https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=162.158.214.88&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T12:07:14ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2285:_Recurring_Nightmare&diff=189169Talk:2285: Recurring Nightmare2020-03-26T11:23:41Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Could it just be that Megan is anthrophobic? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.247|162.158.62.247]] 16:22, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
:She's friendly (and socially proximate) enough with Cueball. That said, I know first hand how one can be asocial in general (in the verging on mildly enochlophobic sense) and still somehow tolerate acquaintances acquired in familial or vocational settings. (I'm pretty sure it's the obvious current mass nosophobic tendency being referenced, myself. If not, it's a far more complicated joke than it needs to be.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.222|162.158.34.222]] 19:26, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
::To misquote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, no, that's just the normal paranoia we all have- a couple of million years of strangers killing everybody in the tribe, leaves the survivors with a deep set instinct identifying and running away from .... strangers [[User:Seeberboringert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 21:16, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
This is an instructive video [https://youtu.be/WinPcASr8xw Why the US already practiced social distancing before coronavirus] [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 21:16, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
"Revise" seems to be British for "study." So if u 4got to revise /study, and show up in class with without a pencil and naked just tell the people that u r dreaming and as soon as the dream gets interesting you will wake up, because your dreams are boring. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.236|108.162.216.236]] 21:50, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
:I think you'll find the word in the comment is "REALIZE"[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 21:53, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
:: I'm sure I won't. Qwotegeneral "forgotten to revise for the exam"endqwote is from the explain.<br />
Please be aware that "revise" means "edit, generally to make the text conform to a belief" to me, while to a Britisher it means what "do homework" or "study" means to me.<br />
<br />
These comments about "revise" make absolutely NO sense!![[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 11:23, 26 March 2020 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2285:_Recurring_Nightmare&diff=189168Talk:2285: Recurring Nightmare2020-03-26T11:22:32Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Could it just be that Megan is anthrophobic? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.247|162.158.62.247]] 16:22, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
:She's friendly (and socially proximate) enough with Cueball. That said, I know first hand how one can be asocial in general (in the verging on mildly enochlophobic sense) and still somehow tolerate acquaintances acquired in familial or vocational settings. (I'm pretty sure it's the obvious current mass nosophobic tendency being referenced, myself. If not, it's a far more complicated joke than it needs to be.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.222|162.158.34.222]] 19:26, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
::To misquote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, no, that's just the normal paranoia we all have- a couple of million years of strangers killing everybody in the tribe, leaves the survivors with a deep set instinct identifying and running away from .... strangers [[User:Seeberboringert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 21:16, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
This is an instructive video [https://youtu.be/WinPcASr8xw Why the US already practiced social distancing before coronavirus] [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 21:16, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
"Revise" seems to be British for "study." So if u 4got to revise /study, and show up in class with without a pencil and naked just tell the people that u r dreaming and as soon as the dream gets interesting you will wake up, because your dreams are boring. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.236|108.162.216.236]] 21:50, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
:I think you'll find the word in the comment is "REALIZE"[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 21:53, 25 March 2020 (UTC)<br />
:: I'm sure I won't. Qwotegeneral "forgotten to revise for the exam"endqwote is from the explain.<br />
Please be aware that "revise" means "edit, generally to make the text conform to a belief" to me, while to a Britisher it means what "do homework" or "study" means to me.<br />
These comments about "revise" make absolutely NO sense!![[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 11:22, 26 March 2020 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2280:_2010_and_2020&diff=1886642280: 2010 and 20202020-03-14T15:54:44Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2280<br />
| date = March 13, 2020<br />
| title = 2010 and 2020<br />
| image = 2010_and_2020.png<br />
| titletext = 2030: "I just bought a house for one bitcoin. No, it's the equivalent of a dollar. Houses are often transferred for a nominal fee because the buyer is taking responsibility for containing the holo-banshees in the attic."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a SARS-CoV-2 VIRUS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is the sixth comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] (with at least six in a row) about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}. <br />
<br />
[[White Hat]], who lives in 2010, and [[Cueball]], who lives in 2020, are in contact with each other via some kind of time travel. White Hat wants to learn about life in 2020 and is particularly interested in {{w|bitcoin}}, a decentralized {{w|cryptocurrency}} which was released in 2009, and whether it had become an acceptable currency. Cueball answers that bitcoin still exists, and that he just bought a bottle of {{w|hand sanitizer}} for the price of one bitcoin. White Hat probably assumes that bitcoin is a widely accepted currency worth a few dollars, and thinks that the situation is "normal". (In April 2010, one bitcoin was worth about 14 cents.)<br />
<br />
At the time of this comic, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, commonly known as "the coronavirus", is spreading around the world, causing thousands of people to die and billions to panic. This increased the demand for hygiene products, including hand sanitizers, and therefore their price has increased. It also triggered a panic on financial markets, including severe devaluation of the infamously volatile bitcoin. Despite the crash, one bitcoin was still worth about $5,400 on the day this strip was published, not a few dollars. Therefore, buying a hand sanitizer for one bitcoin is not as normal as White Hat assumes.<br />
<br />
The price of hand sanitizer has not reached the price of a bitcoin (yet), although some people on sites such as {{w|Amazon.com}} are attempting to sell it for ludicrous amounts and there are attempts by Amazon, eBay, and other selling platforms, as well as potential legislation, aimed at curtailing such {{w|price gouging}}.<br />
<br />
The title text claims that, in 2030, bitcoin will again be worth about one dollar, but houses will also be worth only one dollar due to the difficulty inherent in containing "holo-banshees" in the attic. What a holo-banshee is is not explained, but one can guess as to what it might mean. "Holo" is generally short for {{w|hologram}} and typically denotes some kind of 3D looking digital visual form, and a "{{w|banshee}}" is a mythological wailing creature or spirit. So even if not a physical object, constant shrieking would be undesirable.<br />
<br />
If holo-banshees were present in every house, then a person would have no choice but to live in a house with them (or live somewhere that is not a house, or die). However, since the text specifically states that they are "in the attic", houses without attics would not have holo-banshees and would sell for much higher prices. Therefore, it might be only the houses with attics that are so cheap. (In this situation, a profit could be made by renovating houses to remove the attics or by tearing down houses with attics and building new ones without attics to replace them. However, doing so might be illegal due to laws either meant to protect the holo-banshees or meant to keep them from escaping, or impractical due to the interference of the holo-banshees themselves.)<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[White Hat and Cueball are walking to the right of the panel. There is a gray outline around Cueball, indicating he is from the future]<br />
:White Hat: What are things like ten years from now in 2020?<br />
:White Hat: We have this new "bitcoin" thing &mdash; does it ever catch on and become normal?<br />
<br />
:[A frameless panel, with White Hat and Cueball still walking to the right.]<br />
:Cueball: It's still around. I just bought a bottle of hand sanitizer for one bitcoin.<br />
<br />
:[A regular panel, with them continuing to walk]<br />
:White Hat: Cool, that sounds pretty normal.<br />
:Cueball: Well, here's the thing...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:COVID-19]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category: Time travel]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:64:_Solar_Plexus&diff=188259Talk:64: Solar Plexus2020-03-07T00:12:13Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div>This comic is unique (or, if not unique, certainly uncommon) in the continuity of XKCD in that it relies purely on physical humor of a sort that usually belongs to more lowbrow comics, TV shows or movies. Most of XKCD's humor is based on cleverness, curiosity, social frustrations or quirks, or analysis of our world – comparatively "intellectual" humor. In this comic, none of that is present; instead, the only "joke" centers around Cueball being physically assaulted. Interesting. [[Special:Contributions/71.201.53.130|71.201.53.130]] 14:32, 13 September 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Well there is [[677]] "Green Flash", in which the only "joke" centers around the idea of Black Hat knocking Cueball unconscious so he can steal his car. And I believe there are any number of comics where one of the protagonists is pummeled or otherwise harmed, either on or off panel, with the intent that we laugh at it. I believe there is a continuum of such humor in xkcd, along with all the "intellectual" humor as well. I don't think this one is interesting on that particular basis. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 01:48, 1 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
::No no, 677 is the one where [[Beret Guy]] gets a backhoe and hits [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] with the digger. I think you're referring to [[766]]. <small>[[User:MrGameZone|0100011101100001011011010110010101011010011011110110111001100101]] ([[User talk:MrGameZone|talk page]])</small> 20:56, 12 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::I might be a year late, but might I point you in the direction of [[1318]], <small>[[User:MrGameZone|0100011101100001011011010110010101000010011011110110111001100101]]</small>. <br />
:::[[User:Kentwashere|kentwashere]] ([[User talk:Kentwashere|talk page]]) 18:56, 21 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
::::Why would you? It has nothing to do with this one. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 11:11, 8 June 2018 (UTC)<br />
I don't think blackhat is at a loss to finish the joke. Based on his personality, the punchline to the solar plexus joke was literally a punch to the solar plexus. {{unsigned|Flewk}}<br />
This might be a reference to Wayne's World with "a sphincter says what"</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2273:_Truck_Proximity&diff=187798Talk:2273: Truck Proximity2020-02-26T22:18:32Z<p>162.158.214.88: X/Y Axes to be swapped, not changed +/-</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Lots of dinosaurs driving equipment on a farm out there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bUmxUWs1Uk or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmgHz8zBZlk [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.97|173.245.52.97]] 20:47, 26 February 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Can see a strong argument that Randall got the axes wrong here... [[User:Heylukeatthat|Heylukeatthat]] ([[User talk:Heylukeatthat|talk]]) 21:09, 26 February 2020 (UTC)<br />
:How so? I don't see it... There are people with truck-related hobbies who know more info about trucks than the frequency of their proximity to them might demand; which accounts for the asymmetry in the upper-right cluster. Having kids (especially male children raised with heteronormative socially dimorphic entertainment sets, which frequently adhere to traditional social expectations of "stuff for boys") ''definitely'' increases one's exposure to truck-related topics. What's the case for the axes being reversed? <br />
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 21:30, 26 February 2020 (UTC)<br />
::I just read his comment as suggesting the x and y axes should be swapped, where 'proximity to trucks' should be on the x-axis. I'd agree that conventionally that would make more sense, and it was likely done this way to impact the 'reading order' of the clusters for comic effect. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 22:18, 26 February 2020 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2267:_Blockchain&diff=187184Talk:2267: Blockchain2020-02-12T22:56:44Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
I wonder if this is inspired by Jimmy Wales mocking the idea that Wikipedia should use blockchain on Twitter the other day: [https://twitter.com/jimmy_wales/status/1226868636020805632] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 22:56, 12 February 2020 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2258:_Solar_System_Changes&diff=1863322258: Solar System Changes2020-01-23T06:08:31Z<p>162.158.214.88: acid rain, saturn's rings, and super earth's.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2258<br />
| date = January 22, 2020<br />
| title = Solar System Changes<br />
| image = solar_system_changes.png<br />
| titletext = "Actually, Jupiter already has a very impressive ring system!" --someone who knows Jupiter is within earshot<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MYSTERIOUS PLANET. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic proposes changing the Solar System in a way that would be impossible in practice. In doing so, it and the title text anthropomorphize several of the planets, pretending that they have feelings that could be hurt. <br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Proposed change !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|This comic may alternatively be about climate change || Something about satire, metaphors, acid rain, super-Earths, current-events, the nature of rings surrounding planets & extinction level events. I don't know. Don't listen to me. <br />
|-<br />
| Add mysterious planets inside Mercury's orbit || In the 19th century, scientists found discrepancies between Mercury's predicted orbit and observations. They proposed a hypothetical planet, {{w|Vulcan (hypothetical planet)|Vulcan}}, to account for this discrepancy. After general relativity was discovered by Albert Einstein in the 20th century, it was found to account for these discrepancies.<br />
|-<br />
| After what it's been through, Venus deserves rings and a moon || Billions of years ago, Venus and Earth are believed to have been almost identical objects orbiting the Sun. However, orbiting somewhat closer to the Sun, Venus became sufficiently hot that its oceans evaporated, cloaking the surface with gases that caused the Sun's heat to become trapped. This made the planet even hotter, causing a [https://www.xkcd.com/1519/ runaway greenhouse effect], and ultimately Venus became very much hotter than the Earth. On top of that, Venus was almost certainly hit by an enormous object, hard enough that its spin was completely reversed. Randall may be saying that Venus has fared so badly throughout its life that it deserves some compensation, like rings or a moon.<br />
<br />
Alternatively, Randall could be referring to how we see Venus now as opposed to in the past. A hundred years ago, scientists considered Venus and Mars to be equally likely candidates for life and future human exploration - one being a little warmer than Earth and the other a little colder. However, when we sent spacecraft to Venus and Mars in the 1960s, we quickly discovered that [https://what-if.xkcd.com/30/ Venus is a terrible place]. Its atmosphere is more than 90 times as dense as Earth's and its surface temperature is over 450° C (800° F), not to mention the sulfuric acid rain. Spacecraft that have landed on its surface have lasted a couple hours at most. As a result, missions to Venus have become far rarer since the 1960s, while missions to Mars have remained frequent. Randall might be saying that most people don't consider Venus to be nearly as fascinating place as they used to, and that it would be far more interesting with rings, or at least a moon like Earth or Mars.<br />
|-<br />
| Replace our moon with Mars. Mars is more interesting and we can consolidate missions. || Mars has a lot more geological variety than the moon{{Citation needed}}, and is much larger and has active weather patterns, and would therefore look far more interesting than the moon when seen from Earth. In addition, by making Mars a moon of the Earth, sending spacecraft to the moon and Mars wouldn't require separate missions and could thus be consolidated into a single one. This would benefit NASA's space exploration efforts, which have suffered from presidents alternating targets for human exploration between "moon-to-Mars" versus "Mars direct" architectures.<br />
<br />
Incidentally, the Moon is thought to have been formed by an impact between the young Earth and a Mars-sized body. While Randall probably means well, the situation could get out of control very quickly.<br />
|-<br />
| The solar system needs a super-Earth || {{w|Super-Earth|Super-Earths}} are a type of {{w|Exoplanet|exoplanet}} -- a planet orbiting a star other than the Sun -- that are significantly larger than Earth but significantly smaller than the gas giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). While they are relatively common among systems in which smaller exoplanets have been found, our Solar System doesn't have any super-Earths, and with Mars being moved to replace the Moon, its location would be open to a new planet. With a super-Earth nearby, astronomers would be able to get a much better idea of what they are like. A super-Earth might also be an exciting place to colonize, although [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition30/tryanny.html it would not be possible to return to orbit from such a planet] with current rocket technology.<br />
|-<br />
| More asteroids! || Asteroids belts are usually portrayed in fiction as being incredibly crowded with asteroids, so much so that they pose a significant hazard for spaceships. In reality, the asteroid belt is much more boring, as most large asteroids are millions of miles from their nearest neighbor. The number of asteroids in the asteroid belt is indeterminate, as they range in size from dwarf planets {{w|Asteroid|down to about a meter across}}, and more than 100,000 have been found. Despite this, the density of asteroids in the belt is low enough that spacecraft have no problem flying through the belt untouched. Randall wants more asteroids.<br />
|-<br />
| Merge the big planet and the ringed planet into a big ringed planet ("Jaturn") || Jupiter is the largest planet, with a volume larger than all other planets combined, and it displays striking weather patterns such as the {{w|Great Red Spot}}. Saturn, with its prominent ring system, is perhaps the most spectacular, but the planet itself looks very bland. Randall would merge the two, creating one planet that would dominate by both size and appearance. The two planets' moons would also be combined: the "Jaturn" diagram shows both the Galilean moons (the four largest moons of Jupiter) and Titan (the largest moon of Saturn) orbiting outside of Jaturn's rings.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to {{w|Rings of Jupiter|Jupiter's rings}}, which exist but which are not nearly as prominent as Saturn's. However, considering that Jupiter is known to disrupt the asteroid belt and send asteroids towards the inner solar system (cf. {{w|Kirkwood gap}}) and completely destroy other celestial bodies ({{w|Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9}}), someone who is "within earshot" of Jupiter may wish to avoid insulting the planet by implying that its ring system is not already very impressive. <br />
<br />
|-<br />
| Cut Uranus. Uranus and Neptune are redundant and Neptune is better. Tough but fair. || Uranus and Neptune are often regarded as being planetary "fraternal twins." Both have approximately the same size, the same mass, and the same composition - they even have similarly bizarre magnetic fields. Uranus's most notable trait is that its axial tilt is almost 98°, meaning it lies on its side and has a seasonal cycle unlike that of any other planet. However, this causes Uranus to look completely featureless most of the time, which makes it less interesting, while Neptune has more active weather patterns, including, episodically, a {{w|Great Dark Spot}} similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. The name "Uranus" is also {{tvtropes|UranusIsShowing|subject to ridicule}} by English speakers.<br />
|-<br />
| Settle the planet thing by making Pluto a moon of Neptune || Pluto was considered a planet from its discovery in 1930 until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union changed its definition of "planet" and reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet. However, many people who grew up with Pluto listed as the ninth planet of the solar system were unhappy with the change, a topic that has been the topic of several other xkcd comics ([[473: Still Raw]], [[1551: Pluto]], [[1555: Exoplanet Names 2]], etc.). Randall proposes a {{w|Solomonic compromise}} to "satisfy" both the camps who prefer to think of Pluto as "not a dwarf planet" and "not a planet" by making it into a moon. The diagram shows that Charon will also be made a moon of Neptune, and presumably Pluto's other moons as well. Even if the entire Pluto system were transplanted all at once, tidal forces would cause the bodies to drift apart and orbit Neptune independently.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, one of the original hypotheses for Pluto's origin is that it and Triton were originally both moons of Neptune, but Triton knocked Pluto out of its orbit into a new orbit around the sun, while Triton remained with Neptune.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Randall has in the past proposed other types of ridiculous changes, such as in [[1061: EST]], [[1069: Alphabet]], and [[1902: State Borders]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[A very-not-to-scale diagram of the solar system is shown, featuring all eight planets along with their major moons, Pluto (along with its major moon), and the asteroid belt. Caption at the top:] Changes I Would Make to the Solar System<br />
<br />
[The following edit marks are shown in red:]<br />
<br />
[Three additional planets have been drawn in between Mercury and the Sun, with a bracket highlighting them] Add mysterious planets inside Mercury's orbit<br />
<br />
[A ring has been drawn around Venus, and a dot representing a moon has been added on its left] After what it's been through, Venus deserves rings and a moon<br />
<br />
[The moon is crossed out, and Mars has been circled. An arrow from Mars to the moon has been drawn in] Replace our moon with Mars. Mars is more interesting and we can consolidate missions.<br />
<br />
[An additional planet has been added between Mars and the asteroid belt, about halfway in size between Earth and Neptune. Four continents are visible., along with an atmosphere] The solar system needs a super-Earth<br />
<br />
[Numerous red asteroids have been drawn in, adding to the few asteroids that were already there] More asteroids!<br />
<br />
[Jupiter and Saturn have both been crossed out. An arrow points from each to a new planet drawn above the two. This new planet has the belts, zones, Red Spot, and size of Jupiter, and the hexagon and rings of Saturn, as well as the five moons from both original planets] Merge the big planet and the ringed planet into a big ringed planet ("Jaturn")<br />
<br />
[Uranus is crossed out] Cut Uranus. Uranus and Neptune are redundant and Neptune is better. Tough but fair.<br />
<br />
[Pluto and Charon have been circled. An arrow points from Pluto and Charon to the right side of Neptune, where Pluto and Charon have been redrawn] Settle the planet thing by making Pluto a moon of Neptune<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2258:_Solar_System_Changes&diff=1863142258: Solar System Changes2020-01-22T22:12:13Z<p>162.158.214.88: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2258<br />
| date = January 22, 2020<br />
| title = Solar System Changes<br />
| image = solar_system_changes.png<br />
