explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2591: Qua

2022-03-10T21:59:04Z

Sdkb: Unneeded

{{comic
| number = 2591
| date = March 9, 2022
| title = Qua
| image = qua.png
| titletext = Qua qua qua is the sine qua non of sine qua non qua sine qua non.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please expand the explanation, and clarify the definition of "qua". Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[wikt:qua|Qua]] is a rare formal word, from Latin, roughly meaning "in the capacity of". Saying something is "X qua X" (e.g. "entertainment qua entertainment") means X is being used for its real purpose and its own sake. [[Cueball]] claims that people only use ''qua'' to "sound pretentious" without properly understanding its meaning. Thus, people do not use "qua ''qua'' qua", or "qua for the sake of qua". However, [[Megan]] one-ups this with a series of seven ''qua''s: she compliments Cueball's successful use of "qua qua qua ''qua'' qua qua qua", or "the phrase 'qua qua qua' for its correct meaning".

The joke is that, for the reader, the conversation has likely dissolved into gibberish because of unfamiliar terminology and {{w|semantic satiation}}. This is similar to other complex sentences such as {{w|Buffalo buffalo|"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo"}}, {{w|That that is is that that is not is not is that it it is|"That that is is that that is not is not is that it it is"}}, and {{w|Had had had|"James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher"}}. Following this trend, you can create a grammatically correct sentence that includes 'qua' a consecutive number of times equal to (2n-1), where n is a natural number.

The title text goes further with this, using the specific Latin phrase {{w|sine qua non}}, meaning literally "without which not" and commonly "that which is absolutely necessary" or "essential". Thus, the title text says that "the word 'qua' in its real meaning is essential to the phrase 'sine qua non' used correctly".

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are speaking to each other.]
:Cueball: People mostly use "qua" to sound pretentious. You rarely hear qua ''qua'' qua.
:Megan: Nice use of qua qua qua ''qua'' qua qua qua.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]

2467: Wikipedia Caltrops

2021-05-25T04:39:52Z

Sdkb: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2467
| date = May 24, 2021
| title = Wikipedia Caltrops
| image = wikipedia_caltrops.png
| titletext = Oh no, they set up a roadblock which is just a sign with the entire 'Czech hedgehog' article printed on it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A WIKIPEDIA CRAWL INEVITABLY REACHING "PHILOSOPHY". Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Wikipedia is a website that is notorious for having many links to other pages, which may result in a "wiki walk", a dilemma for [[Randall]] that has been discussed previously in [[214: The Problem with Wikipedia]] (and separately with TV Tropes in [[609: Tab Explosion]]).

The idea is that by dropping a series of interesting links, one could stop someone else's movement (provided that they are also easily distracted) as they take the time to go through them all. This is analogous to the {{w|caltrops}} mentioned in the title; caltrops are small, spiked implements that are scattered on a road to slow down someone pursuing you. Hence the title of ''Wikipedia Caltrops''.

This strategy is similar to a weaponized version of [[356: Nerd Sniping]], using the high levels of focus that tend to come along with nerdy interests against someone. Munroe apparently reasons that, because these links would stop him in his tracks, they might do the same for a given target.

[[Cueball|Cueball's]] car has a collection of Wikipedia links spilling out of the trunk, meant to stop [[Hairy]] who's in the following car. This will work, if Hairy is as easily distracted as Randall.

The links include:
* {{w|1808 mystery eruption}}: A conjectured volcanic eruption
* {{w|1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia Tech football game}}: The most uneven college football game in history
* {{w|1994 Caribbean Cup#Anomaly}}: A soccer game where group stage qualification rules had unintended consequences
* {{w|American death triangle}}: An unsafe type of rock climbing anchor
* {{w|AVE Mizar}}: A 1970s flying car
* {{w|Bald-hairy}}: A Russian political theory about state leaders' hairstyles
* {{w|Boeing YAL-1}}: A laser weapon mounted on a military aircraft
* {{w|Bubbly Creek}}: A stretch of river in Chicago featured in ''The Jungle''
* {{w|Burned house horizon}}: An area where Neolithic people burned their settlements
* {{w|Defence Scheme No. 1}}: A 1920s plan for Canada to attack the USA
* {{w|Elsagate}}: A YouTube controversy involving inappropriate videos being categorised as child-friendly
* {{w|Fastest animals#Invertebrates}}: Very fast insects, and some squid
* {{w|Flying ice cube}}: An effect in molecular dynamics simulations
* {{w|Future of Earth#Introversion}}: A theory that the continents will all drift back together
* {{w|Hairy Hands}}: A ghost story in Dartmoor, England
* {{w|January 0}}: December 31st in some software programs
* {{w|List of fictional colors}}: Impossible colours in fiction
* {{w|List of unexplained sounds}}: Mostly detected by NOAA, includes the Bloop
* {{w|Talk:List of U.S. states and territories by elevation#Delaware - Ebright Azimuth}}: A user argues the highest point in Delaware isn't Ebright Azimuth, but a trailer park
* {{w|Mosquito laser}}: A proposed device for killing mosquitoes
* {{w|Pheasant Island}}: An island shared equally between France and Spain
* {{w|Time in Australia#Anomalies}}: Places in Australia which do not use the expected time zone
* {{w|Timeline of the far future}}: Scientific speculation
* {{w|Walkalong glider}}: A type of unpowered model aircraft

Mentioned in the title text, a "{{w|Czech hedgehog}}" is an anti-tank obstacle made of metal, and would be an effective roadblock, however a sign describing it would not impede most traffic, {{Citation needed}} only for those distracted as easily as Randall.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball drives a car, followed by another car driven by Hairy. Cueball is leaning on the open window looking back as 24 large paper slips with Wikipedia links are flying out of the open trunk of the car. They extend to the front of Hairy's car, obscuring that all the way up to Hairy's position in the car. None of the links can be read in full, and only on a few can parts of the actual link be seen. Many has only part of the pages title visible, some parts are obstructed partly by other slips in front of them or they have not entirely left the trunk. In once case the link is so long that it has been split on two lines on a thicker slip. There is a large part of the link that cannot be seen after the first line, but the end of the second line can be seen as well. Here the (fairly) readable parts are give, roughly in normal reading order.]
:a.org/wiki/Elsagate
:wiki/Bubbly_Creek
:wiki/Pheasant_Island
:a.org/wiki/American_death_triangle
:List_of_fictional_colors
:/wiki/Future_of_Earth#Introversion
:pedia.org/wiki/Fastest_animals#Invertebrates
:ki/Defence_Scheme_No._1
:i/Boeing_YAL-1
:ki/Bald-hairy
:/Walkalong_glider
:Burned_house_horizon
:/wiki/AVE Mizar
:Flying_ice_cube
:Time in Australia#Anomalies:
:Unexplained_sounds
:Talk:List_of_U.S._states_and_
:::::Ebright_Azimuth
:Mosquito_laser
:January_0
:/1808_mystery_eruption
:/Hairy_Hands
:Cumberland_vs._Georgia_Tech_football_game
:Timeline_of_the_far_future
:/wiki/1994_Caribbean_Cup#Anomaly

