https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=162.158.39.41&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T08:25:14ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2068:_Election_Night&diff=165574Talk:2068: Election Night2018-11-06T00:06:49Z<p>162.158.39.41: </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 is an early example of using red and blue to denote candidates and parties. Here, McKinley (R) gets blue and Bryan (D) red; it wasn't standardized on blue for Democrats and red for Republicans until after the 2000 election. NBC News having used red/R and blue/D that year, Tom Brokaw was the first to speak extensively of "red states" and "blue states" elevating that to political meme status and leading to standardization. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.78.166|162.158.78.166]] 14:36, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I was just going to mention the hat :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.191|108.162.246.191]] 14:57, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I distinctly remember the reporting during the 1980 election (Reagan vs. Carter) that the TV news used blue for Republicans and red for Democrats. I don't know why they later switched, but I have always assumed that Democrats got offended by the use of red (the color of the USSR's flag and many other communist organizations) for their party. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 15:19, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Beyond having one party being red and the other blue, there was no consistent color-coding scheme for the two major parties either from election to election or between news agencies prior to 2000. Both parties still officially list red, white, and blue as their colors. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.149|162.158.79.149]] 15:24, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::There's a long history about red and blue states, all of which comes directly from the media reporting the different parties. It's interesting to note that in Europe, the liberal parties are red and the conservative parties are blue (opposite of the US), and the fact that red is the color of the USSR has nothing to do with the Democrats "not wanting to be red," they didn't choose the colors. [[User:Zachweix|Zachweix]] ([[User talk:Zachweix|talk]]) 16:51, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::: Actually liberal parties tend to be in the yellow/orange part of the spectrum (see LibDems in the UK or FDP in Germany), red is for parties with more (historical) socialist leanings (Labour, SDP). [[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.4|188.114.102.4]] 19:25, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
:: European politics, unlike US politics, is multidimensional. [[User:Erkinalp|Erkinalp]] ([[User talk:Erkinalp|talk]]) 16:59, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: IIRC, blue was used for incumbents on some stations, red for challengers, and in 2000, blue stuck as the color of the democratic party, {{unsigned ip|162.158.79.107}}<br />
<br />
:::It seems to have been chosen pretty much arbitrarily. As much as I follow politics, I never heard of any clear association where the Democrats were blue and Republicans red -- ''or vice versa'' -- until after election night in 2000. Before then, there was no well-known standard as to which party would get which color on a map. The standard colors we have now only stuck based on the coverage from election night (and afterward) in 2000. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.150.46|172.68.150.46]] 17:26, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
God I feel awful for the Civil war vets with PTSD who decided to reside in Chicago. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.11|172.69.33.11]] 17:05, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What is the 'Needle' referring to? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.4|162.158.142.4]] 17:46, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
: The Traumatic Needle can be found here... https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/11/the-new-york-times-election-needle-is-back-with-a-few-new-safety-features {{unsigned ip|162.158.106.126}}<br />
<br />
I was reading this, expecting the last page (or the title text) to have someone commenting that lecturing to modern people about how things were in the past is a pretty trivial or bizarre waste of something as momentous as time travel; and top hat guy to reply that he didn't come to bring them a message, he's just avoiding the fireworks because he's fed up of the modern election-night media circus. -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 17:50, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Does anyone have a source for the 1896 reporting via fireworks referred to here? I've done a few Google searches, but so far haven't found anything. Historic issues of the Chicago Tribune is behind a paywall, so I can't go look there directly. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 18:40, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
: I assume Randall made this up? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.171|173.245.48.171]] 18:49, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::Telling from [https://img.newspapers.com/img/thumbnail/349884040/250/150/5939_4729_418_251/0/yes/5893_4842_511_25.jpg this snippet], it seems legit. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.172|172.68.50.172]] 18:54, 5 November 2018 (UTC) <br />
