explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2942: Fluid Speech

2024-06-07T07:22:28Z

Tcf:

I've noticed that this doesn't seem to be the case in all languages. For example, when native Polish speakers talk rapidly (even when speaking English), they enunciate every sound accurately in quick succession while flattening out the tone and rhythm of their speech. I wonder if this is because Polish is an inflected language where the grammar of the sentence is determined by endings of words rather than word order. Does anyone know if there have been any studies on this? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.49|162.158.74.49]] 23:12, 5 June 2024 (UTC)

:I'm not linguists but based on how many those are, definitely. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:10, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

:Russian also has vowel reduction like English and it's a Slavic language like Polish, so I don't think so. Although someone who knows more than me might be able to chip in on whether the effect is stronger in English. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.198|162.158.114.198]] 03:24, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

::Russian vowels are a tangle of reduction indeed. I think they’re much more complicated than English vowels, but I may be biased as a native speaker of Russian who started self-studying phonetics, phonology etc. to improve his English pronunciation and only relatively briefly looked up Russian phonology for fun. But at any rate, Russian vowel reduction happens in slow and fast, formal and colloquial speech alike, pretty much universally except when articulating a word exceedingly clearly when someone can’t hear you well; and Russian consonants are generally unaffected outside of several specific clusters and morphemes, even if you include those that are fully codified in modern language but retain etymological spelling (чувство, счастье, солнце). [[User:Chortos-2|Chortos-2]] ([[User talk:Chortos-2|talk]]) 16:30, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

:I know the comic specifies native speakers, but I just asked some of my East Asian friends and they very clearly enunciated the "t" in "hot potato". [[User:Tcf|Tcf]] ([[User talk:Tcf|talk]]) 07:22, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

I've just added a very barebones version of an explanation based on what I could understand from the comic. I can tell that the four diagrams depict that of the human mouth but since I am not a linguist, I lack the knowledge of various terms and thus, can't fully explain the comic. I understand what the comic is trying to convey, I just can't explain it. Looking forward to seeing how this progresses. [[User:OmniDoom|OmniDoom]] ([[User talk:OmniDoom|talk]]) 00:22, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

I don't think #4 is a real IPA symbol, but as I am not a linguist, I have no idea. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.36|162.158.91.36]] 01:38, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:/ə̃/ is a {{w|Nasal_vowel|nasalized}} {{w|schwa}} --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.92|172.71.160.92]] 08:53, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

The hovertext joke is that every English speaker fully pronounces the first "t" in "Hot Potato". It's at the end of "hot". Nobody says "ha potato". [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 03:01, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

:Unless you mean "the glottal stop should be considered an allophone of <t> at the end of syllables" then yes they do. It's /hoʔ/, not /hotʰ/. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.198|162.158.114.198]] 03:24, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

:(Edit conflicted with 162, above, so this is my own reply...) I thought it was that it isn't "ho T'p otato", with the "teh-peh" awkwardness. For me, the natural way to say it is to glottalstop the first T for more "ho'potato" (the other Ts, there I find awkward ''not'' to get the "t>s<" out of, the ">s<"-tail being what makes a full-T not a lazy one). But clearly a different accent involved, as "ha" doesn't work at all for me unless I try to use some sort of (probably awful) Goodfellas-type accent. And my native accent is notoriously good at glottlestopped Ts (that most people misinpersonate badly, by attaching them to the wrong adjacent syllable).
:As for "going to", experimentally holding my finger over the length of my tongue, it seems it barely has to move at all in "going" (the whole tongue wants to rise on the "i", but I can suppress that and do the tone-change from further back, if not straight from the vocal chords). Though continuing through to the "to", with my finger in there, it's no better than "going ku" as I prevent the tongue-tip doing the necessary small movement to fulfil any form of T. I can do better through basic gastromancy, but behind my unmoving jaw and lips (''without'' the finger almost down my throat, of course), I can feel the tongue tip doing it's small but vital "crossing the T" work. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.64|172.70.86.64]] 03:53, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:For me, it's more like "hobuh-deh-duh" - so none of the t's get pronounced properly. And I'd drop the n in 'going to' before I dropped the t.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.120|172.70.163.120]] 08:22, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:Wunber dayder, doober dayder, freeber dayder for. (But then, oddly, uh baguv tayterz.)[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.58|172.70.162.58]] 13:18, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

