explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3228: Day Counter

2026-04-05T23:25:45Z

Scs: I don't believe Cueball is floating

Someone has to be first [[Special:Contributions/2401:D005:D402:7A00:780:9D40:A38A:98A0|2401:D005:D402:7A00:780:9D40:A38A:98A0]] 13:14, 3 April 2026 (UTC)
:No, but someone has to be the ''0.99999999999999956th''... [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:58, 3 April 2026 (UTC)

In response to the comment added by @[[User:GSLikesCats307|GSLikesCats307]], "When the comic was first published the number was −0.00000000000000017 days": Perhaps Randall was just trying to make things a bit more realistic. I've shown a realistic example that could generate −0.00000000000000044. My experiments didn't find any simple example that could generate −0.00000000000000017. (Which is not to say there isn't one.) —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 15:15, 3 April 2026 (UTC), edited 15:39, 4 April 2026 (UTC)

The day counter is now showing −0.00000000000000044 on my Windows 11 system using Chrome. Maybe the result differs based on computer/browser combination? [[Special:Contributions/72.218.191.213|72.218.191.213]] 16:16, 3 April 2026 (UTC)

The April Fools dark mode thing was kept! Lets go! [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 16:25, 3 April 2026 (UTC)

This comic was published during NASA's Artemis II moon mission. Could Cueball seeming to be floating above his chair be a reference to null gravity? [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 17:12, 3 April 2026 (UTC)

My guess is that irrational numbers have "infinite digits" in any base, but my math education is not good enough even to know how to start to prove it, an informal confirmation would be appreciated. [[Special:Contributions/5.91.22.162|5.91.22.162]] 22:14, 3 April 2026 (UTC)
:As a decimal in a certain base is just a fraction (with a denominator of a power of the base), numbers with finite decimal expansions must be rational (assuming the base is rational) [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 23:31, 3 April 2026 (UTC)
::Let's all work in base π so we can have irrational discussions that make sense. What's e in base π?[[Special:Contributions/98.22.184.160|98.22.184.160]] 12:49, 4 April 2026 (UTC)
:::I want to meditate on all the transcendental numbers. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 19:32, 4 April 2026 (UTC)

Plot twist: This is accurate, just too precise and able to predict the future. Someone is about to cause one. [[Special:Contributions/47.141.37.161|47.141.37.161]] 05:24, 4 April 2026 (UTC)
:Doesn't have to be predicting the future to be accurate. Maybe it means that the last error occurred 38 picoseconds ago. [[User:Gorcq|Gorcq]] ([[User talk:Gorcq|talk]]) 14:26, 4 April 2026 (UTC)

Surprised that there hasn't been an Artemis II comic yet. --[[User:Funstuff4fun|Funstuff4fun]] ([[User talk:Funstuff4fun|talk]]) 06:12, 4 April 2026 (UTC)

Sorry, new to posting; sorry if I am misunderstanding. The text describes −0.00000000000000044 as a very small negative number. Is this saying that it is close to zero? If so, would that be better expressed as large, rather than small? [[User:Flickerwit|Flickerwit]] ([[User talk:Flickerwit|talk]]) 15:54, 4 April 2026 (UTC)
:The value is very small. The representation of the number is large (or ''fairly'' large, by some certain limited measure). But you wouldn't call 0.9 "smaller", or 'closer to zero'/"0", than "0.8888888888..." under most usages. Even though that might be correct in a string-handling context. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 19:32, 4 April 2026 (UTC)

Considering how close to April Fools this comic is, it could be a remnant of such a prank that they haven't bothered to clean up yet. [[Special:Contributions/2001:1C02:1A9D:9700:A420:F4F:966C:167E|2001:1C02:1A9D:9700:A420:F4F:966C:167E]] 16:32, 4 April 2026 (UTC)

If anyone's wondering, it appears that they made it roughly 5,879 millennia, six centuries, and one decade without an integer overflow error. [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 19:34, 5 April 2026 (UTC)
:...I rather think it means that it will be that long until they ''aren't'' having one. ;) [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 21:08, 5 April 2026 (UTC)

I don't think it's significant that Cueball appears to be floating. Randall sometimes draws people in chairs that way. See, for example, [[2949]], [[3015]], and [[3052]]. —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 23:25, 5 April 2026 (UTC)

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-05T13:02:13Z

Scs: /* Explanation */ more than complete

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0. (However, it may also lead workers to cover up or conceal accidents, for the same reason, which would tend to increase future accidents, because they do not report the need to correct hazardous conditions that are causing accidents.)

In this comic, a similar sign highlights the number of days since the last floating-point error. Floating-point errors occur because most computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3s repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight rounding error. Unless carefully controlled, these rounding errors can accumulate, significantly degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999, which might not trigger the code to do what it should do when three thirds have been accumulated (it can be mitigated by allowing a match for a value which is within a suitably very small difference to the test value, but this must be considered carefully to not be over-/under-sensitive). The amount of required space for rational numbers is not universal, it depends on the base used (⅓ in base 3 requires just two digits: 0 as the units and 1 after the {{w|Decimal separator#Radix point|radix (ternary) point}}). Floating point arithmetic standards, like the popular IEEE 754, define how and when an approximation should take place, leading to predictable results, but they don't respect some basic properties of common arithmetic operations, which someone may take for granted, e.g. in floating point arithmetic addition and multiplication are commutative (a+b=b+a; a*b=b*a), but aren't guaranteed to be associative ((a+b)+c≈a+(b+c)); (a*b)*c≈a*(b*c)).

This issue is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating base-2 fraction <tt>0.000110011001100110011</tt>…. A classic example is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000000000000004].

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative value −0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time, and is at least self-consistent, like with [[363: Reset]])

As an example of how the number −0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result of −0.00000000000000044 instead of the expected 0.

In the comic, such an error creates the ridiculous illusion that −0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it were a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign maintains its own "error state" in a self-referential way. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over and over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating — off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of its numerous settings.

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it typically "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it may wrap from 231−1 (2,147,483,647) to −231 (−2,147,483,648). 2,147,483,647 days from the comic's date of publication (April 3rd, 2026) is approximately October 12th of the year 5,881,636, assuming no changes in the lengths of the day and year, or in other aspects of time measurement.

Strangely enough, when the comic was first published the sign number was −0.00000000000000017 days. It was changed later though, probably so that it would be more realistic, −0.00000000000000017 would correspond to the very last bit of mantissa being incorrect and only for numbers between 1 and 2 (not including 2), and operation (1-1) is unlikely to result in rounding errors, so the smallest difference from integer is usually higher, which would result in −0.00000000000000044 the smallest possible rounding error for values between 2 and 4.

Integer overflow was the topic of [[571: Can't Sleep]], with yet another example of a 'days since' sign being [[3140: Biology Department]] (two examples, in both the comic and its title text).

It should be noted that computers displaying things like "-1 seconds until the next [blank]" is a glitch that actually happens.

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

Talk:3228: Day Counter

2026-04-04T15:39:31Z

Scs:

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-03T15:44:59Z

Scs: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0.

In this comic, a similar sign highlights the number of days since the last floating-point error. Floating-point errors occur because most computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3's repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight roundoff error. Unless carefully controlled, these roundoff errors can accumulate, significantly degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999.

This issue is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating base-2 fraction <tt>0.000110011001100110011</tt>…. A classic example is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000001].

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative number −0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time.)

As an example of how the number −0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result of −0.00000000000000044 instead of the expected 0.

In the comic, such an error creates the ridiculous illusion that −0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it was a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign is invalid. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over & over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating — off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of its numerous settings.

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it typically "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it may wrap from 231−1 (2,147,483,647) to −231 (−2,147,483,648).

Strangely enough, when the comic was first published the sign number was −0.00000000000000017 days.

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-03T15:36:11Z

Scs: /* Explanation */ rm explicit parentheses that I added unnecessarily. also change some - to −

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0.

In this comic, a similar sign highlights the number of days since the last floating-point error. Floating-point errors occur because most computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3's repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight roundoff error. Unless carefully controlled, these roundoff errors can accumulate, significantly degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999.

This issue is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating base-2 fraction <tt>0.00011001100110011011</tt>…. A classic example is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000001].

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative number −0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time.)

As an example of how the number −0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result of −0.00000000000000044 instead of the expected 0.

In the comic, such an error creates the ridiculous illusion that −0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it was a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign is invalid. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over & over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating — off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of its numerous settings.

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it typically "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it may wrap from 231−1 (2,147,483,647) to −231 (−2,147,483,648).

Strangely enough, when the comic was first published the sign number was −0.00000000000000017 days.

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]

Talk:3228: Day Counter

2026-04-03T15:15:55Z

Scs: comment re −0.00000000000000017 days

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-03T15:08:08Z

Scs: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0.

In this comic, a similar sign highlights the number of days since the last floating-point error. Floating-point errors occur because most computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3's repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight roundoff error. Unless carefully controlled, these roundoff errors can accumulate, significantly degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999.

This issue is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating base-2 fraction <tt>0.00011001100110011011</tt>…. A classic example is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000001].

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative number −0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time.)

As an example of how the number −0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result of −0.00000000000000044 instead of the expected 0.

In the comic, such an error creates the ridiculous illusion that -0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it was a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign is invalid. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over & over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating - off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of its numerous settings.

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it may wrap from 231-1 (2,147,483,647) to -(231) (−2,147,483,648).

Strangely enough, when the comic was first published the sign number was -0.00000000000000017 days.

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-03T14:55:33Z

Scs: /* Explanation */ downplay "problem"

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0.

In this comic, a similar sign highlights the number of days since the last floating-point error. Floating-point errors occur because most computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3's repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight roundoff error. Unless carefully controlled, these roundoff errors can accumulate, seriously degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999.

This issue is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating binary fraction <tt>0.00011001100110011011</tt>…. A classic example is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000001].

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative number −0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time.)

As an example of how the number −0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result of −0.00000000000000044 instead of the expected 0.

This creates the ridiculous illusion that -0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it was a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign is invalid. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over & over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating - off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of its numerous settings.

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it may wrap from 231-1 (2,147,483,647) to -(231) (−2,147,483,648).

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-03T14:40:39Z

Scs: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0.

In this comic, a similar sign highlights the number of days since the last floating-point error. Floating-point errors occur because most computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3's repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight roundoff error. Unless carefully controlled, these roundoff errors can accumulate, seriously degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999.

This problem is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating binary fraction <tt>0.00011001100110011011</tt>…. A classic example of the problem is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000001].

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative number -0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time.)

As an example of how the number −0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result of −0.00000000000000044 instead of the expected 0.

This creates the ridiculous illusion that -0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it was a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign is invalid. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over & over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating - off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of its numerous settings.

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it wraps from 231-1 (2,147,483,647) to -231 (−2,147,483,648).

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-03T14:35:18Z

Scs: /* Explanation */ Stack Overflow link

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0.

In this comic, a similar sign highlights the number of days since the last floating-point error. Floating-point errors occur because most computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3's repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight roundoff error. Unless carefully controlled, these roundoff errors can accumulate, seriously degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999.

This problem is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating binary fraction <tt>0.00011001100110011011</tt>…. A classic example of the problem is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/588004/is-floating-point-math-broken seem to give an answer of 0.30000001].

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative number -0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time.)

As an example of how the number -0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result slightly less than 0.

This creates the ridiculous illusion that -0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it was a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign is invalid. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over & over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating - off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of its numerous settings.

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it wraps from 231-1 (2,147,483,647) to -231 (−2,147,483,648).

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]

3228: Day Counter

2026-04-03T14:24:37Z

Scs: /* Explanation */ explain origin (industrial settings & days since last accident), and show example producing -0.00000000000000044

{{comic
| number = 3228
| date = April 3, 2026
| title = Day Counter
| image = day_counter_2x.png
| imagesize = 319x287px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It has been −2,147,483,648 days since our last integer overflow.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|This page was created -.000000000000000032 days ago. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A common feature of an industrial setting is a prominent sign announcing how many days have elapsed since the last workplace accident. The sign is typically updated each day to a number one higher — or back to zero, if there ''has'' been an accident. Such signs are intended to foster a culture of safety among the workers in the facility, since presumably no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of being the one to have caused an accident that resets the number to 0.

In this comic, a similar sign highlights the number of days since the last floating-point error. Floating-point errors occur because most computers can devote only a finite amount of storage for each {{w|Floating-point arithmetic|floating point number}} or other fraction. However, many {{w|real numbers}} and {{w|rational numbers}} theoretically require an infinite number of digits to represent them. For example, the ordinary fraction ⅓ is represented in decimal as 0.3333333333…, where the 3's repeat forever. When a number is truncated to fit in the finite amount of space, precision is inevitably lost, resulting in a slight roundoff error. Unless carefully controlled, these roundoff errors can accumulate, seriously degrading the accuracy of floating-point computations. For example, although ⅓ + ⅓ + ⅓ should obviously equal 1, a finite-precision calculation like 0.333 + 0.333 + 0.333 might show a misleading result of 0.999.

This problem is exacerbated on computers which use binary arithmetic (i.e., virtually all computers today), since in binary, the ordinary fraction 1/10 is represented as the infinitely-repeating binary fraction <tt>0.00011001100110011011</tt>…. A classic example of the problem is that, depending on circumstances, the calculation 0.1 + 0.2 might seem to give an answer of 0.30000001.

Evidently, in the programming facility shown in the comic, a floating-point error has occurred today, and an attempt has been made to update the sign to say "It has been 0 days since...". But the number 0 is displayed incorrectly, as the very small negative number -0.00000000000000044. Perhaps the error that was made today was the very error that occurred in updating the sign! (This would of course violate {{w|causality}}, but in comedy, self-referential humor beats causality every time.)

As an example of how the number -0.00000000000000044 could have arisen when 0 was intended, consider this simple {{w|C (programming language)|C}} program:

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
double d = 19;
for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) d -= 1.9;
printf("%.17f\n", d);
}

The program starts with the number 19, and subtracts 1.9 from it, ten times. Mathematically, we would expect the result to be 0. However, the number 1.9 cannot be represented exactly in binary, nor can the intermediate results 17.1, 15.2, 13.3, etc. The cascading roundoff errors conspire to produce a result slightly less than 0.

This creates the ridiculous illusion that -0.00000000000000044 days have passed, which implies a 'negative' number of days, which is impossible{{cn}}. It also, even if it was a positive number, would mean that much less than a nanosecond had passed since the last error, which would be an unfeasably short amount of time. Of course, the joke is that in making the sign showing the amount of time since a floating point error was last made, they are creating a floating point error, meaning the sign is invalid. Also, if they tried to reset the sign, they might make the same error again, repeating the cycle over & over, which would not be ideal.

Coincidentally enough, [[Cueball]] is also floating - off his seat in this case. The seat itself looks the same as the chair in [[2144]], possibly meaning making people levitate is one of it's numerous settings.

Floating point errors are particularly common in programming, especially in languages that implicitly convert decimal numbers to binary floating point, so an approximation is already made at conversion leading to unexpected results. The title text cites another common programming problem, integer overflow. When a value gets bigger than the biggest integer that can be represented in a certain format, it "wraps around" to the smallest value. In case of 32-bit signed integers it wraps from 231-1 (2,147,483,647) to -231 (−2,147,483,648).

==Transcript==
[White Hat, Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan are all below a large sign. White Hat and Ponytail appear to be discussing something, while Cueball is sitting at his desk working on a laptop and Megan is walking away. The sign has text on it, as well as a large display presumably meant to show a number.]

:[Sign:] It has been
:[Display:] -0.00000000000000044
:[Sign:] days since our last floating point error

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>[[Category:Interactive comics]][[Category:Dynamic comics]]

Talk:3186: Truly Universal Outlet

2025-12-27T06:00:19Z

Scs:

No comments yet, add the first comment! [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 16:25, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

I checked on the info.0.json and there doesn't seem to be a transcript for this one. I don't know whether that's normal, since I understand that most comics have one, but I wrote in a basic transcript. I might have just not looked in the right place. [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 16:58, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

I try not to be nationalistic or jingoistic about anything, but I'm sorry—British plugs are simply the best plugs. Strong, easy to use and safe—fits snugly into the socket, can't expose live or neutral outlets without first connecting to earth, no overly sharp pins. I don't like myself for saying this, but I honestly think the rest of the world would be better off switching to our plugs.[[Special:Contributions/109.149.114.159|109.149.114.159]] 18:00, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

:I'm American, and British plugs and sockets seem huge and clunky to me. I've also heard that (some?) Brits think US plugs are alarmingly flimsy. I'm sure that a big part of the differences of opinion is what we grew up with, and I'd love to hear a physics/engineering/UI/UX-based evaluation of which one is *actually* better. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 19:38, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

:: I am an American (soon to be a Gileadian after we will rename our nation to the Republic of Gilead —— ¡ChrisoFascism sucks!); so now I do not have a dog in this fight, but the [http://wikipedia.org/wiki/europlug | EuroPlug ] looks very space efficient, unlike the bulky American plus & sockets, & the ridiculously enormous UK-plugs.

::I am also an American and I agree with the sentiment that British plugs/sockets seem huge and clunky, but it depends on the plug and socket in the US how flimsy they are. I have found some sockets where plugs will literally fall out of them, and other ones where it is hard to pull them out. But American plugs are dangerous from the lack of protection against contacting power and neutral at the same time while they're live.

:I've heard this sentiment before, but I have no idea where it comes from. British plugs are ridonkulously huge and not exactly easy to use. From safety perspective, I find it odd only a handful of (European) socket types are recessed. [[Special:Contributions/81.94.52.186|81.94.52.186]] 22:07, 26 December 2025 (UTC)
::British plugs are just the right size for a hand (assuming you don't have ''very'' small hands, when you probably shouldn't be messing about with them) ''and'' the direction the cable emerges is much more convenient (e.g. handy for sockets behind furniture, outlets for worktop equipment in a kitchen or in server racks). At least that's my assesment, having had to use both US and UK systems in all cases. ;) [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.208|92.23.2.208]] 22:47, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

: British plugs do not even meet their own design specs. This is why there is an internally different, but externally identical (apart from markings) BS 1363-2 plug for EV charging. This exists because if you draw the continuous rated current from a standard socket it is likely to melt.
: British wiring has many problematic aspects. Ring final circuits, undersized wiring for the protective fuse, too many devices on the same circuit, too few outlets so people stack extenders for the one socket in the room and run extensions cords under the rug, excessively tolerant ground fault detectors. Most of the supposed safety features of British plugs are trying to compensate for other design flaws. Not to mention mechanically identical sockets with different continuous current ratings.[[Special:Contributions/76.180.39.133|76.180.39.133]] 23:20, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

Someone will probably address this, but voltage issues aside, I would guess that the USAGE of the various pins across countries is likely different in catastrophic ways. E.g. I imagine that one glob of pins is hot/live in one country but ground/earth in others so that plugging an appliance from different countries into the universal outlet would cause shocks, breaker trips, explosions, etc. I did laugh at the title text - yes, I'm sure building inspectors are constantly encountering this mess. ;) [[Special:Contributions/47.248.235.170|47.248.235.170]] 18:39, 26 December 2025 (UTC)Pat
:Nope. The ground pin is always intentionally made special in all mains plugs existing, and it's basic potty training for electricians to never, ever trust the two others. --[[Special:Contributions/88.65.244.212|88.65.244.212]] 20:24, 26 December 2025 (UTC)
[https://www.internationalconfig.com/catalog_pages/universal_adapter_page.jpg Universal/travel plug adaptors] do kind of look like this. Not quite as universal though. [[Special:Contributions/220.244.124.170|220.244.124.170]] 19:50, 26 December 2025 (UTC)
:https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DAIOqOxI0K_I --[[Special:Contributions/88.65.244.212|88.65.244.212]] 20:24, 26 December 2025 (UTC)
:Some come surprisingly close: https://tessan.com/products/65w-gan-universal-travel-adapter-wta09 https://canyon.eu/product/cns-ta1005w/ https://aluratek.com/products/universal-20w-travel-adapter (not an endorsement - I expect most if not all of these are dangerous) [[Special:Contributions/2600:4041:351:4800:D040:FA1F:BB70:CDED|2600:4041:351:4800:D040:FA1F:BB70:CDED]] 01:26, 27 December 2025 (UTC)

Just for my own amuesment, I [https://filebin.net/ehv155pyjeib5qkk tried to work out what bits were which], green for the pins, red for 'the aditional bits the pins would rattle around in' (the rest left black). ''Really'' not sure I got all the "D E M O" bits right. E, in particular, looks like it has a reverse pin that goes into the plug, but I'm also not as familiar with the old D+M different ampages/sizes (I'll only ever see them in stage-lighting, and I don't plug 'em in or out) as I am with the type-G I normally use. ...but, if anyone wants it, it'll be downloadable for the next seven days. Tidy it up, ''correct it'' as necessary, change the timings (currently 1 second a frame), recolour it (perhaps use different colours for Live, Neutral and (where there is one) Earth), whatever you want. If it's useful. And if that's done by anyone who can upload to this site (or someone does a better version off their own back). [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.208|92.23.2.208]] 21:03, 26 December 2025 (UTC)

FWIW, it is notable that this plug is officially not a [[:category:Cursed_Connectors|cursed]] connector. --[[Special:Contributions/2001:A62:572:F601:905B:6D6D:6686:E863|2001:A62:572:F601:905B:6D6D:6686:E863]] 00:14, 27 December 2025 (UTC)

These already exist outside of this comic: https://diyhardware.ph/cdn/shop/files/YAE0838_800x.webp?v=1686379936
[[Special:Contributions/2605:C740:90:F41:842D:1EC2:FEB9:2B80|2605:C740:90:F41:842D:1EC2:FEB9:2B80]] 04:16, 27 December 2025 (UTC)

: You can also [https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_2160,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fgrounding640-9ed51722fe5c6fcb6a336b5bbfa005e3.jpg find them on airplanes].
: You can also [https://www.epickatech.com/products/ta-105-universal-travel-adapter buy them for traveling].
: (That travel plug also has "universal" prongs for ''plugging in'' to various different outlets, selected by those sliders on the side.)
: —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 06:00, 27 December 2025 (UTC)

1037: Umwelt/Transcript

2025-10-27T11:23:49Z

Scs: /* Black Hat */ better word

{{TOC}}Below, you will find the full transcript of the comic [[1037: Umwelt]]. The transcript has been reordered in the order in which the comics appear in the picture and appropriate names have been given. You can jump to any comic using the table of contents on the right.

==The Void==
:[An epic void with a bright light shining right on you.]

==Aurora==
:[Cueball heading out past Megan comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]
:Cueball: Apparently there's a solar flare that's causing some Great Aurorae. CBC says they may even be visible here! Wanna drive out to see?
:Megan: Hockey's on.
:Cueball: Ok. Later.

:[An expansive, marvellous image of emerald, green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

:Megan: See anything?
:Cueball: No, just clouds.
:Megan: Not surprised.

==Aurora-US==
:[Cueball heading out past Megan comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]
:Cueball: Apparently there's a solar storm causing northern lights over Canada. CNN say they might even be visible {Options: "As Far South As Us", "Here in Boston", "Maine", "Ohio", "Oregon", "New York"}! Wanna drive out to see?
:Megan: It's cold out.
:Cueball: Ok. Later.

:[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

:Megan: See anything?
:Cueball: No, just clouds.
:Megan: Not surprised.

==Snake==
:[Two people standing next to each other. Megan is holding the head end of a snake. Depending on the width of your browser, the snake is: three frames, the third of which has a little bit of a bump; the first frame has a human-size bump, the second has a third person looking at the snake, and the third has the snake going though two Portals; a squirrel and the human-size bump in the first frame, a ring next to the third person in the second frame, and Beret Guy riding the snake in front of the portal; or The squirrel, a fourth person within the snake being coiled, and the human bump in the first frame, the ring, a fifth person in love, and the third person in the second frame, Beret Guy and the portal in the third frame, and the same two people in the fourth frame.]

:Megan: I found a snake, but then I forgot to stop.

==Black Hat==
:[Two people sitting at a desk. One is Black Hat. The other is an analyst. Black Hat has a number of electrodes attached to his head.]
:Analyst: You come across a tortoise in the desert. You flip it over. It struggles to right itself. You watch. You're not helping. Why is that?

:Black Hat: It '''knows''' what it did.

:[View of the entire scene, with said turtle off in the distance on its back and trying to right itself.]

==Too quiet==
:[A group of four scale down a wall into a field in the middle of the night. They walk off single-file.]
:Person 1: It's quiet.

:Person 3: Yeah - *Too* quiet.

:[A Velociraptor is off in the distance, following the group.]
:Person 4: Yeah - too *too* quiet.

:Person 2: Yeah - 2quiet2furious.
:Person 1: Fuck off, Steve.

==Pond==
:[A landscape showing a pond, some reeds, and a range of mountains off in the distance.]

==Galaxies==
:[A trio of galaxies.]
:Galaxy 1: He's not looking!
:Galaxy 3: Let's get him!
:[Lines draw in illustrating the eye-line of one of a pair of people.]
:Cueball: So he said he didn't get the text, but c'mon, he *never* misses texts. Right? ..hello?
:Megan: I'm just staring at your head freaked out by the fact that there are millions of galaxies *directly behind it*.

==xkcd Gold==
:[Cueball holding bat.]

:Cueball: Sorry, but this comic

:[Cueball starts to wind up.]

:Cueball: requires

:[Cueball prepares to strike with bat.]

:Cueball: XKCD

:[Cueball swings at a beehive.]
:GOLD

:[Penis Bees fly out of the beehive.]

==Yo mamma==
:[Cueball yells at a friend.]
:Cueball: Oh yeah? Well you mama's so ''cynical'', her only dog ballast is a ''leash''!
:(This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid dogs can hover, so it requires them to wear weights at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop buying dog weights.)

==Reddit==
:Five seconds ago:
:[You sitting in front of a desk, reading a Reddit thread.]
:You: Oh, hey, Reddit has a link to some xkcd April Fools comic.

:Now: [An image of the xkcd comic page.]
:Five seconds from now:

:You: ..hey

:30 seconds from now:
:[DANCE PARTY!]

==Buns and Hot dogs==
:Cueball: What I wanna know is why do hot dogs come in packages of six while buns come in these huge sacks of ash and blood from which "Ave Maria" is faintly audible?
:[Chanting sacks of gore in the background.]

==Twitter==
:[A Twitter account page with the following: Many tweets, fewer following, even fewer followers, A bunch of assholes in the suggested follow box, trending topics partitioned into: Word Games, Misogyny, and Bieber, stuff your eyes automatically ignore, A really pleasant blue. and the timeline: Something about a podcast, Someone confused because the description doesn't match the link, The link you clicked on to get to this comic, Rob Delaney, Passive Aggression, and horse ebooks.]

==Wikipedia==
:[There's no comic here because instead of drawing one, I spent the last hour reading every news story cited in the Wikipedia article on The Mile High Club.]

==Google Chrome==
:[A Chrome plugin error page.]
:Chrome: This plugin requires Sergey Brin's permission to run. Please wait while he is woken.

==Chrome/Firefox==
:[Two people; Cueball is sitting at a desk in front of a laptop.]
:Cueball: Man, chrome's hardware acceleration really sucks.
:Ponytail: Oh - Theres' a great add-on that fixes it.
:Cueball: Oh? What's it called?
:Ponytail: "Firefox".

==Google Chrome-2==
:[A Chrome plugin error page with the characteristic jigsaw piece.]
:Chrome: Chrome is looking for this piece. Have you seen it? Chrome thinks it links up with a corner.

==Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing==
:[Firefox error page.]
:Firefox: Well, this is embarrassing. You know how I'm not supposed to peek at your browsing in private mode? Firefox.. is sorry. Firefox will not blame you if you
:[Button with text.]
:Click here to report this incident.

==Internet Explorer==
:[IE error page.]
:IE: Error: Internet Explorer has given up.

==Maxthon==
:Cueball: Maxthon? Hey, 2005 called. Didn't say anything. All I could hear was sobbing. This is getting harder. Anyway, yeah, Maxthon's still cool! Didn't know it was still around!

==Netscape Navigator==
:[Two different versions exist: one with Cueball talking and one with Megan with tentacle arms talking.]
:Person: Netscape Navigator? Hey, the nineties called - drunk as usual. I hung up without saying anything. This is getting harder. Anyway - it's cool that you've got Netscape running.

==Rockmelt==
:[Cueball running to laptop.]
:I ran to Rockmelt to hide my face

:[Cueball sitting at laptop.]
:But Rockmelt cried out -

:[Laptop shouting.]
:NO HIDING PLACE

:[zoom out.]
:NO HIDING PLACE DOWN HERE

==Google Chrome-3==
:[A chrome plugin error page.]
:Chrome: There does not exist --nor could there '''ever''' exist-- a plugin capable of displaying this content.

==Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google - Chrome==
:[Chrome error page.]
:Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

==Microsoft/Amazon - Firefox==
:[Firefox error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

==Microsoft/The Times==
:[Error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/The Times is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

==Corporate - Generic==
:[Error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, we work as a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

==Military==
:[Person looking at two browser windows.]
:Cueball: I know y'all know what you're doing. But if you're on a military machine and you're supposed to be watching for missiles or something, I hope you're keeping an eye on that in the background while you're reading comics. Also: Thanks.

==T-Mobile==
:[Error page.]
:Data Error: T-Mobile was unable to establish a connection

==Verizon==
:[Error page]
:Error: You have exceeded your Verizon monthly bandwidth cap. Mobile web browsing has been disabled.

==France==
:[Two people; one of which is browsing using a laptop.]
:Cueball: Hey, you're French, right? Ever see what happens when you type "French Military Victories" into Google?
:French person: Does it take you to an article on Napoleon?

:French person: ..no? Strange, given how he kicked everyone's asses up and down Europe for over a decade.

:[Beat frame.]

:Cueball: Touche.
:French person: You know, that'd sound smarter if you didn't pronounce it like it rhymes with "douche".

==Germany==
:[Cueball dropping food from an unorthodox high perch.]
:June 1948: In response to the Soviet blockade of East Germany, the western allies construct the Berlin Chairlift.
:Cueball on chairlift: Food!

==Israel==
:[Person on phone.]
:Person (Translation from Hebrew): Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ...Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

==Carnot Cycle==
:[Ponytail on a motorcycle with a heat-entropy graph on the side.]
:Ponytail: Check out my new Carnot Cycle!
:Cueball: Neat - how fast does it go?
:Ponytail: Depends how cold it is outside.

==Great Britain==
:[Illustration of the Atlantic ocean.]
:American person: Sorry I don't have a comic poking fun at the UK here. I only had time to get to the most ''important'' US states.
:British person: Hey - At least we have free health care and real ale.

==Earthquake-Blizzard==
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Boston", "Chicago", "Dallas", "Georgia", "Halifax", "Illinois", "Michigan", "Minnesota", "Missouri", "the Northeast", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", 'Pennsylvania", "Philadelphia", "Texas", "Toronto", "Tennessee", "New York", "Wisconsin"}! That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..
:[Both people are trudging through a massive blizzard.]
:Danish: In pictures, snow always looked so nice and sof - ''AAAA! MY NECK! How do people live here?!''
:Cueball: Come on - it's only three more miles.

==Earthquake-Tornado==
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Dallas", "Illinois", "The Midwest", "Missouri", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", "Tennessee", "Texas"}!
:Cueball: That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..
:[Both people are in a shelter in a prairie with a rapidly-approaching tornado.]
:Danish: AAAA CLOSE THE SHELTER DOOR!
:Cueball: Say the magic words...
:Danish: THIS PLACE IS THE WORST!
:Cueball: Thank you.

==Earthquake-Hurricane==
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "D.C", "Florida", "Houston", "Miami", "New Jersey", "North Carolina", "South Carolina", "Virgina"}! That was huge!
:Cueball: That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..

:[Both are in the middle of a hurricane. Danish is grabbing onto a signpost to avoid being swept away.]
:Danish: AAAAA WHAT THE SHIIIIT!
:Cueball: Calm down - this is barely a category 2.

==Lake Diver Killer==
:[TV Field Reporter in front of a cordoned-off lake.]
:Reporter: Police divers searching the bay say they have recovered the body of another victim of the "Lake Diver Killer."
:Reporter: During the search, three more divers were reported missing.

==Washington==
:[The statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.]
:In this Marble Prison As in the nightmares of the nation they tried to devour
:The nanobots that constituted Abraham Lincoln
:Are entombed forever.

==Alaska==
:[A person with a gun chasing a helicopter on the back of a wolf in a snowy Alaskan field.]
:Some people hunt wolves from helicopters. I hunt helicopters from a wolf.

==Life in lab==
:[Newspaper headline.]
:Scientists/UMass Amherst students/RIT students create life in lab
:[Caption under picture of scientists.]
:"The trick was fuckin'"

==American Revolution==
:Robot Paul Revere: Remember: Zero if by land, One if by sea.

==MIT==
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: I see their admission standards have been slipping.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

==MIT Course 15c==
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: I *knew* we shouldn't have picked course 15s.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

==Smith/Wellesley==
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of Smith/Wellesley students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: We should've gone with Wellesley/Smith.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

==CNU==
:[Person unsuspectingly strolls under a giant box trap controlled by a Trible.]
:I worry that CNU only invited me back as a ruse because they realized I never turned in my final paper and want my diploma back. But if it turns out it's for real, I'll see you Wednesday at the Ferguson!

==Dana Farber==
:[Cueball, pointing towards head.]
:Cueball: Check it out - In support of people going through chemo, I shaved my head.
:Lots of love to everyone reading this at Dana Farber. Cancer sucks. If you are new to DFCI, there's a great little garden on the third floor of the yawkey if you need somewhere quiet to just sit for a little bit and breathe.

==Reviews==
:Shopping before online reviews:
:[Cueball and Megan stand in a store. Cueball points at a lamp on the table in front of him. There is another lamp on the table behind them.]
:Cueball: This lamp is pretty.
:Megan: And affordable.
:Cueball: Let's get it.
:Megan Ok!

:Shopping now:
:[Cueball points at a lamp on the table in front of him. Megan looks at her phone.]
:Cueball: This lamp is pretty.
:Megan: It's got 1 1/2 stars on Amazon. Reviews all say to avoid that brand.

:[Cueball and Megan are now both looking at their phones.]
:Cueball: This one has good reviews.
:Megan: Wait, one guy says when he plugged it in, he got a metallic taste in his mouth and his cats went deaf.
:Cueball: Eek. What about- ...no, review points out it resembles a uterus.

:[Cueball is still looking at his phone, Megan has hers at her side.]
:Cueball: Ok, I found a Swiss lampmaker with perfect reviews. Her lamps start at 1,300 Francs and she's only reachable by ski lift.
:Megan: You know, our room looks fine in the dark.

{{DEFAULTSORT:1037}}
[[Category:Comic subpages]]

3138: Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure

2025-09-09T10:43:43Z

Scs: /* Explanation */ mention shrink rulers

{{comic
| number = 3138
| date = September 5, 2025
| title = Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure
| image = dimensional_lumber_tape_measure_2x.png
| imagesize = 532x478px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A person with two watches is never sure what time it is, especially if I got them one of the watches.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by AN ARMY OF TWO INCH BY FOUR INCH LUMBERS THAT SAW FIVE CM BY TEN CM LUMBERS. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
A 2×4 is a type of dimensional lumber, meaning it is cut to a specified cross-section. In the case of a 2×4, despite implicitly specifying dimensions of 2 inches by 4 inches, its actual dimensions are 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches. The Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure "fixes" this inaccuracy by changing the length of some of its indicated inches so that a 2×4 is measured as 2 inches by 4 inches. On the dimensional tape the 1st, 2nd, and 8th division are made shorter than on the standard tape. Note that the comic states 7.125 inches as the width of a 1×8, when in reality the width is 7.25 inches.

As explained {{w|Lumber#Dimensional lumber|on Wikipedia}}, the nominal dimensions of a piece of dimensional lumber (US)/timber (UK) are those to which, in history, the wood was cut from green logs. Over time, the wood would shrink from loss of water. Consequently, a board cut to 2×4 inches would shrink to some fraction of those dimensions. The nominal dimensions also refer to the rough cut lumber—the final product is typically planed smooth, which further reduces its dimensions. The actual final dimensions would vary based on the type of wood, the amount of water lost and other such factors, with a greater or lesser amount of predictability. Over time, the actual dimensions of the wood became standardized at some regularly-achievable value less than the nominal dimensions. Different types of construction material sometimes use different measures, for instance, "1 inch" plywood is typically not 1 inch thick, but it is also not 3/4 inches thick (the thickness of a 1-inch board).

A person not familiar with this history may be puzzled at the disconnect between the nominal and actual dimensions of lumber/timber, perhaps to the point of thinking that some underhanded short-measure had gone on. To such persons, the comic's Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure makes sense, or at least addresses the disconnect. It would not, however, have any practical use, and attempts to employ it would likely lead to constructions going dangerously awry. Necessary lengths of timber, as well as other cuts that fine-tuned a supplied timber to fill a space, would be intrinsically inconsistent with the gaps they were intended to tightly fit within. At best, ''every single'' component of a construction would be measured and cut according to this particular measure and the resulting structure would be self-consistent but subtly undersized compared to the original plan.

Additionally, leaving it in someone else's toolbox without informing them would likely lead to them incorrectly measuring things, as the Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure appears visually similar to a standard tape measure and has similar enough units that it is plausible someone could use the Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure and assume it indicated full inches.

Intentionally-inaccurate measuring devices do exist in the real world, but for a different reason. When casting articles out of molten metal or clay, the final product can shrink significantly as it cools or dries. Workers therefore use a ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_casting#shrink_rule shrink ruler]'' with deliberately oversize units, calibrated to the shrinkage percentage of the particular material in use. Using a shrink ruler to measure the patterns and molds used in metal casting, or the wet product in pottery, ensures that the final product will be the desired size.

The title text is a play on the adage "A man with two watches is never sure what time it is". That adage is a rephrasing of {{w|Segal's law}}.

==Transcript==
:[Header:] Dimensional Lumber Tape Measure

:[Paragraph to the left:] Dimensional lumber sizes are tricky. A “2×4” is actually 1½″ by 3½″, and a “1×8” is ¾″ by 7⅛″.
:[To its right, a drawing of a rectangular wooden block labelled “2×4”, with notes indicating the length of the height and width being 1½″ and 3½″]

:[To the left, two drawings of tape measures seen from the side. One is labeled <code>12′</code>, and the other is labeled <code>12′*</code>]
:[Paragraph to the right:] If you know someone into carpentry or woodworking, get them our [in italics:]''dimensional lumber tape measure''.

:[Two drawings viewing the extended tapes, with titles, one above the other; The double-riveted 'hook end' fitting is at tape's left-hand 'zero' mark, and they extend off beyond the right edge of the panel featuring digits marking full height "inch" division-lines, with decreasingly partial-height lines indicating half-, quarter-, eighth- and sixteenth-inch sub-divisions from the lower edge, though either measure explicitly indicates the unit being used]
:[Title one:] Normal tape measure:
:[The measure is divided into inches evenly, the rightmost visible measure being a '9', and slightly further than the next half-inch division being visible at the edge of frame]
:[Title two:] Dimensional lumber tape measure:
:[The measure is divided unevenly, such that 1st and 2nd marked 'inches' are each equal to a ¾-inch increment on the above drawing, but the 3rd to 7th marks each equate to a 1-inch progression, shifted. The 8th mark is once again ¾-inch after the 7th, and then roughly inch again for the fully visible '9' and '10' numbers and similarly proportional to just beyond the rightmost quarter-inch division visible]

:[Slightly bold:]'''Don’t tell them you got it'''[Normal weighting:]—just leave it in their toolbox. They’ll appreciate the surprise when all their measurements work out!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Tape measures]]

2956: Number Line Branch

2024-07-20T18:26:38Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ flesh out

{{comic
| number = 2956
| date = July 8, 2024
| title = Number Line Branch
| image = number_line_branch_2x.png
| imagesize = 469x235px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Attention all passengers: This is an express sequence to infinity. If your stop is not a power of two, please disembark now.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SECOND BOT TO REDUCE CONGESTION - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic likens the {{w|number line}} to a line of a railroad or subway system. These often have branches where different trains continue on to a different destination, with different stops along the way, or travel on parallel lines to allow faster trains to bypass slower ones. In the number line, one branch (presumably the original) contains ordinary numbers, while the newly opened branch consists of some completely different numbers, denoted with various symbols as an analogue to those we use as digits. The branches seem to split at π. The new branch maintains the same scale-separations as the 'normal' one (as far as it goes) but, due to a longer initial curve away from the junction, the new-branch digits are also consistently slightly offset from the horizontal positions of the respective old-branch ones.

The sequence ending with a bold mark at Δ (whereas the original number line fades out) suggests that it is the end of this branching sequence. Mathematicians, apparently, could only afford to construct 5 additional numbers, or their research hasn't yet found other numbers. The branch may have been intended to run much further, but been {{w|High Speed 2#Cancellation of Phase 2, October 2023|scaled back}} due to budget overruns and cutbacks.

The title text makes a parallel between a train stopping at a station and a numerical sequence "stopping" at a number – that is, taking it as a value. It's a spoof of announcements that are typically made on trains, so that passengers can confirm that they're on a train that goes to their desired station; an "express train" typically makes fewer stops so it can serve the most popular stops and reach its final destination sooner. In this case, the express train only stops at powers of 2; presumably the "local" stops at every integer. Powers of 2 are 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and so on, such that the interval between stops grows exponentially larger.

Mathematically, an express train like this would get to its scheduled stops much faster, but it would not actually have any fewer stops overall. Mathematicians that study infinities generally regard all "{{w|Countable_set|countably}}" infinite sets as being the same "size." Infinity is not a fixed value, rather it's the concept of "does not end," so it's paradoxical to try to take a train to a destination that is, by definition, not a single destination. By way of analogue, it's akin to promising to stop hitting your little brother only after you've done so forever.

A fictional number was previously shown in [[899: Number Line]] ("gird"), and fictional ''numerals'' were shown in [[2206: Mavis Beacon]]. And similar treatment of mathematics as public infrastructure was seen in [[2735: Coordinate Plane Closure]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A diagram reminiscent of both the number line, and a transit system diagram. The line starts at the left and goes right through points labeled 0, 1, 2, and 3, at which point there is a bifurcation into two branches. The top branch continues: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, …. The bottom branch is shorter, labeled with five curious glyphs: □, ⊧, ▵, as well as a phi-like and a spiral symbol that don't have any close counterpart in Unicode.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Good news!
:After thousands of years, mathematicians have finally opened a second branch on the number line to reduce congestion.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]

2891: Log Cabin

2024-07-20T15:47:41Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ flesh out, remove 'incomplete' tag

{{comic
| number = 2891
| date = February 7, 2024
| title = Log Cabin
| image = log_cabin_2x.png
| imagesize = 353x265px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I'm sure the building inspectors will approve my design once they finally manage to escape.
}}

==Explanation==
[[File:log_cabin_golden_spiral.png|thumb|301px|Golden spiral (approximately) overlaid on the floor plan]]

This is a comic featuring a {{w|floor plan}}, presumably of a {{w|log cabin}}, and a pun on the word "log". The odd part about it is the right half, which appears to be infinitely recursive copies of the building, a self-similar {{w|fractal}}. The house as a whole represents a {{w|golden rectangle}} with a side ratio of the {{w|golden ratio}} (phi = 0.5 + (1.25 ^ 0.5) ≈ 1.6180339887...), with successively smaller living areas (further subdivided into rooms, to a common but shrunken and rotated plan) being square adjoined by a golden-rectangle of all smaller living areas in the manner of the areas defined by the classic {{w|Golden spiral}} diagram. The joke is that Randall is intentionally conflating the word "log" in the common phrase "log cabin," where "log" refers to the wood the cabin is made of, with a {{w|logarithmic spiral}}, as "log" is shorthand for "logarithmic".

Every square subunit of the premises consists of a main combined kitchen/lounge area, with an adjoining shower-equipped bathroom, and a hallway leading to a closet and two bedrooms (a double-bed one with en-suite bath-equipped bathroom, and another with a single bed; both having their own walk-in closet space). Between the kitchen and the dining table is the open doorway that serves as the entry into the next inwards level of the floorplan.

A visitor can also walk in a spiral by using the open doorways in the building plan.

In the title text, Randall says that he is confident that building inspectors will approve the design of his log cabin, assuming they can escape. As one moves deeper into the infinite spiral of architecture, the entire log cabin ''seems'' to be a denser labyrinth of rooms and hallways.

It is unknown how the inspectors lost in the inner rooms would shrink in the same ratio, and would only have to head out through the last doorway they walked in through (or two, if they're currently in the en-suite) and then exit each 'main' area in turn until they exited the building itself. If they have any trouble at all (other than rescaling themselves), it would be that there is ''always'' a further inward area that they might consider needs exploring to fulfil their inspection routine. This construction could imply folded spacetime. To perform a correct inspection, the inspectors might need sufficient relation that inner rooms are identical to the outer rooms, and to solve algebraic equations for various parameters.

It could have been that the repetition continued outside of what is drawn here, continuing to grow larger as it moves further out, except that only the top-level external entry has a door: the entries to each lower level only have open doorways marked with no door, and except for the clear marking of external windows on the first four iterations, with no internal ones (and therefore no equivalent windows on the subsequent iterations) precludes that possibility. In fact, the first iteration has windows on the 'southern' edge for the single bedroom and seating area, for which there are no equivalents on any of the other iterations.

[https://www.generations-quilt-patterns.com/log-cabin-quilt-block.html Log Cabin] is also a classic quilting block, which starts with a tiny square and spirals outwards.

==Transcript==
: [Plan view of a multiroom house or cabin, in the manner of an architectural drawing. The overall outline is a rectangle, with an aspect ratio of approximately 1:1.6. On the left side, five rooms — an open-plan kitchen/living/dining room, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms — form a perfect square taking up part of the overall rectangular outline. In the remaining rectangular part to the right, the top, square part is taken up by a copy of those five rooms, slightly smaller and rotated 90 degrees clockwise. In the bottom part of that part, the right-hand part is a second copy, smaller and rotated again. In the left-hand part, the bottom part is a third copy, smaller and rotated again. In the top part, the left-hand part is a fourth copy. And so on. It is clear that there is an infinite number of copies of the basic five-room plan, spiraling logarithmically inwards to infinity.]

:[Caption below the panel]:
: Log cabin

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Puns]]

2854: Date Line

2024-07-20T14:48:32Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ flesh out, remove 'incomplete' tag

{{comic
| number = 2854
| date = November 13, 2023
| title = Date Line
| image = date_line_2x.png
| imagesize = 443x522px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = They estimate the rocket should be free by approximately ... uh ... well, in about two hours.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|International Date Line}} is a nominal line on Earth near the {{w|180th meridian|antimeridian (180°)}} that represents where adjoining territories observe a full calendar day of difference (give or take the 'normal' time of day adjustment).

It causes one of three situations where the date might change for you, the usual one being when (in your time zone) you pass from the hour of 11 pm across beyond midnight, and a second being if you travel directly between time zones at such a time (usually that being a window of just one specific hour, at night) where they are each either side of midnight. Most people don't travel at or around midnight, and just being awake as the clocks tick over is not often such a remarkable thing, other than to perhaps mark reaching a special date (significant birthdays, perhaps, or {{w|New Year's Day}}). However, travel across or between certain areas of east and west Pacific (or [[503: Terminology|vice-versa]]) is not so uncommon, yet brings with it the special need to effectively adjust your watch by a full day (plus or minus any other time to be adjusted).

The International Date Line is not a physical string,{{Citation needed}} and therefore could not be caught by a rocket. It should also be noted that the International Date Line is not straight, but extends either side of the antimeridian to avoid confusion on internal land journeys (like Russia, {{w|Chukotka Autonomous Okrug|a portion of which}} overlaps the antimeridian), similarly cutting off 'nearby' outlying island territories or adding needless complexity {{w|Tokelau#Timezone|when dealing with chosen trading partners}}. (There may also be the niche tourism-led motivation of being able to claim 'first' in experiencing the new date.) Of course, these very bends would give a physical International Date Line quite a bit of slack that a rocket could pull up (as depicted in the comic).

Based on what is shown in the comic, the rocket could have been launched by the Russians (e.g. from the {{w|Vostochny Cosmodrome}}), but the caption implies that the American space agency is the one expecting to resolve the issue (whoever's original error it was), and all orbital flights are pretty much guaranteed to cross (over) the dateline at some point in the initial track. Of course, the odds of a rocket getting stuck on such a line (if it existed) would be incredibly slim. Additionally, striking such an object wouldn’t trap the rocket. Instead, the rocket (and likely the line) would undergo what many [[:Category: Kerbal Space Program|KSP]] users have encountered: Rapid Unplanned Disassembly.

