https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.68.146.45&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T13:30:12ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2735:_Coordinate_Plane_Closure&diff=3060692735: Coordinate Plane Closure2023-02-11T00:44:05Z<p>172.68.146.45: /* Transcript */ Minor fixes: axis -> axes; graphs -> graph's</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2735<br />
| date = February 8, 2023<br />
| title = Coordinate Plane Closure<br />
| image = coordinate_plane_closure_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 271x376px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = 3D graphs that don't contact the plane in the closure area may proceed as scheduled, but be alert for possible collisions with 2D graph lines that reach the hole and unexpectedly enter 3D space.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a NOTAM GENERATOR - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a "Math Notice," which is presumably a warning or reminder for mathematicians or others who interact with the field of mathematics, in a similar way to how a "Travel Notice" may prewarn drivers of planned road closures for repairs (or [https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/spacex/ rocketry]). It also has similarities to that of a {{w|Notice to mariners}} or {{w|NOTAM|air missions}}, where nautical or aeronautical navigation might be impinged by a clear area (or volume) that should be kept clear from in the near future, and to notices from websites or software providers about planned maintenance, which alert users about upcoming outages. Specifically, this notice advises those who are using the coordinate plane to avoid drawing any graphs in the area with a hole until the damage is patched or fixed.<br />
<br />
The joke may have been inspired as a response to the {{w|2023 China balloon incident}}, which occurred a few days earlier. This had occasioned one of the largest temporary flight restrictions, with a closed airspace as a response, in U.S. history. <br />
<br />
{{w|Coordinate planes}} are used in math for drawing graphs. The joke here is that a small section has been "closed for maintenance," likening the concept of a coordinate plane to an actual physical platform used by math, which is therefore vulnerable to damage such as is shown in the comic. In reality, the coordinate plane cannot be damaged as it is not a tangible thing.{{citation needed}}<br />
<br />
Closure in mathematics can be a term relating to sets, specifically operations on sets, and a coordinate plane is a particular set of numbers. A set is closed under an operation if all the "answers" to the operation are also in the set. The coordinate plane is said to be closed under vector addition for example - adding together any two coordinates produces another coordinate in the plane. Many functions and operators may be said to have closure on the real plane, and this comic may be a pun on that term. However, if there actually is a hole in the plane, then suddenly the plane will no longer exhibit closure. <br />
<br />
Also related to closure is the {{w|closure problem}}. Put simply, the closure problem is to find the highest or lowest weight of a closure in certain types of graphs. This comic may also be talking about the closure problem, as it talks about a hole in the graph, and to minimise it would be referring to the closure problem.<br />
<br />
Closure can also be used in another sense, relating to the topology of a set; roughly speaking, a description of what parts of the set are "close" to others. In this sense, if one takes the closure of a plane with a hole, the result is indeed an intact plane, provided the hole is sufficiently (infinitesimally) small.<br />
<br />
The title text notes that 3D graphs that cross the relevant x and y coordinates, but with non-zero z coordinates whilst in that zone, should be fine, since the hole only exists in the plane where z = 0. However, if they pass close - i.e. the z coordinate is small in this region - they should be wary of two dimensional graph lines suddenly become three-dimensional and interfering with them. This could be because they have intentionally entered three-dimensional space to avoid the closure, or possibly they have inadvertently been 'launched' above/below the plane by the torn and warped edges of the surface. This is similar to warnings to road traffic in open lanes being warned of traffic merging from lanes that have been closed due to works or any other general warning of increased congestion upon a parallel route used as a diversion.<br />
<br />
The concept of 2D objects suddenly entering 3D space — in a way that creates interesting drama and conflict — is the subject of a book, Flatland, that Randall is familiar with, as it was the subject of [[721: Flatland]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A coordinate graph is shown with both axes unlabeled but with two labeled ticks. In the middle of the shown area of the graph there is a hole torn in the white "fabric" of the graph's plane. It has jagged edges and lines runs away from the hole in all directions. The area visible through the hole is covered in thin gray lines, and the edges of the hole cast shadows onto the surface below. Two points are marked on the graph at coordinates (X,Y) of (1.5, 1) and (2, 1.5). These two dots marks two of the corners of a square drawn with gray dotted lines, The square completely surrounds the hole. Above the graph there is a very large heading, with black danger triangles with exclamation marks in them, on either side of the heading. Below this there are three lines of text. And below the graph there are four more lines of text.]<br />
:<big>! Math Notice !</big><br />
:The coordinate plane will be closed Thursday between (1.5, 1) and (2, 1.5) to repair a hole.<br />
:Labels on Y-axis ticks: 1 2<br />
:Labels on X-axis ticks: 1 2<br />
:If your graph uses this area, please postpone drawing until Friday or transform it to different coordinates.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>172.68.146.45https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2715:_Pando&diff=3033462715: Pando2022-12-23T20:56:29Z<p>172.68.146.45: /* Explanation */ Moving 'Sidenote' requesting contributions from explanatory text to discussion.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2715<br />
| date = December 23, 2022<br />
| title = Pando<br />
| image = pando_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 422x372px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = The presents under the tree are actually a single gift connected by an underground ribbon system.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CHRISTMAS PANDA — Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Pando_(tree)|Pando}} is a {{w|Populus tremuloides|quaking aspen}} tree colony in {{w|Fishlake National Forest}}, Utah. Depending on how you measure[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWAA-SrrFUQ], Pando is the largest living organism on earth, and is thereby also the largest tree on earth. By dry mass, i.e. the weight not including water, Pando is the largest living thing humans have found. There is [https://www.forbes.com/sites/linhanhcat/2019/02/22/largest-organism-in-the-world/?sh=43fdf2a444ac one fungus in Oregon] which may weigh more including water, but that fungus is [[1749: Mushrooms|not a tree]].{{citation needed}}<br />
<br />
Pando is a Tree colony, a type of {{w|Clonal colony}} made of trees. Clonal colonies all form from the same seed or other origin, and are all genetically identical. Tree colonies spread using their extensive root system. Under all trees there are {{w|Root|roots}}, which gather nutrients and water from soil. On clonal trees (such as the {{w|Populus tremuloides|Quaking Aspen}}, Pando's species), when roots from one tree surface they can form another stalk/tree, remaining the same genetic stock, unlike propogation by seeds. This clone then grows its own root network and, where they surface, they too perform the same continuity. However, crucially, the linking roots between 'generations' of the plant do not naturally separate, so all effective clones naturally stay attached. Each such unit still has an individually limited lifespan, only a few decades/centuries, but the colony can persist and propogate in this manner for millennia. For example, the only known wild example of {{w|Lomatia tasmanica|''Lomatia tasmanica'', aka King's lomatia}}, is a clonal shrub thought to be at least 43,600 years old, and Pando itself is thought to be around 14,000 years old.<br />
<br />
{{w|Christmas}} is a celebration on the 25th of December, traditionally celebrating the birth of {{w|Jesus}}, which is often claimed to be built heavily upon pagan traditions[https://chefin.com.au/blog/these-6-christmas-traditions-are-actually-pagan-customs/] (though this is disputed by historians[https://historyforatheists.com/2020/12/pagan-christmas/]) and annual social customs, then arguably converted into a far more secular event for many. This comic was published on the 23rd of December, 2 days until Christmas, or [[Christmas Eve Eve]]<br />
<br />
The concept of a {{w|Christmas tree}}, itself, is rooted<!--No Pun Intended--> in various pre-Christian folkloric traditions and, in the modern era, may be adapted or adopted as required by local and personal circumstances. It need not be an {{w|Evergreen}} fir tree with an angel (or star) atop, though that is the oft-depicted image in either great detail or as a simplified cartoonish depiction, but can be merely any handy plant (or artificial substitute) strewn with such decorations and/or {{w|Christmas lights|lights}} as the owner wishes. Because humans are, well, humans, people and places often compete to hold the record for the largest Christmas tree. At time of publishing (and writing), the tallest Christmas tree is officially a 64.36m (221ft) tall {{w|Douglas fir}} that was displayed in {{w|Northgate Station (shopping mall)|Northgate Shopping Center}}{{Actual citation needed}}, Seattle, WA in 1950[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/77271-tallest-christmas-tree][https://www.historylink.org/File/21359]. The most widely spread, however, is likely the [https://www.italybyevents.com/en/events/umbria/world-largest-christmas-tree-gubbio/ Christmas tree display] in {{w|Gubbio}}, a town in Umbria, Italy, where hundreds of trees on a mountain face are lit up with light to form a Christmas tree shape. <br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Randall]] proposes putting Christmas lights all the way around Pando to turn into (technically) a Christmas tree. As Pando is the worlds largest tree then, if this plan were to be carried out, it would safely take the record and hold it for quite some time. In the inset map, Randall has drawn the path of the Christmas lights as a {{w|convex hull}} around the edge of Pando. [https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Wgz5CxvxHC7FKMHWp5zkPQuQsZevBqU&usp=sharing Roughly tracing Pando on Google Maps] reveals its perimeter to be roughly 2.77km or 1.72 miles, or roughly 9,000ft. Allowing a little wiggle-room for differing levels of accuracy, and possibly the extra length required to suspend the shallow {{w|catenary}} loops and wrap around the various supporting branches, 9,300ft of Christmas lights seems about right.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests that how similar to the fact that the trees that make up Pando are in fact interconnected by (underground) roots, all the gifts under the proposed Christmas tree are interconnected by underground ribbons.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[The main comic frame is a profile view of a number of separated trees, of varying heights and maturity, across each of which (of those with sufficient height) has apparently been draped a single chain of decorative lights that goes from off-image at one side to off-image at the other.]<br />
<br />
:[Inset in the bottom right is a mini-map implicating that these light-linked 'trees' are actually all risers from a single large superorganism (as a shaded complex but contiguous shape labelled "Pando"), the map has a "N"orth pointer, a scale bar indicating the length of "1,000 ft" (approximately a third of the shaded mass's full width) and a convex hull perimeter line tightly fitting the shaded area that has an indicative arrow from a label informing us that its length would be "9,300 ft".]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below:] Christmas Science Fact: Pando is approximately 9,300 feet of lights away from being the world's largest Christmas Tree.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]] <!-- A couple of examples of "ft", upon the inlaid minimap--><br />
[[Category:Christmas]] <br />
[[Category:Biology]]</div>172.68.146.45https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=859:_(&diff=291820859: (2022-08-02T20:41:48Z<p>172.68.146.45: braces are the {}</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 859<br />
| date = February 11, 2011<br />
| title = (<br />
| image = (.png<br />
| titletext = Brains aside, I wonder how many poorly-written xkcd.com-parsing scripts will break on this title (or ;;"'<nowiki/>'{<<[' this mouseover text."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Explanation ==<br />
<br />
In programming, punctuation is often used to mark sections of code. Paired punctuation marks must always be matched up with a corresponding closing mark, otherwise a so-called {{w|syntax error}} occurs. The programming language {{w|Lisp_(programming_language)|Lisp}} (also featured in [[224: Lisp]] is known for large numbers of nested/paired parentheses. Even in literary works intended only for human consumption, the absence of a matching closing parenthesis as appears in this sentence or other "balanced" punctuation sets creates a mental expectation of eventual closure and completion that remains unfulfilled even long after the unmatched mark is encountered.<br />
<br />
There is also reference to [[312: With Apologies to Robert Frost]] which could contain the missing parentheses.<br />
<br />
It can also be interpreted as a {{w|metaphor}}, which compares the reader with a Lisp {{w|Interpreter (Computing)|interpreter}}. The interpreter looks for the parenthesis until the end of the file, where it eventually halts, and prints out the error. The comic claims that if you read an unmatched parenthesis, you will look for it for the rest of the day too.<br />
<br />
It also refers to an awkward feeling when you see something out of place in a piece of literary text (like unmatched parentheses, spellying error or a randomly-plac,ed comma..<br />
<br />
