https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.216.4&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T17:39:09ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1966:_Smart_Home_Security&diff=154222Talk:1966: Smart Home Security2018-03-12T18:09:43Z<p>108.162.216.4: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
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When I went to explainxkcd right after the comic posted, I saw this in the incomplete tag: "Created by ORGANIZED CRIME". Today is the day this website has officially swallowed its own tail. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:50, 12 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Oh no! We must eradicate this enemy- We must start violent purging- No one can be trusted! [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 16:46, 12 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
::(We are talking about McCarthyism right now in class while I write this... heh.) [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 16:46, 12 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Hmm. Isn't the concern for smart appliances usually that since they're internet-connected, they can be used to for DDoS and other nefarious purposes? I mean, a smart thermostat doesn't really have the capability to spy on its owners, right?<br />
:They can spy on your temperature preferences! (Dun dun dah!). You do have a point though. I originally was thinking more like smart home assistants, as that seems to be the craze now. That is ignoring the majority smart devices in the market though. You could get some information from most though, even it is minimal. You could get a rough floorplan from a roomba, you could get an idea what kind of products people buy with smart fridges... etc. We may never know what Randall's original intention was though. I wonder if he reads this wiki... Does he ever edit it?<br />
:A smart thermostat often knows when you are home and not. It could easily be used to develop a pattern of behavior to determine when would be the best time to rob your house. Then there's smart door locks, with the obvious consequences of hacking. But yes, botnets are one of the biggest problems. Note that the graph (accurately!) shows a not-so-great best case on day 1, as most IoT security is awful.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.67|173.245.52.67]] 17:18, 12 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Agreed. A much more likely scenario is that your device is being used for a botnet. Smart appliances aren't updated as reliably as personal computers (since they're "set and forget" devices), and the owner is less likely to notice if they've been hacked (because you won't notice if your thermostat is running a little slow), so they're a prime target for hackers. That's also why the graph shows the risk increases as time goes by - the manufacturer stops patching the device, but the hacker will keep trying to get in. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.89|162.158.79.89]] 17:24, 12 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
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I’m going to give them an update they can’t refuse</div>108.162.216.4https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1919:_Interstellar_Asteroid&diff=1485911919: Interstellar Asteroid2017-12-01T17:42:29Z<p>108.162.216.4: /* Explanation */ Added a small detail under the Star Destroyer and corrected some grammar/punctuation issues</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1919<br />
| date = November 22, 2017<br />
| title = Interstellar Asteroid<br />
| image = interstellar_asteroid.png<br />
| titletext = Every time we detect an asteroid from outside the Solar System, we should immediately launch a mission to fling one of our asteroids back in the direction it came from.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Edited by a really lost Star Destroyer pilot. Please send help when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|ʻOumuamua}} is the first detection of an [https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense/faq/interstellar interstellar asteroid] passing through the Solar System originating from another solar system.<br />
<br />
[[Megan]]'s list of objects with a similar shape ratio:<br />
* The 1:4:9 {{w|Monolith (Space Odyssey)|monolith}} from the sci-fi movie ''{{w|2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)|2001: A Space Odyssey}}''<br />
* A {{w|Star Destroyer}}, a spaceship in the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' universe. This one seems particularly unlikely, as the Star Wars mythos is set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, and rarely (if ever, depending on the continuity) strays outside of said galaxy.<br />
* Huge eggplant emoji (🍆, U+1F346 Aubergine, commonly used to represent a penis).<br />
* Statue of {{w|"Weird Al" Yankovic}}, an American singer and parodist<br />
* iPhone XXXXX, likely making fun of Apple's {{w|iPhone X}} and larger in size<br />
* [http://voltron.wikia.com/wiki/Voltron_(Voltron_Force) Voltron], a giant robot from the animated series ''{{w|Voltron|Voltron: Defender of the Universe}}''<br />
* A giant {{tvtropes|BurialInSpace|space coffin}} with someone inside.<br />
<br />
As soon as Megan lists off the last item, she is about to start speculating within her own speculative scenario about who or what might be in the coffin, before being interrupted by Cueball. Cueball attempts to bring Megan back down to earth by reminding her that she has too little data to work with, but Megan is far too excitable to listen to reason. The dangers of speculating irresponsibly, it would seem.<br />
