explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2342: Exposure Notification

2020-08-05T21:24:45Z

Valepert: min

{{comic
| number = 2342
| date = August 5, 2020
| title = Exposure Notification
| image = exposure_notification.png
| titletext = I don't see why everyone is so hungry for BAD news, but fine, I'll give in to feedback and add a dark mode.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT THAT RECENTLY HAD CLOSE CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS NOT TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID. A title text explanation needs to be added. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
During the coronavirus pandemic, several apps were developed to implement [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_contact_tracing digital contact tracing] by using one's location along with the location of others to notify someone if they had been potentially exposed to COVID-19. In this comic, a different type of app has been developed. Instead of notifying someone if they have been exposed to COVID-19, the app produces notifications if they have '''not''' been tested positive. This is much less useful because it is not possible to tell whether anyone has actually been near anyone who was infected but rather annoys the user with excessive notifications.

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

{{comic discussion}}

2325: Endorheic Basin

2020-07-04T15:31:08Z

Valepert: min

{{comic
| number = 2325
| date = June 26, 2020
| title = Endorheic Basin
| image = endorheic_basin.png
| titletext = My biggest fear is that colonial engineers will try to flood me to generate electricity. My biggest hope is that I'll develop sailing stones.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ENDORHEIC BASIN. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Yet another comic with one of [[Beret Guy|Beret Guy's]] [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]]. This time he attracts water so it flows to him rather than running out towards the nearby oceans. He thus claims he is like an {{w|endorheic basin}}, hence the title.

An endorheic basin is a limited drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but converges instead into lakes or swamps, permanent or seasonal, that equilibrate through evaporation. The {{w|Caspian Sea}} in Asia is the largest such basin. It is debated if it is a lake or a sea (it is salty, but not connected to the oceans). If it is a lake then it is the world's largest lake.

Real-life endorheic basins do not attract water in any unusual ways. Rather, they form when low-lying, inland areas receive water from rivers and streams, but not enough to flood them completely and allow the water to overflow into an ocean. As the surface of the lake grows, so do the rate of evaporation and seepage into the ground, until they're equivalent to the inflow of water (at least, on a yearly average). Obviously, Beret Guy's inexplicable effect on water is distinct from the way actual endorheic basins function.

The panel showing Beret Guy after a shower looks similar to what could happen in a space station if you have liquid water in zero gravity. The water in this environment sticks to any surface it encounters.{{Citation needed}} See for instance the start of this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeDJABZpVlI Water in zero gravity] and this one [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8TssbmY-GM Wringing out Water on the ISS - for Science!] to see how water reacts to human skin in zero gravity. It is thus almost impossible for him to dry off after a shower. It seems like the water that is attracted to him is still somewhat subject to gravity, as it pools downwards upon him; presumably he knows to finish showering before it floods over his face.

In fact he needs someone to come with a {{w|siphon}} to get rid of the water. A siphon is an u-shaped pipe, where the downward pipe is longer than the upward section. Thus the water falling in the downward section creates a pull lifting the water in the upward section up to the highest point, from which it will flow down pulling more water up. As the endorheic basin caused by Beret Guy seems to have a limited reach, placing one end of the pipe sufficiently far outside creates a similar effect: The water outside Beret Guy's area of effect flows down under the influence of gravity, creating a pull lifting the water near him "up" out of the endorheic basin. Randall made a [[what if?]] about siphons in #143: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/143/ Europa Water Siphon].

As with real endorheic basins, if the water is allowed to sit, it will eventually evaporate, but he notes that he'll "develop salt flats". Water from rivers carry salts, typically in low concentrations, and if a lake lacks outflows, the salts build up over time, as the water evaporates. If a salt lake evaporates completely, it can create {{w|Salt pan (geology)|salt flats}} (or salt pans), like those near {{w|Salt Lake City}} in {{w|Utah}}, e.g. the {{w|Bonneville Salt Flats}}. These salts come in a variety of forms, including minerals. Sometimes, endorheic basins have high enough concentrations of dissolved minerals to be worth extracting, which is presumably what he means by "let me know if you need any minerals".

There may also be a contrived pun here, in that "flats" is a description of various types of footwear (among them: women's shoes that are not high-heeled and ballet shoes not specifically reinforced for advanced 'pointe' dancing), and the water would clearly leave the 'flats' on his feet.

In the title text, Beret Guy mentions his "biggest fear" due to his water attracting abilities is being flooded to by "colonial engineers" in order for them to use him and the water to generate electricity. This may be a reference to the {{w|Qattara Depression Project}}. The Qattara depression is a low-lying region near the Egyptian coast. For nearly a century, there have been proposals to dig a canal from the sea to flood this depression, deliberately creating a huge endorheic basin. By placing {{w|hydroelectric dam}}s along the canal, the proposals hoped to generation huge amounts of electricity. At least one proposal included the use of nuclear explosions to create the canal, which may help to explain why he considers this his biggest fear.

He then mentions that his "biggest hope", due to his ability, is that he will generate {{w|sailing stones}}. Sailing stones (also known as sliding rocks, walking rocks, rolling stones, and moving rocks), are a geological phenomenon where rocks move and inscribe long tracks along a smooth valley floor without human or animal intervention. The movement of the rocks occurs when large ice sheets a few millimeters thick and floating in an ephemeral winter pond start to break up during sunny days. Frozen during cold winter nights, these thin floating ice panels are driven by wind and shove rocks at speeds up to 5 meters per minute. The {{w|Racetrack Playa}}, an endorheic basin in Death Valley, is one of the most famous locations for sailing stones.

This comic came out just a bit more than a month after the previous comic with one of Beret Guy's strange powers, [[2310: Great Attractor]], in which strange forces exerted a pull on Beret Guy. It does not appear that he himself is drawn to water, and we cannot determine if the Great Attractor is drawn to him, so Newton's Third Law may be constantly being broken, along with the more obvious scientific impossibilities that surround Beret Guy.

==Transcript==
:[Megan, holding a glass of water up in one hand, is talking to Beret Guy, who has water surrounding his feet, with small droplets falling off the two small water triangles that cover his feet. The water in her glass is leaning towards Beret Guy.]
:Megan: Why are your feet wet?
:Beret Guy: I'm an endorheic basin!

:[Megan looks down at her glass as the water in it is flying out towards Beret Guy's arm, which he has stretched out towards the glass.]
:Megan: Huh?
:Beret Guy: Nearby water flows toward me, not the ocean.
:Beret Guy: See?
:Megan: Oh, cool.

:[At the top of this panel is a box with text being said by Beret Guy to Megan. Beneath it is a depiction of what he is explaining to Megan. Beret Guy is shown standing in a bathroom, with a towel around his waist. Almost his entire body is covered completely in water, except most of his head above mouth level, and both his feet are beneath the water bubble. He yells to someone outside the bathroom. A shower-tray or partially sunken bathtub can be seen to the left with a closed shower curtain across it. To the right of him is the sink with mirror above it. Further right is the door. The floor is tiled.]
:Beret Guy - narrating: The most annoying part is drying off after a shower.
:Beret Guy: Can someone bring me the siphon?

:[Back to the situation from the first panel, although Megan has lowered her glass a bit. The glass seems to be as full as in the first panel though, even though Beret Guy now also has water on his arm where it was pulled out off Megan's glass in panel 2.]
:Beret Guy: But I have to get rid of it or I'll develop salt flats.
:Beret Guy: Anyway, let me know if you need any minerals!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Geography]]

Talk:2236: Is it Christmas?

2019-12-02T21:56:05Z

Valepert: msg

according Wayback Machine, the site [https://web.archive.org/web/20181225014549/https://isitchristmas.com/ still] [https://web.archive.org/web/20171225032723/https://isitchristmas.com/ says] [https://web.archive.org/web/20161209052757/https://isitchristmas.com/ NO] [https://web.archive.org/web/20151225060146/https://isitchristmas.com/ even] on Christmas. --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 21:56, 2 December 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2145: Heists And Escapes

2019-05-03T21:48:27Z

Valepert: msg

The real-life battle of Alesia was appparently the opposite of Winterfell, insofar as where the "rattling" happens. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.230.244|198.41.230.244]] 21:37, 3 May 2019 (UTC)
:I think that title text theory it's also a reference to the [[wikipedia:Tommy_Westphall#The_Tommy_Westphall_Universe_Hypothesis|Tommy Westphall universe hypothesis]]. --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 21:48, 3 May 2019 (UTC)

2130: Industry Nicknames

2019-03-29T21:26:04Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2130
| date = March 29, 2019
| title = Industry Nicknames
| image = industry_nicknames.png
| titletext = As far as "being in the pocket of Big Egg" goes, I think the real threat is Chansey.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Big Bird. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
"Big industry" is a common nickname used to describe monopolistic or near-monopolistic practices in the United States. To be "in someone's pocket" means to be taking bribes, or to be influenced by lobbyists.

Of the 8 industries listed, {{w|Big Tobacco}} and {{w|Big Pharma}} are nicknames that are commonly used. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-27/warren-calls-for-breakup-of-big-ag-in-appeal-to-family-farmers Big Ag] is sometimes used to describe the farming / agricultural industry, while the rest are purely fictional.

[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Chansey_(Pok%C3%A9mon) Chansey], mentioned in the title text, is a big, egg-shaped {{w|Pokémon}} and carries around an egg in her pouch-like front pocket. Randall mentions that "in the pocket of Big Egg" would sound rather literal if Chansey was somehow involved.

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

:'''Nicknames for Industries and Organizations'''
:Ranked by how silly it sounds when
:you say someone is "In the pocket of..."

:[Arrow pointing to the right:]
:Sillier

:[Items on a line from left to right:]
:Cigarette companies: "Big Tobacco"
:Drug companies: "Big Pharma"
:The farming industry: "Big Ag"
:Automakers: "Big Car"
:The International Equestrian Federation: "Big Horse"
:The Board of Podiatric Medicine: "Big Foot"
:The mining industry: "Big Hole"
:The American Egg Board: "Big Egg"

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2067: Challengers

2018-11-02T11:19:11Z

Valepert: loading screen

'''New category elections'''

I've created a new category for elections: [[:Category:Elections]]. Please help and add this category to other comics I've missed so far. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 09:47, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

'''Further discussions'''

''Calling it now'': lots of complaining about campaigning, by folks who prefer jokes. [[User:KangaroOS|Kangaro]][[User talk:KangaroOS|OS]] 06:25, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

There are hidden comics. I've found three so far:
Attack ad comic in north half of Texas.
Ballot measure comic in north half of California.
Gerrymandering comic in north half of Washington.
IronyIsGood 06:16, 2 November 2018 (AEST) {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.184}}

: Steve King comic in north-western Iowa
: St Louis comic on the border of Missouri and Illinois {{unsigned ip|162.158.90.144}}
: "Abigail Spanberger for Congress", just below Richmond, Virginia [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.165|172.69.54.165]] 08:17, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
: "Only Poll That Counts" comic on border of California and Nevada, South West of Las Vegas [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.56|141.101.77.56]] 08:21, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
: "I can see my house from here" in Washington DC [[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.88|172.68.110.88]] 09:17, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
: "If elected..." North Western Nebraska. {{unsigned|ManSpider}}
: "Carlymandering plan..." North Washington. {{unsigned ip|162.158.202.88}}

Non-Republican/Democrat candidate found in Alaska, in green - only one I've found so far. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.143|172.69.226.143]] 09:08, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
: There is also one southwest of Dallas {{unsigned ip|162.158.202.88}}

'''Serious bug report:''' This damn thing must be geolocked or something, because apparently not being an American means I can't edit the map. I can't even get around it with a VPN. Help? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.214|162.158.38.214]] 10:18, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:This map will be changed by US citizens on November 6, 2018. Nobody can edit this map at xkcd. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 10:33, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

'''Loading screen'''

please, include the [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/challengers.png loading screen] in the explanation. --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 11:19, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2065: Who Sends the First Text?

