explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3213: Dental Formulas

2026-02-27T22:37:20Z

SqueakSquawk4:

{{comic
| number = 3213
| date = February 27, 2026
| title = Dental Formulas
| image = dental_formulas_2x.png
| imagesize = 212x337px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I mean, half of these are undefined. And your multiplication dots are too low; they look like decimal points.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

A {{w|dental formula}} specifies the number of teeth of each type on each side of the jaw, with dots separating the numbers. There are two rows, representing the upper and lower jaw, separated by a horizontal line. The number of incisors is indicated first, canines second, premolars third, and finally molars, so the formula in the comic would represent 3 incisors, 1 canine, 3 premolars, and 1 molar on each side of the upper jaw, and equal numbers in the lower jaw except only 2 premolars. This is the dental formula for the {{w|Felidae|cat family}}. The adult human dental formula is 2.1.2.3 for both the upper and lower jaw.

Cueball is (wrongly) treating a dental formula as an arithmetic expression, with the line indicating division and the dots indicating multiplication. In the title text his statement that "half the formulae are undefined" refers to animals that lack one of the four types of teeth in the lower jaw, leading to a zero in the "denominator" of the dental formula and an undefined division expression. He also notes that the "dots are too low", as in fact the dots in a dental formula are period or decimal point characters and aren't meant to imply multiplication.

'Mammologists' is also misused; the correct term is mamm''a''logists. Mammologists study human breasts specifically, usually in a medical context. This may be a deliberate nod towards Cueball not understanding what he's looking at, or may simply be a mistake

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[Cueball and Megan are standing in front of a whiteboard, on which is written
::3.1.3.1 3.1.2.1
:along with some other scribbles.
:Underneath the panel is the caption, "Mathematicians encounter dental formulas".]

Cueball: Do mammologists think these are hard?

Cueball: I mean this one just evaluates to 3/2.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3194: 16 Part Epoxy

2026-01-14T21:19:30Z

SqueakSquawk4: Salt and pepper exists

{{comic
| number = 3194
| date = January 14, 2026
| title = 16 Part Epoxy
| image = 16_part_epoxy_2x.png
| imagesize = 511x595px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Some surfaces may seem difficult to glue. But if you research the materials, find tables of what adhesives work on them, and prepare your surfaces carefully, you can fail to glue them in a fun NEW way that fills your house with dangerous vapors.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a bot covered in various types of glue. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic refers to {{w|Epoxy|epoxy}}, a substance used for attaching other materials. Many types of epoxy are multi-part, where the components, such as resin and a hardener, are stored separately. They are mixed on use, so that the epoxy cures into a solid, binding to whatever surfaces on which it was applied. This comic presents a fictitious 16-part epoxy, with many components that are implausible or make fun of common problems people have when using epoxy in real life.


The title text references how not all epoxies and glues work on every material, and that applying them on some can require special techniques or products. If done improperly, this can result in chemical vapors and other dangerous side effects, while also not working as a glue as intended.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Type
!Real?
!Explanation
|-
|Resin
|{{Yes}}
|A liquid which turns into a polymer when mixed with a hardener.
|-
|Hardener
|{{Yes}}
|A thick liquid which is mixed with Resin to create a durable polymer which is commonly used as a glue.
|-
|Filler
|{{Yes}}
|An optional addition to the Hardener and Resin which changes the properties of the polymer.
|-
|Softener
|{{Yes}}
|A substance which is added to polymer to soften the polymer and increase its impact resistance.
|-
|Rosin
|{{Yes}}
|While this looks like a joke entry, this is actually an alternative to resin which is extracted naturally rather than synthetically.
|-
|Stuff that bonds permanently to skin and nothing else
|{{No}}
|One key annoyance with sticky substances is the difficulty of removing it when it bonds to skin. In this case, the polymer bonds solely to skin instead of anything else, making it more useful for a practical joke. Some epoxies are specifically designed for gluing skin, usually for medical purposes, but none are known to bond to skin exclusively.{{acn}} The most common kinds are moisture-activated, which means they will not easily bond to fully dried surfaces, where often most non-skin surfaces are dry.
|-
|Stuff that will crack and turn white over a few days, for decorative appearance
|{{No}}
|Many older walls have a tendency to crack due to exterior stresses. In this case, Randall claims there is a type of epoxy whose sole purpose is to mimic this effect for 'decorative appearance', which would not make sense as these cracked walls are visually unappealing to many. Where deliberately wanted, these effects are not usually achieved using epoxy.
|-
|Placebo
|{{No|Not in this field}}
|The {{w|Placebo Effect}} happens when somebody is told that something has a certain effect, when in reality there is no effect. This is commonly used in medical studies to determine whether a medication is effective, but Randall is using this term to describe the type of polymer. This makes no sense, because the polymer would need to glue things together without actually doing anything, which is impossible. Alternatively, this could refer to a component or filler that claims to serve a specific purpose, and while having no true benefit, causes the perception of benefit to the consumer (presumably causing better reviews).
|-
|Minced Duct Tape
|{{No}}
|Mincing is the process of cutting food, usually meat, into small pieces. If duct tape is cut into small pieces, it would have no greater effect on its adhesive properties. In the UK, the word 'minced' can also mean 'made worthless'. This would also not function well.
|-
|Acetone Fragrance
|{{No}}
|The fragrance of Acetone is very similar to that of nail polish remover and comes from a natural solvent within it. Most people consider this scent incredibly unpleasant. This would also be worthless in an epoxy set, as the fragrance would have no effect on adhesiveness.
|-
|Powdered bar magnets
|{{No}}
|While this would still work, as each tiny piece of magnet would still become a magnet in its own right, it would be much worse than a normal bar magnet due to the random orientation of each piece.
|-
|Polyethylvinylesteracetate
|{{No}}
|This seems like it would combine the effects of hardener and softener, which would not work.{{cn}}
|-
|2-Polyethylvinylesteracetate
|{{No}}
|This would be exactly the same as the normal one.
|-
|Salt and pepper to taste
|{{No|Not in this field}}
|Salt and Pepper are two incredibly popular condiments which are used to enhance a dish's flavor. Using this would have no effect on the Polymer.
|-
|Blood sample from the Gorilla Glue gorillas
|{{No}}
|{{w|Gorilla Glue}} is a popular brand of superglue which uses {{w|Gorilla}}s as its mascot. In this case, the blood of the Gorillas would be extracted and placed in the polymer, which would have no effect, because they're just regular gorillas that happen to carry glue everywhere.
|-
|Stuff that bonds to every known material except yours
|{{No}}
|Another common annoyance when using a polymer is that some types do not form an adhesive bond with certain materials. In this case, the polymer would bond with every material except for the one you were using, which would cause great distress.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

Standard 16-Part Epoxy

[An epoxy applicator with a single push bar and sixteen differently-colored chambers, each labeled]

Resin

Hardener

Filler

Softener

Rosin

Stuff that bonds permanently to skin and nothing else

Stuff that will turn white and crack over a few days, for decorative appearance

Placebo

Minced duct tape

Acetone Fragrance

Powdered bar magnets

Polyethylvinylesteracetate

2-Polyethylvinylesteracetate

Salt and pepper to taste

Blood sample from the Gorilla Glue gorillas

Stuff that bonds to every known material except yours

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics with color]]

3194: 16 Part Epoxy

2026-01-14T21:18:21Z

SqueakSquawk4: formatting

{{comic
| number = 3194
| date = January 14, 2026
| title = 16 Part Epoxy
| image = 16_part_epoxy_2x.png
| imagesize = 511x595px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Some surfaces may seem difficult to glue. But if you research the materials, find tables of what adhesives work on them, and prepare your surfaces carefully, you can fail to glue them in a fun NEW way that fills your house with dangerous vapors.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a bot covered in various types of glue. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic refers to {{w|Epoxy|epoxy}}, a substance used for attaching other materials. Many types of epoxy are multi-part, where the components, such as resin and a hardener, are stored separately. They are mixed on use, so that the epoxy cures into a solid, binding to whatever surfaces on which it was applied. This comic presents a fictitious 16-part epoxy, with many components that are implausible or make fun of common problems people have when using epoxy in real life.


The title text references how not all epoxies and glues work on every material, and that applying them on some can require special techniques or products. If done improperly, this can result in chemical vapors and other dangerous side effects, while also not working as a glue as intended.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Type
!Real?
!Explanation
|-
|Resin
|{{Yes}}
|A liquid which turns into a polymer when mixed with a hardener.
|-
|Hardener
|{{Yes}}
|A thick liquid which is mixed with Resin to create a durable polymer which is commonly used as a glue.
|-
|Filler
|{{Yes}}
|An optional addition to the Hardener and Resin which changes the properties of the polymer.
|-
|Softener
|{{Yes}}
|A substance which is added to polymer to soften the polymer and increase its impact resistance.
|-
|Rosin
|{{Yes}}
|While this looks like a joke entry, this is actually an alternative to resin which is extracted naturally rather than synthetically.
|-
|Stuff that bonds permanently to skin and nothing else
|{{No}}
|One key annoyance with sticky substances is the difficulty of removing it when it bonds to skin. In this case, the polymer bonds solely to skin instead of anything else, making it more useful for a practical joke. Some epoxies are specifically designed for gluing skin, usually for medical purposes, but none are known to bond to skin exclusively.{{acn}} The most common kinds are moisture-activated, which means they will not easily bond to fully dried surfaces, where often most non-skin surfaces are dry.
|-
|Stuff that will crack and turn white over a few days, for decorative appearance
|{{No}}
|Many older walls have a tendency to crack due to exterior stresses. In this case, Randall claims there is a type of epoxy whose sole purpose is to mimic this effect for 'decorative appearance', which would not make sense as these cracked walls are visually unappealing to many. Where deliberately wanted, these effects are not usually achieved using epoxy.
|-
|Placebo
|{{No|Not in this field}}
|The {{w|Placebo Effect}} happens when somebody is told that something has a certain effect, when in reality there is no effect. This is commonly used in medical studies to determine whether a medication is effective, but Randall is using this term to describe the type of polymer. This makes no sense, because the polymer would need to glue things together without actually doing anything, which is impossible. Alternatively, this could refer to a component or filler that claims to serve a specific purpose, and while having no true benefit, causes the perception of benefit to the consumer (presumably causing better reviews).
|-
|Minced Duct Tape
|{{No}}
|Mincing is the process of cutting food, usually meat, into small pieces. If duct tape is cut into small pieces, it would have no greater effect on its adhesive properties. In the UK, the word 'minced' can also mean 'made worthless'. This would also not function well.
|-
|Acetone Fragrance
|{{No}}
|The fragrance of Acetone is very similar to that of nail polish remover and comes from a natural solvent within it. Most people consider this scent incredibly unpleasant. This would also be worthless in an epoxy set, as the fragrance would have no effect on adhesiveness.
|-
|Powdered bar magnets
|{{No}}
|While this would still work, as each tiny piece of magnet would still become a magnet in its own right, it would be much worse than a normal bar magnet due to the random orientation of each piece.
|-
|Polyethylvinylesteracetate
|{{No}}
|This seems like it would combine the effects of hardener and softener, which would not work.{{cn}}
|-
|2-Polyethylvinylesteracetate
|{{No}}
|This would be exactly the same as the normal one.
|-
|Salt and pepper to taste
|{{No}}
|Salt and Pepper are two incredibly popular condiments which are used to enhance a dish's flavor. Using this would have no effect on the Polymer.
|-
|Blood sample from the Gorilla Glue gorillas
|{{No}}
|{{w|Gorilla Glue}} is a popular brand of superglue which uses {{w|Gorilla}}s as its mascot. In this case, the blood of the Gorillas would be extracted and placed in the polymer, which would have no effect, because they're just regular gorillas that happen to carry glue everywhere.
|-
|Stuff that bonds to every known material except yours
|{{No}}
|Another common annoyance when using a polymer is that some types do not form an adhesive bond with certain materials. In this case, the polymer would bond with every material except for the one you were using, which would cause great distress.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

Standard 16-Part Epoxy

[An epoxy applicator with a single push bar and sixteen differently-colored chambers, each labeled]

Resin

Hardener

Filler

Softener

Rosin

Stuff that bonds permanently to skin and nothing else

Stuff that will turn white and crack over a few days, for decorative appearance

Placebo

Minced duct tape

Acetone Fragrance

Powdered bar magnets

Polyethylvinylesteracetate

2-Polyethylvinylesteracetate

Salt and pepper to taste

Blood sample from the Gorilla Glue gorillas

Stuff that bonds to every known material except yours

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics with color]]

3193: Sailing Rigs

2026-01-13T13:20:47Z

SqueakSquawk4: Made into a table, elaborated. Sorry if I accidentally erased something in an edit conflict

{{comic
| number = 3193
| date = January 12, 2026
| title = Sailing Rigs
| image = sailing_rigs_2x.png
| imagesize = 508x822px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I wanted to make the world's fastest yawl, so I made the aft sail bigger, but apparently that means it's not a yawl anymore! It's a real ketch-22.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by the birds flying in my kite. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic shows the side profiles of a variety of different sailing boat/ship rigs, not all of which are real.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Type
!Real?
!Description 
!Explanation 
|-
|{{w|Lateen}}
|{{Yes}}
|A single triangular sail.
|The triangular sail was affixed to a long yard or crossbar, mounted at its middle to the top of the mast and angled to extend aft far above the mast and forward down nearly to the deck. The sail, its free corner secured near the stern, was capable of taking the wind on either side, and, by enabling the vessel to tack into the wind, the lateen immensely increased the potential of the sailing ship. [https://www.britannica.com/technology/lateen-sail.] 
|-
|{{W|Bermuda rig|Bermuda rigged sloop}}
|{{Yes}}
|A front and rear triangular sail share a mast.
|{{w|Sloop}}
|-
|{{w|Ketch}}
|{{Yes}}
|A sailboat with two masts, where the main mast is taller than the aft mast, and the aft mast is forward of the rudder post
|Similar to a Yawl
|-
|{{w|Gaff rig|Gaff rigged sloop}}
|{{Yes}}
|A front triangular sail shares mast with rear quadrilateral sail.
|A sloop is a sailboat with one mast, typically with two sails mounted on the mast, one ahead and one behind. A Gaff Rig is a sailing rig where one sail is four-sided and controlled by a spar (the gaff) at its top, which is hoisted at an angle to the mast. [https://nauticalknowhow.mysailingcourse.com/glossary/gaff-rig/]
|-
|{{w|Yawl}}
|{{Yes}}
|Two triangular sails share a front mast, and a much smaller aft mast holds a small aft sail.
|A Yawls is sailboat with two masts, where the front mast has two sails (One in front of the mast and one behind, known as {{w|fore-and-aft rigging}}, and the aft mast is mounted aft of the rudder post, leading the aft sail to typically be small. Similar to a Ketch.
|-
|{{w|Schooner}}
|{{Yes}}
|A sailboat with two or more masts, where all have {{w|fore-and-aft rigging}}, and where the front mast is typically smaller than the main mast
|-
|Ketch-rigged gaff
|{{No}}
|The first fictional rig. Resembles a gaff, with the aft sail reduced and two triangular sails mounted above. The resulting shape resembles a vertical ketch.
|
|-
|Kloop-rigged sketch
|{{No}}
|Four or five sails mounted in a nonsensical configuration, with elements from the schooner, ketch, and gaff
| A mixture of the names of {{w|ketch}} and {{w|sloop}}, poking fun at the unfamiliar and odd-sounding names of some rigs. Adding to the absurdity, the kloop-rigged sketch is neither a sloop nor a ketch. However it is technically a {{w|Sketch (drawing)|sketch}}, as "sketch" can mean "drawing"
|-
|Bunkbed rig
|{{No}}
|A gaff-rigged sloop mounted on top of a second hull.
|The name refers to a {{w|bunkbed}}, where a bed is mounted directly above another, and applies this idea to a ship, mounting a hull directly above another. While {{w|Multihull|boats with multiple hulls}} do exist, these are always mounted side-by-side to guarentee stability. Mounting a hull above another would be a terrible idea, as the upper hull would be ineffective when raised above the water, the lower hull might become submerged and sink, and such a tall boat would be unstable causing it to fall over. The comic is funny due to this {{w|surreal humour|absurdity}}, due to boat's obivously extreme design being so far outside what someone would expect a boat to look like
|-
|Flettner rig
|{{Yes}}, though not typically called a rig
|The rectangular outline of a cylinder with motion lines around it, indicating a {{w|Flettner rotor}}
|A Flettner rotor is a right circular cylinder with disc end plates which is spun along its long axis. As air passes across it the {{w|Magnus effect}} causes an aerodynamic lift force to be generated in the direction perpendicular to both the long axis and the direction of airflow. In a {{w|rotor ship}}, the rotors stand vertically and lift is generated at right angles to the wind, to drive the ship forwards.

Flettner rotors were previously mentioned in [[3119]]
|-
|Oops, all spinnakers
|{{No}}
|Three masts each with a sail billowing in front
|A {{w|spinnaker}} is a real type of sail, where a boat is propelled by a large sail directly pulled by the wind, similar in principle to a parachute. However, "Oops, all spinnakers" is not real, as spinnakers are only practical for smaller craft, and if multiple spinnakers are mounted in a row the earlier ones may disrupt the airflow to the later ones{{actual citation needed}}. It does not appear that there are any real boats propelled by more than one spinnaker.{{actual citation needed}}
|-
|Keel rig
|{{No}}
|Three sails in a ketch arrangement, but mounted to the keel, which would typically put the **sails underwater**.
|
|-
|Kite rig
|{{Maybe|Kind of}}
|All sails are replaced by two groups of kites, each tied to the mast with their own independent line.
|A {{w|kite rig}} is a real thing, where a kite is deployed from a boat or ship to catch the wind and pull the vessel along. This rigging is used in various types of vessel, most commonly {{w|kite surfing}}, but occasionally other vessels too, up to trials with cargo ships [https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/30/travel/airseas-giant-kites-ships-slash-carbon-emissions-scn-climate-spc]. However, the real kite riggings typically use one large kite optimised for catching the wind, rather than many small kites optimised for flying (as depicted) which would likely get tangled and not pull much on the ship.
|-
|Longsail rig
|{{No}}
|A bermuda rigged sloop with the aft sail extending ~5 times as far back, well beyond the end of the hull.
|While not technically impossible, such a long sail would likely be suceptiple to damage from the wind, as well as potentially making it hard to control the boat.
|-
|Deckhand obliterator
|{{No}}
|All sails replaced by an anchor that swings around the mast on a chain, similar to tetherball.
|Any deckhands (crew) on the deck could be knocked off or fatally hurt if the anchor passes through their space.
|-
|Offset rig
|{{No}}
|Gaff rigged sloop sails are mounted on a mast that is offset (forward) from the hull via an underwater extension of the keel.
|The extreme mechanical advantage of the sail, potentially combined with the uneven weight, would make this rigging hard if not impossible to control.
|-
|Mastless rig
|{{Maybe|Kind of}}
|A single sail is directly to the hull of the boat, without any mast holding it in the wind.
|As depicted the sail would provide little to no useful propulsion, as it would not be high enough to effective catch the wind. However ships do exist without sails, such as ships not powered by wind{{citation needed}}, or more rarely inflatable sails (e.g. [http://inflatedwingsails.com/en/concept/]), which use air rather than a mast for rigidity. While not intentiional, it is concievable that the drawing depicts an inflatable sail in it's deflated state.
|-
|Unclassifiable chaos rig
|{{No}}
|Includes elements of the schooner, yawl, lateen, and possibly others.
|
|}

The title text is a pun on a {{w|Catch-22 (logic)|Catch-22}}, a no-win situation in which the thing needed to succeed would cause it not to succeed or not to be necessary. For instance, "the only way to qualify for a loan is to prove to the bank that you do not need a loan." Per the main panel, a ketch is similar to a yawl but has a larger aft sail, so increasing the aft sail of a yawl effectively turns the yawl into a ketch. However this is not technically true, as the distinction between a {{w|yawl}} and {{w|ketch}} is based on whether the aft sail is mounted forward or aft of the rudder post, although a Yawl with a large aft sail may be difficult to control.{{actual citation needed}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

[The comic contains views from the side of boats, each with a different sailing rig. All boats are oriented to the left of the comic.]
*Lateen [a single triangular sail]
*Bermuda rigged sloop [a front and rear triangular sail share a mast]
*Ketch [two triangular sails as above, with an additional triangular sail on a second rear mast]
*Gaff rigged sloop [front triangular sail shares mast with rear quadrilateral sail]
*Yawl [two triangular sails share front mast and a much smaller aft mast holds a small aft]
*Schooner [two triangular front sails share foreward mast with quadrilateral center sail. An aft mast supports a quadrilateral aft sail]
*Ketch-rigged gaff [Resembles a gaff, with the aft sail reduced and two triangular sails mounted above. The resulting shape resembles a vertical ketch]
*Kloop-rigged sketch: [Includes elements of ketch and sloop]
*Bunkbed rig [A gaff-rigged sloop is mounted on top of a second hull]
*Flettner rig [The rectangular outline of a cylinder with motion lines around it]
*Oops, all spinnakers [three masts each with a sail only attached to the top]
*Keel rig [three sails in a ketch arrangement, but mounted to the keel]
*Kite rig [all sails are replaced by two groups of kites, each tied to the mast with an independent line]
*Longsail rig [bermuda rigged sloop with the aft sail extending ~5 times as far back, well beyond the end of the hull]
*Deckhand obliterator [all sails replaced by an anchor that swings around the mast on a chain, similar to tetherball]
*Offset rig [gaff rigged sloop sails are mounted on a mast that is offset (forward) from the hull via an underwater extension of the keel]
*Mastless rig [a single sail is attached where the mast would normally be mounted, flapping around freely]
*Unclassifiable chaos rig [includes elements of the schooner, yawl, lateen, and possibly others]
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Sailboats]]

3178: Hyperacute Interdynamics

2025-12-09T09:53:37Z

SqueakSquawk4: Squirrel info. Bit wordy

{{comic
| number = 3178
| date = December 8, 2025
| title = Hyperacute Interdynamics
| image = hyperacute_interdynamics_2x.png
| imagesize = 696x265px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Our models fall apart where the three theories overlap; we're unable to predict what happens when a nanometer-sized squirrel eats a grapefruit with the mass of the sun.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A STAR WITH THE MASS OF A SQUIRREL. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[[Miss Lenhart]] is teaching a class, a recurring theme on [[xkcd]]. She correctly describes two of the three pillars of physics: {{w|general relativity}}, concerning very large objects, and {{w|quantum mechanics}}, concerning very small objects. The third pillar is {{w|thermodynamics}}, but she replaces this with the fictional ''hyperacute interdynamics'', which supposedly specifically covers objects 10-30cm (~4" - ~12") in size and 200-700g (0.44lb - 1.54lb) in mass.

When a student points out that the application of hyperacute interdynamics is quite limited, Miss Lenhart responds by stating that this is made up for by the fact that it is apparently very accurate and precise, and gives examples of how it is able to perfectly describe squirrels and grapefruit, two objects which both fit the necessary size and weight specifications (though see below). Her comment that there are hopes to unify this system with the other two reflects the efforts of physicists to unify general relativity with quantum mechanics, so far without success.

The title text extends the riff on unification, noting that, under the current system, measurements which require elements from all three pillars are impossible. The example given — when a nanometer-sized squirrel (covering quantum mechanics and hyperacute interdynamics) eats a grapefruit with the mass of the sun (once again covering hyperacute interdynamics and general relativity) — would cover all three domains. Such objects do not occur in real life{{cn}}, so it is unknown how or why scientists would be trying to measure them.

The {{w|Eastern Gray Squirrel}}, which is the most prevalent squirrel in Massachusetts (where [[Randall]] lives), measures 16-20 inches (approx. 40-50 centimeters) on average when fully grown — outside the range of sizes given for hyperacute interdynamics to apply. It does, however, weigh between 400 and 600 grams — within the weight range. Whether hyperacute interdynamics would apply, then, would appear to depend on whether the 'and' in Miss Lenhart's statement is inclusive or exclusive. Also, the head-and-body size and the tail size of the Eastern Gray Squirrel are each individually within the hyperacute effective size (though potentially not mass), so if they were modelled individually or if the squirrel curled up then it would be able to be effectively modelled by hyperacute interdynamics This fshows the absurdity of Hyperacute Physics, with such a strict cutoff making it easy for objects to enter and exit the Hyperacute effective size, as opposed to relativity or quantum mechanics which slowly become worse at describing reality as size increases/decreases.

Additionally, some squirrels, such as the [https://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/mammals/black-banded_squirrel.htm Borneo Black-Banded Squirrel] do entirely fit into the Hyperacute effective size and mass

==Transcript==
:[Miss Lenhart is teaching a classroom holding a finger up in front of the class. Two students can be seen sitting at desks in front of her, a Cueball like boy is on the first row and Jill, taking notes, is in the second row.]
:Miss Lenhart: Modern physics rests on three main pillars:
:General relativity, which describes very massive objects,

:[Close up of Miss Lenhart.]
:Miss Lenhart: Quantum Mechanics, which describes very small objects,

:[In a frame-less panel the view zooms back out, but shows only Miss Lenhart.]
:Miss Lenhart: and Hyperacute Interdynamics, which describes objects 10-30cm in size and 200-700g in mass.

:[The panel zooms back in to a close up of Miss Lenhart.]
:Student (off-panel): That last one seems kind of limited.
:Miss Lenhart: Yeah, but over it's domain it's '''''really''''' precise. Absolutely '''''nails''''' squirrels and grapefruit.
:Miss Lenhart: Someday we hope to unify it with the other two.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]] 
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Squirrel]]
[[Category:Food]]

1044: Romney Quiz

2025-08-19T12:53:03Z

SqueakSquawk4: Links expired, retrieved via archive.org

{{comic
| number = 1044
| date = April 18, 2012
| title = Romney Quiz
| image = romney quiz.png
| titletext = Charlie actually delivered the Medicare line almost verbatim in the 1971 movie's Fizzy Lifting Drink scene, but it was ultimately cut from the final release.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic satirizes "either/or" quizzes seen on websites such as mentalfloss.com. These quizzes normally have an element of challenge by presenting tonally similar quotes, such as "Who Said It: Ted Nugent or Cartman from ''South Park''?". The two people are generally chosen carefully to fulfill a particular role, for example:
*Polar opposites - Republican vs Democrat, for vs against abortions, Christian vs Atheist
*Real vs fictional
*Politician/Celebrity vs villain - George Bush vs Hitler, Nigel Farage vs Ku Klux Klan, Obama vs Lucifer

In each case the idea is usually to surprise the reader with the fact that the quotes are difficult to tell apart, with the implied "conclusion" that person A is essentially indistinguishable from person B. In some cases the quizzes may be used as a tool to portray a particular person or group in a certain way, or alternatively may be light-hearted jest.

{{w|Mitt Romney}} was the {{w|Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2012|Republican candidate for President of the United States}} (officially declared presumptive nominee on April 25, 2012, one week after this comic) during the {{w|United States presidential election, 2012|2012 US presidential election}} and, as it says above, the former Governor of Massachusetts. During the election, Mad Magazine published a popular [https://web.archive.org/web/20121206021107/https://www.madmagazine.com/blog/2012/03/02/who-said-it-mitt-romney-or-mr-burns article] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20121122023442/https://www.madmagazine.com/blog/2012/11/16/mad-asks-who-said-it-mitt-romney-or-mr-burns-volume-2 volume 2]) which compared quotes from Romney with quotes from the ''{{w|The Simpsons|Simpsons}}'' villain {{w|Montgomery Burns}}, the implication being that like Burns, Romney was a corrupt out-of-touch plutocrat and had similar views and affectations. In this comic, Burns is substituted with Charlie Bucket, the main character of the 1964 {{w|Roald Dahl}} children's novel, ''{{w|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory}},'' adapted to film in 1971 as ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.''

The joke here is that the two categories of quotes are not at all similar, and thus are very easy to attribute. Where the question "Is there even a difference?" usually implies some kind of political satire, in this case the point of the quiz appears to be lost, leading to a situation of bewilderment for the reader.

The answers, which are given upside down so that the reader has a chance to complete the quiz before checking their work, are all correct.

The title text refers to a Romney comment on {{w|Medicare (United States)|Medicare}}, a national program launched in 1965 to provide health insurance to people age 65 and older, regardless of income or medical history. So the quote being used in a movie in 1971, while obviously not true, is indeed ''possible''. (Though, given that Charlie's supposed to have said it while floating in midair in the Fizzy Lifting Drinks scene, he'd have been more likely to be referring to ''himself'' as needing to regain "solid footing.")

==Transcript==
:[One long panel, with a large headline at the top, flanked by two small pictures on each side: a portrait of Mitt Romney on the left, and a child (Charlie Bucket) running with a golden ticket in his hand on the left. Below is a list numbered 1 - 12 down the left. The answers on the bottom are written upside down.]
:QUIZ: Who said it - former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, or Wonka contest winner Charlie Bucket?
:''Is there even a difference?''

