explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3207: Bad Map Projection: Zero Declination

2026-02-14T07:30:08Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ ce, tweaks, {{w}}.

{{comic
| number = 3207
| date = February 13, 2026
| title = Bad Map Projection: Zero Declination
| image = bad_map_projection_zero_declination.png
| imagesize = 740x544px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'The zero line in WMM2025 passes through a lot of population centers; I wonder what year the largest share of the population lived in a zone of less than 5° of declination,' he thought, derailing all other tasks for the rest of the day.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created recently by a misaligned map. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This is the tenth comic in the [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]] series, displaying Bad Map Projection #216: Zero Declination.

While the Earth's magnetic field is broadly aligned North-South, the actual alignment of the magnetic field varies over time and position. The difference between True North (the axis of Earth's rotation) and Magnetic North (the direction a compass will point) will vary depending on your position, and is known as the {{w|Magnetic Declination}} of that point.

The comic shows a map that has been distorted based on the Magnetic Declination such that Magnetic North for every point is pointed toward the top of the map. If this were reality, then Magnetic North would always be aligned with True North, or in other words, there would be Zero Declination at all points.

The red arrows indicate the distortions from the starting map required to make Magnetic North be at the top.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Bad Map Projections]]

2968: University Age

2024-08-06T05:29:44Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ Fixed some syntax and wound up explaining more. Omitted "due to a failure to grasp the concept of time". Cueball may not grasp that, or may hope the audience fails to grasp that; needs more dry wit than I have.

{{comic
| number = 2968
| date = August 5, 2024
| title = University Age
| image = university_age_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x388px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This only makes it more urgent that we adopt my roadmap for the next 10 years, which should put us solidly in the lead.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by the HR HEAD OF THE OLDEST UNIVERSITY DESTRUCTION DEPARTMENT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Cueball]] tries to make their university older than another university, but due to the laws of time, it doesn't work.

In Cueball's speech, they reveal that, in the 5 years since they took change of the university, they have increased the university's age by five years, a rate of one year per year. This is, of course, the same rate that everything ages, including the rival university.

The final line of Cueball's speech, "Unfortunately, I have terrible news," presumably precedes the announcement that the rival university has also aged 5 years and is therefore just as far ahead as they were before.

The "intensive program" that Cueball mentions could have been and most likely was simply keeping the university open. The roadmap for the next 10 years, mentioned in the title text's continuation of the speech, would then be more of the same. Alternatively, Cueball's strategy may involve subterfuge to cause the rival university to shutter; simply waiting for the other university to collapse; or a naive push to simply make their university so superior that the other would simply give up.

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

[Cueball is standing at a podium on a stage.]

When I took the helm five years ago, our university was 213 years old – the second oldest in the state, just behind our 215-year-old rival.

Under my leadership, we've funded an intensive program to increase our age to 218, overtaking our rival by 3.

Unfortunately, I have terrible news.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Public speaking]]

2705: Spacetime Soccer

2022-12-02T03:33:27Z

Yngvadottir: /* Transcript */ Fixed 2 syntax errors, wound up tweaking prose extensively.

{{comic
| number = 2705
| date = November 30, 2022
| title = Spacetime Soccer
| image = spacetime_soccer_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x280px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Spacetime Soccer, known outside the United States as '4D Football' is a now-defunct sport. Infamous for referee decisions hinging on inconsistent definitions of simultaneity, it is also known for the disappearance of many top players during... [more]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FOUR-DIMENSIONAL GOALIE - I still don't know what the offside rule actually is. I think it might... [more]. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic proposes Spacetime Soccer, an impossible{{Citation needed}} sport consisting of a "regular" football field with a gravitational well in the center of it. This comic was likely published in relation to the {{w|2022 FIFA World Cup}} which, due to numerous controversies surrounding policies and conditions in the host country, {{w|Qatar}}, was prevalent in the 2022 news cycle for weeks.

Judging by the size of the blackest part of the indentation, presuming that indicates the event horizon of the {{w|black hole}}, the radius of the {{w|event horizon}} would be approximately 9.6 meters and the singularity's mass 6.5x10^27 kilograms, or more than 1082 times the mass of the Earth [[https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/schwarzschild-radius]].

Not only would it be impossible for human players to travel through more than three spatial dimensions at will, it would also be very difficult to keep track of score and rules such as offsides.

{{w|Offside (association football)|Offside}} is a description in soccer that applies to players who are in certain positions relative to the boundaries of the {{w|Football_pitch|pitch}}, the ball, and the second-last opponent on the opposing team. Players in such positions are eligible for being judged guilty of an offside offence if they become involved in the ongoing play before rectifying their status. It is of special importance to know the different players' positions at the exact moment the ball gets passed, rather than when the passed ball may be received or the offside player is otherwise considered active. But in relativistic spacetime there is no universal definition of an exact moment, beyond a single point, as time may run at different speeds for multiple observers in varying situations (where they are moving relative to each other, are influenced by differing local gravity or – as seems very likely in this example – both). An additional joke is that even in regular soccer, the offside rule is notoriously difficult to fully understand (or explain to someone).

The title text is written in the style of the beginning to a Wikipedia article on the topic. It alludes to the fact that most countries in the world refer to the sport with that particular obscure offside rule as football (or some translation thereof, like fútbol or Fußball) while the USA call it soccer, which comes from the British shortening of "association football", because they already used the name "football" for gridiron football (which shares a common ancestor with the other sport, more directly via the far more similar "rugby football", hence the name).

==Transcript==
:[On a gray "rubber sheet" visualization of a gravity well is drawn some of the lines of a standard Association Football (Soccer) pitch. Visible features of the standard pitch are the outside borders, the goals and the small and large boxes around each goal. Absent are the corner quarter circles, the penalty spots and associated D, and the center line. The central circle is lost/concealed by the curvature of the gravity well. There are a number of other lines encircling and radial to the gravity well, they are visually identical to the familiar pitch markings so it is unclear whether these are intended to be drawn on the pitch or merely indications of the shape of the surface, or both, for the purpose of helping players to avoid the well. The lengthwise field boundary line on the visible far side partly follows/is partly followed by a suitable radial line before splitting off and conspicuously curving within the respective lip of the well to rejoin the radial line emerging at the complimentary angle in the opposing half of the field. A total of twenty figures can be seen on the pitch. Two are standing near the goal mouths, while the rest are distributed fairly evenly around the field, ten on each side of the middle. As they are all white stick figures on the gray surface, it is impossible to say which are on each team or if one is the referee. Five are within the inner circle around the well, and are distorted or tilted by the increased slope of the surface. A ball with motion lines is landing by the feet of one player who is running up one wing near, but left, of the central part of the field. This player is close to but not within the deeper part of the well. The players seems to be both women and men, as several look like Cueball and some like Hairy, and also many look like Megan and some like Ponytail. The color of the field becomes darker the deeper it goes into the well, from the normal gray color that extends from the two ends of the pitch to about halfway to the center of the field, in six steps until it is almost black at the deepest part of the well that is visible over the rim of the near part of the field.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Spacetime Soccer got a lot of criticism for how many players fell into the gravity well, but what ultimately doomed it was the advanced mathematics required to figure out the offsides rule.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Soccer]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

2637: Roman Numerals

2022-06-25T00:57:35Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ Fixed 2 instances of opened parentheses/brackets with no closure; in the case of the fragment "(at least when interpreting the", by removal, since I'm not sure what point was intended to go there.

{{comic
| number = 2637
| date = June 24, 2022
| title = Roman Numerals
| image = roman_numerals.png
| titletext = 100he100k out th1s 1nno5at4e str1ng en100o501ng 15e been 500e5e50op1ng! 1t's 6rtua100y perfe100t! ...hang on, what's a "virtuacy"?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|100reate500 by a LXXXT  - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Roman numerals are an archaic system of representing numbers that uses the letters I, V, X, L, C, D, and M to represent numbers, which each letter representing a consistent value. Specifically, I represents 1, V represents 5, X represents 10, L represents 50, C represents 100, D represents 500, and M represents 1000. The rules for combining Roman numerals next to each other are that a Roman numeral is added to a Roman numeral of equal or lesser value just to its right (e.g., II=1+1=2 because 1≥1, and VI=5+1=6 because 5≥1), and a Roman number is subtracted from a Roman numeral of greater value just to its right (e.g., IV=5-1=4 because 1<5, and IX=10-1=9 because 1<10). (Also, each place must be written separately, e.g., one cannot represent 49 via IL but instead must represent the tens place and ones place separately via XL IX—although the space would not be included in practice).

The modern system of representing numbers is Hindu numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9), which are so-called because they were invented in India. However, because they were introduced to Europe by Arabic merchants, Westerns often call them Hindu-Arabic numerals or sometimes just Arabic numerals. The digit 0 represents the additive identity, the digit 1 represents the multiplicative identity, 2 represents 1+1, 3 represents 1+1+1, etc… all the way to 9 representing 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1. For Hindu-Arabic numerals, each time a digit is moved one place to the left (such as from the ones place to the tens place, from the tens place to the hundreds place, or from the hundreds place to the thousands place), the value that it represents is multiplied by ten (e.g., moving 3 to the left, starting in the ones place, changes the value that it represents from three to thirty to three hundred to three thousand…). Thus, for any digit d, the string d0 represents d+d+d+d+d+d+d+d+d+d, the string d00 represents d0+d0+d0+d0+d0+d0+d0+d0+d0+d0, etc…. Integers larger than nine are represented by representing them as digits multiplied by powers of ten, where no power of ten is repeated, and zero is used to fill in any gaps so that it is obvious how many places each nonzero digit is to the left of the ones place. For example, sixteen cubed can be expressed as 4×103+9×101+6×100. (Representations like 4×103+5×101+4×101+6×100 are not allowed because 101 would be repeated, and representations like 4×103+8×101+16×100 are not allowed because 16 is not a digit.) However, writing it like 496 would make the digit 4 represent 4×102, not 4×103, so this is fixed by inserting a 0 to yield 4096. (One can think of this as expressing sixteen cubed as 4×103+0×102+9×101+6×100.)

The original equations are:
<center>1+1=2</center>
<center>2+2=4</center>
<center>4+5=9</center>

Cueball/Randall then translated these equations into Roman numerals:
<center>I+I=II</center>
<center>II+II=IV</center>
<center>IV+V=IX</center>

Finally, before writing the equations Randall/Cueball replaced each letter with its value in Hindu-Arabic numerals—but did not use the abovementioned rules for combining Roman numbers, instead using simple concatenation. Specifically, "I" is replaced with "1", "V" is replaced with "5", and "X" is replaced with "10". For example, for IX at the end of the last equation, "I" is replaced with "1", and "X" is replaced with "10", so "IX" becomes "110". Thus, the equations become
<center>1+1=1 1</center>
<center>1 1+1 1=1 5</center>
<center>1 5+5=1 10</center>
where the spaces have been added for clarity.

Part of the joke comes from the fact that Randall incorrectly replaces Roman numerals with modern Hindu numbers, specifically by using concatenation instead of the proper rules of addition and subtraction, and this makes the equations incorrect. For example, II becomes 11, not 2 as it should under the correct rules for interpreting Roman numerals. Randall derives additional humor from the premise that Cueball would know Roman numerals better than Hindu numerals (as demonstrated by the fact that he does not recognize that his equations are false when interpreted using the standard rules for Hindu numerals) so that he would do math in Roman numerals and have to remember to convert his equations to Hindu numerals at the end. Schoolchildren in the West have been taught to do math with Hindu numerals, not Roman numerals, for centuries.

In the title text, Randall applies the same idea of replacing Roman numerals with their values in Hindu numerals to strings of English words. The original string (with letters that would be interpreted as Roman numerals capitalized) is, "CheCk out thIs InnoVatIVe strIng enCoDIng I'Ve been DeVeLopIng! It's VIrtuaLLy perfeCt!" For the first word, "Check," C is replaced with the value of that Roman numeral in Hindu numerals, i.e., "100", in both instances of the word, which results in "100he100k". Unlike in the comic, Randall combines Roman numbers using the proper rules of addition and subtraction. For example, he replaces "IV" with "4", not "15", e.g., "innovative" becomes "1nno5at4e", not "1nno5at15e". (However, "I've" becomes "15e", not "4e", presumably because the apostrophe was removed after, not before, replacing the Roman numerals with Hindu numerals. However, there is not an obvious reason why Randall removed the apostrophe.) However, there are problems with this. One example is that the double L in "virtually" is replaced with 100. This correctly remembers Roman numerals' rule of adding the value of a letter to the value of an equal-valued letter just to its right, but in Roman numerals, a single number should never have multiple Vs, multiple Ls, or multiple Ds, e.g., 100 should be represented by C, not LL. This would mean that a simplistic decoding script would erroneously decode "6rtua100y" to "virtuacy", not "virtually". Thus, this string encoding system is not actually perfect. (Until the modern codification in general use today, Roman numerals weren't standardised that much, so "LL" could have been a tolerated alternative to "C". For more on that, see {{w|Roman_numerals#Classical_Roman_numerals}}. However, having the decoding script use that would not solve the problem but instead would make the decoding script replace Cs with LLs instead, e.g., "delloding sllript".)

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball writing on a wall or a whiteboard.]
:1+1=11
:11+11=15
:15+5=110

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Remember, Roman numerals are archaic, so always replace them with modern ones when doing math.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]

Talk:2599: Spacecraft Debris Odds Ratio

2022-03-29T07:51:43Z

Yngvadottir: Yes, please explain this a lot more, starting with the title. Most of the explanation is the stuff I understood.

correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe 300 - 30 is 270, not 280? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.85|172.68.50.85]] 22:50, 28 March 2022 (UTC)
:something something percentage points maybe? idk [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.91|172.70.134.91]] 22:56, 28 March 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
:Most likely there is an unstated chance of death by not going outside... presumably ~10% but there's no way to know the breakdown (could be nearly all cardio, could be nearly all ursine if they live in a cave next bears) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.127|172.69.70.127]] 23:02, 28 March 2022 (UTC)
::300% increase is multiplying by (1+3), 30% decrease is multiplying by (1-0.3) , %increases are multiplicative so the increase is by a factor of 4*0.7=2.8, which is 280% of the original value (or a 180% increase).
:::Yeah, barring a total mistake, that must be where the number came from, but it seems odd by the inconsistent way it is expressed, as it assumes the 300% increase for the bear attack is added to the initial value for a final amount of 400%, along with a similar treatment for the 30% decrease, but the 280% is simply the final value skipping past that step to the conclusion afterwards that is not even shown for the previous numbers. But with the improper grammar, if it's not an actual typo, it may be trying to show the speaker acting dumb or irrational, as it doesn't make sense to end with "increased" instead of "increase" without changing part of the words before that number. Someone thinking that poorly though likely wouldn't be able to multiply things properly to produce that 280% number though.--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.153|172.70.130.153]] 01:13, 29 March 2022 (UTC)

"That's a 280% increased" has a typo/grammaro. The last word should be "increase". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:04, 28 March 2022 (UTC)
:I think the actual typo is the "a" so should be "That's 280% increased"

Also what's an odds ratio?? ~~Bumpf
:I assume something like "million to one". But the units of the horizontal axis clearly don't correspond to that. I don't know what those units are, they're not a percentage, either. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:40, 29 March 2022 (UTC)
:: if you say "this is 4 times as likely" then "4" is the "odds ratio", this is the type of number appearing on the horizontal axis
:An odds-ratio is a way of reporting the results for predictions of binary outcomes. It's a transformation of the (not easily interpretable) regression coefficient. For example, if the OR for "males" (vs females) is "0.70", they're 70% as likely to have the outcome as females; if it's "1.32", then males are 1.32x as likely (equivalently: 32% more likely) to have that outcome as females. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.75|108.162.249.75]] Gye Greene

Did something happen to the size of the image after the initial posting? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:40, 29 March 2022 (UTC)

What's with the asterisks on the right side? [[User:Jordan Brown|Jordan Brown]] ([[User talk:Jordan Brown|talk]]) 00:50, 29 March 2022 (UTC)

There should probably be an explanation of what "Monte Carlo Simulation" means, as many people who would actually want an explanation of this strip would likely be unfamiliar with that term.--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.122|172.70.131.122]] 01:02, 29 March 2022 (UTC)
:Yes, exactly! I got as far as finding {{w|Monte Carlo method}} via a redirect but have no idea how the bars are supposed to work, what the reference point is supposed to mean, or why the columns get skinnier toward the right. Not dumb, but next to no statistics education. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 07:51, 29 March 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2568: Spinthariscope

2022-01-14T21:49:53Z

Yngvadottir: w on previous post, adding link to talk page.

Someone has already updated the Wikipedia page to mention this comic reference, before anyone here has gotten around to writing the explanation [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 19:56, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

I added an initial explanation, but I don't recognize the references to gallium and tritium (although I know what glowsticks are), so someone else should fill in about that. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:13, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Seems like there's something off with how the "ratio" is worded. It is a safe and legal toy, so the "actual safety and legality" is actually high-ish, right? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.25|172.70.178.25]] 20:44, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

- If "actual safety" is a large number and "apparent safety" is a small number, then their ratio (actual divided by apparent) is a large number. If "sctual safety" is a small number and "apparent safety" is a large number, then their ratio is a small number. So the comic's wording is perfectly fine and logical, and the paragraph about products in the explanation is not needed. (It's also kind of, um, **untrue**, but I'm trying to be kind to whoever wrote it.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]] 21:44, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Make your own Spinthariscope kiddies https://www.instructables.com/Pocket-Size-Spinthariscope/. [[User:Steve|Steve]] ([[User talk:Steve|talk]]) 21:05, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

The {{w|Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory}}, which was marketed in the early 1950s & contains more energetic radioactive sources (i.e. uranium ores), might possibly be more dangerous. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.143.22|172.70.143.22]] 21:28, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

{{w|Talk:Spinthariscope|The talk page for the Wikipedia article}} has an interesting exposition by an IP in 2010 of why these aren't dangerous and the various isotopes used. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 21:49, 14 January 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2546: Fiction vs Nonfiction

2021-11-25T22:28:09Z

Yngvadottir: Context? & another query.

Doris Kearns Goodwin also mentioned in https://xkcd.com/2160/ [[Special:Contributions/172.70.174.35|172.70.174.35]] 05:51, 25 November 2021 (UTC)

Why "Boba Fett's Gadgets and How He Got Them" is not described? It is clearly a mix of sort-of-facts - description of Fett's gadgets and how artists designed them, and fiction stories of how he got them.{{unsigned}}
: well, it could also be a list of what the gadgets are in-universe and the stories of how he got them, which is non-fiction in the star wars universe but fiction in real life. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.91|172.70.34.91]] 16:47, 25 November 2021 (UTC)Bumpf

(Edit comment) "Bobba Fett's armor is definitely Beskar, as shown in the Mandalorian season 2. However, there are conflicting official star wars publications that mention his armor being durasteel. The commonly accepted solution is that it is an alloy of both."... Or a composite laminate/overlay. Like Stormtrooper armor has a layer of Explodium on the inside, hence how Rebel gunshots are so incapacitating to them. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.155|172.70.85.155]] 09:25, 25 November 2021 (UTC)
*Nope, they're made of "implodium" otherwise someone else might get hurt. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 16:02, 25 November 2021 (UTC)

Could we call it Meta fiction or Meta nonfiction? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.161|172.70.178.161]]

What's the context here—a library? And has anybody asked Doris Kearns Goodwin whether she has such a work in some stage of preparation? [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 22:28, 25 November 2021 (UTC)

2546: Fiction vs Nonfiction

2021-11-25T22:25:07Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ Wikipedia link on the original film; added the retitling in parentheses since that was 40 years ago.

{{comic
| number = 2546
| date = November 24, 2021
| title = Fiction vs Nonfiction
| image = fiction_vs_nonfiction.png
| titletext = The real challenge is how to file Boba Fett's biography of Doris Kearns Goodwin.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A FICTIONAL DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN WATCHING STAR WARS ON A DURASTEEL-BESKAR TV- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Cueball]] is asking [[Ponytail]] and [[White Hat]] to classify different ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' books and movies as fiction or nonfiction. (Perhaps he is working at a library or bookstore, or sorting a personal collection.) ''Star Wars'' as a whole is a multimedia franchise, which includes films, TV series, novels, etc, but often singularly refers to {{w|Star Wars (film)|the original 1977 film}} later more lengthily titled ''Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope''. The classifications get more complicated to determine as the conversation progresses while revealing a quite specific obsession with the character of {{w|Boba Fett}}. The complexity may even end up converting {{w|Lumpers and splitters|lumpers into splitters}}, a philosophical distinction that another [[2518: Lumpers and Splitters|recent comic]] touched upon.

Nonfiction (also spelled non-fiction) is any document or media content that intends, in good faith, to present only truth and accuracy regarding information, events, or people. In contrast, fiction offers information, events, or characters expected to be partly or largely imaginary, or else leaves open if and how the work refers to reality.

In the end, White Hat suggests that, since Cueball has so many works featuring Boba Fett, it would be more useful to group them together in a new category rather than sorting them into the fiction and nonfiction sections.

{| class="wikitable"
!Media name
!Explanation
|-
| ''{{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars}}''
| ''Star Wars'' is a science-''fiction'' movie released in 1977 (re-released in 1981 as ''Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope'')
|-
| ''{{w|The Making of Star Wars}}''
| This was a television special about how ''Star Wars'' was made, which would make it nonfiction.
|-
| ''Star Wars: The Adventures of Boba Fett''
| This would be one of the ''Star Wars'' franchise's continuity of stories, making it fictional. Not a currently extant release, but something like this {{w|List_of_Star_Wars_films#Unproduced_films|has been long anticipated}}, and now possibly inspired by the imminent release (as of the comic's time of posting) of {{w|The Book of Boba Fett}}.
|-
| ''Star Wars: The Official Guide to Boba Fett's Armor and Weapons''
| While the content of this guidebook is entirely fictional, the book is factual. Boba Fett (a fictional character){{citation needed}} does in fact [https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/253196 have durasteel]/[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Boba_Fett%27s_armor Beskar] armor (a fictional material), so the book is technically non-fiction.
|-
| ''Boba Fett's Gadgets and How He Got Them''
| This could either be a non-fictional book or docuseries similar to the previous entry, or instead an in-universe adventure series or film. The rhythm of the words is similar to the in-universe guidebook "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Beasts_and_Where_to_Find_Them Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them]" from the {{w|Harry Potter}} universe - this is a non-fiction book used educationally for young wizards within a fictional world{{citation needed}} and also a fiction book within the real{{citation needed}} world.
|-
| ''Boba Fett: A Life'' by Doris Kearns Goodwin
| {{w|Doris Kearns Goodwin}} is a historian and biographer who has written biographies of many influential people. Since Goodwin is a non-fiction writer, one would have to read this (not actually existent) book to determine whether the biography is a fictional account of the character, or a factual account of the fictional history of the character. If the book doesn't establish any new canon, and is instead citing only recorded (fictional) facts from the Star Wars Universe and, perhaps, the real-world influences on and by the character, it could legitimately be considered non-fiction.
|-
| (title text) Boba Fett's biography of Doris Kearns Goodwin
| It is unclear how, or why, a fictional character would write a biography on a real life person, but there's always the possibly that there was already a fictional Doris, in-universe to Boba, whose own life and exploits would be natural for an actually fictional factual output.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is talking to Ponytail and White Hat.]
:Cueball: ''Star Wars''?
:Ponytail: Fiction.

:[Same setting.]
:Cueball: ''The Making of Star Wars''?
:White Hat: Nonfiction.

:[Closeup of Cueball.]
:Cueball: ''Star Wars: The Adventures of Boba Fett''?
:Off-panel voice: Fiction.

:[Closeup of Ponytail.]
:Cueball (off-panel): ''Star Wars: The Official Guide to Boba Fett's Armor and Weapons''?
:Ponytail: Nonfiction, technically.

:[Cueball has lifted a hand palm up as he talks to Ponytail and White Hat.]
:Cueball: ''Boba Fett's Gadgets and How He Got Them''?
:Ponytail: ...Fiction?
:Ponytail: It depends.

:[Cueball is talking to Ponytail and White Hat. Ponytail has turned towards White Hat and has taken a hand to her chin.]
:Cueball: ''Boba Fett: A Life'', by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin?
:Ponytail: Hm.
:White Hat: Maybe we should just have a Boba Fett section.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

Talk:2532: Censored Vaccine Card

2021-10-23T01:42:35Z

Yngvadottir: Noting that DOB corresponds to what used to be on Wikipedia, but never had an acceptable source and may therefore be a birthdate of convenience.

What if this card is from the future and Cuedall is legitimately censoring his fourth dose.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.43|162.158.255.43]] 22:38, 22 October 2021 (UTC) Running Gazelle

Numbers: Patient number is digits of pi after 3.1; 1138 and 2187 seem to be Star Wars references; 5309 is...Jenny? and 1729 is the Ramanujan-Hardy number.
[[User:Clam|Clam]] ([[User talk:Clam|talk]]) 23:16, 22 October 2021 (UTC)

I should be used to it by now (several decades of personal exposure to it) but I *still* have to double-take at dates in the illogical MM-DD-(YY)YY format. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.161|162.158.155.161]] 23:34, 22 October 2021 (UTC)

This is timely for me, I'm getting my booster tomorrow. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:32, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

The date of birth corresponds to the date formerly on {{w|Randall Munroe|Randall's Wikipedia article}}, which never had an acceptable citation (only a now irretrievable wiki). The year is cited there, but not the rest. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 01:42, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

2471: Hippo Attacks

2021-06-03T08:25:02Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ Some copyediting and tweakage.

{{comic
| number = 2471
| date = June 2, 2021
| title = Hippo Attacks
| image = hippo_attacks.png
| titletext = It's cool how, when there's a number lots of people are curious about, but which isn't easy to measure, some random guess will get cited everywhere and become the universally quoted value. Unrelatedly, did you know there are 850 trillion waves in the ocean?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a HIPAA-VIOLATING HIPPO. I think we have managed to capture the broad strokes of the comic, but it could use some copy-editing (especially my words), and I am not confident I am not missing some finer details. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The first part of this comic deals with unreliable sources on the internet. Neither "viral posts" nor "random listicles" are usually very reliable sources of information. They rarely cite their sources, and they are often published without much fact-checking, as published volume and impressive-sounding numbers are far more important for ad-revenue than actual facts.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ({{w|HIPAA}}, pronounced ''HIP-uh'') is an American healthcare law enacted in 1996. One of the most commonly cited provisions from HIPAA is the HIPAA Privacy Rule, which regulates the use and disclosure of protected health information.

In this comic, Cueball and Megan are discussing the number of {{w|hippopotamus}} attacks, which is unverified. Megan proposes an alternative explanation as to why this particular number is hard to come by: it would be violating the patients' privacy to create statistics of a very specific and unusual cause of death. The punchline comes with the pun on "hippo violation" ("HIPAA violation").

The title text amplifies the criticism of listicles. They sometimes provide factoids with regards to ill-defined, hard-to-measure numbers, and these factoids might end up in common circulation between such articles. One extreme example would be the number of waves in the ocean. Some problems with this definition would be:

* In which ocean/oceans?
* Over what time frame?
* What is the smallest ripple that counts as a wave?
* When does one count two interacting waves as separate, and when does one count them as one?

With different answers to these questions, wildly different answers could be reached.

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

:[Cueball sits at his computer desk, facing left. Megan stands behind him.]
:Cueball: I hate unsourced statistics.
:Cueball: ''This'' viral post says hippos kill 2,900 people a year, but ''this'' random listicle says 500.
:Megan: Makes sense.
:Megan: Publishing the real number would be a hippo violation.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Statistics]]
[[Category:Puns]]

2463: Astrophotography

2021-05-15T07:34:58Z

Yngvadottir: /* Trivia */ ce (missing bit), piped links.

{{comic
| number = 2463
| date = May 15, 2021
| title = Astrophotography
| image = astrophotography.png
| titletext = [One hill over, a competing astrophotographer does a backflip over a commercial airliner while throwing a tray of plastic space stations into the air, through which a falcon swoops to 'grab' the real one.]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BACKFLIPPING ASTROPHOTOGRAPHER. Title text needs to be outlined as the main explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Astrophotographers like to take photos of things transiting the {{w|Sun}}. Typical things include planes, the {{w|International Space Station}} (ISS), and the {{w|Moon}} ({{w|Solar eclipses}}).

During the [[:Category:Total Solar Eclipse 2017|Total Solar Eclipse 2017]] visible across US it was possible to see the ISS pass in front of the Sun during a partial part of the Eclipse (from a site that was later in the total Eclipse zone.) This was [https://www.smartereveryday.com/eclipse photographed] and filmed by Destin from Smarter Every Day and can be seen in his video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepQoU4oek4&feature=youtu.be Space Station Transiting 2017 ECLIPSE]. (Go to the time of the flyby of the ISS in the video [https://youtu.be/lepQoU4oek4?t=209 here]).

The practice of "one-upmanship" refers to the practice of achieving something superior to what another has achieved, or "getting one up on" them. The caption claims that the photo shown in the comic is the result of a continuous string of one-upmanship among astrophotographers in a community, each striving to one-up the other.

In this comic there seems to be an abundance of things:
* The sun is setting or rising from behind a hill.
* The ISS can be seen transiting in the upper center.
* There is an ongoing {{w|partial solar eclipse}} so the view of the Sun is partially obscured by the Moon in the upper right quadrant. Although the Sun is much larger than the Moon, the Moon is able to block the Sun's light from reaching {{w|Earth}} (which happens during a {{w|partial solar eclipse|Total Solar Eclipse}}) because it is so much closer to the Earth that they have the same apparent size when seen from the Earth.
** These two things are what Destin managed. But this photographer did several one up on him.
* [[Megan]] is standing slightly below the peak of a hill and seems to be juggling, with five balls, which are also in front of the sun.
* [[Cueball]] is standing at the peak of the hill, shooting an arrow from a bow, one arrow has pierced what at first appears to be one of the juggling balls, but may be a {{w|Transit of Venus}}.
* A simultaneous Eclipse and Transit of Venus is actually expected in the future, but not until April 5, 15232 (13211 years after the publishing of this comic). It would though likely be easier to make the arrow "hit" Venus than one of the joggled balls, as the planet's position is constant at the time the photo is taken. The other four balls are too large that any of them could represent Mercury, the only other planet that can transit the Sun, when seen from Earth. But Megan has been careful to make one ball go so much higher than the middle two, that it seems to fit that Venus has been shot out from between them.
* Two airplanes flying above them are pulling signs with the words "nice" and "shot" (which could refer to both the archer and the photographer). The signs will have to be made with see-through holes through the canvas letting sun through. As there is an O it cannot just be holes in the canvas!

Taking the picture required precisely scheduling and arranging the relative positions of several of the various subjects (and photographer) to coincide with the predictable but rare conjunctions of the rest of the scene, as well as special equipment:
* All this had to be timed very very precisely as the [https://youtu.be/lepQoU4oek4?t=209 flyby of the ISS only takes a second].
* A solar filter must be used to photograph the sun without overexposing the image or even damaging equipment.
* The photograph must be taken during a partial solar eclipse. These only happen a few times per year and are only visible in part of the world.
* Related to the last point, a nearby person appears larger than the moon. It is possible to photograph the silhouette of a person or a cityscape in front of a full moon, making the moon look comparatively larger or smaller by adjusting the distance to the closer subject, and then the lenses used by the photographer to make them both fill just the right amount of the frame. The photographer needed to carefully choose their position relative to the subjects to make this happen.
* The exposure time of the photograph had to be short enough to capture clear silhouettes of the ISS, the juggling balls and the arrow while these were in the air.
* The mountain had to be in a location that would happen to see the ISS passing in front of the sun at the same time as the sun was rising from behind it.
* The subjects had to achieve a moment in which four juggling balls were in the air and an arrow had pierced the point where Venus would appear, while sideways relative to the sun's light, with still near normal intensity.
* The planes also needed to be flying in the correct directions for the text of the signs to be visible, and with very precise timing for them to be in the correct positions to read "Nice" as coming before "Shot" just as the ISS passes by.

The title text describes a similarly outlandish photo.

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

:[Cueball and Megan stand on a hill with the sun behind them. Cueball is at the top-left of the hill, holding a bow in his left arm, which has been recently shot, with the arrow to right. Megan is at the bottom-right of the hill, juggling some balls. There are two planes going in opposite directions with banners on them. Above the planes is the ISS. All these items are silhouetted against the sun partially eclipsed by the moon in the upper right.]

:[Banners]: Nice Shot

:[Caption beneath the panel]:
:Our astrophotography community's one-upmanship is getting out of hand.

==Trivia==
Randall has commented on extreme photography in comics ([[1855:_Telephoto|1855: ''Telephoto'']] and [[1719:_Superzoom|1719: ''Superzoom'']]) and the ''How To'' chapter "How to take a selfie".

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Space]]

2463: Astrophotography

2021-05-15T07:28:27Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ ce, tweaks

{{comic
| number = 2463
| date = May 15, 2021
| title = Astrophotography
| image = astrophotography.png
| titletext = [One hill over, a competing astrophotographer does a backflip over a commercial airliner while throwing a tray of plastic space stations into the air, through which a falcon swoops to 'grab' the real one.]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BACKFLIPPING ASTROPHOTOGRAPHER. Title text needs to be outlined as the main explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Astrophotographers like to take photos of things transiting the {{w|Sun}}. Typical things include planes, the {{w|International Space Station}} (ISS), and the {{w|Moon}} ({{w|Solar eclipses}}).

During the [[:Category:Total Solar Eclipse 2017|Total Solar Eclipse 2017]] visible across US it was possible to see the ISS pass in front of the Sun during a partial part of the Eclipse (from a site that was later in the total Eclipse zone.) This was [https://www.smartereveryday.com/eclipse photographed] and filmed by Destin from Smarter Every Day and can be seen in his video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepQoU4oek4&feature=youtu.be Space Station Transiting 2017 ECLIPSE]. (Go to the time of the flyby of the ISS in the video [https://youtu.be/lepQoU4oek4?t=209 here]).

The practice of "one-upmanship" refers to the practice of achieving something superior to what another has achieved, or "getting one up on" them. The caption claims that the photo shown in the comic is the result of a continuous string of one-upmanship among astrophotographers in a community, each striving to one-up the other.

In this comic there seems to be an abundance of things:
* The sun is setting or rising from behind a hill.
* The ISS can be seen transiting in the upper center.
* There is an ongoing {{w|partial solar eclipse}} so the view of the Sun is partially obscured by the Moon in the upper right quadrant. Although the Sun is much larger than the Moon, the Moon is able to block the Sun's light from reaching {{w|Earth}} (which happens during a {{w|partial solar eclipse|Total Solar Eclipse}}) because it is so much closer to the Earth that they have the same apparent size when seen from the Earth.
** These two things are what Destin managed. But this photographer did several one up on him.
* [[Megan]] is standing slightly below the peak of a hill and seems to be juggling, with five balls, which are also in front of the sun.
* [[Cueball]] is standing at the peak of the hill, shooting an arrow from a bow, one arrow has pierced what at first appears to be one of the juggling balls, but may be a {{w|Transit of Venus}}.
* A simultaneous Eclipse and Transit of Venus is actually expected in the future, but not until April 5, 15232 (13211 years after the publishing of this comic). It would though likely be easier to make the arrow "hit" Venus than one of the joggled balls, as the planet's position is constant at the time the photo is taken. The other four balls are too large that any of them could represent Mercury, the only other planet that can transit the Sun, when seen from Earth. But Megan has been careful to make one ball go so much higher than the middle two, that it seems to fit that Venus has been shot out from between them.
* Two airplanes flying above them are pulling signs with the words "nice" and "shot" (which could refer to both the archer and the photographer). The signs will have to be made with see-through holes through the canvas letting sun through. As there is an O it cannot just be holes in the canvas!

Taking the picture required precisely scheduling and arranging the relative positions of several of the various subjects (and photographer) to coincide with the predictable but rare conjunctions of the rest of the scene, as well as special equipment:
* All this had to be timed very very precisely as the [https://youtu.be/lepQoU4oek4?t=209 flyby of the ISS only takes a second].
* A solar filter must be used to photograph the sun without overexposing the image or even damaging equipment.
* The photograph must be taken during a partial solar eclipse. These only happen a few times per year and are only visible in part of the world.
* Related to the last point, a nearby person appears larger than the moon. It is possible to photograph the silhouette of a person or a cityscape in front of a full moon, making the moon look comparatively larger or smaller by adjusting the distance to the closer subject, and then the lenses used by the photographer to make them both fill just the right amount of the frame. The photographer needed to carefully choose their position relative to the subjects to make this happen.
* The exposure time of the photograph had to be short enough to capture clear silhouettes of the ISS, the juggling balls and the arrow while these were in the air.
* The mountain had to be in a location that would happen to see the ISS passing in front of the sun at the same time as the sun was rising from behind it.
* The subjects had to achieve a moment in which four juggling balls were in the air and an arrow had pierced the point where Venus would appear, while sideways relative to the sun's light, with still near normal intensity.
* The planes also needed to be flying in the correct directions for the text of the signs to be visible, and with very precise timing for them to be in the correct positions to read "Nice" as coming before "Shot" just as the ISS passes by.

The title text describes a similarly outlandish photo.

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

:[Cueball and Megan stand on a hill with the sun behind them. Cueball is at the top-left of the hill, holding a bow in his left arm, which has been recently shot, with the arrow to right. Megan is at the bottom-right of the hill, juggling some balls. There are two planes going in opposite directions with banners on them. Above the planes is the ISS. All these items are silhouetted against the sun partially eclipsed by the moon in the upper right.]

:[Banners]: Nice Shot

:[Caption beneath the panel]:
:Our astrophotography community's one-upmanship is getting out of hand.

==Trivia==
Randall has commented on in comics ([[1855:_Telephoto]], [[1719:_Superzoom]]) and the ''How To'' chapter "How to take a selfie".

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Space]]

1037: Umwelt

2021-04-27T09:22:29Z

Yngvadottir: /* Hurricane */ fixes

{{comic
| number = 1037
| date = April 1, 2012
| title = Umwelt
| image = umwelt_the_void.jpg
| titletext = Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit--from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your web browser.
}}
{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
This was the third [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous fools comic was
[[880: Headache]] from Friday April 1st 2011. The next was [[1193: Externalities]] released on Monday April 1st 2013.

This comic was released on April 1 even though that was [[:Category:Sunday comics|a Sunday]] (only the third comic to be released on a Sunday). But it was only due to the April Fool joke, as it did replace the comic that would have been scheduled for Monday, April 2nd. The next comic, [[1038: Fountain]], was first released on Wednesday, April 4th. This was the first that could be different for different readers.

An {{w|Umwelt}}, as the title text explains, is the idea that one's entire way of thinking is dependent on their surroundings. Thus, this {{w|April Fools}} comic changes based on the browser, location, or referrer. Thus, what the viewer is viewing the comic on, where they live, or where they came from determines which comic they actually see. As a result, there are actually multiple comics that went up on April Fools' Day, although only one is seen.
(The term 'Umwelt,' as mentioned in the comic, refers to the semiotic theories of Jakob von Uexküll and Thomas A. Sebeok)

Information about how the wide variety of data was collected and credit for the viewers who contributed can be found [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/rnst4/april_fools_xkcd_changing_comic/ here].

===The Void===
[[File:umwelt the void.jpg]]

If the device or browser you are using does not support Javascript, you will simply see a static image of a white swirl on a dark background.

Possible reference to The Ring (http://imgur.com/wlGmm), as though to suggest that using an alternative browser is dismal and horrific.

Davean (xkcd's sysadmin): "[This] comic isn't available everywhere and it can come up i[n] some situation[s] only for recognized browsers."

Browser: Alternative Browser

===Aurora===
[[File:umwelt aurora.png]]

One could interpret that since Megan didn't go out and therefore missed seeing the {{w|Aurora}} (northern lights), Cueball in his [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|knit cap]] lied about it. That way, she wouldn't have felt sad that she missed out. Another interpretation could be that he decides that since she did not even bother to go outside to see such a spectacular sight he will not tell her about it. And yet another could be that he did not think it was interesting.

Cueball could possibly also be red-green colorblind, seeing the green aurorae as grey "clouds". This would serve as an example for the theme of the comic, as a non-colorblind person and a colorblind person seeing the same color would perceive it differently, one seeing it as its true color, and the other seeing it without the shade of color they cannot see. If this is the case, then it would be a reference to umwelt, as Cueball would be living in a world where the auroras do not reach his location.

In real life, [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-northern-lights-dont-look-anything-like-they-do-in-photos_n_5500a4d9e4b0e62d0dd4f9bb aurorae are usually seen as grey/white clouds] to the naked eye, as our eyes cannot perceive the "greener" colors as well in the dark.

This image changed based on the size of the browser window including different panels at different sizes.

Locations: Canada, Boston, Maine, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Minnesota, Norway, Denmark, France, Rhode Island (not sure if mobile only or not.) (also in Virginia, but using Ohio in the first panel) (also in Maryland, but using Canada in the first panel)

In [[1302: Year in Review]] a possibly different Megan has a completely different approach to the chance of seeing northern lights, as that was the only event she was looking forward to in 2013, and it failed. If this is the same Megan, perhaps she learned that there actually were northern lights in her area from another source, and so desperately wanted to have another chance to see them.

===Snake===
[[File:umwelt snake composite 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt snake composite.png|Full size]]

The joke here is the extreme length of snakes. The world's longest snake is the python, the longest ever being 33 feet or approx. 10 meters. The blue and orange circles refer to the hit game {{w|Portal}}.
There is also a reference to the book "The Little Prince" in the second panel, where there is a large bulge in the snake that looks like an elephant. The Little Prince starts out by mentioning a drawing that the author made when he was six that showed an elephant inside a snake.

Also, the number and content of the panels changes depending on the size of your browser window.

This image changed based on the size of the browser window including different panels at different sizes.

Specific AltText for this image: Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit -from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your browser window size.

Location: Texas (on Chrome Version 33.0.1750.154 m), New Jersey, California (on Chrome Version 39.0.2171.95), Maryland, Massachusetts (Safari for iOS, Chrome version 49.0.2623.112), Connecticut (Safari for iOS, Chrome Version 73.0.3683.103, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge), Virginia (on Chrome), Michigan (Firefox v46.0.1), Penang (Chrome Version 65.0.3325.162).

===Black Hat===
[[File:umwelt tortoise 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt tortoise.png|Full size]]

Cueball as an analyst attempts to psychoanalyze [[Black Hat|Black Hat's]] [[72: Classhole|classhole]] tendencies. Cueball's quote and the whole setup is a direct reference to the movie {{w|Blade Runner}} (1982) and Black Hat is taking the Voight-Kampff test which is used to identify replicants from real humans.

Black Hat's reason for not helping the tortoise is that ''it '''knows''' what it did'' and thus in Black Hat's world view it deserves being turned over. The final part of the joke is that when zooming out it turns out that there is a tortoise behind Black Hat and he has actually already turned it over for what it did.

Location: Seems to appear mostly in "other countries" — those without location-specific comics.

===Too Quiet===
[[File:umwelt too quiet 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt too quiet.png|Full size]]

A reference to {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} which has been [[87: Velociraptors|constantly]] [[135: Substitute|referred]] [[1110: Click and Drag|to]] [[155: Search History|before]] [[758: Raptor Fences|in]] this comic.

Also referencing the film {{w|2 Fast 2 Furious|2 Fast 2 Furious}}, an entertaining, yet intellectually unprovoking sequel in a popular film franchise, which is aimed at teenagers and young adults, prompting the blunt response from the stickman. The fact that Steve would use such a cliché {{w|2000s (decade)|noughties}} movie term in such an intense moment, and the subsequent curse, is the joke in this comic.

Location: short version — iPhone 5c Safari browser in Texas, iPhone 5 Chrome Browser in Minnesota, long version - Google Chrome browser in Indiana, Windows 8 Laptop

===Pond===
[[File:umwelt pond mobile.png]][[File:umwelt pond wide.png]]

Two different versions showed, the narrower version for mobile devices.

Location: The Netherlands and various other countries.

===Galaxies===
[[File:umwelt galaxies 1024.jpg]]
[[:File:umwelt galaxies.jpg|Full size]]

Megan is distracted from her conversation with [[Cueball]] by realizing that the space behind his head, from her vantage point, contains millions of galaxies. This is similar to an [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/image/astro/hst_deep_field.jpg incredible photograph] taken by the Hubble Telescope, in which a tiny dark area of space in fact contained numerous galaxies.

The title text is an imaginative leap from this scenario: that the galaxies would be up to no good once Cueball is turned away from them. This is presumably a reference to [http://www.mariowiki.com/boo Boo], an enemy from certain Mario games who moves toward Mario only when Mario is facing away from Boo.

This comic was only reported once... the intended environmental context is a mystery.

Location: unknown

===xkcd Gold===
[[File:umwelt xkcd gold.png]]

This is probably a reference to the 4chan Gold Account, an implementation on 4chan that does not actually exist, and is usually used to trick newcomers into revealing their credit card numbers. The joke is that "Gold Account" users can supposedly block other users from viewing images they have posted. The fifth panel is probably a reference to Beecock, a notorious set of shocker images. 4chan's moderators have been known to give out "beecock bans" or "/z/ bans" to particularly annoying users, which redirect the user to a page containing beecock and the text "OH NO THE BOARD IS GONE".

Referrer: 4chan

===Yo Mama===
[[File:umwelt dog ballast.png]]

Possible reference to Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "{{w|Harrison Bergeron}}."

Possibly a veiled criticism of Facebook. This could be slightly rewritten as: "This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid of dissent, so it tracks everyone at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop submitting information to Facebook. But that dystopian future is now."
It's also possible that people's different experiences shape how they perceive the world in that the people who live in this world would perceive the joke as funny, while people in our world would not get it. This the idea of umwelt mentioned in the top of the context where different individuals perceive the world differently.

Referrer: Facebook

===Reddit===
[[File:umwelt reddit.png]]

Reference to referencing, because Reddit, as a referring site, likes references to its referencing in its references.

This comic also features recursive imagery similar to [[688: Self-Description|Self Description]] where the third panel embeds the entire comic within itself.

One of the browser tabs visible in the center panel is {{w|Elk}} on Wikipedia.

Referrer: Reddit

===Buns and Hot dogs===
[[File:umwelt somethingawful.jpg]]

This is a reference to the question "Why do hot dogs come in packages of 6 while buns come in packages of 8?"

Another, more sexual reference to this question can be found in [[1641: Hot Dogs]].

Referrer: SomethingAwful, Questionable Content, & MetaFilter

===Twitter===
[[File:umwelt twitter.jpg]]

A summary of the "content" typically found on Twitter.

In the tweet feed, there are three tweets about some podcast on the top, followed by the tweet containing link they clicked on to get to the comic, tweets about Rob Delaney, unspecified passive-aggressive tweets, and a tweet from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_ebooks Horse Ebooks] retweeted by one of the users the reader follows.