::: It is legit, scroll through the first result here:[https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=blue+to+indicate+McKinley%27s+election&ymd=1896-11-01]. (Update: I have no idea how to format this properly, somebody that knows how please fix this and feel free to remove this message) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.149|162.158.79.149]] 21:56, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::I fixed your problem, just start your comment at the beginning of a line. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:31, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, it is blocked by the Tribune's paywall. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 22:36, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
::::Is the hovertext quote legit, too? –[[User:P1h3r1e3d13|P1h3r1e3d13]] ([[User talk:P1h3r1e3d13|talk]]) 23:15, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
'''Papal conclave'''<br />
<br />
No one else sees parallels to the {{w|Papal conclave#Smoke colors|smoke colors}} after a papal conclave? It's white and black there, but the principle is the same (no telecommunication, ...) --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:15, 5 November 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Is the needle a relative of the good old swingometer. The BBc's favoured method of showing predicted General Election results based on polling and a uniform swing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.39.41|162.158.39.41]] 00:06, 6 November 2018 (UTC)</div>162.158.39.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:526:_Converting_to_Metric&diff=164198Talk:526: Converting to Metric2018-10-14T16:58:32Z<p>162.158.39.41: </p>
<hr />
<div>Why is 3L a two-liter bottle?[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 21:16, 28 April 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Because this is America and we supersize our sodas! {{unsigned ip|72.68.9.56}}<br />
<br />
:It is the volume of the bottle itself. I have added this explanation. [[User:Sten|Sten]] ([[User talk:Sten|talk]]) 22:39, 29 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:A 2L bottle doesn't take 3L of space, not even close. I also think it's a reference to overly large drinks in the US. But even if it isn't, the current explanation is wrong. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.34|108.162.229.34]] 22:28, 12 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: I suspect he's just messing with us, because the approximate volume of a two-liter bottle should be obvious. Many beverages sold in the US are already labeled in metric. Soda is routinely sold in one and two liter bottles, with three-liter bottles common in some markets. Bottled water is often sold in liters and half-liters. Liquor and wine are sold in 375 and 750 mL bottles. Also, since 1 quart = 946 mL, an approximate (+/- 5%) mental conversion from quarts to liters is already quite easy. [[User:Fryhole|Fryhole]] ([[User talk:Fryhole|talk]]) 01:35, 25 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: Yes. He is just joking. The name of the bottle contains its volume. The 3 liter measurement is a joke. It would be like saying a cup has 2 cups of volume. [[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 01:58, 4 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::My coffee cup is 12 ounces. Given a standard 8 ounce cup, my coffee cup is 1.5 cups.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 15:24, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
My names River, that is all --[[Special:Contributions/139.216.242.254|139.216.242.254]] 02:52, 29 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Tick tock, goes the clock, 'till River kills the Doctor<br />
<br />
Earth's hottest is 70,7 °C... [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.29|199.27.128.29]] 03:06, 24 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:The world record as per wikipedia (and Guiness) is "only" 56.7. See corrected explanation above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:03, 6 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There was an incomplete asking for checking all measures and also for making sure that the references to serenity and velociraptors was mentioned. I did this, the last two by assigning the categories (firefly), and then also creating a new [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Your_Mom category:Your Mom]. I now consider this explanation complete. Although if someone will speculate two whom the remaining two from the Serenity crew tower then please do so ;-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:03, 6 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Simon and Kaylee is my guess. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.85|173.245.55.85]] 22:17, 30 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The speed of rapors given here is very different from [[135: Substitute]]. [[User:B jonas|B jonas]] ([[User talk:B jonas|talk]]) 14:58, 25 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
This sentence in the 'Mass' section has a [small] error: 'This is a common theme in XKCD.'-- it should be 'xkcd', not 'XKCD'. See the website for Randall's personal opinion on this. Anyways, it's small, but kinda stands out if your a reeallyy hardcore fan. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.73|173.245.55.73]] 05:39, 9 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks for your hint, an update is done. But please add your comments here at the bottom. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:26, 9 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