| titletext = "Actually, Jupiter already has a very impressive ring system!" --someone who knows Jupiter is within earshot<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MYSTERIOUS PLANET. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Proposed change !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Add mysterious planets inside Mercury's orbit || In the 19th century, scientists found discrepancies between Mercury's predicted orbit and observations. They proposed a hypothetical planet, {{w|Vulcan (hypothetical planet)|Vulcan}}, to account for this discrepancy. After general relativity was discovered by Albert Einstein in the 20th century, it was found to account for these discrepancies.<br />
|-<br />
| After what it's been through, Venus deserves rings and a moon || Billions of years ago, Venus and Earth are believed to have been almost identical objects orbiting the Sun. However, being just a little bit closer to the Sun, Venus became sufficiently hot that its oceans evaporated, cloaking the surface with gases that caused the Sun's heat to become trapped. This made the planet even hotter, and ultimately Venus became very much hotter than the Earth. On top of that, Venus was almost certainly hit by an enormous object, hard enough that its spin was completely reversed. Randall may be saying that Venus has fared so badly throughout its life that it deserves some compensation, like rings or a moon.<br />
<br />
Alternatively, Randall could be referring to how we see Venus now as opposed to in the past. A hundred years ago, scientists considered Venus and Mars to be equally likely candidates for life and future human exploration - one being a little warmer than Earth and the other a little colder. However, when we finally sent spacecraft to Venus and Mars in the 1960s, we quickly discovered that [https://what-if.xkcd.com/30/ Venus is a terrible place]. Its atmosphere is more than 90 times as dense as Earth's and its surface temperature is over 450° C (800° F), not to mention the sulfuric acid rain. Spacecraft that have landed on its surface have lasted only minutes. As a result, missions to Venus have become far rarer since the 1960s, while missions to Mars have remained frequent. Randall might be saying that most people don't consider Venus to be nearly as fascinating place as they used to, and that it would be far more interesting with rings, or at least a moon like Earth or Mars.<br />
|-<br />
| Replace our moon with Mars. Mars is more interesting and we can consolidate missions. || By making Mars a moon of the Earth, sending spacecraft to the moon and Mars wouldn't require separate missions and could thus be consolidated into a single one. However, this could potentially have adverse effects on Earth's orbit{{Citation needed}}.<br />
|-<br />
| The solar system needs a super-Earth || Super-Earths are a type of exoplanet (planet orbiting a star other than the Sun) that are significantly larger than Earth but significantly smaller than the gas giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). They are relatively common among systems in which smaller exoplanets have been found. <br />
|-<br />
| More asteroids! || Asteroids belts are usually portrayed in fiction as being incredibly crowded with asteroids - so much so that they pose a significant hazard for spaceships. In reality, the asteroid belt is much more boring, as most large asteroids are millions of miles from their nearest neighbor. The number of asteroids in the asteroid belt is indeterminate, as they range in size from dwarf planet {{w|Asteroid belt|down to speck of dust}} or smaller, and more than 100,000 have been found. Despite this, the density of asteroids in the belt is low enough that spacecraft have no problem flying through the belt untouched. Randall wants more of them.<br />
|-<br />
| Merge the big planet and the ringed planet into a big ringed planet ("Jaturn") || Jupiter is the largest planet, with a volume larger than all other planets combined. Saturn, with its prominent ring system, is perhaps the most spectacular. Randall would merge the two, creating one planet that would dominate by both size and appearance.<br />
|-<br />
| Cut Uranus. Uranus and Neptune are redundant and Neptune is better. Tough but fair. || Uranus and Neptune are often regarded as being planetary "fraternal twins." Both have approximately the same size, the same mass, and the same composition - they even have similarly bizarre magnetic fields. Randall likely considers Uranus to be less interesting than Neptune because it looks completely bland most of the time, while Neptune has more active weather patterns, including a dark spot similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot. Uranus's most notable trait is that its axial tilt is almost 98°, meaning it lays on its side and has a seasonal cycle unlike that of any other planet.<br />
|-<br />
| Settle the planet thing by making Pluto a moon of Neptune || One of the original hypotheses for Pluto's origin is that it and Triton were originally both moons of Neptune, but Triton knocked Pluto out of its orbit into a new orbit around the sun. Pluto was considered a planet from its discovery in 1930 until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union changed its definition of planet and reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet. However, many people who grew up with Pluto listed as the ninth planet of the solar system were unhappy with the change; this has been the topic of several other xkcd comics ([[473: Still Raw]], [[1551: Pluto]], [[1555: Exoplanet Names 2]], etc.).<br />
|}<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:Space]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2258:_Solar_System_Changes&diff=1863132258: Solar System Changes2020-01-22T22:09:21Z<p>162.158.214.88: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2258<br />
| date = January 22, 2020<br />
| title = Solar System Changes<br />
| image = solar_system_changes.png<br />
| titletext = "Actually, Jupiter already has a very impressive ring system!" --someone who knows Jupiter is within earshot<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a MYSTERIOUS PLANET. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Proposed change !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Add mysterious planets inside Mercury's orbit || In the 19th century, scientists found discrepancies between Mercury's predicted orbit and observations. They proposed a hypothetical planet, {{w|Vulcan (hypothetical planet)|Vulcan}}, to account for this discrepancy. After general relativity was discovered by Albert Einstein in the 20th century, it was found to account for these discrepancies.<br />
|-<br />
| After what it's been through, Venus deserves rings and a moon || Billions of years ago, Venus and Earth are believed to have been almost identical objects orbiting the Sun. However, being just a little bit closer to the Sun, Venus became sufficiently hot that its oceans evaporated, cloaking the surface with gases that caused the Sun's heat to become trapped. This made the planet even hotter, and ultimately Venus became very much hotter than the Earth. On top of that, Venus was almost certainly hit by an enormous object, hard enough that its spin was completely reversed. Randall may be saying that Venus has fared so badly throughout its life that it deserves some compensation, like rings or a moon.<br />
<br />
Alternatively, Randall could be referring to how we see Venus now as opposed to in the past. A hundred years ago, scientists considered Venus and Mars to be equally likely candidates for life and future human exploration - one being a little warmer than Earth and the other a little colder. However, when we finally sent spacecraft to Venus and Mars in the 1960s, we quickly discovered that [https://what-if.xkcd.com/30/ Venus is a terrible place]. Its atmosphere is more than 90 times as dense as Earth's and its surface temperature is over 450° C (800° F), not to mention the sulfuric acid rain. Spacecraft that have landed on its surface have lasted only minutes. As a result, missions to Venus have become far rarer since the 1960s, while missions to Mars have remained frequent. Randall might be saying that most people don't consider Venus to be nearly as fascinating place as they used to, and that it would be far more interesting with rings, or at least a moon like Earth or Mars.<br />
|-<br />
| Replace our moon with Mars. Mars is more interesting and we can consolidate missions. || By making Mars a moon of the Earth, sending spacecraft to the moon and Mars wouldn't require separate missions and could thus be consolidated into a single one. However, this could potentially have adverse effects on Earth's orbit{{Citation needed}}.<br />
|-<br />
| The solar system needs a super-Earth || Super-Earths are a type of exoplanet (planet orbiting a star other than the Sun) that are significantly larger than Earth but significantly smaller than the gas giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). They are relatively common among systems in which smaller exoplanets have been found. <br />
|-<br />
| More asteroids! || Asteroids belts are usually portrayed in fiction as being incredibly crowded with asteroids - so much so that they pose a significant hazard for spaceships. In reality, the asteroid belt is much more boring, as most large asteroids are millions of miles from their nearest neighbor. The number of asteroids in the asteroid belt is indeterminate, as they range in size from dwarf planet {{w|Asteroid belt|down to speck of dust}} or smaller, and more than 100,000 have been found. Despite this, the density of asteroids in the belt is low enough that spacecraft have no problem flying through the belt untouched. Randall wants more of them.<br />
|-<br />
| Merge the big planet and the ringed planet into a big ringed planet ("Jaturn") || Jupiter is the largest planet, with a volume larger than all other planets combined. Saturn, with its prominent ring system, is perhaps the most spectacular. Randall would merge the two, creating one planet that would dominate by both size and appearance.<br />
|-<br />
| Cut Uranus. Uranus and Neptune are redundant and Neptune is better. Tough but fair. || Uranus and Neptune are often regarded as being planetary "fraternal twins." Both have approximately the same size, the same mass, and the same composition - they even have similarly bizarre magnetic fields. Randall likely considers Uranus to be less interesting than Neptune because it looks completely bland most of the time, while Neptune has more active weather patterns, including a dark spot similar to Jupiter's Great Red Spot.<br />
|-<br />
| Settle the planet thing by making Pluto a moon of Neptune || One of the original hypotheses for Pluto's origin is that it and Triton were originally both moons of Neptune, but Triton knocked Pluto out of its orbit into a new orbit around the sun. Pluto was considered a planet from its discovery in 1930 until 2006, when the International Astronomical Union changed its definition of planet and reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet. However, many people who grew up with Pluto listed as the ninth planet of the solar system were unhappy with the change; this has been the topic of several other xkcd comics ([[473: Still Raw]], [[1551: Pluto]], [[1555: Exoplanet Names 2]], etc.).<br />
|}<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:Space]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2252:_Parenthetical_Names&diff=185729Talk:2252: Parenthetical Names2020-01-09T12:14:16Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Great to see, that dgbrtbot is back on the wiki. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:40, 9 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This would be especially annoying for World of Darkness tabletop RPGs. Every one of them (Except Orpheus but we don't talk about Orpheus) has a colon in them for stuff. IE Vampire: The Masquerade [[User:Gruetopia|Gruetopia]] ([[User talk:Gruetopia|talk]]) 08:49, 9 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Daenerys of the House Targaryen (the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regent of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 09:22, 9 January 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I always liked listening to Mott (the Hoople) but I've never been a fan of Vlad (the Impaler). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 12:14, 9 January 2020 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2251:_Alignment_Chart_Alignment_Chart&diff=1855712251: Alignment Chart Alignment Chart2020-01-06T15:02:54Z<p>162.158.214.88: Updated Punnett Square paragraph. Removed last sentences from wikipedia quote (irrelevant or unnecessary.) Summarized het- and homo- more succinctly and explained the relation to Randall’s title text. Left cheeky note to: tech nerds from: bio nerd :)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2251<br />
| date = January 6, 2020<br />
| title = Alignment Chart Alignment Chart<br />
| image = alignment_chart_alignment_chart.png<br />
| titletext = I would describe my personal alignment as "lawful heterozygous silty liquid."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created using the [[User:DgbrtBOT|BOT template]]. Needs explanations of each alignment chart, and probably some editing for clarity.}}<br />
<br />
"Alignment" and "alignment charts" come from the the tabletop game Dungeons and Dragons. Every character has an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons) alignment], which is a sort of a personality archetype or general description of morality. The most widely used alignment system was introduced in the Dungeons and Dragons Basic set in 1977 and has been reused in many (but not all) subsequent editions of the game. This system uses two perpendicular axes, each axis having three words; the alignment of a particular character is a combination of one word from each axis (for a total of nine categories). The two axes are:<br />
* Lawful/neutral/chaotic: this axis says whether a character is strongly devoted to, indifferent about, or categorically opposed to following the rule of the law.<br />
* Good/neutral/evil: this axis says whether a character is generally inclined to commit good deeds or evil deeds.<br />
For example, a character's alignment can be "chaotic neutral". It means that they don't care about the existing order of the world, what is good and what is evil, what is allowed and what is prohibited. They're very prone to acting on emotions, and their actions often seem to be lacking rhyme or reason. There are nine possible alignments - any combination of the two axes is allowed. A character with the "neutral neutral" alignment is called a true neutral.<br />
<br />
The use of the term chaotic in a personality alignment context is different to the term in a physics concept. In physics, chaos refers to unpredictable outcomes following emergent behaviours that are sensitive to small changes in underlying conditions. Similarly, lawful can be considered to follow deterministic physical behaviours. Hitting pool balls with a pool cue is deterministic, it follows the deterministic Newtonian laws of motion. Hitting your opponent with a pool cue is chaotic, the end state of the ensuing brawl is unpredictable.<br />
<br />
An alignment chart is a grid that divides the alignments, usually for the purpose of putting descriptions or particular characters on it. Alignment charts are frequently used as a [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mcdonalds-alignment-chart meme template], where humorous or absurdist things are organized into different alignments. In addition to the "classic" Dungeons and Dragons alignment chart, there are a number of variant alignment charts in use as meme templates. Many keep the three-by-three grid structure but replace the lawful-neutral-chaotic and good-neutral-evil axes with others, such as [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gay-bi-lesbian-distinguished-functional-disaster distinguished-functional-disaster vs. gay-bi-lesbian] and [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/edgy-depressed-dumbass-bitch-thot-bastard edgy-depressed-dumbass vs. bitch-thot-bastard]. Some alignment charts use other systems of classification, like the [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mcdonalds-alignment-chart McDonald's alignment chart], which is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ternary_plot ternary diagram], a way of plotting data points by the relative proportions of three components in them on a triangular plot. <br />
<br />
This comic claims to be a meta-alignment chart, where nine "alignment charts" are themselves sorted into the nine Dungeons and Dragons alignments, following the use of alignment charts to humorously classify abstract concepts. However, these "alignment charts" are mostly diagrams used in academic classifications, which are being treated as if they were blank meme templates. There are two levels of absurdity here: first, the idea of using these technical scientific diagrams to classify things they were never intended to, like fictional characters or how people bag their bread, and second, the conflation of chaos as a physics concept and an assigned moral weights as it applies to each of these classification systems.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Alignment<br />
!Chart<br />
!Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|Lawful Good<br />
|Soil chart<br />
|This chart shows the USDA classification of soil types by their relative proportions of sand, clay and silt. The chart is a ternary diagram (very common in geology), so soils with more clay plot towards the upper corner, soils with more sand to the bottom left, and soils with more silt to the bottom right. This chart has been used humorously as an alignment chart ([https://www.reddit.com/r/PrequelMemes/comments/8wakd4/anakin_soil_reference_chart/ for example]) and may have been the inspiration for Randall to use scientific diagrams as alignment charts. In addition to being Lawful Good, this grid cell is also the upper left cell of the chart and will be read first, making it a good place to put this chart as a "jumping off point". <br />
|- <br />
|Neutral Good<br />
|Punnett square<br />
| (quote from wikipedia article, but should have been obvious. Oh, yeah - we're all tech nerds, not biologists!) "The Punnett square is a square diagram that is used to predict the genotypes of a particular cross or breeding experiment. It is named after Reginald C. Punnett, who devised the approach. The diagram is used by biologists to determine the probability of an offspring having a particular genotype. The Punnett square is a tabular summary of possible combinations of maternal alleles with paternal alleles.[1] These tables can be used to examine the genotypical outcome probabilities of the offspring of a single trait (allele), or when crossing multiple traits from the parents. The Punnett square is a visual representation of Mendelian inheritance. It is important to understand the terms "heterozygous", "homozygous" …” These refer to the pairs of alleles in an organism’s genotype, indicating mixed or same alleles, respectively. Randall later uses “heterozygous” in the title text. Note that it is possible for a phenotype to be expressed the same between some heterozygotes and homozygotes, e.g., persons with genotypes heterozygous ”Ao” and homozygous “AA” will both express blood type A.<br />
So, the Punnett Square is a good chart because it is both a simple and true geometric predictor of inheritance, but it tends to neutral because of complicating factors such as polygenic inheritance; these and other factors will cause genotypic frequency to deviate from expected 1:2:1 patterns.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Chaotic Good<br />
|IPA vowel chart - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPA_vowel_chart_with_audio] <br />
|This chart shows the relationship between different vowels according to the International Phonetics Alphabet. As different vowel sounds are created by changes in different parts of the mouth, it can be considered chaotic.<br />
|-<br />
|Lawful Neutral<br />
|Phase diagram<br />
|A phase diagram [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_diagram] shows the temperature and pressure points where a material changes phase. The diagram included is the phase diagram for water, which exists in three phases (ice, liquid water, steam) depending on it's temperature and pressure. Phase diagrams are useful as the relationship is not always linear. For example, the air pressure of Mars is such that there is no temperature at which liquid water can exist. Water exists as ice until the temperature reaches a point where it sublimates directly into steam. <br />
<br />
Phase diagrams follow the laws of physics, so are inherently lawful.<br />
|-<br />
|True Neutral<br />
|Alignment chart<br />
|All alignment charts are neutral until humans contaminated them.<br />
|-<br />
|Chaotic Neutral<br />
|CIE chromacity diagram<br />
|The chromacity diagram is typically used to help determine a color temperature given the typical RGB intensities of light. Low color temperatures tend to be associated with 'softer' lights that are easier on the eyes, whereas 'higher' color temperatures are associated with 'harder' light that are perceived as brighter. Given that color temperature as defined by the chromacity diagram has nothing to do with the actual color temperature of a blackbody as defined by Physics, it is chaotic. Also, the official specification for CIE is behind a paywall and defined by private organizations, making it more chaotic.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Lawful Evil<br />
|Political compass<br />
|Political Compass [https://www.politicalcompass.org/] separates out left-right thinking into economic and social political thought. For example, Ghandi and Stalin supposedly both had similar economic perspectives (collectivist) but radically different social perspectives (authoritarian vs libertarian).<br />
<br />
As politicians make the laws, this is inherently lawful. Attempting to represent all politics in terms of two very general axes is a gross oversimplification, which is likely why it is listed as evil.<br />
<br />
Like the USDA soil chart, the political compass has actually been [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/political-compass used as an alignment chart], largely as a mockery of it.<br />
|-<br />
|Neutral Evil<br />
|QAPF rock diagram<br />
|This diagram is used to classify coarse-grained felsic (low magnesium and iron) igneous rocks by the relative volumes of the minerals quartz, alkali feldspars, plagioclase feldspars, and feldspathoids in the rock. It consists of two ternary diagrams - quartz and feldspathoid minerals cannot coexist (they will react to form feldspars)so only three of these components will be in any given rock. Rocks in the upper triangle of the diagram contain quartz, with rocks with more quartz plotting closer to the top, while rocks in the lower triangle contain feldspathoids, with rocks with more feldspathoids plotting lower. Rocks closer to the left corner of the diagram contain more alkali feldspar and rocks closer to the right corner contain more plagioclase feldspar. The field on the diagram for granite is labeled in the comic, but each area outlined on the diagram has it's own rock name (monzonite, syenite, granodiorite, etc.). All the rocks that the QAPF diagram is used to classify look superficially like granite, but their chemistry, mineralogy, and origin differ.<br />
The QAPF diagram and the names of the more obscure rock types on it can be somewhat arcane, which may be why it is considered evil here.<br />
|-<br />
|Chaotic Evil<br />
|Omnispace classifier<br />
|The other eight diagrams shown in this comic, squished together into one. Probably self-referential humour, in that the diagram created for this comic is considered to be chaotically evil.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
<!-- Include any categories below this line. --><br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2246:_Christmas_Presents&diff=1851582246: Christmas Presents2019-12-27T00:00:33Z<p>162.158.214.88: /* Explanation */ some ce</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2246<br />
| date = December 25, 2019<br />
| title = Christmas Presents<br />
| image = christmas_presents.png<br />
| titletext = "The parasitism might be mediated by a fungus!" exclaimed the biologist who was trying to ruin Christmas again.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created using the [[User:DgbrtBOT|BOT template]]. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Explain more about parasitic plant and how fungus can help them grow. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This is the second comic in a row about presents, this one in particular calls them {{w|Christmas gift|Christmas presents}}, and it is also the comic released on {{w|Christmas}} Day. It is thus the second [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comic]] in a row after [[2245: Edible Arrangements]].<br />
<br />
A {{w|Christmas tree}} cut down from the wood, will typically be placed in a living-room some time after being cut down, and stand there for some time. On {{w|Christmas Eve}} or {{w|Christmas Day}}, presents will typically be put beneath the tree in the shade of the lower branches. At this time the tree may already have started turning brown and/or losing its needles.<br />
<br />
Based on this observation (on Christmas Day) some biologist (or [[Randall]]) concludes that the presents are a type of {{w|parasitic plant}}—that is, a plant that derives some or all of its nutritional requirement from another living plant. Such a plant can live in the shade beneath a tree that it parasitizes, may not need chlorophyll, and therefore may not be green. With the presents often being wrapped in bright white and red colored paper, Randall concludes that this indicate a lack of chlorophyll, thus fitting with the idea of a parasitic plant. <br />
