https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.218.71&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T22:52:39ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1643:_Degrees&diff=111790Talk:1643: Degrees2016-02-15T14:24:05Z<p>108.162.218.71: </p>
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<div>Rankine is a good compromise. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.65|173.245.56.65]] 14:11, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
0.173 rad = 10°. Now it could be 10°C (50°F) or 10°F (-12°C).--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.228.113|108.162.228.113]] 14:14, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It should probably be noted that since 0.173 radians is equal to around 9.91 degrees, the temperature that Cueball gave is likely in 'radians Celsius', since 9.91 degrees Farenheit would be an unlikely temperature to occur, unless they're somewhere like Canada or northern Russia --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.59|162.158.152.59]] 14:17, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:It would appear that that's already been noted since I started writing that comment. Ignore me. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.59|162.158.152.59]] 14:18, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Guys, we moved away from the Réaumur-scale: You can do the same for the Fahrenheit :-). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 14:20, 15 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Considering how cold New England is today, I'm pretty sure it's Fahrenheit.</div>108.162.218.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1625:_Substitutions_2&diff=108568Talk:1625: Substitutions 22016-01-04T15:49:54Z<p>108.162.218.71: </p>
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<div>See previous discussion for browser plugins, scripts, bookmarklets etc. at [[1288:_Substitutions]] [sven]<br />
<br />
Can someone update the plugin for Chrome that does the word swaps? :3 Also swap it for upgoerfive-nouns[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 15:11, 4 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The Title Text should read "...uncontrollably-swerving cars", not "...uncontrollably-swerving cats". But I don't have the heart to change it.</div>108.162.218.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1381:_Margin&diff=70274Talk:1381: Margin2014-06-24T12:58:33Z<p>108.162.218.71: </p>
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<div>Isn't it possible that a mathematician knows about the existance or the proof of something, but doen't know how to technically do it? In this case, the margin remark would be accurate and not so funny. They have found a proof of existance for infinite information compression, but not yet discovered an actual method to do it. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.56|141.101.104.56]] 05:32, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Yes, when there's no example, it's called a {{w|pure existence theorem}}. If you actually demonstrate an example, that is a {{w|constructive proof}}. [[User:Mattflaschen|Mattflaschen]] ([[User talk:Mattflaschen|talk]]) 05:38, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Actually the proof of the Shannon-Hartley theorem is non-constructive. It tells you the data rate of the best possible channel coding, but does not tell you how to achieve it! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.47|108.162.215.47]] 07:58, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
Setting font-size to 0 would be the same as not ''printing'' any information at all, you'll still use the same number of bits and be able to send the text to other computers which can read the information. The Shannon-Hartley theorem is, as far as I can see from the wikipedia article, about analogue channels anyway. --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 06:16, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:The Shannon-Hartley theorem is about sending digital data (over analogue channels but you cannot send them over anything else in real world anyway). Nevertheless, you are right that setting the font size won't change the number of bits needed to be sent (font size specifies the size of the representation, not the information itself) therefore it won't change the limit. [[User:Sten|'''S<small>TEN</small>''']] <small>([[User talk:Sten|talk]])</small> 22:12, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Isn't this also a reference to {{w|Jan Sloot}}'s digital compression mechanism where a movie would fit into 8 kbyte? [[User:Kaa-ching|Kaa-ching]] ([[User talk:Kaa-ching|talk]]) 07:36, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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This was my first time editing Explain XKCD, but I fear I may have went too far in replacing the current explanation of the title-text with my own and removing the incomplete tag. Is it OK? [[User:YatharthROCK|YatharthROCK]] ([[User talk:YatharthROCK|talk]]) 08:10, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I think you title text explain seems fine (I have not checked on the Shannon theorem.) But I think it is too soon to make this explain marked as complete. So I have undone that. Great to have one more to edit the explain so keep up the good work. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:46, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Is the problem behind Fermat's Last Theorem "deceptively simple" or "deceptively difficult"? I've never quite worked out which way it should be. Unlike "cheap at half the price" which really should be "cheap at twice the price" and the effect of putting in the word "only" into "glass ... half full/empty". But I bet you all could care less (or, more accurately, "''couldn't'' care less", because you already do not care at all), right? ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.232|141.101.98.232]] 11:44, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:I believe the correct wording would be "deceptively difficult". Deceptively simple would imply that the problem looked quite difficult on the surface, but once work had begun it was found to be quite simple. Fermat's last theorem goes the other way. It is simply stated with very few elements, so it would seem the proof should be easily constructed, but is actually quite difficult. {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.72}}<br />