<br />
It could also be argued that Megan with this makes fun of many news outlets whose first reaction to a new space body often seems to be to search for something to compare its shape to, such as with the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko#Shape 'rubber duck' comet]. Making fun of media covering science news is a recurring theme on xkcd.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests taking reciprocal action by sending asteroids away when the solar system receives them. This would, of course, be difficult, given the amount of energy needed to shift asteroids outside of the Sun's gravity hold. On top of that, it appears to imply that some non-human entity is sending these rocks, which is an inane idea. This could be a reference to the movie {{w|Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers}}, where a race of aliens mankind is at war with supposedly hit Earth with asteroids. Given that a typical star traveler -- like the one spotted now in real life -- spends millions of years getting from one star system to another, the movie's idea is plain stupid; in fact, the movie gives no proof the aliens were actually responsible, leading to a common fan theory that the asteroid was indeed random space junk and the aliens are being framed by the human government as pretense for war.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan walks towards Cueball while looking at her phone. Cueball sits in front of his laptop.]<br />
:Megan: Hey, you know that asteroid that tumbled past from another star system? It's apparently really long and skinny. <br />
:Megan: Like a ratio of 6:1 or 10:1.<br />
:Cueball: Weird. Wonder what it's shaped like.<br />
<br />
:[Megan lowers her phone and looks up. Cueball looks backward.]<br />
:Megan: Without more data, it would be irresponsible to speculate further.<br />
:Cueball: So...you're going to?<br />
:Megan: ''Absolutely.''<br />
<br />
:[Frameless panel focusing on Megan.]<br />
:Megan: Here are some objects with a similar shape ratio:<br />
:Megan: The 1:4:9 monolith from ''2001: A Space Odyssey''.<br />
:Megan: A star destroyer.<br />
:Megan: A huge eggplant emoji.<br />
<br />
:[Same setting with Megan and Cueball.]<br />
:Megan: A statue of Weird Al. An iPhone XXXXX. Voltron.<br />
:Megan: A giant space coffin. But who could be inside? We can only guess. I'll start:<br />
:Cueball: This is all based on ''how'' many data points, again?<br />
:Megan: One. But it's a ''perfect'' fit!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Star Wars]]</div>108.162.216.4https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1914:_Twitter_Verification&diff=147687Talk:1914: Twitter Verification2017-11-10T22:56:00Z<p>108.162.216.4: Verify facts, not people.</p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
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Isn't it obvious? Twitter verified Kessler's account as a way of marking a public enemy, and distinguishing him from fake troll accounts. Now the internet is gonna fuck his shit up.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.135|162.158.74.135]] 07:01, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
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https://twitter.com/jack/status/928658511311097856 Comic may relate to twitter's usage of the verification symbol. Randall might be mocking Twitter for not realizing how the verification symbol would be thought of as a symbol of importance. Character shown may be Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO. --[[User:Videblu|Videblu]] ([[User talk:Videblu|talk]]) 05:54, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
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Reminds me of when the checkmark emoji on Mastodon (https://joinmastodon.org) was similar to the Twitter "verified" mark and anyone who wanted was a verified user. Then, people moved on to pineapples for whatever reason. -- <sub>--[[User:Nialpxe|<span style="color: #000; text-decoration: none;">Nialpxe</span>]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|<span style="color: #000; text-decoration: none;">(Arguments welcome)</span>]]</sub><br />
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How can a bot write this text? Does it automatically scan the text in the comic, somehow find a news page about the topic and copy its text? If that's the case, that's some pretty advanced AI and it should be applied to more things than this wiki. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:42, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
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Nope, the bot only creates a new page with an image and a title text when a new comic goes online. See [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1914:_Twitter_Verification&action=history edit history] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/User:DgbrtBOT bot's profile] ;) The incomplete tag is kept even after people start editing the page, until it looks complete. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.218|141.101.96.218]] 11:28, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
As an aside, I tip my hat to Fvalves for [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1914:_Twitter_Verification&diff=prev&oldid=147658 this edit] to the incomplete template! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.82|162.158.92.82]] 12:24, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
