explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:559: No Pun Intended

2015-12-03T21:32:21Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page Talk:559: No Pun Intended to Talk:559: No Pun Intended on wheels

To be fair, internalising anything from a girlfriend... or a girlfriend internalising anything from a boyfriend.... could have some implications. Which wasn't intended here I'm sure. [[Special:Contributions/122.148.216.22|122.148.216.22]] 08:21, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
:Perhaps, but that's not a pun. That's a double entendre in the strictest sense. Anonymous 05:29, 4 December 2013 (UTC)

This needs an incomplete flag. --[[User:Mynotoar|Mynotoar]] ([[User talk:Mynotoar|talk]]) 22:31, 10 January 2014 (UTC)
:So, just give us a reason. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:55, 10 January 2014 (UTC)
::Sorry, the title text needs explanation, and I think it needs more detail, especially as it doesn't really explain the punchline. --[[User:Mynotoar|Mynotoar]] ([[User talk:Mynotoar|talk]]) 23:13, 10 January 2014 (UTC)
:::The incomplete tag is set. I did copy your remarks. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:32, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

Is the fact that this explanation is set as incomplete ironic? Surely the point of this post is that there IS no punchline - the victim is searching the sentence for humour that does not exist. As the alt text explains, the more literate the victim, the more they will agonize over potential wordplay which is simply not present. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.237|141.101.98.237]] 07:30, 12 January 2014 (UTC)

Inserting "if you'll pardon the pun" into a phrase with no pun is a recurring joke on "A Bit of Fry and Laurie". {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.60}}

559: No Pun Intended

2015-12-03T21:32:20Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page 559: No Pun Intended to 559: No Pun Intended on wheels

{{comic
| number = 559
| date = March 23, 2009
| title = No Pun Intended
| image = no_pun_intended.png
| titletext = Like spelling 'dammit' correctly -- with two m's -- it's a troll that works best on the most literate.
}}

==Explanation==
"No pun intended" is an idiom meaning that something just said wasn't meant to be a {{w|pun}}, implying that the preceding statement could be interpreted as one. As done in the comic, following a non-pun with "no pun intended", although factually accurate, breaks this implication and confuses listeners who will be trying to work out which part of the sentence could have been interpreted as a pun.

In this comic, which is part of the [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]] series, [[Cueball]] uses this tactic to confuse [[Beret Guy]], who spends the next three hours trying to understand what pun there could have been in Cueballs sentence: ''I think he's internalized his girlfriend's attitudes''.<br>The guy Cueball talks about seems to have taken over ({{w|Internalization|internalized}}) all his girlfriends attitudes, values, standards and opinions, putting these instead of those he has from his own identity or sense of self. This is probably sad, but there is no pun in the sentence.

Beret Guy, however, has been fooled by the addition of ''no pun intended'' and tries to over analyze the sentence - did Cueball mean ''Lied'' when saying ''Interna'''li'''z'''ed''''' or was it ''Analyzed'' or even ''Attitudes'' he meant, that could be the pun? Since there was no possible pun, he will never find a solution. This was Cueball's plan all along.

It seems like Beret Guy, after three hours, finally gives up when he says ''Dammit''. This then leads to the title text joke.

The title text elicits a similar confused reaction, as the most literate people will be more likely to want to spell out "[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/damn_it damn it]" rather than using an abbreviated form with morphed spelling as [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dammit dammit]. What is refereed to ''with two m's'' is because many people ([http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/79282/dammit-vs-damnit mainly in the US] it seems) contract damn it to [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/damnit damnit], which is the wrong way.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:'''My Hobby:'''
:Appending "no pun intended"
:to lines with no pun in them.

:[Cueball is talking to Beret Guy.]
:Cueball: I think he's internalized his girlfriend's attitudes - no pun intended - and so...