<br />
With the presents being in the shade of the tree and the the tree's health suffering, the evidence can only lead to the conclusion that Christmas presents are parasitic plants.<br />
<br />
In the title text a biologist says that "The parasitism might be mediated by a fungus!" The {{w|fungus}} could help the parasitic plant in its endeavor to use the normal plant for its growth.{{Citation needed}} Randall says this is just the biologist who is trying to ruin Christmas again. It is unclear if the first time was the one about presents being parasitic plants, and this one then just makes it worse because the presents now has a fungi on them as well.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A Christmas tree decorated with 16 balls and a star at the top with a high trunk with space for several presents beneath. About 13 presents with different patterns of paper and some with strings around. Three arrows with text at the blunt end points towards different areas. To the left one points to a present, beneath this one points to the area beneath the tree (the bottom of one present) and to the right one points to the tree.]<br />
:Bright white and red colors indicate a lack of Chlorophyll<br />
:Flourishing in the shade<br />
:Tree health suffering<br />
<br />
:[Caption beneath the panel:]<br />
:The evidence is clear: Christmas presents are parasitic plants.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
<!-- Include any categories below this line. --><br />
<br />
[[Category:Christmas]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2234:_How_To_Deliver_Christmas_Presents&diff=183842Talk:2234: How To Deliver Christmas Presents2019-11-29T12:01:35Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Is the equation in the comic wrong? It should be (4 kg*m/s) / (book mass), right?<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.245|108.162.221.245]] 19:34, 27 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Yes, that's correct. The equation in part 2 should be (speed) = (momentum) / (mass), given (momentum) = (speed) x (mass). Though the answer seems to be correct, assuming a book mass of approximately 0.8lbs (0.36kg). --shabegger {{unsigned|Shabegger}}<br />
::Have added this to a [[#Trivia|trivia section]]. Maybe Randall will later update the comic, although it is probably cumbersome... But if he does, then that should go in the trivia and the mention of this that I made in the comic, should be changed to, there was an error... Feel free to improve my formulas. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:35, 27 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is that a "Baby Yoda" in the right window? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.6.94|172.69.6.94]] 20:06, 27 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Houseplant [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 20:33, 27 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Nope that is Pikachu, I'm certain. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:10, 27 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::I also thought it looked like Yoda. In the 2x version, it looks most like a baby elephant, but careful examination suggests it's probably Pikachu in a ''really'' weird perspective (the thing that looks like Yoda's second ear is actually Pikachu's ''tail'', and his ''actual'' second ear is probably behind his head). --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.62|141.101.77.62]] 22:47, 27 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::I agree that it is rather difficult to see, but with Randall's use of Pikachu in the past, and the fact that I play Pokémon Go and instantly saw it as Pikachu, I'm quite convinced this is what it should be. Also Yoda do not exist on Earht, but everyone knows Pikachu does :p But can see the baby elephant likeness and the other options as well. By the way, not everyone knows about the 2x version, so here is [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/how_to_deliver_christmas_presents_2x.png the link for that]. <br />
::::[[Media:2234-_How_To_Deliver_Christmas_Presents_Pikachu_in_window.png|Close up of Pikachu in window]] --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:22, 28 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::I may not play Pokémon Go, but I know what a Pikachu looks like, and I don't see it. I'm not even sure which ear the other IP is talking about, or where its eyes and snout are. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.18.82|162.158.18.82]] 20:33, 28 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::::::It’s a gremlin, I’m certain of it. Looks like one, and Gremlins is a Christmas film.<br />
<br />
Why the uptick in fireplaces around 2012/2013? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.242.166|172.68.242.166]] 02:00, 28 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
: It snowed that year, maybe that's why? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 09:53, 28 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This comic was posted the day before Thanksgiving, a major American holiday. Can't be a coincidence can it? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 09:53, 28 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Also 2 days before black Friday, a even more major American holiday, and typical ocasion to get christmas gifts. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 10:00, 28 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Yes also think it is Black Friday related. It is now people should think of buying it, as many buy their gifts tomorrow. I buy the way had just ordered the book 10 hours before this comic came came out. But had all along decided that I could wait for x-mas. So someone will give it to me... :-p So although i look forward to reading it, I could wait ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:14, 28 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think it might be notable how, in number 3, the gift explicitly becomes a book. There's no inherent reason--you could just put any gift in the same package as the other and get the same joke. [[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 11:31, 28 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
". . . the holiday of Christmas, which in the US happens usually on December 25 of each year." Usually? No, I think Christmas in the US is always on December 25th, by law. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 12:37, 28 November 2019 (UTC)<br />
:The beginning of the sentence is "Giving Christmas presents is a traditional way to celebrate ..." - so it referrs to the giving of presents, which usually happens on the 25th. There is no law defining the day you give christmas gifts.--[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 12:45, 28 November 2019 (UTC) Good rewrite . . . .[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 12:01, 29 November 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=970:_The_Important_Field&diff=182115970: The Important Field2019-11-01T15:43:56Z<p>162.158.214.88: /* Trivia */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 970<br />
| date = October 28, 2011<br />
| title = The Important Field<br />
| image = the important field.png<br />
| titletext = I hear in some places, you need to fill one form of ID to buy a gun, but two to pay for it by check. It's interesting to see who has what incentives to care about what mistakes.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
It is common for online interfaces to force users to type certain details twice, as a form of redundancy checking to ensure that the user really has entered the correct details and hasn't made an error. Some forms even go the extra step of preventing the user from copy-pasting into the second field, which would render it useless as a redundancy check.<br />
<br />
This is usually done for email addresses and passwords, which are used to identify and authenticate users, and are therefore important to get right.<br />
<br />
In this comic, Green Hat is using an online web interface to launch a missile at a target. The joke is that even though the interface only asks him to enter the target coordinates once, it asks for his email address twice, even though the coordinates are by far the more important detail to get right (launching the missile at the wrong target could result in a disastrous loss of life or property damage).<br />
<br />
In the title text, Randall suggests that the presence of redundancy checks can give you an interesting insight into what things people deem to be important. He gives a (supposed) real-life example of a merchant that requires only one form of ID in order to buy a gun, but two forms if you want to pay for it by check - suggesting that the seller is more worried about the safety of their money than the potential danger of giving a lethal weapon to someone untrustworthy.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
This is the only comic so far to feature Green Hat. It appears that the green hat means that he is part of the military.<br />
The color code of his hat is #123E0E.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Green Hat sitting at a computer.]<br />
:Computer: Welcome to the missile launch web interface!<br />
:''Click''<br />
:Computer: Enter the target's coordinates.<br />
:''Type Type''<br />
:Computer: Enter your email address for our records.<br />
:''Type Type''<br />
:Computer: Enter your email again, to ensure you typed it correctly.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Sarcasm]]<br />
[[Category:Email]]<br />
[[Category:Computer security]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=970:_The_Important_Field&diff=182114970: The Important Field2019-11-01T15:43:35Z<p>162.158.214.88: /* Trivia */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 970<br />
| date = October 28, 2011<br />
| title = The Important Field<br />
| image = the important field.png<br />
| titletext = I hear in some places, you need to fill one form of ID to buy a gun, but two to pay for it by check. It's interesting to see who has what incentives to care about what mistakes.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
It is common for online interfaces to force users to type certain details twice, as a form of redundancy checking to ensure that the user really has entered the correct details and hasn't made an error. Some forms even go the extra step of preventing the user from copy-pasting into the second field, which would render it useless as a redundancy check.<br />
<br />
This is usually done for email addresses and passwords, which are used to identify and authenticate users, and are therefore important to get right.<br />
<br />
In this comic, Green Hat is using an online web interface to launch a missile at a target. The joke is that even though the interface only asks him to enter the target coordinates once, it asks for his email address twice, even though the coordinates are by far the more important detail to get right (launching the missile at the wrong target could result in a disastrous loss of life or property damage).<br />
<br />
In the title text, Randall suggests that the presence of redundancy checks can give you an interesting insight into what things people deem to be important. He gives a (supposed) real-life example of a merchant that requires only one form of ID in order to buy a gun, but two forms if you want to pay for it by check - suggesting that the seller is more worried about the safety of their money than the potential danger of giving a lethal weapon to someone untrustworthy.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
This is the only comic so far to feature Green Hat. It appears that the green hat means that he is part of the military.<br />
The color code of his hat is #123E0E<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Green Hat sitting at a computer.]<br />
:Computer: Welcome to the missile launch web interface!<br />
:''Click''<br />
:Computer: Enter the target's coordinates.<br />
:''Type Type''<br />
:Computer: Enter your email address for our records.<br />
:''Type Type''<br />
:Computer: Enter your email again, to ensure you typed it correctly.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Sarcasm]]<br />
[[Category:Email]]<br />
[[Category:Computer security]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2217:_53_Cards&diff=181469Talk:2217: 53 Cards2019-10-20T18:35:31Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
"This page was last edited [tomorrow]." Okay, good to know. Tomorrow starts three hours from now, my time. This comic reminded me of this article: https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/corkscrewing-bouncy-ion-drive-would-provide-thrust-in-different-universe/ [[Special:Contributions/172.68.38.88|172.68.38.88]] 00:44, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I can do this, but my flowchart would be different and involve secretly inserting a joker, using the shuffling as cover for the move. <br />
Collect a deck of 52 cards and have a spectator count the cards. - Secretly hide a joker from the deck in your off-hand (the one without the deck). - Shuffle the cards, letting the hidden card drop on top of the deck. - Keep shuffling, so the inserted joker is well mixed into the deck. - Have a spectator count the cards, looking only at the backs. - 53.<br />
[[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 04:56, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Actually this is also what encryption scientists have to face talking to not so few encryption enthusiasts who just invented their own encryption method[[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.112|162.158.234.112]] 07:01, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Ohg V unir na haornnoyr pvcure! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.253|162.158.158.253]] 13:52, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:The difference is that those "own excryption methods" usually work ... not well, but at least little. Now, the algorithms which claim to compress ANY input to smaller size, those tend to be suspicious ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Wait, isn't perpetual motion (w.r.t. a inertial reference frame) possible, at least according to Newtonian mechanics? Just launch something into space at high enough speed and "watch" it wander away forever. Extracting (an unbounded amount of) energy from that object is a totally different story... --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.94|162.158.234.94]] 10:11, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Not really, as even in vacuums particles randomly come into existence. Eventually enough would be in the path to slow it to a stop. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.151|162.158.62.151]] 17:37, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Not in Newtonian mechanics. Those random particles are result of quantum physics - and in quantum physics, EVERYTHING is possible, just unlikely (there is extremely small but nonzero probability that all particles in macroscopic object would exhibit tunneling effect moving them in same direction, for example). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Getting a 53 card deck from a 52 card deck is easy. First, cut the deck twice. Then, shuffle all parts together; be sure to suffer thoroughly. Finally, take off the top 5 cards, sneak in the Joker on the bottom while nobody's looking, and put the five cards at the "middle". Because of skewed philosophy, you will have gotten a 53 card deck![[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.186|162.158.122.186]]<br />
<br />
“The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.” -Alberto Brandolini [[User:Menoshe|Menoshe]] ([[User talk:Menoshe|talk]]) 22:03, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Note that while it shouldn't be possible to obtain energy from nowhere, there ARE methods which makes hard to find where the energy comes from, and some may be useful (say, perhaps as a new kind of battery?). Also, anything involving not-completely-understood phenomena, like black hole for example, might actually generate energy from source we don't know about yet (parallel universe or something like that). Meanwhile, lot of theoretical designs of perpetual motion machines without working prototype only contain steps which can't possibly get energy anywhere and are completely useless ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:15, 19 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
In the picture it seems that he cuts the cards into a pile of 21 cards and 38 cards (thus making 59 cards) I'm sure that helps his argument (or he can't count.<br />
<br />
Perpetual motion is so easy that we've already done it. The universe isn't going to stop expanding anytime soon, afterall. Also, Voyager (and some other space probes). Everything is perpetual motion in space at solar escape velocity until/unless it hits something. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 18:35, 20 October 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2212:_Cell_Phone_Functions&diff=181135Talk:2212: Cell Phone Functions2019-10-11T17:48:08Z<p>162.158.214.88: Palm Pre sliced cheese</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
I know of someone who DID build a taser into a phone... (but that's all it is now, was no space for the phone's electronics anymore) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.39|172.69.54.39]] 08:05, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: Well, there are actual commercial taser phone cases available for purchase today - [https://youtu.be/XaJSYxit1qI here's one example]. Not necessarily a good idea and not legal everywhere, but it exists. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 12:03, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
And even without checking if it already existed, tasers immediately struck me as the only idea in the comic that was remotely plausible. Most of the things in the list for one would require additional hardware to be a part of the phone, and the added weight and bulk would not seem worthwhile given the expected times one would use these things. One exception would be a steering wheel, as using wireless comunication, any necessary hardware could be added to the car instead of the phone. This doesn't seem like a good idea though normally, but once you have driverless cars, commands for where the car should go might be incorporated into a phone app. And theoretically, maybe you could have a dog wear an electric shock collar that would trigger if it got too far away from the phone without changing much on the phone hardware, though it seems there would be a lot of possible issues with making that work.--[[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.126|172.68.59.126]] 04:49, 9 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It seems a bit peculiar that one of the move "obvious" devices a cellphone can replace is missing: the watch. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 08:18, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: That's because no one sane would do that ;) Some may use a Smart Watch instead of a classic watch but except of the case when you were used to pocket watches anyways a replacement of a wacth by a phone would be a downgrade usability wise. /edit: That being said: My personal "Now" bar is at the first quarter (more or less at the web browser's bar end) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:29, 7 October 2019 (UTC)So that physics is nothing but the harmonies of the vibrating rubber bands. <br />
<br />
:: I realize it's unlikely you're being entirely serious here, but the same argument applies to almost all of the devices listed in this comic. So…no, that's not the reason for its omission. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 08:33, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::: There are other things that phones can do that separate devices exist for as well that aren't listed in the comic. For instance, calculators, daily planners and memo pads, calendars, address books, video games and watching tv shows/movies, reading books (remember dedicated eReaders?), etc--[[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.126|172.68.59.126]] 04:55, 9 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::: Actually I was dead serious. Well except of the "no one sane" part. I don't want to offend anyone :) In the time you take your phone out of the pocket to check the time I've looked thrice at my wrist watch [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:54, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::: The time taken isn't awfully relevant, unless you're checking the time awfully frequently. For the number of times a day I need to check the time when I'm not at a computer or already looking at my phone, the convenience of a wristwatch could easily be outweighed by the inconvenience of taking it off and putting in on each day. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.178.69|162.158.178.69]] 09:34, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::: Assuming you'd put it off. ;) (Despite the emoticon I'm serious again. I only put my watch off to change the battery) And even if I would put it off it would be more likely I forgot my phone on my desk than forgetting to put the watch on. I'm wearing a wrist watch since I was 8 or 9. But granted, the time is not as relevant as the fact that you have to put a device from out of somewhere and push a button to activate the screen just to check time. But in the end it's just a matter of personal taste and habit, I guess. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:02, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::::Yeah, whether it's as convenient or even as good is irrelevant: Cell phones are not as good at photos as a dedicated camera but they are used for that because they can do it without the need for a separate device, which is the point of this comic. Most people do not wear watches anymore & just use their phones instead. Watches really would belong on this list, except it might be more difficult to pin down a transitional point! Some of us stopped needing watches when we realized our Nokia 3390 had a clock in the corner. Other people may have whattimeisitrightnow dot com on their smartphone's home screen... [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 14:44, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::: A phone in the pocket is infinitely better for me than a watch because watches make the skin underneath the wristband itch from the continuous contact. (I have atopic dermatitis.) -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.135|162.158.93.135]] 13:35, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: there was a brief period between ubiquitous cell/mobile phone use and the advent of the smartwatch where experts predicted the demise of the watch other than as a piece of jewellery [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 08:46, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: I always hated wearing a watch - I do sometimes use my phone for finding the time - but "Hey Google - what time is it?" works without taking it out of my pocket. The thing is though - watches were obsolete before the smartphone existed. When just about 100% of electronic devices have clock display - my cooker, microwave, toaster, car, TV, computer, etc, etc ALL tell me the time. Why would I need a watch? SmartWatches seem like a retrograde step. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:17, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:: Well, with a watch you always know, where to look, especially when not in your own home. So just looking at your own wrist is much faster, then scanning your enviroment for the nearest screen. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 13:29, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::"Smart Watches" that don't do much without a smartphone to connect to seem especially backwards to me. A smart watch with cellular radio would be useful on its own. Side note: So _you're_ that one person who leaves voice activation on all the time!?! Setting the very real privacy & safety issues aside for a moment... Doesn't it trigger from random conversations on an almost daily basis? I don't even know anyone who was able to leave Siri or Alexa on touchless, much less Google. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:21, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:::Newer generations are able to do so, at least partially. E.g. new generation from Garmin is able to play music to your bluetooth earpieces, without of need of a phone. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:22, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I agree, it seems to me that the majority of people who had a cell phone as a teenager never acquired the habit of wearing a watch. I happen to still wear a watch and I also have a separate device that I use instead of my cell phone to make phone calls when I am at home. It's called a "telephone". And it's a fact that very few people who had a cell phone as a teenager have one of these in their homes. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 19:49, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::I used to wear watch. Then the strap broke (well, the things connecting the strap to watch). So I got used to wearing them in pocket, no big deal, didn't needed them that often and never got to finding the shop where they would fix it. Then the watch broke. I got used to looking at phone. On the other hand, I'm still using "dumb" cellphone instead of smartphone for calling, the shape is just better for holding next to ear. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:16, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Try to translate "die eierlegende Wollmilchsau" <br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.97|162.158.89.97]] 09:52, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Sounds a lot like a schmoo from _Lil Abner_ by Al Capp! I wonder if the egg-legend woolmillsow is where he got the idea? [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:21, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Die eigerlegende Wollmilchsau is a joke on tools/machines/etc which are designed to perform <br />