The caption suggests that this event has messed up the normal regulation of time, and is somehow unsafe to 'use' as a result, so people should pause their usage of it by stopping their clocks and calendars. Also, because time is not behaving normally, ‘they’ can’t give a time for when it will be fixed. If, say, it was 8:00 when the rocket got snagged, then it is 8:00 until they fix it. This means that no matter how much time should have passed, until they fix it, it will remain 8:00. In reality, even if a physical dateline did exist, and if disturbing it were to mess up our ability to measure time, synchronize clocks, and so on, time itself would continue to flow regardless, and pausing one's clock would have no effect on this. Indeed, if time stopped operating, it's not entirely clear what an amount of time that 'should have passed' would even mean, or if we would be able to perceive that anything was wrong. Or, we could use more traditional ways of keeping the time that doesn't need the International Date Line, like {{w|Water Clock}}s or {{w|Sundial}}s until it's fixed.

More worryingly, yet oddly not mentioned by the announcement, is that the International Date Line and Greenwich Meridian appear to be a single continuous physical line, and consequently, the stretching of the former is pulling in the latter, causing significant geological disruption along that line, which would result in danger to life and property and infrastructure damage affecting many millions of people living close to it, and probably tsunamis that could threaten many more further afield.

The title text states that the estimated time the rocket should be free is "about two hours,” but the speaker/writer hesitates when about to give an estimated time stamp, as the time does not advance on clocks, assuming the instructions are followed. Instead, a more generic time must be given, though there still remains the issue of how to properly judge the relative passing of time.

==Transcript==

:[An image of the Earth, but looking like a model globe, with several latitude and meridian lines explicitly visible. One of the meridian lines — evidently the International Date Line — is being pulled up away from the Earth's surface by a rocket in flight. This has made the line very tight, such that its continuation on the opposite side (the Prime Meridian) is cutting into the planet's surface.]
:
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Timekeeping announcement: A rocket accidentally became snagged on the International Date Line during launch. Please pause all clocks and calendars until NASA is able to free it and safely resume the normal flow of time.

==Trivia==
* '''This trivia section was created by a BOT'''
* The [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/date_line.png standard size] image was uploaded with a resolution/size larger than the supposed 2x version.
* This may have been an error.
* The about two hours might reference the orbital time of LEO satellites

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Calendar]]

Talk:2916: Machine

2024-04-12T16:39:29Z

Scs: /* Implementation? */ new section

rather late for an april fools comic innit? also there doesn't seem to be anything exciting in this one lol, none of the usual cool exploration easter eggs, as far as i could tell at least [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.76|172.71.178.76]] 16:41, 6 April 2024 (UTC)Erfaniom
:Randall posted an eclipse comic on Apr. 1. All April Fools comics are interactive. [[User:Z1mp0st0rz|Z1mp0st0rz]] ([[User talk:Z1mp0st0rz|talk]]) 15:27, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

: We're exploring crowdsourced human creativity here, in a way, so it can be a lot more interesting then Randall's exploration comics, at least for me, because i did take two years of GCSE psychology and enjoyed it. [[Special:Contributions/172.64.238.130|172.64.238.130]]

: looks like the egg's on my face lmao, i think i was among the first people to make anything, so everywhere was under construction for me, i didn't even understand that it was like a crowd thing [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.52|172.70.210.52]] 14:19, 9 April 2024 (UTC)Erfaniom

Just popped over using Chrome on Android and all I see is four "missing picture" logos spinning around, plus another down the bottom right... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.193|141.101.68.193]] 18:13, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Okay, followup: it behaves quite differently on the non mobile site. You get two entry points with red balls and yellow balls and you need to place the various gizmos to direct the balls to the correct exit point. Once enough have correctly passed to turn the red X into a green tick, you have the option to submit. If you do, once you have named your design it will be added to the grid with other submissions all of which exist to push red and yellow balls around. (if you come across "Memories of Ragnarok", that's mine) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.207|172.71.134.207]] 18:27, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
::The number of inputs appears to vary between 1 and 4, each of a different color, with one color-coded output for each. [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

On the "machine" section, you see lots of "under construction cells". Perhaps this will develop as more are submitted. I notice the "under construction tape" has "DJIA" and "31415", perhaps a reference to "dow jones industrial average" and the first five digits of pi. [[User:Zeimusu|Zeimusu]] ([[User talk:Zeimusu|talk]]) 18:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Whenever someone submits a cell, it fills in one of the under construction cells. [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
[Robert'); DROP TABLE Student!:;--] i just got a machine with 3 outputs one yellow another red and a third blue AND green and 3 inputs one green one blue and one red blue and yellow https://xkcd.com/2916/#xt=7&yt=50 hope its still there {{unsigned ip|172.70.115.173|18:01, 9 April 2024}}
:I think I just 'did' one with a Red+Yellow source (also separate singular Blue and Green) and a combined Blue+Green sink (and separate Yellow and Red). Got it working well, actually using fan-levitation to separate the R+Y enough to route them to their destinations, the Y then having to cross the occasional flying Green (which I was forced to "Bonk" and bounce up, entry being nearly at the bottom on right, exit being nearly at top on left) for its exit, everything else fairly simple. No idea if it got integrated, of course. Never seen any of my machines be accepted (when I later look around at what's there), so I'm still unsure if there's anything I can do to increase my chance of a successful square being made permanent on the grid.... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 20:58, 9 April 2024 (UTC)
:...still had it sitting there [https://imgur.com/kZdp3kH on my browser], though note that the Red+Yellow supply (mid-left) and the Green supply (right) aren't working here, through the "move the screen around, lose the feeds from 'Under Construction' squares" issue, or similar. But still I managed to submit it. The occasional Yellow and Red are falling from the Blue entrance in the top (I've not done anything special to filter those out/send them to a more proper exit, and it's too late to do so now anyway, it was just a Blue entry during the development process, of course).
:It's a pity you can't see it working, but I quite like my Yellow/Red separation. This might be the only time you see it in place, though, so a shame I didn't take a screenshot immedediately after submitting it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 21:30, 9 April 2024 (UTC)
:I encountered a puzzle with five distinct pairs of in/out (none combined): Two blue, two red, one yellow. It was difficult! AFAIK five pairs is the highest reported so far. When I submitted the solution to the Machine, it had Under Construction above and to each side, and (IIRC) empty below, and no balls were provided, alas.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.216|172.69.134.216]] 03:46, 12 April 2024 (UTC)
I wanted to add an image for each object, but do not have the necessary access, can someone who has access add the images that I linked in the table so they can be included? [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

I found a discussion with some guy talking about the API at https://euphoria.leet.nu/room/xkcd/ ; this could be useful for the wiki.

<code>
[c+1] now time to try fucking with the api
[c+1] https://incredible.xkcd.com/
[userwithnoaccount] 404
[c+1] it seems there are numbered machines under incredible.xkcd.com/machine/x
[c+1] returns a grid of individual machinlets
[c+1] which are uids like 3a7af27c-5389-5dcb-b660-3feab6be2ceb
[c+1] they're stored at urls like incredible.xkcd.com/folio/3a7af27c-5389-5dcb-b660-3feab6be2ceb
[c+1] there appear to be 33 machines total
[c+1] the json it returns seems to refer to these as "versions"
[c+1] $ curl -s https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/21 | jq ".version"
21
[c+1] there is a machine/0, but it's all null
[c+1] going to https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/current redirects to the current machine
[c+1] $ curl -sL https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/current | jq ".version"
35
[c+1] wait, is that the *total* number of mahcines?
[c+1] i would've thought there'd be more
[c+1] this whole think is rather esoteric
[c+1] Written in rust, too: https://rapier.rs/
[c+1] Uh oh.
https://i.hypercone.us/?v=8e283d
[c+1] HMMM
https://i.hypercone.us/?v=079f8f
[c+1] it seems there is no limit
[c+1] i've uploaded a ~50M title
</code>

[[Special:Contributions/172.70.57.146|172.70.57.146]]

Had quite a lot of fun, added a few 'successful' machines to the grid. Noted that whenever I try to use the Prism that (after a short delay) the comic-pane blanks and I need to refresh the page/get a completely new 'challenge' to start from scratch, so I'm just not using the prism at all (used most of the other items, in combination or 'just the one across the whole board', whichever seems most fun). But it doesn't seem to do what I'd like it to do, which is sort multiple colours from the same inflow into different outflow directions. Which would be ''very'' useful in a 'crossroads' situation, the general solution of directing them cross-path being too prone to random collisions. Also might be useful in the 'submitted machine grid', as I note that errors propagate, whereas adding a filter on all inputs would clean out (dispose of/send off to a valid gate?) the rogue balls. Anyway, gonna have to come back to this later when there's more time... Maybe then I'll even have something useful to add to the Explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 19:03, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

The balls appear to be different weights. I just saw a machine that used fans to separate yellows from greens and blues in a sort of 'wheat from the chaff' manner to direct them to their correct outputs. I wonder what other hidden tricks are included. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.1.159|172.68.1.159]] 19:40, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

They're not all accepted, though it makes you think they are. Or something else more complex is going on we haven't realized yet. I made a machine that was working reliably, submitted it, and saw it on the overall grid. Reloading from a different browser I found the same location of the machine, with the same surroundings, but my machine had been replaced. It's nowhere else on the grid either. The first browser still shows it (but not after a reload with a cache clear). I'm not sure if there's some kind of "save" event that needs to happen beyond seeing your machine in the broader one, or if all user collaboration is an illusion, or if the system changes its mind about us somehow.

: Yeah, i've been seeing this too. Please tell me if you find any of my machines, images at https://i.hypercone.us/?v=22d562 , https://i.hypercone.us/?v=ad8e3a , and https://i.hypercone.us/?v=8d4d6a . I want to be one of the few to have added Catalan and Spanish to the grid. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.164|172.71.134.164]] 20:56, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

I've added some more observations to the page. Also, a guess which is too uncertain to put on the main page: The ball launcher for the yellows on the far left side misses a lot, and the yellow container isn't the one on the left. So I think the whole machine with crossing streams will result in the colors being sorted in their container order, and possibly have the streams combined and deposited at the bottom just above the containers. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.147.100|172.71.147.100]] 21:07, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

has anyone seen the boat at the very bottom? [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 21:21, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

trying to see it on Firefox for Ubuntu and it just tells me to "visit xkcd.com to view" - THAT'S WHERE I AM?! Tried clearing website data (but not my entire cache) and that didn't help. Is there something I'm missing?

Oooh, just had one with four ball-entries (four colours) and ''three'' exits (one caters for two arrows). Pity it's rather complicated to get entries to exits (even if I can merge two of the streams). Might have to give up on it, but I'd like to have seen how it fits in with the 'submited grid'. i.e. someone else gets a two-colour introduction spot. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.119|162.158.74.119]] 22:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Me again. I'm just refreshing the page, looking at the pattern of entries/exits (just a dozen or so screens in, getting some repeats of pattern, indicating that it's going back to tiles it was suggesting before, probably depends on how many others are contributing and extending...)
:Found another 'double-colour' example. Two yellows ''from the same side'', which probably means that there's a two-yellows been asked to exit from the neighbour (will check shortly).
:Quickly adapting from my spreadsheet notation, "R, Y, G, B" in order, each "(Entry, Exit)", I've been using <dir> of L/R/T/B and a number (nominally percentage, though seems to include only values of 20, 30, 50, 70 and 80, so it ''might'' be more 1/6..5/6?) relating to the distance along from L to R (for T/B) or T to B (for L/R).
:This line is therefore (0,0)(L20+L70,R30+B70)(R80,L80)(T70,L50) ... no reds, two yellow pairings, a red pairing, a blue pairing. Would require at least two path-crossings (but I was going to calculate those things later, and double-colours might confuse my intended simple line-intersection calculation).
:...anyway, spent some time on this message, which might mean I'll get into a 'new batch' of available patterns as people have succeeded some of the challenges that I've been 'swiping left'. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 19:28, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:...very next click: (0,0)(T30+L20,R20+R70)(R80,L80)(R50,B50), which is clearly the actual left-neighbour of the above. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.19|172.70.162.19]] 19:32, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:Ok, stopped my refreshing to [https://imgur.com/a/OMFOmzy 'solve' a screen]. First of all I routed both yellows entries (right-upper and upper-right) to one yellow exit (middle-left) and gradually teased the greens across (lower-left to middle-right), as that way I was avoiding a criss-cross of balls, but the the other yellow exit (left-lower) was, of course, invalid.
:Changed it to drop one stream of yellows down towards the lower exit, across the rapidly firing greens (added a fan to filter away the occasional yellow that gets bounced over there, not much of an opportunity to filter falling-greens out of the yellow exit, so apologies to whoever gets the sceen below). Submited as "Two Yellows, One Green!", whether or not that'll save (apparently, I should continue to contribute and not refresh/close, or else the server will not keep the solution?).
:Interestingly, all four adjacent tiles are "Under construction", and if I scroll up... *DARN* the comic has blanked out (nothing there between the upper PREV/RANDOM/NEXT buttons and the lower ones, just whitespace). This may mean that it did not save. This is the kind of 'page crash' I get when I try using a Prism or get too many balls rattling around on top of a Black Hole. Perhaps it doesn't like that I'm scrolling into an Under Construction that shouldn't be there? (But then, why ''is'' it there?)
:Anyway, all extra information for everyone.
:I'll just refresh the page and go back and do some more entry/exit mapping, maybe? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 20:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

If you combine a bunch of these silly claw things in the middle by just spamming it, it begins to lag and do some chaotic collisions, even without balls colliding on it. It's curious how it does that seemingly randomly though. I wonder how calculations are added and if there's a tiny sprinkle of RNG. (Also, errors occur and say something about damaging recursion in the Rust programming language, so I guess we know how it was made. It's also pretty weird how there's not a lot of opening combinations? It's possible that the machine loops over in chunks of gears or something (that's what I'll call them). ([[User talk:Leo|talk]]) 13:15, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

If you place a black hole in the centre of a wheel, it makes the wheel behave unpredictably between resets. Sometimes it's almost normal, sometimes it's a lot faster than usual, and sometimes it's stopped but launches balls that touch it with extreme force. I was able to use this to submit a machine which didn't actually let a single ball through after being submitted. https://i.hypercone.us/?v=928bcd [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.149|162.158.33.149]] 01:19, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

The page says that (and I have taken note of) the ball hue is ''coded'' to certain values, but is there a logic to those values that might be derived from the colour (either as RGB triplet or HSV/other colourspace definition). For example, the two ball-types with zero green component in their makeup are 'unit density' (green is far heavier "green+red" is far lighter, so it's not a simple relationship, unless it converts from °hue, in some way) and the only secondary colour exhibits non-zero drag. There's the possibility that it just derived from "we need different properties, we need different colours, we have no reason to connect either with other deliberately" or even some non-mathematical symbology (fire=red, water=blue(?), earth=green, air(/sunlight?)=yellow). But it makes me wonder what combination of properties cyan/magenta balls might have, if added. (Or is the choice of those four colours constrained, anyway? Though R/G colorblindness is already something of an accessibility failure, if anyone suffers that.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.205|172.69.194.205]] 17:02, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:For color vision issues, on Mac, open System Preferences, select Accessibility, select Display (in the Vision group), select the Color Filters tab, select Enable Color Filters, then finally try the different filters in the Filter Type menu. One of them should help make the colors distinct.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.216|172.69.134.216]] 03:40, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

[https://pastebin.com/7PAiLnyF Python script to get the URL and title of each Cell in the current machine]

[https://pastebin.com/xBhywGde Result of running that script at the moment] (encoded with ROT13 because pastebin wouldn't let me save it otherwise)
:has anybody at all whatsoever been able to find their creation using this API? [[User:Bellydrum|Bellydrum]] ([[User talk:Bellydrum|talk]]) 21:58, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[https://pastebin.com/jN5MP2za Result of running that script on the first 42 machines], at least on these it looks like the only difference is that one cell is added each time? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.99.195|172.71.99.195]] 17:22, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

I've submitted four now, none of which was accepted. I tend to spend a lot of time getting them just right. Any hints as to what the acceptance criteria might be? Or do I just stink at this?
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.59.204|172.69.59.204]] 19:47, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

There appears to be a new object: a cat that bats things that touch it.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.214.39|172.69.214.39]] 20:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

Is anyone else experiencing the bug where prisms cause the comic to disappear (leaving only the white background where it was) after a while? It makes viewing the whole machine basically impossible. (On further testing it appears to be firefox-exclusive.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.38|172.70.162.38]] 20:31, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:I've had the "Prisms break things" from the beginning (before any practical content). As in, trying to use them in a design breaks things. But I ''did'' glance upon their occasional use in the 'view submissions grid'. Right now I'm suffering from "white only" issue (see my "multi-yellow" accounts, above). I ''am'' using Firefox, if that's indeed relevant to this issue, but right now I'm not near any other up-to-date browser I care to use. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:I'm getting the same issue with black holes (which probably makes more sense - put a black hole there and you'd expect everything else to disappear :o) - except that on one occasion I was able to put about 6 black holes in before the 7th one vanished everything.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.121|172.69.194.121]] 09:15, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Has anyone seen their own cell in the machine at all yet? A manual approval system is probably necessary for obvious reasons, but if so it does seem to be moving quite slowly.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.65.24|172.69.65.24]] 02:58, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

How on earth is everyone seeing different parts of the grid? If I request "view machine" I can only see my own square, and the edges of everyone elses. Nothing else, definitely not all of the machine. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.64.149|172.68.64.149]] 21:11, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::You should be able to click and drag the view around. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.54|172.71.242.54]] 21:41, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Whoever designed the room entirely full of fans is evil - every time I scroll near it my entire browser freezes up and becomes unresponsive. And then the comic usually blanks.[[;8Special:Contributions/172.69.194.81|172.69.194.81]] 08:23, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

None of [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2916:_Machine&diff=339487&oldid=339486 these edits] were anything to do with "grammar", so why would anyone describe the change as such? The spelling of "colo(u)r" is an internationali[s|z]ation issue, of note, and why I usually prefer to defer to using words like "hue", instead, in such contexts on this site. The change of the link from "The Incredible Machine" (where the page exists) to "The Credible Machine" (where it doesn't, because that's really just this comic's own joke) I aready changed back... If you think it doesn't properly explain the pun/negation, then rewrite; but don't make it an invalid link to something that doesn't even exist, as you'd know if you had even followed the link(s). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.141|172.69.194.141]] 15:22, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

== Level scrolling bug ==

When one views the whole machine, and scrolls down far enough, everything just disappears, and the comic is completely unresponsive. Has anyone else seen this? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.236.152|198.41.236.152]] 20:38, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:I'm now seeing the same issue, I wasn't before. (I'm using Chrome) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 21:06, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

::A hard refresh appears to have fixed this for me (same person as above). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.101|141.101.99.101]] 10:28, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

:I've been having this issue as well (I'm using firefox). Opening the site in Edge instead seemed to work around it for me, so it might only affect Firefox (and derivatives). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:27, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
::See also the 'firefox bug' comments currently immediately above this section. (Please don't ask me to start Edge up, I hate it, won't use it any more than the system requires me to...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:Update - I did a hard refresh so I could play around with the new additions and I'm no longer encountering the bug, even on firefox. I think the "white screen" bug is fixed now and you just need to hard-refresh to download the fixed JS instead of using the cached one. (same person as 172.70.163.31 and 172.70.162.38) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.16|172.70.86.16]] 11:16, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

==New Category: Ball Pit?==

What do you think about a new category for comics with [[ball pits]]? [[150]], [[219]], [[485]], [[498]], [[2916]]? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.229|162.158.134.229]] 21:50, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[[:Category:Playpen balls]] already exists.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.133|172.70.174.133]] 17:35, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Prism Use? ==

Can the prism be used to sort balls by color? (or in any other way that is useful and different?) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.61|172.68.34.61]] 12:11, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:From what I've seen, no. Though may be ''extremely'' susceptible to incident angle. As far as my own use has been, they seem to randomise the trajectory (possibly also do a total-internal-reflection, I've had balls bounce around and exit at ''really'' weird angles), but it's hard to collimate a feed of balls into a single exact track, even straight down from a ceiling-feed (if you have a ceiling feed directly over the floor exit, lucky you, it'll still occasionally perturb balls off to the sides just enough to be bounced out as a gate-miss, unless you add 'funnel' architecture of one kind or another). Oh, and when balls do a lot of 'internal bouncing' it often forced me to reload the comic (overloaded the physics engine?), so could not continue to tweak the same design.
:On the other hand, perhaps this was the ''intent'', and just code/browser failings made it work erratically. Maybe would be an idea to go back and retest for this (anybody who can), do a little !!science!! to be recorded and explained on the page. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.183|172.69.43.183]] 12:51, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:So, ive did some testing and found..nothing. i ''did'' find some uses for the prism though. Like outting them diagonally makes the balls follow a "path", speeding up more and more (not really that great but it works with yellows), and that any ball hitting the left edge will try to go the the right edge. Not sure what else it can do, though. [[User:Begocc|Begocc]] ([[User talk:Begocc|talk]]) 09:35, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
::I did some thorough testing on a combined Red/Blue set of balls (carefully managed so that they were dropping into the target area as similarly as possible) and both rotated and moved the prism in various ways to check for any effects - like needing to enter parallel/perpendicular to the colour-bands, either to land on the 'target band' or start to pass across it, with the band then either facilitating or angling its 'fall through'. (Just visually checked, at first, then later adding 'buckets' below and to the sides, to try to catch balls departing on various trajectories in various 'clumps' making note of any that hit the 'bucket'-boundaries and bounced off elsewhere.)
::I found no significant sorting, and some balls would jitter around so much (within the prism) that they even launched almost straight back up where they came from (less poerfully than a Bonk-buffered ball, but not far off - also not reliable enough to use as a ball-elevator).
::In my experience, Yellow-sorting is easy (even against Blue and/or Red) by other means. Green is the easiest to have everything else sorted ''from'' (because it resists the fan method). The hardest to unmix are Reds from Blues, which one might think ''should'' be the most prism-differentiated but I'm afraid I just can't invoke that. Easier to have them fall a long way then bounce off a suitable bit of 'furniture', I can then get them to distribute ''fairly'' distinctly in two handy recepticles/onward-feed-hoppers, though it does need some careful placement of items to do it justice. It appears that none of my designs have made it to the 'public wall', but I have made a submitable machine or two that does such sorting sufficiently successfully to send it out (theoretically) to be seen. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.30|172.70.163.30]] 11:38, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== Bugs and Exploits ==

You can use a sword to break the physics on the hinge thingy and create your very own "magnetic hill": https://imgur.com/a/IRZ0AlL [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.108|162.158.134.108]] 13:02, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:Hard to tell from that what other fans (perhaps) you've got completely off-clip.
:Those hinge-thingies can definitely be shifted by horizontal (outwith ball-weight pressures), but I've not found them to be reliable components as the "Stop" button (ball reset) seems to let those 'hinges' slring back to level, which might need a re-reset by moving them back past the thing that's holding them off-level.
:I have tried a few things with them:
:*'Ticker' mechanism, almost like a clock escapement, nudged by the rotating 'waterwheel', perhaps to try to release balls through a stream of other balls whilst keeping the path clear of collisions for each set, in turn.
:*'Batch dumper', accumulating a number of balls (above the 'hinge', behind a vertical bulkhead) until there's weight enough to 'open the hatch' and roll them out. (Again, an attempt to reduce collisions, by clumping batches together).
:*Finely configured inclines, by shoving something up into a free end of hinge with better angular resolution (but, as mentioned, this doesn't seem to want to 'hold', so probably would fail upon submission).
:...I had wondered if there was supposed to be a "falling anvil creates a catapult/ballista" idea behind the piece, but we don't ''have'' falling anvils (and definitely not in a repeating manner), and ball-powered catapult (esssentially "clown/acrobat jumps on one end of seesaw, clown/acrobat on other end flies up into the air") also doesn't seem practical.
:I'll try to recreate ''your'' design, work out if there's anything new about it, but right now looks like it's a fan-powered incline-raiser. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.38|172.70.162.38]] 14:23, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:: No fans! Here's a wider view: https://imgur.com/a/xPJcsor
:: It survives the reset, because the balls falling on the lever push it down to the sword and it gets stuck there every time. But you need to place the sword just right to make the gravity bug happen. And even then it depends on the number of balls in some ways. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.243.27|172.68.243.27]] 14:46, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::: I've replicated the "tip of sword grabs the 'hinge'" thing, which is very interesting, but not the anti-gravity effect. The movement still seems ''to me'' more like a fan's 'area of effect' thing, than a wonky sense of gravity, the way that the balls are rolling/resisting/interacting with each other. No, I can't see where you've 'hidden' the fan (and I'm sure that fans can't act across submission-grid-boundaries, which was my next guess), so it's a bit of a funny thing that you've got there. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 21:35, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

On occasion, two balls will fall from the containers as a pair, as if glued together. When this happens, they float down as if under much lower gravity, and then suddenly explode violently away from each other.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 10:56, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
What contaniners?? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.252|172.70.110.252]] 14:58, 12 April 2024 (UTC)
== The USS Buoyancy ==

Guys. The Buoyancy. She ''floats''. When all four sets of balls reach the ball pit there aren't further additions. The boat starts floating on them. I've been watching it for a while. It seems she moves left and will probably end up escaping the ball pit. [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 20:44, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:Update: A new row spawned in and it reset just before the Buoyancy could escape. Here's a screenshot I grabbed a while before the reset, she'd moved further left by the time the reset occurred. https://imgur.com/gallery/8UCASCu [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 20:51, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Alright, I'm almost 100% of the time seeing Buoyancy sink. Yes, she *floats* at first. But as she drifts to the sides, instead of yellows going underneath, reds and greens pile on top. Then, as the balls under expire (90 second timeout), she will start to sink. Very consistent behavior over time.
[[User:Keybounce|Keybounce]] ([[User talk:Keybounce|talk]]) 19:20, 11 April 2024 (UTC)

What is the Bouaancy i cant find it anywhere??? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.252|172.70.110.252]] 14:58, 12 April 2024 (UTC)
== Added key combinations, found in source ==

ctrl+alt+b
ctrl+shift+option+d
wheel: arrow keys

: Can you clarify what "option" is? I have tried alt, function, and "operating system", and none are doing it.
It is alt [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.252|172.70.110.252]] 14:58, 12 April 2024 (UTC)
== Fixed Number of Possible Machinelets? ==

I was resetting my browser to try and find new machinelet configurations, but there seem to be fewer and fewer as the game progresses. Hypothesis: the 'under construction' machinelets are set, and once one of them gets approved and added to the grid, that specific configuration of entrances/exits can't show up again.

== Advanced components? ==

How does one get access to the full set of components to build from? I'm only given planks, mallets, swords, scoops, anvils, bricks and fans. I never get any pillows, bumpers, cats, stick figures et cetera. Do they need to be "unlocked" through some achievement, or what? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.102|162.158.222.102]] 11:04, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

This caught me for a while as well. I have since discovered that the tool box has a scroll bar and can be scrolled down; that's where the others are hiding.
::Invisible scrollbars – every GUI obfuscator's favorite tool for making users' lives harder. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.142|162.158.222.142]] 18:17, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Limit of 100 components? ==

Has anyone else seen this? At some point I started getting a count "95 / 100" towards the bottom of the toolbar. When it hits "100 / 100" the rest of the toolbar greys out, and I can't add anything more. (I suppose the physics engine has to keep a ceiling on the number of possible interactions between components.) —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 11:53, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
:Yes, quite early on I was dealing with a quite simple 'drop from ceiling straight down to floor' setup. After adding just enough 'funnel' to deal with 'splatter', I then built a castle wall in the open space just to make it fun (with some figures on/below it, that I've also tried to decorate in later submissions), of the 'grey blocks'.
:I actually hit the 100/100 ''exactly'' as I placed my final intended block. (No doubt that it's easy to hit the limit by just overlapping things so you can't see most of them, and other 'useless' placement, too...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.48|172.70.85.48]] 19:57, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== uss boyancy ==

Why have i not been seeing any uss boyancy [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.122|172.70.110.122]] 14:04, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

Haha I dare you to go to https://xkcd.com/2916/#xt=7&yt=57 and stare at the two black holes next to eachother >:) [[User:Z1mp0st0rz|Z1mp0st0rz]] ([[User talk:Z1mp0st0rz|talk]]) 15:27, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== Build a "working" machine from parts? ==

Has anyone started working on this idea:

Since any given machine segment seems to be saved, even if not in the final result, *and* since these segments are failing when combined in the whole, how about a "really working" machine that starts replacing failing segments when they jam or otherwise fail to work in the real machine?

The idea being something like, start the machine. Watch the top row, and see where the parts are failing to pass balls properly after two minutes. Replace the segments that are failing/jaming/etc, and let the new part process balls.

As you work your way down, over about 2 hours at the current size, you will eventually get a machine that properly sends balls down to the bottom, without jamming, without having to "pretend" that off-screen parts are working.

I mean, it's not like a gigantic, 600 segment machine will overflow memory on modern 32gb systems, nor consume so much power that these big huge CPU's will fail, right?
There is a 100 piece limit sadly
[[User:Keybounce|Keybounce]] ([[User talk:Keybounce|talk]]) 17:41, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
ps.: Why do white holes, black holes, prisms, etc, cause problems on some machines like mine and not others?

== Foreshadowing ==

I think that this Machine comic / game is foreshadowed by comic # 2785 titled Marble Run. {{unsigned ip|172.70.130.120|22:15, 11 April 2024}}

== Implementation? ==

Should we have a section on how this thing is implemented? How much is known? Obviously it's hugely dependent on [https://rapier.rs/ Rapier], as credited in the header text. I assume everything else is written in {{w|Rust (programming language)|Rust}}, too. But how is it deployed? Does Rust compile to {{w|Web Assembly}}, or what? Under Color Routing, our explanation mentions that the ball "values were extracted from the code" — how much of the code is actually visible? —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 16:39, 12 April 2024 (UTC)

2916: Machine

2024-04-11T02:10:51Z

Scs:

{{comic
| number = 2916
| date = April 5, 2024
| title = Machine
| image = machine_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x740px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The Credible Machine
}}
* To experience the interactivity, visit the [https://xkcd.com/2916/ original comic].

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WELL OILED ROBOT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the 14th [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous April fools' comic was [[2765: Escape Speed]] from 2023, which was released on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

Once again an April Fool's Day Comic came out late, as Randall did not release this on April 1st, even though April 1st did fall on a Monday, a normal release day. It first came four days later with the Friday release on April 5th. That this is to be considered an April fools' comic, in spite of the later release, was confirmed on the xkcd Facebook page, see the [[#Trivia|trivia section]] below.

This is a spin on the game {{w|The Incredible Machine}}. The title text explicitly references this, albeit in a linguistic reversal.

Upon loading the page, you are presented with marbles being added to a box by geared wheels, with a button to open a “tool panel”. You are encouraged by Cueball to direct the marbles into a little “output” gear, and told that marbles have a lifespan of 30 seconds to reduce clutter. There are large and small boards available for use, as well as some gimmicky stuff like prisms (which deflect marbles) and fans (which blow marbles around).

The comic starts in a main screen where the user can create a {{w|Rube Goldberg machine}} in a "Cell" where the goal is to route a constant stream of colored balls from an input on the ceiling or a wall to outputs of a matching color on the walls or floor. After the comic is first opened a window pops up over the machine where Cueball in a lab coat tells you to route the balls from the inputs to the outputs. If any balls are left in your cell for more than 30 seconds, they fade away. The first time a ball fades away another popup informs you that the balls are removed for security reasons. When you have built a machine which succeeds in routing enough balls to the output, a popup will prompt you to submit your cell to be added to the public machine. Typically, inputs and outputs only accept balls of a single colour, and any balls of another colour which pass through an output will reduce the completion counter. However, some outputs accept multiple colours, indicated by a double arrow, and some inputs produce multiple colours. When the player is designing their 'machine', this will involve multiple full streams merged into one (supplied by a double-exit on the adjacent submission). Machines now working in the full grid may, however, find that their sources now contain stray balls of other types that were not handled properly, but there is no way to force a re-edit of the machine to alter its behaviour to account for this.

<gallery heights="200" widths="150">
File:2916_popup_intro.png|Introduction popup
File:2916_popup_time.png|Time limit popup
File:2916_popup_submit.png|Submission popup
</gallery>

The button in the bottom right corner brings you to a page where you can drag around to view all of the machines that have been submitted, with a title for each in the upper left corner. In this view you can see that all of the outputs are also inputs for another cell, except for the top row where the inputs come from off screen and the lowest row which output through a launcher of some kind to a set of four colored-coded containers far below. Any empty cells are marked off by yellow tape with the words "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" as well as "DJIA ↑ 31415" once in each cell. "DJIA" stands for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, with "DJIA ↑ 31415" indicating that it rose to 31415 points, 31415 being the first five digits of pi, without the period.

Whenever balls reach the bottom of the grid, they are directed towards four containers, one of each color. Most balls are accurately sent to their appropriate container, though there are some misfires. These containers are above a pit, and periodically dump their contents. Balls in the pit are subject to the same 30s culling rule as balls in the cells above. If no balls are directed towards the containers, the pit will be empty. If one or two streams of balls are making it, Cueball and Megan sit in a small boat named the USS Buoyancy, and when sufficient balls are being deposited, the boat begins to float and move. More streams of balls are likely to add more changes. Balls which miss or overspill the pit fall out of the bottom of the frame.

Under construction cells will feed balls of the appropriate colour into neighbouring cells so long as you are not looking at them. Once you scroll to look at them, the supply of balls stops and subsequent cells in the chain will not receive any; scroll away from them again and the supply will resume.

When you press submit, you will see your creation placed on the grid. However if you refresh that cell will likely be under construction or replaced with someone else's machine. However, other people's machines are consistently placed, so it appears that there is some moderation process selecting a machine for each cell out of the machines submitted by users. If your newly submitted creation is placed in the lowest row of cells, balls will be dispensed through the exit at the bottom, but there will be no launcher to propel them towards the pit, and they will vanish as they leave the exit.

The grid is 12 cells wide, and grows in height. The largest size observed so far is 12x50, for a total of 600 cells. The machine's height is determined by the lowest cell; This can be either your submitted cell, or a cell created by another user.

Imperfections in the machines (whether accidental or by design) and the impossibility of entirely avoiding collisions when crossing streams inevitably lead to significant levels of losses and pollution with the wrong colour balls. Indeed, using the follow ball trick (see Trivia) appears to show that it is quite rare for a ball to survive more than several machines without getting stuck somewhere. This implies that there is some 'creative accounting' going on to ensure that cells lower in the grid still have balls to process - simulating flow only for a few nearby cells, while assuming that those cells themselves have pure, steady inputs.

===Toolbox items===
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ List of objects
|-
! Description !! Effect !! Image
|-
| Plank || Static || [[File:2916_plank.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Hammer || Static || [[File:2916_hammer.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Sword || Static || [[File:2916_sword.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Hinged scoop || Rotates around its hinge, tries to stay horizontal with a springy effect || [[File:2916_scoop.png|frameless|upright=0.25]] [[File:2916_scoop_mirrored.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Anvil || Static || [[File:2916_anvil.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Brick || Static || [[File:2916_brick.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Fan || Blows away balls in front of it. Different colors are affected by differing amounts (yellow balls are lightest, and can be levitated above an upward-facing fan).|| [[File:2916_fan.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Pillow || Balls will not bounce if they hit it || [[File:2916_pillow.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Round bumper || Bounces balls away at significantly higher speed || [[File:2916_round_bumper.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Triangle bumper left || Bounces balls away at significantly higher speed || [[File:2916_bumper_left.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Triangle bumper right || Bounces balls away at significantly higher speed || [[File:2916_bumper_right.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Attractor/Black Hole || Pulls balls toward center, can be resized || [[File:2916_attractor.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Repulsor/White hole || Repels balls away from center, can be resized || [[File:2916_repulsor.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Prism || "Refracts" balls as they enter and exit, causing them to curve to follow the color of the ball as much as possible{{Actual citation needed|...I can believe this might have been the intent, but I've never seen any such behaviour, even when dripping combined red and blue balls in from the same incident angle on the same spot, both types seem to take whatever exit they want, unpredictable and not at all differentiated between colours.}} || [[File:2916_prism.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Wheel || Spins depending on arrow keys [right/left] pressed while selected (default:anticlockwise), deflects balls, can jam with enough resistance (e.g. glut of balls or against other elements). || [[File:2916_wheel.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| "Good job" trophy || Static || [[File:2916_trophy.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Glass cup || Static || [[File:2916_cup.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Cat || Swats away balls in front of themself (was added later) || [[File:2916_cat_new.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ Characters
|-
! Description !! Image
|-
| Ponytail with raised arms || [[File:2916_ponytail_arms.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Ponytail standing || [[File:2916_ponytail.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Cueball with raised arms || [[File:2916_cueball_arms.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| White Hat || [[File:2916_whitehat.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Knit Cap sliding, resting, or floating? || [[File:2916_knitcap_resting.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Knit Cap || [[File:2916_knitcap.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Helmet? || [[File:2916_helmet.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Probably Deterministic sign || [[File:2916_deterministic.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Squirrel || [[File:2916_squirrel.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| [[1682: Bun|Bun]] || [[File:2916_rabbit.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Cat || [[File:2916_cat.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|}

===Other items===

Cueball and Megan in the ''USS Buoyancy''
[[File:4d425c.png|thumb|left|150px]]
 

=== Color routing ===
The different ball colors have different physical properties. Red balls are more bouncy than other balls, green balls are heavier, and yellow balls are lighter and slightly bouncy. The following values were extracted from the code:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Color
! Mass
! Density
! Restitution (bounciness)
! Linear damping (drag)
|-
! data-sort-key="00F" | Blue
| 0.08
| 1
| 0
| 0
|-
! data-sort-key="F00" | Red
| 0.08
| 1
| 0.8
| 0
|-
! data-sort-key="0F0" | Green
| 0.75
| 9.325
| 0
| 0
|-
! data-sort-key="FF0" | Yellow
| 0.024
| 0.3
| 0.6
| 2
|}

For certain combinations of inlet and outlet 'gates', it is necessary to 'cross the streams'. e.g. to direct righthand-entry balls to a lefthand-exit and vice-versa. It is possible to just construct the field to send two (or more!) sets of balls to fly across a common gap, to land on an appropriate reception area that leads to the chosen exit. But, though this is not {{w|Proton pack#Crossing the streams|completely inadvised}}, the timing of the balls cannot be guaranteed to be in sync (or, rather, anti-sync) with each other and collisions ''will'' occur, especially under the variations of delivery that might significantly alter the ballistic path across the gap. Even if the trial machine works, in isolation with a steady stream of all balls entering the field of play, once submitted it will inevitably be fed by a more chaotically-routed preceeding construction.

In order to maintain sufficient correct arrivals at exits, it may be necessary to add a method of filtering the hues.

This could just mean introducing a 'wrong hue trap' beyond any crossing point(s) that send the occasionally wrong ball back to the cross point (or let them time-out in a dead-end, relying upon few enough failures from the rest of the balls, along with all colliding balls that subsequently missed ''any'' chance of reaching an exit). Alternatively, two (or more) feeds of marbles could be fed through a deliberate 'sorter' that does a sufficiently reasonable job of separating the combined sets out towards their intended target-exits.

The various physical qualities of the balls suggest a number of methods for redirecting separate hues to separate onward journeys. This can be done by isolating a hue from every other hue, then passing on (if necessary) to a setup extracting a different one from the remainder, and perhaps also a third time. It may also be possible to merge 'arrangements' of sorting mechanics to efficiently distribute straight into three ''or even four'' onward tracks towards the desired outputs, but that is left as an exercise to the reader.


{| class="wikitable"
! style="background-color:black; color:white" | To separate !! style="background-color:lightblue" | Blue !! style="background-color:lightgreen" | Green !! style="background-color:yellow" | Yellow !! style="background-color:red" | Red
|-
! style="background-color:red" | Red
| *R/B* | '''Use 'bounce''''
The sole difference is how much balls will rebound from objects. Well managed and constrained ricochets should allow a sorting action.
| *R/G* | '''Use mass or 'bounce''''
Green balls cannot be levitated by a vertical fan. An incline across any such fan(s) will levitate only non-Greens. Green, like Blue, rebounds differently to Red. Green balls are also affected by black holes much less than all other balls.
| *R/Y* | ''See Y/B''
| *R/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
|-
! style="background-color:yellow" | Yellow
| *Y/B* | '''All methods'''
Yellow, alone, exhibits high drag against any unforced motion. It is also unique in all other ways; e.g. can be levitated highest, against all other hues (though most profoundly against Green).
| *Y/G* | ''See Y/B''
| *Y/Y* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
| *Y/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | ''See Y/B'' 
|-
! style="background-color:lightgreen" | Green
| *G/B* | '''Use mass'''
Green balls cannot be levitated by a vertical fan. There is also a not so marginal difference in density that might be exploited, such as by using black holes, which only minimally effects green.
| *G/G* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
| *G/Y* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | ''See Y/B'' 
| *G/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See R/G
|-
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Blue
| *B/B* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
| *B/G* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See G/B
| *B/Y* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See Y/B
| *B/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See R/B
|}

Even when not strictly necessary for one's own submission, once submitted into the full playing grid the player's own contribution may find itself working with less 'pure' delivered ball-streams (from an imperfectly separating feed-in contribution). It is possible that this more interactive disruption can make the new setup behave erratically or even entirely incorrectly.

It might be thought good practice (but not ''necessary'') to deliberately combine any or all inputs and do a full job of splitting them again, just in anticipation of possibly having to deal with such cross-contamination and being able to 'clean up' the onward stream(s) for the benefit of others. This would of course be particularly difficult if the isolated building-phase does not provide all four hues to 'test' against, so any speculatively added filtering would have to be added 'blind' (and only on the offchance that any anticipated incorrect balls will actually enter the arena) and without any legitimate exits to which such rejects could be shunted (therefore could accumulate, up until any 'time out' that might apply to any ball once operational as part of the combined grid).

Single-input/single-output designs might not particularly require ''any'' sorting mechanism, in theory, though the unexpected 'contamination' of the system with balls of different masses/etc could perhaps introduce malfunctioning passage from the added chaos it might succumb to.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[The placeholder image shows four balls, colored red, green, yellow and blue, bouncing on top of three white blocks. Text in the center: "[visit xkcd.com to view]"]

:[Cueball with lab coat, intro popup]
:Cueball: Balls falling into your cell should be routed to the outputs at a steady rate.

:[Cueball with lab coat, warning popup]
:Cueball: For security reasons, balls that remain in your device for more than 30 seconds will be removed and destroyed.

:[Cueball with lab coat, submit popup]
:Cueball: Congratulations! Your contraption has passed all tests. Press [submit button] to submit it to be added to the machine!

==Trivia==
*Randall acknowledges the people who helped him create this comic in a [[Header_text#Machine|comic-specific header text]].
**With 11 different involved apart from Randall this is by far the comic with most people involved.
*Some hidden keyboard shortcuts have been found:
** Follow balls: Ctrl + Alt/Option + B
** Show debug overlay: Ctrl + Shift + Cmd + D
** Delete selected item: Fn + Delete
*When Randall posted a [https://www.facebook.com/TheXKCD/posts/pfbid0Cs97awQZi1ZiaEXouAex9tXrwAS3qJV3RmAiuCq5uvZQwqZVMgDmcqJ7JU9LYodYl link to this comic] on his [https://www.facebook.com/TheXKCD Facebook feed], he directly wrote that it was a late April Fools' Day!
**MACHINE
**Happy Belated April Fool's Day!
**This thus ends any discussion of whether this should be seen as an April Fool's comic or not.
**It just came out 4 days late. This has also happened several times since [[Garden]].
[[File:2916 Machine Facebook April fools' confirmation.png]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Buns]]
[[Category:Cats]]

2916: Machine

2024-04-11T02:07:59Z

Scs: /* Other items */

{{comic
| number = 2916
| date = April 5, 2024
| title = Machine
| image = machine_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x740px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The Credible Machine
}}
* To experience the interactivity, visit the [https://xkcd.com/2916/ original comic].

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WELL OILED ROBOT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the 14th [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous April fools' comic was [[2765: Escape Speed]] from 2023, which was released on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

Once again an April Fool's Day Comic came out late, as Randall did not release this on April 1st, even though April 1st did fall on a Monday, a normal release day. It first came four days later with the Friday release on April 5th. That this is to be considered an April fools' comic, in spite of the later release, was confirmed on the xkcd Facebook page, see the [[#Trivia|trivia section]] below.

This is a spin on the game {{w|The Incredible Machine}}. The title text explicitly references this, albeit in a linguistic reversal.

Upon loading the page, you are presented with marbles being added to a box by geared wheels, with a button to open a “tool panel”. You are encouraged by Cueball to direct the marbles into a little “output” gear, and told that marbles have a lifespan of 30 seconds to reduce clutter. There are large and small boards available for use, as well as some gimmicky stuff like prisms (which deflect marbles) and fans (which blow marbles around).

The comic starts in a main screen where the user can create a {{w|Rube Goldberg machine}} in a "Cell" where the goal is to route a constant stream of colored balls from an input on the ceiling or a wall to outputs of a matching color on the walls or floor. After the comic is first opened a window pops up over the machine where Cueball in a lab coat tells you to route the balls from the inputs to the outputs. If any balls are left in your cell for more than 30 seconds, they fade away. The first time a ball fades away another popup informs you that the balls are removed for security reasons. When you have built a machine which succeeds in routing enough balls to the output, a popup will prompt you to submit your cell to be added to the public machine. Typically, inputs and outputs only accept balls of a single colour, and any balls of another colour which pass through an output will reduce the completion counter. However, some outputs accept multiple colours, indicated by a double arrow, and some inputs produce multiple colours. When the player is designing their 'machine', this will involve multiple full streams merged into one (supplied by a double-exit on the adjacent submission). Machines now working in the full grid may, however, find that their sources now contain stray balls of other types that were not handled properly, but there is no way to force a re-edit of the machine to alter its behaviour to account for this.

<gallery heights="200" widths="150">
File:2916_popup_intro.png|Introduction popup
File:2916_popup_time.png|Time limit popup
File:2916_popup_submit.png|Submission popup
</gallery>

The button in the bottom right corner brings you to a page where you can drag around to view all of the machines that have been submitted, with a title for each in the upper left corner. In this view you can see that all of the outputs are also inputs for another cell, except for the top row where the inputs come from off screen and the lowest row which output through a launcher of some kind to a set of four colored-coded containers far below. Any empty cells are marked off by yellow tape with the words "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" as well as "DJIA ↑ 31415" once in each cell. "DJIA" stands for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, with "DJIA ↑ 31415" indicating that it rose to 31415 points, 31415 being the first five digits of pi, without the period.

Whenever balls reach the bottom of the grid, they are directed towards four containers, one of each color. Most balls are accurately sent to their appropriate container, though there are some misfires. These containers are above a pit, and periodically dump their contents. Balls in the pit are subject to the same 30s culling rule as balls in the cells above. If no balls are directed towards the containers, the pit will be empty. If one or two streams of balls are making it, Cueball and Megan sit in a small boat named the USS Buoyancy, and when sufficient balls are being deposited, the boat begins to float and move. More streams of balls are likely to add more changes. Balls which miss or overspill the pit fall out of the bottom of the frame.

Under construction cells will feed balls of the appropriate colour into neighbouring cells so long as you are not looking at them. Once you scroll to look at them, the supply of balls stops and subsequent cells in the chain will not receive any; scroll away from them again and the supply will resume.

When you press submit, you will see your creation placed on the grid. However if you refresh that cell will likely be under construction or replaced with someone else's machine. However, other people's machines are consistently placed, so it appears that there is some moderation process selecting a machine for each cell out of the machines submitted by users. If your newly submitted creation is placed in the lowest row of cells, balls will be dispensed through the exit at the bottom, but there will be no launcher to propel them towards the pit, and they will vanish as they leave the exit.

The grid is 12 cells wide, and grows in height. The largest size observed so far is 12x50, for a total of 600 cells. The machine's height is determined by the lowest cell; This can be either your submitted cell, or a cell created by another user.

Imperfections in the machines (whether accidental or by design) and the impossibility of entirely avoiding collisions when crossing streams inevitably lead to significant levels of losses and pollution with the wrong colour balls. Indeed, using the follow ball trick (see Trivia) appears to show that it is quite rare for a ball to survive more than several machines without getting stuck somewhere. This implies that there is some 'creative accounting' going on to ensure that cells lower in the grid still have balls to process - simulating flow only for a few nearby cells, while assuming that those cells themselves have pure, steady inputs.