:1. ———— "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country."
:2. ———— "Returning Medicare to solid footing represents our greatest entitlement challenge."
:3. ———— "Look, everyone, look, I've got it! The fifth golden ticket is mine!"
:4. ———— We have lost faith in government. Not in just one party, not in just one house, but in government."
:5. ———— "This banana's fantastic! It tastes so real."
:6. ———— "Grandpa... on the way home today, I ran into Mr. Slugworth."
:7. ———— "I'm not happy exporting jobs, but we must move ahead in technology and patents."
:8. ———— "Hey, the room is getting smaller."
:9. ———— "It would be impossible to reach unanimity on every aspect of our budget."
:10. ——— "Grandpa, look over there across the river! They're little men!"
:11. ——— "I'm... going too high! Hey, Grandpa, I can't get down! Help! Grandpa, the fan!"
:12. ——— "Barack Obama has failed America."

:Answers: Mitt Romney: 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 12; Charlie Bucket: 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

Talk:2072: Evaluating Tech Things

2025-07-25T17:21:49Z

SqueakSquawk4:

Do we need a reason to do things other than the fact it is freaking awesome? [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 17:42, 14 November 2018 (UTC)
:Look on the other end of the scale -- some of the freaking awesome things we do have devastating long term effects for all of humanity. But not this one. {...mentally weighing...} Probably. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 18:29, 14 November 2018 (UTC)

Ok, I'll setup the google alert: https://www.google.com/alerts/feeds/03781144062642195102/9931051611942254792 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.58|108.162.245.58]] 18:17, 14 November 2018 (UTC)

The Black Mirror-Mythbusters scale. Or, to give it it's proper name, the Brooker-Hyneman Scale. [[User:GranadalandDreamer|GranadalandDreamer]] ([[User talk:GranadalandDreamer|talk]]) 23:59, 14 November 2018 (UTC)
:lol, find it a little funny that it sounds almost like a real name. {{unsigned|Linker}}

I'm amazed that no one has flown a drone into a tornado yet. Or is it just that they've yet to recover any footage from the mangled remains of the poor smashed drones? --[[User:Quantum7|Quantum7]] ([[User talk:Quantum7|talk]]) 09:07, 15 November 2018 (UTC)

Explanation seems pretty complete. Anything missing really? The comic is not very deep to need a longer explanation than it currently is. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.207|172.69.134.207]] 11:16, 15 November 2018 (UTC)

Is Cueball vacillating over which opinion he has, or does he have both and is wondering which to express?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.32|162.158.94.32]] 13:03, 15 November 2018 (UTC)
:That's a good question. Aside from risk-taking inherent to any storm-chasing, the activity of flying a drone into a storm doesn't have any ''obvious'' ethical baggage. Maybe Randall has thought of something that I haven't? Either way, it's a less-than-ideal testcase to demonstrate the evaluation scale humorously or otherwise. [[User:Jameslucas|jameslucas]] ([[User talk:Jameslucas|" "]] / [[Special:Contributions/Jameslucas|+]]) 13:56, 15 November 2018 (UTC)
:If the dials above his head represent his thoughts, as suggested by the 2nd panel, then it is his actual opinion that he expresses in the end.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.20|162.158.94.20]] 14:22, 15 November 2018 (UTC)

Drones into a tornado is a thing.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1517270439/the-sirens-project-uav-tornado-research {{unsigned ip|162.158.78.166 }}
:No, not yet, the project is planned, but they need funding, and also make their actual idea work. But cool though. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:03, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

I don't even see this as a question. Of course it's massively cool. But the engineer in me is concerned about any drone being strong enough to not be completely destroyed before it gets close enough to return good data/video. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 20:21, 15 November 2018 (UTC)

I actually went through exactly this quandary when I walked through my living room a few nights ago and found my wife watching live open-heart surgery on the TV (UK - I don't know if this is a thing anywhere else). My dial is still quivering right in the middle as I'm fascinated, but wondering about the impact on "entertainment" and society's expectations thereof. [[User:Daemonik|Daemonik]] ([[User talk:Daemonik|talk]]) 11:44, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

I think Randall just tries to use his influence to get the job done. Just like he has experiences before with [[249: Chess Photo]] and [[225: Open Source]] (see [https://blog.xkcd.com/2007/04/19/life-imitates-xkcd-part-ii-richard-stallman/ Life Imitates xkcd]). See also the explanation for [[254: Comic Fragment]], which no one has enacted yet... This insight could be part of the explanation above, that Randall hopes alot of engineers will be inspired to try and maybe succeed in getting pictures and data from the inside of a tornado using drones. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:03, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

What about Twister??? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twister_(1996_film)/ Movie: Twister (1996 film)] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.96|162.158.106.96]] 15:23, 19 November 2018 (UTC)

Has now happened [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGD2e741Riw Inside the Arnett, OK tornado - May 18, 2025, The OTUS Project] [[Special:Contributions/172.69.214.113|172.69.214.113]] 14:19, 25 May 2025 (UTC)

:This should go in the main article somehow. Idk how to fit is in but it should [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 17:21, 25 July 2025 (UTC)

2104: Biff Tannen

2025-07-10T16:43:29Z

SqueakSquawk4: Typo + Formatting fix

{{comic
| number = 2104
| date = January 28, 2019
| title = Biff Tannen
| image = biff_tannen.png
| titletext = I can't help myself; now I want to read a bunch of thinkpieces from newspapers in Biff's 1985 arguing over whether the growth of the region into a corporate dystopia was inevitable.
}}

==Explanation==
Cueball is expounding a theory to White Hat regarding the alternate timeline seen in the movie ''{{w|Back to the Future II}}'', in which the character {{w|Biff Tannen}} stole a {{w|DeLorean time machine|time machine}} and used it to travel 60 years into the past to 1955. In that timeline, Future Biff gave his younger self a [https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Grays_Sports_Almanac sports almanac] containing 50 years of outcomes of sporting events, which enabled his younger self to earn millions from betting on {{w|horse races}} and other sporting events. The result is that the altered present of 1985 has become a corporate dystopia due to the actions of the exceedingly wealthy Biff and his company, BiffCo.

Cueball's theory is that the people now living in this dystopian 1985 would never know that their timeline was altered; as far as they are concerned, theirs ''is'' the true timeline. Because of this, they would seek to analyze every detail of Biff Tannen's rise to power, inventing their own theories as to his success and arguing with each other over the supporting evidence.

However, in the third panel, it becomes clear that this has all merely been Cueball's elaborate setup for a bad pun, causing White Hat to voice his disapproval.

;''Back to the Future II''
This comic is based on ''{{w|Back to the Future II}}''. In this movie, the character {{w|Biff Tannen}} steals the {{w|DeLorean time machine|time machine}}, which is the main plot device, and uses it to go back in time from 2015 to 1955. He then gives Marty McFly’s [https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Grays_Sports_Almanac sports almanac], containing the outcomes of 50 years (1950–2000) worth of sporting events, to his own younger self. His younger self uses this sports almanac to make millions by successfully betting on {{w|horse races}}. He then forms a company, and calls it [https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/BiffCo BiffCo]. In the movie, the protagonists reverse this, by going back to 1955 and stealing the almanac back soon after Biff delivered it. It is heavily implied that this universe, also called “[https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/1985A 1985A]” in the movie, stops existing after this change.

The movie is set in the fictional town of {{w|Hill Valley (Back to the Future)|Hill Valley, California}}. When the protagonists return to 1985, they find that Biff has turned the town’s “Courthouse Square” into a 27-story casino, and generally taken over Hill Valley. This has apparently resulted in the town being overrun by armed gangs, and beset by crime, violence, corruption, and an overall atmosphere of quasi-dystopian misery. This is what Cueball refers to as “the decline of the city, and general social decay”.

Further, a newspaper headline seen in that universe reads "{{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}} to Seek Fifth Term; Vows to End {{w|Vietnam War}} by 1985". Nixon was a notoriously corrupt President of the United States who was involved in a burglary of his political opponents' campaign headquarters (either through directly ordering it or in covering it up), and implicated in various related illegal and unethical activities. He resigned in 1974 after he came to believe he would be be convicted by the Senate and removed from office after he was impeached by the House.

The Vietnam War was a proxy war between the USA and USSR and their respective blocs, characterized by American efforts to eliminate communist-backed insurgents. In reality, real and perceived failures to make progress, and growing domestic opposition to the human and financial costs of the war, led to the withdrawal of all American armed forces by 1973.

This headline in the alternate timeline implies that Richard Nixon remained President until at least 1981. In reality, this would violate the {{w|Twenty-second Amendment|22nd Amendment}}, which limits Presidents to two four-year terms in office; hence, the headline implies that this amendment has been repealed or is being ignored. All of this suggests that the United States government has become much more authoritarian and corrupt in that universe. Further, the continuing Vietnam War would have resulted in millions more deaths and billions more dollars of additional direct and indirect losses than were caused in reality.

;Counterfactuals
Cueball mentions that this universe – that is, the 1985A ''Back to the Future'' timeline – would not have any ''counterfactuals'' to work with. This is often short, in {{w|epistemology}}, for {{w|counterfactual conditionals}}, that is, conditional statements about what ''would'' be true if something ''were'' true that we know for a fact is not true. Randall’s ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' series is based on counterfactuals, since it explores hypotheticals — conditionals which are contrary to fact. For example, the first “what if?” post, about what would happen if you tried to hit a baseball that was thrown at 90% the speed of light, is a counterfactual, because we know for a fact that a baseball has never been thrown at such a speed{{Citation needed}}. In the case of the 1985A universe, they would not have any information on the ''counterfactuals'', that is, the facts about [https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline_1 what would happen] if Biff did not have this almanac.

;''Hillbilly Elegy''
''{{w|Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis}}'' is a book published in June 2016 by {{w|JD Vance}}, who would later become Vice President for Trump's second term (though this was not expected when the comic was published). The book gives an account of growing up in a poor {{w|Rust Belt}} town, and gives a broader, probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class. This comic is a play on the title of this book, which has been described as explaining the “social, regional, and class” issues in white working-class America. The white American working class was a key factor in the {{w|2016 United States presidential election|election}} of U.S. President Donald Trump, and many critics have interpreted the book as an explanation of his election, which was deemed improbable by many analysts before it happened. {{w|Netflix}} had [https://deadline.com/2019/01/netflix-hillbilly-elegy-ron-howard-movie-deal-40m-1202541118/ purchased the rights] to an upcoming film adaptation of the book three days before this comic, prompting another wave of criticism of the book’s theories.

Cueball is proposing a similarly-titled book, set in the ''Back to the Future II'' 1985A timeline, that would describe the supposed factors leading to the rise of Biff Tannen in Hill Valley. In that universe, while the rise of Biff — and the subsequent decay of the city and other issues discussed above — is the result of his using a future sports almanac to cheat at sports betting, the rest of the population would have to guess at the structural societal issues that might have caused these otherwise inexplicable trends. Thus, Cueball compares such blind guessing with the analysis contained in ''Hillbilly Elegy''.

;White Hat’s reaction
This makes [[White Hat]] angry. This may be for various reasons:

* Because it’s such a painfully long setup for a really stupid pun.
* There is a decent chance that the book White Hat is currently reading is ''Hillbilly Elegy''. If he is enjoying it, this would make the joke more insulting to him, as it compares the book to useless theorizing about an event which was really caused by {{w|Time travel|time traveling}}.
* After seeing the similarity alluded to by Cueball between our current reality and a reality where the book ''Hill Valley Elegy'' is written, he might imagine that we may be living in a world in which Trump’s election was {{w|Determinism|predetermined}}, just as Biff’s rise to power was predetermined by time travel. If he opposes Donald Trump politically, it would probably frustrate him to imagine that being optimistic for the future would be in vain, as any social change he might hope for may be simply predetermined not to happen, perhaps by time travelers.

;Relationship to political events
[[Randall]] is known to have [[1756: I'm With Her|supported Hillary Clinton]], the main opponent of Donald Trump, in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, having made a comic just to promote her. This may add to explaining the comic in the following ways:

* Randall may have made this comic to disparage a book which supposedly explains the election of the candidate he opposed, by comparing it to useless (and wrong) theorizing.
* The comic may be intended as an insult to Trump himself, by comparing the {{w|Dystopia|dystopian}} 1985A universe, where Biff rose to power (albeit not as President) to the actual universe, where Trump was elected to the presidency.
* The comic may be an allusion to {{w|Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections|alleged Russian tampering}} of the 2016 U.S. elections: Randall may be proposing that it is futile to attribute Donald Trump’s rise to power to any set of structural societal issues that may have acted indirectly, while ignoring the hidden, speculated, but far more direct cause of foul play, just as it would be futile to analyze Biff Tannen’s rise to power by similar means, ignoring the impact of foul play via time travel and a sports almanac.

The title text continues the comparison to the election situation by mentioning thinkpieces from newspapers that would appear in the ''Back to the Future II'' 1985A universe in which Biff has taken over. Various thinkpieces did appear in real life newspapers in an attempt to explain Trump’s rise to power after his election, and asking whether it was inevitable.

As ''{{w|Back to the Future II}}''’s important [https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/October_21 October 2015] setting date approached, commentators began noting the similarities between the older version of the character Biff Tannen and then presidential candidate Donald Trump. When the comparison was brought to the attention of the film’s writer, {{w|Bob Gale}}, in an interview, he [https://www.thedailybeast.com/back-to-the-future-writer-biff-tannen-is-based-on-donald-trump# claimed] that elements of Tannen’s personality were actually based on Trump, who was already well known in the late 1980s for his work in real estate and tabloid controversies. Thus, there is a real connection between Biff Tannen and Donald Trump. This supports the comparison between the two made by Randall. That being said, actor {{w|Thomas F. Wilson|Tom Wilson}} has [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4lYCaFx3Og denied] that his performance of the role was in any way based on Trump.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball talks while walking up behind White Hat, who is reading in an armchair.]
:Cueball: You know, in the universe where Biff Tannen took Marty McFly’s sports almanac back in time, the people wouldn’t have any counterfactuals to work with.
:Cueball: Their world would be ''the'' world.

:[In a frame-less panel White Hat turns his head to look at Cueball as he keeps talking.]
:Cueball: They would have spent decades debating which structural problems enabled the rise of BiffCo, the decline of the city, and general social decay.
:Cueball: Everyone would find reasons it confirmed their pet theory.

:[White Hat turns his head back to his book.]
:Cueball: I'm going to write a book set in that universe. I'll call it ''Hill Valley Elegy''.
:White Hat: ... I ''hate'' you.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Back to the Future]]

2104: Biff Tannen

2025-07-10T16:39:57Z

SqueakSquawk4: Hillbilly Elegy was by JD Vance

{{comic
| number = 2104
| date = January 28, 2019
| title = Biff Tannen
| image = biff_tannen.png
| titletext = I can't help myself; now I want to read a bunch of thinkpieces from newspapers in Biff's 1985 arguing over whether the growth of the region into a corporate dystopia was inevitable.
}}

==Explanation==
Cueball is expounding a theory to White Hat regarding the alternate timeline seen in the movie ''{{w|Back to the Future II}}'', in which the character {{w|Biff Tannen}} stole a {{w|DeLorean time machine|time machine}} and used it to travel 60 years into the past to 1955. In that timeline, Future Biff gave his younger self a [https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Grays_Sports_Almanac sports almanac] containing 50 years of outcomes of sporting events, which enabled his younger self to earn millions from betting on {{w|horse races}} and other sporting events. The result is that the altered present of 1985 has become a corporate dystopia due to the actions of the exceedingly wealthy Biff and his company, BiffCo.

Cueball's theory is that the people now living in this dystopian 1985 would never know that their timeline was altered; as far as they are concerned, theirs ''is'' the true timeline. Because of this, they would seek to analyze every detail of Biff Tannen's rise to power, inventing their own theories as to his success and arguing with each other over the supporting evidence.

However, in the third panel, it becomes clear that this has all merely been Cueball's elaborate setup for a bad pun, causing White Hat to voice his disapproval.

;''Back to the Future II''
This comic is based on ''{{w|Back to the Future II}}''. In this movie, the character {{w|Biff Tannen}} steals the {{w|DeLorean time machine|time machine}}, which is the main plot device, and uses it to go back in time from 2015 to 1955. He then gives Marty McFly’s [https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Grays_Sports_Almanac sports almanac], containing the outcomes of 50 years (1950–2000) worth of sporting events, to his own younger self. His younger self uses this sports almanac to make millions by successfully betting on {{w|horse races}}. He then forms a company, and calls it [https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/BiffCo BiffCo]. In the movie, the protagonists reverse this, by going back to 1955 and stealing the almanac back soon after Biff delivered it. It is heavily implied that this universe, also called “[https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/1985A 1985A]” in the movie, stops existing after this change.

The movie is set in the fictional town of {{w|Hill Valley (Back to the Future)|Hill Valley, California}}. When the protagonists return to 1985, they find that Biff has turned the town’s “Courthouse Square” into a 27-story casino, and generally taken over Hill Valley. This has apparently resulted in the town being overrun by armed gangs, and beset by crime, violence, corruption, and an overall atmosphere of quasi-dystopian misery. This is what Cueball refers to as “the decline of the city, and general social decay”.

Further, a newspaper headline seen in that universe reads "{{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}} to Seek Fifth Term; Vows to End {{w|Vietnam War}} by 1985". Nixon was a notoriously corrupt President of the United States who was involved in a burglary of his political opponents' campaign headquarters (either through directly ordering it or in covering it up), and implicated in various related illegal and unethical activities. He resigned in 1974 after he came to believe he would be be convicted by the Senate and removed from office after he was impeached by the House.

The Vietnam War was a proxy war between the USA and USSR and their respective blocs, characterized by American efforts to eliminate communist-backed insurgents. In reality, real and perceived failures to make progress, and growing domestic opposition to the human and financial costs of the war, led to the withdrawal of all American armed forces by 1973.

This headline in the alternate timeline implies that Richard Nixon remained President until at least 1981. In reality, this would violate the {{w|Twenty-second Amendment|22nd Amendment}}, which limits Presidents to two four-year terms in office; hence, the headline implies that this amendment has been repealed or is being ignored. All of this suggests that the United States government has become much more authoritarian and corrupt in that universe. Further, the continuing Vietnam War would have resulted in millions more deaths and billions more dollars of additional direct and indirect losses than were caused in reality.

;Counterfactuals
Cueball mentions that this universe – that is, the 1985A ''Back to the Future'' timeline – would not have any ''counterfactuals'' to work with. This is often short, in {{w|epistemology}}, for {{w|counterfactual conditionals}}, that is, conditional statements about what ''would'' be true if something ''were'' true that we know for a fact is not true. Randall’s ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' series is based on counterfactuals, since it explores hypotheticals — conditionals which are contrary to fact. For example, the first “what if?” post, about what would happen if you tried to hit a baseball that was thrown at 90% the speed of light, is a counterfactual, because we know for a fact that a baseball has never been thrown at such a speed{{Citation needed}}. In the case of the 1985A universe, they would not have any information on the ''counterfactuals'', that is, the facts about [https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline_1 what would happen] if Biff did not have this almanac.

;''Hillbilly Elegy''
''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillbilly_Elegy Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis]'' is a book published in June 2016 by {{w|JD Vance}}, who would later become Vice President for Trump's second term (though this was not expected when the comic was published). The book gives an account of growing up in a poor {{w|Rust Belt}} town, and gives a broader, probing look at the struggles of America’s white working class. This comic is a play on the title of this book, which has been described as explaining the “social, regional, and class” issues in white working-class America. The white American working class was a key factor in the {{w|2016 United States presidential election|election}} of U.S. President Donald Trump, and many critics have interpreted the book as an explanation of his election, which was deemed improbable by many analysts before it happened. {{w|Netflix}} had [https://deadline.com/2019/01/netflix-hillbilly-elegy-ron-howard-movie-deal-40m-1202541118/ purchased the rights] to an upcoming film adaptation of the book three days before this comic, prompting another wave of criticism of the book’s theories.

Cueball is proposing a similarly-titled book, set in the ''Back to the Future II'' 1985A timeline, that would describe the supposed factors leading to the rise of Biff Tannen in Hill Valley. In that universe, while the rise of Biff — and the subsequent decay of the city and other issues discussed above — is the result of his using a future sports almanac to cheat at sports betting, the rest of the population would have to guess at the structural societal issues that might have caused these otherwise inexplicable trends. Thus, Cueball compares such blind guessing with the analysis contained in ''Hillbilly Elegy''.

;White Hat’s reaction
This makes [[White Hat]] angry. This may be for various reasons:

* Because it’s such a painfully long setup for a really stupid pun.
* There is a decent chance that the book White Hat is currently reading is ''Hillbilly Elegy''. If he is enjoying it, this would make the joke more insulting to him, as it compares the book to useless theorizing about an event which was really caused by {{w|Time travel|time traveling}}.
* After seeing the similarity alluded to by Cueball between our current reality and a reality where the book ''Hill Valley Elegy'' is written, he might imagine that we may be living in a world in which Trump’s election was {{w|Determinism|predetermined}}, just as Biff’s rise to power was predetermined by time travel. If he opposes Donald Trump politically, it would probably frustrate him to imagine that being optimistic for the future would be in vain, as any social change he might hope for may be simply predetermined not to happen, perhaps by time travelers.

;Relationship to political events
[[Randall]] is known to have [[1756: I'm With Her|supported Hillary Clinton]], the main opponent of Donald Trump, in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, having made a comic just to promote her. This may add to explaining the comic in the following ways:

* Randall may have made this comic to disparage a book which supposedly explains the election of the candidate he opposed, by comparing it to useless (and wrong) theorizing.
* The comic may be intended as an insult to Trump himself, by comparing the {{w|Dystopia|dystopian}} 1985A universe, where Biff rose to power (albeit not as President) to the actual universe, where Trump was elected to the presidency.
* The comic may be an allusion to {{w|Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections|alleged Russian tampering}} of the 2016 U.S. elections: Randall may be proposing that it is futile to attribute Donald Trump’s rise to power to any set of structural societal issues that may have acted indirectly, while ignoring the hidden, speculated, but far more direct cause of foul play, just as it would be futile to analyze Biff Tannen’s rise to power by similar means, ignoring the impact of foul play via time travel and a sports almanac.

The title text continues the comparison to the election situation by mentioning thinkpieces from newspapers that would appear in the ''Back to the Future II'' 1985A universe in which Biff has taken over. Various thinkpieces did appear in real life newspapers in an attempt to explain Trump’s rise to power after his election, and asking whether it was inevitable.

As ''{{w|Back to the Future II}}''’s important [https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/October_21 October 2015] setting date approached, commentators began noting the similarities between the older version of the character Biff Tannen and then presidential candidate Donald Trump. When the comparison was brought to the attention of the film’s writer, {{w|Bob Gale}}, in an interview, he [https://www.thedailybeast.com/back-to-the-future-writer-biff-tannen-is-based-on-donald-trump# claimed] that elements of Tannen’s personality were actually based on Trump, who was already well known in the late 1980s for his work in real estate and tabloid controversies. Thus, there is a real connection between Biff Tannen and Donald Trump. This supports the comparison between the two made by Randall. That being said, actor {{w|Thomas F. Wilson|Tom Wilson}} has [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4lYCaFx3Og denied] that his performance of the role was in any way based on Trump.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball talks while walking up behind White Hat, who is reading in an armchair.]
:Cueball: You know, in the universe where Biff Tannen took Marty McFly’s sports almanac back in time, the people wouldn’t have any counterfactuals to work with.
:Cueball: Their world would be ''the'' world.

:[In a frame-less panel White Hat turns his head to look at Cueball as he keeps talking.]
:Cueball: They would have spent decades debating which structural problems enabled the rise of BiffCo, the decline of the city, and general social decay.
:Cueball: Everyone would find reasons it confirmed their pet theory.

:[White Hat turns his head back to his book.]
:Cueball: I'm going to write a book set in that universe. I'll call it ''Hill Valley Elegy''.
:White Hat: ... I ''hate'' you.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Time travel]]
[[Category:Back to the Future]]

1912: Thermostat

2025-05-01T18:43:54Z

SqueakSquawk4: I'm so sorry but it doesn't say what "Partition the volume" is and I don't know in order to fix it so I've temporarily marked it as incomplete

{{comic
| number = 1912
| date = November 6, 2017
| title = Thermostat
| image = thermostat.png
| titletext = Your problem is so terrible, I worry that, if I help you, I risk drawing the attention of whatever god of technology inflicted it on you.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|What is "Partition the volume"?}}

[[Hairy]] is working at a tech support office, and receives a call from [[Cueball]]. After the scripted greeting, Cueball, who [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|has the most bizarre tech issues]], tells Hairy that his thermostat – a single-purpose device used to control indoor heating and air conditioning – is showing an error screen from the {{w|Android operating system}}, and asking if he wants to partition the volume. Android is a fairly common operating system for small smart devices including thermostats, but the error implies that it is trying to mount a file with {{w|.doc}} extension (likely a [[1459|Microsoft Word document]]) as the {{w|Boot_device|boot device}}. An added twist is the "(1)" in the filename, which is commonly appended when a user attempts to copy a file into a directory that already has a file with the same name. Furthermore, the extension {{w|.docx}} has been the default option from Microsoft Office 2007 onwards rather than the earlier .doc extension used in the comic, implying that the file is likely a rather old one.

The error message suggests a system problem at a low level of the device. Not only is the operating system missing, but the device is trying to locate the operating system inside a Microsoft Word document, something that has little to do with regulation of temperature and probably has no way of getting onto the device in the first place, let alone being considered as a bootable file.

This is so abnormal that Hairy is briefly struck silent and, upon recovering, he suggests Cueball {{tvtropes|SuicideBySea|walk into the sea}}, rather than try to solve the issue.

The title text elaborates that the situation is so absurd that it must be divine punishment, so Hairy does not want to try and help him for fear of invoking the wrath of whatever deity is issuing it.

Part of the humor is in the problem being only a slight exaggeration of real software issues. The symptoms are unlikely, yet possible (a thermostat could be running Android and could generate a report as a .doc file; given some data corruption, the name of the .doc file could get into the boot script and a volume could appear unpartitioned). It would take an expert Android or Unix engineer to fix, particularly on an embedded device with no obvious way to connect remotely or attach a keyboard. In real life, it would probably be easier to just replace an embedded device whose software was this broken.

This is explored further in [[2083: Laptop Issues]] where throwing Cueball into the ocean is mentioned. Both comics could explain the original "computer problem link to oceans" comic [[349: Success]].

==Transcript==
:[Hairy, with a headset on, is sitting in an office chair at a desk with his hands ready on the keyboard of his computer.]
:Hairy: Tech support, how can I help you?

:[Cueball is on his smartphone while looking at a small blinking panel on the wall in front of him.]
:Cueball: The little LCD on my thermostat says ''Error: Android system recovery: Unrecognized boot volume "/MONTHLY ENERGY REPORT (1).DOC"

:[In a frame-less beat panel Hairy just stares at his screen with his hands on his lap.]

:[Back to Cueball, now with Hairy's reply coming from the smartphone in a box with a jagged arrow pointing to the smartphone.]
:Cueball: It's asking if I want to partition the volume. What should I do?
:Hairy (on the phone): Have you tried walking into the sea.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]

96: Mail

2025-04-15T08:57:47Z

SqueakSquawk4: Chainsaws exist

{{comic
| number = 96
| date = May 1, 2006
| title = Mail
| image = mail.png
| titletext = I'm on the USPS no fly list
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]]'s interlocutor is working their way through a list of increasingly impractical or impossible suggestions for things to send through postal mail. The pay-off is that they have already somehow sent a package of time through the mail, and this is taking a while to arrive, presumably because the amount of time it will take to reach the recipient is equal to the amount of time being sent. By the time it reaches Cueball, the time will have passed, and therefore not be of much use.

The reference to a 'package of time' could refer to {{w|Chronon|quantizing time}} ("discrete packets of time") - a theory that time is not continuous, like particles in the {{w|quantum mechanics}}.

A no-fly list is a list of people who are not allowed to use commercial airlines for travel. In the United States, it is maintained by the {{w|Terrorist Screening Center}}. According to the title text, the person sending strange objects through mail is on a no-fly list for the {{w|United States Postal Service}} (USPS). While the USPS has a list of items banned from being shipped in the mail, which includes most consumer electronics with lithium batteries, it does not have such a list for people. This could suggest that this person has attempted to send so many strange items that USPS will no longer accept mail from him, or it could imply that they attempted, at one point, to send themselves via air mail, and have been banned from doing so again.

