explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2758: My Favorite Things

2023-04-05T00:00:03Z

TychoTithonus: more than one hands/fists interpretation

{{comic
| number = 2758
| date = April 3, 2023
| title = My Favorite Things
| image = my_favorite_things_2x.png
| imagesize = 277x426px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = When an Ur guy / sells Nanni things / but the copper's bad, / He simply records his complaint for all time / "I got a bad deal / I'm maaaaad"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a STONE BOT WITH COPPER VENEER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Cueball is singing a song, beginning with the words from "{{w|My Favorite Things (song)|My Favorite Things}}" from ''{{w|The Sound of Music}}'', which begins "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens/Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens". But instead of continuing with the actual lyrics, he notices that the copper from his kettles is flaking off. He then curses the name of Ea-nāṣir to the heavens — this references the {{w|complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir}}, an archeological artifact containing the first known written complaint. Ea-nāṣir was a copper merchant, and the writer of the complaint alleged Ea-nāṣir had scammed him by offering sub-quality copper (echoed by Cueball's counterfeit copper kettle), refused to provide a refund and had fallen short of expectations in other ways. Additional correspondence was discovered, to indicate that this was not their only dissatisfied customer. Ea-nāṣir was also referenced in [[2650: Deepfakes]].

The title text continues the parody for the middle of the song, for which the original is "When the dog bites/When the bee stings/When I'm feeling sad/I simply remember my favorite things/And then I don't feel/So bad". "Ur guy" references Ea-nāṣir, who lived in {{w|Ur}}, while Nanni is the name of the customer who wrote the complaint.

The specific way the scam is pulled (stone with a copper veneer) is a reference to a case in 2021, when there was a modern copper fraud and [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-09/trader-buys-36-million-of-copper-and-gets-painted-rocks-instead 36 million USD worth of copper was switched with painted stones].

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

:[Cueball is standing between a small rosebush and a kitten.]
:Cueball (singing): Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

:[Cueball is now wearing mittens and holding a kettle with flakes falling off it. The kitten is looking up at him. There is another kettle on the ground next to the rosebush.]
:Cueball (singing): Bright copper kettles leave ...flakes on my mittens!?

:[Cueball has turned the kettle he's holding upside down and is examining it. More flakes are falling off of it, seemingly drawing the kitten's interest.]
:Cueball (singing): Hey, these are stone with a copper veneer!

:[Cueball is holding his hands out with his elbows bent, still wearing the mittens, and perhaps with fists raised slightly in shock or anger, or perhaps just the exuberance of song. The two kettles are next to each other on the ground by the rosebush. The kitten is looking up at him again.]
:Cueball (singing): I've been bamboozled by Ea-nāṣir!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Songs]]

2758: My Favorite Things

2023-04-04T23:46:44Z

TychoTithonus: a little more emoting than just elbows bent?

{{comic
| number = 2758
| date = April 3, 2023
| title = My Favorite Things
| image = my_favorite_things_2x.png
| imagesize = 277x426px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = When an Ur guy / sells Nanni things / but the copper's bad, / He simply records his complaint for all time / "I got a bad deal / I'm maaaaad"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a STONE BOT WITH COPPER VENEER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Cueball is singing a song, beginning with the words from "{{w|My Favorite Things (song)|My Favorite Things}}" from ''{{w|The Sound of Music}}'', which begins "Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens/Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens". But instead of continuing with the actual lyrics, he notices that the copper from his kettles is flaking off. He then curses the name of Ea-nāṣir to the heavens — this references the {{w|complaint tablet to Ea-nāṣir}}, an archeological artifact containing the first known written complaint. Ea-nāṣir was a copper merchant, and the writer of the complaint alleged Ea-nāṣir had scammed him by offering sub-quality copper (echoed by Cueball's counterfeit copper kettle), refused to provide a refund and had fallen short of expectations in other ways. Additional correspondence was discovered, to indicate that this was not their only dissatisfied customer. Ea-nāṣir was also referenced in [[2650: Deepfakes]].

The title text continues the parody for the middle of the song, for which the original is "When the dog bites/When the bee stings/When I'm feeling sad/I simply remember my favorite things/And then I don't feel/So bad". "Ur guy" references Ea-nāṣir, who lived in {{w|Ur}}, while Nanni is the name of the customer who wrote the complaint.

The specific way the scam is pulled (stone with a copper veneer) is a reference to a case in 2021, when there was a modern copper fraud and [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-09/trader-buys-36-million-of-copper-and-gets-painted-rocks-instead 36 million USD worth of copper was switched with painted stones].

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

:[Cueball is standing between a small rosebush and a kitten.]
:Cueball (singing): Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

:[Cueball is now wearing mittens and holding a kettle with flakes falling off it. The kitten is looking up at him. There is another kettle on the ground next to the rosebush.]
:Cueball (singing): Bright copper kettles leave ...flakes on my mittens!?

:[Cueball has turned the kettle he's holding upside down and is examining it. More flakes are falling off of it, seemingly drawing the kitten's interest.]
:Cueball (singing): Hey, these are stone with a copper veneer!

:[Cueball is holding his hands out with his elbows bent, still wearing the mittens, and perhaps with fists raised slightly in shock or anger. The two kettles are next to each other on the ground by the rosebush. The kitten is looking up at him again.]
:Cueball (singing): I've been bamboozled by Ea-nāṣir!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Songs]]