===Toolbox items===
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ List of objects
|-
! Description !! Effect !! Image
|-
| Plank || Static || [[File:2916_plank.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Hammer || Static || [[File:2916_hammer.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Sword || Static || [[File:2916_sword.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Hinged scoop || Rotates around its hinge, tries to stay horizontal with a springy effect || [[File:2916_scoop.png|frameless|upright=0.25]] [[File:2916_scoop_mirrored.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Anvil || Static || [[File:2916_anvil.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Brick || Static || [[File:2916_brick.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Fan || Blows away balls in front of it. Different colors are affected by differing amounts (yellow balls are lightest, and can be levitated above an upward-facing fan).|| [[File:2916_fan.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Pillow || Balls will not bounce if they hit it || [[File:2916_pillow.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Round bumper || Bounces balls away at significantly higher speed || [[File:2916_round_bumper.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Triangle bumper left || Bounces balls away at significantly higher speed || [[File:2916_bumper_left.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Triangle bumper right || Bounces balls away at significantly higher speed || [[File:2916_bumper_right.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Attractor/Black Hole || Pulls balls toward center, can be resized || [[File:2916_attractor.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Repulsor/White hole || Repels balls away from center, can be resized || [[File:2916_repulsor.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Prism || "Refracts" balls as they enter and exit, causing them to curve to follow the color of the ball as much as possible{{Actual citation needed|...I can believe this might have been the intent, but I've never seen any such behaviour, even when dripping combined red and blue balls in from the same incident angle on the same spot, both types seem to take whatever exit they want, unpredictable and not at all differentiated between colours.}} || [[File:2916_prism.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Wheel || Spins depending on arrow keys [right/left] pressed while selected (default:anticlockwise), deflects balls, can jam with enough resistance (e.g. glut of balls or against other elements). || [[File:2916_wheel.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| "Good job" trophy || Static || [[File:2916_trophy.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Glass cup || Static || [[File:2916_cup.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Cat || Swats away balls in front of themself (was added later) || [[File:2916_cat_new.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ Characters
|-
! Description !! Image
|-
| Ponytail with raised arms || [[File:2916_ponytail_arms.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Ponytail standing || [[File:2916_ponytail.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Cueball with raised arms || [[File:2916_cueball_arms.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| White Hat || [[File:2916_whitehat.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Knit Cap sliding, resting, or floating? || [[File:2916_knitcap_resting.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Knit Cap || [[File:2916_knitcap.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Helmet? || [[File:2916_helmet.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Probably Deterministic sign || [[File:2916_deterministic.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Squirrel || [[File:2916_squirrel.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| [[1682: Bun|Bun]] || [[File:2916_rabbit.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Cat || [[File:2916_cat.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|}

===Other items===

[[File:4d425c.png|thumb|left|150px]]

Cueball and Megan in the ''USS Buoyancy''

=== Color routing ===
The different ball colors have different physical properties. Red balls are more bouncy than other balls, green balls are heavier, and yellow balls are lighter and slightly bouncy. The following values were extracted from the code:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Color
! Mass
! Density
! Restitution (bounciness)
! Linear damping (drag)
|-
! data-sort-key="00F" | Blue
| 0.08
| 1
| 0
| 0
|-
! data-sort-key="F00" | Red
| 0.08
| 1
| 0.8
| 0
|-
! data-sort-key="0F0" | Green
| 0.75
| 9.325
| 0
| 0
|-
! data-sort-key="FF0" | Yellow
| 0.024
| 0.3
| 0.6
| 2
|}

For certain combinations of inlet and outlet 'gates', it is necessary to 'cross the streams'. e.g. to direct righthand-entry balls to a lefthand-exit and vice-versa. It is possible to just construct the field to send two (or more!) sets of balls to fly across a common gap, to land on an appropriate reception area that leads to the chosen exit. But, though this is not {{w|Proton pack#Crossing the streams|completely inadvised}}, the timing of the balls cannot be guaranteed to be in sync (or, rather, anti-sync) with each other and collisions ''will'' occur, especially under the variations of delivery that might significantly alter the ballistic path across the gap. Even if the trial machine works, in isolation with a steady stream of all balls entering the field of play, once submitted it will inevitably be fed by a more chaotically-routed preceeding construction.

In order to maintain sufficient correct arrivals at exits, it may be necessary to add a method of filtering the hues.

This could just mean introducing a 'wrong hue trap' beyond any crossing point(s) that send the occasionally wrong ball back to the cross point (or let them time-out in a dead-end, relying upon few enough failures from the rest of the balls, along with all colliding balls that subsequently missed ''any'' chance of reaching an exit). Alternatively, two (or more) feeds of marbles could be fed through a deliberate 'sorter' that does a sufficiently reasonable job of separating the combined sets out towards their intended target-exits.

The various physical qualities of the balls suggest a number of methods for redirecting separate hues to separate onward journeys. This can be done by isolating a hue from every other hue, then passing on (if necessary) to a setup extracting a different one from the remainder, and perhaps also a third time. It may also be possible to merge 'arrangements' of sorting mechanics to efficiently distribute straight into three ''or even four'' onward tracks towards the desired outputs, but that is left as an exercise to the reader.


{| class="wikitable"
! style="background-color:black; color:white" | To separate !! style="background-color:lightblue" | Blue !! style="background-color:lightgreen" | Green !! style="background-color:yellow" | Yellow !! style="background-color:red" | Red
|-
! style="background-color:red" | Red
| *R/B* | '''Use 'bounce''''
The sole difference is how much balls will rebound from objects. Well managed and constrained ricochets should allow a sorting action.
| *R/G* | '''Use mass or 'bounce''''
Green balls cannot be levitated by a vertical fan. An incline across any such fan(s) will levitate only non-Greens. Green, like Blue, rebounds differently to Red. Green balls are also affected by black holes much less than all other balls.
| *R/Y* | ''See Y/B''
| *R/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
|-
! style="background-color:yellow" | Yellow
| *Y/B* | '''All methods'''
Yellow, alone, exhibits high drag against any unforced motion. It is also unique in all other ways; e.g. can be levitated highest, against all other hues (though most profoundly against Green).
| *Y/G* | ''See Y/B''
| *Y/Y* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
| *Y/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | ''See Y/B'' 
|-
! style="background-color:lightgreen" | Green
| *G/B* | '''Use mass'''
Green balls cannot be levitated by a vertical fan. There is also a not so marginal difference in density that might be exploited, such as by using black holes, which only minimally effects green.
| *G/G* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
| *G/Y* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | ''See Y/B'' 
| *G/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See R/G
|-
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Blue
| *B/B* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
| *B/G* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See G/B
| *B/Y* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See Y/B
| *B/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See R/B
|}

Even when not strictly necessary for one's own submission, once submitted into the full playing grid the player's own contribution may find itself working with less 'pure' delivered ball-streams (from an imperfectly separating feed-in contribution). It is possible that this more interactive disruption can make the new setup behave erratically or even entirely incorrectly.

It might be thought good practice (but not ''necessary'') to deliberately combine any or all inputs and do a full job of splitting them again, just in anticipation of possibly having to deal with such cross-contamination and being able to 'clean up' the onward stream(s) for the benefit of others. This would of course be particularly difficult if the isolated building-phase does not provide all four hues to 'test' against, so any speculatively added filtering would have to be added 'blind' (and only on the offchance that any anticipated incorrect balls will actually enter the arena) and without any legitimate exits to which such rejects could be shunted (therefore could accumulate, up until any 'time out' that might apply to any ball once operational as part of the combined grid).

Single-input/single-output designs might not particularly require ''any'' sorting mechanism, in theory, though the unexpected 'contamination' of the system with balls of different masses/etc could perhaps introduce malfunctioning passage from the added chaos it might succumb to.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[The placeholder image shows four balls, colored red, green, yellow and blue, bouncing on top of three white blocks. Text in the center: "[visit xkcd.com to view]"]

:[Cueball with lab coat, intro popup]
:Cueball: Balls falling into your cell should be routed to the outputs at a steady rate.

:[Cueball with lab coat, warning popup]
:Cueball: For security reasons, balls that remain in your device for more than 30 seconds will be removed and destroyed.

:[Cueball with lab coat, submit popup]
:Cueball: Congratulations! Your contraption has passed all tests. Press [submit button] to submit it to be added to the machine!

==Trivia==
*Randall acknowledges the people who helped him create this comic in a [[Header_text#Machine|comic-specific header text]].
**With 11 different involved apart from Randall this is by far the comic with most people involved.
*Some hidden keyboard shortcuts have been found:
** Follow balls: Ctrl + Alt/Option + B
** Show debug overlay: Ctrl + Shift + Cmd + D
** Delete selected item: Fn + Delete
*When Randall posted a [https://www.facebook.com/TheXKCD/posts/pfbid0Cs97awQZi1ZiaEXouAex9tXrwAS3qJV3RmAiuCq5uvZQwqZVMgDmcqJ7JU9LYodYl link to this comic] on his [https://www.facebook.com/TheXKCD Facebook feed], he directly wrote that it was a late April Fools' Day!
**MACHINE
**Happy Belated April Fool's Day!
**This thus ends any discussion of whether this should be seen as an April Fool's comic or not.
**It just came out 4 days late. This has also happened several times since [[Garden]].
[[File:2916 Machine Facebook April fools' confirmation.png]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Buns]]
[[Category:Cats]]

2916: Machine

2024-04-11T02:06:31Z

Scs: /* Other items */ Cueball and Megan in the USS Buoyancy

{{comic
| number = 2916
| date = April 5, 2024
| title = Machine
| image = machine_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x740px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The Credible Machine
}}
* To experience the interactivity, visit the [https://xkcd.com/2916/ original comic].

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WELL OILED ROBOT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the 14th [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous April fools' comic was [[2765: Escape Speed]] from 2023, which was released on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

Once again an April Fool's Day Comic came out late, as Randall did not release this on April 1st, even though April 1st did fall on a Monday, a normal release day. It first came four days later with the Friday release on April 5th. That this is to be considered an April fools' comic, in spite of the later release, was confirmed on the xkcd Facebook page, see the [[#Trivia|trivia section]] below.

This is a spin on the game {{w|The Incredible Machine}}. The title text explicitly references this, albeit in a linguistic reversal.

Upon loading the page, you are presented with marbles being added to a box by geared wheels, with a button to open a “tool panel”. You are encouraged by Cueball to direct the marbles into a little “output” gear, and told that marbles have a lifespan of 30 seconds to reduce clutter. There are large and small boards available for use, as well as some gimmicky stuff like prisms (which deflect marbles) and fans (which blow marbles around).

The comic starts in a main screen where the user can create a {{w|Rube Goldberg machine}} in a "Cell" where the goal is to route a constant stream of colored balls from an input on the ceiling or a wall to outputs of a matching color on the walls or floor. After the comic is first opened a window pops up over the machine where Cueball in a lab coat tells you to route the balls from the inputs to the outputs. If any balls are left in your cell for more than 30 seconds, they fade away. The first time a ball fades away another popup informs you that the balls are removed for security reasons. When you have built a machine which succeeds in routing enough balls to the output, a popup will prompt you to submit your cell to be added to the public machine. Typically, inputs and outputs only accept balls of a single colour, and any balls of another colour which pass through an output will reduce the completion counter. However, some outputs accept multiple colours, indicated by a double arrow, and some inputs produce multiple colours. When the player is designing their 'machine', this will involve multiple full streams merged into one (supplied by a double-exit on the adjacent submission). Machines now working in the full grid may, however, find that their sources now contain stray balls of other types that were not handled properly, but there is no way to force a re-edit of the machine to alter its behaviour to account for this.

<gallery heights="200" widths="150">
File:2916_popup_intro.png|Introduction popup
File:2916_popup_time.png|Time limit popup
File:2916_popup_submit.png|Submission popup
</gallery>

The button in the bottom right corner brings you to a page where you can drag around to view all of the machines that have been submitted, with a title for each in the upper left corner. In this view you can see that all of the outputs are also inputs for another cell, except for the top row where the inputs come from off screen and the lowest row which output through a launcher of some kind to a set of four colored-coded containers far below. Any empty cells are marked off by yellow tape with the words "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" as well as "DJIA ↑ 31415" once in each cell. "DJIA" stands for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, with "DJIA ↑ 31415" indicating that it rose to 31415 points, 31415 being the first five digits of pi, without the period.

Whenever balls reach the bottom of the grid, they are directed towards four containers, one of each color. Most balls are accurately sent to their appropriate container, though there are some misfires. These containers are above a pit, and periodically dump their contents. Balls in the pit are subject to the same 30s culling rule as balls in the cells above. If no balls are directed towards the containers, the pit will be empty. If one or two streams of balls are making it, Cueball and Megan sit in a small boat named the USS Buoyancy, and when sufficient balls are being deposited, the boat begins to float and move. More streams of balls are likely to add more changes. Balls which miss or overspill the pit fall out of the bottom of the frame.

Under construction cells will feed balls of the appropriate colour into neighbouring cells so long as you are not looking at them. Once you scroll to look at them, the supply of balls stops and subsequent cells in the chain will not receive any; scroll away from them again and the supply will resume.

When you press submit, you will see your creation placed on the grid. However if you refresh that cell will likely be under construction or replaced with someone else's machine. However, other people's machines are consistently placed, so it appears that there is some moderation process selecting a machine for each cell out of the machines submitted by users. If your newly submitted creation is placed in the lowest row of cells, balls will be dispensed through the exit at the bottom, but there will be no launcher to propel them towards the pit, and they will vanish as they leave the exit.

The grid is 12 cells wide, and grows in height. The largest size observed so far is 12x50, for a total of 600 cells. The machine's height is determined by the lowest cell; This can be either your submitted cell, or a cell created by another user.

Imperfections in the machines (whether accidental or by design) and the impossibility of entirely avoiding collisions when crossing streams inevitably lead to significant levels of losses and pollution with the wrong colour balls. Indeed, using the follow ball trick (see Trivia) appears to show that it is quite rare for a ball to survive more than several machines without getting stuck somewhere. This implies that there is some 'creative accounting' going on to ensure that cells lower in the grid still have balls to process - simulating flow only for a few nearby cells, while assuming that those cells themselves have pure, steady inputs.

===Toolbox items===
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ List of objects
|-
! Description !! Effect !! Image
|-
| Plank || Static || [[File:2916_plank.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Hammer || Static || [[File:2916_hammer.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Sword || Static || [[File:2916_sword.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Hinged scoop || Rotates around its hinge, tries to stay horizontal with a springy effect || [[File:2916_scoop.png|frameless|upright=0.25]] [[File:2916_scoop_mirrored.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Anvil || Static || [[File:2916_anvil.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Brick || Static || [[File:2916_brick.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Fan || Blows away balls in front of it. Different colors are affected by differing amounts (yellow balls are lightest, and can be levitated above an upward-facing fan).|| [[File:2916_fan.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Pillow || Balls will not bounce if they hit it || [[File:2916_pillow.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Round bumper || Bounces balls away at significantly higher speed || [[File:2916_round_bumper.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Triangle bumper left || Bounces balls away at significantly higher speed || [[File:2916_bumper_left.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Triangle bumper right || Bounces balls away at significantly higher speed || [[File:2916_bumper_right.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Attractor/Black Hole || Pulls balls toward center, can be resized || [[File:2916_attractor.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Repulsor/White hole || Repels balls away from center, can be resized || [[File:2916_repulsor.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Prism || "Refracts" balls as they enter and exit, causing them to curve to follow the color of the ball as much as possible{{Actual citation needed|...I can believe this might have been the intent, but I've never seen any such behaviour, even when dripping combined red and blue balls in from the same incident angle on the same spot, both types seem to take whatever exit they want, unpredictable and not at all differentiated between colours.}} || [[File:2916_prism.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Wheel || Spins depending on arrow keys [right/left] pressed while selected (default:anticlockwise), deflects balls, can jam with enough resistance (e.g. glut of balls or against other elements). || [[File:2916_wheel.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| "Good job" trophy || Static || [[File:2916_trophy.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Glass cup || Static || [[File:2916_cup.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Cat || Swats away balls in front of themself (was added later) || [[File:2916_cat_new.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ Characters
|-
! Description !! Image
|-
| Ponytail with raised arms || [[File:2916_ponytail_arms.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Ponytail standing || [[File:2916_ponytail.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Cueball with raised arms || [[File:2916_cueball_arms.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| White Hat || [[File:2916_whitehat.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Knit Cap sliding, resting, or floating? || [[File:2916_knitcap_resting.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Knit Cap || [[File:2916_knitcap.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Helmet? || [[File:2916_helmet.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Probably Deterministic sign || [[File:2916_deterministic.png|frameless|upright=0.25]]
|-
| Squirrel || [[File:2916_squirrel.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| [[1682: Bun|Bun]] || [[File:2916_rabbit.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Cat || [[File:2916_cat.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|}

===Other items===

Cueball and Megan in the ''USS Buoyancy''

[[File:4d425c.png|thumb|left|150px]]

=== Color routing ===
The different ball colors have different physical properties. Red balls are more bouncy than other balls, green balls are heavier, and yellow balls are lighter and slightly bouncy. The following values were extracted from the code:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Color
! Mass
! Density
! Restitution (bounciness)
! Linear damping (drag)
|-
! data-sort-key="00F" | Blue
| 0.08
| 1
| 0
| 0
|-
! data-sort-key="F00" | Red
| 0.08
| 1
| 0.8
| 0
|-
! data-sort-key="0F0" | Green
| 0.75
| 9.325
| 0
| 0
|-
! data-sort-key="FF0" | Yellow
| 0.024
| 0.3
| 0.6
| 2
|}

For certain combinations of inlet and outlet 'gates', it is necessary to 'cross the streams'. e.g. to direct righthand-entry balls to a lefthand-exit and vice-versa. It is possible to just construct the field to send two (or more!) sets of balls to fly across a common gap, to land on an appropriate reception area that leads to the chosen exit. But, though this is not {{w|Proton pack#Crossing the streams|completely inadvised}}, the timing of the balls cannot be guaranteed to be in sync (or, rather, anti-sync) with each other and collisions ''will'' occur, especially under the variations of delivery that might significantly alter the ballistic path across the gap. Even if the trial machine works, in isolation with a steady stream of all balls entering the field of play, once submitted it will inevitably be fed by a more chaotically-routed preceeding construction.

In order to maintain sufficient correct arrivals at exits, it may be necessary to add a method of filtering the hues.

This could just mean introducing a 'wrong hue trap' beyond any crossing point(s) that send the occasionally wrong ball back to the cross point (or let them time-out in a dead-end, relying upon few enough failures from the rest of the balls, along with all colliding balls that subsequently missed ''any'' chance of reaching an exit). Alternatively, two (or more) feeds of marbles could be fed through a deliberate 'sorter' that does a sufficiently reasonable job of separating the combined sets out towards their intended target-exits.

The various physical qualities of the balls suggest a number of methods for redirecting separate hues to separate onward journeys. This can be done by isolating a hue from every other hue, then passing on (if necessary) to a setup extracting a different one from the remainder, and perhaps also a third time. It may also be possible to merge 'arrangements' of sorting mechanics to efficiently distribute straight into three ''or even four'' onward tracks towards the desired outputs, but that is left as an exercise to the reader.


{| class="wikitable"
! style="background-color:black; color:white" | To separate !! style="background-color:lightblue" | Blue !! style="background-color:lightgreen" | Green !! style="background-color:yellow" | Yellow !! style="background-color:red" | Red
|-
! style="background-color:red" | Red
| *R/B* | '''Use 'bounce''''
The sole difference is how much balls will rebound from objects. Well managed and constrained ricochets should allow a sorting action.
| *R/G* | '''Use mass or 'bounce''''
Green balls cannot be levitated by a vertical fan. An incline across any such fan(s) will levitate only non-Greens. Green, like Blue, rebounds differently to Red. Green balls are also affected by black holes much less than all other balls.
| *R/Y* | ''See Y/B''
| *R/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
|-
! style="background-color:yellow" | Yellow
| *Y/B* | '''All methods'''
Yellow, alone, exhibits high drag against any unforced motion. It is also unique in all other ways; e.g. can be levitated highest, against all other hues (though most profoundly against Green).
| *Y/G* | ''See Y/B''
| *Y/Y* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
| *Y/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | ''See Y/B'' 
|-
! style="background-color:lightgreen" | Green
| *G/B* | '''Use mass'''
Green balls cannot be levitated by a vertical fan. There is also a not so marginal difference in density that might be exploited, such as by using black holes, which only minimally effects green.
| *G/G* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
| *G/Y* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | ''See Y/B'' 
| *G/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See R/G
|-
! style="background-color:lightblue" | Blue
| *B/B* style="text-align: center; background-color:black; color:white" | n/a
| *B/G* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See G/B
| *B/Y* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See Y/B
| *B/R* style="text-align: center; background-color:gray" | See R/B
|}

Even when not strictly necessary for one's own submission, once submitted into the full playing grid the player's own contribution may find itself working with less 'pure' delivered ball-streams (from an imperfectly separating feed-in contribution). It is possible that this more interactive disruption can make the new setup behave erratically or even entirely incorrectly.

It might be thought good practice (but not ''necessary'') to deliberately combine any or all inputs and do a full job of splitting them again, just in anticipation of possibly having to deal with such cross-contamination and being able to 'clean up' the onward stream(s) for the benefit of others. This would of course be particularly difficult if the isolated building-phase does not provide all four hues to 'test' against, so any speculatively added filtering would have to be added 'blind' (and only on the offchance that any anticipated incorrect balls will actually enter the arena) and without any legitimate exits to which such rejects could be shunted (therefore could accumulate, up until any 'time out' that might apply to any ball once operational as part of the combined grid).

Single-input/single-output designs might not particularly require ''any'' sorting mechanism, in theory, though the unexpected 'contamination' of the system with balls of different masses/etc could perhaps introduce malfunctioning passage from the added chaos it might succumb to.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[The placeholder image shows four balls, colored red, green, yellow and blue, bouncing on top of three white blocks. Text in the center: "[visit xkcd.com to view]"]

:[Cueball with lab coat, intro popup]
:Cueball: Balls falling into your cell should be routed to the outputs at a steady rate.

:[Cueball with lab coat, warning popup]
:Cueball: For security reasons, balls that remain in your device for more than 30 seconds will be removed and destroyed.

:[Cueball with lab coat, submit popup]
:Cueball: Congratulations! Your contraption has passed all tests. Press [submit button] to submit it to be added to the machine!

==Trivia==
*Randall acknowledges the people who helped him create this comic in a [[Header_text#Machine|comic-specific header text]].
**With 11 different involved apart from Randall this is by far the comic with most people involved.
*Some hidden keyboard shortcuts have been found:
** Follow balls: Ctrl + Alt/Option + B
** Show debug overlay: Ctrl + Shift + Cmd + D
** Delete selected item: Fn + Delete
*When Randall posted a [https://www.facebook.com/TheXKCD/posts/pfbid0Cs97awQZi1ZiaEXouAex9tXrwAS3qJV3RmAiuCq5uvZQwqZVMgDmcqJ7JU9LYodYl link to this comic] on his [https://www.facebook.com/TheXKCD Facebook feed], he directly wrote that it was a late April Fools' Day!
**MACHINE
**Happy Belated April Fool's Day!
**This thus ends any discussion of whether this should be seen as an April Fool's comic or not.
**It just came out 4 days late. This has also happened several times since [[Garden]].
[[File:2916 Machine Facebook April fools' confirmation.png]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Buns]]
[[Category:Cats]]

File:4d425c.png

2024-04-11T01:59:31Z

Scs: Cueball and Megan in the "USS Buoyancy", as seen in the bottom part of comic 2916.

== Summary ==
Cueball and Megan in the "USS Buoyancy", as seen in the bottom part of comic 2916.
== Licensing ==
{{XKCD file}}

Talk:2916: Machine

2024-04-10T18:37:50Z

Scs: add hdg

rather late for an april fools comic innit? also there doesn't seem to be anything exciting in this one lol, none of the usual cool exploration easter eggs, as far as i could tell at least [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.76|172.71.178.76]] 16:41, 6 April 2024 (UTC)Erfaniom
:Randall posted an eclipse comic on Apr. 1. All April Fools comics are interactive. [[User:Z1mp0st0rz|Z1mp0st0rz]] ([[User talk:Z1mp0st0rz|talk]]) 15:27, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

: We're exploring crowdsourced human creativity here, in a way, so it can be a lot more interesting then Randall's exploration comics, at least for me, because i did take two years of GCSE psychology and enjoyed it. [[Special:Contributions/172.64.238.130|172.64.238.130]]

: looks like the egg's on my face lmao, i think i was among the first people to make anything, so everywhere was under construction for me, i didn't even understand that it was like a crowd thing [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.52|172.70.210.52]] 14:19, 9 April 2024 (UTC)Erfaniom

Just popped over using Chrome on Android and all I see is four "missing picture" logos spinning around, plus another down the bottom right... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.193|141.101.68.193]] 18:13, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Okay, followup: it behaves quite differently on the non mobile site. You get two entry points with red balls and yellow balls and you need to place the various gizmos to direct the balls to the correct exit point. Once enough have correctly passed to turn the red X into a green tick, you have the option to submit. If you do, once you have named your design it will be added to the grid with other submissions all of which exist to push red and yellow balls around. (if you come across "Memories of Ragnarok", that's mine) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.207|172.71.134.207]] 18:27, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
::The number of inputs appears to vary between 1 and 4, each of a different color, with one color-coded output for each. [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

On the "machine" section, you see lots of "under construction cells". Perhaps this will develop as more are submitted. I notice the "under construction tape" has "DJIA" and "31415", perhaps a reference to "dow jones industrial average" and the first five digits of pi. [[User:Zeimusu|Zeimusu]] ([[User talk:Zeimusu|talk]]) 18:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Whenever someone submits a cell, it fills in one of the under construction cells. [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
[Robert'); DROP TABLE Student!:;--] i just got a machine with 3 outputs one yellow another red and a third blue AND green and 3 inputs one green one blue and one red blue and yellow https://xkcd.com/2916/#xt=7&yt=50 hope its still there {{unsigned ip|172.70.115.173|18:01, 9 April 2024}}
:I think I just 'did' one with a Red+Yellow source (also separate singular Blue and Green) and a combined Blue+Green sink (and separate Yellow and Red). Got it working well, actually using fan-levitation to separate the R+Y enough to route them to their destinations, the Y then having to cross the occasional flying Green (which I was forced to "Bonk" and bounce up, entry being nearly at the bottom on right, exit being nearly at top on left) for its exit, everything else fairly simple. No idea if it got integrated, of course. Never seen any of my machines be accepted (when I later look around at what's there), so I'm still unsure if there's anything I can do to increase my chance of a successful square being made permanent on the grid.... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 20:58, 9 April 2024 (UTC)
:...still had it sitting there [https://imgur.com/kZdp3kH on my browser], though note that the Red+Yellow supply (mid-left) and the Green supply (right) aren't working here, through the "move the screen around, lose the feeds from 'Under Construction' squares" issue, or similar. But still I managed to submit it. The occasional Yellow and Red are falling from the Blue entrance in the top (I've not done anything special to filter those out/send them to a more proper exit, and it's too late to do so now anyway, it was just a Blue entry during the development process, of course).
:It's a pity you can't see it working, but I quite like my Yellow/Red separation. This might be the only time you see it in place, though, so a shame I didn't take a screenshot immedediately after submitting it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 21:30, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

I wanted to add an image for each object, but do not have the necessary access, can someone who has access add the images that I linked in the table so they can be included? [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

I found a discussion with some guy talking about the API at https://euphoria.leet.nu/room/xkcd/ ; this could be useful for the wiki.

<code>
[c+1] now time to try fucking with the api
[c+1] https://incredible.xkcd.com/
[userwithnoaccount] 404
[c+1] it seems there are numbered machines under incredible.xkcd.com/machine/x
[c+1] returns a grid of individual machinlets
[c+1] which are uids like 3a7af27c-5389-5dcb-b660-3feab6be2ceb
[c+1] they're stored at urls like incredible.xkcd.com/folio/3a7af27c-5389-5dcb-b660-3feab6be2ceb
[c+1] there appear to be 33 machines total
[c+1] the json it returns seems to refer to these as "versions"
[c+1] $ curl -s https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/21 | jq ".version"
21
[c+1] there is a machine/0, but it's all null
[c+1] going to https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/current redirects to the current machine
[c+1] $ curl -sL https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/current | jq ".version"
35
[c+1] wait, is that the *total* number of mahcines?
[c+1] i would've thought there'd be more
[c+1] this whole think is rather esoteric
[c+1] Written in rust, too: https://rapier.rs/
[c+1] Uh oh.
https://i.hypercone.us/?v=8e283d
[c+1] HMMM
https://i.hypercone.us/?v=079f8f
[c+1] it seems there is no limit
[c+1] i've uploaded a ~50M title
</code>

[[Special:Contributions/172.70.57.146|172.70.57.146]]

Had quite a lot of fun, added a few 'successful' machines to the grid. Noted that whenever I try to use the Prism that (after a short delay) the comic-pane blanks and I need to refresh the page/get a completely new 'challenge' to start from scratch, so I'm just not using the prism at all (used most of the other items, in combination or 'just the one across the whole board', whichever seems most fun). But it doesn't seem to do what I'd like it to do, which is sort multiple colours from the same inflow into different outflow directions. Which would be ''very'' useful in a 'crossroads' situation, the general solution of directing them cross-path being too prone to random collisions. Also might be useful in the 'submitted machine grid', as I note that errors propagate, whereas adding a filter on all inputs would clean out (dispose of/send off to a valid gate?) the rogue balls. Anyway, gonna have to come back to this later when there's more time... Maybe then I'll even have something useful to add to the Explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 19:03, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

The balls appear to be different weights. I just saw a machine that used fans to separate yellows from greens and blues in a sort of 'wheat from the chaff' manner to direct them to their correct outputs. I wonder what other hidden tricks are included. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.1.159|172.68.1.159]] 19:40, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

They're not all accepted, though it makes you think they are. Or something else more complex is going on we haven't realized yet. I made a machine that was working reliably, submitted it, and saw it on the overall grid. Reloading from a different browser I found the same location of the machine, with the same surroundings, but my machine had been replaced. It's nowhere else on the grid either. The first browser still shows it (but not after a reload with a cache clear). I'm not sure if there's some kind of "save" event that needs to happen beyond seeing your machine in the broader one, or if all user collaboration is an illusion, or if the system changes its mind about us somehow.

: Yeah, i've been seeing this too. Please tell me if you find any of my machines, images at https://i.hypercone.us/?v=22d562 , https://i.hypercone.us/?v=ad8e3a , and https://i.hypercone.us/?v=8d4d6a . I want to be one of the few to have added Catalan and Spanish to the grid. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.164|172.71.134.164]] 20:56, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

I've added some more observations to the page. Also, a guess which is too uncertain to put on the main page: The ball launcher for the yellows on the far left side misses a lot, and the yellow container isn't the one on the left. So I think the whole machine with crossing streams will result in the colors being sorted in their container order, and possibly have the streams combined and deposited at the bottom just above the containers. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.147.100|172.71.147.100]] 21:07, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

has anyone seen the boat at the very bottom? [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 21:21, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

trying to see it on Firefox for Ubuntu and it just tells me to "visit xkcd.com to view" - THAT'S WHERE I AM?! Tried clearing website data (but not my entire cache) and that didn't help. Is there something I'm missing?

Oooh, just had one with four ball-entries (four colours) and ''three'' exits (one caters for two arrows). Pity it's rather complicated to get entries to exits (even if I can merge two of the streams). Might have to give up on it, but I'd like to have seen how it fits in with the 'submited grid'. i.e. someone else gets a two-colour introduction spot. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.119|162.158.74.119]] 22:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Me again. I'm just refreshing the page, looking at the pattern of entries/exits (just a dozen or so screens in, getting some repeats of pattern, indicating that it's going back to tiles it was suggesting before, probably depends on how many others are contributing and extending...)
:Found another 'double-colour' example. Two yellows ''from the same side'', which probably means that there's a two-yellows been asked to exit from the neighbour (will check shortly).
:Quickly adapting from my spreadsheet notation, "R, Y, G, B" in order, each "(Entry, Exit)", I've been using <dir> of L/R/T/B and a number (nominally percentage, though seems to include only values of 20, 30, 50, 70 and 80, so it ''might'' be more 1/6..5/6?) relating to the distance along from L to R (for T/B) or T to B (for L/R).
:This line is therefore (0,0)(L20+L70,R30+B70)(R80,L80)(T70,L50) ... no reds, two yellow pairings, a red pairing, a blue pairing. Would require at least two path-crossings (but I was going to calculate those things later, and double-colours might confuse my intended simple line-intersection calculation).
:...anyway, spent some time on this message, which might mean I'll get into a 'new batch' of available patterns as people have succeeded some of the challenges that I've been 'swiping left'. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 19:28, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:...very next click: (0,0)(T30+L20,R20+R70)(R80,L80)(R50,B50), which is clearly the actual left-neighbour of the above. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.19|172.70.162.19]] 19:32, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:Ok, stopped my refreshing to [https://imgur.com/a/OMFOmzy 'solve' a screen]. First of all I routed both yellows entries (right-upper and upper-right) to one yellow exit (middle-left) and gradually teased the greens across (lower-left to middle-right), as that way I was avoiding a criss-cross of balls, but the the other yellow exit (left-lower) was, of course, invalid.
:Changed it to drop one stream of yellows down towards the lower exit, across the rapidly firing greens (added a fan to filter away the occasional yellow that gets bounced over there, not much of an opportunity to filter falling-greens out of the yellow exit, so apologies to whoever gets the sceen below). Submited as "Two Yellows, One Green!", whether or not that'll save (apparently, I should continue to contribute and not refresh/close, or else the server will not keep the solution?).
:Interestingly, all four adjacent tiles are "Under construction", and if I scroll up... *DARN* the comic has blanked out (nothing there between the upper PREV/RANDOM/NEXT buttons and the lower ones, just whitespace). This may mean that it did not save. This is the kind of 'page crash' I get when I try using a Prism or get too many balls rattling around on top of a Black Hole. Perhaps it doesn't like that I'm scrolling into an Under Construction that shouldn't be there? (But then, why ''is'' it there?)
:Anyway, all extra information for everyone.
:I'll just refresh the page and go back and do some more entry/exit mapping, maybe? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 20:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

If you combine a bunch of these silly claw things in the middle by just spamming it, it begins to lag and do some chaotic collisions, even without balls colliding on it. It's curious how it does that seemingly randomly though. I wonder how calculations are added and if there's a tiny sprinkle of RNG. (Also, errors occur and say something about damaging recursion in the Rust programming language, so I guess we know how it was made. It's also pretty weird how there's not a lot of opening combinations? It's possible that the machine loops over in chunks of gears or something (that's what I'll call them). ([[User talk:Leo|talk]]) 13:15, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

If you place a black hole in the centre of a wheel, it makes the wheel behave unpredictably between resets. Sometimes it's almost normal, sometimes it's a lot faster than usual, and sometimes it's stopped but launches balls that touch it with extreme force. I was able to use this to submit a machine which didn't actually let a single ball through after being submitted. https://i.hypercone.us/?v=928bcd [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.149|162.158.33.149]] 01:19, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

The page says that (and I have taken note of) the ball hue is ''coded'' to certain values, but is there a logic to those values that might be derived from the colour (either as RGB triplet or HSV/other colourspace definition). For example, the two ball-types with zero green component in their makeup are 'unit density' (green is far heavier "green+red" is far lighter, so it's not a simple relationship, unless it converts from °hue, in some way) and the only secondary colour exhibits non-zero drag. There's the possibility that it just derived from "we need different properties, we need different colours, we have no reason to connect either with other deliberately" or even some non-mathematical symbology (fire=red, water=blue(?), earth=green, air(/sunlight?)=yellow). But it makes me wonder what combination of properties cyan/magenta balls might have, if added. (Or is the choice of those four colours constrained, anyway? Though R/G colorblindness is already something of an accessibility failure, if anyone suffers that.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.205|172.69.194.205]] 17:02, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[https://pastebin.com/7PAiLnyF Python script to get the URL and title of each Cell in the current machine]

[https://pastebin.com/xBhywGde Result of running that script at the moment] (encoded with ROT13 because pastebin wouldn't let me save it otherwise)
:has anybody at all whatsoever been able to find their creation using this API? [[User:Bellydrum|Bellydrum]] ([[User talk:Bellydrum|talk]]) 21:58, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[https://pastebin.com/jN5MP2za Result of running that script on the first 42 machines], at least on these it looks like the only difference is that one cell is added each time? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.99.195|172.71.99.195]] 17:22, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

I've submitted four now, none of which was accepted. I tend to spend a lot of time getting them just right. Any hints as to what the acceptance criteria might be? Or do I just stink at this?
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.59.204|172.69.59.204]] 19:47, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

There appears to be a new object: a cat that bats things that touch it.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.214.39|172.69.214.39]] 20:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

Is anyone else experiencing the bug where prisms cause the comic to disappear (leaving only the white background where it was) after a while? It makes viewing the whole machine basically impossible. (On further testing it appears to be firefox-exclusive.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.38|172.70.162.38]] 20:31, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:I've had the "Prisms break things" from the beginning (before any practical content). As in, trying to use them in a design breaks things. But I ''did'' glance upon their occasional use in the 'view submissions grid'. Right now I'm suffering from "white only" issue (see my "multi-yellow" accounts, above). I ''am'' using Firefox, if that's indeed relevant to this issue, but right now I'm not near any other up-to-date browser I care to use. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:I'm getting the same issue with black holes (which probably makes more sense - put a black hole there and you'd expect everything else to disappear :o) - except that on one occasion I was able to put about 6 black holes in before the 7th one vanished everything.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.121|172.69.194.121]] 09:15, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Has anyone seen their own cell in the machine at all yet? A manual approval system is probably necessary for obvious reasons, but if so it does seem to be moving quite slowly.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.65.24|172.69.65.24]] 02:58, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

How on earth is everyone seeing different parts of the grid? If I request "view machine" I can only see my own square, and the edges of everyone elses. Nothing else, definitely not all of the machine. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.64.149|172.68.64.149]] 21:11, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::You should be able to click and drag the view around. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.54|172.71.242.54]] 21:41, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Whoever designed the room entirely full of fans is evil - every time I scroll near it my entire browser freezes up and becomes unresponsive. And then the comic usually blanks.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.81|172.69.194.81]] 08:23, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Level scrolling bug ==

When one views the whole machine, and scrolls down far enough, everything just disappears, and the comic is completely unresponsive. Has anyone else seen this? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.236.152|198.41.236.152]] 20:38, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:I'm now seeing the same issue, I wasn't before. (I'm using Chrome) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 21:06, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

::A hard refresh appears to have fixed this for me (same person as above). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.101|141.101.99.101]] 10:28, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

:I've been having this issue as well (I'm using firefox). Opening the site in Edge instead seemed to work around it for me, so it might only affect Firefox (and derivatives). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:27, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
::See also the 'firefox bug' comments currently immediately above this section. (Please don't ask me to start Edge up, I hate it, won't use it any more than the system requires me to...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:Update - I did a hard refresh so I could play around with the new additions and I'm no longer encountering the bug, even on firefox. I think the "white screen" bug is fixed now and you just need to hard-refresh to download the fixed JS instead of using the cached one. (same person as 172.70.163.31 and 172.70.162.38) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.16|172.70.86.16]] 11:16, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

==New Category: Ball Pit?==

What do you think about a new category for comics with [[ball pits]]? [[150]], [[219]], [[485]], [[498]], [[2916]]? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.229|162.158.134.229]] 21:50, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[[Category:Playpen balls]] already exists.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.133|172.70.174.133]] 17:35, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Prism Use? ==

Can the prism be used to sort balls by color? (or in any other way that is useful and different?) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.61|172.68.34.61]] 12:11, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:From what I've seen, no. Though may be ''extremely'' susceptible to incident angle. As far as my own use has been, they seem to randomise the trajectory (possibly also do a total-internal-reflection, I've had balls bounce around and exit at ''really'' weird angles), but it's hard to collimate a feed of balls into a single exact track, even straight down from a ceiling-feed (if you have a ceiling feed directly over the floor exit, lucky you, it'll still occasionally perturb balls off to the sides just enough to be bounced out as a gate-miss, unless you add 'funnel' architecture of one kind or another). Oh, and when balls do a lot of 'internal bouncing' it often forced me to reload the comic (overloaded the physics engine?), so could not continue to tweak the same design.
:On the other hand, perhaps this was the ''intent'', and just code/browser failings made it work erratically. Maybe would be an idea to go back and retest for this (anybody who can), do a little !!science!! to be recorded and explained on the page. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.183|172.69.43.183]] 12:51, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:So, ive did some testing and found..nothing. i ''did'' find some uses for the prism though. Like outting them diagonally makes the balls follow a "path", speeding up more and more (not really that great but it works with yellows), and that any ball hitting the left edge will try to go the the right edge. Not sure what else it can do, though. [[User:Begocc|Begocc]] ([[User talk:Begocc|talk]]) 09:35, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
::I did some thorough testing on a combined Red/Blue set of balls (carefully managed so that they were dropping into the target area as similarly as possible) and both rotated and moved the prism in various ways to check for any effects - like needing to enter parallel/perpendicular to the colour-bands, either to land on the 'target band' or start to pass across it, with the band then either facilitating or angling its 'fall through'. (Just visually checked, at first, then later adding 'buckets' below and to the sides, to try to catch balls departing on various trajectories in various 'clumps' making note of any that hit the 'bucket'-boundaries and bounced off elsewhere.)
::I found no significant sorting, and some balls would jitter around so much (within the prism) that they even launched almost straight back up where they came from (less poerfully than a Bonk-buffered ball, but not far off - also not reliable enough to use as a ball-elevator).
::In my experience, Yellow-sorting is easy (even against Blue and/or Red) by other means. Green is the easiest to have everything else sorted ''from'' (because it resists the fan method). The hardest to unmix are Reds from Blues, which one might think ''should'' be the most prism-differentiated but I'm afraid I just can't invoke that. Easier to have them fall a long way then bounce off a suitable bit of 'furniture', I can then get them to distribute ''fairly'' distinctly in two handy recepticles/onward-feed-hoppers, though it does need some careful placement of items to do it justice. It appears that none of my designs have made it to the 'public wall', but I have made a submitable machine or two that does such sorting sufficiently successfully to send it out (theoretically) to be seen. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.30|172.70.163.30]] 11:38, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== Bugs and Exploits ==

You can use a sword to break the physics on the hinge thingy and create your very own "magnetic hill": https://imgur.com/a/IRZ0AlL [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.108|162.158.134.108]] 13:02, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:Hard to tell from that what other fans (perhaps) you've got completely off-clip.
:Those hinge-thingies can definitely be shifted by horizontal (outwith ball-weight pressures), but I've not found them to be reliable components as the "Stop" button (ball reset) seems to let those 'hinges' slring back to level, which might need a re-reset by moving them back past the thing that's holding them off-level.
:I have tried a few things with them:
:*'Ticker' mechanism, almost like a clock escapement, nudged by the rotating 'waterwheel', perhaps to try to release balls through a stream of other balls whilst keeping the path clear of collisions for each set, in turn.
:*'Batch dumper', accumulating a number of balls (above the 'hinge', behind a vertical bulkhead) until there's weight enough to 'open the hatch' and roll them out. (Again, an attempt to reduce collisions, by clumping batches together).
:*Finely configured inclines, by shoving something up into a free end of hinge with better angular resolution (but, as mentioned, this doesn't seem to want to 'hold', so probably would fail upon submission).
:...I had wondered if there was supposed to be a "falling anvil creates a catapult/ballista" idea behind the piece, but we don't ''have'' falling anvils (and definitely not in a repeating manner), and ball-powered catapult (esssentially "clown/acrobat jumps on one end of seesaw, clown/acrobat on other end flies up into the air") also doesn't seem practical.
:I'll try to recreate ''your'' design, work out if there's anything new about it, but right now looks like it's a fan-powered incline-raiser. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.38|172.70.162.38]] 14:23, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:: No fans! Here's a wider view: https://imgur.com/a/xPJcsor
:: It survives the reset, because the balls falling on the lever push it down to the sword and it gets stuck there every time. But you need to place the sword just right to make the gravity bug happen. And even then it depends on the number of balls in some ways. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.243.27|172.68.243.27]] 14:46, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::: I've replicated the "tip of sword grabs the 'hinge'" thing, which is very interesting, but not the anti-gravity effect. The movement still seems ''to me'' more like a fan's 'area of effect' thing, than a wonky sense of gravity, the way that the balls are rolling/resisting/interacting with each other. No, I can't see where you've 'hidden' the fan (and I'm sure that fans can't act across submission-grid-boundaries, which was my next guess), so it's a bit of a funny thing that you've got there. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 21:35, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

On occasion, two balls will fall from the containers as a pair, as if glued together. When this happens, they float down as if under much lower gravity, and then suddenly explode violently away from each other.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 10:56, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== The USS Buoyancy ==

Guys. The Buoyancy. She ''floats''. When all four sets of balls reach the ball pit there aren't further additions. The boat starts floating on them. I've been watching it for a while. It seems she moves left and will probably end up escaping the ball pit. [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 20:44, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:Update: A new row spawned in and it reset just before the Buoyancy could escape. Here's a screenshot I grabbed a while before the reset, she'd moved further left by the time the reset occurred. https://imgur.com/gallery/8UCASCu [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 20:51, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

== Added key combinations, found in source ==

ctrl+alt+b
ctrl+shift+option+d
wheel: arrow keys

: Can you clarify what "option" is? I have tried alt, function, and "operating system", and none are doing it.

== Fixed Number of Possible Machinelets? ==

I was resetting my browser to try and find new machinelet configurations, but there seem to be fewer and fewer as the game progresses. Hypothesis: the 'under construction' machinelets are set, and once one of them gets approved and added to the grid, that specific configuration of entrances/exits can't show up again.

== Advanced components? ==

How does one get access to the full set of components to build from? I'm only given planks, mallets, swords, scoops, anvils, bricks and fans. I never get any pillows, bumpers, cats, stick figures et cetera. Do they need to be "unlocked" through some achievement, or what? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.102|162.158.222.102]] 11:04, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

This caught me for a while as well. I have since discovered that the tool box has a scroll bar and can be scrolled down; that's where the others are hiding.
::Invisible scrollbars – every GUI obfuscator's favorite tool for making users' lives harder. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.142|162.158.222.142]] 18:17, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Limit of 100 components? ==

Has anyone else seen this? At some point I started getting a count "95 / 100" towards the bottom of the toolbar. When it hits "100 / 100" the rest of the toolbar greys out, and I can't add anything more. (I suppose the physics engine has to keep a ceiling on the number of possible interactions between components.) —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 11:53, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== uss boyancy ==

Why have i not been seeing any uss boyancy [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.122|172.70.110.122]] 14:04, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

Haha I dare you to go to https://xkcd.com/2916/#xt=7&yt=57 and stare at the two black holes next to eachother >:) [[User:Z1mp0st0rz|Z1mp0st0rz]] ([[User talk:Z1mp0st0rz|talk]]) 15:27, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== Build a "working" machine from parts? ==

Has anyone started working on this idea:

Since any given machine segment seems to be saved, even if not in the final result, *and* since these segments are failing when combined in the whole, how about a "really working" machine that starts replacing failing segments when they jam or otherwise fail to work in the real machine?

The idea being something like, start the machine. Watch the top row, and see where the parts are failing to pass balls properly after two minutes. Replace the segments that are failing/jaming/etc, and let the new part process balls.

As you work your way down, over about 2 hours at the current size, you will eventually get a machine that properly sends balls down to the bottom, without jamming, without having to "pretend" that off-screen parts are working.

I mean, it's not like a gigantic, 600 segment machine will overflow memory on modern 32gb systems, nor consume so much power that these big huge CPU's will fail, right?

[[User:Keybounce|Keybounce]] ([[User talk:Keybounce|talk]]) 17:41, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
ps.: Why do white holes, black holes, prisms, etc, cause problems on some machines like mine and not others?