:[The next panel is inlaid partly over the first panel. Beret Guy is thinking. Above his thought bubble is a caption:]
:Three hours later:
:Beret Guy (thinking): "Internalized?" Lied? Analyzed? Or is it "attitudes"? Dammit.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Puns]]

140: Delicious

2015-12-03T21:30:07Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page 140: Delicious to 140: Delicious on wheels

{{comic
| number = 140
| date = August 11, 2006
| title = Delicious
| image = delicious.png
| titletext = I'm currently in the I Have Cheese phase of this cycle.
}}

==Explanation==
The simplest explanation for the comic is the recipe for nachos. You take some tortilla chips, spread them out on a plate, sprinkle them with grated cheese and perhaps some other ingredients like salsa, beans, or guacamole, and put the plate in the oven until the cheese is melted. As usual with a full bag of snacks, you always end up with that tiny bit left at the bottom of the bag. In this case, it is either leftover grated cheese (left) or tortilla chips (right). So you end up buying another package of the other ingredient to make nachos again. This is an example of a {{w|Virtuous circle and vicious circle|vicious cycle}}, in which a negative feedback loop reinforces itself. The opposite of a vicious cycle is a {{w|Virtuous circle and vicious circle|virtuous cycle}}.

The title text just says that currently, Randall has leftover cheese. He will probably get chips soon, continuing the cycle.

==Transcript==
:[Frame is split by a diagonal.]
:[First half: Cueball in front of open fridge.]
:Cueball: I have leftover cheese. I should get chips and make nachos.

:[Second half: Cueball with bag of chips.]
:Cueball: I have leftover chips. I should get cheese and make nachos.

:A delicious cycle

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:140: Delicious

2015-12-03T21:30:07Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page Talk:140: Delicious to Talk:140: Delicious on wheels

[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) The issue date is definitely off. Can anyone fix?
:Fixed --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 13:52, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

Also, my wife has a similar problem with cereal. She won't drink the milk after finishing the cereal, so she goes to get more milk. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 13:52, 14 August 2012 (UTC)

If you melt the cheese enough, it becomes a vi'''sc'''ous cycle. [[User:Alpha|Alpha]] ([[User talk:Alpha|talk]]) 04:41, 15 September 2013 (UTC)

The explanation states that a vicious cycle is a negative feedback loop while a virtuous cycle is a positive one. Actually, both are positive feedback loops, i.e. self-reinforcing ones. Vicious means that the results are negative, virtuous that the results are positive.

From the linked wikipedia page: The terms virtuous circle and vicious circle refer to complex chains of events which reinforce themselves through a feedback loop. A virtuous circle has favorable results, while a vicious circle has detrimental results. [...] Both circles are complexes of events with no tendency towards equilibrium (at least in the short run). Both systems of events have feedback loops in which each iteration of the cycle reinforces the previous one (positive feedback). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.121|173.245.53.121]] 23:55, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

The best way to break this is to remember that you can still eat the chips after using up the dip. {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.211}}

:Or you can drink the melted cheese after running out of chips. That's how you know you're an adult: nobody can stop you from drinking melted cheese. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.69|162.158.255.69]] 22:57, 16 September 2015 (UTC)

219: Blanket Fort

2015-12-03T21:29:43Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page 219: Blanket Fort to 219: Blanket Fort on wheels

{{comic
| number = 219
| date = February 5, 2007
| title = Blanket Fort
| image = blanket_fort.png
| titletext = Also, we have a fort out in the woods where we stashed that hooker's body.
}}

==Explanation==
In apparent continuation of comic [[150: Grownups]], [[Megan]] is showing off a {{w|blanket fort}} to her friend [[Ponytail]]. Ponytail answers that Megan's childishness stems from a fear of growing up.

Megan responds that she's fine with growing up. She sees her behavior as a mature realization that some of the things she enjoyed as a child are still enjoyable. When pressed for evidence that she has in any way become an "adult", it is revealed that her boyfriend is inside the blanket fort. He has not spoken because he fears to be found by them when "not exactly dressed," thus implying "adult" activities had been going on in the fort.