:For posterity (and so future visitors don't have to wade through the edit history), the page was created by a bot and then edited by a non-bot, a Cylon, and a Verified Twitter User. It was later "verified by a creationist twit." [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.34|172.68.54.34]] 18:08, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
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So how do I get verified on twitter? I'm real I tell you! I'm a real boy! I am Iam! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.71|162.158.69.71]] 14:58, 10 November 2017 (UTC) Sam<br />
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Twitter should just change the standard for who gets the checkmark to be the same as the Wikipedia notability standard: getting "significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject". That seems to create few quarrels. An even easier solution for them is to make the requirement be having a personal Wikipedia page – that way, now it's Wikipedia's problem. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.41|172.68.26.41]] 16:36, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
:I'll add that maybe the badge would look less like an "endorsement" if it were just, say, a rectangle with an "R" for "real account", rather than something with such positive implications as a check mark (which you get on your good grades at school for example) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.41|172.68.26.41]] 16:40, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
::DOES CAPS ALSO FEEL NATURAL? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:50, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
I think I saw the end of this story on [https://www.fox.com/watch/4e9ac96523b454de771f95a4f775facb/ The Orville]. [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 16:56, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
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For some reason, I have always assumed this "verified account" thingy is available to anyone who applies for it and supplies an ID scan or something to prove their identity (not a twitter user, obviously). They just randomly give it to people as they see fit? WTF were they thinking? [[User:Jaalenja|Jaalenja]] ([[User talk:Jaalenja|talk]]) 17:12, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
:As someone who has literally never been on Twitter, this doesn't seem hard. Why doesn't Twitter just give verified status to people who can verify who they are? User sends Twitter proof of their identity, if Twitter finds the proof satisfactory they make that account verified.[[User:HisHighestMinion|HisHighestMinion]] ([[User talk:HisHighestMinion|talk]]) 17:53, 10 November 2017 (UTC)<br />
::Because a lot of actual people do have the same names. There are numerous people with the name William Gibson on Twitter, but when you search William Gibson, the handle @GreatDismal comes up, with his name listed as William Gibson, & a check-mark to indicate that the account belongs to the (most) famous William Gibson, not some random guy with that name.<br />
<br />
Since there are so often multiple people with the same name, & even people who (gasp!) don't use their name as their Twitter handle, I think the verification should be relative to a particular association; People could even attain multiple verifications, such as "Verified author of Neuromancer", "Verified Ford certified mechanic", "Verified resident of Zyzzyx", "Verified president of the United States", etc. (Not that someone as important as the US president would have time to waste writing Tweets.) Just make a list of anything you can verify about them, & let people see that on their profile. Just because she wasn't in Terminator doesn't mean Sarah O'Connor is insignificant; often it can be difficult to tell which profile belongs to someone you know, versus a stranger with that name. They should just verify stated facts about the person, avoiding any judgement of the notability of those facts.<br />
(By the way, "Marina Appaloosa" may potentially be the coolest fictional name I've seen generated by these captchas so far.)<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.4|108.162.216.4]] 22:56, 10 November 2017 (UTC)</div>108.162.216.4https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1902:_State_Borders&diff=1465801902: State Borders2017-10-13T14:33:37Z<p>108.162.216.4: /* Explanation */ Juneau is in the section that 'should be Canada too'</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1902<br />
| date = October 13, 2017<br />
| title = State Borders<br />
| image = state_borders.png<br />
| titletext = A schism between the pro-panhandle and anti-panhandle factions eventually led to war, but both sides spent too much time working on their flag designs to actually do much fighting.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Add a table of all the proposed changes, explain title text... Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In this comic, graphic designers take control of the United States, but the only thing they do is change the state borders slightly so that they look more aligned, as shown in the map.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Proposed change !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| If we're going to have a panhandle, why not commit to it? || {{w|Oklahoma}} has a "panhandle" to its west, which is a kind of {{w|Salient}}. The graphic designers don't want to go with this thing, but if it must, they suggest including the Northern parts of {{w|Arizona}} and {{w|New Mexico}} to go with it, as it shows commitment.<br />