Talk:2916: Machine

2024-04-10T11:55:31Z

Scs: /* Limit of 100 components? */

rather late for an april fools comic innit? also there doesn't seem to be anything exciting in this one lol, none of the usual cool exploration easter eggs, as far as i could tell at least [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.76|172.71.178.76]] 16:41, 6 April 2024 (UTC)Erfaniom

: We're exploring crowdsourced human creativity here, in a way, so it can be a lot more interesting then Randall's exploration comics, at least for me, because i did take two years of GCSE psychology and enjoyed it. [[Special:Contributions/172.64.238.130|172.64.238.130]]

: looks like the egg's on my face lmao, i think i was among the first people to make anything, so everywhere was under construction for me, i didn't even understand that it was like a crowd thing [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.52|172.70.210.52]] 14:19, 9 April 2024 (UTC)Erfaniom

Just popped over using Chrome on Android and all I see is four "missing picture" logos spinning around, plus another down the bottom right... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.193|141.101.68.193]] 18:13, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Okay, followup: it behaves quite differently on the non mobile site. You get two entry points with red balls and yellow balls and you need to place the various gizmos to direct the balls to the correct exit point. Once enough have correctly passed to turn the red X into a green tick, you have the option to submit. If you do, once you have named your design it will be added to the grid with other submissions all of which exist to push red and yellow balls around. (if you come across "Memories of Ragnarok", that's mine) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.207|172.71.134.207]] 18:27, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
::The number of inputs appears to vary between 1 and 4, each of a different color, with one color-coded output for each. [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

On the "machine" section, you see lots of "under construction cells". Perhaps this will develop as more are submitted. I notice the "under construction tape" has "DJIA" and "31415", perhaps a reference to "dow jones industrial average" and the first five digits of pi. [[User:Zeimusu|Zeimusu]] ([[User talk:Zeimusu|talk]]) 18:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Whenever someone submits a cell, it fills in one of the under construction cells. [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
[Robert'); DROP TABLE Student!:;--] i just got a machine with 3 outputs one yellow another red and a third blue AND green and 3 inputs one green one blue and one red blue and yellow https://xkcd.com/2916/#xt=7&yt=50 hope its still there {{unsigned ip|172.70.115.173|18:01, 9 April 2024}}
:I think I just 'did' one with a Red+Yellow source (also separate singular Blue and Green) and a combined Blue+Green sink (and separate Yellow and Red). Got it working well, actually using fan-levitation to separate the R+Y enough to route them to their destinations, the Y then having to cross the occasional flying Green (which I was forced to "Bonk" and bounce up, entry being nearly at the bottom on right, exit being nearly at top on left) for its exit, everything else fairly simple. No idea if it got integrated, of course. Never seen any of my machines be accepted (when I later look around at what's there), so I'm still unsure if there's anything I can do to increase my chance of a successful square being made permanent on the grid.... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 20:58, 9 April 2024 (UTC)
:...still had it sitting there [https://imgur.com/kZdp3kH on my browser], though note that the Red+Yellow supply (mid-left) and the Green supply (right) aren't working here, through the "move the screen around, lose the feeds from 'Under Construction' squares" issue, or similar. But still I managed to submit it. The occasional Yellow and Red are falling from the Blue entrance in the top (I've not done anything special to filter those out/send them to a more proper exit, and it's too late to do so now anyway, it was just a Blue entry during the development process, of course).
:It's a pity you can't see it working, but I quite like my Yellow/Red separation. This might be the only time you see it in place, though, so a shame I didn't take a screenshot immedediately after submitting it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 21:30, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

I wanted to add an image for each object, but do not have the necessary access, can someone who has access add the images that I linked in the table so they can be included? [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

I found a discussion with some guy talking about the API at https://euphoria.leet.nu/room/xkcd/ ; this could be useful for the wiki.

<code>
[c+1] now time to try fucking with the api
[c+1] https://incredible.xkcd.com/
[userwithnoaccount] 404
[c+1] it seems there are numbered machines under incredible.xkcd.com/machine/x
[c+1] returns a grid of individual machinlets
[c+1] which are uids like 3a7af27c-5389-5dcb-b660-3feab6be2ceb
[c+1] they're stored at urls like incredible.xkcd.com/folio/3a7af27c-5389-5dcb-b660-3feab6be2ceb
[c+1] there appear to be 33 machines total
[c+1] the json it returns seems to refer to these as "versions"
[c+1] $ curl -s https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/21 | jq ".version"
21
[c+1] there is a machine/0, but it's all null
[c+1] going to https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/current redirects to the current machine
[c+1] $ curl -sL https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/current | jq ".version"
35
[c+1] wait, is that the *total* number of mahcines?
[c+1] i would've thought there'd be more
[c+1] this whole think is rather esoteric
[c+1] Written in rust, too: https://rapier.rs/
[c+1] Uh oh.
https://i.hypercone.us/?v=8e283d
[c+1] HMMM
https://i.hypercone.us/?v=079f8f
[c+1] it seems there is no limit
[c+1] i've uploaded a ~50M title
</code>

[[Special:Contributions/172.70.57.146|172.70.57.146]]

Had quite a lot of fun, added a few 'successful' machines to the grid. Noted that whenever I try to use the Prism that (after a short delay) the comic-pane blanks and I need to refresh the page/get a completely new 'challenge' to start from scratch, so I'm just not using the prism at all (used most of the other items, in combination or 'just the one across the whole board', whichever seems most fun). But it doesn't seem to do what I'd like it to do, which is sort multiple colours from the same inflow into different outflow directions. Which would be ''very'' useful in a 'crossroads' situation, the general solution of directing them cross-path being too prone to random collisions. Also might be useful in the 'submitted machine grid', as I note that errors propagate, whereas adding a filter on all inputs would clean out (dispose of/send off to a valid gate?) the rogue balls. Anyway, gonna have to come back to this later when there's more time... Maybe then I'll even have something useful to add to the Explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 19:03, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

The balls appear to be different weights. I just saw a machine that used fans to separate yellows from greens and blues in a sort of 'wheat from the chaff' manner to direct them to their correct outputs. I wonder what other hidden tricks are included. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.1.159|172.68.1.159]] 19:40, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

They're not all accepted, though it makes you think they are. Or something else more complex is going on we haven't realized yet. I made a machine that was working reliably, submitted it, and saw it on the overall grid. Reloading from a different browser I found the same location of the machine, with the same surroundings, but my machine had been replaced. It's nowhere else on the grid either. The first browser still shows it (but not after a reload with a cache clear). I'm not sure if there's some kind of "save" event that needs to happen beyond seeing your machine in the broader one, or if all user collaboration is an illusion, or if the system changes its mind about us somehow.

: Yeah, i've been seeing this too. Please tell me if you find any of my machines, images at https://i.hypercone.us/?v=22d562 , https://i.hypercone.us/?v=ad8e3a , and https://i.hypercone.us/?v=8d4d6a . I want to be one of the few to have added Catalan and Spanish to the grid. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.164|172.71.134.164]] 20:56, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

I've added some more observations to the page. Also, a guess which is too uncertain to put on the main page: The ball launcher for the yellows on the far left side misses a lot, and the yellow container isn't the one on the left. So I think the whole machine with crossing streams will result in the colors being sorted in their container order, and possibly have the streams combined and deposited at the bottom just above the containers. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.147.100|172.71.147.100]] 21:07, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

has anyone seen the boat at the very bottom? [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 21:21, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

trying to see it on Firefox for Ubuntu and it just tells me to "visit xkcd.com to view" - THAT'S WHERE I AM?! Tried clearing website data (but not my entire cache) and that didn't help. Is there something I'm missing?

Oooh, just had one with four ball-entries (four colours) and ''three'' exits (one caters for two arrows). Pity it's rather complicated to get entries to exits (even if I can merge two of the streams). Might have to give up on it, but I'd like to have seen how it fits in with the 'submited grid'. i.e. someone else gets a two-colour introduction spot. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.119|162.158.74.119]] 22:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Me again. I'm just refreshing the page, looking at the pattern of entries/exits (just a dozen or so screens in, getting some repeats of pattern, indicating that it's going back to tiles it was suggesting before, probably depends on how many others are contributing and extending...)
:Found another 'double-colour' example. Two yellows ''from the same side'', which probably means that there's a two-yellows been asked to exit from the neighbour (will check shortly).
:Quickly adapting from my spreadsheet notation, "R, Y, G, B" in order, each "(Entry, Exit)", I've been using <dir> of L/R/T/B and a number (nominally percentage, though seems to include only values of 20, 30, 50, 70 and 80, so it ''might'' be more 1/6..5/6?) relating to the distance along from L to R (for T/B) or T to B (for L/R).
:This line is therefore (0,0)(L20+L70,R30+B70)(R80,L80)(T70,L50) ... no reds, two yellow pairings, a red pairing, a blue pairing. Would require at least two path-crossings (but I was going to calculate those things later, and double-colours might confuse my intended simple line-intersection calculation).
:...anyway, spent some time on this message, which might mean I'll get into a 'new batch' of available patterns as people have succeeded some of the challenges that I've been 'swiping left'. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 19:28, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:...very next click: (0,0)(T30+L20,R20+R70)(R80,L80)(R50,B50), which is clearly the actual left-neighbour of the above. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.19|172.70.162.19]] 19:32, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:Ok, stopped my refreshing to [https://imgur.com/a/OMFOmzy 'solve' a screen]. First of all I routed both yellows entries (right-upper and upper-right) to one yellow exit (middle-left) and gradually teased the greens across (lower-left to middle-right), as that way I was avoiding a criss-cross of balls, but the the other yellow exit (left-lower) was, of course, invalid.
:Changed it to drop one stream of yellows down towards the lower exit, across the rapidly firing greens (added a fan to filter away the occasional yellow that gets bounced over there, not much of an opportunity to filter falling-greens out of the yellow exit, so apologies to whoever gets the sceen below). Submited as "Two Yellows, One Green!", whether or not that'll save (apparently, I should continue to contribute and not refresh/close, or else the server will not keep the solution?).
:Interestingly, all four adjacent tiles are "Under construction", and if I scroll up... *DARN* the comic has blanked out (nothing there between the upper PREV/RANDOM/NEXT buttons and the lower ones, just whitespace). This may mean that it did not save. This is the kind of 'page crash' I get when I try using a Prism or get too many balls rattling around on top of a Black Hole. Perhaps it doesn't like that I'm scrolling into an Under Construction that shouldn't be there? (But then, why ''is'' it there?)
:Anyway, all extra information for everyone.
:I'll just refresh the page and go back and do some more entry/exit mapping, maybe? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 20:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

If you combine a bunch of these silly claw things in the middle by just spamming it, it begins to lag and do some chaotic collisions, even without balls colliding on it. It's curious how it does that seemingly randomly though. I wonder how calculations are added and if there's a tiny sprinkle of RNG. (Also, errors occur and say something about damaging recursion in the Rust programming language, so I guess we know how it was made. It's also pretty weird how there's not a lot of opening combinations? It's possible that the machine loops over in chunks of gears or something (that's what I'll call them). ([[User talk:Leo|talk]]) 13:15, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

If you place a black hole in the centre of a wheel, it makes the wheel behave unpredictably between resets. Sometimes it's almost normal, sometimes it's a lot faster than usual, and sometimes it's stopped but launches balls that touch it with extreme force. I was able to use this to submit a machine which didn't actually let a single ball through after being submitted. https://i.hypercone.us/?v=928bcd [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.149|162.158.33.149]] 01:19, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

The page says that (and I have taken note of) the ball hue is ''coded'' to certain values, but is there a logic to those values that might be derived from the colour (either as RGB triplet or HSV/other colourspace definition). For example, the two ball-types with zero green component in their makeup are 'unit density' (green is far heavier "green+red" is far lighter, so it's not a simple relationship, unless it converts from °hue, in some way) and the only secondary colour exhibits non-zero drag. There's the possibility that it just derived from "we need different properties, we need different colours, we have no reason to connect either with other deliberately" or even some non-mathematical symbology (fire=red, water=blue(?), earth=green, air(/sunlight?)=yellow). But it makes me wonder what combination of properties cyan/magenta balls might have, if added. (Or is the choice of those four colours constrained, anyway? Though R/G colorblindness is already something of an accessibility failure, if anyone suffers that.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.205|172.69.194.205]] 17:02, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[https://pastebin.com/7PAiLnyF Python script to get the URL and title of each Cell in the current machine]

[https://pastebin.com/xBhywGde Result of running that script at the moment] (encoded with ROT13 because pastebin wouldn't let me save it otherwise)
:has anybody at all whatsoever been able to find their creation using this API? [[User:Bellydrum|Bellydrum]] ([[User talk:Bellydrum|talk]]) 21:58, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[https://pastebin.com/jN5MP2za Result of running that script on the first 42 machines], at least on these it looks like the only difference is that one cell is added each time? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.99.195|172.71.99.195]] 17:22, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

I've submitted four now, none of which was accepted. I tend to spend a lot of time getting them just right. Any hints as to what the acceptance criteria might be? Or do I just stink at this?
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.59.204|172.69.59.204]] 19:47, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

There appears to be a new object: a cat that bats things that touch it.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.214.39|172.69.214.39]] 20:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

Is anyone else experiencing the bug where prisms cause the comic to disappear (leaving only the white background where it was) after a while? It makes viewing the whole machine basically impossible. (On further testing it appears to be firefox-exclusive.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.38|172.70.162.38]] 20:31, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:I've had the "Prisms break things" from the beginning (before any practical content). As in, trying to use them in a design breaks things. But I ''did'' glance upon their occasional use in the 'view submissions grid'. Right now I'm suffering from "white only" issue (see my "multi-yellow" accounts, above). I ''am'' using Firefox, if that's indeed relevant to this issue, but right now I'm not near any other up-to-date browser I care to use. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:I'm getting the same issue with black holes (which probably makes more sense - put a black hole there and you'd expect everything else to disappear :o) - except that on one occasion I was able to put about 6 black holes in before the 7th one vanished everything.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.121|172.69.194.121]] 09:15, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Has anyone seen their own cell in the machine at all yet? A manual approval system is probably necessary for obvious reasons, but if so it does seem to be moving quite slowly.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.65.24|172.69.65.24]] 02:58, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

How on earth is everyone seeing different parts of the grid? If I request "view machine" I can only see my own square, and the edges of everyone elses. Nothing else, definitely not all of the machine. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.64.149|172.68.64.149]] 21:11, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::You should be able to click and drag the view around. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.54|172.71.242.54]] 21:41, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Whoever designed the room entirely full of fans is evil - every time I scroll near it my entire browser freezes up and becomes unresponsive. And then the comic usually blanks.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.81|172.69.194.81]] 08:23, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Level scrolling bug ==

When one views the whole machine, and scrolls down far enough, everything just disappears, and the comic is completely unresponsive. Has anyone else seen this? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.236.152|198.41.236.152]] 20:38, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:I'm now seeing the same issue, I wasn't before. (I'm using Chrome) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 21:06, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

::A hard refresh appears to have fixed this for me (same person as above). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.101|141.101.99.101]] 10:28, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

:I've been having this issue as well (I'm using firefox). Opening the site in Edge instead seemed to work around it for me, so it might only affect Firefox (and derivatives). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:27, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
::See also the 'firefox bug' comments currently immediately above this section. (Please don't ask me to start Edge up, I hate it, won't use it any more than the system requires me to...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:Update - I did a hard refresh so I could play around with the new additions and I'm no longer encountering the bug, even on firefox. I think the "white screen" bug is fixed now and you just need to hard-refresh to download the fixed JS instead of using the cached one. (same person as 172.70.163.31 and 172.70.162.38) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.16|172.70.86.16]] 11:16, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

==New Category: Ball Pit?==

What do you think about a new category for comics with [[ball pits]]? [[150]], [[219]], [[485]], [[498]], [[2916]]? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.229|162.158.134.229]] 21:50, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[[Category:Playpen balls]] already exists.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.133|172.70.174.133]] 17:35, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Prism Use? ==

Can the prism be used to sort balls by color? (or in any other way that is useful and different?) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.61|172.68.34.61]] 12:11, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:From what I've seen, no. Though may be ''extremely'' susceptible to incident angle. As far as my own use has been, they seem to randomise the trajectory (possibly also do a total-internal-reflection, I've had balls bounce around and exit at ''really'' weird angles), but it's hard to collimate a feed of balls into a single exact track, even straight down from a ceiling-feed (if you have a ceiling feed directly over the floor exit, lucky you, it'll still occasionally perturb balls off to the sides just enough to be bounced out as a gate-miss, unless you add 'funnel' architecture of one kind or another). Oh, and when balls do a lot of 'internal bouncing' it often forced me to reload the comic (overloaded the physics engine?), so could not continue to tweak the same design.
:On the other hand, perhaps this was the ''intent'', and just code/browser failings made it work erratically. Maybe would be an idea to go back and retest for this (anybody who can), do a little !!science!! to be recorded and explained on the page. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.183|172.69.43.183]] 12:51, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:So, ive did some testing and found..nothing. i ''did'' find some uses for the prism though. Like outting them diagonally makes the balls follow a "path", speeding up more and more (not really that great but it works with yellows), and that any ball hitting the left edge will try to go the the right edge. Not sure what else it can do, though. [[User:Begocc|Begocc]] ([[User talk:Begocc|talk]]) 09:35, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
::I did some thorough testing on a combined Red/Blue set of balls (carefully managed so that they were dropping into the target area as similarly as possible) and both rotated and moved the prism in various ways to check for any effects - like needing to enter parallel/perpendicular to the colour-bands, either to land on the 'target band' or start to pass across it, with the band then either facilitating or angling its 'fall through'. (Just visually checked, at first, then later adding 'buckets' below and to the sides, to try to catch balls departing on various trajectories in various 'clumps' making note of any that hit the 'bucket'-boundaries and bounced off elsewhere.)
::I found no significant sorting, and some balls would jitter around so much (within the prism) that they even launched almost straight back up where they came from (less poerfully than a Bonk-buffered ball, but not far off - also not reliable enough to use as a ball-elevator).
::In my experience, Yellow-sorting is easy (even against Blue and/or Red) by other means. Green is the easiest to have everything else sorted ''from'' (because it resists the fan method). The hardest to unmix are Reds from Blues, which one might think ''should'' be the most prism-differentiated but I'm afraid I just can't invoke that. Easier to have them fall a long way then bounce off a suitable bit of 'furniture', I can then get them to distribute ''fairly'' distinctly in two handy recepticles/onward-feed-hoppers, though it does need some careful placement of items to do it justice. It appears that none of my designs have made it to the 'public wall', but I have made a submitable machine or two that does such sorting sufficiently successfully to send it out (theoretically) to be seen. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.30|172.70.163.30]] 11:38, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== Bugs and Exploits ==

You can use a sword to break the physics on the hinge thingy and create your very own "magnetic hill": https://imgur.com/a/IRZ0AlL [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.108|162.158.134.108]] 13:02, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:Hard to tell from that what other fans (perhaps) you've got completely off-clip.
:Those hinge-thingies can definitely be shifted by horizontal (outwith ball-weight pressures), but I've not found them to be reliable components as the "Stop" button (ball reset) seems to let those 'hinges' slring back to level, which might need a re-reset by moving them back past the thing that's holding them off-level.
:I have tried a few things with them:
:*'Ticker' mechanism, almost like a clock escapement, nudged by the rotating 'waterwheel', perhaps to try to release balls through a stream of other balls whilst keeping the path clear of collisions for each set, in turn.
:*'Batch dumper', accumulating a number of balls (above the 'hinge', behind a vertical bulkhead) until there's weight enough to 'open the hatch' and roll them out. (Again, an attempt to reduce collisions, by clumping batches together).
:*Finely configured inclines, by shoving something up into a free end of hinge with better angular resolution (but, as mentioned, this doesn't seem to want to 'hold', so probably would fail upon submission).
:...I had wondered if there was supposed to be a "falling anvil creates a catapult/ballista" idea behind the piece, but we don't ''have'' falling anvils (and definitely not in a repeating manner), and ball-powered catapult (esssentially "clown/acrobat jumps on one end of seesaw, clown/acrobat on other end flies up into the air") also doesn't seem practical.
:I'll try to recreate ''your'' design, work out if there's anything new about it, but right now looks like it's a fan-powered incline-raiser. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.38|172.70.162.38]] 14:23, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:: No fans! Here's a wider view: https://imgur.com/a/xPJcsor
:: It survives the reset, because the balls falling on the lever push it down to the sword and it gets stuck there every time. But you need to place the sword just right to make the gravity bug happen. And even then it depends on the number of balls in some ways. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.243.27|172.68.243.27]] 14:46, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::: I've replicated the "tip of sword grabs the 'hinge'" thing, which is very interesting, but not the anti-gravity effect. The movement still seems ''to me'' more like a fan's 'area of effect' thing, than a wonky sense of gravity, the way that the balls are rolling/resisting/interacting with each other. No, I can't see where you've 'hidden' the fan (and I'm sure that fans can't act across submission-grid-boundaries, which was my next guess), so it's a bit of a funny thing that you've got there. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 21:35, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

On occasion, two balls will fall from the containers as a pair, as if glued together. When this happens, they float down as if under much lower gravity, and then suddenly explode violently away from each other.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 10:56, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== The USS Buoyancy ==

Guys. The Buoyancy. She ''floats''. When all four sets of balls reach the ball pit there aren't further additions. The boat starts floating on them. I've been watching it for a while. It seems she moves left and will probably end up escaping the ball pit. [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 20:44, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:Update: A new row spawned in and it reset just before the Buoyancy could escape. Here's a screenshot I grabbed a while before the reset, she'd moved further left by the time the reset occurred. https://imgur.com/gallery/8UCASCu [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 20:51, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

== Added key combinations, found in source ==

ctrl+alt+b
ctrl+shift+option+d
wheel: arrow keys

== Fixed Number of Possible Machinelets? ==

I was resetting my browser to try and find new machinelet configurations, but there seem to be fewer and fewer as the game progresses. Hypothesis: the 'under construction' machinelets are set, and once one of them gets approved and added to the grid, that specific configuration of entrances/exits can't show up again.

== Advanced components? ==

How does one get access to the full set of components to build from? I'm only given planks, mallets, swords, scoops, anvils, bricks and fans. I never get any pillows, bumpers, cats, stick figures et cetera. Do they need to be "unlocked" through some achievement, or what? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.102|162.158.222.102]] 11:04, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

This caught me for a while as well. I have since discovered that the tool box has a scroll bar and can be scrolled down; that's where the others are hiding.
::Invisible scrollbars – every GUI obfuscator's favorite tool for making users' lives harder. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.142|162.158.222.142]] 18:17, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Limit of 100 components? ==

Has anyone else seen this? At some point I started getting a count "95 / 100" towards the bottom of the toolbar. When it hits "100 / 100" the rest of the toolbar greys out, and I can't add anything more. (I suppose the physics engine has to keep a ceiling on the number of possible interactions between components.) —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 11:53, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2916: Machine

2024-04-10T11:53:14Z

Scs: /* Advanced components? */

rather late for an april fools comic innit? also there doesn't seem to be anything exciting in this one lol, none of the usual cool exploration easter eggs, as far as i could tell at least [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.76|172.71.178.76]] 16:41, 6 April 2024 (UTC)Erfaniom

: We're exploring crowdsourced human creativity here, in a way, so it can be a lot more interesting then Randall's exploration comics, at least for me, because i did take two years of GCSE psychology and enjoyed it. [[Special:Contributions/172.64.238.130|172.64.238.130]]

: looks like the egg's on my face lmao, i think i was among the first people to make anything, so everywhere was under construction for me, i didn't even understand that it was like a crowd thing [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.52|172.70.210.52]] 14:19, 9 April 2024 (UTC)Erfaniom

Just popped over using Chrome on Android and all I see is four "missing picture" logos spinning around, plus another down the bottom right... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.193|141.101.68.193]] 18:13, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Okay, followup: it behaves quite differently on the non mobile site. You get two entry points with red balls and yellow balls and you need to place the various gizmos to direct the balls to the correct exit point. Once enough have correctly passed to turn the red X into a green tick, you have the option to submit. If you do, once you have named your design it will be added to the grid with other submissions all of which exist to push red and yellow balls around. (if you come across "Memories of Ragnarok", that's mine) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.207|172.71.134.207]] 18:27, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
::The number of inputs appears to vary between 1 and 4, each of a different color, with one color-coded output for each. [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

On the "machine" section, you see lots of "under construction cells". Perhaps this will develop as more are submitted. I notice the "under construction tape" has "DJIA" and "31415", perhaps a reference to "dow jones industrial average" and the first five digits of pi. [[User:Zeimusu|Zeimusu]] ([[User talk:Zeimusu|talk]]) 18:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Whenever someone submits a cell, it fills in one of the under construction cells. [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
[Robert'); DROP TABLE Student!:;--] i just got a machine with 3 outputs one yellow another red and a third blue AND green and 3 inputs one green one blue and one red blue and yellow https://xkcd.com/2916/#xt=7&yt=50 hope its still there {{unsigned ip|172.70.115.173|18:01, 9 April 2024}}
:I think I just 'did' one with a Red+Yellow source (also separate singular Blue and Green) and a combined Blue+Green sink (and separate Yellow and Red). Got it working well, actually using fan-levitation to separate the R+Y enough to route them to their destinations, the Y then having to cross the occasional flying Green (which I was forced to "Bonk" and bounce up, entry being nearly at the bottom on right, exit being nearly at top on left) for its exit, everything else fairly simple. No idea if it got integrated, of course. Never seen any of my machines be accepted (when I later look around at what's there), so I'm still unsure if there's anything I can do to increase my chance of a successful square being made permanent on the grid.... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 20:58, 9 April 2024 (UTC)
:...still had it sitting there [https://imgur.com/kZdp3kH on my browser], though note that the Red+Yellow supply (mid-left) and the Green supply (right) aren't working here, through the "move the screen around, lose the feeds from 'Under Construction' squares" issue, or similar. But still I managed to submit it. The occasional Yellow and Red are falling from the Blue entrance in the top (I've not done anything special to filter those out/send them to a more proper exit, and it's too late to do so now anyway, it was just a Blue entry during the development process, of course).
:It's a pity you can't see it working, but I quite like my Yellow/Red separation. This might be the only time you see it in place, though, so a shame I didn't take a screenshot immedediately after submitting it. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 21:30, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

I wanted to add an image for each object, but do not have the necessary access, can someone who has access add the images that I linked in the table so they can be included? [[User:Claire Kholin|Claire Kholin]] ([[User talk:Claire Kholin|talk]]) 18:49, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

I found a discussion with some guy talking about the API at https://euphoria.leet.nu/room/xkcd/ ; this could be useful for the wiki.

<code>
[c+1] now time to try fucking with the api
[c+1] https://incredible.xkcd.com/
[userwithnoaccount] 404
[c+1] it seems there are numbered machines under incredible.xkcd.com/machine/x
[c+1] returns a grid of individual machinlets
[c+1] which are uids like 3a7af27c-5389-5dcb-b660-3feab6be2ceb
[c+1] they're stored at urls like incredible.xkcd.com/folio/3a7af27c-5389-5dcb-b660-3feab6be2ceb
[c+1] there appear to be 33 machines total
[c+1] the json it returns seems to refer to these as "versions"
[c+1] $ curl -s https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/21 | jq ".version"
21
[c+1] there is a machine/0, but it's all null
[c+1] going to https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/current redirects to the current machine
[c+1] $ curl -sL https://incredible.xkcd.com/machine/current | jq ".version"
35
[c+1] wait, is that the *total* number of mahcines?
[c+1] i would've thought there'd be more
[c+1] this whole think is rather esoteric
[c+1] Written in rust, too: https://rapier.rs/
[c+1] Uh oh.
https://i.hypercone.us/?v=8e283d
[c+1] HMMM
https://i.hypercone.us/?v=079f8f
[c+1] it seems there is no limit
[c+1] i've uploaded a ~50M title
</code>

[[Special:Contributions/172.70.57.146|172.70.57.146]]

Had quite a lot of fun, added a few 'successful' machines to the grid. Noted that whenever I try to use the Prism that (after a short delay) the comic-pane blanks and I need to refresh the page/get a completely new 'challenge' to start from scratch, so I'm just not using the prism at all (used most of the other items, in combination or 'just the one across the whole board', whichever seems most fun). But it doesn't seem to do what I'd like it to do, which is sort multiple colours from the same inflow into different outflow directions. Which would be ''very'' useful in a 'crossroads' situation, the general solution of directing them cross-path being too prone to random collisions. Also might be useful in the 'submitted machine grid', as I note that errors propagate, whereas adding a filter on all inputs would clean out (dispose of/send off to a valid gate?) the rogue balls. Anyway, gonna have to come back to this later when there's more time... Maybe then I'll even have something useful to add to the Explanation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 19:03, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

The balls appear to be different weights. I just saw a machine that used fans to separate yellows from greens and blues in a sort of 'wheat from the chaff' manner to direct them to their correct outputs. I wonder what other hidden tricks are included. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.1.159|172.68.1.159]] 19:40, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

They're not all accepted, though it makes you think they are. Or something else more complex is going on we haven't realized yet. I made a machine that was working reliably, submitted it, and saw it on the overall grid. Reloading from a different browser I found the same location of the machine, with the same surroundings, but my machine had been replaced. It's nowhere else on the grid either. The first browser still shows it (but not after a reload with a cache clear). I'm not sure if there's some kind of "save" event that needs to happen beyond seeing your machine in the broader one, or if all user collaboration is an illusion, or if the system changes its mind about us somehow.

: Yeah, i've been seeing this too. Please tell me if you find any of my machines, images at https://i.hypercone.us/?v=22d562 , https://i.hypercone.us/?v=ad8e3a , and https://i.hypercone.us/?v=8d4d6a . I want to be one of the few to have added Catalan and Spanish to the grid. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.134.164|172.71.134.164]] 20:56, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

I've added some more observations to the page. Also, a guess which is too uncertain to put on the main page: The ball launcher for the yellows on the far left side misses a lot, and the yellow container isn't the one on the left. So I think the whole machine with crossing streams will result in the colors being sorted in their container order, and possibly have the streams combined and deposited at the bottom just above the containers. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.147.100|172.71.147.100]] 21:07, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

has anyone seen the boat at the very bottom? [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 21:21, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

trying to see it on Firefox for Ubuntu and it just tells me to "visit xkcd.com to view" - THAT'S WHERE I AM?! Tried clearing website data (but not my entire cache) and that didn't help. Is there something I'm missing?

Oooh, just had one with four ball-entries (four colours) and ''three'' exits (one caters for two arrows). Pity it's rather complicated to get entries to exits (even if I can merge two of the streams). Might have to give up on it, but I'd like to have seen how it fits in with the 'submited grid'. i.e. someone else gets a two-colour introduction spot. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.119|162.158.74.119]] 22:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
:Me again. I'm just refreshing the page, looking at the pattern of entries/exits (just a dozen or so screens in, getting some repeats of pattern, indicating that it's going back to tiles it was suggesting before, probably depends on how many others are contributing and extending...)
:Found another 'double-colour' example. Two yellows ''from the same side'', which probably means that there's a two-yellows been asked to exit from the neighbour (will check shortly).
:Quickly adapting from my spreadsheet notation, "R, Y, G, B" in order, each "(Entry, Exit)", I've been using <dir> of L/R/T/B and a number (nominally percentage, though seems to include only values of 20, 30, 50, 70 and 80, so it ''might'' be more 1/6..5/6?) relating to the distance along from L to R (for T/B) or T to B (for L/R).
:This line is therefore (0,0)(L20+L70,R30+B70)(R80,L80)(T70,L50) ... no reds, two yellow pairings, a red pairing, a blue pairing. Would require at least two path-crossings (but I was going to calculate those things later, and double-colours might confuse my intended simple line-intersection calculation).
:...anyway, spent some time on this message, which might mean I'll get into a 'new batch' of available patterns as people have succeeded some of the challenges that I've been 'swiping left'. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 19:28, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:...very next click: (0,0)(T30+L20,R20+R70)(R80,L80)(R50,B50), which is clearly the actual left-neighbour of the above. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.19|172.70.162.19]] 19:32, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:Ok, stopped my refreshing to [https://imgur.com/a/OMFOmzy 'solve' a screen]. First of all I routed both yellows entries (right-upper and upper-right) to one yellow exit (middle-left) and gradually teased the greens across (lower-left to middle-right), as that way I was avoiding a criss-cross of balls, but the the other yellow exit (left-lower) was, of course, invalid.
:Changed it to drop one stream of yellows down towards the lower exit, across the rapidly firing greens (added a fan to filter away the occasional yellow that gets bounced over there, not much of an opportunity to filter falling-greens out of the yellow exit, so apologies to whoever gets the sceen below). Submited as "Two Yellows, One Green!", whether or not that'll save (apparently, I should continue to contribute and not refresh/close, or else the server will not keep the solution?).
:Interestingly, all four adjacent tiles are "Under construction", and if I scroll up... *DARN* the comic has blanked out (nothing there between the upper PREV/RANDOM/NEXT buttons and the lower ones, just whitespace). This may mean that it did not save. This is the kind of 'page crash' I get when I try using a Prism or get too many balls rattling around on top of a Black Hole. Perhaps it doesn't like that I'm scrolling into an Under Construction that shouldn't be there? (But then, why ''is'' it there?)
:Anyway, all extra information for everyone.
:I'll just refresh the page and go back and do some more entry/exit mapping, maybe? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 20:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

If you combine a bunch of these silly claw things in the middle by just spamming it, it begins to lag and do some chaotic collisions, even without balls colliding on it. It's curious how it does that seemingly randomly though. I wonder how calculations are added and if there's a tiny sprinkle of RNG. (Also, errors occur and say something about damaging recursion in the Rust programming language, so I guess we know how it was made. It's also pretty weird how there's not a lot of opening combinations? It's possible that the machine loops over in chunks of gears or something (that's what I'll call them). ([[User talk:Leo|talk]]) 13:15, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

If you place a black hole in the centre of a wheel, it makes the wheel behave unpredictably between resets. Sometimes it's almost normal, sometimes it's a lot faster than usual, and sometimes it's stopped but launches balls that touch it with extreme force. I was able to use this to submit a machine which didn't actually let a single ball through after being submitted. https://i.hypercone.us/?v=928bcd [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.149|162.158.33.149]] 01:19, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

The page says that (and I have taken note of) the ball hue is ''coded'' to certain values, but is there a logic to those values that might be derived from the colour (either as RGB triplet or HSV/other colourspace definition). For example, the two ball-types with zero green component in their makeup are 'unit density' (green is far heavier "green+red" is far lighter, so it's not a simple relationship, unless it converts from °hue, in some way) and the only secondary colour exhibits non-zero drag. There's the possibility that it just derived from "we need different properties, we need different colours, we have no reason to connect either with other deliberately" or even some non-mathematical symbology (fire=red, water=blue(?), earth=green, air(/sunlight?)=yellow). But it makes me wonder what combination of properties cyan/magenta balls might have, if added. (Or is the choice of those four colours constrained, anyway? Though R/G colorblindness is already something of an accessibility failure, if anyone suffers that.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.205|172.69.194.205]] 17:02, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[https://pastebin.com/7PAiLnyF Python script to get the URL and title of each Cell in the current machine]

[https://pastebin.com/xBhywGde Result of running that script at the moment] (encoded with ROT13 because pastebin wouldn't let me save it otherwise)
:has anybody at all whatsoever been able to find their creation using this API? [[User:Bellydrum|Bellydrum]] ([[User talk:Bellydrum|talk]]) 21:58, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[https://pastebin.com/jN5MP2za Result of running that script on the first 42 machines], at least on these it looks like the only difference is that one cell is added each time? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.99.195|172.71.99.195]] 17:22, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

I've submitted four now, none of which was accepted. I tend to spend a lot of time getting them just right. Any hints as to what the acceptance criteria might be? Or do I just stink at this?
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.59.204|172.69.59.204]] 19:47, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

There appears to be a new object: a cat that bats things that touch it.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.214.39|172.69.214.39]] 20:17, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

Is anyone else experiencing the bug where prisms cause the comic to disappear (leaving only the white background where it was) after a while? It makes viewing the whole machine basically impossible. (On further testing it appears to be firefox-exclusive.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.38|172.70.162.38]] 20:31, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:I've had the "Prisms break things" from the beginning (before any practical content). As in, trying to use them in a design breaks things. But I ''did'' glance upon their occasional use in the 'view submissions grid'. Right now I'm suffering from "white only" issue (see my "multi-yellow" accounts, above). I ''am'' using Firefox, if that's indeed relevant to this issue, but right now I'm not near any other up-to-date browser I care to use. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
:I'm getting the same issue with black holes (which probably makes more sense - put a black hole there and you'd expect everything else to disappear :o) - except that on one occasion I was able to put about 6 black holes in before the 7th one vanished everything.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.121|172.69.194.121]] 09:15, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Has anyone seen their own cell in the machine at all yet? A manual approval system is probably necessary for obvious reasons, but if so it does seem to be moving quite slowly.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.65.24|172.69.65.24]] 02:58, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

How on earth is everyone seeing different parts of the grid? If I request "view machine" I can only see my own square, and the edges of everyone elses. Nothing else, definitely not all of the machine. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.64.149|172.68.64.149]] 21:11, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::You should be able to click and drag the view around. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.54|172.71.242.54]] 21:41, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

Whoever designed the room entirely full of fans is evil - every time I scroll near it my entire browser freezes up and becomes unresponsive. And then the comic usually blanks.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.81|172.69.194.81]] 08:23, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Level scrolling bug ==

When one views the whole machine, and scrolls down far enough, everything just disappears, and the comic is completely unresponsive. Has anyone else seen this? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.236.152|198.41.236.152]] 20:38, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:I'm now seeing the same issue, I wasn't before. (I'm using Chrome) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.20|172.70.162.20]] 21:06, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

::A hard refresh appears to have fixed this for me (same person as above). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.101|141.101.99.101]] 10:28, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

:I've been having this issue as well (I'm using firefox). Opening the site in Edge instead seemed to work around it for me, so it might only affect Firefox (and derivatives). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:27, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
::See also the 'firefox bug' comments currently immediately above this section. (Please don't ask me to start Edge up, I hate it, won't use it any more than the system requires me to...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:37, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:Update - I did a hard refresh so I could play around with the new additions and I'm no longer encountering the bug, even on firefox. I think the "white screen" bug is fixed now and you just need to hard-refresh to download the fixed JS instead of using the cached one. (same person as 172.70.163.31 and 172.70.162.38) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.16|172.70.86.16]] 11:16, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

==New Category: Ball Pit?==

What do you think about a new category for comics with [[ball pits]]? [[150]], [[219]], [[485]], [[498]], [[2916]]? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.229|162.158.134.229]] 21:50, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

[[Category:Playpen balls]] already exists.
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.133|172.70.174.133]] 17:35, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Prism Use? ==

Can the prism be used to sort balls by color? (or in any other way that is useful and different?) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.61|172.68.34.61]] 12:11, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:From what I've seen, no. Though may be ''extremely'' susceptible to incident angle. As far as my own use has been, they seem to randomise the trajectory (possibly also do a total-internal-reflection, I've had balls bounce around and exit at ''really'' weird angles), but it's hard to collimate a feed of balls into a single exact track, even straight down from a ceiling-feed (if you have a ceiling feed directly over the floor exit, lucky you, it'll still occasionally perturb balls off to the sides just enough to be bounced out as a gate-miss, unless you add 'funnel' architecture of one kind or another). Oh, and when balls do a lot of 'internal bouncing' it often forced me to reload the comic (overloaded the physics engine?), so could not continue to tweak the same design.
:On the other hand, perhaps this was the ''intent'', and just code/browser failings made it work erratically. Maybe would be an idea to go back and retest for this (anybody who can), do a little !!science!! to be recorded and explained on the page. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.183|172.69.43.183]] 12:51, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:So, ive did some testing and found..nothing. i ''did'' find some uses for the prism though. Like outting them diagonally makes the balls follow a "path", speeding up more and more (not really that great but it works with yellows), and that any ball hitting the left edge will try to go the the right edge. Not sure what else it can do, though. [[User:Begocc|Begocc]] ([[User talk:Begocc|talk]]) 09:35, 10 April 2024 (UTC)
::I did some thorough testing on a combined Red/Blue set of balls (carefully managed so that they were dropping into the target area as similarly as possible) and both rotated and moved the prism in various ways to check for any effects - like needing to enter parallel/perpendicular to the colour-bands, either to land on the 'target band' or start to pass across it, with the band then either facilitating or angling its 'fall through'. (Just visually checked, at first, then later adding 'buckets' below and to the sides, to try to catch balls departing on various trajectories in various 'clumps' making note of any that hit the 'bucket'-boundaries and bounced off elsewhere.)
::I found no significant sorting, and some balls would jitter around so much (within the prism) that they even launched almost straight back up where they came from (less poerfully than a Bonk-buffered ball, but not far off - also not reliable enough to use as a ball-elevator).
::In my experience, Yellow-sorting is easy (even against Blue and/or Red) by other means. Green is the easiest to have everything else sorted ''from'' (because it resists the fan method). The hardest to unmix are Reds from Blues, which one might think ''should'' be the most prism-differentiated but I'm afraid I just can't invoke that. Easier to have them fall a long way then bounce off a suitable bit of 'furniture', I can then get them to distribute ''fairly'' distinctly in two handy recepticles/onward-feed-hoppers, though it does need some careful placement of items to do it justice. It appears that none of my designs have made it to the 'public wall', but I have made a submitable machine or two that does such sorting sufficiently successfully to send it out (theoretically) to be seen. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.30|172.70.163.30]] 11:38, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== Bugs and Exploits ==

You can use a sword to break the physics on the hinge thingy and create your very own "magnetic hill": https://imgur.com/a/IRZ0AlL [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.108|162.158.134.108]] 13:02, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:Hard to tell from that what other fans (perhaps) you've got completely off-clip.
:Those hinge-thingies can definitely be shifted by horizontal (outwith ball-weight pressures), but I've not found them to be reliable components as the "Stop" button (ball reset) seems to let those 'hinges' slring back to level, which might need a re-reset by moving them back past the thing that's holding them off-level.
:I have tried a few things with them:
:*'Ticker' mechanism, almost like a clock escapement, nudged by the rotating 'waterwheel', perhaps to try to release balls through a stream of other balls whilst keeping the path clear of collisions for each set, in turn.
:*'Batch dumper', accumulating a number of balls (above the 'hinge', behind a vertical bulkhead) until there's weight enough to 'open the hatch' and roll them out. (Again, an attempt to reduce collisions, by clumping batches together).
:*Finely configured inclines, by shoving something up into a free end of hinge with better angular resolution (but, as mentioned, this doesn't seem to want to 'hold', so probably would fail upon submission).
:...I had wondered if there was supposed to be a "falling anvil creates a catapult/ballista" idea behind the piece, but we don't ''have'' falling anvils (and definitely not in a repeating manner), and ball-powered catapult (esssentially "clown/acrobat jumps on one end of seesaw, clown/acrobat on other end flies up into the air") also doesn't seem practical.
:I'll try to recreate ''your'' design, work out if there's anything new about it, but right now looks like it's a fan-powered incline-raiser. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.38|172.70.162.38]] 14:23, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:: No fans! Here's a wider view: https://imgur.com/a/xPJcsor
:: It survives the reset, because the balls falling on the lever push it down to the sword and it gets stuck there every time. But you need to place the sword just right to make the gravity bug happen. And even then it depends on the number of balls in some ways. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.243.27|172.68.243.27]] 14:46, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
::: I've replicated the "tip of sword grabs the 'hinge'" thing, which is very interesting, but not the anti-gravity effect. The movement still seems ''to me'' more like a fan's 'area of effect' thing, than a wonky sense of gravity, the way that the balls are rolling/resisting/interacting with each other. No, I can't see where you've 'hidden' the fan (and I'm sure that fans can't act across submission-grid-boundaries, which was my next guess), so it's a bit of a funny thing that you've got there. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.49|172.70.163.49]] 21:35, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

On occasion, two balls will fall from the containers as a pair, as if glued together. When this happens, they float down as if under much lower gravity, and then suddenly explode violently away from each other.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.182|172.69.43.182]] 10:56, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

== The USS Buoyancy ==

Guys. The Buoyancy. She ''floats''. When all four sets of balls reach the ball pit there aren't further additions. The boat starts floating on them. I've been watching it for a while. It seems she moves left and will probably end up escaping the ball pit. [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 20:44, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
:Update: A new row spawned in and it reset just before the Buoyancy could escape. Here's a screenshot I grabbed a while before the reset, she'd moved further left by the time the reset occurred. https://imgur.com/gallery/8UCASCu [[User:DL Draco Rex|DL Draco Rex]] ([[User talk:DL Draco Rex|talk]]) 20:51, 8 April 2024 (UTC)

== Added key combinations, found in source ==

ctrl+alt+b
ctrl+shift+option+d
wheel: arrow keys

== Fixed Number of Possible Machinelets? ==

I was resetting my browser to try and find new machinelet configurations, but there seem to be fewer and fewer as the game progresses. Hypothesis: the 'under construction' machinelets are set, and once one of them gets approved and added to the grid, that specific configuration of entrances/exits can't show up again.

== Advanced components? ==

How does one get access to the full set of components to build from? I'm only given planks, mallets, swords, scoops, anvils, bricks and fans. I never get any pillows, bumpers, cats, stick figures et cetera. Do they need to be "unlocked" through some achievement, or what? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.102|162.158.222.102]] 11:04, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

This caught me for a while as well. I have since discovered that the tool box has a scroll bar and can be scrolled down; that's where the others are hiding.
::Invisible scrollbars – every GUI obfuscator's favorite tool for making users' lives harder. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.142|162.158.222.142]] 18:17, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

== Limit of 100 components? ==

Has anyone else seen this? At some point I started getting a count "95 / 100" towards the bottom of the toolbar. When it hits "100 / 100" the rest of the toolbar greys out, and I can't add anything more. —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 11:53, 10 April 2024 (UTC)

1759: British Map

2023-09-15T13:31:08Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ a better word is "chevron", and the etymology is perfect, you should look it up

{{comic
| number = 1759
| date = November 14, 2016
| title = British Map
| image = british_map.png
| titletext = West Norsussex is east of East Norwessex, but they're both far north of Middlesex and West Norwex.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a joke similar to [https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#q=how%20americans%20see%20the%20world&safe=active&ssui=on "How Americans see the world"] showing how the average American has opinions on the world, often including jokes such as a lack of {{w|Africa}}, etc. This has been used before in [[850: World According to Americans]]. The map also plays with the joke by noting it has been labeled by [[Randall Munroe|a specific American]] rather than "Americans".

Many areas of the UK are most familiar to foreigners thanks to their depiction in various fantasy novels and TV series. This map labels some of these, as well as including many silly names that simply sound like real British towns to an American ear. A protractor is shown off the coast of the {{w|Mull of Kintyre}} in reference to the "{{w|Mull of Kintyre test}}" - according to urban legend, the angle of the Mull defines the maximum allowed erectness for a man on films and home video releases in the UK.

Randall previously posted [https://blog.xkcd.com/2015/11/24/a-puzzle-for-the-uk/ a map of Great Britain] on his blog as part of the promotion for his book ''[[What If? (book)|What If?]]''. This map is from a very similar position and appears to have been traced from the same source, although there are some slight differences. Both maps include a sketch of {{w|Lake Windermere}} with boats on it, and both have the locations of London, Oxford and Cambridge labeled (the blog map also shows Edinburgh and Bristol - in this comic, these are labelled Eavestroughs and Minas Tirith). Both also contain references to {{w|Stonehenge}} and {{w|Watership Down}}.

Note that in British English, the correct spelling of “labeled” is ‘labelled’.

The title text plays around with the concept of the compass directions and how numerous regions (such as South "Sussex" and West "Wessex") incorporate such literal names in their description. Randall is creating similar sounding names which are nonsense-ish ("Norsussex" would be the region of the Northern-Southern Saxons), and placing them in relation to each other in ways which would be geographically implausible, similar to this [http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/92q3/xx19.html old joke about Boston]. However, in Germany there exists the region called ''Westphalia'' (''Westfalen''), and the eastern part of it is often referred to as ''East-Westphalia'' (''{{w|Ostwestfalen}}''), which sounds somewhat ridiculous. Part of the joke in the title text could be the fact that while three of the locations are fictional, {{w|Middlesex}} does actually exist.

