan standing to the right looks up and points at the light.]
:Cueball: Wait, isn't that true every day for pretty much any two trees?
:Megan: Shh, here it comes!

:[Cueball lifts both arms up and look on as Ponytail bending back suddenly holds a butterfly net up towards the "setting" sun that approaches the net while Megan is holding a bag open. Both are looking at the sun.]
:Cueball: Wait, what?
:Ponytail: OK, got the bag?
:Megan: Yup, grab it!
:Ponytail: We're gonna be ''rich!''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

1584: Moments of Inspiration

2015-09-30T12:49:36Z

SaxTeacher: /* Transcript */ add missing brackets

{{comic
| number = 1584
| date = September 30, 2015
| title = Moments of Inspiration
| image = moments_of_inspiration.png
| titletext = Charles, I just talked to John and Mildred, who run that company selling seeds and nuts, and their kids with MOUTHS are starving!
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Isaac Newton|Newton}}'s original examples describing the force of gravity show an apple falling from a tree in order to explain why the apple falls toward the Earth, instead of the Earth falling toward the apple, however, over time this developed into the legend that he was originally inspired by watching an apple fall, and the legend further evolved into the idea that the inspiration came from being actually struck by the apple. The first part of this comic retells that famous legend. The later comics depict similar (but more implausible) legends that could emerge if we were to assume that other scientists' most famous examples and discoveries were based on actually observing these events taking place:

Someone (possibly {{w|Otto Hahn}}?) threw a ball at {{w|Lise Meitner}}'s porcelain (model) atom collection, and Meitner discovered a way to split the atom. The porcelain might also be also be a reference to {{w|Meissen porcelain}}, in German called "Meißner Porzellan", where "Meißner" is phonetically very similar to "Meitner".

Some of {{w|Charles Darwin}}'s children had beaks, which made them less able to drink soda. (The comic is unclear on whether this makes them more or less fit to survive and reproduce; considering the negative health consequences of soda consumption, it would seem that evolution would favor the humans who cannot drink soda.) This is a reference to Darwin's initial findings on the RMS Beagle on how Galapagos finches with differently shaped beaks are better suited for specific types of food, and therefore are better selected for in environments where those foods are available. (The alt-text furthers this with a description of how beaks rather than mouths are more useful when the foods have shells that need to be cracked open.)

{{w|Albert Einstein}} remarks to a man that it's annoying that the man's twin brother keeps flashing a light from a train when Einstein is trying to check his clock. He then comes to a sudden revelation. This references several of Einstein's (separate--it makes little sense together in this manner) thought experiments on special relativity, such as the twin paradox (the twin on the train should be younger after decelerating to a stop), the time between separate flashes of light, and the time dilation experienced by the observer in the moving reference frame.

The "John" and "Mildred" of the title text may be Mildred and {{w|John T. Scopes}} of the famous 1925 "monkey trial" in which John was fined $100 for teaching evolution in a Tennessee school.

==Transcript==
:[Heading: Isaac Newton] 
:[Isaac sits under a tree. An apple falls and hits him on the head] 
:Isaac Newton: Ow! 
: 
:Isaac Newton: Aha! 
: 
:[Heading: Lise Meitner] 
:Cueball: Hey Lise! Think fast! 
:[Crash] 
: 
:Lise Meitner: Oh no! My collection of porcelain atoms! ...Hmm. 
: 
:[Heading: Charles Darwin] 
:Megan: I gave our kids soda, but the ones with beaks always have trouble drinking it. 
:Charles Darwin: I've noticed that 
:Kid 1: [Sip Sip] 
:Kid 2 (with beak): [Crunch] 
:Kid 3 (with beak): [Peck Peck] 
:Kid 4: [Sluurp] 
: 
:[Heading: Albert Einstein] 
:Albert Einstein: I wish your twin brother would stop shining lights at us from that train. I can barely see my clock! ...Wait! 

