1775: Things You Learn

2016-12-21T16:25:27Z

Sonzaisuru: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1775
| date = December 21, 2016
| title = Things You Learn
| image = things_you_learn.png
| titletext = Guess who has two thumbs and spent the night in an ER after trying to rescue a kitten that ran under his car at a stoplight and climbed up into the engine compartment? And, thanks to antibiotics, will continue having two thumbs? THIS GUY. (P.S. kitten is safe!)
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Title text, fill table.}}
This graph shows various items of information plotted by two criteria: a horizontal "How Bad Is It If You Don't Know [THING]" axis and a vertical "How Easy It Is To Grow Up Without Learning [THING]" axis.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Ignorance is Bad !! Ignorance is Easy !! Information !! Comments
|-
| || || 100 digits of pi || Most people don't know more than a few digits of pi, and don't need to.
|-
| || || Lyrics to "We Didn't Start The Fire" || The average person is more likely to know the lyrics to a popular song than 100 digits of pi, but not knowing them doesn't really have any serious consequences.
|-
| || || That cat bites are really serious and if bitten you need to wash the bite and call a doctor immediately || Most people assume that a cat bite is just a minor injury. In fact, it carries a fairly high risk of infection, which can be dangerous if not treated (by cleaning the bite to reduce the risk, and having a doctor examine the bite victim and apply additional treatments such as antibiotics if needed).
|-
| || || The red flags for an abusive relationship || It is fairly easy for someone to fall into a pattern of accepting abuse (particularly if the abuser is skilled at emotional manipulation) without realizing it, and the consequences can be mentally and physically devastating.
|-
| || || The signs of a stroke || The symptoms of a stroke are somewhat variable, depending on what areas of the brain are affected, and can be mistaken for other conditions. Identifying a stroke quickly and seeking treatment can make the difference between life and death, or between full recovery and permanent impairment.
|-
| || || Cough into your elbow, not your hand || Covering a cough with the inside of your elbow helps prevent spreading airborne germs and is generally recommended by medical organizations. Coughing into your hand deposits them onto your hand, where they are much more likely to be spread to another person (via handshake, food preparation, shared objects, etc)
|-
| || || How to ride a bike || Most children, especially in the United States, learn to ride a bike at a fairly young age. While this is a useful skill to know for both entertainment and transportation, it would generally not be terrible to not learn this skill.
|-
| || || How to escape movie quicksand || Quicksand in movies is a common trope, and while its physics often differ from real quicksand, escaping from it is commonly done using similar methods. Knowing how to escape from quicksand is important if you sink into it, which is a situation most people are very unlikely to encounter.
|-
| || || Lyrics to "12 Days of Christmas" || Hearing the same Christmas songs over and over each year makes it hard not to learn the lyrics over time. The consequences however are minimal.
|-
| || || TV theme songs || Most children in developed countries grow up watching at least some television. Many of these television shows play the same theme song before the show starts, and many of these have catchy lyrics. Therefore, by repetition, most children will learn at least one of these growing up, and often many.
|-
| || || That you have to empty the dryer lint trap || Most clothes dryers collect lint in a mesh "trap". Failing to remove the lint can cause the dryer to stop working effectively, introduce lint back onto your clothes, or (in extreme cases) start a fire.
|-
| || || Stop, drop, and roll || This is a technique to extinguish a fire on one's own clothing, and is frequently taught to children for safety. Not knowing it (or forgetting it in a panic when the situation arises) can result in severe burns that could have been avoided by following the recommendation.
|-
| || || That you have to pay taxes || Most residents of most countries are legally obligated to pay, or at least file, their taxes annually. Penalties for not doing so often include large fines, and possibly prison sentences. Fortunately, it is something that children hear about quite a bit so it is very difficult to grow up without learning that it must be done.
|-
|}

The title text describes an encounter Randall had the night before writing this comic where a cat climbed into the engine compartment or his car. It probably serves as an explanation for the seemingly out of place point on the graph about how serious cat bites are.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1775: Things You Learn