::Unfortunately "deceptively easy" could also mean the opposite: it's easy, but only as a deception, so it's actually difficult. As of now, not even linguists have settled the question. It is just better to avoid the word unless the context can disambiguate the meaning. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.32|141.101.99.32]] 05:14, 14 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Is it at all possible that the exclamation: "oh," represents the discovery of an earlier proof (perhaps even better than the one purported) all ready in the margin? That would explain the next exclamation: "never mind." This is a comic after all. And what's with the unreadable Lorem Ipsum text (perhaps a proof in itself)? Of course, the unhappy face (after "never mind") is a visual image compression mechanism that may deserve comment as well. [[User:Run, you clever boy|Run, you clever boy]] ([[User talk:Run, you clever boy|talk]]) 14:36, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Why bury descriptions of the beautiful inspiration behind these great comics in an afterthought "trivia" section?<br />
<br />
I think explanations of the beautiful inspirations for these comics (like Fermat's last theorem, here) should be highlighted in the main part of the article, not buried below the transcript and demeaned with the label "trivia". [[User:Nealmcb|Nealmcb]] ([[User talk:Nealmcb|talk]]) 12:46, 13 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Well there is a link from the relevant part. The inspiration of this comic is that someone wrote a statement in a margin and did not have space for the proof. It is not the theorem in it self that is the inspiration. Writing about Phytagoras and formulas in the explain is maybe a little too much. I think it belongs well in the trivia section and it is not buried - with this short transcript you can easily see there is more to the explai. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 05:49, 14 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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"" leading many to believe that he didn't actually possess a (correct) proof"" Of course Fermat did not have a proof. <br />
Was that margin the only free piece of paper in France then? <br />
For that reason in German one does not speak of Fermats "theorems", but the names used are <br />
Fermat's little or resp. big problem. If some nobody had written that margin, of course <br />
that would have been named a conjecture at best. Because Fermat was a real "big shot", <br />
a medium expression is used: "problem". But never theorem, because a theorem without <br />
proof isn't a theorem.<br />
17:18, 14 June 2014 (UTC)[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.138|108.162.254.138]]<br />
:Who says he did not write his proof somewhere else, on a paper that was lost. It is only because the book was easily sored that we have all of Fermat's theorems. There were many in his book, and all of them - including the last - turned out to be true theorems. I do not believe he had the proof - but that is beside the point. If it had been a nobodu, then the book would never have been investigated... Anyway this has of course nothing to do with this explanation - but an interesting observation here in the talk page ;-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:11, 15 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
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What if the margin text is the compiled form of the proof? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.187|141.101.105.187]] 04:46, 15 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Then he would not have written the oh... :( never mind [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:11, 15 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Maybe the "oh... nevermind" is part of the proof... --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.185|108.162.254.185]] 10:31, 15 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::And maybe you had a point, but I'm afraid neither seems very likely ;-) Davii [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.189|141.101.99.189]] 23:49, 15 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
::The "'''oh... :( nevermind'''" is simply the key required to decrypt the proof. {{unsigned ip|103.22.201.239}}<br />
:::You are right, I just decoded it using that key! I'm afraid the full text of the proof is quite large and can't fit here.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.71|108.162.218.71]] 12:58, 24 June 2014 (UTC)</div>108.162.218.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=327:_Exploits_of_a_Mom&diff=63740327: Exploits of a Mom2014-04-01T12:58:21Z<p>108.162.218.71: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 327<br />
| date = October 10, 2007<br />
| title = Exploits of a Mom<br />
| image = exploits_of_a_mom.png<br />
| titletext = Her daughter is named Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The title of this comic is a pun - an exploit can simply mean an accomplishment or heroic deed, but in computer science it means a program or technique that takes advantage of a vulnerability in other software. In fact her exploit is to exploit an exploit (her achievement is to make use of a vulnerability). We can also assume that she regards the name she has given her son as an extraordinary deed.<br />
<br />
[[Mrs. Roberts]] receives a call from her son's school. The caller asked if the she really named her son <code>Robert'); DROP TABLE students;--</code> and the mom claimed that they used the nickname "Little Bobby Tables". As the full name is read into the database without "{{w|Data sanitization#SQL injection|sanitization}}" it causes the student table to be deleted.<br />
<br />
In {{w|SQL}}, commands are separated by semicolons '''<code>;</code>''' and data is often quoted using single quotes '''<code>'</code>'''. Commands may also be enclosed in parentheses '''<code>(</code>''' and '''<code>)</code>'''. Data is stored in tables of similar items (e.g. '''<code>students</code>''') and individual entries are "rows" in the table. To delete an entire table (and every row of data in that table), you use the command '''<code>DROP</code>''' (e.g. '''<code>DROP TABLE students</code>''').<br />
<br />
The '''<code>);</code>''' closes the current command allowing the '''<code>DROP TABLE students;</code>''' command to run. The '''<code>--</code>''' that follows it tells the interpreter to ignore everything after it so that the injection is complete. At the end, the school informs the mom that her exploit was successful and the mom reminds the school to make sure they have added data filtering code to prevent code injection exploits in the future.<br />