The title text provides another example of this: They built a fort in the woods, another type of fort that a kid would love to have, but then used it to hide a body. This implies that they killed someone, which is not usually something associated with children. A hooker is also more formally known as a {{w|prostitute}} which is also not usually something associated with children {{Citation needed}}.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Ponytail are talking with each other. There is a fort made of cushions and blankets on the left.]
:Megan: Like my fort? It uses every blanket and cushion in the apartment.
:Ponytail: Okay, no offense, but this is like that ball pit you made -- Cute, but don't you worry you're clinging to childhood games because you're afraid of change?
:Megan: No. I'm happy to grow up. But I won't pretend fun things aren't still fun out of fear of looking silly.
:Ponytail: But you're 24 and building blanket forts. How have you changed? What's adult about that?
:Megan: Well, there's my boyfriend curled up in the back.
:Ponytail: ...Ah.
:Boyfriend [from inside the fort]: Excuse my shyness. I'm not exactly dressed.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Sex]]

Talk:219: Blanket Fort

2015-12-03T21:29:43Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page Talk:219: Blanket Fort to Talk:219: Blanket Fort on wheels

I see no tree in the title text, how does one know that the fort in the woods was a tree fort? [[Special:Contributions/74.125.183.195|74.125.183.195]] 20:10, 18 September 2013 (UTC)
:You don't see the woods because it's full of trees... Or vice versa...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:01, 18 September 2013 (UTC)
Where should "sex blanket fort" be on the sketchiness scale?{{unsigned ip|93.73.186.104}}

alright who put that "citation needed" in there? cheeky shit...{{unsigned ip|173.245.56.205}}

Talk:827: My Business Idea

2015-12-03T21:29:32Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page Talk:827: Business Idea to Talk:827: Business Idea on wheels

The delivery address is to Ash Tree Lane. As shown in [[472]], Randall knows how to mess with people who've read House of Leaves. Subtle references are probably worse (better?) than the blatant, full-fat parody of 472. [[Special:Contributions/80.42.206.232|80.42.206.232]] 23:46, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

827: My Business Idea

2015-12-03T21:29:31Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page 827: Business Idea to 827: Business Idea on wheels

{{comic
| number = 827
| date = November 29, 2010
| title = Business Idea
| image = business_idea.png
| titletext = We didn't believe you at first, but we asked like three people who were at that party. They not only corroborated your story, but even said you totally mentioned wanting to start a company someday. Sorry! If this isn't enough money, let us know.
}}

==Explanation==
Many people have shared [[Cueball]]'s experience of seeing someone else make profit from an idea that they themselves had. This comic plays with the thought of what would happen if {{w|intellectual property}} thinking was taken to an extreme, and if companies or people were more keen on "setting things right" than money. The title text is an extension of the comic with increasingly extreme thinking.

In reality, having a great idea alone of course does not create a profitable business; there must generally be an enormous amount of work and effort (not to mention risk-taking) put in to create a business from scratch, popularize it, and keep it standing. Cueball, having done none of this, would probably not deserve close to the "30% cut" he claims even if intellectual property did work the way it is presented here.

The delivery guy is from {{w|FedEx}}. [[960: Subliminal]] is about hidden messages in their logo.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at his desk, pointing at his laptop.]
:Cueball: Dude! I had this idea like five years ago, and some company just got rich doing it! - I want my cut.

:[Cueball starts typing.]
:Person off-screen: That's not how it works.
:Cueball: Sure it is. I'm applying for my share now.
:Person: Wait, what?