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1569: Magic Tree

2015-08-26T18:06:55Z

SaxTeacher: /* It's not Batesian mimicry */ "youre" -> your -> not needed

Explanation may benefit from adding that cell phone tower appearance has evolved to be more treelike.
[[http://www.linkedin.com/in/Comet Comet]] 05:07, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

I know XKCD isn't really heavy on proportions, but the heads look slightly bigger in all but the last panel. It kinda makes both characters look like children initially. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 07:02, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Could the "giants in yellow helmets" be a reference to Clash of Clans? [[User:Aruta|Aruta]] ([[User talk:Aruta|talk]]) 10:13, 26 August 2015 (UTC)
:I don't think so. [[User:Sobsz|Sobsz]] ([[User talk:Sobsz|talk]]) 10:30, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

== It's not Batesian mimicry ==

Evolutionary biologist here: '''it's not Batesian mimicry. It's mimesis.'''

Archetypal mimesis is a stick insect looking like a twig, because predators don't care about twigs. It's the same thing here: trees looking like telegraph poles, because people don't care about telegraph poles.

It has nothing to do with the telegraph pole's defences (what would that mean?). Without defences, you can't have Batesian mimicry. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.176|141.101.98.176]] 11:29, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

:I think that cell towers do have defenses. When you wound them, they start emiting utility workers, policemans and lawyers. (I'm sure the operator will get message if BTS is disconnected.) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:49, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

I don't if it is relevant but there is an old MSX game called magical tree that displayed the tree in side view in a very similar way. http://www.mobygames.com/game/msx/magical-tree ZeroA4

The third paragraph needs amending. "...attempt to mimic cellphone towers" implies conscious evolution, and the reference to the tower's "defenses" is a relic of the Batesian mimicry reference. What I'm guessing is happening (I'm not an evolutionary biologist) is that trees with a slightly more towerlike appearance are slightly less likely to be cut down by predatory Beret Guys, and will survive to pass similar traits onto their offspring, and over millions of years certain lineages of celltowertrees will increasingly resemble treecelltowers built by humans in turn to resemble them. The claim that this is a "standard textbook example of convergent evolution" is tongue-in-cheek more than facetious; a real example of it ought to be used rather than the Terry Pratchett reference, which seems to illustrate conscious evolution.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.108|141.101.99.108]] 17:00, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1561: Water Phase Diagram

2015-08-14T02:27:18Z

SaxTeacher: add a comment

What's up with that square under "water vapor"? Is it just a glitch, or is it some hidden message like in https://xkcd.com/1005/? [[User:Nick818|Nick818]] ([[User talk:Nick818|talk]])

I think it is a hidden message, it almost looks like a tiny graph. {{unsigned ip|108.162.242.27}}

It looks like a tiny version of the same graph, but flipped upright so that pressure increases as you go up. (Doing this in the main strip would ruin the "Under Pressure" joke. --[[User:Druid816|Druid816]] ([[User talk:Druid816|talk]]) 05:19, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

I'd say it's the phase diagram Randall used as a template, see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_diagram#Crystal_phase_diagrams Wikipedia] --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.232|108.162.229.232]] 05:28, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

The only thing I can think of is "water + vapor + paper" with the letters being {unique, identical, second, first, identical}. No idea if that means anything. It's probably just a pencil drawing that Randall forgot to remove before publishing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.70|108.162.216.70]] 06:45, 7 August 2015 (UTC)
:Seems to be the phase diagram from wikipedia. I put a contrast enhanced zoom [http://i.imgur.com/wJGVriV.png here] and it corresponds extremely well with the wikipedia version (including darker pixels where the blue is). -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.234|141.101.105.234]] 13:36, 7 August 2015 (UTC)
::I think it might be a reference to the "Full text of the Wikipedia article on pareidolia" of the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1551 Pluto comic]. --[[User:Lokar|Lokar]] ([[User talk:Lokar|talk]]) 15:26, 7 August 2015 (UTC)
Why no mention of the relation to the current whatif? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.91.91|141.101.91.91]] 07:01, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