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I have a collection of Wikipedia links to throw behind my car if I'm ever being chased by someone as easily distracted as me.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

Talk:2242: Ground vs Air

2019-12-17T02:38:02Z

Sdkb: Oh

Wow; it took longer than I care to admit to realize 'thick' wasn't 'viscosity'...but 'altitude'. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 01:08, 17 December 2019 (UTC)
:Ohhhhhhhh! [[User:Sdkb|Sdkb]] ([[User talk:Sdkb|talk]]) 02:38, 17 December 2019 (UTC)

A link to the article is here: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2005GL025621. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.192|162.158.186.192]] 01:12, 17 December 2019 (UTC)

It's probably worth mentioning in the explanation which map projection Randall chose to use for this comic from those listed in a previous comic about map projections. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 02:22, 17 December 2019 (UTC)

2177: Gastroenterology

2019-07-18T02:45:30Z

Sdkb: /* Explanation */ dash fix

{{comic
| number = 2177
| date = July 17, 2019
| title = Gastroenterology
| image = gastroenterology.png
| titletext = "Mostly it means that I'm acutely aware that the kid one table over coughed as the server walked past with our food."
}}

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

{{w|Gastroenterology}} is the study of the normal function and diseases of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum, pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and liver.

{{w|Antibiotics}} are substances that kill bacteria. They are very effective at treating bacterial infections, including in the gut; unfortunately, they can also kill the good gut bacteria. {{w|Probiotics}} are harmless or helpful bacteria which are sometimes used to replace the good bacteria killed by an antibiotic. This prevents re-infection and allows the natural gut microbiome to recover more effectively; [[1471|comic 1471]] was about the same theme. Probiotics are included in many foods, such as yogurt, and are marketed as having health benefits.

Antibiotics and probiotics are often used together during a treatment. Mixing them as in the comic, however, would just cause the antibiotic to kill the probiotic bacteria rather than causing an explosion. Explosive reactions between antibiotics and probiotics are highly unlikely. The probiotic + antibiotic = explosion may refer to {{w|annihilation}}, a reaction between particles and antiparticles, which produces large amounts of energy — an explosion — although one could not keep antiparticles (antimatter) in a jar touched by a person made up of particles (matter), and the explosion would happen upon mixing, not a short time later. Another possibility is that the sequence refers to a reaction between an acid and a base, which could cause an explosion if kept in a tightly sealed container like a water bottle and would additionally take a bit of time to occur, as in the explosion here.

In the last panel, Ponytail appears to be covering this action up by saying to Megan that her work is merely a lot of paperwork. Another explanation is that the explosion sequence is some kind of action fantasy on Ponytail's part and she is telling Megan the reality of her mundane job. A third explanation is that this is Megan's fantasy about gastroenterology and Ponytail is telling her what it is actually like.

In the title text, Ponytail adds that her work makes her aware of a child over-coughing as the server was bringing food at the restaurant table, exposing the food to possible germs that could cause a gastroenterological infection.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Ponytail, wearing a lab coat, and a guy wearing a scrubs hat rush in from the right side of the panel. Ponytail is holding a water bottle. There is a desk on the left of the panel with two jars.]
:Hat guy: Hurry, they're right behind us!

:[Zoom in on Ponytail, behind the desk, pouring the two smaller jars into the water bottle.]
:An arrow points to the left jar: Probiotic
:An arrow points to the right jar: Antibiotic

:[Zoom out on Ponytail shaking the water bottle to mix the two substances.]
:Shake Shake Shake

:[Ponytail throws the water bottle toward the right side of the panel, at something off-screen.]

:[Hat guy and Ponytail run toward the left side of the panel, as the water bottle explodes.]
:BOOM

:[Megan and Ponytail sitting at a table, facing each other, having a meal.]
:Megan: So what's gastroenterology like?
:Ponytail: Pretty boring. Lotta paperwork.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Physics]]

2067: Challengers

2018-11-04T01:17:13Z

Sdkb: /* Scholten */ Making comic larger to be readable

{{comic
| number = 2067
| date = November 2, 2018
| title = Challengers
| image = challengers.png
| titletext = Use your mouse or fingers to pan + zoom. To edit the map, submit your ballot on November 6th.
}}
To see the full zoomable picture go to the [https://xkcd.com/2067/ original] comic page.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|We should figure out what source is behind all that 13,339 landmarks in gray, there are 2596 U.S. National Historic Landmarks, but Randall claims those other more than 10,000 are also from Wikipedia. So let's identify that sources. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[File:challengers_loading_screen.png|thumb|200px|Loading screen]]
This comic shows probably all challengers to the {{w|United States elections, 2018|midterm elections}} hold on November 6, 2018, which are candidates running against the current office-holder, as well as those running in open seats where a change of the major party from the previous election could occur.

[[Randall]] states on top that "The bigger the candidate's name is,"
*the higher the office is in command structure, and
*the better their chances of success as a challenger are
While an office can be subclassified by order from state down to county, the guesses on ''better chances to success'' can be only based on surveys before the elections.

All names provide an indirect link to the first {{w|Google Search}} result on that specific person and position. As common, {{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic}} candidates are shown in blue text, {{w|Republican Party (United States)|Republican}} candidates in red, and independent candidates are in green.

The landmarks shown in gray are essentially links to Wikipedia pages containing coordinates pointing to the US in their body (both visible on the site and hidden in the wiki source) that point to places in the US. If they contain more than one coordinate then the first one is used, for example the {{w|List of the major 3000-meter summits of the United States}} page is shown in Alaska, and the {{w|xkcd}} page is linked near Boston, Massachussets. This list seems to be auto-generated from a Wikipedia dump made possibly before 2017. There doesn't seem to be any other criteria as the list also contains orphaned wikipedia pages that only contain hidden coordinates in their sources pointing to the US, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Yangjie_Li for example this one].

Since the map is large there's also a [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/challengers.png loading screen] present that can be seen while the map is loading.

There are a total of nine comics embedded into the map at various locations. They are showed when zooming into the map at the appropriate section.

===Attack Ads===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_abernathy_texas.png|thumb|200px|Attack Ads]]

Location: '''Lubbock, Texas'''
: [Black Hat and Cueball are talking.]
: Black Hat: Starting on November 7th, we're going to blanket the airwaves with attack ads.
: Cueball: Isn't the election on November 6th?
: Black Hat: Yeah, the advertising rates go way down after that.
{{w|Attack ads}} are campaign advertising that usually attack the opponents' campaign instead of promoting one's own. The comic also refers to the fact that media outlets usually spike their advertising prices during the campaign, and it becomes cheaper afterwards. However there's usually no point in advertising afterwards for a campaign as the polling has already taken place. This may also be a callback to [[1130: Poll Watching]].