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable sortable"
!Label on the map !! Explanation !! Actual location !! Notes
|-
| Helcaraxë
|| The "[http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Helcarax%C3%AB Grinding Ice]", an area of {{w|Middle-Earth}}. Like Helcaraxë, northern Scotland is cold, mountainous and in many areas inhospitable.
|| The {{w|Grampian}} region
||
|-
| Blick
|| Possibly referencing {{w|Wick, Caithness}}, one of the northernmost towns in Great Britain. The real Wick is substantially further north, off the edge of the map.
||Near {{w|Rhynie, Aberdeenshire}}
|| This is the name of a goblin in the movie "Legend" starring Tim Curry. Could also reference the art supply store, Blick Art Materials
|-
| Everdeen
|| {{w|Katniss Everdeen}} is the heroine of ''{{w|The Hunger Games}}'' series of novels and films
|| {{w|Aberdeen}}
|| In colloquial Scots, its pronunciation is very similar to "Everdeen."
|-
| Highlands
|| {{w|Scottish Highlands|No joke}}
|| {{w|Scottish Lowlands}}
|| Maybe deliberate trolling - Scots have strong feelings about where the Highland-Lowland border is
|-
| Norther Sea
|| Pun on the {{w|North Sea}} - i.e. a sea that is further north (or 'norther') than the North Sea.
|| {{w|Sea of the Hebrides}}
||
|-
| Loch Lomond
|| {{w|Loch Lomond|No joke}}
|| Loch Lomond
|| Loch Lomond is the largest lake in Great Britain, and the third largest lake in the UK. It is the subject of a well-known {{w|The_Bonnie_Banks_o%27_Loch_Lomond|traditional song}}, and was referenced in the "beaming" (teleporter) bit in the movie Spaceballs by the Scotty expy 'Snotty'. It also houses a distillery producing a whisky appreciated by Captain Haddock in ''{{w|The Adventures of Tintin}}''. Thanks to the {{w|Loch Ness Monster|monster}}, {{w|Loch Ness}} is by far the most famous Scottish loch, so naming the second most famous subverts expectations.
|-
| Fjordham
|| {{w|Fjords}} are glacial valleys. "-ham" is a common English placename suffix from Old English, related to the modern {{w|Hamlet (place)|hamlet}} ''or'' another root, such as that relating to river meadows, but [http://keithbriggs.info/EPN_maps/ham.pdf not so common] in the more obviously glacier-carved areas such as this area in Scotland. There are several villages (in England) named {{w|Fordham}}
|| Near {{w|Oban}} on the {{w|Firth of Lorn}}
|| The Scottish word "Firth" is related to "Fjord", although Lorn is not a fjord in the strict scientific sense - it was formed along the {{w|Great Glen Fault}} by tectonics, rather than glaciers
|-
| Glassdoor
|| {{w|Glassdoor}} is a website where employees can review their employers
|| {{w|Stirling}}
|| Although it's shown near Stirling, the reference seems to be to {{w|Glasgow}}
|-
| Eavestroughs
|| A dialectal word for {{w|rain gutter}}
|| {{w|Edinburgh}}
||
|-
| Seasedge
|| Procan's realm in ''Dungeons & Dragons''. "Sea sedge" is also one of many common names used for ''{{w|Acorus calamus}}'', the calamus or sweet flag.
|| Somewhere near the Scotland-England border
||
|-
| Chough
|| A {{w|Chough|species of bird in the crow family}}
|| The {{w|Scottish Borders}}
||
|-
| Meowth
|| {{w|Meowth}} is a cat-like Pokémon. Name may allude to {{w|Howth}}.
|| {{w|Ayr}}
||
|-
| Glutenfree
|| {{w|Gluten-free}} food lacks the protein {{w|gluten}}. This allows {{w|coeliac disease}} sufferers to enjoy it, but has also become a dietary fad in itself.
|| {{w|Cairnryan}}, {{w|Dumfries and Galloway}}
||
|-
| Blighton
|| A mashup of {{w|Brighton}} and {{w|Blighty}} Or a reference to {{w|Enid Blyton}}, a noted UK children’s author.
|| The {{w|Scottish Borders}}
|| The real Brighton is much further south, on the south coast.
|-
| North Sea
|| {{w|North Sea|No joke}}
|| North Sea
||
|-
| Eyemouth
|| {{w|Eyemouth|No joke}}
|| near {{w|Newcastle-upon-Tyne}}
|| The real Eyemouth is further north, where "Seasedge" is marked on the map.
|-
| Earhand
|| A pun on Eyemouth
|| {{w|Carlisle}}
||
|-
| Hairskull
|| A pun on Eyemouth
|| {{w|Teesside}}
||
|-
| Belfast DeVoe
|| {{w|Belfast}}, capital of Northern Ireland, mashed up with the rock band {{w|Bell Biv DeVoe}}
|| {{w|Belfast}}
||
|-
| Lakebottom
|| The {{w|Lake District}}. "-bottom" is a common placename across Northern England, and refers to a town in a valley.
|| {{w|Lake District}}
|| Below Lakebottom is a sketch of a lake with yachts on it. This is illustrative and doesn't correspond to any of the actual lakes which would be barely visible on this map. There are 16 'lakes' in the Lake District, but only one ({{w|Bassenthwaite Lake}}) actually has 'lake' in its name.
|-
| Braintree
|| {{w|Braintree, Essex|Not a joke}}
|| {{w|North Yorkshire}}
|| The real Braintree is much further south, near where "Paulblart" is on the map. Also a possible reference to the [https://www.braintreepayments.com Braintree] online payments platform (widely advertised on podcasts), or a stop at the end of the Red Line in Boston.
|-
| Skinflower
|| A pun on Braintree
|| {{w|Yorkshire Dales}}
||
|-
| Bjork
|| {{w|Björk}} is an Icelandic singer
|| {{w|East Riding of Yorkshire}}
|| The reference is presumably to York (historically known as Jórvík), although it's a bit too far east.
|-
| Weedle
|| {{w|Weedle}} is a Pokémon
|| {{w|Forest of Bowland}}
|| In the original Pokémon Red and Blue games Weedle is most notably found in '{{w|Viridian Forest}}' which - like the real-life Forest of Bowland - is known for its diverse wildlife.
|-
| Eeugh
|| An expression of disgust
|| {{w|Kingston-upon-Hull}} (generally just "Hull")
|| Pronounced 'ull by locals
|-
| Crewneck
|| A shirt with a {{w|Crewneck|simple round collar}}.
|| {{w|Blackpool}}
|| There is a town called {{w|Crewe}} somewhat further south than shown in Cheshire.
|-
| Paisley
|| {{w|Paisley, Renfrewshire|No joke}}. It sounds funny to Americans because it's associated with {{w|Paisley (design)|paisley}} fabric, a Persian-style print invented in the town. Possibly a pun on {{w|Parsley|parsley}}, a herb.
|| {{w|Burnley}}
|| The real Paisley is in Scotland, near Glasgow.
|-
| Basil
|| Also {{w|Basil|a herb}}, and {{w|Basil Fawlty|one of the most famous British TV characters}}.
|| {{w|Scunthorpe}}
||
|-
| Aidenn
|| An apparent pun on the {{w|Scouse}} accent: {{w|h-dropping}} and {{w|th-stopping}} mean the common "hey, then" would be pronounced "ai denn".
|| {{w|Merseyside}}
||
|-
| Hillfolk
|| {{w|Hillfolk}} is an RPG. "-hill" (referring to, well, a hill) is common in British placenames, and "-folk" (referring to a tribe or culture) is seen in ''Suffolk'' and ''Norfolk''. Possibly also a reference to {{w|Hobbits}}, a race of little people that live under hills in The Lord of the Rings.
|| {{w|Manchester}}
|| Manchester's name does in fact reference hills: it means "castle on the {{w|breast-shaped hill}}"
|-
| Waterdown
|| To "water something down" is to weaken it. "-down" is common in British placenames and refers to {{w|Downland|chalk hills}}. Possibly a contraction from the book and movie: Watership Down.
|| Near {{w|Grimsby}}
||
|-
| Dubstep
|| {{w|Dubstep}} is a genre of electronic music with a heavy bass line.
|| {{w|Dublin}}
|| Dublin is the only non-UK settlement in the map, and one of two on the island of Ireland.
|-
| Borough-upon-Mappe
|| By being recorded here, this is literally a borough upon a map. The "-upon-" is a common element of placenames for towns on rivers, although there's no River Mappe. Possibly referencing the fact that the town is on a "mappe" (map)?
|| {{w|Lincolnshire Wolds}}
||
|-
| Fhqwhgads
|| "[http://www.hrwiki.org/wiki/Fhqwhgads Fhqwhgads]" is a joke from the Homestar Runner internet cartoon. In the cartoon, the main character read a fanmail that was signed only with a random keyboard mash of characters, which Strong Bad shortened to "Fhqwhgads," a name that became a running gag on the cartoon.
|| {{w|Wrexham}}
|| This is near the Welsh border; Welsh names often look like a mish-mash of consonants to English speakers ignorant of Welsh orthography; within a few miles of Wrexham are towns like {{w|Yr Wyddgrug}} ("Mold" in English), {{w|Cefn-y-bedd}}, {{w|Gwernymynydd}} and {{w|Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog}}.
|-
| Cadbury
|| {{w|Cadbury}} is a British chocolate company.
|| Near {{w|Boston, Lincolnshire}}
|| Cadbury actually built a town for its workers... but it's called {{w|Bournville}}. There are several towns called {{w|Cadbury_(disambiguation)#Places|Cadbury}} in the UK (where the Cadbury family presumably got its name), but none are near here.
|-
| Cabinetry
|| The art of making {{w|cabinets}}.
|| Near {{w|Oswestry}}
||Several towns in the English Midlands have names ending in -try, including Oswestry. "Cabinetry" could be a pun on {{w|Coventry}}, which lies further to the east.
|-
| The Shire
|| {{w|Shire (Middle-earth)|The Shire}} is home to the {{w|Hobbits}} in {{w|Middle-Earth}}
|| {{w|Midlands}}
|| Tolkien drew inspiration for the Shire from the {{w|West Midlands (region)|West Midlands}}, although Tolkien was from the southern part of the Midlands (roughly where Dampshire is on the map).
An internet posting titled [http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/revocation.asp "A Letter to the U.S" after the 2016 Presidential Election"], falsely attributed to John Cleese, could also have been inspiration for this map. It in particular says: "3. You should learn to distinguish English and Australian accents. It really isn't that hard. English accents are not limited to cockney, upper-class twit or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). Scottish dramas such as 'Taggart' will no longer be broadcast with subtitles.You must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is "Devon." If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become "shires" e.g. Texasshire Floridashire, Louisianashire."
|-
| Landmouth
|| Literal description
|| {{w|The Wash}}
||
|-
| Brandon
|| {{w|Brandon#United Kingdom|Not a joke}}
|| {{w|The Fens}}
|| There are several Brandons in the UK, the nearest being where "Keebler" is on the map. The area shown is borderline-uninhabitable, as it is marshland and lies mostly below sea-level. Only a few farms and isolated hamlets exist here.
|-
| Hamwich
|| A ham sandwich. Both "-ham" and "-wich" are common generic placenames. The village called simply "Ham" and the other called "Sandwich" are fairly close to each other, with a famous roadsign that points to "Ham Sandwich" between them. The bread-slices-and-filling foodstuff is named for the 4th Earl of Sandwich, and hence ultimately from the town of the same name.
|| {{w|Norwich}}
|| Likely to be coincidence but the "Cheese Hamwich" is a breaded cheese and turkey food product sold by {{w|Bernard Matthews Ltd}} whose food processing facility is based not far from this map location.
|-
| West Norsussex
|| Mash-up of {{w|West Sussex}} ("South Saxons") with the obsolete {{w|Wessex}} ("West Saxons") and never extant {{w|Norsex}} ("North Saxons")
|| {{w|Midlands}}
||
|-
| Redsox
|| The {{w|Boston Red Sox}} are a baseball team
|| {{w|The Fens}}
|| The Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park. The map location is not far from the British {{w|Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston}}
|-
| Keebler
|| The {{w|Keebler Elves}} advertise cookies in the US
|| {{w|Elveden}}
|| The name of this village in Thetford Forest means "valley of the elves".
|-
| Bloughshire
|| Most British counties have "-shire" in their name. Originally it meant they were administered by a {{w|sheriff}}. However, they are usually no longer known by those names in Wales.
|| {{w|Powys}}
||
|-
| Lionsgate
|| {{w|Lionsgate|A film studio}}
|| {{w|Leicester}}
|| The word/suffix "-gate" in placenames often refer to {{w|Harrogate|ancient streets or roads}}, or possibly such a way through a gap that is natural (e.g. {{w|Ramsgate}}'s cliffs) or in a city wall (which can thus be sealed, or 'gated'). There are no obvious inspirations for Lionsgate in that part of the country &emdash; ''Ram''sgate, in particular, is at the extreme eastern end of the southern edge of the UK.
|-
| Kingsbottom
|| Another "-bottom". A possible reference to {{w|King's Landing}}, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms of {{w|Westeros}} and one of its districts Fleabottom.
|| {{w|Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve|Suffolk Coast}}
|| Possibly named for the town of {{w|King's Lynn}}, also located in East Anglia but close to its north coast.
|-
| Aberforth
|| {{w|Aberforth Dumbledore}} is {{w|Albus Dumbledore}}'s brother in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The name is sometimes translated as "from the river", but without any etymological references. "Aber" is Welsh for a "river mouth" or estuary, and is widespread in Wales, and occasionally found due to Celtic influence in other parts of the UK (such as {{w|Aberdeen}}).
|| {{w|Aberystwyth}}
|| {{w|Aberporth}} ("Mouth [of the] port" - the Welsh equivalent of the English name Portsmouth) is a real town located a little further southwest along the Welsh coast. {{w|Forth}} may be a reference to the {{w|Firth of Forth}} in Scotland, where "Firth" means estuary or fjord, and "Forth" is thought to mean "the open air". Aberforth would literally mean "the mouth of the river Forth", which is the location of {{w|Edinburgh}} in Scotland. Alternatively, "forth" in Welsh could be a soft mutated form of the Welsh name "{{w|Borth}}" (the name of a town - but not a river - a little further north along the coast), which is itself a soft mutated form of the word "porth" meaning port.
|-
| South Norwessex
|| Another mash-up of {{w|Sussex}} ("South Saxons") with the obsolete {{w|Wessex}} ("West Saxons") and never extant {{w|Norsex}} ("North Saxons"). Also southwest of West Norsussex.
|| {{w|Birmingham}}
||
|-
| Dryford
|| Would refer to a river crossing without water. "{{w|Ford (crossing)|-ford}}" is a common placename element.
|| {{w|Shropshire Hills}}
||
|-
| Frampton
|| There are many {{w|Frampton}}s in the UK. It means "town on the river Frome" - and there are also several {{w|River Frome}}s. The name is famous thanks to rock musician {{w|Peter Frampton}}
|| {{w|Bury St Edmunds}}
||see also "Southframpton"
|-
| Cambridge
|| {{w|Cambridge|No joke}}
|| {{w|Cambridge}}
|| Cambridge and Oxford, the two most prestigious university towns, are correctly marked. Together, they form {{w|Oxbridge}}
|-
| Kingsfriend
|| Possibly a joke about the royal patronage given to certain towns - for instance, {{w|Bognor Regis}} and {{w|Royal Wootton Bassett}}. Also {{w|Knighton, Powys|Knighton}} (a King's friend?) is very close to this locale, and so is {{w|Kington, Herefordshire|Kington}}.
|| Near the England-Wales border
||
|-
| Cair Paravel
|| {{w|Cair Paravel}} is the castle where the ruler of {{w|Narnia}} lives in the ''Narnia'' series.
|| {{w|Dedham Vale}}
||
|-
| Camelot
|| {{w|Camelot}} was (in legend) {{w|King Arthur}}'s court.
|| Near the England-Wales border
|| The King Arthur myth did in fact originate in the Welsh culture. However, most sites associated with Camelot, such as {{w|Winchester}}, {{w|Glastonbury}} and {{w|Cadbury Castle}}, are in England.
|-
| Nothingham
|| A pun on {{w|Nottingham}}, famous for {{w|Sherwood Forest}}, the legendary home of {{w|Robin Hood}}.
|| Near {{w|Northampton}}
||
|-
| Cumberbatch
|| A surname, best known as that of actor {{w|Benedict Cumberbatch}}.
|| {{w|Harlow}}
|| The surname of a famous actress is replaced with that of a famous actor
|-
| Dampshire
|| A pun on the county of {{w|Hampshire}}. Generically a joking reference to any county, particularly of the {{w|West Country}}, to imply it is particularly prone to rain.
|| Gloucestershire
||
|-
| The CW
|| {{w|The CW|An American TV channel}}.
|| {{w|Pembrokeshire}}
|| Presumably the placement is a reference to Welsh words such as "cwm" which use W as a vowel.
|-
| Whaling
|| The practice of hunting whales. May be a reference to other -ing towns like {{w|Reading, Berkshire|Reading}} (which is actually pronounced "redding", not "reeding"), and also to its location in Wales.
|| {{w|Merthyr Tydfil}}
||
|-
| Paulblart
|| ''{{w|Paul Blart: Mall Cop}}'' is a 2009 comedy film starring Kevin James
|| Near {{w|Chelmsford}}
|| Possibly a humorous contrast with Cumberbatch above, a highbrow British classical actor followed by a lowbrow American movie character.
|-
| Oxford
|| {{w|Oxford|No joke}}
|| {{w|Oxford}}
|| See Cambridge. Surprisingly, Randall made no attempt to troll readers by switching the locations of Cambridge and Oxford. Or he did, but ironically from the wrong 'correct' assumption!
|-
| Moorhen
|| The {{w|moorhen}} is a waterfowl.
|| {{w|Gower Peninsula}}
|| Possibly punning on nearby {{w|Swansea}}.
|-
| Cardigan
|| {{w|Cardigan, Ceredigion|No joke}} - it seems funny to Americans because of the {{w|Cardigan (sweater)|knitted sweater}} popularised by the {{w|James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan|Earl of Cardigan}}
|| {{w|Newport, Wales}}
|| The actual Cardigan is on the west coast. The name may be punning on the city of {{w|Cardiff}}, capital of Wales, which is further south-west.
|-
| BBC Channel 4
|| A composite of {{w|Channel 4}} and the {{w|BBC}} (UK TV operators) confusing the meaning of TV channel with a geographic channel. There ''is'' a {{w|BBC Four}} (digital TV channel) ''and'' a {{w|BBC Radio 4}} (FM and digital radio) with an {{w|BBC Radio 4 Extra|adoptive daughter-station}} (digital only, originally called BBC7), but none of these are ever really called "BBC Channel 4" by locals, and it is hard to say what detail 'an American' might ''think'' he knows.
|| {{w|Bristol Channel}}
||
|-
| London
|| By virtue of being the capital and largest city, as well as a famous {{w|world city}}, London is one of the few cities in Britain that anyone, no matter how ignorant of British geography, can manage to name correctly.
|| London
|| It is not unknown for foreigners ''and'' British alike (even some residents of London) to assume that London has a more central location in England (such as {{w|Midlands|'The Midlands'}}) or {{w|Britannia Inferior|even further towards the north}}. Randall seems to be more knowledgable than this.
|-
| GMT
|| A reference to {{w|Greenwich Mean Time}}. Shown on the map near the London bourough of Greenwich through which the GMT meridian passes.
|| {{w|Greenwich}} (roughly)
||
|-
| Corbyn
|| A reference to the leader (at the time of publication) of the UK {{w|Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party}} {{w|Jeremy Corbyn}}.
|| {{w|The Cotswolds}}
|| May be a confusion with the town of {{w|Corby}} although it is not near the location shown.
|-
| Tems-upon-Thames
|| A joke about the counter-intuitive pronunciation of {{w|Thames}}.
|| {{w|Rochester}}
||
|-
| Minas Tirith
|| {{w|Minas Tirith}} is the capital of Gondor in ''Lord of the Rings'' and is built on the side of a mountain.
|| {{w|Bristol}}
|| Clifton Village, in Bristol, is built on the side of the Avon Gorge so could be compared to {{w|Minas Tirith}}. Nearby {{w|Cheddar Gorge}} is famous for its steep cliffs that resemble the landscape from Lord of the Rings.
|-
| Hogsmeade
|| {{w|Hogsmeade}} is the nearest village to Hogwarts in the ''Harry Potter'' books.
|| {{w|Dover}}
|| The fictional Hogsmeade was in Scotland. Randall shows the {{w|Channel Tunnel}} running from there, a possible reference to Hogsmeade's secret connections to Hogwarts.
|-
| Tubemap
|| The {{w|Tube Map}} is the map of the {{w|London Underground}}, widely considered a masterpiece of design.
|| {{w|Outer London}}
||
|-
| Cambnewton
|| {{w|Cam Newton}} is quarterback for the {{w|Carolina Panthers}}. "Cam-" is common for placenames on any of the several British rivers called "{{w|Cam River|Cam}}", while "Newton" means "new town". Also possibly a pun on Camden Town, a touristic district in North London, although not its actual location on the map.
|| {{w|West Country}}
||
|-
| Efrafa
|| Efrafa is a rabbit warren in the story ''{{w|Watership Down}}''.
|| {{w|Chidden}}
|| According to the story, the warren is located roughly here - the real {{w|Watership Down, Hampshire|Watership Down}} is in Hampshire.
|-
| Chansey
|| {{w|Chansey|Another Pokémon}}. "-sey" is a common suffix meaning "island".
|| {{w|Dungeness (headland|Dungeness}}
||
|-
| Oughghough
|| Playing on common place name elements, "oughghough" has no clear pronunciation under the rules of English. It could be "Uff-guff", "Oo-gow", "Uh-guh" or any combination of these sounds. The name looks similar to the real {{w|Loughborough}} ("Luff-bruh")
|| {{w|Barnstaple}}
|| Legend has it that Loughborough was once pronounced 'Loogabarooga' by a visiting Australian.
|-
| Sundial
|| A {{w|sundial}} is a clock using a shadow to tell the time.
|| {{w|Wiltshire}}
|| The location roughly corresponds with {{w|Stonehenge}}, an ancient stone circle that was likely used to track the sun (though as a ritual calendar, rather than a clock)
|-
| Dobby
|| {{w|Magical_creatures_in_Harry_Potter#Dobby|Dobby}} is a character in {{w|Harry Potter}}.
|| {{w|Southampton}}
|| Similar to {{w|Derby}}.
|-
| Lower Bottom
|| Another -bottom. Also a redundancy, as the "bottom" is the lowest place by definition.
|| {{w|Devon}}
||
|-
| Southframpton
|| A confusion with {{w|Southampton}} which is nearby the location shown. The use of the postfix "frampton" is a reference to the "Frampton" elsewhere on the map, just as Southampton is distinguished from {{w|Northampton}}.
|| {{w|Milford on Sea}}
|| Frampton happens to be a common surname in the area.
|-
| Blandford
|| {{w|Blandford|No joke}}
|| {{w|Cornwall}}
|| The real Blandford is a bit further east, in Dorset, roughly under the m in 'Southframpton'.
|-
| Menthol
|| {{w|Menthol}} is a chemical with minty taste that produces a cooling sensation, and is used in mints and flavoured cigarettes.
|| {{w|Eastbourne}}
|| Possibly a reference to Methil in Fife (but possibly not).
|-
| West Sea
|| Literal description.
|| {{w|Atlantic Ocean}}
|| Historically, this was the name for the ocean off the UK's west coast. According to the {{w|Shipping Forecast#Region names|list of sea areas}} used in the UK's {{w|Shipping Forecast}}, that region of sea is called "Lundy"
|-
| Tarp
|| Tarp, short for {{w|tarpaulin}}, is a waterproof sheet for storage and weather protection.
|| {{w|Teignmouth}}
||
|-
| Longbit
|| Literal description.
|| {{w|Cornwall}}
||
|}

==Transcript==

:[A black-and-white map of Great Britain. The detail on the map is minimal, showing mainly the outlines of the land, chevrons representing mountains, and points representing cities. The only other features are a small drawing of a protractor south of one peninsula, and a lake with two small sailboats on the west side of the largest landmass. The caption in the upper-right states in large letters "A BRITISH MAP," then in smaller letters underneath, "LABELED BY AN AMERICAN." Most of the map's area is covered by labels for various features, which are listed below.]

<nowiki>
[In Scotland, from north to south:]
Helcaraxë
Blick
Everdeen
Norther Sea (to the west)
Highlands
Loch Lomond
Fjordham
Glassdoor
Eavestroughs
Seasedge
Meowth
Chough
Blighton
Glutenfree

[In England, from north to south:]
Eyemouth
Earhand
Hairskull
Lakebottom
Braintree
Skinflower
Weedle
Bjork
Crewneck
Paisley
Eeugh
Aidenn
Basil
Hillfolk
Waterdown
Borough-Upon-Mappe
Cadbury
Landmouth (to the East)
The Shire
West Norsussex
Redsox
Hamwich
Lionsgate
Keebler
South Norwessex
Kingsbottom
Cambridge
Frampton
Nothingham
Cair Paravel
Dampshire
Cumberbatch
Oxford
Paulblart
Corbyn
London
GMT
BBC Channel 4 (to the West)
Minas Tirith
Tems-Upon-Thames
Tubemap
Hogsmeade
Cambnewton
Oughghough
Efrafa
Chansey
Sundial
Lower Bottom
Dobby
Menthol
West Sea (to the West)
Blandford
Southframpton
Tarp
Longbit

[In Wales, from north to south:]
Fhqwhgads
Cabinetry
Bloughshire
Aberforth
Dryford
Kingsfriend
Camelot
The CW
Whaling
Moorhen
Cardigan

[In Northern Ireland:]
Belfast Devoe

[In the Republic of Ireland:]
Dubstep
</nowiki>

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Harry Potter]]
[[Category:Chronicles of Narnia]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

2736: Only Serifs

2023-02-12T11:38:41Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ Completely rewritten so it's no longer an explanation or a spoiler, but rather a description of what someone would actually see

{{comic
| number = 2736
| date = February 10, 2023
| title = Only Serifs
| image = only_serifs_2x.png
| imagesize = 246x112px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you ever want to get beaten up by a bunch of graphic designers, try removing the serifs from Times New Roman and adding them to Comic Sans.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SHERIFF CHASING A RAMPAGING MOB OF OUTRAGED GRAPHIC DESIGNERS- what is the text? Do NOT delete this tag until Friday, May 9th, 2023..}}

This is a play upon the main difference between {{w|serif}} and {{w|sans-serif}} fonts. Serifs are ticks, or end-bars, at the ends of lines that make up letters, commonly seen in {{w|Calligraphy|calligraphic}} lettering (written with a flat-nibbed pen) or {{w|Signwriter|signwriting}} (often painted and detailed with fine brushes). Rather than mere lines, there are (for example) "feet" put at the bottom of a letter such as A, and possibly also at angles such as its peak. (In the comic, the first three elements appear to be of such an "A", with the text as a whole appearing to be "Aa Bb Cc Dd"). Fonts that use this visual decoration are called "Serif" fonts, while others do not and are thus "Sans Serif" fonts ("sans" being French for "without"). Randall is suggesting a font using ''only'' these accent pieces and skipping the "body" of the letters entirely. Of course, this renders the text basically unreadable.{{Citation needed}}

As for the title text, {{w|Times New Roman}} is a widely available and recognized typeface with serifs, being one of the most commonly used fonts of its type. {{w|Comic Sans}} is a ''mostly'' sans-serif typeface (hence the “Sans” in the name) designed to look like (non-{{w|cursive}}, or {{w|Block letters|block}}-style) handwriting, more akin to a basic and unadorned lettering written freehand by thick-nibbed pen, paintbrush, spraycan or chalk/marker upon a blackboard/whiteboard. Many graphic designers {{w|Comic_Sans#Opposition|dislike Comic Sans}} due to a history of amateurs using it in contexts where its informal style is inappropriate, simply in order to vary the font away from the standards of Times or Arial styles (two major serifed and non-serifed families of font, respectively). Defenders claim that it is easier for dyslexics to read, and that it works well in less formal, typically children's contexts. Randall is suggesting here that if you want to severely anger a bunch of graphic designers (i.e. enough to beat you up), then you should try removing the characteristic and aesthetic serifs on Times New Roman and add them instead to the hated Comic Sans – which would probably make it look even worse to a graphic designer.

Randall has had numerous careers and hobbies where he has delighted in exploring novel methods of resolving disputes, all of which has satisfied nobody and led to him being disinvited to numerous [[514|events]].

The font is probably one of the many variants of {{w|Caslon}}, with its variety of A-serifs; some variants (3, 540) having the double-seriffed C.

==Transcript==
:[A graphic consisting of three light-grey horizontal lines, reminiscent of the ruled paper used for handwriting, or the background to a font display. Superimposed on these ruling lines are a bunch of incomprehensible marks, looking like they might be the fragmentary remains of actual letters. These marks tend to line up with the top, middle, and bottom ruling lines. Underneath the graphic is an explanatory caption.]

:Instead of serif or sans-serif,
:my new font is '''''only''''' serifs.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Language]]

2721: Euler Diagrams

2023-01-07T13:42:56Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ trim excess detail

{{comic
| number = 2721
| date = January 6, 2023
| title = Euler Diagrams
| image = euler_diagrams_2x.png
| imagesize = 370x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Things Leonhard Euler created ( most of math ( overlapping circle diagrams ) a cricket bowling machine ) Things John Venn created
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE EULER BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is showing an off-screen person a {{w|Venn diagram}} he made about something. The off-screen person then informs Cueball that it is in fact an {{W|Euler diagram}}, not a Venn diagram. Cueball then proceeds to complain that {{w|List of things named after Leonhard Euler|many things}} are named for {{w|Leonhard Euler}} (specifically {{w|Euler's constant}} and {{w|Euler's function}}) and and wants to call the diagram a Venn diagram to give {{w|John Venn}} more credit. His off-screen friend refuses, and mockingly states that numbers are now called "Euler letters", which is currently false.{{citation needed}} Modern {{w|Arabic numerals}} predate Euler by at least a century, and other numerals existed before that.

A Venn diagram is "a widely used diagram style that shows the logical relation between sets". It shows overlap of items in different categories (sets) by using overlapping circles (or other shapes) to stand in for categories. If an item is within a certain circle, it is in the category the circle represents. So in a Venn diagram of "animals" and "fuzzy things", "cat" would be in the overlap between both circles, "frog" would be inside only "animals", and "kiwifruit" would only be in "fuzzy things". "Crystals" would be outside both circles. In a Venn diagram, all 'circles' must overlap with all other circles, even if there are no items in the overlap. This is easy enough for 2 and 3 sets, but as the number of sets increases the diagrams can get [https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22159-logic-blooms-with-new-11-set-venn-diagram/ rather complicated], and the sets can start looking very non-circular. An Euler diagram depicts only the non-empty combinations, and therefore does not have this constraint. The diagram in the comic does not have any overlap between the left and right sections, so while it is an Euler diagram, it is not a Venn diagram.

[[File:Euler Diagrams title text.png|300px|thumb|right|The title text as a Venn diagram]]
The title text is an example of a "written" Venn diagram, with Leonhard Euler creating "most of math", John Venn creating a {{w|cricket}} bowling machine, and both of them having created overlapping circle diagrams.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} 
:[Cueball is standing in front of a whiteboard, evidently giving a talk. The title "Venn Diagram of" is visible, along with three partially overlapping circles and various illegible text.]
:Offscreen voice: Actually, that's an ''Euler'' diagram, because-
:Cueball (palms upraised pleadingly): Come '''''onnnn.'''''
:Cueball: '''''Everything''''' is named after Euler. Euler's constant, Euler's function.
:Cueball: Can't we let John Venn have this?
:Offscreen voice: No.
:Offscreen voice: Also, numbers are now "Euler letters."

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Euler diagrams]]
[[Category:Venn diagrams]]
[[Category:Sport]]

2721: Euler Diagrams

2023-01-07T13:37:20Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ No indication offscreeen voice is a "friend".

{{comic
| number = 2721
| date = January 6, 2023
| title = Euler Diagrams
| image = euler_diagrams_2x.png
| imagesize = 370x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Things Leonhard Euler created ( most of math ( overlapping circle diagrams ) a cricket bowling machine ) Things John Venn created
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE EULER BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is showing an off-screen person a {{w|Venn diagram}} he made about something. The off-screen person then informs Cueball that it is in fact an {{W|Euler diagram}}, not a Venn diagram. Cueball then proceeds to complain that {{w|List of things named after Leonhard Euler|many things}} are named for {{w|Leonhard Euler}} (specifically {{w|Euler's constant}} and {{w|Euler's function}}) and and wants to call the diagram a Venn diagram to give {{w|John Venn}} more credit. His off-screen friend refuses, and mockingly states that numbers are now called "Euler letters", which is currently false.{{citation needed}} Modern {{w|Arabic numerals}} predate Euler by at least a century, and other numerals existed before that.

A Venn diagram is "a widely used diagram style that shows the logical relation between sets". It shows overlap of items in different categories (sets) by using overlapping circles (or other shapes) to stand in for categories. If an item is within a certain circle, it is in the category the circle represents. So in a Venn diagram of "animals" and "fuzzy things", "cat" would be in the overlap between both circles, "frog" would be inside only "animals", and "kiwifruit" would only be in "fuzzy things". "Crystals" would be outside both circles. In a Venn diagram, all 'circles' must overlap with all other circles, even if there are no items in the overlap. This is easy enough for 2 and 3 sets, but as the number of sets increases the diagrams can get [https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22159-logic-blooms-with-new-11-set-venn-diagram/ rather complicated], and the sets can start looking very non-circular. An Euler diagram depicts only the non-empty combinations, and therefore does not have this constraint. The diagram in the comic does not have any overlap between the left and right sections, so while it is an Euler diagram, it is not a Venn diagram.

[[File:Euler Diagrams title text.png|300px|thumb|right|The title text as a Venn diagram]]
The title text is an example of a "written" Venn diagram, with Leonhard Euler creating "most of math", John Venn creating a {{w|cricket}} bowling machine, and both of them having created overlapping circle diagrams.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} 
:[Cueball is standing in front of a whiteboard with his palms raised. The text "Venn Diagram of" is visible in large letters, with "of" on the next line and slightly smaller. Below this are two squiggly lines representing illegible text, followed by three partially overlapping circles with a number of squiggly lines in them.] 
:Offscreen voice: Actually, that's an ''Euler'' diagram, because-
:Cueball: Come '''''onnnn.'''''
:Cueball: '''''Everything''''' is named after Euler. Euler's constant, Euler's function.
:Cueball: Can't we let John Venn have this?
:Voice: No.
:Voice: Also, numbers are now "Euler letters."

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Euler diagrams]]
[[Category:Venn diagrams]]
[[Category:Sport]]

Talk:2675: Pilot Priority List

2022-09-24T03:31:17Z

Scs:

Who else googled 'words ending with ate' and had an extra chuckle at what could have been? My favorites: circumnavigate, excommunicate, disarticulate. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.175.30|172.70.175.30]] 05:08, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
:I was disappointed not to see 'conjugate' on the list. [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 09:16, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
:Not to mention 'copulate'. I guess he wanted to keep it G-rated. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:10, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

How about 'exterminate'? [[User:MarquisOfCarrabass|MarquisOfCarrabass]] ([[User talk:MarquisOfCarrabass|talk]]) 05:13, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
: My thoughts exactly! (Note: I moved your signature up) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:19, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

What categories does this kind of list belong in. I guess Randall has made similar lists before? Should there be a category for this kind of comics, that do not easily belong in any other. I added Food category because of the cake, but that was just for the title text... Also if anyone has a better link to a good picture of a layered cake, as [https://3brothersbakery.com/product/wedding-white-chandelier-tier/ the one currently] in the title text explanation please add that. But it is a good picture resembling the airspace diagram inverted very much --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:53, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
:I can see that for instance this comic with a list, [[1957: 2018 CVE List]], has been added to the [[:Category:Charts]]. In that case this comic should also, but to me this is not really a chart. Maybe a Category:Lists would work? Should it be "lists" rather than "list"? Not native English speaker. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:56, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
::::(On List/Lists, yes, I would say Category:Lists would be a categorical list of all lists. Any such Category:List would be appropriate if ''a particular'' list (henceforth "it's that list again!") has multiple appearances (perhaps in rationed fractions, like the "things not to do" one) across comics that thus need to be categorised. If that ever happens though then the List might be better "Category:The List", leaving room for The Other List, A Further Different List, all those categories maybe needing to be added to a category of all "List"s (which of course qualifies them for being under "Lists"), but we'll cross those bridges if we come to them. :P ) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 14:10, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
::Other list comics (Feel free to add to mine without signature):
:::[[2525: Air Travel Packing List]]
:::[[1011: Baby Names]]
:::[[1957: 2018 CVE List]]
:::[[887: Future Timeline]]
:::[[]]

Afterate - enjoy a waffer-thin mint.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.155|172.70.162.155]] 09:07, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

Does anybody else get "list of achievements" vibes from this? it shares many features like simple names, descriptions etc. [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 10:10, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

Instead of ANC it's ANCDARESPC [[Special:Contributions/172.71.167.12|172.71.167.12]] 12:40, 22 September 2022 (UTC)Bumpf

As for Categories, this is definitely Aviation related and a List. So, most of things that [[1937:_IATA_Airport_Abbreviations]] qualifies for, should also apply to this one. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 13:43, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
:Created [[:Category:Aviation]]. [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 23:05, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

Am I the only one who thought about the INXS video "Mediate"? https://youtu.be/Pr-Vfnd7Yno [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 17:21, 22 September 2022 (UTC)
::Definitely not. I came here to check for this. Kind of disappointed that this is the only comment to that effect (and also disappointed that Mr. Munro missed the opportunity.)[[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.177|172.71.142.177]] 04:04, 23 September 2022 (UTC)

Agitate - put protest signs on the cockpit door [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.227|108.162.216.227]] 11:03, 23 September 2022 (UTC)

Way at the absolute bottom of the list should be Autodefenestrate - the act of throwing oneself out a window. -MeZimm [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.177|172.69.33.177]] 00:03, 24 September 2022 (UTC)

This comment is to memorialize "our" (explainxkcd's) supposed "ELUCIDATE, EXPLICATE, ANNOTATE, DEMONSTRATE, CITATE AND ILLUSTRATE CHECKLIST" for after the incomplete tag gets removed. Should we add a Trivia-level section after the Transcript for it? Or put it in the Editors' FAQ? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.243|172.70.210.243]] 02:06, 24 September 2022 (UTC)

This explanation needs an actual picture of the "upside down wedding cake" airspace class diagrams referred to in the titletext. Like this: https://www.faasafety.gov/files/gslac/FTB/Airspace/Airspace%20Chart.jpg —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 03:31, 24 September 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2668: Artemis Quote

2022-09-05T21:44:00Z

Scs:

Talk:2668: Artemis Quote

2022-09-05T21:39:16Z

Scs:

The first quote is self-referential (and confuses people, when quoted). The second plays unto the myth that the moon landing was staged. It is nice to be able to choose words, which are cited. A great opportunity to confuse people. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.143|172.68.110.143]] 21:09, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

To those of you wondering [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2668:_Artemis_Quote&diff=294177&oldid=294176 why, "<tt>mankind" ,[emphasis</tt>," currently appears in the wikitext,] I would direct you to [[explain xkcd talk:Editor FAQ#Punctuation inside quotes and parentheses]]. I am discouraged by such pettiness. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.59|172.70.214.59]] 21:26, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

Not clear to me we've got the right explanation, here. I read "expand on that legacy" as meaning, "Let's 'accidentally' say something even *more* confusing*". And that what they *meant* to say was "This is one of my favorite historical quotes — the first words spoken by an Apollo astronaut on the moon", but then "accidentally" substituted "Artemis" for "Apollo", as if they were claiming that Artemis was the first... —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 21:39, 5 September 2022 (UTC)

2579: Tractor Beam

2022-09-03T02:47:03Z

Scs: /* Explanation */ correct TVTropes link

{{comic
| number = 2579
| date = February 9, 2022
| title = Tractor Beam
| image = tractor_beam.png
| titletext = Did you base the saucer shape on pop culture depictions of aliens, or was that stuff based on your ships? Does the rotational symmetry help with ... hey, where are you going?
}}

==Explanation==
Cueball is being pulled into a spaceship by a beam of light, called a {{w|tractor beam}} in the title. This is a {{tvtropes|TractorBeam|common trope}} in science fiction, and usually pretty scary for the person involved. However, while Cueball is being pulled up, he asks a series of questions about the beam, about the force on the ship, and about the ship itself. The punch line is the caption - the aliens, frustrated by Cueball's questioning, release him and move on, to presumably find a different human to abduct and study. Many people have reported {{w|Alien abduction|being abducted by aliens}} in real life, though none of these have been confirmed.{{citation needed}}

The first three questions deal with the properties of the beam – how it can be controlled to pull only him (and his clothes), not anything else. He also wonders whether the beam would still continue to lift his shoes if he took them off midway. Perhaps his apparel is only rising with him because it normally stays attached to him, perhaps it is similarly levitated with equal force or impulse. Theoretically, it could only lift his clothing, with enough force to hoist him along with it, though if this was done with insufficient finesse, it could cause damage to the clothing or the person. (One might be tempted to call this a {{tvtropes|NegativeSpaceWedgie|Space Wedgie}}.) It is highly unlikely that this type of tractor beam could be used on Cueball without him realizing it, which would likely lead to him asking how the tractor beam lifted the clothes and not him.

Next, Cueball asks if his weight is pulling the ship downward. This would be the case, for example, if he were hoisted upwards by a rope instead of the beam, as equal but opposite forces act against each other, but not if the beam alters the nature of his surroundings such as with {{w|The First Men in the Moon|Cavorite}} or another means of {{w|gravitational shielding}} or alteration.

Then he asks what will happen if a bat flies through the beam. Things that could happen include the beam breaking (and him falling downward) due to the projected effect being interrupted, the bat being pulled up ahead of him as it enters the effective volume of the levitating beam or else nothing at all as it is outside the actual volumetric segment of the beam that is more than ambient light-effects. It may presumably have a relationship with the same focal effect as that which avoids the ground upon which he previously stood being drawn upwards. Also, the shadow of the bat on the ground might make the light beam look like an inverted {{w|Bat-Signal}}.

As the ship leaves, Cueball continues asking questions, as shown in the title text. Those questions address the shape of the ship. He asks whether the aliens based the saucer shape on depictions of extraterrestrials in earth popular culture, or if classic flying saucers were inspired by them.
His next question was cut off, but what we heard is "does the rotational symmetry help with".

Whether Cueball actually arrived onboard the ship is uncertain. If he started badgering the aliens with questions during the lift and then (as stated) was immediately set down again then he did not. Either way, they got fed up and decided to return him to the ground instead of sharing their knowledge, or just because they preferred someone less talkative. They may prefer or expect more scared, overawed, or surprised abductees but, by whatever alien criteria they judge their catches, it seems he isn't what they want.

This was the third comic in less than three weeks featuring aliens using this type of flying saucer type spaceship. The other two comics were in a row just 6 and 7 comics before this one, [[2572: Alien Observers]] and [[2573: Alien Mission]].

==Transcript==
:[A flying saucer type spacecraft hangs in the air above a flat area with scattered rocks and two hills in the background. A beam of 'light' emerges, a conical region textured with wavy lines radiating along its length, from a small square opening beneath the bottom of the craft going down to the ground a bit right of the saucer where its conceivably circular cross-section is rendered elliptic by both its angle of projection and our own viewing perspective. Cueball hangs suspended within the middle of the beam, above the ground but still some way from the saucer. His arms are held out to either side and his legs are bent up behind him. He is looking up at the saucer while talking.]
:Cueball: Does this beam only lift me? How do you avoid pulling up dirt and leaves and stuff? If I kick off my shoes, will they fall?
:Cueball: Is my weight pulling your ship downward? What will happen if a bat flies through the beam?
:Cueball: Hey, why does your ship have those blinky lights? Are they...

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Moments later, the aliens set me back down and left.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Aliens]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

2021-06-22T20:58:22Z

Scs:

Looks like they renamed the Wikipedia article mentioned as "Maple Syrup Urine '''Syndrome'''" to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup_urine_disease Maple Syrup Urine '''Disease'''].[[User:Keavon|Keavon]] ([[User talk:Keavon|talk]]) 05:03, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

This rythmic sounding has to do with metrical <strike>foots</strike> feet, I think. Maybe someone more into it than I can explain...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_%28prosody%29 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.164|108.162.229.164]] 05:21, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

: It's just a 4-foot trochaic ("trochaic octameter"?) meter. ^- ^- ^- ^-. Also, I'm curious now, is "foots" the proper plural when discussing meter, or is that just a typo/misunderstanding? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.150|199.27.128.150]] 06:37, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

:: Oh, right, the plural must be "feet". I just had a brain fart. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.164|108.162.229.164]] 10:23, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

:: It is a trochaic tetrameter. Tetra = 4, octa = 8.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 12:26, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

::: Right, it's number of feet, not number of syllables. My mistake. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.150|199.27.128.150]] 15:04, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

: This one is definitely related: http://xkcd.com/856/ --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.68|141.101.104.68]] 08:08, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Unless "Gloucester" is two syllables, Randall made a mistake/wanted to see if we're awake.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.224|108.162.246.224]] 06:33, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
:Depending on where you're from, it can be pronounced (quasi-phonetically) as "Glow-ster". [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:24, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

: Actually it is. Silly British accents. It's pronounced roughly "Gloss-ter". [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.150|199.27.128.150]] 06:37, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

::In that case, I retract my previous statement and apologize.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.224|108.162.246.224]] 07:20, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

With regards to the roll-over text, mention could be made of the long-running BBC radio show "I'm sorry I haven't a clue" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Sorry_I_Haven%27t_A_Clue ). It is comedy panel game, and one of the regular rounds is 'One Song to the Tune of Another'. It may be coincidence, but one panellist of the show is Barry Cryer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Cryer ) who happened to have recorded Purple People Eater... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.184|141.101.98.184]] 08:26, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Why isn't Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the list? [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.120|103.22.201.120]] 11:41, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

There's a typo in "Quantuum vacuum plasma thruster". [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.184|141.101.98.184]] 12:08, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Dang someone beat me to writing in the transcript. Oh well, you did a much better job than I was doing anyway. =8o) [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:24, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Is it just me, or do these lyrics not REALLY match the TMNT title song? The first three lines are OK, but the following lines just repeats the pattern - the TMNT song has a different rhythm. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.169}}

:Each title is meant to be sung only to the "TMNT" part of the song. They aren't meant to be sung one after another to match the whole song. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.211|173.245.52.211]] 03:09, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

If you speak with a western US accent like me, museum is pronounced with 2 syllables (myoo zahm). I guess if you pronounce it correctly, its more like myoo-zee-uhm, which would make 'Edgar Allan Poe Museum' fit. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.213|108.162.246.213]] 03:18, 26 August 2014 (UTC)
:Please check with your friends and relations about the pronunciation of museum. All dictionaries show /mjuˈzi.əm/ (myoo-ZEE-um). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.144|108.162.238.144]] 19:49, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

It's a shame that "Infra Turbo Pigcart Racer" has a syllable too many, because that would've been perfect. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.197|141.101.104.197]] 08:31, 26 August 2014 (UTC)
:What's the extra syllable? I count In-fra Tur-bo Pig-cart Ra-cer. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.144|108.162.238.144]] 19:50, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

Is there any particular need to have a separate section for the wikilinks, rather than just embedding them in the transcript?--[[User:Marcus Hill|Marcus Hill]] ([[User talk:Marcus Hill|talk]]) 09:26, 26 August 2014 (UTC)
:I wouldn't think so - that's how they were originally... [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:19, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

This makes me think of "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.150}}

Damnit Monroe, for two reasons: 1. Now this all I can think about whenever I find a phrase that fits the syllable stress pattern, and 2. Why couldn't you have held off until 1413 for this - XKCD fourteen thirteen fits the stress pattern as well. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.204|108.162.250.204]] 06:15, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

I still don't know what the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme sounds like, but I can't look at more than one or two of these tetrametric trochees without immediately thinking of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oysMt8iL9UE Peter Gunn theme] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gunn_(song)] (which then stays stuck in my head for hours...). —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 17:25, 24 October 2015 (UTC)

Does anyone know how Randall compiled the list? {{unsigned ip|199.27.129.119}}

;Deleted pages

"Places named for Adolf Hitler" was deleted recently, which makes me wonder, how many other pages on Wikipedia that are linked here were also deleted? {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.135}}

;Missed articles
Is anyone compiling a list of articles that Randall missed, but that fit the rhythm? I can think of at least one: "Random number generator". [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 09:58, 5 August 2017 (UTC)
:I know Béla Viktor János Bartók fits the scheme. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.249|162.158.74.249]] 19:10, 31 October 2019 (UTC)
:"Universal basic income" fits. It's just a redirect and not a proper page though. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.206|172.69.69.206]] 19:40, 10 July 2020 (UTC)
:[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Bayern_Munich_(women) FC Bayern Munich (women)] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.15|162.158.203.15]] 14:48, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
: Today I was at {{w|Multi Router Traffic Grapher}} and it immediately reminded me of this comic... —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 20:58, 22 June 2021 (UTC)

1788: Barge

2020-09-20T11:28:38Z

Scs: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1788
| date = January 20, 2017
| title = Barge
| image = barge.png
| titletext = My life goal is to launch a barge into the air and have it land on one of Elon Musk's rockets.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another one of the "[[My Hobby]]" series, where [[Randall]] tells about a strange hobby. This one is depicted with three drawings illustrating the core concept, and explained in details in the caption.