:[A browser window with the title 'Department of Ideas'. It has a series of text boxes.]
:Date you had the idea:
::Like five years ago.
:Proof you had it:
::I told my friend Mike - you can ask him! I was all "you know what would make a great business idea?" and he was all...
:Their profit so far:
::$20,000,000
:Share you deserve (be fair!):
::[Drop-down.]
:::25%
:::'''30%'''
:::35%
:Mailing address:
::137 Ash Tree Ln

:[Cueball still at the laptop, above him is a SUBMIT button, and it shows a pointing hand cursor.]
:CLICK

:[Last panel set slightly lower than the rest.]
:[Cueball is in front of an open box full of cash, with cash in his hand. A FedEx delivery guy is on the other side of the box with his little electronic signing thing.]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:1380: Manual for Civilization

2015-12-03T21:29:07Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page Talk:1380: Manual for Civilization to Talk:1380: Manual for Civilization on wheels:

There's probably some connection between Eno and animorphs/post-apocalyptic earth, but because I don't know him, I only added info on the animorphs [[User:Shadowmanwkp|Shadowmanwkp]] ([[User talk:Shadowmanwkp|talk]]) 08:40, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Brian Eno is associated with Long Now foundation as a board member: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Now_Foundation
--------
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.45|108.162.222.45]] 08:50, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

The joke at the end of the comic about the list being 'all' animorph books is not that not all animorph books are included in the list but that the list contains the megamorph and the andalite books in addition to all the animorph books. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.231|141.101.92.231]] 09:03, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

I wonder why only Megamorphs and Andalite Chronicles were mentioned. Does Eno not like the others? 12:40, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Am I the only one who saw "Manual for Civilization" and thought: "I am Gandhi of the Indians. Our words are backed with NUCLEAR weapons. We have decided to rid the world of your pathetic civilization. Goodbye." -? Ah, that takes me back. Sid Meier, you owe me many hours. [[User:Fluppeteer|Fluppeteer]] ([[User talk:Fluppeteer|talk]]) 13:15, 11 June 2014 (UTC)
:Great comment - yes he ''owes me'' a lot of hours too! I had not seen it but it is very obvious - although probably not intended ;) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:38, 11 June 2014 (UTC)
:: It's what happens when you don't properly program your peaceniks. (To those who don't know, Gandhi in the original Civ had an Aggression stat of 1. When a nation went democratic, it would reduce their Aggression stat by 2. Due to an oversight, this meant Gandhi's Aggression went negative, and because of the way the game handled (or didn't handle) negative numbers, it meant a democratic Gandhi went from 1 to 255 points worth of pure omnicidal nuclear rage.) -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.221|162.158.2.221]] 04:53, 11 June 2015 (UTC)

I disagree with the Asimov Foundation pun - I do not think Randall refeers to that at all. It was put at the top before the explain of the Amorph books. As it is a side issue I moved it down to the bottom of the explain where it might belong. But I think it should be removed! But I will leave that for others to decide! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:38, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

:The first thing I thought of when seeing "Long Now Foundation" and the reference to a person saying books are needed to help rebuild society ''was'' Asimov's Foundation series. So I think it should remain in the explanation. It my not be a pun, but I think significant reference to it is possible, and maybe likely. --[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 17:34, 11 June 2014 (UTC)
:: For what it's worth, the Long Now Foundation really is building a Manual for Civilization: http://blog.longnow.org/02010/04/06/manual-for-civilization/ --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.113|199.27.128.113]] 18:55, 11 June 2014 (UTC)
::: Thank you for linking to this! I came to this explainxkcd page because I wanted to know the answer to that very question. I think this link should be included in the article. {{unsigned ip|199.27.130.210}}
::: For the record, I had the idea for a "Post-apocalyptic Survival Guide" in 2008. I believe 3 text-book sized volumes could contain enough information on wilderness knowledge, engineering, science, medicine, and psychology for an individual or small community to exist quite happily. I considered making it a wiki, but that defeats the purpose, since nobody's going to have internet after an apocalypse. If you're actually trying to rebuild society to its present advancement, the hard part won't be finding the information, it will be finding people more interested in rebuilding than in their own survival. ''The Postman'' comes to mind...--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.55|108.162.215.55]] 20:58, 11 June 2014 (UTC)
::::Actually, we can assume there WILL be some warning apocalypse is coming. Post-apocalyptic Survival Guide must therefore be wiki-based system with simple "print" button, to be pressed (on multiple computers) in moment of such warning, immediately transferring the data to local computer before the Internet collapses and printed hopefully before the electrical grid collapses (and/or backup generators run out of fuel). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:34, 14 June 2014 (UTC)
:::::I think the best method, considering the quantity of information such a guide could contain in electronic form, would be to make it a wiki that is published as an app that receives regular content updates. Each device with the app would sync and retain a full copy of the entire guide. In order to ensure the device continues to function post-apocalypse, the app would come with instructions for protecting a device from damage/EMP and for generating power. I'd love to market a ruggedized and EMP shielded tablet with a hand generator.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.130|108.162.215.130]] 16:20, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