Unless someone's willing to start an "explain explain xkcd", I think this explanation still needs a lot of work to be intelligible to non-linguists (myself included). That aside, I do appreciate whoever took the time to type all that up. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.210|162.158.166.210]] 03:31, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:The current explain reads, to me at least, more like a 102 lecture than an explanation of the comic. I of course have no idea what is in a 101 first week lecture so shrug. (Aside, wth? This keyboard doesn't have a tilda. Copy and paste ftw) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.223.38|172.71.223.38]] 05:51, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:::Meta-response about the {{w|tilde}}: at the top of this editing window is a bar of formatting buttons (which I mostly just try to avoid accidentally clicking when I touchscreen-scroll). The second from the right gives <code><nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki></code>, having a depiction of a signature. (The "--" is not necessary, nor does anything with actual formatting/markup, but comes from quite old text communications standards.) Personally, in this current situation of using an onscreen keyboard, my configurstion hides the tilde behind the "?123" then "=\<" change-keyboard buttons.
:::(Ironically, all three of "=", "\" and "<" are already available as long-presses of the primary keyboard layout. But the much more useful "/" is hidden behind the "?123" press, ''except'' when it explicitly detects that I'm in a browser address field. Some UI designers have strange ideas that definitely mis-mesh with my usage!)
:::That's where I usually go, to sign-off. But on physical keyboards, depending upon internationalisation options, it might be either off the top-left (left of "1" key) 'triple-key, perhaps needing Shift or AltGr fingering (from experience of US (mis)configuring), or the key in the "hook" of the <Enter> key (all my physical UK keyboards, even the most squished-up laptop ones, have that as #~). If you're neither in US nor UK (and your device knows this), then where it gets shuffled out of the way of any ß, ē or ø type stuff, I wouldn't know for sure, but using the AltGr (right-Alt) ''might'' reveal characters you never ever knew you had... ;)
:::Copypasting out of the "<nowiki>Please sign your posts with ~~~~</nowiki>" Infobox or any residual from the {{template|unsigned}} templates is, of course, also a valid option. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.184|172.69.43.184]] 10:18, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
: I think it's fine if you can read/interpret the {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA}}. If you don't it's utterly incomprehensible. I think we need some examples here as to how the sounds written here are pronounced. Like "sound <x> as in <word>" [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:52, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:: Yeah, except [[2819]] [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.120|172.70.163.120]] 08:30, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

>Alien impersonating a human

Sounds like a normal Runglish to me, just like the one you can hear in this clip: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXNKUo5MrbM]

I hate that he pointed this out, because I'm going to start pronouncing things the way they're supposed to sound and everyone will think I'm weirder. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 12:37, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
: How are you pronouncing 'Psychoticpotato'?[[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.6|172.69.195.6]] 13:10, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
::Think of the words "psychotic" and "potato". [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 15:35, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

I added a bit more detail to the first diagram, but I agree it's not really plain English right now. btw, maybe it's pedantic of me, but diphthongs such as /oʊ/ are one vowel, and the whole word /ɡoʊ.ɪŋ/ only has two vowels

As for "hot potato", the post-vocalic T *is* pronounced, it's pronounced as a glottal stop. T is simply pronounced differently in different positions, it's how the letter works. Randall's probably referring to the alveolar plosive /t/, which most people think of as "the T sound" and would make you sound like an alien. SMBC made the point better: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2012-05-08
[[User:FrustratedPhonetics|FrustratedPhonetics]] ([[User talk:FrustratedPhonetics|talk]]) 13:57, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
:Unless, like me, you just elide straight into the following consonant. Hock ross buns, hock ross buns, wunner penee tooer penee, hock ross buns.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.166|172.69.43.166]] 14:19, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
::This causes me physical discomfort. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 15:41, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