On the left, the topmost dialog, with profile information, shows that the user has posted 1,302 tweets, but only follows 171 people and has even fewer followers, at a measly 48. This is marked with a sad face, implying that the user wants more followers.

Below that is the "who to follow" dialog, which is written up as consisting of "assholes".

Below that is the "trending tags" dialog for the United States. It is full of tags about word games, tags about misogyny, and tags about Justin Bieber.

Below that is an unidentified dialog full of "stuff your eyes automatically ignore". And finally, on the bottom is the background colour, which is "a really pleasant blue".

Referrer: Twitter

===Wikipedia===
[[File:umwelt wikipedia wide.jpg]]
[[File:umwelt wikipedia mobile.png]]

The term {{w|Mile High Club}} (or MHC) is a slang term applied collectively to individuals who have had sexual intercourse while on board of an aircraft. Randall says that reading the news articles on it has distracted him from making that comic.

Two different versions shown, the narrower version (the single panel with all the text) for mobile devices.

Referrer: Wikipedia

===Google Chrome===
[[File:umwelt chrome1.jpg]]

{{w|Sergey Brin}} (born August 21, 1973) is an American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur who, with Larry Page, co-founded Google, one of the most profitable Internet companies. As of 2013, his personal wealth was estimated to be $24.4 billion. Randall makes the joke that as the founder of Google, Brin's permission would be needed to use Google Chrome. Because there are millions of people who use Google, it is likely that at least some of the time Brin would be asleep, thus he would need to be woken.

Browser: Chrome

===Chrome/Firefox===
[[File:umwelt chrome2.png]]

Mozilla {{w|Firefox}} is a free and open-source web browser developed for Windows, OS X, and Linux, with a mobile version for Android and iOS, by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. Cueball is complaining about {{w|Google Chrome}}, to which [[Ponytail]] replies that there is an {{w|add-on}} that fixes what he is complaining about. When questioned, she replies that the add-on is Firefox, which isn't an add-on at all and is instead a different browser.

Browser: Chrome

===Google Chrome-2===
[[File:umwelt chrome3.png]]

This panel references Google Chrome's error screen, which shows a puzzle piece. The comic humorously implies that Chrome is looking for that piece. When completing jigsaw puzzles, a common strategy is to figure out where the pieces must be from their geometry rather than from the picture they create. In this case, the text suggests that Chrome believes the puzzle piece connects to the pieces which form one of the corners of the puzzle, which may seem impossible because any piece that links up to a corner would usually have at least one flat edge, which this piece has none. However, more complicated puzzles have complex shapes and are not always simply approximate squares with tabs and blanks.

Browser: Chrome or silk on desktop view

===Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing===
[[File:umwelt firefox incognito.png]]

Another reference to crashing web browsers.
Firefox shows the history when it crashes.
Browser: Firefox (Incognito only?)

===Internet Explorer===
[[File:umwelt ie.png]]

Yet another reference to crashing web browsers

Browser: Internet Explorer

===Maxthon===
[[File:umwelt maxthon.png]]

Browser: Maxthon

===Netscape Navigator===
[[File:umwelt netscape womanoctopus.png]]

[[File:umwelt netscape man.png]]

{{w|Netscape Navigator}} was a web browser popular in the 1990s.

Browser: Netscape

===Rockmelt===
[[File:umwelt rockmelt.png]]

{{w|Rockmelt}} is a social-media-based browser.

Reference to the gospel song {{w|Longing for Old Virginia: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1934)|"There's no hiding place down here" by The Carter Family}}, later covered by Stephen Stills.

:I run to the rock just to hide my face
:And the rocks cried out, no hiding place
:There's no hiding place down here

It may additionally be a reference to the ''Babylon 5'' episode "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place," which featured the song.

Browser: Rockmelt

===Plugin Disabled===
[[File:umwelt plugin disabled.png]]

When the Google Chrome web browser does not have the required software (called a plug-in) to display a web page's content, it displays a puzzle piece icon and an error message. In this case, Chrome informs the user that the content is impossible to display.

Browser: Plugin (?) Disabled, Safari Desktop

===Corporate Networks===
[[File:umwelt corporate general.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon firefox.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon other.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate google chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft firefox.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft other.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate nytimes chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate nytimes other.png]]

These error messages appear if the user is on a network owned by one of the corporations noted. The error message includes a warning against speaking on the company's behalf.

ISP: Corporate networks of Amazon, Google, Microsoft, NY Times

===Military===
[[File:umwelt military.png]]

[[Cueball]] assumes that anyone using a military network has an important job like watching for incoming missiles. He includes a thank-you to the user for their military service.

ISP: Military networks

===T-Mobile===
[[File:umwelt tmobile.png]]

Reference to T-Mobile's distinguishing feature (at the time it was written) of weaker coverage, in relation to other major providers.

ISP: T-Mobile

===Verizon and AT&T===
[[File:umwelt verizon.png]]

[[File:umwelt att.png]]

Reference to Verizon and AT&T's scandals/controversy regarding implementation of bandwidth caps.

ISP: Verizon and AT&T

===France===
[[File:umwelt france.jpg]]

A common joke about France is that the nation does not win wars. This originated from France's annexation by Germany during World War II, and America's late entry into the war, which is sometimes portrayed humorously as a case of America 'saving' Europe, in this joke particularly France (the role of the French resistance is usually not mentioned), leading to a common American joke at the expense of France's military prowess [http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/victories.html][http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blpic-frenchmilitaryvictories.htm][http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokefrenchmilitaryhistory.htm]. When France did not form part of the coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003, aligning with the many countries that condemned U.S. action, the joke was revived.

A Google search of "French Military Victories" + 'I'm feeling lucky' used to direct to "did you mean: french military defeats" (due to a {{w|Google bomb}}). Cueball is trying to show this to his friend, who is French. However, his joke backfires, as his friend immediately points out that the stereotype of France not having military victories is undercut by the fact that one of the most innovative military commanders in history, Napoleon, was French by citizenship (though Italian/Corsican by culture, as the French annexed Corsica a few months before his birth to an Italian noble family), and in fact conquered much of Europe.

Following the theme of umwelt, the comic highlights the two characters' differing perspectives: The American thinks that France is a military failure, while the Frenchman thinks of Napoleon.

The last line of the comic further implies that Cueball is not as smart as he thinks he is in regards to anything French, as he mispronounces the French loan word "{{w|Touché (fencing)|touché}}".

Locations: France & Quebec

===Germany===
[[File:umwelt germany.png]]

This comic references the {{w|Berlin airlift#The start of the Berlin Airlift|Berlin Airlift}}, a relief measure for citizens in West Berlin (surrounded by East Germany) instituted by the Western Allies after World War II. In reality, the Western Allies flew a grand total of 500,000 tons of food over the Soviet blockade in planes. Randall puts a twist on this event by making it more fun: dropping supplies from a grand chairlift. The play on words is that "chairlift" rhymes with "airlift" and thus makes an easy substitution. The chair force is also a name that other service branches use to make fun of the air force.

Location: Germany

===Israel===
[[File:umwelt israel.png]]

Transcript:

בחורה: אמא, פגשתי בחור נהדר! אבל הוא לא יהודי.‏

...

רגע, מה את אומרת, "גם אנחנו לא"?‏

אני לגמרי מבולבלת.‏

(Translation from Hebrew)

Person: Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ...Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

A reference to the multiple use of the word Jewish to denote both a religious group and a nationality/ethnicity, as well as the stereotype of Jews holding low opinions of interfaith marriage.

A side note: Randall accidentally drew an apostrophe instead of the similar-looking Hebrew letter י everywhere that letter should appear.

Location: Israel

===Carnot Cycle===
[[File:umwelt japan.png]]

A pun on "cycle"; a "{{w|Carnot cycle}}" is a thermodynamic cycle (e.g. refrigeration). Its efficiency depends on the temperature of the hot and cold 'reservoirs' in which it is operating. The icon on the side of the motorcycle resembles a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carnot_cycle_p-V_diagram.svg graph of the Carnot cycle.]

Location: Japan

===UK===
[[File:umwelt uk.jpg]]

He worded this as though to imply that the UK is a state of the U.S., and an unimportant one at that, which pokes fun at the UK, creating a paradox (sort of).

Location: UK

===Blizzard===
[[File:umwelt disasters blizzard.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or blizzards are harsher conditions to live under. In keeping with the theme of umwelt, the comic demonstrates that the two people perceive the world in two different ways due to their different experiences: The Californian perceives a mild earthquake and a severe blizzard, while the Northeasterner perceives a severe earthquake and a mild blizzard.

For each location this displayed in, the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: Alabama, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Georgia, Halifax, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, the Northeast, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Texas, Toronto, Tennessee, New York, Wisconsin

===Tornado===
[[File:umwelt disasters tornado.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or tornadoes are harsher conditions to live under. In keeping with the theme of umwelt, the comic demonstrates that the two people perceive the world in two different ways due to their different experiences: The California perceives a mild earthquake and a severe tornado, while the Midwesterner perceives a severe earthquake and a mild tornado.

For each location this displayed in the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: Alabama, Dallas, Illinois, Georgia, The Midwest, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Tennessee, Texas (and Virginia, but it used Ohio in the third panel)

Tornadoes are a [[:Category:Tornadoes|recurring subject]] on xkcd. The picture used in [[1754: Tornado Safety Tips]] very reminiscent of the one from this version of Umwelt. [[Category:Tornadoes]]

===Hurricane===
[[File:umwelt disasters hurricane.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or hurricanes are harsher conditions to live under. In keeping with the theme of umwelt, the comic demonstrates that the two people perceive the world in two different ways due to their different experiences: The Californian perceives a mild earthquake and a severe hurricane, while the Easterner perceives a severe earthquake and a mild hurricane.

For each location this displayed in the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: D.C, Florida, Georgia, Houston, Miami, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

===Lake Diver Killer===
[[File:umwelt lake diver.png]]

This comic shows a news reporter standing in front of a lake. She is reporting on a serial killer who targets divers. As more divers are sent in to investigate and/or search for bodies, more divers go missing, the implication being that they were also murdered. The more likely reason is the lake itself is dangerous for diving, and the divers probably drowned from natural hazards (undercurrents, entanglement, running out of oxygen in tanks, etc.) instead of a malicious assailant. Also, this is a sort of loop, where each time a diver gets killed, the investigative team goes and investigates, causing more divers to get killed, causing more deaths, and so on.

Location: Bay Areas, Metro Detroit, Vermont showed an image specifically referencing Lake Champlain

===Lincoln Memorial===
[[File:umwelt lincoln memorial.png]]

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America, was not an entity composed wholly of nanobots that attempted to consume the entire nation to then be imprisoned within the Lincoln Memorial.{{Citation needed}}

Locations: Illinois & Washington D.C.

===Helicopter Hunting===
[[File:umwelt helicoptor.png]]

In Alaska, governments and individuals have {{w|Wolf hunting#North America 2|shot wolves en masse from helicopters}} in an attempt to artificially inflate populations of game, such as moose and caribou, to make hunting them easier. This is opposed by many, as the game populations are not endangered (thus, this threatens ecological balance); wolves are a small threat to livestock in North America; most of the wolf body —including meat and bones— goes wasted as they are sought mainly for their pelts.

Location: Alaska

===Newspaper===
[[File:umwelt life scientists.png]][[File:umwelt life rit.png]][[File:umwelt life umass.png]]

Creating new life has long been a well understood process, in a lab or otherwise.

This comic is likely a reference to the title text of [[983: Privacy]]

Location: Various

Specific versions appeared for RIT and UMass Amherst

===Robot Paul Revere===
[[File:umwelt paul revere.png]]

Combination of the legend of {{w|Paul Revere#"Midnight Ride"|Paul Revere}} and a computer bit that differentiates between two situations by indicating a zero or a one.

Location: Boston

===Counting Cards===

All four colleges in this series are in Massachusetts and, being similar, in pairs, rival each other to some extent (Harvard-MIT, and Smith-Wellesley). The comic contains a reference to the {{w|MIT Blackjack Team}}, which entered popular culture via the {{w|21 (2008 film)|film 21}}, and a possible reference to Orwell's book '1984' and/or {{w|Chain of Command (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|popular homage to it via Star Trek}}: "There are four lights."[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChYIm6MW39k]

Bonus: The thought-gears in panel 3 are spinning against each other.

Location: Harvard

[[File:umwelt counting cards harvard.png]]

Location: MIT

[[File:umwelt counting cards mit.png]]

"Course 15s" at MIT are the business major students, often mocked for taking a less-rigorous program. The different interpretation for why the MIT students could not count cards compared to Harvard may be a reference to the theme of umwelt.

Location: Smith

[[File:umwelt counting cards smith.png]]

Location: Wellesley

[[File:umwelt counting cards wellesley.png]]

Both Wellesley and Smith are all-women colleges in Massachusetts.

===Giant Box Trap===
[[File:umwelt box trap.png]]

Randall got his undergrad in Physics at the {{w|Christopher Newport University}}, and was scheduled to return shortly to give a talk. The "Trible" figure on the right is Paul Trible, the then-president of CNU. This comic depicts a classic trap, where an upside-down box is propped up with a stick. When the stick is removed, by pulling a string, the box falls and traps whatever is underneath it. Aside from the joke of the obvious trap, there's also the fact that the president would not be responsible for revoking unearned diplomas.

Location: Christopher Newport University

===Chemo Support===
[[File:umwelt chemo.jpg]]

[[Cueball]] has shaved his head in support of people going through {{w|chemotherapy}} but, as he is always depicted as a stick figure with no hair, no one can tell.

Randall's now-wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, and apparently DFCI is where they've been spending much of their time.

Location: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

===Reviews===
[[File:reviews.png]]

The previous strip appears twice when using [[wikipedia:Tor (anonymity network)|Tor]].

Browser: Any using Tor, xkcd API (JSON, RSS, Atom), w3m, and reports of seeing it on a Kindle Fire HD; also happens if visiting with a browser that does not support JavaScript (such as Firefox with NoScript)

===Nothing===

[[File:Umwelt.png]]

The comic doesn't appear in iPad browsers. The top buttons and the bottom buttons are side by side, and you can only see the title in the top.

On April 28 and 29, 2019, a visit from San Francisco on macOS 10.14.4 using Chrome 74, Safari 12.1, or Firefox 66.0.3, all with JavaScript enabled, produced no comic, just two adjacent rows of navigation buttons.

On April 29, 2019, a visit from Utah using a T-mobile Samsung device running Android pie, yielded the same results

Since this comic's release, all devices viewing it have returned two rows of navigation buttons if near IP address 69.114.249.104.

It also doesn't work in Pennsylvania on the Chrome operating system.

There is a discussion about this in the ''Talk'' page.

==Transcript==
:[Note to courageous readers- The transcript has been reordered in the order in which the comics appear in the picture and appropriate names have been given.]

:'''The Void'''
:[An epic void with a bright light shining right on you.]

:'''Aurora'''
:[Cueball heading out past Megan comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]
:Cueball: Apparently there's a solar flare that's causing some Great Aurorae. CBC says they may even be visible here! Wanna drive out to see?
:Megan: Hockey's on.
:Cueball: Ok. Later.

:[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

:Megan: See anything?
:Cueball: No, just clouds.
:Megan: Not surprised.

:'''Aurora-US'''
:[Cueball heading out past Megan comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]
:Cueball: Apparently there's a solar storm causing northern lights over Canada. CNN say they might even be visible {Options: "As Far South As Us", "Here in Boston", "Maine", "Ohio", "Oregon", "New York"}! Wanna drive out to see?
:Megan: It's cold out.
:Cueball: Ok. Later.

:[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

:Megan: See anything?
:Cueball: No, just clouds.
:Megan: Not surprised.

:'''Snake'''
:[Two people standing next to each other. Megan is holding the head end of a snake. Depending on the width of your browser, the snake is: three frames, the third of which has a little bit of a bump; the first frame has a human-size bump, the second has a third person looking at the snake, and the third has the snake going though two Portals; a squirrel and the human-size bump in the first frame, a ring next to the third person in the second frame, and Beret Guy riding the snake in front of the portal; or The squirrel, a fourth person within the snake being coiled, and the human bump in the first frame, the ring, a fifth person in love, and the third person in the second frame, Beret Guy and the portal in the third frame, and the same two people in the fourth frame.]

:Megan: I found a snake, but then I forgot to stop.

:'''Black hat'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk. One is Black Hat. The other is an analyst. Black Hat has a number of terminals attached to his head.]
:Analyst: You come across a tortoise in the desert. You flip it over. It struggles to right itself. You watch. You're not helping. Why is that?

:Black Hat: It '''knows''' what it did.

:[View of the entire scene, with said turtle off in the distance on its back and trying to right itself.]

:'''Too quiet'''
:[A group of four scale down a wall into a field in the middle of the night. They walk off single-file.]
:Person 1: It's quiet.

:Person 3: Yeah - *Too* quiet.

:[A Velociraptor is off in the distance, following the group.]
:Person 4: Yeah - too *too* quiet.

:Person 2: Yeah - 2quiet2furious.
:Person 1: Fuck off, Steve.

:'''Pond'''
:[A landscape showing a pond, some reeds, and a set of mountains off in the distance.]

:'''Galaxies'''
:[A trio of galaxies.]
:Galaxy 1: He's not looking!
:Galaxy 3: Let's get him!
:[Lines draw in illustrating the eye-line of one of a pair of people.]
:Cueball: So he said he didn't get the text, but c'mon, he *never* misses texts. Right? ..hello?
:Megan: I'm just staring at your head freaked out by the fact that there are millions of galaxies *directly behind it*.

:'''xkcd Gold'''
:[Cueball holding bat.]

:Cueball: Sorry, but this comic

:[Cueball starts to wind up.]

:Cueball: requires

:[Cueball prepares to strike with bat.]

:Cueball: XKCD

:[Cueball swings at a beehive.]
:GOLD

:[Penis Bees fly out of the beehive.]

:'''Yo mamma'''
:[Cueball yells at a friend.]
:Cueball: Oh yeah? Well you mama's so ''cynical'', her only dog ballast is a ''leash''!
:(This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid dogs can hover, so it requires them to wear weights at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop buying dog weights.)

:'''Reddit'''
:Five seconds ago:
:[You sitting in front of a desk, reading a reddit thread.]
:You: Oh, hey, reddit has a link to some XKCD april fools comic.

:Now: [An image of the xkcd comic page.]
:Five seconds from now:

:You: ..hey

:30 seconds from now:
:[DANCE PARTY!]

:'''Buns and Hot dogs'''
:Cueball: What I wanna know is why do hot dogs come in packages of six while buns come in these huge sacks of ash and blood from which "Ave Maria" is faintly audible?
:[Chanting sacks of gore in the background.]

:'''Twitter'''
:[A Twitter account page with the following: Many tweets, fewer following, even fewer followers, A bunch of assholes in the suggested follow box, trending topics partitioned into: Word Games, Misogyny, and Bieber, stuff your eyes automatically ignore, A really pleasant blue. and the timeline: Something about a podcast, Someone confused because the description doesn't match the link, The link you clicked on to get to this comic, Rob Delaney, Passive Aggression, and horse ebooks.]

:'''Wikipedia'''
:[There's no comic here because instead of drawing one, I spent the last hour reading every news story cited in the Wikipedia article on The Mile High Club.]

:'''Google Chrome'''
:[A Chrome plugin error page.]
:Chrome: This plugin requires Sergey Brin's permission to run. Please wait while he is woken.

:'''Chrome/Firefox'''
:[Two people; Cueball is sitting at a desk in front of a laptop.]
:Cueball: Man, chrome's hardware acceleration really sucks.
:Ponytail: Oh - Theres' a great add-on that fixes it.
:Cueball: Oh? What's it called?
:Ponytail: "Firefox".

:'''Google Chrome-2'''
:[A Chrome plugin error page with the characteristic jigsaw piece.]
:Chrome: Chrome is looking for this piece. Have you seen it? Chrome thinks it links up with a corner.

:'''Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing'''
:[Firefox error page.]
:Firefox: Well, this is embarrassing. You know how I'm not supposed to peek at your browsing in private mode? Firefox.. is sorry. Firefox will not blame you if you
:[Button with text.]
:Click here to report this incident.

:'''Internet Explorer'''
:[IE error page.]
:IE: Error: Internet Explorer has given up.

:'''Maxthon'''
:Cueball: Maxthon? Hey, 2005 called. Didn't say anything. All I could hear was sobbing. This is getting harder. Anyway, yeah, Maxthon's still cool! Didn't know it was still around!

:'''Netscape Navigator'''
:[Two different versions exist: one with Cueball talking and one with Megan with tentacle arms talking.]
:Person: Netscape Navigator? Hey, the nineties called - drunk as usual. I hung up without saying anything. This is getting harder. Anyway - it's cool that you'e got netscape running.

:'''Rockmelt'''
:[Cueball running to laptop.]
:I ran to Rockmelt to hide my face

:[Cueball sitting at laptop.]
:But Rockmelt cried out -

:[Laptop shouting.]
:NO HIDING PLACE

:[zoom out.]
:NO HIDING PLACE DOWN HERE

:'''Google Chrome-3'''
:[A chrome plugin error page.]
:Chrome: There does not exist --nor could there '''ever''' exist-- a plugin capable of displaying this content.

:'''Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google - Chrome'''
:[Chrome error page.]
:Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Microsoft/Amazon - Firefox'''
:[Firefox error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Microsoft/The Times'''
:[Error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/The Times is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Corporate - Generic'''
:[Error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, we work as a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Military'''
:[Person looking at two browser windows.]
:Cueball: I know y'all know what you're doing. But if you're on a military machine and you're supposed to be watching for missiles or something, I hope you're keeping an eye on that in the background while you're reading comics. Also: Thanks.

:'''T-Mobile'''
:[Error page.]
:Data Error: T-Mobile was unable to establish a connection

:'''Verizon'''
:[Error page]
:Error: You have exceeded your Verizon monthly bandwidth cap. Mobile web browsing has been disabled.

:'''France'''
:[Two people; one of which is browsing using a laptop.]
:Cueball: Hey, you're French, right? Ever see what happens when you type "French Military Victories" into Google?
:French person: Does it take you to an article on Napoleon?

:French person: ..no? Strange, given how he kicked everyone's asses up and down Europe for over a decade.

:[Beat frame.]

:Cueball: Touche.
:French person: You know, that'd sound smarter if you didn't pronounce it like it rhymes with "douche".

:'''Germany'''
:[Cueball dropping food from an unorthodox high perch.]
:June 1948: In response to the Soviet blockade of East Germany, the western allies construct the Berlin Chairlift.
:Cueball on chairlift: Food!

:'''Israel'''
:[Person on phone.]
:Person (Translation from Hebrew): Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ...Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

:'''Carnot Cycle'''
:[Ponytail on a motorcycle with a heat-entropy graph on the side.]
:Ponytail: Check out my new Carnot Cycle!
:Cueball: Neat - how fast does it go?
:Ponytail: Depends how cold it is outside.

:'''Great Britain'''
:[Illustration of the Atlantic ocean.]
:American person: Sorry I don't have a comic poking fun at the UK here. I only had time to get to the most ''important'' US states.
:British person: Hey - At least we have free health care and real ale.

:'''Earthquake-Blizzard'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Boston", "Chicago", "Dallas", "Georgia", "Halifax", "Illinois", "Michigan", "Minnesota", "Missouri", "the Northeast", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", 'Pennsylvania", "Philadelphia", "Texas", "Toronto", "Tennessee", "New York", "Wisconsin"}! That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..
:[Both people are trudging through a massive blizzard.]
:Danish: In pictures, snow always looked so nice and sof - ''AAAA! MY NECK! How do people live here?!''
:Cueball: Come on - it's only three more miles.

:'''Earthquake-Tornado'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Dallas", "Illinois", "The Midwest", "Missouri", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", "Tennessee", "Texas"}!
:Cueball: That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..
:[Both people are in a shelter in a prairie with a rapidly-approaching tornado.]
:Danish: AAAA CLOSE THE SHELTER DOOR!
:Cueball: Say the magic words...
:Danish: THIS PLACE IS THE WORST!
:Cueball: Thank you.

:'''Earthquake-Hurricane'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "D.C", "Florida", "Houston", "Miami", "New Jersey", "North Carolina", "South Carolina", "Virgina"}! That was huge!
:Cueball: That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..

:[Both are in the middle of a hurricane. Danish is grabbing onto a signpost to avoid being swept away.]
:Danish: AAAAA WHAT THE SHIIIIT!
:Cueball: Calm down - this is barely a category 2.

:'''Lake Diver Killer'''
:[TV Field Reporter in front of a cordoned-off lake.]
:Reporter: Police divers searching the bay say they have recovered the body of another victim of the "Lake Diver Killer."
:Reporter: During the search, three more divers were reported missing.

:'''Washington'''
:[The statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.]
:In this Marble Prison As in the nightmares of the nation they tried to devour
:The nanobots that constituted Abraham Lincoln
:Are entombed forever.

:'''Alaska'''
:[A person with a gun chasing a helicopter on the back of a wolf in a snowy Alaskan field.]
:Some people hunt wolves from helicopters. I hunt helicopters from a wolf.

:'''Life in lab'''
:[Newspaper headline.]
:Scientists/UMass Amherst students/RIT students create life in lab
:[Caption under picture of scientists.]
:"The trick was fuckin'"

:'''American Revolution'''
:Robot Paul Revere: Remember: Zero if by land, One if by sea.

:'''MIT'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: I see their admission standards have been slipping.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''MIT Course 15c'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: I *knew* we shouldn't have picked course 15s.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''Smith/Wellesley'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of Smith/Wellesley students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: We should've gone with Wellesley/Smith.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''CNU'''
:[Person unsuspectingly strolls under a giant box trap controlled by a Trible.]
:I worry that CNU only invited me back as a ruse because they realized I never turned in my final paper and want my diploma back. But if it turns out it's for real, I'll see you Wednesday at the Ferguson!

:'''Dana Farber'''
:[Cueball, pointing towards head.]
:Cueball: Check it out - In support of people going through chemo, I shaved my head.
:Lots of love to everyone reading this at Dana Farber. Cancer sucks. If you are new to DFCI, there's a great little garden on the third floor of the yawkey if you need somewhere quiet to just sit for a little bit and breathe.

:'''Reviews'''
:Shopping before online reviews:
:[Cueball and Megan stand in a store. Cueball points at a lamp on the table in front of him. There is another lamp on the table behind them.]
:Cueball: This lamp is pretty.
:Megan: And affordable.
:Cueball: Let's get it.
:Megan Ok!

:Shopping now:
:[Cueball points at a lamp on the table in front of him. Megan looks at her phone.]
:Cueball: This lamp is pretty.
:Megan: It's got 1 1/2 stars on Amazon. Reviews all say to avoid that brand.

:[Cueball and Megan are now both looking at their phones.]
:Cueball: This one has good reviews.
:Megan: Wait, one guy says when he plugged it in, he got a metallic taste in his mouth and his cats went deaf.
:Cueball: Eek. What about- ...no, review points out it resembles a uterus.

:[Cueball is still looking at his phone, Megan has hers at her side.]
:Cueball: Ok, I found a Swiss lampmaker with perfect reviews. Her lamps start at 1,300 Francs and she's only reachable by ski lift.
:Megan: You know, our room looks fine in the dark.

==Trivia==
*Reddit user [http://www.reddit.com/user/SomePostMan SomePostMan] created a [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/t6wmh/all_umwelt_1037_comics_in_two_imgur_albums/ post] that collected all of the Umwelt comics and added explanations. Much of his information is now included in this wiki.

*The transcript section for this comic also included a note alluding to its extreme length:
: <nowiki>[[Two people...]]</nowiki> ((..wait.. <scrolls through a listing of everything> oh goddammit Randall. Thanks a bunch, dude. I better get a raise for typing out all this))
: [[Two people standing next to each other. One is holding the head end of a snake...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Comics with blood]]

1037: Umwelt

2021-04-27T09:20:39Z

Yngvadottir: /* Blizzard */ gr

{{comic
| number = 1037
| date = April 1, 2012
| title = Umwelt
| image = umwelt_the_void.jpg
| titletext = Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit--from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your web browser.
}}
{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
This was the third [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous fools comic was
[[880: Headache]] from Friday April 1st 2011. The next was [[1193: Externalities]] released on Monday April 1st 2013.

This comic was released on April 1 even though that was [[:Category:Sunday comics|a Sunday]] (only the third comic to be released on a Sunday). But it was only due to the April Fool joke, as it did replace the comic that would have been scheduled for Monday, April 2nd. The next comic, [[1038: Fountain]], was first released on Wednesday, April 4th. This was the first that could be different for different readers.

An {{w|Umwelt}}, as the title text explains, is the idea that one's entire way of thinking is dependent on their surroundings. Thus, this {{w|April Fools}} comic changes based on the browser, location, or referrer. Thus, what the viewer is viewing the comic on, where they live, or where they came from determines which comic they actually see. As a result, there are actually multiple comics that went up on April Fools' Day, although only one is seen.
(The term 'Umwelt,' as mentioned in the comic, refers to the semiotic theories of Jakob von Uexküll and Thomas A. Sebeok)

Information about how the wide variety of data was collected and credit for the viewers who contributed can be found [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/rnst4/april_fools_xkcd_changing_comic/ here].

===The Void===
[[File:umwelt the void.jpg]]

If the device or browser you are using does not support Javascript, you will simply see a static image of a white swirl on a dark background.

Possible reference to The Ring (http://imgur.com/wlGmm), as though to suggest that using an alternative browser is dismal and horrific.

Davean (xkcd's sysadmin): "[This] comic isn't available everywhere and it can come up i[n] some situation[s] only for recognized browsers."

Browser: Alternative Browser

===Aurora===
[[File:umwelt aurora.png]]

One could interpret that since Megan didn't go out and therefore missed seeing the {{w|Aurora}} (northern lights), Cueball in his [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|knit cap]] lied about it. That way, she wouldn't have felt sad that she missed out. Another interpretation could be that he decides that since she did not even bother to go outside to see such a spectacular sight he will not tell her about it. And yet another could be that he did not think it was interesting.

Cueball could possibly also be red-green colorblind, seeing the green aurorae as grey "clouds". This would serve as an example for the theme of the comic, as a non-colorblind person and a colorblind person seeing the same color would perceive it differently, one seeing it as its true color, and the other seeing it without the shade of color they cannot see. If this is the case, then it would be a reference to umwelt, as Cueball would be living in a world where the auroras do not reach his location.

In real life, [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-northern-lights-dont-look-anything-like-they-do-in-photos_n_5500a4d9e4b0e62d0dd4f9bb aurorae are usually seen as grey/white clouds] to the naked eye, as our eyes cannot perceive the "greener" colors as well in the dark.

This image changed based on the size of the browser window including different panels at different sizes.

Locations: Canada, Boston, Maine, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Minnesota, Norway, Denmark, France, Rhode Island (not sure if mobile only or not.) (also in Virginia, but using Ohio in the first panel) (also in Maryland, but using Canada in the first panel)

In [[1302: Year in Review]] a possibly different Megan has a completely different approach to the chance of seeing northern lights, as that was the only event she was looking forward to in 2013, and it failed. If this is the same Megan, perhaps she learned that there actually were northern lights in her area from another source, and so desperately wanted to have another chance to see them.

===Snake===
[[File:umwelt snake composite 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt snake composite.png|Full size]]

The joke here is the extreme length of snakes. The world's longest snake is the python, the longest ever being 33 feet or approx. 10 meters. The blue and orange circles refer to the hit game {{w|Portal}}.
There is also a reference to the book "The Little Prince" in the second panel, where there is a large bulge in the snake that looks like an elephant. The Little Prince starts out by mentioning a drawing that the author made when he was six that showed an elephant inside a snake.

Also, the number and content of the panels changes depending on the size of your browser window.

This image changed based on the size of the browser window including different panels at different sizes.

Specific AltText for this image: Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit -from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your browser window size.

Location: Texas (on Chrome Version 33.0.1750.154 m), New Jersey, California (on Chrome Version 39.0.2171.95), Maryland, Massachusetts (Safari for iOS, Chrome version 49.0.2623.112), Connecticut (Safari for iOS, Chrome Version 73.0.3683.103, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge), Virginia (on Chrome), Michigan (Firefox v46.0.1), Penang (Chrome Version 65.0.3325.162).

===Black Hat===
[[File:umwelt tortoise 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt tortoise.png|Full size]]

Cueball as an analyst attempts to psychoanalyze [[Black Hat|Black Hat's]] [[72: Classhole|classhole]] tendencies. Cueball's quote and the whole setup is a direct reference to the movie {{w|Blade Runner}} (1982) and Black Hat is taking the Voight-Kampff test which is used to identify replicants from real humans.

Black Hat's reason for not helping the tortoise is that ''it '''knows''' what it did'' and thus in Black Hat's world view it deserves being turned over. The final part of the joke is that when zooming out it turns out that there is a tortoise behind Black Hat and he has actually already turned it over for what it did.

Location: Seems to appear mostly in "other countries" — those without location-specific comics.

===Too Quiet===
[[File:umwelt too quiet 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt too quiet.png|Full size]]

A reference to {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} which has been [[87: Velociraptors|constantly]] [[135: Substitute|referred]] [[1110: Click and Drag|to]] [[155: Search History|before]] [[758: Raptor Fences|in]] this comic.

Also referencing the film {{w|2 Fast 2 Furious|2 Fast 2 Furious}}, an entertaining, yet intellectually unprovoking sequel in a popular film franchise, which is aimed at teenagers and young adults, prompting the blunt response from the stickman. The fact that Steve would use such a cliché {{w|2000s (decade)|noughties}} movie term in such an intense moment, and the subsequent curse, is the joke in this comic.

Location: short version — iPhone 5c Safari browser in Texas, iPhone 5 Chrome Browser in Minnesota, long version - Google Chrome browser in Indiana, Windows 8 Laptop

===Pond===
[[File:umwelt pond mobile.png]][[File:umwelt pond wide.png]]

Two different versions showed, the narrower version for mobile devices.

Location: The Netherlands and various other countries.

===Galaxies===
[[File:umwelt galaxies 1024.jpg]]
[[:File:umwelt galaxies.jpg|Full size]]

Megan is distracted from her conversation with [[Cueball]] by realizing that the space behind his head, from her vantage point, contains millions of galaxies. This is similar to an [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/image/astro/hst_deep_field.jpg incredible photograph] taken by the Hubble Telescope, in which a tiny dark area of space in fact contained numerous galaxies.

The title text is an imaginative leap from this scenario: that the galaxies would be up to no good once Cueball is turned away from them. This is presumably a reference to [http://www.mariowiki.com/boo Boo], an enemy from certain Mario games who moves toward Mario only when Mario is facing away from Boo.

This comic was only reported once... the intended environmental context is a mystery.

Location: unknown

===xkcd Gold===
[[File:umwelt xkcd gold.png]]

This is probably a reference to the 4chan Gold Account, an implementation on 4chan that does not actually exist, and is usually used to trick newcomers into revealing their credit card numbers. The joke is that "Gold Account" users can supposedly block other users from viewing images they have posted. The fifth panel is probably a reference to Beecock, a notorious set of shocker images. 4chan's moderators have been known to give out "beecock bans" or "/z/ bans" to particularly annoying users, which redirect the user to a page containing beecock and the text "OH NO THE BOARD IS GONE".

Referrer: 4chan

===Yo Mama===
[[File:umwelt dog ballast.png]]

Possible reference to Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "{{w|Harrison Bergeron}}."

Possibly a veiled criticism of Facebook. This could be slightly rewritten as: "This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid of dissent, so it tracks everyone at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop submitting information to Facebook. But that dystopian future is now."
It's also possible that people's different experiences shape how they perceive the world in that the people who live in this world would perceive the joke as funny, while people in our world would not get it. This the idea of umwelt mentioned in the top of the context where different individuals perceive the world differently.

Referrer: Facebook

===Reddit===
[[File:umwelt reddit.png]]

Reference to referencing, because Reddit, as a referring site, likes references to its referencing in its references.

This comic also features recursive imagery similar to [[688: Self-Description|Self Description]] where the third panel embeds the entire comic within itself.

One of the browser tabs visible in the center panel is {{w|Elk}} on Wikipedia.

Referrer: Reddit

===Buns and Hot dogs===
[[File:umwelt somethingawful.jpg]]

This is a reference to the question "Why do hot dogs come in packages of 6 while buns come in packages of 8?"

Another, more sexual reference to this question can be found in [[1641: Hot Dogs]].

Referrer: SomethingAwful, Questionable Content, & MetaFilter

===Twitter===
[[File:umwelt twitter.jpg]]

A summary of the "content" typically found on Twitter.

In the tweet feed, there are three tweets about some podcast on the top, followed by the tweet containing link they clicked on to get to the comic, tweets about Rob Delaney, unspecified passive-aggressive tweets, and a tweet from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_ebooks Horse Ebooks] retweeted by one of the users the reader follows.

On the left, the topmost dialog, with profile information, shows that the user has posted 1,302 tweets, but only follows 171 people and has even fewer followers, at a measly 48. This is marked with a sad face, implying that the user wants more followers.

Below that is the "who to follow" dialog, which is written up as consisting of "assholes".

Below that is the "trending tags" dialog for the United States. It is full of tags about word games, tags about misogyny, and tags about Justin Bieber.

Below that is an unidentified dialog full of "stuff your eyes automatically ignore". And finally, on the bottom is the background colour, which is "a really pleasant blue".

Referrer: Twitter

===Wikipedia===
[[File:umwelt wikipedia wide.jpg]]
[[File:umwelt wikipedia mobile.png]]

The term {{w|Mile High Club}} (or MHC) is a slang term applied collectively to individuals who have had sexual intercourse while on board of an aircraft. Randall says that reading the news articles on it has distracted him from making that comic.

Two different versions shown, the narrower version (the single panel with all the text) for mobile devices.

Referrer: Wikipedia

===Google Chrome===
[[File:umwelt chrome1.jpg]]

{{w|Sergey Brin}} (born August 21, 1973) is an American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur who, with Larry Page, co-founded Google, one of the most profitable Internet companies. As of 2013, his personal wealth was estimated to be $24.4 billion. Randall makes the joke that as the founder of Google, Brin's permission would be needed to use Google Chrome. Because there are millions of people who use Google, it is likely that at least some of the time Brin would be asleep, thus he would need to be woken.

Browser: Chrome

===Chrome/Firefox===
[[File:umwelt chrome2.png]]

Mozilla {{w|Firefox}} is a free and open-source web browser developed for Windows, OS X, and Linux, with a mobile version for Android and iOS, by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. Cueball is complaining about {{w|Google Chrome}}, to which [[Ponytail]] replies that there is an {{w|add-on}} that fixes what he is complaining about. When questioned, she replies that the add-on is Firefox, which isn't an add-on at all and is instead a different browser.

Browser: Chrome

===Google Chrome-2===
[[File:umwelt chrome3.png]]

This panel references Google Chrome's error screen, which shows a puzzle piece. The comic humorously implies that Chrome is looking for that piece. When completing jigsaw puzzles, a common strategy is to figure out where the pieces must be from their geometry rather than from the picture they create. In this case, the text suggests that Chrome believes the puzzle piece connects to the pieces which form one of the corners of the puzzle, which may seem impossible because any piece that links up to a corner would usually have at least one flat edge, which this piece has none. However, more complicated puzzles have complex shapes and are not always simply approximate squares with tabs and blanks.

Browser: Chrome or silk on desktop view

===Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing===
[[File:umwelt firefox incognito.png]]

Another reference to crashing web browsers.
Firefox shows the history when it crashes.
Browser: Firefox (Incognito only?)

===Internet Explorer===
[[File:umwelt ie.png]]

Yet another reference to crashing web browsers

Browser: Internet Explorer

===Maxthon===
[[File:umwelt maxthon.png]]

Browser: Maxthon

===Netscape Navigator===
[[File:umwelt netscape womanoctopus.png]]

[[File:umwelt netscape man.png]]

{{w|Netscape Navigator}} was a web browser popular in the 1990s.

Browser: Netscape

===Rockmelt===
[[File:umwelt rockmelt.png]]

{{w|Rockmelt}} is a social-media-based browser.

Reference to the gospel song {{w|Longing for Old Virginia: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1934)|"There's no hiding place down here" by The Carter Family}}, later covered by Stephen Stills.

:I run to the rock just to hide my face
:And the rocks cried out, no hiding place
:There's no hiding place down here

It may additionally be a reference to the ''Babylon 5'' episode "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place," which featured the song.

Browser: Rockmelt

===Plugin Disabled===
[[File:umwelt plugin disabled.png]]

When the Google Chrome web browser does not have the required software (called a plug-in) to display a web page's content, it displays a puzzle piece icon and an error message. In this case, Chrome informs the user that the content is impossible to display.

Browser: Plugin (?) Disabled, Safari Desktop

===Corporate Networks===
[[File:umwelt corporate general.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon firefox.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon other.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate google chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft firefox.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft other.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate nytimes chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate nytimes other.png]]

These error messages appear if the user is on a network owned by one of the corporations noted. The error message includes a warning against speaking on the company's behalf.

ISP: Corporate networks of Amazon, Google, Microsoft, NY Times

===Military===
[[File:umwelt military.png]]

[[Cueball]] assumes that anyone using a military network has an important job like watching for incoming missiles. He includes a thank-you to the user for their military service.

ISP: Military networks

===T-Mobile===
[[File:umwelt tmobile.png]]

Reference to T-Mobile's distinguishing feature (at the time it was written) of weaker coverage, in relation to other major providers.

ISP: T-Mobile

===Verizon and AT&T===
[[File:umwelt verizon.png]]

[[File:umwelt att.png]]

Reference to Verizon and AT&T's scandals/controversy regarding implementation of bandwidth caps.

ISP: Verizon and AT&T

===France===
[[File:umwelt france.jpg]]

A common joke about France is that the nation does not win wars. This originated from France's annexation by Germany during World War II, and America's late entry into the war, which is sometimes portrayed humorously as a case of America 'saving' Europe, in this joke particularly France (the role of the French resistance is usually not mentioned), leading to a common American joke at the expense of France's military prowess [http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/victories.html][http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blpic-frenchmilitaryvictories.htm][http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokefrenchmilitaryhistory.htm]. When France did not form part of the coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003, aligning with the many countries that condemned U.S. action, the joke was revived.

A Google search of "French Military Victories" + 'I'm feeling lucky' used to direct to "did you mean: french military defeats" (due to a {{w|Google bomb}}). Cueball is trying to show this to his friend, who is French. However, his joke backfires, as his friend immediately points out that the stereotype of France not having military victories is undercut by the fact that one of the most innovative military commanders in history, Napoleon, was French by citizenship (though Italian/Corsican by culture, as the French annexed Corsica a few months before his birth to an Italian noble family), and in fact conquered much of Europe.

Following the theme of umwelt, the comic highlights the two characters' differing perspectives: The American thinks that France is a military failure, while the Frenchman thinks of Napoleon.

The last line of the comic further implies that Cueball is not as smart as he thinks he is in regards to anything French, as he mispronounces the French loan word "{{w|Touché (fencing)|touché}}".

Locations: France & Quebec

===Germany===
[[File:umwelt germany.png]]

This comic references the {{w|Berlin airlift#The start of the Berlin Airlift|Berlin Airlift}}, a relief measure for citizens in West Berlin (surrounded by East Germany) instituted by the Western Allies after World War II. In reality, the Western Allies flew a grand total of 500,000 tons of food over the Soviet blockade in planes. Randall puts a twist on this event by making it more fun: dropping supplies from a grand chairlift. The play on words is that "chairlift" rhymes with "airlift" and thus makes an easy substitution. The chair force is also a name that other service branches use to make fun of the air force.

Location: Germany

===Israel===
[[File:umwelt israel.png]]

Transcript:

בחורה: אמא, פגשתי בחור נהדר! אבל הוא לא יהודי.‏

...

רגע, מה את אומרת, "גם אנחנו לא"?‏

אני לגמרי מבולבלת.‏

(Translation from Hebrew)

Person: Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ...Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

A reference to the multiple use of the word Jewish to denote both a religious group and a nationality/ethnicity, as well as the stereotype of Jews holding low opinions of interfaith marriage.

A side note: Randall accidentally drew an apostrophe instead of the similar-looking Hebrew letter י everywhere that letter should appear.

Location: Israel

===Carnot Cycle===
[[File:umwelt japan.png]]

A pun on "cycle"; a "{{w|Carnot cycle}}" is a thermodynamic cycle (e.g. refrigeration). Its efficiency depends on the temperature of the hot and cold 'reservoirs' in which it is operating. The icon on the side of the motorcycle resembles a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carnot_cycle_p-V_diagram.svg graph of the Carnot cycle.]

Location: Japan

===UK===
[[File:umwelt uk.jpg]]

He worded this as though to imply that the UK is a state of the U.S., and an unimportant one at that, which pokes fun at the UK, creating a paradox (sort of).

Location: UK

===Blizzard===
[[File:umwelt disasters blizzard.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or blizzards are harsher conditions to live under. In keeping with the theme of umwelt, the comic demonstrates that the two people perceive the world in two different ways due to their different experiences: The Californian perceives a mild earthquake and a severe blizzard, while the Northeasterner perceives a severe earthquake and a mild blizzard.

For each location this displayed in, the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: Alabama, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Georgia, Halifax, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, the Northeast, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Texas, Toronto, Tennessee, New York, Wisconsin

===Tornado===
[[File:umwelt disasters tornado.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or tornadoes are harsher conditions to live under. In keeping with the theme of umwelt, the comic demonstrates that the two people perceive the world in two different ways due to their different experiences: The California perceives a mild earthquake and a severe tornado, while the Midwesterner perceives a severe earthquake and a mild tornado.

For each location this displayed in the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: Alabama, Dallas, Illinois, Georgia, The Midwest, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Tennessee, Texas (and Virginia, but it used Ohio in the third panel)

Tornadoes are a [[:Category:Tornadoes|recurring subject]] on xkcd. The picture used in [[1754: Tornado Safety Tips]] very reminiscent of the one from this version of Umwelt. [[Category:Tornadoes]]

===Hurricane===
[[File:umwelt disasters hurricane.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or hurricanes are harsher conditions to live under. In keeping with the theme of umwelt, the comic demonstrates that the two people perceive the world in two different ways due to their different experiences: The California perceives a mild earthquake and a severe hurricane, while the Easterner perceives a severe earthquake and a mild blizzard.