Lubbock was the place where some [https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/03/cruz-orourke-attack-ad-reelection-texas/ attack ads were shown] few months before the election. Texas is also notable as in 2008 during the Democratic Party primary Hillary Clinton [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/us/politics/01campaign.html started running attack ads] aimed at Barack Obama, who later became President, causing controversy.
 

===Ballot Measures===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_weed_california.png|thumb|350px|Ballot Measures]]

Location: '''Weed, California'''
: [Cueball is holding a piece of paper and talking to Megan.]
: Cueball: Question #1 voids all 2018 ballot measures except itself.
: Cueball: Question #2 retroactively lowers the threshold for passing ballot measures to 5%.
: Cueball: Question #3 requires a re-vote on all failed ballot measures a day later.
: Cueball: Question #4 requires a re-vote on all passed ballot measures a day later.
: Cueball: Question #5 bans those annoying phone scammers, but also says that if an odd number of ballot measures pass, Christmas is canceled.
: Cueball: Question #6 makes a "yes" count as a "no" on odd-numbered ballot measures.
: Cueball: Question #7 does nothing but counts as a ballot measure passing.
: Cueball: Question #8 says that-
: Megan: I'm leaving these all blank and voting against whoever approves ballot measures.

In California during this election apart from the nationwide election there will be also be [https://ballotpedia.org/California_2018_ballot_propositions 12 extra propositions] for the voters to vote on. Sometimes propositions also include changing how voting should be done in subsequent elections. [https://www.vox.com/2016/6/23/11979522/brexit-ballot There are people] who believe proposals on US ballots are asked in a very convoluted way, and could be made simpler.

In this comic a lot of the proposals sound complex and self-referential as well, therefore Megan just says that she doesn't wish to vote to any of them, and would actually like to ban people creating ballot papers like this. Not voting might also refer to the scenario where people believe none of the choices during an election are good, and instead vote to no-one or deface their ballot papers in protest.
 

===Carlymandering===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_seattle_washington.png|thumb|200px|Carlymandering]]

Location: '''Bellingham, Washington'''
: [Cueball holds a presentation to a group of people including White Hat and Hairbun sitting at an office desk. The presentation shows a map of a district.]
: Cueball: Under my new Carlymandering plan, we'll create five red districts, five blue districts, and one district which contains only Carly Rae Jepsen.
: Hairbun: That seems fair.

This refers to {{w|gerrymandering}}, a tactic used to re-shape voting district boundaries to make sure one candidate prevails over the other. "Carlymandering" is a malamanteau which combines gerrymandering with {{w|Carly Rae Jepsen}}, a Canadian singer, whose single "{{w|Party for One}}" was released the day before the comic's publication. Although the song is about partying (e.g. going out) alone,{{Citation needed}} the joke is that it could also mean a one-person political party, and she would have a full gerrymandered district to herself.

Jepsen lives in Vancouver, which is just on the other side of the US border in Canada. The comic is placed in Whatcom County, which is notable for {{w|Point Roberts}}, a peninsula which, although part of Washington state, is actually an exclave of the US, as it's surrounded by sea on three sides, and has only a land border with Vancouver to the north. The comic might refer to the fact that Jepsen could solely live in this exclave. However, since she is not a US citizen, she can neither vote nor be elected in US elections.
 

===House===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_washington_dc.png|thumb|200px|House]]

Location: '''Washington, DC'''
: [Cueball is standing in the middle of Washington, DC]
: Cueball: I can see my House from here!

Comic is probably referencing the {{w|White House}}, the residence of the President, located in Washington, DC. This could also refer to the {{w|United States Capitol|Capitol Building}}, the home of the {{w|United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives}}, also located in Washington, DC.
 

===Polls===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_primm_nevada.png|thumb|200px|Polls]]

Location: '''Primm, Nevada'''
: [A group of five people are standing]
: Blondie: Remember: The only poll that counts is the one on Election Day. And the ones that help campaigns allocate resources. And the ones that drive media coverage and the ones that inform us all about what our fellow members of the public believe. And the ones that...

During campaign there are usually polling done by survey companies to determine each candidate's chances of winning. This comic refers to the fact that usually the candidate that is behind in the polls usually tells their electorate that these polls don't matter, as they are just surveys and not the actual final result. This is usually to encourage their voter base that it's still worth voting for them. The joke here is that Blondie doesn't finish here but tells the electorate that other polls are actually also important.

Nevada is one of the states where there is [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign-polls/414083-poll-dems-hold-slim-leads-in-arizona-and-nevada-senate-races only a slim difference] between the candidates based on polls hence the need for each candidate to rally their supporters and make sure everyone is voting.
 

===Punish===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_chadron_nebraska.png|thumb|200px|Punish]]

Location: '''Chadron, Nebraska'''
: [Megan is standing at a podium with her arm raised]
: Megan: If elected, I vow to find and punish the voters responsible.

Often candidates make promises of things they will do when they are elected. Vowing to find and punishing people responsible for a certain action, oftentimes criminals, is also common. However, these two things are conflated here to ludicrous effect.

Putting this comic into Nebraska might refer to the fact that in [https://ballotpedia.org/Nebraska_Death_Penalty_Repeal,_Referendum_426_(2016) 2016 Nebraska voted to repeal the death penalty ban], allowing the reinstatement of the death penalty, also called capital punishment, in the state.
 

===Scholten===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_storm_lake_iowa.png|thumb|300px|Scholten]]

Location: '''Storm Lake, Iowa'''
: Cueball: The midterms are so stressful.
: Megan: I just hope J.D. Scholten wins.
: Cueball: Why?
: Megan: Google Steve King.
: [Cueball looking at his phone]
: Cueball: Yikes.

J.D. Scholten is a Democratic candidate for Iowa's 4th Congressional District. {{w|Steve King}} is a Republican representative who has stirred controversy due his endorsement of candidates, in other countries, who were members of parties with white supremacist ties.
 

===Spanberger===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_richmond_virginia.png|thumb|200px|Spanberger]]

Location: '''Richmond, Virginia'''
: [Cueball is holding a sign that says: Abigail Spanberger for Congress]

Abigail Spanberger is a candidate running for Congress in Virginia's 7th district, which includes Richmond. Based on polls she has a chance to beat her opponent, and could be the first Democrat in her district after 50 years of Republican control. Cueball probably tries to encourage people to vote for her on election day.
 

===St Louis===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_saint_louis_missouri.png|thumb|200px|St Louis]]

Location: '''Saint Louis, Missouri'''
: [Two people next to the Gateway Arch are talking]
: Cueball: Ah, Saint Louis. Home of America's largest... Whatever that thing is.

