https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Sofiapilledexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-04-30T22:37:32ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2607:_Geiger_Counter&diff=2304912607: Geiger Counter2022-04-15T18:23:12Z<p>Sofiapilled: </p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2607<br />
| date = April 15, 2022<br />
| title = Geiger Counter<br />
| image = geiger_counter.png<br />
| titletext = At first I didn't get why they were warning me about all those birds sitting on the wire, but then I understood.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MISSION CRITICAL GEIGER COUNTER- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
{{w|Geiger counter}}s emit a clicking noise when they detect radiation. Cueball was asked to bring a Geiger counter with apparently no further explanation. Rather than try to inquire further, he simply complied, and soon heard it start clicking. "It clicked" is also slang for a sudden understanding, such as when one "gets" a joke.<br />
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In the title text, Cueball was similarly confused when warned about the large number of birds on a wire. Birds are well-known to rest on power lines (colloquially called "wires") particularly in cold weather[https://birdwatchingbuzz.com/why-do-birds-sit-on-power-lines]. "Understood" here is taken in its etymological meaning: to stand under it. Cueball presumably had bird poop fall on him, and then he understood the warning.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Characters with Hats]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]<br />
[[Category:Puns]]</div>Sofiapilled