Finally, in some countries (Russia in particular) they use just parentheses instead of text smileys so that :) turns into ) and :( becomes (. Hence Russians can magically resist the unresolved tension of the comic but may feel a bit sad instead as a side effect. <br />
<br />
The title text refers to the same issue as already highlighted in [[327: Exploits of a Mom]]: if your scripts trust external input, you sometimes will be surprised. At the time of this comic, there were quite a few websites that would grab the xkcd comic three times a week and publish them on their own site. This comic likely broke at least some of the websites because of either the unmatched paren or the extra unmatched markup that is in the title text.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Caption inside an oblong panel:]<br />
:(An unmatched left parenthesis creates an unresolved tension that will stay with you all day.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Programming]]</div>172.68.146.45https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2651:_Air_Gap&diff=291043Talk:2651: Air Gap2022-07-29T00:29:50Z<p>172.68.146.45: Should we mention the inverter?</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Worth noting that this is a large and inefficient version of an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opto-isolator opto-isolator] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.79|108.162.221.79]] 05:37, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Incandescent light bulb (assuming it the lamp does not use LED in the shape of light bulb) is not only less efficient than diode, but also much slower to warm up and cool down - it usually is much more sensitive to rapid switching, and has shorter life counted in the number of on/off cycles. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 07:45, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: There’s not even any indication that the bulb is shaped like an incandescent bulb. Only that the front of the light (either fixture or bulb) is a convex curve. For all we know that could be a lens or diffuser in front of a flat LED. Whoever wrote that needs to go back and walk, because the claim that an incandescent bulb is depicted is quite simply false.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.142.89|172.71.142.89]] 10:35, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: I don't think it's less or more efficient than an opto-isolator, it essentially ''is'' just an opto-isolator. But an opto-isolator isn't supposed to be energy efficient to begin with; it's only designed to transmit data between circuits, not power. So the output side only needs to generate enough voltage/current to change the state of a transistor, and the input side only needs to generate enough light for the output side to do that. The voltages and currents involved aren't comparable to power circuits. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 08:14, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: By the way, wikipedia links can be written like this: <code><nowiki>[[wikipedia:opto-isolator|]]</nowiki></code> result: [[wikipedia:opto-isolator|opto-isolator]] (the final <code>|</code> automatically gets expanded to the article title without the <code>wikipedia:</code> prefix). --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 08:26, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Or more often here on ExplainXkcd, <code><nowiki>{{w|article}}</nowiki></code> or <code><nowiki>{{w|article|anchor text}}</nowiki></code>. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 08:35, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::: Yes, thanks :) although there is a tiiiiiny advantage to the direct link without the template (the way I said), <code><nowiki>[[wikipedia:Pipe (computing)|]]</nowiki></code> becomes [[wikipedia:Pipe (computing)|Pipe]] whereas <code><nowiki>{{w|Pipe (computing)}}</nowiki></code> becomes {{w|Pipe (computing)}}. The pipe trick strips out the disambiguation parts of the title according to [[Wikipedia:Help:Pipe trick|some rules]]. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 12:30, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::: Why not <code><nowiki>{{w|Pipe (computing)|pipe}}</nowiki></code>? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.95|172.70.214.95]] 15:18, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It is missing that air-gapping the power supply would protect your home from voltage surges in the power network caused by lightning strikes. Depending where the lightning hits the power network, there may be no fuses protecting your home or single fuses may fail to protect you. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.246.115|172.70.246.115]] 07:57, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:That is true. But the suggestion that this might have anything to do with general energy security (as is currently very prominent in the explanation) is entirely unconvincing to me.<br />
::I also originally thought this was the main joke, until seeing the title text about bit rate. Certainly it's worth mentioning, even if this isn't the main joke, since it would actually work, with a wide enough gap, ideally with a vacuum in between.<br />
<br />
Incandescent light bulbs convert most of their energy to infrared light. There are solar cells that work in this infrared spectrum, so this might not be all that inefficient as stated. This should in fact be a lot more efficient than any LED+visible spectrum based panel, as incandescent bulbs are very efficient in converting electricity into infrared light, much more than LEDs most likely will ever be.<br />
The (mostly) omnidirectionality of the light source might be an even bigger loss, as most of the light (however efficient) does not even reach the panel.<br />
And regarding sending data over this construct: As soon as there's a 0V state (which will be the case as soon as the transmission starts, due to some form of manchester coding, regardless of it being a 0 or 1 bit) the PC behind the solar panel would not only have a data transmission problem :)<br />
(With incandescent bulb, that is. A LED 0V might be short enough for capacitors in the PC's power supply to buffer it, if it is only at 50%(+PSU conversion loss) load max, as manchester coded signals per definition have a duty cycle of 50% to keep the DC bias at 0V)<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.204|172.68.51.204]] 08:26, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What is the highest wattage commercial opto-isolator, and how can I get one mounted from the ceiling in my bedroom? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.8|172.70.207.8]] 14:10, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wonder if it's worth noting the significant understatement within the title text, where it says "the bitrate does drop a little" in contrast to the severe and drastic drop in bitrate that would actually occur, especially in light of today's typical Internet speeds. It might not be worth mentioning, but it struck me as a humorous understatement of the true impact. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:25, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
:We don't know if the light bulb is incandescent or LED, so we can't describe the bandwidth drop other than in very general terms. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.88|172.70.211.88]] 15:34, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm almost tempted to suggest that this should be an (honourary) addition to the Cursed Connectors comic-collection. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.94.187|172.71.94.187]] 14:56, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Yes, solar panels can transform electrical into electromagnetic signals. It is more on the side of the incandescent bulb that the capability to receive and forward these signals is missing. My source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGUteH93xNo<br />
[[User:Torge|Torge]] ([[User talk:Torge|talk]]) 15:11, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Nobody caught on that powerline networking is about sending data through powerlines? or that a crude opto-isolation setup could effectively scrub it? Where my networking geeks at? I am disappoint [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.51|172.69.71.51]] 15:19, 28 July 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Electrical engineering here: perhaps we should mention that the box pictured after the solar panel must be an inverter? The lightbulb/solar panel pair will be acting as a rectifier, putting out purely positive voltage, and to get back to AC to run appliances on there would need to be an inverter.</div>172.68.146.45https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=980:_Money/Prices_in_tables&diff=272521980: Money/Prices in tables2022-05-21T01:23:21Z<p>172.68.146.45: Undo revision 270768 by Explain xkcd server admin (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>__NOTOC__<br />
Below are five tables listing the prices of the items in [[980: Money]].<br />
<br />
{{incomplete|Values still need double-checking. Possibly spelling as well.}}<br />
==Dollars==<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Item<br />
! Price<br />
! Notes<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Dollar bills<br />
|-<br />
| $1 Bill<br />
| $1<br />
| one dollar is generally believed to have the value of one dollar {{citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| $10 Bill<br />
| $10<br />
| ten dollars are just ten times one dollar,{{citation needed}} see above<br />
|-<br />
| $500 Bill (William McKinley, discontinued)<br />
| $500<br />
| discontinued bills [https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/06/11/how-much-is-a-500-bill-worth.aspx might be worth more than their original value] but can still be used as normal currency worth its designated value (in this case 500$)<br />
|-<br />
| $1000 Bill (Grover Cleveland, discontinued)<br />
| $1000<br />
| discontinued bill, see above<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Fruit<br />
|-<br />
| Apples (one dozen) <br />
| $5.68<br />
| the price has since [https://www.in2013dollars.com/Apples/price-inflation/2011-to-2021?amount=1.31 risen due to inflation]<br />
|-<br />
| Oranges (one dozen)<br />
| $3.08<br />
| the price has since [https://www.in2013dollars.com/Oranges,-including-tangerines/price-inflation/2011-to-2021?amount=1.44 risen due to inflation]<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Fast Food<br />
|-<br />
| Dollar Menu item<br />
| $1.00<br />
| most dollar menus cost one dollar,{{citation needed}} hence the name<br />
|-<br />
| Starbucks Coffee<br />
| $2.00<br />
| ten years later, one might for that price get a <s>small</s> [https://realmenuprices.com/starbucks-menu-prices/ tall freshly brewed coffee]<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Average US Restaurant Meals<br />
|-<br />
| Average single US restaurant meal<br />
| $35.65<br />
| According to [https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zagat-2012-americas-top-restaurants-survey-reveals-81-of-diners-support-posting-health-letter-grades-132507138.html Zagat's 2012 restaurant survey].<br />
|-<br />
| Average meal at the 20 costliest San Francisco restaurants<br />
| $85.27<br />
| According to [https://money.cnn.com/2005/12/22/pf/meals_averagecost/ a 2005 Zagat survey].<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="7"|Dinner for four<br />
|-<br />
| Homemade rice and pinto beans<br />
| $9.26 (With time cost of two hours of shopping, travel, preparation and cleanup: $41.80)<br />
| From [https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2011/09/24/opinion/sunday/20110925_BITTMAN_MARSHgph.html?ref=sunday this infographic] made for [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/is-junk-food-really-cheaper.html this NYT article] (paywall). Time cost at a rate of $16.27/hr ''maybe'' from [https://independentsector.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/value-of-volunteer-time-state-historical-2001-2019.pdf this source for value of volunteer hours].{{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Homemade chicken dinner<br />
| $13.78 (With time cost of two hours of shopping, travel, preparation and cleanup: $46.32)<br />
| Same sources as above.<br />
|-<br />
| McDonalds<br />
| $27.89 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $36.03)<br />
| Same sources as above.<br />
|-<br />
| Arby’s<br />
| $34.00 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $42.13)<br />
| Same value as above for time cost. Base cost ''possibly'' from personal experience. {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Chili’s<br />
| $69.64 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $77.78)<br />
| Same as Arby's<br />
|-<br />
| Outback Steakhouse<br />
| $109.82 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $117.96)<br />
| Same as Arby's<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Vehicles<br />
|-<br />
| Low-end bicycle<br />
| $190<br />
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=low-end+bicycle+price a quick google search] will tell us that this is a fairly realistic price still<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Clothes<br />
|-<br />
| Men's suit<br />
| $400<br />
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=men's+suit+price a quick google search] will tell us that this is a fairly realistic price, although there are much cheaper suits out there<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Debt<br />
|-<br />
| Daily interest on average credit card debt<br />
| $5.63<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Daily income<br />
|-<br />
| Median household daily income<br />
| $136.28<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Taxes<br />
| $32.16<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| After-tax<br />
| $104.12<br />
| it is just the taxes subtracted from the median household daily income<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Game Consoles<br />
|-<br />
| PS3<br />
| $250<br />
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=playstation+3+price a quick google search] will tell us that their demand has decreased significantly since other consoles (PS4, PS5) were released and there are no more new games being developed for the Playstation 3<br />
|-<br />
| Xbox 360<br />
| $200<br />
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=xbox+360+price a quick google search] will tell us that their demand has decreased significantly since other consoles (Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S) were released and there are no more new games being developed for the Xbox 360<br />
|-<br />
| Wii<br />
| $150<br />