<br />
The exploited vulnerability is that the single quote in the name input was not properly "escaped" by the software. Thus, when the name is embedded into some SQL statement, the quote is erroneously parsed as a closing quote inside that statement, rather than being parsed as part of the name. Lack of such escaping is a common SQL vulnerability; this type of exploit is referred to as {{w|SQL injection}}.<br />
<br />
For example, if the site was running PHP, the code might take the student's name in a variable called $student and generate an SQL statement to check that the name is valid, like this:<br />
<br />
$sql = "SELECT * FROM Students WHERE (student_name='" . $student . "')";<br />
<br />
For a student named "Annie", this would give the following SQL command:<br />
<br />
SELECT * FROM Students WHERE (student_name='Annie')<br />
<br />
However, with Mom's exploit, this becomes:<br />
<br />
SELECT * FROM Students WHERE (student_name='Robert'); DROP TABLE Students;--')<br />
<br />
That can be seen as three statements, separated by semicolons: the SELECT which runs as normal; the DROP TABLE command which does the damage; and a comment, which consists of everything from the -- to the end of the line (thus "eating" the "')" characters) and prevents SQL from saying "hold on, there's some goofy syntax in this line".<br />
<br />
For this to work, it helps to know a little about the structure of the database. But it's quite a good guess that a student management database might have a table called "Students". Mom's code also assumes that the person who wrote the SQL used exactly one set of parentheses around "student_name='Robert'"; that might need a little trial and error to get it to work. (Of course, most exploits of this kind are done not by social-engineering the hapless user into typing your kid's funny name, but by getting access to the system yourself and trying lots of combinations until something works, probably starting with an injection of the SHOW TABLES command to see how the database is structured.<br />
<br />
There is a site about preventing SQL injection named http://bobby-tables.com.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to this joke: Someone found a fortune cookie message that reads ''Help! I’m trapped in a fortune cookie factory!''.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Mrs. Roberts receives a call from her son's school.]<br />
:Caller: Hi, This is your son's school. We're having some computer trouble.<br />
<br />
:Mrs. Roberts: Oh, dear - did he break something?<br />
:Caller: In a way -<br />
<br />
:Caller: Did you really name your son <code>Robert'); DROP TABLE students;--</code> ?<br />
:Mrs. Roberts: Oh, yes. Little Bobby Tables, we call him.<br />
<br />
:Caller: Well, we've lost this year's student records. I hope you're happy.<br />
:Mrs. Roberts: And I hope you've learned to sanitize your database inputs.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*[[10: Pi Equals]]'s setting is similar to the title text of this comic.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Mrs. Roberts]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Little Bobby Tables]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Elaine Roberts]]</div>108.162.218.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=327:_Exploits_of_a_Mom&diff=63711327: Exploits of a Mom2014-03-31T21:33:31Z<p>108.162.218.71: /* Explanation */ Added a worked example to show how the injection works. (I hope this isn't counted as cyber-terrorism, showing people how to hack systems)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 327<br />
| date = October 10, 2007<br />
| title = Exploits of a Mom<br />
| image = exploits_of_a_mom.png<br />
| titletext = Her daughter is named Help I'm trapped in a driver's license factory.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The title of this comic is a pun - an exploit can simply mean an accomplishment or heroic deed, but in computer science it means a program or technique that takes advantage of a vulnerability in other software. In fact her exploit is to exploit an exploit (her achievement is to make use of a vulnerability). We can also assume that she regards the name she has given her son as an extraordinary deed.<br />
<br />
[[Mrs. Roberts]] receives a call from her son's school. The caller asked if the she really named her son <code>Robert'); DROP TABLE students;--</code> and the mom claimed that they used the nickname "Little Bobby Tables". As the full name is read into the database without "{{w|Data sanitization#SQL injection|sanitization}}" it causes the student table to be deleted.<br />
<br />
In {{w|SQL}}, commands are separated by semicolons '''<code>;</code>''' and data is often quoted using single quotes '''<code>'</code>'''. Commands may also be enclosed in parentheses '''<code>(</code>''' and '''<code>)</code>'''. Data is stored in tables of similar items (e.g. '''<code>students</code>''') and individual entries are "rows" in the table. To delete an entire table (and every row of data in that table), you use the command '''<code>DROP</code>''' (e.g. '''<code>DROP TABLE students</code>''').<br />
<br />
The '''<code>);</code>''' closes the current command allowing the '''<code>DROP TABLE students;</code>''' command to run. The '''<code>--</code>''' that follows it tells the interpreter to ignore everything after it so that the injection is complete. At the end, the school informs the mom that her exploit was successful and the mom reminds the school to make sure they have added data filtering code to prevent code injection exploits in the future.<br />
<br />
The exploited vulnerability is that the single quote in the name input was not properly "escaped" by the software. Thus, when the name is embedded into some SQL statement, the quote is erroneously parsed as a closing quote inside that statement, rather than being parsed as part of the name. Lack of such escaping is a common SQL vulnerability; this type of exploit is referred to as {{w|SQL injection}}.<br />
<br />
For example, if the site was running PHP, the code might take the student's name in a variable called $student and generate an SQL statement to check that the name is valid, like this:<br />
$sql = "SELECT * FROM Students WHERE (student_name='" . $student . "')";<br />
<br />
For a student named "Annie", this would give the following SQL command:<br />
SELECT * FROM Students WHERE (student_name='Annie')<br />