For each location this displayed in the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: D.C, Florida, Georgia, Houston, Miami, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

===Lake Diver Killer===
[[File:umwelt lake diver.png]]

This comic shows a news reporter standing in front of a lake. She is reporting on a serial killer who targets divers. As more divers are sent in to investigate and/or search for bodies, more divers go missing, the implication being that they were also murdered. The more likely reason is the lake itself is dangerous for diving, and the divers probably drowned from natural hazards (undercurrents, entanglement, running out of oxygen in tanks, etc.) instead of a malicious assailant. Also, this is a sort of loop, where each time a diver gets killed, the investigative team goes and investigates, causing more divers to get killed, causing more deaths, and so on.

Location: Bay Areas, Metro Detroit, Vermont showed an image specifically referencing Lake Champlain

===Lincoln Memorial===
[[File:umwelt lincoln memorial.png]]

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America, was not an entity composed wholly of nanobots that attempted to consume the entire nation to then be imprisoned within the Lincoln Memorial.{{Citation needed}}

Locations: Illinois & Washington D.C.

===Helicopter Hunting===
[[File:umwelt helicoptor.png]]

In Alaska, governments and individuals have {{w|Wolf hunting#North America 2|shot wolves en masse from helicopters}} in an attempt to artificially inflate populations of game, such as moose and caribou, to make hunting them easier. This is opposed by many, as the game populations are not endangered (thus, this threatens ecological balance); wolves are a small threat to livestock in North America; most of the wolf body —including meat and bones— goes wasted as they are sought mainly for their pelts.

Location: Alaska

===Newspaper===
[[File:umwelt life scientists.png]][[File:umwelt life rit.png]][[File:umwelt life umass.png]]

Creating new life has long been a well understood process, in a lab or otherwise.

This comic is likely a reference to the title text of [[983: Privacy]]

Location: Various

Specific versions appeared for RIT and UMass Amherst

===Robot Paul Revere===
[[File:umwelt paul revere.png]]

Combination of the legend of {{w|Paul Revere#"Midnight Ride"|Paul Revere}} and a computer bit that differentiates between two situations by indicating a zero or a one.

Location: Boston

===Counting Cards===

All four colleges in this series are in Massachusetts and, being similar, in pairs, rival each other to some extent (Harvard-MIT, and Smith-Wellesley). The comic contains a reference to the {{w|MIT Blackjack Team}}, which entered popular culture via the {{w|21 (2008 film)|film 21}}, and a possible reference to Orwell's book '1984' and/or {{w|Chain of Command (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|popular homage to it via Star Trek}}: "There are four lights."[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChYIm6MW39k]

Bonus: The thought-gears in panel 3 are spinning against each other.

Location: Harvard

[[File:umwelt counting cards harvard.png]]

Location: MIT

[[File:umwelt counting cards mit.png]]

"Course 15s" at MIT are the business major students, often mocked for taking a less-rigorous program. The different interpretation for why the MIT students could not count cards compared to Harvard may be a reference to the theme of umwelt.

Location: Smith

[[File:umwelt counting cards smith.png]]

Location: Wellesley

[[File:umwelt counting cards wellesley.png]]

Both Wellesley and Smith are all-women colleges in Massachusetts.

===Giant Box Trap===
[[File:umwelt box trap.png]]

Randall got his undergrad in Physics at the {{w|Christopher Newport University}}, and was scheduled to return shortly to give a talk. The "Trible" figure on the right is Paul Trible, the then-president of CNU. This comic depicts a classic trap, where an upside-down box is propped up with a stick. When the stick is removed, by pulling a string, the box falls and traps whatever is underneath it. Aside from the joke of the obvious trap, there's also the fact that the president would not be responsible for revoking unearned diplomas.

Location: Christopher Newport University

===Chemo Support===
[[File:umwelt chemo.jpg]]

[[Cueball]] has shaved his head in support of people going through {{w|chemotherapy}} but, as he is always depicted as a stick figure with no hair, no one can tell.

Randall's now-wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, and apparently DFCI is where they've been spending much of their time.

Location: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

===Reviews===
[[File:reviews.png]]

The previous strip appears twice when using [[wikipedia:Tor (anonymity network)|Tor]].

Browser: Any using Tor, xkcd API (JSON, RSS, Atom), w3m, and reports of seeing it on a Kindle Fire HD; also happens if visiting with a browser that does not support JavaScript (such as Firefox with NoScript)

===Nothing===

[[File:Umwelt.png]]

The comic doesn't appear in iPad browsers. The top buttons and the bottom buttons are side by side, and you can only see the title in the top.

On April 28 and 29, 2019, a visit from San Francisco on macOS 10.14.4 using Chrome 74, Safari 12.1, or Firefox 66.0.3, all with JavaScript enabled, produced no comic, just two adjacent rows of navigation buttons.

On April 29, 2019, a visit from Utah using a T-mobile Samsung device running Android pie, yielded the same results

Since this comic's release, all devices viewing it have returned two rows of navigation buttons if near IP address 69.114.249.104.

It also doesn't work in Pennsylvania on the Chrome operating system.

There is a discussion about this in the ''Talk'' page.

==Transcript==
:[Note to courageous readers- The transcript has been reordered in the order in which the comics appear in the picture and appropriate names have been given.]

:'''The Void'''
:[An epic void with a bright light shining right on you.]

:'''Aurora'''
:[Cueball heading out past Megan comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]
:Cueball: Apparently there's a solar flare that's causing some Great Aurorae. CBC says they may even be visible here! Wanna drive out to see?
:Megan: Hockey's on.
:Cueball: Ok. Later.

:[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

:Megan: See anything?
:Cueball: No, just clouds.
:Megan: Not surprised.

:'''Aurora-US'''
:[Cueball heading out past Megan comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]
:Cueball: Apparently there's a solar storm causing northern lights over Canada. CNN say they might even be visible {Options: "As Far South As Us", "Here in Boston", "Maine", "Ohio", "Oregon", "New York"}! Wanna drive out to see?
:Megan: It's cold out.
:Cueball: Ok. Later.

:[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

:Megan: See anything?
:Cueball: No, just clouds.
:Megan: Not surprised.

:'''Snake'''
:[Two people standing next to each other. Megan is holding the head end of a snake. Depending on the width of your browser, the snake is: three frames, the third of which has a little bit of a bump; the first frame has a human-size bump, the second has a third person looking at the snake, and the third has the snake going though two Portals; a squirrel and the human-size bump in the first frame, a ring next to the third person in the second frame, and Beret Guy riding the snake in front of the portal; or The squirrel, a fourth person within the snake being coiled, and the human bump in the first frame, the ring, a fifth person in love, and the third person in the second frame, Beret Guy and the portal in the third frame, and the same two people in the fourth frame.]

:Megan: I found a snake, but then I forgot to stop.

:'''Black hat'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk. One is Black Hat. The other is an analyst. Black Hat has a number of terminals attached to his head.]
:Analyst: You come across a tortoise in the desert. You flip it over. It struggles to right itself. You watch. You're not helping. Why is that?

:Black Hat: It '''knows''' what it did.

:[View of the entire scene, with said turtle off in the distance on its back and trying to right itself.]

:'''Too quiet'''
:[A group of four scale down a wall into a field in the middle of the night. They walk off single-file.]
:Person 1: It's quiet.

:Person 3: Yeah - *Too* quiet.

:[A Velociraptor is off in the distance, following the group.]
:Person 4: Yeah - too *too* quiet.

:Person 2: Yeah - 2quiet2furious.
:Person 1: Fuck off, Steve.

:'''Pond'''
:[A landscape showing a pond, some reeds, and a set of mountains off in the distance.]

:'''Galaxies'''
:[A trio of galaxies.]
:Galaxy 1: He's not looking!
:Galaxy 3: Let's get him!
:[Lines draw in illustrating the eye-line of one of a pair of people.]
:Cueball: So he said he didn't get the text, but c'mon, he *never* misses texts. Right? ..hello?
:Megan: I'm just staring at your head freaked out by the fact that there are millions of galaxies *directly behind it*.

:'''xkcd Gold'''
:[Cueball holding bat.]

:Cueball: Sorry, but this comic

:[Cueball starts to wind up.]

:Cueball: requires

:[Cueball prepares to strike with bat.]

:Cueball: XKCD

:[Cueball swings at a beehive.]
:GOLD

:[Penis Bees fly out of the beehive.]

:'''Yo mamma'''
:[Cueball yells at a friend.]
:Cueball: Oh yeah? Well you mama's so ''cynical'', her only dog ballast is a ''leash''!
:(This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid dogs can hover, so it requires them to wear weights at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop buying dog weights.)

:'''Reddit'''
:Five seconds ago:
:[You sitting in front of a desk, reading a reddit thread.]
:You: Oh, hey, reddit has a link to some XKCD april fools comic.

:Now: [An image of the xkcd comic page.]
:Five seconds from now:

:You: ..hey

:30 seconds from now:
:[DANCE PARTY!]

:'''Buns and Hot dogs'''
:Cueball: What I wanna know is why do hot dogs come in packages of six while buns come in these huge sacks of ash and blood from which "Ave Maria" is faintly audible?
:[Chanting sacks of gore in the background.]

:'''Twitter'''
:[A Twitter account page with the following: Many tweets, fewer following, even fewer followers, A bunch of assholes in the suggested follow box, trending topics partitioned into: Word Games, Misogyny, and Bieber, stuff your eyes automatically ignore, A really pleasant blue. and the timeline: Something about a podcast, Someone confused because the description doesn't match the link, The link you clicked on to get to this comic, Rob Delaney, Passive Aggression, and horse ebooks.]

:'''Wikipedia'''
:[There's no comic here because instead of drawing one, I spent the last hour reading every news story cited in the Wikipedia article on The Mile High Club.]

:'''Google Chrome'''
:[A Chrome plugin error page.]
:Chrome: This plugin requires Sergey Brin's permission to run. Please wait while he is woken.

:'''Chrome/Firefox'''
:[Two people; Cueball is sitting at a desk in front of a laptop.]
:Cueball: Man, chrome's hardware acceleration really sucks.
:Ponytail: Oh - Theres' a great add-on that fixes it.
:Cueball: Oh? What's it called?
:Ponytail: "Firefox".

:'''Google Chrome-2'''
:[A Chrome plugin error page with the characteristic jigsaw piece.]
:Chrome: Chrome is looking for this piece. Have you seen it? Chrome thinks it links up with a corner.

:'''Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing'''
:[Firefox error page.]
:Firefox: Well, this is embarrassing. You know how I'm not supposed to peek at your browsing in private mode? Firefox.. is sorry. Firefox will not blame you if you
:[Button with text.]
:Click here to report this incident.

:'''Internet Explorer'''
:[IE error page.]
:IE: Error: Internet Explorer has given up.

:'''Maxthon'''
:Cueball: Maxthon? Hey, 2005 called. Didn't say anything. All I could hear was sobbing. This is getting harder. Anyway, yeah, Maxthon's still cool! Didn't know it was still around!

:'''Netscape Navigator'''
:[Two different versions exist: one with Cueball talking and one with Megan with tentacle arms talking.]
:Person: Netscape Navigator? Hey, the nineties called - drunk as usual. I hung up without saying anything. This is getting harder. Anyway - it's cool that you'e got netscape running.

:'''Rockmelt'''
:[Cueball running to laptop.]
:I ran to Rockmelt to hide my face

:[Cueball sitting at laptop.]
:But Rockmelt cried out -

:[Laptop shouting.]
:NO HIDING PLACE

:[zoom out.]
:NO HIDING PLACE DOWN HERE

:'''Google Chrome-3'''
:[A chrome plugin error page.]
:Chrome: There does not exist --nor could there '''ever''' exist-- a plugin capable of displaying this content.

:'''Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google - Chrome'''
:[Chrome error page.]
:Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Microsoft/Amazon - Firefox'''
:[Firefox error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Microsoft/The Times'''
:[Error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/The Times is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Corporate - Generic'''
:[Error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, we work as a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Military'''
:[Person looking at two browser windows.]
:Cueball: I know y'all know what you're doing. But if you're on a military machine and you're supposed to be watching for missiles or something, I hope you're keeping an eye on that in the background while you're reading comics. Also: Thanks.

:'''T-Mobile'''
:[Error page.]
:Data Error: T-Mobile was unable to establish a connection

:'''Verizon'''
:[Error page]
:Error: You have exceeded your Verizon monthly bandwidth cap. Mobile web browsing has been disabled.

:'''France'''
:[Two people; one of which is browsing using a laptop.]
:Cueball: Hey, you're French, right? Ever see what happens when you type "French Military Victories" into Google?
:French person: Does it take you to an article on Napoleon?

:French person: ..no? Strange, given how he kicked everyone's asses up and down Europe for over a decade.

:[Beat frame.]

:Cueball: Touche.
:French person: You know, that'd sound smarter if you didn't pronounce it like it rhymes with "douche".

:'''Germany'''
:[Cueball dropping food from an unorthodox high perch.]
:June 1948: In response to the Soviet blockade of East Germany, the western allies construct the Berlin Chairlift.
:Cueball on chairlift: Food!

:'''Israel'''
:[Person on phone.]
:Person (Translation from Hebrew): Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ...Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

:'''Carnot Cycle'''
:[Ponytail on a motorcycle with a heat-entropy graph on the side.]
:Ponytail: Check out my new Carnot Cycle!
:Cueball: Neat - how fast does it go?
:Ponytail: Depends how cold it is outside.

:'''Great Britain'''
:[Illustration of the Atlantic ocean.]
:American person: Sorry I don't have a comic poking fun at the UK here. I only had time to get to the most ''important'' US states.
:British person: Hey - At least we have free health care and real ale.

:'''Earthquake-Blizzard'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Boston", "Chicago", "Dallas", "Georgia", "Halifax", "Illinois", "Michigan", "Minnesota", "Missouri", "the Northeast", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", 'Pennsylvania", "Philadelphia", "Texas", "Toronto", "Tennessee", "New York", "Wisconsin"}! That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..
:[Both people are trudging through a massive blizzard.]
:Danish: In pictures, snow always looked so nice and sof - ''AAAA! MY NECK! How do people live here?!''
:Cueball: Come on - it's only three more miles.

:'''Earthquake-Tornado'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Dallas", "Illinois", "The Midwest", "Missouri", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", "Tennessee", "Texas"}!
:Cueball: That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..
:[Both people are in a shelter in a prairie with a rapidly-approaching tornado.]
:Danish: AAAA CLOSE THE SHELTER DOOR!
:Cueball: Say the magic words...
:Danish: THIS PLACE IS THE WORST!
:Cueball: Thank you.

:'''Earthquake-Hurricane'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "D.C", "Florida", "Houston", "Miami", "New Jersey", "North Carolina", "South Carolina", "Virgina"}! That was huge!
:Cueball: That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..

:[Both are in the middle of a hurricane. Danish is grabbing onto a signpost to avoid being swept away.]
:Danish: AAAAA WHAT THE SHIIIIT!
:Cueball: Calm down - this is barely a category 2.

:'''Lake Diver Killer'''
:[TV Field Reporter in front of a cordoned-off lake.]
:Reporter: Police divers searching the bay say they have recovered the body of another victim of the "Lake Diver Killer."
:Reporter: During the search, three more divers were reported missing.

:'''Washington'''
:[The statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.]
:In this Marble Prison As in the nightmares of the nation they tried to devour
:The nanobots that constituted Abraham Lincoln
:Are entombed forever.

:'''Alaska'''
:[A person with a gun chasing a helicopter on the back of a wolf in a snowy Alaskan field.]
:Some people hunt wolves from helicopters. I hunt helicopters from a wolf.

:'''Life in lab'''
:[Newspaper headline.]
:Scientists/UMass Amherst students/RIT students create life in lab
:[Caption under picture of scientists.]
:"The trick was fuckin'"

:'''American Revolution'''
:Robot Paul Revere: Remember: Zero if by land, One if by sea.

:'''MIT'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: I see their admission standards have been slipping.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''MIT Course 15c'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: I *knew* we shouldn't have picked course 15s.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''Smith/Wellesley'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of Smith/Wellesley students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: We should've gone with Wellesley/Smith.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''CNU'''
:[Person unsuspectingly strolls under a giant box trap controlled by a Trible.]
:I worry that CNU only invited me back as a ruse because they realized I never turned in my final paper and want my diploma back. But if it turns out it's for real, I'll see you Wednesday at the Ferguson!

:'''Dana Farber'''
:[Cueball, pointing towards head.]
:Cueball: Check it out - In support of people going through chemo, I shaved my head.
:Lots of love to everyone reading this at Dana Farber. Cancer sucks. If you are new to DFCI, there's a great little garden on the third floor of the yawkey if you need somewhere quiet to just sit for a little bit and breathe.

:'''Reviews'''
:Shopping before online reviews:
:[Cueball and Megan stand in a store. Cueball points at a lamp on the table in front of him. There is another lamp on the table behind them.]
:Cueball: This lamp is pretty.
:Megan: And affordable.
:Cueball: Let's get it.
:Megan Ok!

:Shopping now:
:[Cueball points at a lamp on the table in front of him. Megan looks at her phone.]
:Cueball: This lamp is pretty.
:Megan: It's got 1 1/2 stars on Amazon. Reviews all say to avoid that brand.

:[Cueball and Megan are now both looking at their phones.]
:Cueball: This one has good reviews.
:Megan: Wait, one guy says when he plugged it in, he got a metallic taste in his mouth and his cats went deaf.
:Cueball: Eek. What about- ...no, review points out it resembles a uterus.

:[Cueball is still looking at his phone, Megan has hers at her side.]
:Cueball: Ok, I found a Swiss lampmaker with perfect reviews. Her lamps start at 1,300 Francs and she's only reachable by ski lift.
:Megan: You know, our room looks fine in the dark.

==Trivia==
*Reddit user [http://www.reddit.com/user/SomePostMan SomePostMan] created a [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/t6wmh/all_umwelt_1037_comics_in_two_imgur_albums/ post] that collected all of the Umwelt comics and added explanations. Much of his information is now included in this wiki.

*The transcript section for this comic also included a note alluding to its extreme length:
: <nowiki>[[Two people...]]</nowiki> ((..wait.. <scrolls through a listing of everything> oh goddammit Randall. Thanks a bunch, dude. I better get a raise for typing out all this))
: [[Two people standing next to each other. One is holding the head end of a snake...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Comics with blood]]

1037: Umwelt

2021-04-27T09:16:28Z

Yngvadottir: /* France */ gr and a link

{{comic
| number = 1037
| date = April 1, 2012
| title = Umwelt
| image = umwelt_the_void.jpg
| titletext = Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit--from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your web browser.
}}
{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
This was the third [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous fools comic was
[[880: Headache]] from Friday April 1st 2011. The next was [[1193: Externalities]] released on Monday April 1st 2013.

This comic was released on April 1 even though that was [[:Category:Sunday comics|a Sunday]] (only the third comic to be released on a Sunday). But it was only due to the April Fool joke, as it did replace the comic that would have been scheduled for Monday, April 2nd. The next comic, [[1038: Fountain]], was first released on Wednesday, April 4th. This was the first that could be different for different readers.

An {{w|Umwelt}}, as the title text explains, is the idea that one's entire way of thinking is dependent on their surroundings. Thus, this {{w|April Fools}} comic changes based on the browser, location, or referrer. Thus, what the viewer is viewing the comic on, where they live, or where they came from determines which comic they actually see. As a result, there are actually multiple comics that went up on April Fools' Day, although only one is seen.
(The term 'Umwelt,' as mentioned in the comic, refers to the semiotic theories of Jakob von Uexküll and Thomas A. Sebeok)

Information about how the wide variety of data was collected and credit for the viewers who contributed can be found [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/rnst4/april_fools_xkcd_changing_comic/ here].

===The Void===
[[File:umwelt the void.jpg]]

If the device or browser you are using does not support Javascript, you will simply see a static image of a white swirl on a dark background.

Possible reference to The Ring (http://imgur.com/wlGmm), as though to suggest that using an alternative browser is dismal and horrific.

Davean (xkcd's sysadmin): "[This] comic isn't available everywhere and it can come up i[n] some situation[s] only for recognized browsers."

Browser: Alternative Browser

===Aurora===
[[File:umwelt aurora.png]]

One could interpret that since Megan didn't go out and therefore missed seeing the {{w|Aurora}} (northern lights), Cueball in his [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|knit cap]] lied about it. That way, she wouldn't have felt sad that she missed out. Another interpretation could be that he decides that since she did not even bother to go outside to see such a spectacular sight he will not tell her about it. And yet another could be that he did not think it was interesting.

Cueball could possibly also be red-green colorblind, seeing the green aurorae as grey "clouds". This would serve as an example for the theme of the comic, as a non-colorblind person and a colorblind person seeing the same color would perceive it differently, one seeing it as its true color, and the other seeing it without the shade of color they cannot see. If this is the case, then it would be a reference to umwelt, as Cueball would be living in a world where the auroras do not reach his location.

In real life, [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-northern-lights-dont-look-anything-like-they-do-in-photos_n_5500a4d9e4b0e62d0dd4f9bb aurorae are usually seen as grey/white clouds] to the naked eye, as our eyes cannot perceive the "greener" colors as well in the dark.

This image changed based on the size of the browser window including different panels at different sizes.

Locations: Canada, Boston, Maine, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Minnesota, Norway, Denmark, France, Rhode Island (not sure if mobile only or not.) (also in Virginia, but using Ohio in the first panel) (also in Maryland, but using Canada in the first panel)

In [[1302: Year in Review]] a possibly different Megan has a completely different approach to the chance of seeing northern lights, as that was the only event she was looking forward to in 2013, and it failed. If this is the same Megan, perhaps she learned that there actually were northern lights in her area from another source, and so desperately wanted to have another chance to see them.

===Snake===
[[File:umwelt snake composite 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt snake composite.png|Full size]]

The joke here is the extreme length of snakes. The world's longest snake is the python, the longest ever being 33 feet or approx. 10 meters. The blue and orange circles refer to the hit game {{w|Portal}}.
There is also a reference to the book "The Little Prince" in the second panel, where there is a large bulge in the snake that looks like an elephant. The Little Prince starts out by mentioning a drawing that the author made when he was six that showed an elephant inside a snake.

Also, the number and content of the panels changes depending on the size of your browser window.

This image changed based on the size of the browser window including different panels at different sizes.

Specific AltText for this image: Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit -from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your browser window size.

Location: Texas (on Chrome Version 33.0.1750.154 m), New Jersey, California (on Chrome Version 39.0.2171.95), Maryland, Massachusetts (Safari for iOS, Chrome version 49.0.2623.112), Connecticut (Safari for iOS, Chrome Version 73.0.3683.103, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Edge), Virginia (on Chrome), Michigan (Firefox v46.0.1), Penang (Chrome Version 65.0.3325.162).

===Black Hat===
[[File:umwelt tortoise 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt tortoise.png|Full size]]

Cueball as an analyst attempts to psychoanalyze [[Black Hat|Black Hat's]] [[72: Classhole|classhole]] tendencies. Cueball's quote and the whole setup is a direct reference to the movie {{w|Blade Runner}} (1982) and Black Hat is taking the Voight-Kampff test which is used to identify replicants from real humans.

Black Hat's reason for not helping the tortoise is that ''it '''knows''' what it did'' and thus in Black Hat's world view it deserves being turned over. The final part of the joke is that when zooming out it turns out that there is a tortoise behind Black Hat and he has actually already turned it over for what it did.

Location: Seems to appear mostly in "other countries" — those without location-specific comics.

===Too Quiet===
[[File:umwelt too quiet 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt too quiet.png|Full size]]

A reference to {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} which has been [[87: Velociraptors|constantly]] [[135: Substitute|referred]] [[1110: Click and Drag|to]] [[155: Search History|before]] [[758: Raptor Fences|in]] this comic.

Also referencing the film {{w|2 Fast 2 Furious|2 Fast 2 Furious}}, an entertaining, yet intellectually unprovoking sequel in a popular film franchise, which is aimed at teenagers and young adults, prompting the blunt response from the stickman. The fact that Steve would use such a cliché {{w|2000s (decade)|noughties}} movie term in such an intense moment, and the subsequent curse, is the joke in this comic.

Location: short version — iPhone 5c Safari browser in Texas, iPhone 5 Chrome Browser in Minnesota, long version - Google Chrome browser in Indiana, Windows 8 Laptop

===Pond===
[[File:umwelt pond mobile.png]][[File:umwelt pond wide.png]]

Two different versions showed, the narrower version for mobile devices.

Location: The Netherlands and various other countries.

===Galaxies===
[[File:umwelt galaxies 1024.jpg]]
[[:File:umwelt galaxies.jpg|Full size]]

Megan is distracted from her conversation with [[Cueball]] by realizing that the space behind his head, from her vantage point, contains millions of galaxies. This is similar to an [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/image/astro/hst_deep_field.jpg incredible photograph] taken by the Hubble Telescope, in which a tiny dark area of space in fact contained numerous galaxies.

The title text is an imaginative leap from this scenario: that the galaxies would be up to no good once Cueball is turned away from them. This is presumably a reference to [http://www.mariowiki.com/boo Boo], an enemy from certain Mario games who moves toward Mario only when Mario is facing away from Boo.

This comic was only reported once... the intended environmental context is a mystery.

Location: unknown

===xkcd Gold===
[[File:umwelt xkcd gold.png]]

This is probably a reference to the 4chan Gold Account, an implementation on 4chan that does not actually exist, and is usually used to trick newcomers into revealing their credit card numbers. The joke is that "Gold Account" users can supposedly block other users from viewing images they have posted. The fifth panel is probably a reference to Beecock, a notorious set of shocker images. 4chan's moderators have been known to give out "beecock bans" or "/z/ bans" to particularly annoying users, which redirect the user to a page containing beecock and the text "OH NO THE BOARD IS GONE".

Referrer: 4chan

===Yo Mama===
[[File:umwelt dog ballast.png]]

Possible reference to Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "{{w|Harrison Bergeron}}."

Possibly a veiled criticism of Facebook. This could be slightly rewritten as: "This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid of dissent, so it tracks everyone at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop submitting information to Facebook. But that dystopian future is now."
It's also possible that people's different experiences shape how they perceive the world in that the people who live in this world would perceive the joke as funny, while people in our world would not get it. This the idea of umwelt mentioned in the top of the context where different individuals perceive the world differently.

Referrer: Facebook

===Reddit===
[[File:umwelt reddit.png]]

Reference to referencing, because Reddit, as a referring site, likes references to its referencing in its references.

This comic also features recursive imagery similar to [[688: Self-Description|Self Description]] where the third panel embeds the entire comic within itself.

One of the browser tabs visible in the center panel is {{w|Elk}} on Wikipedia.

Referrer: Reddit

===Buns and Hot dogs===
[[File:umwelt somethingawful.jpg]]

This is a reference to the question "Why do hot dogs come in packages of 6 while buns come in packages of 8?"

Another, more sexual reference to this question can be found in [[1641: Hot Dogs]].

Referrer: SomethingAwful, Questionable Content, & MetaFilter

===Twitter===
[[File:umwelt twitter.jpg]]

A summary of the "content" typically found on Twitter.

In the tweet feed, there are three tweets about some podcast on the top, followed by the tweet containing link they clicked on to get to the comic, tweets about Rob Delaney, unspecified passive-aggressive tweets, and a tweet from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_ebooks Horse Ebooks] retweeted by one of the users the reader follows.

On the left, the topmost dialog, with profile information, shows that the user has posted 1,302 tweets, but only follows 171 people and has even fewer followers, at a measly 48. This is marked with a sad face, implying that the user wants more followers.

Below that is the "who to follow" dialog, which is written up as consisting of "assholes".

Below that is the "trending tags" dialog for the United States. It is full of tags about word games, tags about misogyny, and tags about Justin Bieber.

Below that is an unidentified dialog full of "stuff your eyes automatically ignore". And finally, on the bottom is the background colour, which is "a really pleasant blue".

Referrer: Twitter

===Wikipedia===
[[File:umwelt wikipedia wide.jpg]]
[[File:umwelt wikipedia mobile.png]]

The term {{w|Mile High Club}} (or MHC) is a slang term applied collectively to individuals who have had sexual intercourse while on board of an aircraft. Randall says that reading the news articles on it has distracted him from making that comic.

Two different versions shown, the narrower version (the single panel with all the text) for mobile devices.

Referrer: Wikipedia

===Google Chrome===
[[File:umwelt chrome1.jpg]]

{{w|Sergey Brin}} (born August 21, 1973) is an American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur who, with Larry Page, co-founded Google, one of the most profitable Internet companies. As of 2013, his personal wealth was estimated to be $24.4 billion. Randall makes the joke that as the founder of Google, Brin's permission would be needed to use Google Chrome. Because there are millions of people who use Google, it is likely that at least some of the time Brin would be asleep, thus he would need to be woken.

Browser: Chrome

===Chrome/Firefox===
[[File:umwelt chrome2.png]]

Mozilla {{w|Firefox}} is a free and open-source web browser developed for Windows, OS X, and Linux, with a mobile version for Android and iOS, by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. Cueball is complaining about {{w|Google Chrome}}, to which [[Ponytail]] replies that there is an {{w|add-on}} that fixes what he is complaining about. When questioned, she replies that the add-on is Firefox, which isn't an add-on at all and is instead a different browser.

Browser: Chrome

===Google Chrome-2===
[[File:umwelt chrome3.png]]

This panel references Google Chrome's error screen, which shows a puzzle piece. The comic humorously implies that Chrome is looking for that piece. When completing jigsaw puzzles, a common strategy is to figure out where the pieces must be from their geometry rather than from the picture they create. In this case, the text suggests that Chrome believes the puzzle piece connects to the pieces which form one of the corners of the puzzle, which may seem impossible because any piece that links up to a corner would usually have at least one flat edge, which this piece has none. However, more complicated puzzles have complex shapes and are not always simply approximate squares with tabs and blanks.

Browser: Chrome or silk on desktop view

===Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing===
[[File:umwelt firefox incognito.png]]

Another reference to crashing web browsers.
Firefox shows the history when it crashes.
Browser: Firefox (Incognito only?)

===Internet Explorer===
[[File:umwelt ie.png]]

Yet another reference to crashing web browsers

Browser: Internet Explorer

===Maxthon===
[[File:umwelt maxthon.png]]

Browser: Maxthon

===Netscape Navigator===
[[File:umwelt netscape womanoctopus.png]]

[[File:umwelt netscape man.png]]

{{w|Netscape Navigator}} was a web browser popular in the 1990s.

Browser: Netscape

===Rockmelt===
[[File:umwelt rockmelt.png]]

{{w|Rockmelt}} is a social-media-based browser.

Reference to the gospel song {{w|Longing for Old Virginia: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1934)|"There's no hiding place down here" by The Carter Family}}, later covered by Stephen Stills.

:I run to the rock just to hide my face
:And the rocks cried out, no hiding place
:There's no hiding place down here

It may additionally be a reference to the ''Babylon 5'' episode "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place," which featured the song.

Browser: Rockmelt

===Plugin Disabled===
[[File:umwelt plugin disabled.png]]

When the Google Chrome web browser does not have the required software (called a plug-in) to display a web page's content, it displays a puzzle piece icon and an error message. In this case, Chrome informs the user that the content is impossible to display.

Browser: Plugin (?) Disabled, Safari Desktop

===Corporate Networks===
[[File:umwelt corporate general.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon firefox.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon other.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate google chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft firefox.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft other.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate nytimes chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate nytimes other.png]]

These error messages appear if the user is on a network owned by one of the corporations noted. The error message includes a warning against speaking on the company's behalf.

ISP: Corporate networks of Amazon, Google, Microsoft, NY Times

===Military===
[[File:umwelt military.png]]

[[Cueball]] assumes that anyone using a military network has an important job like watching for incoming missiles. He includes a thank-you to the user for their military service.

ISP: Military networks

===T-Mobile===
[[File:umwelt tmobile.png]]

Reference to T-Mobile's distinguishing feature (at the time it was written) of weaker coverage, in relation to other major providers.

ISP: T-Mobile

===Verizon and AT&T===
[[File:umwelt verizon.png]]

[[File:umwelt att.png]]

Reference to Verizon and AT&T's scandals/controversy regarding implementation of bandwidth caps.

ISP: Verizon and AT&T

===France===
[[File:umwelt france.jpg]]

A common joke about France is that the nation does not win wars. This originated from France's annexation by Germany during World War II, and America's late entry into the war, which is sometimes portrayed humorously as a case of America 'saving' Europe, in this joke particularly France (the role of the French resistance is usually not mentioned), leading to a common American joke at the expense of France's military prowess [http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/victories.html][http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blpic-frenchmilitaryvictories.htm][http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokefrenchmilitaryhistory.htm]. When France did not form part of the coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003, aligning with the many countries that condemned U.S. action, the joke was revived.

A Google search of "French Military Victories" + 'I'm feeling lucky' used to direct to "did you mean: french military defeats" (due to a {{w|Google bomb}}). Cueball is trying to show this to his friend, who is French. However, his joke backfires, as his friend immediately points out that the stereotype of France not having military victories is undercut by the fact that one of the most innovative military commanders in history, Napoleon, was French by citizenship (though Italian/Corsican by culture, as the French annexed Corsica a few months before his birth to an Italian noble family), and in fact conquered much of Europe.

Following the theme of umwelt, the comic highlights the two characters' differing perspectives: The American thinks that France is a military failure, while the Frenchman thinks of Napoleon.

The last line of the comic further implies that Cueball is not as smart as he thinks he is in regards to anything French, as he mispronounces the French loan word "{{w|Touché (fencing)|touché}}".

Locations: France & Quebec

===Germany===
[[File:umwelt germany.png]]

This comic references the {{w|Berlin airlift#The start of the Berlin Airlift|Berlin Airlift}}, a relief measure for citizens in West Berlin (surrounded by East Germany) instituted by the Western Allies after World War II. In reality, the Western Allies flew a grand total of 500,000 tons of food over the Soviet blockade in planes. Randall puts a twist on this event by making it more fun: dropping supplies from a grand chairlift. The play on words is that "chairlift" rhymes with "airlift" and thus makes an easy substitution. The chair force is also a name that other service branches use to make fun of the air force.

Location: Germany

===Israel===
[[File:umwelt israel.png]]

Transcript:

בחורה: אמא, פגשתי בחור נהדר! אבל הוא לא יהודי.‏

...

רגע, מה את אומרת, "גם אנחנו לא"?‏

אני לגמרי מבולבלת.‏

(Translation from Hebrew)

Person: Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ...Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

A reference to the multiple use of the word Jewish to denote both a religious group and a nationality/ethnicity, as well as the stereotype of Jews holding low opinions of interfaith marriage.

A side note: Randall accidentally drew an apostrophe instead of the similar-looking Hebrew letter י everywhere that letter should appear.

Location: Israel

===Carnot Cycle===
[[File:umwelt japan.png]]

A pun on "cycle"; a "{{w|Carnot cycle}}" is a thermodynamic cycle (e.g. refrigeration). Its efficiency depends on the temperature of the hot and cold 'reservoirs' in which it is operating. The icon on the side of the motorcycle resembles a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carnot_cycle_p-V_diagram.svg graph of the Carnot cycle.]

Location: Japan

===UK===
[[File:umwelt uk.jpg]]

He worded this as though to imply that the UK is a state of the U.S., and an unimportant one at that, which pokes fun at the UK, creating a paradox (sort of).

Location: UK

===Blizzard===
[[File:umwelt disasters blizzard.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or blizzards are harsher conditions to live under. In keeping with the theme of umwelt, the comic demonstrates that the two people perceive the world in two different ways due to their different experiences: The California perceives a mild earthquake and a severe blizzard, while the Northeasterner perceives a severe earthquake and a mild blizzard.

For each location this displayed in, the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: Alabama, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Georgia, Halifax, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, the Northeast, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Texas, Toronto, Tennessee, New York, Wisconsin

===Tornado===
[[File:umwelt disasters tornado.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or tornadoes are harsher conditions to live under. In keeping with the theme of umwelt, the comic demonstrates that the two people perceive the world in two different ways due to their different experiences: The California perceives a mild earthquake and a severe tornado, while the Midwesterner perceives a severe earthquake and a mild tornado.

For each location this displayed in the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: Alabama, Dallas, Illinois, Georgia, The Midwest, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Tennessee, Texas (and Virginia, but it used Ohio in the third panel)

Tornadoes are a [[:Category:Tornadoes|recurring subject]] on xkcd. The picture used in [[1754: Tornado Safety Tips]] very reminiscent of the one from this version of Umwelt. [[Category:Tornadoes]]

===Hurricane===
[[File:umwelt disasters hurricane.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or hurricanes are harsher conditions to live under. In keeping with the theme of umwelt, the comic demonstrates that the two people perceive the world in two different ways due to their different experiences: The California perceives a mild earthquake and a severe hurricane, while the Easterner perceives a severe earthquake and a mild blizzard.

For each location this displayed in the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: D.C, Florida, Georgia, Houston, Miami, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

===Lake Diver Killer===
[[File:umwelt lake diver.png]]

This comic shows a news reporter standing in front of a lake. She is reporting on a serial killer who targets divers. As more divers are sent in to investigate and/or search for bodies, more divers go missing, the implication being that they were also murdered. The more likely reason is the lake itself is dangerous for diving, and the divers probably drowned from natural hazards (undercurrents, entanglement, running out of oxygen in tanks, etc.) instead of a malicious assailant. Also, this is a sort of loop, where each time a diver gets killed, the investigative team goes and investigates, causing more divers to get killed, causing more deaths, and so on.

Location: Bay Areas, Metro Detroit, Vermont showed an image specifically referencing Lake Champlain

===Lincoln Memorial===
[[File:umwelt lincoln memorial.png]]

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America, was not an entity composed wholly of nanobots that attempted to consume the entire nation to then be imprisoned within the Lincoln Memorial.{{Citation needed}}

Locations: Illinois & Washington D.C.

===Helicopter Hunting===
[[File:umwelt helicoptor.png]]

In Alaska, governments and individuals have {{w|Wolf hunting#North America 2|shot wolves en masse from helicopters}} in an attempt to artificially inflate populations of game, such as moose and caribou, to make hunting them easier. This is opposed by many, as the game populations are not endangered (thus, this threatens ecological balance); wolves are a small threat to livestock in North America; most of the wolf body —including meat and bones— goes wasted as they are sought mainly for their pelts.

Location: Alaska

===Newspaper===
[[File:umwelt life scientists.png]][[File:umwelt life rit.png]][[File:umwelt life umass.png]]

Creating new life has long been a well understood process, in a lab or otherwise.

This comic is likely a reference to the title text of [[983: Privacy]]

Location: Various

Specific versions appeared for RIT and UMass Amherst

===Robot Paul Revere===
[[File:umwelt paul revere.png]]

Combination of the legend of {{w|Paul Revere#"Midnight Ride"|Paul Revere}} and a computer bit that differentiates between two situations by indicating a zero or a one.

Location: Boston

===Counting Cards===

All four colleges in this series are in Massachusetts and, being similar, in pairs, rival each other to some extent (Harvard-MIT, and Smith-Wellesley). The comic contains a reference to the {{w|MIT Blackjack Team}}, which entered popular culture via the {{w|21 (2008 film)|film 21}}, and a possible reference to Orwell's book '1984' and/or {{w|Chain of Command (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|popular homage to it via Star Trek}}: "There are four lights."[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChYIm6MW39k]

Bonus: The thought-gears in panel 3 are spinning against each other.

Location: Harvard

[[File:umwelt counting cards harvard.png]]

Location: MIT

[[File:umwelt counting cards mit.png]]

"Course 15s" at MIT are the business major students, often mocked for taking a less-rigorous program. The different interpretation for why the MIT students could not count cards compared to Harvard may be a reference to the theme of umwelt.

Location: Smith

[[File:umwelt counting cards smith.png]]

Location: Wellesley

[[File:umwelt counting cards wellesley.png]]

Both Wellesley and Smith are all-women colleges in Massachusetts.

===Giant Box Trap===
[[File:umwelt box trap.png]]

Randall got his undergrad in Physics at the {{w|Christopher Newport University}}, and was scheduled to return shortly to give a talk. The "Trible" figure on the right is Paul Trible, the then-president of CNU. This comic depicts a classic trap, where an upside-down box is propped up with a stick. When the stick is removed, by pulling a string, the box falls and traps whatever is underneath it. Aside from the joke of the obvious trap, there's also the fact that the president would not be responsible for revoking unearned diplomas.

Location: Christopher Newport University

===Chemo Support===
[[File:umwelt chemo.jpg]]

[[Cueball]] has shaved his head in support of people going through {{w|chemotherapy}} but, as he is always depicted as a stick figure with no hair, no one can tell.

Randall's now-wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, and apparently DFCI is where they've been spending much of their time.

Location: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

===Reviews===
[[File:reviews.png]]

The previous strip appears twice when using [[wikipedia:Tor (anonymity network)|Tor]].

Browser: Any using Tor, xkcd API (JSON, RSS, Atom), w3m, and reports of seeing it on a Kindle Fire HD; also happens if visiting with a browser that does not support JavaScript (such as Firefox with NoScript)

===Nothing===

[[File:Umwelt.png]]

The comic doesn't appear in iPad browsers. The top buttons and the bottom buttons are side by side, and you can only see the title in the top.

On April 28 and 29, 2019, a visit from San Francisco on macOS 10.14.4 using Chrome 74, Safari 12.1, or Firefox 66.0.3, all with JavaScript enabled, produced no comic, just two adjacent rows of navigation buttons.

On April 29, 2019, a visit from Utah using a T-mobile Samsung device running Android pie, yielded the same results

Since this comic's release, all devices viewing it have returned two rows of navigation buttons if near IP address 69.114.249.104.

It also doesn't work in Pennsylvania on the Chrome operating system.

There is a discussion about this in the ''Talk'' page.

==Transcript==
:[Note to courageous readers- The transcript has been reordered in the order in which the comics appear in the picture and appropriate names have been given.]

:'''The Void'''
:[An epic void with a bright light shining right on you.]

:'''Aurora'''
:[Cueball heading out past Megan comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]
:Cueball: Apparently there's a solar flare that's causing some Great Aurorae. CBC says they may even be visible here! Wanna drive out to see?
:Megan: Hockey's on.
:Cueball: Ok. Later.

:[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

:Megan: See anything?
:Cueball: No, just clouds.
:Megan: Not surprised.

:'''Aurora-US'''
:[Cueball heading out past Megan comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]
:Cueball: Apparently there's a solar storm causing northern lights over Canada. CNN say they might even be visible {Options: "As Far South As Us", "Here in Boston", "Maine", "Ohio", "Oregon", "New York"}! Wanna drive out to see?
:Megan: It's cold out.
:Cueball: Ok. Later.

:[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

:Megan: See anything?
:Cueball: No, just clouds.
:Megan: Not surprised.

:'''Snake'''
:[Two people standing next to each other. Megan is holding the head end of a snake. Depending on the width of your browser, the snake is: three frames, the third of which has a little bit of a bump; the first frame has a human-size bump, the second has a third person looking at the snake, and the third has the snake going though two Portals; a squirrel and the human-size bump in the first frame, a ring next to the third person in the second frame, and Beret Guy riding the snake in front of the portal; or The squirrel, a fourth person within the snake being coiled, and the human bump in the first frame, the ring, a fifth person in love, and the third person in the second frame, Beret Guy and the portal in the third frame, and the same two people in the fourth frame.]

:Megan: I found a snake, but then I forgot to stop.

:'''Black hat'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk. One is Black Hat. The other is an analyst. Black Hat has a number of terminals attached to his head.]
:Analyst: You come across a tortoise in the desert. You flip it over. It struggles to right itself. You watch. You're not helping. Why is that?

:Black Hat: It '''knows''' what it did.

:[View of the entire scene, with said turtle off in the distance on its back and trying to right itself.]

:'''Too quiet'''
:[A group of four scale down a wall into a field in the middle of the night. They walk off single-file.]
:Person 1: It's quiet.

:Person 3: Yeah - *Too* quiet.

:[A Velociraptor is off in the distance, following the group.]
:Person 4: Yeah - too *too* quiet.

:Person 2: Yeah - 2quiet2furious.
:Person 1: Fuck off, Steve.

:'''Pond'''
:[A landscape showing a pond, some reeds, and a set of mountains off in the distance.]

:'''Galaxies'''
:[A trio of galaxies.]
:Galaxy 1: He's not looking!
:Galaxy 3: Let's get him!
:[Lines draw in illustrating the eye-line of one of a pair of people.]
:Cueball: So he said he didn't get the text, but c'mon, he *never* misses texts. Right? ..hello?
:Megan: I'm just staring at your head freaked out by the fact that there are millions of galaxies *directly behind it*.

:'''xkcd Gold'''
:[Cueball holding bat.]

:Cueball: Sorry, but this comic

:[Cueball starts to wind up.]

:Cueball: requires

:[Cueball prepares to strike with bat.]

:Cueball: XKCD

:[Cueball swings at a beehive.]
:GOLD

:[Penis Bees fly out of the beehive.]

:'''Yo mamma'''
:[Cueball yells at a friend.]
:Cueball: Oh yeah? Well you mama's so ''cynical'', her only dog ballast is a ''leash''!
:(This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid dogs can hover, so it requires them to wear weights at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop buying dog weights.)

:'''Reddit'''
:Five seconds ago:
:[You sitting in front of a desk, reading a reddit thread.]
:You: Oh, hey, reddit has a link to some XKCD april fools comic.

:Now: [An image of the xkcd comic page.]
:Five seconds from now:

:You: ..hey

:30 seconds from now:
:[DANCE PARTY!]

:'''Buns and Hot dogs'''
:Cueball: What I wanna know is why do hot dogs come in packages of six while buns come in these huge sacks of ash and blood from which "Ave Maria" is faintly audible?
:[Chanting sacks of gore in the background.]

:'''Twitter'''
:[A Twitter account page with the following: Many tweets, fewer following, even fewer followers, A bunch of assholes in the suggested follow box, trending topics partitioned into: Word Games, Misogyny, and Bieber, stuff your eyes automatically ignore, A really pleasant blue. and the timeline: Something about a podcast, Someone confused because the description doesn't match the link, The link you clicked on to get to this comic, Rob Delaney, Passive Aggression, and horse ebooks.]

:'''Wikipedia'''
:[There's no comic here because instead of drawing one, I spent the last hour reading every news story cited in the Wikipedia article on The Mile High Club.]

:'''Google Chrome'''
:[A Chrome plugin error page.]
:Chrome: This plugin requires Sergey Brin's permission to run. Please wait while he is woken.

:'''Chrome/Firefox'''
:[Two people; Cueball is sitting at a desk in front of a laptop.]
:Cueball: Man, chrome's hardware acceleration really sucks.
:Ponytail: Oh - Theres' a great add-on that fixes it.
:Cueball: Oh? What's it called?
:Ponytail: "Firefox".

:'''Google Chrome-2'''
:[A Chrome plugin error page with the characteristic jigsaw piece.]
:Chrome: Chrome is looking for this piece. Have you seen it? Chrome thinks it links up with a corner.