| [https://www.google.com/search?q=nintendo+wii+price a quick google search] will tell us that their demand has decreased significantly since other consoles (Wii U, Nintendo Switch) were released and there are no more new games being developed for the Nintendo Wii<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="9"|Electronics<br />
|-<br />
| Kindle Fire<br />
| $199<br />
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as ebook readers become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support<br />
|-<br />
| Basic iPad<br />
| $499<br />
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as tablets become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support<br />
|-<br />
| iPad + 3G + a year of data<br />
| $869<br />
| as above; also 3G internet is being gradually shut down across the world ([https://eu.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/10/22/wireless-service-3-g-shutdown-coming-soon/8538388002/ USofA], [https://blog.telegeography.com/3gs-sun-is-setting-in-europe Europe]) so it won't be easy getting 3G internet for a whole other year (information as of December 2021)<br />
|-<br />
| Basic Macbook Air<br />
| $999<br />
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as laptops become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support<br />
|-<br />
| Netbook<br />
| $249.99<br />
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as laptops become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support<br />
|-<br />
| iPod Nano<br />
| $129<br />
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as music players become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support<br />
|-<br />
| Mac Mini<br />
| $599<br />
| like video game consoles, other electronics such as desktop PCs become less demanded over time due to newer models and the discontinuation of support<br />
|-<br />
| Comcast cable internet for a year ($59.99/month)<br />
| $719.88<br />
| Comcast has changed its name to Xfinity since the comic came out<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="7"|Books<br />
|-<br />
| Paperback book<br />
| $6.80<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Hardcover book<br />
| $32.27<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Audio book<br />
| $50.42<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I15SB16/ref=r_kdia_h_i_gl Kindle]<br />
| $79.00<br />
| nowadays the price ranges from 24$ up to a little over 300$, depending on the model<br />
|-<br />
| New video game<br />
| $49.99<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Kindle keyboard + 3G<br />
| $139<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Loose change<br />
|-<br />
| Loose change value per pound<br />
| $12.80<br />
| The chart depicts 12 blocks instead of 13.<br />
|-<br />
| Loose change with no quarters<br />
| $5.40<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| One-gallon jug of loose change<br />
| $270<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Loose change with no pennies<br />
| $17.40<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Annual value of pennies received in change (at one daily cash purchase)<br />
| $7.30<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="7"|Pet ownership (Based on ASPCA estimations)<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of rabbit ownership<br />
| $730<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of dog ownership<br />
| $695<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of cat ownership<br />
| $670<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of fish ownership<br />
| $35<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of bird ownership<br />
| $200<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of small mammal ownership<br />
| $300<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Cell phone bill<br />
|-<br />
| Traditional cell phone average monthly fee<br />
| $77.36<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Traditional cell phone average annual bill<br />
| $928.30<br />
| would be $928.32 since it is just the monthly fee times twelve<br />
|-<br />
| Smartphone average monthly fee<br />
| $110.30<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Smartphone average annual bill<br />
| $1,320<br />
| would be $1,323.60 since it is just the monthly fee times twelve<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Worker/CEO comparison<br />
|-<br />
| 1965 production worker average hourly wage<br />
| $19.61<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| 2007 production worker average hourly wage<br />
| $19.71<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Typical 1965 CEO pay for the same period<br />
| $490.31<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|-<br />
| Typical 2007 CEO pay for the same period<br />
| $5,419.97<br />
| {{Actual citation needed}}<br />
|}<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Thousands==<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Item<br />
! Price<br />
! Notes<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Typical household net worth by head of household’s age in 1984<br />
|-<br />
| <35 years<br />
| $11,680<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 35-44 years<br />
| $72,090<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 45-54 years<br />
| $115,060<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 55-64 years<br />
| $149,240<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| >65 years<br />
| $122,100<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Typical household net worth by head of household’s age in 2009<br />
|-<br />
| <35 years<br />
| $3,710<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 35-44 years<br />
| $40,140<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 45-54 years<br />
| $103,040<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 55-64 years<br />
| $164,270<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| >65 years<br />
| $172,820<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Raising a child to age 17<br />
|-<br />
| Upper income <br />
| $302,860<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Middle income<br />
| $206,920<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Lower income <br />
| $150,380<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="5"|Vacations<br />
|-<br />
| All-inclusive one-week trip for two to St. Lucia resort from New England (incl. flights)<br />
| $3,204<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Twenty week-long Hawaiian vacations<br />
| $136,020<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Typical week-long Hawaii trip for two from US West Coast (incl. flights)<br />
| $6,801<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Typical weekend Hawaii trip for two from US West Coast incl. flights)<br />
| $2,863<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="5"|School Prices<br />
|-<br />
| Estimated one-year Hogwarts cost (incl. tuition)<br />
| $43,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Seven-year Hogwarts degree<br />
| $301,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Average community college tuition<br />
| $10,340 (One year $2,580)<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| Average in-state university tuition<br />
| $28,920 (One year $7,230)<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="8"|Income per capita (2005)<br />
|-<br />
| United States 2005 per capita income<br />
| $32,360<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Switzerland 2005 per capita income<br />
| $29,910<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Germany 2005 per capita income<br />
| $27,550<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| UK 2005 per capita income<br />
| $23,240<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| France 2005 per capita income<br />
| $16,400<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| China 2005 per capita income<br />
| $3,540<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Brazil 2005 per capita income<br />
| $5,540<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="3"|Houses<br />
|-<br />
| Small rural house<br />
| $100,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Typical new home<br />
| $224,910<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="3"|Health<br />
|-<br />
| Average individual health insurance annual premium<br />
| $5,430<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Cancer treatment including chemo<br />
| $117,260<br />
| The chart depicts 115 blocks instead of 117.<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="8"|Annual Household Costs<br />
|-<br />
| A daily pack of cigarettes for a year (NJ)<br />
| $3,050<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| One Starbucks latte per day<br />
| $1,820<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Average smartphone annual cost<br />
| $1,320<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of car ownership<br />
| $3,650<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Typical annual household food spending<br />
| $5,650<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Average household CC debt<br />
| $9,960<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost to carry that debt<br />
| $2,090<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="13"|Typical annual housing cost for various cities (based on military's Basic Allowance for Housing for an E1 servicemember with no dependents)<br />
|-<br />
| NYC<br />
| $25,416<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| San Francisco<br />
| $21,888<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Boston<br />
| $18,216<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Los Angeles<br />
| $17,640<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Washington DC<br />
| $16,380<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Chicago<br />
| $13,664<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Worcester<br />
| $12,456<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Houston<br />
| $11,888<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Minneapolis<br />
| $10,908<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Detroit<br />
| $10,080<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Salt Lake City<br />
| $9,108<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Scranton<br />
| $8,604<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="4"|Prince William and Kate Middleton's Wedding<br />
|- <br />
| Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding cake<br />
| $78,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Kate Middleton's wedding dress<br />
| $350,000<br />
| This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $375,000.<br />
|- <br />
| Flower cost for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding<br />
| $800,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="10"|Value of an investment of $1,000/year <br />
(NOT changing with inflation) for 30 years at 5% annual interest<br />
|-<br />
| 1 year<br />
| $1,000<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| 5 years<br />
| $5,526<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| 10 years<br />
| $12,850<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 15 years<br />
| $21,580<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 20 years<br />
| $33,070<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| 25 years<br />
| $47,730<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 30 years<br />
| $66,440<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| 30 years ($30,000 saved in mattress)<br />
| $30,000<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| 30 years ($1,000/yr at a 4% real return (long-term stock + dividend average)<br />
| $56,080<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="3"|Value of investment (accounting for inflation)<br />
|-<br />
| 30 years<br />
| $27,370<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| 30 years ($30,000 saved in mattress)<br />
| $12,360<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="4"|Average Vehicle Costs<br />
|-<br />
| Average used car<br />
| $8,910<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Average new car<br />
| $27,230<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| High-end bicycle <br />
| $1,500<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="15"|Total cost to buy and own selected vehicles for five years<br />
|-<br />
| Honda Insight<br />
| $27,874<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| Toyota Prius<br />
| $38,771<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Jeep Patriot<br />
| $35,425<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Honda Fit<br />
| $28,745<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| BMW Z4<br />
| $61,312<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Ford Explorer<br />
| $45,524<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Toyota Camry<br />
| $34,697<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| smart fortwo<br />
| $29,629<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Honda CR-V<br />
| $35,183<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Chevy Volt<br />
| $42,180<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Hyundai Sonata<br />
| $34,644<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Ford F-150<br />
| $48,734<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Nissan Cube<br />
| $29,383<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Porsche 911<br />
| $91,590<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="7"|Total cost to buy and own selected vehicles for five years, if gas were $10/gallon<br />
|-<br />
| Toyota Prius<br />
| $48,990<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Honda Fit<br />
| $45,233<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Ford Explorer<br />
| $69,076<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| smart fortwo<br />
| $45,058<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Chevy Volt<br />
| $50,612<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Ford F-150<br />
| $77,111<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="8"|Typical annual household income<br />
|-<br />
| Bottom 20%<br />
| $10,200<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| Second 20%<br />
| $24,800<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| Middle 20%<br />
| $44,400<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| Fourth 20%<br />
| $76,100<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| Top 10%<br />
| $201,100<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Top 1%<br />
| $822,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Top 1/500th<br />
| $2,080,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="6"|Median US household income<br />
|-<br />
| Median US household income<br />
