explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2966: Exam Numbers

2026-01-04T01:53:01Z

Woofwooffire: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2966
| date = July 31, 2024
| title = Exam Numbers
| image = exam_numbers_2x.png
| imagesize = 553x400px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Calligraphy exam: Write down the number 37, spelled out, nicely.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic depicts various similarly formatted examination questions that might appear on test papers at various points in a student's potential academic career. While they all share a similar feel, they are asking for different things, some of which might be considered more serious and examinable proofs of study than others. The joke is that the first and last questions are the same, but have very different interpretations based on the context.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Exam numbers
! Exam level !! Question !! Answer
|-
| {{w|Kindergarten}} math || Write down the biggest number you can think of || At a kindergarten-level education, it is assumed that an individual might write down a relatively small number like 300, depending upon whether they have encountered the concept of hundreds. It might also be interpreted as "what's the highest number that you (think you) can count up to". Given the nature of a child's exuberant glee at learning about ''really'' big (but otherwise normal) numbers, they may even try an answer something like "a billion million gazillion and seven!". However, a kindergarten student is not likely to be able to write small enough to fit that number in the space provided; the largest numeral that will fit in a box of arbitrary size is consists of repeated ones, which are narrower than other digits, thereby allowing more digits to fit. It is not certain what criteria would be used to mark this question correct or otherwise, it may actually be a stealth question in child psychology or a question that everybody "gets right" so long as they answer it.

Although an advanced concept taught years later, infinity is not out of the question here, as employing it is often the only way to explain a substantial number of very simple math questions.
|-
| Pre-{{w|algebra}} || Write down the value of x if x=3x-8 ||

''3x'' refers to the multiplication of 3 and the originally unknown number ''x'', as a convenient shorthand.

By subtracting ''3x'' from both sides, ''-2x = -8''. Divide both sides by -2 to find ''x''=4. Alternately, subtract ''x'' from both sides to give ''0 = 2x - 8'', and as taking 8 from two ''x''s makes it zero, one ''x'' is half that

(Verify by plugging ''x''=4 into the original equation. '''4''' = (3*'''4''') - 8 -> '''4''' = 12 - 8 -> '''4''' = 4.)

4 is also the subject of [[221: Random Number]].

|-
| {{w|Calculus}} || Write down the value of <pre style="line-height: initial;">⌠π
│ x sin²x dx
⌡0</pre>||
The integral can be solved using {{w|List_of_trigonometric_identities#Power-reduction_formulae|a trigonometric identity}} and [https://math.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Calculus/Calculus_(OpenStax)/07%3A_Techniques_of_Integration/7.01%3A_Integration_by_Parts integration by parts]:

<pre style="line-height: initial;">⌠π
│ x sin²x dx
⌡0

⌠π 1 − cos 2x
= │ x ―――――――――― dx
⌡0 2

1 ⌠π 1 ⌠π
= ― │ x dx − ― │ x cos 2x dx
2 ⌡0 2 ⌡0

1 │π 1 ⌠π
= ― x² │ - ― │ x (sin 2x)′ dx
4 │0 4 ⌡0

1 │π 1 │π 1 ⌠π
= ― x² │ - ― x sin 2x │ + ― │ (x)′ sin 2x dx
4 │0 4 │0 4 ⌡0

1 │π 1 │π 1 ⌠π
= ― x² │ - ― x sin 2x │ + ― │ sin 2x dx
4 │0 4 │0 4 ⌡0

1 │π 1 │π 1 │π
= ― x² │ - ― x sin 2x │ - ― cos 2x │
4 │0 4 │0 8 │0

1
= ― π² = 2.4674…
4
</pre>

|-
| PhD {{w|Cosmology}} || Write down the Hubble constant to within 1% || The Hubble constant is a component of {{w|Hubble's law}}, which describes the relationship between the distance between galaxies and their speed of separation. Its exact value is not known to this level of precision; it is ''about'' 70 (km/s)/Mpc. Different methods of measuring it have come up with significantly different values, with their own error bars, generally of 2% to 5% (both plus and minus, or asymmetrically, but with a similar overall range) and resolving this difference (the {{w|Hubble's law#Hubble tension|Hubble tension}}) is one of the great challenges of modern cosmology. Getting a PhD involves advancing the field, so it seems this particular PhD student has completed a thesis solving this problem. This question might have a different acceptable answer if asked again of the student, depending upon further developments in cosmology, and the 'constant' itself is supposed to change over cosmological time (the nature of this change being yet another subject requiring further study, calculation and observation).