::a lot of incompatile tasks, but often fail to work properly.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.221|162.158.91.221]] 16:37, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
There is a terrible movie - [[Wikipedia:Shorts: The Adventures of the Wishing Rock|Shorts: The Adventures of the Wishing Rock]] - where everyone has a device called The Black Box that can do all of that, as well as pretty much anything. Its function changes kind of like a Rubik's Cube. It's an obvious parody of smartphones, except that it came out right around the time they were getting popular so I'm not sure if smartphones are the true inspiration. I can't recommend that movie (really, it's awful) but this comic reminded me of it and I wanted to share. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 10:11, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Also see the Guide 2.0 as depicted in the later _Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy_ novels. It would do anything its user asked, including removing all Earths from all timelines (which is what it was built for). There's an old SciFi story about a man with a hypnotic paisley tie who accidentally leaves behind a futuristic universal remote & the contemporary guy who finds it gets in trouble. Overall, the "one device that does everything" has been an idea for at least a hundred years; but I think it's not just dismissed as whimsy so easily these days. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:21, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Re: steering wheel, there was a James Bond movie (Pierce Brosnan era I think) where he could control a car from a phone (they were not yet called smartphones at the time). I wouldn't be surprised that the technology has already been implemented, even though I don't want to think of the legal consequences if this became mainstream: "Honestly officer, I wasn't LOOKING at my phone, I was DRIVING my car!"[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.110|162.158.155.110]] 11:30, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
: sure it's *technically* possible: all you need is to pair the gyro/accelerometer of your phone with your car's servo steering. any vehicle with a parking assistant can be controlled that way (and security researchers have demonstrated that in impressive talks back in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OobLb1McxnI). [[User:Gir|-- //gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 11:37, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:It was in ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' (https://youtu.be/BxTvfVZjR_Q) with a 'slightly' non-standard phone (pre-smartphone) and a 'slightly' non-standard car... Hardly the most unbelievable feature, though. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.235|162.158.158.235]] 16:06, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I've written a first draft of the explanation and transcript, but I don't have time for anything else today. It turned out more high-flown than I intended, so feel free to reword as necessary. Also, because I'm sure it'll come up eventually, regarding the transcript: since Randall has not given any time scale, we should refrain from over-interpreting when something happened. For the joke to get through, knowing which elements happened in the past and which (might) happen in the future is enough. [[User:Gir|-- //gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 11:33, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Hmmm - so let's fact check this:<br />
* My phone is indeed being used as a car key (I own a Tesla and my phone unlocks the car and lets me drive it), phone, camera, newspaper, credit card and flashlight - so short bars for all of these is good.<br />
* As a TV remote, that could be true - but we're actually edging into a "post-phone" era on that one. I can (and occasionally do) use my phone to control the Roku - but it's easier to use voice commands through Google Home for that...although I suppose I could use the phone to run Google Home instead of the Google Mini in my living room...so 50/50 on being "post-phone" on this one.<br />
* As a Web Browser, I could use the phone - but only rarely actually do that. Mostly I use my ChromeBook for that, and also the screen on my Tesla - the piddly little cellphone screen guarantees it won't take over that role for more than 10% of the time.<br />
* He missed out "Text messaging" - but I'm using the phone less and less for that because having a decent keyboard is good - so the ChromeBook is stealing that capability.<br />
* Steering wheel...well, the Tesla already steers itself about 80% of the time that I drive. I predict that the steering wheel will cease to exist (at least for me) before I use my phone for that...although it certainly is capable of it in theory...and I'm pretty sure Tesla demonstrated the car being used as a radio controlled toy from a phone a few years ago...although it never made it into production (mercifully!).<br />
* You probably could use a phone as a bird feeder (for smaller birds - draping a dead rabbit over it to attract vultures might be a bad idea).<br />
* All of the others are well into the future...so I agree with him on those.<br />
[[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 13:13, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel like we could/should be reading this more literally. If we assume that Randall lives on the fairly early edge of technology, then the time from the left side of the chart to now is ~25 years. If we also assume that the time axis is linear, then we should be driving our cars with our phones in 7-8 years (though I can now drive my car through a parking lot at least using my phone, it's still doing the steering for me). Sadly brushing our teeth is still about 20 years out according to this prediction, however maybe by then our phones will be able to do some sort of ultrasonic cleaning. [[User:Jasonk|Jasonk]] ([[User talk:Jasonk|talk]]) 13:58, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I'm continually surprised that nobody is known to have fallen for a joke digital toilet-tissue app called iWipe. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:21, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It seems like it would be good to reference Randall's [[:Category:xkcd Phones|rather unusual phone function proposals]] in the explanation. Perhaps he's suggesting that these phones will become commonly used (or at least used by him) in the future. [[User:Dry Paratroopa|Dry Paratroopa]] ([[User talk:Dry Paratroopa|talk]]) 14:38, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Maybe when he says "TV remote" he's actually talking about "cable box remote". I think there's an Xfinity X1 mobile app. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:45, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Some (or many?) Smart TVs, such as my 6 year old LG Smart TV are also possible to connect to an app. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:22, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Could the cheese grater be a reference to Apple's newest computers? I could imagine an iPhone with the "cheese grater" texture. [[User:Billtheplatypus|Billtheplatypus]] ([[User talk:Billtheplatypus|talk]]) 17:01, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:The Palm Pre worked as a cheese *slicer* back in 2009! https://gizmodo.com/palm-pre-cuts-the-cheese-5279413 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 17:48, 11 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I am very curious as to what specific device Randall used for his telephone way back when before he used his phone. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.70.28|172.68.70.28]] 17:24, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Before he used his phone, the specific device was likely his parents phone. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:22, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The comic says "I just use MY phone." Presumably, before that, he used someone else's phone, or a payphone or something. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.19|172.68.189.19]] 21:54, 7 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I think he means "I just use my CELL phone". I have a separate device that I use instead of my "cell" phone to make phone calls when I am at home. It's called a "telephone". This is probably what he used before cell phones. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 17:52, 10 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If you think about it, the phone started out with maybe 4 components: microphone, speaker, bell ringer, and gizmo to alert the operator to connect to you. Newspaper was paper and ink. Flashlight was bulb and battery. They had nothing in common at all. So dog leash? Better GPS + bluetooth shock collar. Tazer? Better battery + extendable prongs. Toilet paper is easy: bluetooth enabled bidet. Honestly, the only device I would bet money on being wrong is the bird feeder. After all, who would deliberately walk away from their phone for hours on end? (besides me) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.90.100|172.68.90.100]] 21:41, 7 October 2019 (UTC) SiliconWolf<br />
:Toilet paper is even easier than that, and you can do it with any phone. Just install three C shells. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.83|172.69.63.83]] 22:59, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I can imagine using phone as a dog leash. It could be connected with smart dog-collar that gives a shock to a dog if it moves further than chosen distance. Not that I would like such idea, but seems possible. [[User:Tkopec|Tkopec]] ([[User talk:Tkopec|talk]]) 08:00, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:You would still need a specific device (the dog-collar), instead of "just" using your phone. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:12, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Unmentioned single purpose devices that cell phones have partially or totally replaced: radio, MP3 player, music player, personal assistant device, voice recorder, video camera. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 13:12, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Tazer sounds like a good idea, but some other personal protective devices could also be welcomed: personal alarm (press a button and loud piercing alarm scares away attacker), pepper spray, accident alert. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 13:12, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;y axis order<br />
I wonder if there is a rationale for the ordering on the vertical axis. They are mostly, but not exclusively, monotonically increasing in time. {{unsigned|Mwh001}}<br />
:I didn't research this, but it looks like the order of availibility it is sorted by. But web browser wasn't used at first, because it was just so expensive and hard to use. TV remote apps are available for quite some time, but often it is easier to just grab the remote when its close to the sofa, instead of opening the app. It remains unclear, why he switched at all. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:22, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Mind Bleach please!<br />
Toothbrush, ''and'' toilet paper? [[User:John.Adriaan|John.Adriaan]] ([[User talk:John.Adriaan|talk]]) 00:16, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Make America Grate Again<br />
Randall may be onto something with the cheese grater. If Americans ever stop grating their cheese and someone wants to force them to resume, then they could start a movement to require cell phones be designed so that you have to grate cheese with the phone before you can use the phone for anything else, and this movement could use the slogan "Make America Grate Again", and the existing MAGA hats.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.92|172.69.34.92]] 04:52, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
A dog leash is entirely plausible, you put a real shock-collar on the dog, then control it from the phone. But I'm disappointed that it's not a graph of how much time per day one spends doing each task on the phone. Because using it like a phone would be the shortest one, just as in the pic above. — [[User:Kazvorpal|Kazvorpal]] ([[User talk:Kazvorpal|talk]]) 16:23, 8 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Hoot you trap off. :-)<br />
<br />
;Ever see the “pomegranate”?<br />
A few years ago I saw a video (spoof) of a new tech device. It was a phone with increasingly implausible and absurd features. Started off with a language translator well ahead of state of the art. Went on to things including coffee maker and harmonica. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate_(phone)<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.111|172.69.68.111]] 19:37, 9 October 2019 (UTC)<br />
:I don't know about the pomegranate. But I know about the XPhone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-nezImUP0w [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:52, 11 October 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2202:_Earth-Like_Exoplanet&diff=1798722202: Earth-Like Exoplanet2019-09-14T23:36:01Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2202<br />
| date = September 13, 2019<br />
| title = Earth-Like Exoplanet<br />
| image = earth_like_exoplanet.png<br />
| titletext = Fire is actually a potential biosignature, since it means something is filling the atmosphere with an unstable gas like oxygen. If we find a planet covered in flames, it might be an indicator that it supports life—or used to, anyway, before the fire.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an EXOPLANET SURVIVOR. The term "swinging blades" makes sense to me, but I cannot find any references to how and when this is used by googling. Anyone can help improve the explanation about this sentence, with a citation to its use? Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
[[Megan]] is making a public statement about the discovery of water in the atmosphere of an [[:Category:Exoplanets|exoplanet]] in the {{w|habitable zone}}, almost, making it the most Earth-like {{w|exoplanet}} we have so far discovered., hence the title But far from stating that this means she is expecting life there, she first lists four characteristics which would be counterproductive for the evolution of life (or at least for complex life forms), before mentioning the detection of water vapor in the atmosphere. Her conclusion is that if there is any life there, we would be most likely to detect it from the screams of pain it would be producing living in such a hostile environment, the negative traits she mentions begin the swinging blades she mentions, maybe referring to these "swinging blades of death" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o62Qft3GwHM, that life has to negotiate to prosper in the water rich atmosphere.<br />
<br />
This comic is a reference to the {{w|K2-18b#Discovery_of_water|recent discovery}} of water vapor in the atmosphere of exoplanet {{w|K2-18b}}. The planet was discovered already in 2015 by the {{w|Kepler (spacecraft)|Kepler Space Observatory}}, orbiting the {{w|red dwarf}} star {{w|K2-18}}. {{w|Extraterrestrial liquid water|Water on exoplanets}} is considered a {{w|biosignature}}, meaning it's an indicator that there could be life there. However, as Megan reveals the planet's other characteristics, it becomes clear that it is unlikely to actually support life, and in fact is actually a horrible hellscape. The question of habitability by higher forms of life is profoundly different than the way {{w|astrobiology|astrobiologists}} use the term for microbes. Even a "survivable zone" can't mitigate the description of just how inhospitable this new wet planet would be to life as we know it, save possibly for {{w|extremophile}} organisms. In the comic [[1231: Habitable Zone]], this zone was the subject.<br />
<br />
The planet being {{w|Tidal locking|tidally locked}} indicates that the same side would face the planet's star year-round, meaning half of the planet would be in constant day and the other half would be in constant night. It is believed that {{w|K2-18b#Physical_characteristics|K2-18b is tidally locked}}. Based on our (admittedly limited) understanding of life, {{w|abiogenesis}} can only occur in environments with liquid water; however, the day hemisphere would likely be so hot that all water found there would be in a gaseous state, and all water found in the night hemisphere would likely be frozen due to the sheer cold. If life were to be found on this exoplanet, it would be in the twilight strip, a thin ring around the edge separating the two hemispheres where sunlight can reach but is refracted by the atmosphere. The environment in the twilight strip would thus experience something akin to an eternal sunset, and temperatures there would be moderate enough to allow life to come about.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the other characteristics of the exoplanet severely undermine our chances of finding life even in its twilight strip. Here is a general description, (of the problems), with the {{w|habitability of red dwarf systems}}.<br />
* {{w|Stellar flare|Stellar flares}} are ejections of radiation and plasma from a star, and it's probable that a planet being blasted with these searing hot flares wouldn't readily support life. These are {{w|Habitability_of_red_dwarf_systems#Variability|common}} for red dwarfs, which can often be of the {{w|flare star}} type. <br />
* Meteors are chunks of material that enter a planet's atmosphere, and if the planet is "blasted" by them it is likely that many of them are impacting the surface, thus becoming meteorites. As we know from {{w|Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event|the extinction of the dinosaurs}}, meteorites can have a negative effect on a planet's habitability. There seems, however, to be no particular reason to believe this is a particular problem for this type of star system.<br />
* Strong acids are present in some planetary atmospheres, {{w|Atmosphere_of_Venus#Composition|including sulfuric acid in Venus's}}, and their hypothetical presence in the exoplanet's atmosphere would make life there even less likely. While life that evolves in a highly acidic environment might be able to withstand it, most life on Earth reacts poorly to strong acids. There is no reason to believe that the atmosphere of K2-18b is acidic. Apart from water the {{w|K2-18b#Discovery_of_water|atmosphere mainly consist}} of hydrogen and helium. But there is also reason to believe the planet has {{w|K2-18b#Discovery_of_water|no solid surface}}.<br />
<br />
"Biosignatures in the form of screaming" suggests that any life that had developed on the planet would be in continuous pain or fear from the environmental conditions. In addition, this suggests that the screaming of these organisms would cause ripples in the atmosphere which we should be able to detect light-years away through the vacuum of space, and that it would be more noticeable than other signs of life (such as the spectra from the ash produced by burning organic material.)<br />
<br />
The title text mentions that fire could indicate the presence of life. Sustaining a fire over time requires a sufficient supply of oxidiser. A steady supply of oxygen as oxidiser could be provided by plant life, which is the case on earth. However, the plants known on earth could not survive on a flaming planet. It is worth noting that the title text mentions fire only as a potential biosignature since oxidisers other than oxygen exist and and plants aren't the only possible source of it. It also mentions that such a fire, would help indicate that the planet '''had''' supported life, that is before the planet engulfing fire, caused by the gas released by the past life forms.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan is standing behind a lectern, speaking to an off-panel audience to the right, some of which reacts to her statement. At least two reacts as shown by two lines from off panel ending in the same spoken word.]<br />
:Megan: We've discovered the most earth-like exoplanet yet!<br />
:Off-panel voices: ''Yay!!''<br />
<br />
:[Frontal view of Megan behind lectern:]<br />
:Megan: Well, it's in the habitable zone. Habitable-ish. "Habitable."<br />
:Megan: The survivable zone.<br />
<br />
:[In a frameless-panel with the same seting as before Megan holds her left hand out with palm up.]<br />
:Megan: It's tidally locked. And blasted with stellar flares. And probably meteors. And bathed in acid.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup view of Megan, now holding up a finger on her left hand. Again an unseen audience member replies.]<br />
:Megan: But we've detected water vapor! In between all the swinging blades.<br />
:Off-panel voice: I see.<br />
:Megan: We're hoping to find biosignatures in the form of screaming.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Exoplanets]]<br />
[[Category:Public speaking]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2198:_Throw&diff=1794312198: Throw2019-09-06T23:18:03Z<p>162.158.214.88: /* Trivia */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2198<br />
| date = September 3, 2019<br />
| title = Throw<br />
| image = throw.png<br />
| titletext = The keys to successfully throwing a party are location, planning, and one of those aircraft carrier steam catapults.<br />
}}<br />
<div class="toclimit-3">{{TOC}}</div><br />
*To experience the interactivity of this game, visit the {{xkcd|2198|original comic}}.<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by THOR, GOD OF THUNDER. Add the equation for throwing, done... Now explain them (what is the unit of the dragC and how does it work)? Could we add the animation of the throwers? Transcript of the possible sentences in a table on an extra page/possible pictures also. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This is an interactive comic made to celebrate the release of [[Randall|Randall's]] new book, ''[[How To]]''. The comic is based on a chapter in the book. <br />
<br />
As the comic celebrates the book, which was released on Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019, the comic was thus also released on a [[:Category:Tuesday comics|Tuesday]] to coincide with the release day, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release. This was the same timing used for another of Randall's book releases, when [[1608: Hoverboard]] came out on the Tuesday when [[Thing Explainer]] came out. Although the Hoverboard comic is much more complex than this one, they are both [[:Category:Dynamic comics|dynamic]] and [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive]], with [[:Category:Comics with animation|animations]] a part of them. Also the [[xkcd Header text]] changed to [[xkcd_Header_text#2019-09-04_-_Happy_Release_Day_-_bookstore|promote the release]] creating a large [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/08/2198_Throw_-_Front_page_promotion.PNG combined promotion] of the book during the three full days the comic was on the front page (see more [[2198:_Throw/Screen-shots#Entire_xkcd_page_with_promotion|here]]).<br />
<br />
In this comic the viewer can select a thrower and an object to be thrown, see this [[#Throwers and throw items|table]], and get an animation of how the selected throw would work out, along with an estimated distance of the throw (both in the SI unit meter (m) and in other very arbitrary units; see this [[#Table of distance units|table]] below) if the throw was possible. Impossible throws include those where the thrower is not strong enough to thrown object, or when the thrower tries to throw themselves, which is possible as four "objects" are also listed as throwers. Most prominent {{w|George Wasington}}. As the comic picture above cannot show all the possible selections in the two windows, pictures of all can be found [[2198:_Throw/Screen-shots#Throwers_and_Objects|here]]<br />
<br />
The formula/guideline is apparently based on chapter 10 from the new ''How to'' book, see more under [[#Formulas|Formulas]]. <br />
<br />
It seemed though, that there was a special case to the calculations with {{w|Thor|Thor's}} hammer ({{w|Mjolnir}}). Because this comic obviously refers to the {{w|Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor}} from the {{w|Marvel universe}}, played by another possible thrower, {{w|Chris Hemsworth}} in the {{w|Marvel_Cinematic_Universe}}, and {{w|Mjolnir (comics)|his hammer}}, which is enchanted such that only those deemed "worthy" are able to lift it. As such, despite its mass in principle being liftable by many of the characters, only Thor, God of Thunder (who is canonically worthy), is able to throw it. Also Thor is the only one who uses {{w|furlongs}} to measure his distances among the standard throwers. However, it is not a canonical part of this comic that only he can throw it, and its mass is not realistic, see more below.<br />
<br />
