1689: My Friend Catherine

2016-06-03T21:03:43Z

Sephiroth: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1689
| date = June 3, 2016
| title = My Friend Catherine
| image = my_friend_catherine.png
| titletext = I can't get any work done because my friend Catherine is sitting on my keyboard.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Initial general explanation added, nothing about the individual jokes yet.}}

This is another comic using [[:Category:Substitutions|substitutions]] to create the joke by replacing words or phrases, in this case "My cat", with a different word or phrase, in this case "My friend Catherine" (hence the title). The choice of the name is related to the word cat having the same three first letters.

By doing so in a list of [[#The original posts|people discussing things their cat did]], it makes it seem like they are discussing things their female human friend did. What is cute, impressive, or at least normal behavior for a cat would often be weird, disgusting or disturbing if an adult human were to do it, which is what makes the substitution humorous.

Note that the substitution can be a simple mental substitution, or there are {{w|browser_extension|browser extensions}} that can be used to do the substitution for you.

It should also be noted that this comic conflicts with one of the substitutions from [[1288: Substitutions]]. Namely: its original car → cat replacement. Upon this comic's release, "car" and "cat" should still work the same using both substitutions, except in the case where a sentence has the words "my car" which would then turn to "my cat", which would then be replaced with "my friend Catherine." (unless the test for "my cat" comes before the test for car.)

The comic depicts a feed on a page for people discussing their cat, which would be the only place where the substitution is really funny. Apart from known characters like two looking like [[Cueball]], [[Megan]] and [[Ponytail]], there is also a person with black hair, not looking particularly like any standard characters, and then a person with a [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|knit cap]], which could be the same knit cap wearing user that was also used in [[1506: xkcloud]] (see the [[1506:_xkcloud/Transcript#User_pictures| pictures of the users]]).

In the title text there is another cat related status update regarding a cat sitting on a keyboard. Given the fact that one of the earlier substitution comics from before the [[1288: Substitutions|three]] ''[[1625: Substitutions 2|Substitution]]'' [[1679: Substitutions 3|comics]], was [[1031: s/keyboard/leopard/]] that replaced keyboard with leopard, many [[#Discussion|fans of xkcd]] were a little disappointed that the title text did not read: ''I can't get any work done because my friend Catherine is sitting on my leopard.''

===The original posts===
*My cat just did a backflip and then ate a bug!
*I wish my cat wouldn't wake me up by chewing on my hair.
*Oh no, my cat has learned to open the refrigerator.
*My cat just walked in, threw up on the rug, and walked out.
*My cat is looking out the window making weird noises at the birds.
*I wish my cat wouldn't make eye contact with me while pooping.
*I can't get any work done because my cat is sitting on my keyboard. (title text)

==Transcript==
:[Captions above the frame:]
:New favorite substitution:
:<big>My Cat→My Friend Catherine</big>

:[A news feed with comments by six different people discussing their cat, but after the above substitution. Next to each post is a user image, and above the clear text of the substituted comment is a unreadable line of wiggles probably with information about the post time stamp.]

:[A head shot of a person seen straight on with black hair:]
:My friend Catherine just did a backflip and then ate a bug!

:[A full view of Cueball:]
:I wish my friend Catherine wouldn't wake me up by chewing on my hair.

:[A head shot of Megan with unreadable text below the image:]
:Oh no, my friend Catherine has learned to open the refrigerator.

:[A head shot seen from the side of a person with a knit cap and short black hair below the cap:]
:My friend Catherine just walked in, threw up on the rug, and walked out.

:[A head shot of Ponytail:]
:My friend Catherine is looking out the window making weird noises at the birds.

:[Cueball seen from the torso and up:]
:I wish my friend Catherine wouldn't make eye contact with me while pooping.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Substitutions]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Social networking]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1682: Bun

2016-05-19T00:37:08Z

Sephiroth: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1682
| date = May 18, 2016
| title = Bun
| image = bun.png
| titletext = If a wild bun is sighted, a nice gesture of respect is to send a 'BUN ALERT' message to friends and family, with photographs documenting the bun's location and rank. If no photographs are possible, emoji may be substituted.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Ponytail]] is teaching a class about an animal referred to as a "bun". The word "bun" is short for {{w|bunny}}, an informal term used for a {{w|rabbit}}. The comic lampoons the many misconceptions that exist about rabbits and {{w|hares}}, two animals that are often mistaken for one another.