Saint Louis, Missouri is the location of the {{w|Gateway Arch}}, the largest arch in the United States. (It's also one of the most recognizable arches in Saint Louis, according to [[1368: One Of The]].) Since in this comic they are next to the side of the arch, it is possible its sheer size stops them from determining what it is, although they should probably know. An alternate interpretation is that they are baffled by the existence of a giant, seemingly-useless steel arch, and do not know what to refer to it as.

The area surrounding the Arch was known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until February 2018, when it was renamed to Gateway Arch National Park.
 

===Title text===
The title text shows the hint that the reader can zoom in and move over all US-States revealing many details can't be seen at the overall view. Furthermore [[Randall]] does a call to vote: he requests people to take an active part in the elections to change that picture.

==Transcript==
:[A loading screen appears shortly before the large picture has rendered. We can see an American flag in an oval badge with the text:]
:I voted
:[And beneath a text saying:]
:Loading...

:2018 Midterm
:'''Challengers'''
:The bigger the candidate's name, the higher the office and the better their chances of success.

:[In a frame a zoomable map shows all US-States (Alaska and Hawaii are shown in the left lower corner.) The candidates are shown colored mainly in red and blue at different sizes. Each state has many landmarks shown in gray. There are also many comics embedded into the picture.]

:By Randall Monroe, Kelsey Harris, and Max Goodman

:Landmarks from Wikipedia. Success odds estimated from district voting history, special election
:results, and seat ratings. Thank you to Dailykos Elections for their spreadsheets, shapefiles, election
:ratings, and advice, and to @davidshor, @charlotteeffect, and @thedlcc for additional candidate data.

==Trivia==
*The comic [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Header|header]] had changed to:
:''Find out where to vote: [https://www.vote.org/ Vote.org]''
:''See what's on your ballot: [https://www.ballotready.org/ BallotReady.org]''
:This happened on the day this comic came out, as it up till [http://web.archive.org/web/20181101081612/https://xkcd.com/ the day before], had been a different reminder of the election only with the vote.org link.
*The interactive picture did not work in many browsers when using the link ''[https://www.xkcd.com www.xkcd.com]'', only the short ''[https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]'' worked properly because the page used an absolute link to a file ''[https://xkcd.com/2067/asset/map-data.json map-data.json]'' at the domain ''<nowiki>xkcd.com</nowiki>'' which is not allowed from ''<nowiki>www.xkcd.com</nowiki>'' according to {{w|Cross-origin resource sharing}}. This was later fixed by using a relative link only working inside the called domain.
* The internal comics have a kind of "comic" inside the [https://xkcd.com/2067/asset/map-data.json map-data.json] file that contains all of the details shown on the map. All other locations, including politicians and landmarks inside the map-data.json have a kind of "label"
* There are a total of
** 9 subcomics
** 17,643 labels, including:
*** 13,339 landmarks (gray)
*** 2,845 Democratic candidates (blue)
*** 1,456 Republican candidates (red)
*** 3 independent candidates (green)
* The three independent candidates are:
** Alaska Congress candidate Alyse Galvin
** Texas State House District 101 candidate James Allen
** Alabama State Senate District 10 candidate Craig Ford
* The largest names on the map (based on font size) are:
** Michelle Lujan Grisham, Governor candidate for New Mexico (7.187)
** Beto O'Rourke, Texan US Senate candidate (6.773)
** Matt Rosendale, Montanan US Senate candidate (6.773)
** Gretchen Whitmer, Governor candidate for Michigan (6.48)
* There's a landmark label called "xkcd" near Boston, Massachusetts
* Randall seems to have collected the Wikipedia links from an older copy of Wikipedia, as some links are to old article titles. For example, in Cupertino, California, "Apple Campus 2" is shown instead of "Apple Park", even though that article was moved to its current title in February 2017.
*An overview highlighting some parts:
:<imagemap>
Image:Challengers_Map.png|frame|left|Map of interesting features on the comic (Red X: comic strip, Green X: independent candidate, Blue X: xkcd landmark)
rect 179 176 138 129 [[#Carlymandering|Carlymandering]]
rect 95 279 133 325 [[#Ballot Measures|Ballot Measures]]
rect 171 421 208 467 [[#Polls|Polls]]
rect 392 307 430 352 [[#Punish|Punish]]
rect 403 488 441 533 [[#Attack_Ads|Attack Ads]]
rect 510 307 547 351 [[#Scholten|Scholten]]
rect 593 390 628 434 [[#St_Louis|St Louis]]
rect 803 355 839 394 [[#House|House]]
rect 837 436 799 395 [[#Spanberger|Spanberger]]
rect 877 262 915 309 [[#Trivia|Link to xkcd's wikipage]]
rect 141 597 177 644 [[#Trivia|Independent candidate]]
rect 472 527 511 576 [[#Trivia|Independent candidate]]
rect 672 478 710 525 [[#Trivia|Independent candidate]]
desc top-right
</imagemap>
 

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Maps]]

2067: Challengers

2018-11-04T01:14:29Z

Sdkb: /* Ballot Measures */ Increased size to make readable

{{comic
| number = 2067
| date = November 2, 2018
| title = Challengers
| image = challengers.png
| titletext = Use your mouse or fingers to pan + zoom. To edit the map, submit your ballot on November 6th.
}}
To see the full zoomable picture go to the [https://xkcd.com/2067/ original] comic page.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|We should figure out what source is behind all that 13,339 landmarks in gray, there are 2596 U.S. National Historic Landmarks, but Randall claims those other more than 10,000 are also from Wikipedia. So let's identify that sources. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[File:challengers_loading_screen.png|thumb|200px|Loading screen]]
This comic shows probably all challengers to the {{w|United States elections, 2018|midterm elections}} hold on November 6, 2018, which are candidates running against the current office-holder, as well as those running in open seats where a change of the major party from the previous election could occur.

[[Randall]] states on top that "The bigger the candidate's name is,"
*the higher the office is in command structure, and
*the better their chances of success as a challenger are
While an office can be subclassified by order from state down to county, the guesses on ''better chances to success'' can be only based on surveys before the elections.

All names provide an indirect link to the first {{w|Google Search}} result on that specific person and position. As common, {{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic}} candidates are shown in blue text, {{w|Republican Party (United States)|Republican}} candidates in red, and independent candidates are in green.

The landmarks shown in gray are essentially links to Wikipedia pages containing coordinates pointing to the US in their body (both visible on the site and hidden in the wiki source) that point to places in the US. If they contain more than one coordinate then the first one is used, for example the {{w|List of the major 3000-meter summits of the United States}} page is shown in Alaska, and the {{w|xkcd}} page is linked near Boston, Massachussets. This list seems to be auto-generated from a Wikipedia dump made possibly before 2017. There doesn't seem to be any other criteria as the list also contains orphaned wikipedia pages that only contain hidden coordinates in their sources pointing to the US, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Yangjie_Li for example this one].