This comic might be related to {{w|W. Reginald Bray}}, an Englishman from the turn of the 20th century, who was famous for [https://books.google.com/books?id=a0lxQwAACAAJ&dq=%22The+Englishman+Who+Posted+Himself+And+Other+Curious+Objects%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiT7aCB5eTMAhUlzoMKHQJPBkYQ6AEIHTAA mailing unusual objects] (including himself) to experiment with the postal system.

A list of the things:

*''A running chainsaw'': While a chainsaw may be mailed with appropriate precautions, a running chainsaw would be very dangerous to mail, assuming there was a constant power source.{{Citation needed}} However, unlike the other suggestions, it is at least theoretically possible to mail a running chainsaw, as it's the only entirely physical object with a body that can be put in a container and handled by a mail worker.

*''A baby's first word'': This is a sound, and thus cannot be mailed. It could be recorded, and the recording mailed.

*''A blank stare'': This is abstract, and the closest to mailing it would be a picture.

*''A dizzying height'': Like the above, this is abstract. However, someone could conceivably package and mail a telescoping ladder, such that it would allow the recipient to reach a dizzying height.

*''Pi'': This is a mathematical term close to 3.141592653589793238462643383..., but it is infinitely precise and thus cannot be mailed to the full extent of its precision. However, with a compass and ruler, someone could draw a graph that would represent a line of length pi. (It would be considerably easier to mail pie, which is a homophone of pi...though also a poor substitute.)

*''Time'': This is completely abstract and cannot be mailed.{{Citation needed}}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is talking to someone through a phone.]
:Phone: Do you think I could mail a running chainsaw to someone?
:Cueball: I doubt it
:Phone: What about a baby's first word?
:Cueball: Look, your obsession with sending strange things through the mail is getting out of hand.

:Phone: Can you mail a blank stare?
:Phone: A dizzying height?
:Phone: Pi?
:Cueball: ...

:Phone: Well, did you at least get that package of time I sent you?
:Cueball: I... you... no, I didn't.
:Phone: Well, there was a lot of it, so it will probably take a while

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

Talk:3060: Omniroll

2025-03-08T21:02:14Z

SqueakSquawk4: Add comment

I wonder what the filling would be... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.20.143|172.69.20.143]] 02:35, 8 March 2025 (UTC)

At some point, this explanation will be complete. Then we can say "that's a wrap!"... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.190|172.69.79.190]] 02:36, 8 March 2025 (UTC)

The ''real'' fun would come if this became popular enough to gain its own Wikipedia page. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.252|162.158.33.252]] 03:13, 8 March 2025 (UTC)

People keep vandalizing it to add "Uranium Roll" and make the whole thing inedible. Not like it was getting eaten before, but still. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.159.66|172.71.159.66]] 03:20, 8 March 2025 (UTC)

This is reminiscent of the 2005 SNL skit [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evUWersr7pc Taco Town]. "''A crunchy all beef taco smothered in nacho cheese, lettuce, tomato, and special Southwestern sauce; wrapped in a soft flour tortilla with a layer of re-fried beans in between; wrapped in a savory corn tortilla with a middle layer of Monterrey jack cheese; wrapped in a deep fried gordita shell smeared with a layer of special 'guacomolito' sauce; wrapped in a corn husk filled with pico de gallo; wrapped in an authentic Parisian crepe filled with egg, gruyere, sausage and portobello mushrooms; wrapped in a Chicago-style, deep-dish, meat lover's pizza; rolled up in a blueberry pancake; dipped in batter and deep fried until it's golden brown; and served in a commemorative tote bag filled with spicy vegetarian chili.''" [[Special:Contributions/172.68.210.176|172.68.210.176]] 03:35, 8 March 2025 (UTC)
:I was thinking more along the lines of the everything bagel in ''Everything Everywhere All at Once''. [[User:TomtheBuilder|TomtheBuilder]] ([[User talk:TomtheBuilder|talk]]) 04:32, 8 March 2025 (UTC)
I'd instead sell "Fruit by the Foot" by the meter to get to a synthesis. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.78|172.70.174.78]] 09:07, 8 March 2025 (UTC)
What would happen if omniroll were added to that Wikipedia page? Would we have a "set of all sets that contain themself" nonsense?
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.49|162.158.155.49]] 14:51, 8 March 2025 (UTC)

Aaaand "Omniroll" has already been added to the Wikipedia list. Good job, everyone! [[Special:Contributions/104.23.190.119|104.23.190.119]] 17:40, 8 March 2025 (UTC)
: Oh dang, it's already been taken down. Sadge. [[Special:Contributions/104.23.187.173|104.23.187.173]] 17:47, 8 March 2025 (UTC)
:: The removal was tagged "The omniroll is not a real food, just an xkcd joke". Not with that attitude it isn't! I give us two days, and if no-one has done one in a week then I'll do it. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 21:02, 8 March 2025 (UTC)

MIght be worth a <nowiki>[[Category:Omni]]</nowiki>, or similar. [[2653: Omnitaur]] and [[2738: Omniknot]], at least, then this. Maybe other ones might be recalled, but not right now by me. (An actual vague search seems to have the search-site really want to bring to note {{what if|12}}, as using "omnidirectional", but doesn't really count for at least three reasons.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.58.5|172.70.58.5]] 17:43, 8 March 2025 (UTC)

3056: RNA

2025-02-27T14:14:24Z

SqueakSquawk4: Viruses might (might) be a second time life emerged.

{{comic
| number = 3056
| date = February 26, 2025
| title = RNA
| image = rna_2x.png
| imagesize = 566x291px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 2040s: RNA formed the basis for life each of the five known times it arose on the early Earth.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT FROM RNAWORLD. EARLY EXPLANATION THIS IS A BASE![''No, {{w|Uracil|this}} is a base!''] - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a comic about the evolution of our understanding {{w|DNA}} and {{w|RNA}} over time as we've done more research into how they figure into cellular and virus processes. In the 1960s, we had just started to understand the role of DNA. But, as the years progress, we realized RNA played a part (initially as an intemediary), and it turned weird as we learned that RNA's role is potentially as complex as DNA's, if not more. People now believe that life as we know it developed as RNA, and then evolved proteins and DNA later, this is called the "RNA world" theory.


The first panel shows the simplified (though incorrect) version of the {{w|central dogma}}, saying that RNA's sole function is to carry information from DNA to produce proteins.

The second panel shows the discovery that RNA itself can also catalyze reactions, like in {{w|ribozymes}}.

The third panel shows the more recent discovery of many different types of RNA that have numerous functions, like {{w|small interfering RNA|siRNA}} which acts in the {{w|RNA interference}} pathway, {{w|microRNA|miRNA}} which causes regulation of transcript expression, {{w|Piwi-interacting RNA|piRNA}} which regulates {{w|transposons}} and other genetic elements, and more.

The fourth panel explains that RNA seems to be the primary actor in life, and it merely uses DNA for permanent storage of information. In particular, DNA contains the genetic information that's copied when cells divide and when ova and sperm combine.

The title text [[605: Extrapolating|extrapolates]] from the fourth panel into the 2040s, where humans have learned that RNA was responsible for the formation of life on Earth, and that life formed on Earth five times. Of course, we currently only know of one time which life formed on Earth today.

At the present time, all types of life we know of today (or have evidence of having existed) seem highly likely to have arisen from the ultimate {{w|most recent common ancestor}} of every other example (Although it is hypothesised that Viruses {{w|Viral_evolution#Origins|may have evolved indepently of cellular life}}. Whether this can change for the 2040s is unknown. It might take more advanced study of ancient rocks, and the sheer good fortune to uncover/discover a suitably preserved 'bed' of alternate biochemistry, to establish decent evidence of some other origin(s) of life. Another possibility is that intense analysis of the current diversity of biology ''could'' extrapolate multiple origins for some of the chemical pathways that eventually became cooperative parts in some or all more recent forms of biological cell.

RNA has been mentioned previously in [[2425: mRNA Vaccine]], where the [[:Category:COVID-19 vaccine|COVID-19 vaccine]] is explained, and [[3002: RNAWorld]], in which Disney decides to capitalize on the success of RNA.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[In each panel, Cueball is standing in front of a poster. On the poster there is a picture of a double helix (presumably DNA) and some illegible text, although the poster is different in each panel. Each panel has a header indicating the decade in which it takes place.]

:'''1960s'''
:[Cueball has a hand up in an explanatory pose]
:Cueball: Life is based on DNA, which uses RNA to make proteins do stuff.

:'''1980s'''
:[Cueball faces towards the poster, with his hand on his chin.]
:Cueball: Also, the RNA does some stuff itself, which is weird.

:'''2000s'''
:[Cueball has his arms raised in the air.]
: Cueball: There are so many types of RNA. It's doing ''so'' much stuff!

:'''2020s'''
:[Cueball has both his hands down]
:Cueball: Life is a seething mass of RNA that sometimes uses DNA to take notes.
:Person out of frame: What do the proteins do?
:Cueball: Errands for RNA.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Biology]]

3054: Scream Cipher

2025-02-21T19:39:59Z

SqueakSquawk4: Adding worked example

{{comic
| number = 3054
| date = February 21, 2025
| title = Scream Cipher
| image = scream_cipher_2x.png
| imagesize = 287x416px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = AAAAAA A ÃA̧AȂA̦ ǍÅÂÃĀÁȂ AAAAAAA!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A ÃA̧ȂÁAǍẢÂA̋ ȦÅĀ - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|Cipher}} is a method of encryption, where characters or sometimes words are substituted for other characters in a set pattern, allowing for arbitrary strings to be enciphered using it. The complexity and strength of ciphers varies, from {{w|one-time pads}} and {{w|enigma_(Cipher|Enigma}} as the strongest and most complex, to {{w|substitution ciphers}} as some of the weakest and least complex, where each character is simply given a set different symbol to represent it in the cipher.

This comic uses a subtitution cipher, where all the letters of the English Alphabet are represented using the letter A, with different {{w|diacritical marks}} to define the differences. This cipher would not make a very practical cipher in real life, as the similarities in the letters would make the cipher hard to read and easy to misread, and the detail in the diacritical marks would make it easy to draw the As incorrectly or ambigously, potentially leading to [[3003: Sandwich Helix|part of the message being lost.]]

It's named "Scream Cipher" (as a pun on stream ciphers, commonly used in computing) because the written form of a scream is a long string of As, possibly with some other characters at the end (and often an exclamation point for emphasis), such as "Aaaaaah!" or "Aaaaaaagh!". The name is not a reference to IBM's {{w|Scream_(cipher)|Scream cipher}} published in 2002.

In the comic, [[Cueball]] texts the cipher for "HELLO", and [[Megan]] responds with the cipher for "HI".

The title text deciphers to "AAAAAA A SCARY MONSTER AAAAAA!"

You can translate text to and from Scream Cipher using [https://github.com/matthewpwatkins/scream-cipher/ the Scream Cipher Translator].

Another recent comic featuring all A's was [[2957: A Crossword Puzzle]].

==Worked example==



Say we want to encode "Scream" in the Scream Cipher. First we would need to split out word into the letters, so S, C, R, E, A, M.

The first letter is S, so if we go to S in the table S is shown to become to Ǎ, C similarly becomes A̧, R becomes Ȃ, E corresponds to Ȃ, A is the main letter so A is unchanged to A, and M becomes Ǎ. If we then write them again in order, we find SCREAM becomes ǍA̧ȂȂAǍ.

To turn cipher text back into normal text, the process is repeated in reverse. To translate A̧ẢA̯A̰ȂȂ, we go to A̧ in the table and find A̧ becomes C. Ả similarly becomes I, A̯ becomes P, A̰ becomes H, Ȃ becomes E, and Ȃ becomes R. If we write the letters in order, we see that A̧ẢA̯A̰ȂȂ becomes CIPHER.

The symmetry of subtitution ciphers is apparent in the example, as in the SCREAM example R becomes Ȃ and E becomes Ȃ, and in the CIPHER example in the opposite direction Ȃ goes back to being R, and Ȃ goes back to being E, though in a different order.

==Table==

The {{w|Unicode}} names of the characters in the cipher are as follows:

{|class="wikitable"
! Input !! colspan=2 | Substitution
|-
| U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A || A || '''U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A
|-
| U+0042 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B || Ȧ || '''U+0226 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOT ABOVE
|-
| U+0043 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C || A̧ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0327 COMBINING CEDILLA
|-
| U+0044 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D || A̲ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0332 COMBINING LOW LINE
|-
| U+0045 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E || Ȃ || '''U+00C1 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH ACUTE
|-
| U+0046 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F || A̮ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+032E COMBINING BREVE BELOW
|-
| U+0047 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G || A̋ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+030B COMBINING DOUBLE ACUTE ACCENT
|-
| U+0048 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H || A̰ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0330 COMBINING TILDE BELOW
|-
| U+0049 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I || Ả || '''U+1EA2 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH HOOK ABOVE
|-
| U+004A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J || A̓ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0313 COMBINING COMMA ABOVE
|-
| U+004B LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K || Ạ || '''U+1EA0 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOT BELOW
|-
| U+004C LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L || Ă || '''U+0102 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH BREVE
|-
| U+004D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M || Ǎ || '''U+01CD LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CARON
|-
| U+004E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N || Â || '''U+00C2 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX
|-
| U+004F LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O || Å || '''U+00C5 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE
|-
| U+0050 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P || A̯ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+032F COMBINING INVERTED BREVE BELOW
|-
| U+0051 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q || A̤ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0324 COMBINING DIAERESIS BELOW
|-
| U+0052 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R || Ȃ || '''U+0202 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH INVERTED BREVE
|-
| U+0053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S || Ã || '''U+00C3 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH TILDE
|-
| U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T || Ā || '''U+0100 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH MACRON
|-
| U+0055 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U || Ä || '''U+00C4 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS
|-
| U+0056 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V || À || '''U+00C0 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH GRAVE
|-I'll
| U+0057 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W || Ȁ || '''U+0200 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOUBLE GRAVE
|-
| U+0058 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X || A̽ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+033D COMBINING X ABOVE
|-
| U+0059 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y || A̦ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0326 COMBINING COMMA BELOW
|-
| U+005A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z || Ⱥ || '''U+023A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH STROKE
|}

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

:[Top of the panel has 26 letters of the alphabet, each followed by a hyphen and the letter "A" with a unique diacritical mark for each:]
:{|
|A - A
|-
|B - Ȧ
|G - A̋
|L - Ă
|Q - A̤
|V - À
|-
|C - A̧
|H - A̰
|M - Ǎ
|R - Ȃ
|W - Ȁ
|-
|D - A̲
|I - Ả
|N - Â
|S - Ã
|X - A̽
|-
|E - Á
|J - A̓
|O - Å
|T - Ā
|Y - A̦
|-
|F - A̮
|K - Ạ
|P - A̯
|U - Ä
|Z - Ⱥ
|}

:[Cueball and Megan typing on their phones, Cueball with two hands and Megan with one hand.]
:Cueball's phone: A̰ÁĂĂÅ
:Megan's phone: A̰Ả

:[Caption below the panel:]
:In the ''Scream Cipher'', messages consist of all As, with different letters distinguished using diacritics.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]

3054: Scream Cipher

2025-02-21T19:20:44Z

SqueakSquawk4: Typo correction

{{comic
| number = 3054
| date = February 21, 2025
| title = Scream Cipher
| image = scream_cipher_2x.png
| imagesize = 287x416px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = AAAAAA A ÃA̧AȂA̦ ǍÅÂÃĀÁȂ AAAAAAA!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A ÃA̧ȂÁAǍẢÂA̋ ȦÅĀ - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|Cipher}} is a method of encryption, where characters or sometimes words are substituted for other characters in a set pattern, allowing for arbitrary strings to be enciphered using it. The complexity and strength of ciphers varies, from {{w|one-time pads}} and {{w|enigma_(Cipher|Enigma}} as the strongest and most complex, to {{w|substitution ciphers}} as some of the weakest and least complex, where each character is simply given a set different symbol to represent it in the cipher.

This comic uses a subtitution cipher, where all the letters of the English Alphabet are represented using the letter A, with different {{w|diacritical marks}} to define the differences. This cipher would not make a very practical cipher in real life, as the similarities in the letters would make the cipher hard to read and easy to misread, and the detail in the diacritical marks would make it easy to draw the As incorrectly or ambigously, potentially leading to [[3003: Sandwich Helix|part of the message being lost.]]

It's named "Scream Cipher" (as a pun on stream ciphers, commonly used in computing) because the written form of a scream is a long string of As, possibly with some other characters at the end (and often an exclamation point for emphasis), such as "Aaaaaah!" or "Aaaaaaagh!". The name is not a reference to IBM's {{w|Scream_(cipher)|Scream cipher}} published in 2002.

In the comic, [[Cueball]] texts the cipher for "HELLO", and [[Megan]] responds with the cipher for "HI".

The title text deciphers to "AAAAAA A SCARY MONSTER AAAAAA!"

Another recent comic featuring all A's was [[2957: A Crossword Puzzle]].

Unicode description of the cipher:

{|class="wikitable"
! Input !! colspan=2 | Substitution
|-
| U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A || A || '''U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A
|-
| U+0042 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B || Ȧ || '''U+0226 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOT ABOVE
|-
| U+0043 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C || A̧ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0327 COMBINING CEDILLA
|-
| U+0044 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D || A̲ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0332 COMBINING LOW LINE
|-
| U+0045 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E || Á || '''U+00C1 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH ACUTE
|-
| U+0046 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F || A̮ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+032E COMBINING BREVE BELOW
|-
| U+0047 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G || A̋ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+030B COMBINING DOUBLE ACUTE ACCENT
|-
| U+0048 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H || A̰ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0330 COMBINING TILDE BELOW
|-
| U+0049 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I || Ả || '''U+1EA2 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH HOOK ABOVE
|-
| U+004A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J || A̓ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0313 COMBINING COMMA ABOVE
|-
| U+004B LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K || Ạ || '''U+1EA0 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOT BELOW
|-
| U+004C LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L || Ă || '''U+0102 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH BREVE
|-
| U+004D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M || Ǎ || '''U+01CD LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CARON
|-
| U+004E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N || Â || '''U+00C2 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX
|-
| U+004F LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O || Å || '''U+00C5 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE
|-
| U+0050 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P || A̯ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+032F COMBINING INVERTED BREVE BELOW
|-
| U+0051 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q || A̤ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0324 COMBINING DIAERESIS BELOW
|-
| U+0052 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R || Ȃ || '''U+0202 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH INVERTED BREVE
|-
| U+0053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S || Ã || '''U+00C3 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH TILDE
|-
| U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T || Ā || '''U+0100 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH MACRON
|-
| U+0055 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U || Ä || '''U+00C4 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS
|-
| U+0056 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V || À || '''U+00C0 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH GRAVE
|-I'll
| U+0057 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W || Ȁ || '''U+0200 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOUBLE GRAVE
|-
| U+0058 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X || A̽ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+033D COMBINING X ABOVE
|-
| U+0059 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y || A̦ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0326 COMBINING COMMA BELOW
|-
| U+005A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z || Ⱥ || '''U+023A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH STROKE
|}

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

:[Top of the panel has 26 letters of the alphabet, each followed by a hyphen and the letter "A" with a unique diacritical mark for each:]
:{|
|A - A
|-
|B - Ȧ
|G - A̋
|L - Ă
|Q - A̤
|V - À
|-
|C - A̧
|H - A̰
|M - Ǎ
|R - Ȃ
|W - Ȁ
|-
|D - A̲
|I - Ả
|N - Â
|S - Ã
|X - A̽
|-
|E - Á
|J - A̓
|O - Å
|T - Ā
|Y - A̦
|-
|F - A̮
|K - Ạ
|P - A̯
|U - Ä
|Z - Ⱥ
|}

:[Cueball and Megan typing on their phones, Cueball with two hands and Megan with one hand.]
:Cueball's phone: A̰ÁĂĂÅ
:Megan's phone: A̰Ả

:[Caption below the panel:]
:In the ''Scream Cipher'': AAAAAA A ÃA̧AȂA̦ ǍÅÂÃĀÁȂ AAAAAAA!
:Message consists of all As, with different letters distinguished using diacritics.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]

3054: Scream Cipher

2025-02-21T19:20:08Z

SqueakSquawk4: Writing a lot of the page

{{comic
| number = 3054
| date = February 21, 2025
| title = Scream Cipher
| image = scream_cipher_2x.png
| imagesize = 287x416px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = AAAAAA A ÃA̧AȂA̦ ǍÅÂÃĀÁȂ AAAAAAA!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A ÃA̧ȂÁAǍẢÂA̋ ȦÅĀ - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A {{w|Cipher}} is a method of encryption, where characters or sometimes words are substituted for other characters in a set pattern, allowing for arbitrary strings to be enciphered using it. The complexity and strength of ciphers varies, from {{w|one-time pads}} and {{w|enigma_(Cipher|Enigma}} as the strongest and most complex, so {{w|substitution ciphers}} as some of the weakest and least complex, where each character is simply given a set different symbol to represent it in the cipher.

This comic uses a subtitution cipher, where all the letters of the English Alphabet are represented using the letter A, with different {{w|diacritical marks}} to define the differences. This cipher would not make a very practical cipher in real life, as the similarities in the letters would make the cipher hard to read and easy to misread, and the detail in the diacritical marks would make it easy to draw the As incorrectly or ambigously, potentially leading to [[3003: Sandwich Helix|part of the message being lost.]]

It's named "Scream Cipher" (as a pun on stream ciphers, commonly used in computing) because the written form of a scream is a long string of As, possibly with some other characters at the end (and often an exclamation point for emphasis), such as "Aaaaaah!" or "Aaaaaaagh!". The name is not a reference to IBM's {{w|Scream_(cipher)|Scream cipher}} published in 2002.

In the comic, [[Cueball]] texts the cipher for "HELLO", and [[Megan]] responds with the cipher for "HI".

The title text deciphers to "AAAAAA A SCARY MONSTER AAAAAA!"

Another recent comic featuring all A's was [[2957: A Crossword Puzzle]].

Unicode description of the cipher:

{|class="wikitable"
! Input !! colspan=2 | Substitution
|-
| U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A || A || '''U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A
|-
| U+0042 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER B || Ȧ || '''U+0226 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOT ABOVE
|-
| U+0043 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C || A̧ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0327 COMBINING CEDILLA
|-
| U+0044 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER D || A̲ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0332 COMBINING LOW LINE
|-
| U+0045 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER E || Á || '''U+00C1 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH ACUTE
|-
| U+0046 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F || A̮ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+032E COMBINING BREVE BELOW
|-
| U+0047 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER G || A̋ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+030B COMBINING DOUBLE ACUTE ACCENT
|-
| U+0048 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER H || A̰ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0330 COMBINING TILDE BELOW
|-
| U+0049 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER I || Ả || '''U+1EA2 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH HOOK ABOVE
|-
| U+004A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER J || A̓ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0313 COMBINING COMMA ABOVE
|-
| U+004B LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K || Ạ || '''U+1EA0 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOT BELOW
|-
| U+004C LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L || Ă || '''U+0102 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH BREVE
|-
| U+004D LATIN CAPITAL LETTER M || Ǎ || '''U+01CD LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CARON
|-
| U+004E LATIN CAPITAL LETTER N || Â || '''U+00C2 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX
|-
| U+004F LATIN CAPITAL LETTER O || Å || '''U+00C5 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH RING ABOVE
|-
| U+0050 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P || A̯ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+032F COMBINING INVERTED BREVE BELOW
|-
| U+0051 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q || A̤ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0324 COMBINING DIAERESIS BELOW
|-
| U+0052 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER R || Ȃ || '''U+0202 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH INVERTED BREVE
|-
| U+0053 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S || Ã || '''U+00C3 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH TILDE
|-
| U+0054 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T || Ā || '''U+0100 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH MACRON
|-
| U+0055 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U || Ä || '''U+00C4 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DIAERESIS
|-
| U+0056 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER V || À || '''U+00C0 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH GRAVE
|-I'll
| U+0057 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER W || Ȁ || '''U+0200 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH DOUBLE GRAVE
|-
| U+0058 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER X || A̽ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+033D COMBINING X ABOVE
|-
| U+0059 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Y || A̦ || U+0041 LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A, U+0326 COMBINING COMMA BELOW
|-
| U+005A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z || Ⱥ || '''U+023A LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A WITH STROKE
|}

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

:[Top of the panel has 26 letters of the alphabet, each followed by a hyphen and the letter "A" with a unique diacritical mark for each:]
:{|
|A - A
|-
|B - Ȧ
|G - A̋
|L - Ă
|Q - A̤
|V - À
|-
|C - A̧
|H - A̰
|M - Ǎ
|R - Ȃ
|W - Ȁ
|-
|D - A̲
|I - Ả
|N - Â
|S - Ã
|X - A̽
|-
|E - Á
|J - A̓
|O - Å
|T - Ā
|Y - A̦
|-
|F - A̮
|K - Ạ
|P - A̯
|U - Ä
|Z - Ⱥ
|}

:[Cueball and Megan typing on their phones, Cueball with two hands and Megan with one hand.]
:Cueball's phone: A̰ÁĂĂÅ
:Megan's phone: A̰Ả

:[Caption below the panel:]
:In the ''Scream Cipher'': AAAAAA A ÃA̧AȂA̦ ǍÅÂÃĀÁȂ AAAAAAA!
:Message consists of all As, with different letters distinguished using diacritics.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]

Talk:3054: Scream Cipher

2025-02-21T18:59:29Z

SqueakSquawk4:

Anyone know a good free all-language OCR tool to help with the transcript? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.67.156|172.69.67.156]] 17:30, 21 February 2025 (UTC)
: Found one here: https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/diacritics.htm --mezimm [[Special:Contributions/172.68.2.70|172.68.2.70]] 17:52, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

The written cipher is very interesting, but where can I hear recordings of the spoken form? [[Special:Contributions/Rockymountain|Rockymountain]] 17:31, 21 February 2025 (UTC)
: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL4piuUn5nc Here ya go.] --mezimm [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.117|172.68.35.117]] 17:54, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Are Cueball and Megan millenials? Who else would text greetings when they're standing right next to each other? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:38, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Likely a pun on "stream cipher"

- Related reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scream_(cipher) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.229|172.68.26.229]] 17:46, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

A̦ÅÄ ẠÂÅȀ, A̓A̅ ȀÅÄĂA̱ ȦÁ ÂÁAĂĂA̦ A̮ÄÂÂA̦ A̓A̮ ȀÁ A̱A̓A̱ A ÀÁÂÃA̓ÅÂ ÅA̮ A̅A̰A̓Ã A̭AA̋Á A̓Â A̅A̰A̓Ã ÃA̅A̦ĂÁ! --mezimm [[Special:Contributions/172.68.3.112|172.68.3.112]] 17:50, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

On Wikifunctions, we implemented the two functions [https://www.wikifunctions.org/view/en/Z22725 to Scream Cipher] and [https://www.wikifunctions.org/view/en/Z22728 from Scream Cipher] --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.38.235|172.70.38.235]] 18:09, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Is there a logic behind the choices of the letter? I guess A̧ is for C because of the French ç and Å is pronounced like O in some Nordic languages. Also, is it A̱, A̲ or A̲ ? (or something else). [[Special:Contributions/172.71.126.50|172.71.126.50]] 18:10, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

I give it a week for people to make a translator to and from this cipher. [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 18:20, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Numbers should be variations of h and/or g. [[User:Andyd273|Andyd273]] ([[User talk:Andyd273|talk]]) 18:32, 21 February 2025 (UTC)#
:H > g [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:59, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

Using ''sed'' you can encode with <code>sed 's/C/A̧/g;s/D/A̲/g;s/F/A̮/g;s/G/A̋/g;s/H/A̰/g;s/J/A̓/g;s/P/A̯/g;s/Q/A̤/g;s/X/A̽/g;s/Y/A̦/g;y/BEIKLMNORSTUVWZ/ȦÁẢẠĂǍÂÅȂÃĀÄÀȀȺ/'</code> and decode with <code>sed 's/A̧/C/g;s/A̲/D/g;s/A̮/F/g;s/A̋/G/g;s/A̰/H/g;s/A̓/J/g;s/A̯/P/g;s/A̤/Q/g;s/A̽/X/g;s/A̦/Y/g;y/ȦÁẢẠĂǍÂÅȂÃĀÄÀȀȺ/BEIKLMNORSTUVWZ/'</code>. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.102|162.158.159.102]] 18:41, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

It would be really funny if someone added an image of Bill Cipher screaming, with the tag "A screaming cipher". It wouldn't reall fit but it'd be funny [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:59, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

3026: Linear Sort

2024-12-18T16:24:15Z

SqueakSquawk4: Small joke

{{comic
| number = 3026
| date = December 18, 2024
| title = Linear Sort
| image = linear_sort_2x.png
| imagesize = 385x181px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The best case is O(n), and the worst case is that someone checks why.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created in Θ(N) TIME by an iterative Insertion Sorter working on a multidimensional array - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A common task in programming is to sort a list, a list being a collection of related elements of data that are stored in a linear fashion. There are dozens of algorithms that have been created through the years, from simple to complex, and each has its own merits with regards to how easy it is to understand / implement vs. how efficiently it operates on the data.