| $51,570<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| After-tax<br />
| $39,170<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Taxes<br />
| $12,100<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total lifetime income from ages 25-65 at $50,000/year after 25% taxes (including Social Security)<br />
| $1,500,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Cost per household served by US Rural Utilities Service program to expand broadband access<br />
| $359,790<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="13"|If I had $1000000 (Cost of the items the singer in "If I had $1000000" would buy to win your love: $263,330)<br />
|-<br />
| Furniture<br />
| $21,160<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Plymouth Reliant<br />
| $3,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Tree fort<br />
| $15,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Llama<br />
| $2,120<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Joseph Merrick's remains<br />
| N/A (Held in Royal London Hospital collection and not available for purchase)<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| House<br />
| $224,820<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Tiny fridge<br />
| $99.08<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Gourmet pre-wrapped sausages (2)<br />
| $34.48<br />
|<br />
|- <br />
| Kraft Dinner (two double servings)<br />
| $3.06<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Expensive ketchup<br />
| $10.75<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Faux fur coat<br />
| $198.00<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Limo ride to the store<br />
| $186.59<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="5"|Luxuries<br />
|-<br />
| [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Opulence_Sundae Golden Opulence ice cream sundae]<br />
| $1,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Waist deep half-room ball pit<br />
| $2,400<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| All 30 bestselling game consoles (refurb, eBay)<br />
| $2,640<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Initial seat on Virgin Galactic suborbital flight<br />
| $200,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="3"|Video Games<br />
|-<br />
| Typing F-U-N-D-S<br />
| $10,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Daily sales of [http://www.minecraft.net/ Minecraft]<br />
| $193,500<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Millions==<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Item<br />
! Price<br />
! Notes<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Dr. Evil<br />
|-<br />
| Amount Dr. Evil thought he was demanding from the 1997 world<br />
| $6,630,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Amount he was demanding<br />
| $1,380,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Video Games<br />
|-<br />
| Minecraft sales by October 2011<br />
| $56,780,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|William and Kate's wedding<br />
|-<br />
| Flowers<br />
| $800,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Security<br />
| $20,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total cost<br />
| $80,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Human Values<br />
|-<br />
| Amount needed to live comfortably off investments<br />
| $4,090,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| EPA value of a human life<br />
| $8,120,000<br />
| The chart depicts 10 blocks instead of 8.<br />
|-<br />
| Six Million Dollar Man (2011 dollars)<br />
| $29,870,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 50,000 salary for 40 years after 25% taxes<br />
| $1,500,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Lifetime cost to avoid changing your oil by abandoning your car and buying a new one whenever you hit 5.000 miles<br />
| $3,270,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Corporation Expenses<br />
|-<br />
| 30-second Super Bowl ad slot<br />
| $3,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost to run Wikipedia<br />
| $18,500,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Loss in NewsCorp value over hacking scandal<br />
| $750,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Vehicles<br />
|-<br />
| Most expensive production car (Bugatti Veyron)<br />
| $2,400,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Most expensive car ever sold (1957 Ferrari 250)<br />
| $16,390,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Marginal cost to launch one shuttle<br />
| $450,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total shuttle program per launch<br />
| $1,451,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| One B-2 bomber<br />
| $2,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Structures<br />
|-<br />
| Large city office building<br />
| $100,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Dubai Fountain<br />
| $224,540,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Burj Khalifa<br />
| $1,521,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| New Yankee Stadium<br />
| $1,545,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="12"|Rare Items<br />
|-<br />
| Qianlong Chinese vase sold in 2010<br />
| $83,710,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Leonardo’s Codex Leicester (bought by Bill Gates)<br />
| $45,930,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Estimated value of first-edition Gutenberg Bible<br />
| $34,610,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 1933 Double Eagle coin (All destroyed uncirculated save a few stolen from the US Mint)<br />
| $9,330,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Treskilling Yellow postage stamp (At $50 billion/lb possibly the world’s most expensive thing by weight)<br />
| $2,780,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 1297 Magna Carta original copy signed by Edward I<br />
| $21,890,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Painting from The Card Players series (rumor)<br />
| $250,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Willem de Kooning’s “Woman III” (2006 auction bought by David Geffen)<br />
| $168,780,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Jackson Pollock’s “No. 5, 1948” (2006 auction bought by David Geffen)<br />
| $153,440,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Airbus A380<br />
| $264,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Mona Lisa assessed value<br />
| $730,660,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Bitcoins<br />
|-<br />
| Market value of all Bitcoins as of 11/2011<br />
| $22,819,797<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Market value of all Bitcoins as at July 2011 peak price<br />
| $210,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="9"|Millionaires<br />
|-<br />
| Darrell Issa (R-CA) net worth<br />
| $304,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Jane Harman (D-CA) net worth<br />
| $294,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| John Kerry (D-MA) net worth<br />
| $239,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Mitt Romney net worth<br />
| $210,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Jon Huntsman net worth<br />
| $40,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Average net worth of US senator<br />
| $13,400,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Average net worth of US representative<br />
| $4,900,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| A billionaire<br />
| $1,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Per US resident<br />
|-<br />
| $1 per US resident<br />
| $312,620,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| $1 per US household<br />
| $117,290,000<br />
| The chart depicts 138 blocks instead of 117.<br />
|-<br />
| $10 from every US resident<br />
| $3,326,200,000<br />
| The chart depicts 3126 blocks instead of 3326.<br />
|-<br />
| $10 from every US household<br />
| $1,179,180,000<br />
| The chart depicts 854 blocks instead of 1179.<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Raptors<br />
|-<br />
| One F-22 raptor<br />
| $154,500,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| One velociraptor (25% of Jurassic Park production budget amortized over three velociraptors)<br />
| $1,930,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="8"|Professional rapper net worth<br />
|-<br />
| 50 Cent<br />
| $100,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 50 Cent (stage name)<br />
| $0.50<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| 50 Cent (adjusted for inflation)<br />
| $0.70<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Birdman<br />
| $100,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Dr Dre<br />
| $125,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Jay-Z<br />
| $450,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Diddy<br />
| $475,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|J.K. Rowling<br />
|-<br />
| J.K. Rowling<br />
| $1,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| J.K. Rowling had she become a rapper (Professional assessment by rapper/geek culture expert MC Frontalot)<br />
| $82,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Hurricanes<br />
|-<br />
| Annual hurricane forecast R&D funding<br />
| $20,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Hurricane forecast improvement funding since 1989<br />
| $440,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Economic savings—during Hurricane Irene alone—due to limiting evacuations made possible by recent forecast advances<br />
| $700,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Prizes<br />
|-<br />
| $64,000 in 1955 when "The $64,000 Question" first aired<br />
| $528,310<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| £1,000,000 in 1998 when the UK "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" aired<br />
| $2,270,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| $1,000,000 in 1999 when the US "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" aired<br />
| $1,330,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| $1,000,000 in 1955 when the TV show "The Millionaire" aired<br />
| $8,250,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| $1,000,000 in 1931 when the film "The Millionaire" opened<br />
| $14,530,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Elections===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Person !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| 2012 presidential fundraising || $188,260,000<br />
|-<br />
| Herman Cain || $5,380,000<br />
|-<br />
| Jon Huntsman || $4,510,000<br />
|-<br />
| Michele Bachmann || $9,870,000<br />
|-<br />
| Ron Paul || $12,790,000<br />
|-<br />
| Rick Perry || $17,200,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mitt Romney || $32,610,000<br />
|-<br />
| Barack Obama || $88,420,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $17,480,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Person !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 presidential campaign fundraising ||$1,860,390,000<br />
|-<br />
| Excluding candidate Lee L. Mercer, Jr of Houston, who claimed, in his combined FEC filings, || $900,005,507 in fundraising and $900,006,431 in campaign spending.<br />
|-<br />
| Ron Paul || $32,480,000<br />
|-<br />
| John Edwards || $64,410,000<br />
|-<br />
| Rudy Giuliani || $66,520,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mitt Romney || $116,730,000<br />
|-<br />
| Barack Obama ||$799,670,000<br />
|-<br />
| John McCain || $394,280,000<br />
|-<br />
| Hilary Clinton || $259,050,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $127,250,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Person !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| 2004 presidential campaign fundraising || $1,006,810,000<br />
|-<br />
| Howard Dean || $61,620,000<br />
|-<br />
| Wesley Clark || $34,620,000<br />
|-<br />
| John Edwards || $39,310,000<br />
|-<br />
| John Kerry || $352,090,000<br />
|-<br />
| George W. Bush || $429,660,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $89,510,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Person !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| 2000 presidential campaign fundraising || $805,120,000<br />
|-<br />
| Pat Buchanan || $37,440,000<br />
|-<br />
| John McCain || $75,180,000<br />
|-<br />
| Bill Bradley || $65,680,000<br />
|-<br />
| Steve Forbes || $114,400,000 *The Money Chart incorrectly reads $11,440,000<br />
|-<br />
| Al Gore || $170,520,000<br />
|-<br />
| George W. Bush || $247,100,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $94,800,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===2010 midterm elections fundraising===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Party !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| Democrats || $815,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Republicans || $587,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===2011-2012 Campaign donations by industry===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Industry !! To Democrats (approx) !! To Republicans (approx) !! To Other (approx) !! Total Funds donated<br />
|-<br />
| Finance industry || $47,000,000 || $68,000,000 || $7,000,000 || $122,900,000<br />
|-<br />
| Organized labor || $14,000,000 || $2,000,000 || $2,000,000 || $18,720,000<br />
|-<br />
| Energy industry || $6,000,000 || $21,000,000 || $0 || $26,680,000<br />
|-<br />
| Lawyers and general lobbyists || $39,000,000 || $19,000,000 || $0 || $57,590,000<br />
|-<br />
| Health industry || $19,000,000 || $23,000,000 || $0 || $42,727,000<br />
|-<br />
| Electronics and communication industry || $21,000,000 || $12,000,000 || $7,000,000 || $32,420,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Inaugurations===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Thing !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration || $174,100,000<br />
|-<br />
| Festivities (private donors) || $46,400,000<br />
|-<br />
| Federal + state + local government (mainly security) || $127,700,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Thing !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| George Bush’s 2005 inauguration || $178,600,000<br />
|-<br />
| Festivities (private donors) || $47,800,000<br />
|-<br />
| Federal + state + local government (mainly security) || $130,800,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Past presidential campaign fundraising===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Campaign Year !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| 1996 || $559,810,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1992 || $521,480,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 || $606,300,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1984 || $429,860,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 || $434,220,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1976 || $664,160,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Value of a solid gold toilet (626 lbs) by year===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year !! Value (Approximate)<br />