What would a correct answer look like? Because of how {{w|significant digits}} are interpreted, 69 (km/s)/Mpc could be correct to within 1% while 70 is not.
|-
| {{w|Game Theory}} || Write down 10 more than the average of the class's answers || Game Theory studies "games" (and 'game-like' situations) in which two or more participants take actions that will succeed or fail based on other participants' decisions. In this case, all students' answers will be averaged (likely a simple {{w|arithmetical mean}}), and the best answer would be one that is 10 more than that average. For instance, if the answers end up being 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70, the mean would be 50, making 60 the best possible answer. As an individual test taker who doesn't know what your classmates are going to write down, the objective is to answer 10 more than your estimate of the average including your own guess, ''knowing that everyone else will be doing the same.'' Attempts at numerical solutions, including {{w|Monte-Carlo method}}s, will not converge because the problem as stated is unstable. The best answer will always be ten more than what the other students think the best answer is, and they have the same information as everyone else, which results in a contradiction.

However, the average of any set of numbers that includes infinity is infinity, and ∞ + 10 is still ∞. Something similar to this question is found in the title text of [[2385: Final Exam]].
|-
| Postgraduate Math || Write down the biggest number you can think of || This question echoes the very first example, but would be expected to be answered very differently (unlike a revisiting of most of the others).
Postgraduate math students can probably think of ''very'' large numbers. While a tempting answer could be "{{w|infinity}}", most mathematicians do not consider infinity to be a number,{{acn}} but rather a class of numbers. (Writing down "Infinity" in this context would be as wrong as writing down "Primes" or "Positive integers"). Even if infinity is an acceptable answer, some infinities are bigger than others. Students familiar with the field of [https://googology.fandom.com/wiki/Googology#History Googology] or [https://sites.google.com/view/transcology/lists/numbers Transcology] may give an answer such as {{w|Rayo's number}}, which was the winning entry in the [https://googology.fandom.com/wiki/Big_Number_Duel Big Number Duel].

This might heavily depend upon the branch of mathematics you are studying. Named (finite) numbers, or ones with specific and useful notations, might satisfy some questioning contexts, whilst the existence of a whole further set of trans-finite numbers (i.e. increasingly large types of "infinity") would be important considerations in others. For those associated with more computational mathematics, any infinity would be {{w|NaN|Not a Number}}, and their answer might instead be the ceiling of some binary representation (typically ''28n-1'' for some value of ''n''), the largest unsigned value reliably storable in a given byte form for an integer (e.g. a {{w|Integer (computer science)|double quadword}}). On the other end of the spectrum, many abstract algebraists might answer with some variation of "What ring are we working in, and is it even well ordered?" It also might be a trick question: if you can envision a real number greater than one, are you even doing real math (in a given field)?

As with the kindergarten question, there may be no previously anticipated "correct" answer. It could be another "correct just so long as you answer it" (or perhaps "sensibly" so) or the mark goes only to those giving the greatest valid number across all submissions.
|-
| {{w|Calligraphy}} (title text) || Write down the number 37, spelled out, nicely || Calligraphy is the art of artistic writing. The title text expands the joke outside the realm of math and points out that since calligraphy does not require any math skills, the only way a calligraphy exam would even mention numbers is if one had to write them out in such a way as to showcase their calligraphic skill and aesthetic judgement (choosing a form and adornment of script that is "nice", which may be a highly subjective choice). In this case, it could be rendered as "thirty-seven" or "thirty seven", or possibly, "one score and seventeen" in old-fashioned writing. The subject may choose to render it in a language other than English — for example "dau ar bymtheg ar hugain" would provide significant scope to show off calligraphic skill. {{w|37_(number)|37}} is a number that some people believe [http://thirty-seven.org mysteriously appears more often than it should]; this was a subject of a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6iQrh2TK98 recent Veritasium video].
|}

Note that "PhD Cosmology" and "Postgraduate Math", unlike the other items, aren't specific courses but instead refer to areas of study, and as such wouldn't have a exam (unless a PhD thesis defense is considered an "exam").