2018-10-29T19:31:01Z

Valepert: +GSoC 2006 plugin for Pidgin

This one hits home with me as I always try to balance this (I think I was taught this by my mom, consciously or not) and when the balancing fails the friendship fails too - usually painfully. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.44|162.158.88.44]] 15:49, 29 October 2018 (UTC)

I couldn't help but notice that the far-right category (automated alerts and political campaigns) has a non-zero width, occupying the approximate range of 96~100%. Could this vaguely suggest that, for some automated alerts and political campaigns, Randall sends the first text as much as 4% of the time? [[User:Manabender|Manabender]] ([[User talk:Manabender|talk]]) 16:17, 29 October 2018 (UTC)
: Maybe for political campaigns for causes he believes in, he has been known to initiate a call. I'd be inclined to believe the automated alerts are at the 100% end. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 17:16, 29 October 2018 (UTC)
: And he might "opt in" to an automated alert system for something he considers beneficial, like weather alerts. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 17:53, 29 October 2018 (UTC)

::during the [https://developers.google.com/open-source/gsoc/2006/ Google Summer of Code 2006] one developer wrote a [https://github.com/rosedu/Pidgin/blob/master/pidgin/plugins/cap/README Contact Availability Prediction plugin] for Pidgin that solve a similar problem. --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 19:31, 29 October 2018 (UTC)

1883: Supervillain Plan

2017-08-30T17:59:58Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1883
| date = August 30, 2017
| title = Supervillain Plan
| image = supervillain_plan.png
| titletext = Someday, some big historical event will happen during the DST changeover, and all the tick-tock articles chronicling how it unfolded will have to include a really annoying explanation next to their timelines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft, please help to expand. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In this comic [[Black Hat]] is a {{w|supervillain}}, befitting his {{w|Black hat|character}}. He plans to use {{w|Unmanned aerial vehicle|drones}} and explosives to move the entire State California into the Pacific, a la {{w|Lex Luthor}} in the 1978 ''{{w|Superman (1978 film)|Superman}}'' movie.

His {{w|Henchman|henchmen}} are [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]]. The latter appears to be a programmer who does not want to have the mission (and hence the drones' coding) to account for time/date discrepancies such as {{w|time zone}}s and {{w|daylight saving time}}, which would be a factor if the event took place on the wrong date or the landmasses were pushed too far apart.

In computer programming, working with dates and times is often considered one of the more complicated tasks. Think about {{w|Leap year|leap years}} or {{w|Leap second|leap seconds}}, the non existing {{w|Year zero|year zero}} which even more worse for scientists does exist in {{w|Astronomical year numbering|astronomical calendars}}, or the {{w|Year 2000 problem|Y2K}} and {{w|Year 2038 problem|year 2038}} problem. Nevertheless in this comic there is only a ''time zone problem'' mentioned. To handle this the {{w|tz database}}, also known as ''tzdata'', provides all relevant information for every country back to 1970 and, less accurate, before. But it's still up to the programmer to use this data in useful ways.

Using time zones and DST can give seemingly nonsensical results when used improperly. For example, a flight going west might leave at 02:00pm and reach its destination at 03:00pm while the reverse flight will leave at 02:00pm and arrive at 05:00pm. In both cases, the travel time is two hours, but the one hour difference between the two timezones makes it seem otherwise. You might even find yourself arriving at your destination at an earlier time than your departure! DST can also makes a given time mean two different things, if after 01:59am you go back to 01:00 am, 01:30am can either be one hour after 00:30am, or one hour before 02:30am. Or in the reverse change, some dates don't actually exist, like 02:30 when going straight from 01:59 to 03:00. Humans often avoid this issue by being in only one place at the same time, or by sleeping when the DST changes happen, but computer communications often span over large distances, and drones don't need to sleep at night. Megan wants to make sure she won't have to deal with the difficult problem of communication between drones and other systems with those issues, where a single poorly communicated date can have disastrous effects.

California is currently located entirely within the {{w|UTC−08:00|UTC-8}} time zone (at standard time {{w|Pacific Time Zone|PST}}, while in summer PDT is at {{w|UTC−07:00|UTC-7}}). But after Black Hat's actions California is at risk of floating West into the next time zone at {{w|UTC−09:00|UTC-9}}.

However, in reality, time zones in the United States are determined by [https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=6a1a124065df269aff9faa2340478852&node=pt49.1.71&rgn=div5#se49.1.71_12 Department of Transportation regulations], and California's time zone is not defined based on its longitude. Consequently, even if California were pushed out to sea, its time zone would remain the same unless the Department of Transportation issued a regulation otherwise, so Megan can rest easy. (On the other hand, Black Hat could alter the time zone of any of the East Coast states except Maine if his drones could push the state east of 67°30″ W. longitude, since the Eastern Time Zone's eastern boundary is mostly based on longitude, except as to Maine.)

Note: Megan should be happy Black Hat hasn't planned [https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2012-11-12/daylight-saving-donut-arizona-ken-jennings-maphead to involve Arizona in his scheme].

==Transcript==
:[On the left of this single panel comic Black Hat sits on a high throne, showing a fist, and looking down to Cueball and Magan who stand in front of him on the right.]

:Black Hat: ... then, after our drones take control of the cities, we will detonate the devices. California will break off from the mainland and drift out to sea!
:Megan: How far out to sea? Will it put any of the cities in the UTC-9 time zone?
:Black Hat: What? I don't know.
:Megan: One request: Can we make sure this doesn't happen during the daylight saving changeover?

:[Caption below the panel:]
:You can tell when someone's been a programmer for a while because they develop a deep-seated fear of time zone problems.

==Trivia==
*Different time zones often confuse people. When [[xkcd]] comics are released on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday early as possible at 00:00 according to [[Randall]]'s home at Eastern Time (EST/EDT) it is still the day before in the most regions of the United States further to the west. In California (PST/PDT) that would be 21:00 in the evening before. Nevertheless most comics are released later when the entire US is at the same day. This particular comic was released at 13:00 UTC, which was 09:00 EDT or 06:00 PDT.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Daylight saving time]]
[[Category:Programming]]

1824: Identification Chart

2017-04-15T19:34:52Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1824
| date = April 14, 2017
| title = Identification Chart
| image = identification_chart.png
| titletext = Be careful-it's breeding season, and some of these can be *extremely* defensive of their nests.
}}

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

Some aircraft are named after creatures of flight, including {{w|bird of prey|birds of prey}}, other birds, and insects. This comic spoofs an "identification guide" of bird silhouettes, each with the {{w|fuselage}} of an aircraft and the wings of the flying animal from which the aircraft gets its name. All are birds with the exception of the {{w|hornet|hornet}} which is an insect. This would be absurd if it was a plane with the feathers designed, as bird wings are usually made to support the lightweight structure of a bird and supporting the parts of a plane with its human pilot would be impossible.{{Citation needed}}

General military training often includes aircraft identification. {{w|Aircraft_recognition|Silhouette charts}} are given to ground observers for memorization and reference so that friend or foe can be determined in the field. Conversely, many bird watching books will carry pictures of avian silhouettes from below, as often key details like tail and wing shape are the easiest way to determine what a species a high soaring bird is, especially birds of prey.

The comic highlights not only the various designs of aircraft tails, but also bird wings. Some wings are highly adapted for soaring (eagle), speed (falcon), as well as rapid acceleration and short flights (blackbird).

{| class="wikitable"
!Animal
! style="width: 8em" | Plane
!Description
|-
|{{w|Osprey|Osprey}}
|{{w|Bell_Boeing_V-22_Osprey|V-22 Osprey}}
|The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) is a raptor with distinctive white and brown coloring. It's also sometimes referred to as a sea hawk or fish eagle due to its virtually all fish diet.
The V-22 Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft that has been in development since the 1980s, and was introduced to the U.S. Armed Forces in 2007. It's a troop carrier aircraft that combines the vertical take-off ability of a helicopter with the high cruising speed of an airplane. (''{{w|Bell Helicopter}}'' and {{w|Boeing Rotorcraft Systems|''Boeing''}})
|-
|{{w|Hornet|Hornet}}
|{{w|McDonnell_Douglas_F/A-18_Hornet|F/A-18 Hornet}}
|Hornets are a type of wasp of the genera vespa or provespa. They're known to be highly territorial and aggressive.
The F-18 Hornet is a fighter developed for the Navy in the 1970s. It's been deployed by air forces around the world in both air-to-air and air-to-ground roles, and is flown by the US Navy demonstration team, the Blue Angels. The airplane is still being produced in an updated and larger version, the {{w|F/A-18E/F Super Hornet}}. (''{{w|McDonnell Douglas}}'')
|-
|{{w|Falcon|Falcon}}
|{{w|General_Dynamics_F-16_Fighting_Falcon|F-16 Falcon}}
|A falcon is a bird of prey known for its tapered wings that allow for high speed flight and high maneuverability.
The F-16 Falcon is a light single-engine fighter. It's flown by the USAF demonstration team, the Thunderbirds. (''{{w|General Dynamics}}'')
|-
|{{w|Harrier (bird)|Harrier}}
|{{w|Harrier_Jump_Jet|AV-8B Harrier}}
|A harrier is a hawk that hunts by flying low over open ground.
The first operational {{w|STOL}}/{{w|VTOL}} fighter. They are known for their use in the {{w|Falklands War}} (1982), where they operated from converted cargo ships as well as aircraft carriers. (''{{w|Hawker Siddeley}}'')
|-
|{{w|Eagle|Eagle}}
|{{w|McDonnell_Douglas_F-15_Eagle|F-15 Eagle}}
|A hawk is a large bird of prey with a heavy head and beak. They have very acute vision.
Introduced in 1976, other jets like F-16 have filled its role. The U.S. Air National Guard is the largest operator as of now. (''{{w|McDonnell Douglas}}'')
|-
|{{w|Kestrel|Kestrel}}
|{{w|Kestrel_K-350|Kestrel K-350}}
|A bird of prey that can hover before swooping in on its prey.
The Kestrel is a single-engine, proof-of-concept aircraft, similar to the {{w|Pilatus PC-12}}. (''{{w|Kestrel Aircraft}}'')
|-
|{{w|Hawk|Hawk}}
|{{w|BAE_Systems_Hawk|Hawk T1}}
|A trainer aircraft. {{w|T-45 Goshawk}} is the U.S. designation of a variant of this aircraft. The fuselage silhouette is of a BAe Hawk, although other aircraft have also had Hawk-related names, for example the Hawker [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Sea_Hawk Sea Hawk] and the Douglas [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_A-4_Skyhawk A-4 Skyhawk]. (''{{w|BAE Systems}}'')
|-
|{{w|Blackbird|Blackbird}}
|{{w|Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird|SR-71 Blackbird}}
|A Mach 3+ spy aircraft, known for its speed and engine design (which allowed them to work both as turbines and ramjets). (''{{w|Lockheed Martin}}'')
|}

The title text is juxtaposing military air bases with breeding nests of the animals--both of which might earn a hostile response to approach at the wrong time, but in wildly different measure. Encroaching on breeding territory of some of the birds being referenced may result in getting dived at or chased, so the comparison invites the reader to imagine what might happen if the analogous creatures in the comic were defending their nest with aircraft ordnance.

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

{{comic discussion}}

1818: Rayleigh Scattering

2017-03-31T18:28:13Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1818
| date = March 31, 2017
| title = Rayleigh Scattering
| image = rayleigh_scattering.png
| titletext = If you ask "why are leaves green?" the usual answer is "because they're full of chlorophyll, and chlorophyll is green," even though "why does chlorophyll scatter green light?" is a great question too.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Incomplete explanation Needs fixing upping. DO NOT DELETE}}

This comic suggests it is much better to explain things in an easy-to-understand and intuitive manner, even if such explanations may not be completely accurate. This is especially the case for children, whose ability to grasp abstract physics has not yet fully developed. Giving the most complete and physically accurate explanation would make the concepts much more elaborate than necessary, and would cause major confusion in inexperienced listeners.

The principle is demonstrated by the explanation on {{w|Diffuse sky radiation|why the sky is blue}}. The commonly given explanation for this is, as the comic title says, {{w|Rayleigh scattering}}. However, in order to understand how Rayleigh scattering works to produce a blue color, one must go into {{w|quantum mechanics}} and deal with properties of molecules in air and their effects on different wavelengths of light. Even then, one will also need to know about the inner workings of human visual perception to realize why the color we perceive isn't the wavelength that's being most strongly scattered (see [[1145: Sky Color]]). The child is not likely to understand this kind of explanation.