Disagree that the title text is definitely in reference to any line in the song, just because it includes the word "collaborate[d]" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.228.17|108.162.228.17]] 07:49, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

Surely this comic would have been a perfect opportunity to mention {{w|Kurt Vonnegut}}'s fictional {{w|Ice-nine}}? Disappointed in you Randall! [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 09:42, 7 August 2015 (UTC)
:I agree that Vonnegut's ice-nine is a wonderful topic, but since it exists (fictionally) at room temperature and pressure, it complicates this piece. --[[User:Tanana|Tanana]] ([[User talk:Tanana|talk]]) 22:33, 10 August 2015 (UTC)

I’m not happy with the title-text-explanation. In my eyes the joke is that Randall try to make us believe that Vanilla-icecream is ice IV – and they somehow managed in the 90s to let it exists at high temperatures (for us: normal room temp). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 11:31, 7 August 2015 (UTC)
: I have to disagree for one important reason: (Vanilla) Icecream was produced in high quantities since approx. the 1950's (or even earlier) and not just since the 90's, which is common sense, I think. Imho "Vanilla Ice was produced in small quantities for years" refers more to the fact, that many of Vanilla Ice's tracks consist of different samples of earlier produced songs (such as Under Pressure) or even complete covers (i.e. Play that funky Music). However, Randall might have missed another perfect opportunity for a different joke: Since "Vanilla" is used as expression for "normal" or "trivial" he could have placed it for Ice (I), the "normal" solid water. In that case the Under Pressure reference would have been a bit less obvious, though. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:22, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

Purely as a tangent, ice cream was commonly available in the U.S. in the 1700's, and by the 1800's large silver flatware sets often included (along with other odd specialty pieces like asparagus tongs) sets of ice cream forks. Yes, ice cream was originally "properly" eaten with a fork. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 20:40, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

I thought for sure the intersection of the three was called "Ice-T" [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.184|173.245.48.184]] 13:40, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

I don't see any square, faded or otherwise, by label "water vapor". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.231|108.162.219.231]] 13:04, 7 August 2015 (UTC)
::Yeah, it's gone now... __rvx [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.86|173.245.50.86]] 00:20, 8 August 2015 (UTC)

I have to very strongly disagree with the opinion expressed by [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.173|108.162.216.173]] in [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1561:_Water_Phase_Diagram&diff=99284&oldid=99281 this edit], namely that 'pressure scale incresing down isn't so jokes are at bottom, it facilitates being "Under" Pressure - the joke doesn't work any other way.' Being at the bottom along the pressure axis doesn't mean that region is "under" pressure. It's "under" Vanilla Ice. The joke works because it is ''under pressure'', a very high amount of pressure, not because it is geometrically below pressure in any sense (it really isn't). My original text, that pressure increases downwards so the jokes are at the bottom, makes far more sense to me (well, naturally). It's the "reveal". If the jokes were at the top, they'd be read before the average reader had even grasped what the comic was about. But anyway, that's just my opinion; does anyone else have any thoughts? -- [[User:Peregrine|Peregrine]] ([[User talk:Peregrine|talk]]) 15:07, 7 August 2015 (UTC)
:I totally agree with you and have reverted to something similar to the original version. Maybe it could be worded better, but at least that makes sense. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:15, 8 August 2015 (UTC)
:As the editor who changed the wording obviously I disagree. If the axis were arranged correctly the linkage to "Under Pressure" would be far less obvious. ("Over" pressure??!?) I get what you're saying that 'under' pressure has nothing to do with geometry, but it does work typographic arrangement. But I have to question why the reveal is naturally the right assumption, as it would still work just as well with the 'reveal' at the top... maybe it's just kismet. But then again, I think the speculation is overthought in the first place - it's also just as natural that Ice Ice Baby is built on top of Under Pressure - and I've already invested too much time in it. Just MVHO. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.173|108.162.216.173]] 19:32, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

Sorry, got lost, but I wanted to suggest it's missing Miles Davis at the very bottom. "Birth of The Cool", ya know. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.27|108.162.242.27]] 21:20, 7 August 2015 (UTC)