The efficiency of an algorithm is measured in terms of O(), commonly referred to as "Big-O", which classifies the amount of time needed to execute the algorithm with respect to the size of the data. Specifically, the Big-O assignment describes the change in execution time when the size of the data set changes (typically, when it doubles). There are various measures of efficiency, such as:
<ul><li>O(1) - Constant, which means the execution time is independent of the size of the data</li>
<li>O(n) - Linear, which means the execution time varies in direct proportion to the size of the data</li>
<li>O(n log n) - "n log n", usually assigned to the fastest sorting algorithms</li>
<li>O(n2) - Quadratic", meaning the execution time is proportional to the square of the size of the data.</li></ul>
It can be proven that the best general-purpose sorting methods are "n log n". Thus, a sorting algorithm in linear time does not actually exist.

In computer science, the complexity of a problem can be described using {{w|Big O Notation}}. Operations generally take longer when they act on more elements (notated as "n"). A linear algorithm would be very simple: each element would take a short amount of time on its own, so the time it takes would be a multiple of the size of the list. For instance, if it takes one second to look at a picture, it would take ten seconds to look at ten pictures. So "look at a list of pictures" is a linear operation and would be described as having complexity O(n).

Sorting is more complex. The time it takes to sort a list of items grows quickly as you add more items to the list. The complexity of sorting algorithms generally ranges from O(n^2) to O(n*log n). For example, one way to sort is to look at all the values to find the first item, then look at all the values to find the second item, and so on until you've positioned every item in the right place. If "looking at a number" takes one second, then you could sort a list of 2 numbers in 4 seconds: look at both numbers, then look at them a second time. Sorting 3 numbers would take 9 seconds: look at all 3 numbers 3 times to find the right position. Sorting a deck of cards this way would take 52*52 seconds = about 45 minutes. You can probably read a card more quickly than that, but the point is that the amount of time it takes to sort a list grows faster the more items you are looking at. This is not the most efficient way to sort, but it gets the job done.

The 'linear' sort here uses the less efficient {{w|merge sort}} rather than linear taking linearithmic, or O(n * log n) time. It does not matter, however, because it `sleep()`s for 1e6 (1 million) seconds per item in the list by sleeping for that length of time minus the time it actually took -- converting it by brute force to linear time that is so slow that it will not overcome the O(n * log n) term for large datasets. It's linear because it's guaranteed to take a million seconds for every element in the list (regardless of how long that actual sort really took); double the list size doubles the number of millions of seconds it takes. No matter how inefficient the actual sort method is, it is very unlikely it would take longer than a million seconds per element (unless some super inefficient algorithm is used, e.g. BogoSort). It should be noted that for sufficiently large lists, Mergesort will take longer than the 1e6 seconds, at which point the sorting algorithm will stop being linear anyway. However, this issue will only arise at impractically huge lists (though with the extreme lengths of this proposed sorting algorithm, one could argue any length of list is impractically huge).

The title text refers to the {{w|Best, worst and average case|best and worst case}} of the sort. The joke is that by making the "best case" linear so bad that it is worse than the worst case, the real best case is someone just trusting that a "linear sort" is best and not questioning why it's so slow. The worst case now is someone investigating how it's possible a sort could be taking a million seconds per element and discovering the deception in the code.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[The panel shows five lines of code:]
:function LinearSort(list):
::StartTime=Time()
::MergeSort(list)
::Sleep(1e6*length(list)-(Time()-StartTime))
::return

:[Caption below the panel:]
:How to sort a list in linear time

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Programming]]

2969: Vice President First Names

2024-08-27T19:23:09Z

SqueakSquawk4: Add wikilinks for Josh, Mark, Andy, Roy, and Pete

{{comic
| number = 2969
| date = August 7, 2024
| title = Vice President First Names
| image = vice_president_first_names_2x.png
| imagesize = 364x556px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = [Political pundit on the ScrabbleTV News channel] "After four years of defying orthographic pressure, Joe ceded the top of the ticket to Kamala, who--after considering Josh, Mark, Andy, Roy, and Pete--picked Tim."
}}

==Explanation==
Randall observes that American {{w|Vice President of the United States|Vice Presidents}} since the 1980s have almost all gone by short first names. It should be noted that all of the "short" first names in this strip, with the exception of John (F. Kennedy) are diminutives (or initials) of longer names, but all represent the names which the candidates preferred and publicly used. This comic was published one day after {{w|Kamala Harris}} (who replaced Biden as presidential candidate) chose {{w|Tim Walz}} as her running mate for the {{w|2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election}}. Both the Republican and Democratic tickets are listed for 2024, since the 2024 election had not yet concluded when this comic was made. Either party winning would match the observation.

In the comic's caption, Randall amusingly describes this as an emerging "political consensus."

While not a "political" consensus per se, the observed phenomenon is a type of consensus — reflecting a multi-decade change in US societal norms — and is not simply a random coincidence.
* There has been a national US trend toward shorter names since the 1980s and 1990s, with a rise in the popularity of baby names like Ryan, Kyle, Amy and Lisa. (The trend has continued, with even shorter names like Ava, Mia and Max becoming more common in the 2000s and 2010s.)
* This has paralleled a trend in shorter business names, with companies like Dell, Cisco and eBay before the turn of the millennium and Google, Uber and Lyft after (cf. pre-1980 businesses like AT&T, BNSF or 3M which had to convert their very long names into acronyms to adapt). Product naming also began to simplify in the late 20th century, driven by marketing strategies that favored brevity and memorability, exemplified by Apple's iconic "iMac" and "iPhone" products.
* All of these naming trends reflect a ''general'' societal trend toward minimalism and less formality, also seen with corporate logos, product design (Apple), clothing design (Gap), furniture design (IKEA) and web/app design.

This societal shift may explain why many politicians with given names like Albert and Richard might have preferred to go by shorter, less formal sounding, more approachable names like Al and Dick, to match the zeitgeist.

That Vice Presidents have used shorter names than Presidents since the 1980s is an interesting coincidence (more discussion below). Most of the Presidents since the 1980s happened to have names (such as George, Barack and Kamala) that can't be easily shortened. And the exception, Donald Trump (which can be shortened to Don), did not become a politician until the nice age of 69, when he was already nationally famous using his full name.

The '''title text''' amusingly suggests (1) the existence of a ScrabbleTV News channel (named after {{w|Scrabble|the word game}}) staffed with (2) political pundits who (3) report Biden's decision to end his re-election campaign as being driven by orthographic (related to the writing of words) pressure to conform to the aforementioned political consensus. Having Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as VP violated this pattern, but elevating Harris to the presidency and selecting a short-named running mate restored it. Like Tim Walz, all of the final six candidates considered as Harris's running mate had short first names: {{w|Josh Shapiro}}, {{w|Mark Kelly}}, {{w|Andy Beshear}}, {{w|Roy Cooper}} and {{w|Pete Buttigieg}}.
* This could also be a subtle joke about political pundits tending to give confident, inaccurate hot-takes. (Biden's decision was driven, among other things, by worsening polling, rising concerns about his age, a poor debate performance against Trump and subsequent pressure from other leading Democrats.)

This is Randall's second recent comic about US politics and Kamala Harris, the first being [[2962: President Venn Diagram]] which was published right after she rose to the top of the Democratic ticket.

===Observations===
It is interesting that, even ignoring the stricter definition of having less than four letters in their name, only four pairings have a Presidential given (or adopted) name that is shorter than the Vice-Presidential one, and just two further cases (one of these not involved in winning an election) have equal length names.

===Contextual table of names===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Presidential and Vice-Presidential names, for the period within the comic, in chronological order.
! Year !! President !! Vice-President
|-
| 1952 (also 1956) || '''Dwight''' David "Ike"<ref name="ike">"Ike" was a shared nickname within the ''Ei''senhower family ("Big Ike", "Little Ike"), which became {{w|Ike for President (advertisement)|commonly used}} for himself, though never became a full replacement of his chosen (re-arranged) 'first' name.</ref> {{w|Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower}} ''born David Dwight "Little Ike" Eisenhower'' || '''Richard''' Milhous {{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}}
|-
| 1960 || style="background-color:lightyellow" | '''John''' "Jack" Fitzgerald {{w|John F. Kennedy|Kennedy}} || '''Lyndon''' Baines {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson}}
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1963<ref name="dallas">JFK's assassination meant LBJ acceded to the role, but under the Constitution as in effect at the time, he could not appoint a new Vice-President prior to his subsequent re-election bid.</ref> (Not in comic.) || colspan="2" | '''Lyndon''' B. Johnson
|-
| 1964 || '''Lyndon''' B. Johnson || '''Hubert''' Horatio {{w|Hubert Humphrey|Humphrey}} Jr.
|-
| 1968 (also 1972) || ‎'''Richard''' Nixon || '''Spiro''' Theodore {{w|Spiro Agnew|Agnew}}
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1973<ref name="watergate">Changes occuring within a Presidential term, in response to an emerging political scandal</ref> || '''Richard''' Nixon || '''Gerald''' Rudolph {{w|Gerald Ford|Ford}} Jr ''born Leslie Lynch King Jr.''
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1974<ref name="watergate"/> || ‎'''Gerald''' Ford || '''Nelson''' Aldrich {{w|Nelson Rockefeller|Rockefeller}}*
|-
| 1976 || ‎James "'''Jimmy'''" Earl {{w|Jimmy Carter|Carter}} Jr. || '''Walter''' Frederick "Fritz" {{w|Walter Mondale|Mondale}}
|-
| 1980 (also 1984) || '''Ronald''' Wilson {{w|Ronald Reagan|Reagan}} || '''George''' Herbert Walker {{w|George H. W. Bush|Bush}}
|-
| 1988 || '''George''' H.W. Bush || style="background-color:lightyellow" | James Danforth "'''Dan'''" {{w|Dan Quayle|Quayle}}
|-
| 1992 (also 1996) || style="background-color:lightyellow" |William "'''Bill'''" Jefferson {{w|Bill Clinton|Clinton}} ''born William Jefferson Blythe III'' || style="background-color:lightyellow" | Albert "'''Al'''" Arnold {{w|Al Gore|Gore}} Jr.
|-
| 2000 (also 2004) || '''George''' Walker {{w|George W. Bush|Bush}} || style="background-color:lightyellow" |Richard "'''Dick'''" Bruce {{w|Dick Cheney|Cheney}}
|-
| 2008 (also 2012) || '''Barack''' Hussein {{w|Barack Obama|Obama}} II || style="background-color:lightyellow" | Joseph "'''Joe'''" Robinette {{w|Joe Biden|Biden}} Jr.
|-
| 2016 || '''Donald''' John {{w|Donald Trump|Trump‎}}‎ || style="background-color:lightyellow" |Michael "'''Mike'''" Richard {{w|Mike Pence|Pence}}
|-
| 2020 || style="background-color:lightyellow" | "'''Joe'''" Biden || '''Kamala''' Devi {{w|Kamala Harris|Harris}}
|-
| 2024 (If {{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats}} win) || '''Kamala''' Harris || style="background-color:lightyellow" | Timothy "'''Tim'''" James {{w|Tim Walz|Walz}}
|-
| 2024 (If {{w|Republican Party (United States)|Republicans}} win) || '''Donald''' J. Trump || style="background-color:lightyellow" | James David "'''JD'''" {{w|JD Vance|Vance}} ''born James Donald Bowman''
|}

:Complete titles are given in the first occurance, providing a full context of options for identification purposes; subsequent mentions may be reduced to their 'typical' name. Any relevent self-acknowledged sobriquets are inserted in quotes.
:Bold is used to indicate the individual's actually most commonly used single given name, as referenced within the comic. Surnames (also commonly used, with or without the title or other disambiguation) are wikilinked upon their first appearance.
:Italics indicates birth names, where different.
:Darkened rows show transitions not made via a {{w|List of United States major party presidential tickets|'ticket'}} at the end of each 4-year electoral cycle.
:Yellow cells echo the comic's highlights indicating '''given names''' being four or fewer characters in length.
<references/>

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Tables are bad? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A table is shown in a panel. Names of "Four letters or fewer" are shown in the comic on a yellow background (bolded in the table below).]
:{| class="wikitable"
! !! President !! VP
|-
| 2024 ||? Kamala ? Donald || '''Tim ? JD ?'''
|-
| 2020 || '''Joe''' || Kamala
|-
| 2016 || Donald‎ || '''Mike'''
|-
| 2008 || Barack‎ || '''Joe'''
|-
| 2000 || George || '''Dick'''
|-
| 1992 || '''Bill''' || '''Al'''
|-
| 1988 || George || '''Dan'''
|-
| 1980 || Ronald‎ || George
|-
| 1976 || ‎Jimmy || Walter
|-
| 1974 || ‎Gerald || Nelson
|-
| 1973 || ‎Richard || Gerald
|-
| 1968 || ‎Richard || Spiro
|-
| 1964 || Lyndon || Hubert
|-
| 1960 || '''John''' || Lyndon
|-
| 1952 || Dwight || Richard
|}

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Since the 1980s, a political consensus has emerged: vice presidents should have short first names.

==Trivia: Other ways to shorten names==
Politicians can also use a more casual name by using an already less unwieldy middle name (as with {{w|Mitt Romney|Willard Mitt Romney}}, but doubly-averted in Dan Quayle's case). Even when they're not shortened to four or fewer letters, names can be made more casual in other ways (as with {{w|Bernie Sanders|Bernard 'Bernie' Sanders}}). As well, some politicians were commonly called by short nicknames even if they did not run under those names (Dwight 'Ike' Eisenhower).

Some of these may have been adult decisions, a personal choice to mark adulthood (or a change of career) by a more character-distinguishing variation, others may have been 'imposed' upon them by family, friends or peers over time and become happily accepted as the norm by the recipient without any great personal consideration.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Kamala Harris]]

1588: Hardware Reductionism

2024-08-15T13:18:41Z

SqueakSquawk4: More misc link/formatting fixes

{{comic
| number = 1588
| date = October 9, 2015
| title = Hardware Reductionism
| image = hardware_reductionism 2x.png
| titletext = My MRI research shows a clear correlation between the size of the parietal lobe--the part of the brain that handles spatial reasoning--and enjoyment of 3D Doritos®.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Reductionism}} is the belief that things can be explained by their smaller parts. It can be abused when complex phenomena with multiple causes are attributed to a single, simple cause.

{{w|Neurological}} reductionism is the attempt to explain people's behavior and personality by physical features of their brain. With advances in {{w|neuroscience}}, and especially in brain imaging, there's a fad to claim that brain types determine what the mind is. Examples of this kind of bad reductionism would be:

*Male brains have more grey matter than females. Therefore, males are smarter. For an example of criticism of this kind of reasoning, see ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20080824002705/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080616-gay-brain.html Male and female brains: the REAL differences]'' (4 December 2013).
*Brains of gay males are slightly more symmetrical, as are female brains, when compared to straight males. Therefore, gay men are fated to be more effeminate. See ''[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080616-gay-brain.html Gay Men, Straight Women Have Similar Brains]'' (16 June 2008).
*The left side of the brain is associated with logical thinking, and the right, with visual and artistic thinking. Therefore, people divide into "left-brain" or "right-brain" types, depending on how good they are at using each side. See {{w|lateralization of brain function}} on Wikipedia.

There are several problems with this kind of reasoning. First, most studies identify [[552: Correlation|correlation]], not causation (see {{w|correlation does not imply causation}}). Brains are plastic; they can be shaped by experience. For example, if, in a given society, the females are taught to mind their appearance, and the males are taught that aesthetic considerations are unmanly, then of course the female brains will end up with more developed aesthetic centers. In other words, behavior and capabilities aren't always ''determined'' by the brain. Sometimes it's the behavior that shapes the brain; sometimes a third factor (e.g., malnutrition) shapes both.

Second, even when the brain is actually a cause of the behavior, it's far from the only piece in the puzzle. Many studies on brain differences are correlation studies, often about very small effect sizes. Unfortunately, the popular science media tends to gloss over the statistical concept of "effect size". For example, imagine a study that says that males' brains are 0.1% more likely than females' brains to exhibit {{w|attention deficit hyperactivity disorder}} (ADHD). Journalists are prone to report it simply as '''Study Shows that Males Have More ADHD''', and this becomes a conversation sound-bite that neglects other factors, like genetics or pregnancy smoking. See also [[882: Significant]], which does not discuss effect size, but does raise other objections to writing soundbites based on a single study.

Another kind of excessive neuronal reductionism is the overemphasis on brain modules ("scientists identify brain area responsible for religious faith", and the like). Though it's true that the brain has specialized areas, it's also true that the processing is very complex, messy, and distributed all over. Some varieties of brain damage can often be overcome by learning to use undamaged areas of the brain.

The comic illustrates the problem by analogy to some better-understood general-purpose computing hardware: the {{w|CPU}} in a smartphone. [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] have used their smartphones to take pictures of the same event: a {{w|triathlon}}, that is, an athletic competition comprising three modalities (e.g., swimming, cycling, and running). Cueball wonders why is it that Megan's photos are more popular, and Megan gives a reductionist explanation: She tells that her phone is quad-core (four cores) whereas Cueball's phone only has two cores (here she even throws in the typical sentence "research shows that" to make her claim sound more valid). A {{w|Multi-core processor|core}} is a part of a CPU that executes programming instructions, often described metaphorically as the "brain" of a computer or smartphone. Megan thinks that this means Cueball's smartphone can only capture two events at the same time; to anyone who understands how computers work this conclusion is absurd. She misunderstands how the specialized modules work (for that matter, how a digital camera works at all) and fails to realize that the number of cores is unrelated to how many events can be captured. Her claim is like saying that male brains are better at spatial reasoning, and therefore males are better triathlon photographers, or that females are better at multitasking, and therefore females are better triathlon photographers.

A CPU with more cores could process pictures faster, speeding up facial recognition or color filters. So it's true that Megan's CPU makes it slightly easier for her to take pictures. However, this has, at best, an extremely small effect on the number of "likes". There's a lot more going on with photography than the CPU of the phone: Megan's photographing skills, her luck in capturing interesting scenes, the number of online friends she has, etc.

So Megan misunderstands many things: the modularity of CPUs, the small effect of the CPU on the quality of her photography, and the actual causes of her success, much like people who reduce ability to structural features of the brain.

The title text is mocking reductionist explanations based on [[Randall|Randall's]] MRI ({{w|Magnetic resonance imaging|magnetic resonance imaging}}) research. One of the most famous (and [http://arstechnica.com/science/2011/08/gender-gap-in-spatial-reasoning-mia-in-matrilineal-society/ disputed]) claims about gendered brains is that women's brains are (slightly) worse at spatial reasoning. {{w|Doritos}} is a popular junk-food brand of {{w|tortilla chips}} that are typically so flat that they can be called a 2D snack. In the 1990s Frito-Lay (PepsiCo) introduced a special 3D version, the {{w|Doritos#Doritos_3D|3D Doritos}}. (These [https://web.archive.org/web/20170713145936/https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/10/25-junk-foods-we-wish-still-existed/3d-doritos bloated snacks] took up more surface area in one's mouth, and had a hollow center filled with cheese-flavored air). So the title text associates a larger spatial reasoning brain area with enjoyment of this three-dimensional variation of the popular junk-food snack; the conclusion could be that men like these 3D snacks more than women because of their better spatial reasoning, although there could obviously be several other reasons for such gender specific choice of junk-food. 3D Doritos were discontinued, but reintroduced in 2015, the year of this comic's release.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball holds his smartphone looking at it while talking to Megan who is holding her smartphone in her hand.]
:Cueball: Your photos from the triathlon got so many more likes than mine.
:Megan: Yeah - My phone is quad-core. Research shows that iPhones like yours have just two cores, so they have a hard time capturing scenes with three different events in them.

:[Caption below the frame:]
:If we talked about phone hardware the way we talk about brain hardware

==Trivia==
*When this comic was originally published there was a misspelling: triath'''o'''lon instead of triathlon.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Photography]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]

1588: Hardware Reductionism

2024-08-15T12:19:40Z

SqueakSquawk4: Rescue link via Archive.org

{{comic
| number = 1588
| date = October 9, 2015
| title = Hardware Reductionism
| image = hardware_reductionism 2x.png
| titletext = My MRI research shows a clear correlation between the size of the parietal lobe--the part of the brain that handles spatial reasoning--and enjoyment of 3D Doritos®.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Reductionism}} is the belief that things can be explained by their smaller parts. It can be abused when complex phenomena with multiple causes are attributed to a single, simple cause.

{{w|Neurological}} reductionism is the attempt to explain people's behavior and personality by physical features of their brain. With advances in {{w|neuroscience}}, and especially in brain imaging, there's a fad to claim that brain types determine what the mind is. Examples of this kind of bad reductionism would be:

*Male brains have more grey matter than females. Therefore, males are smarter. For an example of criticism of this kind of reasoning, see ''[http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/dec/04/male-female-brains-real-differences Male and female brains: the REAL differences]'' (4 December 2013).
*Brains of gay males are slightly more symmetrical, as are female brains, when compared to straight males. Therefore, gay men are fated to be more effeminate. See [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080616-gay-brain.html Gay Men, Straight Women Have Similar Brains] (16 June 2008).
*The left side of the brain is associated with logical thinking, and the right, with visual and artistic thinking. Therefore, people divide into "left-brain" or "right-brain" types, depending on how good they are at using each side. See {{w|lateralization of brain function}} on Wikipedia.

There are several problems with this kind of reasoning. First, most studies identify [https://xkcd.com/552/ correlation], not causation (see {{w|correlation does not imply causation}}). Brains are plastic; they can be shaped by experience. For example, if, in a given society, the females are taught to mind their appearance, and the males are taught that aesthetic considerations are unmanly, then of course the female brains will end up with more developed aesthetic centers. In other words, behavior and capabilities aren't always ''determined'' by the brain. Sometimes it's the behavior that shapes the brain; sometimes a third factor (e.g., malnutrition) shapes both.

Second, even when the brain is actually a cause of the behavior, it's far from the only piece in the puzzle. Many studies on brain differences are correlation studies, often about very small effect sizes. Unfortunately, the popular science media tends to gloss over the statistical concept of "effect size". For example, imagine a study that says that males' brains are 0.1% more likely than females' brains to exhibit {{w|attention deficit hyperactivity disorder}} (ADHD). Journalists are prone to report it simply as '''Study Shows that Males Have More ADHD''', and this becomes a conversation sound-bite that neglects other factors, like genetics or pregnancy smoking. See also [[882: Significant]], which does not discuss effect size, but does raise other objections to writing soundbites based on a single study.

Another kind of excessive neuronal reductionism is the overemphasis on brain modules ("scientists identify brain area responsible for religious faith", and the like). Though it's true that the brain has specialized areas, it's also true that the processing is very complex, messy, and distributed all over. Some varieties of brain damage can often be overcome by learning to use undamaged areas of the brain.

The comic illustrates the problem by analogy to some better-understood general-purpose computing hardware: the {{w|CPU}} in a smartphone. [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] have used their smartphones to take pictures of the same event: a {{w|triathlon}}, that is, an athletic competition comprising three modalities (e.g., swimming, cycling, and running). Cueball wonders why is it that Megan's photos are more popular, and Megan gives a reductionist explanation: She tells that her phone is quad-core (four cores) whereas Cueball's phone only has two cores (here she even throws in the typical sentence "research shows that" to make her claim sound more valid). A {{w|Multi-core processor|core}} is a part of a CPU that executes programming instructions, often described metaphorically as the "brain" of a computer or smartphone. Megan thinks that this means Cueball's smartphone can only capture two events at the same time; to anyone who understands how computers work this conclusion is absurd. She misunderstands how the specialized modules work (for that matter, how a digital camera works at all) and fails to realize that the number of cores is unrelated to how many events can be captured. Her claim is like saying that male brains are better at spatial reasoning, and therefore males are better triathlon photographers, or that females are better at multitasking, and therefore females are better triathlon photographers.

A CPU with more cores could process pictures faster, speeding up facial recognition or color filters. So it's true that Megan's CPU makes it slightly easier for her to take pictures. However, this has, at best, an extremely small effect on the number of "likes". There's a lot more going on with photography than the CPU of the phone: Megan's photographing skills, her luck in capturing interesting scenes, the number of online friends she has, etc.

So Megan misunderstands many things: the modularity of CPUs, the small effect of the CPU on the quality of her photography, and the actual causes of her success, much like people who reduce ability to structural features of the brain.

The title text is mocking reductionist explanations based on [[Randall|Randall's]] MRI ({{w|Magnetic resonance imaging|magnetic resonance imaging}}) research. One of the most famous (and [http://arstechnica.com/science/2011/08/gender-gap-in-spatial-reasoning-mia-in-matrilineal-society/ disputed]) claims about gendered brains is that women's brains are (slightly) worse at spatial reasoning. {{w|Doritos}} is a popular junk-food brand of {{w|tortilla chips}} that are typically so flat that they can be called a 2D snack. In the 1990s Frito-Lay (PepsiCo) introduced a special 3D version, the {{w|Doritos#Doritos_3D|3D Doritos}}. (These [https://web.archive.org/web/20170713145936/https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/10/25-junk-foods-we-wish-still-existed/3d-doritos bloated snacks] took up more surface area in one's mouth, and had a hollow center filled with cheese-flavored air). So the title text associates a larger spatial reasoning brain area with enjoyment of this three-dimensional variation of the popular junk-food snack; the conclusion could be that men like these 3D snacks more than women because of their better spatial reasoning, although there could obviously be several other reasons for such gender specific choice of junk-food. 3D Doritos were discontinued, but reintroduced in 2015, the year of this comic's release.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball holds his smartphone looking at it while talking to Megan who is holding her smartphone in her hand.]
:Cueball: Your photos from the triathlon got so many more likes than mine.
:Megan: Yeah - My phone is quad-core. Research shows that iPhones like yours have just two cores, so they have a hard time capturing scenes with three different events in them.

:[Caption below the frame:]
:If we talked about phone hardware the way we talk about brain hardware

==Trivia==
*When this comic was originally published there was a misspelling: triath'''o'''lon instead of triathlon.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Photography]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]

1588: Hardware Reductionism

2024-08-15T12:13:39Z

SqueakSquawk4: Correct minor and odd formatting issue

{{comic
| number = 1588
| date = October 9, 2015
| title = Hardware Reductionism
| image = hardware_reductionism 2x.png
| titletext = My MRI research shows a clear correlation between the size of the parietal lobe--the part of the brain that handles spatial reasoning--and enjoyment of 3D Doritos®.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Reductionism}} is the belief that things can be explained by their smaller parts. It can be abused when complex phenomena with multiple causes are attributed to a single, simple cause.

{{w|Neurological}} reductionism is the attempt to explain people's behavior and personality by physical features of their brain. With advances in {{w|neuroscience}}, and especially in brain imaging, there's a fad to claim that brain types determine what the mind is. Examples of this kind of bad reductionism would be:

*Male brains have more grey matter than females. Therefore, males are smarter. For an example of criticism of this kind of reasoning, see ''[http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2013/dec/04/male-female-brains-real-differences Male and female brains: the REAL differences]'' (4 December 2013).
*Brains of gay males are slightly more symmetrical, as are female brains, when compared to straight males. Therefore, gay men are fated to be more effeminate. See [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080616-gay-brain.html Gay Men, Straight Women Have Similar Brains] (16 June 2008).
*The left side of the brain is associated with logical thinking, and the right, with visual and artistic thinking. Therefore, people divide into "left-brain" or "right-brain" types, depending on how good they are at using each side. See {{w|lateralization of brain function}} on Wikipedia.

There are several problems with this kind of reasoning. First, most studies identify [https://xkcd.com/552/ correlation], not causation (see {{w|correlation does not imply causation}}). Brains are plastic; they can be shaped by experience. For example, if, in a given society, the females are taught to mind their appearance, and the males are taught that aesthetic considerations are unmanly, then of course the female brains will end up with more developed aesthetic centers. In other words, behavior and capabilities aren't always ''determined'' by the brain. Sometimes it's the behavior that shapes the brain; sometimes a third factor (e.g., malnutrition) shapes both.

Second, even when the brain is actually a cause of the behavior, it's far from the only piece in the puzzle. Many studies on brain differences are correlation studies, often about very small effect sizes. Unfortunately, the popular science media tends to gloss over the statistical concept of "effect size". For example, imagine a study that says that males' brains are 0.1% more likely than females' brains to exhibit {{w|attention deficit hyperactivity disorder}} (ADHD). Journalists are prone to report it simply as '''Study Shows that Males Have More ADHD''', and this becomes a conversation sound-bite that neglects other factors, like genetics or pregnancy smoking. See also [[882: Significant]], which does not discuss effect size, but does raise other objections to writing soundbites based on a single study.

