explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3239: Simple Machines

2026-05-09T00:02:03Z

Vroo: 3d model link

Woah, I'm first! ---[[User:GSLikesCats307|GSLikesCats307]]([[User talk:GSLikesCats307|talk]]). 17:43, 29th April 2026 (UTC)

Is Randall referring to any specific tools made by those companies when he says "lever and inclined plane" and "wheel-and-axles"? wheel-and-axles describes anything from a toy wagon to an automobile. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:53, 29 April 2026 (UTC)
: Doubtful. More of an additional example of Pro-Skub vs Anti-Skub -- https://pbfcomics.com/comics/skub/ behavior. [[Special:Contributions/130.76.187.47|130.76.187.47]] 17:31, 29 April 2026 (UTC)
: It's a joke about battery-operated tools. If you buy a battery-operated drill from Milwaukee, it probably does not come with a (removable) battery and charger. So you buy the battery and charger, which are probably comparable to the cost of the tool. Now, when you need a battery operated saw, you already have the battery and charger from Milwaukee (which will work with the saw), so you buy the Milwaukee saw. And the Milwaukee blower. And the Milwaukee weed-whacker. Etc, etc. Buying one brand of battery operated tools locks you into that ecosystem, to a certain extent. Which means you wind up agonizing over which brand has the better overall ecosystem, even though all you need right now is a drill. [[Special:Contributions/163.116.145.55|163.116.145.55]] 18:21, 29 April 2026 (UTC)
::Sorry, no. Many Milwaukee and Black and Decker(etc)tools DO come with batteries and chargers!!! The point is to get the buyers into the "ecosystem", so future purchases that use the same battery system will be more appealing. For this purpose, providing the charger and one battery, at least for the larger, more popular products, makes perfect sense. The more specialized tools, the smaller accessories might not have them, but they are practical purchases once someone already owns a charger and at least one interchangeable battery. For Milwaukee in particular, the M12 FUEL 1/2 Drill Driver, the M18 FUEL Oscillating Multi-Tool, the MX FUEL Backpack Blower and M18 FUEL 15 Gauge Finish Nailer all include battery and charger. Sorry for this tangent, but I don't think it the joke is about batteries! After all, none of the SIMPLE tools needs a battery. It's about committing to a brand, in a broader sense. [[User:Cuvtixo|Cuvtixo]] ([[User talk:Cuvtixo|talk]]) 18:21, 30 April 2026 (UTC)
::: None of the simple tools needs a battery, no, but the idea of an ecosystem for the types of tools that DeWalt and Milwaukee sell is mostly a thing for battery-operated tools. Though there are certainly accessories for tools that will be brand-specific, and people will have their preferences with the functionality or availability of those, that's not really something that the average person is thinking about when the make the purchase, and there's not generally an interoperability issue, because those accessories don't generally swap between different types of tool. As for purchasing tools with batteries, yes, you can find kits/bundles that include a battery, but the tool is usually also available by itself, and the kit/bundle with the battery is usually going to be a significant price hike. Plus, you don't have the ability to swap batteries between tools - if your drill battery runs down, you can't grab the battery out of the saw that you haven't used much that day - and you need to have both types of charger. [[Special:Contributions/163.116.145.55|163.116.145.55]] 19:11, 1 May 2026 (UTC)

This is 100% a product he should license and/or sell. It won’t make a million bucks very fast but it will make a million bucks, from science teachers and folks over on IFLS and the like. [[Special:Contributions/138.88.96.2|138.88.96.2]] 17:27, 29 April 2026 (UTC)DanT

I edited the reference to Milwaukee Tool and DeWalt; these are American companies and not common household names where I live. {{unsigned ip|62.112.240.32|08:18, 30 April 2026 (UTC)}}