Ponytail tells that buns have a {{w|hierarchy}} in which the smaller the bun, the higher its ranking is. This parodies the general tendency of people to consider kitten rabbits cuter than the adults, and therefore superior (According to some studies, cuteness in humans may have evolutionary advantages by encouraging parental care; it is unknown if this is true among rabbits). Rabbits live in large groups with no formal hierarchy, unlike {{w|wolves}} who have very definite leaders and social structure, this is in stark contrast to the information presented in the comic.

In the next panel, Ponytail states that "at this time of year, a lucky few may catch a glimpse of a king bun" - referring to rabbit kittens (the smallest and thus, in the comic, the highest-ranking, hence the term "king buns") being born in Spring (when the comic was released).

[[Megan]], who attends this biology class, expected to learn about rabbits and hares which are both {{w|Lagomorpha|lagomorphs}}, a mammalian {{w|Order (biology)|order}} that also includes the {{w|pika}}s. Megan thus clearly has the correct understanding of what a "bun" is. Ponytail then claims that the word ''bun'' is the scientific term, and states that rabbit, hare and lagomorph is the informal way to describe these animals, again being completely wrong as in reality ''bun'' is the most contracted and informal name for a rabbit.

The title text is presumably referring to photographing a rabbit and, for example, posting it on social media - something which would typically be done today if someone sees a rabbit in the wild. If the poster had failed to photograph the rabbit before it ran away, they may typically post a message saying something like "I saw a really cute bunny today!" with an {{w|emoji}} depiction of a rabbit (probably 🐇 or 🐰). This is especially common in the area where the author lives, as the urban rabbit population in the Cambridge/Somerville area has exploded, putting a large human population with relatively little previous experience with rabbit-sightings suddenly in the position of encountering them very frequently.

A teacher teaching complete nonsense is depicted in [[1519: Venus]], but there it is clearly on purpose, which is not so clear here. There is also some similarities with [[1644: Stargazing]], but there the facts are true.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is a teacher and she holds a pointer to a picture of a rabbit on a board behind her.]
:Ponytail: Good morning class! Today, we will be learning about the bun.

:[Two rabbits are shown, one slightly smaller, and a greater than symbol is pointed at the smaller one. Ponytail is talking off panel to the left. Note that hierarchy may be misspelled intentionally.]
:Ponytail (off panel): Buns have a hierarchy.
:Ponytail (off panel): A bun's rank is determined by its size. Smaller buns are higher-ranking.

:[Two normal sized rabbits are sitting left and right of a very small rabbit. The smaller rabbit appears to give off a radiant light indicated with gray and white alternating rays going through the image. It is indicated that is shines on the larger rabbits as they are gray on the side turned away from the smaller rabbit and white on the front turned towards it. Ponytail narrates above the frame of this half sized panel:]
:Ponytail (narrating): Most buns you see are relatively low-ranking.
:Ponytail (narrating): But this time of year, a lucky few may catch a glimpse of a ''king bun''.

:[A student represented by Megan is sitting at a desk with a few books on it, pencil in hand.]
:Megan: Ok, hang on.
:Megan: We're talking about rabbits and hares, right? Lagomorphs?

:[Ponytail is holding her finger up on her left hand, and is holding her pointer at her side with the other. Students reply to her off panel to the right.]
:Ponytail: Informally, yes. But in this course, we use the ''scientific'' term, "bun".
:Student #1 (off-panel): Are we sure this is the right room for ''introductory mammalogy?''
:Student #2 (off-panel) : I'll check online.
:Student #3 (off-panel): ''Shh!'' Show respect! We look upon the image of a king!

==Trivia==
*In the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/2/2c/20160518175345!bun.png original version] the word ''hierarchy'' in the 2nd panel was misspelled as ''h'''ei'''rarchy''.
**Later this was corrected with an updated version with this word spelled correctly.
**To begin with there where some funny thoughts about if this was intentionally due to the closeness to hare and heir:
:::The word "hierarchy" is misspelled in the comic as "heirarchy", which is most likely intentional to evoke the pronunciation "hare-rarchy", as in "a hierarchy of hares". It might also be a portmanteau of "heir" and "hierarchy", reflecting the highest status being accorded to the youngest rabbits.
:*This was obviously not the case but a good example of how much comics are over analyzed here on explain xkcd...{{Citation needed}}
*In [[1663: Garden]], the rabbit image had the filename "[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-important-bun.png important-bun.png]":
**[[File:Garden Important bun.png]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animals]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1689: My Friend Catherine

1682: Bun