:::: ::::: I've had a stab at writing such a manual for rebooting civilisation, at least as far as is possible in a single hardback, in a popular science book published this year called "The Knowledge: How to Rebuild our World from Scratch" ( [http://the-knowledge.org/en-gb/buy-the-book/] ). The complete bibliography for the book should offer a pretty complete library for genuinely restarting from scratch ( [http://the-knowledge.org/en-gb/bibliography/] ). And if you're interested, I've also contributed a selection to The Manual for Civilization for The Long Now Foundation ( [http://blog.longnow.org/02014/04/19/the-knowledge/] ) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.8|141.101.98.8]]{Lewis Dartnell}

---

:: I always though that in Asimov's Foundation, the Encyclopedia Galactica itself was not actual point. The point was that the Foundation, that is the organization writing the Encyclopedia, consisted of large amount of educated people concentrated on one place and equipped with lot of informations they supposedly were formating for inclusion into the Encyclopedia. So, when the Empire collapsed, they could start rebuilding civilization with this initial advantage. Not speaking of other advantages Seldon prepared, like the position of that place. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:34, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

"If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence passed on to the next generation of creatures, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words? I believe it is the atomic hypothesis that all things are made of atoms — little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another. In that one sentence, you will see, there is an enormous amount of information about the world, if just a little imagination and thinking are applied." - Richard P. Feynman (quote mentioned in Daniel Bor's "The Ravenous Brain", and sourced from: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/09/11/richard-feynman-lectures-on-physics/) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.169|108.162.208.169]] 17:40, 11 June 2014 (UTC)

Don't have time to create an account today, or I would do so to correct a typo: Asimov's character's first name was "Hari", not "Harry" (Seldon). Sorry if this seems like nitpicking...
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.114|108.162.241.114]] 16:36, 12 June 2014 (UTC)

---

Any reference in this comic to "The Knowledge"[http://the-knowledge.org/en-gb/]? {{unsigned ip|108.162.246.210}}

--> Not directly, I don't think, no. {Lewis Dartnell} {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.8}}

---

I wonder whether part of the point of this comic is that Eno/the experts are implicitly suggesting that the most likely failure mode for civilization is that humanity will be taken over by Yeerks and that the Animorph books therefore represent the best guide to recovery. And if the experts believe this then most likely they believe that the Yeerks are here already (otherwise, why Animorphs not some other alien invasion story?) And of course is very hard to prove the Yeerks AREN'T here. Which also makes me wonder whether that means the experts/Eno are, themselves, Animorphs since who else would know about Yeerks and be prepared to talk about it?

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.237|108.162.249.237]] 04:14, 28 June 2014 (UTC)

--------

the KISS in the end would be a reference to lovemaking, creating children and thus the most vital aspect of recreating civilization! {{unsigned|Solsang}}

--------

My only question is... How many of these books did Randall read to know that *that* is the most ohmygod worthy moment of the series? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.235|108.162.210.235]] 05:28, 10 July 2014 (UTC)

1380: Manual for Civilization

2015-12-03T21:29:06Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page 1380: Manual for Civilization to 1380: Manual for Civilization on wheels:

{{comic
| number = 1380
| date = June 11, 2014
| title = Manual for Civilization
| image = manual_for_civilization.png
| titletext = We will have an entire wing of the library devoted to copies of book #26, because ohmygod it's the one where Jake and Cassie finally KISS!!!
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Brian Eno}} is a musician and a co-founder of the {{w|Long Now Foundation}}. He is explaining to an audience that one of the missions of the Long Now is a [http://blog.longnow.org/02010/04/06/manual-for-civilization/ Manual for Civilization] - a collection of reference materials that can help rebuild society in case it collapses. But in Randall's version, the experts have made a list composed of many books from the {{w|Animorphs}} series.