Not exactly original, "hopotado": that's just how French works. Consonants at the end of a word are only pronounced if the following word starts on a vowel. In which case the two are drawn into one word. The cool thing about French is that knowing this little rule, you can read out a text alound and others understand even if you don't. :D --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.100|162.158.86.100]] 21:38, 6 June 2024 (UTC)

A very small proportion of people can read and understand the IPA, and the explanation depends on knowledge of it currently. So it's a terrible explanation which needs to be written without phonetician jargon. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.42.81|162.158.42.81]] 05:16, 7 June 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2937: Room Code

2024-05-26T13:36:02Z

Tcf:

Obviously, for many of us it would be more helpful as a mnemonic for a slightly older relative born on May 18, 2002. But since the author is American, it is of course reasonable for him not to have mentioned this. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.235|162.158.134.235]] 20:36, 24 May 2024 (UTC)
:ISO-8601 FTW.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 14:05, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
::Do "many" of you use YYMMDD though? YY rather than YYYY? Many, many of us use DDMMYY though. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 20:46, 24 May 2024 (UTC)
::::UK resident here. I have only used YYYYMMDD at the start of file names to manually produce versioning order.[[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 07:30, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
:::Yes, add me to the "2nd of May" club. (Or whatever young relative I can retrospectively induce to join, anyway.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.165|172.69.79.165]] 22:58, 24 May 2024 (UTC)
:::Yes, of course DDMMYY is a thing as well (although I would have expected dots or something), I might have mentioned that. Here in Sweden, YYMMDD is very common, along with YYYY-MM-DD, D/M YYYY and YYYYMMDD (the latter increasingly so, very rare before y2k). YY-MM-DD and D/M -YY are rather less common (after y2k). Formats with dots or Roman numerals are almost unheard of, as are middle-endianness and anything with slashes before or after the year. Source: subjective experience.) (Of course, many Swedes also realize that months have names that alleviate ambiguity.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.242|162.158.134.242]] 04:30, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
::::Now I want some kind of joke about Your Mileage May Vary, but it's some variation of YYDMDM. (Yes Your Date May Deviate Massively?)
::::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 14:12, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
:::My birthday is actually May 18, XXXX, and I am American, but I always use XX0518 for a 6 number code.
::Which brings up https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2562:_Formatting_Meeting (I don't know how to do internal links) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.22.80|172.71.22.80]] 20:52, 24 May 2024 (UTC)
::::I know that State Side, they say that as you write May 2nd 2024, then it's right to have MMDDYYYY, but they celebrate the 4th of July! However, in the UK we are likely to date letters 2nd May, 2024. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 07:30, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
:::::Now I want some kind of joke about Your Mileage May Vary, but it's some variation of YYDMDM. (Yes Your Date May Deviate Massively?)
:::::[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 14:12, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
:::''"I don't know how to do internal links"'' At the very bottom of the Editing page, "'''Editing help (opens in new window)'''", which goes to https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Links and you want "'''Internal links'''" --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 00:11, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
::::In case it helps, I've just [[User talk:42.book.addict#Depends what you wanted to do...|written something, at least so long as that user doesn't delete or change my contribution]] which summarises (badly?) the general gamut of linking options you might need to employ here. It's tuned to explainxkcd usage, rather than the full (in their own way) and perhaps more precise wikipedia standards that the above link gives. And it was written on the spur of the moment, not really so carefully edited. But FYI. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.70|162.158.38.70]] 21:04, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

wait...so y'all actually don't need help with remembering numbers? oh. I can usually memorize like 10 long strings of random numbers almost instantly by finding patterns through them. order through chaos? [[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]] ([[User talk:42.book.addict|talk]]) 02:13, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
:These patterns are a kind of mnemonic, duh. Only works if you're comfortable enough with numbers (to be able to find some pattern in any digit string), otherwise one should use a more familiar association. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.194.201|172.68.194.201]] 14:58, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