On the other hand, a much simpler explanation, such as "because air is blue", also adequately explains the phenomenon, and is probably much more understandable to less physically inclined listeners. When a person who looks like a young [[Science Girl]] asks her mother [[Blondie]] why is the sky blue, [[Megan]] walks in and starts to explain in a very scientific way. This is criticized by Blondie, who then convinces her that the simpler explanation is sufficient, as there is a quantum mechanical explanation for every color, there is no need to elaborate on the sky's color any more than any other object's color.

The last panel takes this explanation to the extreme by claiming that aeroplanes stay up because they have thousands of birds in their wings that hold them up by flapping. This, while certainly easier to understand, is much farther from reality than the explanation in the previous panels. Even this is not as farfetched as it may first appear. For example, in most current grade school curriculums, children are taught that atoms are made of a central nucleus with electrons orbiting around it like planets orbit around the sun. This is also an extremely simplified and inaccurate model in light of quantum mechanics. Nevertheless, it is taught as fact at least until the children are ready to take on the more complete explanation. The child's reaction in this comic, "Wow!", suggests that not only she understood, but is also excited about learning science, which could be even more important to her development than hearing the "correct" answer up front.

The title text refers to another common question as for why leaves are green. This is commonly explained by the fact that they are filled with {{w|chlorophyll}}, a chemical used by plants for photosynthesis. Randall points out that it would be an equally valid question to ask why chlorophyll is green. This poses an interesting contrast to the answer to the question about the color of the sky, where physicists are quick to jump to describing quantum phenomena, whereas in the case of leaves they are usually satisfied by a more general explanation. Also, "Why does chlorophyll scatter green light" may be a great question because chlorophyll reflects, not scatters, light and this challenges Megan-types to coherently explain the difference before they go challenging little children with pedantry.

[https://what-if.xkcd.com/141/ What-if 141] also mentions the simpler explanation to the original question: Sunbeam has this relevant text: "Normal light interacts with the atmosphere through Rayleigh scattering. You may have heard of Rayleigh scattering as the answer to 'why is the sky blue.' This is sort of true, but honestly, a better answer to this question might be 'because air is blue.' Sure, it appears blue for a bunch of physics reasons, but everything appears the color it is for a bunch of physics reasons." There is also a footnote in that comment with an additional example: "When you ask, 'Why is the {{w|Statue of Liberty|statue of liberty}} green?' the answer is something like, 'The outside of the statue is copper, so it used to be copper-colored. Over time, a layer of copper carbonate formed (through oxidation), and copper carbonate is green.' You don't say 'The statue is green because of frequency-specific absorption and scattering by surface molecules.' "

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

:[2 Girls Talking, one a young Science Girl and the other is Blondie]
:Science Girl: Why is the sky blue?
:Blondie: Because air is blue,
:[Megan walks in]
:Megan: No, the sky is blue because of Rayleigh scattering -
:Blondie: Nah, it's because air is blue. Blue light bounces off it and hits our Eyes. Same as why anything is any color,
:[Zoom in on Blondie]
:Blondie: It's why far-off mountains look blue - because of all the blue air in the way.
[Back to view of three characters.]
:Megan: There's a specific quantum mechanism by which -
:Blondie: Yeah(,) but there's a physics mechanism for every color. You don't have to get all quantum right away.
[frameless panel with Blondie and Science Girl]
:Megan:(off panel) ... OK, I guess.
:Blondie: Any other questions?
:Science Girl: How do planes stay up?
[Back to all three characters]
:Megan: Well, the airflow -
:Blondie: Tiny birds in the wings. Thousands. Flapping Hard.
:Science Girl: WOW!
:Megan: NO!

{{comic discussion}}

1809: xkcd Phone 5

2017-03-10T20:21:43Z

Valepert: /* Table of features */ add

{{comic
| number = 1809
| date = March 10, 2017
| title = xkcd Phone 5
| image = xkcd_phone_5.png
| titletext = The phone will be collected by the toll operators and mailed back to you within 4-6 weeks.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs a lot more}}
This is the fifth entry in the ongoing [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]], and once again, the comic plays with many standard tech buzzwords to create a phone that sounds impressive but would actually be very impractical, especially with the front camera which would prevent it from going into a pocket. The previous comic in the series [[1707: xkcd Phone 4]] was released almost 8 months before this one.

===Table of features===
{| class="wikitable"
!Feature
!Explanation
|-
|'''Bluetooth speaker'''
| This is the only potentially useful feature of this phone as while a {{w|bluetooth}} speaker built in to the device would be no more useful for playing music from it than any other speaker it would enable other devices to play through your phone.
|-
|'''Stained-glass display'''
| Prevents seeing certain colors by tinting the display. {{w|Stained glass}} has traditionally been used for decorative windows in buildings.
|-
|'''Gallium chassis remains solid up to 85°F'''
| Many high-end electronic devices have chassis made of alloys of light metals such as magnesium or titanium. Besides being lightweight and of superior quality and durability than ordinary sheet steel or cheap plastic, these are often perceived as bragging points by the users, boasting about 'rare' metal chassis.

{{w|Gallium}} is a not-so-well known metal that has a very low melting point of 85 °F (or 29.7 °C), being one of only four metals (the other being mercury, rubidium and caesium) that are liquid near room temperature. Its melting point is lower than a healthy person's body temperature. Having a gallium smartphone chassis would be therefore very impractical because it will melt in user's bare hand and would require using some kind of insulating gloves. Besides it would have to be stored in a cool place and the internal electronics should have really good cooling, otherwise either the external or internal heat would melt the chassis.
|-
|'''Soundproof'''
| Presumably this means that speakers and microphone may not work.
|-
|'''Can feel pain'''
| This could mean either the phone feels pain inflicted upon it or feels the user's pain. Which meaning may become apparent when the chassis melts on contact with exposed skin and the phone is left with open wounds.
|-
|'''E-Z Pass partnership'''
|{{w|E-Z Pass}} is an account you put money into and you put a transmitter in your windshield so when you go through a toll booth you don't have to stop and pay by hand. However, this proposition is absurd, because you would lose the phone and still have to stop to pay the toll. The title text says that the phone will be returned to you after 4–6 weeks, which slightly mitigates the first problem, but you would still lose the phone for a month.
|-
|'''Foldable (once)'''
|Presumably you can "fold" it by snapping it in half but you can only do his once because the phone wont work otherwise. It may refer to the fact that a later version of iPhone had a weak spot that lead it to easily folding and breaking.
|-
|'''Screen transfers images to skin'''
| This could either mean the image displayed on the screen or potentially whatever the stained glass image itself is.
|-
|'''Retina storage'''
| This is a play on the name of Apple's prized "{{w|Retina Display}}". The joke may be in reference to Apple's possession of a trademark for the word "retina" in regards to computer equipment, which is made to seem absurd by the unusual use. It is not made clear whose retinas are meant to be stored. Could also be a reference to retinally implanted computers.
|-
|'''Background task automatically catches and eats Pokémon'''
| A reference to {{w|Pokémon Go}}, an augmented reality game where the goal to go to specific locations and play a mini-game in order to catch virtual creatures called pokemon. This phone apparently does it automatically, similar to the external device Pokémon Go Plus. However, it also eats them, which is something that is not part of the game and wouldn't be desirable.
|-
|'''Supercuts partnership'''
| {{w|Supercuts}} is an American hair salon chain that provides hair cuts and styling. The implication here is that the user can get a haircut by sticking their hair in the charging slot. This feature could actually be quite dangerous if the hair is not removed from the charging slot because the hair could melt or catch fire inside of the phone.
|'''Squelch knob'''
|{{w|Squelch}} is a feature of two-way radios (CB, ham, etc) which quiets background noise when no signal is present. For a smartphone, perhaps this knob could control the "signal-to-noise" ratio of your Facebook feed or other social media platforms. It also takes the place of the headphone jack.
|-
|'''IBM buckling-spring Home button'''
|IBM {{w|Buckling spring|buckling-spring}} keyboards are favorites of geeks for the feeling of quality and auditory feedback (keys click loudly) they provide. The iPhone's Home button provides little to no such satisfaction when pressed.
|-
|'''Cot-caught merger switch'''
| This is a reference to the {{w|cot–caught merger}}, a linguistic change happening among English speakers, particularly in some parts of North America and the British Isles, which causes caught (previously pronounced "kawt") to be pronounced the same as cot (pronounced "kot").
|-
|'''60x optical zoom camera'''
|A powerful {{w|zoom lens|optical zoom}} is usually a desirable feature for cameras. However, as shown in the comic, it results in very bulky lens. For that reason, such lens are rarely used in smartphones, though there are some devices like the {{w|Samsung Galaxy Camera}} that have a similar design.
|-
|'''Loran navigation'''
| {{w|LORAN}} (Long Range Navigation) was a precursor to modern {{W|Global Positioning System|GPS}} navigation, using land-based transmitters. Once developed for sea shipping, it is accurate to about 300 meters. The joke, of course, is that all modern smartphones have integrated GPS navigation which is far more accurate and available in more areas.
|-
|'''28-factor authentication'''
| An {{w|Authentication#Factors and identity|authentication factor}} is a way of proving one's identity. There are [http://www.nikacp.com/images/10.1.1.200.3888.pdf 3 generally recognized forms]: something you know, something you have, and something you are. It can be a password, a fingerprint, a physical key, etc.... Secure applications may include two or more factors, a common example is the "PIN and chip" system used with credit cards, where you need both the card and secret code to authorize a transaction. Many online services now provide two-factor authentication to protect against password-based attacks. 28-factor authentication would likely be very secure in theory but also so impractical that it would be unusable.
|-
|'''Hook shot'''
| The ''{{w|The Legend of Zelda|Legend of Zelda}}'' [http://zelda.gamepedia.com/Hookshot recurring weapon/tool], used to bring items to {{w|Link (The Legend of Zelda)|Link}} or bring Link closer to a goal. Likely a reference to ''{{w|The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild|Breath of the Wild}}.
|-
|}

The slogan "We're trying to catch up to Apple but refuse to skip numbers" is likely a reference to Samsung releasing the Note 7 after the Note 5, with no Note 6 in between, in an attempt to catch up to Apple's numbering, which was already to the iPhone 7, and when other companies have done similarly. Nevertheless there was no official iPhone 2 but here an [[xkcd Phone 2]] is available.

==Transcript==
:[An image of a smartphone with a large camera lens on its back is shown. Over the entire length the case is slightly rounded. Clockwise from the top the labels read:]
:Bluetooth speaker
:Stained-glass display
:Gallium chassis remains solid up to 85°F
:Soundproof
:Can feel pain
:E-Z Pass partnership: Phone can be dropped into coin basket to pay tolls
:Foldable (once)
:Screen transfers images to skin
:Retina storage
:Background task automatically catches and eats Pokémon
:Supercuts partnership: Trims hair fed into charging port
:Squelch knob
:IBM buckling-spring home button
:Cot-caught merger switch
:60x optical zoom camera
:Loran navigation
:28-factor authentication
:Hook shot

:[Below the phone:]
:Introducing
:<big><big>The XKCD Phone 5</big></big>
:''We're trying to catch up to Apple but refuse to skip numbers®™''
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:xkcd Phones]]

1705: Pokémon Go

2016-07-11T08:36:00Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */ wls

{{comic
| number = 1705
| date = July 11, 2016
| title = Pokémon Go
| image = pokemon_go.png
| titletext = Still waiting for the Pokémon Go update that lets you capture strangers' pets.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Still early explanation. More info needed on the game. Is the underlighting not also how they look on the screen of the real game? Link to black hat comic.}}

{{w|Pokémon Go}} is an {{w|augmented reality}} (AR) smartphone game, where players walk around the real world trying to find and capture digital first-generation {{w|Pokémon}} (i.e. Pokémon from the first series of games released), then leveling them up and/or evolving them, and using them in battle, similar to the classic Pokémon games for handheld consoles. These Pokémons are randomly placed around the world in the AR format so that they can only be seen through the phone. [[Randall]] is playing a prank on all players happening upon his real Pokémon figures as they are so consumed with this new game that they assume that they are from the game, not realizing that they should not be able to see them before they take out their phones, and then after doing this wondering why their phone is having trouble loading them.

Due to the popularity of the Pokémon franchise, after Pokémon GO's release in America on July 6, 2016, many fans of the series have been walking around with their smartphones out to capture and battle Pokémon, sometimes looking very ridiculous in the process{{Citation needed}}.