-40 degrees centigrade is also -40 degrees Fahrenheit! The only such temperature.--DrMath 07:51, 7 July 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This is tagged with "Featuring real people" -- I don't see any real people in here, should we removethat tag? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 02:21, 25 July 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: It refers to Shaq, Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Summer Glau, your mom... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 08:18, 29 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Ron Paul is not a republican though. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|Yourlifeisalie]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 16:33, 5 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
kph got me confused, because "km/h" is the usual way of displaying kilometers per hour. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.212|162.158.90.212]]<br />
<br />
As a Maine resident I concur with this sentiment: "at -30°, the user is incapable of closing their mouth after starting the first "fuck", and so extends it into one long one." However, try uttering the word "fuck" without closing your mouth... uck-uck-uck... {{unsigned ip|Npsych}}<br />
<br />
13kph is not a typical jogging pace. At least I hope not. That would make me depressingly slow. {{unsigned ip|162.158.150.100}}<br />
<br />
;The whole point of this comic<br />
<br />
I thought the whole point of this comic was NOT to think in terms of non-SI units. The only reason (we) Amercans cling to customary/imperial units is because when some quantity of something is expressed in SI units you may as well tell them it's however many quatloos, because the average American has no idea what the units are like...nothing to which to compare that item. Approach learning SI units EXACTLY how you learned customary units: pick up a kilo (pound) and feel how much Earth's gravity tugs on it, stick your hand out in the outdoor air and feel what the NWS or a thermometer tells you what the C (F) temp is, eyeball a meter (yard) stick and try to remember how long that is, and so on. You're only hamstringing yourself by constant numeric conversions to some other system. For example, just accept a cm is a cm, and DON'T WORRY about how big that is in any other system. IMHO it is counterproductive to have the customary units (the conversions) in this explanation, and ALL of them should be removed. {{unsigned|RChandra}}<br />
<br />
Objection: In Australia are bottled drinks are 600 mL. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.222|162.158.2.222]] 00:45, 6 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Was it really necessary to say 'Season 1' when talking about Firefly? ;_; [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.68|108.162.219.68]] 04:10, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Anyone know if there's something like this comic for learning Customary when you're used to Metric? I have a European friend with an American copy of D&D 5th edition that's tasked with DM'ing on short notice. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.144|162.158.122.144]] 21:43, 26 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
25 m/s is 90 km/h, not 100 km/h as stated in the comic. Is this also supposed to be a joke? {{unsigned ip|162.158.222.46}}<br />
:The inaccuracy is mentioned in the explanation. And please sign you comments.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:48, 25 September 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
23 degrees is a more comfortable value for room temperature. It also gets used in school physics questions, where we were allowed to convert it to 300 kelvin. (Sorry, but 26.85 degrees is too warm for a room.)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.39.41|162.158.39.41]] 16:58, 14 October 2018 (UTC)</div>162.158.39.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:526:_Converting_to_Metric&diff=164197Talk:526: Converting to Metric2018-10-14T16:53:40Z<p>162.158.39.41: </p>
<hr />
<div>Why is 3L a two-liter bottle?[[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 21:16, 28 April 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Because this is America and we supersize our sodas! {{unsigned ip|72.68.9.56}}<br />
<br />
:It is the volume of the bottle itself. I have added this explanation. [[User:Sten|Sten]] ([[User talk:Sten|talk]]) 22:39, 29 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:A 2L bottle doesn't take 3L of space, not even close. I also think it's a reference to overly large drinks in the US. But even if it isn't, the current explanation is wrong. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.34|108.162.229.34]] 22:28, 12 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: I suspect he's just messing with us, because the approximate volume of a two-liter bottle should be obvious. Many beverages sold in the US are already labeled in metric. Soda is routinely sold in one and two liter bottles, with three-liter bottles common in some markets. Bottled water is often sold in liters and half-liters. Liquor and wine are sold in 375 and 750 mL bottles. Also, since 1 quart = 946 mL, an approximate (+/- 5%) mental conversion from quarts to liters is already quite easy. [[User:Fryhole|Fryhole]] ([[User talk:Fryhole|talk]]) 01:35, 25 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:: Yes. He is just joking. The name of the bottle contains its volume. The 3 liter measurement is a joke. It would be like saying a cup has 2 cups of volume. [[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 01:58, 4 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
:::My coffee cup is 12 ounces. Given a standard 8 ounce cup, my coffee cup is 1.5 cups.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 15:24, 16 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
My names River, that is all --[[Special:Contributions/139.216.242.254|139.216.242.254]] 02:52, 29 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Tick tock, goes the clock, 'till River kills the Doctor<br />