I usually remember numbers with their pattern on computer or telephone keys. When I recite π, I start moving my hand through the air at some point. Here the even position digits are ascending in the middle and the others are 001, so quite easy. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 03:39, 25 May 2024 (UTC)
:I remember random information by putting it in my phone! [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 07:30, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

He forgot to dot the question mark. 🤭
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.68|162.158.74.68]] 09:41, 25 May 2024 (UTC)

I always have a pen to write on my hand for this reason tbh [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 03:31, 26 May 2024 (UTC)
:The trouble is, most people couldn't do it for this doorcode. It has six digits, but the typical hand only ever has five! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.207|172.69.194.207]] 09:03, 26 May 2024 (UTC)
::Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.194.178|172.68.194.178]] 09:50, 26 May 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2930: Google Solar Cycle

2024-05-09T13:53:27Z

Tcf:

When I opened the page I found a bunch of vague misspelled content (maybe spammers or bots? I don't know) so I updated the explanation. Not very knowledgeable about most things, though, so it probably still is not good enough. [[User:DNA Diva|DNA diva]] ([[User talk:DNA Diva|talk]]) 01:10, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:Looking at the first couple of user-edits ("first" Explanation and subsequent Transcript edit), I think they were 'rushed' in order to establish the whole "first"ness and/or escape possible Edit Conflicts (probably needlessly, looking at timings). Not precise enough to be 'AI bot' text (accuracy being different, of course), and no obvious spam-intent.
:Could have done with more care to be taken, so as not needing to be ''entirely'' revamped by the likes of yourself, somewhat diluting the 'kudos' and making the little effort taken almost entirely pointless. But I like eagerness. Next time, perhaps, a bit of care will go into the mix and we'll be on the way to another useful contributor. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.4|172.71.242.4]] 04:58, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

This comic got me to search about [[User:Danger Kitty|Danger Kitty]] ([[User talk:Danger Kitty|talk]]) solar flares too.

Contrary to the current explanation, it appears you can search for [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now%207-d&geo=US&q=Cocktail%20recipe,Hangover%20cure&hl=en cocktail recipe searches vs hangover cure searches] at a sub-daily resolution. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.103|108.162.210.103]] 07:51, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:As of my check, just now, I find it very funny that the (current) state-map attached to that result seems to indicate that every state trend predominantly is for searching for cocktails, between the two options. Except for Wyoming, which is solidly the one and only "hangover" state. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.115|172.70.90.115]] 10:35, 9 May 2024 (UTC)~
::It's likely because there's only like 7 people living there. Looking worldwide, Nigeria is the only "hangover country". [[User:Tcf|Tcf]] ([[User talk:Tcf|talk]]) 13:51, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

Google solar cycle? Ok. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.143|172.68.58.143]] 13:46, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

==Spike of March 8, 2012==
As far as [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2012-03-01%202012-03-31&geo=US&q=%2Fm%2F0f81b&hl=en-US the spike about 12 years ago], there was [https://www.space.com/14842-biggest-solar-storm-earth-effects.html this]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.149|162.158.175.149]] 00:54, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:Speaking of spikes, [[what if? (blog)|what if]] the internet and Google Trends had existed in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event 1859]? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.166.135|172.71.166.135]] 00:59, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
::...we'd still be repairing the infrastructure damage in 1860? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.4|172.71.242.4]] 04:58, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:::...our entire society as we know it would've collapsed long ago. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 12:36, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

==Correct URL?==
Is this the correct URL for the query? It's a lot more jagged than I was expecting. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F0f81b&hl=en Thanks~
:I second this comment, and wish to ask what exactly Randall's settings were on, because "worldwide" and "2004-present" don't match the comic.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.63|162.158.114.63]] 13:45, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
::Neither do "United States" and "2004-present". For future record, the worldwide graph has a peak of 100 in 2011 and other peaks in the low dozens in 2014, 2017, 2021, and a mere 25 in 2024. [[User:Tcf|Tcf]] ([[User talk:Tcf|talk]]) 13:51, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2930: Google Solar Cycle