[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f3/2198_Throw_-_Original_without_you.PNG Originally], when the comic was just released, there where only 7 throwers and 15 things to throw, giving a total of 105 different combinations; see the [[#Table of throw distances|table]] below. But only Thor can throw all 15, with three of the objects (George Washington, Thor's hammer, and the car) unthrowable by any of the other throwers. The smaller critters can throw only a few things, so the total number of throws is much less than 105. Still, there is an animation for all 105 combinations, but with no throw distance for many of these. <br />
<br />
But already on day one the comic was out, a new thrower was added with the standard name "You", and this person, with black hair and a [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|knit cap]], was also added to the objects that can be thrown increasing the number of throwers to 8 and objects to be thrown to 16. However, it would not be true to say that the number of options now would be 8 x 16 = 128, since the "You" can be customized when selecting it in the throwers menu (nuy not when selecting You in the object menu). When doing so a new window called [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/thumb/4/48/2198_Throw_-_Custom_thrower.PNG/835px-2198_Throw_-_Custom_thrower.PNG Costume thrower] will open up over the comic. The "You" option can then be customized by changing the name (from the default "You"), and defining the height (default 5.8 ft = 1.77 m) and weight (default 160 lb = 72.57 kg), where ft (feet) can be changed to m (meter) and lb (pound) can be changed to kg (kilograms). But when doing so the window will not correct the number from feet to meter etc. but stay the same. <br />
<br />
Below the above options there is line with four persons above it, defining a scale of ''athleticism'', the default second option being the drawing of "you" which represents ''Decent'' form (i.e. a normal person). The first on the scale is [[Black Hat]], who thinks moving things is for suckers, thus representing minimal athleticism. "You" in second position is in decent shape and pretty good form, representing decent athleticism. George Washington in third position represents extremely high athleticism, and as he states he threw so well they made him President. Finally the fourth position, representing a champion athlete, shows a person with a helmet with chin strap and googles who states that he trains 36 hours a day by using a time machine. It is thus indicated that such athletes can only be so good by training more than is possible; for instance, if he travels 24 hours back every day, he could use 12 more of these to practice, making it 36 hours on that "normal day" and he would then still have 12 hours to eat and sleep/restitution before his next 36 hours training pass.<br />
<br />
Changing away from the decent "You" to one of the other three characters on the athleticism scale does, however, not change the character used for the animation, which stays the same. But still this gives a very large number of different "yous" that can both throw and be thrown. <br />
<br />
A self-created character, unrealistically tall and heavy well over the human records for height ({{w|List of tallest people|272 cm}}) and/or weight ({{w|List of heaviest people|635 kg}}), can actually be able to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e3/2198_Throw_-_You_throw_hammer_settings.PNG throw Thor's hammer] (For instance 4m and 1000 kg, see more [[2198:_Throw/Screen-shots#Hammer_throw|here]]. So it is not because it is magically inclined to only be thrown by Thor, it is just that the weight is set to 2000 kg, and only Thor of the standard characters have the strength (1000 times normal human strength) to throw such a heavy object. But if the "You" is big enough the lover athleticy difference to Thor will be compensated by shear wight and height. See this table of [[2198:_Throw#Data_from_xkcd_code|data from the comic]] for the above mentioned numbers.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, Thor can throw a squirrel 257 meters. If a Custom Thrower is created, and they are 200 meters tall and 150 KG, they can throw the squirrel 256 meters (1 meter less than Thor). Thor can throw an acorn 136 meters, and the Custom Thrower will throw it 133 meters. Now, Thor can throw Thor's Hammer 19 meters. The Custom Thrower can throw it 44 meters! Apparently there is more to the enchantment of Thor's Hammer than meets the eye, as it would have been expected that if Thor can throw a squirrel and an acorn farther than an extraordinary human, then certainly he could throw his own enchanted Hammer a longer distance. This is, of course, because the Custom Thrower now throws from much higher than Thor. As to why the height doesn't affect the acorn or squirrel throwing distance in the same way it does Thor's Hammer, we'll leave that to you, the reader.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to throwing a party (a colloquial synonym of hosting a party) and first makes the assumption of actually giving hints for giving a party, and then switching to suggest a mechanism to literally throw a huge object, such as a house with a party going on inside. An {{w|Aircraft_catapult#Steam_catapult|aircraft steam catapult}} is a mechanism to launch aircraft from ships, typically used on aircraft carriers.<br />
<br />
==Safety Considerations==<br />
Many of the items, even if technically possible to throw, may not be able to be thrown safely. <br />
<br />
For example:<br />
* Depending on how the microwave oven is damaged when it hits the ground, it may still be able to appear to function, but no longer seal properly, and therefore leak dangerously high amounts of microwave radiation.<br />
* Blenders have blades and glass. Even if no one is struck by the flying blender, the broken pieces would be hazardous later if they are not properly disposed of.<br />
* Cars have gasoline and battery acid which may spill if one is thrown.<br />
* A squirrel might bite the person attempting to throw it, which is dangerous as some squirrels have rabies.<br />
* Pikachu could shock (possibly fatally) someone trying to throw it.<br />
* If a person is thrown, that person may be badly injured.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Throwers and throw items==<br />
*Here is a table with first the throwers and then the objects to be thrown.<br />
**George Washington, Pikachu, and the squirrel are both throwers and throwable objects, as are the costumed option "You".<br />
**For these four this is noted in the explanation. The "You" is also the first object, Washington and Pikachu is no. 11-12 and the Squirrel is also the last object (no. 16) in the object list. <br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable" |<br />
! Image<br />
! Name<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - you.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|human|You}}''' <br />
|'''Can also be thrown'''. The viewer may also choose to create a custom thrower, for instance, themself, inputting a name, height, weight, and general level of athleticism, as measured on a scale from "[[Black Hat]]" to "championship athlete" (a swimmer is pictured). The custom thrower is also selectable as a throwing item, presumably to provide more variety compared to the fixed values of George Washington.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - george.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|George Washington}}''' <br />
|'''Can also be thrown'''. He was the first president of the United States of America. There is a myth that a young George Washington threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River, which is more than a mile wide for much of its length; or alternatively that he would throw rocks across the Rappahannock River, which was about 300 feet wide near George's boyhood home. http://kenmore.org/education/kidstuff/legends.html. He is also used as a throwing item to represent the likelihood of a thrower distance with an average human as the projectile. George Washington is shown as a very powerful thrower; the comic makes fun of the flagrant embellishment of Washington's life.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - quarterback.png]]<br />
|'''An NFL {{w|quarterback}}'''<br />
|A quarterback in the National Football League is a highly athletic individual. Gridiron football is a full-contact sport that requires durability, speed, and precision. One of the primary skills required of quarterbacks is to be able to throw the football far with precision accuracy.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - pikachu.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|Pikachu}}''' <br />
|'''Can also be thrown'''. Pikachu is a species of Pokémon and the mascot of the Pokémon franchise as a whole. Although Pikachu are not normally shown to throw things, the ''Super Smash Bros'' series shows they are perfectly capable of picking things up that do not significantly out-size them. That said, Pikachu is capable of throwing a wide variety of objects through the move Fling, which allows the user to deal damage by throwing its held item (and, incidentally, a Fling TM). Its presence as a throwing item appears to reference the most recently released Pokémon games as of the comic's release, ''Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu'' and ''Pokémon Let's Go Eevee'', where the partner Pokémon of the respective title is not kept in a Poké Ball but thrown into battle when deployed. <br>According to Pokédex entries throughout the series, the average Pikachu is 1'04" (0.4m) tall and weighs 13.2 lbs (6kg). Randall appears to have done his research, as a custom thrower with these stats and default athleticism will have near-identical results to Pikachu for both thrower and thrown item.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - carly.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|Carly Rae Jepsen}}'''<br />
|A Canadian music artist with [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgwAywJlo1M marginal throwing ability.]<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - thor.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|Thor}}'''<br />
|Thor is the god of thunder in Norse mythology, wielding a hammer that returns to its wielder when thrown. He is also {{w|Thor (Marvel Comics)|featured in Marvel comics}} and is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth (listed below) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series of films. Thor was previously referenced in [[2097: Thor Tools]].<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - chris hemsworth.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|Chris Hemsworth}}'''<br />
|He is an Australian film actor, best known for his role as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - squirrel.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|squirrel}}'''<br />
|'''Can also be thrown'''. It is a small mammal of the family ''Sciuradae'', known for hoarding acorns. Squirrels have been a [[:Category:Squirrels|recurring topic]] on xkcd and have been used in ''What if?'' in lieu of a subject that Randall really doesn't want to draw. Due to their small size, a squirrel is also selectable as a throwing item.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - microwave.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|microwave oven}}''' <br />
|A common household appliance in most American homes, used to heat or reheat food for consumption.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - basketball.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|basketball (ball)|basketball}}''' <br />
|An inflated sphere used as a projectile in the sport of the same name.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - blender.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|blender}}'''<br />
|It is a common household appliance in most American homes, used to shred food or ingredients into slush for consumption or baking.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - gold_bar.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|gold bar}}'''<br />
|It is the form in which gold is cast for storage.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - cake.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|wedding cake}}'''<br />
|It is traditionally a layer cake used for wedding receptions with copious amounts of frosting and figurines of the bride and groom standing upon the top layer. The figurines appear to have been removed before the cake is thrown, as they are before the cake is cut and served.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - pingpong.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|ping pong ball}}'''<br />
|A small plastic sphere designed to bounce, used as a projectile in the sport of table tennis or "ping pong". Notably the ball is much more difficult to throw than the acorn, as its larger size yet much lighter weight causes it to lose more momentum due to air resistance.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - acorn.png]]<br />
|'''An {{w|acorn}}''' <br />
|A small nut which serves as a squirrel's primary form of nourishment.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - hammer.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|Mjolnir (comics)|Thor's hammer}}'''<br />
|This hammer refers to Mjolnir, an enchanted hammer in the {{w|Marvel universe}} which belongs to {{w|Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor from Marvels comics}} and can only be lifted by those deemed worthy. It is based on {{w|Mjölnir}} the hammer of Norse God {{w|Thor}}, God of Thunder. In this comic, though, it appears that Mjolnir is just incredibly heavy, and Thor is able to throw it because he is very strong. The custom thrower is also able to throw it if their size and strength are set high enough. Setting aside this customization, Thor is the only standard thrower to be able to throw Thor's hammer. In the movies based on the Marvel universe, Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth, who is also one of the throwers, but in real life, he would of course not be able to throw such a weighty hammer.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - javelin.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|javelin}}'''<br />
|An aerodynamic polearm thrown in Olympic sport.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - silver_spin.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|Dollar coin (United States)|silver dollar}} spinning'''<br />
|A silver coin representing one (1) US dollar in value, as would have been common when George Washington was president. The coin is given two trajectories to choose from when thrown; Here '''spinning''', as one would properly throw a discus. <br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - silver_tumble.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|Dollar coin (United States)|silver dollar}} tumbling'''<br />
|The coin's other possible trajectory, '''tumbling''', as might result from flipping a coin to make a decision. The spinning coin always goes farther than the tumbling one, since facing the air edge-on leads to a smaller area facing the wind and therefore less air resistance.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - car.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|car}}'''<br />
|It is the most common form of long-distance transport in several well-developed countries.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Table of throw distances===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Item&nbsp;/&nbsp;Thrower<br />
!NFL&nbsp;Quarterback<br />
!George&nbsp;Washington<br />
!Pikachu<br />
!Carly&nbsp;Rae&nbsp;Jepsen<br />
!Thor<br />
!Chris&nbsp;Hemsworth<br />
!Squirrel<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Microwave oven'''<br />
|10.32 m<br />
|7.76 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|3.67 m<br />
|181.57 m<br />
|6.15 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|33.85 feet<br />
|25.46 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|82.65 rack units<br />
|1.99 football fields<br />
|138.40 rack units<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Basketball'''<br />
|40.18 m<br />
|33.22 m<br />
|2.34 m<br />
|19.11 m<br />
|113.67 m<br />
|27.99 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|16.74 horses<br />
|19.54 smoots<br />
|75.90 attoparsecs<br />
|11.24 smoots<br />
|1.42 Manhattan blocks<br />
|16.46 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Blender'''<br />
|16.58 m<br />
|12.45 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|5.89 m<br />
|333.25 m<br />
|9.86 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|9.75 smoots<br />
|40.85 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|132.51 rack units<br />
|1.66 furlongs<br />
|32.34 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Gold bar'''<br />
|9.73 m<br />
|7.23 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|3.36 m<br />
|549.28 m<br />
|5.69 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|31.93 feet<br />
|23.73 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|75.65 rack units<br />
|2.73 furlongs<br />
|128.11 rack units<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Wedding cake'''<br />
|8.96 m<br />
|6.75 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|3.2 m<br />
|146.25 m<br />
|5.35 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|29.40 feet<br />
|22.14 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|72.00 rack units<br />
|1.60 football fields<br />
|120.45 rack units<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Ping-pong ball'''<br />
|11.8 m<br />
|11.63 m<br />
|9.28 m<br />
|11.25 m<br />
|12.53 m<br />
|11.41 m<br />
|4.95 m<br />
|-<br />
|38.72 feet<br />
|38.17 feet<br />
|30.46 feet<br />
|36.92 feet<br />
|41.10 feet<br />
|37.44 feet<br />
|111.37 rack units<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Acorn'''<br />
|83.00 m<br />
|75.84 m<br />
|28.16 m<br />
|62.85 m<br />
|135.98 m<br />
|67.91 m<br />
|6.53 m<br />
|-<br />
|1.04 Manhattan blocks<br />
|0.95 Manhattan blocks<br />
|16.57 smoots<br />
|26.19 horses<br />
|1.49 football fields<br />
|28.30 horses<br />
|146.85 rack units<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Thor's Hammer'''<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|19.32 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|11.36 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Javelin'''<br />
|56.10 m<br />
|42.04 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|20.12 m<br />
|3028.75 m<br />
|33.09 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|23.37 horses<br />
|17.51 horses<br />
|N/A<br />
|11.84 smoots<br />
|15.06 furlongs<br />
|19.46 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''George Washington'''<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|136.65 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|1.49 football fields<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Pikachu'''<br />
|15.22 m<br />
|11.41<br />
|N/A<br />
|5.39 m<br />
|332.52 m<br />
|9.03 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|49.94 feet<br />
|37.45 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|121.18 rack units<br />
|1.65 furlongs<br />
|29.63 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Car'''<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|27.22 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|16.01 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Spinning dollar'''<br />
|177.09 m<br />
|143.96 m<br />
|16.91<br />
|92.63 m<br />
|1331.21 m<br />
|115.89 m<br />
|2.20 m<br />
|-<br />
|1.94 football fields<br />
|1.57 football fields<br />
|9.95 smoots<br />
|1.16 Manhattan blocks<br />
|6.53 furlongs<br />
|1.45 Manhattan blocks<br />
|71.41 attoparsecs<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Tumbling dollar'''<br />
|58.17 m<br />
|53.77 m<br />
|13.92 m<br />
|44.08 m<br />
|84.82 m<br />
|49.03 m<br />
|2.14 m<br />
|-<br />
|24.24 horses<br />
|22.41 horses<br />
|45.67 feet<br />
|18.37 horses<br />
|1.06 Manhattan blocks<br />
|20.43 horses<br />
|69.42 attoparsecs<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Squirrel'''<br />
|58.64 m<br />
|46.92 m<br />
|2.92 m<br />
|25.44 m<br />
|256.54 m<br />
|38.50 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|24.43 horses<br />
|19.55 horses<br />
|65.71 rack units<br />
|14.97 smoots<br />
|1.28 furlongs<br />
|16.04 horses<br />
|N/A<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Table of distance units===<br />
*This is a table of the alternative distance units shown and their lengths in meters.<br />
**Three of the units shown here are listed in the Wikipedia articles {{w|List of humorous units of measurement}} <br />
**Five the units shown here are listed in the Wikipedia article {{w|List of unusual units of measurement}}.<br />
***Only furlong and foot/feet are not in any of the lists (although a different type of feet is in the last list).<br />
**There are ten alternative units in the source code for the comic. However, the wiffle unit cannot be used, and the light-nanosecond unit is inaccessible except by customization.<br />
**Two of the units are off by an order of magnitude.<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Unit name<br />
!Length&nbsp;in&nbsp;comic<br>in&nbsp;meters<br />
!Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement#Wiffle|Wiffles}}<br />
|0.0089<br />
|A Wiffle, also referred to as a WAM for Wiffle (ball) Assisted Measurement, is equal to a sphere 0.089 m (3.5 inches) in diameter – the size of a {{w|Wiffle ball}}, a perforated, light-weight plastic ball frequently used by marine biologists as a size reference in photos to measure corals and other objects. Randall is thus a factor 10 off. While wiffles should be the next unit after rack-units and before feet, the unit conversion typo seems to prevent it from being accessible by any thrower-object combination, as it is now even smaller than the wrong measure for light-nanoseconds. Wiffles have thus only been discovered in the data of the comic, as it seems to be impossible to get it displayed in the comic itself.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List of unusual units of measurement#Light-nanosecond|Light-nanoseconds}}<br />
|0.0299<br />
|The light-nanosecond was popularized by Grace Hopper, referring to the length light could travel in a nanosecond. The actual length of a light-nanosecond is 0.299 m, about a foot long, but it seems that [[Randall]] was off by an order of magnitude. This measurement is used for lengths from 1 to 1.06 m, but none of the standard throwers or objects can be thrown for this short a distance, so it is not included in the table above. But with the custom user it is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/2198_Throw_-_Light_nanoseconds_1m.PNG possible to get down to 1 m] where it will then be used, but of course, since it says 33 light-nanoseconds instead of 3 it is wrong. See some examples [[2198:_Throw/Screen-shots#Light_nanoseconds_error|here]].<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement#Attoparsec|Attoparsecs}}<br />
|0.03086<br />
|The parsec is a unit of length used to measure large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System. A parsec is defined as the distance at which one {{w|astronomical unit}} subtends an angle of one {{w|arcsecond}}. One parsec is equal to about 3.26 light-years or 31 trillion kilometers (31×10<sup>12</sup> km) or 19 trillion miles (19×10<sup>12</sup> mi). Atto- is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of 10<sup>−18</sup> or 0.000000000000000001. Together the two-unit exponents will almost cancel out, as 31 trillion kilometers can be written as 3.1×10<sup>18</sup>cm, meaning that an attoparsec is 3.1 cm. The unit is only used three times in non-customized settings: once for Pikachu and twice for the squirrel. This measurement is used for lengths from 1.06 to 2.69 meters. See [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/79/2198_Throw_-_Attoparsecs_107cm_setings.PNG example here].<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_unusual_units_of_measurement#Rack_unit|Rack units}}<br />
|0.0445<br />
|A {{w|Rack unit}} (abbreviated U or RU) is a unit of measure defined as 1 3⁄4 inches (44.45 mm). Mainly used to measure the overall height of the likes of {{w|19-inch rack}} frames or the equipment put in there. It is used for lengths from 2.69 to 6.67 meters.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Foot (unit)|Feet}}<br />
|0.3048<br />
|One foot is defined as 0.3048 meters. In customary and imperial units, the foot comprises 12 inches and three feet compose a yard. This measurement is used for lengths from 6.67 to 16 meters.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement#Smoot|Smoots}}<br />
|1.7000<br />
|The {{w|Smoot}} is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. One smoot is equal to {{w|Oliver Smoot}}'s height at the time of the prank, 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m). Mr. Smoot was used to measure the length of the Harvard Bridge (connecting Boston and Cambridge) by being repeatedly laid down along the length of the bridge; the markings indicating distances in smoots along the bridge have been maintained by the fraternity. This measurement is used for lengths from 16 to 36 meters. While the smoot is a nonstandard unit of length, Oliver Smoot has been chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and President of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ANSI and ISO are among the world's main standardizing bodies, so Randall may indirectly be making the pun that while Smoot's body isn't a standard measure, Smoot has been in charge of bodies that standardize measurements.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_unusual_units_of_measurement#Horse|Horses}} <br />
|2.4<br />