|-<br />
| Let's be honest, this should be Canada too || {{w|Southeast Alaska}} should be given to {{w|Canada}}, presumably because it more neatly fits with {{w|British Columbia}}. This is slightly problematic, as the state capital, [[w|Juneau]], is within this section.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
[An outline map of the United States is shown, including state boundaries. The map has the title "State Borders". The following edit marks are shown:]<br><br />
Give to Canada<br><br />
This should be Wisconsin<br><br />
Move Long Island to NJ or CT or make it its own state<br><br />
Align to grid<br><br />
Clean Up<br><br />
Enlarge Rhode Island & Delaware<br><br />
If we're going to have a panhandle, why not commit to it?<br><br />
Fix this thing<br><br />
Clean Up<br><br />
Straighten to fix survey errors<br><br />
Good curve! Keep.<br><br />
Let's be honest - this should be Canada, too.<br><br />
Why should Florida get Alabama's coastline? It has plenty.<br><br />
<br><br><br />
[Caption below the panel:] It was scary when graphic designers seized control of the country, but it turned out they just wanted to fix some things about the state borders that had always bothered them.<br><br />
<br><br />
[Mouseover text:] A schism between the pro-panhandle and anti-panhandle factions eventually led to war, but both sides spent too much time working on their flag designs to actually do much fighting.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.216.4https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1902:_State_Borders&diff=1465781902: State Borders2017-10-13T14:28:12Z<p>108.162.216.4: changed "east" to "west" as that is the proper direction.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1902<br />
| date = October 13, 2017<br />
| title = State Borders<br />
| image = state_borders.png<br />
| titletext = A schism between the pro-panhandle and anti-panhandle factions eventually led to war, but both sides spent too much time working on their flag designs to actually do much fighting.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Add a table of all the proposed changes, explain title text... Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In this comic, graphic designers take control of the United States, but the only thing they do is change the state borders slightly so that they look more aligned, as shown in the map.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Proposed change !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| If we're going to have a panhandle, why not commit to it? || {{w|Oklahoma}} has a "panhandle" to its west, which is a kind of {{w|Salient}}. The graphic designers don't want to go with this thing, but if it must, they suggest including the Northern parts of {{w|Arizona}} and {{w|New Mexico}} to go with it, as it shows commitment.<br />
|-<br />
| Let's be honest, this should be Canada too || {{w|Southeast Alaska}} should be given to {{w|Canada}}, presumably because it more neatly fits with {{w|British Columbia}}.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
* <br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
[An outline map of the United States is shown, including state boundaries. The map has the title "State Borders". The following edit marks are shown:]<br><br />
Give to Canada<br><br />
This should be Wisconsin<br><br />
Move Long Island to NJ or CT or make it its own state<br><br />
Align to grid<br><br />
Clean Up<br><br />
Enlarge Rhode Island & Delaware<br><br />
If we're going to have a panhandle, why not commit to it?<br><br />
Fix this thing<br><br />
Clean Up<br><br />
Straighten to fix survey errors<br><br />
Good curve! Keep.<br><br />
Let's be honest - this should be Canada, too.<br><br />
Why should Florida get Alabama's coastline? It has plenty.<br><br />
<br><br><br />
[Caption below the panel:] It was scary when graphic designers seized control of the country, but it turned out they just wanted to fix some things about the state borders that had always bothered them.<br><br />
<br><br />
[Mouseover text:] A schism between the pro-panhandle and anti-panhandle factions eventually led to war, but both sides spent too much time working on their flag designs to actually do much fighting.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>108.162.216.4https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1890:_What_to_Bring&diff=1455311890: What to Bring2017-09-15T13:29:44Z<p>108.162.216.4: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1890<br />
| date = September 15, 2017<br />
| title = What to Bring<br />
| image = what_to_bring.png<br />
| titletext = I always figured you should never bring a gun to a gun fight because then you'll be part of a gun fight.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Bare necessities, could use elaboration. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A table based on variations of the phrase "never bring a knife to a gun fight", an idiom usually attributed to either {{w|Elmer Keith}} or ''{{w|The Untouchables (film)|The Untouchables}}''.<br />
<br />
The third and fourth columns describe fighting (extinguishing) two types of fires -- wood and oil. Neither should be battled with knives or guns.{{Citation needed}}<br />
<br />
The last column of the table is based on reactions to an {{w|Class B fire|oil fire}}, which should be extinguished by removing the oxygen (such as by covering it with a lid). Attempting to apply water to an oil fire will result in a large, potentially dangerous flame.<br />