:'''Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing'''
:[Firefox error page.]
:Firefox: Well, this is embarrassing. You know how I'm not supposed to peek at your browsing in private mode? Firefox.. is sorry. Firefox will not blame you if you
:[Button with text.]
:Click here to report this incident.

:'''Internet Explorer'''
:[IE error page.]
:IE: Error: Internet Explorer has given up.

:'''Maxthon'''
:Cueball: Maxthon? Hey, 2005 called. Didn't say anything. All I could hear was sobbing. This is getting harder. Anyway, yeah, Maxthon's still cool! Didn't know it was still around!

:'''Netscape Navigator'''
:[Two different versions exist: one with Cueball talking and one with Megan with tentacle arms talking.]
:Person: Netscape Navigator? Hey, the nineties called - drunk as usual. I hung up without saying anything. This is getting harder. Anyway - it's cool that you'e got netscape running.

:'''Rockmelt'''
:[Cueball running to laptop.]
:I ran to Rockmelt to hide my face

:[Cueball sitting at laptop.]
:But Rockmelt cried out -

:[Laptop shouting.]
:NO HIDING PLACE

:[zoom out.]
:NO HIDING PLACE DOWN HERE

:'''Google Chrome-3'''
:[A chrome plugin error page.]
:Chrome: There does not exist --nor could there '''ever''' exist-- a plugin capable of displaying this content.

:'''Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google - Chrome'''
:[Chrome error page.]
:Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Microsoft/Amazon - Firefox'''
:[Firefox error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Microsoft/The Times'''
:[Error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/The Times is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Corporate - Generic'''
:[Error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, we work as a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Military'''
:[Person looking at two browser windows.]
:Cueball: I know y'all know what you're doing. But if you're on a military machine and you're supposed to be watching for missiles or something, I hope you're keeping an eye on that in the background while you're reading comics. Also: Thanks.

:'''T-Mobile'''
:[Error page.]
:Data Error: T-Mobile was unable to establish a connection

:'''Verizon'''
:[Error page]
:Error: You have exceeded your Verizon monthly bandwidth cap. Mobile web browsing has been disabled.

:'''France'''
:[Two people; one of which is browsing using a laptop.]
:Cueball: Hey, you're French, right? Ever see what happens when you type "French Military Victories" into Google?
:French person: Does it take you to an article on Napoleon?

:French person: ..no? Strange, given how he kicked everyone's asses up and down Europe for over a decade.

:[Beat frame.]

:Cueball: Touche.
:French person: You know, that'd sound smarter if you didn't pronounce it like it rhymes with "douche".

:'''Germany'''
:[Cueball dropping food from an unorthodox high perch.]
:June 1948: In response to the Soviet blockade of East Germany, the western allies construct the Berlin Chairlift.
:Cueball on chairlift: Food!

:'''Israel'''
:[Person on phone.]
:Person (Translation from Hebrew): Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ...Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

:'''Carnot Cycle'''
:[Ponytail on a motorcycle with a heat-entropy graph on the side.]
:Ponytail: Check out my new Carnot Cycle!
:Cueball: Neat - how fast does it go?
:Ponytail: Depends how cold it is outside.

:'''Great Britain'''
:[Illustration of the Atlantic ocean.]
:American person: Sorry I don't have a comic poking fun at the UK here. I only had time to get to the most ''important'' US states.
:British person: Hey - At least we have free health care and real ale.

:'''Earthquake-Blizzard'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Boston", "Chicago", "Dallas", "Georgia", "Halifax", "Illinois", "Michigan", "Minnesota", "Missouri", "the Northeast", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", 'Pennsylvania", "Philadelphia", "Texas", "Toronto", "Tennessee", "New York", "Wisconsin"}! That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..
:[Both people are trudging through a massive blizzard.]
:Danish: In pictures, snow always looked so nice and sof - ''AAAA! MY NECK! How do people live here?!''
:Cueball: Come on - it's only three more miles.

:'''Earthquake-Tornado'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Dallas", "Illinois", "The Midwest", "Missouri", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", "Tennessee", "Texas"}!
:Cueball: That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..
:[Both people are in a shelter in a prairie with a rapidly-approaching tornado.]
:Danish: AAAA CLOSE THE SHELTER DOOR!
:Cueball: Say the magic words...
:Danish: THIS PLACE IS THE WORST!
:Cueball: Thank you.

:'''Earthquake-Hurricane'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "D.C", "Florida", "Houston", "Miami", "New Jersey", "North Carolina", "South Carolina", "Virgina"}! That was huge!
:Cueball: That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..

:[Both are in the middle of a hurricane. Danish is grabbing onto a signpost to avoid being swept away.]
:Danish: AAAAA WHAT THE SHIIIIT!
:Cueball: Calm down - this is barely a category 2.

:'''Lake Diver Killer'''
:[TV Field Reporter in front of a cordoned-off lake.]
:Reporter: Police divers searching the bay say they have recovered the body of another victim of the "Lake Diver Killer."
:Reporter: During the search, three more divers were reported missing.

:'''Washington'''
:[The statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.]
:In this Marble Prison As in the nightmares of the nation they tried to devour
:The nanobots that constituted Abraham Lincoln
:Are entombed forever.

:'''Alaska'''
:[A person with a gun chasing a helicopter on the back of a wolf in a snowy Alaskan field.]
:Some people hunt wolves from helicopters. I hunt helicopters from a wolf.

:'''Life in lab'''
:[Newspaper headline.]
:Scientists/UMass Amherst students/RIT students create life in lab
:[Caption under picture of scientists.]
:"The trick was fuckin'"

:'''American Revolution'''
:Robot Paul Revere: Remember: Zero if by land, One if by sea.

:'''MIT'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: I see their admission standards have been slipping.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''MIT Course 15c'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: I *knew* we shouldn't have picked course 15s.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''Smith/Wellesley'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of Smith/Wellesley students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: We should've gone with Wellesley/Smith.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''CNU'''
:[Person unsuspectingly strolls under a giant box trap controlled by a Trible.]
:I worry that CNU only invited me back as a ruse because they realized I never turned in my final paper and want my diploma back. But if it turns out it's for real, I'll see you Wednesday at the Ferguson!

:'''Dana Farber'''
:[Cueball, pointing towards head.]
:Cueball: Check it out - In support of people going through chemo, I shaved my head.
:Lots of love to everyone reading this at Dana Farber. Cancer sucks. If you are new to DFCI, there's a great little garden on the third floor of the yawkey if you need somewhere quiet to just sit for a little bit and breathe.

:'''Reviews'''
:Shopping before online reviews:
:[Cueball and Megan stand in a store. Cueball points at a lamp on the table in front of him. There is another lamp on the table behind them.]
:Cueball: This lamp is pretty.
:Megan: And affordable.
:Cueball: Let's get it.
:Megan Ok!

:Shopping now:
:[Cueball points at a lamp on the table in front of him. Megan looks at her phone.]
:Cueball: This lamp is pretty.
:Megan: It's got 1 1/2 stars on Amazon. Reviews all say to avoid that brand.

:[Cueball and Megan are now both looking at their phones.]
:Cueball: This one has good reviews.
:Megan: Wait, one guy says when he plugged it in, he got a metallic taste in his mouth and his cats went deaf.
:Cueball: Eek. What about- ...no, review points out it resembles a uterus.

:[Cueball is still looking at his phone, Megan has hers at her side.]
:Cueball: Ok, I found a Swiss lampmaker with perfect reviews. Her lamps start at 1,300 Francs and she's only reachable by ski lift.
:Megan: You know, our room looks fine in the dark.

==Trivia==
*Reddit user [http://www.reddit.com/user/SomePostMan SomePostMan] created a [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/t6wmh/all_umwelt_1037_comics_in_two_imgur_albums/ post] that collected all of the Umwelt comics and added explanations. Much of his information is now included in this wiki.

*The transcript section for this comic also included a note alluding to its extreme length:
: <nowiki>[[Two people...]]</nowiki> ((..wait.. <scrolls through a listing of everything> oh goddammit Randall. Thanks a bunch, dude. I better get a raise for typing out all this))
: [[Two people standing next to each other. One is holding the head end of a snake...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]
[[Category:Comics with blood]]

Talk:2411: 1/10,000th Scale World

2021-01-14T12:08:43Z

Yngvadottir: re: weather balloons rant.

This sounds like a cool theme for a game jam. [[User:Bwisey|Bwisey]] ([[User talk:Bwisey|talk]]) 07:30, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

The comment about airplanes being close to the speed of a bullet in the explanation wouldn't be relevant due to the scale, so they wouldn't be fast compared to the scale of the people here, and with some rough calculations, I think it would take multiple seconds to pass through the thickness of a human body, so if the people were normal properties and the plane moving at its speed being proportional to its scale (thus making its speed seem normal from the perspective of someone shrunk down and on the plane looking at the rate at which it travels compared to its own length or looking at the model surroundings rather than the giant person), it shouldn't cause significant injury. Granted, as such speeds it wouldn't be able to fly, but the same sort of concerns apply to a lot else here, like the thundercloud and the rate the atmosphere gets thinner at altitude.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.207|162.158.74.207]] 07:54, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

"Also, airplane speed very similar to the speed at which a bullet is fired" - That is true for real world aircraft; it is not at all given for the 1/10000th scale world. (It depends on if time is scaled or just spatial dimensions) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.84|162.158.134.84]] 09:59, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

The rant about private vs public research seems a tad coat-racky. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 12:08, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

2411: 1/10,000th Scale World

2021-01-14T12:07:03Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ impale one's foot on Burj Khalifa, not vice versa.

{{comic
| number = 2411
| date = January 13, 2021
| title = 1/10,000th Scale World
| image = 1_10000th_scale_world.png
| titletext = OCEAN PLAY AREA RULES: No running, no horseplay, no megatsunamis, and no trying to pry the wreck of the Titanic off the bottom.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a 1/10,000TH SCALE WEATHER BALLOON. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Models of large-scale objects (cars, airplanes, etc.) are typically produced at a given scale, given as a ratio between the original object (the first number) and the model (the second number). The same applies to maps and globes. What Randall has here, though, is neither a map nor a model but a seemingly complete copy of Earth, at a 1:10,000 scale. Various features and warnings are labeled.

Real-world phenomena are reproduced at scale, for humorous effect. A real 1/10,000th scale "Earth" would have a diameter of less than a mile, and a surface area of around 2 square miles, the approximate dimensions of a medium-sized asteroid. On such an object, constrained by known physics, there would be no air, standing water, weather, or large magma bodies, and any sort of rough-housing would irrecoverably catapult the visitor into space.

Normally in a miniature model most warnings try to prevent the visitors from accidentally doing something cataclysmic to the model. Likewise, the "ocean play area rules" in the title text tell visitors not to create any {{w|megatsunami}}s, which could conceivably be induced by a cannonball dive. But as digging seems to be discouraged mainly where it causes volcanoes to break out the visitors seem to be given a far greater freedom than usual.

Earlier comics illustrating relative scale include [[482: Height]], [[681: Gravity Wells]], [[1276: Angular Size]], and [[1389: Surface Area]].

{| class="wikitable"
!Danger
!Why
!Notes
|-
| Watch out for airliners cruising near shoulder level
| Unintentional catastrophic damage to air traffic. Also, airplane speed very similar to the speed at which a bullet is fired [https://pinchito.es/2019/high-speeds]
| At this scale, the lowest airliner cruising altitude would be 3 ft or 0.9 m [https://time.com/5309905/how-high-do-planes-fly/#:~:text=Commercial%20aircraft%20typically%20fly%20between,that%20can%20present%20safety%20issues.], shoulder height for a 5-year-old [https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/height-weight-teens.php]. Scaling the height of the highest plane to ever fly [https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/cox/2017/05/28/altitude/102185856/] puts it at 9 ft, which would put it just over the head of the tallest person who ever lived [https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/robert-wadlow-tallest-man-ever]
|-
| Trip hazard: Appalachian Mountains
| At half a foot tall, the Appalachians could trip visitors who are not being careful.
| 6684 ft = 0.67 ft in model world
|-
| Do not stand or climb on Mt. Everest
| One may destroy the model.
|
|-
| Caution: Hydro-thermal vents underfoot
|Hydrothermal vents are extremely hot, which could cause burns to the feet of the viewers
|Underwater volcanoes and stuff
|-
| Children must be supervised while in the ocean, especially near trenches
|They might drown.
|The Challenger Deep is 36,200 feet below the surface; this equates to 3.62 feet in the model world, a depth which small children could conceivably drown in.
|-
| Danger: positive lightning! Do not touch cloud tops
| The cumulonimbus cloud is an electrocution hazard, as Megan is learning the hard way: Getting too close to the positive cloud tops risks causing lightning to arc into you down to the negative ground.
|
|-
| Avoid hypoxia by regularly sitting to bring your lungs below the death zone
| The scale world even has a scale atmosphere, and visitors are cautioned to regularly sit down so they can breathe below the {{w|death zone}}, which is approximately two and a half feet above the surface.
| The death zone is approximately 8,000 meters above the ground, equating to 0.8 meters or 2.62 feet in the model world.
|-
| Do not dig near Yellowstone
| Digging up the {{w|Yellowstone Caldera}} could potentially reactivate the {{w|supervolcano}} there.
|
|-
| Please do not smack weather balloons
| Smacking balloons around can seem so much fun, but it's not very friendly here.
| Mentioning weather balloons this way is reminiscent of how private corporate research can sometimes far exceed public research shared and stewarded by the global community, and could make public research seem silly in comparison. In this time of rapid machine learning, one can imagine somebody making a private hyperintelligence and quickly researching shrinking or growing matter, compared to public research that waits for paper review and duplication of results by other teams.
|
|-
| Be careful not to step on cities with especially pointy towers, like Toronto, Seattle, and Dubai
| The {{w|CN Tower}}, the {{w|Space Needle}} and the {{w|Burj Khalifa}} are much taller than they are wide, thus, "pointy". The Burj Khalifa, the tallest of the three, would stand at 3.2 inches (8.3 cm) at this scale, making it possible to impale one's foot on it when walking
| This seems to be exclusively for the visitors' benefit, rather than that of the cities.
|}

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

For visitors to my 1/10,000th scale world

1 meter = 10 km 1 ft = 10,000 ft ~ 2 miles

Watch out for airliners cruising near shoulder level

Trip hazard: Appalachian Mountains

Do not stand or climb on Mt. Everest

Caution: Hydro-thermal vents underfoot

Children must be supervised while in the ocean, especially near trenches

Danger: positive lightning! Do not touch cloud tops

Avoid hypoxia by regularly sitting to bring your lungs below the death zone

Do not dig near Yellowstone

Please do not smack weather balloons

Be careful not to step on cities with especially pointy towers, like Toronto, Seattle, and Dubai

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

2405: Flash Gatsby

2020-12-31T02:49:16Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ Tweaks incl. novella -> novel (it's short, but ...); w template for Gt Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Adobe Flash, Adobe Inc.; italics on title.

{{comic
| number = 2405
| date = December 31, 2020
| title = Flash Gatsby
| image = flash_gatsby.png
| titletext = Protip: At midnight your excuse for not having read The Great Gatsby can switch from "I'm worried about violating copyright" to "I think my copy requires Flash."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a green light. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
''{{w|The Great Gatsby}}'' is a classic novel written by {{w|F. Scott Fitzgerald}} in 1925.
Copyright law in the United States of America, where ''The Great Gatsby'' was first published, was retroactively extended several times in the 1990s and early 2000s, causing the copyright on ''The Great Gatsby'' to extend until the end of 2020. In 2021, it finally will enter the public domain so that it will become legal to make a copy without violating copyright law.

{{w|Adobe Flash}}, formerly known as Shockwave Flash, is a web plugin that was commonly used by many websites in the late 1990s and 2000s. However, it was repeatedly exploited by hackers, incurring heavy costs on {{w|Adobe Inc.|Adobe}} as they tried to update Flash against these attacks. Newer technologies are now able to provide comparable features with less risk, so support for Flash is being phased out by most web browsers. Adobe is officially discontinuing Flash at the end of 2020. Therefore, a Flash version of ''The Great Gatsby'' will become legal at the same moment that everyone should stop using it.

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

{{comic discussion}}

2365: Messaging Systems

2020-09-29T02:54:11Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ ce, tweaks.

{{comic
| number = 2365
| date = September 28, 2020
| title = Messaging Systems
| image = messaging_systems.png
| titletext = SMS is just the worst, but I'm having trouble convincing people to adopt my preferred system, TLS IRC with a local server and a patched DOSBox gateway running in my mobile browser.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A VAGUELY MODERN SMS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Messaging systems suffer from the {{w|network effect}}, as in order to communicate, both parties need to have be using the same system.
Though relatively ancient by modern standards, {{w|SMS}} is supported by most every mobile device (unless you're still on a {{w|DynaTAC}}) that has a phone number attached, which means if you want to send a message to someone, but aren't sure if you have a messaging protocol in common, you can be sure at least they have SMS.

The comic mentions many other communication systems, which offer various advantages in either security ({{w|end to end encryption}}) and or a bunch of general improvements filed under the label "vaguely modern", such as longer character limits and the ability to share media such as images in-service.

The title text proposes an alternative, absurd mingling of technologies in the vein of [[1636: XKCD Stack]]. IRC is Internet Relay Chat, a similarly antiquated messaging service that may also never die, as suggested in [[1782: Team Chat]]. DOSBox is an emulator that recreates the operating environment of {{w|MS-DOS}}.

Various other comics have referenced the issue of chat services, including [[1810: Chat Systems]], [[1254: Preferred Chat System]], and [[1782: Team Chat]].

=== Vaguely Modern ===
'''Slack'''
* {{w|Slack (software)|Slack}} is a workplace messaging service that offers the ability for administrators to create channels in order to organize the discussion. It is asynchronous, which means that conversations can occur out of time, hours apart from each other. It also keeps track of every message, and everything in a public channel stays there forever for everyone to see. It is not encrypted, and has been moving towards being less privacy-focused for end users over the years as corporate demand for employee surveillance has prompted the company to offer ever more invasive services to administrators. Overall, it is a popular service with some large companies and non-profit organisations, but does not yet have universal adoption.

'''Facebook Messenger'''
* {{w|Facebook Messenger}} is Facebook's messaging app for phones, but not everyone has a Facebook account, or uses Facebook regularly.

'''Hangouts'''
* {{w|Google Hangouts}} is a messaging service that can be accessed through the online Gmail client, as a separate web page, and a standalone app for the phone. While theoretically that means everybody has access to it, modern usage patterns mean that most people do not use the attached web client and don't bother downloading the app. It allows users to upload significantly degraded images, links, and other media along with text with a copy-paste.

'''Discord'''
* {{w|Discord (software)|Discord}} is an instant messaging and groups platform, designed for the gaming community.

'''Various DMs'''
* A {{w|Personal message|DM}} (direct message) is a private message between two or more users. The term DM originated from Twitter, but can be used for other "direct" messages from other social media or social messaging platforms.

=== Vaguely Modern & E2E Encrypted ===

'''Signal'''
*{{w|Signal (software)|Signal}} is an encrypted messaging service, popular among protesters and hackers who wish to remain anonymous. Signal allows for highly secure messaging and for messages to be deleted after a period of time.

'''iMessage'''
*{{w|iMessage}} is the instant messaging service for Apple devices. iMessage features end-to-end encryption; however, it only works between Apple devices, so users of Android devices are not able to receive or send messages through iMessage.

'''WhatsApp''''
*{{w|WhatsApp}} is a messaging service owned by Facebook. It has become popular in multiple countries, including Latin America and India.

=== E2E Encrypted ===

'''PGP Email'''
*{{w|Pretty Good Privacy|PGP}} is an encryption protocol for privacy and authentication developed in 1991. PGP can be used for signing, encrypting, and decrypting data. PGP was featured in [[1181: PGP]].

'''Various Obscure Projects'''
*Randall is probably referring to the multitude of projects similar to those listed here that never went far.

'''Skype I Think'''
*{{w|Skype}} is a video conferencing service owned by Microsoft released in 2003; thus Randall does not consider Skype "modern". He is unsure if Skype is end-to-end encrypted or not.

'''Jabber + TLS'''
*Jabber (or {{w|XMPP}}) is a communications protocol based on XML that was developed in 1999. The Jabber protocol could be used with {{w|Transport Layer Security}} (TLS) to have a secure communications service.

=== Supported By Everyone ===
'''SMS'''
*SMS is a text-messaging service formally defined in the {{w|GSM}} standard in 1985 and first used in 1992. It limits messages to 160 characters, text-only. SMS has been extended by {{w|Multimedia Messaging Service|MMS}} (first used in 2002), which allows for "multimedia", including short videos, images and audio. MMS is also supported by most modern phones, but does not have any security features and is less powerful than other messaging apps.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A Venn Diagram is shown, framed in a box. It has three components:

Vaguely Modern, E2E Encrypted, Supported By Everyone

'''Items Solely in the Vaguely Modern category are:'''

:Facebook Messenger, Hangouts, Discord, Various DMs

'''Items In both 'Vaguely Modern' and 'E2E Encrypted' categories are:'''

:Signal, iMessage, Whatsapp

'''Items Solely in the E2E Encrypted category are:'''

:PGP Email, Various Obscure Projects, Skype I think, Jabber + TLS

'''Items Solely in the 'Supported By Everyone' category is:'''

:SMS

All other categories are empty.

[Caption below the comic]: Why SMS refuses to die

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Venn diagrams]]
[[Category:Phones]]
[[Category:Social networking]]

2364: Parity Conservation

2020-09-26T03:45:15Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ Tweaks, incl. replacing "stuff". Link on Bloody Mary.

{{comic
| number = 2364
| date = September 25, 2020
| title = Parity Conservation
| image = parity_conservation.png
| titletext = Bloody Mary is made of antimatter. It explains so much.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BLOODY MARY RESEARCHING PARITY CONSERVATION. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Bloody Mary (folklore)|Bloody Mary}} is a legend of a ghost, phantom, or spirit conjured to reveal the future. She is said to appear in a mirror when her name is chanted repeatedly. This is why Cueball says he said her name three times. This is her second apperance in xkcd, the first being [[555: Two Mirrors]].

The remark on parity conservation and cobalt-60 is almost surely a reference to the {{w|Wu experiment}}. In 1956, physicist {{w|Chien-Shiung Wu}} found that the {{w|weak interaction}} breaks parity. Because Bloody Mary "lives" in mirrors, her world is implicitly a mirror of ours. This would allow her to conduct mirror physics experiments.

The title text references {{w|antimatter}}. In physics, antimatter is like a mirrored (in charge, parity and time) version of matter; matter that is composed of antiparticles rather than particles. Antimatter and matter spontaneously annihilate each other when they meet; an entire antimatter ''person'' (such as, say, [https://telescoper.wordpress.com/tag/edward-teller/ Edward Anti-Teller]) would annihilate a person made of normal matter if they touch. (Bloody Mary would also be annihilated in such an interaction; the fact that she keeps coming back is attributable to her being a ghost.)

It seems as if Cueball is trying to mirror what is inside the mirror to make it real. Since Bloody Mary only exists inside mirrors, if Cueball's experiment was possible, he would create a real Bloody Mary on his side of the mirror.

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

:[Cueball is standing in front of an oval wall mirror hanging over a small table. He's holding a tube connected to an electronic device. A face is dimly reflected in the mirror.]

:Cueball: Listen, I know I said your name three times.

:Cueball: But before you come out of the mirror and murder me, can you hold this cobalt-60 and take some measurements?

:Cueball: See, I'm researching parity conservation...

:[Caption below the comic]:
:It took some negotiating, but I've finally become the first person to coauthor a paper with Bloody Mary.

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

555: Two Mirrors

2020-09-26T03:43:06Z

Yngvadottir: Transcript correction: Full mirror isn't adjacent but facing.

{{comic
| number = 555
| date = March 13, 2009
| title = Two Mirrors
| image = two_mirrors.png
| titletext = If you actually do this, what really happens is Douglas Hofstadter appears and talks to you for eight hours about strange loops.
}}

==Explanation==
In folklore, {{w|Bloody Mary (folklore)|Bloody Mary}} is a legendary ghost or spirit conjured to reveal the future. She is said to appear in a mirror when her name is called multiple times (mainly 3). The Bloody Mary apparition may be benign or malevolent, depending on historic variations of the legend. The Bloody Mary appearances are mostly "witnessed" in teenage group participation games, often as part of a game of truth or dare. This is Bloody Mary's first appearance in xkcd, the second being [[2364: Parity Conservation]]

In this comic, Megan sets up two mirrors facing each other, in which she can see herself receding ad infinitum. She then says "Bloody Mary" three times (as in the folklore) before ducking, conjuring an infinite number of spirits who jump from the mirror towards each other. It's not clear if they simply collide, or pass into the opposing mirror. Megan may be attempting an experiment either in particle physics upon {{w|LHC|colliding}} {{w|mirror matter}} or bridging {{w|Mirror Universe}}s by enabling Bloody Mary’s opposing characterizations to interact with each other, or both.

Megan is under several threats of bad luck, this escapade taking place (published) on a {{w|Friday the 13th}}, or [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/breaking-a-mirror/ breaking a mirror] and according to myth, harm to body and soul for 7 years, and the risks of blasphemy and angering or losing control during the {{w|evocation}} of spirits, especially considering the quantity and consequent duration of such an invocation.

{{w|Douglas Hofstadter}} (also referenced in [[917: Hofstadter]]) is the author of ''{{w|Gödel, Escher, Bach}}'' and ''{{w|I Am a Strange Loop}}''. In the former book, among many other discussions of infinite loops, he points a television camera at the screen on which its image is projected, forming an endless series of screens similar to panel 2 of this comic. In the latter book he focuses on the idea of minds being self-referential. "In the end, we are self-perceiving, self-inventing, locked-in mirages that are little miracles of self-reference". This blends with the idea of the images of the person looking in the mirror being reflected endlessly.

==Transcript==
:[Megan sets up a full mirror facing a bathroom-counter mirror.]

:[Megan looks through the bathroom counter mirror to see the infinite reflections.]

:Megan: Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary.

:[Megan ducks as the infinite Bloody Marys pop out between the two mirrors above her head.]
:''RAAGHHHHH''

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

2349: Rabbit Introduction

2020-08-25T07:46:32Z

Yngvadottir: More ce, incl. wiki syntax italics for emphasis instead of HTML.

{{comic
| number = 2349
| date = August 21, 2020
| title = Rabbit Introduction
| image = rabbit_introduction.png
| titletext = Washington state is seeing great success with reintroducing the Columbia River Basin subpopulation. We cannot allow them to further widen the interstate bun gap.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a RABBIT RESEARCH GRANT COMMITTEE. More needed on the title text. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Cueball]] is giving a presentation on the {{w|pygmy rabbit}} to a group of panelists, requesting a grant to introduce the species to the eastern United States. The head of the panel, [[Blondie]], asks about typical reasons for introducing a species. If they were native to an area, but had been locally depopulated, re-introduction can help to restore the local ecosystem, but Cueball admits this is not the case. Another reason animal populations may be introduced is to control a local pest. Cueball seems to have no idea what the impact on the local ecosystem would be. In fact, he makes quite clear that his reasoning is simply that the creatures are tiny and cute, and he wants to spread them. He also appears to be entirely perplexed that the panel doesn't feel the same way.

Blondie, very reasonably, immediately moves to deny the request. Not only would such a grant expend funds for no legitimate scientific or ecological purpose, but it would risk serious and unstudied impacts on the local ecosystem ({{w|Rabbits in Australia#Effects on Australia's ecology|especially considering that this very thing has happened with rabbits before}}). However, at this point, the other three panelists - [[White Hat]], [[Megan]] and [[Hairy]] - have been swayed by Cueball's unconventional argument. All three of them are visibly entranced by the cuteness of the rabbits, and appear willing to fund the request purely based on affection for the animals. This is sort of the opposite of the "{{w|charismatic megafauna}}" method of conservation - charismatic ''minifauna'': the more mini, the more charismatic.

The title text mentions [https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/columbia-basin-pygmy-rabbits-washington the effort] to reintroduce the {{w|Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit}} into their native area of the {{w|Columbia River drainage basin}}. It refers to an "Interstate Bun Gap", suggesting a competition between states over which has the most and/or cutest rabbits. That phrase is a ''reductio ad absurdum'' of other gaps in capabilities between states and nations, such as the {{w|bomber gap}} and {{w|missile gap}} (widely-publicized shortages - later revealed to be fictional - of the respective nuclear arsenals of the United States compared to the Soviet Union), perhaps similar to the satirical "mine shaft gap" from the 1964 film ''{{w|Dr. Strangelove}}''.

This comic continues an xkcd tradition of dealing with the subjective cuteness of rabbits as a scientific discipline ([[1682: Bun]]). [[Randall]] seems fascinated with the cuteness of lagomorphs, as it is a [[:Category:Buns|recurring subject]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing in front of a screen and pointing at it with a stick. On the screen is a rabbit shown next to a smartphone, some keys on a key-chain, and two coins. The phone is larger than the rabbit.]
:Cueball: The US's smallest rabbit species is the pygmy rabbit from the Great Basin area.
:Cueball: We're seeking a grant to introduce them into the east.

:[Blondie, White Hat, Megan and Hairy sit behind a long table. Blondie leans both her arms on the table. Hairy has one arm on the table. The other two have their arms down. Cueball replies to Blondie's question from off-panel.]
:Blondie: Are they native here?
:Cueball (off-panel): No.
:Blondie: Will they control some invasive pest?
:Cueball (off-panel): Dunno!
:Blondie: Then...Why would you do this?

:[In a frameless panel Cueball is seen in front of the screen, which is seen from the side. He points to something on the screen with the pointer, while looking over his shoulder.]
:Cueball: I don't understand.
:Cueball: Did you '''''see''''' how small they are?
:Cueball: They're so round!
:Cueball: ''Those tiny ears!''

:[Back to the four people behind the desk. Blondie and White Hat are in the same positions but Megan has both her hands up into her hair, and Hairy has one arm on the table, and the other is held up high with a finger pointing up.]
:Blondie: I see. I'm afraid we'll be denying your grant.
:White Hat: Hang on. He '''''is''''' right about their ears...
:Megan: The little feet!
:Hairy: I vote we fund them!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Buns]]

2347: Dependency

2020-08-18T03:22:52Z

Yngvadottir: Linked and explained "npm", some tweaks to explanation incl. *up* the chain for the thing that would be a problem if it broke, shortening in transcription w/ addition left and right.

{{comic
| number = 2347
| date = August 17, 2020
| title = Dependency
| image = dependency.png
| titletext = Someday ImageMagick will finally break for good and we'll have a long period of scrambling as we try to reassemble civilization from the rubble.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A PROJECT [[User:Dgbrt|SOME RANDOM PERSON]] HAS BEEN THANKLESSLY MAINTAINING SINCE 2013. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Software design from the late 2010s onwards focused on a model of re-usability and modularization, creating micro-services which were the logical extreme of such a conclusion. While in theory, such a system may sound good for developers who would need to write and maintain many fewer lines of code, systems which are highly optimized are also highly susceptible to rapid changes. For example, the famous left-pad incident in Javascript's {{w|npm (software)|NPM}} package manager left many major and minor web services which at some level or another depended on it unable to build. A disgruntled developer unpublishing 11 lines of code was able to break everybody's build, because everyone was using it. [https://www.theregister.com/2016/03/23/npm_left_pad_chaos/]

The current model of libraries and open-source development (topics which Randall has addressed extensively in the past) relies heavily on the free and continued dedication of unpaid hobbyists. Though some major projects such as Linux may be able to garner enough attention to build an organization, many smaller projects, which are in turn reused by larger projects, may only be maintained by one person, either the founder or another who has taken the torch. Maintaining libraries requires both extensive knowledge of the library itself as well as any use cases and the broader community around it, which usually is suited for maintainers who have spent years at the task, and thus cannot be easily replaced. Thus, there are many abandoned projects on the internet as people move on to greener pastures. Far from the days of backwards compatibility, that's usually not a problem, unless a project happens to be far up the dependency chain, as illustrated, in which case there may be a crisis down the road for both the developers and the users down the chain.

{{w|ImageMagick}}, mentioned in the title text, is a popular, standalone utility released in 1990 that is used for performing transformations between various graphics file formats, and various other transformations. While there are also numerous libraries and API's for performing these tasks within larger programs, ImageMagick is so popular and easy to use that many programs find it easier to just {{w|Shell (computing)#Other uses|shell out}} to ImageMagick to perform a necessary transformation. They therefore {{w|Dependency hell|depend}} on ImageMagick, and would break if ImageMagick were to disappear.

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

[A tower of blocks is shown. The upper half consists of many tiny blocks balanced on top of one another to form smaller towers, labeled:]

All modern digital infrastructure

[The blocks rest on larger blocks lower down in the image, finally on a single large block. This is balanced on top of a set of blocks on the left, and on the right, a single tiny block placed on its side. This one is labeled:]

A project some random person in Nebraska has been thanklessly maintaining since 2003

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

2347: Dependency

2020-08-18T03:05:17Z

Yngvadottir: replaced link to ImageMagick homepage w/ Wikipedia article link.

{{comic
| number = 2347
| date = August 17, 2020
| title = Dependency
| image = dependency.png
| titletext = Someday ImageMagick will finally break for good and we'll have a long period of scrambling as we try to reassemble civilization from the rubble.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A PROJECT [[User:Dgbrt|SOME RANDOM PERSON]] HAS BEEN THANKLESSLY MAINTAINING SINCE 2013. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Software design from the late 2010s onwards focused on a model of re-usability and modularization, creating micro-services which were the logical extreme of such a conclusion. While in theory, such a system may sound good for developers who would need to write and maintain many fewer lines of code, systems which are highly optimized are also highly susceptible to rapid changes. For example, the famous left-pad incident in Javascript's npm left many major and minor web services which at some level or another depended on it unable to build. A disgruntled developer unpublishing 11 lines of code was able to break everybody's build, because everyone was using it. [https://www.theregister.com/2016/03/23/npm_left_pad_chaos/]

The current model of libraries and open-source development (topics which Randall has addressed extensively in the past) relies heavily on the free and continued dedication of unpaid hobbyists. Though some major projects such as Linux may be able to garner enough attention to build an organization around it, many smaller projects, which are in turn reused by larger projects, may only be maintained by one person, either the founder or another who has taken the torch. Maintaining libraries requires both extensive knowledge of the library itself as well as any use cases and the broader community around it, which usually is suited for maintainers who have spent years at the task, and thus cannot be easily replaced. Thus, there are many abandoned projects on the internet as people move on to greener pastures. Far from the days of backwards compatibility, that's usually not a problem, unless a project happens to be far down the dependency chain, such as illustrated in the example, in which case there may be a minor crisis down the road for both the developers and the users down the chain.

{{w|ImageMagick}}, mentioned in the title text, is a popular, standalone utility released in 1990 that is used for performing transformations between various graphics file formats, and various other transformations. While there are also numerous libraries and API's for performing these tasks within larger programs, ImageMagick is so popular and easy to use that many programs find it easier to just {{w|Shell (computing)#Other uses|shell out}} to ImageMagick to perform a necessary transformation. They therefore {{w|Dependency hell|depend}} on ImageMagick, and would break if ImageMagick were to disappear.

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

[A tower of blocks is shown. The upper half consists of many tiny blocks balanced on top of one another, labeled:]

All modern digital infrastructure

[The blocks get progressively larger leading down the image, leading to a single large block on top of which everything else is placed. This is balanced on top of two sets of blocks, one of which consists of a single tiny block placed on its side. This one is labeled:]

A project some random person in Nebraska has been thanklessly maintaining since 2003

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

Jill

2020-08-11T17:13:07Z

Yngvadottir: /* Characteristics */ Wrong word corrected; agreement error; 1737: Datacenter Scale removed from list since it is mentioned in prose above, replaced with 2344: 26-Second Pulse, whose discussion brought me here.

{{Infobox character
| image = Science_Girl.png
| imagesize =
| caption = Science Girl as seen in [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]]
| first_appearance = [[585: Outreach]]
}}
'''Science Girl''' is a [[stick figure]] character in [[xkcd]].

She became the first child to have her own character category. She is distinguished by being clearly a child (compared to adults around her or her behavior), her hair is typically set in a hair bun but compared to [[Hairbun]] it is more loose, she may have more curly hair and typically there is a string of hair hanging down her back from the hair bun. As she is also clearly a child she cannot be confused with Hairbun under normal conditions.

She can have several different hair styles though with [[1058: Old-Timers|two buns]] or no buns but a [[585: Outreach|ponytail]]. The best way to recognize her is from her behavior, where she is very interested in science, and typically more knowledgeable about the subject at hand than the adults around her, which may either results in embarrassment, enlightenment or even dangerous situations depending on how obtuse or condescending the adults around her behaves...

==Characteristics==
Science Girl is a minor character in xkcd. But she has had several comics where she is the main protagonist (or antagonist in some cases).

She is not necessarily the same character from comic to comic, but can be used to represent the general kid interested in science. She seems, however, to be more of a character like [[Black Hat]], with her ability to make other people feel uncomfortable, than an every woman like [[Hairbun]]. But she is not generic evil, and thus in no way would she represent a young version of [[Danish]].

One of her largest parts is in [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] (see her character image), which is one of those that becomes dangerous for the obtuse adults. She is also ready to commit crime, even though she knows about environmental issues in [[1659: Tire Swing]] (the only comic with her so far where there are no adults, but it is clear that she is a girl), where she, along with another girl, steal the tires off a man's car, and then fight him. But she may also just induce new interest for science in [[Megan]] as in [[1104: Feathers]], or just display general interest in science as in [[1352: Cosmologist on a Tire Swing]] or the first comic (found so far) with her [[585: Outreach]] (where she only had a ponytail). It was also in this first appearance we learn why she wants to become a scientist.

In two cases she is depicted as a young '''adult woman'''. These are in [[1520: Degree-Off]], where the hair and behavior fit perfectly with a grown up Science Girl and [[1737: Datacenter Scale]], where she appears to be running a data center.
*There are other comics with women looking like this, but in those instances there is no scientific context that could relate to science girls so they have been listed as Hairbun for now:
**[[703: Honor Societies]]
**[[708: Sex Dice]]
**[[1601: Isolation]]
**[[1608: Hoverboard]] in every instance.
**[[2344: 26-Second Pulse]]
*Maybe this will be changed later, when the community has had a chance to look into this new character.

==Gallery==
Since Science Girl is depicted in different ways so here is a gallery of some of these different appearances, her first appearance, her standard appearance, two buns and adult:

[[File:Science Girl with ponytail 585.png]][[File:Science_Girl.png]] [[File:Science Girl with two hair buns 1058.png]] [[File:Hair Bun Girl with curly hair and ponytail biologist.png]]

==See also==
*[[:Category:Comics featuring Science Girl|Comics featuring Science Girl]]

{{navbox-characters}}

2332: Cursed Chair

2020-07-13T23:56:11Z

Yngvadottir: OK, it's called title text and I think I found the Wirecutter thing.

{{comic
| number = 2332
| date = July 14, 2020
| title = Cursed Chair
| image = cursed_chair.png
| titletext = The Wirecutter staff called the Herman Miller Siege Perilous "the most cursed product we've ever had to fight" and "nearly as immortal as it boasts."
}}

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

[[Beret Guy]] informs [[Cueball]] that he purchased a cursed office chair. Cueball is skeptical of this, and of Beret Guy's claim that the store he bought the chair from was gone when he went to return it. Cueball suggests that maybe the shop was simply closed due to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, as is the case for wide variety of non-cursed businesses. Beret Guy takes this as proof that the chair somehow caused the pandemic, a claim Cueball meets incredulously. In the final panel, Beret Guy is doing battle with the chair, which taunts him. Cueball remarks that it would be simpler to shop at {{w|IKEA}}, a store famous for its minimalist flat-pack furniture.

The cursed chair and the boarded-up store are references to the stores that sell cursed items mentioned in [[1772: Startup Opportunity]].

In the title text, the {{w|Siege Perilous}} is the empty seat at the Round Table in Arthurian legend. {{w|Herman Miller (manufacturer)|Herman Miller}} is an American office furniture company that produced the {{w|Aeron chair}}, which is the basis for [https://www.instagram.com/blantonmuseum/p/BCYaKA4GLrg/ an artwork] by {{w|Glenn Kaino}} called ''The Siege Perilous''. {{w|Wirecutter (website)|''Wirecutter''}} is a website that evaluates and recommends consumer products.

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

:Beret Guy: Remember how I bought my desk chair from that mysterious shop?
:Cueball: I think so?
:Beret Guy: Turns out the chair was cursed.

:Beret Guy: So I went back to return it, but the shop was gone! The door was boarded up!
:Cueball: I think most of the shops are closed because of coronavirus.

:Beret Guy: Oh no!
:Beret Guy: ''The curse must have caused the pandemic!
:Cueball (off-panel): What.

:Beret Guy: If I destroy the chair, we can stop the virus!
:Cueball: What.

:Beret Guy: ''Die, plague-bringer!''
:Desk chair: '''Hee hee, I can not die'''
:Cueball: Maybe you should just shop at IKEA.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2332: Cursed Chair

2020-07-13T23:51:13Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ Wirecutters stumps me, but Siege Perilous and Herman Miller I can do.

{{comic
| number = 2332
| date = July 14, 2020
| title = Cursed Chair
| image = cursed_chair.png
| titletext = The Wirecutter staff called the Herman Miller Siege Perilous "the most cursed product we've ever had to fight" and "nearly as immortal as it boasts."
}}

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

[[Beret Guy]] informs [[Cueball]] that he purchased a cursed office chair. Cueball is skeptical of this, and of Beret Guy's claim that the store he bought the chair from was gone when he went to return it. Cueball suggests that maybe the shop was simply closed due to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}, as is the case for wide variety of non-cursed businesses. Beret Guy takes this as proof that the chair somehow caused the pandemic, a claim Cueball meets incredulously. In the final panel, Beret Guy is doing battle with the chair, which taunts him. Cueball remarks that it would be simpler to shop at {{w|IKEA}}, a store famous for its minimalist flat-pack furniture.

The cursed chair and the boarded-up store are references to the stores that sell cursed items mentioned in [[1772: Startup Opportunity]].

In the tooltip text, the {{w|Siege Perilous}} is the empty seat at the Round Table in Arthurian legend. {{w|Herman Miller (manufacturer)|Herman Miller}} is an American office furniture company that produced the {{w|Aeron chair}}, which is the basis for [https://www.instagram.com/blantonmuseum/p/BCYaKA4GLrg/ an artwork] by {{w|Glenn Kaino}} called ''Siege Perilous''.

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

:Beret Guy: Remember how I bought my desk chair from that mysterious shop?
:Cueball: I think so?
:Beret Guy: Turns out the chair was cursed.

:Beret Guy: So I went back to return it, but the shop was gone! The door was boarded up!
:Cueball: I think most of the shops are closed because of coronavirus.

:Beret Guy: Oh no!
:Beret Guy: ''The curse must have caused the pandemic!
:Cueball (off-panel): What.

:Beret Guy: If I destroy the chair, we can stop the virus!
:Cueball: What.

:Beret Guy: ''Die, plague-bringer!''
:Desk chair: '''Hee hee, I can not die'''
:Cueball: Maybe you should just shop at IKEA.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2321: Low-Background Metal

2020-06-17T17:18:21Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ Low-background steel. Removed summary section on Greek fire, covered in last para and containing irrelevant claim that it burns underwater.

{{comic
| number = 2321
| date = June 17, 2020
| title = Low-Background Metal
| image = low_background_metal.png
| titletext = The only effect on the history books were a few confusing accounts of something called 'Greek fire.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TIME TRAVELER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, Megan and Black Hat have invented time travel. Time travel is a common trope in Science Fiction, and such a discovery would be likely to change the world as we know it. However, Megan and Black Hat's machine requires the use of metal with little to no radiation, meaning currently available metals are too passively radioactive for safe use. Noting that the only way they can obtain this metal, which is presumably consumed upon use of the machine, is by salvaging it from ancient Roman ships, they use the machine to travel back in time to when the Roman Empire was at its height in order to sink its vessels and in turn create more Roman lead for them to use.

"Low-background metal" presumably refers to {{w|low-background steel}}, which was produced before atmospheric nuclear tests occurred and therefore does not incorporate {{w|radionuclides}} from the air used in its manufacture; physicists use it in experiments detecting radionuclides.

The title text refers to {{w|Greek fire}}, which was an incendiary weapon invented and employed by the Byzantine empire. It was a flammable liquid used in naval combat to set fire to enemy ships, but the details of its manufacture and deployment are vague. Randall proposes a rather outlandish alternative hypothesis: that all records of Greek fire were actually in reference to the modern weapons used by the time travelers.

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2293: RIP John Conway

2020-04-13T20:19:00Z

Yngvadottir: Pointed out there's a category.

This is really very impressive. The design of the stick figure to allow it to release a glider that ascends upwards (the "soul" rising to "heaven" or whatever) with the body decaying - that's a hard thing to get right using just the Game of Life rules. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.175|172.69.68.175]] 17:49, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
:Although Randall is clever, the Game of Life has been studied for so long that I'm sure this is a well-known animation. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 18:29, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
:: I played with the game a bunch in the past, but I've only done a bit of research after this appeared. I don't immediately find any previous report of this starting arrangement

was there a placeholder comic posted before the gif went live?

Looks like this is second animated comic in xkcd, besides 1116(though 1190 could be possibly counted together) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.190.16|172.69.190.16]] 19:34, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
:Uh, [[1331: Frequency]] and [[1264: Slideshow]] immediately come to mind, and then I remember about [[961: Eternal Flame]]. There's a lot more than two. [[User:Volleo6144|Volleo6144]] ([[User talk:Volleo6144|talk]]) 19:43, 13 April 2020 (UTC)
::[[:Category:Comics with animation]]; just added it. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 20:19, 13 April 2020 (UTC)

2293: RIP John Conway

2020-04-13T20:17:16Z

Yngvadottir: + cat (animation)

{{comic
| number = 2293
| date = April 13, 2020
| title = RIP John Conway
| image = rip_john_conway.gif
| titletext = 1937-2020
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GLIDER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|John Horton Conway|John Conway}}, an English mathematician, passed away of {{w|COVID-19}} two days before this comic's release. As such, [[Randall]] created this memorial comic. One of Conway's most famous creations was {{w|Conway's Game of Life}}, which consists of an infinite square grid and rules of how it changes over time. Although the rules are simple, the system supports immense complexity.

The Game of Life proceeds in a series of generations, with ''live'' and ''dead'' cells in each generation obeying these rules:
*Any live cell (dark colored) with two or three live neighbors survives to the next generation.
*Any dead cell (white) with three live neighbors becomes a live cell in the next generation.
*All other live cells die in the next generation. Similarly, all other dead cells stay dead.