Animorphs is a series of books written by {{w|K.A. Applegate}}. It follows a group of five children (later, an alien joins as the sixth member), that try to stop the parasitic aliens, the Yeerks, by transforming into animals. A Yeerk that enters a human has complete control over their host, and can read their memories. Because the Yeerks can imitate their host almost perfectly, humanity is slowly being taken over without knowing it, and for this reason the children cannot contact the authorities and are on their own in the battle against the Yeerks.

When asked if all the books on the experts' list are from the Animorph series, Eno misses the point of the question by saying ''No!'', only to mention the {{W|List_of_Animorphs_books#Companion_books|Megamorphs}} books and {{W|The Andalite Chronicles}}, both of which are side stories to the Animorph universe.

There are other books like these which aren't mentioned here — but it is clear from the last two panels that it is a quite long list — and it seems to be written in two columns, so maybe all {{w|List_of_Animorphs_books#Animorphs_main_series|54 Animorphs books}} and all {{W|List_of_Animorphs_books#Companion_books|ten side stories}} could be included on the list.

In suggesting that a series of children's novels make up the blueprint for rebuilding civilization, [[Randall]] is spoofing the idea of such libraries (since such books would be largely useless in terms of providing the detailed instructions that would be necessary).

The title text makes it completely ludicrous by saying an entire wing of the library will be devoted to the {{w|The Attack (Animorphs)|book (#26)}} where {{w|Animorphs#Animorphs|two main characters who have been attracted to each other since the beginning of the series}} finally kiss. While this is a momentous event for fans of the book series, the information is of no consequence for the rebuilding of civilization.

This comic may also be inspired by {{w|Isaac Asimov}}'s {{w|The_Foundation_Series|Foundation series}}, where Hari Seldon claimed that the Galactic Empire is going to collapse in three hundred years, there is no way to stop it but his group of scientists are writing Encyclopedia Galactica to help people rebuild civilization.

*The Long Now Foundation was mentioned recently in [[1340: Unique Date]].
*Animorphs was referenced before in the title text of [[1187: Aspect Ratio]] and [[1360: Old Files]].

==Transcript==
:[Brian Eno is talking to an unseen audience.]
:Brian Eno: Hi. I'm music's Brian Eno, co-founder of the Long Now Foundation.

:[Panel 2 shows he is standing on a stage.]
:Brian Eno: As part of our mission to promote long-term thinking, we've asked experts to help us assemble a collection of books from which civilization can be rebuilt if it ever collapses.

:[Panel 3 shows he is holding a manuscript with a long list of book titles.]
:Brian Eno: Today we're sharing the results — the first ever ''Manual for Civilization''.

:[Panel 4 shows him reading from the manuscript.]
:Brian Eno: *Ahem*
::''Animorphs #1: The Invasion''
::''Animorphs #2: The Visitor''
::''Animorphs #3: The Encounter''
:Unseen Audience member: ...are they ''all'' Animorphs Books?
:Brian Eno: No! There's also ''Megamorphs'' and ''The Andalite Chronicles''.

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

236: Collecting Double-Takes

2015-12-03T21:28:53Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page 236: Collecting Double-Takes to 236: Collecting Double-Takes on wheels

{{comic
| number =236
| date =March 16, 2007
| title =Collecting Double Takes
| image =collecting_double_takes.png
| titletext =Fun Game: find a combination of two items that most freaks out the cashier. Winner: pregnancy test and single coat hanger.
}}

==Explanation==
There's a fairly well-founded meme that singles looking for other singles (''mostly'' that being men for women, and vice-versa, but not exclusively) can make connections with others in the fresh produce sections of a supermarket. From a single lady's point of view, men who are buying such goods are more likely to be unattached, due to the traditionally skewed gender politics of who shops for what in a couple, and at the same time the man is exhibiting good habits in not merely stocking up on ready-meals or subsisting on takeaways while living the bachelor life.