<br />
* If you bring a knife to a knife fight, you will be evenly matched with your opponent.<br />
<br />
* If you bring a knife to a gunfight, you will be at a perilous disadvantage.<br />
<br />
* Attempting to fight a wood fire with a knife will lead to you being burned.<br />
<br />
* Attempting to fight an oil fire will lead to you being burned, in addition to causing metallic scrapes.<br />
<br />
* Bringing a gun to a knife fight will leave your opponent at a perilous disadvantage.<br />
<br />
* Bringing a gun to a gunfight will leave you {{w|Mexican standoff|evenly matched with your opponent}}.<br />
<br />
* Shooting either a wood or an oil fire is an ineffective way of extinguishing them.{{Citation needed}}<br />
<br />
* Splashing either a knife-wielder or a gunman with water will serve only to agitate your opponent.<br />
<br />
* Wood fires are best extinguished with a well-aimed splash of water.<br />
<br />
* Pouring water on an oil fire is notorious for creating huge fireballs, aggravating the situation even more.<br />
<br />
* Attempting to put a lid on the head of a knife-wielder or gunman will probably not help matters, as it may only serve to agitate said knife-wielder. There's a possibility that your attacker may be momentarily stunned by the surrealism of the situation, but even that will only buy you about a ten-foot running start. Though a metal lid with the right sort of handle could be a buckler used as a defence.<br />
<br />
* Trying to put out a wood fire with a lid would require a lid bigger than can possibly be considered 'brought with'.<br />
<br />
* An oil fire is best extinguished by cutting it off from oxygen; stovetop oil fires generally spawn in cooking pans, which often come with lids suited to making an airtight seal.<br />
<br />
The title text makes the observation that bringing a gun to a gunfight only raises your status from 'civilian' to 'combatant'.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]</div>108.162.216.4https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1890:_What_to_Bring&diff=1455301890: What to Bring2017-09-15T13:25:20Z<p>108.162.216.4: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1890<br />
| date = September 15, 2017<br />
| title = What to Bring<br />
| image = what_to_bring.png<br />
| titletext = I always figured you should never bring a gun to a gun fight because then you'll be part of a gun fight.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Bare necessities, could use elaboration. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
A table based on variations of the phrase "never bring a knife to a gun fight", an idiom usually attributed to either {{w|Elmer Keith}} or ''{{w|The Untouchables (film)|The Untouchables}}''.<br />
<br />
The third and fourth columns describe battling (extinguishing) two types of fires -- wood and oil. Neither should be battled with knives or guns.{{Citation needed}}<br />
<br />
The last column of the table is based on reactions to an {{w|Class B fire|oil fire}}, which should be extinguished by removing the oxygen (such as by covering it with a lid). Attempting to apply water to an oil fire will result in a large, potentially dangerous flame.<br />
<br />
* If you bring a knife to a knife fight, you will be evenly matched with your opponent.<br />
<br />
* If you bring a knife to a gunfight, you will be at a perilous disadvantage.<br />
<br />
* Attempting to fight a wood fire with a knife will lead to you being burned.<br />
<br />
* Attempting to fight an oil fire will lead to you being burned, in addition to causing metallic scrapes.<br />
<br />
* Bringing a gun to a knife fight will leave your opponent at a perilous disadvantage.<br />
<br />
* Bringing a gun to a gunfight will leave you {{w|Mexican standoff|evenly matched with your opponent}}.<br />
<br />
* Shooting either a wood or an oil fire is an ineffective way of extinguishing them.{{Citation needed}}<br />
<br />
* Splashing either a knife-wielder or a gunman with water will serve only to agitate your opponent.<br />
<br />
* Wood fires are best extinguished with a well-aimed splash of water.<br />
<br />
* Pouring water on an oil fire is notorious for creating huge fireballs, aggravating the situation even more.<br />
<br />
* Attempting to put a lid on the head of a knife-wielder or gunman will probably not help matters, as it may only serve to agitate said knife-wielder. There's a possibility that your attacker may be momentarily stunned by the surrealism of the situation, but even that will only buy you about a ten-foot running start. Though a metal lid with the right sort of handle could be a buckler used as a defence.<br />
<br />
* Trying to put out a wood fire with a lid would require a lid bigger than can possibly be considered 'brought with'.<br />
<br />
* An oil fire is best extinguished by cutting it off from oxygen; stovetop oil fires generally spawn in cooking pans, which often come with lids suited to making an airtight seal.<br />
<br />
The title text makes the observation that bringing a gun to a gunfight only raises your status from 'civilian' to 'combatant'.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]</div>108.162.216.4https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1809:_xkcd_Phone_5&diff=1368961809: xkcd Phone 52017-03-10T18:02:31Z<p>108.162.216.4: Jeff Dunham is hardly the first person to ever make that joke. Common joke doesn't need random reference.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1809<br />