This comic begins with the shape of a stick figure as the starting configuration, which then evolves according to the rules of the Game of Life. The pattern breaks into three parts, two of which stay at the same level as the original figure's feet before rapidly melting away, and a third (called a "glider") that ascends up and to the right. Randall may be suggesting a soul breaking away from the rapidly disintegrating corporeal remains here.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A pixelated image of a stick figure. The image is animated, with the pixels changing according to the rules of Conway's Game of Life. The figure splits into two groups, one of which dissipates. The other becomes a 'glider' and moves off to the top-right corner of the image and out of frame. The animation then repeats.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Tribute]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]

2293: RIP John Conway

2020-04-13T20:14:14Z

Yngvadottir: /* Transcript */ Corrected at end: glider moves out of frame, glider doesn't do the repeating.

Talk:2131: Emojidome

2019-04-02T18:27:27Z

Yngvadottir: /* Draws */ Can we have names added everywhere in the explanation, please? Many of the emoji are impossible to see.

Why are brackets relevent to this time of year.
The FA Cup has reached the semi-final, the Champions League and UEFA have reached the qarter finals. The European Rugby Champions Cup and European Challenge have reached the semi-finals. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 17:02, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

I've checked the network tab and console - nothing really seems to happen when you vote, which may be something we want to put on the explanation tomorrow - Myxoh

I suspect the real april fools joke is going to come on Wednesday when xkdc posts an app showing us our psychological profiles that they are now selling to marketing companies after data-mining our emotional preferences to marketing firms - Nosajimiki

@Nosajimiki: psychological profiles of xkcd fans. That might be some interesting marketing. - 5Cincinatus

@Myxoh: I came here to see if anyone else had noticed this! But, I do also see a websocket connection to emojidome.xkcd.com, I bet it's counting votes that way.

There is a websocket connection. A message is sent every time you vote. It looks like there are also status update messages every second (saying which emoji currently has exactly how many votes, i suspect this changes the amount of hearts that show up), and "bracket start" messages every so often. The bracket start message seems to contain hundreds of upcoming emoji pairs. Edit: a bracket start is sent at the start of every match (so every ~30 seconds). It also contains logs of which messages to show for previous matches, and which emoji are currently battling.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.138.10|172.69.138.10]] 16:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

There seems to be nothing stopping me from clicking multiple times. Do you think it actually counts it all those times? Can I click-spam to say "this is much better"? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:48, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:Randall just confirmed that you can vote multiple times, although if you click too fasr you get rate limited. (*warning: generic ip address assigned to phone data.*) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.47|172.69.70.47]] 22:35, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:Where did he confirm that? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.105|162.158.93.105]] 10:44, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

Well this is fun. Look like there are 512 symbols, meaning 256 first-round contests. The first round would take (at 38 seconds / round) ~2.7 hours. The remaining rounds, from an estimate of geometric progression, would just under double this, meaning this comic will run for ~ 5 hours until we have our winner... ~alexandicity [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.177|172.69.226.177]] 16:51, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Did he just add a scroll bar to the previous matches? I didn't notice it earlier [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.148|162.158.255.148]] 18:17, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:Nope, you were able to scroll before, too. At least about 2 hours ago. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

While some of the recaps of past battles are generic (taco vs sandwich: "One for the history books"), many seem to be specifically written for the battle (light bulb vs candle: "Some would argue that this one was settled in the 1800s"). I wonder if/how much this will continue into round 2.

Round two has just begun, and the timeout has been bumped to 60 seconds. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 18:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:If that trend continues, the full competition will take pretty close to 24 hours. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:45, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:It looks like it's 1:14/round, which is double what the time was in round one. Will round three be 2:28? 1:51?
::It's just over 1:15/round from the history JSON (plus some hundredths of a second, but it appears 1:15 is the intent)
:::Hadn't looked there. Round one concluded at 18:39:20-ish, 9560 seconds from 16:00:00. At 256 battles, that's 37.34 seconds/battle. However, it looks like the first battle ended at 15:59:57, which would add about 40 seconds, 9600 seconds/256=37.5 seconds exactly. Doubling for round 2 gives 75 seconds.
::2 minutes 30 seconds per battle now. Looks like each round will be 2 hours 40 minutes long.
:: Well it is after 5:00 PST and round 4 just started - and this thing is at exactly 5 minutes a round - which means another 160 minutes for the round. Will see in 2 hours and 40 minutes if the times go up to minutes. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.65|172.69.33.65]] 00:25, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

And while the match-ups winners are typically colored, and underlined, the losers are endgame grey.

Has anyone determined if multiple-voting is actually counted? For me at least the vote button fades back to gray after I click it, which implies you can/should click it again, but that may not actually be processed. We might add a clarification about that to the explanation. [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 19:01, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
: A reddit user on the r/xkcd thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/b84at1/xkcd_2131_emojidome_script_src2131comicjs/) claims to have attempted "vote stuffing via the console" with no noticeable change in vote totals. So it looks like it may be sending it client-side, but only counting the vote once server-side --l

::Just few minutes ago there was message in "fun facts" that you can click multiple times, although it's not counted if you click too many times (or something like that). I guess that vote stuffing was too much. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:34, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

It would appear that we are supposed to believe the commentary is live, and unscripted:
" {"This one is a true test of the audience today.",
"Just to stress this again. Live commentary, folks. Completely unscripted and coming in hot.} "--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.173|162.158.79.173]] 19:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:It's clearly live because the result of a previous round is affecting the next round's commentary - and the combinatorial explosion would prohibit that from being remotely plausible. We're watching live comedy here! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 19:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
: On the dog vs. wolf, he said "Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks." Proof I guess. HI RANDALL! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:31, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Is there really anything we can put for the transcript? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:25, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
: We can go into the socket data and pull out the commentary for each matchup. -- [[User:Bobson|Bobson]] ([[User talk:Bobson|talk]]) 04:05, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

Any ideas on how the commentary is done? It seems to sort of match the emojis.
[[User:Svízel přítula|Svízel přítula]] ([[User talk:Svízel přítula|talk]]) 19:31, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
: It seems that Randall is commentating this live, as he periodically says it's live in the robot commentator text. See above. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:36, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
::Perhaps not "live" as each round 2 matchup was known 160 minutes before it was voted on. He could comment on the battle itself, and/or provide a comment if one or the other combatant won. I think he's a couple hours ahead of us.
::: I dunno. Whenever a new battle starts, there is a default message, that is soon replaced by a more pertinent message. That seems to suggest that he's doing it on the fly. [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:03, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
::::If that's live, Randall, and if you see this, give us a shout-out as proof. -Brent
::::: Just because it ''says'' it's live, doesn't mean that it really is. It's also possible that the actual clicks are being ignored and the reported numbers are all pre-generated. Much less likely than that it's actually counting and Randall is inserting commentary live (with default messages when he doesn't), but possible. -- [[User:Bobson|Bobson]] ([[User talk:Bobson|talk]]) 12:50, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

This is a quick piece of python to see the json results (and commentary):
<nowiki>import json, urllib.request
d = json.loads(urllib.request.urlopen("https://emojidome.xkcd.com/2131/socket ").read().decode('utf-8'))
for g in d['bracket']['played'][0]:
c1, c2 = g['game']
print(f"{c1['score']} {c1['competitor']}-{c2['competitor']} {c2['score']}")</nowiki>
[[User:Tammo80|Tammo80]] ([[User talk:Tammo80|talk]]) 19:42, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
: or if you want to see the vote count live in browser: https://emojidome.playcode.io/ -Andy 22:01, April 2019
:: Awesome, thank you [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:23, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

There must be some kind of manipulation going on with the votes. There is NO WAY the poop emoji would lose to the skull emoji in round two. It was my guess for the winner >:( [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.138|162.158.106.138]] 20:50, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
: And the 100 emoji just lost to the shiny heart. :(

Well, there's the comment "How do you know for sure that your votes are doing anything?". For my side because every single one I voted for lost so far. Well, I'm not a lucky charm, apparently... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.11|141.101.104.11]] 10:14, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

The second round bracket was released, but is hidden behind the bottom nav buttons: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_256.png --[[User:Thefallen138|Thefallen138]] ([[User talk:Thefallen138|talk]]) 20:56, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

And now the third round has begun. Strangely, the bracket is not visible yet: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_128.png. The delay has been bump to something above two minutes as well. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 21:21, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

: It's here https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_3.png [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.79|162.158.107.79]] 21:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

:: It seems to be he overwrote round_3.png with round_4.png (at least its the same picture)

Both the Emojidome and counter were brought together in iframes https://ducakedhare.co.uk/emojidome.html [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.17|141.101.99.17]] 23:39, 1 April 2019 (UTC)taikedz

Anyone have an IRC room for Emojidome discussion? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.10|162.158.146.10]]

So disappointed he left out the egg plant... :D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

Despite Spaaaaaaaaace winning the battle 🌌 (36285) vs 🚝 (17405), the current bracket chart https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_3.png shows 🚝 as having won. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.13|108.162.242.13]] 13:23, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

What if the April Fools joke of the whole bracket is that the "Vote" buttons were actually switched and all the losers are actually the winners??? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.84|172.68.59.84]] 15:24, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== "Emoji" or "emojis" as the plural? ==

Due to the nature of the Japanese language, "emoji" is technically both the plural and the singular - however, the improper form "emojis" is used more as a plural frequently nowadays among English speakers. Which form should this explanation use? --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 22:27, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

The "friends in Australia" comment was made during the last round's wink vs upside down smile battle. This is probably a pun on how Australia is on the other side of the world from America; I don't think Randall was seriously saying he witnessed an influx of Australians inbound. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.82|108.162.219.82]] 00:47, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== Draws ==

What would happen if any of the fights resulted in a draw? (same number of votes for both)

Given the # of matchups, it's not actually that unlikely.

We should try to test this. Gotta keep Randall on his feet!

Pretty sure one early on resulted in a tie.

: The very first round was 0-0. I guess no one refreshed at exactly the right minute to see it. --[[User:Bobson|Bobson]] ([[User talk:Bobson|talk]]) 04:05, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

: Actually, Birthday Cake vs Cupcake was a tie at 3658:3658. Birthday Cake advanced. I wonder why? (from the socket: [{"score":3658,"competitor":"ðŸŽ‚"},{"score":3658,"competitor":"ðŸ§"}]) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.138|162.158.106.138]] 04:54, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

Is Birthday Cake vs. Cupcake the draw referenced at the end of the "How it worked" section? Can we please have names added to all the emoji in the explanation text; I have never found a way to blow up emoji to a visible size, so frequently find I can't see them clearly enough to identify them, and in that bit at the end of "How it worked", the first one isn't rendering on my computer anyway. I'm guessing that the other is the birthday cake; really, I have come to hate emoji because they are so tiny. At least Randall made them nice and big on the voting screens. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 18:27, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== Emoji Fonts ==
Having an emoji font is required to see emoji displayed on sites such as http://srv-01.valo.media/ . If anybody else is looking for a way to display these, there's a good free emoji font available here:
https://github.com/eosrei/twemoji-color-font
It includes a script to replace the default Windows emoji fonts to get them to display properly on windows. Unfortunately it's only black-and-white in chrome. If anybody knows any better options, please let me know!

: For Ubuntu Linux users: sudo apt install fonts-noto-color-emoji -- then restart Chrome/Firefox.
: [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 11:29, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== Commentary Transcript ==

I've written a script that pulls the commentary history and transforms it into a wiki table. It's up to date as of right now, and I'll run it again in the morning and one last time after the final round. If you have formatting suggestions, just put them here and I'll incorporate it when I regenerate the table. -- [[User:Bobson|Bobson]] ([[User talk:Bobson|talk]]) 04:58, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

: Wonderful, thank you! Could you perhaps make the winner bold (or underlined like in the comic)? -Andy

== Successful Ballot-stuffing? ==

As I type this, I'm watching owl blast past 180000 votes in the owl-octopus bout. That means that in about 10 minutes, owl has earned more votes than all the votes earned in the entirety of any other individual bout. I could be totally off-base, but that seems vaguely suspicious to me. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 05:28, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

I concur: that is highly suspicious. Fortunately, nothing of importance is at stake here, even if you were really pulling for the octopus. At this moment, we're ±10 minutes into bee vs pineapple and nothing comparable has happened. It may be an isolated incident. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.144|162.158.106.144]] 05:50, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

I've seen enough hentai to...what? The *owl* has won? O RLY? I demand a recount! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.6|141.101.105.6]] 08:10, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

YOLO. You Obviously Like Owls. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.11|141.101.104.11]] 10:11, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

For the violin vs the curling stone ('classical vs house'), the stone was ahead, but in the last four minutes I spammed my discord server to vote and we just got it over the line. - fudgeforlife
: Rrrr. :angry face: I love curling, and of course I wanted the stone to win. With curling no-one complains if I fall asleep watching. But with classical music everyone complains... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.89|141.101.104.89]] 12:49, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
: A similar thing happened for the "scared cat vs devil" bout - those two were consistently nearly tied until about T-10 minutes, whereupon the devil voting rate spiked and devil finished ~12000 votes ahead. The "cat vs hedgehog" bout was also similar - hedgehog had a consistent lead of ~1000 votes until about T-10 minutes, when the hedgehog voting rates spiked and hedgehog ended up finishing ~10000 votes ahead.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.28|162.158.214.28]] 14:39, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

What? It's possible the owl cheated? IT'S POSSIBLE OCTOPUS TOTALLY SHOULD HAVE WON IF THE MATCH WAS LEGITIMATE? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.226|162.158.75.226]] 12:02, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== Avocado quote citation ==

I'm not sure where to put this. The "I like avocados because they taste pretty good and also they come with a cool wood ball you get to keep" quote is from here: https://twitter.com/jitka/status/236240801926086656 . [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.41|172.69.33.41]] 07:15, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== How sure are we the voting is real ==
I'm no expert at all, but it there any way that the websites that shows the number of votes live etc. can test whether these votes are real, or something Randall has pre-programmed? Not that I would not believe he was willing to stay up for the duration of this day, but it is an April Fools' Day comic, so he is completely "allowed" to have decided him self who should win all matched and have made up the commentaries in advance. Yes it would take along time, but not longer than doing it on the fly. It could just be that joke on us, that our votes does nothing and we just see how Randall has decided the dome should end. Can anyone go in to this, and explain why it is as it is either way (for sure made up, for sure real or uncertain if real or fake)? (PS I dislike these sections in the commentaries, but there are already 6...) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

It should be noted that Milky Way won over Maglev by a long shot, but the bracket shows otherwise. - Brent [[Special:Contributions/172.69.50.58|172.69.50.58]] 13:14, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== Which picture should we use for the comic ==
The current picture shown is not relevant. That is only shown to web crawlers that pick new images up. Does anyone have a picture of the very first match? Not sure that is relevant either. Anything in between could be used. like this:
[[File:2131_Emojidome_example.png]]
--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:43, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
:I’m assuming there’ll be a picture at the end. Show that when it finishes. [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 13:53, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
::I added the current picture originally as a temporary solution since the bot didn't upload one. No one commented on the image so I kept it though I considered using something like this: [[File:emojidome_blank.png]]
::[[User:Asdf|Asdf]] ([[User talk:Asdf|talk]]) 14:17, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

Right now, for me at least, the comic shows [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/emojidome.png this image] with the hover-text "Thank you to the xkcd April 1st volunteers/commentators, including @Chromakode, Kevin, @Aiiane, Patrick, Kat, Reuven, @cotrone, @bstaffin, @zigdon, schwal, Stereo, and everyone who voted!" Just another option, though that image doesn't explain the comic set-out during the competition.
:Yes for sure we should use that now. I should have thought of that. Can see it has already been uploaded, but it takes long time, hours, from these pictures have been changed to the change can be seen ion the site. I have no idea why, but have experienced it several times, so later today the final picture should be ready. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:17, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== References and jokes in the commentary ==
Should we start explaining some of the robot announcer's commentary lines? Some of them are clear references to things. For example, the "Kickpuncher vs. Punchkicker" line is a reference to Community (Kickpuncher is a character in an in-universe film series, and Punchkicker is one of the characters' OC based on it.)
:Maybe make extra pages like has been done for several of the previous years huge comics, especially April Fools' comics. And yes it would be interesting to explain them... But that is a huge job. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:17, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

== Errors ==
There’s a mistake in the bracket, the genome won but is grayed out [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 13:14, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
:Same with stars vs flying saucer --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:17, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
::The genome has been corrected, but not the stars. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:48, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
:::Yeah - stars is currently duelling volcano - but the bracket shows that stars was eliminated by monorail. This kinda suggests that the bracket is being manually generated! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:59, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
Speaking of errors, hearts no longer show up on mobile. [[User:Netherin5|“That Guy from the Netherlands”]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 14:31, 2 April 2019 (UTC)
:I think that was intentional, as, at least in my experience, the comic was a massive battery hit. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.4|108.162.241.4]] 17:11, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

Disappointed no one thought to get the egg to at least the second round. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.142|162.158.255.142]] 15:27, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

: Many of the rounds were incredibly close - even the final was won by just a couple of percent. It was rare for there to be an overwhelming majority on either side. But it's incredible that 1,393,048 votes were cast in the final...given that all those people had to be there over just the 26 minute voting timeslot. I presume explainxkcd was taken down by overwhelming traffic? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 16:44, 2 April 2019 (UTC)

2131: Emojidome

2019-04-02T18:17:41Z

Yngvadottir: Closed parenths.

{{comic
| number = 2131
| date = April 1, 2019
| title = Emojidome
| image = emojidome.png
| titletext = Thank you to the xkcd April 1st volunteers/commentators, including @Chromakode, Kevin, @Aiiane, Patrick, Kat, Reuven, @cotrone, @bstaffin, @zigdon, schwal, Stereo, and everyone who voted!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 😇. Needs more elaboration on font influencing emoji..}}

This is the ninth [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous fools comic was [[1975: Right Click]] from Sunday April 1, 2018.

In this interactive comic, which began at noon ET (16:00 UTC) on April 1, 2019 and ended a day later, users were shown two emoji, and voted for their favorite before the time ran out. 512 different emojis were paired against each other in a cup or {{w|Bracket (tournament)|bracket}} system, with only one winner. See more below under [[#How it worked|How it worked]].

Brackets, like the one in this comic - for finding the best emoji, is a recurring theme in xkcd. It is also relevant for this time of year, and two years ago in 2017, the first comic in April, [[1819: Sweet 16]] from April 3rd was a bracket, referencing {{w|March Madness}}. The {{w|2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament|2019 version}} of the {{w|National Collegiate Athletic Association}} {{w|College basketball}} national championship tournament began March 19th and ends April 8th 2019. So this comic could also be said to reference this, although it is not so explicit here. Earlier Randall made another large and "silly" bracket in [[1529: Bracket]] (which someone then actually made into an online voting system, just like in this comic).

The title is a reference to the movie ''{{w|Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome}},'' which had the tagline: "Two men enter. One man leaves." The "Thunderdome" in the film is a gladiatorial arena where conflicts are resolved by a duel to the death.

In the final round, the Milky Way emoji (🌌) won against the Hedgehog emoji (🦔). The comic was updated to show the result.

Clicking the comic links to a bracket of 128 emojis showing the winners: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_of_128.png

==How it worked==
In the first round, the voting period for each bout lasted 37.5 seconds. The voting period for each bout doubled for the second, third, and fourth rounds. The voting period for each bout for the fifth round through the end was 26 minutes. The entire bracket took 24 hours 6 minutes.

Remaining time of a given bout was shown on a timer beneath the voting buttons. If the time remaining was one minute or greater, the time was shown rounded to the nearest minute (e.g., "Remaining Time: 26 minutes"); thus the minute would change on the half minute (e.g., "2 minutes" changed to "1 minute" at 1 minute 30 seconds). If the time remaining was less than a minute, the time was shown in seconds (e.g., "59 seconds"). When there were two (sometimes three) seconds remaining, the timer would display "Time's Up!" through the end of the bout and for a [[1070: Words for Small Sets|couple]] of seconds after the end of the bout while the images for the next bout were loading. Then the next bout would appear and the results of the previous bout would be added to the list of past bouts, with the most recent bout at the top.

Commentary was displayed above the images for each bout, and changed occasionally through the bout. In the first round, the commentary was made up of some stock phrases with a few custom phrases mixed in. Later commentary was tailored to suit each match-up and provided live updates on how each bout was progressing. A final comment was included in the list of past bouts.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Round !! Start (ET) !! Start (UTC) !! Bouts !! Bout length !! Round length
|-
| 1 || 12:00 || 16:00 || 256 || 37.5 s || 2 h 40 m
|-
| 2 || 14:40 || 18:40 || 128 || 1 m 15 s || 2 h 40 m
|-
| 3 || 17:20 || 21:20 || 64 || 2 m 30 s || 2 h 40 m
|-
| 4 || 20:00 || 0:00 || 32 || 5 m || 2 h 40 m
|-
| 5 || 22:40 || 2:40 || 16 || 26 m || 6 h 56 m
|-
| 6 || 5:36 || 9:36 || 8 || 26 m || 3 h 28 m
|-
| 7 || 9:04 || 13:04 || 4 || 26 m || 1 h 44 m
|-
| 8 || 10:48 || 14:48 || 2 || 26 m || 52 m
|-
| 9 || 11:40 || 15:40 || 1 || 26 m || 26 m
|}

The competing candidates are periodically overlaid with heart emojis that float up from the vote button oscillating in a triangle wave pattern before disappearing above the candidate. Below, the results of past bouts are shown with the "loser" displayed in greyscale. Supposedly, the emoji will be eliminated one-by-one until there are a final two emoji facing off, with the one most voted-for being crowned the best emoji. This is likely a parody of March Madness.

The commentary appears to suggest that there's some real-time feedback from the results of the competition, for instance "It seems like our friends over Australia is joining the fun" appeared in the commentary. So does "We are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks." https://i.imgur.com/8kPwjou.png, directly declaring that the commentary is live. Of course this could still have been written before, as it is an April Fools' Day comic.

Note that the schedule might show different emoji pictures than the main voting screen, presumably because of fonts. The image is pre-rendered.

The competing candidates are chosen in order of unicode value at first, resulting in similar emojis being compared. Examples include:

😜 squaring off against 😛 - two emoji playfully sticking their tongues out

🤩 squaring off against 😍 - two smiling emojis with symbols for eyes

😂 squaring off with 🤣 - two emojis that are crying in laughter/joy.

The original title text "🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼" consisted of the wrestlers emoji eight times over. This likely represented the round of 8, where the eight winners then can turn to the winner next to them and continue the quarterfinals, etc. The title text was updated after the final round.

It appears the eggplant emoji (🍆) and the peach emoji (🍑) have been left out of the bracket. This may be a disappointment to some, but is for the reason that they are used to represent the male and female sex organs respectively. Not that Randall has had any issue mentioning these, but he may not wish to have this influence the contest.

A robot face announcer-emoji (🤖) and a link to the full bracket was added at 38 minutes in.
https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket.png shows 512 emojis in a single-elimination tournament.
https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_256.png was added later and shows the 256 emojis that competed on the second round.
https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_3.png was added for the third round. https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_4.png was added for the fourth round. The round 3 bracket was later updated with results during the Volcano vs Owl fight. There was an error where the flying saucer had beaten the stars, which was not the case.
A new bracket image was created for the Round of 32 which seems to be updated with new results as they come in. https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_of_32.png

It is not clear how the winner is decided when both emoji tie for first. This has happened once in 🧁 vs. 🎂 with 3658 points each, where 🎂 was declared winner.

==Alternative viewers==

Real live data with results (clicks) can be seen as JSON-websocket at '''https://emojidome.xkcd.com/2131/socket'''

A live (user-created) vote tally can be found at '''https://emojidome.playcode.io/'''. Thanks Andy! (live updates)

'''http://srv-01.valo.media/''' has a tally with more details, such as all the comments from the announcer, as well as an auto-clicker. (live updates)

'''https://phiresky.github.io/emojidome/''' is a [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/b89zz1/emojidome_live_bracket_viewer/ redditor-made] live bracket display (live updates)

'''https://dancoates.github.io/emojidome/index.html''' is a [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/b8g3av/emojidome_trend_viewer/ redditor-made] graph of the current match-up.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|This transcript is for the image that embeds and automated programs usually see. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
'''This should not be the transcript, also the picture at the top should not be the error image!'''
:[A tournament bracket tree is shown with eight participants each on the left and right side, for a total of sixteen, all of which are the 😰 emoji (a face with eyebrows, one teardrop and a blue forehead). From both sides towards the middle the brackets reduce to eight, then four, two, and one line where the latter join to a rectangle in the middle.]

:Visit xkcd.com to participate

:If you ''are'' on xkcd.com, then you're seeing this
:because of something something JavaScript.

:Listen, websites are hard 😰
=== Round 1===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 😀 (0) vs 😁 (0) '''(Tie - unclear how winner was chosen)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 😀. Coming up next!
|-
| 😆 (207) vs '''😅 (251)''' ||
* Next up, 😅 and 😆.
* I'm really looking forward to everything we're going to see today.
|-
| 😂 (772) vs '''🤣 (824)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 🙂 (939) vs '''🙃 (1494)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🙂. Coming up next!
* You think this is something, folks, well... we're just getting started.
|-
| 😊 (857) vs '''😉 (1774)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😉 vs. 😊.
|-
| '''😇 (1417)''' vs 🥰 (1392) ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 😇 and 🥰 to go head to head.
|-
| '''😍 (2159)''' vs 🤩 (1447) ||
* We will be right back with 😍 vs. 🤩!
|-
| 😗 (1045) vs '''😘 (2595)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😗 vs. 😘.
* This is a day that 😗 has been anticipating for a long time.
|-
| 😚 (1619) vs '''😙 (1770)''' ||
* Have at it, 😙 and 😚!
* If you are just joining us, fear not! You haven't missed much.
|-
| 😋 (1549) vs '''😛 (2644)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 😋 or 😛?
* 😋 stole that win.
|-
| '''😜 (2302)''' vs 🤪 (2085) ||
* Next up, 😜 and 🤪.
*😜 didn't do their homework.
|-
| '''😝 (2568)''' vs 🤑 (1372) ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 😝 and 🤑 warming up.
|-
| 🤗 (1598) vs '''🤭 (2316)''' ||
* Next up, 🤗 and 🤭.
* Sometimes miracles happen.
|-
| 🤫 (734) vs '''🤔 (4374)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 🤐 (1119) vs '''🤨 (2928)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🤐 vs. 🤨!
* Not sure which way this one goes.
|-
| 😐 (1506) vs '''😑 (1665)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😐 vs. 😑.
* One for the history books.
|-
| 😶 (2437) vs '''😏 (2659)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 😏 or 😶?
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 😒 (1562) vs '''🙄 (2692)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 😒 or 🙄.
|-
| '''😬 (3345)''' vs 🤥 (1137) ||
* Oh this one should be good.
*No surprises here. 🤥 skates to an easy win.
*I hope everyone has printed their brackets and are ready, because time waits for very few people!
*No surprises here. 😬 skates to an easy win.
|-
| 😌 (1980) vs '''😔 (2238)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 😌 and 😔? We are about to find out.
* 😔 comes out on top.
|-
| '''😴 (2770)''' vs 🤤 (1957) ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
*A dominant performance by 😴.
|-
| 😷 (1760) vs '''🤒 (2629)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 😷 and 🤒 to go head to head.
* In the end, there was nothing 😷 could do to stop the power of 🤒.
|-
| 🤢 (2270) vs '''🤕 (2648)''' ||
* Next up, 🤕 and 🤢.
* 🤕 stole that win.
|-
| 🤧 (2325) vs '''🤮 (3260)''' ||
* Will it be 🤧 or 🤮? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* 🤮 opened strong and 🤧 never caught up.
|-
| 🥵 (1884) vs '''🥶 (3983)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🥵. Coming up next!
* I have never seen 🥶 crush an opponent that mercilessly before.
|-
| 😵 (2920) vs '''🥴 (3762)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* That was 😵's to give away and they did.
|-
| 🤯 (3055) vs '''🤠 (3110)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🤠 vs. 🤯.
* However this ends up, someone got blown away.
|-
| '''😎 (4316)''' vs 🥳 (2201) ||
* On deck, we have 😎 and 🥳.
*I guess it was that kind of a party.
|-
| 😟 (2184) vs '''😕 (3663)''' ||
* Uh oh. 😟 has had words with 😕 before. The next match will be good.
* 😕 one, 😟 zero.
|-
| ☹ (1638) vs '''😮 (5498)''' ||
* Next up, ☹ and 😮.
* I hope everyone has printed their brackets and are ready, because time waits for very few people!
|-
| 😲 (2383) vs '''😯 (3904)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 😯 and 😲 warming up.
* And 😲 falls to 😯. A suprising turn of events.
|-
| 😧 (3063) vs '''😳 (3754)''' ||
* We will be right back with 😧 vs. 😳!
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 😨 (2082) vs '''😰 (4050)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Well, this doesn't look good.
|-
| 😢 (2095) vs '''😭 (5108)''' ||
* Have at it, 😢 and 😭!
* This one's a real tear-jerker.
|-
| 😖 (2039) vs '''😱 (4758)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 😖 or 😱.
* 😱 stole that win.
|-
| 😞 (2879) vs '''😣 (3528)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 😞 vs. 😣!
* This one's painful.
|-
| 😩 (2785) vs '''😓 (3231)''' ||
* On deck, we have 😓 and 😩.
* It's early yet, folks. The coffee hasn't kicked in.
|-
| 😫 (1827) vs '''😤 (4871)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 😤 vs. 😫!
* I didn't remember 😫 qualifying. I think they snuck in.
|-
| 😠 (1866) vs '''😡 (5192)''' ||
* Will it be 😠 or 😡? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* It is astounding how much competition we have in store for today.
|-
| '''😈 (4225)''' vs 🤬 (3072) ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 😈 vs. 🤬!
*Speak of the devil...
|-
| 👿 (2341) vs '''💀 (4739)''' ||
* We will be right back with 👿 vs. 💀!
* It has been a long road for 💀 to get to competing on the world stage.
|-
| '''💩 (4829)''' vs 🤡 (2514) ||
* Have at it, 💩 and 🤡!
*I think we all know how this is going to go.
|-
| 👻 (3680) vs '''👽 (3983)''' ||
* Have at it, 👻 and 👽!
|-
| 🏰 (2715) vs '''👾 (4412)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🏰 vs. 👾.
* 👾 opened strong and 🏰 never caught up.
|-
| 😸 (3334) vs '''😺 (3542)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😸 vs. 😺.
* This one is serious, folks.
|-
| 😹 (2778) vs '''😻 (3702)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 😹 and 😻 to go head to head.
* The hearts are my favorite part. It all comes down to love. And that really says something.
|-
| 😽 (1815) vs '''😼 (3991)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Sometimes miracles happen.
|-
| 😿 (1189) vs '''🙀 (4682)''' ||
* On deck, we have 😿 and 🙀.
|-
| 💋 (2122) vs '''😾 (3837)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 💌 (1659) vs '''💖 (3386)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 💌 and 💖? We are about to find out.
* 💌 is an fan favorite to go far today.
|-
| '''❤ (3904)''' vs 💔 (1920) ||
* Uh oh. 💔 has had words with ❤ before. The next match will be good.
|-
| 🖤 (2940) vs '''💯 (3866)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 💯 and 🖤! Facing off against each other again!
* A dominant performance by 💯.
|-
| 💥 (3055) vs '''💦 (3843)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 💥 and 💦 to go head to head.
* Like fire and water.
|-
| 🕳 (2476) vs '''💣 (4063)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 💣 and 🕳 warming up.
* This one was a mess.
|-
| 🤞 (2246) vs '''🤘 (4845)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🤘. Coming up next!
* It feels like these early matches are over almost before they begin.
|-
| 👎 (2231) vs '''👍 (5077)''' ||
* Will it be 👍 or 👎? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* Nice to see the support for positivity.
|-
| 🙏 (3114) vs '''👊 (4861)''' ||
* Have at it, 👊 and 🙏!
* I don't think 🙏 expected to see 👊 opposite them today.
|-
| 💅 (2366) vs '''🦵 (4060)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 💅 or 🦵?
* If 🦵 wins this match, it will be interesting to see how far they can go.
|-
| 🦷 (1409) vs '''🧠 (5821)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
|-
| '''👀 (4052)''' vs 🦴 (2198) ||
* Uh oh. 🦴 has had words with 👀 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| 👄 (1712) vs '''👅 (4648)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 👄 and 👅 warming up.
|-
| 👶 (1414) vs '''🤦 (5666)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🤦 has had words with 👶 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| '''👩‍🔬 (6374)''' vs 🤷 (2385) ||
* Have at it, 👩‍🔬 and 🤷!
|-
| '''👩‍🚀 (5502)''' vs 🦸 (2302) ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 👩‍🚀 or 🦸?
|-
| 🧚 (1909) vs '''🧙 (6294)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🧚 has had words with 🧙 before. The next match will be good.
* There are some titanic match-ups that could happen today.
* Yes, this is live commentary.
* We have only just started, folks. Stay tuned for more amazing contests!
|-
| 🧜 (3835) vs '''🧛 (3840)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🧛. Coming up next!
* Not sure which way this one goes.
|-
| 💆 (2815) vs '''🧟 (3747)''' ||
* Next up, 💆 and 🧟.
* That's just a typical Monday for you.
|-
| 💇 (3029) vs '''🚶 (3055)''' ||
* We will be right back with 💇 vs. 🚶!
* It's going to be a busy day, folks. Remember to pace yourself.
|-
| 🏃 (2239) vs '''💃 (5833)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🏃 and 💃.
* Make some noise! Show 🏃 and 💃 some love!
* That was 🏃's to give away and they did.
|-
| 🕺 (1990) vs '''🕴 (5035)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🕴 vs. 🕺!
* I spoke with 🕴 before we started today. They were hoping to dodge 🕺. Too bad for them.
|-
| 🏇 (2563) vs '''🤺 (5157)''' ||
* Have at it, 🏇 and 🤺!
* Never bring a sword to a horse fight.
|-
| '''⛷ (4510)''' vs 🏂 (3762) ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's ⛷ vs. 🏂!
*We have a lot of excited fans in the audience.
|-
| 🏌 (2557) vs '''🏄 (6285)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🏄 or 🏌?
* Ok! Let's see those hearts!
* I have never seen 🏄 crush an opponent that mercilessly before.
|-
| ⛹ (2793) vs '''🏊 (5994)''' ||
* Have at it, ⛹ and 🏊!
|-
| 🏋 (2300) vs '''🚴 (8063)''' ||
* Will it be 🏋 or 🚴? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* Right now the crowd is chanting 🏋! 🏋! An early sign of a favorite?
|-
| '''🚵 (5650)''' vs 🤾 (4698) ||
* We will be right back with 🚵 vs. 🤾!
*It's neck and neck!
|-
| 👤 (2195) vs '''🛀 (5529)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 👤 and 🛀 warming up.
|-
| '''🐒 (4644)''' vs 🦍 (3336) ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 🐕 (3458) vs '''🐶 (4004)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🐕. Coming up next!
* Mostly a matter of perspective.
|-
| 🐺 (2774) vs '''🦊 (6024)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Again, small variations make all the difference.
|-
| '''🐱 (4931)''' vs 🦝 (4017) ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🐱 vs. 🦝.
*🦝 is an fan favorite to go far today.
*🐱 stole that win.
|-
| '''🐈 (5046)''' vs 🦁 (3957) ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🐈 and 🦁 warming up.
*Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks.
*We have a lot of excited fans in the audience.
|-
| 🐆 (2186) vs '''🐅 (6280)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🐅 or 🐆?
* Stripes or Spots, Stripes or Spots
|-
| 🐴 (3722) vs '''🐎 (4120)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🐎 and 🐴? We are about to find out.
* I've got your horse right here.
|-
| 🦓 (3486) vs '''🦄 (6830)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🦄 and 🦓? We are about to find out.
* I think we all know how this is going to go.
* It was neck and neck until the very end, but some necks are longer than others.
|-
| 🐮 (3658) vs '''🦌 (5111)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🦌 has had words with 🐮 before. The next match will be good.
* This is a close one!
|-
| 🐖 (3568) vs '''🐷 (5175)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🐖. Coming up next!
* Who will bring home the bacon?
|-
| 🐗 (2576) vs '''🐏 (6073)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🐏 or 🐗?
|-
| 🐪 (3329) vs '''🐐 (5304)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🐐 or 🐪?
|-
| 🦙 (4397) vs '''🦒 (5164)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🦙 has had words with 🦒 before. The next match will be good.
* It's neck and neck!
* I hope 🦙 comes back next year. It would be a sham to see it all end like this.
|-
| '''🐘 (4809)''' vs 🦏 (3804) ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🐘 or 🦏?
*We'll never forget this.
|-
| 🐁 (4039) vs '''🦛 (4085)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🐁 or 🦛?
|-
| 🐀 (2994) vs '''🐹 (4580)''' ||
* Will it be 🐀 or 🐹? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* Today is also about settling scores, there is no doubt about that for some of our contestants.
|-
| 🐰 (1865) vs '''🐿 (5175)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🐰 or 🐿.
* Its about reflexes.
|-
| 🦇 (3648) vs '''🦔 (4507)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🦇 vs. 🦔.
* This one is a toss-up in my book, folks.
|-
| 🐻 (2686) vs '''🐨 (5059)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🐨 vs. 🐻!
* Ok! You know what to do! Let's see those hearts!
|-
| 🐼 (2896) vs '''🦘 (5185)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🐼 and 🦘? We are about to find out.
* It's exciting to look around and see so many joining us from all over the world.
* One for the history books.
|-
| 🦃 (2553) vs '''🦡 (5483)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🦃 and 🦡! Facing off against each other again!
* That was a stinker of a battle, if you ask me.
|-
| 🐓 (2883) vs '''🐣 (5153)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🐓 and 🐣 to go head to head.
|-
| 🕊 (2432) vs '''🐧 (5951)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🐧 vs. 🕊!
|-
| 🦅 (3871) vs '''🦆 (4800)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🦆 has had words with 🦅 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| 🦢 (1613) vs '''🦉 (7025)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🦉 vs. 🦢.
* 🦉 didn't do their homework.
* I hope everyone has printed their brackets and are ready, because time waits for very few people!
* Yes, this is live commentary.
* 🦉 one, 🦢 zero.
|-
| 🦚 (4333) vs '''🦜 (4803)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* I know some very invested audience members for this one.
|-
| 🐊 (3986) vs '''🐢 (6403)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
|-
| '''🐍 (5378)''' vs 🦎 (4415) ||
* Have at it, 🐍 and 🦎!
*In the end, there was nothing 🐍 could do to stop the power of 🦎.
*Did you just see that!?
*Plenty of matches left to see. Don't go anywhere.
|-
| '''🐉 (5359)''' vs 🦕 (4855) ||
* Have at it, 🐉 and 🦕!
*One for the history books.
|-
| '''🐳 (5445)''' vs 🦖 (5411) ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
*Again, another difficult match-up for our audience.
|-
| 🐟 (1639) vs '''🐬 (8071)''' ||
* Will it be 🐟 or 🐬? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* I know which one I would choose, but I don't have time to vote!
|-
| 🐡 (2307) vs '''🦈 (6544)''' ||
* Have at it, 🐡 and 🦈!
* 🦈 opened strong and 🐡 never caught up.
|-
| 🐚 (1590) vs '''🐙 (8224)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🐙 vs. 🐚.
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 🐌 (4816) vs '''🦋 (4835)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🐌 vs. 🦋!
* The hearts are flying on this one!
|-
| 🐜 (3194) vs '''🐛 (5132)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
* 🐜 didn't do their homework.
|-
| 🐞 (3561) vs '''🐝 (5804)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🐝 and 🐞.
* This one is a true test of the audience today.
* Will luck be a ladybug tonight?
* Amazing!
|-
| '''🕷 (4806)''' vs 🦗 (4195) ||
* Uh oh. 🦗 has had words with 🕷 before. The next match will be good.
*And 🦗 falls to 🕷. A suprising turn of events.
|-
| 🦂 (3853) vs '''🦠 (4971)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🦂 and 🦠? We are about to find out.
* Nope. Nope nope nope nope.
|-
| 🌷 (3767) vs '''🌻 (4374)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🌷 vs. 🌻!
* Now that's more like it.
|-
| 🌳 (1973) vs '''🌲 (6563)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🌲 or 🌳.
* Who would have thought, eh?
|-
| 🌴 (3876) vs '''🌵 (5468)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* In the end, there was nothing 🌴 could do to stop the power of 🌵.
|-
| 🍈 (2617) vs '''🍇 (5319)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🍇 or 🍈?
* Folks, I am just as stunned at the outcome as you.
|-
| 🍋 (4186) vs '''🍉 (4720)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🍉 vs. 🍋.
* I just don't know why they can't find common ground.
* 🍉 one, 🍋 zero.
|-
| 🍌 (4704) vs '''🍍 (5525)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🍌 and 🍍 warming up.
* Ok! Let's see those hearts!
* I guess it was that kind of a party.
|-
| '''🍎 (5111)''' vs 🥭 (3830) ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
|-
| 🍏 (2703) vs '''🍓 (6403)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🍏 or 🍓?
* We might be close to some matches the audience is expecting or hoping to see today.
* Berry nice!
|-
| 🍅 (3002) vs '''🥝 (5348)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🍅 vs. 🥝.
|-
| 🥥 (3840) vs '''🥑 (5759)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🥑 and 🥥.
* Somehow, someone will blame millenials for this.
|-
| 🥕 (4577) vs '''🥔 (4620)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🥔 and 🥕? We are about to find out.
* Ahhh the age old question, 🥕 or 🥔.
|-
| 🌽 (4074) vs '''🌶 (5087)''' ||
* Have at it, 🌶 and 🌽!
|-
| 🥬 (2694) vs '''🥒 (5472)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🥒. Coming up next!
* Not sure which way this one goes.
|-
| '''🍄 (5850)''' vs 🥦 (2707) ||
* Will it be 🍄 or 🥦? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
*Folks, we are nearly halfway through the first bracket!
*Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks.
*Into the second half of the first round.
*That was 🥦's to give away and they did.
|-
| 🌰 (2698) vs '''🥜 (6225)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🌰 or 🥜?
* I am not even sure what I am looking at here.
|-
| 🍞 (2934) vs '''🥐 (6465)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🍞 vs. 🥐.
* Well, I know who I would vote for.
|-
| 🥖 (4800) vs '''🥨 (5136)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🥖 vs. 🥨!
|-
| 🥯 (2470) vs '''🥞 (5926)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🥯 has had words with 🥞 before. The next match will be good.
* Now I am just hungry.
|-
| 🥩 (3959) vs '''🧀 (6225)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* Truly a battle for the ages.
|-
| 🍟 (3719) vs '''🍔 (5352)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🍔 and 🍟 warming up.
|-
| 🌭 (1340) vs '''🍕 (7881)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🌭 or 🍕.
|-
| '''🌮 (6417)''' vs 🥪 (2869) ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🌮 or 🥪?
*I'll be honest, even I voted in that last one.
*There are some titanic match-ups that could happen today.
*One for the history books.
|-
| '''🌯 (5359)''' vs 🥚 (3868) ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🌯 or 🥚?
*🥚 is an fan favorite to go far today.
*One for the history books.
|-
| '''🍳 (5293)''' vs 🥗 (3101) ||
* Have at it, 🍳 and 🥗!
*There can be very food-centric history books.
*If 🍳 wins this match, it will be interesting to see how far they can go.
|-
| '''🍿 (2640)''' vs 🧂 (2067) ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
*This one was over before it started.
|-
| '''🍱 (4931)''' vs 🥫 (1948) ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🍱 vs. 🥫.
*It is early still. Possibly too early to predict an over-all winner. But I am hearing 🏇 mentioned a fair bit.
*And 🥫 falls to 🍱. A suprising turn of events.
|-
| 🍤 (2334) vs '''🍣 (5552)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🍣 vs. 🍤.
* Plenty of matches left to see. Don't go anywhere.
|-
| 🥡 (3101) vs '''🥟 (4128)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🥟 vs. 🥡.
* 🥟 one, 🥡 zero.
|-
| 🦀 (3762) vs '''🦞 (4739)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🦀 vs. 🦞!
|-
| 🦐 (2421) vs '''🦑 (6162)''' ||
* Will it be 🦐 or 🦑? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
|-
| 🍦 (3804) vs '''🍨 (4698)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🍦 or 🍨.
|-
| 🍪 (3722) vs '''🍩 (5167)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🍩 vs. 🍪!
|-
| 🎂 (3658) vs 🧁 (3658) '''(Tie - unclear how winner was chosen)''' ||
* Next up, 🎂 and 🧁.
|-
| 🍬 (1244) vs '''🍫 (6674)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🍫 vs. 🍬!
|-
| 🍭 (2568) vs '''🍯 (5445)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🍭 or 🍯?
* Thank you for tuning in. I promise you are in for a treat today.
|-
| 🍼 (1824) vs '''🥛 (5239)''' ||
* Will it be 🍼 or 🥛? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
|-
| '''☕ (4813)''' vs 🍾 (3227) ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, ☕ or 🍾.
*Time to get another feel for our audience today.
|-
| 🍷 (3021) vs '''🍹 (3561)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🍷 and 🍹! Facing off against each other again!
* Well now I am just getting thirsty.
|-
| '''🍺 (5763)''' vs 🥤 (3897) ||
* Will it be 🍺 or 🥤? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
*Still thirsty!
|-
| 🍴 (3917) vs '''🥢 (4348)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🍴 vs. 🥢!
* I know which one I would choose, but I don't have time to vote!
|-
| '''🔪 (5627)''' vs 🥄 (1742) ||
* Have at it, 🔪 and 🥄!
|-
| 🏺 (2604) vs '''🧭 (4784)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🏺 and 🧭 warming up.
* You just know that 🏺 is thinking about 🏎 right now.
|-
| ⛰ (1843) vs '''🌋 (6793)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ⛰. Coming up next!
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 🏖 (3159) vs '''🏕 (5611)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🏕 and 🏖 to go head to head.
* Time to pick your poison!
|-
| 🏟 (2537) vs '''🏝 (6180)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
|-
| '''🏗 (4093)''' vs 🧱 (3680) ||
* Oh this one should be good.
*What an amazing display of prowess from 🏗.
|-
| 🏢 (2178) vs '''🏠 (5829)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* 🏠 has every reason to be concerned about this match-up.
|-
| 🏨 (1367) vs '''🏥 (5326)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🏥 and 🏨? We are about to find out.
* is $6,000,000 of one and Six million of the other, am I right?
|-
| 🏪 (3114) vs '''🗽 (4875)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🏪 and 🗽! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| '''⛲ (4296)''' vs ⛺ (3483) ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have ⛲ and ⛺ warming up.
*If you look away for a moment, you may miss your chance to send ⛺ into the later rounds.
|-
| 🌁 (3488) vs '''🌃 (4354)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
|-
| 🏙 (2396) vs '''🌅 (6055)''' ||
* Next up, 🌅 and 🏙.
* 🏙 is fully committed to this match.
|-
| 🎠 (3307) vs '''🎡 (4648)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🎠 or 🎡?
* Oh no. 🎠 fans are not going to like this match-up.
|-
| '''🎢 (5854)''' vs 💈 (2137) ||
* Next up, 🎢 and 💈.
*This one will be filled with twists and turns!
|-
| 🚂 (3915) vs '''🚄 (4826)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🚂 vs. 🚄.
* The future waits on no one. Let's see those hearts!
|-
| 🚇 (3395) vs '''🚝 (4881)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🚇 vs. 🚝!
* On the other hand, time and space are a matter of perspective, right?
* I guess it was that kind of a party.
|-
| 🚌 (2412) vs '''🚑 (5363)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🚌 vs. 🚑.
* Uh oh, that can't be good for 🚌.
|-
| 🚓 (2703) vs '''🚒 (6746)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Uh oh, that can't be good for 🚓.
* This is a classic struggle.
|-
| 🚕 (3400) vs '''🚗 (3794)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🚕 and 🚗 warming up.
* Well that's certainly something.
|-
| 🚘 (2922) vs '''🚜 (5363)''' ||
* Next up, 🚘 and 🚜.
* This one is a real nail biter!
* If 🚘 falls today, we might start hearing serious conversations about retirement.
|-
| 🏎 (3103) vs '''🛵 (4839)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🏎 and 🛵 warming up.
* Well this is just fan service. And I am ok with it.
|-
| 🛴 (2103) vs '''🚲 (6970)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🚲 and 🛴? We are about to find out.
* Frankly, I don't think anyone saw this coming.
|-
| 🛢 (3474) vs '''🛹 (4780)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🛢 and 🛹? We are about to find out.
* And 🛢 falls to 🛹. A suprising turn of events.
|-
| '''⚓ (4816)''' vs 🚨 (2389) ||
* Welcome back, it's time for ⚓ and 🚨 to go head to head.
*Just to stress this again. Live commentary, folks. Completely unscripted and coming in hot.
*This one is a true test of the audience today.
|-
| '''⛵ (4941)''' vs 🚢 (2877) ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's ⛵ vs. 🚢!
*SAIL!
|-
| 💺 (1776) vs '''🛩 (5947)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 💺. Coming up next!
|-
| 🚡 (3729) vs '''🚁 (4148)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🚁 or 🚡.
* Sometimes miracles happen.
* Plenty of matches left to see. Don't go anywhere.
|-
| 🛰 (3655) vs '''🚀 (4861)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🚀 and 🛰 to go head to head.
* 🛰 and 🚀 have been friends for a long time. I am not sure where that relationship is going to be after today.
|-
| ⏳ (3021) vs '''🛸 (5203)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, ⏳ or 🛸?
* This one is serious, folks.
|-
| '''⌚ (4462)''' vs ⏰ (3619) ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ⌚. Coming up next!
*If you believe in ⏰, now is the time to clap or whatever, because it is not looking good.
*If you believe in ⏰, now is the time to clap or whatever, because it is not looking good.
|-
| 🌕 (3690) vs '''🌒 (4145)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🌒. Coming up next!
* What a shocking result!
|-
| 🌡 (2829) vs '''🌙 (4432)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🌙 and 🌡! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| 🌝 (3559) vs '''🌞 (3871)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🌝. Coming up next!
|-
| ⭐ (2063) vs '''🌌 (5731)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🌌 has had words with ⭐ before. The next match will be good.
|-
| '''⛈ (5487)''' vs 🌦 (1983) ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have ⛈ and 🌦 warming up.
*And 🌦 falls to ⛈. A suprising turn of events.
|-
| 🌨 (3646) vs '''🌪 (4139)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🌨 and 🌪! Facing off against each other again!
* Folks, I am just as stunned at the outcome as you.
|-
| 🌀 (3034) vs '''🌈 (7070)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🌀 and 🌈? We are about to find out.
|-
| ☂ (2117) vs '''⚡ (5125)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ☂. Coming up next!
|-
| '''☄ (4988)''' vs ⛄ (2602) ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's ☄ vs. ⛄.
*Another curious match-up with significant implications on how the rest of the day will go.
|-
| 🌊 (3356) vs '''🔥 (5286)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* I am not sure if 🌊 was prepared for today.
|-
| 🎆 (3284) vs '''🎃 (4418)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🎃 or 🎆.
* This is a mystery.
|-
| 🎇 (2770) vs '''🧨 (4066)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🎇 vs. 🧨!
* Get ready for an explosive result!
|-
| 🎈 (2619) vs '''🎉 (4673)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
* I guess it was that kind of a party.
|-
| 🎊 (2250) vs '''🎁 (4203)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🎁 and 🎊 to go head to head.
* This one was a mess.
|-
| 🎟 (2054) vs '''🏆 (4558)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🎟 and 🏆 warming up.
* Truly a dizzying win.
|-
| ⚽ (3116) vs '''🏅 (4383)''' ||
* Have at it, ⚽ and 🏅!
* A dominant performance by 🏅.
|-
| '''⚾ (5479)''' vs 🥎 (2335) ||
* Uh oh. 🥎 has had words with ⚾ before. The next match will be good.
*Uhhhh. I can't tell the difference here, can you?
|-
| 🏐 (3742) vs '''🏀 (4148)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* The ball is round, everything else is negotiable.
|-
| 🏈 (2932) vs '''🎾 (6003)''' ||
* Next up, 🎾 and 🏈.
* The ball is round ...er .... well .... uh.
|-
| 🎳 (4071) vs '''🥏 (4561)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🎳 vs. 🥏!
* I had BOWLING BALL in my March Madness bracket. I did not do well.
* Ok. Now this is just ridiculous.
|-
| 🏑 (2742) vs '''🏏 (3810)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🏏 vs. 🏑!
|-
| '''🏒 (5926)''' vs 🥍 (2291) ||
* Oh this one should be good.
*Floor stick vs. sky stick—who will win?
|-
| '''🏓 (5858)''' vs 🥊 (2203) ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🏓 vs. 🥊!
|-
| ⛸ (2465) vs '''🛷 (4552)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's ⛸ vs. 🛷.
* Foot sled vs. regular sled!
|-
| 🎯 (1539) vs '''🥌 (1873)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🎯 and 🥌? We are about to find out.
|-
| '''🎮 (6798)''' vs 🔮 (2657) ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 🎭 (2137) vs '''🎲 (4868)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🎭 or 🎲.
|-
| '''🎨 (4172)''' vs 🧶 (2994) ||
* Uh oh. 🧶 has had words with 🎨 before. The next match will be good.
*A lot of cats clicking on screens right now.
|-
| '''👓 (4206)''' vs 🥽 (3986) ||
* Have at it, 👓 and 🥽!
*Glasses vs. Science Glasses!
|-
| 👛 (1029) vs '''🧦 (5468)''' ||
* Have at it, 👛 and 🧦!
|-
| '''🎒 (3516)''' vs 👟 (2756) ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🎒 and 👟 warming up.
*Time for school! Which one will you bring?
|-
| 👠 (1627) vs '''👑 (5203)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
|-
| '''🎩 (5611)''' vs 💄 (1719) ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🎩 vs. 💄.
*The fanciest matchup!
|-
| 💍 (1284) vs '''💎 (5973)''' ||
* Will it be 💍 or 💎? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* If you like the one on the right, put a ring on it!
|-
| 🎤 (1728) vs '''🎵 (5239)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🎤 and 🎵.
* :notes::notes::notes:
* Music!
|-
| '''🎷 (4934)''' vs 📻 (2021) ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🎷 and 📻 warming up.
*The radio and the saxophone are having a music fight. Who can be louder?
|-
| 🎺 (3427) vs '''🎸 (4388)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🎺 has had words with 🎸 before. The next match will be good.
* Truly, this is a day that will live in the memories of everyone here.
|-
| '''🎻 (4450)''' vs 🥁 (2857) ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🎻 vs. 🥁.
*You can hit either one with drumsticks, technically.
|-
| 📱 (3837) vs '''📞 (3980)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 📞 vs. 📱.
* 📞 is fully committed to this match.
|-
| 📠 (2877) vs '''📟 (3262)''' ||
* Uh oh. 📠 has had words with 📟 before. The next match will be good.
* This one is a toss-up in my book, folks.
* Only 15% of the people voting recognize either of these antique devices.
|-
| 🔋 (2676) vs '''💻 (4418)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* I spoke with 💻 before the match today, and they had this to say: 💻.
* Sparks fly!
|-
| '''⌨ (5293)''' vs 🖨 (1909) ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
*A keyboard is just a reverse printer.
|-
| 🖱 (2661) vs '''💾 (6308)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Yes, this is live commentary.
* This one is a mystery to me, folks.
|-
| 📀 (2585) vs '''🧮 (5282)''' ||
* Will it be 📀 or 🧮? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
|-
| 📺 (2752) vs '''📷 (4543)''' ||
* Next up, 📷 and 📺.
* 📷 certainly has its work cut out for it going up agaist 📺.
* The camera comes with a tiny TV on the back, which hardly seems fair.
|-
| 📼 (3648) vs '''🔎 (3663)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 📼 or 🔎?
* 🔎 has every reason to be concerned about this match-up.
* These two can combine for a very unsatisfying movie-watching experience.
|-
| 🕯 (3910) vs '''💡 (4178)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 💡 and 🕯 to go head to head.
* I'm so happy to see 💡 here, after 🧠 didn't make it.
* Some would argue this one was settled in the 1800s.
|-
| 🔦 (1663) vs '''📚 (5960)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 📚 and 🔦! Facing off against each other again!
* The flashlight illuminates the pages, but it only makes the books stronger!
|-
| 📰 (2524) vs '''📜 (5491)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 📜. Coming up next!
* I thought we had seen everything, but look at 📜 go! Amazing!
* A faceoff between two types of ancient scrolls.
|-
| 💳 (2655) vs '''💰 (5595)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 💰 and 💳! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| 📬 (3218) vs '''📦 (3350)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 📦 and 📬 warming up.
* Will the package fit in the mailbox? Vote now!
|-
| 🗳 (2403) vs '''🖋 (4691)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🖋 and 🗳 to go head to head.
* The winner of this bout will go on to face The Sword.
* The winner of this bout will go on to face The Sword. Who’s mightier?
|-
| 🖌 (3530) vs '''🖍 (3897)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🖌 and 🖍! Facing off against each other again!
* If 🖍 falls today, we might start hearing serious conversations about retirement.
* Paintbrush (hard mode) vs. Paintbrush (easy mode)
|-
| 💼 (2264) vs '''📅 (3884)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* You have to wonder if 💼 even wanted to be here today.
|-
| 🗒 (2430) vs '''📊 (4726)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 📊 vs. 🗒.
* *checks notes* Yikes.
|-
| 📌 (2799) vs '''📎 (4796)''' ||
* Uh oh. 📎 has had words with 📌 before. The next match will be good.
* I am excited about this match. This might be my favorite early match so far.
|-
| '''✂ (3762)''' vs 🗑 (2409) ||
* We will be right back with ✂ vs. 🗑!
*This is a day that ✂ has been anticipating for a long time.
|-
| 🔒 (2827) vs '''🗝 (5214)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* Finally, an answer to the classic question.
|-
| 🔨 (3350) vs '''🗡 (5042)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Between the two of these, you can cover almost any home improvement situation.
|-
| '''⚔ (5352)''' vs 🔫 (3734) ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
*Pew pew pew!
*[sword noises]
|-
| '''🏹 (4931)''' vs 🛡 (2629) ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🏹 vs. 🛡!
*Where is the Master Sword when you need it?
*In this match, we see Legolas take on Captain America.
|-
| 🗜 (3393) vs '''🔧 (3481)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🔧 and 🗜 warming up.
* [drops pretense of impartiality] VOTE C clamp!
|-
| '''⚖ (4961)''' vs 🧰 (1868) ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's ⚖ vs. 🧰!
*I know some of you out there had a challenging commute. Hopefully today's matches will improve your day.
*If there’s any justice in the world, the one on the left will win.
|-
| 🧪 (4134) vs '''🧲 (4519)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🧪 or 🧲?
* Do you want super-powers? Because this is how you get super-powers!
|-
| 🔬 (2587) vs '''🧬 (5487)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Do you want super-science? Because this is how you get super-science!
|-
| 📡 (3609) vs '''🔭 (4607)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 📡. Coming up next!
* This one is a real nail biter!
|-
| 🚿 (3933) vs '''🚽 (4031)''' ||
* Next up, 🚽 and 🚿.
* Combine these to save time in the morning!
|-
| '''🛁 (4131)''' vs 🧷 (2740) ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🛁. Coming up next!
*Well that just doesn't seem fair.
|-
| 🧹 (2655) vs '''🧻 (5118)''' ||
* Will it be 🧹 or 🧻? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
|-
| '''⚰ (4651)''' vs 🧯 (4009) ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ⚰. Coming up next!
*You should have one of these handy in your house, although I guess which one is up to you.
|-
| 🆗 (5326) vs '''🆒 (5506)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🆒 and 🆗 warming up.
* Here it is, the final match before the second round!
* At least this one is going to be over quickly.
* Here it is, the final match before the second round!
|-
|}