2024-05-09T13:51:46Z

Tcf:

When I opened the page I found a bunch of vague misspelled content (maybe spammers or bots? I don't know) so I updated the explanation. Not very knowledgeable about most things, though, so it probably still is not good enough. [[User:DNA Diva|DNA diva]] ([[User talk:DNA Diva|talk]]) 01:10, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:Looking at the first couple of user-edits ("first" Explanation and subsequent Transcript edit), I think they were 'rushed' in order to establish the whole "first"ness and/or escape possible Edit Conflicts (probably needlessly, looking at timings). Not precise enough to be 'AI bot' text (accuracy being different, of course), and no obvious spam-intent.
:Could have done with more care to be taken, so as not needing to be ''entirely'' revamped by the likes of yourself, somewhat diluting the 'kudos' and making the little effort taken almost entirely pointless. But I like eagerness. Next time, perhaps, a bit of care will go into the mix and we'll be on the way to another useful contributor. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.4|172.71.242.4]] 04:58, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

This comic got me to search about [[User:Danger Kitty|Danger Kitty]] ([[User talk:Danger Kitty|talk]]) solar flares too.

Contrary to the current explanation, it appears you can search for [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now%207-d&geo=US&q=Cocktail%20recipe,Hangover%20cure&hl=en cocktail recipe searches vs hangover cure searches] at a sub-daily resolution. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.103|108.162.210.103]] 07:51, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:As of my check, just now, I find it very funny that the (current) state-map attached to that result seems to indicate that every state trend predominantly is for searching for cocktails, between the two options. Except for Wyoming, which is solidly the one and only "hangover" state. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.115|172.70.90.115]] 10:35, 9 May 2024 (UTC)~
::It's likely because there's only like 7 people living there. [[User:Tcf|Tcf]] ([[User talk:Tcf|talk]]) 13:51, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

Google solar cycle? Ok. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.143|172.68.58.143]] 13:46, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

==Spike of March 8, 2012==
As far as [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2012-03-01%202012-03-31&geo=US&q=%2Fm%2F0f81b&hl=en-US the spike about 12 years ago], there was [https://www.space.com/14842-biggest-solar-storm-earth-effects.html this]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.149|162.158.175.149]] 00:54, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:Speaking of spikes, [[what if? (blog)|what if]] the internet and Google Trends had existed in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event 1859]? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.166.135|172.71.166.135]] 00:59, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
::...we'd still be repairing the infrastructure damage in 1860? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.4|172.71.242.4]] 04:58, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:::...our entire society as we know it would've collapsed long ago. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 12:36, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

==Correct URL?==
Is this the correct URL for the query? It's a lot more jagged than I was expecting. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F0f81b&hl=en Thanks~
:I second this comment, and wish to ask what exactly Randall's settings were on, because "worldwide" and "2004-present" don't match the comic.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.63|162.158.114.63]] 13:45, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
::Neither do "United States" and "2004-present". For future record, the worldwide graph has a peak of 100 in 2011 and other peaks in the low dozens in 2014, 2017, 2021, and a mere 25 in 2024. [[User:Tcf|Tcf]] ([[User talk:Tcf|talk]]) 13:51, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2930: Google Solar Cycle

2024-05-09T13:49:01Z

Tcf:

When I opened the page I found a bunch of vague misspelled content (maybe spammers or bots? I don't know) so I updated the explanation. Not very knowledgeable about most things, though, so it probably still is not good enough. [[User:DNA Diva|DNA diva]] ([[User talk:DNA Diva|talk]]) 01:10, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:Looking at the first couple of user-edits ("first" Explanation and subsequent Transcript edit), I think they were 'rushed' in order to establish the whole "first"ness and/or escape possible Edit Conflicts (probably needlessly, looking at timings). Not precise enough to be 'AI bot' text (accuracy being different, of course), and no obvious spam-intent.
:Could have done with more care to be taken, so as not needing to be ''entirely'' revamped by the likes of yourself, somewhat diluting the 'kudos' and making the little effort taken almost entirely pointless. But I like eagerness. Next time, perhaps, a bit of care will go into the mix and we'll be on the way to another useful contributor. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.4|172.71.242.4]] 04:58, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

This comic got me to search about [[User:Danger Kitty|Danger Kitty]] ([[User talk:Danger Kitty|talk]]) solar flares too.