Since the map is large there's also a [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/challengers.png loading screen] present that can be seen while the map is loading.

There are a total of nine comics embedded into the map at various locations. They are showed when zooming into the map at the appropriate section.

===Attack Ads===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_abernathy_texas.png|thumb|200px|Attack Ads]]

Location: '''Lubbock, Texas'''
: [Black Hat and Cueball are talking.]
: Black Hat: Starting on November 7th, we're going to blanket the airwaves with attack ads.
: Cueball: Isn't the election on November 6th?
: Black Hat: Yeah, the advertising rates go way down after that.
{{w|Attack ads}} are campaign advertising that usually attack the opponents' campaign instead of promoting one's own. The comic also refers to the fact that media outlets usually spike their advertising prices during the campaign, and it becomes cheaper afterwards. However there's usually no point in advertising afterwards for a campaign as the polling has already taken place. This may also be a callback to [[1130: Poll Watching]].

Lubbock was the place where some [https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/03/cruz-orourke-attack-ad-reelection-texas/ attack ads were shown] few months before the election. Texas is also notable as in 2008 during the Democratic Party primary Hillary Clinton [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/us/politics/01campaign.html started running attack ads] aimed at Barack Obama, who later became President, causing controversy.
 

===Ballot Measures===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_weed_california.png|thumb|350px|Ballot Measures]]

Location: '''Weed, California'''
: [Cueball is holding a piece of paper and talking to Megan.]
: Cueball: Question #1 voids all 2018 ballot measures except itself.
: Cueball: Question #2 retroactively lowers the threshold for passing ballot measures to 5%.
: Cueball: Question #3 requires a re-vote on all failed ballot measures a day later.
: Cueball: Question #4 requires a re-vote on all passed ballot measures a day later.
: Cueball: Question #5 bans those annoying phone scammers, but also says that if an odd number of ballot measures pass, Christmas is canceled.
: Cueball: Question #6 makes a "yes" count as a "no" on odd-numbered ballot measures.
: Cueball: Question #7 does nothing but counts as a ballot measure passing.
: Cueball: Question #8 says that-
: Megan: I'm leaving these all blank and voting against whoever approves ballot measures.

In California during this election apart from the nationwide election there will be also be [https://ballotpedia.org/California_2018_ballot_propositions 12 extra propositions] for the voters to vote on. Sometimes propositions also include changing how voting should be done in subsequent elections. [https://www.vox.com/2016/6/23/11979522/brexit-ballot There are people] who believe proposals on US ballots are asked in a very convoluted way, and could be made simpler.

In this comic a lot of the proposals sound complex and self-referential as well, therefore Megan just says that she doesn't wish to vote to any of them, and would actually like to ban people creating ballot papers like this. Not voting might also refer to the scenario where people believe none of the choices during an election are good, and instead vote to no-one or deface their ballot papers in protest.
 

===Carlymandering===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_seattle_washington.png|thumb|200px|Carlymandering]]

Location: '''Bellingham, Washington'''
: [Cueball holds a presentation to a group of people including White Hat and Hairbun sitting at an office desk. The presentation shows a map of a district.]
: Cueball: Under my new Carlymandering plan, we'll create five red districts, five blue districts, and one district which contains only Carly Rae Jepsen.
: Hairbun: That seems fair.

This refers to {{w|gerrymandering}}, a tactic used to re-shape voting district boundaries to make sure one candidate prevails over the other. "Carlymandering" is a malamanteau which combines gerrymandering with {{w|Carly Rae Jepsen}}, a Canadian singer, whose single "{{w|Party for One}}" was released the day before the comic's publication. Although the song is about partying (e.g. going out) alone,{{Citation needed}} the joke is that it could also mean a one-person political party, and she would have a full gerrymandered district to herself.

Jepsen lives in Vancouver, which is just on the other side of the US border in Canada. The comic is placed in Whatcom County, which is notable for {{w|Point Roberts}}, a peninsula which, although part of Washington state, is actually an exclave of the US, as it's surrounded by sea on three sides, and has only a land border with Vancouver to the north. The comic might refer to the fact that Jepsen could solely live in this exclave. However, since she is not a US citizen, she can neither vote nor be elected in US elections.
 

===House===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_washington_dc.png|thumb|200px|House]]

Location: '''Washington, DC'''
: [Cueball is standing in the middle of Washington, DC]
: Cueball: I can see my House from here!

Comic is probably referencing the {{w|White House}}, the residence of the President, located in Washington, DC. This could also refer to the {{w|United States Capitol|Capitol Building}}, the home of the {{w|United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives}}, also located in Washington, DC.
 

===Polls===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_primm_nevada.png|thumb|200px|Polls]]

Location: '''Primm, Nevada'''
: [A group of five people are standing]
: Blondie: Remember: The only poll that counts is the one on Election Day. And the ones that help campaigns allocate resources. And the ones that drive media coverage and the ones that inform us all about what our fellow members of the public believe. And the ones that...

During campaign there are usually polling done by survey companies to determine each candidate's chances of winning. This comic refers to the fact that usually the candidate that is behind in the polls usually tells their electorate that these polls don't matter, as they are just surveys and not the actual final result. This is usually to encourage their voter base that it's still worth voting for them. The joke here is that Blondie doesn't finish here but tells the electorate that other polls are actually also important.

Nevada is one of the states where there is [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign-polls/414083-poll-dems-hold-slim-leads-in-arizona-and-nevada-senate-races only a slim difference] between the candidates based on polls hence the need for each candidate to rally their supporters and make sure everyone is voting.
 

===Punish===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_chadron_nebraska.png|thumb|200px|Punish]]

Location: '''Chadron, Nebraska'''
: [Megan is standing at a podium with her arm raised]
: Megan: If elected, I vow to find and punish the voters responsible.

Often candidates make promises of things they will do when they are elected. Vowing to find and punishing people responsible for a certain action, oftentimes criminals, is also common. However, these two things are conflated here to ludicrous effect.

Putting this comic into Nebraska might refer to the fact that in [https://ballotpedia.org/Nebraska_Death_Penalty_Repeal,_Referendum_426_(2016) 2016 Nebraska voted to repeal the death penalty ban], allowing the reinstatement of the death penalty, also called capital punishment, in the state.
 

===Scholten===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_storm_lake_iowa.png|thumb|200px|Scholten]]

Location: '''Storm Lake, Iowa'''
: Cueball: The midterms are so stressful.
: Megan: I just hope J.D. Scholten wins.
: Cueball: Why?
: Megan: Google Steve King.
: [Cueball looking at his phone]
: Cueball: Yikes.