=== Round 2===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 😁 (5968) vs '''😅 (9223)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😁 vs. 😅.
* What a shocking result!
* Welcome to round 2!
* Welcome to round 2! These rounds will be a little slower.
* Welcome to round 2!
|-
| '''🙃 (12578)''' vs 🤣 (5892) ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🙃 or 🤣?
*Round two is serious business, folks.
*Rolling-on-the-floor-laughing is a top seed, but the upside-down smiley has a certain intriguing ambiguity. Possible upset?
|-
| 😇 (4117) vs '''😉 (10595)''' ||
* Uh oh. 😉 has had words with 😇 before. The next match will be good.
* Is it winking *at* the halo? Or is it winking at me?
* I didn't remember 😉 qualifying.
|-
| 😘 (6659) vs '''😍 (8816)''' ||
* On deck, we have 😍 and 😘.
* I expect to see a lot of hearts on the page for this one.
|-
| 😙 (2284) vs '''😛 (11620)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 😙 and 😛! Facing off against each other again!
* This one is a toss-up in my book, folks.
* Don’t you hate it when one of you sticks out your tongue right as the other goes for the kiss?
* Close one!
|-
| 😝 (6304) vs '''😜 (7167)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 😜. Coming up next!
|-
| 🤭 (1796) vs '''🤔 (15162)''' ||
* Will it be 🤔 or 🤭? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* You know what the correct answer is here.
|-
| 😑 (5943) vs '''🤨 (9223)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 😑. Coming up next!
* 😑 certainly has its work cut out for it going up agaist 🤨.
|-
| 🙄 (5122) vs '''😏 (8486)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 😏 and 🙄 to go head to head.
* Why is the one on the right looking at me like that?
|-
| 😔 (4101) vs '''😬 (8574)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 😔 or 😬?
* I don’t think either competitor wants to win this round.
* See? That's how you should feel. Starting at a humble live commentator doing live commentary.
|-
| '''😴 (8582)''' vs 🤒 (2281) ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 😴 vs. 🤒!
*Mondays, am I right?
*Two big moods enter, one leaves.
|-
| 🤕 (5579) vs '''🤮 (8136)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🤕 and 🤮.
* I don't feel so good...
* Really leaving it all on the floor with this one.
|-
| 🥴 (5548) vs '''🥶 (7121)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🥴 and 🥶.
* Ice to see you.
* I think they might be trying to ice the kicker!
|-
| '''😎 (8912)''' vs 🤠 (5576) ||
* Have at it, 😎 and 🤠!
*Howdy, I’m the sheriff of cool!
|-
| 😕 (4748) vs '''😮 (7861)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
* An unexpected pairing! This should be good.
* I mean ... you can *see* the bracket so it isn't completely unexpected.
|-
| 😳 (5552) vs '''😯 (6583)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 😯 and 😳! Facing off against each other again!
* Wasn't 😯 in the last match?
|-
| 😰 (2756) vs '''😭 (9508)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* 😰 is going to have to dig deep if they want to continue.
|-
| 😣 (2674) vs '''😱 (10403)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* It doesn't get more real than this, folks.
|-
| 😓 (4790) vs '''😤 (7053)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 😓 and 😤 to go head to head.
* Nice. Nice nice nice nice.
|-
| 😡 (4209) vs '''😈 (9437)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 😈 or 😡?
* This one is a toss-up in my book, folks.
|-
| 💩 (7681) vs '''💀 (12905)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 💀 vs. 💩.
* This one is going to cause some arguments.
|-
| 👽 (4888) vs '''👾 (9937)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Space invaders: Analog vs. Digital
|-
| 😻 (5800) vs '''😺 (6451)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 😺 vs. 😻!
* I love cats. I love every kind of cat.
|-
| 😼 (4767) vs '''🙀 (7648)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* Every. Kind. Of. Cat.
* Did someone say "V-E-T?"
|-
| 😾 (5464) vs '''💖 (7037)''' ||
* Next up, 💖 and 😾.
* 😾 looks pretty upset.
|-
| ❤ (7490) vs '''💯 (7881)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ❤. Coming up next!
* Two crowd-pleasers here, folks!
* The score is Love-100
|-
| 💣 (6379) vs '''💦 (7343)''' ||
* Next up, 💣 and 💦.
* From where I am standing 💦 has a commanding grip on this bracket.
* Well that's certainly something.
* I know which one I would choose, but I don't have time to vote!
|-
| '''👍 (7610)''' vs 🤘 (6417) ||
* On deck, we have 👍 and 🤘.
*This is going well, right? This is working for you?
|-
| '''👊 (8368)''' vs 🦵 (3323) ||
* Next up, 👊 and 🦵.
*Kickpuncher or punchkicker?
|-
| 👀 (6253) vs '''🧠 (6412)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 👀 or 🧠.
* Whoever wins this one gets punched by the fist emoji in the next round. Choose wisely.
* Whoever wins this one gets punched by the fist emoji in the next round. Choose wisely.
|-
| 👅 (4726) vs '''🤦 (7496)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 👅 or 🤦?
* Look, we are a little disappointed, too.
|-
| 👩‍🚀 (5246) vs '''👩‍🔬 (7971)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* So, what do you want to be when you grow up?
* Neither of these professions go well with concussions.
|-
| 🧛 (2269) vs '''🧙 (13138)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🧙 vs. 🧛!
* Science?
|-
| '''🚶 (6112)''' vs 🧟 (6020) ||
* Oh this one should be good.
*Oh no. 🚶 fans are not going to like this match-up.
*Walk for your lives!
|-
| 🕴 (5070) vs '''💃 (7283)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 💃. Coming up next!
* The Matrix is TWENTY YEARS OLD
* The Matrix is *TWENTY* *YEARS* *OLD*
|-
| ⛷ (4388) vs '''🤺 (7484)''' ||
* On deck, we have ⛷ and 🤺.
* A slippery slope. En guard!
* The IOC has rejected this combination sport.
|-
| 🏊 (4139) vs '''🏄 (5491)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🏄 vs. 🏊.
* This one, too.
|-
| 🚴 (4082) vs '''🚵 (7642)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🚴 vs. 🚵!
* Why is 🚵 stuck in a box?
|-
| 🛀 (4042) vs '''🐒 (6948)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🐒 vs. 🛀.
* Uh-oh.
|-
| 🐶 (5214) vs '''🦊 (12396)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🐶 vs. 🦊!
* Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks.
* 12/10 Both good doggos.
|-
| 🐱 (5182) vs '''🐈 (7578)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🐈 vs. 🐱!
* EVERY. CAT.
|-
| 🐎 (4944) vs '''🐅 (9398)''' ||
* Have at it, 🐅 and 🐎!
* If it were up to me, the last bracket would have eight cats and then just stop there with eight winners.
|-
| 🦌 (5619) vs '''🦄 (10318)''' ||
* Have at it, 🦄 and 🦌!
* The IOC had some words about this pairing as well
|-
| 🐷 (5341) vs '''🐏 (8541)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🐏 and 🐷 to go head to head.
* Or side to head, or whatever. VOTE!
* That was 🐷's to give away and they did.
|-
| 🐐 (6038) vs '''🦒 (8345)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Yet more Very good dogs
|-
| '''🐘 (11342)''' vs 🦛 (3614) ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
*Another curious match-up with significant implications on how the rest of the day will go.
|-
| 🐹 (3660) vs '''🐿 (10713)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🐹 and 🐿! Facing off against each other again!
* We are incredibly excited to see so many fans here.
* Finally, the long-awaited showdown between Alvin and the Chipmunks and the Hamster Dance.
|-
| 🐨 (5171) vs '''🦔 (10929)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🐨 and 🦔.
* It doesn't get more real than this, folks.
* Tree pocket cat vs. spiky cat
|-
| 🦘 (6954) vs '''🦡 (7727)''' ||
* Will it be 🦘 or 🦡? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* If you believe in 🦘, now is the time to clap or whatever, because it is not looking good.
|-
| 🐣 (5846) vs '''🐧 (12239)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🐣 vs. 🐧!
* Don't count 🐣 out yet. They may have a contingent of fans just tuning in to battle.
* I thought we had seen everything, but look at 🐧 go! Amazing!
* A generational battle.
|-
| 🦆 (6558) vs '''🦉 (9674)''' ||
* Will it be 🦆 or 🦉? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* You just know that 🦆 is thinking about 🏥 right now.
* Duck... duck... duck... duck... owl!
|-
| '''🐢 (11594)''' vs 🦜 (3957) ||
* Uh oh. 🦜 has had words with 🐢 before. The next match will be good.
*Sometimes miracles happen.
|-
| 🐍 (5264) vs '''🐉 (6954)''' ||
* Have at it, 🐉 and 🐍!
* How spiky do you like your sneks?
* Snake is currently losing to Fanfiction Snake.
* Snake is losing to Snake Fanfiction
|-
| 🐬 (7916) vs '''🐳 (9398)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🐬 and 🐳.
* It's the battle of the blowholes!
|-
| '''🐙 (8799)''' vs 🦈 (3695) ||
* Next up, 🐙 and 🦈.
*This one is potentially a battle between two mimic octopuses.
|-
| 🐛 (5330) vs '''🦋 (9176)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🐛 and 🦋.
* Time waits for no one.
* Another generational struggle.
|-
| 🕷 (5714) vs '''🐝 (12151)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🐝 vs. 🕷!
* 🕷 and 🐝 have been friends for a long time. I am not sure where that relationship is going to be after today.
|-
| 🌻 (6639) vs '''🦠 (10448)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* You *knwo* what to do, folks.
* Oh no. 🦠 fans are not going to like this match-up.
* Fresh off its victory over the aliens in War of the Worlds…
|-
| 🌲 (8099) vs '''🌵 (8194)''' ||
* Will it be 🌲 or 🌵? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* DISAPPOINTED!
* both are surprisingly spiky!
* This is the closest battle in the bracket so far.
|-
| 🍇 (6548) vs '''🍉 (8681)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* sweet!
|-
| 🍎 (5411) vs '''🍍 (10586)''' ||
* Have at it, 🍍 and 🍎!
* Regular apple versus Pine’s Apple
* Fancy apple holds a clear lead over Regular Apple.
|-
| '''🍓 (8877)''' vs 🥝 (7540) ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🍓 or 🥝?
*Seeds: Inside or Out?
*Outside: Seeds or Hair?
|-
| 🥔 (7800) vs '''🥑 (9580)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🥑 and 🥔 warming up.
* Fun fact: Several different analyses confirm baby boomers like avocados more than millennials!
|-
| '''🌶 (8714)''' vs 🥒 (6360) ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🌶. Coming up next!
*I know some very invested audience members for this one.
|-
| '''🍄 (8929)''' vs 🥜 (5311) ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🍄. Coming up next!
*It's peanut butter mushroom time!
|-
| 🥨 (7003) vs '''🥐 (9204)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🥐 and 🥨 warming up.
* Buttery curved bread: extra-buttery or extra-curved?
|-
| 🥞 (7881) vs '''🧀 (9457)''' ||
* Will it be 🥞 or 🧀? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* I wonder what cheesy pancakes are like.
|-
| 🍔 (5917) vs '''🍕 (11407)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🍔 and 🍕! Facing off against each other again!
* Friday Night Food Fight!
|-
| 🌮 (7714) vs '''🌯 (8885)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🌮 vs. 🌯!
* ………
* . . . . . .
|-
| 🍿 (7104) vs '''🍳 (8128)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🍳. Coming up next!
* The saltiest and butteriest matchup yet
|-
| 🍱 (4259) vs '''🍣 (7578)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Hungry again. Wasn't it just lunch time?
* This part of the bracket has been *wild*
* Sushi takes the lead!
|-
| 🥟 (5804) vs '''🦞 (7681)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* A delicious dumpling vs some kind of large spider
|-
| 🍨 (7349) vs '''🦑 (7834)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🍨 or 🦑.
* I think there’s another squid hiding in the ice cream bowl.
|-
| 🎂 (4175) vs '''🍩 (8454)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🍩 or 🎂.
|-
| 🍯 (4787) vs '''🍫 (7565)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 🍫 and 🍯? We are about to find out.
* The beans vs. the bees!
|-
| '''☕ (7674)''' vs 🥛 (5344) ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's ☕ vs. 🥛!
*Would you like some coffee with your milk?
|-
| 🍹 (4901) vs '''🍺 (7490)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🍺 has had words with 🍹 before. The next match will be good.
* how drunk do you want to get?
* One small glass of beer with an umbrella, please.
|-
| '''🔪 (7787)''' vs 🥢 (5468) ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
*The two most popular ways to eat food
|-
| '''🌋 (8706)''' vs 🧭 (4079) ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
*That compass is not leading you in a good direction.
|-
| 🏝 (5445) vs '''🏕 (8722)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🏕 vs. 🏝!
|-
| 🏠 (5722) vs '''🏗 (5804)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🏗 and 🏠! Facing off against each other again!
* It's building vs. building!
|-
| '''🏥 (7053)''' vs 🗽 (5981) ||
* We will be right back with 🏥 vs. 🗽!
|-
| ⛲ (5498) vs '''🌃 (6519)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ⛲. Coming up next!
|-
| 🎡 (3212) vs '''🌅 (8000)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🌅 and 🎡! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| 🎢 (4701) vs '''🚄 (7014)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🎢 vs. 🚄!
* Do you like your fast trains flat, or up-and-down?
|-
| 🚑 (4901) vs '''🚝 (7087)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🚑 and 🚝.
|-
| 🚗 (2707) vs '''🚒 (8391)''' ||
* Will it be 🚒 or 🚗? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
|-
| 🛵 (5344) vs '''🚜 (6475)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🚜 or 🛵?
* Both of these are popular rideshare vehicles.
|-
| 🛹 (3509) vs '''🚲 (9447)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🚲 vs. 🛹.
* next wave of rideshare vehicles.
|-
| '''⚓ (6608)''' vs ⛵ (6431) ||
* Welcome back, it's time for ⚓ and ⛵ to go head to head.
*Should I stay or should I go?
|-
| 🛩 (5694) vs '''🚁 (6529)''' ||
* Will it be 🚁 or 🛩? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* Here in the future, flying cars are common!
|-
| 🚀 (7266) vs '''🛸 (14945)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🚀 vs. 🛸.
* IFO vs UFO
|-
| ⌚ (6623) vs '''🌒 (7404)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's ⌚ vs. 🌒.
* Waxing crescent already? I must be running slow.
|-
| 🌙 (8921) vs '''🌞 (15703)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🌙 and 🌞 to go head to head.
* Two contenders as different as night and day.
* In five billion years, this battle will play out in real life with the same result.
|-
| ⛈ (9358) vs '''🌌 (17038)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Astronomers are hammering the button on the right as hard as they can.
|-
| 🌪 (9848) vs '''🌈 (11326)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🌈. Coming up next!
* The Wizard Of Oz (1938)
* The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
|-
| '''☄ (8014)''' vs ⚡ (7597) ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
*The two leading theories for what killed the dinosaurs: A comet strike, or Zeus.
*Boom!
|-
| 🎃 (4112) vs '''🔥 (10407)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🎃 or 🔥.
|-
| 🎉 (5422) vs '''🧨 (18509)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* How emphatic do you like your celebrations?
|-
| 🏆 (5564) vs '''🎁 (6499)''' ||
* Have at it, 🎁 and 🏆!
|-
| ⚾ (5404) vs '''🏅 (7337)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Sports fact: If you hit a medal-winner with a ball, you take their title.
|-
| 🎾 (6117) vs '''🏀 (6171)''' ||
* We will be right back with 🎾 vs. 🏀!
* Sports fact: If you hit a medal-winner with a ball, you take the medal (but they take first base.)
* Sports showdowns: Bouncy edition
* Would you rather play basketball with a tennis ball, or tennis with a basketball?
|-
| 🏏 (7343) vs '''🥏 (7546)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🏏. Coming up next!
|-
| 🏒 (8078) vs '''🏓 (8739)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🏓 has had words with 🏒 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| 🛷 (7104) vs '''🥌 (7733)''' ||
* Have at it, 🛷 and 🥌!
|-
| 🎲 (11931) vs '''🎮 (14739)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🎮 vs. 🎲.
* Digital or analog?
* Devices or, uh, dices?
|-
| '''🎨 (5374)''' vs 👓 (4988) ||
* We will be right back with 🎨 vs. 👓!
*two ways to add color to your world
|-
| '''🎒 (4961)''' vs 🧦 (4819) ||
* We will be right back with 🎒 vs. 🧦!
*You can put your feet in either of these! No one can stop you.
|-
| '''🎩 (23265)''' vs 👑 (19274) ||
* Will it be 🎩 or 👑? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
*Hats for fancy people!
|-
| '''🎵 (17951)''' vs 💎 (9378) ||
* We will be right back with 🎵 vs. 💎!
*C-notes
|-
| 🎷 (6954) vs '''🎸 (10692)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🎷 vs. 🎸.
* I've never heard the dueling banjos played like this!
|-
| '''🎻 (11568)''' vs 📞 (8172) ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🎻 vs. 📞.
*Can I put you on hold? I can't hang onto both of these with my chin
|-
| 💻 (7355) vs '''📟 (9348)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 💻 and 📟! Facing off against each other again!
* Over time, computers have gotten steadily smaller.
|-
| ⌨ (3372) vs '''💾 (8550)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
* fun fact: it would take the average person 20 years to type an entire floppy disk
|-
| 📷 (10623) vs '''🧮 (12401)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
|-
| 🔎 (7902) vs '''💡 (12706)''' ||
* On deck, we have 💡 and 🔎.
* it's mostly clicks either way.
* Both equally bad for bugs.
|-
| 📜 (4020) vs '''📚 (32459)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Turning pages: hot new technology, or too much complication?
|-
| 💰 (5378) vs '''📦 (17957)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Let's be real. Neither contain actual money.
|-
| 🖋 (6166) vs '''🖍 (42115)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🖋 and 🖍! Facing off against each other again!
* Neither is coming off your walls if a kid gets ahold of them.
|-
| 📅 (3309) vs '''📊 (5217)''' ||
* Have at it, 📅 and 📊!
* It’s cool how, if you design an emoji font, you get to tell everyone your birthday.
|-
| ✂ (4504) vs '''📎 (5846)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. ✂ and 📎! Facing off against each other again!
* Look, we all have too much paper in our lives, but we all deal with it differently
* Clippy, I swear…
|-
| 🗡 (5537) vs '''🗝 (6193)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🗝 vs. 🗡.
* There are two ways to open doors: The easy way and the fun way.
|-
| ⚔ (5514) vs '''🏹 (7201)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for ⚔ and 🏹 to go head to head.
* Close-up stabby, or stabby from a ways off?
|-
| '''⚖ (6153)''' vs 🔧 (4351) ||
* Will it be ⚖ or 🔧? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
*⚖ comes out on top.
|-
| 🧲 (4654) vs '''🧬 (9019)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
|-
| 🚽 (4388) vs '''🔭 (8647)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🔭 vs. 🚽.
* I got these mixed up last week and I still haven't heard the end of it.
|-
| 🛁 (4540) vs '''🧻 (11347)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🛁 and 🧻 to go head to head.
* Needed both of these after the telescope incident.
|-
| '''⚰ (7909)''' vs 🆒 (6024) ||
* On deck, we have ⚰ and 🆒.
*And that wraps up the round!
|-
|}

=== Round 3===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 😅 (6285) vs '''🙃 (31589)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🙃 has had words with 😅 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| 😍 (8430) vs '''😉 (10837)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 😉 and 😍? We are about to find out.
* Some of us are more suave than others...
|-
| 😛 (9010) vs '''😜 (10428)''' ||
* Uh oh. 😜 has had words with 😛 before. The next match will be good.
* Battle of the tongues
|-
| 🤨 (6519) vs '''🤔 (18849)''' ||
* Next up, 🤔 and 🤨.
* Some behind the scenes for you, folks. I know for a fact that 🤔 wanted first billing for this match and 🤨 refused to budge.
|-
| 😬 (8983) vs '''😏 (11449)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 😏 and 😬! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| '''😴 (10588)''' vs 🤮 (7773) ||
* Have at it, 😴 and 🤮!
*🤮 opened strong and 😴 never caught up.
*I hope everyone has printed their brackets and are ready, because time waits for very few people!
*I guess it was that kind of a party.
|-
| '''😎 (11469)''' vs 🥶 (9176) ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
*🥶 has a chance here, but it is slipping away.
*What's cooler than being cool?
*What’s cooler than being cool?
*You need to be cooler than that!
|-
| 😯 (7648) vs '''😮 (7944)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Anyone want to go bowling?
* Sometimes I spend so long deciding on which of these to use that the conversation moves on.
|-
| 😭 (7559) vs '''😱 (8894)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 😭 vs. 😱.
* In these kinds of contests, everyone comes away a little hurt.
|-
| 😤 (5475) vs '''😈 (9739)''' ||
* Uh oh. 😤 has had words with 😈 before. The next match will be good.
* I don't think 😤 expected to see 😈 opposite them today.
* Devils over Cotton by a country mile. Let's see those hearts!
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 💀 (6669) vs '''👾 (11173)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 👾 or 💀?
* It doesn't get more real than this, folks.
|-
| 😺 (7993) vs '''🙀 (8903)''' ||
* On deck, we have 😺 and 🙀.
* I spoke with 🙀 before we started today. They were hoping to dodge 😺. Too bad for them.
* The next few are contests are going to break friendships.
* This one is a real nail biter!
|-
| 💯 (9859) vs '''💖 (10041)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 💖 and 💯? We are about to find out.
* I've always considered 💖 to be one of the greats.
* Starting to think 100 might go all the way.
* Starting to think 💯 might go all the way.
|-
| 👍 (9892) vs '''💦 (9960)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 👍 or 💦?
* What an unexpected result!!
* Now what is going to happen here:
* We are seeing some real back and forth matches this round.
* Again, cannot stress this enough. This commentary is 100% (sorry) live.
|-
| 👊 (6867) vs '''🧠 (12115)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 👊 vs. 🧠.
* Sometimes miracles happen.
* The match-up you have been waiting for!
|-
| '''👩‍🔬 (15141)''' vs 🤦 (7172) ||
* Oh this one should be good.
*Looks like someone forgot their PPE today!
|-
| 🚶 (2581) vs '''🧙 (17413)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🚶 and 🧙 to go head to head.
* Another fan favorite. Can 🚶 catch up to 🧙?
* Well folks, it is not looking good for 🚶.
* In the end, there was nothing 🚶 could do to stop the power of 🧙.
|-
| 💃 (10409) vs '''🤺 (10987)''' ||
* We will be right back with 💃 vs. 🤺!
* Pointy Dancy vs. Pointy Stancy
* This one should be familiar to anyone who has tried fencing in heels.
|-
| 🏄 (7355) vs '''🚵 (10300)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* 🏄 has a chance here, but it is slipping away.
* Bicycle --> Unicycle --> None-cycle with left waves
* 🏄 has a chance here, but it is slipping away.
|-
| 🐒 (4784) vs '''🦊 (15635)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🐒 and 🦊! Facing off against each other again!
* Another challenging contest of cute!
* What *does* the fox say? "NOT TODAY, MONKEY."
|-
| 🐅 (7014) vs '''🐈 (11420)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* I have taken this yoga class!
* It looks like it is Cat vs. Extremely Cat.
|-
| 🐏 (12498) vs '''🦄 (12505)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🐏 and 🦄.
* 🐏 is an fan favorite to go far today.
* This one is a real nail biter!
* This one is a real horn-biter!
|-
| '''🐘 (11723)''' vs 🦒 (6162) ||
* Have at it, 🐘 and 🦒!
*Two great examples of character creator parameters set to different extremes.
|-
| 🐿 (9539) vs '''🦔 (12565)''' ||
* Have at it, 🐿 and 🦔!
* I have no idea how you are going to handle this one, folks.
* 🦔 is out to an early lead, but don't count 🐿 out just yet.
* the crowd is going nuts!
* One for the history books.
|-
| '''🐧 (14230)''' vs 🦡 (7361) ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🐧 and 🦡! Facing off against each other again!
*Arriving at the party ... same party two hours later.
|-
| 🐢 (10674) vs '''🦉 (10893)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🐢 vs. 🦉!
* Yeah, we know. This one is going to sting.
* It's neck and ... very interesting neck!
* Owl standing in for Hare in this round. We're all as surprised as you are.
|-
| 🐳 (9881) vs '''🐉 (12000)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🐉 and 🐳 to go head to head.
* Dry Snek vs. Wet Snek.
* A showdown between two mythical creatures!
* The dragon keeps beating real animals, even though dragons are just our animal fanfic.
* Save the whales!
|-
| '''🐙 (13431)''' vs 🦋 (6011) ||
* On deck, we have 🐙 and 🦋.
*save the butterwhales!
*Here we have a contest between two mimic octopuses
*The octopus has over twice as many clicks, folks. This one isn’t looking close.
*The octopus has over twice as many clicks, folks. This one isn’t close.
|-
| '''🐝 (19577)''' vs 🦠 (16657) ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
*nooooon, :butterfly:
*nooooon, butterfly (edited)
*Honeybees vs. colony collapse disorder
*I’m looking at the totals, and this one is extremely close.
*🦠 fans need to click more and faster!
*I mean, 🐝 fans need to keep clicking!
*Fun fact: You can click more than once, although if you click too much it ignores you.
*No! Save the bees!
*Bees!
|-
| 🍉 (12946) vs '''🌵 (13830)''' ||
* Have at it, 🌵 and 🍉!
* As a dessert for saving the bees, try one of these fine desert fruits.
* Ever wonder what the inside of a cactus looks like? We’ve cut one open for you here.
|-
| 🍓 (12167) vs '''🍍 (12522)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🍓 has had words with 🍍 before. The next match will be good.
* What fruit is best to eat in the night? Could it be Pine’s Apple?
* The weird-textured fruit showdown features two strong competitors.
|-
| 🌶 (13812) vs '''🥑 (13975)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🥑 has had words with 🌶 before. The next match will be good.
* We have reached the halfway point of round 3!
* As Twitter user @jitka said, “I like avocados because they taste pretty good and also they come with a cool wood ball you get to keep”
|-
| 🍄 (11290) vs '''🥐 (11348)''' ||
* Next up, 🍄 and 🥐.
* Don’t eat either of these if you find them on the ground in the woods.
|-
| '''🍕 (13520)''' vs 🧀 (8558) ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🍕 and 🧀 warming up.
*cheese: baked or not?
*pizza is just impure cheese
|-
| 🍳 (8407) vs '''🌯 (9848)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🌯 and 🍳 warming up.
* one burrito, sunny-side up
* Now I want a burrito.
|-
| '''🍣 (11362)''' vs 🦞 (9488) ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🍣 and 🦞! Facing off against each other again!
*I thought we had seen everything, but look at 🍣 go! Amazing!
|-
| 🍩 (12192) vs '''🦑 (12893)''' ||
* On deck, we have 🍩 and 🦑.
* Do not mix these flavors.
|-
| ☕ (7248) vs '''🍫 (13919)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, ☕ or 🍫.
* what a cruel choice
* in which form would you like your beans?
* mocha hold the chocolate vs. mocha hold the coffee
|-
| 🍺 (11448) vs '''🔪 (12597)''' ||
* Will it be 🍺 or 🔪? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* What an amazingly bad combination!
* Its ... a close shave.
|-
| 🏕 (6055) vs '''🌋 (13928)''' ||
* They have been attacking each other on social media all week. Next up! It's 🌋 vs. 🏕.
* What an amazingly bad combination! .... Again!
* the eruption of mt. Saint helens (artist's conception)
* ruuuuunn!
|-
| 🏥 (7225) vs '''🏗 (8415)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite 🏗. Coming up next!
* the crane can build hospitals, so voting for the crane is like wishing for infinite wishes
|-
| 🌅 (7042) vs '''🌃 (10460)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* all good things must come to an end
|-
| 🚄 (8128) vs '''🚝 (8903)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
|-
| 🚜 (6598) vs '''🚒 (8085)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🚒 vs. 🚜!
* We can put out your fire, or we can move it over there.
|-
| ⚓ (6987) vs '''🚲 (9001)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, ⚓ or 🚲.
|-
| 🚁 (3409) vs '''🛸 (12591)''' ||
* Oh, this one should be good.
* Independence Day (1996)
|-
| 🌞 (6290) vs '''🌒 (11026)''' ||
* Coming to you live from the Emojidome, it's 🌒 vs. 🌞!
|-
| 🌈 (12417) vs '''🌌 (13194)''' ||
* Uh oh. 🌌 has had words with 🌈 before. The next match will be good.
|-
| ☄ (7687) vs '''🔥 (8315)''' ||
* Have at it, ☄ and 🔥!
* Armageddon (1998)
|-
| 🎁 (5311) vs '''🧨 (9417)''' ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
* Do you like surprises?
|-
| 🏀 (3729) vs '''🏅 (9083)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 🏀 or 🏅.
* This match has me questioning 🏀's commitment.
|-
| '''🏓 (9290)''' vs 🥏 (7916) ||
* I'm looking forward to this.
*Don't blink.
|-
| 🎮 (11060) vs '''🥌 (14205)''' ||
* Welcome back, it's time for 🎮 and 🥌 to go head to head.
* Curling Simulator 2019
* If you love 🥌, you will have to show it now!
* Its a close match!
* 🎮 sweeping up
* 🥌 sweeping up
* I think 🥌 has it.
|-
| 🎒 (5682) vs '''🎨 (8574)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* Is the backpack Blue or Red??
* Blue or Red isn't going to matter if 🎨 keeps their lead!
* This one was over before it started.
|-
| 🎩 (9120) vs '''🎵 (10259)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🎩 or 🎵?
* Top Hat (1935)
|-
| 🎸 (7349) vs '''🎻 (10889)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 🎸 and 🎻 warming up.
* the day the music died
|-
| 📟 (3276) vs '''💾 (14470)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have 💾 and 📟 warming up.
* 🖍, are you watching this match?
* At this rate, 📟 will lose worse than 🎒 earlier!
|-
| 💡 (7834) vs '''🧮 (10579)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 💡 and 🧮! Facing off against each other again!
* What an illuminating contest.
* In case you were wondering, the obsolete tech bracket is coming to a close soon.
* 🧮 comes out on top.
|-
| 📦 (3650) vs '''📚 (13464)''' ||
* Uh oh. 📦 has had words with 📚 before. The next match will be good.
* Remember trees?
|-
| 📊 (7144) vs '''🖍 (8035)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 📊 and 🖍! Facing off against each other again!
* Which crayon is the shortest
* Which crayon is the shortest?
|-
| 📎 (8114) vs '''🗝 (9019)''' ||
* Have at it, 📎 and 🗝!
* Have you considered just casting 'Knock'?
|-
| ⚖ (6910) vs '''🏹 (9251)''' ||
* You do not want to miss the fan favorite ⚖. Coming up next!
* I am not sure if there is anything else that 🏹 needs to prove.
|-
| 🔭 (9037) vs '''🧬 (11772)''' ||
* It's time to find out: Who would win in a match, 🔭 or 🧬?
* Pretty sure that is not how any of this works.
|-
| ⚰ (12470) vs '''🧻 (13083)''' ||
* Don't change that channel, folks. We have ⚰ and 🧻 warming up.
* This is the final match of round 3!
* You have died of Dysentery.
|-
|}