| date = March 10, 2017<br />
| title = xkcd Phone 5<br />
| image = xkcd_phone_5.png<br />
| titletext = The phone will be collected by the toll operators and mailed back to you within 4-6 weeks.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Needs a lot more}}<br />
This is the fifth entry in the ongoing [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]], and once again, the comic plays with many standard tech buzzwords to create a phone that sounds impressive but would actually be very impractical, especially with the front camera which would prevent it from going into a pocket. The previous comic in the series [[1707: xkcd Phone 4]] was released almost 8 months before this one.<br />
<br />
===Table of features===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Feature<br />
!Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|'''Bluetooth speaker'''<br />
| This is the only potentially useful feature of this phone as while a {{w|bluetooth}} speaker built in to the device would be no more useful for playing music from it than any other speaker it would enable other devices to play through your phone.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Stained-glass display'''<br />
| Prevents seeing certain colors by tinting the display. {{w|Stained glass}} has traditionally been used for decorative windows in buildings.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Gallium chassis remains solid up to 85&deg;F'''<br />
| Many high-end electronic devices have chassis made of alloys of light metals such as magnesium or titanium. Besides being lightweight and of superior quality and durability than ordinary sheet steel or cheap plastic, these are often perceived as bragging points by the users, boasting about 'rare' metal chassis.<br />
<br />
{{w|Gallium}} is a not-so-well known metal that has a very low melting point of 85&nbsp;°F (or 29.7&nbsp;°C), being one of only four metals (the other being mercury, rubidium and caesium) that are liquid near room temperature. Its melting point is lower than a healthy person's body temperature. Having a gallium smartphone chassis would be therefore very impractical because it will melt in user's bare hand and would require using some kind of insulating gloves. Besides it would have to be stored in a cool place and the internal electronics should have really good cooling, otherwise either the external or internal heat would melt the chassis.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Soundproof'''<br />
| Presumably this means that speakers and microphone may not work.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Can feel pain'''<br />
| This could mean either the phone feels pain inflicted upon it or feels the user's pain. Which meaning may become apparent when the chassis melts on contact with exposed skin and the phone is left with open wounds.<br />
|-<br />
|'''E-Z Pass partnership'''<br />
|{{w|E-Z Pass}} is an account you put money into and you put a transmitter in your windshield so when you go through a toll booth you don't have to stop and pay by hand. However, this proposition is absurd, because you would lose the phone and still have to stop to pay the toll. The title text says that the phone will be returned to you after 4–6 weeks, which slightly mitigates the first problem, but you would still lose the phone for a month.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Foldable (once)'''<br />
|Presumably you can "fold" it by snapping it in half but you can only do his once because the phone wont work otherwise. It may refer to the fact that a later version of iPhone had a weak spot that lead it to easily folding and breaking.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Screen transfers images to skin'''<br />
| This could either mean the image displayed on the screen or potentially whatever the stained glass image itself is.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Retina storage'''<br />
| This is a play on the name of Apple's prized "{{w|Retina Display}}". The joke may be in reference to Apple's possession of a trademark for the word "retina" in regards to computer equipment, which is made to seem absurd by the unusual use. It is not made clear whose retinas are meant to be stored. Could also be a reference to retinally implanted computers.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Background task automatically catches and eats Pokémon'''<br />
| Likely reference to {{w|Pokémon Go}}, an augmented reality game where the goal to go to specific locations and play a mini-game in order to catch virtual creatures called pokemon. This phone apparently does it automatically, which is considered cheating. However, it also eats them, which is something that is not part of the game and wouldn't be desirable.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Supercuts partnership'''<br />
| {{w|Supercuts}} is an American hair salon chain that provides hair cuts and styling. The implication here is that the user can get a haircut by sticking their hair in the charging slot.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Squelch knob'''<br />
|{{w|Squelch}} is a feature of two-way radios (CB, ham, etc) which quiets background noise when no signal is present. For a smartphone, perhaps this knob could control the "signal-to-noise" ratio of your Facebook feed or other social media platforms. It also takes the place of the headphone jack.<br />
|-<br />
|'''IBM buckling-spring Home button'''<br />