Also missing are references to Ice T and "Cold As Ice." [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UdXbMyo1rU[/url] —[[User:SaxTeacher|SaxTeacher]] [[User talk:SaxTeacher|(talk)]] 02:27, 14 August 2015 (UTC)

1458: Small Moon

2014-12-11T14:48:28Z

SaxTeacher: /* Explanation */ removed "effortlessly" (why personify the death star)

{{comic
| number = 1458
| date = December 10, 2014
| title = Small Moon
| image = small_moon.png
| titletext = GENERAL JAN DODONNA: An analysis of the plans provided by Princess Leia has reinvigorated the arguments of the 'artificial moonlet' and 'rogue planet-station' camps. I fear this question is fracturing the Rebellion.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic depicts a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVekNsgUqn4 classic scene] from {{w|Star Wars Episode IV}}, in which the heroes trail a spacecraft to the never-before-seen Death Star: a super-weapon the size of a small moon capable of demolishing entire planets. In the original scene and the comic, Luke Skywalker misidentifies a body as a natural satellite, and Obi-Wan 'Ben' Kenobi ominously corrects him. The comic's version diverges at this point, as the dialogue devolves into a rather bitter argument over the semantics of size classifications, alluding to scientific discussions on whether Pluto should be classified as a planet or as a dwarf planet.

The argument goes on for hours, which in the original plot would suggest one of two situations:
* The Death Star apparently never caught them, and Princess Leia was never rescued (but Ben survived).
* The argument was picked up after escaping the Death Star, and now Leia is joining in.

The argument is confused as to whether they're talking about size or about natural vs artificial objects. In terms of size, the Death Star is much larger (70 km radius) than dozens of {{w|List of natural satellites|full-fledged moons}} in our solar system. One of the smallest moons found so far in the solar system is {{w|S/2009 S 1}}, which is about 400 meters in diameter and orbits Saturn. But we don't generally speak of the tiny rocks in the rings of Saturn as moons, so there is some distinction there, which may include the orbit of the object[http://www.exploratorium.edu/saturn/moon.html]. There is also the distinction between natural moons and spacecraft, which seems to be ignored in the final panel.

The title text makes reference to a later scene in the film when Rebel pilots are being briefed on the planned attack on the the Death Star. Those who analysed the plans for the Death Star run into the same discussion picture, and end up arguing about the classification of the Death Star, dividing those involved into the 'artificial moonlet' camp and the 'rogue planet-station' camp, thus deunifying the rebellion. If events are otherwise the same from the movie, this is also happening at threat of their destruction, and thus a crippling of the Rebellion.

The timing of the comic may be related to the {{w|New Horizons}} mission to {{w|Pluto}}. The spacecraft awoke from hibernation 4 days earlier, on December 6, 2014, to start the encounter phase with Pluto.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|The last panel is vague on who is saying what.}}
:[Millennium Falcon follows a Tie Fighter towards an unidentified orb in the distance]
:Luke Skywalker: He's heading for that small moon.
:Ben Kenobi: That's no moon - it's a space station.
:Han Solo: It's too big to be a space station.
:Ben Kenobi: But it's too '''''small''''' to be a moon.
:Three hours pass
:Unknown (Luke Skywalker?): Fine! What if we agree it's not a moon, but we make a new category called "Dwarf Moon"?
:Unknown (Han Solo?): And what's the cutoff, asshole?! Is this '''''ship''''' a dwarf moon now?
:Unknown (Luke Skywalker?): Screw you.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]

User:SaxTeacher

2014-05-17T11:24:06Z

SaxTeacher: create page

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:SaxTeacher My Wikipedia user page]

explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous

2014-05-17T11:00:01Z

SaxTeacher: /* Adblock */

<noinclude>{{Community portal}}</noinclude>

== The Community Portal's design ==

{{tl|Community portal}} looks too Wikipedia-ish (because that's where I got it). Someone who can design things should probably fix that. It isn't protected for the time being, though it probably will be in the future (high-visibility template). --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:54, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Common mistake ==

This affects all pages that ever say "alt text" in reference to the TITLE text on xkcd images. "Alt text" is incorrect; Alt text refers to the text that is shown as an alternative when images are not displayed. Title text is what xkcd uses and is shown as a tool tip-like bubble when images are hovered over.