Randall jokes that he has replicated the AR properties of the Pokémon in the app (that is, when you encounter a Pokémon, it is a small computer-generated sprite placed over your phone's front camera image that moves about your screen, giving the appearance of a "real" Pokémon in front of you). Randall's real life plastic models of various Pokémon has been constructed so they would seem to fit on a smartphone screen due to perspective, he has embedded a [[332: Gyroscopes|gyroscope]] in them so they wobble about their base giving them the appearance of basic computer-created movement, and as a final touch he has added a subtle underlighting to give them a slightly computer-generated look compared to the real world around them. These effects combined fools avid Pokémon GO players into taking out their smartphone to capture the Pokémon for their game, when in fact it is just a toy sitting in front of them, and they should have known this as mentioned above. In this comic Randall displays the Pokémon called {{w|Squirtle}} which looks like a little turtle. Such a complicated contraption would probably be very difficult to make and quite valuable for the Pokémon Go fan when he realized it is a real world object, so after they have been fooled they would probably be happy to brig back this trophy.

The suggested prank is harmless, but in Missouri [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/10/pokemon-go-armed-robbers-dead-body armed criminals have taken advantage] of the game's location sharing to lure unwitting players into secluded areas and rob them.

This comic is part of the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby series]]. In this case, the hobby is pranking players of Pokémon Go by replicating the appearance of the augmented reality mechanic.

In the title text, Randall is still waiting for an update that allows capture of strangers' pets- besides the obvious, playing by the rules of Pokémon only wild Pokémon can be caught (not any with an owner). However, in the Pokémon Colosseum games, through the use of a specialized device the player steals from the villains, the player can capture other trainers' Pokémon. This is also a callback to an earlier strip wherein [[Black Hat]] [[1086: Eyelash Wish Log|wishes]] for a Pokéball that works on strangers' pets.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball walks in to the frame from the left. On the sidewalk in front of him is a small Pokémon figure looking like a standing tortoise with a long tail. Lines around it indicate that it is moving forth and back (wobbling), and circle lines below indicate that there is light below it. The exact position of the Pokémon and these lines around it change through all four images, but stays almost in the same position.]

:[Cueball takes out his smart phone and points it's camera at the Pokémon while looking at the screen.]

:[Cueball shakes his smart phone violently up and down indicated with four to five gray drawings of his arm and phone below and above one solid black copy of the hand and phone. There are also two gray lines above and below the outer gray phones to indicate this shaking.]

:[Cueball has lowered his smart phone and just stands there looking at the wobbling Pokémon.]
:Cueball: '''''???'''''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:'''My hobby: Building plastic Pokémon with subtle underlighting and a gyroscope to make them drift back and forth, then leaving them sitting around to mess with Pokémon Go players.'''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]
[[Category:Animals]] 
[[Category:Smartphones]]

1643: Degrees

2016-02-16T00:56:26Z

Valepert: /* Cueball's reasoning */

{{comic
| number = 1643
| date = February 15, 2016
| title = Degrees
| image = degrees.png
| titletext = "Radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius?" "Uh, sorry, gotta go!"
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is being asked by a friend for the {{w|temperature}}. While he is checking his smartphone for the weather, he begins pondering what unit he should use when answering the question. (See below for [[#Cueball's reasoning|Cueball's reasoning]]).

In the US (where Cueball and [[Randall]] are from), the {{w|Conversion of units of temperature|temperature scale}} used in daily life is {{w|Fahrenheit}}. However, {{w|Celsius}} is commonly used for science, even in the US. Most of the rest of the world also uses Celsius in daily life.

:'''The Celsius scale''' is from the {{w|metric system}} which has been officially sanctioned for use in the US since 1866 , but it is most often not used in daily life, although it is the preferred system for trade and commerce according to the {{w|Metric Conversion Act}} of 1975. The US, however, remains the only industrialized country that has not adopted the metric system as its official system of measurement. The unit ''degree Celsius'' or °C is an accepted {{w|International_System_of_Units#Derived_units|derived unit}} from the {{w|International System of Units}} (SI units) used in science (which again is the modern form of the metric system). The SI unit of temperature is the {{w|Kelvin}}, but this temperature scale is linearly related to the Celsius scale, which is why Celsius can be derived from it.
:'''The Fahrenheit scale''' is from the {{w|United States customary units|US Customary system}}, often referred to as the {{w|Imperial_units|Imperial system}}. The unit is ''degree Fahrenheit'' or °F, and the relation to the Celsius scale is not easy to find in a mental calculation. The relations are: [°F] = [°C]*9⁄5 + 32 or [°C] = ([°F] − 32)×5⁄9. (For this exact reason Randall has previously made a helpful table for these situations in [[526: Converting to Metric]]).

Cueball weighs up the benefits of both scales, but fails to find a solution he can live with, and since he feels he has to give his friend an answer now, so he panics and gives the answer 0.173 {{w|radians}}.
:'''Radian''' is the standard unit of angular measure, used in many areas of mathematics. An angle's measurement in radians is numerically equal to the length of a corresponding arc of a {{w|unit circle}}. It has no units and is denoted with the superscript c, but more commonly rad, lest it be confused with {{w|Degree (angle)|angular degrees}}.
:'''Angular degrees''' is a system used to measure {{w|angles}} in {{w|geometry}}, and although it used the unit ° it has nothing to do with temperature gradations of whichever scale.

Thus, this answer is unhelpful and the joke is that traditionally both geometrical angles and temperature is measured in degrees, but there is not the slightest degree of correlation between the two.

The title text indicates that Cueball's friend still wants to know whether the answer is in radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius, which, despite being a silly way to express temperature would actually enable the friend to get some meaning out of the reply. But this just takes Cueball back to the problem he failed to solve in the first place of choosing one scale above the other, so suddenly he has to go, and and he runs off without ever clarifying what he meant. This result is probably because he is afraid of being a bad friend according to his very last point regarding Fahrenheit: ''Valuing unit standardization over being helpful possibly makes me a bad friend.''

The answer Cueball gives of 0.173 radians corresponds to a geometric angle 9.91° = 360°*0.173/2π. If this was radians Celsius it would be 9.91 °C corresponding to 49.8 °F and if it was radians Fahrenheit it would be 9.91 °F corresponding to -12.3 °C. [http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/02/13/new-england-freezing-temperatures-valentines-day-weekend/ Given the temperatures] in {{w|Massachusetts}} (where Randall lives) when this comic came out, the day after Valentines day 2016, Cueball was probably giving his answer in radians Fahrenheit.

===Cueball's reasoning===
{| class="wikitable"
| | Reason
| | Explanation
|-
| Degrees Celsius
|-
| |
International standard
| |
Degrees Celsius is derived unit in the SI system of units used to measure temperature in most countries today. Using the SI system would allow Cueball to be easily understood in most countries and is by far the most recognized system, but it is not the most commonly used in the United States, his actual location in the comic.

|-
| |
Helps reduce America's weird isolationism
| |
The United States uses its own set of units, including degrees Fahrenheit, called the United States Customary system and similar but not equal to the Imperial system, in contrast to most of the rest of the world which uses the SI system. The US's system of units is therefore considered "weird" as it makes the US different from most of the world for no good reason, but previous efforts to convert the US to the SI system have failed. Cueball evidently believes that by using SI units he will help to eventually convert the US to the SI system, bringing considerable trade and tourism benefits and reducing confusion when dealing with foreigners.
|-
| |
Nice how "negative" means below freezing
| |
On the Celsius scale, the freezing point of water at standard atmospheric pressure (101.325 kilopascals) is 0 °C, and any temperature below that is "below" the freezing point. On the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point is a less memorable 32 °F.
|-
| |
Physics major loyalty
| |
Cueball is apparently a physics major, like Randall, and SI units are more commonly used for scientific work (as the Kelvin scale is sometimes used in advanced Physics), even in the US. By using the Celsius scale in casual conversation he would show his loyalty to the system used by actual physicists.
|-
| |
Easier to spell
| |
"Celsius" is generally considered to be an easier word to spell than "Fahrenheit." (At least this is the case for Cueball, but not necessarily for those who more commonly use Fahrenheit than Celsius) In this case the word is being spoken and the point is not immediately relevant, but part of the joke is that Cueball is overthinking things and worrying about the general use of the word when an answer is needed in this specific case.
|-
| |
We lost a Mars probe over this crap
| |
The {{w|Mars_Climate_Orbiter|Mars Climate Orbiter}} disintegrated in Mars' atmosphere because Lockheed used US Customary units instead of the contractually specified metric units. Note that this had nothing to do with temperature scales, but was the use of the unit pound-seconds where newton-seconds should have been used. This was a great and tragic loss for science in general, Mars exploration in particular, and thus also for Randall who has shown deep interest in any kind of space exploration, especially regarding Mars (more or less mentioning all Mars rovers in his comics so far).
|-
| | Degrees Fahrenheit
|-
| |
0°F to 100°F good match for temperature range in which most humans live
| |
While it makes sense to use Celsius temperatures for scientific or engineering measurements - or even cooking - where the freezing and boiling points of water (0 °C and 100 °C, respectively) are both significant, 0 °F and 100 °F correspond to "just about as cold as it gets" and "just about as hot as it gets" in temperate zones, thereby making Fahrenheit a useful temperature scale for weather reporting where most people live. By contrast, in Celsius a range of common temperatures in temperate zones is -20 °C to 40 °C, which is a less intuitive range for those used to the Fahrenheit scale.
|-
| |
Rounds more usefully (70's, 90's)
| |
An argument sometimes heard for the continued use of Fahrenheit temperatures is that each 10 degrees change is meaningful in how we feel the temperature. Thus, it is convenient to talk about the temperature being in the 70's today, or in the 90's, etc. Since the Celsius degrees are almost twice as large, a similar statement about the temperature being in the 20's or 30's is not as useful, unless more precision is added by using phrases like low 20's or high 30's. However, this seems likely to be more a matter of which scale you are used to using than anything inherent in one scale or the other.
|-
| |
Unit-aware computing makes Imperial less annoying
| |
If you need to constantly convert between Imperial and SI measurements in your head, or even between different Imperial units (e.g., ounces and pounds), it gets annoying and is a strong argument for everyone using metric measurements all the time. But, when it is easy to get the temperature - or any other measurement - reported in whatever units you want just by selecting the units you want your computer to report, then the annoyance is minimized, and the arguments for why we should stop using a familiar scale are weakened. Note that Cueball is looking at his smart-phone to get the current temperature.
|-
| |
SI prefixes are less relevant for temperatures
| |
One of the nice things about SI measurements is how the same basic unit scales by factors of 10 with common prefixes - e.g., kilometer, millimeter, kilogram, milligram, etc. Imperial measurements don't have this feature - you don't talk about long distances as kiloinches or small weights as millipounds. But, we generally don't use multiple units for atmospheric temperature (millidegrees or kilodegrees), so this argument for using SI measurements for length, mass, volume, etc., doesn't apply for temperature scales.
|-
| |
Fahrenheit is likely more clear in this context
| |
Cueball apparently knows that the inquirer is most likely to assume the answer will be in degrees Fahrenheit, so giving the answer that way would be the least likely to be misinterpreted. If he surprisingly gives an answer in Celsius, without explicitly stating he is reporting the temperature in Celsius, then that could be confusing.
|-
| |
Valuing unit standardization over being helpful possibly makes me a bad friend
| |
The final thing Cueball considers is to question why he would give an answer that attaches more value to promoting standardization of units when all his friend wants to know is whether it is cold or warm outside. Wouldn't it be more friendly to just answer the question the way his friend will find most convenient? This is probably the reason he ends up not giving any real answer, as giving the answer in Celsius would make him a bad friend. That giving the answer in radians will make him a weird friend might feel better...
|}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is looking at his smartphone while a friend calls to him from off-panel. Cueball is thinking as indicated with a thought bubble.]
:Off-screen voice: Hey, what's the temperature outside?
:Cueball (thinking): Should I give it in °F or °C?