This style of final exam question, un-numbered and therefore possibly the ''only'' question upon the whole of each final paper, in some ways (for some instances) echoes the question "What is your name?" that Randall will be aware was the sole question given to Discworld's {{w|List of Discworld characters#Victor Tugelbend|Victor Tugelbend}} in an attempt to ensure he comprehensively passed (or utterly failed) his final student-wizard's exam, after many prior times of deliberately not-quite-passing.

==Transcript==

:[6 different math test questions are arranged in a three by two grid. All subject headers include the words "Final exam" underlined, or given a similarly wide horizontal rule before the question itself.]

:[The first panel:]
:Kindergarten math
:Final exam
:Q. Write down the biggest number you can think of
:A. [Empty box.]

:[The second panel:]
:Pre-algebra
:Final exam
:Q. Write down the value of x if x=3x-8
:A. [Empty box.]

:[The third panel:]
:Calculus
:Final exam
:Q. Write down the value of [integral sign, from 0 to pi] x sin^2 x dx
:A. [Empty box.]

:[The fourth panel:]
:PhD cosmology
:Final exam
:Q. Write down the Hubble constant to within 1%
:A. [Empty box.]

:[The fifth panel:]
:Game theory
:Final exam
:Q. Write down 10 more than the average of the class's answers
:A. [Empty box.]

:[The sixth panel:]
:Postgraduate math
:Final exam
:Q. Write down the biggest number you can think of
:A. [Empty box.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

2708: Mystery Asterisk Destination

2025-01-31T05:54:10Z

Woofwooffire: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2708
| date = December 7, 2022
| title = Mystery Asterisk Destination
| image = mystery_asterisk_destination_2x.png
| imagesize = 288x248px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you ever see the † dagger symbol with no unmatched footnote, it means the writer is saying the phrase while threatening you with a dagger.
}}

==Explanation==

This comic pertains to the use of asterisks and other symbols for [[1208|footnotes]] or endnotes.* It jokes that when an asterisk appears after a word without a corresponding footnote, it refers to this comic.* Missing footnotes can be frustrating, so this comic may provide closure for some readers; similar in spirit to [[391: Anti-Mindvirus]] and opposite to the tension created by the unmatched parenthesis in [[859: (]].

The title text jokes that unmatched instances of † (the dagger symbol, also used for footnotes) are threats being made by the author to the reader with a physical dagger. As of this writing, it states "If you ever see the † dagger symbol with no '''''un'''''matched footnote...", forming a double negative. This is likely a typo intended as "...no matching footnote."

† In some contexts, an unpaired asterisk or dagger may not refer to a footnote, and thus not constitute a mystery. Examples include programming languages and mathematical expressions using asterisks such as for the multiplication operator, and dates of birth and death which are sometimes indicated with an asterisk or dagger respectively.

==Transcript==
:[A blank panel with text at the bottom.]
:'''*'''Whenever you see a mystery asterisk that doesn't have a matching footnote, it points here.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Footnotes]]

2506: Projecting

2025-01-25T05:35:12Z

Woofwooffire: /* Serious explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2506
| date = August 23, 2021
| title = Projecting
| image = projecting.png
| titletext = This is something we all need to work on, but especially you all.
}}

==Explanation==
===Serious explanation===
In this comic, [[Cueball]] expresses his difficulty with {{w|psychological projection}}. Projection is taking qualities of the self and attributing these qualities to others.