I would correct this myself but I saw no way to edit the main page. --[[User:Jillysky|Jillysky]] ([[User talk:Jillysky|talk]]) 14:21, 6 August 2012‎ (UTC)

:You actually don't need to edit the main page to fix it, as what's there is just a mirror (transclusion) of the actual content from the comic page, at [[Curiosity]], which is open for editing by anyone. Then again, the "alt-text" in that case is generated by a template, {{tl|comic}}, so that's where we should fix this. The template's code, however, is currently a terrible mess (sorry!), so I went ahead and took care of it. Thanks for catching that! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:24, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:Ah? So it's wrong, for instance, on http://m.xkcd.com? because of that I took it for granted that we could call it the alt-text... - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 17:38, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:: Yes. If you look at the page's html source, you'll see:
<nowiki><img
id="comic"
src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/curiosity.png"
title="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."
alt="Curiosity"></nowiki>
::(line breaks added for clarity) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:54, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:::That was my error in the template. I knew "image text" that has been commonly used by Jeff was not techically correct, but I didn't actually go back and confirm it was alt text before I included that tag in the template. That's to Waldir (I believe?) for correcting the template. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:14, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== When the "official" transcript is wrong? ==
I did [[903: Extended Mind]]. Interestingly, the transcript on xkcd.com is missing the bottom line "When Wikipedia has a server outage, my apparent IQ drops by 30 points." I assume we want a complete transcript, rather than whatever xkcd.com says it is...? [[User:Stevage|Stevage]] ([[User talk:Stevage|talk]]) 04:10, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

:We're focusing on the actual transcript of the comic, not the xkcd.com transcript. The official transcript is usually right, but even Randall makes mistakes sometimes. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 04:24, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

== Milestone: half the comics explained!! ==

Hi all! I'm pleased to announce that we have just broke the 50% mark for xkcd explanations! The page that balanced the count (568 explained, 568 to go, at the time) was [[877: Beauty]], created 01:31 UTC, 21 November 2012 by [[User:Davidy22]]. Congratulations!! :D --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:10, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

:The caterer's been called! The punch will be arriving soon! Go [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]! [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:53, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

::[[File:freedom.png]] Punch is served! [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:11, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

But the Main page says 407 explanations, 731 to go! What's up with that? --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:00, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Reverse? ==

Why in the Archive why are all the thing up until "Heatmap" in Reverse? Can someone please answer? [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)
:Archive? Can you provide a link or screenshot? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:43, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

http://xkcd.com/archive/ [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

::Ah, that's because the comic right after that, rtl, has a right-to-left character in it that flips all the proceeding text. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:13, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Ah, ok, i see that now. When I 1st saw that RTL I just thought that it was random letters, thankyou for explaining it for me. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

It also depends on what browser you are on because on Google Chrome it was normal. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 09:08, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Do you think this question was asked by one of the xkcd people? ==

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090301060752AAtYugc [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:38, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Matthew Reilly ==

I would just like to tell everyone that I asked Matthew Reilly (the author) if he is ever scared that a velociraptor is going to attack him, and he said NO! He clearly needs to start worrying about them! [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 10:45, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

== What can we learn section ==
First of all I love your work. I believe deeper understanding of each XKCD can make a world a better place and I thank you sincerely for starting this webpage. I wanted to ask what you think about "What can we learn?" section I've been adding to some of the pages. Thank you - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:27, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:This site is actually the work of multiple editors working slowly and steadily to fill in explanations for all the old comics. Some of the xkcd comics are incredibly deep - comic [[956]] is such a poignant comic that digs into the DRM issue on so many levels. Your reflections on many of the comics are very much warranted and you're helping us create talk pages with high-quality opening posts, which is great for future discussion on this wiki. It'd be nice if you could refrain from putting headers in talk pages, technical limitations of the wiki make long explanation pages choke when headings are in the discussion page. Other than that, keep up the good work! '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:42, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::I've put in my 2 cents to comic [[956]], and thank you for teaching me how to comment and link to other comics - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::: FYI, you can always make pseudo-headings using a horizontal rule and a bold "header", but honestly I think a simple standard opening sentence would suffice. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:14, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