By standing in a produce aisle with a tube of {{w|K-Y Jelly}} (which is most commonly used as a sexual lubricant) in his hand and considering what produce to buy (between bananas, apples, oranges and zucchinis, and doubtless many more off-screen), [[Cueball]] is allowing other people to believe he either has plans to have sex with any connection he might manage to take with him home or also he plans to use the chosen produce item to pleasure himself via anal sex.

Cueball is probably not actually planning on doing either, but he loves to see the look on people's faces; hence, he's collecting double-takes.

In the title text, he says he likes to play a game of "freak out the cashier using two items". Wire coat hangers have been used to perform {{w|Unsafe abortion | do-it-yourself abortions}}, many time with disastrous effect, such as internal hemorrhaging and the death of the woman.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in the middle of the produce aisle in a supermarket, holding a tube of K-Y Jelly in one hand, the other on his chin. The signs read "Bananas" "Apples" "Oranges" and "Zucchini" from left to right.]
:MY HOBBY: Standing in the supermarket's produce section holding a tube of K-Y Jelly, looking contemplative.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Sex]]

Talk:236: Collecting Double-Takes

2015-12-03T21:28:53Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page Talk:236: Collecting Double-Takes to Talk:236: Collecting Double-Takes on wheels

Inserted the first paragraph (explaining the 'singles-magnet' properties of fresh food sections in supermarkets). But can we also say that "There may be a similar attractor for gay singles of a like mind to meet, albeit without the same degree of guarantee of unattachment"? Not my scene, so beyond my direct experience, but I know it's said that it happens.

Anyway, with both male and female figures in view of main-Cueball (themselves perhaps on the cusp of 'making a connection'), it looks like he's looking at (feigning!) the possibility of ''either'' relationship, perhaps even that he's deciding ''which'' of the two to approach and proposition. Or perhaps both. The KY is no absolute clue, given the many and various possibilities that a 'kind and considerate' partner (although still freaky, to a more 'vanilla' theoertical companion) might be looking to use it for. [[Special:Contributions/178.98.31.27|178.98.31.27]] 13:34, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

I love how "do-it-yourself abortion" is a Wikipedia link that I'm absolutely not going to click on [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.143|108.162.219.143]] 02:30, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1083: Writing Styles

2015-12-03T21:28:20Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page Talk:1083: Writing Styles to Talk:1083: Writing Styles on wheels

Politicians don't seem to be doing this too much nowadays. Don't know about the other runners, but Obama's tweets are mostly coherent, with just a pile of gibberish hashtags appended on the end. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 10:30, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

:Additionally politicians may be tempted to use SMS abbreviations in order to come across as younger and aware of youth culture, while their target audience actually doesn't use these abbreviations at all. [[Special:Contributions/83.84.33.170|83.84.33.170]] 23:23, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

There's also a bit of political commentary here, which has so far been skirted over, suggesting that much of the cheerleading for (the highly libertarian) Ron Paul comes from youthful and, by implication, politically naive commentators. 14:15, 15 March 2013 (UTC)Chris C
:But how is that much different from the 2008 election of our current president which had a very youthful and as you said "naive" [[Special:Contributions/63.149.29.1|63.149.29.1]] 21:44, 11 October 2013 (UTC)Robert
::You seem to be missing a noun and a question mark at the end of your comment. I'm guessing your point is "hey meanie, don't just mock Ron Paul supporters (of which you are presumably one) Obama-ites deserve a kicking too as he is a LIAR". Sure. Consider that Obama heavily implied and at other times outright promised a focus on civil rights prior to election and in the early months of his tenure. For usonian voters of all ages who wanted to do the rest of the world a favor and get the west back on track after eight years of Bush's neoconservatism, Obama was the only realistic choice. The fact that he hasn't fully delivered, especially on Guantanamo, is beside the point. Ron Paul would be facing even more opposition, given that he is starkly unwilling to compromise -- but that unemergent forthrightness is part of his appeal to right libertarians. {{unsigned|Cockhorse}}