[[Cueball]] actually admits he has a ''real'' problem with projecting, but while doing so, he is seemingly oblivious to the fact, that he is stating this in a way that projects his self-identified difficulty upon his friends: [[Ponytail]], [[Megan]] and [[White Hat]]. Of course, this could also just be a joke made by Cueball, as it is the joke in the comic. On the other hand, Cueball and [[Randall]] have serious issues with [[:Category:Social interactions|social interactions]], and this could just be another example of such a problem.

In the title text, Cueball continues his projections, stating that ''this is something we all need to work on''. So he continues to believe that all the others have the same problem, not just a lot of them as in his original statement, which left the possibility that not all of them had this issue. In the end, he also tops it by saying ''but especially you all'' indicating that he imagines his own case is a less serious issue of projection than that he actually projects the others as having.

Alternately, the phrase ''having a real problem with projection'' usually means the person speaks quietly, their voice doesn't carry very far, particularly in acting and public speaking environments. Someone with difficulty projecting wouldn't be heard by people in the back row, or perhaps even halfway into the audience (depending how much difficulty they have). This comic is notably smaller than the average xkcd comic, making it the visual / comic equivalent to not projecting. Just as a non-projecting voice cannot be heard very far away, this comic cannot be seen very far away (in either case, not as far as usual). Under this interpretation, the title text is referencing that his audience is also not projecting, they're just as small as he is.

===Jokes===
Alternatively, [[Cueball]] expresses his difficulty with {{w|complex numbers}}. There exists a common {{w|Stereographic_projection#First_formulation|projection}} between the complex and reals, but it may {{w|Stereographic_projection#Other_conventions|not be clear}} to him about which method to use or how to do it. If he is projecting onto the real part of the complex line, then his issue is a many-to-one problem, which explains why it is everyone else's problem as well.

An alternative perspective might be that the characters, as stick figures, are represented as two dimensional projections of three dimensional objects, and this projection has an issue that depth information is not preserved, so for example, it isn't clear whether cueball is facing towards us or away from us. As his arms are not foreshortened by the projection, this indicates that he is standing in an unnatural pose, so the fact that he says that especially the other characters have a problem with projection would be a good example of psychological projection.

A further alternative read could be that Cueball is acting as the Randall surrogate, noting that the other characters are projections of Randall's conscious and subconscious self. The title text could then be read as either directed to those aspects as expressed as characters within the comic, or directed to the reader, who also has things to work on.

A [https://www.definitions.net/definition/voice%20projection different] meaning of the term "Projecting" is seen in the fields of public speaking and drama, being the way that a person clearly uses their voice to address an audience. If Cueball is not projecting well, then the characters listening to him may ignore him.

Projection is an ongoing issue. People from disparate communities can experience this all the time, where one person assumes out of habit that the other person has the traits of their community. On the end of the spectrum, projection can be completely delusional, as the comic hints at. It would make sense for that be more common for people who attend less to where others are at, such as introverted or powerful people, two groups that experienced engineers can land in.

It is also possible that Cueball is addressing the portion of readers who feel the need to project onto Randall their own desire (and meticulousness in analytical searching) for layers upon layers of hidden meaning in xkcd comics. The assumption that he has stuffed several different obscure punchlines into the one sentence of a single-panel comic is, despite the layered punchlines in some other comics, quite a stretch. Randall may be suggesting that such projections from readers onto him are problematic because they cause comic explanation pages to be filled with rambling speculation that can make the explanation of the actual joke harder to understand.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail, Cueball, Megan, and White Hat are standing. Cueball is talking, with arms outstretched, palms up, while the other three are looking at him.]
:Cueball: Like a lot of you, I have a real problem with projection.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

2238: Flu Shot

2025-01-15T04:41:57Z

Woofwooffire: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2238
| date = December 6, 2019
| title = Flu Shot
| image = flu_shot.png
| titletext = "Wait, how often are you getting bitten by snakes? And why are you boiling water?" "Dunno, the CDC people keep showing up with complicated questions about the 'history of the property' and 'possible curses' but I kinda tune them out. At least one of them offered me the flu shot."
}}