|-<br />
| 1967 || $2,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1968 || $2,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1969 || $2,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1970 || $2,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1971 || $2,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1972 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1973 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1974 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1975 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1976 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1977 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1978 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1979 || $9,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 || $15,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1981 || $10,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1982 || $8,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1983 || $9,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1984 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1985 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1986 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1987 || $8,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1989 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1990 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1991 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1992 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1993 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1994 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1995 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1996 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1997 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1998 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1999 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2000 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2001 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2002 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2003 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2004 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2005 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2006 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2007 || $8,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 || $8,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || $10,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2010 || $13,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2011 || $15,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Value of a carry-on suitcase full of $100 bills (30,00 ct, 60lbs)===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year !! Value (Approximate)<br />
|-<br />
| 1967 || $20,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1968 || $19,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1969 || $18,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1970 || $17,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1971 || $16,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1972 || $16,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1973 || $15,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1974 || $13,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1975 || $12,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1976 || $12,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1977 || $11,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1978 || $10,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1979 || $9,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 || $8,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1981 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1982 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1983 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1984 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1985 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1986 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1987 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1989 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1990 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1991 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1992 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1993 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1994 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1995 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1996 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1997 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1998 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1999 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2000 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2001 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2002 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2003 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2004 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2005 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2006 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2007 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2010 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2011 || $3,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Billions==<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><br />
<br />
===Harry Potter movie franchise total revenue===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| Harry Potter movie franchise total revenue || $21,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Treasure found in a temple in India in 2011 || $22,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Box office revenue===<br />
<br />
Adjusted for monetary inflation but not ticket price inflation<br />
Highlighted [sic]: films that earned more than 2009's ''Avatar''<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year !! Movie !! Revenue !! Highlighted<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || ''Avatar'' || $783,510,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 || ''The Dark Knight'' || $547,520,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2003 || ''Shrek 2'' || $516,610,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1999 || ''The Phantom Menace'' || $572,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1997 || ''Titanic'' || $827,260,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1994 || ''The Lion King'' || $625,810,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1993 || ''Jurassic Park'' || $625,810,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1984 || ''Ghostbusters'' || $507,720,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1983 || ''Return of the Jedi'' || $686,710,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1982 || ''E.T.'' || $996,580,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 || ''The Empire Strikes Back'' || $778,530,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1977 || ''Star Wars'' || $1,681,000,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1975 || ''Jaws'' || $1,067,510,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1973 || ''The Exorcist'' || $1,019,000,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1965 || ''The Sound of Music'' || $1,144,920,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1962 || ''101 Dalmatians'' || $1,131,310,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1960 || ''Ben-Hur'' || $561,090,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1957 || ''The Ten Commandments'' || $532,570,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1943 || ''Bambi'' || $1,391,000,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1942 || ''Fantasia'' || $1,146,000,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1940 || ''Gone With the Wind'' || $3,157,000,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1938 || ''Snow White'' || $2,841,700,000 || Yes<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Charity===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Amount given<br />
|-<br />
| US annual charitable giving || $294,850,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To religious organizations || $102,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To educational organizations || $42,240,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To foundations || $33,450,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To human services || $26,850,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To societal benefit organizations || $24,570,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To health organizations || $23,140,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To international affairs || $15,980,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To arts and culture || $13,460,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To animals and environment || $6,750,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $6,410,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====Type of giving:====<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Type !! Amount given<br />
|-<br />
| Individual giving || $214,650,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Foundation grantmaking || $41,560,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Bequests || $23,140,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Corporate giving || $15,500,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Gates Foundation total giving since 1994===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Amount given<br />
|-<br />
| Gates Foundation total giving since 1994 || $25,360,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Global health || ~$12,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| US || ~$4,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Developments || ~$3,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Grants || ~$1,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Missing || ~$5,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Book publishing industry revenue===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Genre !! Revenue<br />
|-<br />
| Book publishing industry revenue || $28,320,000,000 (Sum of genres is $29.39 billion, 1 block more than depicted)<br />
|-<br />
| Romance || $1,380,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Trade books || $14,130,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| K-12 || $5,570,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Professional || $3,750,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Higher education || $4,560,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Video game industry revenue===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Revenue<br />
|-<br />
| Video game industry revenue || $48,900,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| United States || $18,830,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Education===<br />
{| class= "wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| Student loans outstanding || $955,800,000,000 (This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $956,800,000,000)<br />
|-<br />
| Federal student loans || $792,900,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Defaulted Federal student loans (Private total unknown) || $65,020,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Private student loans || $163,900,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Total spending on primary and secondary education in the US || $612,470,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Teacher Salaries || $295,810,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Total annual higher education spending in the US || $355,110,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Harvard University revenue===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Revenue<br />
|-<br />
| Tuition, donations and fees || $1,425,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Investments || $7,900,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
In other words, if Harvard eliminated tuition, it would mean roughly a 15% budget cut.<br />
<br />
===Education foundations===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Foundation !! Amount given<br />
|-<br />
| Gates Foundation || $36,700,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| INGKA Foundation || $36,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute || $14,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Ford Foundation || $13,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation || $6,100,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Endowments of the 63 wealthiest universities===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! University !! Endowments<br />
|-<br />
| Endowments of the 63 wealthiest universities || $277,570,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Harvard || $32,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Yale || $19,400,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Princeton || $17,010,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| U of Texas || $16,610,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Stanford || $16,500,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| MIT || $9,900,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Columbia || $7,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| U of Michigan || $7,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Texas A&M || $7,030,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Northwestern || $7,030,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| The other 53 || $136,490,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Corporate revenue===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Corporation !! Revenue !! Profit !! Loss<br />
|-<br />