The launch company {{w|SpaceX}} is currently testing a reusable rocket system, where the {{w|multi-stage rocket|first rocket stage}} is capable of landing back on either the launch pad or an {{w|autonomous spaceport drone ship}} after launch (See [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEr9cPpuAx8 this video] displaying both types of landing, from when the sea landing was successful the first time). The landing pads and ships are decorated with a "X" symbol from the SpaceX logo, with the center of the X being the desired landing spot.

Randall imagines creating a similar-looking barge and placing it near the intended landing site, except his barge's platform would be hollow in the middle with only a sheet of paper supporting the part where the rocket would land. Since the paper is painted to look just like the real landing platform, the goal of this setup is presumably to trick a returning first stage rocket into falling into the sea. This is the same concept as the old {{w|trapping pit}}. If a rocket attempts to land on Randall's barge, it will quickly burn through the paper and fall through the hole.

There are several reasons why this setup would not work in real life. First, the rocket actually navigates to the landing site using GPS coordinates shared with the real barge. It does not use cameras to identify its landing site and will not recognize another barge based solely on a painted logo. Also, a wide area around the rocket's flight path would be restricted around the launch window due to safety concerns. Vessels that are not part of the official launch plan would not be allowed in the area. Even if the fake barge manages to enter the area and does not get removed by authorities, at most it will cause the launch to be canceled for the day.

This "my hobby" is probably the most destructive one so far, as it would result in the total loss of the first stage containing nine space rocket engines. The costs associated with buying and remodeling a barge would also likely make this the most expensive hobby, even disregarding the costs to others, though it could potentially be reused if it did not get destroyed by the falling rocket. This hobby seems more appropriate for [[Black Hat]], considering that he is a real [[classhole]], and goes to show that Black Hat is as much part of Randall's personality as [[Cueball]].

The title text plays on the incredible difficulty of landing a rocket on a barge. Reusing rockets like this is a feat that has only recently become possible, some 60 years after the launch of the first satellite {{w|Sputnik 1}}. SpaceX, founded by {{w|Elon Musk}}, was the first (and so far only) organization to do so successfully. {{w|Blue Origin}} is also currently testing reusable rockets and achieved [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNRs2gMyLLk landing their first stage] before SpaceX, albeit [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8c7RUjNFDo only on land and only with a sub-orbital rocket].

Thus Randall imagines an even more implausible idea of turning the scenario upside down and getting a barge to land on one of Elon Musk's rockets. That would be a spectacular feat of engineering, and the challenges it presents as well as its inherent irony appear to satisfy Randall so much that he would make it into one of his life goals. Launching a barge in the first place would be tremendously difficult - they are big, heavy and not very {{w|aerodynamic}}. Maneuvering it through the air precisely enough to come down on top of a rocket would be difficult as well. The barge (and probably the rocket) would have to be redesigned if the goal is a soft landing, otherwise the falling barge would certainly destroy the rocket and possibly itself.

This comic was published on the week following SpaceX's {{w|List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches#2017|Iridium 1 mission}}, where the first stage of the rocket which delivered 10 satellites into orbit successfully landed on a barge near California. This was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLz-M7pki7U filmed from the returning stage 1] and also [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78AxtAyW4Vo from further away]. More details of the launch are available [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8wy5sQ2JDE here]. It marked the seventh time SpaceX successfully landed and recovered its booster on a commercial mission.

==Transcript==
:[There is one panel in this comic with the main drawing at the bottom. Two smaller drawings are inserted above this drawing to explain the idea.]

:[The first insert shows a barge with no center and a large piece of paper with the SpaceX logo above the barge.]

:[The second insert shows the paper stretched over the hole.]

:[The main drawing at the bottom shows a cross-section of the barge in water, showing there is only water below the paper. Above the paper the large first stage, without the top part with the payload, of a reusable rocket is attempting to land on the paper on the SpaceX logo (not visible in this view). It is still so high above the fake barge that the exhaust fire below the rocket is nowhere near the paper.]

:[Caption below the panels:]
:My hobby: Hollowing out the center of a barge, stretching paper over the hole painted with the SpaceX logo, and leaving it floating offshore near launch sites.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk]]

2347: Dependency

2020-08-18T00:12:08Z

Scs: /* Explanation */ explain ImageMagick

{{comic
| number = 2347
| date = August 17, 2020
| title = Dependency
| image = dependency.png
| titletext = Someday ImageMagick will finally break for good and we'll have a long period of scrambling as we try to reassemble civilization from the rubble.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A PROJECT [[User:Dgbrt|SOME RANDOM PERSON]] HAS BEEN THANKLESSLY MAINTAINING SINCE 2013. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Software design from the late 2010s onwards focused on a model of re-usability and modularization, creating micro-services which were the logical extreme of such a conclusion. While in theory, such a system may sound good for developers who would need to write and maintain many fewer lines of code, systems which are highly optimized are also highly susceptible to rapid changes. For example, the famous left-pad incident in Javascript's npm left many major and minor web services which at some level or another depended on it unable to build. A disgruntled developer unpublishing 11 lines of code was able to break everybody's build, because everyone was using it. [https://www.theregister.com/2016/03/23/npm_left_pad_chaos/]

The current model of libraries and open-source development (topics which Randall has addressed extensively in the past) relies heavily on the free and continued dedication of unpaid hobbyists. Though some major projects such as Linux may be able to garner enough attention to build an organization around it, many smaller projects, which are in turn reused by larger projects, may only be maintained by one person, either the founder or another who has taken the torch. Maintaining libraries requires both extensive knowledge of the library itself as well as any use cases and the broader community around it, which usually is suited for maintainers who have spent years at the task, and thus cannot be easily replaced. Thus, there are many abandoned projects on the internet as people move on to greener pastures. Far from the days of backwards compatibility, that's usually not a problem, unless a project happens to be far down the dependency chain, such as illustrated in the example, in which case there may be a minor crisis down the road for both the developers and the users down the chain.

[https://imagemagick.org/ ImageMagick], mentioned in the title text, is a popular, standalone utility for performing transformations between various graphics file formats, and various other transformations. While there are also numerous libraries and API's for performing these tasks within larger programs, ImageMagick is so popular and easy to use that many programs find it easier to just {{w|Shell (computing)#Other uses|shell out}} to ImageMagick to perform a necessary transformation. They therefore {{w|Dependency hell|depend}} on ImageMagick, and would break if ImageMagick were to disappear.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[A tower of blocks is shown. The upper half consists of many tiny blocks balanced on top of one another, labeled:]

All modern digital infrastructure

[The blocks get progressively larger leading down the image, leading to a single large block on top of which everything else is placed. This is balanced on top of two sets of blocks, one of which consists of a single tiny block placed on its side. This one is labeled:]

A project some random person in Nebraska has been thanklessly maintaining since 2003

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Programming]]

2347: Dependency

2020-08-17T23:48:45Z

Scs: /* Explanation */ citation needed

{{comic
| number = 2347
| date = August 17, 2020
| title = Dependency
| image = dependency.png
| titletext = Someday ImageMagick will finally break for good and we'll have a long period of scrambling as we try to reassemble civilization from the rubble.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A PROJECT [[User:Dgbrt|SOME RANDOM PERSON]] HAS BEEN THANKLESSLY MAINTAINING SINCE 2013. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Software design from the late 2010s onwards focused on a model of re-usability and modularization, creating micro-services which were the logical extreme of such a conclusion. While in theory, such a system may sound good for developers who would need to write and maintain many fewer lines of code, systems which are highly optimized are also highly susceptible to rapid changes. For example, the famous left-pad incident in Javascript's npm left many major and minor web services which at some level or another depended on it unable to build. A disgruntled developer unpublishing 11 lines of code was able to break everybody's build, because everyone was using it. [https://www.theregister.com/2016/03/23/npm_left_pad_chaos/]

The current model of libraries and open-source development (topics which Randall has addressed extensively in the past) relies heavily on the free and continued dedication of unpaid hobbyists. Though some major projects such as Linux may be able to garner enough attention to build an organization around it, many smaller projects, which are in turn reused by larger projects, may only be maintained by one person, either the founder or another who has taken the torch. Maintaining libraries requires both extensive knowledge of the library itself as well as any use cases and the broader community around it, which usually is suited for maintainers who have spent years at the task, and thus cannot be easily replaced. Thus, there are many abandoned projects on the internet as people move on to greener pastures. Far from the days of backwards compatibility, that's usually not a problem, unless a project happens to be far down the dependency chain, such as illustrated in the example, in which case there may be a minor crisis down the road for both the developers and the users down the chain.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[A tower of blocks is shown. The upper half consists of many tiny blocks balanced on top of one another, labeled:]

All modern digital infrastructure

[The blocks get progressively larger leading down the image, leading to a single large block on top of which everything else is placed. This is balanced on top of two sets of blocks, one of which consists of a single tiny block placed on its side. This one is labeled:]

A project some random person in Nebraska has been thanklessly maintaining since 2003

{{comic discussion}}

2341: Scientist Tech Help

2020-08-15T11:44:57Z

Scs: wasps are not bees

{{comic
| number = 2341
| date = August 3, 2020
| title = Scientist Tech Help
| image = scientist_tech_help.png
| titletext = I vaguely and irrationally resent how useful WebPlotDigitizer is.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by our finest algorhitms. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, Randall pokes fun at stereotypes of scientists that "tech people" hold.

In the first panel Randall, presents an idealized view of the tasks of tech people. A group of scientists have run their experiments and compiled their data, but find that the data is simply too complicated for humans, even advanced scientists such as themselves; the tech people resolve in heroic statements to decipher the data with their most advanced algorithms. Large portions of {{w|machine learning}} and {{w|data science}} hinge around finding a pattern (either regression or classification) in a given data set, but the more common, real-world problem is in {{w|data cleaning}} and preparation. For the most part, the rest can be done with preexisting implementations. These types of tasks are those that tech people both expect to perform, and hope to expand upon.

The second panel presents a different reality. The scientists are fully confident they can interpret the data on their own, provided they can access it, because the methods of ''recording'' their data are incredibly sub-par. Apparently wasps had infested the lab, and the scientists had to take photos of their equipment through the window. This created a much more fundamental problem of data format than normal (image vs spreadsheet, as opposed to something more normal like pixel-wise vs vertex-based segmentation). The joke is that the scientists' questions for their tech specialists are very mundane in nature; it presents not a chance to test and prove their machine learning systems, but a simple and tedious process of untangling digital paperwork. [https://old.reddit.com/r/talesfromtechsupport/comments/hxt0fw/my_whole_computer_went_black_what_did_you_do/ This is true in real life] — experts' expertise is usually deep, but not broad, and helping them with issues outside their comfort zone is rarely glamorous.

{{w|Polaroid Corporation|Polaroid}} is a brand of {{w|instant camera}}, though "Polaroid" is often used to refer to instant cameras in general. Excel is referring to {{w|Microsoft Excel}}, a spreadsheet management program.

The title text refers to [https://automeris.io/WebPlotDigitizer/ WebPlotDigitizer], a tool which may be used on visual displays of data such as graphs and charts in order to extract the underlying data. This tool would have the potential to solve the problem which the scientists have by extracting data from the images taken of the equipment. Randall acknowledges the usefulness of the tool, but also expresses some dislike that the tool was invented at all — someone must have had the original data to draw the graph, thus if they had made the data available then he wouldn't have to reverse engineer the plot. Other possibilities are that he simply feels that the tool is too powerful and leaving him less work to do, or that tools so trite and seemingly unnecessary prove so useful in the end.

[[2116: .NORM Normal File Format]] deals with nested file formats.

==Transcript==
:What tech people think scientists need help with:
:[Cueball, Ponytail, and Megan are facing a second Cueball and Hairbun. Ponytail is gesturing with her hand out. The second Cueball has his finger raised.]
:Ponytail: Please–our data, it's too complex! Can your magical machine minds unearth the patterns that lie within?
:Cueball 2: We shall marshal our finest algorithms!

:What scientists actually need:
:[The two Cueballs, Ponytail, Megan, and Hairbun are in the same position as before. The second Cueball no longer has his finger raised.]
:Ponytail: For a few weeks in June, the lab was infested by wasps, so we had to take pictures of the equipment through the window.
:Ponytail: How do you get graphs from a Polaroid photo into Excel?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Computers]]

2338: Faraday Tour

2020-07-29T13:57:53Z

Scs: corrected date (normal Monday comic, posted at 20:10 Randall's time)

{{comic
| number = 2338
| date = July 27, 2020
| title = Faraday Tour
| image = faraday_tour.png
| titletext = I asked them if it was safe to be running tours during the pandemic. They said, "During the what?"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FARADAY SUPERFAN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Hairy]], addressing an unseen camera (possibly the reader's POV) welcomes viewers to a {{w|Live streaming|livestream}} walk through "the world's largest {{w|Faraday cage}}." A Faraday cage blocks {{w|Electromagnetic field|electromagnetic transmission}} into and out of the cage area. Attempting to broadcast a walk through such a cage with any medium that uses radio waves would (theoretically, at least) cause the transmitter's signal to drop out completely, resulting in the loading wheel shown in panels three and four. Faraday cages do not necessarily have to be dark inside, as this one appears to be (they typically block longer wavelengths than those of visible light, which consists of electromagnetic waves). However, the darkness visually aligns with the concept of {{w|communications blackout}}, which is what Hairy's viewers experience while Hairy is in the cage. The darkness could be taken as a metaphor for depending so heavily on electronic connectivity for one's view of the world that anything not directly connected is conceived as unobservable.

The Faraday cage that Hairy is visiting may also be an {{w|anechoic chamber}} for testing radio equipment, which would be completely lined with {{w|radiation-absorbent material}}, not just an open-air cage, to ensure that the measurements inside are of the highest quality. There's no particular reason that it would have to have the lights off for his tour (in fact, it would be better to have the lights on so that he could see the features inside), but some anechoic chambers have been used for [https://www.zdnet.com/article/quietest-place-on-earth-causes-hallucinations/ sensory deprivation experiments], in which participants are shut inside in total darkness and quiet.

"Smash that like (or subscribe, etc.) button" is a typical command given by YouTubers to watchers, asking to publicly "like" the video or subscribe to their channel if they enjoyed it, ultimately to boost the creator's popularity. Developers want lots of views, likes, and subscribes because YouTube pays artists (e.g. 1 cent per 1000 views).

The title text refers to COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The joke is that, as they don't get cell service in the cage, the owners would be unaware of global events. This implies for comedic effect that the owners and workers solely live inside the Faraday cage, continuing the theme of treating connectivity as the only way to acquire information. They would still be able to receive news if they ever step outside to welcome visitors, or have print media delivered, but their choice to unconventionally isolate themselves might reflect their general attitudes to the world outside and it is also implied that Hairy is one of the rare few outsiders they have pre-agreed to allow to visit, or one of the few people who would think to ask for and plan a tour during a pandemic.

==Transcript==
:[Close-up on Hairy]
:Hairy: Hey there superfans, welcome to the livecast!

:[Hairy walks toward an opening in a large building]
:Hairy: Got a real treat for you today: a tour of the world's largest Faraday cage!
:Hairy: C'mon, let's check it-

:[Two panels of a "loading" spinner on a black background]

:[Hairy exits the building]
:Hairy: -was ''so cool!'' Wow!!
:Hairy: Thanks for coming along, and don't forget to smash that like button!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Physics]]

2334: Slide Trombone

2020-07-29T13:51:17Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ calling this complete

{{comic
| number = 2334
| date = July 17, 2020
| title = Slide Trombone
| image = slide_trombone.png
| titletext = Remember the CPS 2000, the super soaker that was discontinued because it was too powerful? Relatedly, can I borrow your tuba?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a conspiracy to keep the masses from rebelling by preventing them from having powerful super soakers. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Might be nice to mention how the super soaker worked; which relates to why the trombone makes a hissing noise which younger readers may not understand. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Megan]] carries her "old" {{w|trombone}}, a bass musical instrument with a movable sliding piece usually used to change a musical note's pitch. The people offscreen do not know what's coming until it turns out that the trombone contains a water gun and she soaks the people offscreen. This super soaker is also referenced in [[220: Philosophy]] and [[517: Marshmallow Gun]]. If the water gun featured in this comic is the same as that depicted in previous comics, it would likely be a [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1991/super_soaker_ss50.php Super Soaker 50], the first widely available pressurized water gun. It could also be the less common but earlier model the [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1990/power_drencher.php Power Drencher] or the later [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1992/super_soaker_ss50c.php SS 50 Classic Series], [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1992/super_soaker_se.php Super Soaker S.E.], or [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/2009/super_soaker_ss50_20th.php the 20th anniversary SS 50 rerelease].

It is unclear whether she has somehow hidden the water gun inside the trombone, or has disassembled it to produce a hybrid trombone/Super Soaker device.

In the second panel, she is priming the water gun by pumping air into it, following the normal pump action of the Super Soaker. In the "slide" action, the user pulls the grip towards themselves, increasing pressure within the water reservoir. In the "hiss" action, the grip is pushed away. A valve prevents air leaving the chamber, but usually a small amount leaks out.

Part of the joke here is that a slide trombone also has a slide mechanism, held in a similar way, but serving a completely different purpose. In the case of the trombone, when the slide is extended, the total length of tubing between the mouthpiece and the bell is extended; this lowers the pitch of the sound that is produced. There is no comparable air chamber, however.

In the third panel, she presses the trigger, causing the compressed air to push water from the water reservoir at high speed, hitting the off-screen targets.

In this title text, the [http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Analysis/1996/super_soaker_cps2000.php CPS 2000] was a powerful water gun developed primarily by {{w| Lonnie Johnson (inventor)}} and Bruce D'Andrade for {{w| Larami}}'s {{w| Super Soaker}} product line. As mentioned, the water gun was allegedly discontinued because it was ''too'' powerful and caused injuries. Megan asks to borrow a tuba, presumably to hide the CPS 2000 water gun inside; this may be cause for loss of friendship with an experienced tuba player.

The CPS in the name of the super soaker refers to the "{{w|Constant Pressure System}}" used in certain water guns. In this system a rubber bladder within the water gun is pressurized by the user's pumping action, which draws water from a reservoir and pushes it into the pressure chamber, filling the bladder like a balloon. Once the desired volume of water is stored within the toy, the water can be released by means of a spring loaded trigger and valve system. Like a balloon expelling air, the rubber bladder pushes the water out of the pressure chamber and out of the front nozzle. The "constant pressure" name refers to the fact that the bladder will exert the same pressure on the water throughout the shot, ensuring consistent power and range. This is in comparison to air pressure super soakers, whose power will die off during the shot as the pressurized air within the pressure chamber expands, expelling the water but reducing the pressure in the toy. This CPS technology can be seen in [https://patents.google.com/patent/US5799827 this patent] by Bruce D'Andrade.

Brass can likely withstand higher pressures than the plastic material of super soakers. High pressure jets of water and abrasive are used to cut metal with precision in prototyping labs and some makerspaces.

==Transcript==
:[Megan walking along carrying a trombone.]
:Offpanel voice #1: Hey, her old trombone.
:Offpanel voice #2: Cool, I haven't seen that thing since the 90s.

:[Four quick shots of Megan moving the trombone's slide back and forth. It makes sound, but not like an ordinary trombone.]
:FX: Slide
:FX: Hisss
:FX: Slide
:FX: Hisss

:[Megan does something else with the trombone, and it shoots water at the offpanel observers.]
:FX: Pshhhhh
:Offpanel voice #1: AUGH!
:Offpanel voice #2: So ''that's'' where my Super Soaker went.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:1520: Degree-Off

2020-07-27T11:33:00Z

Scs:

Isn't this the debut of the dark hair-bun girl? Is this trivia section worthy? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] 22:49, 4 May 2015 (UTC)BK201
:The hair bun girl has [[:Category:Comics featuring Hair Bun Girl|appeared a few times]] since it's inception in [[378: Real Programmers]]. --{{User:17jiangz1/signature|01:05, 05 May 2015}}
::But this one has bangs, and visibly darker hair. Isn't it possible it's a different character? Or am I [http://media1.giphy.com/media/v9rfTQBNqdsSA/giphy.gif splitting hairs]? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] 20:23, 5 May 2015 (UTC)BK201
:::Yes your are splitting hair. Because in xkcd most characters are just generic and can be any person they need to be. The characteristic of the hair bun has been used only a few times, 8 with this one. Sometimes the figure even represents a real person. I agree that she is drawn a little different, but in the page for Hair Bun Girl it is mentioned that she also sometimes have glasses. It is though interesting that he has used her several times sine passing comic 1500. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:43, 7 May 2015 (UTC)
::::After having spotted the recurrence of [[Science Girl]] for whom I just made a category I realized that the hair bun Bio "girl" here is just her as a (young) adult woman. I have included her and revised the explanation accordingly. So I disagree with my own comment above now ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:47, 22 July 2016 (UTC)

I assume "''Your'' field gathered in the desert to create a new one." refers to the Manhattan Project? {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.74}}
:Yes [[User:Jachra|Jachra]] ([[User talk:Jachra|talk]]) 06:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

So, no one has really brought up the topic of biological WMD. There are manmade plagues out there far more horrible than any natural disease and arguably more terrible than a nuclear bomb.

Chem wants absolutely no part of this conversation. [[User:Jachra|Jachra]] ([[User talk:Jachra|talk]]) 06:52, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are: Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. Is she claiming that her heros have conquered death? [[User:Capncanuck|Capncanuck]] ([[User talk:Capncanuck|talk]]) 06:58, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
: Yeah I didn't get that either. The description as it stands now seems to be implying one of the four horsemen is pestilence, but that's not what my Google search turned up… --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 15:15, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
::Pestilence [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.176|173.245.56.176]] 07:10, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
:::In Terry Pratchett's book the fourth horsemen is Pestilence. See also {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}}. It was new to me that it was originally Conquest instead of Pestilence which can be read on wiki: {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Since Randall is a big fan of Terry Pratchett it is very likely that he refers to "his" version of the four Horsemen. (It is not Terry's invention, but he made it popular amongst people like Randall). As I disagree with the Death version of the title text, I'm not sure that Terry is directly refereed to in this comic, but I'm sure the Bilologist refers to them killing of pestilence (or plauge). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
::::There are no humanities on stage, so I think bio can get away with this one.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.23|108.162.218.23]] 17:50, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
::::Maybe it referred to famine. Though that'd be a bit odd. [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 19:05, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
:::::Perhaps the reason why pestilence isn't a real Horseman is because its death by biology retroactively altered the prophecy ("Yes, you've had it for ages. But did you have it for ages 30 minutes ago?" - Rincewind, The Last Continent).```` {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.144}}
::::::If we're assuming that the comic is using Pratchett's version of the Horsemen, and that Bio has killed Pestilence... then we know that Pestilence was replaced with Pollution. So it might be a reference to the atomic waste and fallout of the testing itself. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.29|173.245.56.29]] 00:43, 27 August 2016 (UTC)

also a possible reference to: https://xkcd.com/435/ ? {{unsigned ip|141.101.75.101}}

The stamp collecting quote is from Ernest Rutherford, not Richard Feynman. {{unsigned ip|141.101.70.43}}

1052 also compares degrees --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.12|141.101.104.12]] 08:36, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

My assumption was that Cueball was giving a long and possibly rambling talk about physics starting with an anecdote about Feynman and ending with one about Rutherford. I didn't consider the quote to be wrongly attributed therefore. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.71}}

Please be aware that the proper way to link to wikipedia is to use [[Template:w]].--{{User:17jiangz1/signature|10:01, 04 May 2015}}

This may be Randall's indirect way of saying what he thinks of the anti-vaxxers. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 10:49, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

Does the "killing Pestilence" thing also refer to ''Good Omens'' (co-authored by Pratchett), where Pestilence retired in 1936 "mumbling something about penicillin"? Homusubi

Isn't the comment about vaccines kinda reaching? I don't really see any evidence, even implied, that this comic is referencing the anti-vaccine movement in any way. --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 13:23, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
:I agree that the anti-vaxer comments are out of place. I don't think they should be included as part of the explanation. [[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]])

Isn't the biologist talking in the title text? And isn't biology considered a squishy science? I think the title is directed at the physicist, telling him to get harder skin because he's so easily hurt emotionally. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|Yourlifeisalie]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 14:13, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
:Was I the only one to see the title text as a dirty joke? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.65|173.245.50.65]] 16:33, 24 August 2016 (UTC)

I rather doubt that the CAPS in the title text are referring to Pratchett's figure DEATH. In my opinion, the talking-in-CAPS is just meant to infer (further) SHOUTING on the part of the biologist, since she is shouting in the last panel as well. There is no indication whatsoever that the title text should be spoken by anyone other than the biologist herself.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.180|141.101.104.180]] 14:20, 4 May 2015 (UTC)thd

Do chemistry and physics represent a helium atom with biology as the nucleus? It would also explain her hair. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 15:18, 4 May 2015 (UTC)
:I don't see any reason for it to make any sense. It is quite a long shot to think so. However, what explains her hair? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] 17:50, 4 May 2015 (UTC)BK201

Might there also be a reference to https://xkcd.com/520/, praising biology just in case. [[User:Tzwenn|Tzwenn]] ([[User talk:Tzwenn|talk]]) 15:22, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

What is the giant bump in infectious diseases around 1925? It seems like it must have been a mayor effect, but I don't know how to google for it.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.99|141.101.104.99]] 17:43, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

:The planet-wide superflu of 1919, which happened because millions decided to go to Europe, camp in filthy trenches for months and then decided to all go back home simultaneously for some reason. {{unsigned ip|199.27.133.44}}

::Actually, it happened for other reasons, and it was mostly in 1918. Many people arrived at that camp bringing the superflu with them, actually, and the drop-off happened around when the bulk of them went home. Most of the fatalities may actually have been due to cytokine storms, AKA your immune system deciding that you ought to die horribly and now. What you ''actually'' got at the camp is the discovery that, if your feet are continuously wet for sufficiently long periods of time, they'll rot. That said, infectious diseases are on their way back, because antibiotic resistance is going up. There's already a confirmed case of TB resistant to all current antibiotics, and truly new ones becoming less and less frequent. (Most of the obvious routes we've exploited and adaptation is destroying, and many of the remaining obvious routes are insufficiently easy to distinguish from chemical warfare.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.182|108.162.237.182]] 22:46, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

moved the most important comment to the top. [[User:TheJonyMyster|TheJonyMyster]] ([[User talk:TheJonyMyster|talk]]) 00:25, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

Uhm lockpicking != safecracking. Feynman was exploiting a bad design in the safes (you didn't have to dial the exact number) combined with people being lousy at choosing their codes. [[User:Poizan42|Poizan42]] ([[User talk:Poizan42|talk]]) 09:45, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
:A numpad safe still contains a lock. It locks items inside. --{{User:17jiangz1/signature|11:27, 05 May 2015}}

I'm not sure what is the biologists arguing about. Physics creating new horseman of apocalypse is definitely bigger achievement than biologists almost removing one. On the other hand, both fields are capable of making humans extinct by mistake. (Also, seriously, the idea of degree-off is flawed: we need experts in both (or rather all) fields.) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:09, 5 May 2015 (UTC)
:I disagree. Penicillin is a much more important discovery - helping so many people. Killing people is a lot easier than curing them! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:40, 7 May 2015 (UTC)

I think that Civil Engineering should get half the credit. It wouldn't make for as good a cartoon though. Why was the graph of infectious disease rates lightly doctored to reduce the 1918 flu pandemic? My guess is to increase the visual impact. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.188|108.162.238.188]] 18:11, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

Biology: Aren't many theoretical developments reliant on chemistry and/or physics? And even more practical developments use tools which rely on chemistry/physics? Example: brain mapping, drug synthesis, etc.? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.178|108.162.215.178]] 02:28, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
: No, this would be as circuitous as saying that physics is entirely reliant on biology, because it's conducted using human brains, hands, eyes, etc. Or hey - theology. How would physics have gotten it's start without funding from churches and kings? The whole line of discussion is more than a little ludicrous. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.170|108.162.249.170]] 08:01, 8 May 2015 (UTC)
:: No, what I mean is that physics and chemistry are necessary in order to understand biology and perform research, while the reverse is not true. Cellular/molecular biology, in particular, is dependent on an understanding of chemistry and physics.
:: Just take for example electron transport chains, which depends on quantum mechanics. Or the behavior of neurotransmitters, hormones, etc., which are all connected with organic chemistry.
:: A good understanding of chemistry and physics is also essential in advancing science in general. A good understanding of biology could be useful for the creation of biologically inspired materials in engineering, but biology is not a fundamental building block in any of the harder sciences.
:: Regarding biology and theology: No science's knowledge is taken from, or builds off of, theological teachings. Physics is not dependent on biology, because it does not involve the study of our brains, merely the existence of them. Biology's knowledge is directly dependent on physics.
:: In terms of practical implications, I think biology affects our health more, and physics and chemistry affects our technology more. But it's undeniable that physics and chemistry are more fundamental and essential to all science, than biology.
:: What is your opinion?
:: --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.178|108.162.215.178]] 03:24, 10 May 2015 (UTC)

Any ideas as to why Hair Bun Girl's bun disappears in the fourth frame? As in anything more interesting than it being forgotten to be drawn in. [[User:JRVeale|JRVeale]] ([[User talk:JRVeale|talk]]) 11:12, 6 May 2015 (UTC)
:I think she just has turned her head so the bun is behind it. Thus not forgotten, and not really interesting either! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:40, 7 May 2015 (UTC)

The discussion about the new horseman of the apocalypse being radiation poisoning, and the linking of it all to Pratchet, reads very very strangely, I think it is a major overreach. It's very common for Pestilence to be listed as one of the four horsemen, and even with Randall being a Terry Pratchett fan, it seems unlikely this had any influence on it. It's stock-standard in pop culture for them to be listed as War, Famine, Death, Pestilence, even if they don't appear that way in the Bible, just as it is stock-standard for the devil to be portrayed as a red horned guy with cloven feet (which also doesn't appear anywhere in the Bible). It seems like the development of the atomic bomb is what Hair Bun Girl is referring to as the new horseman. I don't see why an overly specific and convoluted connection to "radiation poisoning" is included. - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.170|108.162.249.170]] 08:08, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

I don't think that's science girl. That's not science girl's usual hairstyle, and science girl is a child. [[User:Sensorfire|Sensorfire]] ([[User talk:Sensorfire|talk]]) 18:03, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

;Is the girl representing chemistry Science Girl?

It doesn't seem to be Science Girl to me. I think Hairbun would be better used. Also related, I think Science Girl should be renamed Jill, as per [1662: Jack and Jill] [[User:Sensorfire|Sensorfire]] ([[User talk:Sensorfire|talk]]) 18:42, 1 November 2016 (UTC)

Well, the horseman is back...[[User:Rereading xkcd|Rereading xkcd]] ([[User talk:Rereading xkcd|talk]]) 06:49, 8 May 2020 (UTC)

::Took me a while to figure out the numbers, (I'm here 'cause I'm dumb, right). [[https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2018/03/infectious-disease-deaths-decline-across-us-not-evenly UMN says that by 2017]], infectious diseases were "down to 34.10 deaths per 100,000 persons." All causes put together are around 1,000 per 100,000. Anyway, after doing the numbers 3 times, by June 19 2020, depending your source, Covid-19 deaths are up to 120 K in the US. Which translates roughly to 36.55 per 100,000? Meaning, deaths by infectious diseases MORE THAN DOUBLED. Which of course is terrible! But then, that's still about ''3% of all death causes''. Which encourages those who say that all this is a tempest in a teacup! Oh, do I wish Randall would show up and make a nice little graph like he does so often by comparing what is important with what is not, so all of us have sure guidance about how we are to take this, if as a serious thing, or just as a blip.[[User:Yamaplos|Yamaplos]] ([[User talk:Yamaplos|talk]]) 23:34, 19 June 2020 (UTC)

For what it's worth, I have changed the transcript to refer to a "grown-up Science Girl" instead of Hairbun. She's referred to that way in the Explanation, although I see there are several comments in this discussion arguing for Hairbun. —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 11:33, 27 July 2020 (UTC)

1520: Degree-Off

2020-07-27T02:06:30Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ Doesn't look like Hairbun, and Explanation agrees she looks more like a grown-up Science Girl

{{comic
| number = 1520
| date = May 4, 2015
| title = Degree-Off
| image = degree off.png
| titletext = I'M SORRY, FROM YOUR YEARS OF CONDESCENDING TOWARD THE 'SQUISHY SCIENCES', I ASSUMED YOU'D BE A LITTLE HARDER.
}}
==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] (physics), a grown-up [[Science Girl]] (biology), and [[Megan]] (chemistry) appear to be on a talk show called Degree-Off, hosted by [[Hairy]], where representatives of different fields, try to explain why their field is the best and why to get a degree in their field. The title "Degree-Off" is a portmanteau of "{{w|Academic degree|degree}}", as in the recognized completion of studies at a school or university, and "{{w|face-off}}", a direct confrontation between two people or groups. Since there are three participants, this is not a true face-off, unless Megan, who does not speak, is not counted.

The host asks the physicist Cueball to go first. He light-heartedly begins to tell what appears to be long story, beginning with a {{w|Richard Feynman}} anecdote. During the {{w|Manhattan Project}} in Los Alamos, Richard Feynman got bored because of the isolation and started learning {{w|lock picking}} on the secret documents safes. Using these new skills, he played lots of pranks on his colleagues, like leaving notes and spooking them into believing there was a spy among them (which, of course, {{w|Klaus_Fuchs|there was}}). He finishes his case with [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ernest_Rutherford a quote] from {{w|Ernest Rutherford}}, implying that his speech was quite long and winding. The quote communicates the idea that physics is the only fundamental framework, so that the job of chemists, biologists and other scientist simply is to catalog and systematize observations ("collect stamps") on phenomena too complicated to presently be fully described in terms of physics. This idea was earlier lampooned by [[Randall]] in [[435: Purity]] (and is also stated in the title text of [[1158: Rubber Sheet]]).

The biologist goes next, showing with a graph (see below) that the field of biology has helped reduce disease. She then goes on to claim that the heroes in biology (the part known as Medicine) have even "slain" one of the {{w|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse}}. Popular culture often names the Horsemen "Pestilence", "War", "Famine", and "Death" - Science Girl implies that the field of biology has almost eliminated {{w|Four_Horsemen_of_the_Apocalypse#As_infectious_disease|Pestilence}}. The imagery of Pestilence being thwarted by modern medicine was also used in the book {{w|Good Omens}}, by {{w|Terry Pratchett}} (of whom Randall is a fan, see [[1498: Terry Pratchett]]) and {{w|Neil Gaiman}}, where Pestilence has retired after the discovery of {{w|Penicillin}}, and been replaced by {{w|Pollution}}.

The graph shows the death rate from infectious disease in USA, similar to that shown in the comic presented by Science Girl, as both have the range of 1900-2000. The spike is attributable to the {{w|1918 flu pandemic}}. It has been published in the paper [http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=768249 Trends in Infectious Disease Mortality in the United States During the 20th Century].

Science Girl then goes on to directly accuse Cueball (i.e. physicists) of creating a new Horseman to replace the one slain by the biologists. She claims that they gathered in the desert to do so. Given Cueball's opening remark, she must be referring to the development of the {{w|atomic bomb}}, which was built and tested in the {{w|New Mexico desert}}. The new horseman is therefore the atomic bomb, or the various perils associated with it.

Science Girl's implied condemnation of the physics community has been echoed by some of the scientists involved in the project itself. After the test detonation of the first nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, {{w|J. Robert Oppenheimer}}, the director of the {{w|Los Alamos National Laboratory}}, found himself quoting the {{w|Bhagavad Gita}}: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

This harsh moral judgement shocks Cueball, who exclaims "I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!" While the set-up is of a frivolous friendly competition, Science Girl's presentation is surprisingly dark. Her retort in the final panel reveals that she was angered by the off-hand dismissal of 'soft' sciences as "stamp-collecting", and turned the game from a light-hearted fun into something more disturbing.

In the title text the biologist goes on to declare in {{w|All caps}} that she is surprised a physicist isn't "harder", after all their condescending towards the "squishy" sciences. The use of 'hard' and 'squishy' is a play on the colloquial division between the so-called 'hard' sciences (such as physics and chemistry) and 'soft' sciences (such as biology and geology). 'Hard' sciences usually refer to the perception that in fields like physics, precisely repeatable experiments and measurements are possible, as opposed to 'soft' sciences seen as placing less emphasis on precisely quantifiable predictability - however Science Girl is extending 'hard' to its meaning of 'stoic', mocking Cueball for not being able to weather a personal moral attack. Again she is indicating that she's upset by directly referencing a mocking portrayal of other fields allegedly made by Cueball.

To be fair to Cueball, the outbreak of disease is more a topic for epidemiology, and biology has spawned multiple diseases, atrocities, and bad movies. However, the Manhattan Project probably symbolized the death of any hope of peaceful resolution in {{w|Cold War|future tensions.}}

In [[520: Cuttlefish]] Randall shows that he personally respects biologists - or at least fears them.

Within a year Randall has made several other comics about nuclear weapons, this one was the first of these the second, [[1539: Planning]], came out just 1½ month after this one and after that these two were released early in 2016: [[1626: Judgment Day]] and [[1655: Doomsday Clock]]. Nuclear weapons are also mentioned twice in ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', specifically they are explained in the explanation for ''Machine for burning cities'' about {{w|Thermonuclear weapon|thermonuclear bombs}}, but they are also mentioned in ''Boat that goes under the sea'' about a submarine that carries nukes. All three comics and both explanations in the book, does like this comic, comment on how crazy it is that we have created enough firepower to obliterate Earth several times (or at least scourge it for any human life).

==Transcript==
:[Hairy is acting as the host of a TV talk show, ''Degree-Off'' holding a microphone up. Cueball, a character who looks like a grown-up Science Girl, and Megan are acting as representatives of physics, biology and chemistry respectively. They each stand behind their own lectern with the respective subject label.]
:Hairy: Welcome to the '''''Degree-Off''''', where we determine which field is the best! Physics, wanna go first?
:Cueball (Phys): Sure! I'd like to tell the story of Richard Feynman's Manhattan project lockpicking pranks...
:Labels: Phys Bio Chem

:[Zoom in so Megan is no longer visible. Cueball lifts his hand]
:Cueball (Phys): ...and as he said, "all science is either physics or stamp collecting."
:Cueball (Phys): Thank you.
:Hairy: ''Great!'' Bio, you wanna go next?
:Grown-Up Science Girl (Bio): Okay.
:Labels: Phys Bio

:[Zoom in on Grown-Up Science Girl so only she and her lectern are shown. A graph is shown above her. There us a label for the y-axis to the left of the axis which has four ticks with numbers. The x-axis is a timeline without ticks but three years indicating the start center and end of the axis. The graph shows a curve falling off, with one great spike up around 1920.]
:Y-axis label: Per 100,000
:Y-axis:
::800
::600
::400
::200
:X-axis: 1900 1950 2000
:GUSG (Bio): This is a graph of the death rate from infectious disease in this country.
:Labels: Bio

:[Zoom back to original scene with Hairy holding the microphone down and Grown-Up Science Girl raising her left hand, while Cueball looks at her.]
:GUSG (Bio): The heroes of my field have '''''slain''''' one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
:Labels: Phys Bio Chem

:[Zoom in on only Cueball and Grown-Up Science Girl who is pointing aggressively at Cueball who leans away from her one hand on his lectern for support.]
:GUSG (Bio): While the heroes of '''''your''''' field gathered in the desert to create a new one.
:Labels: Phys Bio

:[Zoom back to previous scene all are holding their hands down.]
:Cueball (Phys): ...Jeez, what the hell? I thought this was supposed to be fun and lighthearted!
:GUSG (Bio): '''''You must have been thinking of stamp collecting.'''''
:Labels: Phys Bio Chem

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]

2333: COVID Risk Chart

2020-07-26T14:48:23Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ tweaks

{{comic
| number = 2333
| date = July 15, 2020
| title = COVID Risk Chart
| image = covid_risk_chart.png
| titletext = First prize is a free ticket to the kissing booth.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by THE WINNER OF A TEST-TUBE-EATING CONTEST. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a graph showing the risk of {{w|COVID-19}} infection of numerous activities on the horizontal axis, while showing the other (i.e. safety) risks of the activity on the vertical axis. The activities are also color coded green, yellow, orange, or red, presumably indicating whether engaging in them is a good idea. All the activities are green in the upper left corner (no COVID-19 danger and no other dangers), but change to yellow, orange, and red as you go right or down. This presentation and color progression is similar to a common presentation of a {{w|risk matrix}}.
One-dimensional charts showing the COVID-19 risk of common activities were popular at the time of this comic, when businesses and schools were re-opening after the first wave of COVID-19.

The top of the graph contains activities that people are likely to engage in during the pandemic, beginning (from left to right) with staying at home, hanging out with friends at the park, grocery shopping, attending in-person classes, and singing in church. The first few activities are common and not very dangerous (colored green and yellow), but the last two come with significant risks of infection due to COVID-19 (they are colored orange and red). Lower on the graph the activities become more and more dangerous (though these dangers are not related to COVID-19, i.e.: they are non-covid risks) and then non-sensical, a trend often seen in xkcd comics. Some activities are grouped together, being variations of the same thing (such as going down a waterslide, going down a waterslide with a stranger, and going down a waterside on an electric scooter). The last row contains extremely dangerous activities such as (from left to right, or from low COVID-19 danger to high) bungee jumping while doing sword tricks, going down a waterslide on an electric scooter, (participating in an) axe catching contest, racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask over your eyes, and winning a {{w|test tube}}-eating contest at a COVID testing lab. All these activities are likely to result in undesirable outcomes {{Citation needed}}.

Part of the humor comes from the increasing ridiculousness of the "red" activities, some of which are unlikely combinations or escalations of other less-risky activities (e.g. renting an electric scooter is a "green" activity, but riding that scooter with a stranger carries more risk, and then still more from racing that scooter through a hospital, with or without a mask).

This comic strip is similar in presentation to [[2282: Coronavirus Worries]].

The title text suggests a ticket to "the" kissing booth as a prize. Presumably, the prize is for the test-tube eating contest, and the booth is the kissing booth mentioned in the comic, "a kissing booth at a COVID testing site". A kissing booth is a kind of sideshow sometimes seen at carnivals, where members of the public can pay a small fee to kiss someone, usually an attractive woman. Winning a ticket would normally be positively received. However, since kissing is a very high risk activity for COVID-19 transmission, it would now be perceived as a kind of punishment. Moreover, if the ticket was the prize for the test-tube eating contest then not only would the winner already likely have infected themselves with COVID-19, but they are likely to have mouth injuries from eating glass, making the kiss even riskier.

=== Green (low risk) ===

The lowest-risk category of activities has very low COVID risk and also very low non-COVID risk.

;Staying home
:The lowest-risk activity of all, as long as the home itself is safe, and your family members do not have COVID-19.
;Video chats
:{{w|Video chat}}ting carries a slightly higher non-COVID risk than simply staying at home, because you might get into an upsetting argument or accidentally expose something embarrassing. As long as the person you're chatting with is not within your personal space, the risk of catching COVID from them is still zero.
;Hanging out with friends in the park
:Physically interacting with others creates an increased risk COVID transmission, but the major risk of transmission seems to come from sharing enclosed spaces, not the outdoors, and as long as everyone keeps to themselves, they can still safely enjoy the social interaction (as long as [[2330: Acceptable Risk|they aren't prone to overthinking everyday decisions]]).
;Going for walks
:Going for walks carries very little COVID risk as long as you stay by yourself. It is slightly more dangerous than staying home though, as you might fall or hurt yourself in some way.
;Hanging out with friends on the beach
:This has a similar COVID risk as hanging out with friends in the park, but has slightly more safety concerns due to possible unpleasant encounters with crabs, jellyfish, and other ocean-going animals[cetacean needed] as well as the risks posed by extended UV exposure. There are also negligible risks of tsunamis, shark attacks, and encounters with other rare and deadly animals[cetacean needed].
;Riding an {{w|electric scooter}}
:Electric scooters are scooters powered by electricity. They have increased in popularity recently, representing a form of lightweight transportation. If done by oneself, riding one has essentially no risk of coronavirus, but it is relatively easy to injure oneself when riding an electric scooter. Electric scooters have previously been mentioned in [[E Scooters]].
;Renting an electric scooter
:This has a slightly higher COVID risk than riding your own scooter, as a previous renter could have left traces of the virus on the handle bars. In terms of general safety, it is the equivalent of riding your own scooter.
;Going down a {{w|waterslide}}
:Waterslides are common attractions at water parks and even some community pools. They are simply slides made faster by running water down them. They are not extremely dangerous, so long as the rider can swim or stand in the pool of water at the end of the slide, though it is definitely possible to injure oneself on one, both reasons perhaps contributing to it being the most dangerous of the "green" activities. As long as the water is properly filtered, any handrails are sanitized between riders, and riders waiting in line and in the pool are appropriately separated, there is little risk of catching COVID.

=== Yellow (medium risk) ===

;Grocery shopping
:Going shopping for groceries involves entering a building in which others are present, including many workers who are present for hours-long shifts. The risk of catching COVID can be reduced by wearing face masks, barriers between staff areas and customer areas, and limiting customer densities.
;Grocery shopping while hungry
:Shopping for groceries ''while hungry'' does not carry any greater risk of catching COVID, but this shows a slightly increased non-COVID risk because people who go shopping while hungry tend to buy foods that are more expensive and less healthy. (Be advised that a study that popularized this "common sense" result [https://media.jamanetwork.com/news-item/jama-network-retracts-6-articles-that-included-dr-brian-wansink-as-author/ has been retracted] due to academic misconduct by its author, {{w|Brian Wansink}}.)
;Grocery shoplifting
:Shoplifting is taking goods without paying, so this activity is stealing groceries. It would expose you to the same amount of COVID risk as regular grocery shopping, but would additionally subject you to the risk of arrest and/or physical retaliation. And even if not detected, self-inflicted risks may result from your [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-meathead/ possibly apocryphal] chosen method of subterfuge. While this activity is not very risky and is colored yellow, it is probably not a good idea.
;Riding a single rental scooter with a stranger
:This is a bad idea, as most rental scooters are designed for only one person. It would also expose you to a stranger, who might have COVID. The safety concern of riding with two people on a one-person scooter is not reflected in the comic.
;Going down a waterslide with a stranger
:This carries the same risks as going down a waterslide by yourself (as long as the waterslide is designed for two people), but exposes you to a stranger who could have COVID.
;Getting in a stranger’s car
:This can potentially be risky because driving is dangerous, and because murders have occurred in the past when people hitchhike. Getting into a stranger’s car would also expose you COVID, if they are carrying the virus. A car is a confined space, which is generally considered particularly bad from a COVID perspective.
;Playing {{w|lawn darts}}
:This activity poses little risk of COVID-19 transmission, as this game is usually played outdoors and players generally do not have to be close to play, so standard outdoor precautions can be taken. Lawn darts can pose a moderate risk of personal injury if played unwisely, which is why they have been banned in their original metal-tipped form in the United States and Canada.
;Climbing a waterslide with a stranger
:This activity poses similar risk of COVID-19 transmission as the "going down a waterslide" activity, but there is higher non-COVID risk because waterslides are meant to "go down", and going against the normal flow of water (or without ensuring that nobody else is sliding down) may result in injury.
;Getting in a stranger’s car uninvited
:This has similar risk as the normal "getting in a stranger's car", but there is higher risk of getting in a car ''uninvited'', as you may be considered a hijacker or trying to steal the car, and thus the stranger may physically attack you.
;Doing skateboard tricks
:Performing tricks on a skateboard, especially if well away from other people, carries little risk of COVID-19 transmission, but carries a moderate risk of personal injury, especially when a manoeuvre does not go as intended and/or the rider unintentionally comes off the board to collide with the ground and/or obstacles.
;Riding a conveyor belt through the {{w|Transportation Security Administration|TSA}} x-ray machine
:This has relatively low risk of COVID infection, assuming the conveyor X-ray machine belt is sanitized; however, this is generally not legal or lawful and may get you in trouble with the TSA and other authorities, and you might get cancer because of the exposure to X-rays.
;Axe throwing contest
:Under normal circumstances, attending an axe throwing contest is a fairly risky endeavor, as an improperly thrown axe has a tendency to rebound off the target and could hit you (whether you are throwing or merely spectating). The global pandemic adds an additional layer of risk, as if you are engaged in an axe throwing contest you most are most likely in close contact with other people increasing your risk of catching COVID-19.