==Explanation==

In this comic, [[Megan]] tells [[Cueball]] that she got a {{w|flu shot}}, which is a vaccine commonly prescribed in the winter months to prevent getting the {{w|common flu}}. She then goes on to claim she doesn't have to worry about being bitten by bats, but the worry with being bitten by bats is {{w|rabies}}, not the flu. (Interestingly, bats and biting in the context of diseases would start becoming a big topic that would eventually concern the entire world less than a month after this comic was published, which Randall hopefully did not know anything about). This implies she got the two confused and Cueball begins to correct her. But she just talks over him not listening to him. She then goes on to claim to now be immune to other conditions, such as {{w|poison ivy}}, {{w|snake venom}}, {{w|sunburn}}, contaminated water, and even {{w|computer viruses}}. It should be noted that a flu shot will not protect you from things other than the influenza virus.{{Citation needed}}

At the end of all this, Cueball has given up on her and proclaims that he supports her attempts to test the strength of her Flu Shot, perhaps mentally adopting the philosophy of the {{w|Darwin Awards}} that it is good if the genes that cause a person to do incredibly dangerous, stupid things are eliminated from the gene pool.

In the title text, Cueball asks Megan how often she gets bitten by snakes and why she boils water. She answers dunno (maybe to the water part, she must at least know how often she gets bitten). She then tells that some members of the {{w|U.S. Centers for Disease Control}} (CDC) keeps coming to her house asking about its history and possible curses, a humorous escalation which implies that Megan's absurd exposure to various forms of harm has brought them to the point of wondering if the supernatural may be involved. (Megan may have invoked a curse on herself or her residence when she and [[Rob]] desecrated an ancient Indian burial ground and smashed up a voodoo shop in [[782: Desecration]].) At the end of her reply, she mentions that she got the flu shot thanks to one (or more) of the CDC guys, and she is thankful for that. This is logical as she expects it to protect her from literally any danger she has ever put herself in.

===Explanation of "immunities"===
The flu shot consists of inactivated viruses from four different strains of the flu, which are those judged by the {{w|World Health Organization}} (WHO) to most likely be in wide circulation in the following flu season. Because the influenza virus comes in many strains and mutates rapidly, the flu shot is generally less than 60% effective at preventing flu infections; this is a positive effect for health outcomes, but it's not exactly what most people think of as "immunity", especially compared to e.g. the 97% effectiveness of the {{w|MMR vaccine}} against {{w|measles}}, {{w|Mumps}} and {{w|rubella}}. Statistics show that flu vaccine recipients are slightly less likely to die from a variety of other causes, but this is believed to be either because someone with the flu is more likely to have a heart attack, car accident, etc., or because of the {{w|healthy user effect}} (i.e. people who take the time to get non-mandatory vaccines are probably also taking better-than-average care of themselves in other ways, although this is clearly not the case with Megan in this comic strip). Even if there is a slight protective effect, it will certainly not completely prevent harm from coming to Megan by the other sources of infection or poison she mentions, except to the extent that all of these things will be even worse for her if she is also sick with the flu:

* '''{{w|Rabies}}''' is a near invariably fatal viral disease that causes brain inflammation, which in turn causes symptoms including aggression, fear of water, and violent uncontrollable limb movements. It can be carried by almost any vertebrate animal, but bats, raccoons, and wild dogs are the stereotypical carriers. There is a rabies vaccine, but it is generally only administered to pets and to humans who work extensively with animals or travel to regions with an elevated risk of contracting rabies. The rabies vaccine is also effective to prevent rabies after exposure, but only if administered before the victim starts showing symptoms.
* '''{{w|Poison ivy}}''' is a vine that produces an oil called {{w|urushiol}}, which chemically reacts with membrane proteins on the skin cells it contacts, tricking the immune system into attacking those cells, causing an itchy, irritating rash. Some people are not affected by poison ivy but, as it is an allergic reaction, those who do often become more sensitive to poison ivy upon repeated exposure. There is no known vaccine or other permanent preventative treatment against urushiol sensitivity, although there are several creams that can be applied in advance of expected poison ivy exposure to reduce the risk of coming into contact with the chemical.
* '''{{w|Sunburn}}''' is caused by exposing the skin to high levels of ultraviolet radiation, as found in sunlight. This can increase the risk of skin cancer later in life. As ultraviolet radiation is a form of electromagnetic energy, it cannot be prevented by vaccination, but the use of sunscreen with a high SPF ({{w|sun protection factor}}) can provide protection for a few hours.
* '''{{w|Snake venom}}''' is not one single compound, but several proteins and molecules produced by venomous snakes to inject into prey. Different snakes' venoms have different effects, so there is no single vaccine or antivenom for all snake bites, but {{w|antivenom}}s are produced by a process similar to vaccination. Small doses of venom are injected into host animals, such as horses, to provoke an immune response; the resulting antibodies are then stored to be injected into snakebite victims, where they will bind up and inactivate the toxic proteins and mark them for disposal by the immune system. Antivenom is more effective the sooner it is administered; for venomous snakes in North America, it is generally recommended to be treated within six hours of being envenomated.
* '''{{w|Raw water}}''' may be contaminated by bacteria, protozoa, parasites, and chemical pollutants. Boiling water will typically kill off most biological contaminants, preventing water-borne diseases such as {{w|cholera}}, {{w|dysentery}}, and {{w|giardiasis}}. Some of these diseases can be prevented by vaccines, but because there are so many microscopic life-forms in water, it is not possible to vaccinate against all of them.
* '''{{w|Computer virus|Computer viruses}}''' are computer programs that are now usually spread through networks via infected devices, attachments, and websites (early computer viruses were often spread by floppy diskettes). They can cause harm directly by taking up computer cycles and network bandwidth, but nowadays they often perform other tasks for their creators, such as exfiltrating financial information or encrypting files and demanding a ransom for the keys. Computer viruses can be recognized and blocked or deleted by antivirus software that scans incoming files and links against known computer virus patterns, which is analogous to vaccination, but there is no vaccine that can be administered to Megan which would protect her computer.
** Megan specifically mentions clicking on links that have "weird Unicode in them"; this may be referring to an {{w|IDN homograph attack}}, in which attackers register domain names that use Unicode characters that resemble ASCII characters to trick users into thinking they are visiting a website belonging to a trusted party. For example, an attacker could register a website with the URL "xkсd.com", in which the Latin letter "c" is replaced by the Cyrillic letter ''es'' (с), and then send emails to trick users into visiting that site and attempting to log in. The attacker can then attempt to use the supplied passwords on more important websites, as in [[792: Password Reuse]].

==Transcript==
:[Megan is walking with both of her hands held up in fists. She talks to Cueball who replies to her from off-panel. His presence is revealed in the second panel.]
:Megan: Yesss, I got my flu shot.
:Cueball (off-panel): Nice! I got mine a few weeks ago.
:Cueball (off-panel): Immunity buddies!

:[Megan spreading her arms wide in front of Cueball.]
:Megan: Now I can finally get bitten by all the bats I want!
:Cueball: No, that's rabies, that's not what-

:[Closeup of Megan's head, with Cueball's reply coming from off-panel.]
:Megan: I'll be able to roll and play in the poison ivy without a care in the world!
:Cueball (off-panel): Why would you do that even if the shot ''did''-

:[In a frame-less panel Megan is flexing her arms holding her fists up, she has turned partly away from Cueball who looks at her.]
:Megan: No more slathering on sunscreen. No more rushing for antivenom after a snakebite. And now I can stop wasting time boiling contaminated water before drinking it!