|IBM {{w|Buckling spring|buckling-spring}} keyboards are favorites of geeks for the feeling of quality and auditory feedback (keys click loudly) they provide. The iPhone's Home button provides little to no such satisfaction when pressed.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Cot-caught merger switch'''<br />
| This is a reference to the {{w|cot–caught merger}}, a linguistic change happening among English speakers, particularly in some parts of North America and the British Isles, which causes caught (previously pronounced "kawt") to be pronounced the same as cot (pronounced "kot").<br />
|-<br />
|'''60x optical zoom camera'''<br />
|A powerful {{w|zoom lens|optical zoom}} is usually a desirable feature for cameras. However, as shown in the comic, it results in very bulky lens. For that reason, such lens are rarely used in smartphones, though there are some devices like the {{w|Samsung Galaxy Camera}} that have a similar design.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Loran navigation'''<br />
| {{w|LORAN}} (Long Range Navigation) was a precursor to modern {{W|Global Positioning System|GPS}} navigation, using land-based transmitters. Once developed for sea shipping, it is accurate to about 300 meters. The joke, of course, is that all modern smartphones have integrated GPS navigation which is far more accurate and available in more areas.<br />
|-<br />
|'''28-factor authentication'''<br />
| An {{w|Authentication#Factors and identity|authentication factor}} is a way of proving one's identity. There are [http://www.nikacp.com/images/10.1.1.200.3888.pdf 3 generally recognized forms]: something you know, something you have, and something you are. It can be a password, a fingerprint, a physical key, etc.... Secure applications may include two or more factors, a common example is the "PIN and chip" system used with credit cards, where you need both the card and secret code to authorize a transaction. Many online services now provide two-factor authentication to protect against password-based attacks. 28-factor authentication would likely be very secure in theory but also so impractical that it would be unusable.<br />
|-<br />
|'''Hook shot'''<br />
| The ''{{w|The Legend of Zelda|Legend of Zelda}}'' weapon/tool, used to bring items to {{w|Link (The Legend of Zelda)|Link}} or bring Link closer to a goal.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
The slogan "We're trying to catch up to Apple but refuse to skip numbers" is likely a reference to Samsung releasing the Note 7 after the Note 5, with no Note 6 in between, in an attempt to catch up to Apple's numbering, which was already to the iPhone 7, and when other companies have done similarly.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[An image of a smartphone featuring large camera lens is shown. Clockwise from the top the labels read:]<br />
<br />
:Bluetooth speaker<br />
<br />
:Stained-glass display<br />
<br />
:Gallium chassis remains solid up to 85&deg;F<br />
<br />
:Soundproof<br />
<br />
:Can feel pain<br />
<br />
:E-Z Pass partnership: phone can be dropped into coin basket to pay tolls<br />
<br />
:Foldable (once)<br />
<br />
:Screen transfers images to skin<br />
<br />
:Retina storage<br />
<br />
:Background task automatically catches and eats Pokemon<br />
<br />
:Supercuts partnership: trims hair fed into charging port<br />
<br />
:Squeltch knob<br />
<br />
:IBM buckling-spring Home button<br />
<br />
:Cot-caught merger switch<br />
<br />
:60x optical zoom camera<br />
<br />
:Loran navigation<br />
<br />
:28-factor authentication<br />
<br />
:Hook shot<br />
<br />
:[Below the phone:]<br />
:Introducing<br />
:<big><big>The XKCD Phone 5</big></big><br />
:We're trying to catch up to Apple but refuse to skip numbers<sup>®</sup>™<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:xkcd Phones]]</div>108.162.216.4https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Hairbun&diff=106327Hairbun2015-12-03T21:24:16Z<p>108.162.216.4: /* Characteristics */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Infobox character<br />
| image = Hair_Bun_Girl.png<br />
| imagesize = <br />
| caption = Hair Bun Girl, as seen in [[1253: Exoplanet Names]]<br />
| first_appearance = [[337: Post Office Showdown]]<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Hair Bun Girl''' is a [[stick figure]] character in [[xkcd]]. She is distinguished by her hair that is set up in a bun.<br />
<br />
==Characteristics==<br />
Hair Bun Girl is a minor character in xkcd. She appeared two weeks in a row in the spring of 2015 and was recognized as a "new" character at that time, though she had been used several times prior to then. <br />
<br />
She is not the same character from comic to comic. She is mainly just another woman that [[Randall]] can use when he wishes to give a woman a specific characteristic so to set her aside from the more commonly used women [[Megan]] and [[Ponytail]]. Often she is depicted together with both Megan and Ponytail proving this point. (Five appearances as of April 2015: [[703]], [[1052]], [[1253]], [[1504]], and [[1507]]). <br />
<br />
*In her very first appearance, [[337: Post Office Showdown]], she is drawn with glasses.<br />
**She also wears glasses in [[1110: Click and Drag]], [[1088: Five Years]], [[1052: Every Major's Terrible]] and in [[835: Tree]] (in this latter comic she actually portrays Cueball's mother and/or the wife of [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|another version]] of [[Cueball]]).<br />
**She wears sunglasses (as Trinity) in [[566: Matrix Revisited]]<br />
*Her first appearance without glasses was in her second appearance: [[378: Real Programmers]]. And with the four recent comics (past no. 1500) this is now her most prevalent appearance.<br />