Another kind of excessive neuronal reductionism is the overemphasis on brain modules ("scientists identify brain area responsible for religious faith", and the like). Though it's true that the brain has specialized areas, it's also true that the processing is very complex, messy, and distributed all over. Some varieties of brain damage can often be overcome by learning to use undamaged areas of the brain.

The comic illustrates the problem by analogy to some better-understood general-purpose computing hardware: the {{w|CPU}} in a smartphone. [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] have used their smartphones to take pictures of the same event: a {{w|triathlon}}, that is, an athletic competition comprising three modalities (e.g., swimming, cycling, and running). Cueball wonders why is it that Megan's photos are more popular, and Megan gives a reductionist explanation: She tells that her phone is quad-core (four cores) whereas Cueball's phone only has two cores (here she even throws in the typical sentence "research shows that" to make her claim sound more valid). A {{w|Multi-core processor|core}} is a part of a CPU that executes programming instructions, often described metaphorically as the "brain" of a computer or smartphone. Megan thinks that this means Cueball's smartphone can only capture two events at the same time; to anyone who understands how computers work this conclusion is absurd. She misunderstands how the specialized modules work (for that matter, how a digital camera works at all) and fails to realize that the number of cores is unrelated to how many events can be captured. Her claim is like saying that male brains are better at spatial reasoning, and therefore males are better triathlon photographers, or that females are better at multitasking, and therefore females are better triathlon photographers.

A CPU with more cores could process pictures faster, speeding up facial recognition or color filters. So it's true that Megan's CPU makes it slightly easier for her to take pictures. However, this has, at best, an extremely small effect on the number of "likes". There's a lot more going on with photography than the CPU of the phone: Megan's photographing skills, her luck in capturing interesting scenes, the number of online friends she has, etc.

So Megan misunderstands many things: the modularity of CPUs, the small effect of the CPU on the quality of her photography, and the actual causes of her success, much like people who reduce ability to structural features of the brain.

The title text is mocking reductionist explanations based on [[Randall|Randall's]] MRI ({{w|Magnetic resonance imaging|magnetic resonance imaging}}) research. One of the most famous (and [http://arstechnica.com/science/2011/08/gender-gap-in-spatial-reasoning-mia-in-matrilineal-society/ disputed]) claims about gendered brains is that women's brains are (slightly) worse at spatial reasoning. {{w|Doritos}} is a popular junk-food brand of {{w|tortilla chips}} that are typically so flat that they can be called a 2D snack. In the 1990s Frito-Lay (PepsiCo) introduced a special 3D version, the {{w|Doritos#Doritos_3D|3D Doritos}}. (These [http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2012/10/25-junk-foods-we-wish-still-existed/3d-doritos bloated snacks] took up more surface area in one's mouth, and had a hollow center filled with cheese-flavored air). So the title text associates a larger spatial reasoning brain area with enjoyment of this three-dimensional variation of the popular junk-food snack; the conclusion could be that men like these 3D snacks more than women because of their better spatial reasoning, although there could obviously be several other reasons for such gender specific choice of junk-food. 3D Doritos were discontinued, but reintroduced in 2015, the year of this comic's release.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball holds his smartphone looking at it while talking to Megan who is holding her smartphone in her hand.]
:Cueball: Your photos from the triathlon got so many more likes than mine.
:Megan: Yeah - My phone is quad-core. Research shows that iPhones like yours have just two cores, so they have a hard time capturing scenes with three different events in them.

:[Caption below the frame:]
:If we talked about phone hardware the way we talk about brain hardware

==Trivia==
*When this comic was originally published there was a misspelling: triath'''o'''lon instead of triathlon.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Photography]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Scientific research]]

2414: Solar System Compression Artifacts

2024-08-11T21:49:46Z

SqueakSquawk4: Add potential "Render" pun in title text

{{comic
| number = 2414
| date = January 20, 2021
| title = Solar System Compression Artifacts
| image = solar_system_compression_artifacts.png
| titletext = Most of our universe consists of dark matter rendered completely undetectable by our spacetime codec's dynamic range issues.
}}

==Explanation==
''{{w|Voyager 1}}'' is a [[:Category:Space probes|space probe]] launched by the United States in 1977. Originally designed to study the outer planets of the {{w|Solar System}}, it is now several decades into an extended mission beyond Neptune (see [[#Trivia]]). The Voyager probe has made history for passing many milestones of our solar system.

When images are compressed by a {{w|lossy compression}} format (e.g. {{w|JPEG}}), visual artifacts are created. Randall here is suggesting that the probe has passed the artifacts as if the artifacts were an actual feature of the solar system rather than a consequence of our technology. The banding lines he has drawn are commonly seen in old images with low bit depth.

The 'solar system' in the snapshot appears to be a 4-bit greyscale-plane at a more pixelated level than the image given. It contains 16 'banded' levels from the brightest (closest zones, within this image, to the Sun) to darkest (the furthest illustrated expanses, including interstellar space), with irregular or non-trivial transitional edges but no obvious or dominant dithering/speckling or 'noise'. The Voyager image (and track) is overlaid in a white 'line drawing' format.

Each apparent pixel in this low-res rendering is approximately 1 AU², where 1 AU ({{w|astronomical unit}}) is the distance from the Sun to the earth. The Sun is off the left side of the image by about 30 pixels, meaning that of all the planets in the solar system, only Neptune would have an orbit that is within the image at all (at the left edge). The {{w|heliosphere}} is 120 AU from the sun, in the direction that Voyager 1 is travelling: Voyager crossed that milestone in August 2012. At time of publication Voyager was just over 150 AU from the Sun, as shown in the image.

Continuing on its course at 38,000 mph, or 3.6 AU/year, Voyager will reach the outer edge of the {{w|Oort cloud}}, the edge of our solar system, in about 300 years.

The title text refers to 'our spacetime {{w|codec}}', suggesting a representation of reality itself as a series of ones and zeros. If empty space is the darkest possible thing that can be represented--which may be the case when only 16 levels are available (see above)--then it is possible that {{w|dark matter}} is ''so'' dark that it cannot be represented: it would require a negative number, which is not available. This is the {{w|dynamic range}} issue mentioned.

The title text may also be a pun on the term "[[w|Render]]", as the codec's issues would both make cause the dark matter to be undetectable and, in the metaphor of the universe as a simulation, literally fail to render the "pixels" in the dark matter. This is the play on the term "Render" having multiple definitions, both meaning "To cause to become" and being the term in computing for "Transforming (a model) into a display on the screen or other media" [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/render#English Wikitionary]]

Artefacts are evident in [[1683: Digital Data]], and mentioned in the title text of [[331: Photoshops]].

==Transcript==
:[Irregular bands of gray are shown, shading from a white circular segment on the lower left side of the panel to completely black on the right. The bands have pixelated edges. A small white space probe is shown just outside the last dark gray band, in the completely black area. A dotted line starting from inside the dark gray area and ending at the space probe indicates that it is moving to the right, out of the gray area. Close to the white area, there are many bands packed closely together and with hard to define edges. But there are five gray areas clearly separated from the white, with a tendency to be elongated in the space probe's direction.]

:[Caption below the panel]: Milestone: ''Voyager'' has passed through the streaming video compression artifacts that mark the edge of the solar system

==Trivia==
* At the time of the fly-by of {{w|Neptune}}, in 1989, it was the outermost of the nine officially recognised planets.
* The more highly eliptical orbit of {{w|Pluto}}, which was also unfavourably positioned for any Voyager mission encounter, meant that it would be another ten years before it was the actual outermost planet, well behind the respective Voyager crafts' progress away from the Sun.
* Pluto was then 'demoted' from being a full planet in 2005, meaning that Neptune officially became the outermost of the (eight) planets, well in advance of the next orbital 'switch' (roughly in the 2220s to 2240s) when Pluto's path would bring it closer to the Sun once more.
* However Pluto (and partner bodies/'moons') finally experienced its own {{w|New Horizons|fly-by mission}} in 2015, which ''may'' perhaps have softened some of the psychological blow from the various snubs it had experienced over the prior decades.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Space probes]]

2969: Vice President First Names

2024-08-11T11:11:02Z

SqueakSquawk4: Change "né" to "born", no-one knows what "né" means, and Wikipedia uses "born"

{{comic
| number = 2969
| date = August 7, 2024
| title = Vice President First Names
| image = vice_president_first_names_2x.png
| imagesize = 364x556px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = [Political pundit on the ScrabbleTV News channel] "After four years of defying orthographic pressure, Joe ceded the top of the ticket to Kamala, who--after considering Josh, Mark, Andy, Roy, and Pete--picked Tim."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by CORNELIUS LYSANDER THROCKMORTON "BOT" BOTTINGFORD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Randall observes that American {{w|Vice President of the United States|Vice Presidents}} since the 80s have almost all gone by short first names. It should be noted that all of the "short" first names in this strip, with the exception of John (F. Kennedy) are diminutives (or initials) of longer names, but all represent the names which the candidates preferred and publicly used. This comic was published one day after {{w|Kamala Harris}} (who replaced Biden as presidential candidate) chose {{w|Tim Walz}} as her running mate for the {{w|2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election}}. Both the Republican and Democratic tickets are present for 2024, since the 2024 election had not yet concluded when this comic was made. Either party winning would match the observation.

In the comic's caption, Randall amusingly describes this as an emerging "political consensus."

While not a "political" consensus per se, the observed phenomenon is a type of consensus — reflecting a multi-decade change in US societal norms — and is not simply a random coincidence.
* There has been a national US trend toward shorter names since the 1980s and 1990s, with a rise in the popularity of baby names like Ryan, Kyle, Amy and Lisa. (The trend has continued, with even shorter names like Ava, Mia and Max becoming more common in the 2000s and 2010s.)
* This has paralleled a trend in shorter business names, with companies like Dell, Cisco and eBay before the turn of the millennium and Google, Uber and Lyft after (cf. pre-1980 businesses like AT&T, BNSF or 3M which had to convert their very long names into acronyms to adapt). Product naming also began to simplify in the late 20th century, driven by marketing strategies that favored brevity and memorability, exemplified by Apple's iconic "iMac" and "iPhone" products (again, cf. names like "Tandy 1000", "Ford F 500" or "Little Debbie's Oatmeal Creme Pies").
* All of these naming trends reflect a ''general'' societal trend toward minimalism and less formality, also seen with corporate logos, product design (Apple), clothing design (Gap), furniture design (IKEA) and web/app design.

This societal shift may explain why many politicians with given names like Albert and Richard might have preferred to go by shorter, less formal sounding, more approachable names like Al and Dick, to match the zeitgeist. James Danforth Quayle additionally used his middle name (that being another common self-naming decision; or one arising from family tradition/convenience, given that James Cline Quayle was his father), one less commonly seen than the other unabbreviated name from which "Dan" might have come.

Given that trend, it is noteworthy that Vice Presidents have generally adopted shorter names, but presidents have been less likely to do so. It's possible to create theories around this (eg, the office of President is expected to have more gravitas and formality, while the Vice President has less of an official role, and wants to be more approachable), but the size of the group is small enough that it could easily be coincidence, particularly since many of those names (such as George, Barack and Kamala) can't be easily shortened. The exception, Donald Trump (which can be shortened to Don), did not become a politician until late in life, when he was already nationally famous using his full name.

The '''title text''' amusingly suggests (1) the existence of a ScrabbleTV News channel (named after {{w|Scrabble|the word game}}) staffed with (2) political pundits who (3) report Biden's decision to end his re-election campaign as being driven by orthographic (related to the writing of words) pressure to conform to the aforementioned political consensus. Having Joe Biden as President and Kamala Harris as VP violated this pattern, but elevating Harris to the presidency and selecting a short-named running mate would restore it. In addition to Tim Walz, all of the candidates considered most likely as running mate had short first names: Josh Shapiro, Mark Kelly, Andy Beshear, Roy Cooper and Pete Buttigieg. This could also be a subtle joke about political pundits tending to give confident, inaccurate hot-takes. (Biden's decision was driven, among other things, by worsening polling, rising concerns about his age, a poor debate performance against Trump and subsequent pressure from other leading Democrats.)

This is Randall's second recent comic about US politics and Kamala Harris, the first being [[2962: President Venn Diagram]] which was published right after she rose to the top of the Democratic ticket.

It is interesting that, even ignoring the stricter definition of having less than four letters in their name, only four pairings have a Presidential given (or adopted) name that is shorter than the Vice-Presidential one, and just two further cases (one of these not involved in winning an election) have equal length names. Whether either version of this trend continues prior to the comic's particular slice of history, and whether there is (anti-)correlation to unsuccessful pairings is an investigation not covered by the comic but could be easily researched.

===Contextual table of names===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Presidential and Vice-Presidential names, for the period within the comic, in chronological order.
! Year !! President !! Vice-President
|-
| 1952 (also 1956) || '''Dwight''' David "Ike"<ref name="ike">"Ike" was a shared nickname within the ''Ei''senhower family ("Big Ike", "Little Ike"), which became {{w|Ike for President (advertisement)|commonly used}} for himself, though never became a full replacement of his chosen (re-arranged) 'first' name.</ref> {{w|Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower}} ''born David Dwight "Little Ike" Eisenhower'' || '''Richard''' Milhous {{w|Richard Nixon|Nixon}}
|-
| 1960 || style="background-color:lightyellow" | '''John''' "Jack" Fitzgerald {{w|John F. Kennedy|Kennedy}} || '''Lyndon''' Baines {{w|Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson}}
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1963<ref name="dallas">JFK's assassination meant LBJ acceded to the role, but he made no new appointment to Vice-President prior to his subsequent re-election bid.</ref> (Not in comic.) || colspan="2" | '''Lyndon''' B. Johnson
|-
| 1964 || '''Lyndon''' B. Johnson || '''Hubert''' Horatio {{w|Hubert Humphrey|Humphrey}} Jr.
|-
| 1968 (also 1972) || ‎'''Richard''' Nixon || '''Spiro''' Theodore {{w|Spiro Agnew|Agnew}}
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1973<ref name="watergate">Changes occuring within a Presidential term, in response to an emerging political scandal</ref> || '''Richard''' Nixon || '''Gerald''' Rudolph {{w|Gerald Ford|Ford}} Jr ''born Leslie Lynch King Jr.''
|-style="background-color:lightgray"
| 1974<ref name="watergate"/> || ‎'''Gerald''' Ford || '''Nelson''' Aldrich {{w|Nelson Rockefeller|Rockefeller}}*
|-
| 1976 || ‎James "'''Jimmy'''" Earl {{w|Jimmy Carter|Carter}} Jr. || '''Walter''' Frederick "Fritz" {{w|Walter Mondale|Mondale}}
|-
| 1980 (also 1984) || '''Ronald''' Wilson {{w|Ronald Reagan|Reagan}} || '''George''' Herbert Walker {{w|George H. W. Bush|Bush}}
|-
| 1988 || '''George''' H.W. Bush || style="background-color:lightyellow" | James Danforth "'''Dan'''" {{w|Dan Quayle|Quayle}}
|-
| 1992 (also 1996) || style="background-color:lightyellow" |William "'''Bill'''" Jefferson {{w|Bill Clinton|Clinton}} ''born William Jefferson Blythe III'' || style="background-color:lightyellow" | Albert "'''Al'''" Arnold {{w|Al Gore|Gore}} Jr.
|-
| 2000 (also 2004) || '''George''' Walker {{w|George W. Bush|Bush}} || style="background-color:lightyellow" |Richard "'''Dick'''" Bruce {{w|Dick Cheney|Cheney}}
|-
| 2008 (also 2012) || '''Barack''' Hussein {{w|Barack Obama|Obama}} II || style="background-color:lightyellow" | Joseph "'''Joe'''" Robinette {{w|Joe Biden|Biden}} Jr.
|-
| 2016 || '''Donald''' John {{w|Donald Trump|Trump‎}}‎ || style="background-color:lightyellow" |Michael "'''Mike'''" Richard {{w|Mike Pence|Pence}}
|-
| 2020 || style="background-color:lightyellow" | "'''Joe'''" Biden || '''Kamala''' Devi {{w|Kamala Harris|Harris}}
|-
| 2024 ({{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats}} win) || '''Kamala''' Harris || style="background-color:lightyellow" | Timothy "'''Tim'''" James {{w|Tim Walz|Walz}}
|-
| 2024 ({{w|Republican Party (United States)|Republicans}} win) || '''Donald''' J. Trump || style="background-color:lightyellow" | James David "'''JD'''" {{w|JD Vance|Vance}} ''born James Donald Bowman''
|}

:Complete titles are given in the first occurance, providing a full context of options for identification purposes; subsequent mentions may be reduced to their 'typical' name. Any relevent self-acknowledged sobriquets are inserted in quotes.
:Bold is used to indicate the individual's actually most commonly used single given name, as referenced within the comic. Surnames (also commonly used, with or without the title or other disambiguation) are wikilinked upon their first appearance.
:Italics indicates birth names, where different.
:Darkened rows show transitions not made via an {{w|List of United States major party presidential tickets|'ticket'}} at the end of each 4-year electoral cycle.
:Yellow cells echo the highlights the comic's indication of '''given names''' being four or fewer characters in length.
<references/>

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Tables are bad? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A table is shown in a panel. Names of "Four letters or fewer" are shown in the comic on a yellow background (bolded in the table below).]
:{| class="wikitable"
! !! President !! VP
|-
| 2024 ||? Kamala ? Donald || '''Tim ? JD ?'''
|-
| 2020 || '''Joe''' || Kamala
|-
| 2016 || Donald‎ || '''Mike'''
|-
| 2008 || Barack‎ || '''Joe'''
|-
| 2000 || George || '''Dick'''
|-
| 1992 || '''Bill''' || '''Al'''
|-
| 1988 || George || '''Dan'''
|-
| 1980 || Ronald‎ || George
|-
| 1976 || ‎Jimmy || Walter
|-
| 1974 || ‎Gerald || Nelson
|-
| 1973 || ‎Richard || Gerald
|-
| 1968 || ‎Richard || Spiro
|-
| 1964 || Lyndon || Hubert
|-
| 1960 || '''John''' || Lyndon
|-
| 1952 || Dwight || Richard
|}

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Since the 1980s, a political consensus has emerged: vice presidents should have short first names.

==Trivia: Other ways to shorten names==
Politicians can also use a more casual name by using an already less unwieldy middle name (as with {{w|Mitt Romney|Willard Mitt Romney}}, but doubly-averted in Dan Quayle's case). Even when they're not shortened to four or fewer letters, names can be made more casual in other ways (as with {{w|Bernie Sanders|Bernard 'Bernie' Sanders}}). As well, some politicians were commonly called by short nicknames even if they did not run under those names (Dwight 'Ike' Eisenhower).

Some of these may have been adult decisions, a personal choice to mark adulthood (or a change of career) by a more character-distinguishing variation, others may have been 'imposed' upon them by family, friends or peers over time and become happily accepted as the norm by the recipient without any great personal consideration.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]

2932: Driving PSA

2024-05-14T20:24:27Z

SqueakSquawk4:

{{comic
| number = 2932
| date = May 13, 2024
| title = Driving PSA
| image = driving_psa_2x.png
| imagesize = 414x538px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This PSA brought to you by several would-be assassins who tried to wave me in front of speeding cars in the last month and who will have to try harder next time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CLUELESS BOT DRIVING AT 72.42048 km/h (20.1168 m/s) (outpaced by raptor) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A PSA is a {{w|Public Service Announcement}}. Some drivers, when having priority by the rules of the road (termed "{{w|Traffic#Passage_priority_(right_of_way)|right of way}}", in legal statutes), will let others take it before them. This comic is saying that people who exhibit this behavior are actually {{w|The_Terminator|Terminator}}-style assassins, sent to kill people by sending them into contention with other traffic and making it look like an accident.

Despite the PSA's conspiratorial presentation, this is good advice. This gesture is sometimes called "the wave of death", because it is common for such "generous" drivers to forget about other lanes that also have priority over the crossing driver or pedestrian, and cluelessly wave them through right into the path of another car which is traveling at full speed. Always check for yourself that your way is clear, and if your view is blocked, sit tight. In this comic, there is a queue of vehicles (including a large tractor-trailer truck) held up by the 'considerate' driver that would obscure the immediate view of the moving vehicle at the most potentially dangerous time. Randall's exaggeration has comical intent and also could help make the advice more memorable - and therefore more likely to save lives.

The title text explains that Randall made this PSA because he has experienced this multiple times in the last month. Since this behavior is often catastrophically dangerous, he believes the action could only be performed by time-travelling assassins. As such, he has not accepted the right of way, and thus believes himself to have evaded death. He then says that, since he already knows this trick, the assassins should try harder. Such a claim that assassins are actively trying to murder him using "right of way" would be treated as a conspiracy theory by most people.

===Alternate interpretation of the waving gesture===

Note that in this comic, as illustrated, there is potentially sufficient room for the waiting car to pass the first set of lanes and (illegally) stop next to the median, protected from passing traffic on both sides, to stop halfway through its left turn to wait for the second stream of traffic to subside. Waiting in this turning area next to the median is a common yet illegal maneuver in rural US areas where these types of non-signaled intersections are common. (Turn lanes are not legally usable for merging, & stopping in an intersection is also not permitted.) There's no reason to assume that the would-be assassin is not simply waving the waiting car to the safety of the median area. Randall's message of caution is still sound, but he accidentally illustrated an intersection diagram that fails to optimally support his case.

[[File:2932 Alt.png|frameless|Illustrtion showing room to safetly turning left halfway, stopping in the median]]

^Stopping in this area is illegal & may incur a traffic citation.{{citation needed}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Driving PSA:
:Random drivers can’t grant you the right of way as a gift.
:[A T-intersection with a major road separated by a concrete median going from top to bottom, and a minor road coming from the left]
:[A car is stopped at the end of the minor road]
:First car [arrow pointing to car]: You, waiting to turn left
:[A second car is stopped in the left turning lane of the right major road, with a third car, a truck hauling cargo, and a fourth car lined up behind it]
:Second car [in a speech bubble]: You go ahead! I’m feeling generous.
:Second car [arrow pointing to car]: Time traveler pretending to be polite
:[In the second lane is a black arrow pointing upwards, with text below it reading 45 MPH, and a fifth car below the text]
:Fifth car [arrow pointing to car]: Car that they are waving you into the path of
:If someone waves you out, assume that they are an assassin sent from the future to kill you and make it look like an accident.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Time travel]]

2922: Pub Trivia

2024-04-20T19:26:51Z

SqueakSquawk4: /* Transcript */ More detail on Cueball's position

{{comic
| number = 2922
| date = April 19, 2024
| title = Pub Trivia
| image = pub_trivia_2x.png
| imagesize = 422x666px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Bonus question: Where is London located? (a) The British Isles (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland (c) The UK (d) Europe (or 'the EU') (e) Greater London
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A BOT ASKING BAD TRIVIA QUESTIONS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Many pubs have {{w|pub trivia|trivia nights}}, where patrons form teams and compete to answer questions about a range of topics. The typical goal for trivia games is that they be challenging, yet possible, and so the questions whose answers are too difficult or too easy generally make for a poor game. In addition, it's usually preferable that questions are clearly worded with a single, objective answer, so as to avoid disputes about which answers are correct.

Cueball has apparently been hired by one bar to infiltrate ''other'' bars' quiz nights and ask particularly bad questions. The implication is that this will make the games unpleasant, in the hopes that people will leave, and possibly go to the bar that hired Cueball.

Cueball uses a variety of strategies to write bad questions, including questions that are trivial (where the answer is painfully obvious), unanswerable (either because there is no answer, or because the answer is unknown), ambiguously worded or arguable.

Many of his questions could be altered slightly to make them more reasonable for such a game, but that would defeat Cueball's purpose.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Question !! Problem with the Question !! Explanation !! More Reasonable Alternative(s)
|-
|1. Which member of {{w|BTS}} has a birthday this year?||Multiple correct answers||All people have birthdays every year{{Citation needed}} (other than pedantic exceptions due to calendar issues or timezone alterations, or someone dying before their birthday, or being born on a leap day, none of which apply in this case). Therefore, all seven members of BTS have birthdays this year.||Which member of BTS has a birthday today/this week/this month? Which member of BTS turns [a specific age] this year?
|-
|2. How many sides does a {{w|platonic solid}} have?||Multiple answers, ambiguous language||There are five {{w|Platonic solids}}, with 4, 6, 8, 12 or 20 faces (colloquially called sides) in {{w|Euclid|Euclidean}} {{w|Euclidean geometry|3-space}}. The solids have, respectively, 6, 12, 8, 30 and 30 edges (also occasionally called sides colloquially). A more devious quizmaster might actually include this as a trick question with the correct answer being 'zero', since strictly speaking solids do not have 'sides'.||How many Platonic solids are there? What is the highest number of faces on a Platonic solid? How many faces does a [specific platonic solid] have? How many faces (or edges, or vertices) do ''all'' the platonic solids have (i.e., added together)?
|-
|3. What is the smallest lake in the world?||Arguable||While the largest lakes are relatively straightforward to categorize, smaller bodies of water range in size down to individual puddles. There is no clear, definitional line at which a body goes from being a lake to a pond, for example. In addition, the size of small lakes will fluctuate due to variability in precipitation, and other weather effects, and some lakes only exist for brief periods (intermittent lakes). Hence, which small bodies of water are "lakes" and which is the smallest can't be clearly answered, without specifying a whole list of parameters and standards.||What lake has the largest surface area in the world? What is the world's deepest lake? What lake is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's smallest? (Benxi Lake in China).
|-
|4. Which Steven Spielberg movie features more shark attacks, {{w|Jaws (movie)|Jaws (1975)}} or {{w|Lincoln (movie)|Lincoln (2012)}}?||Trivial||''Jaws'' is a famous movie about a killer shark, and features at least five fatal shark attacks. Lincoln is a movie about the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, containing zero shark attacks.{{Citation needed}} Anyone with even a passing familiarity with American popular culture should be able to get this one right, and someone with no knowledge could likely guess the answer from the titles alone. This might be mistaken for a silly trick question, as ''Lincoln'' is a much less famous movie.||How many times is a shark seen on screen in "Jaws"? Which film won more {{w|Academy Awards}}? How many fatal shark attacks occur in "Jaws"?
|-
|5. How many planets were there originally?||Ambiguous||The question doesn't specify a time frame or culture. It could be referring to the original meaning of the word, derived from the Greek planḗtai, meaning "wanderers", which in antiquity referred to the Sun, Moon, and five points of light visible by the naked eye that moved across the background of the stars — namely Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. It could also be referring to the meaning of the word prior to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopting an official definition of the term "planet" in 2006, which demoted Pluto to a dwarf planet. It also doesn't specify that it's referring to planets in our solar system alone (in the observable universe there are almost certainly trillions of planets). Additionally, it asks how many "were there", as opposed to how many planets "were known" (the number which we know of being far smaller than the true number of planets in the universe). The word "originally" could also imply the origin of the solar system, or the origin of the universe, in which case the answer would be 'zero' as no planets had yet accreted.||How many planets were known to Ancient Greece? How many planets were known to science prior to the invention of the telescope? How many planets were recognized in our Solar System at the end of the 20th century?
|-
|6. What {{w|NFL}} player has scored the most points outside of a game?||Ambiguous, Unknowable||The term "scored the most points" generally only applies within the context of a game, making it very unclear what kind of "points" the question is referring to. Does it mean points in non-NFL games? Points in games other than football? Points outside the context of any game at all (such as 'making a point' in conversation)? Even if this were clarified, points scored in official games in professional sports leagues are meticulously recorded and published, points scored in any other context are not, so the question is likely impossible to answer. Arguably, Brian Jordan would be an answer, with 121 Minor League and 755 MLB runs scored (points).||Which NFL player scored the most points in a game/season/career?
|-
|7. The {{w|Wright brothers}} built the first airplane. Who built the last one?||Unknowable||Orville and Wilbur Wright are widely credited with designing and building the first airplane (in the sense of a heavier-than-air flying machine that could take off, steer and land under its own power). In modern times, design and construction of airplanes has become a huge, international industry, with many airplanes of widely varying sizings being built each year. Since airplanes are built continuously, which one was made most recently depends on when the question is asked (and would be very difficult for the average person to know -- and not trivial for even a member of the aerospace industry to know). If it's asking about the last airplane ''ever'', that's impossible to know, since that plane hasn't been built yet (and hopefully won't for a very long time).||Who built the first airplane '''after''' the Wright brothers? When was the final Wright Model B aircraft built?
|-
|8. Is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?||Unknown, Possibly unknowable||This is a famous, centuries-old {{w|open question}} in math known as {{w|Goldbach's conjecture}}. Mathematicians widely believe that it is true, and it has held true for every number checked up to 4 ⋅ 1018, but since it's impossible to check every number, we can't assume it's universally true. No mathematical proof of its veracity exists at this point. Since it is {{w|Gödel's incompleteness theorems|known}} that something can be true but impossible to prove (and, being true, impossible to disprove), this may be the situation forever.||According to which mathematical conjecture is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?
|-
|9. Not counting {{w|Canberra}}, what city is the capital of {{w|Australia}}?||No answer exists||Australia has only one capital (unlike some countries, which divide the legislative and administrative capitals, for example), and that capital is Canberra. Hence, by definition, there is no national capital "not counting Canberra". Though each constituent state also has its state capital (inclusive of Canberra, which is the entirety of its {{w|Australian Capital Territory|own state territory}}), this would still leave us with an ambiguous choice. Before 1927, the answer could be Melbourne, as that was where the Parliament sat at that time. ||What city is the capital of Australia? What is currently the largest city in Australia? What is the smallest state capital in Australia? Not counting Canberra, what city was the most recently founded state capital of Australia? What city was the capital city before Canberra?
|-
|10. Who played the drums?||Trivial, yet unknowable without context||As worded, the question could be answered with anyone who's ever played the drums, in any context, whether professional or not, in all of history. This would include a huge number of people, most of whom would not be well-known. Most people would be able to offer a technically correct answer, and almost none of them would be interesting. Or maybe the host is wondering who it was that played drums that night, as part of the bar's live music.||Who played the drums for some specific band/album/track/concert/time/place?
|-
|(Title text) Where is {{w|London}} located? (a) the {{w|British Isles}} (b) {{w|Great Britain and Northern Ireland}} (c) the {{w|United Kingdom|UK}} (d) {{w|Europe}} (or 'the {{w|European Union|EU}}') (e) {{w|Greater London}}||Multiple answers||All choices are technically correct as they are various geographical areas that include the city of London, England. Also note that the City of London is different from the city ''named'' London, as the latter includes a large region around the former, hence (e) as an answer. Answer (d) is both correct and incorrect, as it conflates a geographic region, Europe, and a political body, the European Union. The United Kingdom (and therefore London) {{w|Brexit|left the EU}} in 2020, but is still geographically included in Europe. In addition, 'the UK' is short for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, so answers (b) and (c) refer to the same thing. This also does not get into cities named London outside of the UK, so for example "Ontario" or "Canada" could also be possible answers if the test designer were truly evil, thus making none of the answers correct. ||What is the capital of the United Kingdom? (answer: London) Where is London, England '''not''' located? (a) the British Isles (b) Great Britain and Northern Ireland (c) the UK (d) Europe (e) the EU (answer: (e))
|}

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

:[The top half of Cueball is shown. He is holding a wireless microphone in his right hand and a pencil and notebook in his left, reading from the notebook and speaking into the microphone]:
:Cueball:

:Welcome to pub trivia! Round one is 10 questions:

# Which member of BTS has a birthday this year?
# How many sides does a platonic solid have?
# What is the smallest lake in the world?
# Which Steven Spielberg movie features more shark attacks - ''Jaws'' (1975) or ''Lincoln'' (2012)?
# How many planets were there originally?
# What NFL player has scored the most points outside of a game?
# The Wright brothers built the first airplane. Who built the last one?
# Is every even number greater than 2 the sum of two primes?
# Not counting Canberra, what city is the capital of Australia?
# Who played the drums?