| Walmart || $421,800,000,000 || $16,390,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| ExxonMobil || $354,700,000,000 || $30,460,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Chevron || $196,300,000,000 || $19,020,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Fannie Mae || $153,800,000,000 (the chart depicts 156 blocks instead of 154) || || $14,010,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| GE || $151,600,000,000 (the chart depicts 151 blocks instead of 152) || $11,640,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Berkshire Hathaway || $136,100,000,000 ([[Randall]] rounded down from 136.185 billion) || $12,970,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| PepsiCo || $57,840,000,000 || $6,320,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Coca-Cola || $35,840,000,000 (this appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $35,120,000,000) || $11,800,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| VISA || $8,100,000,000 || $2,700,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| MasterCard || $5,500,000,000 (the chart depicts 5 blocks instead of 6) || $1,850,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| General Motors || $135,600,000,000 (the chart depicts 135 blocks instead of 136) || $6,170,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Ford || $129,000,000,000 || $6,560,000,000 (the chart depicts 6 blocks instead of 7) ||<br />
|-<br />
| Chrysler || $44,950,000,000 (this appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $41,950,000,000) || || $653,000,000 (this appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $652,000,000)<br />
|-<br />
| AT&T || $124,600,000,000 (the chart depicts 126 blocks instead of 125) || $19,860,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Verizon || $106,560,000,000 (the chart depicts 106 blocks instead of 107) || $2,550,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Bank of America || $134,200,000,000 (the chart depicts 135 blocks instead of 134) || || $2,240,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| JP Morgan Chase || $115,480,000,000 || $17,370,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Citigroup || $111,060,000,000 || $10,600,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| AIG || $104,420,000,000 || $7,790,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| HP || $126,000,000,000 || $8,780,000,000 (this appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $8,760,000,000) ||<br />
|-<br />
| Apple || $65,230,000,000 || $14,010,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Microsoft || $62,480,000,000 || $18,760,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Google || $29,320,000,000 || $8,510,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Combined annual profit of the Fortune 500 companies || || $708,600,000,000 ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===US health care spending===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Item<br />
! Price<br />
! Notes<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|US cancer spending<br />
|-<br />
| US spending on lung cancer treatment<br />
| $11,310,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| US spending on tobacco marketing<br />
| $13,600,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| US spending on all cancer treatment<br />
| $106,870,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| US spending on cigarettes<br />
| $91,660,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 93 blocks instead of 92.<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="10"|US health care spending (2005 data)<br />
|-<br />
| Private insurance<br />
| $785,900,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Out-of-pocket<br />
| $282,260,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 250 blocks instead of 282.<br />
|-<br />
| Other private spending<br />
| $79,000,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 111 blocks instead of 79.<br />
|-<br />
| Total private spending<br />
| $1,147,050,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Medicare<br />
| $387,070,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Medicaid<br />
| $351,980,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Other government spending<br />
| $219,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total Government spending<br />
| $958,950,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $2,106,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===NCAA budget===<br />
$5,640,000,000<br />
<br />
===Total annual tax breaks to the five largest oil companies===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Combined pay at Wall St. banks and securities firms || $135,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Mobile computing annual sales || $220,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Online spending in 2009 || $251,070,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Total annual tax breaks to the five largest oil companies || $2,100,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| US annual oil and gas subsidies || $41,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Ethanol subsidies || $5,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Combined annual profits of the five largest oil companies || $36,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Combined annual profits of the ten largest health insurance companies || $12,870,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2010 lobbying || $3,560,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2005 lobbying || $2,750,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2000 lobbying || $2,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| One B-2 bomber || $2,500,000,000 || The chart depicts 2 blocks instead of 3.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===US R&D===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| US annual corporate R&D || $334,490,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Information technology || $46,560,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Scientific, technical or professional services || $31,060,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Manufacturing industries (Unlabelled on the money chart) || $236,151,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $20,710,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===US GDP===<br />
<br />
The combined economic value of all goods and services produced in a year<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Item<br />
! Value<br />
! Notes<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|US GDP<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| $14,545,950,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Government<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| $1,980,640,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Real estate<br />
|-<br />
| Non-rental real estate<br />
| $1,737,500,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 1736 blocks instead of 1738.<br />
|-<br />
| Rental and leasing<br />
| $187,610,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $1,925,210,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="10"|Nondurable Goods<br />
|-<br />
| Food, beverage and tobacco<br />
| $212,330,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Chemicals<br />
| $223,050,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Petroleum and coal<br />
| $123,630,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Apparel<br />
| $12,050,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 14 blocks instead of 12.<br />
|-<br />
| Paper products<br />
| $57,800,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 62 blocks instead of 58.<br />
|-<br />
| Plastics and rubber products<br />
| $58,410,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Textile mills<br />
| $18,130,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 12 blocks instead of 18.<br />
|-<br />
| Printing and related supports<br />
| $33,790,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $739,300,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="13"|Durable Goods<br />
|-<br />
| Computers and electronics<br />
| $212,640,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Metal products<br />
| $125,590,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Machinery<br />
| $116,110,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Wood products<br />
| $21,530,000,000<br />
| Rounded down to 21 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Furniture<br />
| $24,930,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Other transportation equipment<br />
| $93,440,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Motor vehicles, trailers and parts<br />
| $80,560,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Mineral products<br />
| $39,360,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Metals<br />
| $44,710,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Miscellaneous<br />
| $81,390,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Electrical equipment and components<br />
| $53,260,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $898,420,000,000<br />
| This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $893,420,000,000.<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Finance and insurance<br />
|-<br />
| Federal Reserve banks and credit intermediaries<br />
| $529,540,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Insurance<br />
| $437,340,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Investments<br />
| $180,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Funds and trusts<br />
| $59,550,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $1,207,030,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="8"|Professional and business services<br />
|-<br />
| Waste management<br />
| $39,870,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Administrative and support services<br />
| $358,110,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Legal services<br />
| $225,830,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Computer systems design and service<br />
| $174,730,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Corporate management<br />
| $253,950,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Other professional or technical services<br />
| $700,250,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $1,752,750,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Health and education<br />
|-<br />
| Social assistance<br />
| $93,750,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Ambulatory health care services<br />
| $529,750,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Hospitals<br />
| $466,390,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Educational services<br />
| $159,580,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $1,294,580,000,000 (This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $1,249,580,000,000)<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Utilities<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| $276,210,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Other services<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| $345,540,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Construction<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| $553,750,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Mining<br />
|-<br />
| Mining (other than oil and gas)<br />
| $50,380,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Mining support<br />
| $51,270,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Oil and gas<br />
| $145,990,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $248,080,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Agriculture<br />
|-<br />
| Farms<br />
| $107,140,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Forestry, fishing and related<br />
| $30,080,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $137,120,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Arts and entertainment<br />
|-<br />
| Food service<br />
| $285,480,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Performing arts, sports and museums<br />
| $73,040,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Amusements, gambling and general recreation<br />
| $73,040,000,000<br />
| This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $58,110,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Accomodation [sic]<br />
| $111,990,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $528,620,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Information<br />
|-<br />
| Information and data processing<br />
| $78,300,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Publishing (including software)<br />
| $152,170,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Film, video and sound recording<br />
| $61,610,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Broadcasting and telecommunications<br />
| $366,560,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $658,630,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="10"|Transportation and storage<br />
|-<br />
| Warehousing and storage<br />
| $40,590,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Water<br />
| $14,730,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Air<br />
| $36,770,000,000<br />
| This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $63,770,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Rail<br />
| $31,730,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Truck<br />
| $116,520,000,000<br />
| Rounded down to 116 blocks<br />
|-<br />
| Transit and land passenger<br />
| $24,110,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 22 blocks instead of 24<br />
|-<br />
| Pipeline<br />
| $12,360,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Other transport<br />
| $97,560,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $401,280,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Billionaires===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Person<br />
! Networth<br />
! Ten Richest Ranking<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="14"|Technology<br />
|-<br />
| Carlos Slim Helú and family<br />
| $74,000,000,000<br />
| First<br />
|-<br />
| Bill Gates<br />
| $56,000,000,000<br />
| Second<br />
|-<br />
| Larry Ellison<br />
| $39,500,000,000<br />
| Fifth<br />
|-<br />
| Larry Page<br />
| $19,800,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Sergey Brin<br />
| $19,800,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Jeff Bezos<br />
| $18,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Steve Ballmer<br />
| $14,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Mark Zuckerberg<br />
| $13,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Paul Allen<br />
| $13,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Steve Jobs (D)<br />
| $8,300,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Eric Schmidt<br />
| $7,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Sean Parker<br />
| $1,600,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Steve Case<br />
| $1,300,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="9"|Politicians and alleged evil plutocratic puppet masters<br />
|-<br />
| Warren Buffett<br />
| $50,000,000,000<br />
| Third<br />
|-<br />
| Charles Koch<br />
| $22,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| David Koch<br />
| $22,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Michael Bloomberg<br />