I'm missing something... where's the wheel and axle? Is the idea that the pulley is the wheel and the lever is the axle? But it's oriented the wrong way for that to be the case [[Special:Contributions/2600:4041:5890:3B00:91E6:E7CC:72C:F470|2600:4041:5890:3B00:91E6:E7CC:72C:F470]] 18:32, 30 April 2026 (UTC)
:I think the pulley-wheel is also the axle-wheel, just depending upon how you apply it. Its own axle is attached mid-way down (and perpendicular to) the combined lever-incline bar-piece, along with the wedge-tip on one end and the screw (which already can be basically considered a 'rotary inclined-plane') attachment on the other. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 20:04, 30 April 2026 (UTC)

I have the strong suspicion Randall is alluding to AI with the comic. AI tools, in particular the supposed AGI, as tools that can do anything, but in the end, dedicated tooling is still often (far) superior. {{unsigned ip|193.33.180.1|06:27, 1 May 2026 (UTC)}}

Why is this not available on Thingiverse yet?!? [[Special:Contributions/2607:F2C0:F00F:8C00:0:0:0:CB9|2607:F2C0:F00F:8C00:0:0:0:CB9]] 02:09, 2 May 2026 (UTC)

: Because it's on Printables. https://www.printables.com/model/1709643-xkcd-simple-machine-six-in-one-multitool [[User:Vroo|Vroo]] ([[User talk:Vroo|talk]]) 00:02, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

Talk:2394: Contiguous 41 States

2020-12-25T06:46:09Z

Vroo: explain why there's not a lot of distortion, this time without accidentally clobbering the entire page

Missing contiguous states: Delaware, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.92|172.69.42.92]] 23:57, 4 December 2020 (UTC)
:I knew something was off, but I couldn't pinpoint anything until reading the explanation. That's so weird. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.66|172.69.22.66]] 07:54, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
:: I know. This is really well done! I actually came here expecting how the gag was somehow that it was just a regular map. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.218|162.158.75.218]] 08:06, 6 December 2020 (UTC)
:::I'm from Denmark, but played a game when I was a kid where you should name the states just by seeing the contour and location. It was a very early computer with only limited graphics. Like really early! But I could manage to get all 50, and I'm proud that it has stuck, so I could actually find the 7 states my self. And now that I'm thus better at naming states than most Americans ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:57, 6 December 2020 (UTC)
::::I did manage to find those 7, but I kept looking for the other two, because 41 is 50 minus 9. I double checked a few times before realizing that the other two were Alaska and Hawaii (*^^*) [[User:Thaledison|Erin Anne]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 14:47, 7 December 2020 (UTC)

'''Contiguous''' has more specific meaning that "share borders" - it means that you can travel (on land in the case of map) from any point to any point, and there would be no breaks and spaces in the territory. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 09:56, 5 December 2020 (UTC)

I know acting like descriptivism is the objectively correct approach to language is all the rage these days, but I don't think you can describe a linguistic event (a word catching on) as "descriptivist" or "prescriptivist", as the page proposed for "conterguous". That's like referring to an economic occurrence as "normative" or "positive". It's not either of those, it just happens. Descriptivism refers to a quality of linguistics itself, not to language; it means, well, describing language. It doesn't stand for organic growth (or the explicit endorsement thereof, which would actually be prescriptive, and there's nothing wrong with that). So I nixed the reference to it; I think the supplied top-down and bottom-up are apt enough to stand on their own for that tangent. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.206.92|172.68.206.92]] 12:37, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
:I wondered. "Prescriptive" and "descriptive" identify, I reckon, 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' processes, both are required to allow a language to grow while remaining comprehensible to all its speakers, and, at the time, the idea of linking an absurd "rage" with an absurd word seemed too good to pass on. Thanks for the correction. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.129.132|172.68.129.132]] 16:18, 5 December 2020 (UTC)