I tried to fix the issues with the explanation, but would love someone to look over my edits. If I might say, this explanation was a mess before. It might still be, for all I know. Due to this uncertainty, I'm leaving the incomplete tag. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.84|162.158.255.84]] 05:50, 23 August 2015 (UTC)

I reviewed the explanation and it looks great! I removed the incomplete tag. As an additional suggestion, we may want to add references to xkcds 1414 and 1045, both of which are about how sms and twitter actuwlly produce better writers/writing. I wasn't sure how to do it so I thought I'd leave a note.[[User:Bbruzzo|Bbruzzo]] ([[User talk:Bbruzzo|talk]]) 02:46, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

1083: Writing Styles

2015-12-03T21:28:19Z

Xkcd is communism: Xkcd is communism moved page 1083: Writing Styles to 1083: Writing Styles on wheels

{{comic
| number = 1083
| date = July 18, 2012
| title = Writing Styles
| image = writing_styles.png
| titletext = I liked the idea, suggested by h00k on bash.org, of a Twitter bot that messages prominent politicians to tell them when they've unnecessarily used sms-speak abbreviations despite having plenty of characters left.
}}

==Explanation==
Sms-speak is a style of communication which involves substituting numbers for letters and shortening phrases to get a longer idea across in fewer characters at the cost of readability. The practice began first with text messages, also known as {{w|Short Message Service|SMS}}, or Short Message Service, which limited messages to 160 characters. Twitter has adopted a 140 character limit since its inception, which allowed any given tweet to be received as an SMS message with enough room for the user's Twitter handle (15 characters max).

The comic is about the fact that many politicians see sms-speak not as a means to remain under a character limit, but as a dialect spoken by those who are "tech-savvy." As a result, many of said politicians use sms-speak in cases when their message isn't in danger of the character limit, but where they are appealing to a younger demographic, thinking it makes them appear to be "modern" to their target audience. In reality, it does the opposite, showing that they do not understand why sms-speak is used at all.

The comic's joke is that modern teenagers, often stereotyped as lacking proper writing skills due to character limits on services such as SMS and twitter, can in many cases write better than politicians, who as discussed above use sms-speak unnecessarily. The sentence attributed to the teenager is the sort of thing that would stereotypically be assigned to a senator, while the sentence attributed to the senator would be stereotypically assigned to a teenager.

The opinion expressed by the teenager is not an uncommon one among people of that age, possibly due to Ron Paul's support for the legalization of marijuana as well as his tendency to occasionally express political ideas that do not fit the mainstream of established US politics.

Technically speaking, neither of the sentences in the comic exceed 60 characters. Indeed, extending the sms-speak sentence to correct punctuation and removing abbreviations only uses slightly more than half the character limit:
*Ron Paul is the only candidate who offers us a real choice! (59 characters)
*its gettin l8 so ill b here 4 prob 2 more hrs tops (50 characters)
*It is getting late, so I will be here for probably two more hours, tops. (72 characters)

The title text discusses an idea that Randall approves of, originally suggested by a user on bash.org called h00k, where a twitter bot be created to message politicians when they use sms-speak unnecessarily. This would presumably embarrass said politicians, which might in turn lead to a decrease in their use of sms-speak. Randall evidently considers this a good thing, suggesting he finds the unnecessary use of sms-speak annoying.

==Transcript==
:[This is a chart with the above two labeled columns. The rows will be represented below in the same format.]
:If you post: you sound like
:"Ron Paul is the only candidate who offers us a real choice!": A teenager
:"its gettin l8 so ill b here 4 prob 2 more hrs tops": A senator
:The internet has wound up in kind of a weird place.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ron Paul]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]