:[Caption below the panel]:
:A local pub trivia place hired me to run bad quizzes at competing bars.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category: American football]]
[[Category: Astronomy]]
[[Category: Geography]]
[[Category: Math]]
[[Category: Music]]

User talk:SqueakSquawk4

2024-04-07T21:54:18Z

SqueakSquawk4: /* I put a broken machine into https://xkcd.com/2916/ */

==Discussion of calculation of Physics Cost-Saving Tips==
:At the moment the calculation for [[2649: Physics Cost-Saving Tips]] performed by SqueakSquawk4 is included in the explanation of said comic. Here this can be discussed. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:01, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
{{cot|[[User:SqueakSquawk4|Calculations]]}}
{{User:SqueakSquawk4}} 
{{cob}}
That looks great! Sorry I can't talk to you on your talk page, it hasn't been created and I've always been too lazy to make an autoconfimed user. I hope you're okay with the changes in this edit. Do you mind if we subst: this into the collapse box on [[2649]] so it can be cleaned up and formatted there? Thanks for looking all that up. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.8|172.70.207.8]] 14:37, 24 July 2022 (UTC)
: What actually is Subst-ing? [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 15:51, 24 July 2022 (UTC)
:: It just means copying it instead of transcluding it like a template. The advantage is it's not dependent on your userpage which is kind of nonstandard and awkward, but the disadvantage is that edits in one place won't show up in the other. [[mw:Help:Substitution]]. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.145|172.70.210.145]] 16:12, 24 July 2022 (UTC)
::: I actually kinda like it referencing my profile. If there's no strong reason to change it, I'd like to keep it.[[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:06, 24 July 2022 (UTC)
:::: No problemo! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.50|172.69.34.50]] 23:46, 24 July 2022 (UTC)
:Hi SqueakSquawk4. I cannot validate your calculation, but given all the discussion about it, I think it is valid to include in the explanation. It is a new way to include stuff on explain xkcd, so I'm not sure about that version, but I will not oppose it. If others agree with your calculations, I think it is a great effort by you. Thanks. Have added a header, so the next who wish to write to you on other subjects, can make a new header, so not to mix up the discussions. And also included the calculation at the top, so everyone coming here knows what the fuss is about. Good job! ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:01, 25 July 2022 (UTC)

<s>... First, I just noticed, why did you go from 1.25 to 1.35 to 1.5 MeV? Which figure did you use for the total energy product?</s> Fixed math. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.86|172.69.34.86]] 16:53, 24 July 2022 (UTC)

== I put a broken machine into https://xkcd.com/2916/ ==

Hiya!

If you're reading this, it's probably becuase you spotted a square on https://xkcd.com/2916/ that doesn't let any balls through, which should be impossible because it can only be submitted if balls are flowing.

Put simply, what I did was take advantage of the time it takes balls to fall. The square was such that balls took a while to drop the height of the room before being accepted. I placed a "Bucket" under the dispenser, then had a fan blow the balls round the bucket and into the receptor. To get it recieved, I just had to delete the fan then paste the name into the name box and submit before they stopped falling.

Here are some screenshots I took: https://imgur.com/a/yAJ5pjM

I know this is kinda mean and I may get banned for it or something, but considering I'm writing out how I did it so Randal can prevent it I don't see it as so bad, at least I'm open about it. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 17:55, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

:Not gonna say that you're to blame (there's all kinds of other possible problems, even at my end), but just to note that I've been having submit-crashes (not of the browser, but of the functionality) for several goes, now. I did the "Two yellows, one green!" (see my little contribution to the Machine comic Talk) and got so far as seeing that I had Under Construction tapes above me (as well as either side and below), so maybe I was already on procedurally-dodgy territory. All solutions since then have page-crashed (gone to completely white area between the standard upper and lower comic navigation buttons) and apparently not got anywhere.
:What I'm sort of hoping is that it's a server-side issue (perhaps your 'broken machine' submission, but as likely some other cascading operational error, or even whatever it is that prompted "multiple yellow routes" to actually emerge onto a given pane) that a bit of manual tweaking at Randall's (or his collaboration team's) end will make work again once it's obvious that it's gone a bit funny.
:...also possible that it's just overloaded ''my'' browser and there's absolutely no issue (or, at least, not this one) with anyone else out there. ;)
:As for getting 'banned for this'. Well, apart from pushing the envelope a little (a very xkcdian thing to do!), I don't think there's anything to be worried about having done. It was an experiment, not malicious. And 'banning' from here won't help regards anything you did to the Machine site, and this isn't somewhere Randall comes (that we know of!), let alone involved in our business here (well, not that I've seen). If you want my opinion, as a casual observer with absollutely no say in the matter, don't worry about this. Maybe this is the kind of thing the release delay was trying to address (didn't delay long enough, for further testing!), but that's all a development/stress-testing issue, not a 'moderation' one. But it's been interesting, either way.
:Half minded to poke Randall and let him know ''my'' ideas for an interactive comic (sometime in the next couple of years... I see no need to rush). But there's a lot to do to make sure it even works in the sort of way that I think Randall would appreciate, even before I nudge him and see if he even ''wants'' such an unsolicited suggestion! :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.31|172.70.163.31]] 21:09, 7 April 2024 (UTC)
::Not sure how I would have crashed the site, seeing as all I really did was stop the flow of balls. I saw someone on r/xkcd put the script of the Bee Movie as a name so that's more likely to have caused problems than me. I was also getting either the same or a similar fault myself on Firefox (But not Chrome) before I submitted this.
::
::Also "this isn't somewhere Randall comes (that we know of!), let alone involved in our business here (well, not that I've seen)" sounds like something Randall would say if he were here and trying to be stealthy
::
::Btw, how did you find this? Does explainxkcd have a new edits thread? Did you see the link in the name in the comic? Genuinely, I'm curious [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 21:54, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

User talk:SqueakSquawk4

2024-04-07T17:55:54Z

SqueakSquawk4: /* I put a broken machine into https://xkcd.com/2916/ */ new section

2916: Machine

2024-04-07T17:32:39Z

SqueakSquawk4: Black holes minimal effect on Green

{{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}}.

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 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 (that 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.

<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.

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.

The grid is 12 cells wide, and grows in height. The largest size observed so far is 12x44, for a total of 528 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.

Whenever balls reach the bottom of the grid, they are directed towards 4 containers, one of each color. Below the containers is a pit. If no balls are entering the containers or pit, it 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. More streams of balls are likely to add more changes.

===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 upright with a springy effect || [[File:2916_scoop.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 (red 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 || [[File:2916_prism.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Wheel || Spins normally (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]]
|}

{| 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 or resting? || [[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]]
|-
| Rabbit || [[File:2916_rabbit.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|-
| Cat || [[File:2916_cat.png|frameless|upright=0.125]]
|}

=== 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 effected 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.
*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]]

2910: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

2024-03-22T15:48:28Z

SqueakSquawk4: Video about the (IRL) Fitz

{{comic
| number = 2910
| date = March 22, 2024
| title = The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
| image = the_wreck_of_the_edmund_fitzgerald_2x.png
| imagesize = 463x672px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = You know that asteroid that almost destroyed Earth in the 90s? Turns out the whole thing was secretly created by Michael Bay, who then PAID Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck to look heroic while blowing it up!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ONE OF THE FBI'S MOST WANTED, FOR CRIMES AGAINST SHIPPING - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic features a character identifiable as a {{w|minstrel}}, {{w|bard}} or {{w|Folk music|folk singer}}, performing a {{w|narrative song}} on a jetty. It parodies {{w|Gordon Lightfoot}}'s song {{w|The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald}}, recounting the fate of the {{w|SS Edmund Fitzgerald}}, a famously wrecked vessel and thus an ideal subject for a musical retelling.

The words begin with some of the original lyrics of Gordon Lightfoot's song, but soon become a direct reference to the art of songwriting itself. Rather than describing in song how a disaster occured, it turns out to be a description of how a disaster occured for ''the sake of'' the song.

In real life, the reason for sinking is still unknown, but it's speculated that her hull broke up in the rough waters of the Great Lakes.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIg90sVSwSE] This xkcd is implying that the ''real'' reason for her sinking is that the songwriter bribed a mechanic to intentionally engineer her sinking and give him sufficient material for a new song.

As a punchline, the verse goes on to reveal that another even greater {{w|Sinking of the Titanic|maritime disaster}} had already occured for the sake of a {{w|Titanic (1997 film)|film}}. While the tale of Lightfoot causing the first disaster is feasible, since the song came out a few months after the "accident", James Cameron was born more than 40 years after the Titanic sank.

The title text continues this particular cycle by suggesting that an even bigger potential disaster was orchestrated {{tvtropes|RecycledInSpace|in space}}, as the 'real life' basis for {{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|yet another film}}.

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

:[Cueball is holding a guitar and singing on a pier.]
:The ship was the pride
:of the American side
:It was due to set
:sail for Cleveland
:As the big freighters go,
:it was bigger than most
:With a crew and good
:captain well seasoned

:But taking a walk on
:the shore by the dock
:Was a songwriter named
:Gordon Lightfoot
:He was humming a tune
:but it didn't have words
:For it's challenging
:trying to write good

:Poor Gordon sought glory
:but needed a story
:His career in folk
:music imperiled
:He mulled over this as
:he watched them do work
:On the hull of the
:''Edmund Fitzgerald''

:Perhaps it was wrong,
:what he did for a song
:He should never have
:bribed that mechanic
:But his maritime crimes
:are no worse than the time
:Young James Cameron
:sank the ''Titanic''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Songs]]

Talk:2907: Schwa

2024-03-17T22:30:14Z

SqueakSquawk4: Add comməmt

In what crazy dialect do these all use the same 1 vowel? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.210.73|172.68.210.73]] 22:10, 15 March 2024 (UTC)
:I can think of several. I was immediately reminded of Lucy Porter's Hull accent ([https://www.google.com/search?q=hull+accent+oh+no some examples, including videos/audio, here]), but I can also think of New Zealand (more 'i'ish vowels, at least stereotypically), South African (down a couple of tones from that), and a number of state-side accents that ''conceivably'' are what Randall's drawing upon. [...as ninjaed, below, by 172.71.166.190 at 22:30]
:My own accent (when given its full reign) actually tends to be consonant-light ("o'er" for "over", such that my vowels tend to be ''two or three'' separate tones in a row), so it doesn't work so well. But if I shift my focus to try to impersonate people from ten miles to the north (or a dozen or so miles east) from where I grew up then I can actually get quite close to 'perfect monovowelism' (still suppressing the consonants!). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.139|172.69.79.139]] 22:32, 15 March 2024 (UTC)
:All of them? I had to read the explanation to get what constitutes a schwa, but then I read the comic again, and yeah, they're all roughly the same sound, in the average North American accent anyway. Only exception is the word "A", which people might often pronounce like the letter "A", which of course isn't a schwa, :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:57, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
::'Round these 'ere parts, you'd never say "A"-to-rhyme-with-"Hay" (except to stress "that isn't just ''a(y)'' good song but ''the(e)'' best song ever!", e.g.). Still confused, me, though when at my first ever French class at school, the teacher (with not far off the local accent) told us that 'un' and 'une' were "the words for 'uh'...". Which only became clear when she clarified "...like 'uh book', 'uh table', 'uh window'...". This was actually how we all spoke. (More or less... Ah din't spake quart ser m'tch lahk dat, wot wi' mi mam'n'dad bofe bin frum a cupla tarns ovver, f'witch ah gut uh rep f'beyin "posch". Ur mebbe 'twuz cuz mi mam whir uh titch'r, ser ah gut lurnt t' spake proppah?) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.3|172.71.242.3]] 17:23, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

Personally I pronounce those pretty much all the same (I live in Boston like Randall but don't have an actual Boston accent)
--[[Special:Contributions/172.71.166.190|172.71.166.190]] 22:30, 15 March 2024 (UTC)

I didn't think it was considered schwa when stressed as in "up" and "love". But my dictionary has a schwa in its pronunciation guide for both, so I guess I was wrong. But this basically means the usual "short U" pronunciation is schwa. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:59, 15 March 2024 (UTC)
:Some dialects split the vowel at the end of "comma" from the vowel in "strut," but most North American dialects don't. So in pronouncing dictionaries, you will sometimes see the strut vowel written ʌ and the comma vowel written ə even though they might be exactly the same in your accent. In vowels that split comma and strut, schwa is rarely stressed, but that's not a rule. This is sometimes confused by American teachers, who try to explain why they see two different symbols for the same sound. But they really are different sounds, and Americans just don't use /ʌ/ at all. [[User:EebstertheGreat|EebstertheGreat]] ([[User talk:EebstertheGreat|talk]]) 02:50, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
::Plus, this "schwa is never stressed" mnemonic doesn't even make perfect predictions for dialects without the merger. I've heard that in ''undone'' /ʌnˈdʌn/, the unstressed vowel doesn't go to schwa. In the end, the IPA wasn't created just for English, and it only defines [ə] as a mid central vowel, not an unstressed one. Reduced vowels may often mid-centralize, but nothing says a language can't stress mid central vowels at other times, just like any other vowel quality can be stressed or unstressed. [[User talk:AgentMuffin|~AgentMuffin]] 21:53, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

This all works in a generically american accent, except for the i vowel in onion, which cannot be schwa-ified in any english accent I've ever heard. [[Special:Contributions/
172.69.34.171|172.69.34.171]] 23:27, 15 March 2024 (UTC)
:Depends. {{wiktionary|onion|Wiktionary says}} /ˈʌn.jən/ (any particular places?) or /ˈʌŋ.jɪn/ (Canada) (and an obsolete version that I'd imagine the Kiwis to use).
:If the /j/ ''isn't'' considered a vowel then you could definitely justify something like "un-yun" or "ern-yern" or even "in-yin" (amongst various ''other'' like-vowel versions)...
:If you do the /j*n/ more as in {{wiktionary|eon|/ˈi.ɑn/, /ˈeɪ.ɑn/, /ˈiː.ən/, /ˈiː.ɒn/ or /ˈeɪ.ɒn/}} then clearly you can't switch to "uhn-uh-uhn" quite so easily. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.69|162.158.74.69]] 23:52, 15 March 2024 (UTC)
:It says every vowel SOUND, which is different than "how each vowel sounds". The sound of that I is a Y. The O following it indeed uses the schwa. :) That's my guess, anyway, I don't know these pronunciation things that deeply. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:57, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
:This dipthong has a consonant in it. What is going on? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.65.182|172.69.65.182]] 12:15, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
: "''except for the i vowel in onion''" IMHO, there is no 'i' in onion. UN-YUN. The Y acts more of a consonant. -Me (born of a Missouri mom and a Connecticut father, babbled in Colorado, schooled in Calif then New Jersey within hearing of South Philly, yo!) [[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 20:18, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
I can't read the words "love cult" without thinking of DHMIS 3. [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Help_with_Creating_a_User_Page|Trogdor147]] ([[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Help_with_Creating_a_User_Page|talk]]) 00:10, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
::The /j/ sound commonly found in "onion" is not generally considered a vowel. As a test, try to put it between two consonants to make a complete syllable: first try to say /np/, and notice you have to add a schwa (neutral vowel), /nəp/; then try to say /nyp/, and you'll add that same extra vowel, /nyəp/. It's sometimes called a "semivowel", because it has some properties of a vowel and some of a consonant; or sometimes a "glide", because of the way it sets at the edge a syllable. - [[User:IMSoP|IMSoP]] ([[User talk:IMSoP|talk]]) 16:01, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

If someone actually read this conversation to me using only schwa, I don't think I'd understand it. I usually consider myself a fluent English speaker, but my native language - Polish - doesm't have this vovel at all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.231|162.158.103.231]] 07:16, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
:Yeah, I think for us non-native speakers this is quite hard to replicate. I had to read the sentences out loud several times before I heard it. The standard British English I learned at school 35 years ago tends to have less Schwas in it, I guess. In German we do have some Schwas, mainly towards the end of words, but I don't think it is possible to construct whole sentence without any other vowels. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.157|162.158.155.157]] 07:56, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
I’m american (boston area) but some of these vowels do sound different from others to me, although it still seems it would be clear and ok if they’re all said the same. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.65.182|172.69.65.182]] 12:15, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

Randall seems to have terminally confused the schwa [ǝ] with [ʌ] as in "cup". I've never seen such an incorrect xkcd. In the UK, the Manchester accent almost universally consists of [ǝ] and even they wouldn't be able to use [ǝ] for "onion" [[Special:Contributions/172.69.223.163|172.69.223.163]] 13:04, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
:The explanation mentioned the {{w|strut–comma merger}} well before this comment. There's no need to jump to {{w|Linguistic prescriptivism|calling other dialects "incorrect"}}. [[User talk:AgentMuffin|~AgentMuffin]] 21:53, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

Maybe a better symbol could be used than an apostrophe in the explanation? It's difficult to read/spot, and the quote is surrounded in quotation marks, which makes it a little confusing. I'm not sure what though. --[[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 15:24, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

:Maybe an underscore? “D_gs c_s(_)n, th_ _n fr_m L_nd_n, r_ns _ B_mbl l_v c_lt.” - 16:01, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

It's a shame Schwa isn't pronounced with a schwa. [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 16:47, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

For an example of where people mispronounce vowels for comic effect, here's a 40 year old and occasionally very impolite/politically incorrect BBC comedy which used people speaking in different accents as their conceit for different languages. So an englishman speaking very bad french comes across very like these XKCD characters https://youtu.be/ycqc0L4a2wQ?si=KO_qvZqMJH-3Gy1N&t=90 [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 16:52, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

This is highly inconsistent both with my experience and the diction/IPA I studied in college as part of a vocal music education degree. The short U [ʌ] and schwa [ǝ] are different vowels, and the difference is most obvious (in words used in the strip) in "cousin" and "obstruction" which would sound ridiculous if you pronounced all the vowel sounds exactly the same. I would have failed an assignment I turned in marking this strip full of schwas. They're almost all [ʌ] except in those words and "a" and "of". {{unsigned ip|172.70.131.119|13:10, 17 March 2024}}
:Diction ('correct' diction, e.g. RP or other elevated standards) is one thing, but this is everyday casual speech. Maybe your vocal music emphasis is on something like RADA's high-baseline 'standard' accent, beating out the provincial drawl (like they certainly used to, yet anyone in a Ken Loach film is expected to use more highly local inflections (as suited to themselves and their intended character). Accents in music are going to be different (either hyper, in 'folk'/regional, suppressed in easy-listening or stylised for partifular wide genres), but again hard to compare with casual (lazy?) speech.
:Ironically "of" is the one word I might not 'schwaify' so quickly. For something "I would've done it", there's a schwa in the "d'v", but "I would of course have done it" has none in the "d of" (even run together). [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.190|172.71.178.190]] 14:48, 17 March 2024 (UTC)

We should make this post able to be spoken only using ə. I'll have a go tomorrow if no-one does first. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 22:30, 17 March 2024 (UTC)

2801: Contact Merge

2024-03-15T16:46:30Z

SqueakSquawk4: "Extrovert" to "Extraverted"

{{comic
| number = 2801
| date = July 12, 2023
| title = Contact Merge
| image = contact_merge_2x.png
| imagesize = 353x429px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I actually kind of feel like John and Surf King wouldn't like each other, which is a lot to unpack.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is in contact with someone in a some typical text-chat context, who uses the nickname of "Surf King". His phone also knows of a person called John, which seems to be the real name of the same person, although Cueball appears to have been unaware or forgetful of that fact. The humor arises when Cueball mentions this to "Surf King", who is flabbergasted that Cueball is not aware of this fact.

Some algorithm that manages the contact-list has been offering (or trying) to merge the contact details into a single entry, as having the same core details, which intrigues Cueball but without him understanding why. Instead he directs a comment about this to "@Surf King", who apparently did not deign to respond (a typed-out ellipsis as a common shorthand for being rendered speechless, as opposed to the temporary "[[Typing Notifications|Currently typing]]" ellipsis).

Cueball's follow-up comment is clearly prompted by the realization that his 'two' contacts both share an interest in surfing, perhaps having been in separate group conversations with both John and Surf King personae in the interim, and he decides to revisit the issue. But from Surf King's response it looks like Cueball and Surf King have been chatting (indeed, in this specific chatroom) for several years, making it mildly impressive that Cueball apparently never made the connection between his identities in that time.

The title text implies that Cueball has had second thoughts about the compatibility of Surf King/John with himself, having picked up further cues from either or both of subsequent chats with him (outside of this particular channel) that reduce the perceived social compatibility. This could be explained by John being far more (or differently) extraverted when interacting via his more sporty pseudonym, or possibly by having subtly changed attitudes and interests over time while not actually using one or other identity to update others' impressions of him. Either of these can be due to his perhaps having let the account of his youth go mostly idle, instead interacting primarily by with the other. In professional contexts, people have been switching to using their given name, whereas people also switch to pseudonyms to protect themselves from harassment or identity theft. It could also simply be that John does not respond well to people like himself, instead having a personality that gravitates to a complementary personality rather than a similar one.

This is another example of Cueball demonstrating [[1674: Adult|extremely nerdy habits]]. This can possibly be explained by developing different kinds of experiences at a significantly different rates than more extroverted and social individuals due to a much higher proportion of the time and focus in both childhood and adulthood spent doing technical work. Due to this different proportion of experiences, such people can miss normal conversational implications like this, while demonstrating great aptitude in less common scenarios such as engineering. Many see these kinds of people as the intended readership of the comic.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball is holding a phone and chatting in DMs]
:Cueball: @Surf King Weird, my phone keeps trying to merge your contact with John's
:Surf King: ...
:Cueball: Hey, you two should meet up-He's into surfing too
:Surf King: Oh my God
:Surf King: Are you serious
:Surf King: You've been in this chat with me for '''four years!'''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I wonder who holds the record for accidentally doing this the longest.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Phones]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]

Talk:2692: Interior Decorating

2023-12-05T23:29:05Z

SqueakSquawk4:

what about occam’s razor?[[User:Anonymouscript|Anonymouscript]] ([[User talk:Anonymouscript|talk]]) 22:11, 31 October 2022 (UTC)
:Isn’t ominous, not in itself. —[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User:While False/explain xkcd museum|'''museum''']] | [[User talk:While False|talk]] | [[special:Contributions/While_False|contributions]] | [[special:Log/While_False|logs]] | [[Special:UserRights/While_False|rights]]) 22:13, 31 October 2022 (UTC)
:It sounds like it would be dangerous, since a razor is a sharp blade. Unless it's Occam's safety razor. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:27, 31 October 2022 (UTC)
::It could be very hazardous to use, if you tried whilst sailing upon the Ship Of Theseus... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.54|172.70.91.54]] 01:47, 1 November 2022 (UTC)
::: So long as I'm not in control of the trolley anymore, I'm good. [[User:Cwallenpoole|Cwallenpoole]] ([[User talk:Cwallenpoole|talk]]) 13:49, 2 November 2022 (UTC)

Siege Perilous is ominous and mythical, but what is it a metaphor for? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:27, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

I don't think the Pelosi attack is relevant to this comic. At best, it could be trivia fodder, but I find it highly unlikely that it influenced the comic in any way. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.39|108.162.216.39]] 22:50, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

Isn't Chekhov's gun supposed to be on a mantelpiece? I don't know why I remember that. It's not in Wikipedia but is on plenty of other sites about it. Anyone know the origin of the mantelpiece angle? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.243|172.70.210.243]] 02:12, 1 November 2022 (UTC)
:not necessarily, it's just the most common example of a superfluous detail in 'Why draw attention to an otherwise superfluous detail if it's not of importance?' that's at heart of Chekhov's Gun.[[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.217|198.41.242.217]] 07:45, 1 November 2022 (UTC)
:Wikipedia has several quotes of Chekhov talking about it. One of them mentions a rifle hanging on a wall so it could be from that. [[User:Arcorann|Arcorann]] ([[User talk:Arcorann|talk]]) 23:19, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

I was introduced to Chekov's gun when I was sad to my son that fiction has 1)Plot Premise, 2) Plot Plants 3) Plot Fixes. The Chekhov's gun would be 2), but a pistol drawn from a handbag sold be 3) unless mentioned in Act 1. Of course weapons on the wall could be 1) depending on the house.[[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 21:15, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

"{{w|Pavel Chekov|Chekov}}'s Gun" would probably be a phaser set to 'stun'... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.62|172.70.86.62]] 23:34, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

This would go great with a dying ivy with only a single leaf, and a blue curtain. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.215.4|172.71.215.4]] 04:21, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

This has one too many metaphors. That last one is the straw that broke the camel's back. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.175.116|172.70.175.116]] 05:48, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

:It was perfectly ok until it tried to jump that shark! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 10:41, 1 November 2022 (UTC)
::No need to jump Chekhov's gun here, sharks are fine, just watch out for those red herrings.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.246.209|172.70.246.209]] 13:05, 1 November 2022 (UTC)
:::Can you shoot red herrings in a barrel with Chekhov's gun? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 13:14, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

img looks slightly blurry. is this because the 2x version is of an odd width (397 pixels) for some reason? --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.76|172.70.111.76]] 19:40, 1 November 2022 (UTC)

Good it's only the Damocles sword and not the Tyrfing. (Or the pointy thingie of Elric, THAT name I'd had to look up.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.46.15|172.70.46.15]] 08:36, 2 November 2022 (UTC)
:According to the wiki page on the Tyrfing, Stormbringer (Elric's sword) was actually based on Tyrfing.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.102.151|172.71.102.151]] 08:10, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

Ok so it says that Pandora was told never to open the box but actually she was created by the gods specifically to open the box so maybe we should rewrite that section [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.33|172.70.114.33]] 13:39, 2 November 2022 (UTC)

Does anyone have any ideas for other things along this theme? I'm thinking of doing this. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 23:29, 5 December 2023 (UTC)

2649: Physics Cost-Saving Tips

2023-07-04T14:49:55Z

SqueakSquawk4: Ordanance pun

{{comic
| number = 2649
| date = July 22, 2022
| title = Physics Cost-Saving Tips
| image = physics_cost_saving_tips.png
| titletext = I got banned from the county fair for handing out Helium-2 balloons. Apparently the instant massive plasma explosions violated some local ordinance or something.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another one of [[Randall|Randall's]] [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this time with a series of Physics Cost-Saving Tips. It also continues the previous [[2648: Chemicals]] comic's jocular theme of tricks to supposedly save money based on misinterpretations of science.