=== Orange (medium–high risk) ===
;Attending in-person classes
:While there is low risk to injure oneself in class, most schools have closed at the beginning of the COVID pandemic to prevent the virus from spreading through close proximity attendees. Some schools have switched to online classes, while others have reopened and reduced the number of students per classroom. The risk of transmission would then be greater when attending in-person than online class.
;Attending online classes while in class at a different school
:Continuing on the previous activity, participating to classes in both modes at the same time wouldn't augment risks associated with COVID, but could cause mental exhaustion or similar stress-related symptoms. If you are not properly paying attention to a class you should be attending, or have inexplicably gone to a classroom that you have no reason to be in, there are further risks that you will fall foul of a teacher's or school's authority.
;Getting a dental cleaning
:Superficial dental work by a trained practitioner is not particularly risky under normal circumstances, but COVID precautions in most sitations (keeping at a distance, using face coverings) aren't compatible with the requirements of one person leaning in close to another person's open mouth and prodding into it with various tools.
;Going on a {{w|Tinder (app)|Tinder}} date
:Meeting a stranger is very much the point of a Tinder date. Even if the intimacy only extends to drinks and/or a meal it is difficult to 'socially distance' while still being sociable. The meet-up intention, by one or both parties, might be expected to be even less distancing. As well as COVID risks from well-intentioned encounters, there are very basic risks (on the night or consequentially) to health and happiness that cannot be entirely ruled out.
;Getting a dental cleaning from a Tinder date
:It seems that the COVID risk from combining the above two activities do not significantly compound, but: the low likelyhood that an almost-random stranger is trained in dental hygiene adds to the non-COVID risks to impromptu dentistry; if they ''are'' qualified, they are unlikely to have turned up properly equipped; if they arrive equipped, without pre-arrangement, that may also be worrying.
;Doing skateboard tricks in a hospital
:Skateboarding in a confined indoor setting, or in rooms furnished with beds and equipment ''should'' be significantly more risky than in a skatepark or other typical venue. Possibly the immediacy of healthcare professionals and supplies makes the outcomes of any injuries less problematic. However, your exertions in the proximity of likely sources for the COVID pathogen is a significant issue in itself.
;Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask on
:Your skateboard tricks may have been not particularly mobile, like Feet Stomps and other in-situ board-flips. If you're on a scooter ({{w|Kick_scooter|foot-}}, {{w|Motorized_scooter|electric-}} or {{w|Scooter_(motorcycle)|combustion-}}powered) that is deliberately traveling fast then you're living more dangerously. But at least you're wearing a mask, to slightly reduce the accompanying contagion risks...
;Racing a scooter through a hospital without a mask
:...unless you aren't?
;Setting off fireworks in your car
:A car is an extremely confined space, and most fireworks need a ''lot'' of space once lit. It's not obvious if you are supposed to be in the car yourself, but there is at least risk of damaging the vehicle.
;Running and sliding headfirst into the pins at a bowling alley
:Intending to impact a bunch of 1.5kg pins, with your head doing the job normally done with a ~7kg ball, is not considered particularly risk-free. Being in a (normally) communal recreational facility, there may also be chances of contact with surfaces previously shed-upon by the exertions of a COVID-infected person.
;Stealing a stranger’s car
:This is illegal, may involve risk of physical confrontation and do you really want to get into that driver's seat without thoroughly disinfecting it first?

=== Red (high risk) ===
;Singing in church
:Being in a public gathering place such as a church is a significant exposure risk for COVID. While singing is normally harmless, in a church singing is often done without masks and in a group, further increasing exposure in this case. There have been cases of [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/17/did-singing-together-spread-coronavirus-to-four-choirs outbreaks traced to choir practices/performances], which motivated bans on singing in churches. However, the same article mentions that a fluid mechanics expert studied the airflows from singing and various instruments and came to the conclusion that "singing is quite safe". (Certain instruments were another matter.) N.b., the outbreaks traced to the four choirs mentioned in the article were all prior to widespread practice of prevention measures.
;Going to a restaurant
:Restaurants are another place where traffic and exposure to COVID is high, as well as being a confined space. Other accidents, such as fires, falls, or choking add to the non-COVID risk.
;Going to a bar
:Similarly to restaurants, bars are also a place where COVID-19 spreads often. Bars can be more crowded than restaurants, with people sitting or eating in closer proximity. However, since the customers are more likely to be drunk and to get into a fight, the non-COVID risk is increased. Even if not engaging in violence, people who are even slightly inebriated are more likely to ignore standard precautions like social distancing.
;Going to a party / Hosting a party
:Parties are a highly social activity which increases exposure to COVID. Hosting or attending a party carries similar COVID-related risk as both involve interactions with others, while accidents can occur at a party, contributing to the non-COVID risk. However, hosts may still have a slightly larger COVID-related risk as they are more likely to be touching objects or surfaces on which the virus is present as they tidy up during or after the party, and are likely in proximity of all the guests during the party.
;Going on a cruise
:Cruises have been a site where [https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article244269937.html many people have contracted COVID], leading to the high COVID-related risk. However, there are other risks assiciated with cruises that are non-COVID related, such as the risk of the ship sinking, or other sicknesses, etc.
;Opening a kissing booth at a COVID testing site
:Opening a kissing booth at a COVID testing site is likely to attract others who may be sick with COVID (since they are likely at the testing site to be tested, or to have been in proximity to someone who is), and kissing them greatly increases the risk of transmission. Opening a booth close to a testing site may also lead to controversy, adding to the non-COVID related risk. (A kissing booth is a place where one can kiss the person at the stand as a prize or in exchange for money).
;Doing skateboard tricks in a bar
:As mentioned before, bars are places where it is very likely to contract COVID. Doing skateboard tricks in such a confined space also leads to a very large risk of injury.
;Skateboarding in a mosh pit on a cruise ship
:{{w|Mosh pit}}s are often very densely crowded with people, so the risk of transmission is huge. Also, doing skateboard tricks in such a crowded area means one could get trampled, knocked over, run into other people and/or things, etc. Additionally, doing these on a cruise ship heightens the risk, as mentioned above.
;Getting a COVID test from a stranger at a crowded bar
:As mentioned before, bars greatly increase the risk of contracting COVID, and getting a test from a stranger means the test itself carries many non-COVID related risks coming from a malicious or incompetent stranger. Testing for COVID-19 involves taking a sample of mucus, saliva, or blood; any of these sampling apparatus may potentially be contaminated with COVID or other diseases if they are being improperly re-used.
;Bungee jumping while doing sword tricks
:While bungee jumping is an activity that is often not performed in a crowded area, meaning that it is difficult to contract COVID while doing so, the act of bungee jumping while doing sword tricks leads to a host of injuries.
;Going down a waterslide on an electric scooter
:As mentioned before, if the waterslide is not used by many people, riding it is not likely to cause COVID. However, since waterslides contain water and electric scooters contain batteries (they don't mix well, safety-wise), many injuries may result.
;Setting off fireworks in a stranger's car
:A car is a confined space, and so the risk of contracting COVID is higher. Setting off fireworks in cars also will cause many injuries to everyone in the car, and more injuries in reactions from the driver and/or other angry passengers.
;Axe catching contest
:The proximity to others during a contest means a higher risk of contracting COVID. As for the axe catching part, injuries are likely to occur from attempting to catch flying axes, especially if the catcher is inexperienced.
;Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask over your eyes
:A hospital is a place where COVID patients often stay, leading to a higher risk of contracting the disease. Having a mask over one's eyes would do nothing to help reduce the risk. Riding a scooter while effectively blindfolded in an area that has many obstructions like a hospital can lead to many injuries.
;Winning a test-tube-eating contest at a COVID testing lab
:Eating many test tubes which potentially contain samples containing COVID will almost definitely lead to one contracting the disease, and eating glass will lead to numerous internal injuries.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[This comic is a graph plotting the safety risk of activities on the vertical axis and the risk of infection from COVID-19 on the horizontal axis. Lowest risks are in the upper left corner, and highest in the lower right. All activities are color coded green, yellow, orange, or red. A two way arrow labeled “non-COVID risk” points up and down to "high" and "low" labels on the left side of the graph. Another two way arrow labeled “COVID risk” points left and right to "high" and "low" labels on the top of the graph.
From left to right and top to bottom:]
:Staying home & Video chats, Hanging out with friends in the park, Grocery shopping, Attending in-person classes, Singing in church
:Going for walks, Hanging out with friends on the beach, Grocery shopping while hungry, Attending online classes while sitting in class at a different school, Going to a restaurant
:Riding an electric scooter, Renting an electric scooter, Grocery shoplifting & Riding a single rental scooter with a stranger, Getting a dental cleaning & Going on a Tinder date, Going to a bar & Going to a party & Hosting a party & Going on a cruise
:Going down a waterslide, Going down a waterslide with a stranger, Getting in a stranger’s car, Getting a dental cleaning from a Tinder date, Opening a kissing booth at a COVID testing site
:Playing lawn darts, Climbing up a waterslide with a stranger, Getting in a stranger’s car uninvited, Doing skateboard tricks in a hospital, Doing skateboard tricks in a bar
:Doing skateboard tricks, Riding the conveyor belt through the TSA x-ray machine, Axe throwing contest, Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask on & Racing a scooter through a hospital without a mask, Skateboarding into a mosh pit on a cruise ship
:Setting off fireworks in your car, Running and sliding headfirst into the pins at a bowling alley, Stealing a stranger’s car, Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask on & Racing a scooter through a hospital without a mask [extends from previous row], Skateboarding into a mosh pit on a cruise ship & Getting a COVID test from a stranger at a crowded bar
:Bungee jumping while doing sword tricks, Going down a waterslide on an electric scooter, Setting off fireworks in a stranger’s car & Axe catching contest, Racing a scooter through a hospital with a mask over your eyes, Winning a test-tube-eating contest at a COVID testing lab

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

1506: xkcloud

2020-07-25T18:26:21Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ misc improvements

{{comic
| number = 1506
| date = April 1, 2015
| title = xkcloud
| image = xkcloud.png
| titletext =
}}
<div class="toclimit-3">{{TOC}}</div>
'''NOTE: The above is the first panel of an interactive comic.''' 
To actually experience the interactive content you need to go to this comic on xkcd (click on the date above the comic, which, as always, takes you to the xkcd comic). 
A page with pictures representing the other three main types of pages can be seen here: [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages|Pictures of other pages]]. 
Similarly here is a page with some of the pictures of the comic created by users: [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users|Pictures posted by users]]. 
There is also a [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript|transcript]] of these other pages. Here are also a list and explanations for the [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#Reason for data loss|Reason for data loss]] and the other features like user names and like buttons etc.

==Explanation==
This was the sixth [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous fools comic was
[[1350: Lorenz]] from Tuesday April 1st 2014. The next was [[1663: Garden]] scheduled for released Friday April 1st 2016, but in the end released on [[1663:_Garden#Monday_4th_of_April_release|Monday April 4th]] 2016.

In this interactive {{w|April Fools' Day}} comic [[Cueball]], presumably representing [[Randall]], admits to the readers he built a flimsy {{w|Cloud computing|cloud}} services company using spare computers and parts. Included in the cloud hardware are (from left to right) a {{w|Macintosh}}, several old laptops, an {{w|Alienware}} tower, a {{w|Nintendo}} {{w|VirtualBoy}}, an old desktop with the cover off, and an {{w|Atari, Inc.|Atari}} {{w|Pong#Home_version|Pong Console}}.

He named the company after xkcd, xkcloud being a [[:category:Portmanteau|portmanteau]] of "[[xkcd]]" and "{{w|Cloud computing|cloud}}", here pronounced XK-cloud. The portmanteau incidentally still contains all four xkcd letters in the correct order: xkcLOUd. This was later reused for the xkcd keyboard in [[2150: XKeyboarCD]], where the word Keyboard, has an X before the word and a C before the D with the xkcd letters capitalized.

After providing his services to various (very big) companies ({{w|Facebook}}, {{w|Twitter}} and {{w|Tumblr}}), that are very concerned with securing the users data, his setup failed (some portions may even have caught fire? He is not sure). This has caused him to lose the data he was required to preserve as part of his service. He thus requests the readers help to make up and re-imagine the lost data by pressing the large red button at the bottom of the comic. Preferably ''before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.''

If the you take him up on his request and pushes the button you will be taken to a "survey" where you will get the chance to help by either trying to combine a posted picture with its lost text or, vice versa, by trying to combine a posted text with its lost picture. In either case you get a selection of texts/pictures to choose from but can also choose to write your own text or even draw the picture. After doing this you get to see this combination in the news feed together with several other posts (which other people have helped combine from other lost data). And then you can continue helping as long as you like.

The content of the "surveys" appear to come from reader submissions, and are different upon every click. This is thus both an interactive and a dynamic comic with only the first picture shown on top of this page. By inviting the xkcd readers to add content that will be displayed in the comic later, the result of all the interactions leads to the generation of {{w|Crowdsourcing|crowd-sourced content}}.

It was not immediately clear if the reader-created drawings or captions are, in fact, being cycled into the surveys and feeds, or if the displayed items were all created by Randall and the reader-created content is simply discarded. With the huge amount of different comments and drawings there already appeared on the first day, and since especially the drawings looks like they are created in the simple paint app. (i.e. not by Randall), there can be no doubt that most of the content are created by the users. However he must have made some pictures to get it all started, and at least one of these can be seen [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users#Randall's pictures|here]].

This comic resembles last years April Fools' comic [[1350: Lorenz]] where user input also generated a very complex crowd-sourced comic. In both comics it was possible to create a [[#Permalink|permalink]] to save a given version of the comic to share with others.

An earlier comic that was also related to problems with cloud computing [[908: The Cloud]].

Due to the very complex nature of this comic, there are lots of details that may need an explanation. This can be found in the sections below.

==Detailed explanation==
*Note that there have been some [[#Changes and bugs|changes and bugs]] regarding this comic after it was first released.
*Some of the pictures that are referenced below was saved before these changes took place. So consult [[#Changes in the comic|these changes]] if the pictures do not match the expectations.

===Functionality===
*Pressing the red button at the '''front page''' (shown here above) links to one of two interactive survey pages (see [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages|the pictures]] of all types of pages.).
**All these pages have a news feed below the top post. This will be described [[#News feed|here below]].
*The '''Lost picture page''' (see several [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help.21 We lost the picture page|pictures here]]) asks the reader to indicate which of eight '''line-drawings''' (see several [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users|examples here]]) best matches a given caption, or the reader can create their own drawing.
**This can be done on the '''Draw one your self sub-page''' (see several [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Draw one your self page|pictures here]]) in a simple web-based "{{w|Paint (software)|paint}}"-style {{w|Web application|app}}.
***Note that someone found a way to copy a picture into the comic. See at least one example of this [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users#Copy pasted pictures|here]].
*The '''Lost text page''' (see several [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help! We lost the text page|pictures here]]) asks the reader to indicate which of eight captions best matches the given drawing, or the reader can create their own caption and submit this instead.
**These captions are user generated. See transcribed examples of these '''post from users''' [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#Post from users|here]].
*In either case, at the top of the pages, we are given the '''Reason for the data loss'''. And there are many different reasons (all by account of Randall).
**A list of transcribed reasons (with explanations included) [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#Reason for data loss|can be found here]].
*After completing the "survey" you go to a new page appears:
*The '''Help us recover more data''' page (see several [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help us recover more data page|pictures here]]) has yet another red button like the front page, but on this page it is at the top of the page, saying exactly ''Help us recover more data''.
**By pushing this button you go to one of the two "Lost" pages mentioned above.
*It is possible to go back to the front page at any time by clicking the picture of Cueball sitting behind his desk in the same way as he does in the first picture on the front page.
**Cueball is always present to the left on all pages after the front page.
**But if you go back to the front page like this, then if you again click on the "original" red button to return to help with the recovery, you will always go back to the same page you came from (with the same posts in the news feed and if it is one of the lost data pages also with the same post to fix.)
**You can thus only get to a new survey page by finishing the current task (or pressing a permalink as [[#Permalink|discussed below]]).

===News feed===
*Below the "survey" or the post you just recovered (to begin with), you will be presented with a listing similar to a {{w|Facebook features#News Feed|Facebook news feed}}, listing six posts of the line-drawings apparently tagged with the captions as paired up by other users survey results.
**The posts are made by apparently '''fictional randomly-named readers''' (see transcribed examples [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#User names|of names here]]).
**But there are only 20 '''user pictures'''. See these (and why it is known that there are only 20) as well as a description of these pictures [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#User pictures|here]].
**The posts are accompanied by a button similar to Facebook's "'''{{w|Like button}}'''" but here the button is labeled with different words which are all {{w|synonyms}} for ''[http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/want want]'' (see transcribed [[1506: xkcloud/Transcript#Like buttons|list of words here]]). So not "to like" but "to want" is the new thing in this version of Facebook.
*After the first time you recovered a post, there will thus be seven posts on the ''Help us recover more data'' page, six new posts below the one you just helped complete.
**The only difference when you click this pages red button (rather than when you start for the first time at the front page) is that there will now be seven posts below the one you need to fix.
**These seven posts are the same as those you had on the previous page, including your own at the top.

===Permalink===
*Next to each post there is a text ''Link'' above the "Want" button above the picture. (This goes for all three types of pages mentioned above.)
*The "Link" is an actual link of the type that is called a "'''{{w|permalink}}'''", a portmanteau of "permanent-link".
*If you wish to "save" any given post for future reference (for instance one with your own drawing) you can do so by copying down this link.
**Last year's April Fools comic, [[1350: Lorenz]], was the first time the [[1350: Lorenz#Permalink|concept of a permalink]] was used on xkcd.
**The permalink option did not appear in the comic until very late in the afternoon on April 1. The "Link" was thus not present on the pictures refereed above. (See [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#After 18:00 ET on April 1st|these pictures]] instead).
*Pressing the "Link" next to any given post takes you to the page of the permalink:
**This page will show a version of the ''Help us recover more data'' page with the chosen post as the top post.
**But when you clicked the permalink it takes you to this "new" page and this page will '''not''' show all the posts from the page where you chose it.
**Only the post you saved via the "Link" next to it.
***All the other post will again just be chosen at random, and these will change again every time you reload this page via the saved permalink.
***Even the text on the "want" buttons also continues to change.
***The user name and user picture stay the same though.
*As an '''example''' of a [http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/50b47c70-3a7c-504d-bcc0-60597338e999 permalink] this is a post saying: ''We told Iran that atomic energy is unsafe'' for a picture of a black devil and two Cueballs next to a road.
**Originally the user name was {{w|Mark Zuckerberg}} but this has since changed to ''Destiny1983'' next to a user picture of a stick figure with black hair on a skateboard.
**See [[#Changes in the comic|Changes in the comic]] below for a possible reason.
**Also please make a note here, if the user name and picture is no longer the same.
*A huge '''collection of permalinks''' with link to the pictures have been amassed here:
**[[1506: xkcloud/Table of Permalinks|Table with permalinks]] contains all known images and captions at least once. (2179 feed entries, featuring 1481 different pictures and 1935 different captions, as of 2015-04-24)
**[[1506: xkcloud/List of Permalinks|List of Permalinks]] contains all known permalinks (25585 links, as of 2015-04-24)

====Details on the permalink====
*Since the post from the page where you choose the first permalink are reloaded... Can you then only save one post at a time?
*The answer is "no" - you can save all post on any given page.
**For each "Link" text on a given page, there has already been generated a unique permalink {{w|URL}}.
**Thus you can copy any permalink via the "Link", without actually pressing the "Link" to obtain the permalink for a given post.
**Furthermore, since this may be the only comic where you can copy the text, you can simple mark the entire page and copy paste it into a document that contains formating. If you do this then you will have all the text, pictures and most importantly the permalinks for all the posts.
*If you click the Link and go to the permalink page there will be seven posts, six new and the one you just saved.
**The behavior of the posts is very strange from here if you press more permalink on this first permalink page
**Also it will not be the same again after this first time as compared to if you continue to help recover more data and uses the permalink later.
**On this first permalink page, where your chosen post is at the top, if you click on another posts permalink the following will happen:
***The post you originally choose disappears from the page, as the new chosen post is moved to the top.
***But the other five post remains in the same order, so there are not only 6 posts.
***If you continue to choose the other posts one at a time, they will simply exchange place with the one at the top. All six post remaining.
***Once you have been through all of them, then the order of the post have been determined.
****So if you click on a "Link" that you have already once activated, then this page will just reload, and the post will have the same order as last time.
****This is only until you choose reload, or when you load such a permalink later. Then again it will just be the chosen post, and then always six other new posts.
**If you then at some point move on via the red button you kind of stay in the permalink page, now just with new options to choose from.
***If you then creates a new post, six new posts will be loaded below.
***But when you click on a permalink at this point, there will not be any reloading of the post (because it is not the first time).
***So any post you click will move to the top, but all the other (six this time) will stay, the top post just moving down to another position.
****And it is not always a direct exchange. Sometimes the top post moves to another position and then pushes the others down until they reach the now calculated position of the post now at the top.

===Our policy regarding your personal data===
:On every of the pages after the front page Cueball sits at his desk labeled XKCD.COM
:Below him are xkcloud's policy:
:''Our policy regarding your personal data'':
*Please stop sending us your personal data
*We are running out of places to put it
*Is this even yours?
*Does anyone recognize whose data this is?
*Oh jeez never mind here comes more data
*Why are you doing this
*Please stop
*Help
:As can be seen he is getting desperate because people keep sending them more data.
::He has no place to store it.
::And he do not even know who the data belongs to.
::So now he hopes someone else recognize the data (what you are doing if you choose to help).
::In the end he simply pleads for people to stop and then shouts ''Help''.
:If you click on the desk you are sent back to the front page of the comic.
:But below Help is their real contact detail [[#Don't contact us|Don't contact us]]:

===Don't contact us===
*At the same time that the permalink appeared, there was also suddenly a new link on all other pages than the front page:
**The link is written in a very weak gray font; it can even be hard to see on some screens. However, it can be found using a simple ctrl-f.
***It has possibly changed color since it first appeared, as it was fairly easy to see then.
***This is certainly intentionally done so by Randall, as it is a reference to another comic (see below).
**It is located right beneath ''help'' at the bottom of the list of problems written under ''our policy regarding your personal data'' right beneath Cueball at his desk to the left (see [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#After 18:00 ET on April 1st|picture here]]).
**In some cases tilting the screen will help to make it visible.
**If you cannot see it, you can still find it with the cursor, or you can also highlight the text below Cueball all the way down and copy-paste it into a text editor to see what it says.
*The link text reads '''Don't contact us''' and links to a chatroom at [https://euphoria.io/ euphoria.io].
*Clicking the link opens the [https://euphoria.io/room/xkcd/ xkcd chatroom] at Euphoria. (See a [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#xkcd chat forum|picture here]]).
**Several xkcd users began posting there at around 18:00 {{w|Eastern Time Zone|Eastern time}} (Randall's timezone).
**After picking a username, you can chat in real time with the other users.
**When you return later, the site will remember your user name.
***You can change your username by clicking on it near the bottom of the screen, and entering a new one.
''We are open for anyone to chat here. Hey you! Come right over and say hello to us! ~[https://euphoria.io/room/xkcd euphoria.io/room/xkcd]''

====Undocumented Feature====
*This chat room is reminiscent to the one in comic [[1305: Undocumented Feature]].
*As mentioned above Randall has linked to a chat room, that is:
**Hard to access! You need to know that there is a hidden link on the pages you get to by pressing a red button in {{xkcd|1506}}.
**Only those who entered the page at the right time, would have a chance to learn about this themselves (else they have to come to a page like this).
**It is not easy to even find the "euphoria.io" home-page.
**You do get to choose your user name (this is not the case in Undocumented Feature) but you could change it. Or others could use the same.
*At the moment it came out, many users began using the chatroom.
*Maybe Randall timed these extra features for when people came back from work all over the US.

==Changes and bugs==
*During the first day there occurred several changes to the comic, and also some bugs very present.

===Changes in the comic===
*All the changes mentioned here occurred during April 1 on the release day:
*Since being [[Media:Originalxkcloud.png|originally posted]] the words "Click here" were relatively quickly added in large text to the top of the red button followed by the word "to" being added to the beginning of the existing text.
**The text changed from
***''Help us recover user data before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.'' to
***''Click here to help us recover user data before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.''
**The reason for this is most likely that too few users understood that they could enter a second part of the comic by clicking on the red button.
*Late in the afternoon on April 1 (around 18:00 {{w|Eastern Time Zone|ET}}) several changes occurred to the pages that can be reached from the front page:
**The [[#Permalink|permalink]] option appeared
**The link that says [[#Don't contact us|Don't contact us]] appeared under the text beneath Cueball's desk with a link to an xkcd chat room.
***Though only for the text font to fade out to being almost invisible again later on April 1.
**The alignment of the text right beneath Cueball's desk changed. (Compare this [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help us recover more data page|before picture]] with this [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#After 18:00 ET on April 1st|picture after]] 18:00 ET).
**The number of posts increased from 3 or 4 to 6 or 7. (See the pictures above — scroll down to see the relevant after picture).
**Also the number of pictures and text to choose from increased from five to eight (as can also be seen by comparing the pictures found here for before — for [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help! We lost the text page|text]] and for [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#Help! We lost the picture page|picture]] — with the [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages#After 18:00 ET on April 1st|pictures after]] (scroll down as mentioned before)).
***The reason he increased the number of posts (both to see and to choose from) could simply be because there where now is so many possible posts that the risk of seeing the same is smaller even with 6 posts.
*Sometime on April 2, Randall made an update to the names list.
**That this happened could be seen since the names shown in permalinks did change. And since then they have stayed constant.
**For instance, [http://xkcd.com/1506/#post/3c34fb48-1a07-51d2-a81d-5257a3681024 this permalink], to an atomic bomb explosion with the caption ''that's one nasty burn!'', had the name "Lauren Ibsen Dolores Amit" (a play on "{{w|Lorem ipsum|Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet}}"), but now displays the name "Virginia2006" next to a picture of a man with black hair.
***(If this changes please make a note - then the names list have either been changed again, or the assumption that the names stay constant is wrong.)

===Bugs===
*From time to time, instead of the interactive page there is a page with [[Media:three dots only.png|three dots only]].
**This also occurred after April 1.
*Around 18:00 when all the changes occurred the xkcd page did not work properly. (Overload plus new features).
**Also the chat room was overloaded at this time.

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only transcribes what can be seen in the first picture shown at the top of the explanation here. '''For more''' see link below.]

:[One large frame with a five part comic and a large red button at the bottom.]
:[Cueball sitting behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We've made a huge mistake.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Cueball stands and indicates a motley collection of computers and related equipment strewn around the desk.]
:Cueball: I figured starting a cloud services company would be easy.
:Cueball: After all, I've got ''tons'' of computers!

:[A zoomed view on Cueballs head.]
:Cueball: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr— they all struggle to protect privacy and user data...
:Cueball: And '''''we''''' offered a solution.
:Cueball: I forget what it was, though.

:[Cueball is standing with his arms up.]
:Cueball: Anyway, long story short, we screwed up ''immediately'' and lost ''tons'' of their data.
:Cueball: Also a bunch of stuff is literally on fire?

:[Cueball standing behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We can fix this.
:Cueball: But we need your help.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Below the above is a large red rectangular clickable button, that will take the reader on to the interactive part of the comic. On the button it says in large white letters:]
:'''CLICK HERE'''
:To help us recover user data before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.

:[The standard text for the next possible pages can be seen on the link to the '''[[1506: xkcloud/Transcript|continued transcript]]'''. Also here will be a list (which may not be possible to make complete) with possible text for the lost data.]

==Trivia==
*It's the first comic:
**Without a title text. (If you don't count the unnumbered [[A Smarter Planet]] comics and [[404: Not Found]].)
**Where you can copy and paste most of the text from the comic. I.e it is not drawn but printed.
***This goes only for the follow up pages after the front page.
***But it does not only go for the user input.
**These two fact could go together since the way this comic had to be created (i.e. it is not a single picture), there may not have been any possibilities for making a title text
*Source code of elements in the drawing interactive contain the attribute "data-reactid", indicating it is written using the [http://facebook.github.io/react/ React JavaScript library,] developed to use with Facebook & Instagram.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Portmanteau]]
[[Category:No title text]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Elon Musk]]

1658: Estimating Time

2020-07-25T13:42:33Z

Scs: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1658
| date = March 21, 2016
| title = Estimating Time
| image = estimating_time.png
| titletext = Corollary to Hofstadter's Law: Every minute you spend thinking about Hofstadter's Law is a minute you're NOT WORKING AND WILL NEVER FINISH! PAAAAAANIIIIIIC!
}}

==Explanation==
Estimation is difficult; many people seem to greatly underestimate the amount of time or other resources required. To illustrate how difficult this estimation is {{w|Douglas Hofstadter}} coined {{w|Hofstadter's law}} which is a non-scientific {{w|self-referential}} time-related adage, mentioned in the the title text. It states: ''It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.''

[[Ponytail]] is working at her computer and becomes frustrated as it seems her project will (again) take much longer than she has estimated. She is annoyed with herself for always failing to make a decent guess. [[Danish]] begins to give Ponytail advice on how to estimate the time, starting with the comforting words {{w| Phrases from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy#Don.27t Panic |Don’t panic}} and a common guideline of taking the initial estimate and doubling it.

Danish then iterates the law once more and she tells Ponytail to double this again, and then add five minutes. Unless the project to begin with was estimated to somewhat less than an hour, those five minutes will do nothing but confuse Ponytail. But Danish does not stop here, and iterates Hofstadter's law once more. Ponytail still doesn’t get where this goes, saying a hesitant ''okay'' to that.

It turns out that Danish was not at all trying to help, but just mess with Ponytail, as she now tells her that the only thing she has accomplished by listening to her advice is wasting half a minute doubling imaginary numbers (not to be confused with i, the imaginary number), i.e. even her first estimate is just something she has imagined especially since she states herself how bad she is at those kind of estimates. Finally Danish completes her frustration of Ponytail by saying ''Paaaniiic!'', negating the initial advice.

The title text is an extra corollary to the law, that states that using the law to estimate anything about the time your project takes is not only wasted time you could have spent working there is a substantial risk that you will conclude that you will never finish, and thus panic instead of just get the job done now.

Self-reference is a [[:Category:Self-reference|recurring theme]] on xkcd and this comic is quite self-referential both in the comic but also referring to other comics especially to [[917: Hofstadter]]. He is perhaps most famous for his book {{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}} from where the quote is taken (in a section on {{w|recursion}} and self-reference, rather than estimation). This book has been directly referenced in [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]].

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is sitting back from her a laptop lifting her hands of the keyboard, having presumably just paused work on a project.]
:Ponytail: Aaaa! I'm so bad at estimating how long projects will take.

:[Danish walks into the panel towards Ponytail who seems to relax back against the chair.]
:Danish: Don't panic-there's a simple trick for that:
:Danish: Take your most realistic estimate and double it.
:Ponytail: Okay, but-

:[A frameless panel with only Danish holding a hand up.]
:Danish: Now double it again. Add five minutes.
:Danish: Double it a third time.
:Ponytail (from off panel): Okay...

:[Danish raises her arms above her head in mock hysteria. Ponytail runs away from her desk screaming.]
:Danish: 30 seconds have gone by and you've done nothing but double imaginary numbers! You're making no progress and will never finish!
:Ponytail: <big>''Aaaaaa!''</big>
:Danish: ''Paaaniic!''
:Ponytail: <big>''Aaaaaaa!''</big>

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Self-reference]]
[[Category:Time]]

536: Space Elevators

2020-07-25T12:22:08Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ minor adjustment

{{comic
| number = 536
| date = January 28, 2009
| title = Space Elevators
| image = space_elevators.png
| titletext = If you think space elevators are good, but just too boring and practical, check out the 'space fountain'.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Arthur C. Clarke}} was a science fiction writer and a futurist. The quoted remark provides a benchmark for how long it will take to create something as massive and advanced as a {{w|space elevator}}: when technology reaches the point where the idea is considered seriously rather than dismissed out of hand, about fifty years of further effort will make it a reality.

''{{w|Mind of Mencia}}'' was an American television comedy series running from 2005 to 2008. [[Cueball]] implies that the show is so unfunny that putting it on every channel would {{tvtropes|DudeNotFunny|destroy everyone's sense of humor}}, thus preventing them from laughing at anything, space elevators included. Cueball is missing the point of Clarke's quote; Clarke was referring to people no longer laughing at the idea of a space elevator, not people no longer laughing entirely.

The ''{{w|space fountain}}'', mentioned in the title text, is another proposed method of overcoming the planet's gravitational barrier, involving an effect similar to that of a {{w|coil gun}}.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan sit beside a moonlit lake.]
:Cueball: Arthur C. Clarke said space elevators will be built 50 years after everybody stops laughing.

:[Closeup of Cueball.]
:Cueball: So all we have to do is get ''Mind of Mencia'' on every channel and wait.
:Megan (offscreen): Oh, hush.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Elevators]]

1335: Now

2020-07-24T20:12:13Z

Scs: never mind

<div class="plainlinks">
{{comic
| number = 1335
| before = ''Explainxkcd note: The image below is accelerated to show a full day's spin in approximately 10 seconds. The actual comic completes one revolution per day. For the current state, see [http://xkcd.com/now/ xkcd.com/now]''
| date = February 26, 2014
| title = Now
| image = now.gif
| titletext = This image stays roughly in sync with the day (assuming the Earth continues spinning). Shortcut: [http://xkcd.com/now xkcd.com/now]
}}
</div>

==Explanation==
The picture is divided in 24 segments representing the 24 hours of the day. At noon and at midnight the break between segments is indicated by the tip of a dark grey triangle.

The picture rotates by 3.75 {{w|degree (angle)|degrees}} every 15 minutes, as does the Earth, so that it is constantly up to date in showing which regions are currently at which times of day. The picture change seems to happen half-way through a 15-minute time increment (that is, at 7½, 22½, 37½, and 52½ minutes after each hour), so that the picture is always correct for the nearest multiple of 15 minutes.

The map projection of the earth in the middle of the picture shows an {{w|azimuthal equidistant projection}} with the {{w|South Pole}} in the center. This is unusual, as the projection typically puts the north pole in the center, but necessary in order for it to rotate clockwise. [[Randall]] was playing on projections before in [[977: Map Projections]].

The list of cities and countries doesn't match the map exactly - notice how the continent of Australia is shifted counterclockwise of the words "most Australian cities". This is because the map is centered relative to the {{w|time zone}}s and the local variations therein. The map shows the configuration of time zones with respect to {{w|daylight saving time}} (also known as summer time) at the time of the comic's initial release (February 2014); it was being observed in parts of Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and other countries not named in this comic. If the map were to stay accurate through the year, the location of place names would have to move over the next few months as parts of the southern hemisphere went off DST and parts of the northern hemisphere went onto it; however, the map failed to change on the morning of March 9 as it should have (to recognize the start of DST in North America).

In many countries "{{w|business hours}}" are considered to be from 9 am to 5 pm. With some exceptions, including emergencies, it is generally considered rude to place a {{w|telephone}} call to someone's residence during the hours when most people are asleep; Randall portrays this time period as extending from 10 pm to 8 am. This may be a reference to the 10 pm "cutoff" time [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0WeQJW-H3Y discussed] in an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

"Rude to Call" was also the name used by a G-mail experimental opt-in feature in 2009 which added a crossed out phone symbol next to the sender if it was night in the sender's time zone when the reader loaded the email on their screen.

On midnight at UTC we can see this situation:
*00:00 UTC {{w|Greenwich Mean Time}}
::UK, Portugal
::West Africa
*01:00 UTC {{w|Central European Time}}
::Most of central Europe
::Nigeria, and many more countries belonging to the {{w|West Africa Time}} zone
*02:00 UTC {{w|Eastern European Time}}
::Eastern Europe, many countries like Bulgaria, Romania or Greece
::The {{w|Levant}}
::Egypt
*03:00 UTC {{w|UTC+03:00}} (East Africa Time, Eastern Europe Forward Time, and Arabia Standard Time)
::Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia, and more
::Kaliningrad and Belarus
::Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and more.
::Iran is at {{w|Iran Standard Time}}, using an offset of UTC+03:30
*04:00 UTC {{w|UTC+04:00}}
::{{w|Moscow Time}}
::United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, and more
::Afghanistan is at {{w|Time in Afghanistan}}, using an offset of UTC+04:30
::Iran is at {{w|Iran Standard Time}}, using an offset of UTC+03:30
*05:00 UTC {{w|UTC+05:00}}
::Pakistan, Western Australia, Maldives and some France former colonies.
::Afghanistan is at {{w|Time in Afghanistan}}, using an offset of UTC+04:30
::India and Sri Lanka using {{w|UTC+05:30}}
::Nepal is using a much more odd offset at {{w|UTC+05:45}}
*06:00 UTC {{w|UTC+06:00}}
::Bangladesh, Bhutan...
::UK {{w|British Indian Ocean Territory}}
::Russia at {{w|Yekaterinburg Time}}, also Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
::China only use {{w|Time in China|one time zone}} (+08:00) but Xinjiang and Tibet unofficially use +06:00
::India and Sri Lanka using {{w|UTC+05:30}}
::Nepal is using a much more odd offset at {{w|UTC+05:45}}
*07:00 UTC {{w|UTC+07:00}}
::South-east Asia like Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and more
::Christmas Island belonging to Australia
::Russia is also using the {{w|Omsk Time}}
*08:00 UTC {{w|UTC+08:00}}
::Western Australia
::China uses only {{w|Time in China|one time zone}} while the country spans about five.
::Singapore
::Philippines
::Perth
*09:00 UTC {{w|UTC+09:00}}
::Japan
::The Koreas
*10:00 UTC {{w|UTC+10:00}}
::Brisbane and the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria
::US: Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
*11:00 UTC {{w|UTC+11:00}}
::Micronesia, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu
::Russia {{w|Vladivostok Time}}
*12:00 UTC {{w|UTC+12:00}} or {{w|UTC−12:00}}
::Kamchatka (a Russian peninsula at the east Siberia), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu and more
*13:00 UTC {{w|UTC+13:00}} or {{w|UTC−11:00}}
::New Zealand, Kiribati, Tonga
*14:00 UTC {{w|UTC+14:00}} or {{w|UTC−10:00}}
::Hawaii, Samoa
::French Polynesia, Cook Islands, and more
::Line Islands, belonging to Kiribati
*15:00 UTC {{w|UTC−09:00}}
::{{W|Time in Alaska|Alaska}} (some islands of Alaska is at -10:00 and a few city's are at -08:00)
::French Polynesia
*16:00 UTC {{w|UTC−08:00}} or {{w|Pacific Time Zone}}
::US West Coast
::Canada or (British Columbia and Yukon)
::Mexico (Baja California)
*17:00 UTC {{w|UTC−07:00}} or {{w|Mountain Time Zone}}
::US: Denver, and much more
::Canada: Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton), British Columbia, more
*18:00 UTC {{w|UTC−06:00}} or {{w|Central Time Zone}}
::Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua and more
::US: Chicago, Texas except of some most westernmost counties, and many more
*19:00 UTC {{w|UTC−05:00}} or {{w|Eastern Time Zone}}
::Eastern Canada like Ontario or Quebec
::US East Coast including New York and Florida.
::But also Cuba, Haiti, Panama and much more countries
*20:00 UTC {{w|UTC−04:00}} or {{w|Atlantic Time Zone}}
::Canadian Maritimes: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia. (Newfoundland uses {{w|UTC-03:30}})
::Chile
::Greenland
::Most of the Caribbean Islands.
*21:00 UTC {{w|UTC−03:00}}
::Coastal Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, French Guiana, the UK Falkland Islands, and more
*22:00 UTC {{w|UTC−02:00}}
::UK: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
::Brazil: Fernando de Noronha
*23:00 UTC {{w|UTC−01:00}}
::Cape Verde
::Azores (part of Portugal)

==Technical notes==
When first posted, the picture was exactly 12 hours off. Somewhere around 5:10 UTC, this was fixed. The original version also included a listing for Inland Brazil; this could have created a conflict with US East Coast when Daylight-Saving Time begins in the US, and it has been removed.

The names used for the image files refer not to {{w|Universal Time|UTC (Universal Time)}} as one might expect but rather to the time exactly 12 hours off of that. The name of the image file linked from the page matched Universal Time during the first few hours, but the file-naming scheme did not change when the comic was corrected.

==Transcript==
:[The comic is a moving circle with a static outer ring.]

:[The outermost part of the static ring is divided in 22 segments representing the 24 hours of the day. The Noon (11 AM - 1 PM) and Midnight (11 PM - 1 AM) segments cover two hours which are not segmented. The ring is divided so it is yellow from 6 AM to 6 PM and dark grey on the other half.]
::Noon - 6 PM - Midnight - 6 AM

:[The innermost part of the static ring is light grey and divided in two sections that cower from 9 AM to 5 PM and from 10 PM to 8 AM respectively. They contain descriptions of the time intervals.]
::Business hours (9-5)
::Rude to call

:[The rest of the image consist of a rotating part.]

:[On the innermost part of the circle is the Earth as seen from the south pole. Each continent has a different color. The colors are
:*Europe: Red
:*Africa: Cyan
:*Asia: Green
:*Oceania: Purple
:*North America: Blue-violet
:*South America: Olive green
:*Antarctica (The south pole): Light grey

:[Two segmented rings circle the map - these give the names of the continents (not the Antactica) and the color of the ring match the color of the continent on the map. Each segment cover the part of the map with the given continent. The one with Europe is merged with the one for Asia - and the color also merges from red to green along Turkey and Russia where the transition from Europe to Asia occurs.]

:[On the inner ring are the names of the following continents (white text on a segment with the color of the continent)]
::Africa
::Oceania
::South America

:[On the second of these rings are the names of the following continents (white text on a segment with the color of the continent)]
::Europe Asia
::North America

:[On the outermost ring of the moving circle are written names of regions, countries and cities of the Earth over the part of the map in which time zone they belong. All the text is color coded to match the color of the continent they belong to as given on the central map. The text is written in four lines. Below the names are sorted by color and reading from left to right first - and only sorting top to bottom if needed.]

:[Europe - Red text:]
::UK - Most of Europe - Eastern Europe

:[Africa - Cyan text:]
::West Africa - Nigeria - Egypt - East Africa

:[Asia - Green text:]
::The Levant - Iraq - Iran - Moscow - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India - Southeast Asia - Java - China - Singapore - Philippines - Japan - The Koreas - Kamchatka

:[Oceania - Purple text:]
::Perth - Brisbane - Most Australian cities - New Zealand

:[North America - Blue-violet text:]
::Alaska - US West Coast - Denver - Mexico - Chicago - Texas - Eastern Canada - US East coast - Canadian Maritimes

:[South America - Olive green text:]
:: Coastal Brazil

==Implementations==
There are currently several implementations of the Now comic available for several different platforms:

===Windows===
A [https://github.com/leipert/xkcd-now-clock script] that automatically updates the wallpaper for the current time.

===Linux===
A [https://github.com/151henry151/randall-clock-desktop-background bash script] that automatically updates the wallpaper for the current time, written for a Debian system running i3. May work well for other linux distributions as well.

===Android===
An [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.phillab.xkcd_now Android widget] version of the comic.

===Web===
A [http://www.xkcdnow.com/ web-based implementation] which also displays time zones. (Not working on 02017-08-16)

A [http://c0la.s3.amazonaws.com/xkcd1335.html draggable] implementation (click&drag - left and right) (Not working on 02017-08-16)

===Cross-Platform===
An [https://github.com/BruceJohnJennerLawso/xkcd-Now/releases/tag/1.02 offline version of the comic] made using C++ and SFML.

==Timed Links==
[http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/00h00m.png 00h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/00h15m.png 00h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/00h30m.png 00h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/00h45m.png 00h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/01h00m.png 01h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/01h15m.png 01h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/01h30m.png 01h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/01h45m.png 01h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/02h00m.png 02h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/02h15m.png 02h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/02h30m.png 02h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/02h45m.png 02h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/03h00m.png 03h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/03h15m.png 03h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/03h30m.png 03h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/03h45m.png 03h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/04h00m.png 04h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/04h15m.png 04h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/04h30m.png 04h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/04h45m.png 04h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/05h00m.png 05h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/05h15m.png 05h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/05h30m.png 05h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/05h45m.png 05h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/06h00m.png 06h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/06h15m.png 06h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/06h30m.png 06h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/06h45m.png 06h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/07h00m.png 07h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/07h15m.png 07h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/07h30m.png 07h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/07h45m.png 07h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/08h00m.png 08h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/08h15m.png 08h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/08h30m.png 08h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/08h45m.png 08h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/09h00m.png 09h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/09h15m.png 09h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/09h30m.png 09h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/09h45m.png 09h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/10h00m.png 10h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/10h15m.png 10h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/10h30m.png 10h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/10h45m.png 10h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/11h00m.png 11h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/11h15m.png 11h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/11h30m.png 11h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/11h45m.png 11h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/12h00m.png 12h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/12h15m.png 12h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/12h30m.png 12h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/12h45m.png 12h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/13h00m.png 13h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/13h15m.png 13h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/13h30m.png 13h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/13h45m.png 13h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/14h00m.png 14h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/14h15m.png 14h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/14h30m.png 14h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/14h45m.png 14h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/15h00m.png 15h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/15h15m.png 15h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/15h30m.png 15h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/15h45m.png 15h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/16h00m.png 16h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/16h15m.png 16h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/16h30m.png 16h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/16h45m.png 16h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/17h00m.png 17h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/17h15m.png 17h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/17h30m.png 17h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/17h45m.png 17h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/18h00m.png 18h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/18h15m.png 18h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/18h30m.png 18h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/18h45m.png 18h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/19h00m.png 19h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/19h15m.png 19h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/19h30m.png 19h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/19h45m.png 19h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/20h00m.png 20h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/20h15m.png 20h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/20h30m.png 20h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/20h45m.png 20h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/21h00m.png 21h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/21h15m.png 21h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/21h30m.png 21h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/21h45m.png 21h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/22h00m.png 22h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/22h15m.png 22h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/22h30m.png 22h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/22h45m.png 22h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/23h00m.png 23h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/23h15m.png 23h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/23h30m.png 23h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/23h45m.png 23h45m]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Time]]

1335: Now

2020-07-24T12:36:11Z

Scs: /* Explanation */ explain why times on outer ring run backwards

<div class="plainlinks">
{{comic
| number = 1335
| before = ''Explainxkcd note: The image below is accelerated to show a full day's spin in approximately 10 seconds. The actual comic completes one revolution per day. For the current state, see [http://xkcd.com/now/ xkcd.com/now]''
| date = February 26, 2014
| title = Now
| image = now.gif
| titletext = This image stays roughly in sync with the day (assuming the Earth continues spinning). Shortcut: [http://xkcd.com/now xkcd.com/now]
}}
</div>

==Explanation==
The picture is divided in 24 segments representing the 24 hours of the day. At noon and at midnight the break between segments is indicated by the tip of a dark grey triangle.

The picture rotates by 3.75 {{w|degree (angle)|degrees}} every 15 minutes, as does the Earth, so that it is constantly up to date in showing which regions are currently at which times of day. The picture change seems to happen half-way through a 15-minute time increment (that is, at 7½, 22½, 37½, and 52½ minutes after each hour), so that the picture is always correct for the nearest multiple of 15 minutes.

The map projection of the earth in the middle of the picture shows an {{w|azimuthal equidistant projection}} with the {{w|South Pole}} in the center. This is unusual, as the projection typically puts the north pole in the center, but necessary in order for it to rotate clockwise. [[Randall]] was playing on projections before in [[977: Map Projections]].

The time indications on the outer ring run in the opposite direction to a conventional clock because this is not a conventional clock. The outer ring is not the dial on which a moving hand tells you the time at one, fixed geographical position; rather, this dial tells you the current time at the moving positions that are passing under it. If the comic's view of the earth were from the North Pole, the outer ring would have its times running conventionally clockwise — but the image would be rotating ''counter''clockwise, as indeed the real Earth does when viewed from the North Pole.

The list of cities and countries doesn't match the map exactly - notice how the continent of Australia is shifted counterclockwise of the words "most Australian cities". This is because the map is centered relative to the {{w|time zone}}s and the local variations therein. The map shows the configuration of time zones with respect to {{w|daylight saving time}} (also known as summer time) at the time of the comic's initial release (February 2014); it was being observed in parts of Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and other countries not named in this comic. If the map were to stay accurate through the year, the location of place names would have to move over the next few months as parts of the southern hemisphere went off DST and parts of the northern hemisphere went onto it; however, the map failed to change on the morning of March 9 as it should have (to recognize the start of DST in North America).