=== Round 4===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 😉 (13589) vs '''🙃 (22912)''' ||
* Will it be 😉 or 🙃? Find out next after this message from our sponsors.
* Finally! A rivalry spoke only in whispers now takes center stage.
* I see our friends in Australia have joined in the fun.
* 😉 has some time to recover, but they are going to need help.
* Down to our last minute in the match!
* 😉 never had a chance.
|-
| 😜 (6578) vs '''🤔 (25692)''' ||
* Next! Who would win in a match between 😜 and 🤔? We are about to find out.
* This match-up reminds me of something clever I heard earlier ...
* Oh! I remember what it was!
* Someone said
|-
| 😴 (11518) vs '''😏 (12506)''' ||
* If you're like me, you've argued over who would win head-to-head, 😏 or 😴.
* Success is no stranger to 😏. Let's see if they can keep it going.
* Don't sleep on this match-up!
|-
| 😮 (18361) vs '''😎 (18415)''' ||
* Next up, 😎 and 😮.
* I don't know about you, but this is the match I have been waiting all day to see.
* Sunglasses pulling ahead.
* The betting markets had 😮 as favourite today, but it sure looks like 😎 is going to make it!
* It's all up to 😎 now. Can they hold 😮 back long enough to claim victory?
* The betting markets had 😮 as favourite today, but it sure looks like 😎 is going to make it!
* The gap is closing! Is there enough time for 😮 to take the lead?
* This one is coming down to the wire!
* Surprised Pikachu pulls ahead!
|-
| 😱 (4868) vs '''😈 (5411)''' ||
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 😈 and 😱! Facing off against each other again!
|-
| 👾 (18385) vs '''🙀 (18571)''' ||
* 👾 and 🙀 have been friends for a long time. I am not sure where that relationship is going to be after today.
* This could get interesting if 🙀 brings out their lasers!
* This could get interesting if 👾 brings out their lasers!
* Can we go back to the laser kittens for a minute?
* laser kittens! mew mew mew!
* Uh oh. The cat cheering section seems to be slacking.
* Can the cats make a comeback and save us all?
* It's gonna be tight!
|-
| 💦 (13865) vs '''💖 (15698)''' ||
* Someone has to win this match and someone has to lose, but you have to acknowledge the pure sportsmanship of these competitors.
* Click the link at the bottom of the comic to view the current bracket! (Just updated.)
* That last one came down to the wire, and this one's looking like it might too.
* The three other Planeteers are watching this match tensely.
* Sparkle Heart has been a surprisingly strong contender, knocking out the 100 emoji early!
* Click the link at the bottom of the comic to view the current bracket!
* Sparkle heart appears to be running away with another one.
|-
| '''👩‍🔬 (19865)''' vs 🧠 (9398) ||
* This is a match that no one wanted to deal with until the end.
*what exactly is 👩‍🔬 going to do with that beaker?
*Neuroscience vs. Neuro!
*There seems to be a commotion in the audience as to whether that was a flask or a beaker.
*I *was* a beaker, but someone changed it in post!
*Looks like 👩‍🔬 is really taking 🧠 to *flask*.
|-
| 🤺 (8947) vs '''🧙 (25337)''' ||
* 🤺 has been a fan favorite all day. Suprising literally no one.
* However, 🧙 has literally been disintegrating their competition all afternoon.
* What are we thinking here? 'Heat Metal'?
* Parry hotter vs Harry Potter?
|-
| 🚵 (7397) vs '''🦊 (27045)''' ||
* This is a match that no one wanted to deal with until the end.
* several people are typing.
* 🦊 is putting 🚵 in the rear-view mirror and stepping on the gas.
* I have never seen 🦊 crush an opponent that mercilessly before.
|-
| '''🐈 (25965)''' vs 🦄 (20912) ||
* Oh this one should be good.
*I am not sure if there is anything else that 🐈 needs to prove.
|-
| 🐘 (23083) vs '''🦔 (23975)''' ||
* I spoke with 🐘 before the match today, and they had this to say: 🐘.
* This is one grudge that won't be resolved soon: 🐘 never forgets.
* Hedgehog has been a strong contender but elephant is running surprisingly close.
* This is going to come down to the final seconds.
* An amazing match from 🦔.
|-
| 🐧 (19957) vs '''🦉 (22737)''' ||
* There are a lot of 🐧 fans in the audience today hoping to see their champ make it through.
* Another close match in the making!
* 1 minute for 🦉 to overtake 🐧!
* I think the bird has it.
|-
| 🐉 (25129) vs '''🐙 (25238)''' ||
* You wouldn't know it to look at them right now, but 🐉 and 🐙 have been friends for years.
* I think 🐉 may have finally met their match.
* 🐙 is trying to get back in the lead. But 🐉 is not having any of it.
* The totals are back and forth!
* An unbelievably close match is down to the final minute!
* It’s neck and neck, despite one being all neck and the other having none.
* The final seconds are here. Who will take the final lead?
|-
| 🌵 (17985) vs '''🐝 (18691)''' ||
* 🌵 has really suprised me today.
* another close match. Are all of the contests going to be like this now?
|-
| '''🍍 (19728)''' vs 🥑 (18099) ||
* 🍍 continues to show why they are just the dominant force to be reckoned with today.
*Avocado Toast or Pineapple Pizza
*Avocado Toast or Pineapple Pizza?
|-
| '''🍕 (19207)''' vs 🥐 (11100) ||
* Oh this one should be good.
*Pineapple pizza isn't real pizza
*There are two correct answers here. Choose wisely.
*Pizzas are like croissant tacos
*Looks like 🥐 is getting roasted.
*🥐 burn so easily. Who knew?
|-
| 🌯 (16204) vs '''🍣 (17599)''' ||
* 🌯 came to play. It is so obvious.
* why do we have to choose?
* I have definitely eaten food that was described as both of these.
|-
| 🍫 (17503) vs '''🦑 (18313)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* No No Nothing about this is good.
* 🍫 is pretty sweet, but I'm a sucker for 🦑
|-
| '''🌋 (18049)''' vs 🔪 (7144) ||
* 🌋 has been a fan favorite all day. Suprising literally no one.
*before the knives come out of the mountain they're technically called "magma"
*before knives come out of a mountain they're technically called 'magma'
|-
| 🏗 (7355) vs '''🌃 (12660)''' ||
* Oh this one should be good.
* Has anyone ever seen one of these without the other? Hmm.
* 163
|-
| 🚒 (4736) vs '''🚝 (9570)''' ||
* 🚒 is dedicating this match to someone very special in their lives.
|-
| 🚲 (11477) vs '''🛸 (14994)''' ||
* 🚲 has really suprised me today.
* E.T. (1982)
|-
| 🌒 (7313) vs '''🌌 (15975)''' ||
* I am very excited to see 🌌 still in this competition.
* This battle is out of this world!
|-
| '''🔥 (13588)''' vs 🧨 (8239) ||
* This is a match with a special meaning for 🔥.
*Uh oh, this is one of those battles where nobody wins.
*🔥 bolting ahead with an alarming lead against 🧨
*Take cover folks, this looks like it's going to be a hot one.
*aaaaaand boom goes the dynamite!
|-
| 🏅 (9309) vs '''🏓 (11409)''' ||
* I am very excited to see 🏅 still in this competition.
* Ohhhhhhhh. That one is going to leave a mark.
|-
| 🎨 (11242) vs '''🥌 (20329)''' ||
* Look at where you came from 🎨. Look at where you started! You would think that this would be enough.
* C'mon baby put the rock in the house
|-
| 🎵 (10452) vs '''🎻 (11806)''' ||
* 🎵 came to play. It is so obvious.
* It is a battle as old as time itself. 🎵 and 🎻! Facing off against each other again!
* No, that's not the iTunes logo
* 🎻's tuning might be working against them right now.
|-
| '''💾 (16887)''' vs 🧮 (13339) ||
* 💾 is dedicating this match to someone very special in their lives.
*Welcome back to the Obsolete Technology Dome!
*MicroSD Card is watching closely at this battle of two square data storage options
|-
| 🖍 (6157) vs '''📚 (16083)''' ||
* This is going to be a challenge for 📚.
* 📚 really left a mark on 🖍 in their last match.
* 🖍 really left a mark on 📚 in their last match.
|-
| '''🏹 (14112)''' vs 🗝 (11789) ||
* 🏹 is looking fierce, but 🗝 is having none of it.
|-
| 🧻 (8107) vs '''🧬 (24415)''' ||
* 🧬 came to play. It is so obvious.
* 🧻 and 🧬 are neck and neck here in the final bout of round 3!
* when either is missing, you're in trouble
* And 🧻 falls to 🧬. A suprising turn of events.
|-
|}

=== Round 5===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 🙃 (77562) vs '''🤔 (85714)''' ||
* all remaining rounds will be 26 minutes
* all remaining bouts will be 26 minutes
* Sometimes I think they've gone too far with plastic surgery
* This one's a fitting start to the round of 32, don't you think?
* Spiderman (2002)
* these vote totals are getting *close*! 🤔
* up is down, down is up! 🤔
* up is down, down is up! 🙃
* 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
* Getting knocked out in the round of 32 🙃
|-
| 😎 (35129) vs '''😏 (35485)''' ||
* 😎 and 😏 have been friends for a long time. I am not sure where that relationship is going to be after today.
* wink wink vs nudge nudge
* The Blues Brothers (1980)
* Can't read my p-p-p-poker face"
* Can't read my p-p-p-poker face
* David Caruso, is that you
* explicit vs. implicit
|-
| 🙀 (34060) vs '''😈 (46401)''' ||
* Are we about to see a huge upset?
* The devil went down to kittytown
* We're not sure which of these is a more accurate representation of a cat
* Both of them like to make your life hell.
* Which side are the Hellcats cheering for?
* 9 circles of hell. 9 lives. COINCIDENCE?
* Better the devil you know than the one you pet.
|-
| 💖 (15594) vs '''👩‍🔬 (43035)''' ||
* This is a match that no one wanted to deal with until the end.
* Love Potion No. 9 (1963)
* The shine seems to be wearing off for sparkle heart.
* The shine seems to be wearing off for sparkle heart. What's in that flask?
|-
| 🦊 (48941) vs '''🧙 (49275)''' ||
* 🦊 has really suprised me today.
* :leaves:: Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn targeting Devilthorn Fox
* G: Target creature gets +3/+3 until end of turn targeting Devilthorn Fox
|-
| 🐈 (32862) vs '''🦔 (42994)''' ||
* I don't care if you are a 🐈 fan or a 🦔 fan, you have to admire their work here today.
* Scoring of this bout might be delayed, we're having to re-calibrate our cuteness meter.
|-
| 🐙 (38553) vs '''🦉 (204094)''' ||
* Someone has to win this match and someone has to lose, but you have to acknowledge the pure sportsmanship of these competitors.
* This staring contest began hours before the match started.
* You obviously like owls.
|-
| 🍍 (25531) vs '''🐝 (28801)''' ||
* 🍍 is dedicating this match to someone very special in their lives.
* Neither of these really go well with a bonnet.
|-
| 🍕 (30696) vs '''🍣 (33247)''' ||
* We didn't expect 🍕 to show up today, and ... well ... we are just as suprised as you!
* It's come down to this... which one is going to get taken out.
* In Toronto, this isn't even a competition.
|-
| '''🌋 (24884)''' vs 🦑 (20329) ||
* There was never any doubt in my mind that 🌋 would be right here, right now.
*Finally the mastermind has an appropriate lair
|-
| 🌃 (21192) vs '''🚝 (24042)''' ||
* I am very excited to see 🌃 still in this competition.
|-
| '''🌌 (25884)''' vs 🛸 (14803) ||
* 🌌 has been a fan favorite all day. Suprising literally no one.
*Will we go to the stars, or will the stars come to us?
|-
| 🏓 (13494) vs '''🔥 (17154)''' ||
* 🏓 continues to show why they are just the dominant force to be reckoned with today.
* Would you rather be on fire, or on fire?
* Have you ever seen a ping pong paddle on fire? Me neither.
|-
| '''🎻 (26281)''' vs 🥌 (26221) ||
* 🎻 certainly has its work cut out for it going up agaist 🥌.
*Which do you prefer, classical or house?
|-
| 📚 (16770) vs '''💾 (19628)''' ||
* 💾 had an interesting previous round. Let's see what they do now.
* One of these is a universal icon for saving data, and the other is a floppy.
* The Persistence of Memory (1931)
|-
| 🏹 (9717) vs '''🧬 (20370)''' ||
* We didn't expect 🏹 to show up today, and ... well ... we are just as suprised as you!
* The latest ad targeting technology is pretty scary.
|-
|}

=== Round 6===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 😏 (17357) vs '''🤔 (23903)''' ||
* Look at where you came from 😏. Look at where you started! You would think that this would be enough.
* I know something you don't know.
* How do you know for sure that your votes are doing anything?
|-
| 😈 (11306) vs '''👩‍🔬 (30208)''' ||
* This is a match with a special meaning for 👩‍🔬.
* The scientific method's problem is that the devil's in the details.
|-
| 🧙 (26205) vs '''🦔 (27999)''' ||
* 🦔 had an interesting previous round. Let's see what they do now.
* Hedge magic is generally more pragmatic than other forms of sorcery.
* The wizard didn't do it
|-
| 🐝 (21941) vs '''🦉 (28070)''' ||
* 🐝 came to play. It is so obvious.
* Of course we all know about the Owls and the Bees
* The Owlbee is a lesser known, but beloved D&D monster.
* The Owlbee is a lesser known, but beloved D and D monster.
* The Owlbee is a lesser known, but beloved DnD monster.
* Owls well that ends well
|-
| 🍣 (27026) vs '''🌋 (33364)''' ||
* 🌋 is dedicating this match to someone very special in their lives.
* Cooked or raw?
* Sushi is tasty, but the volcano offers free delivery.
* Click the link at the bottom for a just-updated bracket!
* Sushi has received a technical disqualification for being very very cooked
|-
| '''🌌 (36285)''' vs 🚝 (17405) ||
* 🌌 continues to show why they are just the dominant force to be reckoned with today.
*~future~
*The red carpet is empty tonight; the sky is full of stars.
*NIGHT TRAIN!
*Spaaaaaaaaace
|-
| 🎻 (26806) vs '''🔥 (32652)''' ||
* 🎻 is dedicating this match to someone very special in their lives.
* Either can kill if used indiscriminately.
* And fire flew from his fingertips as he rosined up his bow.
* That fiddle-playing is [fire emoji], but that fire emoji is [actual fire].
* That 🎻 is 🔥, but that 🔥 is actual 🔥.
* Click the link below the comic to see the current round of 32! (just updated)
* Click the link at the bottom to see the current round of 32! (just updated)
* That 🎻 is 🔥, but that 🔥 is actual 🔥.
|-
| 💾 (57577) vs '''🧬 (58313)''' ||
* Look at where you came from 💾. Look at where you started! You would think that this would be enough.
* Magnets work on both of these, right?
* Fun fact: Your genome could fit on just a few hundred floppy disks.
* This is the final match of the round, determining whether 💾 or 🧬 makes it into the Elite Eight.
* These two have been neck-and-neck through the whole bout.
* The “3d-printed save icon” is pulling ahead in the home stretch!
* This is a close one!
* Fun fact: Your genome could fit on just a few hundred floppy disks.
|-
|}

=== Round 7===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| '''👩‍🔬 (113683)''' vs 🤔 (108653) ||
* Nearly tied at 40,000 votes each!
*Nearly tied at 50,000 votes each!
*👩‍🔬 has the lead, but 🤔 points out it’s not a statistically significant difference.
*🤔 has the lead, but 👩‍🔬 points out it’s not a statistically significant difference.
*🤔 pulls ahead, but reminds everyone that it’s not a statistically significant lead.
*👩‍🔬 pulls ahead, but reminds everyone that it’s not a statistically significant lead.
*Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
*👩‍🔬 is ahead, but reminds everyone that it’s not statistically significant.
*👩‍🔬 appears to be leading, but more studies are needed.
*🤔
|-
| 🦉 (103212) vs '''🦔 (105260)''' ||
* I've always considered 🦉 to be one of the greats.
* sky cat vs. pointy cat
* This bout will decide which animal emoji advances to the final 4.
* The main difference between these two is the number of potentially flying spines.
* This one's going to be close.
* One might say this was neck and neck if either of these had one.
* 🦔 just barely squeaking in a victory.
|-
| 🌋 (105716) vs '''🌌 (175099)''' ||
* 🌋 had an interesting previous round. Let's see what they do now.
* Star stuff or regurgitated star stuff?
* This is secretly a referendum on air pollution.
* “Earth” and “Space” have each sent their most exciting representatives
* 🌋 is going to go extinct at this rate.
* This combination led to the cretaceous extinction.
* It’s looking like 🌌 will advance to the final 4.
* Good (starry) Night!
|-
| '''🔥 (178121)''' vs 🧬 (159553) ||
* Did you know the melting point of DNA depends on the information it encodes?
*Jurassic Park III (2001)
*🧬 pulled ahead early, but 🔥 has closed the gap.
*🧬 is pulling away!
*Click the link below to see the current bracket!
*🧬 seems eager to move up the ladder.
*Whatever happens, this one will have a twist ending.
*🧬 has pulled ahead in the home stretch!
*🔥 has pulled ahead in the home stretch!
*🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
|-
|}

=== Round 8===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| 👩‍🔬 (285263) vs '''🦔 (285736)''' ||
* 👩‍🔬 defeated [purple devil face] and [sparkling heart] to get here.
* 👩‍🔬 defeated the wizard and then beat out the rest of the animal quadrant.
* 🦔 defeated the wizard and then beat out the rest of the animal quadrant.
* With over a quarter of a million votes, this one is coming down to the wire.
* In the final minutes, 🦔 is opening up the first real lead of the bout!
* 🦔 fans had better keep clicking!
* 👩‍🔬 is ahead but 🦔 is closing the gap!
* It’s virtually tied going into the final minute! Keep clicking!
* 🦔 pulls ahead!
* Science!
|-
| '''🌌 (281040)''' vs 🔥 (155282) ||
* Without oxygen, there’s no 🔥.
*Space fire fact: If we detect fire on exoplanets, it may indicate life. Oxygen is volatile and shouldn’t persist in an atmosphere without something replenishing it.
*Space fire fact: If we detect fire on exoplanets, it may indicate life. Oxygen is volatile and shouldn’t persist in an atmosphere without replenishment.
*Just how much fire is there in a star, anyway?
*The winner of this match will go on to face hedgehog in the finals.
*The galaxy is running away with this one.
*Click the link below for the bracket! (Change the 32 to 128 for a larger one.)
*Space is running away so fast with this one we're seeing red shift.
*Spaaaaaaaaaaaaace
*Space ran away with that one so fast it redshifted.
|-
|}

=== Round 9===
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Competitors and score !! Commentary
|-
| '''🌌 (710129)''' vs 🦔 (682919) ||
* 🦔 is in the lead!
*🌌 has pulled ahead again!
*🦔 is slowly trying to close the gap that 🌌 managed to open.
*🦔 is catching up!
*🦔 is in the lead, 🌌 hot on its tail.
*🌌 beginning to expand its lead again.
*Over a million votes have been cast!
*🌌 in the lead, but 🦔 isn't out of this yet.
*This is it folks, the final moments...
*🌌 takes it!
|-
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Emoji]]
[[Category:Sport]]

2103: Midcontinent Rift System

2019-01-25T20:27:19Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ redundant modal

{{comic
| number = 2103
| date = January 25, 2019
| title = Midcontinent Rift System
| image = midcontinent_rift_system.png
| titletext = The best wedge issue is an actual wedge.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Midcontinental Rift. Need an explanation of the title text. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Recently, USA politics has caused polarization of the public.<ref>[https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/215210/partisan-differences-growing-number-issues.aspx Partisan Differences Growing on a Number of Issues]</ref> It is said to be "split" in two camps (liberal and conservative). Here [[Black Hat]] is trying to get elected by promising he will actually split America in two. His presentation suggest he would accomplish this by using a giant crowbar, thus completing the {{w|Midcontinent Rift System|Midcontinent Rift}}, which is a large crack that started to form about 1.1 billion years ago, but failed to completely sever the continent.

It is unclear why would anyone vote for such a thing, but people directly affected (the Midwest) are likely to vote against [[Black Hat]]. While Black Hat and his campaign advisor [[Ponytail]] speak of weakness in the Midwest, they are talking about two different things: Black Hat refers to the physical weakness of the North American Plate in the Midwest due to the geological rift which he thinks could be exploited by a large enough crowbar, while Ponytail is referring to a political weakness for Black Hat's campaign in the Midwest due to the likely-unpopular proposal (different regions of the US have different voters and populations who have different priorities and stances, so candidates and their campaigns' platforms will likely be more popular in some regions and less popular in others). In this case a successful or attempted completion of the rift would likely result in the destruction of millions of houses, buildings, and other man-made structures, not to mention the deaths of many humans (if proper evacuation were not fully implemented and enforced) as well as millions of animals that could not be evacuated. The proposal would also cause huge economic impacts; the Midwest produces a significant proportion of America's food supplies and hosts important economic centers, such as Chicago and Cleveland. So the popularity among those directly or even indirectly affected is likely quite low.

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

:[A map of North America shows the Midcontinent Rift System as a red line curving through the Great Lakes and down through the midwestern United States.]
:1.1 billion years ago, the North American continent began to split in half.

:[Black Hat stands at a lectern with a "Vote 2020" sign on it. He gestures to an image of the globe with a giant crowbar inserted in the rift with an arrow indicating applying pressure to widen the rift.]
:Black Hat: We don't know why it stopped. If elected, I vow to finish the job. Thank youl.

:[Ponytail, Black Hat, Megan, and Cueball walk to the right away from a set of stairs. Cueball is looking at a phone and Ponytail is looking at a device or paper with writing on it.]
:Ponytail: Great job up there.
:Black Hat: Thanks! How are my polling numbers?
:Ponytail: Well, I'm seeing some weakness in the Midwest.
:Black Hat: So am I. So am I.
{{comic discussion}}

2083: Laptop Issues

2018-12-12T16:36:48Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ ce, tweak about the series of comics.

{{comic
| number = 2083
| date = December 10, 2018
| title = Laptop Issues
| image = laptop_issues.png
| titletext = Hang on, we got a call from the feds. They say we can do whatever with him, but the EPA doesn't want that laptop in the ocean. They're sending a team.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explanations could be improved. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Cueball]] goes to tech support with his laptop. [[Hairy]] and [[Ponytail]] are waiting behind the counter; one has dealt with [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's bizarre tech issues]] before, and warns the other. Sure enough, Cueball sets the computer down and offers a detailed list of the arcane problems his computer is giving him.

; ''My laptop's battery won't hold a charge.''
: A common problem; as batteries are frequently charged and recharged, their capacity for storing charge deteriorates. However...

; ''Tried [replacing the battery]. Now the new ones won't either.''
: ...the problem persisting despite the battery's replacement fails to make any significant sense. It may be a problem with his laptop's charging port, but his comment that the "new ones" now fail to hold a charge seems to imply it is persisting despite the replacement batteries being used elsewhere after attempting to use them for his laptop and failing... Many modern batteries have firmware built in now that reports their charge level. It is possible that his laptop is installing a faulty firmware to any batteries that get connected.

; ''Also, random files get corrupted on the first of every month.''
: Some devices may be scheduled to do a "disk cleanup" on the first of every month. Somehow, this task is corrupting files that should be kept.

; ''Factory reset didn't help.''
: A factory reset of a device deletes all files, undoes all customizations, and generally puts the system back to square one. Under normal circumstances, this is an effective last-resort measure for dealing with glitches, viruses, and malware, so the fact that it doesn't offer any help suggests that the device's factory settings were already corrupt when they were first made or that the problem is hardware-related.

; ''When it's plugged in, I get static shocks from my plumbing.''
: Static charge from a portable device while it's charging is common. Static charge on other items in the building is not. However, plumbing systems on older houses were often used to provide a ground instead of using grounding rods, which are now the accepted norm. This could imply that Cueball's house is old, and for some reason his laptop is pumping a large amount of charge directly to ground.

; ''And it reboots if someone uses an arc welder nearby''
: The high power draw of an arc welder will occasionally cause less devoted power supplies to flicker. Coupled with the bad battery that cannot keep the computer running when the power dips, this might cause his laptop to reboot. This could also be just because the arc welder is causing a large amount of electromagnetic interference.

; ''Transitions® lenses go dark when exposed to the screen''
: Photochromic lenses (commonly known by the brand name Transitions® lenses) in prescription glasses darken when exposed directly to UV rays; this is to avoid the wearer any hassle of needing prescription sunglasses. This seems to indicate that the screen of Cueball's laptop is emitting UV radiation.

; ''and when I open too many tabs, it fogs nearby photographic film.''
: The screen would have to be emitting X-rays that can pass through the film's container and expose the film.

The sheer incongruity of everything Cueball has reported, in combination with past issues, leads Hairy to report that his manager has authorized Cueball and his laptop be thrown into the ocean. Cueball accepts this without objection. This is a reference to [[1912: Thermostat]], where Cueball has an issue with his thermostat, and the Tech support employee asks thim if he has tried walking into the sea. It seems this suggestion has evolved into forcefully throwing him into the sea, for lack of a better idea. It could also be that this is a reference back to the first of the series of comics on Cueball's many [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|computer problems]], [[349: Success]], where he ended up in the ocean.

The title text contains mention of the {{w|Environmental Protection Agency}}, (EPA) a part of the United States government responsible for preventing pollution. In real life, most of a laptop computer's components are considered toxic waste, and the EPA, as part of their mission, would not want it dumped in the ocean. More to the point, it's implied that whatever Cueball did to it renders it far more dangerous than an ordinary laptop, and the EPA ''really'' doesn't want his cursed possessions in the ocean; thus they are sending a {{w|Dangerous goods | hazmat}} team to collect the laptop and safely dispose of it. However, in the comic, the EPA do not seem to be bothered with Cueball himself being thrown into the ocean.

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

:[Cueball is walking past a sign reading "Tech Support," with a right-pointing arrow and carrying a laptop.]
:Off panel voice #1: ''Oh no.''
:Off panel voice #2: ''What?''
:Off panel voice #1: ''This guy. He has the worst tech problems.''

:[Cueball at tech support desk with an open laptop facing Hairy and Ponytail.]
:Cueball: My laptop's battery won't hold a charge.
:Hairy: We can replace it.
:Cueball: Tried that. Now the new ones won't either.

:[Close-up of Cueball]
:Cueball: Also, random files get corrupted on the first day of every month. Factory reset didn't help.
:Off panel voice #2: ''You weren't kidding.''

:[Close-up of Cueball]
:Cueball: When it's plugged in, I get static shocks from my plumbing.
:Off panel voice: What the...
:Cueball: And it reboots if someone uses an arc welder nearby.

:[Same tableau as second panel except that the laptop is slightly open now.]
:Cueball: Transitions® lenses go dark when exposed to the screen, and when I open too many tabs, it fogs nearby photographic film.
:Hairy: We don't usually do this, but I've gotten permission from my manager to have you and the laptop hurled into the ocean.
:Cueball: That's probably for the best.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

Talk:2073: Kilogram

2018-11-16T18:50:45Z

Yngvadottir: Pint makes my point more strongly.

I didn't know that weights and currencies could be converted 1:1, that's cool! [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:37, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

I wish they ''had'' redefined the kilogram a little bit. It would have been neat if 1 kg was exactly the weight of 1 dm^3 (1 litre) of water under one atmosphere of pressure. Right now it's soooo close. It's a good enough estimate for simple maths, but whenever you tell people that a litre of water weighs one kilogram the pedants comes out of the woodworks... [[User:Kapten-N|Kapten-N]] ([[User talk:Kapten-N|talk]]) 16:50, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

Up until 1964 a litre (and therefore actually the metre too) used to be defined as the volume that water with mass 1kg takes. But this is not good for exact measurements not only because you need exactly reproducable temperature, pressure (not so problematic, because you can measure them and then calculate the divergence) and gravity (not so easy to measure, because you need an exact mass and exact masses are impossible to keep the same), but also because you need pure water free of any polutions of other stuff (hard and expensive) and even free of tiny amounts of isotopes which are deuterium and tritium (even way more expensive).
Because the water that was used then was never close to pure the actual weight of water nowadays is 0.99997kg at 4°C and 1.013bar and I don't know which value for g. There is also another definition which I like, but is hard to measure in real life scenarios: E=mc². A kilogramm should be 1/c² of the mass which anything becomes heavier that you accelerate by the energy of one Joule. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.150|162.158.90.150]] 17:11, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
:But how do you define/measure a Joule then? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:19, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
:No, until 1964, meter and litre were totally independent, a meter has never been defined directly or indirectly in relation to a mass of water. It is only since 1964 that the liter is defined as a cubic decimeter.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.36|162.158.90.36]] 18:36, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
:Also, in E=mc², E is the energy '''at rest''' (for a stationary object of mass m), so your definition using the acceleration makes no sense.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.254|162.158.88.254]] 18:47, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
Actually, for the new definition of the kilo using the Kibble balance you need to measure the gravity... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.16|162.158.134.16]] 17:34, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

Welp, looks like 1 kg, a.k.a. 1 lb, a.k.a 2.2 lb, is now officially defined to have zero mass.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.50.28|172.69.50.28]] 16:56, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
:…or infinite. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:59, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
::What I understand: the joke is not (only) about 1 (old) kg = 1 (old) lb, but (also) about 1 new kg = 1 old lb... or 1 new lb = 1 old kg :^) Or about a ring of positive characteristic --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.94|188.114.102.94]] 17:08, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

what about the ambiguity of the pound? would they reference an Avoirdupois bound or a Troy lb? --wonderkatn

I don't believe the Imperial system is "no longer used". Gills have been retired, but yards and even chains are still in use, not to mention the Imperial <s>lb</s> pint. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 18:49, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2073: Kilogram

2018-11-16T18:49:24Z

Yngvadottir: I have to question the aside about Imperial no longer being used.

I didn't know that weights and currencies could be converted 1:1, that's cool! [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:37, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

I wish they ''had'' redefined the kilogram a little bit. It would have been neat if 1 kg was exactly the weight of 1 dm^3 (1 litre) of water under one atmosphere of pressure. Right now it's soooo close. It's a good enough estimate for simple maths, but whenever you tell people that a litre of water weighs one kilogram the pedants comes out of the woodworks... [[User:Kapten-N|Kapten-N]] ([[User talk:Kapten-N|talk]]) 16:50, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

Up until 1964 a litre (and therefore actually the metre too) used to be defined as the volume that water with mass 1kg takes. But this is not good for exact measurements not only because you need exactly reproducable temperature, pressure (not so problematic, because you can measure them and then calculate the divergence) and gravity (not so easy to measure, because you need an exact mass and exact masses are impossible to keep the same), but also because you need pure water free of any polutions of other stuff (hard and expensive) and even free of tiny amounts of isotopes which are deuterium and tritium (even way more expensive).
Because the water that was used then was never close to pure the actual weight of water nowadays is 0.99997kg at 4°C and 1.013bar and I don't know which value for g. There is also another definition which I like, but is hard to measure in real life scenarios: E=mc². A kilogramm should be 1/c² of the mass which anything becomes heavier that you accelerate by the energy of one Joule. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.150|162.158.90.150]] 17:11, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
:But how do you define/measure a Joule then? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:19, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
:No, until 1964, meter and litre were totally independent, a meter has never been defined directly or indirectly in relation to a mass of water. It is only since 1964 that the liter is defined as a cubic decimeter.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.36|162.158.90.36]] 18:36, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
:Also, in E=mc², E is the energy '''at rest''' (for a stationary object of mass m), so your definition using the acceleration makes no sense.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.254|162.158.88.254]] 18:47, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
Actually, for the new definition of the kilo using the Kibble balance you need to measure the gravity... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.16|162.158.134.16]] 17:34, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

Welp, looks like 1 kg, a.k.a. 1 lb, a.k.a 2.2 lb, is now officially defined to have zero mass.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.50.28|172.69.50.28]] 16:56, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
:…or infinite. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:59, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
::What I understand: the joke is not (only) about 1 (old) kg = 1 (old) lb, but (also) about 1 new kg = 1 old lb... or 1 new lb = 1 old kg :^) Or about a ring of positive characteristic --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.94|188.114.102.94]] 17:08, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

what about the ambiguity of the pound? would they reference an Avoirdupois bound or a Troy lb? --wonderkatn

I don't believe the Imperial system is "no longer used". Gills have been retired, but yards and even chains are still in use, not to mention the Imperial lb. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 18:49, 16 November 2018 (UTC)

2073: Kilogram

2018-11-16T18:46:42Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ ce, tweak, {{w}}

{{comic
| number = 2073
| date = November 16, 2018
| title = Kilogram
| image = kilogram.png
| titletext = I'm glad to hear they're finally redefining the meter to be exactly three feet.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CONSTANT PLANCK. Links to resources would be good. Explanation should include how the metric system is interconnected (ex: 1L of water weighs 1KG.). Please mention here why else this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The comic is accurate in that the International Committee for Weights and Measurements did just vote to redefine the kilogram; however, it was '''not''' to make it be the same as the pound, or indeed to make it different in any practical way from its current weight. The problem they are trying to solve is that the current method of confirming that a kilogram is accurate is to use physical metal weights measuring exactly one kilogram, periodically transporting them around the world to an official weight lab to confirm they still weigh the same. Over time these physical objects have changed very slightly in their mass making them unreliable in the long run. Note that these weights and comparisons are so precise that a fingerprint on one of the weights could throw them off.

On the day of this comic, the International Committee for Weights and Measures voted to redefine the kilogram by fixing it to the value of Planck's Constant. This is done by passing a measured current through an electromagnet to exert a force to balance 1 kg. The change will take effect on May 20, 2019, when the platinum cylinder International Prototype Kilogram that defines the unit will be retired. This means that the mass of a kilogram will no longer be tied to a physical object, but to the fundamental properties of the universe.

In this comic, Black Hat announces that the kilogram has been redefined as equal to one pound. Ponytail and Cueball seem to think this makes things simpler, but Megan is rightfully alarmed. The metric system of measurement is the one used by most of the world and is the standard system used in science. It is considered superior to the {{w|United States Customary System}} (which the pound is part of). Therefore, redefining the kilogram to be based on the pound would make things much, much worse and outrage supporters of the metric system.

To add to the confusion, the pound is officially defined as 0.45359237 kilograms, or less than half a kilogram. This makes defining a kilogram as one pound impossible as they are then stuck in a loop, as the pound must weigh less than half of a kilogram, but then the kilogram will have to be updated to match the new pound mass.

The title text continues the joke by saying that the meter has been defined as exactly three feet. The yard, the closest US measurement to the meter, is three feet. However, a meter is about 9 centimeters longer than a yard. As with the pound, the metric system is used to define the yard as it is officially defined as 0.9144 meters.

Note: There is another system, not used anymore, that uses pounds and feet. It is called the {{w|Imperial system}}.

----

To further expand on this, the classic definitions of all our various units of time, length, mass, and temperature are based on phenomena that are neither convenient to measure precisely nor in fact consistently reproducible. The duration of an Earth day and year vary unpredictably, the circumference of the Earth varies, the International Prototype Kilogram gains or loses mass any time it is handled (and in fact just sitting there it and its reference copies diverge from each other), and the value of baseline temperatures such as the freezing point of water depend on which isotopes of hydrogen are in the water molecules.

Nevertheless, there really are constants of nature. For example, one of them is ‘''c''’, the speed of light in a vacuum. The expressed value of ''c'' depends on your choice of the unit of distance and the unit of time, but it’s a constant in those units. Now just suppose we all had a reproducible way to define a specific unit of time, which just for fun we call a ‘second’. You might not know the length of a ‘meter’, but if I told you that measured in meters per second the universal constant value of ''c'' is exactly 299792458 meters per second, then I would have fixed the length of a meter to be exactly the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299792458 seconds. And in fact this is what the international body responsible for defining our SI units has done.

One second is defined to be a specific number of certain state transitions of a cesium 133 atom. The specific number was set in the year 1965, so as to match a previous astronomical standard called Ephemeris Time to the limit of human measuring ability at the time. The 1965 definition didn’t change the actual duration of a second, but it did make its measurement forever reproducible.

In 1983 the value of ''c'' was fixed to the value noted above. Prior to that it had been measured with respect to existing definitions of a meter, and had to be expressed with a measure of uncertainty. For example in 1973 a team at the US National Bureau of Standards refined ''c'' to 299,792,457.4 m/s ± 1 m/s. But from 1983 onwards, with an exact integer value for ''c'' that is quite close to that Bureau measurement, the length of a meter is now fixed with no plus/minus uncertainty. Furthermore, both the second and the meter match their predecessor definitions for all intents and purposes.

Similar redefinitions of units of mass and of temperature in terms of universal constants have been agreed to, mass with regard to the Planck constant ''h'', and temperature with regard to the Boltzmann constant ''k''. The constants ''h'' and ''k'' had previously been measured quantities, complete with uncertainties. The SI body fixed both of them to exact values, resulting in exact, no-uncertainty values for a kilogram of mass and a kelvin of thermodynamic temperature. As with the second and the meter, these new definitions match their predecessor definitions for all intents and purposes.

To expand on this even further, three additional universal constants that were previously measured and that had uncertainty values have been assigned fixed values, resulting in exact definitions of three corresponding units of measurement without affecting their applicability. Fixing the unit of elementary charge, ''e'', serves to define the unit of electric current, the Ampere. Fixing the unit of luminous efficacy ''Kcd'' serves to define the unit of luminous intensity, the candela. And fixing the Avogadro constant ''NA'' serves to define the unit of amount of substance, the mole.

A very recent Wikipedia article about redefining the SI units of measure in terms of newly fixed values of things taken to be universal constants is {{w|Redefinition of SI base units}}.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat talking to Ponytail, Cueball, and Megan while all stand in a row. Megan's hands are raised emphatically.]
:Black Hat: To end many years of confusion, the International Committee for Weights and Measures has just voted to redefine the kilogram.
:Black Hat: As of next May, it will equal exactly one pound.
:Ponytail: Oh, cool.
:Cueball: That ''does'' make things simpler.
:Megan: '''''No!!'''''
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Talk:695: Spirit

2018-10-22T21:41:08Z

Yngvadottir: I always assumed everybody knew about the LJs. In case not ...

Uhh, I'm laughing on this comic for almost three , but this explain is still not complete:
:- the mission was not only 90 days
:- Spirit did many great investigations
:- that "Free Spirit" campaign should be mentioned after it did stuck in the deep sand in early 2010
:- and Opportunity is a still operating companion on Mars in 2013
:- there is much more..., ask Randall!--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:19, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

Do you guys really not see all the typos in this? not even the one in the first comment?{{unsigned|180.94.92.234}}
:You see a problem? '''Fix it.''' Click "Edit" at the top and help improve the article! There is nothing you can do that can't be reversed with a few mouse clicks, so don't worry about messing things up. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 02:49, 10 August 2014 (UTC)

I just feel :'( [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 03:38, 4 April 2017 (UTC)

I have no idea, but this particular comic makes me sad. Truly a tearjerker...Boeing-787lover 16:36, 19 May 2018 (UTC) {{unsigned|Xkcdreader52}}

You folks do know about [https://spiritrover.livejournal.com/ Spiritrover's LJ], right? Opportunity was [https://opportunitygrrl.livejournal.com/ Opportunitygrrl], and there was also [https://fuse-sat.livejournal.com/ Fuse-sat]. [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 21:41, 22 October 2018 (UTC)

2062: Barnard's Star

2018-10-22T21:17:25Z

Yngvadottir: /* Transcript */ "As" plural & w/ italic A. "that" for US grammar to match "center".

{{comic
| number = 2062
| date = October 22, 2018
| title = Barnard's Star
| image = barnards_star.png
| titletext = "Ok, team. We have a little under 10,000 years before closest approach to figure out how to destroy Barnard's Star." "Why, does it pose a threat to the Solar System?" "No. It's just an asshole."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[File:Near-stars-past-future-en.svg|thumb|300px|Distances to the nearest stars from 20,000 years ago until 80,000 years in the future]]
{{w|Barnard's Star}} is a very-low-mass red dwarf about 6 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of {{w|Ophiuchus}}. It is the fourth-nearest known individual star to the {{w|Sun}} (after the three components of the Alpha Centauri system) and the closest star in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere. It is a {{w|Red dwarf}} with a mass of 0.144 Solar masses and it is 7–12 billion years old. Because of this low mass the gravitational force in the core is much lower and thus the fusion rate is far smaller than in the core of the Sun. In fact this star is so dim, even though it's one of the nearest, it can't be seen by the naked eye. The low fusion rate also means that the lifespan of small stars is much longer. While the Sun might last about 10 billion years and huge stars only a few hundred million years, a small Red dwarf has a lifespan of about a trillion years.

Barnard's Star is the star with the greatest proper motion in the sky. Proper motion is motion in the sky other than that caused by earth's rotation. Barnard's star is both very close to the sun (as these things go) and moving at a speed of more than 140 km/s toward the Sun. It will make its closest approach to the Sun in approximately 10,000 years, at a distance within about 3.75 light-years.

The image on the right shows different stars near the Sun over 100,000 years and it can be seen that none of them are getting closer than 3 light-years. This is a safe distance to our Solar System and the stars will not influence the orbits of the planets or smaller bodies. It's also obvious that much closer approaches never have happened since the Solar System formed 4.5 billion years ago because otherwise the nearly circular orbits of the planets in the same plane wouldn't be possible.

The title text emphasises that this close approach will not be any hazard to the Solar System, but someone is envious of the long lifetime of Barnard's Star and annoyed by its unpleasant behavior.

=Transcript=
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A black sky is shown with a yellow spot near the bottom, left of the center. Three smaller red spots at the diagonal from top left to bottom right indicate a moving star over time. Above these red spots lines are connected to a text that starts and ends with many ''A''s, first growing, and at the end getting smaller:]
:...AAAAHHi Sun! I was here billions of years before you formed and will shine for trillions of years after you dieEEEEEAAA...

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Sometimes, I wonder what Barnard's Star is saying to the Sun as it performs its 20,000-year-long high-speed flyby.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

2062: Barnard's Star

2018-10-22T17:15:12Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ ce

2059: Modified Bayes' Theorem

2018-10-15T18:59:02Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ syntax

{{comic
| number = 2059
| date = October 15, 2018
| title = Modified Bayes' Theorem
| image = modified_bayes_theorem.png
| titletext = Don't forget to add another term for "probability that the Modified Bayes' Theorem is correct."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Bayes' Theorem}} is an equation in statistics that gives the probability of a given hypothesis accounting not only for a single experiment or observation but also for your existing knowledge about the hypothesis, i.e. its prior probability. Randall's modified form of the equation also purports to account for the probability that you are indeed applying Bayes' Theorem itself correctly by including that as a term in the equation.

Bayes' theorem is:

<math>P(H \mid X) = \frac{P(X \mid H) \, P(H)}{P(X)}</math>,
where
*<math>P(H \mid X)</math> is the probability that <math>H</math>, the hypothesis, is true given observation <math>X</math>. This is called the ''posterior probability''.
*<math>P(X \mid H)</math> is the probability that observation <math>X</math> will appear given the truth of hypothesis <math>H</math>. This term is often called the ''likelihood''
*<math>P(H)</math> is the probability that hypothesis <math>H</math> is true before any observations. This is called the ''prior'', or ''belief''.
*<math>P(X)</math> is the probability of the observation X regardless of any hypothesis might have produced it. This term is called the ''marginal likelihood''.

The purpose of Bayesian inference is to discover something we want to know (how likely is it that our explanation is correct given the evidence we've seen) by mathematically expressing it in terms of things we can find out: how likely are our observations, how likely is our hypothesis ''a priori'', and how likely are we to see the observations we've seen assuming our hypothesis is true. A Bayesian learning system will iterate over available observations, each time using the likelihood of new observations to update its priors (beliefs) with the hope that, after seeing enough data points, the prior and posterior will converge to a single model.

If <math>P(C)=1</math> the modified theorem reverts to the original Bayes' theorem (which makes sense, as a probability one would mean certainty that you are using Bayes' theorem correctly).

If <math>P(C)=0</math> the modified theorem becomes <math>P(H \mid X) = P(H)</math>, which says that the belief in your hypothesis is not affected by the result of the observation (which makes sense because you're certain you're misapplying the theorem so the outcome of the calculation shouldn't affect your belief.)

This happens because, if you apply the original theorem, the modified theorem can be rewritten as: <math>P(H \mid X) = P(H)(1-P(C)) + P(H \mid X)P(C)</math>. This is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_interpolation linear-interpolated] weighted average of the belief you had before the calculation and the belief you would have if you applied the theorem correctly. This goes smoothly from the not believing your calculation at all, keeping the same belief as before if <math>P(C)=0</math> to changing your belief exactly as Bayes' theorem suggests when <math>P(C)=1</math>.

<math>1-P(C)</math> is the probability that you are using the theorem incorrectly.

As an equation, the rewritten form makes no sense. <math>P(H \mid X) = P(H)(1-P(C)) + P(H \mid X)P(C)</math> is strangely self-referential and reduces to the piecewise equation <math>\begin{cases}P(H \mid X) = P(H) & P(C) \neq 1 \\ 0 = 0 & P(C) = 1 \end{cases}</math>. However, the Modified Bayes Theorem includes an extra variable not listed in the conditioning, so a person with an AI background might understand that Randal was trying to write an expression for updating <math>P(H \mid X)</math> with knowledge of <math>C</math> i.e. <math>P(H \mid X,C)</math>, the belief in the hypothesis given the observation <math>X</math> and the confidence that you were applying Bayes' theorem correctly <math>C</math>, for which the expression <math>P(H \mid X,C) = P(H)(1-P(C)) + P(H \mid X)P(C)</math> makes some intuitive sense.

The title text suggests that an additional term should be added for the probability that the Modified Bayes Theorem is correct. But that's *this* equation, so it would make the formula self-referential. It could also result in an infinite regress -- we'd need another term for the probability that the version with the probability added is correct, and another term for that version, and so on. It's also unclear what the point of using an equation we're not sure of is (although sometimes we can: {{w|Newton's Laws}} are not as correct as Einstein's {{w|Theory of Relativity}} but they're a reasonable approximation in most circumstances}.

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

:Modified Bayes' theorem:

:P(H|X) = P(H) × (1 + P(C) × ( P(X|H)/P(X) - 1 ))

:H: Hypothesis
:X: Observation
:P(H): Prior probability that H is true
:P(X): Prior probability of observing X
:P(C): Probability that you're using Bayesian statistics correctly

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Statistics]]

2048: Curve-Fitting

2018-09-19T21:10:01Z

Yngvadottir: sp

{{comic
| number = 2048
| date = September 19, 2018
| title = Curve-Fitting
| image = curve_fitting.png
| titletext = Cauchy-Lorentz: "Something alarmingly mathematical is happening, and you should probably pause to Google my name and check what field I originally worked in."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

An illustration of several plots of the same data with curves fitted to the points, paired with conclusions that you might draw about the person who made them.

When modeling a phenomenon statistically, it is common to search for trends, and fitted curves can help reveal these trends. Much of the work of a data scientist or statistician is knowing which fitting method to use for the data in question. Here we see various hypothetical scientists or statisticians each applying their own interpretations, and the comic mocks each of them for their various personal biases or other assorted excuses.

In general, the researcher will specify the form of an equation for the line to be drawn, and an algorithm will produce the actual line.

This comic is similar to [[977: Map Projections]] which also uses a scientific method not commonly thought about by the general public to determine specific characteristics of one's personality and approach to science.

===Linear===
<math>f(x) = mx + b</math> Linear regression is the most basic form of regression; it tries to find the straight line that best approximates the data.As it's the simplest, most widely taught form of regression, and in general derivable function are locally well approximated by a straight line, it's usually the first and most trivial attempt of fit.
===Quadratic===
<math>f(x) = ax^2 + bx + c</math> Quadratic fit (i.e. fitting a parabola through the data) is the lowest grade polynomial that can be used to fit data through a curved line; if the data exhibits clearly "curved" behavior (or if the experimenter feels that its growth should be more than linear), a parabola is often the first stab at fitting the data.
===Logarithmic===
<math>f(x) = a*\log_b(x) + c</math> A logarithmic curve is typical of a phenomenon whose growth gets slower and slower as time passes (indeed, its derivative - i.e. its growth rate - is <math>\propto \frac{1}{x} \rightarrow 0</math> for <math>x \rightarrow +\infty</math>), but still grows without bound rather than approaching a horizontal asymptote. (If it did approach a horizontal asymptote, then one of the other models subtracted from a constant would probably be better, e.g. <math>f(x) = a - \frac{b}{x}</math> or <math>f(x) = a - b^{-cx}</math>.) If the experimenter wants to find confirmation of this fact, they may try to fit a logarithmic curve.