<br />
Earth's hottest is 70,7 °C... [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.29|199.27.128.29]] 03:06, 24 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:The world record as per wikipedia (and Guiness) is "only" 56.7. See corrected explanation above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:03, 6 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There was an incomplete asking for checking all measures and also for making sure that the references to serenity and velociraptors was mentioned. I did this, the last two by assigning the categories (firefly), and then also creating a new [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Your_Mom category:Your Mom]. I now consider this explanation complete. Although if someone will speculate two whom the remaining two from the Serenity crew tower then please do so ;-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:03, 6 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Simon and Kaylee is my guess. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.85|173.245.55.85]] 22:17, 30 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The speed of rapors given here is very different from [[135: Substitute]]. [[User:B jonas|B jonas]] ([[User talk:B jonas|talk]]) 14:58, 25 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
This sentence in the 'Mass' section has a [small] error: 'This is a common theme in XKCD.'-- it should be 'xkcd', not 'XKCD'. See the website for Randall's personal opinion on this. Anyways, it's small, but kinda stands out if your a reeallyy hardcore fan. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.73|173.245.55.73]] 05:39, 9 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Thanks for your hint, an update is done. But please add your comments here at the bottom. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:26, 9 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
-40 degrees centigrade is also -40 degrees Fahrenheit! The only such temperature.--DrMath 07:51, 7 July 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This is tagged with "Featuring real people" -- I don't see any real people in here, should we removethat tag? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 02:21, 25 July 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: It refers to Shaq, Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, Summer Glau, your mom... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 08:18, 29 September 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Ron Paul is not a republican though. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|Yourlifeisalie]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 16:33, 5 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
kph got me confused, because "km/h" is the usual way of displaying kilometers per hour. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.212|162.158.90.212]]<br />
<br />
As a Maine resident I concur with this sentiment: "at -30°, the user is incapable of closing their mouth after starting the first "fuck", and so extends it into one long one." However, try uttering the word "fuck" without closing your mouth... uck-uck-uck... {{unsigned ip|Npsych}}<br />
<br />
13kph is not a typical jogging pace. At least I hope not. That would make me depressingly slow. {{unsigned ip|162.158.150.100}}<br />
<br />
;The whole point of this comic<br />
<br />
I thought the whole point of this comic was NOT to think in terms of non-SI units. The only reason (we) Amercans cling to customary/imperial units is because when some quantity of something is expressed in SI units you may as well tell them it's however many quatloos, because the average American has no idea what the units are like...nothing to which to compare that item. Approach learning SI units EXACTLY how you learned customary units: pick up a kilo (pound) and feel how much Earth's gravity tugs on it, stick your hand out in the outdoor air and feel what the NWS or a thermometer tells you what the C (F) temp is, eyeball a meter (yard) stick and try to remember how long that is, and so on. You're only hamstringing yourself by constant numeric conversions to some other system. For example, just accept a cm is a cm, and DON'T WORRY about how big that is in any other system. IMHO it is counterproductive to have the customary units (the conversions) in this explanation, and ALL of them should be removed. {{unsigned|RChandra}}<br />
<br />
Objection: In Australia are bottled drinks are 600 mL. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.222|162.158.2.222]] 00:45, 6 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Was it really necessary to say 'Season 1' when talking about Firefly? ;_; [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.68|108.162.219.68]] 04:10, 4 May 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Anyone know if there's something like this comic for learning Customary when you're used to Metric? I have a European friend with an American copy of D&D 5th edition that's tasked with DM'ing on short notice. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.144|162.158.122.144]] 21:43, 26 January 2017 (UTC)<br />
<br />
25 m/s is 90 km/h, not 100 km/h as stated in the comic. Is this also supposed to be a joke? {{unsigned ip|162.158.222.46}}<br />
:The inaccuracy is mentioned in the explanation. And please sign you comments.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:48, 25 September 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
23 degrees is a more comfortable value for room temperature. It also gets used in school physics questions, where we were allowed to convert it to 300 kelvin.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.39.41|162.158.39.41]] 16:53, 14 October 2018 (UTC)</div>162.158.39.41