J.D. Scholten is a Democratic candidate for Iowa's 4th Congressional District. {{w|Steve King}} is a Republican representative who has stirred controversy due his endorsement of candidates, in other countries, who were members of parties with white supremacist ties.
 

===Spanberger===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_richmond_virginia.png|thumb|200px|Spanberger]]

Location: '''Richmond, Virginia'''
: [Cueball is holding a sign that says: Abigail Spanberger for Congress]

Abigail Spanberger is a candidate running for Congress in Virginia's 7th district, which includes Richmond. Based on polls she has a chance to beat her opponent, and could be the first Democrat in her district after 50 years of Republican control. Cueball probably tries to encourage people to vote for her on election day.
 

===St Louis===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_saint_louis_missouri.png|thumb|200px|St Louis]]

Location: '''Saint Louis, Missouri'''
: [Two people next to the Gateway Arch are talking]
: Cueball: Ah, Saint Louis. Home of America's largest... Whatever that thing is.

Saint Louis, Missouri is the location of the {{w|Gateway Arch}}, the largest arch in the United States. (It's also one of the most recognizable arches in Saint Louis, according to [[1368: One Of The]].) Since in this comic they are next to the side of the arch, it is possible its sheer size stops them from determining what it is, although they should probably know. An alternate interpretation is that they are baffled by the existence of a giant, seemingly-useless steel arch, and do not know what to refer to it as.

The area surrounding the Arch was known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until February 2018, when it was renamed to Gateway Arch National Park.
 

===Title text===
The title text shows the hint that the reader can zoom in and move over all US-States revealing many details can't be seen at the overall view. Furthermore [[Randall]] does a call to vote: he requests people to take an active part in the elections to change that picture.

==Transcript==
:[A loading screen appears shortly before the large picture has rendered. We can see an American flag in an oval badge with the text:]
:I voted
:[And beneath a text saying:]
:Loading...

:2018 Midterm
:'''Challengers'''
:The bigger the candidate's name, the higher the office and the better their chances of success.

:[In a frame a zoomable map shows all US-States (Alaska and Hawaii are shown in the left lower corner.) The candidates are shown colored mainly in red and blue at different sizes. Each state has many landmarks shown in gray. There are also many comics embedded into the picture.]

:By Randall Monroe, Kelsey Harris, and Max Goodman

:Landmarks from Wikipedia. Success odds estimated from district voting history, special election
:results, and seat ratings. Thank you to Dailykos Elections for their spreadsheets, shapefiles, election
:ratings, and advice, and to @davidshor, @charlotteeffect, and @thedlcc for additional candidate data.

==Trivia==
*The comic [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Header|header]] had changed to:
:''Find out where to vote: [https://www.vote.org/ Vote.org]''
:''See what's on your ballot: [https://www.ballotready.org/ BallotReady.org]''
:This happened on the day this comic came out, as it up till [http://web.archive.org/web/20181101081612/https://xkcd.com/ the day before], had been a different reminder of the election only with the vote.org link.
*The interactive picture did not work in many browsers when using the link ''[https://www.xkcd.com www.xkcd.com]'', only the short ''[https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]'' worked properly because the page used an absolute link to a file ''[https://xkcd.com/2067/asset/map-data.json map-data.json]'' at the domain ''<nowiki>xkcd.com</nowiki>'' which is not allowed from ''<nowiki>www.xkcd.com</nowiki>'' according to {{w|Cross-origin resource sharing}}. This was later fixed by using a relative link only working inside the called domain.
* The internal comics have a kind of "comic" inside the [https://xkcd.com/2067/asset/map-data.json map-data.json] file that contains all of the details shown on the map. All other locations, including politicians and landmarks inside the map-data.json have a kind of "label"
* There are a total of
** 9 subcomics
** 17,643 labels, including:
*** 13,339 landmarks (gray)
*** 2,845 Democratic candidates (blue)
*** 1,456 Republican candidates (red)
*** 3 independent candidates (green)
* The three independent candidates are:
** Alaska Congress candidate Alyse Galvin
** Texas State House District 101 candidate James Allen
** Alabama State Senate District 10 candidate Craig Ford
* The largest names on the map (based on font size) are:
** Michelle Lujan Grisham, Governor candidate for New Mexico (7.187)
** Beto O'Rourke, Texan US Senate candidate (6.773)
** Matt Rosendale, Montanan US Senate candidate (6.773)
** Gretchen Whitmer, Governor candidate for Michigan (6.48)
* There's a landmark label called "xkcd" near Boston, Massachusetts
* Randall seems to have collected the Wikipedia links from an older copy of Wikipedia, as some links are to old article titles. For example, in Cupertino, California, "Apple Campus 2" is shown instead of "Apple Park", even though that article was moved to its current title in February 2017.
*An overview highlighting some parts:
:<imagemap>
Image:Challengers_Map.png|frame|left|Map of interesting features on the comic (Red X: comic strip, Green X: independent candidate, Blue X: xkcd landmark)
rect 179 176 138 129 [[#Carlymandering|Carlymandering]]
rect 95 279 133 325 [[#Ballot Measures|Ballot Measures]]
rect 171 421 208 467 [[#Polls|Polls]]
rect 392 307 430 352 [[#Punish|Punish]]
rect 403 488 441 533 [[#Attack_Ads|Attack Ads]]
rect 510 307 547 351 [[#Scholten|Scholten]]
rect 593 390 628 434 [[#St_Louis|St Louis]]
rect 803 355 839 394 [[#House|House]]
rect 837 436 799 395 [[#Spanberger|Spanberger]]
rect 877 262 915 309 [[#Trivia|Link to xkcd's wikipage]]
rect 141 597 177 644 [[#Trivia|Independent candidate]]
rect 472 527 511 576 [[#Trivia|Independent candidate]]
rect 672 478 710 525 [[#Trivia|Independent candidate]]
desc top-right
</imagemap>
 

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Maps]]

2067: Challengers

2018-11-04T01:12:36Z

Sdkb: /* Attack Ads */ Specified candidate names

{{comic
| number = 2067
| date = November 2, 2018
| title = Challengers
| image = challengers.png
| titletext = Use your mouse or fingers to pan + zoom. To edit the map, submit your ballot on November 6th.
}}
To see the full zoomable picture go to the [https://xkcd.com/2067/ original] comic page.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|We should figure out what source is behind all that 13,339 landmarks in gray, there are 2596 U.S. National Historic Landmarks, but Randall claims those other more than 10,000 are also from Wikipedia. So let's identify that sources. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[File:challengers_loading_screen.png|thumb|200px|Loading screen]]
This comic shows probably all challengers to the {{w|United States elections, 2018|midterm elections}} hold on November 6, 2018, which are candidates running against the current office-holder, as well as those running in open seats where a change of the major party from the previous election could occur.