|The length of a {{w|horse}} varies a lot with the horse type, breed, age, and genes. In the Wikipedia article on horses, the length of a horse is not even mentioned, only the height and weight. But Randall has used horses for measurements before. A {{w|horse length}} is approximately 8 feet (2.4 m). This measurement is used for lengths from 36 to 75 meters.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_unusual_units_of_measurement#Block|Manhattan blocks}}<br />
|80.0<br />
|The numbered streets in {{w|Manhattan}} run east-west and are generally 60 feet (18 m) wide, with about 200 feet (61 m) between each pair of streets. With each combined street and {{w|City block|block}} adding up to about 260 feet (79 m), there are almost exactly 20 blocks per mile. The typical block in Manhattan is 250 by 600 feet (76 by 183 m). When driving in a grid-like city, the {{w|Manhattan distance}} between two points is a concept, although it is also called {{w|Taxicab geometry}}. It seems like it is indeed the combined street and block distance. This measurement is used for lengths from 75 to 131 meters.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_unusual_units_of_measurement#Football_field_(length)|Football fields}}<br />
|91.44/109.728<br />
|A football field in the comic is 100 yards or 91.44 m long. An {{w|American football field}} is 100 yards between the end zone although by including those it is actually 120 yards or 109.728 m. Although it is an American comic, it doesn't state that it is an American Football field. A {{w|Football pitch}} in {{w|Association football}} (Soccer) is also often used, and although the length of those varies the usual size for champions league matches is 105 m. This measurement is used for lengths from 131 to 201 meters.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Furlongs}}<br />
|201.168<br />
|A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile. It is part of the {{w|List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement#FFF_units|FFF_units}} of the {{w|FFF system}} for furlong/firkin/fortnight, length, mass and time. One furlong should therefore be 201.168 meters, though the United States does not uniformly use this conversion ratio. Older ratios are in use for surveying purposes in some states. Only Thor's distances are given in furlongs. This measurement is used for lengths of 201 meters (1 furlong) and up. For the standard throwers and items only Thor can throw over 200 m, thus only he uses Furlongs to measure his throws. Given that this is an old unit, and Thor is based on ancient Nordic Mythology, this may seem appropriate. <br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
===Data from xkcd code===<br />
*A user got this data from the code (and added it to the comments).<br />
**But it makes sense to include here:<br />
*From this it can be seen that:<br />
**Thor's Hammer is not special, just very heavy, 2000 kg despite being rather small.<br />
**Thor has the same stats as Chris, except he has 1000 times more Throw power (10,000 vs 10).<br />
*The custumizeable You can have Throw power of 5, 10, 15 and 20, and wight and height can be set along with the name. <br />
**The diameter is calculated from the formula given, so in the standard setting it is about 0.5 m.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! id<br />
! name<br />
! canThrow<br />
! canBeThrown<br />
! length (m)<br />
! diameter (m)<br />
! mass (kg)<br />
! dragC<br />
! throwPower<br />
|-<br />
| microwave<br />
| A microwave oven<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.406<br />
| 0.406<br />
| 10.591<br />
| 0.8<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| basketball<br />
| a basketball<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.243<br />
| 0.243<br />
| 0.624<br />
| 0.3<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| blender<br />
| a blender<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.203<br />
| 0.203<br />
| 5.216<br />
| 0.8<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| gold_bar<br />
| a gold bar<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.0535<br />
| 0.0535<br />
| 12.4<br />
| 0.8<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| cake<br />
| a wedding cake<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.51<br />
| 0.51<br />
| 13<br />
| 0.8<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| pingpong<br />
| a ping pong ball<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.04<br />
| 0.04<br />
| 0.003<br />
| 0.5<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| quarterback<br />
| an NFL quarterback<br />
| true<br />
| false<br />
| 1.905<br />
| 0.584<br />
| 102.058<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 20<br />
|-<br />
| acorn<br />
| an acorn<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.0191<br />
| 0.0191<br />
| 0.0045<br />
| 0.3<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| hammer<br />
| thor's hammer<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.5<br />
| 0.15<br />
| 2000<br />
| 0.4<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| javelin<br />
| a javelin<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 1.8<br />
| 0.0254<br />
| 0.8<br />
| 0.1<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| george<br />
| George Washington<br />
| true<br />
| true<br />
| 1.829<br />
| 0.562<br />
| 90.718<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 15<br />
|-<br />
| pikachu<br />
| Pikachu<br />
| true<br />
| true<br />
| 0.4<br />
| 0.3<br />
| 5.9874<br />
| 0.4<br />
| 10<br />
|-<br />
| car<br />
| A car<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 4.5<br />
| 2.134<br />
| 1179.34<br />
| 0.25<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| silver_spin<br />
| a silver dollar (spinning)<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.04<br />
| 0.011<br />
| 0.027<br />
| 0.5<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| silver_tumble<br />
| a silver dollar (tumbling)<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.04<br />
| 0.04<br />
| 0.027<br />
| 0.66<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| carly<br />
| Carly Rae Jepsen<br />
| true<br />
| false<br />
| 1.575<br />
| 0.46<br />
| 49.895<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 10<br />
|-<br />
| thor<br />
| thor, god of thunder<br />
| true<br />
| false<br />
| 1.91<br />
| 0.59<br />
| 91<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 10000<br />
|-<br />
| chris hemsworth<br />
| chris hemsworth<br />
| true<br />
| false<br />
| 1.91<br />
| 0.59<br />
| 91<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 10<br />
|-<br />
| squirrel<br />
| A squirrel<br />
| true<br />
| true<br />
| 0.203<br />
| 0.096<br />
| 0.454<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 10<br />
|-<br />
| you (can change)<br />
| You <br />
| true <br />
| true <br />
| 1.77<br />
| (mass^(1/3))/8<br />
| 72.5<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 10<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Formulas===<br />
*Used Formulas:<br />
**g = 9.805;<br />
**A = (3 * thrower_length * thrower_throwPower * thrower_mass / (object_mass + thrower_mass / 1000))^(1 / 3);<br />
**B = sqrt(2 * object_mass * g / (PI * (object_diameter / 2)^2 * 1.2041 * object_dragC));<br />
***Result = A^2 * sqrt(2) / (g * sqrt(A^4 / B^4 * 0.8 + A^2 / B^2 * 3 + 2));<br />
**g is in m/s², or equivalently in N/kg, and is the acceleration by gravity (on earth)<br />
**1,2041 is in units of kg/m³ and is the density of air at sea level<br />
**Both A and B are in units of speed m/s; throwPower is in m²/s³, or equivalently in m/s * N/kg, Or equivalently W/kg<br />
**dragC is without unit<br />
<br />
==Extra pages==<br />
As this comic is very complicated several screen shots and tables are needed for the full explanation. In order to keep this main page easy to use, these pictures and possibly some of the tables will be placed on some extra pages, as has also been done with [[:Category:Comic subpages|other complex comics]] in the past:<br />
*[[2198: Throw/Screen-shots]]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[As this is an interactive comic, not all possible text should be given in this transcript. Also, it is not possible to see all the different throwers or objects in one image. This transcript here includes the text that can be found when loading the page, without changing the thrower or object (the default), but also includes the text that can be found by scrolling in the two select "windows" as that would be similar to a long comic where you need to scroll as well as customization options. For further differences that occur by changing the objects refer to a table of all combinations.]<br />
<br />
:[A heading with a subheading is above a line, beneath which are a sentence, that is generated by the selections in the two windows beneath this sentence:]<br />
:<big>'''Throw Calculator'''</big><br />
:This calculator implements the approximate throwing distance estimation model from ''How To'' Chapter 10: ''How to throw things''.<br />
<br />
:How far could George Washington throw a Microwave oven?<br />
<br />
:[Beneath this sentence are two "windows" with a frame around them, one to the left and one to the right, each with a heading breaking the top frame. Each also has a scroll bar to the right, which allows one to scroll down through 8 different possible selections in the left window and 16 in the right window. There are, depending on the browser zoom level, one or two selections on each line. Each window's content is given here under their respective headings. Each possible selection is a drawing with a caption beneath it.]<br />
:Select a thrower<br />
<br />
:*You<br />
:*An NFL Quarterback<br />
:*George Washington<br />
:*Pikachu<br />
:*Carly Rae Jepsen<br />
:*Thor, God of Thunder<br />
:*Chris Hemsworth<br />
:*A squirrel<br />
<br />
:Select an object to be thrown<br />
:*You<br />
:*A microwave oven<br />
:*A basketball<br />
:*A blender<br />
:*A gold bar<br />
:*A wedding cake<br />
:*A ping-pong ball<br />
:*An acorn<br />
:*Thor's Hammer<br />
:*A javelin<br />
:*George Washington<br />
:*Pikachu<br />
:*A car<br />
:*A silver dollar (spinning)<br />
:*A silver dollar (tumbling)<br />
:*A squirrel<br />
<br />
:[Below the two windows is the result of the animation that will happen when a selection has been made. An animation of the selected thrower throwing (or failing to throw) the selected object is shown, and the object's traveling distance is measured out both in meters (SI units) and in some other unit in brackets below. If the distance is not too long compared to the size of the object and thrower, then both can be seen, and in case the object is soft it may break from the throw.]<br />
<br />
:[In the pre-selected version, George Washington throws a microwave oven, which ends up several meters from him lying on a corner broken with its wire lying beneath it. The distance is given under the ruler along which the throw has occurred, with markings for approximately every meter. In this case, there are seven steps even though the distance is above 7 meters:]<br />
:7.76 meters<br />
:(25.46 feet)<br />
<br />
:[Clicking on "You" in the thrower box opens a new window over the above described comic parts. some of the comic can still be seen including the thrower and his item, and a new throw occurs every time something is changed in this new window. It is a customization box with several options shown below.]<br />
<br />
:Your Name<br />
:____You_____ [can be changed]<br />
<br />
:Height<br />
:5.8 ft [number can be changed; ft can be changed to m]<br />
<br />
:Mass<br />
:160 lb [number can be changed; lb can be changed to kg]<br />
<br />
:Athleticism<br />
:[Below is a scale showing Black Hat, the character depicting You with a knit cap, George Washington, and a person with goggles and a helmet. A marker is set at You, but can be changed. Below the characters are descriptions.]<br />
:Black Hat: Moving objects around is for suckers.<br />
:Minimal<br />
:You: I'm in decent shape and have pretty good form.<br />
:Decent<br />
:George Washington: I'm so good at throwing they made me president.<br />
:Extremely High<br />
:Goggles: I use a time machine to train for 36 hours a day.<br />
:Champion Athlete<br />
<br />
:[Once done the box can be clicking on a cross at the top right or just clicking outside the window on the comic behind it. Now the thrower you (and the object you) will have the weight, length and strength chosen and will be able to throw (or be thrown) with these stats. ]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*The comic refers to Thor as the character from the Marvel comics and movies (and other media), who is himself a reference to the ancient Norse god. In Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth.<br />
*Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, bears an enchantment that prevents any living being from lifting it unless they are "worthy." This is reflected in the simulation by giving Mjölnir a mass of 2,000 kg.<br />
**In-universe, Thor's hammer weighs [https://urbandud.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/detail-128-thors-hammer.jpg?w=550 42.3 pounds].<br />
*The option to customize your own character was added to the comic later.<br />
*Due to a bug, the calculations for the customized person ('you') are incorrect when the mass is specified in pounds<br />
*When the comic came out there was a mistake so the item to be thrown was named the same as the thrower, except for the coins and for when Pikachu and George Washington tried to throw themselves in which case it for instance said:<br />
**[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/93/2198_Throw_-_Original_error_George_Himself.PNG How far could George Washington throw himself?]<br />
**But if he picked another object it would write:<br />
***[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/2198_Throw_-_Original_error_George_George.PNG How far could George Washington throw George Washington?]<br />
**See more examples [[2198:_Throw/Screen-shots#Errors|here]]<br />
*A one foot tall Champion Athlete You with a mass of over 524,644.3 pounds can throw the car 44 feet. In fact, the mass can be defined to 70 or more decimal places, with each incremental change allowing You to throw the car 44 feet, as long as the addition is sufficient<br />
**Tester used trial and error and became bored after inputting the mass below:<br />
***524,664.3134471218218095600605010996328125[35 zeroes]1<br />
*A one pound Champion Athlete You with a height of 480,651 feet, 1 and 9/64th inches can also throw the car 44 feet<br />
**Subtracting 1/64th of an inch prevents the CAY from throwing the car<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with animation]] <!-- Different throws --><br />
[[Category:Dynamic comics]] <br />
[[Category:Interactive comics]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]] <!-- model of throw distance --><br />
[[Category:American football]] <!-- NFL quaterback --><br />
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]] <!-- George Washington --><br />
[[Category:Pokémon]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] <!-- Carly Rae Jepsen, George Washington and Chris Hemsworth--><br />
[[Category:Religion]] <!-- Thor, questionable though as it is obviously the Marvel character --><br />
[[Category:Squirrels]]<br />
[[Category:Food]] <!-- Microwave oven Blender, cake --><br />
[[Category:Basketball]]<br />
[[Category:Sport]] <!-- ping pong, javelin --><br />
[[Category:Book promotion]]<br />
[[Category:How To]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2198:_Throw&diff=1794042198: Throw2019-09-06T19:04:20Z<p>162.158.214.88: /* Trivia */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2198<br />
| date = September 3, 2019<br />
| title = Throw<br />
| image = throw.png<br />
| titletext = The keys to successfully throwing a party are location, planning, and one of those aircraft carrier steam catapults.<br />
}}<br />
<div class="toclimit-3">{{TOC}}</div><br />
*To experience the interactivity of this game, visit the {{xkcd|2198|original comic}}.<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by THOR, GOD OF THUNDER. Add the equation for throwing, done... Now explain them (what is the unit of the dragC and how does it work)? Could we add the animation of the throwers? Transcript of the possible sentences in a table on an extra page/possible pictures also. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This is an interactive comic made to celebrate the release of [[Randall|Randall's]] new book, ''[[How To]]''. The comic is based on a chapter in the book. <br />
<br />
As the comic celebrates the book, which was released on Tuesday, September 3rd, 2019, the comic was thus also released on a [[:Category:Tuesday comics|Tuesday]] to coincide with the release day, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release. This was the same timing used for another of Randall's book releases, when [[1608: Hoverboard]] came out on the Tuesday when [[Thing Explainer]] came out. Although the Hoverboard comic is much more complex than this one, they are both [[:Category:Dynamic comics|dynamic]] and [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive]], with [[:Category:Comics with animation|animations]] a part of them. Also the [[xkcd Header text]] changed to [[xkcd_Header_text#2019-09-04_-_Happy_Release_Day_-_bookstore|promote the release]] creating a large [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/08/2198_Throw_-_Front_page_promotion.PNG combined promotion] of the book during the three full days the comic was on the front page (see more [[2198:_Throw/Screen-shots#Entire_xkcd_page_with_promotion|here]]).<br />
<br />
In this comic the viewer can select a thrower and an object to be thrown, see this [[#Throwers and throw items|table]], and get an animation of how the selected throw would work out, along with an estimated distance of the throw (both in the SI unit meter (m) and in other very arbitrary units; see this [[#Table of distance units|table]] below) if the throw was possible. Impossible throws include those where the thrower is not strong enough to thrown object, or when the thrower tries to throw themselves, which is possible as four "objects" are also listed as throwers. Most prominent {{w|George Wasington}}. As the comic picture above cannot show all the possible selections in the two windows, pictures of all can be found [[2198:_Throw/Screen-shots#Throwers_and_Objects|here]]<br />
<br />
The formula/guideline is apparently based on chapter 10 from the new ''How to'' book, see more under [[#Formulas|Formulas]]. <br />
<br />
It seemed though, that there was a special case to the calculations with {{w|Thor|Thor's}} hammer ({{w|Mjolnir}}). Because this comic obviously refers to the {{w|Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor}} from the {{w|Marvel universe}}, played by another possible thrower, {{w|Chris Hemsworth}} in the {{w|Marvel_Cinematic_Universe}}, and {{w|Mjolnir (comics)|his hammer}}, which is enchanted such that only those deemed "worthy" are able to lift it. As such, despite its mass in principle being liftable by many of the characters, only Thor, God of Thunder (who is canonically worthy), is able to throw it. Also Thor is the only one who uses {{w|furlongs}} to measure his distances among the standard throwers. However, it is not a canonical part of this comic that only he can throw it, and its mass is not realistic, see more below.<br />
<br />
[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f3/2198_Throw_-_Original_without_you.PNG Originally], when the comic was just released, there where only 7 throwers and 15 things to throw, giving a total of 105 different combinations; see the [[#Table of throw distances|table]] below. But only Thor can throw all 15, with three of the objects (George Washington, Thor's hammer, and the car) unthrowable by any of the other throwers. The smaller critters can throw only a few things, so the total number of throws is much less than 105. Still, there is an animation for all 105 combinations, but with no throw distance for many of these. <br />
<br />
But already on day one the comic was out, a new thrower was added with the standard name "You", and this person, with black hair and a [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|knit cap]], was also added to the objects that can be thrown increasing the number of throwers to 8 and objects to be thrown to 16. However, it would not be true to say that the number of options now would be 8 x 16 = 128, since the "You" can be customized when selecting it in the throwers menu (nuy not when selecting You in the object menu). When doing so a new window called [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/thumb/4/48/2198_Throw_-_Custom_thrower.PNG/835px-2198_Throw_-_Custom_thrower.PNG Costume thrower] will open up over the comic. The "You" option can then be customized by changing the name (from the default "You"), and defining the height (default 5.8 ft = 1.77 m) and weight (default 160 lb = 72.57 kg), where ft (feet) can be changed to m (meter) and lb (pound) can be changed to kg (kilograms). But when doing so the window will not correct the number from feet to meter etc. but stay the same. <br />
<br />
Below the above options there is line with four persons above it, defining a scale of ''athleticism'', the default second option being the drawing of "you" which represents ''Decent'' form (i.e. a normal person). The first on the scale is [[Black Hat]], who thinks moving things is for suckers, thus representing minimal athleticism. "You" in second position is in decent shape and pretty good form, representing decent athleticism. George Washington in third position represents extremely high athleticism, and as he states he threw so well they made him President. Finally the fourth position, representing a champion athlete, shows a person with a helmet with chin strap and googles who states that he trains 36 hours a day by using a time machine. It is thus indicated that such athletes can only be so good by training more than is possible; for instance, if he travels 24 hours back every day, he could use 12 more of these to practice, making it 36 hours on that "normal day" and he would then still have 12 hours to eat and sleep/restitution before his next 36 hours training pass.<br />
<br />
Changing away from the decent "You" to one of the other three characters on the athleticism scale does, however, not change the character used for the animation, which stays the same. But still this gives a very large number of different "yous" that can both throw and be thrown. <br />
<br />
A self-created character, unrealistically tall and heavy well over the human records for height ({{w|List of tallest people|272 cm}}) and/or weight ({{w|List of heaviest people|635 kg}}), can actually be able to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e3/2198_Throw_-_You_throw_hammer_settings.PNG throw Thor's hammer] (For instance 4m and 1000 kg, see more [[2198:_Throw/Screen-shots#Hammer_throw|here]]. So it is not because it is magically inclined to only be thrown by Thor, it is just that the weight is set to 2000 kg, and only Thor of the standard characters have the strength (1000 times normal human strength) to throw such a heavy object. But if the "You" is big enough the lover athleticy difference to Thor will be compensated by shear wight and height. See this table of [[2198:_Throw#Data_from_xkcd_code|data from the comic]] for the above mentioned numbers.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, Thor can throw a squirrel 257 meters. If a Custom Thrower is created, and they are 200 meters tall and 150 KG, they can throw the squirrel 256 meters (1 meter less than Thor). Thor can throw an acorn 136 meters, and the Custom Thrower will throw it 133 meters. Now, Thor can throw Thor's Hammer 19 meters. The Custom Thrower can throw it 44 meters! Apparently there is more to the enchantment of Thor's Hammer than meets the eye, as it would have been expected that if Thor can throw a squirrel and an acorn farther than an extraordinary human, then certainly he could throw his own enchanted Hammer a longer distance. This is of course because the you thrower now throws from a much higher height than Thor, and thus these two can no longer be compared. [And maybe this section should be deleted?]<br />
<br />
The title text refers to throwing a party (a colloquial synonym of hosting a party) and first makes the assumption of actually giving hints for giving a party, and then switching to suggest a mechanism to literally throw a huge object, such as a house with a party going on inside. An {{w|Aircraft_catapult#Steam_catapult|aircraft steam catapult}} is a mechanism to launch aircraft from ships, typically used on aircraft carriers.<br />
<br />
==Safety Considerations==<br />
Many of the items, even if technically possible to throw, may not be able to be thrown safely. <br />
<br />
For example:<br />
* Depending on how the microwave oven is damaged when it hits the ground, it may still be able to appear to function, but no longer seal properly, and therefore leak dangerously high amounts of microwave radiation.<br />
* Blenders have blades and glass. Even if no one is struck by the flying blender, the broken pieces would be hazardous later if they are not properly disposed of.<br />
* Cars have gasoline and battery acid which may spill if one is thrown.<br />
* A squirrel might bite the person attempting to throw it, which is dangerous as some squirrels have rabies.<br />
* Pikachu could shock (possibly fatally) someone trying to throw it.<br />
* If a person is thrown, that person may be badly injured.<br />
<br />
<br />
==Throwers and throw items==<br />
*Here is a table with first the throwers and then the objects to be thrown.<br />