Contrary to the current explanation, it appears you can search for [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now%207-d&geo=US&q=Cocktail%20recipe,Hangover%20cure&hl=en cocktail recipe searches vs hangover cure searches] at a sub-daily resolution. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.103|108.162.210.103]] 07:51, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:As of my check, just now, I find it very funny that the (current) state-map attached to that result seems to indicate that every state trend predominantly is for searching for cocktails, between the two options. Except for Wyoming, which is solidly the one and only "hangover" state. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.115|172.70.90.115]] 10:35, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

Google solar cycle? Ok. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.143|172.68.58.143]] 13:46, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

==Spike of March 8, 2012==
As far as [https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=2012-03-01%202012-03-31&geo=US&q=%2Fm%2F0f81b&hl=en-US the spike about 12 years ago], there was [https://www.space.com/14842-biggest-solar-storm-earth-effects.html this]. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.175.149|162.158.175.149]] 00:54, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:Speaking of spikes, [[what if? (blog)|what if]] the internet and Google Trends had existed in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event 1859]? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.166.135|172.71.166.135]] 00:59, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
::...we'd still be repairing the infrastructure damage in 1860? ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.4|172.71.242.4]] 04:58, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
:::...our entire society as we know it would've collapsed long ago. [[User:Psychoticpotato|Psychoticpotato]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 12:36, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

==Correct URL?==
Is this the correct URL for the query? It's a lot more jagged than I was expecting. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F0f81b&hl=en Thanks~
:I second this comment, and wish to ask what exactly Randall's settings were on, because "worldwide" and "2004-present" don't match the comic.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.63|162.158.114.63]] 13:45, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
::Neither do "United States" and "2004-present". For future record, the worldwide graph has a peak of 100 in 2011 and other peaks in the low dozens in 2014, 2017, 2021, and a mere 25 in 2024. [[User:Tcf|Tcf]] ([[User talk:Tcf|talk]]) 13:49, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2919: Sitting in a Tree

2024-05-08T12:03:21Z

Tcf:

Could posting refer to attending one's post? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.163|162.158.146.163]] 23:29, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

Meh, they're just dropping burning pine cones on the wargs. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 04:06, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

I hope I did this right, seeing as this was my first ever edit! [[User:Name of User|Name of User]] ([[User talk:Name of User|talk]]) 04:15, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

Did Randall mean e-filing as in submitting your tax return on the web, and how is that more alarming than ironing sitting on a branch? Or is there some other meaning to efiling? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.243.77|172.68.243.77]] 06:46, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
:Could be that they're sitting in a ''data tree'', selectively traversing it to find [[2918: Tick Marks|a fraudulent subset of transactional records]] to 'declare'... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.74|141.101.99.74]] 10:18, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
:To me it seems "efiling" could be supporting/enacting efilism? Definitely more disturbing. {{unsigned ip|172.70.42.235|12:38, 13 April 2024}}
:I assumed it was a reference to the tax filing deadline in the USA. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.207|162.158.154.207]] 14:15, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
::I don't think "efiling" (electronically filing tax returns) should be considered any more alarming than "banking". --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.87|172.70.131.87]] 20:55, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
:::Yeah - I can't see why banking, e-filing, or posting while in a tree would really be of any concern, in and of themselves. You might have some concern over the security of your connection, particularly if you're using a random wifi hotspot to do it, but that doesn't really have anything to do with the tree per se.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.30|172.70.163.30]] 09:04, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
::::When dealing with my bank, I still do prefer to go to my nearest branch... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.165|172.69.43.165]] 12:09, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
:::::Chapeau. :o) (Preferably a hard hat.)[[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.33|172.71.178.33]] 08:03, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