In many countries "{{w|business hours}}" are considered to be from 9 am to 5 pm. With some exceptions, including emergencies, it is generally considered rude to place a {{w|telephone}} call to someone's residence during the hours when most people are asleep; Randall portrays this time period as extending from 10 pm to 8 am. This may be a reference to the 10 pm "cutoff" time [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0WeQJW-H3Y discussed] in an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

"Rude to Call" was also the name used by a G-mail experimental opt-in feature in 2009 which added a crossed out phone symbol next to the sender if it was night in the sender's time zone when the reader loaded the email on their screen.

On midnight at UTC we can see this situation:
*00:00 UTC {{w|Greenwich Mean Time}}
::UK, Portugal
::West Africa
*01:00 UTC {{w|Central European Time}}
::Most of central Europe
::Nigeria, and many more countries belonging to the {{w|West Africa Time}} zone
*02:00 UTC {{w|Eastern European Time}}
::Eastern Europe, many countries like Bulgaria, Romania or Greece
::The {{w|Levant}}
::Egypt
*03:00 UTC {{w|UTC+03:00}} (East Africa Time, Eastern Europe Forward Time, and Arabia Standard Time)
::Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia, and more
::Kaliningrad and Belarus
::Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and more.
::Iran is at {{w|Iran Standard Time}}, using an offset of UTC+03:30
*04:00 UTC {{w|UTC+04:00}}
::{{w|Moscow Time}}
::United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, and more
::Afghanistan is at {{w|Time in Afghanistan}}, using an offset of UTC+04:30
::Iran is at {{w|Iran Standard Time}}, using an offset of UTC+03:30
*05:00 UTC {{w|UTC+05:00}}
::Pakistan, Western Australia, Maldives and some France former colonies.
::Afghanistan is at {{w|Time in Afghanistan}}, using an offset of UTC+04:30
::India and Sri Lanka using {{w|UTC+05:30}}
::Nepal is using a much more odd offset at {{w|UTC+05:45}}
*06:00 UTC {{w|UTC+06:00}}
::Bangladesh, Bhutan...
::UK {{w|British Indian Ocean Territory}}
::Russia at {{w|Yekaterinburg Time}}, also Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
::China only use {{w|Time in China|one time zone}} (+08:00) but Xinjiang and Tibet unofficially use +06:00
::India and Sri Lanka using {{w|UTC+05:30}}
::Nepal is using a much more odd offset at {{w|UTC+05:45}}
*07:00 UTC {{w|UTC+07:00}}
::South-east Asia like Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and more
::Christmas Island belonging to Australia
::Russia is also using the {{w|Omsk Time}}
*08:00 UTC {{w|UTC+08:00}}
::Western Australia
::China uses only {{w|Time in China|one time zone}} while the country spans about five.
::Singapore
::Philippines
::Perth
*09:00 UTC {{w|UTC+09:00}}
::Japan
::The Koreas
*10:00 UTC {{w|UTC+10:00}}
::Brisbane and the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria
::US: Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
*11:00 UTC {{w|UTC+11:00}}
::Micronesia, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu
::Russia {{w|Vladivostok Time}}
*12:00 UTC {{w|UTC+12:00}} or {{w|UTC−12:00}}
::Kamchatka (a Russian peninsula at the east Siberia), Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tuvalu and more
*13:00 UTC {{w|UTC+13:00}} or {{w|UTC−11:00}}
::New Zealand, Kiribati, Tonga
*14:00 UTC {{w|UTC+14:00}} or {{w|UTC−10:00}}
::Hawaii, Samoa
::French Polynesia, Cook Islands, and more
::Line Islands, belonging to Kiribati
*15:00 UTC {{w|UTC−09:00}}
::{{W|Time in Alaska|Alaska}} (some islands of Alaska is at -10:00 and a few city's are at -08:00)
::French Polynesia
*16:00 UTC {{w|UTC−08:00}} or {{w|Pacific Time Zone}}
::US West Coast
::Canada or (British Columbia and Yukon)
::Mexico (Baja California)
*17:00 UTC {{w|UTC−07:00}} or {{w|Mountain Time Zone}}
::US: Denver, and much more
::Canada: Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton), British Columbia, more
*18:00 UTC {{w|UTC−06:00}} or {{w|Central Time Zone}}
::Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua and more
::US: Chicago, Texas except of some most westernmost counties, and many more
*19:00 UTC {{w|UTC−05:00}} or {{w|Eastern Time Zone}}
::Eastern Canada like Ontario or Quebec
::US East Coast including New York and Florida.
::But also Cuba, Haiti, Panama and much more countries
*20:00 UTC {{w|UTC−04:00}} or {{w|Atlantic Time Zone}}
::Canadian Maritimes: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia. (Newfoundland uses {{w|UTC-03:30}})
::Chile
::Greenland
::Most of the Caribbean Islands.
*21:00 UTC {{w|UTC−03:00}}
::Coastal Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, French Guiana, the UK Falkland Islands, and more
*22:00 UTC {{w|UTC−02:00}}
::UK: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
::Brazil: Fernando de Noronha
*23:00 UTC {{w|UTC−01:00}}
::Cape Verde
::Azores (part of Portugal)

==Technical notes==
When first posted, the picture was exactly 12 hours off. Somewhere around 5:10 UTC, this was fixed. The original version also included a listing for Inland Brazil; this could have created a conflict with US East Coast when Daylight-Saving Time begins in the US, and it has been removed.

The names used for the image files refer not to {{w|Universal Time|UTC (Universal Time)}} as one might expect but rather to the time exactly 12 hours off of that. The name of the image file linked from the page matched Universal Time during the first few hours, but the file-naming scheme did not change when the comic was corrected.

==Transcript==
:[The comic is a moving circle with a static outer ring.]

:[The outermost part of the static ring is divided in 22 segments representing the 24 hours of the day. The Noon (11 AM - 1 PM) and Midnight (11 PM - 1 AM) segments cover two hours which are not segmented. The ring is divided so it is yellow from 6 AM to 6 PM and dark grey on the other half.]
::Noon - 6 PM - Midnight - 6 AM

:[The innermost part of the static ring is light grey and divided in two sections that cower from 9 AM to 5 PM and from 10 PM to 8 AM respectively. They contain descriptions of the time intervals.]
::Business hours (9-5)
::Rude to call

:[The rest of the image consist of a rotating part.]

:[On the innermost part of the circle is the Earth as seen from the south pole. Each continent has a different color. The colors are
:*Europe: Red
:*Africa: Cyan
:*Asia: Green
:*Oceania: Purple
:*North America: Blue-violet
:*South America: Olive green
:*Antarctica (The south pole): Light grey

:[Two segmented rings circle the map - these give the names of the continents (not the Antactica) and the color of the ring match the color of the continent on the map. Each segment cover the part of the map with the given continent. The one with Europe is merged with the one for Asia - and the color also merges from red to green along Turkey and Russia where the transition from Europe to Asia occurs.]

:[On the inner ring are the names of the following continents (white text on a segment with the color of the continent)]
::Africa
::Oceania
::South America

:[On the second of these rings are the names of the following continents (white text on a segment with the color of the continent)]
::Europe Asia
::North America

:[On the outermost ring of the moving circle are written names of regions, countries and cities of the Earth over the part of the map in which time zone they belong. All the text is color coded to match the color of the continent they belong to as given on the central map. The text is written in four lines. Below the names are sorted by color and reading from left to right first - and only sorting top to bottom if needed.]

:[Europe - Red text:]
::UK - Most of Europe - Eastern Europe

:[Africa - Cyan text:]
::West Africa - Nigeria - Egypt - East Africa

:[Asia - Green text:]
::The Levant - Iraq - Iran - Moscow - Afghanistan - Pakistan - India - Southeast Asia - Java - China - Singapore - Philippines - Japan - The Koreas - Kamchatka

:[Oceania - Purple text:]
::Perth - Brisbane - Most Australian cities - New Zealand

:[North America - Blue-violet text:]
::Alaska - US West Coast - Denver - Mexico - Chicago - Texas - Eastern Canada - US East coast - Canadian Maritimes

:[South America - Olive green text:]
:: Coastal Brazil

==Implementations==
There are currently several implementations of the Now comic available for several different platforms:

===Windows===
A [https://github.com/leipert/xkcd-now-clock script] that automatically updates the wallpaper for the current time.

===Linux===
A [https://github.com/151henry151/randall-clock-desktop-background bash script] that automatically updates the wallpaper for the current time, written for a Debian system running i3. May work well for other linux distributions as well.

===Android===
An [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.phillab.xkcd_now Android widget] version of the comic.

===Web===
A [http://www.xkcdnow.com/ web-based implementation] which also displays time zones. (Not working on 02017-08-16)

A [http://c0la.s3.amazonaws.com/xkcd1335.html draggable] implementation (click&drag - left and right) (Not working on 02017-08-16)

===Cross-Platform===
An [https://github.com/BruceJohnJennerLawso/xkcd-Now/releases/tag/1.02 offline version of the comic] made using C++ and SFML.

==Timed Links==
[http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/00h00m.png 00h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/00h15m.png 00h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/00h30m.png 00h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/00h45m.png 00h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/01h00m.png 01h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/01h15m.png 01h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/01h30m.png 01h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/01h45m.png 01h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/02h00m.png 02h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/02h15m.png 02h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/02h30m.png 02h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/02h45m.png 02h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/03h00m.png 03h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/03h15m.png 03h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/03h30m.png 03h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/03h45m.png 03h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/04h00m.png 04h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/04h15m.png 04h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/04h30m.png 04h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/04h45m.png 04h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/05h00m.png 05h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/05h15m.png 05h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/05h30m.png 05h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/05h45m.png 05h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/06h00m.png 06h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/06h15m.png 06h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/06h30m.png 06h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/06h45m.png 06h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/07h00m.png 07h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/07h15m.png 07h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/07h30m.png 07h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/07h45m.png 07h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/08h00m.png 08h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/08h15m.png 08h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/08h30m.png 08h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/08h45m.png 08h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/09h00m.png 09h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/09h15m.png 09h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/09h30m.png 09h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/09h45m.png 09h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/10h00m.png 10h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/10h15m.png 10h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/10h30m.png 10h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/10h45m.png 10h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/11h00m.png 11h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/11h15m.png 11h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/11h30m.png 11h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/11h45m.png 11h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/12h00m.png 12h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/12h15m.png 12h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/12h30m.png 12h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/12h45m.png 12h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/13h00m.png 13h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/13h15m.png 13h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/13h30m.png 13h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/13h45m.png 13h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/14h00m.png 14h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/14h15m.png 14h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/14h30m.png 14h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/14h45m.png 14h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/15h00m.png 15h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/15h15m.png 15h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/15h30m.png 15h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/15h45m.png 15h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/16h00m.png 16h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/16h15m.png 16h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/16h30m.png 16h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/16h45m.png 16h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/17h00m.png 17h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/17h15m.png 17h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/17h30m.png 17h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/17h45m.png 17h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/18h00m.png 18h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/18h15m.png 18h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/18h30m.png 18h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/18h45m.png 18h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/19h00m.png 19h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/19h15m.png 19h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/19h30m.png 19h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/19h45m.png 19h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/20h00m.png 20h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/20h15m.png 20h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/20h30m.png 20h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/20h45m.png 20h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/21h00m.png 21h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/21h15m.png 21h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/21h30m.png 21h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/21h45m.png 21h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/22h00m.png 22h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/22h15m.png 22h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/22h30m.png 22h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/22h45m.png 22h45m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/23h00m.png 23h00m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/23h15m.png 23h15m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/23h30m.png 23h30m] [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/now/23h45m.png 23h45m]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Time]]

1410: California

2020-07-21T10:56:07Z

Scs: /* Transcript */ more-complete description of graph

{{comic
| number = 1410
| date = August 20, 2014
| title = California
| image = california.png
| titletext = 58% of the state has gone into plaid.
}}

==Explanation==
This graph shows the levels of drought over time in the state of {{w|California}} using years on the horizontal axis and distance along a 45 degrees rotated north-south-axis of California on the vertical axis. The image illustrates the use of the distance measure on the vertical axis by visually rotating and stacking multiple maps of California next to each other.

The geography of California lends itself well to this kind of graphical interpretation because the state is much taller than it is wide, hence, large-scale phenomena like weather patterns are likely to cover much of the "width" of the state but only part of the "height". Because the variation in the west-east direction will be small, a side-on view of the state can be used as the vertical axis in a graph, so that the indicated values are either the average or extreme value across the width of California.

[[Randall]] compiled the data in this graph from data from the [http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ US Drought Monitor], which is authored by Richard Tinker from {{w|National_Oceanic_and_Atmospheric_Administration|NOAA}}. The colors Randall uses correspond to [http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/AboutUs/ClassificationScheme.aspx drought intensity levels D0-D4] defined on the Drought Monitor site.

The darkest, most severe level of drought is labelled "ludicrous" (causing laughter because of absurdity), but a parenthetical remark indicates that the official term is "exceptional.". Of course, with half or more of the state in this condition, it can hardly be called "exceptional" any longer.

The graph shows that in 2000, 2005, and 2010, there were very little or no drought conditions in California, but that the intervening periods have seen increasingly severe droughts. According to the most recent data, the state is entirely in a condition of "severe" or worse drought, with "ludicrous" conditions across approximately half its area. The graph also reveals that 2014 is the first year (since 2000) where the "ludicrous" level has been seen. Indeed, a comic about drought is rather topical: California is in the middle of one of its worst droughts in recorded history.

The title text is a reference from the movie {{w|Spaceballs}}, a {{w|Parody_film|parody}} of various {{w|Science_fiction|Sci-Fi}} movies. Lone Starr and Barf in their Winnebago space ship traveling at lightspeed are passed by Spaceball One, which is traveling at "ludicrous" speed. The path of Spaceball One is shown as a {{w|Plaid_(pattern)|plaid pattern}} and Barf remarks "They've gone to plaid!" ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk7VWcuVOf0 YouTube clip]).

==Transcript==
:[Caption above frame:]
:I like how long and skinny California is because it means you can use it as a graph axis:

:[Title at top of frame:]
:'''California Droughts'''
:Based on map data from US Drought Monitor/NOAA/Richard Tinker

:[A legend explains the colors which won't show in this transcript anyway:]
:Dry
::[Yellow]
:Drought
::[Beige] Moderate
::[Orange] Severe
::[Red] Extreme
::[Brown] Ludicrous ("exceptional")

:[A colored contour plot with Time on the X axis and California on the Y axis, and depth of drought as the dependent variable indicated by color. At the left edge, an outline of the state of California, rotated clockwise so as to be mostly vertical, with a label on the "X axis" of Jan 4, 2000, and a yellow patch indicating Dry conditions through the center of the state. To the right of that, four progressively-skinnier versions of the same image, showing more or less the same area of dryness, with the state outline shrunk along the Y axis until the fourth one is basically just a vertical line. This then merges into the main body of the graph, the true contour plot, in which the Y axis is just south-to-north distance along the state, as the X or Time axis runs from 2000 to 2014. Extreme droughts can be seen in Northern California in 2001, Southern California in 2002, and Southern California again in 2007. Moderate-to-severe drought is prevalent across most of the state in 2008-09, and then again starting in 2012, progressing to extreme and "ludicrous" in the northern 2/3 of the state by 2014. At the right-hand edge of the graph are five progressively-wider outlines of the state, reversing the pattern at the left edge, starting with a "line" and widening to a proper 2-D image of the state again, with an X-axis label of Aug 14, 2014, showing the true extent of the drought, with all areas of the state experiencing severe, extreme, or "ludicrous" levels.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]

1555: Exoplanet Names 2

2020-07-20T13:14:03Z

Scs: /* Table */

{{comic
| number = 1555
| date = July 24, 2015
| title = Exoplanet Names 2
| image = exoplanet_names_2.png
| titletext = I'm going to drive this Netherlands joke so far into the ground they'll have to build levees around it to keep the sea out.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is a continuation of [[1253: Exoplanet Names]], and was published the day after NASA announced the discovery of a number of planets, including a planet called a cousin to Earth, {{w|Kepler-452b}}. [[Black Hat]] proposes naming it {{w|Pluto}}, to commemorate the flyby of the {{w|dwarf planet}} of that name by NASA's {{w|New Horizons}} earlier the same month. He admits this alternative to end the discussion about the status of Pluto, which is subject to debate among both scientists and laypeople over whether-or-not it should be considered a planet. Pluto was considered a planet for a long period of time until, in 2005, the {{w|International Astronomical Union}} (IAU) created a new definition for the word 'planet' designed to exclude Pluto and similar objects, resulting in much debate (The IAU is the organization that takes responsibility for naming celestial bodies like planets, stars, and much more).

It may appear that, with Black Hat's suggestion, the answer to the question "is Pluto a planet?" will therefore always be "yes", regardless of the status of the Pluto in our Solar System according to the IAU. However the same [http://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau0603/ IAU official definition] that excludes Pluto also states that a 'planet' has to orbit our sun, so according to the IAU, nothing in this comic is a planet (the IAU definition only allows them to be {{w|exoplanets}}, which, like dwarf planets, are not planets). Hence, the debate indeed becomes 'a little more confusing'. This is in line with Black Hat's characterisation as a mischief-maker.

The title text is referring to the planet name entry ''Netherlands VI'' for the star ''EPIC 201912552''. Randall thus continues his references to the Dutch people taking over the world and then the universe after the earth's oceans has been drained and transported to Mars. This happens in two consecutive [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/what_if%3F What if?]'s, [http://what-if.xkcd.com/53/ Drain the Oceans] and [http://what-if.xkcd.com/54/ Drain the Oceans: Part II], was referenced in [http://what-if.xkcd.com/57/ Dropping a Mountain], and was referenced again the week before this comic in [[1551: Pluto]]. Due to a drain in the Earth's ocean the Netherlands does not have to worry about getting flooded anymore and since it now does not have to use all its resources preventing floods, it can use these to conquer the world (including Antarctica becoming South Netherlands). Then it takes on Mars (which becomes New Netherlands), and then a section of Pluto (again calling it New Netherlands). There is also a possible reference to [[1519: Venus]], but that comic has no direct relation to the conquests of the Dutch people like in the other three references. It should be mentioned, that {{w|New Netherland}} was actually a Dutch colony with {{w|New York City}}, formerly known as {{w|New Amsterdam}}, as its capital. So the name "New Netherlands" is "historically correct", while "Netherlands VI" isn't.

In the title text Randall mentioned that he will continue with ''this Netherlands joke'' driving it so far into the ground, (i.e. way beyond the point where it stops being funny), that they (the Dutch people) will have to build {{w|Levee|levees}} (or dykes) around it to keep the sea out - thus making it funny again... By forcing the Dutchmen to build new levees for this reason, the whole issue with their conquest of the world will be over before it happens.

===Table===
This table explains each entry in the comic table.
The "Status" column refers to the comic [[1253: Exoplanet Names]], and indicates if the entry was already in that version (Old), if it is an addition since then (New) or if the entry has been updated (Update).

{| class="wikitable"
! Star !! Planet !! Status !! Suggested Name !! Explanation
|-
| rowspan=7 | {{w|Gliese 667}} || {{w|Gliese 667 Cb|b}} || Old || {{w|Space Planet}} || A very unimaginative name; every planet is in space.{{Citation needed}}
|-
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cc|c}} || Old || PILF || Pun of {{w|MILF pornography|MILF}}, i.e. ''Planet I'd Like to Fuck''. Planet c is a relatively hot planet, within the habitable zone.
|-
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cd|d}} || Old || A Star || "A {{w|Star}}" is obviously a bad name for a planet. A* (pronounced "A star") is already used in astronomy, for example the Milky Way's black hole core is {{w|Sagittarius A*}}. "A star" is also the name for the character {{w|asterisk}} and the name of the popular {{w|A* search algorithm}} in computer science.
|-
|{{w|Gliese 667 Ce|e}} || Old || e'); DROP TABLE PLANETS;-- || [[Mrs. Roberts]] is probably trying to use {{w|SQL injection}} like in [[327|Exploits of a Mom]], in which her son [[Robert'); DROP TABLE students;--]] caused the school a lot of trouble when his name was put in. The idea here is that the {{w|IAU}} would enter the name into their system and promptly lose all of their data pertaining to planets. Note that Planet e is located in the habitable zone of the star system.
|-
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cf|f}} || Old || Blogosphere || rowspan = 2 | Weird ''{{w|blog}}''-related terms are a recurring theme in xkcd. See, for instance, [[181|comic 181]].
|-
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cg|g}} || Old || Blogodrome
|-
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_667c_h/ h] || Old || {{w|Earth}} || Planet candidate h is about the mass of the Earth, and described as "tantalizing": [http://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2013/08/aa21331-13/aa21331-13.html A dynamically-packed planetary system around GJ with three super-Earths in its habitable zone]. See also ([[1231: Habitable Zone]]). Like several other names below, naming a second planet Earth would be highly confusing.
|-
| rowspan=5 | {{w|Tau Ceti}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_b/ b] || Old || Sid Meier's Tau Ceti B || This refers to the game {{w|Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri}}.
|-
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_c/ c] || Old || Giant Dog Planet || {{w|VY Canis Majoris}} is one of the largest known stars at our galaxy and belongs to the constellation {{w|Canis Major}}, Latin for "greater dog". The constellation further contains {{w|Sirius}}, the brightest star in the night sky, also called "Dog Star".
|-
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_d/ d] || Old || Tiny Dog Planet || cf. {{w|Canis Minor}}, Latin for "lesser dog", another constellation.
|-
|{{w|Tau Ceti e|e}} || Old || Phil Plainet || A reference to {{w|Phil Plait}}, a.k.a. The Bad Astronomer.
|-
|{{w|Tau Ceti f|f}} || Old || Unicode Snowman || The Unicode character ☃ may be a reference to the planet's estimated surface temperature of -40 °C (-40 °F). However, this name would be pronounced differently (being a symbol, not a word or name) in different languages. Planets in our solar system are assigned to {{w|Astronomical symbols|astronomical symbols}} like ♁ for Venus or ♂ for Mars.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 832}} || {{w|Gliese 832 b|b}} || Old || Asshole Jupiter || This massive planet orbits a {{w|red dwarf}} star at the longest known period of 3416 days at this category. Many exoplanets are described as "Hot Jupiters" because they are high-temperature gas giants; if one were to read "hot" as a description of attractiveness rather than temperature, one might generate names like this one.
|-
| {{w|Gliese 832 c|c}} || New || {{w|Waterworld}} starring Kevin Costner || [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114898/ Waterworld] is a 1995 film starring Kevin Costner about Earth almost completely covered in water. The surname was previously spelled incorrectly with a 'K'.
|-
| rowspan=6 | {{w|Gliese 581}} || {{w|Gliese 581 b|b}} || Old || Waist-deep {{w|Cats}} || {{w|Waist Deep}} is an action film from 2006, and the {{w|Lolcat}} meme does not need explaining. The name may also simply be a reference to being "waist-deep" in (i.e. surrounded by many) cats.
|-
| {{w|Gliese|c}} || Old || Planet #14 || About 200th discovered exoplanet (in 2007); reported to be the first potentially Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of its star, though that is in doubt now. The joke might be that like "Space Planet", "Planet #14" is a generic and unoriginal name. Also note that this is the 15th entry in the original table so the numbering is {{w|Zero-based numbering|zero-based}}.
An interesting (?) coincidence is that the 14th and 15th {{w|Definition of planet#Minor planets|Minor planets}} (then called asteroids) were discovered in 1851; see see {{w|List of minor planets: 1–1000}}. If they were to be counted among the planets of the {{w|Solar System}}, as was sometimes done then, the 14th known planetary body would be {{w| 7 Iris|Iris}} (discovered in 1847, a year before {{w|Neptune}}).
|-
|{{w|Gliese 581 d|d}} || Old || Ballderaan || A {{w|wikt:balls|crude pun}} on the planet {{w|Alderaan}} from the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' universe.
|-
|{{w|Gliese 581 e|e}} || Old || Eternia Prime || {{w|Eternia}} is a fictional planet, venue of the ''{{w|Masters of the Universe}}'' animated series and toy collection.
|-
| {{w|Gliese 581 f|f}} || Old || Taupe Mars || {{w|Kim Stanley Robinson}}'s award-winning {{w|Mars trilogy}} (''Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars'' after various stages of {{w|terraformation}}). {{w|Taupe}} is a brownish-grey colour.
|-
|{{w|Gliese|g}} || Old || Jelly-Filled Planet || Possibly a reference to the conjecture that this tidally locked planet has an isolated habitable zone under the substellar point, akin to the pocket of jelly in a jelly doughnut.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Epsilon Eridani}} || {{w|Epsilon Eridani b|b}} || Old || Skydot || [http://skydot.lanl.gov SkyDOT] is the Sky Database for Objects in Time-Domain run by {{w|LANL}} for the {{w|U.S. Dept. of Energy}} and includes data for [http://skydot.lanl.gov/nsvs/star.php?num=14831575&mask=32004 Epsilon Eridani] that can be used to constrain the orbital parameters of ε Eri b. It may also refer to how objects in space may appear as bland, bright dots in the night sky.
|-
| {{w|Epsilon Eridani c#Planet c|c}} || Old || Laser Noises || A {{w|Laser}} does not produce {{w|Noise (electronics)|noise}} in the signal sense; it only works at a well defined frequency. In science fiction films, however, laser weapon discharges are usually accompanied by sound. Sun-like Epsilon Eridani became a popular setting for science fiction after its publicity as a target of the {{w|Project Ozma}} experiment.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 176}} || {{w|Gliese 176 b|b}} || Old || {{w|Pandora}} || The mythological name {{w|Pandora}} fulfills most of IAU's guidelines and has been popular for planets in science fiction; most recently and famously is {{w|Pandora (Avatar)|the venue}} of James Cameron's ''{{w|Avatar (film)|Avatar}}'' (although actually it is not a planet but just a moon of a gas giant in Alpha Centauri A). It is also a hellish planet from {{w|Frank Herbert}}'s {{w|Frank Herbert bibliography#WorShip novels|WorShip}} series of novels, a jungle planet in Brothers Strugatsky's {{w|Noon Universe}} and the planet used in {{w|Borderlands (video game)|Borderlands Games}}.
|-
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_176_c/ c] || Old || Pantera || A near homophone of Pandora, possibly named for the {{w|Pantera|heavy metal band}}, which was named for the {{w|De Tomaso Pantera|Italian sports car}}, which was named for the panther.
|-
| {{w|Kepler-61}} || {{w|Kepler-61b|b}} || Old || GoldenPalace.com || A gambling website, known for {{w|GoldenPalace.com|paying to have their name in unusual places}} (like forehead tattoos, species names...).
|-
| {{w|Groombridge 34|Groombridge 34A}} || b || New || Hot Mess || This is a reference to the phrase {{w|wikt:hot mess|hot mess}}, meaning a person who is dishevelled but nevertheless attractive.
|-
| Kepler-442 || {{w|Kepler-442b|b}} || New || Seas of {{w|Toothpaste}} ||
|-
| Gliese-422 || b || New || This one weird planet || Most likely a reference to {{w|clickbait}} articles found on the internet.
|-
| rowspan=3 | {{w|EPIC 201367065|EPIC-201367065}} || b || New || {{w|Sulawesi}} || {{w|Sulawesi|An island }} in the Indonesian archipelago. Including it in non-Earth maps is an xkcd running gag.
|-
| c || New || Huge {{w|Soccer}} Ball ||
|-
| d || New || Geodude || [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Geodude_%28Pok%C3%A9mon%29 Geodude] is a Pokémon characterised by its ball-like shape. It resembles a clump of rocks.
|-
| rowspan=5 | {{w|Kepler-296}} || b || New || Kerbal Space Planet || {{w|Kerbal Space Program}} is a game where model rockets are launched on a scale version of the Earth. It has been referenced in xkcd a number of times (in the title text of [[1106: ADD]], in [[1244: Six Words]], as a part of [[1350: Lorenz]] and in [[1356: Orbital Mechanics]]). Note, though, that the actual planet corresponding to the Earth in the game is called [http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Kerbin "Kerbin"].
|-
| c || New || A$aplanet || Most probably a pun on the rap group {{w|A$AP Mob}} and their most prominent member {{w|A$AP Rocky}}. May also be a pun on {{w|Kesha}}, also written as Ke$ha. In that case the c of the planet's designation would belong to the name.
|-
| d || New || {{w|Jurassic World}} || ''{{w|Jurassic World}}'' is the most recent movie in the ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}'' series.
|-
| {{w|Kepler-296e|e}} || New || This Land || Reference to Wash's dialogue in the pilot episode of {{w|Firefly (TV Series)|Firefly}}. Or perhaps the folk song "This Land is Your Land", written and made famous by Woody Guthrie.
|-
| {{w|Kepler-296f|f}} || New || Springfield || The name of {{w|Springfield (The Simpsons)|the town}} in which animated sitcom {{w|The Simpsons}} is set; possibly a reference to the running joke that the state in which Springfield is located has never been named.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|HR 7722}} || {{w|HR 7722 b|b}} || New || {{w|Betelgeuse}} || rowspan=2 | {{w|Betelgeuse}} is a star in the constellation Orion. It is commonly (at least by speakers of English) pronounced as "beetlejuice". {{w|Beetlejuice}}, however is a film directed by {{w|Tim Burton}} from 1988. Similarly to Dune/Arrakis (see Gliese 180) and the two Uranuses (see Kepler-283), naming two planets with names that are generally regarded to be identical would cause severe confusion in astronomical discussions.
|-
| {{w|HR 7722 c|c}} || New || Beetlejuice
|-
| EPIC 201912552 || b || New || {{w|Netherlands}} VI || The title text references this entry. See the explanation of the title text above the table entry.
|-
| rowspan=3 | Gliese 3293 || b || New || Antispit || In the comic [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/ Homestuck] there is a luminous moon named [http://mspaintadventures.wikia.com/wiki/Prospit Prospit]
|-
| c || New || {{w|Google Earth}} || {{w|Google Earth}} is a service, similar to Google Maps, which projects satellite data on a 3D globe that can be zoomed in on. Other features, such as models of buildings, can also appear.
|-
| d || New || {{w|Planet of the Apes (disambiguation)}} || The way a Wikipedia article would be titled, for example, to distinguish from the {{w|Planet of the Apes (novel)|the original novel}}, {{w|Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|the first film}}, {{w|Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|the Tim Burton remake}} and {{w|Rise of the Planet of the Apes|the reboot series}}. In each adaptation, a group of astronauts lands on what is believed to be a "Planet of the Apes", which turns out to be a post-apocalyptic Earth. A Wikipedia page for this planet would itself conflict with an existing disambiguation page, possibly requiring a second-level disambiguation page to be created.
|-
| rowspan=2 | Kepler-283 || b || New || ˈjʊərənəs || rowspan = 2 | Two alternative pronunciations (written in {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}}) for the planet name Uranus; the first one translates as "YU-ri-nus" ("urine-us"), while the second translates as "yu-RAIN-us" ("your anus"). The first pronunciation (being the same as how the {{w|Uranus (mythology)|Greek god}} is pronounced in English) is preferred by astronomers, but both are commonly heard. Similarly to Dune/Arrakis (see Gliese 180) and Betelgeuse/Beetlejuice (see HR 7722), naming two planets with names that are generally regarded to be identical would cause severe confusion in astronomical discussions.
|-
| c || New || jʊˈreɪnəs
|-
! colspan=5 | (right column)
|-
| rowspan=4 | {{w|Upsilon Andromedae}} || b || New || Fourthmeal || {{w|Taco Bell}} has an ad campaign adding a meal after dinner. Possibly also a reference to {{w|Hobbit}}s and [http://askmiddlearth.tumblr.com/post/41765286488/the-seven-daily-hobbit-meals seven daily meals]. This entry was misspelled Andromidae in the first comic (and also in the first released version of this one, see [[#Trivia|trivia]].) Although the star was mentioned in the previous chart, this entry "b" was not. In that comic the chart was shown as a part of a list. And the b entry was above the cut-off line. So the next object was also called "c" in the previous chart.
|-
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae c|c}} || Old || Stampy || The name of the elephant from the {{w|Simpsons}} episode {{w|Bart Gets an Elephant}}.
|-
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae d|d}} || Old || Moonchild || The name Bastian gives the Childlike Empress in {{w|The Neverending Story}}.
|-
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae e|e}} || Old || Ham Sphere || [http://www.hamsphere.com HamSphere] is a {{w|Amateur radio|Ham Radio}} simulator program. Ham radio uses designated radio frequencies for non-commercial exchange of messages and more. A pun of Hemisphere.
|-
| rowspan=3 | {{w|82 G. Eridani|HD 20794}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_b/ b] || Old || Cosmic Sands || style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS', 'Comic Sans'" | A {{w|pun}} on the name of the font {{w|Comic Sans}}. (See also: [[590|590: Papyrus]].)
|-
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_c/ c] || Old || {{w|Legoland}} || {{w|Legoland}} is a chain of {{w|theme park}}s owned by the {{w|Lego Group}}. Potentially a reference to the movie {{w|The World's End (film)|The World's End}}, in which the protagonist Gary King tells the alien invaders to "get in your rocket and fuck off back to Legoland".
|-
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_d/ d] || Old || Planet with Arms || A reference to the [http://www.thecolorsofmysoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/The-Hitchhikers-Guide-to-the-Galaxy.jpg early covers] of {{w|Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}? Could also be a reference to [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/birds-with-arms "Birds with Arms" meme].
|-
| {{w|HD 85512}} || {{w|HD 85512 b|b}} || Old || Lax Morality || Possibly a parody of science fiction in which certain planets are suggested to be uniformly lax in morals (i.e. full of sex, drugs, etc.). See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Planetville and related. Or, possibly a reference to {{w|GCU Grey Area}}.
|-
| rowspan=6 | {{w|HD 40307}} || {{w|HD 40307 b|b}} || Old || Good Planet || Similar to the above, except with good planets. May also be yet another non-descriptive name, like "Space Planet" and "Planet #14".
|-
|{{w|HD|c}} || Old || Problemland || See above. Also may be a reference to Iceland/Greenland naming scheme[http://anitasnotebook.com/travelstories/how-iceland-and-greenland-ended-up-with-such-messed-up-names/], where Problemland may actually be a better place to visit than "Good Planet."
|-
|{{w|HD 40307 d|d}} || Old || Slickle || This is a reference to "[http://zdarsky.tumblr.com/post/2837139960 The Petals Fall Twice]" (possibly NSFW), which was made as a humorous example of bad fan-fiction. The word itself is a portmanteau of "slowly", "licked", and "tickled".
|-
|{{w|HD 40307 e|e}} || Old || Spare Parts || This suggests that the planet is "worthless" or "junk". This is false, of course. May be a reference to the fact it is a planet with nothing much different from the other planets.
|-
|{{w|HD 40307 f|f}} || Old || {{w|New Jersey}} VI || Refers to the state of {{w|New Jersey}}; may be an insult to either.
|-
|{{w|HD|g}} || Old || How Do I Join the {{w|IAU}} || This implies that the user "got lost" on the IAU website and thought that the "planet name suggestion" input was for general queries.
|-
| rowspan=3 | {{w|Gliese 163}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_163_b/ b] || Old || Neil Tyson's Mustache || {{w|Neil deGrasse Tyson}} is a famous American astrophysicist and science communicator who does maintain a distinguished mustache.
|-
|{{w|Gliese|c}} || Old || help@gmail.com || Similar to "How Do I Join the IAU", this implies that the user confused the "planet suggestion" text box for a new email they are trying to send
|-
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_163_d/ d] || Old || Hair-Covered Planet || Refers to the well-known {{w|Hairy ball theorem}} of topology.
|-
| {{w|Pi Mensae}} || {{w|Pi Mensae b|b}} || Old || {{w|Natural satellite|Moon Holder}} || {{w|Jupiter}} has more than 60 discovered moons, and still counting... A planet ten times more massive ''must'' also be a Moon Holder.
|-
| {{w|HD 189733}} || {{w|HD 189733 b|b}} || Old || Permadeath || A well-characterized "{{w|Hot Jupiter}}" at a temperature range of 973 ± 33 K to 1,212 ± 11 K. The name refers to the feature of {{w|Permanent death}} common in many RPGs and roguelikes. Or may reference permafrost, which has also been discussed in the comic.
|-
| {{w|Kepler-22}} || {{w|Kepler-22 b|b}} || Old || Blue Ivy || Blue Ivy Carter is the daughter of musicians {{w|Beyoncé}} and {{w|Jay-Z}}.
|-
| KOI-2474 || b || New || Store-Brand {{w|Earth}} || A {{w|Store brand}} is a line of products branded by a retailer. They have a reputation for being lower quality than other brands, and are often marketed similarly to other brands. This is implying that this is a cheaper version of Earth. (This entry replaced the completely different entry Kepler-3284b Blainsley from the previous chart).
|-
| Kepler-437 || b || Update || {{w|Unicorn}} Thresher || As far as we can tell, Kepler-437b is in the vicinity of the constellation Monoceros, aka the Unicorn. (This was labeled Kepler-3255b in the previous chart)
|-
| KOI-2418 || b || Old || Spherical Discworld || {{w|The Discworld}} is the fictional setting for British author {{w|Terry Pratchett}}'s {{w|Discworld}} series of humorous fantasy novels; it consists of a large disc supported by four elephants themselves standing on top of a turtle flying through space. The joke being that the planet could not be spherical and disc-shaped at the same time. (Was listed as Kepler-2418 in the previous chart).
|-
| {{w|Kepler-438}} || {{w|Kepler-438b|b}} || Update || Emergency Backup Earth || This candidate planet has an {{w|Earth Similarity Index}} of 0.89, making it one of the most habitable {{w|Kepler object of interest}}. The name suggests that it could be used as a backup in case something happened to our current planet. (Was listed as Kepler-1686 in the previous chart; Kepler-1686 b was proven to be a false positive by NASA in 2015).
|-
| KOI-3010 || {{w|KOI-3010.01|b}} || Old || Feeeoooooooop || Possibly the onomatopoeia for something getting sucked into a black hole.
|-
| Kepler-442 || {{w|Keppler-442b|b}} || Old || Liz || Just a regular name (for a person, not a planet). Maybe a reference to the Magic School Bus.
|-
| rowspan=3 | {{w|82 Eridani}} || b || New || Horsemeat Surface|| A reference to the {{w|2013 meat adulteration scandal}}, where horsemeat was found in burgers alleging to contain beef. This planet's name suggests that the surface of the entire planet would also contain improperly declared horsemeat.
|-
| c || New || The {{w|Moon}} || This name would cause confusion with the Earth's moon, which in English is called The Moon. It is also a poor name choice as 82 Eridani c is not a moon, but a planet.
|-
| d || New || Constant Saxophones || May refer to the fact that there are lots of different kinds of {{w|Saxophone#The_saxophone_family|saxophones}}. A Constant Saxophone may only be able to play one note, while several Constant Saxophones tuned to different notes could assemble the tone range of either normal saxophone. Constant Saxophones could also imply that Saxophone music is played constantly, everywhere on the planet. This could get tiresome for the residents of the planet.
|-
| {{w|HD 102365}} || b || New || Little Big Planet || This refers to the videogame {{w|LittleBigPlanet}}.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 180}} || b || New || Dune || rowspan=2 | Both references to Frank Herbert's {{w|Dune (novel)|Dune}} book series. The planet Arrakis (informally referred to as 'Dune') is the central planet in the mythology, where the mind-enhancing substance 'spice' comes from. Use of spice enables, among others, supercomputing-like mental computation as well as hyperspace navigation. Having two neighbouring planets with names that are historically used to refer to a single planet would sow further confusion in the already extensive catalog of planet names. This is similarly to Betelgeuse/Beetlejuice (see HR 7722) and the two Uranuses (see Kepler-283).
|-
| c || New || Arrakis
|-
| {{w|Fomalhaut}} || b || New || Swarm of {{w|Bees}} ||From Wikipedia: Fomalhaut b could be a conglomeration of rubble from a recent collision between comet-to-asteroid-sized bodies and not actually identify a planet.
|-
| rowspan=5 | {{w|Kepler-62}} || {{w|Kepler-62b|b}} || New || Sporty || rowspan=5 | A reference to the {{w|Spice Girls}}. See also the previous comic, [[1554: Spice Girls]], where [[Megan]] was unable to list the members of this pop group. In this case the names are correct, and would give Megan a new and interesting reason to remember them. {{w|Kepler-62f}} is a [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/multimedia/images/kepler-62e.html super-Earth-size planet], that may be potentially habitable. {{w|Kepler-62e}} is a possible [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/multimedia/images/kepler-62e.html water world].
|-
| {{w|Kepler-62c|c}} || New || Baby
|-
| {{w|Kepler-62d|d}} || New || Scary
|-
| {{w|Kepler-62e|e}} || New || Ginger
|-
| {{w|Kepler-62f|f}} || New || Posh
|-
| rowspan=3 | {{w|HD 69830}} || {{w|HD 69830 b|b}} || New || Planet.xxx || {{w|.xxx}} is a controversial top level domain (like to .com and .net) that is intended to distinguish porn sites from other types of website. Planet X is the name for a still undiscovered planet in our solar system, a common theme both in real science and fiction. The search for "Planet X" lead, by chance, to the discovery of Pluto.
|-
| {{w|HD 69830 c|c}} || New || Novella || A {{w|novella}} is a form of prose with length between a {{w|short story}} and a {{w|novel}}. Common examples of novellas are romance literature centering around intense lustful encounters in cheap paperback books, though also 'serious' literature may be in novella form.
|-
| {{w|HD 69830 d|d}} || New || Sexoplanet || Like the other two planets orbiting this star, the "69" in the stars designation has lead to a sex joke: All planets in this comic are "exo-planets", planets not orbiting our sun. Adding a single "s" in front results in immature humor.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 682}} || {{w|Gliese 682 b|b}} || New || Verdant Hellscape || A contradictory name. "[[wikt:verdant|Verdant]]" usually signifies to be lush with green plant life, while "[[wikt:hellscape|hellscape]]" describes a desolate landscape destroyed by heat and cataclysm.
|-
| {{w|Gliese 682 c|c}} || New || Unsubscribe || On YouTube, "subscribers" (people who get updates on a person's channel) are highly valued, and to "unsubscribe" from anyone is deemed to be offensive. "Unsubscribe" is also the command one sends to {{w|Electronic mailing list}}s to stop receiving said mailing list. In this sense it may imply a desire to no longer be bothered with these silly discussions around planet-names. Like "help@gmail.com" and "How do I join the IAU", "unsubscribe" is a frequently seen accidental message on the Internet in contexts where it is not going to work as a command.
|-
| {{w|Kepler-452}} || {{w|Kepler-452b|b}} || New || {{w|Pluto}} || This is the planet Black Hat is referring to at the top of the table.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat points with a stick at a slide showing an image of a planet with unknown features marked by questions marks.]
:Kepler-452b

:Black Hat: NASA has announced the discovery of a (super-)Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a sun-like star.
:Black Hat: I suggest we name this planet "Pluto", both to celebrate the great work by the ''New Horizons'' team, and to make the stupid "Is Pluto a planet" debate a little more confusing

:While we wait to hear from the IAU,
:here's a revised and updated list of
:planet name suggestions (see xkcd.com/1253)
:New or updated entries in red

:[The table is in three separate columns. There is a small arrow pointing at the second column, named "Planet", indicating the planet's name corresponding to the star at the first row. The third column shows the planet name suggestions.]

:{| class="wikitable"
! Star !! Planet !! Suggested Name
|-
| rowspan=7 |Gliese 667||b||Space Planet
|-
|c||PILF
|-
|d||A Star
|-
|e||e'); DROP TABLE PLANETS;--
|-
|f||Blogosphere
|-
|g||Blogodrome
|-
|h||Earth
|-
| rowspan=5 |Tau Ceti||b||Sid Meier's Tau Ceti B
|-
|c||Giant Dog Planet
|-
|d||Tiny Dog Planet
|-
|e||Phil Plainet
|-
|f||Unicode Snowman
|-
| rowspan=2|Gliese 832||b||Asshole Jupiter
|-
|c||Waterworld starring Kevin Costner
|-
| rowspan= 6|Gliese 581||b||Waist-deep Cats
|-
|c||Planet #14
|-
|d||Ballderaan
|-
|e||Eternia Prime
|-
|f||Taupe Mars
|-
|g||Jelly-Filled Planet
|-
| rowspan= 2|Epsilon Eridani||b||Skydot
|-
|c||Laser Noises
|-
| rowspan= 2|Gliese 176||b||Pandora
|-
|c||Pantera
|-
|Kepler-61||b||GoldenPalace.com
|-
|Groombridge 34A||b||Hot Mess
|-
|Kepler-442||b||Seas of Toothpaste
|-
|Gliese-442||b||This one weird planet
|-
| rowspan= 3|EPIC-201367065||b||Sulawesi
|-
|c||Huge Soccer Ball
|-
|d||Geodude
|-
| rowspan= 5|Kepler-296||b||Kerbal Space Planet
|-
|c||A$aplanet
|-
|d||Jurassic World
|-
|e||This Land
|-
|f||Springfield
|-
| rowspan= 2|HR 7722||b||Betelgeuse
|-
|c||Beetlejuice
|-
|EPIC 201912552||b||Netherlands VI
|-
| rowspan= 3|Gliese 3293||b||Antispit
|-
|c||Google Earth
|-
|d||Planet of the Apes (disambiguation)
|-
| rowspan= 2|Kepler-283||b||ˈjʊərənəs
|-
|c||jʊˈreɪnəs
|-
| rowspan= 4|Upsilon Andromedae||b||Fourthmeal
|-
|c||Stampy
|-
|d||Moonchild
|-
|e||Ham Sphere
|-
| rowspan= 3|HD 20794||b||Cosmic Sands
|-
|c||Legoland
|-
|d||Planet with Arms
|-
|HD 85512||b||Lax Morality
|-
| rowspan= 6|HD 40307||b||Good Planet
|-
|c||Problemland
|-
|d||Slickle
|-
|e||Spare Parts
|-
|f||New Jersey VI
|-
|g||How Do I Join the IAU
|-
| rowspan= 3|Gliese 163||b||Neil Tyson's Mustache
|-
|c||help@gmail.com
|-
|d||Hair-Covered Planet
|-
|Pi Mensae||b||Moon Holder
|-
|HD 189733||b||Permadeath
|-
|Kepler-22||b||Blue Ivy
|-
|KOI-2474||b||Store-Brand Earth
|-
|Kepler-437||b||Unicorn Thresher
|-
|KOI-2418||b||Spherical Discworld
|-
|Kepler-438||b||Emergency Backup Earth
|-
|KOI-3010||b||Feeeoooooooop
|-
|Kepler-442||b||Liz
|-
|rowspan = 3|82 Eridani ||b ||Horsemeat Surface 
|-
|c ||The Moon 
|-
|d ||Constant Saxophones 
|-
|HD 102365 ||b ||Little Big Planet 
|-
|rowspan = 2|Gliese 180 ||b ||Dune 
|-
|c ||Arrakis 
|-
|Fomalhaut ||b ||Swarm of Bees 
|-
|rowspan = 5|Kepler-62 ||b ||Sporty 
|-
|c ||Baby 
|-
|d ||Scary 
|-
|e ||Ginger 
|-
|f ||Posh 
|-
|rowspan = 3|HD 69830 ||b ||Planet.xxx 
|-
|c ||Novella 
|-
|d ||Sexoplanet 
|-
|rowspan = 2|Gliese 682 ||b ||Verdant Hellscape 
|-
|c ||Unsubscribe 
|-
|Kepler-452 ||b ||Pluto 
|}

==Trivia==
*The IPA character for stress is a vertical line ˈ. Randall uses a slanted line similar to acute accent ´ or prime ′.
*There were three errors in the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/f/fd/20150725002854!exoplanet_names_2.png original version] of this comic. These were corrected later the same day.
**The three errors were:
*#Waterworld starring Kevin '''Kostner''' (Kostner instead of Costner)
*#Upsilon '''Andromidae''' (Andromidae instead of Andromedae)
*#'''Formalhaut''' (Formalhaut instead of Fomalhaut)
*Later after the initial release of this comic Randall added a link to this page. It's viewable in the HTML-source or here: [https://xkcd.com/1555/info.0.json https://xkcd.com/1555/info.0.json]. The text is: ''"Full explanation & dissection & transcription available http:\n\nwww.explainxkcd.com\nwiki\nindex.php\n1555"''.

A Unicode snowman is also referenced in Randall's book ''What If'', where it is keymapped to a laptop.

Randall has also poked fun at the Netherlands in Drain the Oceans, where the Netherlands, no longer worrying about a cataclysmic flood, take over the world, and in Drain the Oceans: Part II, where the Netherlands use the portal to colonize Mars. See the https://what-if.xkcd.com/archive/ for more details.

{{comic discussion}}

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