This is like a puzzle with almost fitting pieces, so by carefully removing some states, it results in a fake border, as shown here: https://imgur.com/a/W8RMKMF . [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.40|162.158.134.40]] 15:49, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
: I don't understand. There are borders throughout the map, and a lot of them appear to be messed up, not just that area of the map. Why does this particular vertical line in particular matter to you? Educate me! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.207|162.158.166.207]] 23:27, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
:: This map https://imgur.com/a/rmXWwoF shows where Randall found two interior borders that looked very similar and collapsed them. This is how he was able to do this with only minimal distortion of the shape of states on these red and and blue borders. I think that might be what the previous poster was trying to say. ---[[User:Vroo|Vroo]] ([[User talk:Vroo|talk]]) 06:46, 25 December 2020 (UTC)

Living in Rhode Island, the smallest state, I thought it was humorous that RI was *not* omitted! Guess that would have been too easy... [[User:Davidhbrown|Davidhbrown]] ([[User talk:Davidhbrown|talk]]) 20:32, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
:Also those small states around there would be the first place people would look. Only Delaware, maybe one of the lesser mentioned states, is missing. But PA missing is huge. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:57, 6 December 2020 (UTC)

Randall, you were searching for the word "contagious". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.24|162.158.159.24]] 10:18, 6 December 2020 (UTC)

Someone should add a "citation needed" to the alaska bordering with canada sentence near the top of the explanation, with a link to comic 2082.\n I have no idea how to do this, so im putting it here. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.170|162.158.78.170]] 14:04, 6 December 2020 (UTC)
:Added --[[User:Thaledison|Erin Anne]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 15:01, 7 December 2020 (UTC)

The District of Columbia can not become a state without a Constitutional Amendment, which is highly unlikely to happen (since it would require ratification by 3/4 of the states). For this reason, we should remove the "yet" link, despite all of the talk about DC statehood in the news. See also [https://www.heritage.org/report/the-constitution-and-the-district-columbia Heritage Foundation: The Constitution and the District of Columbia]. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 14:30, 7 December 2020 (UTC)
: [https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/51/text The most recent bill] worked around that by shrinking the capital down to a few critical buildings and turning the rest of the land into a new state. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.228|162.158.155.228]] 01:11, 8 December 2020 (UTC)
: Yes, the district does not have a specific size requirement, so the federal gov't portion around the mall could be preserved and the rest of the territory apply for admission.

WHAT ABOUT TERRITORIES KNOWN AS DOMINIONS????? [[User:Cwallenpoole|Cwallenpoole]] ([[User talk:Cwallenpoole|talk]]) 06:38, 8 December 2020 (UTC)

Created a map showing missing states https://imgur.com/a/dVMq8BR [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.180|162.158.106.180]] 19:17, 7 December 2020 (UTC)

2394: Contiguous 41 States

2020-12-24T09:46:27Z

Vroo: explain why there's not a lot of distortion

Missing contiguous states: Delaware, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.92|172.69.42.92]] 23:57, 4 December 2020 (UTC)
:I knew something was off, but I couldn't pinpoint anything until reading the explanation. That's so weird. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.66|172.69.22.66]] 07:54, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
:: I know. This is really well done! I actually came here expecting how the gag was somehow that it was just a regular map. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.218|162.158.75.218]] 08:06, 6 December 2020 (UTC)
:::I'm from Denmark, but played a game when I was a kid where you should name the states just by seeing the contour and location. It was a very early computer with only limited graphics. Like really early! But I could manage to get all 50, and I'm proud that it has stuck, so I could actually find the 7 states my self. And now that I'm thus better at naming states than most Americans ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:57, 6 December 2020 (UTC)
::::I did manage to find those 7, but I kept looking for the other two, because 41 is 50 minus 9. I double checked a few times before realizing that the other two were Alaska and Hawaii (*^^*) [[User:Thaledison|Erin Anne]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 14:47, 7 December 2020 (UTC)

'''Contiguous''' has more specific meaning that "share borders" - it means that you can travel (on land in the case of map) from any point to any point, and there would be no breaks and spaces in the territory. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 09:56, 5 December 2020 (UTC)