[[Randall]] states on top that "The bigger the candidate's name is,"
*the higher the office is in command structure, and
*the better their chances of success as a challenger are
While an office can be subclassified by order from state down to county, the guesses on ''better chances to success'' can be only based on surveys before the elections.

All names provide an indirect link to the first {{w|Google Search}} result on that specific person and position. As common, {{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic}} candidates are shown in blue text, {{w|Republican Party (United States)|Republican}} candidates in red, and independent candidates are in green.

The landmarks shown in gray are essentially links to Wikipedia pages containing coordinates pointing to the US in their body (both visible on the site and hidden in the wiki source) that point to places in the US. If they contain more than one coordinate then the first one is used, for example the {{w|List of the major 3000-meter summits of the United States}} page is shown in Alaska, and the {{w|xkcd}} page is linked near Boston, Massachussets. This list seems to be auto-generated from a Wikipedia dump made possibly before 2017. There doesn't seem to be any other criteria as the list also contains orphaned wikipedia pages that only contain hidden coordinates in their sources pointing to the US, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Yangjie_Li for example this one].

Since the map is large there's also a [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/challengers.png loading screen] present that can be seen while the map is loading.

There are a total of nine comics embedded into the map at various locations. They are showed when zooming into the map at the appropriate section.

===Attack Ads===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_abernathy_texas.png|thumb|200px|Attack Ads]]

Location: '''Lubbock, Texas'''
: [Black Hat and Cueball are talking.]
: Black Hat: Starting on November 7th, we're going to blanket the airwaves with attack ads.
: Cueball: Isn't the election on November 6th?
: Black Hat: Yeah, the advertising rates go way down after that.
{{w|Attack ads}} are campaign advertising that usually attack the opponents' campaign instead of promoting one's own. The comic also refers to the fact that media outlets usually spike their advertising prices during the campaign, and it becomes cheaper afterwards. However there's usually no point in advertising afterwards for a campaign as the polling has already taken place. This may also be a callback to [[1130: Poll Watching]].

Lubbock was the place where some [https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/03/cruz-orourke-attack-ad-reelection-texas/ attack ads were shown] few months before the election. Texas is also notable as in 2008 during the Democratic Party primary Hillary Clinton [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/us/politics/01campaign.html started running attack ads] aimed at Barack Obama, who later became President, causing controversy.
 

===Ballot Measures===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_weed_california.png|thumb|200px|Ballot Measures]]

Location: '''Weed, California'''
: [Cueball is holding a piece of paper and talking to Megan.]
: Cueball: Question #1 voids all 2018 ballot measures except itself.
: Cueball: Question #2 retroactively lowers the threshold for passing ballot measures to 5%.
: Cueball: Question #3 requires a re-vote on all failed ballot measures a day later.
: Cueball: Question #4 requires a re-vote on all passed ballot measures a day later.
: Cueball: Question #5 bans those annoying phone scammers, but also says that if an odd number of ballot measures pass, Christmas is canceled.
: Cueball: Question #6 makes a "yes" count as a "no" on odd-numbered ballot measures.
: Cueball: Question #7 does nothing but counts as a ballot measure passing.
: Cueball: Question #8 says that-
: Megan: I'm leaving these all blank and voting against whoever approves ballot measures.

In California during this election apart from the nationwide election there will be also be [https://ballotpedia.org/California_2018_ballot_propositions 12 extra propositions] for the voters to vote on. Sometimes propositions also include changing how voting should be done in subsequent elections. [https://www.vox.com/2016/6/23/11979522/brexit-ballot There are people] who believe proposals on US ballots are asked in a very convoluted way, and could be made simpler.

In this comic a lot of the proposals sound complex and self-referential as well, therefore Megan just says that she doesn't wish to vote to any of them, and would actually like to ban people creating ballot papers like this. Not voting might also refer to the scenario where people believe none of the choices during an election are good, and instead vote to no-one or deface their ballot papers in protest.
 

===Carlymandering===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_seattle_washington.png|thumb|200px|Carlymandering]]

Location: '''Bellingham, Washington'''
: [Cueball holds a presentation to a group of people including White Hat and Hairbun sitting at an office desk. The presentation shows a map of a district.]
: Cueball: Under my new Carlymandering plan, we'll create five red districts, five blue districts, and one district which contains only Carly Rae Jepsen.
: Hairbun: That seems fair.

This refers to {{w|gerrymandering}}, a tactic used to re-shape voting district boundaries to make sure one candidate prevails over the other. "Carlymandering" is a malamanteau which combines gerrymandering with {{w|Carly Rae Jepsen}}, a Canadian singer, whose single "{{w|Party for One}}" was released the day before the comic's publication. Although the song is about partying (e.g. going out) alone,{{Citation needed}} the joke is that it could also mean a one-person political party, and she would have a full gerrymandered district to herself.

Jepsen lives in Vancouver, which is just on the other side of the US border in Canada. The comic is placed in Whatcom County, which is notable for {{w|Point Roberts}}, a peninsula which, although part of Washington state, is actually an exclave of the US, as it's surrounded by sea on three sides, and has only a land border with Vancouver to the north. The comic might refer to the fact that Jepsen could solely live in this exclave. However, since she is not a US citizen, she can neither vote nor be elected in US elections.
 

===House===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_washington_dc.png|thumb|200px|House]]

Location: '''Washington, DC'''
: [Cueball is standing in the middle of Washington, DC]
: Cueball: I can see my House from here!

Comic is probably referencing the {{w|White House}}, the residence of the President, located in Washington, DC. This could also refer to the {{w|United States Capitol|Capitol Building}}, the home of the {{w|United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives}}, also located in Washington, DC.
 

===Polls===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_primm_nevada.png|thumb|200px|Polls]]

Location: '''Primm, Nevada'''
: [A group of five people are standing]
: Blondie: Remember: The only poll that counts is the one on Election Day. And the ones that help campaigns allocate resources. And the ones that drive media coverage and the ones that inform us all about what our fellow members of the public believe. And the ones that...

During campaign there are usually polling done by survey companies to determine each candidate's chances of winning. This comic refers to the fact that usually the candidate that is behind in the polls usually tells their electorate that these polls don't matter, as they are just surveys and not the actual final result. This is usually to encourage their voter base that it's still worth voting for them. The joke here is that Blondie doesn't finish here but tells the electorate that other polls are actually also important.

Nevada is one of the states where there is [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign-polls/414083-poll-dems-hold-slim-leads-in-arizona-and-nevada-senate-races only a slim difference] between the candidates based on polls hence the need for each candidate to rally their supporters and make sure everyone is voting.
 

===Punish===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_chadron_nebraska.png|thumb|200px|Punish]]

Location: '''Chadron, Nebraska'''
: [Megan is standing at a podium with her arm raised]
: Megan: If elected, I vow to find and punish the voters responsible.