<br />
However, with Mom's exploit, this becomes:<br />
SELECT * FROM Students WHERE (student_name='Robert'); DROP TABLE Students;--')<br />
<br />
That can be seen as three statements, separated by semicolons: the SELECT which runs as normal; the DROP TABLE command which does the damage; and a comment, which consists of everything from the -- to the end of the line (thus "eating" the "')" characters, and preventing SQL from saying "hold on, there's some goofy syntax in this line".<br />
<br />
For this to work, it helps to know a little about the structure of the database. But it's quite a good guess that a student management database might have a table called "Students". Mom's code also assumes that the person who wrote the SQL used exactly one set of parentheses around "student_name='Robert'"; that might need a little trial and error to get it to work. (Of course, most exploits of this kind are done not by social-engineering the hapless user into typing your kid's funny name, but by getting access to the system yourself and trying lots of combinations until something works, probably starting with an injection of the SHOW TABLES command to see how the database is structured.<br />
<br />
There is a site about preventing SQL injection named http://bobby-tables.com.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to this joke: Someone found a fortune cookie message that reads ''Help! I’m trapped in a fortune cookie factory!''.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Mrs. Roberts receives a call from her son's school.]<br />
:Caller: Hi, This is your son's school. We're having some computer trouble.<br />
<br />
:Mrs. Roberts: Oh, dear - did he break something?<br />
:Caller: In a way -<br />
<br />
:Caller: Did you really name your son <code>Robert'); DROP TABLE students;--</code> ?<br />
:Mrs. Roberts: Oh, yes. Little Bobby Tables, we call him.<br />
<br />
:Caller: Well, we've lost this year's student records. I hope you're happy.<br />
:Mrs. Roberts: And I hope you've learned to sanitize your database inputs.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*[[10: Pi Equals]]'s setting is similar to the title text of this comic.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Mrs. Roberts]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Little Bobby Tables]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Elaine Roberts]]</div>108.162.218.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1331:_Frequency&diff=608571331: Frequency2014-02-23T05:04:50Z<p>108.162.218.71: /* Explanation */ Off by a factor of 10</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1331<br />
| date = February 17, 2014<br />
| title = Frequency<br />
| custom = <center><table><tr><br />
<td>[[File:heartbeat.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[File:birth.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[File:death.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[File:wikipedia.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[File:vibrator.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
</tr><tr><br />
<td>[[ File:car china.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:car japan.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:car germany.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:car us.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:car elsewhere.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
</tr><tr><br />
<td>[[ File:kiss.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:fire dept.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:holeinone.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:turnsignal1.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:turnsignal2.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
</tr><tr><br />
<td>[[ File:earthquake1.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:earthquake2.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:earthquake3.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:earthquake4.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:parliament toilet.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
</tr><tr><br />
<td>[[ File:flight.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:book mockingbird.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:cat mockingbird.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:phoenixshoes.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:phoenix.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
</tr><tr><br />
<td>[[ File:keys.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:amelia.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:dogbite.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:bike.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:eagle.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
</tr><tr><br />
<td>[[ File:bottles.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:recycled.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:meteor.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:oldfaithful.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:shark.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
</tr><tr><br />
<td>[[ File:us cancer.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:us cancer death.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:dog.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:cat.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:wedding.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
</tr><tr><br />
<td>[[ File:domain.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:house.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:tattoo.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:pulsar.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:facebook.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
</tr><tr><br />
<td>[[ File:iphone.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:littleleague.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:ndsex.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:bieber.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
<td>[[ File:denverpizza.gif|This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.]]</td><br />
</tr></table></center><br />
| titletext = This comic shows estimated average frequency. I wanted to include the pitch drop experiment, but it turns out the gif format has some issues with decade-long loops.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Incomplete.}}<br />
This comic shows a number of common events, arranged in a grid. Each of the events flashes with their average frequency.<br />