:Oh, and the guy who draws xkcd is called {{w|Randall Munroe}}. So many glowing things to be said about him. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:44, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::Yes, I can't thank him enough for simplifying complex issues to funny stories, I think it's exactly what our generation needs - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:I'm in favor of a Mr. Rogers style of 'what lesson can be learned' on the talk page, but make sure your comments don't come across as sanctimonious and holier-than-thou as that can be really off-putting. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:06, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:: You are absolutely correct, I have not thought of that, please trust me I did not do it on purpose. Thank you Mr. Lcarsos - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 19:55, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Thank you David, and I apologize that I've not made it clear that by your work, I do mean your collective work (the wiki is only as good as all the people behind it). I was trying to put the headers to allow others to find the section easier in case they start looking for it, perhaps I could make a suggestion to make it a standalone section so that others would be encouraged to contribute their own understanding of lessons they have noticed from each comic. I know the lessons I've seen, but I would love to learn from others as much as I hope they can learn from me and Mr. XKCD, thank you. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:48, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

== DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD ==

Hello fellow editors. Do you remember the last time we were hit by a surge of automated spam? Neither do I. ConfirmEdit has really done a number on the volume of spam that we're eating - one spam account has been created since we finished configuring confirmEdit, and zero anon edits have been spam. Zero. Can you say happiness? Can you say party? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:41, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

:Hehe, I'm glad! Thanks for being so relentless on the spam-fighting all this time! Maybe we should make up a new reason to make Jeff remove the /wiki/ in the URL? ;) –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 18:11, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

:: Awesome news! Finally the patrolling feature will be usable: [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideanons=1&hidepatrolled=1&from=20121204025000&days=365&limit=1000}} Unpatrolled changes by registered users] / [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideliu=1&hidepatrolled=1&from=20121204025000&days=365&limit=1000}} Unpatrolled changes by anonymous users] :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:27, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

== 1000th comic explanation!! ==

Hi all! It apparently went unnoticed that '''we have recently surpassed the mark of 1000 comic explanations!''' Some calculations based on [[:Category:Comics]] and [[Special:NewPages]] led me to the conclusion that the 1000th explanation was [[681: Gravity Wells]], created by [[User:AlexRNL]] just yesterday! Yay! This calls for a celebration, no? Congrats to [[Special:ContributionScores|everyone]] who made this happen! I'll edit [[Mediawiki:Sitenotice]] with a congratulatory message. Way to go, guys! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:04, 10 April 2013 (UTC)
:ps - I also took the opportunity to flesh out our [[explain xkcd|about/history page]]. Please take a look and fix/add any details I might have missed. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:06, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

== Style guide ==
Is there a style guide for this wiki? --[[User:PeterMortensen|PeterMortensen]] ([[User talk:PeterMortensen|talk]]) 20:14, 10 August 2013 (UTC)
:Oh, sorry, I did forget to answer here. A guide on this is not easy, many individual comics do need special layouts because they have content never can match to a style guide. But I will give a try [[Help:Style Guide]].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:18, 15 August 2013 (UTC)