===Exponential===
<math>f(x) = a*b^x + c</math> An exponential curve, on the contrary, is typical of a phenomenon whose growth gets rapidly faster and faster - a common case is a process that generates stuff that contributes to the process itself, think bacteria growth or compound interest.
*The logarithmic and exponential interpretations could very easily be fudged or engineered by a researcher with an agenda (such as by taking a misleading subset or even outright lying about the regression), which the comic mocks by juxtaposing them side-by-side on the same set of data.
===LOESS===
<math>w(x) = (1-|d|^3)^3</math> (notice: this is just the function used for the weights, not the actually fitted curve formula, as it's a piecewise polynomial) A LOESS fit doesn't use a single formula to fit all the data, but approximates data points locally using different polynomials for each "zone" (weighting differently data points as they get further from it) and patching them togetherAs it has much more degrees of freedom compared to a single polynomial, it generally "fits better" to any data set, although it is generally impossible to derive any strong, "clean" mathematical correlation from it - it is just a nice smooth line that approximates well the data points, with a good degree of rejection from outliers.
===Linear, No Slope===
<math>f(x) = c</math> Apparently, the person making this line figured out pretty early on that their data analysis was turning into a scatter plot, and wanted to escape their personal stigma of scatter plots by drawing an obviously false regression line on top of it. Alternatively, they were hoping the data would be flat, and are trying to pretend that there's no real trend to the data by drawing a horizontal trend line.
===Logistic===
<math>f(x) = L / (1 + e^{-k(x-b)})</math> A logistic curve provides a smooth, S-shaped transition curve between two flat intervals; indeed the caption says that the experimenter just wants to find a mathematically-respectable way to link two flat lines.
===Confidence Interval===
Not a type of curve fitting, but a method of depicting the predictive power of a curve. Providing a confidence interval over the graph shows the uncertainty of the acquired data, thus acknowledging the uncertain results of the experiment, and showing the will not to "cheat" with "easy" regression curves.
===Piecewise===
Mapping different curves to different segments of the data. This is a legitimate strategy, but the different segments should be meaningful, such as if they were pulled from different populations.
===Connecting lines===
Not useful whatsoever, but it looks nice!
===Ad-Hoc Filter===
Drawing a bunch of different lines by hand, keeping in only the data points perceived as "good". Also not useful.
===House of Cards===
Not a real method, but a common consequence of mis-application of statistical methods: a curve can be generated that fits the data extremely well, but immediately becomes absurd as soon as one glances outside the training data sample range, and your analysis comes crashing down "like a house of cards". This is a type of ''overfitting''.
===Cauchy-Lorentz===
Is a continuous probability distribution which does not have an expected value or a defined variance. This means that the law of large numbers does not hold and that estimating e.g. the sample mean will diverge (be all over the place) the more data points you have. Hence very troublesome (mathematically alarming). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauchy_distribution

Since so many different models can fit this data set at first glance, Randall may be making a point about how if a data set is sufficiently messy, you can read any trend you want into it, and the trend that is chosen may say more about the researcher than about the data. This is a similar sentiment to [[1725: Linear Regression]], which also pokes fun at dubious trend lines on scatterplots.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:'''Curve-Fitting Methods'''
:and the messages they send

:[In a single frame twelve scatter plots with unlabeled x- and y-axes are shown. Each plot consists of the same data-set of approximately thirty points located all over the plot but slightly more distributed around the diagonal. Every plot shows in red a different fitting method which is labeled on top in gray.]

:[The first plot shows a line starting at the left bottom above the x-axis rising towards the points to the right.]
:Linear
:"Hey, I did a regression."

:[The second plot shows a curve falling slightly down and then rising up to the right.]
:Quadratic
:"I wanted a curved line, so I made one with Math."

:[At the third plot the curve starts near the left bottom and increases more and more less to the right.]
:Logarithmic
:"Look, it's tapering off!"

:[The fourth plot shows a curve starting near the left bottom and increases more and more steeper to the right.]
:Exponential
:"Look, it's growing uncontrollably!"

:[The fifth plot uses a fitting to match many points. It starts at the left bottom, increases, then decreases, then rapidly increasing again, and finally reaching a plateau.]
:LOESS
:"I'm sophisticated, not like those bumbling polynomial people."

:[The sixth plot simply shows a line above but parallel to the x-axis.]
:Linear, no slope
:"I'm making a scatter plot but I don't want to."

:[At plot #7 starts at a plateau above the x-axis, then increases, and finally reaches a higher plateau.]
:Logistic
:"I need to connect these two lines, but my first idea didn't have enough Math."

:[Plot #8 shows two red lines embedding most points and the area between is painted as a red shadow.]
:Confidence interval
:"Listen, science is hard. But I'm a serious person doing my best."

:[Plot #9 shows two not connected lines, one at the lower left half, and one higher at the right. Both have smaller curved lines in light red above and below.]
:Piecewise
:"I have a theory, and this is the only data I could find."

:[The plot at the left bottom shows a line connecting all points from left to right, resulting in a curve going many times up and down.]
:Connecting lines
:"I clicked 'Smooth Lines' in Excel."

:[The next to last plot shows a echelon form, connecting a few real and some imaginary points.]
:Ad-Hoc filter
:"I had an idea for how to clean up the data. What do you think?"

:[The last plot shows a wave with increasing peak values.]
:House of Cards
:"As you can see, this model smoothly fits the- ''wait no no don't extend it AAAAAA!!''"

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Science]]

2048: Curve-Fitting

2018-09-19T20:32:50Z

Yngvadottir: A -> An at start; "composite interest" -> "compound interest".

{{comic
| number = 2048
| date = September 19, 2018
| title = Curve-Fitting
| image = curve_fitting.png
| titletext = Cauchy-Lorentz: "Something alarmingly mathematical is happening, and you should probably pause to Google my name and check what field I originally worked in."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

An illustration of several plots of the same data with curves fitted to the points, paired with conclusions that you might draw about the person who made them.

When modeling a phenomenon statistically, it is common to search for trends, and fitted curves can help reveal these trends. Much of the work of a data scientist or statistician is knowing which fitting method to use for the data in question. Here we see various hypothetical scientists or statisticians each applying their own interpretations, and the comic mocks each of them for their various personal biases or other assorted excuses.

In general, the researcher will specify the form of an equation for the line to be drawn, and an algorithm will produce the actual line.

This comic is similar to [[977: Map Projections]] which also uses a scientific method not commonly thought about by the general public to determine specific characteristics of one's personality and approach to science.

* Linear: <math>f(x) = mx + b</math> Linear regression is the most basic form of regression; it tries to find the straight line that best approximates the data.As it's the simplest, most widely taught form of regression, and in general derivable function are locally well approximated by a straight line, it's usually the first and most trivial attempt of fit.
* Quadratic: <math>f(x) = ax^2 + bx + c</math> Quadratic fit (i.e. fitting a parabola through the data) is the lowest grade polynomial that can be used to fit data through a curved line; if the data exhibits clearly "curved" behavior (or if the experimenter feels that its growth should be more than linear), a parabola is often the first stab at fitting the data.
* Logarithmic: <math>f(x) = a*\log_b(x) + c</math> A logarithmic curve is typical of a phenomenon whose growth gets slower and slower as time passes (indeed, its derivative - i.e. its growth rate - is <math>\propto \frac{1}{x} \rightarrow 0</math> for <math>x \rightarrow +\infty</math>); if the experimenter wants to find confirmation of this fact, they may try to fit a logarithmic curve.
* Exponential: <math>f(x) = a*b^x + c</math> An exponential curve, on the contrary, is typical of a phenomenon whose growth gets rapidly faster and faster - a common case is a process that generates stuff that contributes to the process itself, think bacteria growth or compound interest.
**The logarithmic and exponential interpretations could very easily be fudged or engineered by a researcher with an agenda (such as by taking a misleading subset or even outright lieing about the regression), which the comic mocks by juxtaposing them side-by-side on the same set of data.
* LOESS: <math>w(x) = (1-|d|^3)^3</math> (notice: this is just the function used for the weights, not the actually fitted curve formula, as it's a piecewise polynomial) A LOESS fit doesn't use a single formula to fit all the data, but approximates data points locally using different polynomials for each "zone" (weighting differently data points as they get further from it) and patching them togetherAs it has much more degrees of freedom compared to a single polynomial, it generally "fits better" to any data set, although it is generally impossible to derive any strong, "clean" mathematical correlation from it - it is just a nice smooth line that approximates well the data points, with a good degree of rejection from outliers.
* Linear, No Slope: <math>f(x) = c</math> Apparently, the person making this line figured out pretty early on that their data analysis was turning into a scatter plot, and wanted to escape their personal stigma of scatter plots by drawing an obviously false regression line on top of it. Alternatively, they were hoping the data would be flat, and are trying to pretend that there's no real trend to the data by drawing a horizontal trend line.
* Logistic: <math>f(x) = L / (1 + e^{-k(x-b)})</math> A logistic curve provides a smooth, S-shaped transition curve between two flat intervals; indeed the caption says that the experimenter just wants to find a mathematically-respectable way to link two flat lines.
* Confidence Interval: not a type of curve fitting, but a method of depicting the predictive power of a curve. Providing a confidence interval over the graph shows the uncertainty of the acquired data, thus acknowledging the uncertain results of the experiment, and showing the will not to "cheat" with "easy" regression curves.
* Piecewise: Mapping different curves to different segments of the data. This is a legitimate strategy, but the different segments should be meaningful, such as if they were pulled from different populations.
* Connecting lines: Not useful whatsoever, but it looks nice!
* Ad-Hoc Filter: Drawing a bunch of different lines by hand, keeping in only the data points perceived as "good". Also not useful.
* House of Cards: Not a real method, but a common consequence of mis-application of statistical methods: a curve can be generated that fits the data extremely well, but immediately becomes absurd as soon as one glances outside the training data sample range, and your analysis comes crashing down "like a house of cards". This is a type of ''overfitting''.
* Cauchy-Lorentz: Is a continuous probability distribution which does not have an expected value or a defined variance. This means that the law of large numbers does not hold and that estimating e.g. the sample mean will diverge (be all over the place) the more data points you have. Hence very troublesome (mathematically alarming). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauchy_distribution

Since so many different models can fit this data set at first glance, Randall may be making a point about how if a data set is sufficiently messy, you can read any trend you want into it, and the trend that is chosen may say more about the researcher than about the data. This is a similar sentiment to [[1725: Linear Regression]], which also pokes fun at dubious trend lines on scatterplots.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:'''Curve-Fitting Methods'''
:and the messages they send

:[In a single frame twelve scatter plots with unlabeled x- and y-axes are shown. Each plot consists of the same data-set of approximately thirty points located all over the plot but slightly more distributed around the diagonal. Every plot shows in red a different fitting method which is labeled on top in gray.]

:[The first plot shows a line starting at the left bottom above the x-axis rising towards the points to the right.]
:Linear
:"Hey, I did a regression."

:[The second plot shows a curve falling slightly down and then rising up to the right.]
:Quadratic
:"I wanted a curved line, so I made one with Math."

:[At the third plot the curve starts near the left bottom and increases more and more less to the right.]
:Logarithmic
:"Look, it's tapering off!"

:[The fourth plot shows a curve starting near the left bottom and increases more and more steeper to the right.]
:Exponential
:"Look, it's growing uncontrollably!"

:[The fifth plot uses a fitting to match many points. It starts at the left bottom, increases, then decreases, then rapidly increasing again, and finally reaching a plateau.]
:LOESS
:"I'm sophisticated, not like those bumbling polynomial people."

:[The sixth plot simply shows a line above but parallel to the x-axis.]
:Linear, no slope
:"I'm making a scatter plot but I don't want to."

:[At plot #7 starts at a plateau above the x-axis, then increases, and finally reaches a higher plateau.]
:Logistic
:"I need to connect these two lines, but my first idea didn't have enough Math."

:[Plot #8 shows two red lines embedding most points and the area between is painted as a red shadow.]
:Confidence interval
:"Listen, science is hard. But I'm a serious person doing my best."

:[Plot #9 shows two not connected lines, one at the lower left half, and one higher at the right. Both have smaller curved lines in light red above and below.]
:Piecewise
:"I have a theory, and this is the only data I could find."

:[The plot at the left bottom shows a line connecting all points from left to right, resulting in a curve going many times up and down.]
:Connecting lines
:"I clicked 'Smooth Lines' in Excel."

:[The next to last plot shows a echelon form, connecting a few real and some imaginary points.]
:Ad-Hoc filter
:"I had an idea for how to clean up the data. What do you think?"

:[The last plot shows a wave with increasing peak values.]
:House of Cards
:"As you can see, this model smoothly fits the- ''wait no no don't extend it AAAAAA!!''"

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Science]]

2047: Beverages

2018-09-18T22:28:03Z

Yngvadottir: ce, tweaks

{{comic
| number = 2047
| date = September 17, 2018
| title = Beverages
| image = beverages.png
| titletext = If I wait a while, it's not so bad, because then it's just shaped like me, plus some pipes and tanks and probably eventually all of Earth's oceans.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a cup, or possibly a bottle. Maybe even a teapot. Should be expanded upon. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
It is frequently stated that liquids take the shape of their container. While being poured, though, what that "shape" is is open to interpretation. The comic shows the "shape" of a liquid being "poured" down someone's throat (in the process of drinking) and highlights how unsettling this may look without any visible guidance for its flow. While the flow of the beverage wets every parts downwards, it looks as if the stomach is only partially filled, because the process of drinking is still underway and the glass is still half full, and because the contents of the glass would not be enough to fill the stomach in any case. Therefore the shape of the liquid in the stomach area would not correspond to the full shape of the stomach, and there could be additional blobs of liquid where it might have splashed and detached from the main liquid mass, such as depicted by the two little disconnected pieces to the right of the stomach area.

The title text expands on this, encouraging the reader to think of the liquid travelling through the entire {{w|Human digestive system|human digestive tract}} and to consider that it will eventually dilute through the entire human body ("shaped like me"), with what doesn't leaving the body to pass through the water treatment process ("some pipes and tanks"), and that finally most particles from any ingested liquid will mix with all water on Earth ("all of Earth's oceans"). But by the time a beverage is diluted enough to take the shape of Earth's oceans, the molecules will be so dispersed that the beverage effectively becomes invisible.

==Transcript==
:[Inside a single frame, liquid pouring out of a glass through mouth, the esophagus, and to the stomach is shown. However the surrounding bodies like the organs or the glass are not pictured, are only defined by the shape of the liquid, and must be imagined. Further two small parts within or near the invisible stomach with no visible connection to the rest are also wetted.]
:[Caption below the frame:]
:It freaks me out to imagine what a beverage is shaped like when I’m in the middle of drinking it.

==Trivia==
*Similar imagery was used in the films {{w|Memoirs of an Invisible Man (film)|''Memoirs of an Invisible Man''}} and ''{{w|Hollow Man}}''.
*Radiotopia's recently released [https://www.everythingisalive.com/about ''Everything is alive''] podcast's premiere episode, [https://www.everythingisalive.com/episodes/louis-can-of-cola "Louis Can of Cola"], features a discussion between the beverage and the host who {spoiler alert} drinks the beverage during their discussion.
*How much of Earth's water has been turned into soda was the subject of the [[what if?]] "{{what if|74|Soda Planet}}". In this article it turns out that all of Earth's water has at least once (and probably at least ten times) been turned into dinosaur pee.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category: Food]]

2030: Voting Software

2018-08-08T22:08:30Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ ce incl. for sentence structure.

{{comic
| number = 2030
| date = August 8, 2018
| title = Voting Software
| image = voting_software.png
| titletext = There are lots of very smart people doing fascinating work on cryptographic voting protocols. We should be funding and encouraging them, and doing all our elections with paper ballots until everyone currently working in that field has retired.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BLOCKCHAIN - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
The first two panels of this comic involve a reporter talking to professionals of a given field regarding the given safety of the products/solutions that each of their fields help to produce, or are at least partially involved in said production (Airplanes from aircraft designers in Panel 1, Elevators from building engineers in Panel 2). While the two inventions selected are relatively new when compared to how long humans have existed, the two fields mentioned have existed for multiple human generations, giving enough time to find flaws in their products/solutions and patch them to the point that they can be considered safe to use for the general public

The comic from Panel 3 contrasts this with [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] both agreeing that their given field (computer science / software development / software engineering) does not have the overall consistent competency that other fields have or, at the very least, appear to have. This is true (at least anecdotally) since there are very few ethical and security restrictions for what developers can/cannot do, and relatively minor consequences when catastrophes arise from poor decisions.

The title text confirms the comic's stance by implicitly saying that any digital voting systems that are produced are to not be used under any circumstances.

The main joke of the comic is that when other engineers say something is safe, people don't believe them: People are scared of flying and elevators even though they are, statistically, very safe. However, the opposite is true for software engineers: When software engineers say something is dangerious, people don't believe them. (And e-voting is stupidly dangerous)

This is a result of a fundamental difference between computer security and other types of safety measures -- in cryptography, there is ''always'' somebody trying to undo what you've built. Not only that, but new advances in cryptography tend to point out vulnerabilities with previous versions, making them not only obsolete, but dangerously so.

For these reasons, it is especially important to make sure that whoever is selling you the security method is both competent and non-malicious, but because crypto software is highly technical and often confidential/proprietary, it can be hard to do so if you're not an expert in the field (which you won't be, if you're buying it).

These issues are especially pertinent to voting machines, which store incredibly valuable information but are often catastrophically outdated due to lack of funding. Furthermore, the ones purchasing them, the politicians, are generally not known for their technical understanding.

Blockchain is a relatively new technology that is intended to solve some computer security issues by making it difficult to doctor old data. However, in the process of solving the old computer security issues, it has introduced exciting new computer security issues that have not yet been ironed out. It also doesn't solve input fraud issues, only data-doctoring fraud, so if a program caused the voting machine to record a vote for candidate B whenever a vote for candidate A occurred (such a program could be uploaded to the voting machines through USB, or through the internet which the voting machine must be connected to for blockchain), blockchain would not prevent it.

Most computer security specialists are more worried about programs that randomly deliberately misrecord a vote, than people changing the votes after they're already recorded, so blockchain would solve an issue that most computer security specialists are less worried about, while causing exciting new issues (the perpetual internet connection among them).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Asking aircraft designers about airplane safety:
:Hairbun: Nothing is ever foolproof, but modern airliners are incredibly resilient. Flying is the safest way to travel.

:Asking building engineers about elevator safety:
:Cueball: Elevators are protected by multiple tried-and-tested failsafe mechanisms. They're nearly incapable of falling.

:Asking software engineers about computerized voting:
:Megan: That's ''terrifying''.

:Ponytail: Wait, really?
:Megan: Don't trust voting software and don't listen to anyone who tells you it's safe.
:Ponytail: Why?
:Megan: I don't quite know how to put this, but our entire field is bad at what we do, and if you rely on us, everyone will die.

:Ponytail: They say they've fixed it with something called "blockchain."
:Megan: AAAAA!!!
:Cueball: Whatever they sold you, don't touch it.
:Megan: Bury it in the desert.
:Cueball: Wear gloves.

{{comic discussion}}

2023: Y-Axis

2018-07-23T15:37:59Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ ce. (Plural of axis is axes.)

{{comic
| number = 2023
| date = July 23, 2018
| title = Y-Axis
| image = y_axis.png
| titletext = We've also developed the semi-semi-log scale, where the Y-axis for the left half of the graph is a log scale but on the right half it isn't.
}}

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

The comic itself makes a poke at recent trends where the y-level range for a given dataset is exaggerated, so that a dataset containing 3 y-levels has larger peaks and troughs shown. Usually, this is done by cutting out most of the possible ranges in a dataset and leaving in only those that relate to the set itself, and then inserting extra y-levels to make the dataset seem more carefully measured.

The graph shows an attempt to mislead readers by manipulating the y-axis scale of the graph in a creative manner: The y-axis at the left side of the graph is normally spaced; however, the gridlines marking each 10% increment are not straight, but bunch up before reaching the first data point, resulting in a distorted effective y-axis for the rest of the graph. All the data points lie between the 10% and 20% gridlines, but a casual reader may not notice this and think that the graph uses the full 0% to 100% range.

The title text is related to the {{w|Semi-log plot}}, where one of the two axes is plotted on a logarithmic scale. The title text takes this to a further extreme with the semi-semi-log, where only part of the axis is plotted on a logarithmic scale.

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

:[Caption below the frame:]
:People have wised up to the "Carefully Chosen Y-Axis Range" trick, so we misleading graph makers have had to get creative.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2016: OEIS Submissions

2018-07-06T20:35:46Z

Yngvadottir: Opportunity for a nice Wikipedia edit if someone can find a good 3rd-party reference for the West Side IRT thing.

"All integers which do not appear in the example terms of another OEIS sequence" there is no paradox: it's pecified *another* sequence
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.133|162.158.154.133]] 17:52, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

I am so sorry that this comment is not related to the strip, but is the scaling for the explanation way off? Previously the scaling of the whole website was stretched, but now it is a bit too cramped for me. It happens to the previous strips too.Boeing-787lover 18:10, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

Is it too much of a stretch to mention that Chris Hemsworth stars in the movie ''Blackhat'', which is also a nickname for an XKCD character? [[User:John at work|John at work]] ([[User talk:John at work|talk]]) 19:31, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

The Sub 59 one is also a paradox, it specifies that it should include all of the author's accepted submissions, so it would have to be on it's own list itself in order to be accurate? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.233|172.68.58.233]] 19:47, 6 July 2018 (UTC)
:No, it would not be paradoxical. If it is accepted, then the sequence contains its identification number. If it is not accepted, that number is not in the sequence. The sequence changes depending on its own status, but there is no contradiction. This is different from e.g. the set of sets that don't contain themselves. If that set contained itself, it shouldn't contain itself, and if it didn't contain itself, it should contain itself. Both alternatives are logically impossible, so the set itself is impossible. There is nothing impossible about submission 59. [[User:Howtonotwin|Howtonotwin]] ([[User talk:Howtonotwin|talk]]) 20:15, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

The Westside IRT stops sequence is a wonderful piece of trivia. I found [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/27/science/in-a-random-world-he-collects-patterns.html the NYT article], which gives as its reason that at that time only infinite sequences were included. I have failed to find the necessary third-party reference to the inclusion of the sequence in OEIS (this, being an open wiki, is unacceptable) to include the point in {{w|IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line|the Wikipedia article on the West Side IRT}}. Can anybody supply one? [[User:Yngvadottir|Yngvadottir]] ([[User talk:Yngvadottir|talk]]) 20:35, 6 July 2018 (UTC)

1756: I'm With Her

2018-05-29T22:25:26Z

Yngvadottir: /* Character gallery */ ce/tweak last para

{{comic
| number = 1756
| date = November 7, 2016
| title = I'm With Her
| image = im_with_her.png
| titletext = We can do this.
}}
{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
In this serious, ''no joke'', comic released the day before the {{w|2016 United States presidential election}} (which was more contentious than most, due in part to many people finding both candidates unusually distasteful), [[Randall]] urged his American viewership to vote, and showed his {{w|Political endorsement|endorsement}} for {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, the {{w|US Democratic Party|Democratic}} nominee in the election. She was up against the {{w|US Republican Party|Republican}} nominee {{w|Donald Trump}}, who ended up winning. For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that there were also nominees from other parties, including {{w|Green Party of the United States|Green Party}} nominee {{w|Jill Stein}}, and {{w|Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian}} nominee {{w|Gary Johnson}}. Neither hoped to garner enough votes to become president, but there was a chance {{w|spoiler candidate|they could affect the result}} in some states (no third-party candidate has ''won'' a state since {{w|United_States_presidential_election,_1968|1968}} - and it did not occur this time either - the closest any came in 2016 was independent candidate {{w|Evan McMullin}} in Utah.)

It was the second time Randall referred to this election, the first being [[1748: Future Archaeology]] three weeks before the election, but here it was just a wish to know the result using time travel (of course he did not learn the result back then…).

The "H" with an arrow was {{w|Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016|Clinton's campaign}} logo, and '''I'm with her''' an official slogan that was widely used by her supporters, hence the title. Randall then lists tips to help you cast your vote ([[#How to help|see table below]]) suggesting a personal investment in the election. Clinton herself may be represented by [[Blondie]] sitting on top of the H looking out at the reader as the only of the 11 characters. The only type of joke in the comic is the chosen characters. Two with weapons flank the left and right side looking out ready to defend against Trump. Both are from earlier comic. Especially [[Ponytail]] with a ray gun (the one she also wielded in [[322: Pix Plz]]). The gun is for melting computers of persons that make snide remarks at women, clearly a reference to {{w|Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations|Donald Trump's sexual harassment of women}} in general and especially to his ''grab them by the pussy'' {{w|Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording|comment}}. [[Cueball]] with his weapon is from [[303: Compiling]]. See more details in the [[#Character gallery|character gallery]] below.

This is the first time Randall has used a comic to directly support a presidential campaign, although he did [https://blog.xkcd.com/2008/01/28/obama/ endorse] {{w|Barack Obama}} in 2008 on his [[Blag]]. He wrote himself later that it was very controversial when he endorsed Obama, but that it was not the most [[388:_Fuck_Grapefruit#Controversy|controversial comic he had published]] at that time. This comic might take that prize now, given that this was one of the most discussed elections up to its time. This is particularly noteworthy outside the US - for example, some European leaders openly opposed Trump, while others supported him. There were also reports of Russian hackers attempting to influence the election.

Randall's support for Hillary Clinton may have been due in part to Donald Trump {{w|Donald_Trump#Healthcare.2C_education_and_environment|being a prominent}} {{w|climate change denier}}. Randall has published comics opposing climate change denial such as this: [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline]], published less than two months before the election, as well as several other [[:Category:Climate change|comics on climate change]]. Also Trump beating Clinton made Randall's [[1313: Regex Golf|regex that matches the last names of elected US presidents but not their opponents]] impossible to update.

All the information on the bottom half of the comic includes sites, numbers, info, etc., current as of 2016, that are intended to help US voters to vote, regardless of whom they vote for. Including this information can assist voters who don't understand the process, don't feel that it's worth it, or feel intimidated or threatened. In general, these sites and numbers were likely included to help boost voter turnout.

The title text, which states that "We can do this", refers to Randall's desire to unite Democratic voters and elect Hillary Clinton to the White House instead of Trump. It is possible to [https://www.lookhuman.com/design/86542-hillary-clinton-we-can-do-it/tshirt buy t-shirts] with the famed {{w|We Can Do It!}} logo from the "Rosie the Riveter" wartime poster, but with Hillary Clinton in the famed position. However this is not quite the same "We can do this" sentence that Randall uses. "We can do this" (or in German, "[https://www.dict.cc/?s=Wir+schaffen+das+%5BAngela+Merkel%5D Wir schaffen das]") was also the catchphrase of the German Chancellor {{w|Angela Merkel}} during the recent influx of refugees from the Syrian War — like Clinton, Merkel was fighting against {{w|Pegida|a populist nativist movement}} that wanted to close the country's borders.

Unfortunately for Randall, these efforts were in vain, as {{w|Donald Trump}} (another populist nativist who wants to close the country's borders) was elected on Tuesday, November 8, falsifying the title-text. This result became a fact less than two weeks before the first ([[1761: Blame]]) of [[#Sad comics|several sad comics]] that all seemed related to the election of Donald Trump.

===How to help===
The list of things that can help is all about getting people to vote. While Randall is likely to have wanted to boost voter turnout regardless of political leanings, it's clear from his endorsement of Clinton that he believed increased turnout would have helped her win the race. There is general evidence that certain more heavily Democratic-leaning demographics are less likely to vote, and in this election in particular, the various political issues that had been raised against Hillary (such as the {{w|Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI's}} public disclosures of its investigation into her use of a private email server) were shown to have reduced enthusiasm among Democrats. But all these issues aside, both Republicans and Democrats alike agree on encouraging everyone to vote, and Randall is likely to have agreed with that sentiment as well.

Here is Randall's list of suggestions for how to help Hillary Clinton win the election:
{|class="wikitable"
!What to do
!How to do it
!Explanation
|-
|Vote
|[https://iwillvote.com/ iwillvote.com]
|A site to look up polling locations, ID requirements, etc.
|-
|Get a ride to the polls:
|[http://www.drive2vote.org/ drive2vote.org]
|For voters in Douglas and Sarpy County, Nebraska, who needed a ride to the polls from {{w|Warren Buffett}} or his friends.
|-
|If you're having problems voting
|[http://www.866ourvote.org/ 866-OUR-VOTE]
|Racism or other biases on the part of people running polling places is a real issue for minorities. Though it is illegal, people may lie or deny rights to would-be-voters who they believe will not vote for the candidate they agree with. In some instances, voters may require backup from someone with legal understanding to get to vote, which is a service this phone number provides. Since Donald Trump has suggested that unofficial {{w|poll watchers}} should patrol voting stations - which has been described as potential [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/05/election-day-violence-donald-trump-poll-watchers voter intimidation] - this has been an especially widely discussed topic in this election. The phone number written out as numbers is (866) 687-8683
|-
|Experimental social turnout project
|[http://www.civicinnovation.com/ civicinnovation.com] App Store: VoteWithMe
|An app which "gives you a list of the top 10 highest-impact potential voters in your address book to get in touch with -- based on the likelihood that they support progressive candidates, and that they live in states with the most competitive races". This app is for Android and iOS, with the App Store ID as "VoteWithMe". The "VoteWithMe" app is created by Civic Innovation Works and "uses publicly available voter records to predict which of your contacts are likely to support Democratic candidates, but might not have a plan to vote", as it says on its [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/votewithme/id1170104517/ App Store Page].
|-
|Reminder:
|If you're in line when the polls close, they have to let you vote.
|This is correct, as is printed on most election pamphlets as part of the ''Voters' Bill of Rights'', as well as being cited on numerous sources online (eg [http://votersedge.kqed.org/en/ca/ballot/election/area/42/section/voting-info?id=statewide-42-ca#section-my-rights-as-a-voter here].) Being turned down for trying to vote after the polling place is officially closed (if you were already in line ''when'' the polls closed) might be an instance where you want to use the phone number mentioned above.
|}

===Character gallery===
The comic shows a gallery of 11 xkcd characters including all the main characters from xkcd (except [[Hairy]]), which stand united behind Randall and Clinton despite their lack of agreement in many other comics.

*From left to right on the left side of the H are: 
**[[Ponytail]] with a ray gun (the one she also wielded in [[322: Pix Plz]], a comic where she was named Joanna). The gun is for melting computers of persons that make snide remarks at women, clearly a reference to {{w|Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations|Donald Trump's sexual harassment of women}} in general and especially to his Grab Pussy comment.
**[[Black Hat]] (who was the one introducing Joanna/Ponytail in the mentioned comic)
**[[Danish]] (Black Hat's girlfriend setting up a kite for him, although it could be Megan, but she is also shown later with her regular shorter hair). However it has mainly been Megan in comics with kites, like [[235: Kite]] and [[1614: Kites]]. Kites are a [[:Category:Kites|recurring theme]] on xkcd.
**[[White Hat]] looking at the kite.
*On top of the H are:
**[[Blondie]] (looking out at us, maybe representing Clinton herself)
**[[Megan]] (next to Cueball)
**[[Cueball]] (forming the standard couple in xkcd with Megan)
**[[Hairbun]] with glasses (so specifically not the one from the previous comic [[1755: Old Days]], but rather like in [[1637: Salt Mine]]).
*On the right side of the H are:
**[[Science Girl]] (The adult version of her, is holding her hand out towards a cute squirrel. Of course she could also be the girl from [[635: Locke and Demosthenes]] where the squirrel is poisoned...)
**[[Beret Guy]] is holding a squirrel out towards Science Girl. (The first time squirrels was mentioned was actually when Beret Guy found them in a tree in [[167: Nihilism]] and since then they have become a [[:Category:Squirrels|recurring theme]] on xkcd and a similar squirrel can for instance be seen in [[1503: Squirrel Plan]]. Beret Guy has not been seen together with a squirrel before, but has been shown to care for animals, for instance in [[614: Woodpecker]]).
**[[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|Another Cueball]] is standing on an office chair wielding a sword as he was shown in [[303: Compiling]]. (Interestingly enough the previous comic [[1755: Old Days]] was about Cueball asking Hairbun about {{w|compiling}} in the old days. Seems realistic that Randall has this comic ready for this Monday before the election for some time, and when finding this 9 year old version of Cueball in the old comics, he may have gotten inspired to make a comic about compiling in the old days).

Note that the two characters at either side of the comic wield weapons pointing out, defending the other nine. Those next to the characters with weapons are doing recreational things like kiting and admiring adorable squirrels, both of which are recurring subjects in xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[Eleven characters are drawn left, right and on top of a huge H with an arrow as the horizontal bar connecting the two vertical towers. The arrow breaks the right part of the H. It represents the logo from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign for 2016. From left to right on the left side of the H are Ponytail with an exotic looking futuristic ray gun like weapon looking to the left away from the H and the others. Behind her is Black Hat who looks at a girl that might be Danish or Megan (but with longer hair than Megan typically has). She is setting up a kite that flies above the first two characters. Behind her and looking up at the kite is White Hat. The H is right behind him, and on top of the left tower of the H sits Blondie looking straight out at the reader with her legs dangling over the edge and her arms resting on her knees. On the arrow between the two H towers sits Megan leaning against the left H tower, also dangling her legs over the edge and arms resting on her knees. Cueball is standing to her right, just left of the right H tower. On top of the right H towers sits Hairbun with glasses looking straight right with her legs dangling over the edge one arm resting on a knee and leaning back on the other arm. On the right side of the H is an adult version of Science Girl holding a hand out towards the squirrel which Beret Guy is holding out in both arms towards her. Behind them is another Cueball standing on an office chair holding a sword high up in front of him to the right away from the others. He keeps his balance by holding his other arm out behind him. Below the H there is a large caption.]
:<big><big><big>H</big></big></big>
: <big><big>I'm with her.</big></big>

:[Below the panel there are several lines of text. The first header line refers to the next four lines with solutions to problems, title/problem on one side then a long dash and the web-link or other information on the right side of that. Below those there is a reminder.]
:<big>How to help</big>
:Vote - iwillvote.com
:Get a ride to the polls - drive2vote.org
:If you're having problems voting - 866-OUR-VOTE
:Experimental social turnout project - civicinnovation.com App Store: VoteWithMe

:<big>Reminder:</big>
:If you're in line when the polls close, they have to let you vote.

==Trivia==
*Despite securing more votes, Hillary Clinton lost the election in the {{w|Electoral college (United States)|electoral college}}.
**She did win in {{w|Massachusetts}} (Randall's home state), but that was never really in any doubt.
*The fact that Trump was elected instead is likely the reason for several comics with a bad mood released after this and until at least just past the day Trump was inaugurated.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]] 
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Kites]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]

1756: I'm With Her

2018-05-29T22:22:16Z

Yngvadottir: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 1756
| date = November 7, 2016
| title = I'm With Her
| image = im_with_her.png
| titletext = We can do this.
}}
{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
In this serious, ''no joke'', comic released the day before the {{w|2016 United States presidential election}} (which was more contentious than most, due in part to many people finding both candidates unusually distasteful), [[Randall]] urged his American viewership to vote, and showed his {{w|Political endorsement|endorsement}} for {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, the {{w|US Democratic Party|Democratic}} nominee in the election. She was up against the {{w|US Republican Party|Republican}} nominee {{w|Donald Trump}}, who ended up winning. For the sake of completeness, it should be mentioned that there were also nominees from other parties, including {{w|Green Party of the United States|Green Party}} nominee {{w|Jill Stein}}, and {{w|Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian}} nominee {{w|Gary Johnson}}. Neither hoped to garner enough votes to become president, but there was a chance {{w|spoiler candidate|they could affect the result}} in some states (no third-party candidate has ''won'' a state since {{w|United_States_presidential_election,_1968|1968}} - and it did not occur this time either - the closest any came in 2016 was independent candidate {{w|Evan McMullin}} in Utah.)

It was the second time Randall referred to this election, the first being [[1748: Future Archaeology]] three weeks before the election, but here it was just a wish to know the result using time travel (of course he did not learn the result back then…).

The "H" with an arrow was {{w|Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, 2016|Clinton's campaign}} logo, and '''I'm with her''' an official slogan that was widely used by her supporters, hence the title. Randall then lists tips to help you cast your vote ([[#How to help|see table below]]) suggesting a personal investment in the election. Clinton herself may be represented by [[Blondie]] sitting on top of the H looking out at the reader as the only of the 11 characters. The only type of joke in the comic is the chosen characters. Two with weapons flank the left and right side looking out ready to defend against Trump. Both are from earlier comic. Especially [[Ponytail]] with a ray gun (the one she also wielded in [[322: Pix Plz]]). The gun is for melting computers of persons that make snide remarks at women, clearly a reference to {{w|Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations|Donald Trump's sexual harassment of women}} in general and especially to his ''grab them by the pussy'' {{w|Donald Trump and Billy Bush recording|comment}}. [[Cueball]] with his weapon is from [[303: Compiling]]. See more details in the [[#Character gallery|character gallery]] below.

This is the first time Randall has used a comic to directly support a presidential campaign, although he did [https://blog.xkcd.com/2008/01/28/obama/ endorse] {{w|Barack Obama}} in 2008 on his [[Blag]]. He wrote himself later that it was very controversial when he endorsed Obama, but that it was not the most [[388:_Fuck_Grapefruit#Controversy|controversial comic he had published]] at that time. This comic might take that prize now, given that this was one of the most discussed elections up to its time. This is particularly noteworthy outside the US - for example, some European leaders openly opposed Trump, while others supported him. There were also reports of Russian hackers attempting to influence the election.

Randall's support for Hillary Clinton may have been due in part to Donald Trump {{w|Donald_Trump#Healthcare.2C_education_and_environment|being a prominent}} {{w|climate change denier}}. Randall has published comics opposing climate change denial such as this: [[1732: Earth Temperature Timeline]], published less than two months before the election, as well as several other [[:Category:Climate change|comics on climate change]]. Also Trump beating Clinton made Randall's [[1313: Regex Golf|regex that matches the last names of elected US presidents but not their opponents]] impossible to update.

All the information on the bottom half of the comic includes sites, numbers, info, etc., current as of 2016, that are intended to help US voters to vote, regardless of whom they vote for. Including this information can assist voters who don't understand the process, don't feel that it's worth it, or feel intimidated or threatened. In general, these sites and numbers were likely included to help boost voter turnout.

The title text, which states that "We can do this", refers to Randall's desire to unite Democratic voters and elect Hillary Clinton to the White House instead of Trump. It is possible to [https://www.lookhuman.com/design/86542-hillary-clinton-we-can-do-it/tshirt buy t-shirts] with the famed {{w|We Can Do It!}} logo from the "Rosie the Riveter" wartime poster, but with Hillary Clinton in the famed position. However this is not quite the same "We can do this" sentence that Randall uses. "We can do this" (or in German, "[https://www.dict.cc/?s=Wir+schaffen+das+%5BAngela+Merkel%5D Wir schaffen das]") was also the catchphrase of the German Chancellor {{w|Angela Merkel}} during the recent influx of refugees from the Syrian War — like Clinton, Merkel was fighting against {{w|Pegida|a populist nativist movement}} that wanted to close the country's borders.

Unfortunately for Randall, these efforts were in vain, as {{w|Donald Trump}} (another populist nativist who wants to close the country's borders) was elected on Tuesday, November 8, falsifying the title-text. This result became a fact less than two weeks before the first ([[1761: Blame]]) of [[#Sad comics|several sad comics]] that all seemed related to the election of Donald Trump.

===How to help===
The list of things that can help is all about getting people to vote. While Randall is likely to have wanted to boost voter turnout regardless of political leanings, it's clear from his endorsement of Clinton that he believed increased turnout would have helped her win the race. There is general evidence that certain more heavily Democratic-leaning demographics are less likely to vote, and in this election in particular, the various political issues that had been raised against Hillary (such as the {{w|Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI's}} public disclosures of its investigation into her use of a private email server) were shown to have reduced enthusiasm among Democrats. But all these issues aside, both Republicans and Democrats alike agree on encouraging everyone to vote, and Randall is likely to have agreed with that sentiment as well.

Here is Randall's list of suggestions for how to help Hillary Clinton win the election:
{|class="wikitable"
!What to do
!How to do it
!Explanation
|-
|Vote
|[https://iwillvote.com/ iwillvote.com]
|A site to look up polling locations, ID requirements, etc.
|-
|Get a ride to the polls:
|[http://www.drive2vote.org/ drive2vote.org]
|For voters in Douglas and Sarpy County, Nebraska, who needed a ride to the polls from {{w|Warren Buffett}} or his friends.
|-
|If you're having problems voting
|[http://www.866ourvote.org/ 866-OUR-VOTE]
|Racism or other biases on the part of people running polling places is a real issue for minorities. Though it is illegal, people may lie or deny rights to would-be-voters who they believe will not vote for the candidate they agree with. In some instances, voters may require backup from someone with legal understanding to get to vote, which is a service this phone number provides. Since Donald Trump has suggested that unofficial {{w|poll watchers}} should patrol voting stations - which has been described as potential [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/05/election-day-violence-donald-trump-poll-watchers voter intimidation] - this has been an especially widely discussed topic in this election. The phone number written out as numbers is (866) 687-8683
|-
|Experimental social turnout project
|[http://www.civicinnovation.com/ civicinnovation.com] App Store: VoteWithMe
|An app which "gives you a list of the top 10 highest-impact potential voters in your address book to get in touch with -- based on the likelihood that they support progressive candidates, and that they live in states with the most competitive races". This app is for Android and iOS, with the App Store ID as "VoteWithMe". The "VoteWithMe" app is created by Civic Innovation Works and "uses publicly available voter records to predict which of your contacts are likely to support Democratic candidates, but might not have a plan to vote", as it says on its [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/votewithme/id1170104517/ App Store Page].
|-
|Reminder:
|If you're in line when the polls close, they have to let you vote.
|This is correct, as is printed on most election pamphlets as part of the ''Voters' Bill of Rights'', as well as being cited on numerous sources online (eg [http://votersedge.kqed.org/en/ca/ballot/election/area/42/section/voting-info?id=statewide-42-ca#section-my-rights-as-a-voter here].) Being turned down for trying to vote after the polling place is officially closed (if you were already in line ''when'' the polls closed) might be an instance where you want to use the phone number mentioned above.
|}

===Character gallery===
The comic shows a gallery of 11 xkcd characters including all the main characters from xkcd (except [[Hairy]]), which stand united behind Randall and Clinton despite their lack of agreement in many other comics.

*From left to right on the left side of the H are: 
**[[Ponytail]] with a ray gun (the one she also wielded in [[322: Pix Plz]], a comic where she was named Joanna). The gun is for melting computers of persons that make snide remarks at women, clearly a reference to {{w|Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations|Donald Trump's sexual harassment of women}} in general and especially to his Grab Pussy comment.
**[[Black Hat]] (who was the one introducing Joanna/Ponytail in the mentioned comic)
**[[Danish]] (Black Hat's girlfriend setting up a kite for him, although it could be Megan, but she is also shown later with her regular shorter hair). However it has mainly been Megan in comics with kites, like [[235: Kite]] and [[1614: Kites]]. Kites are a [[:Category:Kites|recurring theme]] on xkcd.
**[[White Hat]] looking at the kite.
*On top of the H are:
**[[Blondie]] (looking out at us, maybe representing Clinton herself)
**[[Megan]] (next to Cueball)
**[[Cueball]] (forming the standard couple in xkcd with Megan)
**[[Hairbun]] with glasses (so specifically not the one from the previous comic [[1755: Old Days]], but rather like in [[1637: Salt Mine]]).
*On the right side of the H are:
**[[Science Girl]] (The adult version of her, is holding her hand out towards a cute squirrel. Of course she could also be the girl from [[635: Locke and Demosthenes]] where the squirrel is poisoned...)
**[[Beret Guy]] is holding a squirrel out towards Science Girl. (The first time squirrels was mentioned was actually when Beret Guy found them in a tree in [[167: Nihilism]] and since then they have become a [[:Category:Squirrels|recurring theme]] on xkcd and a similar squirrel can for instance be seen in [[1503: Squirrel Plan]]. Beret Guy has not been seen together with a squirrel before, but has been shown to care for animals, for instance in [[614: Woodpecker]]).
**[[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|Another Cueball]] is standing on an office chair wielding a sword as he was shown in [[303: Compiling]]. (Interestingly enough the previous comic [[1755: Old Days]] was about Cueball asking Hairbun about {{w|compiling}} in the old days. Seems realistic that Randall has this comic ready for this Monday before the election for some time, and when finding this 9 year old version of Cueball in the old comics, he may have gotten inspired to make a comic about compiling in the old days).

Note that the two characters at either side of the comic wields weapons pointing out defending the other nine. Those next to the characters with weapons are doing recreational things like kiting and admiring adorable squirrels, both are recurring subjects in xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[Eleven characters are drawn left, right and on top of a huge H with an arrow as the horizontal bar connecting the two vertical towers. The arrow breaks the right part of the H. It represents the logo from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign for 2016. From left to right on the left side of the H are Ponytail with an exotic looking futuristic ray gun like weapon looking to the left away from the H and the others. Behind her is Black Hat who looks at a girl that might be Danish or Megan (but with longer hair than Megan typically has). She is setting up a kite that flies above the first two characters. Behind her and looking up at the kite is White Hat. The H is right behind him, and on top of the left tower of the H sits Blondie looking straight out at the reader with her legs dangling over the edge and her arms resting on her knees. On the arrow between the two H towers sits Megan leaning against the left H tower, also dangling her legs over the edge and arms resting on her knees. Cueball is standing to her right, just left of the right H tower. On top of the right H towers sits Hairbun with glasses looking straight right with her legs dangling over the edge one arm resting on a knee and leaning back on the other arm. On the right side of the H is an adult version of Science Girl holding a hand out towards the squirrel which Beret Guy is holding out in both arms towards her. Behind them is another Cueball standing on an office chair holding a sword high up in front of him to the right away from the others. He keeps his balance by holding his other arm out behind him. Below the H there is a large caption.]
:<big><big><big>H</big></big></big>
: <big><big>I'm with her.</big></big>

:[Below the panel there are several lines of text. The first header line refers to the next four lines with solutions to problems, title/problem on one side then a long dash and the web-link or other information on the right side of that. Below those there is a reminder.]
:<big>How to help</big>
:Vote - iwillvote.com
:Get a ride to the polls - drive2vote.org
:If you're having problems voting - 866-OUR-VOTE
:Experimental social turnout project - civicinnovation.com App Store: VoteWithMe

:<big>Reminder:</big>
:If you're in line when the polls close, they have to let you vote.

==Trivia==
*Despite securing more votes, Hillary Clinton lost the election in the {{w|Electoral college (United States)|electoral college}}.
**She did win in {{w|Massachusetts}} (Randall's home state), but that was never really in any doubt.
*The fact that Trump was elected instead is likely the reason for several comics with a bad mood released after this and until at least just past the day Trump was inaugurated.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]] 
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Kites]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]