:[Zoom in on Cueballs head with a list of reason to use Celsius above him:]
:Degrees Celsius
:• International standard
:• Helps reduce America's weird isolationism
:• Nice how "negative" means below freezing
:• Physics major loyalty
:• Easier to spell
:• We lost a Mars probe over this crap

:[Same view of Cueballs head, but wider frame to accommodate a broader a list of reason to use Fahrenheit:]
:Degrees Fahrenheit
:• 0°F to 100°F good match for temperature range in which most humans live
:• Rounds more usefully (70's, 90's)
:• Unit-aware computing makes imperial less annoying
:• SI prefixes are less relevant for temperatures
:• Fahrenheit is likely more clear in this context
:• Valuing unit standardization over being helpful possibly makes me a bad friend

:[Cueball is holding his smartphone down while thinking as indicated with another thought bubble floating at the top. He then speaks and gets a reply from his off-panel friend.]
:Cueball (thinking): Crap, gotta pick something. Uhh...
:Cueball: ...0.173 radians.
:Off-screen voice: I'll just go check myself

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Talk:1619: Watson Medical Algorithm

2015-12-21T12:53:19Z

Valepert: re

Build environment is still insane since comic #371. {{unsigned ip|162.158.2.139}}

(Above poster please sign comments with four tildes)

I'm trying to picture Baymax using this algorithm. {{unsigned|International Space Station}}

:"OK, who swapped out Baymax's programming card with a Doomba AI?" [[User:VectorLightning|VectorLightning]] ([[User talk:VectorLightning|talk]]) 08:02, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Well, at least the autoconfig isn't as threatening as #416.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.179|108.162.245.179]] 07:00, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

I suspect that the extra limbs should be removed when there are 100+ and Vitamin D levels checked when the nmbr of limbs is in an acceptable range... does IBM use a ticketing system? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.194|162.158.91.194]] 08:39, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

It seems a normal patient would end up mostly unscathed and in an infinite loop in the lower right corner. [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 09:01, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
:Uhm no. You would normally have an oxygen level above 50% of what is expected. (It should be close to 100% if I understand [http://www.nonin.com/Normal-Oxygen-Level this correctly], which I may not...). This means you have had your skeleton removed. If you survived this you are squeezed until fluid comes out. (Probably not necessary after the skelerectomy). But then you end up in the lower right corner. Of course you can also get there after just getting an oxygen injection, but only directly if you are not comforted when the program tries. If you where comforted you will lose some limbs. And then end up in the lower right corner. No matter what if you are still OK (could be possible) when reaching here, you will be asked about your pain level. And even if you start by saying 0-8 many many times, getting as many scalp massages, you will just get the same question, until you say 10 then your eyes will be removed. But no matter what, if you are asked such a stupid question enough times you will surely at some point say something else than 0-10, and then you will die, as this answer will take you down the last path of the program (and only exit of the cycle according the to glitch mentioned in the title text), and this will end up with the program performing an autopsy on you, thus cutting you up and removing all organs etc. So no you will not be able to go unscathed infinitely, and even if you kept saying 0-8 you would eventually die from thirst. ;) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:24, 21 December 2015 (UTC)
::Yes, normal oxygen saturation is 98-100% in air. If it drops below 95% you will be in trouble, if it drops below 85% you're likely dead. [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 09:54, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

This might also partially be a reference to machine learning, which Watson apparently uses: badly designed ML systems often build models which produce the expected results for the training data, but do something unexpected or wrong with real data. See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overfitting#Machine_learning]. That said ... 'dissect doctor for parts' doesn't seem like a reasonable response to any training input ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.39.208|162.158.39.208]] 10:41, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

The noted "unrelated actions" aren't all entirely unrelated. The coughing blood one is interpreting backwards (so "is patient not coughing up blood because the patient is not here to do so?"), the vitamin D one is somewhat logical (vit D is part of the chain that converts calcium to bone, low vit D can cause bone loss, but high vit D is basically harmless), and the green fluid is slightly sane but too vague (logic appears to be that green fluid indicates severely infected and/or necrotic tissue, for which cauterizing might be a valid treatment step in extreme situations). Weirdly specific might be a better header? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.197|141.101.106.197]] 11:57, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

So what happens if the skeleton has exactly the right number of bones? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.71|162.158.153.71]] 12:32, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

the Request organ donation/Remove organs part reminds me of Live Organ Transplants segment in ''{{w|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life}}''. --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 12:53, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

1513: Code Quality

2015-04-17T23:19:28Z

Valepert: Go supported Unicode (and emoji) before Swift was introduced (https://blog.golang.org/strings)

{{comic
| number = 1513
| date = April 17, 2015
| title = Code Quality
| image = code quality.png
| titletext = I honestly didn't think you could even USE emoji in variable names. Or that there were so many different crying ones.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete| Needs fine-tuning and explaining of Ponytail's three comments}}

Ponytail is about to look at some source code Cueball has written, and he is warning her that he is self-taught so his code probably won't be written the way she is used to. Although few programming languages require a perfectly rigid style so long as the code is syntactically accurate, most programmers follow some sort of {{w|Programming_style|style}} to make the code easier to read. This includes indenting lines to show levels and using descriptive variable identifiers with {{w|CamelCase|CamelCase}} (or camelCase) or {{w|Snake case|snake_case}} capitalization (capitalizing each word except for the first, and separating lowercase words with underscores, respectively). In spite of Ponytail's initial (polite) optimism, she comments in three increasingly harsh and absurd similes. Firstly, she suggests that reading his code is like being in a house built by an unskilled child, using a small axe to put together what he thought was a house based on a picture. Secondly, she suggests that it looks like a salad recipe, written by a corporate lawyer (who are notoriously difficult to understand), on a phone with autocorrect that only corrected things to formulas from Microsoft Excel (which are notoriously complicated). Thirdly, she suggests that it is a transcript of the dialogue of couple arguing at {{w|IKEA}} (a world-wide chain of furniture stores which feature large, maze-like showrooms as well as a large warehouse area where you can pick up the furniture you want to buy in flat, some-assembly-required packaging; especially on weekends when many people crowd in to a store, they can be stress-inducing places), the transcript of which was then randomly edited until the computer compiled it with no errors. Finally, Cueball surrenders and makes the rather weak assurance that he will read “a style guide”.

A common technique for self-taught programmers is to follow and adapt tutorials, and to find examples of similar problems being solved and try to copy the code. This can (but doesn't always) lead to code that is hard to follow or otherwise "messy" as various different pieces of code are {{w|Jury_rig|jury-rigged}} together and tinkered with until they seem to work. Once a piece of code is working, it is usually considered too hard to go back and rewrite it to be cleaner or clearer, also at the risk of breaking something that has been working. This practice is known as {{w|refactoring}} and code projects that incorporate cycles of refactoring tend to be easier to read and maintain than those that don't.

The title text refers to {{w|emoji}}, or "smiley faces". They exist in Unicode, or can be simulated using ASCII characters. Many languages will allow variable names to include underscores, so a variety of sad face ASCII emoji will be legal variable names, such as <code>T_T</code>, <code>p_q</code>, <code>ioi</code> etc. Progressively more possible crying-face emoji are possible if variables can include [http://hexascii.com/sad-emoticons/ UTF-8 characters] or full Unicode.

In the realm of Unicode, there are many crying emojis, as the comic states (e.g. 😢,😭,😂,😿,😹) In most programming languages it would be impossible to use them in variable names, as the symbols would break the language's syntax rules. Notable exceptions to this are {{w|Go (programming language)|Go}} and {{w|Swift (programming language)|Swift}}, Apple's new programming language, in which the code can understand and use emojis in variables. Java, as another example, allows unicode characters in variable names as long as they are letter, numeric, combining or non-formatting marks. (See [http://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jls/se7/html/jls-3.html#jls-3.8] and [http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/Character.html#isUnicodeIdentifierPart%28int%29]). Also, some C++ compilers support foreign Unicode characters and can have emoji in that manner.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball showing Ponytail his laptop]
:Cueball: Keep in mind that I'm self-taught, so my code may be a little messy.
:Ponytail: Lemme see - I'm sure it's fine.

:[Ponytail sits at desk]
:Ponytail: ...Wow. This is like being in a house built by a child using nothing but a hatchet and a picture of a house.

:Ponytail: It's like a salad recipe written by a corporate lawyer using a phone autocorrect that only knew Excel formulas.

:Ponytail: It's like someone took a transcript of a couple arguing at IKEA and made random edits until it compiled without errors.
:Cueball: '''''Okay,''''' I'll read a style guide.

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

Talk:1425: Tasks

2014-09-24T06:59:05Z

Valepert: Created page with "the source of title text maybe is Szeliski, ''Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications'' (2010), p. 10. --~~~~"

the source of title text maybe is Szeliski, ''Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications'' (2010), p. 10. --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 06:59, 24 September 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1291: Shoot for the Moon

2014-08-21T19:53:11Z

Valepert: +What If reference

Danish, not Megan, right?!
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.56|108.162.216.56]] 06:33, 15 November 2013 (UTC)
:The woman in this comic looks more similar to Megan than Danish. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.45|108.162.216.45]] 07:39, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

Three meanings of shoot are used: 1. Have high plans 2. Fire a weapon 3. Aim for navigation. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.122|173.245.53.122]] 07:01, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure this is Megan, Danish have longer hair [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.172|108.162.208.172]] 12:18, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

The so far uncommented-about title text seems to be (almost What-If-ishly) literal in a completely different way. Except that I'm pretty sure you'll not stay within sight of the Earth, for ''most'' trajecectories. But you'd maybe find yourself in a complexly resonant orbit, maybe Cruithne-like. Just putting that out there. Resident orbital mechanics experts please feel free to evaluate accordingly. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.210|141.101.99.210]] 17:05, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

Title text of course only applies to prograde approach. Retrograde would put you on a free return trajectory if you miss. (This is why Apollo used a retrograde approach, in case something went wrong on the far side, they wouldn't be stranded in a solar orbit.) --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.149|199.27.128.149]] 20:05, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

No time for more investigations (I will do soon):
: Megan does act like JFK in 1962
: The first Moon probes did not reach the Moon but entered a solar orbit as the title text does mention
: There are many statements by Randall: hH does not like that JFK (propaganda).
: Help me for more
--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:35, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

Megan is clearly not quoting JFK.

Simple observation tells us that a an object sent on a moon flyby will enter solar orbit. The escape velocity of the earth is 11km/s but the escape velocity of the solar system is like four times that. Therefore, unless we accidentally accelarate the probe to over 40km/s, it will certainly remain in solar orbit.

There are only four comics listed in the JFK category and in two of them, the mention is incidental. I don't see any evidence that Randall "does not like that JFK", nor would I expect to.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 01:48, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

the comic was mentioned in [http://what-if.xkcd.com/109/ What If #109]. --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 19:53, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1283: Headlines

2013-10-28T18:14:32Z

Valepert: +John Gordon Mein

"1912 is, of course, the year of the the sinking of the RMS Titanic."
I don't think this is such a given fact that people know when the Titanic sank. I'm removing the "of course". And someone should add an explanation for how these titles are supposed to get more clicks, and what "getting more clicks" even means or worth.
I'd do it myself, but I'm on my phone... on second thought, let me boot my laptop... [[Special:Contributions/95.35.58.162|95.35.58.162]] 06:31, 28 October 2013 (UTC)
: Okay, I added a short explanation for now. Someone should fix it, add mentions to NSFW photo articles and list articles (5 easy ways to add 10 years to your life expectancy!). I'm out. [[Special:Contributions/95.35.58.162|95.35.58.162]] 07:10, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Don’t you think the 1916 headline is a reference to the fatness of someone’s mom? [[User:Quoti|Quoti]] ([[User talk:Quoti|talk]]) 07:28, 28 October 2013 (UTC)
: fat mom (married to physicist dad?) and gravity: [[89|Gravitational Mass]]. Perhaps he found pictures of her down in the gravity well? What do you think? [[Special:Contributions/195.37.42.200|195.37.42.200]] 16:20, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

Surely "1916 :'PHYSICIST DAD' TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO GRAVITY" is a second reference to Einstein?[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativity:_The_Special_and_the_General_Theory]
[[User:Wwoods|Wwoods]] ([[User talk:Wwoods|talk]]) 07:47, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

"1986 - This video of a terminally ill child watching the Challenger launch will break your heart" - Probably has something to do with the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown as well? {{unsigned ip|212.123.0.8}}
:I don't think so. The child is probably American. [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 12:38, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