:[Megan is running away from Cueball, while she is holding one arm up, her hand making the like symbol with a thumbs up.]
:Megan: Gonna click on every URL in every email I get, even the ones with IP addresses and weird Unicode in them!
:Cueball: You know what, sure, go for it.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Computers]]

2208: Drone Fishing

2025-01-14T04:17:56Z

Woofwooffire: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2208
| date = September 27, 2019
| title = Drone Fishing
| image = drone_fishing.png
| titletext = Today's consumers who order their drones off the internet don't know the joy of going out in nature and returning with a drone that you caught yourself, whose angry owners you fought off with your own two hands.
}}

==Explanation==
Yet another comic in the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]] series.

This comic is a parody of the traditional activity of fishing for fish. Typically, a person who is fishing will sit as [[Cueball]] does in this comic, by some body of water and wait for a fish to bite their cast line. However, some fisher will use a kite to allow them to cast their line further in the water, and this is called "{{w|Kite fishing}}". But it is also possible to use drones for this, as in [https://youtu.be/8sdUZqOoAq4 "drone fishing."]

[[Randall]], however, is interpreting "Drone fishing" not as fishing ''with'' drones but as fishing ''for'' drones ("drone fishing" as in "lobster fishing"). In fact, what Cueball (or Randall) is doing, is kite fishing for drones, by flying a kite with fishhooks attached over some drone enthusiasts in hopes of snagging their drones. This is quite likely illegal, especially if Cueball were to "reel" the caught drone in.{{Citation needed}} It seems like he has already caught two that lay in front of his feet. All the drones are of the {{w|quadcopter}} type, as they are called in [[1630: Quadcopter]].

The title text parodies a common line about fishing, about the "joy of going out in nature", catching fish, and the struggle of reeling in large fish. However, instead of being about fishing, Randall has replaced the line to be about catching drones and fighting off their owners. Considering that the two drone owners beneath his kite are children, [[Jill]], and a Cueball-like kid, clearly smaller than Cueball/Randall in the chair, this should not be so tough in the pictured case.

Real life methods for capturing drones involve [https://youtu.be/TseOHDBZ8MA French Army falconry] training of [https://www.parismatch.com/Actu/Insolite/En-images-Les-aigles-plus-forts-que-les-drones-1186391 golden eagles] (a technique [https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/12/16767000/police-netherlands-eagles-rogue-drones abandoned] by Dutch police) and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvdKNBSWPyU firing nets from other drones,] which has been proposed for [https://ubir.buffalo.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10477/79546/BottaEtAl-2017-postprint-JGCD.pdf orbital debris removal], or the use of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GRaAHexsVk nets hanging on counter-drones.]

A similar setup for [https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/publicaffairs/iwitness/246735/sandra-aguinaldo-explores-bat-fishing-on-i-witness/story/ catching bats] with hooks on a kite string have been used, although it's illegal. It seems unlikely that Randall has had this in mind when he made this comic though.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is seated in a leaning chair, with a tackle box behind it and two drones lying on the ground in front of him. He is holding a fishing rod from which he is flying a kite on a long string. The kite is high up in the air and far away from Cueball. On the long string there are three smaller lines dangling below the string closer to the kite that to Cueball. Each line has six hooks evenly spread out, from a bit beneath the string to the end of the lines. Three quadcopter type drones are in the air nearby, with Jill and a Cueball-like kid standing right beneath the kite holding remote-controls for their respective drones. They are facing each other, the Cueball-like kid looking up, whereas Jill seems to be looking at the drone right in front of her, between and just above the kids. It has just begun to rise up as shown by lines beneath it. The two other drones are on either side of the kite line, both flying towards the hooks. Whoever controls the third drone must be off panel, and it is not clear which of those two the kid is controlling. The only text is a caption below the panel:]
:My Hobby: Drone Fishing

==Trivia==
*This is only the second time kites and drones are in the same comic.
**However, in [[1608: Hoverboard]] (their first appearance) the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1608_0970x1077y_Kite_and_weird_bug.png kite] and the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1608_0950x1084y_Quadcopters_over_lava_lake_right.png drones] are not in the same part of the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cf/1608_full_tiny.png huge image].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Jill]]
[[Category:Kids]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Kites]]
[[Category:Drones]]