| $18,100,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 19 blocks instead of 18.<br />
|-<br />
| George Soros<br />
| $14,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Silvio Berlusconi and family<br />
| $7,800,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Rupert Murdoch<br />
| $7,600,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| David Geffen<br />
| $6,000,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 4 blocks instead of 6.<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Uncategorized<br />
|-<br />
| Bernard Arnault<br />
| $41,000,000,000<br />
| Fourth<br />
|-<br />
| Lakshmi Mittal<br />
| $31,100,000,000<br />
| Sixth<br />
|-<br />
| Amancio Ortega<br />
| $31,000,000,000<br />
| Seventh<br />
|-<br />
| Eike Batista<br />
| $30,000,000,000<br />
| Eighth<br />
|-<br />
| Mukesh Ambani<br />
| $27,000,000,000<br />
| Ninth<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Walmart<br />
|-<br />
| Christy Walton and family<br />
| $26,500,000,000<br />
| Tenth<br />
|-<br />
| Jim Walton<br />
| $21,300,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Alice Walton<br />
| $21,200,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| S. Robson Walton<br />
| $21,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Fictional (source: ''Forbes'')<br />
|-<br />
| Carlisle Cullen<br />
| $34,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Scrooge McDuck<br />
| $33,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Bruce Wayne<br />
| $6,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Artemis Fowl<br />
| $1,900,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Fashion<br />
|-<br />
| Lilianne Bettencourt<br />
| $23,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Ralph Lauren<br />
| $5,800,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Ronald Lauder<br />
| $3,100,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 2 blocks instead of 3.<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Art and media<br />
|-<br />
| George Lucas<br />
| $3,200,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Oprah Winfrey<br />
| $3,200,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Five wealthiest rappers combined<br />
| $1,250,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| J. K. Rowling<br />
| $1,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Donald Trump<br />
|-<br />
| Donald Trump<br />
| $2,700,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 2 blocks instead of 3.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Combined net worth of the world's 1,210 billionaires $4,500,000,000,000<br />
<br />
===Corporations===<br />
<br />
by market capitalization (combined value of all stock)<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Company !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| Saudi Aramco (State-owned company—estimated market value) || $2,940,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Apple || $358,310,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| ExxonMobil || $357,910,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| PetroChina || $280,160,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| IBM || $211,640,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Microsoft || $211,340,000,000 (the chart depicts 212 blocks instead of 211)<br />
|-<br />
| Bank of China || $208,810,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| China Mobile || $201,510,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Royal Dutch Shell || $199,780,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Nestle || $193,700,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Chevron || $188,030,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Facebook 2011 valuation || $70,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| AT&T attempted T-Mobile purchase || $39,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Facebook 2010 valuation || $33,450,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Zynga 2011 valuation || $14,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| LivingSocial 2011 valuation || $2,980,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
===Cost to buy the world a coke===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Cost<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to buy the world a coke (2011 wholesale prices) || $2,240,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Coca-Cola's annual marketing budget || $2,980,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to teach the world to sing (four half-hour lessons at $30 each) || $840,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===US household income===<br />
<br />
This section shows the money made every year in the US, broken into five pools of about $2 trillion each. The pools are sorted by income level—the top $2 trillion is made by a small number of wealthy households (the "one percent"), while the bottom $2 trillion represents the combined annual income of the poorer half of the country.<br />
<br />
Note: Figures are only estimates—these statistics were computed using data from the Congressional Budget Office analysis of 2007 incomes, and have been subject to the normalizations detailed below.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Who !! # Households !! % Households !! Typical income/year !! Income<br />
|-<br />
| The 1% || 1.6 million || 1.3 || >$400,000 || $1,397,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| High incomes || 9 million || 8 || $150,000 - $400,000 || $1,411,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Upper incomes || 18 million || 16 || $90,000 - $150,000 || $1,553,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Upper middle incomes || 27 million || 23 || $55,000 - $90,000 || $1,610,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| The bottom 50% || 63 million || ~50 || <$55,000 || $1,711,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Total || 118.6 million || 98.3 || || $7,682,910,000,000<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Amount needed===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Type !! Amount !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Required for poverty-line income || $2,602,000,000,000 || This is the amount that must be set aside from each pool to leave $22,350—roughly a poverty-line income—for each family in that pool. If taxes are cut into this region, then it forces the average after-tax income for the pool below $22,350. (Of course, many families in this group make less than that already.)<br />
|-<br />
| Required for a middle-class income || $4,874,000,000,000 || This is the amount that must be set aside from each pool to leave $44,700—roughly double the poverty-line income—for each family in that pool.<br />
|-<br />
| Amount needed to give everyone an income over $100,000 || $7,070,000,000,000 || Amount which must be left in the pool to keep the average income above $100,000 (See descriptions below for details)<br />
|-<br />
| Amount needed to give everyone an income over $250,000 || $8,836,000,000,000 || Amount which must be left in the pool to keep the average income above $250,000 (See descriptions below for details)<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Taxes===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Type !! Amount !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| State taxes || $642,030,000,000 || Unlike federal taxes, state taxes are regressive—the poor pay a higher percentage of their income than the rich. This is because sales taxes, a large component of state revenues, fall disproportionately on the poor.<br />
|-<br />
| Federal taxes || $2,192,180,000,000 || effective total federal taxes paid, after deductions and tax credits<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Note on methodology: these totals were calculated from an analysis of the 2007 CBO report on effective federal tax rates by income. There were some mismatches between figures on total income from various sources and combined CBO tax rates/federal revenue. The income totals here were adjusted for inflation and then scaled slightly to match federal tax revenue. This should only affect the total reported income and not the distribution of the tax burden or the rough makeup of the quintiles.<br />
<br />
===State government spending===<br />
<br />
[map without amounts]<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
| Total US states' debt || $46,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====US foreign military aid====<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Amount !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Total || $11,010,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Afghanistan || $5,800,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Israel || $2,410,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Egypt || $1,320,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $5,800,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $1,480,000,000.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====US foreign humanitarian and economic aid====<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Amount<br />
|-<br />
| Total || $34,410,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Iraq and Afghanistan || $5,370,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| West Bank and Ghana || $1,050,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Africa (total) || $8,850,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $19,130,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Ft. Knox gold reserves===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| Ft. Knox gold reserves (November 2011 prices) || $245,900,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Unclaimed US treasury bonds || $16,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| All the tea in China || $4,210,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Corporate tax deduction===<br />
<br />
(Note: some of the corporate deductions are very technical and, even with the help of a technical accountant, I had trouble making sense of them. The text below is my best attempt at an English interpretation of the legalese.)<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Deductions !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Corporate tax deduction || $125,180,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Reduced tax on first $10 million of corporate income || $3,240,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Delay of taxes on 'income' made from defaulting on a debt (Temporary stimulus measure) || $21,390,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Temporary change to equipment depreciation rules allowing more (and sooner) deductions on the purchase of new equipment || $24,390,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Clean energy, space, science and tech R&D || $13,900,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Miscellaneous rules for international corporate finance || $6,800,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Foreign corporation income financing rules || $13,680,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $41,740,000,000 || Rounded down to 41 blocks<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Individual tax deductions===<br />
<br />
These are types of income, or uses of income, which the government has partly or fully exempt from tax, often to encourage some activity. This can be thought of as 'spent' tax revenue, although it's not quite that simple; there's no guarantee [that] removing the deduction would add that amount to revenue, because the presence of the deduction may be affecting taxpayers' spending habits.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Deductions !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Small business health insurance|| $1,620,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Federal employee expenses abroad || $7,910,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| EITC (anti-poverty low-income tax credit) || $78,760,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $56,460,000,000.<br />
|-<br />
| Donations to charity || $39,130,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Capital gains (investment income) || $78,760,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Pension contributions || $84,940,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $64,970,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Employee fringe benefits || $6,690,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Scholarships || $2,130,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Property taxes || $15,710,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Employer-provided transportation || $3,850,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Retirement accounts || $24,630,000,000 || Rounded down to 24 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Cafeteria plans || $26,760,000,000 || Rounded down to 26 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| State and local bonds || $19,560,000,000 || Rounded down to 19 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Company daycare || $3,140,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| College and university tax credits || $12,060,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Mortgage interest || $92,040,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Medicare Benefits || $55,850,000,000 || Rounded down to 55 blocks<br />
|-<br />
| Child care || $55,850,000,000 || The chart depicts 104 blocks instead of 107.<br />
|-<br />
| Employer health plans || $107,140,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Making Work Pay (ending) || $60,510,000,000 || The chart depicts 64 blocks instead of 61.<br />
|-<br />
| First-time homebuyer credit || $8,820,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Veterans' benefits || $5,570,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Life insurance benefits || $25,750,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Capital gains death exclusion || $25,750,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Social security and railroad retirement || $27,170,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Home sale capital gains || $15,200,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Total || $964,970,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Federal spending===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| Annual deficit || $1,394,530,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Additional receipts || $83,230,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Taxes raised || $2,192,180,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Disasters===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Disaster !! Estimated Total Damage !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Japan 2011 Earthquake || $235,000,000,000 || reconstruction and recovery cost, World Bank estimate<br />