<br />
For example, statistically a child is born somewhere on the world approximately every 0.24 seconds, or four times per second. Therefore the tile "One birth" blinks about 4 times per second.<br />
<br />
The table below lists all the events and their duration / frequency. Some events make reference to other comics.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the {{w|Pitch drop experiment}} which measures the flow of a piece of pitch over many years. At room temperature, tar pitch flows at a very slow rate, taking several years to form a single drop. The title text jokes that Randall tried to include a tile that flashes about once every {{w|decade|ten years}}, but the tiles are all {{w|Animated GIF|animated GIFs}} and while the file format supports animations of any length, the resulting file would be too big (at least 10 megabytes).<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
!class="unsortable"|Picture <br />
!class="unsortable"|Text<br />
!Period (seconds)<br />
!Frequency (per&nbsp;minute)<br />
!Frequency (per year,<br>N/I = not interesting)<br />
!class="unsortable"|Explanation and/or references to other comics.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:heartbeat.gif]]<br />
|Heartbeat||style="text-align:right;"|0.86||style="text-align:right;"|70||style="text-align:right;"|33,000,000||The typical resting {{w|heart rate}} in adults is 60–80 beats per minute (bpm).<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:birth.gif]]<br />
|One birth||style="text-align:right;"|0.24||style="text-align:right;"|250||style="text-align:right;"|131,490,000|| <br />
|-<br />
|[[File:death.gif]]<br />
|One death||style="text-align:right;"|0.56||style="text-align:right;"|107||style="text-align:right;"|56,360,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:wikipedia.gif]]<br />
|Someone&nbsp;edits&nbsp;Wikipedia||style="text-align:right;"|0.67||style="text-align:right;"|90||style="text-align:right;"|47,100,000||{{w|Wikipedia}} is an online, freely editable encyclopedia.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:vibrator.gif]]<br />
|Someone buys a vibrator||style="text-align:right;"|2.99||style="text-align:right;"|20||style="text-align:right;"|10,550,000 || <br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:car china.gif ]]<br />
|China builds a car||style="text-align:right;"|1.89||style="text-align:right;"|32||style="text-align:right;"|16,700,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:car japan.gif ]]<br />
|Japan builds a car||style="text-align:right;"|4.01||style="text-align:right;"|15||style="text-align:right;"|7,870,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:car germany.gif ]]<br />
|Germany builds a car||style="text-align:right;"|5.8||style="text-align:right;"|10||style="text-align:right;"|5,440,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:car us.gif ]]<br />
|The US builds a car||style="text-align:right;"|6.95||style="text-align:right;"|8.6||style="text-align:right;"|4,540,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:car elsewhere.gif ]]<br />
|Someone else builds a car||style="text-align:right;"|1.03||style="text-align:right;"|58||style="text-align:right;"|30,640,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:kiss.gif ]]<br />
|A&nbsp;European&nbsp;Union&nbsp;resident has their first kiss||style="text-align:right;"|5.53||style="text-align:right;"|11||style="text-align:right;"|5,700,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:fire dept.gif ]]<br />
|A US fire department puts out a fire||style="text-align:right;"|23||style="text-align:right;"|2.6||style="text-align:right;"|1,370,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:holeinone.gif ]]<br />
|Someone hits a hole-in-one||style="text-align:right;"|180||style="text-align:right;"|.3<br>(20&nbsp;per&nbsp;hour)||style="text-align:right;"|175,320||A {{w|hole in one}} is a feat in {{w|golf}} in which the player hits the ball directly from the tee into the cup with one shot.<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:turnsignal1.gif ]]<br />
|My turn signal blinks||style="text-align:right;"|0.94||style="text-align:right;"|64||style="text-align:right;"|N/I||This, together with "The turn signal of the car in front of me blinks", forms a reference to [[165: Turn Signals]].<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:turnsignal2.gif ]]<br />
|The turn signal of the car in front of me blinks||style="text-align:right;"|0.9||style="text-align:right;"|67||style="text-align:right;"|N/I||This, together with "My turn signal blinks", forms a reference to [[165: Turn Signals]].<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:earthquake1.gif ]]<br />
|Earthquake (magnitude 1)||style="text-align:right;"|2.43||style="text-align:right;"|25||style="text-align:right;"|13,000,000|| [[711: Seismograph]]<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:earthquake2.gif ]]<br />
|Earthquake (magnitude 2)||style="text-align:right;"|24.26||style="text-align:right;"|2.5||style="text-align:right;"|1,300,000|| Review [http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/#%7B%22feed%22%3A%221day_all%22%2C%22search%22%3Anull%2C%22sort%22%3A%22largest%22%2C%22basemap%22%3A%22grayscale%22%2C%22autoUpdate%22%3Atrue%2C%22restrictListToMap%22%3Atrue%2C%22timeZone%22%3A%22local%22%2C%22mapposition%22%3A%5B%5B-84.47406458459159%2C-25.6640625%5D%2C%5B84.4740645845916%2C425.390625%5D%5D%2C%22overlays%22%3A%7B%22plates%22%3Atrue%7D%2C%22viewModes%22%3A%7B%22map%22%3Atrue%2C%22list%22%3Atrue%2C%22settings%22%3Atrue%2C%22help%22%3Afalse%7D%7D USGS's Quake Map] for verification.<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:earthquake3.gif ]]<br />
|Earthquake (magnitude 3)||style="text-align:right;"|242.6||style="text-align:right;"|4<br>(15&nbsp;per&nbsp;hour)||style="text-align:right;"|130,000|| [[1037: Umwelt#Earthquake-Blizzard|1037: Umwelt]]<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:earthquake4.gif ]]<br />
|Earthquake (magnitude 4)||style="text-align:right;"|2426||style="text-align:right;"|40<br>(1.5&nbsp;per hour)||style="text-align:right;"|13,000|| [[723: Seismic Waves]]; below this magnitude earthquakes pass by largely unnoticed by Tweeters.[http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/mag_vs_int.php]<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:parliament toilet.gif ]]<br />
