explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3237: Husband and Wife

2026-05-06T18:48:38Z

Teddy:

{{comic
| number = 3237
| date = April 24, 2026
| title = Husband and Wife
| image = husband_and_wife_2x.png
| imagesize = 586x292px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Borat came out twenty years ago this year--closer to the breakup of the Soviet Union than to today--but it honestly feels like it's been even longer, somehow.
}}

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

[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]], who are married in this strip, are discussing the phrases that married couples use to refer to each other. Traditionally, in English, married couples refer to their partners as "my husband" and "my wife", though many euphemistic or 'cutesy' alternatives have gained currency. Megan finds the phrase "my husband" odd and perhaps a little archaic, comparing it to a "Victorian gossip" (a subject that was previously referenced in [[2660: Gen Z]]).

The specifics of Megan's objection aren't clear, and there are a number of possible angles. It could be due to the possessive phrasing (though similar phrasing is very common in English, and generally doesn't imply ownership). Possibly, the old and and gendered roots of the word itself feel odd to her, as the 17th-century roots meant of "master of the house" or "husbandman" (farmer). American norms around relationships, gender and marriage have changed significantly over the last several decades, and phrases associated with traditional and rigid concepts of relationships and gender roles might naturally feel outdated to the younger generations.

Cueball, on the other hand, isn't bothered as much by this implication as by the association with 2006 film ''{{w|Borat}}''. Borat, a fictional character from {{w|Kazakhstan}}, had a distinct, cringy way of saying [https://youtu.be/Zw16aew4Pt0 "my wife"], which has been frequently referenced, quoted, replayed and incorporated into memes ever since the film came out. Even though the film was released 20 years prior to this strip, Cueball can't get the reference out of his head when he uses the phrase. (Depending on their cultural touchpoints, there are a number of other associations readers may make. For example, “My wife; I think I’ll keep her” was used as a commercial for a tonic to keep women looking young and/or feeling energetic. This was certainly not the author’s intent, but it certainly fits with the comic, if not the title text.)

The title text points out that the 20 years from the movie's release to the publication of this comic is longer than the 15 years from the {{w|dissolution of the Soviet Union}} to the movie (Kazakhstan was briefly the last-remaining member of the USSR). In contrast to [[Randall]]'s usual [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|attempts to make people feel old]], the title text claims that ''Borat'' actually seems '''older''' than it really is. The implication is that the memes have become so ubiquitous that they feel like they've been part of American culture for a very long time.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are talking, standing next to each other.]
:Megan: I still feel a little weird saying the phrase "my husband".
:Megan: It makes me feel so traditional, like a Victorian gossip.

:[Megan and Cueball still standing next to each other.]
:Cueball: Yeah, well, '''''my''''' plight isn’t much better.
:Megan: What do you mean?
:Cueball: What’s the most salient cultural reference for the phrase "my wife"?

:[In the 3rd panel, Cueball has his hands raised.]
:Megan: Ughhhh, true.
:Cueball: Even now, after two decades, when I speak of you I hear his voice, echoing through the halls of memory like a cringey ghost.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Movies]]
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

Talk:3242: Aperiodic Table

2026-05-06T18:46:22Z

Teddy:

FIRST! also how has this not been explained? explain it!

And the award for turning the periodic table into Chutes and Ladders goes to... 18:18, 6 May 2026 (UTC)
Actually, I was first, I just took a while explaining it.

3242: Aperiodic Table

2026-05-06T18:45:43Z

Teddy: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3242
| date = May 6, 2026
| title = Aperiodic Table
| image = aperiodic_table_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x464px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Scientists occasionally invent alternative periodic table layouts, which is usually a sign that they don't have enough enrichment in their enclosures.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
The periodic table of the elements is a table showing the elements everything is made of. The further down the table you go, the more electron shells there are. The joke is that this table is arranged in a line of all the elements in order; instead of being periodic, or arranged by rows, it’s aperiodic, or not arranged in rows, and instead is just a line.

Chemistry and the periodic table is a common theme on xkcd, with there being many comics featuring humorous variations and "fixes" of it, such as [[2639: Periodic Table Changes]] and [[2975: Classical Periodic Table]]

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

The Aperiodic Table of the Elements

[Rectangles showing the atomic symbols and atomic numbers from H 1 through Og 118 are arranged in a serpentine chain. The color of each rectangle matches the the pattern of a standard periodic table. For example, the noble elements all have a red background.]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3242: Aperiodic Table

2026-05-06T18:44:52Z

Teddy: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3242
| date = May 6, 2026
| title = Aperiodic Table
| image = aperiodic_table_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x464px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Scientists occasionally invent alternative periodic table layouts, which is usually a sign that they don't have enough enrichment in their enclosures.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
The periodic table of the elements is a table showing the elements everything is made of. The further down the table you go, the more electron shells there are. The joke is that this table is arranged in a line of all the elements in order; instead of being periodic, or arranged by rows, it’s aperiodic, or not arranged in rows, and instead is just a line.

This comic shows a picture of the elements of the periodic table arranged in a chaotic snake shape. The joke most likely comes from the fact that it is chaotic with no specific pattern.

Chemistry and the periodic table is a common theme on xkcd, with there being many comics featuring humorous variations and "fixes" of it, such as [[2639: Periodic Table Changes]] and [[2975: Classical Periodic Table]]

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

The Aperiodic Table of the Elements

[Rectangles showing the atomic symbols and atomic numbers from H 1 through Og 118 are arranged in a serpentine chain. The color of each rectangle matches the the pattern of a standard periodic table. For example, the noble elements all have a red background.]

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>