So, "whaling" can mean hitting (usually in the form "whaling on"), but "whaling" also means spending a lot of money, such as when gambling or in a video game. {{unsigned ip|172.71.222.210|11:05, 13 April 2024}}
:Personally, I just automatically thought they would be ''actually'' hunting marine mammals![[[731: Desert Island|''cetacean]] [[1402: Harpoons|needed'']]] [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.204|172.69.194.204]] 11:30, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
::Absolutely - in the hierarchy "what words mean", I'd say "what the word literally means" has a good argument for being at the top. "Whaling" ''also'' means "hitting", and even then, only phrasally: it's surely only ever "whaling on + object". "Whaling", in isolation, is hunting whales.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 11:54, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
::I believe it only applies to Ishmael and Queequeg, I guess. They're quite homosexual. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.170|108.162.241.170]] 20:04, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

Do "perish/carriage" actually rhyme in (perhaps) the Bostonian accent? I'm drawn back to the state of the Edmund Fitzgerald lyrical rhyming scheme. It might work better using something like "pillage/carriage", with ''only'' the vowel-problem. At which point I could imagine it sort of working in a (bad) Kiwi or Africaans 'iccint'. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.121|172.69.195.121]] 11:42, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
:I think they come quite close in a "general" North American accent. The "pairish" and "cairidge" sounds, stretched out a little to fit the tune, sit well enough together.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 11:48, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

I came here looking for explanations of "efiling", and I have to say "efilism", which I'd never heard of before, certainly sounds more in keeping with that frame than "e-filing", which just sounds tedious, even if the first result DuckDuckGo offers me is for [https://secure.sarsefiling.co.za/landing something called SARS] which [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS seems an unfortunate name]. - [[User:IMSoP|IMSoP]] ([[User talk:IMSoP|talk]]) 13:31, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

How do Cueball and Megan iron without a power cord? --[[User:1234231587678|1234231587678]] ([[User talk:1234231587678|talk]]) 03:03, 14 April 2024 (UTC)
:Presumably they’re using Apple iPhones with handles attached so they can be safely handled even though they get hot enough to iron clothes. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.218|172.70.210.218]] 05:52, 14 April 2024 (UTC)
:They could be using a flat iron, which is simply a solid piece of metal that is heated over a fire before use. (It does look like they may be using steam irons, though.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.6.7|172.69.6.7]] 14:20, 14 April 2024 (UTC)
::See also "box irons". You put hot embers (or fire-heated stones, or whatever is handy or the 'box' is best designed for) into them as the 'heat powerpack'. It'll cool, much like the 'solid iron' iron, but then you empty it and put another 'heat battery' in that you've had waiting in the actual fire. May be trickier than just sitting the 'solid state' version on/over the fire every now and then, but removes a lot of the enforced pause between subsequent applications if you need more than one 'heatings-worth' of iron, per laundry job.
::Obviously, for any actual super-arborial ''applicationem caloris'', one would expect something like a bucket (or heat-safe basket) on a rope, to facilitate some ground-based assistance (beyond the fairly trivial initial porting of the ironing board up there, which they {{w|Extreme ironing|relatively easily do themselves}}... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.70|172.71.242.70]] 19:04, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

"cetacean needed" is absolutely beautiful, well done![[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.171|108.162.241.171]] 15:06, 14 April 2024 (UTC)
:: Agreed. A+ handiwork. [[User:Laser813|Laser813]] ([[User talk:Laser813|talk]]) 14:35, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

Feels like a worthy spiritual successor to one of my favorites, [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/696:_Strip_Games Strip Games]. We need more charts about alternative children's activities. [[User:Phil Srobeighn|Phil Srobeighn]] ([[User talk:Phil Srobeighn|talk]]) 10:56, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

Cueball and Megan, sitting in a tree, F-
wait no
W-O-R-K-I-N-G
R-U-N-N-I-N-G
W-A-L-K-I-N-G
C-A-L-L-I-N-G
D-R-A-W-I-N-G
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.127.58|172.70.127.58]] 16:17, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
:Were you about to swear?!?