|A member of the UK parliament flushes a toilet||style="text-align:right;"|10.06||style="text-align:right;"|6||style="text-align:right;"|3,140,000||Note that probably during the daytime in Britain such a toilet is flushed 8.5 times per minute, while at night it is flushed only 1 time per minute.<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:flight.gif ]]<br />
|An airline flight takes off||style="text-align:right;"|0.93||style="text-align:right;"|65||style="text-align:right;"|34,000,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:book mockingbird.gif ]]<br />
|Someone buys ''To Kill a Mockingbird''||style="text-align:right;"|42.05||style="text-align:right;"|1.4||style="text-align:right;"|750,000||“{{w|To Kill a Mockingbird}}” is a novel by {{w|Harper Lee}}, often an assigned reading in high school.<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:cat mockingbird.gif ]]<br />
|Someone's pet cat kills a mockingbird||style="text-align:right;"|1.82||style="text-align:right;"|33||style="text-align:right;"|17,340,000||Whereas the previous item references the well-known book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, this one talks about {{w|Mockingbird|mockingbirds}} being literally killed (in this case, by cats). There are 45 million mockingbirds in the world;[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Mimus_polyglottos/] this means that according to Randall, cats kill 39% of mockingbirds in one year, i.e. in 2.5 years they are able to kill all mockingbirds (excluding the ones that are born in the meantime). <br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:phoenixshoes.gif ]]<br />
|Someone in Phoenix buys new shoes||style="text-align:right;"|1.08||style="text-align:right;"|56||style="text-align:right;"|29,200,000||Since {{w|Phoenix metropolitan area|metro Phoenix}} has 4,200,000 inhabitants, according to Randall people in Phoenix buy 7 pairs of shoes per capita per year. <br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:phoenix.gif ]]<br />
|Someone in Phoenix puts on a condom||style="text-align:right;"|2.05||style="text-align:right;"|29||style="text-align:right;"|15,390,000|| ''Buy two pair of shoes, get a free condom''? <br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:keys.gif ]]<br />
|Someone locks their keys in their car||style="text-align:right;"|2.43||style="text-align:right;"|25||style="text-align:right;"|13,000,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:amelia.gif ]]<br />
|A Sagittarius named Amelia drinks a soda||style="text-align:right;"|7.79||style="text-align:right;"|7.7||style="text-align:right;"|4,000,000||Randall Munroe is a [http://blog.xkcd.com/2014/01/31/the-baby-name-wizard/ fan of The Baby Name Wizard] blog and its [http://www.babynamewizard.com Name Voyager] tool which shows that "[http://www.babynamewizard.com/baby-name/girl/amelia Amelia]" has recently exploded in popularity.<br /><br />
This particular frequency is taken from:<br />
* The number of persons called {{w|Amelia_(given_name)|Amelia}} ([http://howmanyofme.com/ est. 82,572 people in the U.S.])<br />
* The number of persons born between November 22<sup>nd</sup> and December 22<sup>nd</sup> under the astrological sign of {{w|Sagittarius (astrology)|Sagittarius}} (~1/12th of the population, i.e. approximately 6881 Amelias in the U.S.) <br />
* The frequency of soda (soft drinks) being drunk (216 liters per person per year in the U.S.[http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_sof_dri_con-food-soft-drink-consumption]). <br />
According to our figures, 6881 Amelias drink 1,44 million liters of soft drinks per year in the United States alone, which means that Randall's figures only account for American Amelias (drinking 356&nbsp;cc or 12&nbsp;fl.&nbsp;oz. of soda in each drink).<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:dogbite.gif ]]<br />
|A dog bites someone in the US||style="text-align:right;"|7.01||style="text-align:right;"|8.6||style="text-align:right;"|4,500,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:bike.gif ]]<br />
|Someone steals a bicycle||style="text-align:right;"|24.93||style="text-align:right;"|2.4||style="text-align:right;"|1,265,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:eagle.gif ]]<br />
|A bald eagle catches a fish||style="text-align:right;"|2.69||style="text-align:right;"|22||style="text-align:right;"|11,700,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:bottles.gif ]]<br />
|50,000 plastic bottles are produced||style="text-align:right;"|1.27||style="text-align:right;"|47||style="text-align:right;"|1.24 trillion||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:recycled.gif ]]<br />
|50,000 plastic bottles are recycled||style="text-align:right;"|4.64||style="text-align:right;"|13||style="text-align:right;"|340 billion||27% of the plastic bottles manufactured get [[885: Recycling|recycled]]<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:meteor.gif ]]<br />
|A bright meteor is visible somewhere||style="text-align:right;"|1.15||style="text-align:right;"|52||style="text-align:right;"|N/I||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:oldfaithful.gif ]]<br />
|Old Faithful erupts||style="text-align:right;"|5640<br>(94 minutes)||style="text-align:right;"|94<br>(15&nbsp;per&nbsp;day)||style="text-align:right;"|5,595||{{w|Old Faithful}} is a geyser in {{w|Yellowstone National Park}} in the US, that tends to erupt every 65 or 91 minutes. XKCD's period of 1h&nbsp;34m falls between the [http://geysertimes.org/getGeyserInfo.php?geyserID=2 mean and median of recent Old Faithful eruptions] and corresponds to a [http://geysertimes.org/getSingleEruption.php?id=645135 February 16, 2014 eruption].<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:shark.gif ]]<br />
|A fishing boat catches a shark||style="text-align:right;"|0.83||style="text-align:right;"|72||style="text-align:right;"|38,000,000|| [[1326: Sharks]]; Shark populations have experienced severe declines due to fishing impacts both of {{w|shark finning|finning}} and by-catch.[http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=shark+population+decline+fishing]<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:us cancer.gif ]]<br />
|Someone in the US is diagnosed with cancer||style="text-align:right;"|18.99||style="text-align:right;"|3.2||style="text-align:right;"|1,660,000|| [[881: Probability]]<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:us cancer death.gif ]]<br />
|Someone in the US dies from cancer||style="text-align:right;"|54.34||style="text-align:right;"|1.1||style="text-align:right;"|580,000|| [[881: Probability]] <br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:dog.gif ]]<br />