**George Washington, Pikachu, and the squirrel are both throwers and throwable objects, as are the costumed option "You".<br />
**For these four this is noted in the explanation. The "You" is also the first object, Washington and Pikachu is no. 11-12 and the Squirrel is also the last object (no. 16) in the object list. <br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable" |<br />
! Image<br />
! Name<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - you.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|human|You}}''' <br />
|'''Can also be thrown'''. The viewer may also choose to create a custom thrower, for instance, themself, inputting a name, height, weight, and general level of athleticism, as measured on a scale from "[[Black Hat]]" to "championship athlete" (a swimmer is pictured). The custom thrower is also selectable as a throwing item, presumably to provide more variety compared to the fixed values of George Washington.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - george.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|George Washington}}''' <br />
|'''Can also be thrown'''. He was the first president of the United States of America. There is a myth that a young George Washington threw a silver dollar across the Potomac River, which is more than a mile wide for much of its length; or alternatively that he would throw rocks across the Rappahannock River, which was about 300 feet wide near George's boyhood home. http://kenmore.org/education/kidstuff/legends.html. He is also used as a throwing item to represent the likelihood of a thrower distance with an average human as the projectile. George Washington is shown as a very powerful thrower; the comic makes fun of the flagrant embellishment of Washington's life.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - quarterback.png]]<br />
|'''An NFL {{w|quarterback}}'''<br />
|A quarterback in the National Football League is a highly athletic individual. Gridiron football is a full-contact sport that requires durability, speed, and precision. One of the primary skills required of quarterbacks is to be able to throw the football far with precision accuracy.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - pikachu.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|Pikachu}}''' <br />
|'''Can also be thrown'''. Pikachu is a species of Pokémon and the mascot of the Pokémon franchise as a whole. Although Pikachu are not normally shown to throw things, the ''Super Smash Bros'' series shows they are perfectly capable of picking things up that do not significantly out-size them. That said, Pikachu is capable of throwing a wide variety of objects through the move Fling, which allows the user to deal damage by throwing its held item (and, incidentally, a Fling TM). Its presence as a throwing item appears to reference the most recently released Pokémon games as of the comic's release, ''Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu'' and ''Pokémon Let's Go Eevee'', where the partner Pokémon of the respective title is not kept in a Poké Ball but thrown into battle when deployed. <br>According to Pokédex entries throughout the series, the average Pikachu is 1'04" (0.4m) tall and weighs 13.2 lbs (6kg). Randall appears to have done his research, as a custom thrower with these stats and default athleticism will have near-identical results to Pikachu for both thrower and thrown item.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - carly.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|Carly Rae Jepsen}}'''<br />
|A Canadian music artist with [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgwAywJlo1M marginal throwing ability.]<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - thor.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|Thor}}'''<br />
|Thor is the god of thunder in Norse mythology, wielding a hammer that returns to its wielder when thrown. He is also {{w|Thor (Marvel Comics)|featured in Marvel comics}} and is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth (listed below) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series of films. Thor was previously referenced in [[2097: Thor Tools]].<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - chris hemsworth.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|Chris Hemsworth}}'''<br />
|He is an Australian film actor, best known for his role as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - squirrel.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|squirrel}}'''<br />
|'''Can also be thrown'''. It is a small mammal of the family ''Sciuradae'', known for hoarding acorns. Squirrels have been a [[:Category:Squirrels|recurring topic]] on xkcd and have been used in ''What if?'' in lieu of a subject that Randall really doesn't want to draw. Due to their small size, a squirrel is also selectable as a throwing item.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - microwave.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|microwave oven}}''' <br />
|A common household appliance in most American homes, used to heat or reheat food for consumption.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - basketball.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|basketball (ball)|basketball}}''' <br />
|An inflated sphere used as a projectile in the sport of the same name.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - blender.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|blender}}'''<br />
|It is a common household appliance in most American homes, used to shred food or ingredients into slush for consumption or baking.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - gold_bar.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|gold bar}}'''<br />
|It is the form in which gold is cast for storage.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - cake.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|wedding cake}}'''<br />
|It is traditionally a layer cake used for wedding receptions with copious amounts of frosting and figurines of the bride and groom standing upon the top layer. The figurines appear to have been removed before the cake is thrown, as they are before the cake is cut and served.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - pingpong.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|ping pong ball}}'''<br />
|A small plastic sphere designed to bounce, used as a projectile in the sport of table tennis or "ping pong". Notably the ball is much more difficult to throw than the acorn, as its larger size yet much lighter weight causes it to lose more momentum due to air resistance.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - acorn.png]]<br />
|'''An {{w|acorn}}''' <br />
|A small nut which serves as a squirrel's primary form of nourishment.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - hammer.png]]<br />
|'''{{w|Mjolnir (comics)|Thor's hammer}}'''<br />
|This hammer refers to Mjolnir, an enchanted hammer in the {{w|Marvel universe}} which belongs to {{w|Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor from Marvels comics}} and can only be lifted by those deemed worthy. It is based on {{w|Mjölnir}} the hammer of Norse God {{w|Thor}}, God of Thunder. In this comic, though, it appears that Mjolnir is just incredibly heavy, and Thor is able to throw it because he is very strong. The custom thrower is also able to throw it if their size and strength are set high enough. Setting aside this customization, Thor is the only standard thrower to be able to throw Thor's hammer. In the movies based on the Marvel universe, Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth, who is also one of the throwers, but in real life, he would of course not be able to throw such a weighty hammer.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - javelin.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|javelin}}'''<br />
|An aerodynamic polearm thrown in Olympic sport.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - silver_spin.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|Dollar coin (United States)|silver dollar}} spinning'''<br />
|A silver coin representing one (1) US dollar in value, as would have been common when George Washington was president. The coin is given two trajectories to choose from when thrown; Here '''spinning''', as one would properly throw a discus. <br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - silver_tumble.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|Dollar coin (United States)|silver dollar}} tumbling'''<br />
|The coin's other possible trajectory, '''tumbling''', as might result from flipping a coin to make a decision. The spinning coin always goes farther than the tumbling one, since facing the air edge-on leads to a smaller area facing the wind and therefore less air resistance.<br />
|-<br />
|[[File:2198 Throw - car.png]]<br />
|'''A {{w|car}}'''<br />
|It is the most common form of long-distance transport in several well-developed countries.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Table of throw distances===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Item&nbsp;/&nbsp;Thrower<br />
!NFL&nbsp;Quarterback<br />
!George&nbsp;Washington<br />
!Pikachu<br />
!Carly&nbsp;Rae&nbsp;Jepsen<br />
!Thor<br />
!Chris&nbsp;Hemsworth<br />
!Squirrel<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Microwave oven'''<br />
|10.32 m<br />
|7.76 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|3.67 m<br />
|181.57 m<br />
|6.15 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|33.85 feet<br />
|25.46 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|82.65 rack units<br />
|1.99 football fields<br />
|138.40 rack units<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Basketball'''<br />
|40.18 m<br />
|33.22 m<br />
|2.34 m<br />
|19.11 m<br />
|113.67 m<br />
|27.99 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|16.74 horses<br />
|19.54 smoots<br />
|75.90 attoparsecs<br />
|11.24 smoots<br />
|1.42 Manhattan blocks<br />
|16.46 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Blender'''<br />
|16.58 m<br />
|12.45 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|5.89 m<br />
|333.25 m<br />
|9.86 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|9.75 smoots<br />
|40.85 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|132.51 rack units<br />
|1.66 furlongs<br />
|32.34 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Gold bar'''<br />
|9.73 m<br />
|7.23 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|3.36 m<br />
|549.28 m<br />
|5.69 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|31.93 feet<br />
|23.73 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|75.65 rack units<br />
|2.73 furlongs<br />
|128.11 rack units<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Wedding cake'''<br />
|8.96 m<br />
|6.75 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|3.2 m<br />
|146.25 m<br />
|5.35 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|29.40 feet<br />
|22.14 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|72.00 rack units<br />
|1.60 football fields<br />
|120.45 rack units<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Ping-pong ball'''<br />
|11.8 m<br />
|11.63 m<br />
|9.28 m<br />
|11.25 m<br />
|12.53 m<br />
|11.41 m<br />
|4.95 m<br />
|-<br />
|38.72 feet<br />
|38.17 feet<br />
|30.46 feet<br />
|36.92 feet<br />
|41.10 feet<br />
|37.44 feet<br />
|111.37 rack units<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Acorn'''<br />
|83.00 m<br />
|75.84 m<br />
|28.16 m<br />
|62.85 m<br />
|135.98 m<br />
|67.91 m<br />
|6.53 m<br />
|-<br />
|1.04 Manhattan blocks<br />
|0.95 Manhattan blocks<br />
|16.57 smoots<br />
|26.19 horses<br />
|1.49 football fields<br />
|28.30 horses<br />
|146.85 rack units<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Thor's Hammer'''<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|19.32 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|11.36 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Javelin'''<br />
|56.10 m<br />
|42.04 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|20.12 m<br />
|3028.75 m<br />
|33.09 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|23.37 horses<br />
|17.51 horses<br />
|N/A<br />
|11.84 smoots<br />
|15.06 furlongs<br />
|19.46 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''George Washington'''<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|136.65 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|1.49 football fields<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Pikachu'''<br />
|15.22 m<br />
|11.41<br />
|N/A<br />
|5.39 m<br />
|332.52 m<br />
|9.03 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|49.94 feet<br />
|37.45 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|121.18 rack units<br />
|1.65 furlongs<br />
|29.63 feet<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Car'''<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|27.22 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|16.01 smoots<br />
|N/A<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Spinning dollar'''<br />
|177.09 m<br />
|143.96 m<br />
|16.91<br />
|92.63 m<br />
|1331.21 m<br />
|115.89 m<br />
|2.20 m<br />
|-<br />
|1.94 football fields<br />
|1.57 football fields<br />
|9.95 smoots<br />
|1.16 Manhattan blocks<br />
|6.53 furlongs<br />
|1.45 Manhattan blocks<br />
|71.41 attoparsecs<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Tumbling dollar'''<br />
|58.17 m<br />
|53.77 m<br />
|13.92 m<br />
|44.08 m<br />
|84.82 m<br />
|49.03 m<br />
|2.14 m<br />
|-<br />
|24.24 horses<br />
|22.41 horses<br />
|45.67 feet<br />
|18.37 horses<br />
|1.06 Manhattan blocks<br />
|20.43 horses<br />
|69.42 attoparsecs<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan="2"|'''Squirrel'''<br />
|58.64 m<br />
|46.92 m<br />
|2.92 m<br />
|25.44 m<br />
|256.54 m<br />
|38.50 m<br />
|N/A<br />
|-<br />
|24.43 horses<br />
|19.55 horses<br />
|65.71 rack units<br />
|14.97 smoots<br />
|1.28 furlongs<br />
|16.04 horses<br />
|N/A<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Table of distance units===<br />
*This is a table of the alternative distance units shown and their lengths in meters.<br />
**Three of the units shown here are listed in the Wikipedia articles {{w|List of humorous units of measurement}} <br />
**Five the units shown here are listed in the Wikipedia article {{w|List of unusual units of measurement}}.<br />
***Only furlong and foot/feet are not in any of the lists (although a different type of feet is in the last list).<br />
**There are ten alternative units in the source code for the comic. However, the wiffle unit cannot be used, and the light-nanosecond unit is inaccessible except by customization.<br />
**Two of the units are off by an order of magnitude.<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Unit name<br />
!Length&nbsp;in&nbsp;comic<br>in&nbsp;meters<br />
!Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement#Wiffle|Wiffles}}<br />
|0.0089<br />
|A Wiffle, also referred to as a WAM for Wiffle (ball) Assisted Measurement, is equal to a sphere 0.089 m (3.5 inches) in diameter – the size of a {{w|Wiffle ball}}, a perforated, light-weight plastic ball frequently used by marine biologists as a size reference in photos to measure corals and other objects. Randall is thus a factor 10 off. While wiffles should be the next unit after rack-units and before feet, the unit conversion typo seems to prevent it from being accessible by any thrower-object combination, as it is now even smaller than the wrong measure for light-nanoseconds. Wiffles have thus only been discovered in the data of the comic, as it seems to be impossible to get it displayed in the comic itself.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List of unusual units of measurement#Light-nanosecond|Light-nanoseconds}}<br />
|0.0299<br />
|The light-nanosecond was popularized by Grace Hopper, referring to the length light could travel in a nanosecond. The actual length of a light-nanosecond is 0.299 m, about a foot long, but it seems that [[Randall]] was off by an order of magnitude. This measurement is used for lengths from 1 to 1.06 m, but none of the standard throwers or objects can be thrown for this short a distance, so it is not included in the table above. But with the custom user it is [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/2198_Throw_-_Light_nanoseconds_1m.PNG possible to get down to 1 m] where it will then be used, but of course, since it says 33 light-nanoseconds instead of 3 it is wrong. See some examples [[2198:_Throw/Screen-shots#Light_nanoseconds_error|here]].<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement#Attoparsec|Attoparsecs}}<br />
|0.03086<br />
|The parsec is a unit of length used to measure large distances to astronomical objects outside the Solar System. A parsec is defined as the distance at which one {{w|astronomical unit}} subtends an angle of one {{w|arcsecond}}. One parsec is equal to about 3.26 light-years or 31 trillion kilometers (31×10<sup>12</sup> km) or 19 trillion miles (19×10<sup>12</sup> mi). Atto- is a unit prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of 10<sup>−18</sup> or 0.000000000000000001. Together the two-unit exponents will almost cancel out, as 31 trillion kilometers can be written as 3.1×10<sup>18</sup>cm, meaning that an attoparsec is 3.1 cm. The unit is only used three times in non-customized settings: once for Pikachu and twice for the squirrel. This measurement is used for lengths from 1.06 to 2.69 meters. See [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/79/2198_Throw_-_Attoparsecs_107cm_setings.PNG example here].<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_unusual_units_of_measurement#Rack_unit|Rack units}}<br />
|0.0445<br />
|A {{w|Rack unit}} (abbreviated U or RU) is a unit of measure defined as 1 3⁄4 inches (44.45 mm). Mainly used to measure the overall height of the likes of {{w|19-inch rack}} frames or the equipment put in there. It is used for lengths from 2.69 to 6.67 meters.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Foot (unit)|Feet}}<br />
|0.3048<br />
|One foot is defined as 0.3048 meters. In customary and imperial units, the foot comprises 12 inches and three feet compose a yard. This measurement is used for lengths from 6.67 to 16 meters.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement#Smoot|Smoots}}<br />
|1.7000<br />
|The {{w|Smoot}} is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. One smoot is equal to {{w|Oliver Smoot}}'s height at the time of the prank, 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m). Mr. Smoot was used to measure the length of the Harvard Bridge (connecting Boston and Cambridge) by being repeatedly laid down along the length of the bridge; the markings indicating distances in smoots along the bridge have been maintained by the fraternity. This measurement is used for lengths from 16 to 36 meters. While the smoot is a nonstandard unit of length, Oliver Smoot has been chairman of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and President of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ANSI and ISO are among the world's main standardizing bodies, so Randall may indirectly be making the pun that while Smoot's body isn't a standard measure, Smoot has been in charge of bodies that standardize measurements.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_unusual_units_of_measurement#Horse|Horses}} <br />
|2.4<br />
|The length of a {{w|horse}} varies a lot with the horse type, breed, age, and genes. In the Wikipedia article on horses, the length of a horse is not even mentioned, only the height and weight. But Randall has used horses for measurements before. A {{w|horse length}} is approximately 8 feet (2.4 m). This measurement is used for lengths from 36 to 75 meters.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_unusual_units_of_measurement#Block|Manhattan blocks}}<br />
|80.0<br />
|The numbered streets in {{w|Manhattan}} run east-west and are generally 60 feet (18 m) wide, with about 200 feet (61 m) between each pair of streets. With each combined street and {{w|City block|block}} adding up to about 260 feet (79 m), there are almost exactly 20 blocks per mile. The typical block in Manhattan is 250 by 600 feet (76 by 183 m). When driving in a grid-like city, the {{w|Manhattan distance}} between two points is a concept, although it is also called {{w|Taxicab geometry}}. It seems like it is indeed the combined street and block distance. This measurement is used for lengths from 75 to 131 meters.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|List_of_unusual_units_of_measurement#Football_field_(length)|Football fields}}<br />
|91.44/109.728<br />
|A football field in the comic is 100 yards or 91.44 m long. An {{w|American football field}} is 100 yards between the end zone although by including those it is actually 120 yards or 109.728 m. Although it is an American comic, it doesn't state that it is an American Football field. A {{w|Football pitch}} in {{w|Association football}} (Soccer) is also often used, and although the length of those varies the usual size for champions league matches is 105 m. This measurement is used for lengths from 131 to 201 meters.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Furlongs}}<br />
|201.168<br />
|A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile. It is part of the {{w|List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement#FFF_units|FFF_units}} of the {{w|FFF system}} for furlong/firkin/fortnight, length, mass and time. One furlong should therefore be 201.168 meters, though the United States does not uniformly use this conversion ratio. Older ratios are in use for surveying purposes in some states. Only Thor's distances are given in furlongs. This measurement is used for lengths of 201 meters (1 furlong) and up. For the standard throwers and items only Thor can throw over 200 m, thus only he uses Furlongs to measure his throws. Given that this is an old unit, and Thor is based on ancient Nordic Mythology, this may seem appropriate. <br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
===Data from xkcd code===<br />
*A user got this data from the code (and added it to the comments).<br />
**But it makes sense to include here:<br />
*From this it can be seen that:<br />
**Thor's Hammer is not special, just very heavy, 2000 kg despite being rather small.<br />
**Thor has the same stats as Chris, except he has 1000 times more Throw power (10,000 vs 10).<br />
*The custumizeable You can have Throw power of 5, 10, 15 and 20, and wight and height can be set along with the name. <br />
**The diameter is calculated from the formula given, so in the standard setting it is about 0.5 m.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! id<br />
! name<br />
! canThrow<br />
! canBeThrown<br />
! length (m)<br />
! diameter (m)<br />
! mass (kg)<br />
! dragC<br />
! throwPower<br />
|-<br />
| microwave<br />
| A microwave oven<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.406<br />
| 0.406<br />
| 10.591<br />
| 0.8<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| basketball<br />
| a basketball<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.243<br />
| 0.243<br />
| 0.624<br />
| 0.3<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| blender<br />
| a blender<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.203<br />
| 0.203<br />
| 5.216<br />
| 0.8<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| gold_bar<br />
| a gold bar<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.0535<br />
| 0.0535<br />
| 12.4<br />
| 0.8<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| cake<br />
| a wedding cake<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.51<br />
| 0.51<br />
| 13<br />
| 0.8<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| pingpong<br />
| a ping pong ball<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.04<br />
| 0.04<br />
| 0.003<br />
| 0.5<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| quarterback<br />
| an NFL quarterback<br />
| true<br />
| false<br />
| 1.905<br />
| 0.584<br />
| 102.058<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 20<br />
|-<br />
| acorn<br />
| an acorn<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.0191<br />
| 0.0191<br />
| 0.0045<br />
| 0.3<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| hammer<br />
| thor's hammer<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.5<br />
| 0.15<br />
| 2000<br />
| 0.4<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| javelin<br />
| a javelin<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 1.8<br />
| 0.0254<br />
| 0.8<br />
| 0.1<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| george<br />
| George Washington<br />
| true<br />
| true<br />
| 1.829<br />
| 0.562<br />
| 90.718<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 15<br />
|-<br />
| pikachu<br />
| Pikachu<br />
| true<br />
| true<br />
| 0.4<br />
| 0.3<br />
| 5.9874<br />
| 0.4<br />
| 10<br />
|-<br />
| car<br />
| A car<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 4.5<br />
| 2.134<br />
| 1179.34<br />
| 0.25<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| silver_spin<br />
| a silver dollar (spinning)<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.04<br />
| 0.011<br />
| 0.027<br />
| 0.5<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| silver_tumble<br />
| a silver dollar (tumbling)<br />
| false<br />
| true<br />
| 0.04<br />
| 0.04<br />
| 0.027<br />
| 0.66<br />
| <br />
|-<br />
| carly<br />
| Carly Rae Jepsen<br />
| true<br />
| false<br />
| 1.575<br />
| 0.46<br />
| 49.895<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 10<br />
|-<br />
| thor<br />
| thor, god of thunder<br />
| true<br />
| false<br />
| 1.91<br />
| 0.59<br />
| 91<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 10000<br />
|-<br />
| chris hemsworth<br />
| chris hemsworth<br />
| true<br />
| false<br />
| 1.91<br />
| 0.59<br />
| 91<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 10<br />
|-<br />
| squirrel<br />