Blood, fire, DEATH!!!! YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES ANARCHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY [[User:Z1mp0st0rz|Z1mp0st0rz]] ([[User talk:Z1mp0st0rz|talk]]) 19:37, 15 April 2024 (UTC)

I was surprised when I moved to the US to find out that they also use the word e-file for submitting taxes online. In Canada, it's efile without a hyphen. It also seems that the IRS dosen't send you a confirmation that it was correctly submitted. [[User:Brycemw|Brycemw]] ([[User talk:Brycemw|talk]]) 19:38, 15 April 2024 (UTC)
:I don't even ''know'' what they call it, over here in the UK. Most people (certainly most people like me) do not have to personally submit annual paperwork. PAYE gets dealt with as an intrinsic part of your wages. VAT is included in the price-tags of store items (a business-sales place may quote ex-VAT prices ''as well'', but your £499.99 pricetag for some home-electrical item typically doesn't need any further form of Sales Taxes adding to it before you can take it away).
:Big tax-relevent things (selling a house, anything else that might invoke Capital Gains Tax) are generally rare enough and the estate agent/solicitors involved should get you through the one-off declarations without fuss. Unless you're running your own business or have some other kind of self-earned income (e.g. personal share-trading portfolio), there's not the need for the whole industry of "Personal tax declarations" cropping up every year.
:Taxes still get collected, of course, and doubtless there's room for making adjustments (need expensive boots particularly for work? - you can claim back some of this necessary expense), but asking every person to do as much work as (from popular media) it looks like everyone from Homer Simpson to Jack Bauer needs to spend a frantic few weeks every year to find time to do (or set aside enough regular time to keep ahead of that so that it isn't quite so onerous) just seems odd to me, who has never had to do anything like this over several decades in various jobs and types of employment. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.36|172.69.194.36]] 13:16, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
::I definitely have to agree with you there. With my dad being an accountant, I certainly know a lot of situations where you'd need to do special things with your taxes but the vast majority of people work standard jobs that report their income to the government anyway. Even in the case of personal stock trading or special types of accounts like retirement accounts, the broker or bank still has to report that information to the government. My tax return this year was complicated due to moving countries but other than the one year that I did some remote contracting work for a US company, my Canadian tax returns have been opening the tax software, logging into CRA (Canadian Revenue Agency), downloading all of the data from there, then checking that it's correct. I guess I made one decision of whether or not to use my deduction from contributing to an RRSP but overall there's no reason that it has to be that much work.
::There are definitely a lot more complicated interactions between things in the US so it's not quite so simple. My understanding is that the main reason why it's so much work is that the companies that make the tax software lobby the government to ensure that it doesn't change. The current system requires you to buy a new copy of the software every year (or pay an accountant) which obviously makes them a ton of money. [[User:Brycemw|Brycemw]] ([[User talk:Brycemw|talk]]) 15:49, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

I'm gonna miss "PAIR OF BOTS SITTING IN A TREE E-D-I-T-I-N-G - ♫First come comments, ♫Then these made neat, ♫But ONLY when it's accurate, then should you the tag delete!♫" when this page is "complete." May be a bit too Meta, but should we consider adding it to a "Trivia" section of the page? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.99|162.158.154.99]] 16:39, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
:Go for it! [[User:Laser813|Laser813]] ([[User talk:Laser813|talk]]) 17:56, 16 April 2024 (UTC)
:You've preserved it for posterity here. {{unsigned ip|172.68.210.117|21:57, 19 April 2024}}

Cueball and Megan, sitting in a tree, B-R-A-K-I-N-G [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.63|172.70.131.63]] 18:55, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
:I read this as B-A-R-K-I-N-G. Fits more in the alarming section. [[User:Tcf|Tcf]] ([[User talk:Tcf|talk]]) 12:03, 8 May 2024 (UTC)