Often candidates make promises of things they will do when they are elected. Vowing to find and punishing people responsible for a certain action, oftentimes criminals, is also common. However, these two things are conflated here to ludicrous effect.

Putting this comic into Nebraska might refer to the fact that in [https://ballotpedia.org/Nebraska_Death_Penalty_Repeal,_Referendum_426_(2016) 2016 Nebraska voted to repeal the death penalty ban], allowing the reinstatement of the death penalty, also called capital punishment, in the state.
 

===Scholten===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_storm_lake_iowa.png|thumb|200px|Scholten]]

Location: '''Storm Lake, Iowa'''
: Cueball: The midterms are so stressful.
: Megan: I just hope J.D. Scholten wins.
: Cueball: Why?
: Megan: Google Steve King.
: [Cueball looking at his phone]
: Cueball: Yikes.

J.D. Scholten is a Democratic candidate for Iowa's 4th Congressional District. {{w|Steve King}} is a Republican representative who has stirred controversy due his endorsement of candidates, in other countries, who were members of parties with white supremacist ties.
 

===Spanberger===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_richmond_virginia.png|thumb|200px|Spanberger]]

Location: '''Richmond, Virginia'''
: [Cueball is holding a sign that says: Abigail Spanberger for Congress]

Abigail Spanberger is a candidate running for Congress in Virginia's 7th district, which includes Richmond. Based on polls she has a chance to beat her opponent, and could be the first Democrat in her district after 50 years of Republican control. Cueball probably tries to encourage people to vote for her on election day.
 

===St Louis===
[[File:challengers_subcomic_saint_louis_missouri.png|thumb|200px|St Louis]]

Location: '''Saint Louis, Missouri'''
: [Two people next to the Gateway Arch are talking]
: Cueball: Ah, Saint Louis. Home of America's largest... Whatever that thing is.

Saint Louis, Missouri is the location of the {{w|Gateway Arch}}, the largest arch in the United States. (It's also one of the most recognizable arches in Saint Louis, according to [[1368: One Of The]].) Since in this comic they are next to the side of the arch, it is possible its sheer size stops them from determining what it is, although they should probably know. An alternate interpretation is that they are baffled by the existence of a giant, seemingly-useless steel arch, and do not know what to refer to it as.

The area surrounding the Arch was known as Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until February 2018, when it was renamed to Gateway Arch National Park.
 

===Title text===
The title text shows the hint that the reader can zoom in and move over all US-States revealing many details can't be seen at the overall view. Furthermore [[Randall]] does a call to vote: he requests people to take an active part in the elections to change that picture.

==Transcript==
:[A loading screen appears shortly before the large picture has rendered. We can see an American flag in an oval badge with the text:]
:I voted
:[And beneath a text saying:]
:Loading...

:2018 Midterm
:'''Challengers'''
:The bigger the candidate's name, the higher the office and the better their chances of success.

:[In a frame a zoomable map shows all US-States (Alaska and Hawaii are shown in the left lower corner.) The candidates are shown colored mainly in red and blue at different sizes. Each state has many landmarks shown in gray. There are also many comics embedded into the picture.]

:By Randall Monroe, Kelsey Harris, and Max Goodman

:Landmarks from Wikipedia. Success odds estimated from district voting history, special election
:results, and seat ratings. Thank you to Dailykos Elections for their spreadsheets, shapefiles, election
:ratings, and advice, and to @davidshor, @charlotteeffect, and @thedlcc for additional candidate data.

==Trivia==
*The comic [[Design_of_xkcd.com#Header|header]] had changed to:
:''Find out where to vote: [https://www.vote.org/ Vote.org]''
:''See what's on your ballot: [https://www.ballotready.org/ BallotReady.org]''
:This happened on the day this comic came out, as it up till [http://web.archive.org/web/20181101081612/https://xkcd.com/ the day before], had been a different reminder of the election only with the vote.org link.
*The interactive picture did not work in many browsers when using the link ''[https://www.xkcd.com www.xkcd.com]'', only the short ''[https://xkcd.com xkcd.com]'' worked properly because the page used an absolute link to a file ''[https://xkcd.com/2067/asset/map-data.json map-data.json]'' at the domain ''<nowiki>xkcd.com</nowiki>'' which is not allowed from ''<nowiki>www.xkcd.com</nowiki>'' according to {{w|Cross-origin resource sharing}}. This was later fixed by using a relative link only working inside the called domain.
* The internal comics have a kind of "comic" inside the [https://xkcd.com/2067/asset/map-data.json map-data.json] file that contains all of the details shown on the map. All other locations, including politicians and landmarks inside the map-data.json have a kind of "label"
* There are a total of
** 9 subcomics
** 17,643 labels, including:
*** 13,339 landmarks (gray)
*** 2,845 Democratic candidates (blue)
*** 1,456 Republican candidates (red)
*** 3 independent candidates (green)
* The three independent candidates are:
** Alaska Congress candidate Alyse Galvin
** Texas State House District 101 candidate James Allen
** Alabama State Senate District 10 candidate Craig Ford
* The largest names on the map (based on font size) are:
** Michelle Lujan Grisham, Governor candidate for New Mexico (7.187)
** Beto O'Rourke, Texan US Senate candidate (6.773)
** Matt Rosendale, Montanan US Senate candidate (6.773)
** Gretchen Whitmer, Governor candidate for Michigan (6.48)
* There's a landmark label called "xkcd" near Boston, Massachusetts
* Randall seems to have collected the Wikipedia links from an older copy of Wikipedia, as some links are to old article titles. For example, in Cupertino, California, "Apple Campus 2" is shown instead of "Apple Park", even though that article was moved to its current title in February 2017.
*An overview highlighting some parts:
:<imagemap>
Image:Challengers_Map.png|frame|left|Map of interesting features on the comic (Red X: comic strip, Green X: independent candidate, Blue X: xkcd landmark)
rect 179 176 138 129 [[#Carlymandering|Carlymandering]]
rect 95 279 133 325 [[#Ballot Measures|Ballot Measures]]
rect 171 421 208 467 [[#Polls|Polls]]
rect 392 307 430 352 [[#Punish|Punish]]
rect 403 488 441 533 [[#Attack_Ads|Attack Ads]]
rect 510 307 547 351 [[#Scholten|Scholten]]
rect 593 390 628 434 [[#St_Louis|St Louis]]
rect 803 355 839 394 [[#House|House]]
rect 837 436 799 395 [[#Spanberger|Spanberger]]
rect 877 262 915 309 [[#Trivia|Link to xkcd's wikipage]]
rect 141 597 177 644 [[#Trivia|Independent candidate]]
rect 472 527 511 576 [[#Trivia|Independent candidate]]
rect 672 478 710 525 [[#Trivia|Independent candidate]]
desc top-right
</imagemap>
 

{{comic discussion}}

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