It suggests four ways to reduce costs or provide something for free for physicists to save money on their research. For instance getting free electrons from a conductor or replacing regular {{w|helium}} with {{w|Isotopes_of_helium#Helium-2_(diproton)|helium 2}}. None of these would provide any real advantages even when possible to implement, and could even be very dangerous, see below in the [[#Table of tips|table]]. Obtaining money from physics experiments was also described in [[2007: Brookhaven RHIC]].

In the title text, Randall claims to have been banned from the county fair for handing out helium-2 balloons because of the instant massive explosions caused by its radioactive decay (that helium-2 decays fast is mentioned in the comic, with a joke suggestion to use it quickly). He jokes that the balloons violated a local ordinance. {{w|Gas balloon|Helium balloons}} are often given out at county fairs and similar events, but they are filled with {{w|helium-4}} and therefore inert (a very small part will be {{w|helium-3}}, 2 ppm). A balloon filled with helium-2 is a practical impossibility because of its nanosecond half-life. Assuming a 12-inch diameter balloon at 1 atmosphere of pressure, the balloon-bomb would have a yield of roughly 17 {{w|TNT equivalent|tons of TNT equivalent}}.
{{cot|[[User:SqueakSquawk4|Calculations]]}}
{{User:SqueakSquawk4}} 
{{cob}}
The smallest nuclear bomb, the {{w|W54}}, had a yield of between 10 and 1,000 tons of TNT. The largest conventional bomb, the {{w|GBU-43/B MOAB}}, has a yield of roughly 11 tons. The {{w|2020 Beirut explosion}} was roughly equivalent to 500 tons. So, while the helium-2 balloon bomb would be larger than all conventional bombs, it would still be smaller than most nukes. Handing out what are effectively small atomic bombs at a county fair would not go down well with any surviving local authorities, so merely being banned is a very mild punishment. Criminal charges such as mass murder and terrorism would be more likely if it weren't for the absurd impossibility of the scenario.

The title text is likely also a pun, as the word "{{w|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_ordinance|ordinance}}" means a local law, and the very similar sounding word "[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordnance ordnance]" means artillery and other explosive weapons, which the baloon would qualify as.

===Table of tips===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" |Cost-Saving Tip
! scope="col" |Explanation
|-
|Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible
|[[File:Torque animation.gif|frame|right|Relationship of pseudovectors {{w|torque}} ('''τ''') and {{w|angular momentum}} ('''L''') to "regular" Euclidean vectors {{w|Position (vector)|position}} ('''r'''), {{w|force}} ('''F'''), and linear {{w|momentum}} ('''p''') in an oscillatory rotating system. Not shown is the {{w|centripetal force}} of the spoke's {{w|Tension (physics)|tension}}, a Euclidean vector towards the axle proportional to linear momentum, converting it to angular momentum.]]

The prefix "pseudo-" refers to an inauthentic variation of something. Fakes are usually cheaper than their original brand-name product, while often working just as well, so the comic implies a {{w|pseudovector}} could be a less expensive substitute for a regular vector. On the contrary, pseudovectors, or axial vectors, are distinct from regular {{w|Euclidean vector}}s, which have a magnitude and direction (velocity, for example). Pseudovectors are usually being involved with rotation or physical effects that share properties with rotation, similar to the relationship between angles and lengths. Pseudovectors are formed from the {{w|cross product}}s of Euclidean vectors, in three dimensions, and while similar to Euclidean vectors, there is no physical meaning to their specific direction, only their magnitude and portions of their position. For example, {{w|angular momentum}} is described by a pseudovector, labeled '''L''' in the comic, {{w|Normal (geometry)|normal}} to the {{w|plane of rotation}}, originating from the center of rotation, with magnitude equal to the angular velocity of rotation '''ω''' multiplied by the {{w|moment of inertia}} '''I'''. (The comic's diagram is drawn according to very uncommon {{w|Right-hand rule#Coordinates|left-handed coordinates}} instead of the standard {{w|right-hand rule}}. Randall is right-handed.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1tcyEo2tQk&t=28s])
|-
|A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves
|{{w|Fourier analysis}} can decompose any periodic function into a series of {{w|sine wave}}s. A {{w|square wave}} is equal to the sum of an infinite series of sine waves. However, the sine waves are not removed or separated individually, so such a {{w|Fourier transform}} does not produce a "supply" of sine waves for practical use in any tasks other than analysis, and as abstract mathematical objects are exempt from the laws of supply and demand ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypto_Wars#/media/File:Munitions_T-shirt_(front).jpg most of the time]),
|-
|Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons
|Chemical elements are identified by the number of protons in each atomic nucleus, equal to the number of electrons in their shell (unless the atom is ionized), which dictates most of their chemical behavior. {{w|Isotopes}} are variants of the element with different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus, among which chemical behavior is usually nearly identical. The comic suggests that the neutrons don't serve any useful purpose, so, in theory, if purchasing an element by weight, and its isotopes have the same price per unit weight, then you can save money by buying isotopes with no neutrons at all. In reality, the cost per unit weight for material containing a larger concentration of normally rare isotopes, such as {{w|heavy water}} or {{w|enriched uranium}}, is much higher than the cost of material containing isotopes in their ordinary proportions. (An exception is {{w|depleted uranium}}, which costs less than regular uranium because it is a byproduct of the production of enriched uranium.) In addition, a certain range of neutron quantity is needed to keep atoms stable, as atoms with too many or too few neutrons will decay more quickly than the common isotopes. The image shown is helium-2, an {{w|Isotopes of helium|isotope of helium}} which has a half-life of less than a nanosecond. It decays into two ionized hydrogen atoms, releasing a large amount of energy—hence the explosions mentioned in the title text.
|-
|Conductors are a great source of free electrons (may carry charges)
|{{w|Charge carrier|Free}} {{w|electron}}s are electrons that are not tightly bound to specific atoms so [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGUteH93xNo they can move freely,] such as in {{w|conduction band}}s of the {{w|metallic bond}}s throughout the iron ingot depicted in the comic. Randall interprets "free" in a different sense, meaning no cost. The charges free electrons carry are electric, not monetary as implied by the pun. Ordinary matter usually contains electrons, but although the {{w|dielectric}} layer of a {{w|capacitor}} can collect electrons, it is not easy to store pure electrons, as they repel each other. When a {{w|Solution (chemistry)|solution}} has free electrons, it becomes {{w|alkaline}} ({{w|Base (chemistry)|basic}}) and corrosive. Randall has [https://what-if.xkcd.com/140/ explained the problems] with collecting a large number of electrons before.
|}

==Transcript==
:[The comic shows four rows each with a drawing and an explanation text belonging to each drawing. They alternate between having the drawing on the left and the right side. Above the first row is a large header:]
:<big>Physics Cost-Saving Tips</big>

:[The first row has a drawing of a diagramatical spinning disc, at an angle. It is identified with an 'I', with a dotted axial arrow labelled 'L' and a rotational movement labelled 'ω' (small omega).
:I
:L
:ω

:[To the right of the diagram is this text:]
:Try replacing regular vectors with pseudovectors whenever possible

:[The second row shows a square wave with three maxima between four minima. Below the central maxima and the two nearby minima are five arrows pointing down (two bending left two right one straight down). Each arrow points to one of five sine waves below the square wave, in three rows, with different wavelengths. The one with the shortest wavelength is the top left, then the wavelength becomes longer for the one to the right and even longer for each of the next two, in the next row with the final very long wave with longest wavelength at the bottom, with the straight down arrow pointing to that. The long waves at the bottom has the same frequency as the square wave.]

:[To the left of the waves is this text:]
:A square wave can be broken down into an infinite supply of valuable sine waves

:[The third row shows two atomic models. The left containing two protons (white with a "+" sign), two neutrons (black) and orbited by two electrons (white with a "-" sign, small outlines, dotted orbits/movement lines). The right model is drawn similarly but without the black neutrons.]
:+ +
:- -
:+ +
:- -

:[The atoms have labels below and there is an extra message for the second model:]
:4He
:2He
:(Decays fast- use quickly)

:[To the right of the models is this text:]
:Cut waste by buying lighter isotopes that don't have any dead-weight neutrons

:[The fourth row shows a flat rectangular bar, drawn in perspective with a scattering of four small circles with "-" sign inside them and ten lines looking like parts of circles, all on the top face towards the far end.]
:- - - -

:[A bending arrow goes from a label above the bar and points to one of the circles. And on the forward-facing side of the bar there is a label.]
:Arrow: Free electrons
:Label: Iron

:[To the left of the bar is this text:]
:Conductors are a great source of free electrons
:(May carry charges)

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

1820: Security Advice

2023-04-11T19:38:43Z

SqueakSquawk4: Twitter Blue fiasco

{{comic
| number = 1820
| date = April 5, 2017
| title = Security Advice
| image = security_advice.png
| titletext = Never give your password or bank account number to anyone who doesn't have a blue check mark next to their name.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another one of [[Randall|Randall's]] [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this time a list of security tips.

The comic depicts a conversation between [[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]], discussing the fact that giving people security advice in the past has failed to improve their internet security, and in some cases even made things worse. One such example is telling people to create complicated passwords containing numbers and symbols, which not only made the passwords harder to remember (leading people to create huge security risks by [https://arstechnica.com/security/2015/04/hacked-french-network-exposed-its-own-passwords-during-tv-interview/ leaving post-it notes with their passwords on their computer monitor]), but did not actually make those passwords harder to crack (see [[936: Password Strength]]).

As a result, Cueball suggests using {{w|reverse psychology}} and give out bad advice instead, in hopes of achieving a positive effect. The last panel contains a list with 13 security tips, which are parodies of actual security tips. The title text is just one more tip. See [[#Security tips|table]] below for explanations for all 14 tips.

===Security tips===
{| class="wikitable"
!Security Tip
!Explanation
|- id="tip0"
|Print out this list and keep it in your bank safe deposit box (header)
|This is a standard recommendation for documents that must be kept secure because they are irreplaceable and/or contain sensitive information. However this list itself is easily replaceable and the contents will be well-known, so storing it in a safe place is totally unnecessary. Putting it in a {{w|safe deposit box}} would even be counterproductive since the list can only serve its purpose as a ready reminder if it's easily accessible to everyone. So when people fail to follow this tip, they may end up keeping it in a place where they have easy access to the tips so they may also fail to follow all the others.
|- id="tip1"
|Don't click links to websites
|The usual tip is "Don't click on ''suspicious'' website links" or "Don't click any links in suspicious emails". The comic's variation instead tells users not to click on any links to any websites, which essentially stops them from using the World Wide Web altogether. So this tip is not really helping, as the opposite of this would be to click on all links. [https://www.sketchywebsite.net This is an example website that showcases an extreme example of what ''could'' (probably wouldn't (this is not advice)) happen if you clicked on a suspicious link.]
|- id="tip2"
|Use prime numbers in your password
|It is usually recommended that one uses numbers in one's password, to increase its entropy, making it harder to find with a {{w|Brute-force attack|brute force}} attack. In contrast the comic suggests using {{w|prime numbers}} in one's password. Large prime numbers are an essential part of modern cryptography and security systems, when used in algorithms that are computed by machines. They don't have any effect when used by humans in passwords, except for maybe making it harder to remember. In addition, if people were to regularly use prime numbers in their passwords, it would actually make passwords ''easier'' to guess, as it would substantially reduce the number of possible passwords people may choose from.
|- id="tip3"
|Change your password manager monthly
|It is often recommended to change passwords on a regular basis and to use a {{w|password manager}}. Password managers are programs which can help users create, store, and change their passwords easily and securely. Changing password managers monthly would involve copying all stored passwords from one manager to another, which would be quite impractical and has no security benefit.
|- id="tip4"
|Hold your breath while crossing the border
|At some border crossings, government agents may search computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. The usual advice for such situations ranges from asserting your rights to resetting all devices and deleting all data prior to crossing a border. Holding one's breath can potentially prevent inhaling germs or poisons in some situations, though useless in the context of computer security. These two topics mixed in the same advice won't achieve anything, but if you hold your breath for too long you could pass out when crossing, or look stressed/suspicious and invite even more scrutiny. This could also be a reference to the superstition of holding one's breath when passing a graveyard, or similarly to the movie ''{{w|Spirited Away}}'', where the main character is instructed to hold her breath while crossing the bridge that acts as the border between the human and spirit world. In any case, holding one's breath while browsing the Internet would have no useful effect, supernatural or otherwise.
|- id="tip5"
|Install a secure font
|A real tip might be "Install a secure browser" especially when many people used {{w|Internet Explorer 6}}. Secure fonts do exist and are designed to make checks difficult to alter, but using one on a computer would not help one's internet security. May also refer to Google Chrome [https://www.proofpoint.com/us/threat-insight/post/EITest-Nabbing-Chrome-Users-Chrome-Font-Social-Engineering-Scheme "Install missing font"] malware.
|- id="tip6"
|Use a 2-factor smoke detector
|{{w|Multi-factor authentication|Two factor authentication}} describes the practice of using two different identification factors (such as a password and a code from a secure token) to authenticate the user. A two factor smoke detector presumably uses two or more factors to identify ''smoke'' (such as {{w|Smoke_detector#Ionization|ionization}} and {{w|Smoke_detector#Photoelectric|photoelectric}}). Such devices [https://alarmspecs.com actually exist], but, while improving the user's general safety, they do nothing to improve their internet security.


A month before this comic the newest [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone]], [[1809: xkcd Phone 5]], was released with a 28-factor authentication.
|- id="tip7"
|Change your maiden name regularly
|A {{w|maiden name}} is the family name that a woman has at birth. (The gender-neutral term is "birth name" or "birth surname"; it is unclear whether this "advice" is meant to apply only to women.) Security experts frequently criticize the concept of security questions like "what is your mother's maiden name?", on the basis that they can often be deduced from publicly available information. In the sense that it refers to a historical fact, a maiden name cannot be changed retroactively, although in the sense that it refers to the last name on one's birth certificate, in some narrow cases this ''can'' be amended. For instance, when someone is {{w|adoption|adopted}} and takes their adoptive parent's last name, in many jurisdictions a {{w|legal fiction}} holds that they have had that last name since birth, and governments will issue new birth certificates to that effect. However, it is unlikely for anyone to be able to amend the surname on their birth certificate more than once, and impossible to do so "regularly".

A real tip for dealing with security questions is to enter false data.
|- id="tip8"
|Put strange USB drives in a bag of rice overnight
|The usual security tip is "Don't plug strange {{w|USB flash drive|USB drives}} into your computer," because sometimes attackers leave USB devices with malicious programs lying around, hoping that people will plug them into target computers out of curiosity. This tip states that you should "put USB drives in a bag of rice overnight" which is a common technique for drying out water-damaged devices, due to rice's absorbent qualities. This would not clean the drive of viruses, and unless the drive was wet (perhaps because you found it outside due to it being called "strange") it would not do anything. In [[1598: Salvage]], another attempt is made to salvage something unconventional with rice, and here it is shown that Randall considers the rice drying of a wet mobile is a myth, so this is yet another jab at the idea.
|- id="tip9"
|Use special characters like & and %
|You can use special characters to increase the entropy/strength of your password, though as described in [[936: Password Strength]], that often leads to passwords that are hard to remember but not particularly strong. The password context is missing here, and in everyday situations the characters & and % are not special. These two characters are often disallowed in passwords because of their relevance to {{w|SQL}} (a common database query language). If these characters were used in a password, a badly written security system using SQL could have severe bugs (and security vulnerabilities) similar to the security flaw in [[327: Exploits of a Mom]].
|- id="tip10"
|Only read content published through Tor.com
|{{w|tor (anonymity network)|Tor}} is a software solution to provide anonymity on the web for its users. The website [https://tor.com Tor.com] is the website of fantasy and sci-fi book publisher {{w|Tor Books}}, which has no relation to the Tor-network.
|- id="tip11"
|Use a burner's phone
|A play on using a {{w|Prepay mobile phone|burner phone}} (a cheap/disposable cell phone like those purchased at 7-11, often used for drug deals or other activity one might not want traced), and using the cell phone of a burner, i.e. a person who habitually uses marijuana (or, less likely, a person who goes to the {{w|Burning Man|Burning Man festival}}).
|- id="tip12"
|Get an SSL certificate and store it in a safe place
|{{w|Transport Layer Security|SSL/TLS}} is a protocol for securing connections on the internet. To check if someone is who they claim to be, you can check the individual's {{w|Public key certificate|certificate}}. Such a certificate has to be public; storing it in a safe place makes the certificate useless. You have to store the private key that matches the certificate in a safe place, else someone could steal the identity.
|- id="tip13"
|If a border guard asks to examine your laptop, you have a legal right to challenge them to a chess game for your soul.
|This tip is a reference to the common trope {{tvtropes|ChessWithDeath|Chess with Death}}, in which a mortal challenges a god to a game or challenge, often for their life. This version of the trope traces back to {{w|Ingmar Bergman|Ingmar Bergman's}} film {{w|The Seventh Seal}}, in which the protagonist {{w|The Seventh Seal#Synopsis|challenges Death}} to a game of chess. But instead of avoiding death, this tip suggests you have the right to do the same to get out of handing your devices over to a border guard. (This trope is also featured in [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/393 393: Ultimate Game]).
Under President {{w|Donald Trump}} (inaugurated two and a half months prior to this comic), border patrol and customs agents have become notorious for profiling non-Caucasian travelers and immigrants. Stories abound of agents coercing and threatening travelers to hand over their smartphones -- they do not have legal right to just take your devices under the Fourth Amendment, but have many not-entirely-idle threats they can level at you until you do as they wish.

|- id="tip14"
|'''Title Text''': Never give your password or bank account number to anyone who doesn't have a blue check mark next to their name.
|The usual security tip here is ''"only trust Twitter accounts claiming to be legitimate if they have a blue check mark next to their name"'', which means that the account is verified as legitimate. This tip suggests only giving your ''password'' to verified accounts, although you shouldn't give your password to ''any'' account. Twitter Verification would be revisited in [[1914: Twitter Verification]].

Twitter blue check marks have become even less reliable since Twitter's purchase by Elon Musk in October 2022, as Twitter has been loosening their verification policies and for a brief time, [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/nov/10/twitter-blue-verification-parody-impersonation allowed anyone who paid to have a verified checkmark]. At time of writing (2023-04-11) Twitter has [https://web.archive.org/web/20230000000000*/https://help.twitter.com/en/managing-your-account/about-twitter-verified-accounts some verification checks], but still less than when this comic was written, making this even worse advice.

It also refers to problems especially visible in the US banking system, where there is very little security for direct account drafts, and because of that it is advised there to keep the account number as secret as possible. In contrast, in Europe giving your account number to someone is one of the most common ways to get paid.

A related tip might be "Never give your password or bank details to a website that doesn't have a padlock icon next to the URL". In most modern browsers, if you access a secure website, there will be a padlock icon in the browser indicating you've connected to a secure website using {{w|HTTPS|Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure}}. It doesn't provide that it is not malicious site, and that is secure to enter. So this tip treats the verified account icon the same way you might treat a secure website icon.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is listening to Ponytail who holds her hands out in front of her.]
:Ponytail: We've been trying for decades to give people good security advice.
:Ponytail: But in retrospect, lots of the tips actually made things worse.

:[Cueball takes his hand to his chin as Ponytail takes her arms down.]
:Cueball: Maybe we should try to give ''bad'' advice?
:Ponytail: I guess it's worth a shot.

:[Below these two panel is one large and long panel with a long list with 13 tips. The underlined heading and the bracket below it are centered above the bullet list below.]
:<big>Security tips</big>
:(Print out this list and keep it in your bank safe deposit box.)
* Don't click links to websites
* Use prime numbers in your password
* Change your password manager monthly
* Hold your breath while crossing the border
* Install a secure font
* Use a 2-factor smoke detector
* Change your maiden name regularly
* Put strange USB drives in a bag of rice overnight
* Use special characters like & and %
* Only read content published through tor.com
* Use a burner's phone
* Get an SSL certificate and store it in a safe place
* If a border guard asks to examine your laptop, you have a legal right to challenge them to a chess game for your soul.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Chess]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Tips]]

2721: Euler Diagrams

2023-01-06T21:36:28Z

SqueakSquawk4: Venn diagrams. (EC resolve x2)

{{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 a EULER BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic, [[Cueball]] is showing an offscreen person a {{w|Venn diagram}} he made about something. The offscreen person then informs Cueball that it is in fact a {{W|Euler diagram}}, not a Venn diagram. Cueball then proceeds to complain that 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.

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 {{w|cicrles}} (Or {{w|shape|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 "{{w|Animals}}" and "Fuzzy things", {{w|Cat}} would be in the overlap between both circles, {{w|frog}} would be inside only "Animals", and "{{w|Kiwifruit}} would only be in "Fuzzy things". "{{w|Trees}}" 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.

A Venn diagram shows all possible combinations of two or more sets, including those with no elements, and therefore all of the circles must intersect. An Euler diagram only depicts the non-empty combinations, and therefore does not have this constraint.

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. 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 a <strike>Venn</strike> Euler diagram.] 
:Friend (offscreen): 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?
:Friend (offscreen): No.
:Friend (offscreen): 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

2023-01-06T21:04:41Z

SqueakSquawk4: Starting the description

764: One Two

2023-01-06T15:24:31Z

SqueakSquawk4: Line break & Conlangs

{{comic
| number = 764
| date = July 9, 2010
| title = One Two
| image = one two.png
| titletext = Cue letters from anthropology majors complaining that this view of numerolinguistic development perpetuates a widespread myth. They get to write letters like that because when you're not getting a real science degree you have a lot of free time. Zing!
}}

==Explanation==
The comic parodies {{w|Sesame Street}}, an American children's TV show. The Count is a character in Sesame Street who teaches counting to viewers. The Count usually laughs after counting numbers, an innocent version of the sinister laugh that is a stereotype of old Hollywood horror films.

In the book {{w|One Two Three ... Infinity}}, the writer describes African tribes that only have words for numbers up to three and their inability to distinguish or comprehend larger numbers. The {{w|Pirahã language}} of Brazil was originally thought to only have numerical terms for one, two, and many, although it is now thought these words are relative terms like "few" rather than absolute terms like "one." Similarly, see {{w|Edmund Blackadder}} try to teach {{tvtropes|BumblingSidekick|Baldrick}} [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u99LjJ32qOo to count beans]. Also worth mentioning, some {{w|Constructed language|conlangs}} (Most notably {{w|Toki Pona}} with 0, 1, 2, 5, many[https://omniglot.com/language/numbers/tokipona.htm]), only have very limited number choice

In the title text Randall predicts that anthropology majors will write to complain that this view of primitive tribes is a myth no longer held true by today's anthropologists. He makes a jab at them saying they would have time to write letters to complain about things because they don't have to spend time doing real science and thus real research.

==Transcript==
:[A television set with The Count from 'Sesame Street'.]
:The Count: One! Ah ah ah... Two! Ah ah ah... ...Many! ah ah ah...
:Primitive cultures develop Sesame Street.

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

2720: Biology vs Robotics

2023-01-04T23:48:04Z

SqueakSquawk4: More H O L E S

{{comic
| number = 2720
| date = January 4, 2023
| title = Biology vs Robotics
| image = biology_vs_robotics_2x.png
| imagesize = 546x260px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Sorry, I've just always had these random things I don't like--like olives, or robots drilling holes in me without warning.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ROBOT WITH A HOLE IN IT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is walking along next to an apparently-{{w|Sentience|sentient}}/[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sapience sapient] robot, complaining to said robot about the problems of biology. Cueball, being a biological entity, has experience, while the robot, an abiological entity ([https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/robotic-future/0/steps/26359 some] [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrainInAJar exceptions] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biorobotics apply]) does not have as much experience.

While walking, Cueball complains to the robot that biology (And presumably being biological) is annoying/bad, stating "Biology sucks" and "Bodies have all these problems". This is to some extent true. The human body has many flaws, ranging from {{w|Recurrent laryngeal nerve|mildly inneficient}} to {{w|Stroke|lethal-without-warning}}. The robot counters that the human body, and bodies in general, have many advantages. One such advantage is that human bodies heal while metal robots don't.

This puts Cueball's problems into perspective, humbling him, as he realises that the human body still has a lot of strengths. Possibly a little offended, he replies that it only works "Sometimes", and is often painful. Holes can be different sizes,{{Citation needed}} so it is hardly surprising that their outcomes will vary. For example, a small hole made for an earring would be easy to close, whereas one carved by {{w|List of the largest cannon by caliber|an 91.4cm mortar shelll}} would be less easy to heal. Survivablility is also a key factor is whether or not someone survives a hole, as dying greatly impacts someone's ability to heal. There isalso abiguity in what counts as a hole (Is a cut a "Hole"? Is surgery? etc.). This variability is likely why Cueball says "Sometimes".

He also states that "It" is "not exactly fun". This is an {{w|understatement}}, as {{w|Gunshot wound|some holes}} can really hurt. "It" is implied to be the holes themselves, as while the healing process can hurt, the formation of the hole (Such as a being shot) is often a LOT more painful.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is walking alongside a medium-sized, boxy robot with small wheels.]
:Cueball: Ugh, Biology is the worst. Bodies have all these random problems.

:Robot: Is it true that if someone makes a hole in you, it just closes up on its own?

:Cueball: Only '''''sometimes'''''. And it's not exactly '''''fun'''''.
:Robot: Noted. I'll try to avoid perforating your surface.
:Cueball: Thanks! It's kind of a pet peeve.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Biology]]

2720: Biology vs Robotics

2023-01-04T23:26:42Z

SqueakSquawk4: H O L E S

{{comic
| number = 2720
| date = January 4, 2023
| title = Biology vs Robotics
| image = biology_vs_robotics_2x.png
| imagesize = 546x260px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Sorry, I've just always had these random things I don't like--like olives, or robots drilling holes in me without warning.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ROBOT WITH A HOLE IN IT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is walking along next to an apparently-{{w|Sentience|sentient}}/[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sapience sapient] robot, complaining to said robot about the problems of biology. Cueball, being a biological entity, has experience while the robot, an abilogical entity ([https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/robotic-future/0/steps/26359 some] [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BrainInAJar exceptions] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biorobotics apply]) does not have as much experience.

While walking, Cueball complains to the robot that biology (And presumably being biological) is annoying/bad, stating "Biology sucks" and "Bodies have all these problems". This is to some extent true. The human body has many flaws, ranging from {{w|Recurrent laryngeal nerve|mildly inneficient}} to {{w|Stroke|lethal-without-warning}}. The robot counters that the human body, and bodies in general, have many advantages. One such advantage is that human bodies heal while metal robots don't.

This puts Cueball's problems into perspective, humbling him, as he realises that the human body still has a lot of strengths. Possibly a little offended, he replies that it only works "Sometimes", and is often painful. Holes can be different sizes{{Citation needed}}, so it is hardly suprising that their outcomes will vary. For example, a small hole made for an earring would be easy to close, whereas one carved by {{w|List of the largest cannon by caliber|an 89cm cannonball}} would be less easy to heal.
==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball is walking alongside a medium-sized, boxy robot with small wheels.]
:Cueball: Ugh, Biology is the worst. Bodies have all these random problems.

:Robot: Is it true that if someone makes a hole in you, it just closes up on its own?

:Cueball: Only '''''sometimes'''''. And it's not exactly '''''fun'''''.
:Robot: Noted. I'll try to avoid perforating your surface.
:Cueball: Thanks! It's kind of a pet peeve.

{{comic discussion}}

2720: Biology vs Robotics

2023-01-04T23:11:46Z

SqueakSquawk4: Paragraph 2

2720: Biology vs Robotics

2023-01-04T23:02:05Z

SqueakSquawk4: Starting the description

1400: D.B. Cooper

2023-01-04T17:23:09Z

SqueakSquawk4: Tommy age at jump

{{comic
| number = 1400
| date = July 28, 2014
| title = D.B. Cooper
| image = d_b_cooper.png
| titletext = 'Why on Earth would someone commit air piracy just to finance a terrible movie decades later?' 'People are very strange these days.'
}}

==Explanation==
[[File:DBCooper.jpg|thumb|150px|Cooper]]
In 1971, a man referred to by the media as {{w|D. B. Cooper}} hijacked a Boeing 727 and escaped with $200,000 in ransom money (equivalent to $900,000 in 2003 or $1,250,000 in 2020). While the FBI maintains that Cooper was most likely killed when he parachuted from the plane, they have never determined his identity, and the investigation was called off in 2016, making it the United States' only unsolved plane hijacking. (This mystery was later referenced in [[1501: Mysteries]], and then again in [[2452: Aviation Firsts]].)