*In [[572: Together]] a woman looking like Hair Bun Girl is obviously Megan who has turned old during the comic, so this is also not included here. But it could indicate that Randall thinks of Hair Bun Girl as an older woman.<br />
*Since she is a grown woman - she cannot be the little girl in [[1519: Venus]], [[1584: Moments of Inspiration]], or [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]].<br />
*A character with a hair bun was also featured in [[911: Magic School Bus]], but she is drawn in color and with a dress and represents the fictive character Ms. Frizzle. She is thus not included as a Hair Bun Girl.<br />
*She can, however, represent a real person, like when she was Emily Dickinson in [[788: The Carriage]]. In that comic Emily is drawn exactly as the standard version of Hair bun Girl, and she is thus included. This is similar to Cueball who also represents real persons from time to time.<br />
*In both [[703: Honor Societies]] and [[1520: Degree-Off]] her hair looks somewhat different, curly and with some kind of pony tail, but since her main distinguishing characteristic is the hair bun, these comics are included here.<br />
<br />
{{navbox-characters}}</div>108.162.216.4https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1556:_The_Sky&diff=987491556: The Sky2015-07-29T21:17:22Z<p>108.162.216.4: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1556<br />
| date = July 27, 2015<br />
| title = The Sky<br />
| image = the_sky.png<br />
| titletext = The other half has some cool shipwrecks, rocks, and snakes, but if you move those out of the way, it also has more sky.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
{{Incomplete| Parts of the explanation text is contradicting, or repetitive}}<br />
<br />
Cueball says that he likes the sky. The comic then shows a huge image of the sky with an interesting cloud formation and stars beyond it, and Megan calls the sky one of her favorite halves. The title text implies that the two "halves" in question are the Earth and the Sky.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the fact that the Earth is round, so if you "moved it out of the way" you would find more sky on the other side -- except that the sky only exists due to the air following the gravity and curvature of the earth. Beyond the sky there is just space, and if you would moved the earth you would also move the sky and you would only see space. However, when you look up at the night sky, which we can see with the stars in the upper right corner, you also call it the sky. And it is well know from xkcd that Randall really loves astronomy and looking at the night sky. So seen from this perspective, there would still be plenty of sky even if we removed the Earth completely. However, there would not longer be any clouds or nice colors. It could be that Cueball references the cloud formations, whereas Megan thinks of star formations, and they are thus talking about two different types of sky!<br />
<br />
The title text also indicates that although the other half also is a favorite, it is mainly the shipwrecks (the sea) and the snakes (life forms) that are interesting. The rest is just rocks (the Earth), and if you move these things away you see the sky on the other side of Earth. Taking into account how many different things that are on "the other half", one might use a long time to wonder why [[Randall]] choose to mention only two. (But that may be a waste of time...)<br />
<br />
Taken at face value, the title text is also a subversion: given that the image depicts half open sky and half clouds, the other half could be taken to mean the clouds. Once stated that it contains shipwrecks and snakes, it is clear it is not the clouds she's referring to.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Megan are standing looking upward with in a small frame a light blue background.]<br />
:Cueball: I like the sky.<br />
:Megan: Yeah.<br />
<br />
:[Zooms out to show a blue evening sky, the sun must be setting to the left and a streak of yellow and orange clouds goes from top left to buttom right. The sky/clouds get darker further to the right and several stars are visible behind the clouds on the indigo blue sky in the top right corner. There are also some gray clouds low over the horizon. Cueball and Megan standing to the far left Below them and the sky from the horizon and down there is a thick a black slab taking up about a sixth of the frame height.]<br />
:Megan: It's one of my favorite halves.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>108.162.216.4https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:921:_Delivery_Notification&diff=59455Talk:921: Delivery Notification2014-02-05T19:21:15Z<p>108.162.216.4: </p>
<hr />
<div>They sometimes don't even knock... I was in the living room, less than ten feet from the front door, when I got a notification in my email that the delivery had failed, while I was sitting there less than ten minutes before. Opened the door and just like Cueball... 'Brown' is a good name for them. --[[Special:Contributions/68.200.188.141|68.200.188.141]] 02:39, 28 January 2013 (UTC)<br />
I like how in the explanation, it says that deliverymen only make a '''Token''' effort to deliver a package. That is a lot like '''Tolkien''', who wrote Lord of the Rings. What a pun! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.4|108.162.216.4]] 19:21, 5 February 2014 (UTC)</div>108.162.216.4