| A squirrel<br />
| true<br />
| true<br />
| 0.203<br />
| 0.096<br />
| 0.454<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 10<br />
|-<br />
| you (can change)<br />
| You <br />
| true <br />
| true <br />
| 1.77<br />
| (mass^(1/3))/8<br />
| 72.5<br />
| 0.6<br />
| 10<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Formulas===<br />
*Used Formulas:<br />
**g = 9.805;<br />
**A = (3 * thrower_length * thrower_throwPower * thrower_mass / (object_mass + thrower_mass / 1000))^(1 / 3);<br />
**B = sqrt(2 * object_mass * g / (PI * (object_diameter / 2)^2 * 1.2041 * object_dragC));<br />
***Result = A^2 * sqrt(2) / (g * sqrt(A^4 / B^4 * 0.8 + A^2 / B^2 * 3 + 2));<br />
**1,2041 is in units of kg/m³ and is the density of air at sea level<br />
**Both A and B are in units of speed m/s; throwPower is in m²/s³, or equivalently in m/s * N/kg, Or equivalently W/kg<br />
<br />
==Extra pages==<br />
As this comic is very complicated several screen shots and tables are needed for the full explanation. In order to keep this main page easy to use, these pictures and possibly some of the tables will be placed on some extra pages, as has also been done with [[:Category:Comic subpages|other complex comics]] in the past:<br />
*[[2198: Throw/Screen-shots]]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[As this is an interactive comic, not all possible text should be given in this transcript. Also, it is not possible to see all the different throwers or objects in one image. This transcript here includes the text that can be found when loading the page, without changing the thrower or object (the default), but also includes the text that can be found by scrolling in the two select "windows" as that would be similar to a long comic where you need to scroll as well as customization options. For further differences that occur by changing the objects refer to a table of all combinations.]<br />
<br />
:[A heading with a subheading is above a line, beneath which are a sentence, that is generated by the selections in the two windows beneath this sentence:]<br />
:<big>'''Throw Calculator'''</big><br />
:This calculator implements the approximate throwing distance estimation model from ''How To'' Chapter 10: ''How to throw things''.<br />
<br />
:How far could George Washington throw a Microwave oven?<br />
<br />
:[Beneath this sentence are two "windows" with a frame around them, one to the left and one to the right, each with a heading breaking the top frame. Each also has a scroll bar to the right, which allows one to scroll down through 8 different possible selections in the left window and 16 in the right window. There are, depending on the browser zoom level, one or two selections on each line. Each window's content is given here under their respective headings. Each possible selection is a drawing with a caption beneath it.]<br />
:Select a thrower<br />
<br />
:*You<br />
:*An NFL Quarterback<br />
:*George Washington<br />
:*Pikachu<br />
:*Carly Rae Jepsen<br />
:*Thor, God of Thunder<br />
:*Chris Hemsworth<br />
:*A squirrel<br />
<br />
:Select an object to be thrown<br />
:*You<br />
:*A microwave oven<br />
:*A basketball<br />
:*A blender<br />
:*A gold bar<br />
:*A wedding cake<br />
:*A ping-pong ball<br />
:*An acorn<br />
:*Thor's Hammer<br />
:*A javelin<br />
:*George Washington<br />
:*Pikachu<br />
:*A car<br />
:*A silver dollar (spinning)<br />
:*A silver dollar (tumbling)<br />
:*A squirrel<br />
<br />
:[Below the two windows is the result of the animation that will happen when a selection has been made. An animation of the selected thrower throwing (or failing to throw) the selected object is shown, and the object's traveling distance is measured out both in meters (SI units) and in some other unit in brackets below. If the distance is not too long compared to the size of the object and thrower, then both can be seen, and in case the object is soft it may break from the throw.]<br />
<br />
:[In the pre-selected version, George Washington throws a microwave oven, which ends up several meters from him lying on a corner broken with its wire lying beneath it. The distance is given under the ruler along which the throw has occurred, with markings for approximately every meter. In this case, there are seven steps even though the distance is above 7 meters:]<br />
:7.76 meters<br />
:(25.46 feet)<br />
<br />
:[Clicking on "You" in the thrower box opens a new window over the above described comic parts. some of the comic can still be seen including the thrower and his item, and a new throw occurs every time something is changed in this new window. It is a customization box with several options shown below.]<br />
<br />
:Your Name<br />
:____You_____ [can be changed]<br />
<br />
:Height<br />
:5.8 ft [number can be changed; ft can be changed to m]<br />
<br />
:Mass<br />
:160 lb [number can be changed; lb can be changed to kg]<br />
<br />
:Athleticism<br />
:[Below is a scale showing Black Hat, the character depicting You with a knit cap, George Washington, and a person with goggles and a helmet. A marker is set at You, but can be changed. Below the characters are descriptions.]<br />
:Black Hat: Moving objects around is for suckers.<br />
:Minimal<br />
:You: I'm in decent shape and have pretty good form.<br />
:Decent<br />
:George Washington: I'm so good at throwing they made me president.<br />
:Extremely High<br />
:Goggles: I use a time machine to train for 36 hours a day.<br />
:Champion Athlete<br />
<br />
:[Once done the box can be clicking on a cross at the top right or just clicking outside the window on the comic behind it. Now the thrower you (and the object you) will have the weight, length and strength chosen and will be able to throw (or be thrown) with these stats. ]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*The comic refers to Thor as the character from the Marvel comics and movies (and other media), who is himself a reference to the ancient Norse god. In Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth.<br />
*Thor's hammer, Mjölnir, bears an enchantment that prevents any living being from lifting it unless they are "worthy." This is reflected in the simulation by giving Mjölnir a mass of 2,000 kg.<br />
**In-universe, Thor's hammer weighs [https://urbandud.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/detail-128-thors-hammer.jpg?w=550 42.3 pounds].<br />
*The option to customize your own character was added to the comic later.<br />
*Due to a bug, the calculations for the customized person ('you') are incorrect when the mass is specified in pounds<br />
*When the comic came out there was a mistake so the item to be thrown was named the same as the thrower, except for the coins and for when Pikachu and George Washington tried to throw themselves in which case it for instance said:<br />
**[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/93/2198_Throw_-_Original_error_George_Himself.PNG How far could George Washington throw himself?]<br />
**But if he picked another object it would write:<br />
***[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/2198_Throw_-_Original_error_George_George.PNG How far could George Washington throw George Washington?]<br />
**See more examples [[2198:_Throw/Screen-shots#Errors|here]]<br />
*A one foot tall Champion Athlete You with a mass of over 524,644.3 pounds can throw the car 44 feet. In fact, the mass can be defined to 70 or more decimal places, with each incremental change allowing You to throw the car 44 feet, as long the addition is sufficient<br />
**Tester used trial and error and became bored after inputting the mass below:<br />
***524,664.3134471218218095600605010996328125[35 zeroes]1<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with animation]] <!-- Different throws --><br />
[[Category:Dynamic comics]] <br />
[[Category:Interactive comics]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]] <!-- model of throw distance --><br />
[[Category:American football]] <!-- NFL quaterback --><br />
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]] <!-- George Washington --><br />
[[Category:Pokémon]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] <!-- Carly Rae Jepsen, George Washington and Chris Hemsworth--><br />
[[Category:Religion]] <!-- Thor, questionable though as it is obviously the Marvel character --><br />
[[Category:Squirrels]]<br />
[[Category:Food]] <!-- Microwave oven Blender, cake --><br />
[[Category:Basketball]]<br />
[[Category:Sport]] <!-- ping pong, javelin --><br />
[[Category:Book promotion]]<br />
[[Category:How To]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=178495Talk:2193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T10:43:21Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Still a "trap": POOF, you're now the worst McFly cosplayer; here's a mirror.<br />
:She asked about people who 'tried' to dress as Marty McFly. So unless Megan has ever tried to dress as him, I don't think she can be the answer.[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:10, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
*Are* costumes well-ordered? Even leaving aside the subjectivity of any ranking, there are several different criteria which could be used, and many ways of combining them. (What if the costume which looked least like Marty wasn't the ugliest, nor the one showing least effort?) — Also, may be worth qualifying the explanation of Halloween by mentioning the USA; some other countries don't celebrate it, and of those that do, not all do trick-or-treating or dressing-up &c. [[User:Gidds|Gidds]] ([[User talk:Gidds|talk]]) 00:23, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Saying there are different criteria kind of overlaps with saying the ranking is subjective. But far worse, even individual preferences are preorders aka quasiorders, which absolutely does mean that there may not be a worst, or even a set of costumes tied for worst. However, the fact that you can always find someone (e.g. on Amazon Mechanical Turk, or off the street, or on a wiki somewhere) to give you another opinion means that well-foundedness can be rescued with their {{w|mean opinion score}}. I wonder if the genie is powerful enough to know the asymptotic MOS ranking right away, or if it will have to wait for enough Amazon Mechanical Turk HITs to be completed. Given that there must have been at least tens of thousands of consumes so far, that could take quite a long time to achieve p<0.05. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.248|172.69.22.248]] 04:00, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I hope this Munroe lowkey challenging the internet, that we might actually celebrate our infamous king (or girl marty queen) of crappy costume. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.219|162.158.58.219]] 00:37, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The "worst McFly" and "even" sounds like there should be a math pun in there somewhere, but I don't see it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.11|172.69.63.11]] 01:36, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"It's been over 30 years since Back to the Future came out." That makes me feel old. Isn't that something that Munroe does regularly? Should that be mentioned in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 10:42, 24 August 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2193:_Well-Ordering_Principle&diff=178494Talk:2193: Well-Ordering Principle2019-08-24T10:42:30Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Still a "trap": POOF, you're now the worst McFly cosplayer; here's a mirror.<br />
:She asked about people who 'tried' to dress as Marty McFly. So unless Megan has ever tried to dress as him, I don't think she can be the answer.[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 00:10, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
*Are* costumes well-ordered? Even leaving aside the subjectivity of any ranking, there are several different criteria which could be used, and many ways of combining them. (What if the costume which looked least like Marty wasn't the ugliest, nor the one showing least effort?) — Also, may be worth qualifying the explanation of Halloween by mentioning the USA; some other countries don't celebrate it, and of those that do, not all do trick-or-treating or dressing-up &c. [[User:Gidds|Gidds]] ([[User talk:Gidds|talk]]) 00:23, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Saying there are different criteria kind of overlaps with saying the ranking is subjective. But far worse, even individual preferences are preorders aka quasiorders, which absolutely does mean that there may not be a worst, or even a set of costumes tied for worst. However, the fact that you can always find someone (e.g. on Amazon Mechanical Turk, or off the street, or on a wiki somewhere) to give you another opinion means that well-foundedness can be rescued with their {{w|mean opinion score}}. I wonder if the genie is powerful enough to know the asymptotic MOS ranking right away, or if it will have to wait for enough Amazon Mechanical Turk HITs to be completed. Given that there must have been at least tens of thousands of consumes so far, that could take quite a long time to achieve p<0.05. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.248|172.69.22.248]] 04:00, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I hope this Munroe lowkey challenging the internet, that we might actually celebrate our infamous king (or girl marty queen) of crappy costume. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.58.219|162.158.58.219]] 00:37, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The "worst McFly" and "even" sounds like there should be a math pun in there somewhere, but I don't see it. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.11|172.69.63.11]] 01:36, 24 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
"It's been over 30 years since Back to the Future came out." That makes me feel old. Isn't that something that Munroe does regularly? Should that be mentioned in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 10:42, 24 August 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2186:_Dark_Matter&diff=1777832186: Dark Matter2019-08-09T02:23:35Z<p>162.158.214.88: The mass of squirrels is not "necessary to spin," it's what is detected to trigger the deterrent.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2186<br />
| date = August 7, 2019<br />
| title = Dark Matter<br />
| image = dark_matter.png<br />
| titletext = To detect dark matter, we just need to build a bird feeder that spins two squirrels around the rim in opposite directions at relativistic speeds and collides them together.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a DARK MATTER SQUIRREL ON A SPINNING BIRD FEEDER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are talking about {{w|dark matter}}, the mysterious invisible mass observed indirectly in the rate at which galaxies rotate. Megan states that dark matter's density in the solar system is 0.3&nbsp;GeV/cm<sup>3</sup>, as claimed, for example, by [https://arxiv.org/abs/1205.4033 Bovy and Tremaine (2012) "On the local dark matter density" in ''The Astrophysical Journal''.] Cueball does not understand what that means, so Megan explains that it equates to one squirrel's mass of dark matter in the volume of the Earth. In the final two panels, Cueball humorously misinterprets this as implying dark matter is actually one or more squirrels, and thereby provides the mass which causes [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfHu-UJaK0Q squirrels to spin on bird feeders designed to deter them] while birds, with lower mass, do not. This enrages Megan.<br />
<br />
The {{w|gigaelectronvolt}} (GeV) is a unit of energy that can be converted to a mass using {{w|Mass%E2%80%93energy_equivalence|Einstein's formula}} ''E'' = ''mc''<sup>2</sup>. It is typically used for subatomic particles, such as {{w|weakly interacting massive particles}} (WIMPs), one of {{w|Dark matter#Composition of dark matter: baryonic vs. nonbaryonic|several contending possibilities}} for the still-open question of the composition of dark matter, and one which Megan's uniform density figure implies constitutes most of it. For example, the mass of a proton is 0.938&nbsp;GeV/''c''<sup>2</sup>. However, it is common to omit the ''c''<sup>2</sup> denominator, representing masses as GeV or MeV. A mass represented as 0.3 GeV is equal to 5.35&nbsp;×&nbsp;10<sup>&minus;25</sup> grams [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=0.3+(GeV%2Fc%5E2)+in+grams]. Megan's figures imply that a {{w|squirrel}} has a mass of 580&nbsp;g [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=(0.3+(GeV%2Fc%5E2)%2Fcm%5E3)+*+(volume+of+earth)+in+grams] (about 1.3&nbsp;lb), a typical weight for several species of common squirrels.<br />
<br />
[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] are a recurring topic on xkcd, but are not a serious alternative to WIMPs as a scientific explanation for the composition of dark matter. Since the September 2015 detection by the {{w|LIGO|Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory}} (LIGO) and subsequent confirmation by the {{w|Virgo interferometer}} of gravitational waves from unexpectedly many merging {{w|black hole|black holes}} substantially more massive than those produced by stellar collapse, {{w|primordial black hole| primordial black holes}} (PBHs) have become a popular alternative explanation to WIMPs (or squirrels), attracting [https://arxiv.org/abs/1605.04023 proponents at NASA,] and [http://www.buchaltercosmologyprize.org/#announcements other cosmologists] for [https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.10458 several reasons.] But PBHs remain controversial, because if they constituted more than a very small portion of dark matter, [https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2041-8205/720/1/L67 alternative explanations would be almost entirely excluded.] <br />
<br />
Other alternative hypotheses for the observations suggesting dark matter, such as theories involving the {{w|Modified Newtonian dynamics|gravitational force varying over different distances}}, often upset cosmologists as much as Megan is shown to be, because they violate the {{w|cosmological principle}} among other issues. Part of this frustration may be due to the fact that even after many decades of careful, tremendously expensive, and often [http://www.allesfoen.de/artinscience/wordpress/?p=236 stunningly beautiful] experiments, none of the many explanations for dark matter or the observations suggesting it have as yet any support from direct empirical observations.<br />
<br />
To help resolve this mystery, the title text imagines using a spinning bird feeder like a {{w|particle accelerator}}, colliding squirrels at relativistic speeds as if they were atomic nuclei, to detect dark matter particles like the CERN accelerator discovered the {{w|Higgs boson}}. (Note, however, that accelerating even [https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/ one squirrel] to relativistic velocities would destroy the feeder along with any nearby birds, not to mention the squirrels.)<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan walks with Cueball. She is holding a hand out while telling Cueball something.]<br />
:Megan: Dark matter density in the solar system is around 0.3 GeV/cm<sup>3</sup><br />
:Cueball: Is... that a lot?<br />
<br />
:[As they continue to walk and talk she spreads her arms out.]<br />
:Megan: In terms of mass, it means the Earth contains one squirrel worth of dark matter at any given time.<br />
:Cueball: Wow.<br />
<br />
:[In a frame-less panel Cueball stops while Megan walks past him. Megan is face-palming herself while looking down.]<br />
:Cueball: Is there any way to find out which squirrel it is?<br />
:Megan: No, it's not literally-<br />
<br />
:[Cueball holds his hand with one finger up in front of Megan, while she has turned towards him and is holding both arms up, possible with balled fist, as she shouts back at him, shown both with large fat letters and with small lines emanating above her head.]<br />
:Cueball: Oh, that explains why they weigh enough to set off those spinning bird feeders!<br />
:Megan: '''''Dark matter isn't squirrels!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Squirrels]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2184:_Unpopular_Opinions&diff=177354Talk:2184: Unpopular Opinions2019-08-02T22:23:58Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
I wonder if it has to be below 50% with critic score, audience score, or both? [[User:Andyd273|Andyd273]] ([[User talk:Andyd273|talk]]) 17:36, 2 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Genisys has an Audience Score of 53%, so I think it has to be critic score (Tomatometer). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.124|108.162.241.124]] 21:42, 2 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/browse/dvd-streaming-all?minTomato=0&maxTomato=49&services=amazon;hbo_go;itunes;netflix_iw;vudu;amazon_prime;fandango_now&genres=1;2;4;5;6;8;9;10;11;13;18;14&sortBy=tomato Movies] on DVD or streaming, tomatometer 49% down to 0%. <br />
<br />
Plenty of Twilight fans will raise their hands - it is rated 49% --[[User:Thomcat|Thomcat]] ([[User talk:Thomcat|talk]]) 18:09, 2 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Well, I'm around the typical age of (original) Twilight fans, and none of the movies in the saga came in my adult life. (But they're all below 50%)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.103.147|162.158.103.147]] 18:27, 2 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
I mean, Shaft got a 30% on the Tomatometer and a 94 on the audience score, and I loved it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.22|108.162.241.22]] 18:57, 2 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Do Waterworld, in spite of the fact that it only ticks two of the boxes, count? I really liked that one.<br />
<br />
:If it didn't come out while you were an adult, then it doesn't count. [[User:N0lqu|-boB]] ([[User talk:N0lqu|talk]]) 20:16, 2 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I don't watch enough movies (or know Rotten Tomatoes well enough) to participate in this particular challenge, but it seems like every time I enjoy a video game, it turns out to have a sizeable and vocal hatedom. I seriously can't relate to the caption here. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.165|162.158.107.165]] 20:25, 2 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Batman v. Superman is probably a good answer for a fair number of people-it has a reasonable number of fans (including myself) who liked it, despite its very poor rating (28%) [[User:SirEpp|SirEpp]] ([[User talk:SirEpp|talk]]) 21:05, 2 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Not a movie, per se, but I thought season 8 of Game of Thrones was fantastic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 22:23, 2 August 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2171:_Shadow_Biosphere&diff=176188Talk:2171: Shadow Biosphere2019-07-04T10:49:09Z<p>162.158.214.88: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Just spit-balling here, but here goes: This comic seems to be making a joke between the meaning of "shadow biosphere" and the more common meaning behind "shadow" being something unseen. I think "shadow biosphere" is currently pretty loosely defined and not widely accepted by academics, and it seems to refer simply to organisms that might exist but are not currently being studied widely. In fact to me, the use of the term "shadow" in the name is relatively misleading and simply refers to a possible case of something not understood and/or studied at length, not that it's invisible. Randall appears to be making fun of the name by suggesting it means invisible to normal life as we know it. The title text further pushes this pun by suggesting that a coating of "desert varnish" makes normally visible objects become invisible, as with the buildings where shadow biologists carry out their work. Desert varnish is in fact visible when it is found in appropriate locations on normal objects like rocks - it does not make the rocks invisible! Somehow, I think these ideas need to be incorporated into the explanation. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 17:00, 3 July 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The first paragraph of this comic explanation is a verbatim copy from the beginning of the Wikipedia article for shadow biosphere. It seems that we really should include citations when adding something like this. ---diGGdoug {{unsigned ip|172.69.170.28}}<br />
<br />
The desert varnish reference in the alt text is because desert varnish is the most likely example of the shadow biosphere. It seems to be doing something at least vaugely like metabolism, concentrating certain minerals far beyond expected by nature. -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.67|162.158.107.67]] 19:47, 3 July 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This needs an SCP classification. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.175|172.68.189.175]] 03:45, 4 July 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Do you have a citation for that? Wikipedia article doesn't mention any metabolism. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.38.64|172.68.38.64]] 22:31, 3 July 2019 (UTC)bk<br />
<br />
Could "Shadow" be a Babylon 5 reference? -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.148|162.158.214.148]] 01:03, 4 July 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Could "Shadow" be referring to "Shadow Internet"? https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191742-esnet-the-100-gigabit-shadow-internet-that-only-the-us-government-has-access-to [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.88|162.158.214.88]] 10:49, 4 July 2019 (UTC)</div>162.158.214.88