"Jan 1st 1990: 500 signs you're a 90s kid" - Can somebody explain this one? This is the only one I, and so far explainxkcd, cannot link to a specific historical event. Or is this supposed to be an example of an attention grabbing headline on a day nothing happened?--[[Special:Contributions/108.17.2.71|108.17.2.71]] 13:05, 28 October 2013 (UTC)
: I think it is making fun of sensational news - making news out of nothing. Here, on the very first day of the 90's, the newspapers already have 500 signs that you are a 90's kid. But nothing has actually happened so far. [[User:Sayno2quat|Sayno2quat]] ([[User talk:Sayno2quat|talk]]) 13:16, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

I changed the line about the 1929 crash being "the largest stock market crash in history" to "the most devastating stock market crash", as it wasn't the largest. By points, it's not even worth mentioning. By percentage (which is more important anyway), it ranks second to the 1987 crash. In 1929, the crash was 13% in one day, and 24% over two days. The 1987 crash was 22% in one day, and 30% over five days. [[User:JamesCurran|JamesCurran]] ([[User talk:JamesCurran|talk]]) 15:55, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

"1969 - Last peek at Naked Singularities. [NSFW]" --FbFree --[[Special:Contributions/128.135.70.205|128.135.70.205]] 15:59, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

This seems like a subtle dig at Cracked.com [[Special:Contributions/76.79.82.50|76.79.82.50]] 17:28, 28 October 2013 (UTC)
: And Buzzfeed and Huffington Post and so on... (And not so subtle.) --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:47, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

John Gordon Mein, the United States Ambassador to Guatemala, were also assassinated in 1968. he was "the first United States ambassador to be assassinated while serving in office". --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 18:14, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

1256: Questions

2013-08-26T18:04:32Z

Valepert: +cat Pokémon (four question related)

{{comic
| number = 1256
| date = August 26, 2013
| title = Questions
| image = questions.png
| titletext = To whoever typed 'why is arwen dying': GOOD. FUCKING. QUESTION.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
{{w|Google}}, a rather popular internet search engine, has a feature known as autocomplete that guesses at search queries before they are fully typed out. These guesses are generally made based on popular searches by other people. From time to time, a particularly strange or hilarious one may be found, as is evidenced in this comic.

All of the questions in the comic are "why" questions, so many of them are predicated on false assumptions, such as "Why are there pyramids on the moon".

Regarding the title text: in the Peter Jackson films of {{w|The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy}}, Arwen becomes sickly for unspecified reasons as the plot advances, apparently giving Aragorn a more personal reason to fight. The only explanation given is by Elrond, who says "As Sauron's power grows, her [Arwen's] strength wanes." (This subplot is entirely absent from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings|original novels}}.)

From [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167260/faq#.2.1.21 IMDB]: <blockquote>
Arwen, like her father (and brothers) is considered to be a Half-Elf, the result of a union between an Elf and a mortal human. The Half-Elven of Middle-earth get a choice, to remain immortal and return to the West (Valinor) or to become mortal and to die as humans do. Elrond chose to remain an Elf. Arwen (like her uncle Elros) chooses to become mortal in order to wed and remain with Aragorn. Elrond senses this; this is what he means when he says that Arwen is dying. It is the same as in The Last Unicorn, when the unicorn is given the form of a human woman and can feel that she is no longer immortal ("I can feel this body dying all around me"). According to Tolkien, though, after Aragorn dies in the year 120 (Fourth Age), Arwen returns to Lórien, where she dies by choice the following winter. </blockquote>

;Selected answers
:''Please [{{fullurl:1256: Questions|action=edit}} help to expand this section]
(Some questions in the transcript are linked to their answers.)
{| class ="wikitable"
|-
! Question !! Answer
|-
| Why are ducks called ducks? || {{W|wikt:duck|According to Wiktionary}}, the noun ''duck'' can be traced back to the {{w|Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic}} word {{w|wikt:Appendix:Proto-Germanic/dūkaną|''dūkaną''}} ("to dive, bend down"), and, in turn, the {{w|Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European}} {{w|wikt:Appendix:Proto-Indo-European/dʰewb-|''dʰewb-''}} ("deep, hollow"), which also give us the verb ''to duck''. The link between the noun and the verb comes from ducks' tendency to dive under water for short periods of time.
|-
| Why are there male and female bikes? || {{w|bicycle|From Wikipedia}}: <blockquote>Historically, women's bicycle frames had a top tube that connected in the middle of the seat tube instead of the top, resulting in a lower {{w|Frame geometry|standover height}} at the expense of compromised structural integrity, since this places a strong bending load in the seat tube, and bicycle frame members are typically weak in bending. This design, referred to as a '''''{{w|step-through frame}}''''' or as an ''open frame'', allows the rider to mount and dismount in a dignified way while wearing a skirt or dress.</blockquote>
|-
| Why is Poseidon angry with Odysseus? ||One of {{w|Odysseus}}' adventures in the {{w|Odyssey}} was an encounter with the {{w|Cyclops}} {{w|Polyphemus}} -- who was a son of {{w|Poseidon}}. Odysseus blinded Polyphemus, and foolishly revealed his name as he made his escape. Polyphemus appealed to his father for vengeance, in response, Poseidon cursed Odysseus to wander for ten years (in addition to the ten years he had already been away from home fighting in the {{w|Trojan_War|Trojan War}}).
|-
| Why aren't there any foreign military bases in America? || ''Further information: {{w|United States military deployments}}''This is a very interesting question, albeit one based on a regional misunderstanding: Presumably, this question is asked by Americans who assume that the existence of {{w|Category:Military facilities of the United States by country|U.S. military bases abroad}} is a general trend among countries, as opposed to being the rarity that it is. In fact, {{w|List of countries with overseas military bases|only a handful of other countries}} have military bases outside of their borders, and the three—{{w|France}}, the {{w|United Kingdom}}, and {{w|Russia}}—that have more than one or two are all countries that, like the United States, {{w|Allies of World War II|were on the winning side of World War II}}, have {{w|List of countries by military expenditures|massive military expenditures}}, and have {{w|United Nations Security Council veto power|UN Security Council vetoes}}. In other words, only the most militarily elite countries have bases overseas. The U.S. is unique, however, in that it has far more overseas bases than any other country (and, pretty much, far more of anything else than any other country, when it comes to the military), and in that {{w|List of United States military bases|it has bases in several other highly-industrialized nations}}, including {{w|List of United States Army installations in South Korea|South Korea}} and the United Kingdom, and, most notably, World War II {{w|Axis powers}} {{w|List of United States Army installations in Germany|Germany}}, {{w|United States Forces Japan|Japan}}, and {{w|List of United States Army installations in Italy|Italy}}. (France, Russia, and the U.K.'s bases, on the other hand, are almost all within areas that they previously controlled.)These bases can be controversial in some countries, while in others they are a major source of economic and political stability. The U.S. traditionally justifies their presence as a necessary and crucial element in its efforts to promote peace domestically and worldwide. Despite their major role in {{w|U.S. foreign policy}}, and in the general political structure of the globe, the American public often largely ignores them, and they rarely become a major political issue (apart from an occasional mention by {{w|Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian presidential candidates}}.)So, essentially, the absence of foreign military bases within the U.S. is primarily because there aren't really any other countries in a position to place bases there. Furthermore, such bases wouldn't do much good, as no battles have been fought within the U.S. since the {{w|attack on Pearl Harbor}} in 1941, and the U.S. mainland has seen {{w|Mainland invasion of the United States|almost no military action}} since the {{w|U.S. Civil War}}.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:Questions found in Google autocomplete
===Section one===
*Why do whales jump
*Why are witches green
*Why are there mirrors above beds
*Why do I say Uh
*Why is sea salt better
*Why are there trees in the middle of fields
*Why is there not a Pokemon MMO
*Why is there laughing in TV shows
*Why are there doors on the freeway
*{{w|svchost.exe|Why are there so many svchost.exe running}}
*Why aren't there any countries in Antarctica
*Why are there scary sounds in Minecraft
*Why is there kicking in my stomach
*Why are there two slashes after http
*Why are there celebrities
*Why do snakes exist
*Why do oysters have pearls
*{{w|Duck#Etymology|Why are ducks called ducks}}
*Why do they call it the clap
*Why are Kyle and Cartman friends
*Why is there an arrow on Aang's head
*Why are text messages blue
*Why are there mustaches on clothes
*Why are there mustaches on cars
*Why are there mustaches everywhere
*Why are there so many birds in Ohio
*Why is there so much rain in Ohio
*{{w|Lake-effect snow|Why is Ohio weather so weird}}

===Section two===
*Why are there male and female bikes
*{{w|Bridesmaid#Origin and history|Why are there bridesmaids}}
*Why do dying people reach up
*Why aren't there varicose arteries
*{{w|Klingon#Redesign|Why are old Klingons different}}
:Beret Guy (with squirrel): Why are there squirrels
*Why is programming so hard
*{{w|Zero-ohm_link|Why is there a 0 Ohm resistor}}
*Why do Americans hate soccer
*Why do rhymes sound good
*Why do trees die
*Why is there no sound on CNN
*Why aren't Pokemon real
*Why aren't bullets sharp
*Why do dreams seem so real

===Section three===
*Why do testicles move
*Why are there psychics
*Why are hats so expensive
*Why is there caffeine in my shampoo
*Why do your boobs hurt
===Section four===
*Why aren't economists rich
*Why do Americans call it soccer
*Why are my ears ringing
*Why are there so many Avengers
*Why are the Avengers fighting the X-Men
*Why is Wolverine not in the Avengers
===Section five===
*Why are there ants in my laptop
*Why is Earth tilted
*{{w|Olbers' paradox|Why is space black}}
*Why is outer space so cold
*Why are there pyramids on the Moon
*Why is NASA shutting down

===Section six===
*Why are there tiny spiders in my house
*Why do spiders come inside
*Why are there huge spiders in my house
*Why are there lots of spiders in my house
*Why are there spiders in my room
*Why are there so many spiders in my room
*Why do spider bites itch
*Why is dying so scary
===Section seven===
*Why is there no GPS in laptops
*Why do knees click
*Why aren't there E grades
*Why is isolation bad
*Why do boys like me
*Why don't boys like me
*Why is there always a Java update
*Why are there red dots on my thighs
*Why is lying good
:Cueball: Why is sex so important
===Section eight===
*{{w|The Bible and slavery|Why are there slaves in The Bible}}
*[http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/11/04/1234875.htm Why do twins have different fingerprints]
*Why are Americans afraid of dragons

===Section nine===
*Why are there swarms of gnats
*Why is there phlegm
===Section ten===
*Why are there so many crows in Rochester, MN
*[http://pokemon.wikia.com/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Types Why is Psychic weak to Bug]
*Why do children get cancer
*Why is Poseidon angry with Odysseus
*Why is there ice in space
===Section eleven===
:Megan (with ghosts): Why are there ghosts
*Why is there an owl in my backyard
*Why is there an owl outside my window
*Why is there an owl on the dollar bill
*Why do owls attack people
*Why are AK47s so expensive
===Section twelve===
*Why are there helicopters circling my house
*Why are there gods
*Why are there two Spocks
===Section thirteen===
*Why is Mt Vesuvius there
*Why do they say T Minus
*Why are there obelisks
*Why are wrestlers always wet
*Why are oceans becoming more acidic
*Why is Arwen dying
*Why aren't my quail laying eggs
*Why aren't my quail eggs hatching
*Why aren't there any foreign military bases in America
===Section fourteen===
*Why is https crossed out in red
*Why is there a line through https
*Why is there a red line through https on Facebook
*Why is https important
:Cueball: Why aren't my arms growing
===Section fifteen===
*Why are my boobs itchy
*Why are cigarettes legal
*Why are the ducks in my pool
*Why is Jesus white
*Why is there liquid in my ear
*Why do Q Tips feel good
*Why do good people die
:Ponytail: Why aren't there guns in Harry Potter
*Why are ultrasounds important
*Why are ultrasound machines expensive
*Why is stealing wrong

===Vertical questions===
:(The following are vertical.)
*{{w|Seven-day_week#Origins|Why are there weeks}}
*Why do I feel dizzy
*Why is {{w|YKK Group|YKK}} on all zippers
*Why are trees tall
*Why do iguanas die
*Why aren't there dinosaur ghosts
*Why are dogs afraid of fireworks
*Why is there no king in England
*Why is life so boring
*Why is there lava
*[http://www.serebiiforums.com/showthread.php?285504-Why-can-Mr-Mime-be-female Why are there female Mr Mimes]
*[http://gis.stackexchange.com/a/17546 Why is GPS free]
*Why is there Hell if God forgives

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]

178: Not Really Into Pokemon

2013-08-26T18:03:03Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 178
| date = October 11, 2006
| title = Not Really Into Pokemon
| image = not_really_into_pokemon.png
| titletext = As of this writing, Ubuntu 6.10 and Firefox 2.0 have left my computer a complete mess.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Pokémon}} is a widely popular animated television show, {{w|collectible card game}} and videogame series that involves a young trainer going out to explore the world to catch Pokémon, creatures of wild variety (ranging from [http://www.veekun.com/dex/pokemon/rhydon/ armoured dinosaurs that have drills for horns] to [http://www.veekun.com/dex/pokemon/genesect robotic bugs that change elements depending on the items that they are holding]). When the trainer comes across wild Pokémon or other trainers, he/she has to use their Pokémon to fight the other.