|Someone adopts a dog from a shelter||style="text-align:right;"|15.6||style="text-align:right;"|3.8||style="text-align:right;"|2,000,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:cat.gif ]]<br />
|Someone adopts a cat from a shelter||style="text-align:right;"|21.3||style="text-align:right;"|2.8||style="text-align:right;"|1,5000,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:wedding.gif ]]<br />
|Someone gets married||style="text-align:right;"|0.75||style="text-align:right;"|80||style="text-align:right;"|42,000,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:domain.gif ]]<br />
|Someone registers a domain||style="text-align:right;"|0.64||style="text-align:right;"|94||style="text-align:right;"|49,300,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:house.gif ]]<br />
|Someone in the US buys a house||style="text-align:right;"|6.22||style="text-align:right;"|9.6||style="text-align:right;"|5,000,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:tattoo.gif ]]<br />
|Someone in the US gets a tattoo||style="text-align:right;"|2.06||style="text-align:right;"|29||style="text-align:right;"|15,300,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:pulsar.gif ]]<br />
|The star PSR J1748-2446AD rotates 1,000 times||style="text-align:right;"|1.4||style="text-align:right;"|42.9||style="text-align:right;"|N/I||{{w|PSR J1748-2446ad}} is the fastest spinning {{w|pulsar}} known.<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:facebook.gif ]]<br />
|Someone lies about their age to sign up for Facebook||style="text-align:right;"|4.32||style="text-align:right;"|14||style="text-align:right;"|600,000<br>per month||To sign up for Facebook, [https://www.facebook.com/help/210644045634222 the user must claim to be at least 13 years old]. This is a reflection of the U.S. {{w|Children's Online Privacy Protection Act}}.<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:iphone.gif ]]<br />
|Someone breaks an iPhone screen||style="text-align:right;"|0.93||style="text-align:right;"|65||style="text-align:right;"|34,000,000||<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:littleleague.gif ]]<br />
|A Little League player strikes out||style="text-align:right;"|1.23||style="text-align:right;"|49||style="text-align:right;"|N/I||{{w|Little League Baseball|Little League}} is a system of local youth baseball and softball competitions. A {{w|strikeout}} is a situation in baseball and softball.<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:ndsex.gif ]]<br />
|Someone has sex in North Dakota||style="text-align:right;"|1.38||style="text-align:right;"|43||style="text-align:right;"|22,900,000||Since {{w|North Dakota}} has 723,000 inhabitants (ranked the 48th state), and if we estimate the sexually active population as 80% (and if ''someone'' means ''a couple)'' this means that people in North Dakota have sex 79.1 times a year. It is estimated that 3.93% of the world population has sex on a given day;[http://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/geographyofsex.htm] Randall's rate for North Dakota is 17.3% which is not low.<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:bieber.gif ]]<br />
|Justin Bieber gains a follower on Twitter||style="text-align:right;"|4.73||style="text-align:right;"|13||style="text-align:right;"|556,000<br>per month|| [[802: Online Communities 2#Twitter Region|802: Online Communities 2]]; &nbsp;{{w|Justin Bieber}} is a Canadian pop music singer whose [https://twitter.com/justinbieber Twitter account] is extremely popular<br />
|-<br />
|[[ File:denverpizza.gif ]]<br />
|Someone in Denver orders pizza||style="text-align:right;"|1.27||style="text-align:right;"|47||style="text-align:right;"|2,000,000|| <br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Repetitive events are written in grey and arranged in a grid. Each statement pulses to black and then returns to grey at an interval characteristic of the named event.]<br />
<br />
{| style="text-align:center;"<br />
|- style="vertical-align: top; background-color:#eeeeee;"<br />
|Heartbeat<br/>(0.86 sec)<br />
|One birth<br/>(0.24 sec)<br />
|One death<br/>(0.56 sec)<br />
|Someone edits Wikipedia<br/>(0.67 sec)<br />
|Someone buys a vibrator<br/>(2.99 sec)<br />
|- style="vertical-align: top;"<br />
|China builds a car<br/>(1.89 sec)<br />
|Japan builds a car<br/>(4.01 sec)<br />
|Germany builds a car<br/>(5.8 sec)<br />
|The US builds a car<br/>(6.95 sec)<br />
|Someone else builds a car<br/>(1.03 sec)<br />
|- style="vertical-align: top; background-color:#eeeeee;"<br />
|A European Union resident has their first kiss<br/>(5.53 sec)<br />
|A US fire department puts out a fire<br/>(23 sec)<br />
|Someone hits a hole-in-one<br/>(180 sec)<br />
|My turn signal blinks<br/>(0.94 sec)<br />
|The turn signal of the car in front of me blinks<br/>(0.9 sec)<br />
|- style="vertical-align: top;"<br />
|Earthquake (magnitude 1)<br/>(2.43 sec)<br />
|Earthquake (magnitude 2)<br/>(24.26 sec)<br />
|Earthquake (magnitude 3)<br/>(242.6 sec)<br />
|Earthquake (magnitude 4)<br/>(2426 sec, 42 min)<br />
|Member of the UK Parliament flushes a toilet<br/>(10.06 sec)<br />
|- style="vertical-align: top; background-color:#eeeeee;"<br />
|An airline flight takes off<br/>(0.93 sec)<br />
|Someone buys ''To Kill a Mockingbird''<br/>(42.05 sec)<br />
|Someone's pet cat kills a mockingbird<br/>(1.82 sec)<br />
|Someone in Phoenix buys new shoes<br/>(1.08 sec)<br />
|Someone in Phoenix puts on a condom<br/>(2.05 sec)<br />
|- style="vertical-align: top;"<br />
|Someone locks their keys in their car<br/>(2.43 sec)<br />
|A Sagittarius named Amelia drinks a soda<br/>(7.79 sec)<br />
|A dog bites someone in the US<br/>(7.01 sec)<br />
|Someone steals a bicycle<br/>(24.93 sec)<br />
|A bald eagle catches a fish<br/>(2.69 sec)<br />
|- style="vertical-align: top; background-color:#eeeeee;"<br />
|50,000 plastic bottles are produced<br/>(1.27 sec)<br />
|50,000 plastic bottles are recycled<br/>(4.64 sec)<br />
|A bright meteor is visible somewhere<br/>(1.15 sec)<br />
|Old Faithful erupts<br/>(5640 sec, 94 min)<br />
|A fishing boat catches a shark<br/>(0.83 sec)<br />
|- style="vertical-align: top;"<br />
|Someone in the US is diagnosed with cancer<br/>(18.99 sec)<br />
|Someone in the US dies from cancer<br/>(54.34 sec)<br />
|Someone adopts a dog from a shelter<br/>(15.6 sec)<br />
|Someone adopts a cat from a shelter<br/>(21.3 sec)<br />
|Someone gets married<br/>(0.75 sec)<br />
|- style="vertical-align: top; background-color:#eeeeee;"<br />
|Someone registers a domain<br/>(0.64 sec)<br />