I know acting like descriptivism is the objectively correct approach to language is all the rage these days, but I don't think you can describe a linguistic event (a word catching on) as "descriptivist" or "prescriptivist", as the page proposed for "conterguous". That's like referring to an economic occurrence as "normative" or "positive". It's not either of those, it just happens. Descriptivism refers to a quality of linguistics itself, not to language; it means, well, describing language. It doesn't stand for organic growth (or the explicit endorsement thereof, which would actually be prescriptive, and there's nothing wrong with that). So I nixed the reference to it; I think the supplied top-down and bottom-up are apt enough to stand on their own for that tangent. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.206.92|172.68.206.92]] 12:37, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
:I wondered. "Prescriptive" and "descriptive" identify, I reckon, 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' processes, both are required to allow a language to grow while remaining comprehensible to all its speakers, and, at the time, the idea of linking an absurd "rage" with an absurd word seemed too good to pass on. Thanks for the correction. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.129.132|172.68.129.132]] 16:18, 5 December 2020 (UTC)

This is like a puzzle with almost fitting pieces, so by carefully removing some states, it results in a fake border, as shown here: https://imgur.com/a/W8RMKMF . [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.40|162.158.134.40]] 15:49, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
: I don't understand. There are borders throughout the map, and a lot of them appear to be messed up, not just that area of the map. Why does this particular vertical line in particular matter to you? Educate me! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.207|162.158.166.207]] 23:27, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
:: This map shows where Randall found two interior borders that looked very similar and collapsed them. https://imgur.com/a/rmXWwoF This is how he was able to do this with only minimal distortion of the shape of states on these red and and blue borders. I think that might be what the previous poster was trying to say. ---[[User:Vroo|Vroo]] ([[User talk:Vroo|talk]]) 09:46, 24 December 2020 (UTC)

Living in Rhode Island, the smallest state, I thought it was humorous that RI was *not* omitted! Guess that would have been too easy... [[User:Davidhbrown|Davidhbrown]] ([[User talk:Davidhbrown|talk]]) 20:32, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
:Also those small states around there would be the first place people would look. Only Delaware, maybe one of the lesser mentioned states, is missing. But PA missing is huge. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:57, 6 December 2020 (UTC)

Randall, you were searching for the word "contagious". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.24|162.158.159.24]] 10:18, 6 December 2020 (UTC)

Someone should add a "citation needed" to the alaska bordering with canada sentence near the top of the explanation, with a link to comic 2082.\n I have no idea how to do this, so im putting it here. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.170|162.158.78.170]] 14:04, 6 December 2020 (UTC)
:Added --[[User:Thaledison|Erin Anne]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 15:01, 7 December 2020 (UTC)

The District of Columbia can not become a state without a Constitutional Amendment, which is highly unlikely to happen (since it would require ratification by 3/4 of the states). For this reason, we should remove the "yet" link, despite all of the talk about DC statehood in the news. See also [https://www.heritage.org/report/the-constitution-and-the-district-columbia Heritage Foundation: The Constitution and the District of Columbia]. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 14:30, 7 December 2020 (UTC)
: [https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/51/text The most recent bill] worked around that by shrinking the capital down to a few critical buildings and turning the rest of the land into a new state. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.228|162.158.155.228]] 01:11, 8 December 2020 (UTC)
: Yes, the district does not have a specific size requirement, so the federal gov't portion around the mall could be preserved and the rest of the territory apply for admission.

WHAT ABOUT TERRITORIES KNOWN AS DOMINIONS????? [[User:Cwallenpoole|Cwallenpoole]] ([[User talk:Cwallenpoole|talk]]) 06:38, 8 December 2020 (UTC)

Created a map showing missing states https://imgur.com/a/dVMq8BR [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.180|162.158.106.180]] 19:17, 7 December 2020 (UTC)