The Pokémon universe contains {{w|List_of_Pok%C3%A9mon|over 600}} different types of Pokémon, and new ones are being added all the time (much like new releases of computer software). Also, the names can sound very strange or silly to someone not familiar with them. In this comic, [[Black Hat]] is dismissing {{w|Ubuntu}}, an open-source computer operating system, as a Pokémon because it has a strange/silly name.

The title text refers to the complications that new software releases can have on computers, especially if either the release is a(n) alpha/beta release or if the computer is rather old. After all, said title text does paint a picture of 2 computer programs physically fighting each other inside the computer and making a mess in the process.

==Transcript==
:I have found the perfect phrase for condescendingly dismissing anything:
:Cueball: Have you seen the new Ubuntu release?
:Black Hat: Nah, I'm not really into Pokémon.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]

497: Secretary: Part 4

2013-08-26T18:02:35Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 497
| date = October 30, 2008
| title = Secretary: Part 4
| image = secretary part 4.png
| titletext = It's time to draw the line.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Ron Paul}} is an American physician, author, and politician who is a {{w|US House of Representatives|House Representative}} for {{w|Texas}} and is a three-time Presidential candidate, running as a {{w|Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian}} and a {{w|Republican Party (United States)|Republican}}. He has a very dedicated and vocal base of supporters who believe he is [[1083|the only true alternative]] to either side of [[661|the Two-Party System]].

{{w|Tron (film)|Tron}} is a movie made by {{w|Disney}}. The alt-text refers to the line of virtual light that streams out from the back of Tron's light grid vehicles. Normally it is a single, solid color, but in the comic it is the color of the American flag to show Ron's patriotism. There is also a joke about {{w|Pokémon}} in the phrase "... evolves into ...". Pokémon is a game where the player, a "Trainer", has their Pokémon battle other Pokémon to level the Pokémon up. As the Pokémon levels up, they evolve into the next, more powerful, form of the Pokémon.

Why Ron Paul and Cory Doctorow appear to be fighting, is only because Ron Paul favors down-sizing the US government over anything else, whereas Cory Doctorow feels there should be an American Secretary of the Internet. That may not be the case. Do your own political research before you go to vote, kids.

There is a subtle joke in the panel where Ron Paul and Cory Doctorow are firing at each other; the sound effect for Cory's guns is "Boing! Boing!," which is the name of [http://boingboing.net Cory Doctorow's blog].

The reference to gold touches on Ron Paul's desire to see monetary policy once again be driven by the gold standard, namely that a country's currency value be driven not by its economic activity, but by the amount of physical gold it owns. Earlier in American history, this was the case; owning a dollar would (in theory) be owning one dollar's worth of gold somewhere in the treasury. This is in contrast with the current international practice, where countries are able to print an arbitrary quantity of paper money that is not necessarily backed by physical gold. Adherence to the gold standard is an extreme minority view; most economists, and the population at large, agree that the current system is much better.

All comics in the [[:Category:Secretary|Secretary]] series:
*[[494: Secretary: Part 1]]
*[[495: Secretary: Part 2]]
*[[496: Secretary: Part 3]]
*[[497: Secretary: Part 4]]
*[[498: Secretary: Part 5]]

This series was released on 5 consecutive days (Monday-Friday) and not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.

==Transcript==
:[The Ron Paul Revolution blimp floats.]
:Pilot: Sir! The balloon is hailing us!

:[Cory Doctorow's balloon appears.]
:Cory: Ahoy.
:Ron Paul: Doctorow!
:Cory: I won't let you stop this nomination. We bloggers watch out for our own.

:Ron Paul: Stand aside, Cory.
:Cory: Nay!
:Ron Paul: Very well. Battle stations!

:[The Ron Paul Revolution blimp's gun takes aim.]
:''Whirrr kachunk''

:[Cory Doctorow's balloon's gun takes aim.]
:''Whirrrr kachunk''

:[Both airships open fire.]
:''Pew pew pew''
:''Pew pew''
:''Boing! Boing!''

:[Inside the Ron Paul Revolution blimp's control room.]
:Ponytail: We're taking damage!
:Ron Paul: Keep firing!
:Ponytail: No good! We're losing altitude!

:[Outside the Ron Paul Revolution blimp, it hangs smoking in the air.]
:Ron Paul: All engines full! Pull up!
:Ponytail: Can't, sir!

:[The Ron Paul Revolution blimp begins to sink, smoking more heavily.]

:[The blimp sinks further.]
:Ponytail: Sir, maybe if we dropped all this gold...
:Ron Paul: Never!

:[Inside the control room, tilted slightly.]
:Ponytail: We've lost, sir. We have to abort.
:Ron Paul: Not yet, we don't! Open the loading bay doors.

:[Camera zooms out slightly.]
:Ron Paul: You take the blimp and fall back.
:''click''
:Ron Paul: I've got a message to deliver.
:''Whirr''

:[Ron Paul tosses his cane aside.]

:[Ron Paul steadily transforms into Tron Paul.]
:Narrator: RON PAUL evolves into TRON PAUL

:[Light cycle begins to form.]

:[Tron Paul bends over the light cycle.]

:[Light cycle finishes its formation.]

:[Light cycle speeds off, trailing an American flag.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ron Paul]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Secretary|04]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Airships]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]

1086: Eyelash Wish Log

2013-08-26T18:00:26Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1086
| date = July 25, 2012
| title = Eyelash Wish Log
| image = eyelash wish log.png
| titletext = Ooh, another one. Uh ... the ability to alter any coefficients of friction at will during sporting events.
}}

== Explanation ==
This comic is based on the situation that when someone's eyelash falls out, that person can make a wish on it. This comic appears to be a page from the fictitious Wish Bureau in charge of granting said wishes. And of course the Wisher is [[Black Hat]] and he has quite a few wishes, most of them based on the previous wish. A common trope in fiction is that wishing for more wishes is prohibited and for many of his wishes [[Black Hat]] attempts to circumvent that.

February 12's wish seems to be a reference to the unlimited {{w|breadsticks}} offered at {{w|Olive Garden}}.

February 27's wish relates to a common practice especially in tweets or other short length mediums where full length specific HTML addresses such as wwww.somewhere.com/articles/specificdate/the page.htm would not be feasible. So a more compressed but often less sensical string of seemingly random characters is used which links to a link of the full text address. This creates some problems for people who are security or privacy conscious and prefer to be informed before hand where they will be traveling on the Internet. It is analogous to a twisting set of watersides. Some water parks label where they end up and what style of ride it is (the doom tunnel vs the kiddy kicker). Imagine however your wanting a nice ride ending in shallow water. You could not wily predict the unlabelled ride as it twists out of sight if the label is gibberish. You might end up thinking your attempt to go down the Bay Watch slide might end you up in Pamella's porn pool, which could be well over your head.

March 7's wish is a reference to {{w|Nate Silver}}, who is a former writer for {{w|Baseball Prospectus}} working on predicting baseball players' stats and now writes for {{w|Five Thirty Eight}} in which he predicts the outcome of elections based on polling data.

And April 22's wish is a reference to the cartoon and video game, {{w|Pokémon}}. A Pokéball can be thrown at a Pokémon (or in this case, an annoying pet) to capture it and seal it indefinitely.

==Transcript==
{|
! align="left" colspan="2" |Eyelash Wish Log
|-style="color: gray;"
|
|align="right"|Whish bureau ID#:
|-
|
|align="right"|21118378
|-style="color: gray;"
|
|align="right"|Date range:
|-
!scope="row" style="color: gray;"|Wisher
|align="right"|Jan-Apr 2012
|}

{|
!align="left" width="50px"|Date
!align="left"|Wish
|-
|Jan 09
|That wishing on eyelashes worked
|-
|Jan 12
|A pony
|-
|Jan 15
|Unlimited wishes
|-
|Jan 19
|Revocation of rules prohibiting unlimited wishes
|-
|Jan 20
|A finite but arbitrarily large number of wishes
|-
|Jan 28
|The power to dictate the rules governing wishes
|-
|Feb 05
|Unlimited eyelashes
|-
|Feb 06
|That wish-granting entities be required to interpret wishes in accordance with the intent of the wisher
|-
|Feb 08
|That wish-granting entities be incapable of impatience
|-
|Feb 12
|Unlimited breadsticks
|-
|Feb 12
|Veto power over others' wishes
|-
|Feb 19
|Veto power over others' wishes and all congressional legislation
|-
|Feb 23
|The power to override any veto
|-
|Feb 27
|The power to see where any shortened URL goes without clicking
|-
|Feb 29
|The power to control the direction news anchors are looking while they talk
|-
|Mar 07
|The power to introduce arbitrary error into Nate Silver's predictions
|-
|Mar 15
|A house of stairs
|-
|Mar 23
|A universe which is a replica of this one sans rules against meta-wishes
|-
|Mar 29
|Free transportation to and from that universe
|-
|Apr 02
|A clear explanation of how wish rules are structured and enforced
|-
|Apr 07
|The power to banish people into the TV show they're talking about
|-
|Apr 08
|Zero wishes
|-
|Apr 15
|Veto power over clocks
|-
|Apr 22
|A Pokéball that works on strangers' pets
|}

{{Comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]

1256: Questions

2013-08-26T17:53:54Z

Valepert: /* Vertical questions */ best topic ever about Mr. Mime gender

1247: The Mother of All Suspicious Files

2013-08-05T15:56:10Z

Valepert: +w

{{comic
| number = 1247
| date = August 5, 2013
| title = The Mother of All Suspicious Files
| image = the_mother_of_all_suspicious_files.png
| titletext = Better change the URL to 'https' before downloading.
}}

==Explanation==
The save dialogues shows a download from [http://www.utrace.de/?query=65.222.202.53 65.222.202.53] with a very long file title. Many of the extensions used inside there indicate executable code. You also see common download syntax for a pirated movie, {{w|Hackers (film)|Hackers}}, likely included to appear malicious to anyone skimming but is actually a movie about hackers, making it a benign reference rather than malicious. The ".LNK" extension is the windows extension for a shortcut (the extension is normally hidden to the user), whereas ".LNK.ZDA.GNN" extensions are references to Link, Zelda, and Ganon, important characters from the Legend of Zelda video game franchise.

The file seems to be an executable, but other file types referenced include:
* AUTOEXEC.BAT - which is automatically run during startup on Windows/DOS operating systems.
* MY%20OSX%20DOCUMENTS - referencing the OSX operating system (%20 is a representation of a space in a URL, i.e. it reads as "MY OSX DOCUMENTS").
* INSTALL.EXE - a typical installer
* RAR - a compressed archive file type
* INI - a settings file type
* TAR - a file archive popular in UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems
* DOÇX - looks like a Microsoft Word file type, but isn't
* PHPHPHP - a play on PHP files, a kind of server-based web page file type
* XHTML - another web page file type
* TML - stands for Transducer Markup Language, an XML based markup language that specifies how to capture, time-tag and describe sensor data
* XTL - another play on XHTML?
* TXXT - a play on TXT file types
* 0DAY - a reference to a {{w|zero-day exploit}}
* HACK.ERS_(1995)_BLURAY_CAM-XVID - a reference to the 1995 Hackers movie, but pirated movies would either be a BlurayRIP/DVDRIP or CAM, but not both at the same time unless you used a camera to recored the Blueray movie as it played?
* EXE - an executable file type
* [SCR] - a Windows screensaver (a popular way to get malware onto somebody's Windows machine)
* LISP - {{w|Lisp (programming language)|the programming language}}
* MSI - an installer file type
* WRBT OBJ - A reference to the line of code Dennis Nedry used in {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} to shut down key systems
* O - The extension for a linker file, an intermediary created when compiling C code.
* H - The file extension of a header file in C code.
* SWF - Shockwave Flash file type
* DPKG - Debian package file type
* APP - an application on Mac OS X operating system
* ZIP - compressed archive file type
* CO.GZ - looks like a {{w|List_of_Internet_top-level_domains|top-level domain}} for an unknown country, but it is a compressed file using GNU zip.
* A.OUT - Default filename when creating an executable on Linux or other UNIX-like operating systems if none was specified for the compiler.