|Someone in the US buys a house<br/>(6.22 sec)<br />
|Someone in the US gets a tattoo<br/>(2.06 sec)<br />
|The star ''PSR J1748-2446ad'' rotates 1,000 times<br/>(1.4 sec)<br />
|Someone lies about their age to sign up for Facebook<br/>(4.32 sec)<br />
|- style="vertical-align: top;"<br />
|Someone breaks an iPhone screen<br/>(0.93 sec)<br />
|A little league player strikes out<br/>(1.23 sec)<br />
|Someone has sex in North Dakota<br/>(1.38 sec)<br />
|Justin Bieber gains a follower on Twitter<br/>(4.73 sec)<br />
|Someone in Denver orders a pizza<br/>(1.27 sec)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]<br />
[[Category:Charts]]</div>108.162.218.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1063:_Kill_Hitler&diff=591491063: Kill Hitler2014-02-01T19:32:14Z<p>108.162.218.71: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1063<br />
| date = June 1, 2012<br />
| title = Kill Hitler<br />
| image = kill_hitler.png<br />
| titletext = Revised directive: It is forbidden for you to interfere with human history until you've at least taken a class on it.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Explanation ==<br />
{{incomplete|Just language, the parenthesis sections should be moved to some sentences. Some more links would be helpful.}}<br />
[[Black Hat]] creates a one-use time machine. [[Cueball]] selects the most common suggestion for Time Machine usage: killing {{w|Adolf Hitler}}. Black Hat finally relents and goes to kill Hitler. However, he goes to April 30th, 1945, when Hitler, holed up in his command bunker as Soviet troops approached, shot himself in real life. This is typical Black Hat behavior, going out of his way just to troll people like Cueball, in this case deliberately ''not'' changing any history or avoiding any of the atrocities carried out by Nazi Germany. Though that might be for the best, since [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct killing Hitler early might cause more problems than it would solve].<br />
<br />
Incidentally, there are conspiracy theories that Hitler was shot by someone other than himself. Also, "brb" is an abbreviation used in internet slang that stands for "be right back".<br />
<br />
The title text also refers to the time travel theme from the {{w|Superman}} movie in which Jor-El states: "It is forbidden for you to interfere with human history".<br />
<br />
== Transcript ==<br />
:[Black Hat and Cueball stand in front of a double door, which bears the label 'TIME door'. Black Hat has his hands on his hips.]<br />
:Black Hat: I finished my time machine, but it's one-use only.<br />
:Cueball: You ''gotta'' kill Hitler.<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of Black Hat, one hand palm upward.]<br />
:Black Hat: Why are you so obsessed with this Hitler guy? We have ''all'' of ''time'' we could explore!<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of Cueball with both hands palm upward.]<br />
:Cueball: He's evil incarnate! He murdered millions and sparked global war! ''Everyone'' agrees -- if you get a time machine, you kill Hitler.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat enters the now open Time door as the other man looks on..]<br />
:Black Hat: Fine, fine, I get it! Calm down. BRB, killing Hitler.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat returns and shuts the door, Cueball has outstretched arms.]<br />
:Black Hat: There. Done. Are you happy? <br />
:Cueball: ''Thank'' you.<br />
:Black Hat: He was in some kind of bunker. 1945 was ''loud!''<br />
:Cueball: '''''NO!'''''<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Hitler]]</div>108.162.218.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1063:_Kill_Hitler&diff=591481063: Kill Hitler2014-02-01T19:31:29Z<p>108.162.218.71: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1063<br />
| date = June 1, 2012<br />
| title = Kill Hitler<br />
| image = kill_hitler.png<br />
| titletext = Revised directive: It is forbidden for you to interfere with human history until you've at least taken a class on it.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Explanation ==<br />
{{incomplete|Just language, the parenthesis sections should be moved to some sentences. Some more links would be helpful.}}<br />
[[Black Hat]] creates a one-use time machine. [[Cueball]] selects the most common suggestion for Time Machine usage: killing {{w|Adolf Hitler}}. Black Hat finally relents and goes to kill Hitler. However, he goes to April 30th, 1945, when Hitler, holed up in his command bunker as Soviet troops approached, shot himself in real life. This is typical Black Hat behavior, going out of his way just to troll people like Cueball, in this case deliberately ''not'' changing any history or avoiding any of the atrocities carried out by Nazi Germany. Though that might be for the best, since [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct killing Hitler early might cause more problems than it would solve]].<br />
<br />
Incidentally, there are conspiracy theories that Hitler was shot by someone other than himself. Also, "brb" is an abbreviation used in internet slang that stands for "be right back".<br />
<br />
The title text also refers to the time travel theme from the {{w|Superman}} movie in which Jor-El states: "It is forbidden for you to interfere with human history".<br />
<br />
== Transcript ==<br />
:[Black Hat and Cueball stand in front of a double door, which bears the label 'TIME door'. Black Hat has his hands on his hips.]<br />
:Black Hat: I finished my time machine, but it's one-use only.<br />
:Cueball: You ''gotta'' kill Hitler.<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of Black Hat, one hand palm upward.]<br />
:Black Hat: Why are you so obsessed with this Hitler guy? We have ''all'' of ''time'' we could explore!<br />
<br />
:[Close-up of Cueball with both hands palm upward.]<br />
:Cueball: He's evil incarnate! He murdered millions and sparked global war! ''Everyone'' agrees -- if you get a time machine, you kill Hitler.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat enters the now open Time door as the other man looks on..]<br />
:Black Hat: Fine, fine, I get it! Calm down. BRB, killing Hitler.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat returns and shuts the door, Cueball has outstretched arms.]<br />
:Black Hat: There. Done. Are you happy? <br />
:Cueball: ''Thank'' you.<br />
:Black Hat: He was in some kind of bunker. 1945 was ''loud!''<br />
:Cueball: '''''NO!'''''<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Hitler]]</div>108.162.218.71