[[File:Tommy Wiseau.jpg|thumb|150px|Wiseau]]
In 2003, {{w|Tommy Wiseau}} released {{w|The Room (film)|''The Room''}}, which is considered by many to be the worst film ever made, but has also earned a sizable number of fans who uphold it as a prime example of a film that is "{{w|so bad, it's good}}". In the decade since, Wiseau has become something of an icon alongside his infamous movie, of which he was the producer, writer, director, and main star. Surprisingly little, however, is known about him. The comic refers to "The Room" as "...the '{{w|Citizen Kane}}' of bad movies." This is a comparison between what is widely considered the best film of all time, which was, coincidentally the first film produced by, written by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles and what is widely considered the worst film of all time, the first film produced by, written by, directed by, and starring Tommy Wiseau.

This comic points to similarities between several details of Cooper and Wiseau's stories:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Cooper
!Wiseau
|-
|"Vanished mysteriously with a large amount of money":Cooper escaped with $200,000 in 1971 dollars, equivalent to around $1.3M today. $5,800 of that money was recovered in 1980 in the vicinity of where Cooper jumped from the plane, but the rest was never found. Assuming Cooper survived, he would have had decades to turn the $200k into an even larger fortune.
|"Appeared mysteriously with a large amount of money":''The Room'' cost $6 million to make, and initially grossed a mere $1,900—a loss of 99.97% of the investment. It is generally assumed that all or most of that money was Wiseau's own, which raises the question of how he obtained such wealth. Although Wiseau claims to have earned his money by selling toys to tourists, and later factory-reject jeans, his ''Room'' co-star {{w|Greg Sestero}} considers it very unlikely that he earned so many millions this way.
|-
|"Real age/name unknown":Cooper's real name remains unknown. While he was estimated to be in his mid-40s, his precise age is also unknown.
|"Colleague says he's much older than he claims":In 2010, Wiseau stated that he was 41. Sestero, however, says he was born in the 1950s. If born in 1950, he would have been 21 when Cooper jumped.
|-
|"Ambiguous, possibly affected speaking style ('negotiable American currency')":Cooper's use of this unusual phrase has led to speculation about his origins, including as to whether he was perhaps not an American.
|"Ambiguous, possibly affected speaking style ('You are tearing me apart, Lisa!')":The most famously melodramatic line from ''The Room'', [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plz-bhcHryc "You are tearing me apart, Lisa!"] is one of several which highlights Wiseau's unusual accent and less-than-complete command of the English language. As with Cooper's "negotiable American currency," it is phrased in a way not typical of American English.The phrase "You're tearing me apart!" originally appeared in ''{{w|Rebel Without a Cause}}'', though it appeared in a more appropriate context. Wiseau simply wanted to include the phrase because he adored James Dean, without considering how the phrase ended up feeling in his movie.
|-
|"Fate unknown":Cooper has not been seen since he jumped from the plane, though the FBI has investigated over a thousand "serious suspects." He either died trying to jump from the plane, or disappeared completely after touching down.
|"Background unknown":Despite Wiseau being a public figure for over a decade since the release of ''The Room'', little is definitively known about his background. Sestero says Wiseau was born somewhere in Eastern Europe - people who have traced his family tree found his family are likely from {{w|Poznań}}, central Poland. Wiseau has said he has moved back and forth between Europe and the U.S. throughout his life, spending significant time in France and Louisiana. His accent is hard to place.His legal name, place of birth, date of birth, and nationality are all unknown, as are most of the details of how he's spent his life.
|-
|}

The comic then compares an FBI sketch of Cooper with a photograph of Wiseau, apparently to claim that they have similar appearances. The only real similarity is that they're both wearing sunglasses.

However, these are only a few cherry-picked aspects of their lives, and do not seriously suggest that they are the same person. For example, even if we assume that Wiseau was born in 1950, and that Cooper was only 35 (probably the youngest age which can be mistaken for mid-40s) in 1971, that leaves a 14-year gap between their ages. Likewise, Cooper was said to have either an American or Canadian accent, while Wiseau's bizarre accent is certainly not North American. While [[Cueball]]'s theory in this comic is clearly a joke on [[Randall]]'s part, given Randall's [[258: Conspiracy Theories|known]] [[690: Semicontrolled Demolition|distaste]] [[966: Jet Fuel|for]] conspiracy theories, this may also be making fun of people who base theories off of minor details while ignoring contradictory ones and bigger-picture questions. The question in the title text, for instance, notes that Cooper would have gone through a huge amount of effort just to produce a movie; a similar rhetorical device is often used against convoluted conspiracy theories, where one points out a vastly simpler way for the supposed conspirators to have accomplished their goals.

The title text goes on to attribute such a weird motive for hijacking to the impression that "people are very strange these days," which is another quote from ''The Room''.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is using a baton to point towards a projector.]
:D.B. Cooper
:("Dan Cooper")

:Hijacked a plane in the 1970s.
:On landing, demanded money and
:parachutes. Jumped from plane
:mid-flight and was never found.

:*Vanished mysteriously with large amount of money
:*Real age/name unknown
:*Ambiguous, possibly affected speaking style ("negotiable American currency")
:*Fate unknown

:[Cueball has his palm out.]
:Tommy Wiseau
:("Johnny")

:Wrote, directed, and starred in
:''The Room'', a film widely hailed as
:"The ''Citizen Kane'' of bad movies."

:*Appeared mysteriously with large amount of money
:*Colleague says he's much older than he claims.
:*Ambiguous, possibly affected speaking style ("You are tearing me apart, Lisa!")
:*Background unknown

:[Two images captioned "Cooper (FBI sketch)" and "Wiseau (Flickr photo by Al Pavangkanan)".]

:Offscreen voice: This is the dumbest theory I've ever heard.
:Cueball: But it explains ''everything!!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring D. B. Cooper]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]

1283: Headlines

2023-01-03T15:40:17Z

SqueakSquawk4: more on pennicillin

{{comic
| number = 1283
| date = October 28, 2013
| title = Headlines
| image = headlines.png
| titletext = 1916: 'PHYSICIST DAD' TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO GRAVITY, AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HE FINDS. [PICS] [NSFW]
}}

==Explanation==
This comic satirizes the sensationalist language used in Internet headlines. Many websites generate ad revenue for getting visitors ("getting more clicks"), so some unscrupulous editors seek to manipulate their readers using tantalizing yet formulaic and crass headlines, designed to attract readers rather than summarize the article's contents. You might recognize this technique from those ridiculous text advertisements — "local mom discovers 1 weird tip to reduce belly fat." The practice is nothing new: {{w|tabloid journalism}} has been doing this for many years (e.g. ''{{w|National Enquirer}}''). The numbers shown at the headline are also often wrong and not covered by the article.

Signs of a dishonest headline include giving undue weight to trivial topics, or appealing to readers' emotions or needs (fear, outrage, pity, lust, laziness) instead of offering serious information. In severe cases, it may be a {{w|bait-and-switch}}, claiming to offer something it isn't. By failing to give a useful summary of the story, whilst attempting to force the reader to click on every story on the off-chance that it's interesting, they amount to an intentionally deceptive form of spam.

[[Randall]] parodies the formula in this comic with such trivializing headlines for important historical events:

*1905 - How a shocking new theory, discovered by a dad, proves scientists are wrong about ''everything!''
:{{w|Albert Einstein}} published his {{w|Annus Mirabilis papers}}, which changed views on space, time, mass, and energy, and laid the groundwork for much of modern physics. They included his papers on {{w|special relativity}} and on {{w|mass–energy equivalence}} ("E = mc2"). He had an infant son in 1905 (born May 1904).
:The use of the term "dad" helps readers tune in emotionally. "Proving scientists wrong about everything" is obviously an inflation of Einstein's achievements, though not completely incorrect as Einstein's discoveries did undermine current theories about fundamentals of the universe such as space, time and motion. Einstein was awarded the {{w|Nobel Prize}} in 1921 for his work on the {{w|photoelectric effect}}; his work on relativity was still not accepted by many physicists at that time.
*1912 - 6 ''Titanic'' survivors who should have died
:{{w|Sinking of the RMS Titanic}}. "should have died" seems to be referring to six passengers whose survival was downright miraculous, though the wording is (deliberately) ambiguous to imply the six passengers ''deserved'' to have died. Possibly referred to here is the survival of {{w|J. Bruce Ismay}}, chairman and managing director of the White Star Line (the company responsible for the Titanic), who was condemned as a coward for leaving the sinking liner.
*1920 - 17 things that will be outlawed now that women can vote
:The {{w|Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution}} was passed, guaranteeing voting rights for women in all US states. The prediction of new prohibitions is a reference to alcohol prohibition under the authority granted to the federal government by the {{w|Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution}}. While the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified before women's suffrage was guaranteed by the Nineteeth, alcohol prohibition was widely seen as an issue driven by women's opinions (hence the suggestion that more things would be prohibited now that women had the vote).
*1928 - This one weird mold kills all germs
:{{w|Penicillin}} was discovered by Alexander Fleming.
:This claim is sensationalised in (At least) 2 ways. 1) Penicillin is an {{w|Antibiotic}}, a type of medicine that kills bacteria. the term {{w|germ}} includes viruses which are not effected by antibiotics. 2) {{w|List of antibiotic-resistant bacteria|Some bacteria}} are antibiotic-resistant, so pennicilin does not even kill all bacteria.
*1929 - Most embarrassing reactions to the stock market crash [GIFS]
:This is a reference to the {{w|Wall Street Crash of 1929}}, the most devastating stock market crash in history and the beginning of the Great Depression. The "embarassing reactions" may be a reference to the suicides of people suddenly impoverished by the depression.
:[GIFS] indicates that the post will contain animated GIF images, which are a crude form of short video. Presumably, these GIFs will feature the aforementioned suicides, which would be considered tasteless at best. The {{w|GIF#Animated_GIF|GIF89a specification}} which supports animation was released in 1990, so animated GIFs (or computers for that matter) didn't exist in 1929.
*1945 - These 9 Nazi atrocities will make you lose faith in humanity
:1945 is the year that World War II ended. It's also the year that many war crimes committed by Nazi Germany were discovered or declassified. These events would be cause enough for anyone to re-evaluate their belief in the inherent goodness of the human race. However, the specific phrase "lose faith in humanity" is one often employed on the web by rather over-dramatic people in response to something someone did to exasperate them; and because that particular wording is closely associated with exaggerative tendencies, its usage in relation to Nazi war crimes only ''downplays'' their seriousness.
*1948 - 5 insane plans for feeding West Berlin you won't believe are real
:1948 is when the Soviet Union established the {{w|Berlin Blockade}}, preventing food and other critical supplies from reaching occupied Berlin. In response, Western forces organized the {{w|Berlin Airlift}} (previously referenced in [[1037: Umwelt]], where it became Berlin Chairlift instead).
*1955 - Avoid polio with this one weird trick
:The {{w|polio vaccine}} was developed.
:"One weird trick" is a common phrase used in Internet ads: see [http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2013/07/how_one_weird_trick_conquered_the_internet_what_happens_when_you_click_on.html this article] for more information. It may also refer to the fact that polio viruses were used as the first vaccines.
*1957 - 12 nip slips potentially visible to Sputnik
:The Soviet Union launched {{w|Sputnik 1}}, the world's first artificial satellite. A ''nip slip'' is when a woman unintentionally exposes all or part of one or both of her nipples; in the context of the internet, it generally refers to a photograph capturing such a moment.
:Saying that 12 were visible from space implies that they were really big 'nip slips', or at least that only those 12 were big enough to be visible to telescopes.
*1968 - This year's assassinations ranked from most to least tragic
:{{w|Martin Luther King Jr.}} and {{w|Robert F. Kennedy}} ({{w|John F. Kennedy's}} younger brother) were both assassinated in 1968 (five years after JFK).
:Assassinations are rare and considered to be always tragic, so "ranking" them trivializes the political and emotional depth of the events.
*1969 - This is the most important photo of an astronaut you'll see all day
:{{w|Apollo 11}} performed the first manned lunar landing. During this historic trip newspapers printed as many pictures of astronauts as they could.
*1986 - This video of a terminally ill child watching the ''Challenger'' launch will break your heart
:Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight. See {{w|Space Shuttle Challenger disaster}} for details. This was the first shuttle mission that included a teacher on board as part of the crew ({{w|Christa McAuliffe}}, ''{{w|Teacher in Space Project}}''), so there were many children -- a New York Times poll put the number at 48% of 9-13 year olds in the US -- watching this particular launch live as teachers around the country had TV sets in their classrooms showing the ill-fated launch in real time. The launch was not shown on most mainstream TV stations; only {{w|CNN}} broadcast it live.
:Since this many children did see it, there would also have been several terminal ill children watching, and likely also some press out at one such place. So they could get this picture. And again toy with our emotions.
*1989 - You won't ''believe'' what these people did to the Berlin wall! [video]
:{{w|Fall of the Berlin Wall}}.
:[video] indicates a link to a video.
*Jan 1, 1990 - 500 signs you're a 90s kid
:A 90s kid is someone born in the late 80s or early 90s (and spent most their childhood in the 1990s). Headlines like [http://www.buzzfeed.com/melismashable/25-ways-to-tell-youre-a-kid-of-the-9 this one from BuzzFeed] toy with their readers' sense of nostalgia. The parody headline is funny because it starts precisely on the first day of the 1990s, meaning that the only "90s kids" that it would apply to would be newborns. This is a reference to a common joke about the 90s not having a concrete identity in some ways like the 70s or 80s did in terms of popular culture, and yet those born in that decade always seem to have long lists of things that make you a "90s kid".
*The title text: 1916: 'Physicist dad' turns his attention to gravity, and you won't believe what he finds. [PICS] [NSFW]
:Einstein published his theory of {{w|General relativity}}, which is a vast generalization of the theory of {{w|Special relativity}} from 1905 and provides a model for gravity. In 1916 Einstein had two sons who lived in Zurich while he lived in Berlin.
:[NSFW] is "Not Safe for Work" - a tag to identify explicit images. Here it is used to trick readers hoping to find pornography.
:[PICS] tells the potential viewer that there are images embedded.

This topic is re-used in [[1307: Buzzfeed Christmas]].

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the frame:]
:'''20th Century Headlines'''
:Rewritten to get more clicks

:[The years are always written at the center. The text has a line pointing to the relevant year. The first text is written to the left of the year. Then the texts below is alternately written to the right and to the left, finishing at the right in 1990.]
:1905 - How a shocking new theory, discovered by a dad, proves scientists are wrong about ''everything!''
:1912 - 6 ''Titanic'' survivors who should have died
:1920 - 17 things that will be outlawed now that women can vote
:1928 - This one weird mold kills all germs
:1929 - Most embarrassing reactions to the stock market crash [GIFs]
:1945 - These 9 Nazi atrocities will make you lose faith in humanity
:1948 - 5 insane plans for feeding West Berlin you won't believe are real
:1955 - Avoid Polio with this one weird trick
:1957 - 12 nip slips potentially visible to Sputnik
:1968 - This year's assassinations ranked from most to least tragic
:1969 - This is the most important photo of an astronaut you'll see all day
:1986 - This video of a terminally ill child watching the ''Challenger'' launch will break your heart
:1989 - You won't ''believe'' what these people did to the Berlin wall! [Video]
:Jan 1, 1990 - 500 signs you're a 90s kid

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]

[[Category:Clickbait]]
[[Category:Stock Market]]

2719: Hydrogen Isotopes

2023-01-03T02:40:19Z

SqueakSquawk4: Basic transcript

{{comic
| number = 2719
| date = January 2, 2023
| title = Hydrogen Isotopes
| image = hydrogen_isotopes_2x.png
| imagesize = 442x250px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Oops, All Neutrons is also known as Neutral Quadrium, Nydnonen, and Goth Tritium.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BREAK ROOM DE BROGLIE MICROWAVE USER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{W|Hydrogen}} is the simplest of the chemical atoms, usually consisting of a single electron orbiting a single proton. This comic imagines other humorous fictional forms of hydrogen.

'''Hydrogen'''
This is the most common isotope of hydrogen, with one proton and one electron, shown with the electron "orbiting" the proton.

'''Deuterium'''
This is the second most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and both a neutron and proton in it's nucleus. About five hundredths of the hydrogen in water on Earth is deuterium.

'''Tritium'''
This is the third most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and a nucleus of one proton and two neutrons, for an atomic mass of three {{w|Dalton}}s.. It is radioactive with a half-life of about twelve years. It is quite rare.

'''Ium'''
This is not an actual isotope of hydrogen (as are the rest of them, excluding maximum strength hydrogen), and is one imagined by Randall. It consists of one electron orbiting around nothing. The name likely relates to the fact that the past two isotopes consist of a suffix and "ium". Thus, hydrogen with only and electron in it would be called ium.

'''Wheelium'''
This isotope consists of a proton, electron, and neutron orbiting around nothing. It is likely called wheelium as it is shaped similarly to a wheel. There is a vaguely similar elemant called {{w|Positronium}}, where an electron and Positron orbit each other with nothing in the middle.

'''Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)'''
This isotope consists of a single neutron. The title likely refers to how neutrons will on average take fifteen minutes to decay into a proton, an electron, and a neutrino, which would then form a hydrogen atom.

'''Hydrogen (Maximum Strength)'''
This isotope consists of a proton, an electron, and at least 13 neutrons. This isotope would decay quite quickly. The title likely refers to the fact that it is filled with neutrons, and is thus "Maximum Strength".

'''Oops, all neutrons'''
This isotope consists of four neutrons, with one orbiting around a group of three. It is likely to be a joke about an error, where, the creator (of these atoms) made an atom entirely out of neutrons. The name is likely a reference to an American breakfast cereal called [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap%27n_Crunch#Variations Oops! All Berries].

{{notice2|The Mountain View, California Public Library is hosting an online chat with [[Randall Munroe]] Tuesday, January 31 at 11am Pacific. [https://libraryc.org/mountainviewlibrary/22032 Register here to send your question(s) to the moderators.]|image=Crystal Project Agt announcements.png}} 

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

There are 8 drawings of atoms, arranges 4 across and 2 down, in the Planetary model. Each has a label underneath. Here, they are listed left-to-right top-to-bottom.

1 electron, 1 proton: Hydrogen

1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron: Duterium

1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron: Tritium

1 electron only: ium

1 electron, 1 proton, 1 neutron, all orbiting together round nothing: Wheelium

1 proton only: Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)

1 proton, 1 electron, lots of neutrons: Hydrogen (Maximum Strength)

1 neutron orbiting 3 other neutrons: Oops, all neutrons
{{comic discussion}}
[[Cagegory:Chemistry]]

2719: Hydrogen Isotopes

2023-01-03T02:33:06Z

SqueakSquawk4: Positronium

{{comic
| number = 2719
| date = January 2, 2023
| title = Hydrogen Isotopes
| image = hydrogen_isotopes_2x.png
| imagesize = 442x250px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Oops, All Neutrons is also known as Neutral Quadrium, Nydnonen, and Goth Tritium.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BREAK ROOM DE BROGLIE MICROWAVE USER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{W|Hydrogen}} is the simplest of the chemical atoms, usually consisting of a single electron orbiting a single proton. This comic imagines other humorous fictional forms of hydrogen.

'''Hydrogen'''
This is the most common isotope of hydrogen, with one proton and one electron, shown with the electron "orbiting" the proton.

'''Deuterium'''
This is the second most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and both a neutron and proton in it's nucleus. About five hundredths of the hydrogen in water on Earth is deuterium.

'''Tritium'''
This is the third most common isotope of hydrogen, with one electron, and a nucleus of one proton and two neutrons, for an atomic mass of three {{w|Dalton}}s.. It is radioactive with a half-life of about twelve years. It is quite rare.

'''Ium'''
This is not an actual isotope of hydrogen (as are the rest of them, excluding maximum strength hydrogen), and is one imagined by Randall. It consists of one electron orbiting around nothing. The name likely relates to the fact that the past two isotopes consist of a suffix and "ium". Thus, hydrogen with only and electron in it would be called ium.

'''Wheelium'''
This isotope consists of a proton, electron, and neutron orbiting around nothing. It is likely called wheelium as it is shaped similarly to a wheel. There is a vaguely similar elemant called {{w|Positronium}}, where an electron and Positron orbit each other with nothing in the middle.

'''Instant Hydrogen (ready in 15 minutes)'''
This isotope consists of a single neutron. The title likely refers to how neutrons will on average take fifteen minutes to decay into a proton, an electron, and a neutrino, which would then form a hydrogen atom.

'''Hydrogen (Maximum Strength)'''
This isotope consists of a proton, an electron, and at least 13 neutrons. This isotope would decay quite quickly. The title likely refers to the fact that it is filled with neutrons, and is thus "Maximum Strength".

'''Oops, all neutrons'''
This isotope consists of four neutrons, with one orbiting around a group of three. It is likely to be a joke about an error, where, the creator (of these atoms) made an atom entirely out of neutrons.

{{notice2|The Mountain View, California Public Library is hosting an online chat with [[Randall Munroe]] Tuesday, January 31 at 11am Pacific. [https://libraryc.org/mountainviewlibrary/22032 Register here to send your question(s) to the moderators.]|image=Crystal Project Agt announcements.png}} 

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

{{comic discussion}}
[[Cagegory:Chemistry]]

Talk:1138: Heatmap

2023-01-02T10:20:33Z

SqueakSquawk4:

So does this mean... that all the subscribers to Martha Stweart Living are secretly furries? *gasp* [[Special:Contributions/129.97.124.23|129.97.124.23]] 23:00, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

No. It means that to people who give motivational talks to people who want to sell you things, all the people included in such maps are called prospects or prospective customers. It is a good explanation for spam.[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 07:13, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

Clearly it means that the furries are, in general, Martha Stewart fans, not the reverse. Are you mad? {{unsigned|174.125.142.147}}

:It's a subtle hint that xkcd will be transitioning into Martha Stewart furry porn.[[Special:Contributions/76.20.159.250|76.20.159.250]] 05:05, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

I thought that it was implied that if they switched to furry advertising/content, they could be as successful as Marth Stewart... not that they should combine marth stewart and furry content into their site. {{unsigned|109.65.32.63}}

I was expecting some reference to George Lucas' ''THX 1138'' for this comics.

But then, it is not George Lucas who's editing Xkcd...

Paulo Sedrez [[Special:Contributions/139.82.111.111|139.82.111.111]] 18:39, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

There is an additional pun, and I do not know if it was intended. One adult furry publication is called Heat. A map of where furry porn is appreciated would therefore also be a Heat map. {{unsigned|Godel Fishbreath| 15:14, 17 May 2013‎ (UTC)}}
:I'm a little weirded out by the fact that our resident expert on the titles of adult furry publications has the name of "Fishbreath." Makes one wonder where his mouth has been. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.210|173.245.55.210]] 17:24, 27 December 2013 (UTC)
:: '''Godel''' Fishbreath. Obviously the answer to your question is undecidable. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.163|173.245.52.163]] 01:41, 1 March 2015 (UTC)
:It's remarkable the places I sometimes see your messages, Godel Fishbreath. Best of wishes mate. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 06:51, 21 January 2021 (UTC)

The 'incomplete' tag refers to the title text. I'm not sure if this refers to the actual title text (which has been explained in the comic), or the title "Heatmap" (which I just added an explanation for). Either way, I think it's covered; I intend to remove the incomplete tag in a few days, if nobody objects. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 22:54, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Could someone please do some photoshop magic and show the actual difference between the 3 maps please? I would, but I don't know how to use Photoshop. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 10:20, 2 January 2023 (UTC)

2715: Pando

2022-12-23T14:29:23Z

SqueakSquawk4: Citing perimiter (Google My Maps)

{{comic
| number = 2715
| date = December 23, 2022
| title = Pando
| image = pando_2x.png
| imagesize = 422x372px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = The presents under the tree are actually a single gift connected by an underground ribbon system.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHRISTMAS PANDA — Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Pando_(tree)|Pando}} is a {{w|Populus tremuloides|quaking aspen}} tree colony in {{w|Fishlake National Forest}}, Utah. Depending on how you measure[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWAA-SrrFUQ], Pando is the largest living organism on earth, and is thereby also the largest tree on earth. By dry mass (weight not including water), Pando is the largest living thing humans have found. There is [https://www.forbes.com/sites/linhanhcat/2019/02/22/largest-organism-in-the-world/?sh=43fdf2a444ac one fungus in Oregon] which may weigh more including water, but that fungus is not a tree.

Pando is a Tree colony, a type of {{w|Clonal colony}} made of trees. Clonal colonies all form from the same seed or other origin, and are all genetically identical. Tree colonies spread using their extensive root system. Under all trees there are {{w|Root|roots}}, which gather nutrients and water from soil. On clonal trees (such as the {{w|Populus tremuloides|Quaking Aspen}}, Pando's species), when roots from one tree surface they can form another stalk/tree. This additional stalk is a genetic clone of the original. This clone then grows its own root network, and where they surface they too form more clones. However, crucially, the roots between the clones do not naturally separate, so all clones naturally stay attached. Each clone has a limited lifespan, only a few decades/centuries, but the colony can live for millennia. For example, the only known wild example of {{w|Lomatia tasmanica|''Lomatia tasmanica'', aka King's lomatia}}, is a clonal shrub thought to be at least 43,600 years old, and Pando itself is thought to be around 14,000 years old.

{{w|Christmas}} is a celebration on the 25th of December, traditionally celebrating the birth of {{w|Jesus}}, which is often claimed to be built heavily upon pagan traditions[https://chefin.com.au/blog/these-6-christmas-traditions-are-actually-pagan-customs/], though this is disputed by historians[https://historyforatheists.com/2020/12/pagan-christmas/] and annual social customs, then arguably converted into a far more secular event (with or without rampant consumerism). This comic was published on the 23rd of December, 2 days until Christmas, or [[Christmas Eve Eve]]

The concept of a {{w|Christmas tree}}, itself, is rooted in various pre-Christian folkloric traditions and, in the modern era, may be adapted or adopted as required by local and personal circumstances. It need not be an {{w|Evergreen}} fir tree with an angel (or star) atop, though that is the oft-depicted image in either great detail or as a simplified cartoonish depiction, but can be merely any handy plant (or artificial substitute) strewn with such decorations and/or {{w|Christmas lights|lights}} as the owner wishes. Because humans are, well, humans, people and places often compete to hold the record for the largest Christmas tree. At time of publishing (and writing), the tallest Christmas tree is officially a 64.36m (221ft) tall {{w|Douglas fir}} that was displayed in {{w|Northgate Station (shopping mall)|Northgate Shopping Center}}{{Actual citation needed}}, Seattle, WA in 1950[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/77271-tallest-christmas-tree][https://www.historylink.org/File/21359]. The most widely spread, however, is likely the [https://www.italybyevents.com/en/events/umbria/world-largest-christmas-tree-gubbio/ Christmas tree display] in {{w|Gubbio}}, a town in Umbria, Italy, where hundreds of trees on a mountain face are lit up with light to form a Christmas tree shape.

Sidenote: A lot of articles say that the Gubbio tree has a Guinness world record. However, I can't find a citation for that. If anyone can, please add it. That would be appreciated.

In this comic, [[Randall]] proposes putting Christmas lights all the way around Pando to turn into (technically) a Christmas tree. As Pando is the worlds largest tree then, if this plan were to be carried out, it would safely take the record and hold it for quite some time. [https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Wgz5CxvxHC7FKMHWp5zkPQuQsZevBqU&usp=sharing Roughly tracing Pando on Google Maps] reveals its perimiter to be roughly 2.77km or 1.72 miles, or roughly 9,000ft. Allowing a little wiggle-room and securing, 9,300ft of christmas lights seems about right.
==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[The main comic frame is a profile view of a number of separated trees, of varying heights and maturity, across each of which (of those with sufficient height) has apparently been draped a single chain of decorative lights that goes from off-image at one side to off-image at the other.]

:[Inset in the bottom right is a mini-map implicating that these light-linked 'trees' are actually all risers from a single large superorganism (as a shaded complex but contiguous shape labelled "Pando"), the map has a "N"orth pointer, a scale bar indicating the length of "1,000 ft" (approximately a third of the shaded mass's full width) and a convex hull perimeter line tightly fitting the shaded area that has an indicative arrow from a label informing us that its length would be "9,300 ft".]

:[Caption below:] Christmas Science Fact: Pando is approximately 9,300 feet away from being the world's largest Christmas Tree.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

2715: Pando

2022-12-23T12:58:34Z

SqueakSquawk4: Add lights (Brief)

2715: Pando

2022-12-23T12:55:29Z

SqueakSquawk4: Clonal trees are cool