The title text suggests changing from http to https, as if encrypting a suspicious file before downloading it is somehow better than downloading it unencrypted. http (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) and https (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol - Secure) are the two common protocols for getting web pages and web downloads. http is the simple download, whereas https adds an SSL encryption layer so the item being downloaded cannot be viewed unencrypted by anyone except the end recipient. Changing "http" to "https" is a common suggestion to improve security when browsing the web from an insecure network (such as a public wifi hotspot) to avoid surveillance or hijacking to a malicious website; Google automatically switches to https for all mail accounts and is starting to do so with searches. The end recipient will still get whatever nasties were in the original, however - encrypting it doesn't change the content at all.

The IP address referenced in the comic, 65.222.202.53, is currently being used by the shellcode of a Javascript 0-day exploit for the Tor Browser Bundle being run by the FBI to phone home over the clearnet and de-anonymize visitors to websites on Freedom Hosting that are serving child pornography. [http://www.reddit.com/r/onions/comments/1jmrta/founder_of_the_freedom_hosting_arrested_held/]

==Transcript==
:[A save dialogue popup with an alert sign.]
:Warning!
:This type of file can harm your computer! Are your sure you want to download: <nowiki>http://65.222.202.53/~TILDE/PUB/CIA-BIN/ETC/INIT.DLL?FILE=--AUTOEXEX.BAT.MY%20OSX%20DOCUMENTS-INSTANLL.EXE.RAR.INI.TAR.DOCX.PHPHPHP.XHTML.TML.XTL.TXXT.0DAY.HACK.ERS_(1995)_BLURAY-CAM_XVID.EXE.TAR.[SCR].LISTP.MSI.LNK.ZDA.GNN.WRBT.OBJ.O.SWF.DPKG.APP.ZIP.TAR.CO.GZ.OUT.EXE</nowiki>

:[Two buttons:]
:Cancel Save

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1147: Evolving

2012-12-14T15:31:02Z

Valepert: /* Pokémon */

{{comic
| number = 1147
| date = December 14, 2012
| title = Evolving
| image = evolving.png
| titletext = Biologists play reverse Pokémon, trying to avoid putting any one team member on the front lines long enough for the experience to cause evolution.
}}

==Explanation==
====Staphylococcus Aureus====
This comic depicts the "evolution" of a bacteria as observed by a Biologist in the same format as the game Pokémon. Here we have [[Staphylococcus Aureus]], which is not a desirable bacterium (it causes {{w|Staph infection}}s) which evolves into {{w|MRSA|"Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus"}}. {{w|Methicillin}} is an anti-biotic. If the bacteria becomes resistant, it means the anti-biotic will not kill the bacteria, and infections become harder to treat. Thus, the observer is not pleased with such an evolution.

The title text references this by suggesting that biologists do NOT want bacteria to evolve in this way, as opposed to Pokémon where you put a Pokémon on the "front lines" as much as possible to gain it experience and hope it evolves.

Staphylococcus aureus is a very common bacteria (that under an electron microscope looks like the xkcd drawing) and is the major cause of staph infections (there are other types of staph bacteria), frequently found in the nostrils and skin. Hospitals are often plagued with outbreaks of methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) as it is very difficult to treat as the typical antibiotics do not work on it.

====Pokémon====
In {{w|Pokémon}}, a highly popular game series, the protagonist goes out in search for the eponymous creatures. Many of Pokémon can be found directly in the wild, but there are also a lot of Pokémon that require training and growth, to cause them to "evolve" into new Pokémon. "Evolve" (the game's term) is a misnomer [http://www.cephasministry.com/save_our_children_pokemon_booklet.html (which had earned itself quite some controversy in the past)]. In reality, when applied to Pokémon, "evolution" is more akin to puberty or metamorphosis, since, instead of the entire species of Pokémon acquiring changes throughout an extended period of time, one specific member of the species grows instantly to the "higher stage." (To be more specific, the Pokémon glows before transforming into the new form, then stops glowing.) The changes can be [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/snorunt quite] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/froslass dramatic]...[http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwhirl or] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwrath not].
{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:[bacterial cell culture]
:What?
:'''''Staphylococcus Aureus''''' is evolving!

:...

:Off-screen: Aww, crap.
:'''''Staphylococcus Aureus''''' evolved into '''Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus Aureus!'''''

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

1147: Evolving

2012-12-14T15:29:54Z

Valepert: PokÉmon...

{{comic
| number = 1147
| date = December 14, 2012
| title = Evolving
| image = evolving.png
| titletext = Biologists play reverse Pokémon, trying to avoid putting any one team member on the front lines long enough for the experience to cause evolution.
}}

==Explanation==
====Staphylococcus Aureus====
This comic depicts the "evolution" of a bacteria as observed by a Biologist in the same format as the game Pokémon. Here we have [[Staphylococcus Aureus]], which is not a desirable bacterium (it causes {{w|Staph infection}}s) which evolves into {{w|MRSA|"Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus"}}. {{w|Methicillin}} is an anti-biotic. If the bacteria becomes resistant, it means the anti-biotic will not kill the bacteria, and infections become harder to treat. Thus, the observer is not pleased with such an evolution.

The title text references this by suggesting that biologists do NOT want bacteria to evolve in this way, as opposed to Pokémon where you put a Pokémon on the "front lines" as much as possible to gain it experience and hope it evolves.

Staphylococcus aureus is a very common bacteria (that under an electron microscope looks like the xkcd drawing) and is the major cause of staph infections (there are other types of staph bacteria), frequently found in the nostrils and skin. Hospitals are often plagued with outbreaks of methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) as it is very difficult to treat as the typical antibiotics do not work on it.

====Pokemon====
In {{w|Pokémon}}, a highly popular game series, the protagonist goes out in search for the eponymous creatures. Many of Pokémon can be found directly in the wild, but there are also a lot of Pokémon that require training and growth, to cause them to "evolve" into new Pokémon. "Evolve" (the game's term) is a misnomer [http://www.cephasministry.com/save_our_children_pokemon_booklet.html (which had earned itself quite some controversy in the past)]. In reality, when applied to Pokémon, "evolution" is more akin to puberty or metamorphosis, since, instead of the entire species of Pokémon acquiring changes throughout an extended period of time, one specific member of the species grows instantly to the "higher stage." (To be more specific, the Pokémon glows before transforming into the new form, then stops glowing.) The changes can be [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/snorunt quite] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/froslass dramatic]...[http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwhirl or] [http://veekun.com/dex/pokemon/poliwrath not].
{{Incomplete}}

==Transcript==
:[bacterial cell culture]
:What?
:'''''Staphylococcus Aureus''''' is evolving!

:...

:Off-screen: Aww, crap.
:'''''Staphylococcus Aureus''''' evolved into '''Methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus Aureus!'''''

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

1000: 1000 Comics

2012-08-27T04:34:17Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1000
| date = January 6, 2012
| title = 1000 Comics
| image = 1000 comics.png
| imagesize = 800px
| titletext = Thank you for making me feel less alone.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is the 1000th comic shown on xkcd, containing 1000 characters from previous comics arranged in the shape of the number "1000". [[Megan]] is clearly excited as she screams "Wooooo!", but [[Cueball]], in true nerd fashion, thinks in multiples of 2, saying that there are "just 24 to go until a big round-number milestone", as 1024 is a round number in multiples of 2 (210).

==Transcript==
[1000 characters, numerous of which have appeared previously in other comics, are arranged to create the number "1000". Two more people stand in the foreground commenting on the formation]

Person 1: WOOOO!

Person 2: Wow - Just 24 to go until a big round-number milestone!

{{Comic discussion}}

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

12: Poisson

2012-08-15T19:00:19Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */ typo

{{comic
| number = 12
| date = January 1, 2006
| title = Poisson
| image = Poisson.jpg
| titletext = Poisson distributions have no value over negative numbers
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] expresses himself as a Poisson distribution.

Per Wikipedia, in mathematics, a Poisson distribution is a distribution that shows the probability of a given number of events occurring in a fixed interval of time or space. The horizontal axis typically represents the “number of events” while the vertical axis is a decimal representing the probability (i.e. 0.5 for 50% probability) a given number of events will occur in that fixed interval of time or space. It is commonly represented by a bar graph, or a point graph (sometimes with a line connection to show a trend, even though there is no actual value for non-integers).

A simple example is the number of heads coming up on a fair coin flip. The distribution for one coin flip should be 0.5 at 0 heads and 0.5 at 1 heads; for 2 coin flips, the distribution would be 0.25 at 0 heads, 0.5 at 1 heads and 0.25 at 2 heads; Etc. Multiple graphs like this are sometimes overlaid on one graph with a legend to distinguish the points (one coin flip in red, two coin flips in blue, etc).

What's important to note for this comic is that this distribution only has data points on non-negative integers and is not continuous through decimal numbers or (as the image text tells us) negative numbers because events can’t occur 0.3 of a time, or -2 times.

After implying that the concept of a person being a mathematical distribution is irrational, [[Black Hat]] suggests he is “less than zero”. Since the Poisson Distribution doesn’t exist or has no value at negative values, Cueball either leaves or disappears magically.

Hence, the punchline is the same as the image text: Cueball doesn't exist to Black Hat anymore, because he has a value less than zero.

== Trivia ==

* This is the first appearance of [[Black Hat]] in [[XKCD]].

* [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] was still experimenting with character design, as [[Cueball]] has a face in the first two frames.

{{Comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics|0012]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]

17: What If

2012-08-15T18:59:44Z

Valepert: /* Explanation */ wikilink

{{comic
| number = 17
| date = January 1, 2006
| title = What If
| image = what_if.jpg
| imagesize =
| titletext = I once made an anniversary card for my then-girlfriend with this layout.
}}

== Explanation ==
This comic features a man and a woman in a romantic setting, surrounded by a fractal combination of love and doubts. From the early date of this comic, plus the hair on the man, it's doubtful that this couple is [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]].

The layout is a {{w|Sierpinski Triangle}}-like fractal arrangement based on the {{w|Pappus chain}} construction. Inside the large circle a smaller circle is drawn tangent to the larger. Then, repeatedly, the largest circle tangent to the existing circles is drawn. The question marks and hearts represent the doubt and love the characters feel in their relationship.

In the title text, [[Randall]] says he sent a card like this to his then-girlfriend. We can infer that it ultimately wasn't everything it should be.

== Transcript ==

[A large black circle with white bubbles inside it, filled with hearts, question marks, and stick figure couples]

What if this isn't everything it should be?

I'm not even sure how I feel

What if I'm making a mistake?

10

2012-08-13T12:56:44Z

Valepert: Redirected page to 10: Pi Equals

#REDIRECT [[10: Pi Equals]]

10: Pi Equals

2012-08-03T16:09:38Z

Valepert: Valepert moved page 10 to Pi Equals

{{ComicHeader|10|4 January, 2009}}

[[File:Pi.jpg]]

== Image Text ==
My most famous drawing, and one of the first I did for the site

== Description ==
[http://www.angio.net/pi/whynotpi.html Probability of Finding Strings In Pi]

[[Category:Comics|0010]]

10

2012-08-03T16:09:38Z

Valepert: Valepert moved page 10 to Pi Equals

#REDIRECT [[Pi Equals]]

File:pi.jpg

2012-08-03T16:09:18Z

Valepert: XKCD Comic #10

== Summary ==
XKCD Comic #10
== Licensing ==
{{XKCD file}}

10: Pi Equals

2012-08-03T16:08:36Z

Valepert: new page