== Adblock ==

I've whitelisted the site in adblock, but the ads are still blocked.
Anyone know what' going on here and how I can fix it?--[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 04:34, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
:Huh. I was wondering why our impression counts weren't rising. I thought it was just because this site had high turnover. I've changed the webpage that the word whitelisting links to, try the instructions there instead. Project wonderful is our ad provider, and they've been pretty good to us so far. Also, thanks for helping to support the site! '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:40, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
::Great! I don't really mid ads as long as they aren't intrusive. Works now, Hope everyone else does it as well.--[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 05:16, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
::I saw you wrote "the webpage that the word whitelisting links to" so I went to the search box and typed whitelisting. My search didn't yield anything useful: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=whitelisting&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch]. I don't know how to create the missing page but there oughta be a link for someone like me who searches for whitelist or whitelisting, to take them to the instructions you refer to. [[User:SaxTeacher|SaxTeacher]] ([[User talk:SaxTeacher|talk]]) 10:59, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

I normally access this site through the android app "xkcd browser". That app only links to the content part of the site and doesn't show the side bar, so the adds aren't shown either. Might be worth discussing it with the author. [[Special:Contributions/109.158.126.139|109.158.126.139]] 08:06, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

:We support those avenues completely, you don't need to feel bad if you use an app to browse this site. We're only really concerned when we put up ads and our impressions are less than half our page hits, because that essentially means more than half our readers aren't contributing to server costs. That's really hard to deal with. We have enough daily page hits to qualify as web publishers at very big ad agencies, but we've had to settle for relatively low rates at the smaller Project Wonderful because 60% of our users were using adblock, so the agencies rejected us because our valuable "paying" audience was too low for them to consider us. That's been the difference between us using dedicated servers to host the site and hiring a contractor to set it up, and the (admittedly somewhat decent) shared hosting plan that we have to settle for now. We can only afford the shared hosting, because the small-scale advertisers at Project Wonderful don't even pay for full days of advertising; most of the time, we make less per day than the posted $3.90 price. That said, we're grateful that Project Wonderful would take us as a publisher when no one else would, but it really feels like the difference between being accepted to community college and being accepted to an ivy league school. For a similar reason, the Google ads route was not sufficient to satisfy our needs; not a large enough proportion of our users were looking at ads, so we either needed to spam them and degrade the site, or we needed to make them refresh, which makes pages slow and causes needlessly high traffic for a lot of users. We didn't want our ads to make the site worse, because that would drive away users and defeat the purpose of us being a public resource for xkcd readers. We actually decided to go the agency route pretty early, because adsense takes a massive cut of revenues and gives us little control over what ads or advertisers actually showed, which was not okay with us. Whoah, I wrote a lot. I hope it was coherent. Maybe someday I'll collect my thoughts and write a proper summary on how and why we advertise. Also, if you have any questions about anything ad-related, you can always ask us at [[explain xkcd talk:Advertise Here]]. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:15, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

== Feynman? ==

Feynman (both in [[182: Nash|living]] and [[397: Unscientific|zombie]] form) probably deserves an entry in the [[Template:Navbox characters|character navbox]] template doesn't he? [[Special:Contributions/128.250.152.198|128.250.152.198]] 02:21, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
:That's two comics out of 1200+. Three if you count the song. Not quite enough yet. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:27, 1 October 2013 (UTC)

== Job Interview (Electric Soup) ==

The soup is clearly being poured out of an electric socket. This "electric soup" is probably not a reference to the alcoholic brew favoured by Scottish tramps, but more likely to the virtual nature of the company. {{unsigned|Sulis}}
:Hey, go here [[Talk:1293: Job Interview‎]] for discussions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:58, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

== Is there a similar, transcripted service for The Oatmeal? ==

Hi everyone - this site is a real gem, I've sent it to a friend of mine who can't read XKCD because she's blind. The transcripts on this site are a real boon!

Does anyone know if there is a similar service for The Oatmeal? I've searched and searched, but found nothing so far.

Thanks :)

Jeff

:As far as I know we are kind of unique in the web comics world. I think we get away with it because Randall publishes all his comics as Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial. We liberally link back to xkcd, and we don't make a penny (The ads are just to cover server expenses, because wikis and the databases that support them get big when you're covering a body of work like xkcd). I haven't looked into the copyright Matt uses for the Oatmeal, but he seems like a cool enough guy to not kill a community transcripting effort of his comics. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:32, 4 March 2014 (UTC)