|-<br />
| Hurricane Katrina || $107,440,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 US Drought || $78,060,000,000 || The chart depicts 83 blocks instead of 78<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 US Drought || $60,740,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Hurricane Andrew || $46,180,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 9/11 insured losses || $40,000,000,000 || For hurricanes, the rule of thumb is that total losses are roughly double insured losses. It is unclear if a similar rule exists for terrorism.<br />
|-<br />
| Hurricane Ike || $28,170,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Hurricane Irene || $8,000,000,000 || (estimated) (the chart depicts 10 blocks instead of 8)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Hypothetical disasters===<br />
<br />
Estimated total losses if the disaster happened today<br />
(based on insurance industry modeling)<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Disaster !! Estimated Total Losses !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| 1938 Long Island Express || $236,960,000,000 || if it had curved left and made landfall in New Jersey instead of Long Island (rounded down to 236 blocks)<br />
|-<br />
| 1812 New Madrid, Missouri earthquake || $206,050,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1926 Miami hurricane || $202,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1906 San Francisco earthquake || $197,810,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1900 Galveston hurricane || $82,420,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Long Island Express || $78,060,000,000 || (1938 New England Hurricane)<br />
|-<br />
| Charleston SC, quake of 1886 || $76,240,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake || $12,360,000,000 ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Cost of electricity===<br />
<br />
(Price of electricity to power all US homes for a year, by plant type)<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Plant Type !! Cost !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Advance combined cycle natural gas || 78,100,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Conventional Coal (without societal costs) || 117,340,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| External societal costs from the use of that amount of coal power || $226,690,000,000 || Harvard Medical School analysis. The range of possible values was $119b to $342b. Most of the uncertainty was due to potentially lower costs from air pollution or higher ones from climate change.<br />
|-<br />
| Public Health Burden in Appalacia [sic] || $55,400,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $60,400,000,000.<br />
|-<br />
| Air pollution from power plants || $118,300,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $123,300,000,000.<br />
|-<br />
| Climate Impact || $40,030,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Advanced coal with carbon capture || $168,590,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Biomass || $139,250,000,000 || Estimates of climate impact vary wildly Consensus seems to be more than nothing but less than coal.<br />
|-<br />
| Geothermal || $125,880,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Advanced nuclear || $140,980,000,000 || Little impact on climate/air, but hard to find assessments of meltdown and fuel storage costs/risks. Some past costs shown for perspective.<br />
|-<br />
| Hydroelectric || $106,940,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Wind || $120,070,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Offshore wind || $301,030,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Solar (photovoltaic) || $260,800,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Solar (thermal) || $385,940,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Nuclear accidents===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
!Accident !! Cost !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Fukushima meltdown estimated total cost to Japan || $131,100,000,000 || Compare to $128,590,000,000 for deaths from quake/tsunami<br />
|-<br />
| Fukushima cost from 300 extra cancer deaths (EPA conversion) || $2,570,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Belarus estimated 30-year costs from Chernobyl || $282,350,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Cost of estimated 42,457 Chernobyl deaths (EPA method) || $344,750,000,000 ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===BP oil spill claims fund===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| BP oil spill claims fund || $20,270,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Total 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami aid from all countries || $15,840,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Worldwide aid to Somalia since 1991 || $55,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| G8/IMF loan pledge to Arab Spring || $73,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Japan's contribution to TEPCO victim fund || $62,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to fund Wikipedia at current levels for 100 years || $1,850,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to provide free yearly tax prep to every US household || $8,450,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to give every US 18 year-old a free degree at a community college || $46,340,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Additional cost to fund all US schools at magnet school levels || $46,340,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost to send every US child to a university for free || $127,610,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to buy the Amazon rainforest || $130,000,000,000 || $100/acre going rate for poor-access land<br />
|-<br />
| UBS loss from one rogue trader || $2,300,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| DoE loan to CA Valley Solar Ranch Project || $1,200,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Apple's cash on hand || $76,200,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===New York CIty===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Combined Property Value !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| New York City || $806,490,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Manhattan || $281,040,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Queens || $208,180,000,000 || rounded up to 209 blocks<br />
|-<br />
| Brooklyn || $201,230,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Staten Island || $61,380,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Bronx || $54,660,000,000 || rounded down to 54 blocks<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Megaprojects===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Project !! Cost !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| National missile defense shield cost through 2013 || $107,690,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| F-22 Raptor program (halted) || $67,610,000,000 || The chart depicts 61 blocks instead of 68.<br />
|-<br />
| Planned Russian Bering Strait tunnel || $66,000,000,000 || The chart depicts 56 blocks instead of 66.<br />
|-<br />
| Obama's 2011 high-speed rail proposal || $53,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to build SF-to-LA high-speed rail || $45,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| UK Crossrail || $26,490,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| King Abdullah Economic City || $50,020,000,000 || High-speed rail $9,120,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Hong Kong International airport || $27,120,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Manhattan Project || $24,400,000,000 || Rounded up to 25 blocks<br />
|-<br />
| 2nd Avenue NYC subway line || $17,960,000,000 || Rounded down to 17 blocks<br />
|-<br />
| Big Dig cost || $18,510,000,000 || as of 2008 (rounded down to 18 blocks)<br />
|-<br />
| Failed Army intelligence-sharing computer system || $2,700,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Bay Bridge span replacement || $6,300,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Downtown Dubai project || $20,270,000,000 || Burj Khalifa $1,520,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Channel Tunnel || $22,960,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| ''Nimitz''-class carrier || $4,930,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| ''Gerald R. Ford''-class carrier || $9,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Amtrak 30-year plan for northeast corridor || $192,000,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $117,000,000,000.<br />
|-<br />
| City Qatar is building to host the 2022 World Cup || $207,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Apollo moon landing project || $192,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| International Space Station || $138,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Space Shuttle program || $194,620,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| US interstate highway system || $465,970,000,000 || The largest single public-works project in the history of mankind<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Federal budget===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Item<br />
! Price<br />
! Notes<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="8"|General/Legislative<br />
|-<br />
| Policy and regulation<br />
| $629,460,000<br />
| Merged into one block with Management.<br />
|-<br />
| Fiscal assistance<br />
| $5,150,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Property and records<br />
| $1,550,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Legislative<br />
| $4,140,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Fiscal operations<br />
| $12,070,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Management<br />
| $535,000,000<br />
| Merged into one block with Policy and regulation.<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $24,074,460,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Energy<br />
|-<br />
| Conservation<br />
| $5,070,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Supply<br />
| $5,870,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Policy and regulation<br />
| $629,460,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Preparedness<br />
| $201,710,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $11,771,170,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Science/Tech<br />
|-<br />
| General R&D<br />
| $12,850,000,000<br />
| Rounded down to 12 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Space<br />
| $18,620,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $31,470,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Agriculture<br />
|-<br />
| Farm income<br />
| $16,830,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| R&D and services<br />
| $4,820,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $21,650,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Justice<br />
|-<br />
| Law Enforcement<br />
| $28,140,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Criminal justice assistance<br />
| $4,920,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Legal<br />
| $13,250,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Corrections<br />
| $7,850,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $54,160,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Community and regional development<br />
|-<br />
| Community<br />
| $10,040,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Regional<br />
| $3,290,000,000<br />
| Label swapped with Disaster relief.<br />
|-<br />
| Disaster relief<br />
| $10,800,000,000<br />
| Label swapped with Regional.<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $24,130,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Transportation<br />
|-<br />
| Air<br />
| $21,720,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Water<br />
| $9,480,000,000<br />
| Rounded up to 10 bocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Ground<br />
| $61,610,000,000<br />
| Rounded down to 61 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $92,810,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="7"|Education and job training<br />
|-<br />
| Social services<br />
| $19,440,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Research and other labor<br />
| $5,470,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Training/employment<br />
| $9,990,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Higher education<br />
| $20,300,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| K-12 and vocational education<br />
| $74,260,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 73 blocks instead of 74.<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $129,460,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="7"|Natural resources<br />
|-<br />
| Pollution control<br />
| $10,990,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Conservation<br />
| $10,930,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Recreation<br />
| $3,960,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Other resources<br />
| $6,560,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Water<br />
| $11,810,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $44,250,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Health/Medicaid<br />
|-<br />
| Health care<br />
| $335,320,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Safety<br />
| $4,200,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Research<br />
| $34,670,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $374,080,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Interest on debt<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| $198,870,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Social Security<br />
|-<br />
|<br />
| $716,360,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Federal payments to dead retirees<br />
| $120,200,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="8"|Income security<br />
|-<br />
| Other income aid<br />
| $184,350,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Food aid<br />
| $96,410,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Retirement and disability (non-SS)<br />
| $6,650,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Housing<br />
| $59,450,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Government retirement and disability<br />
| $121,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Unemployment<br />
| $162,330,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $630,680,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="7"|Veterans<br />
|-<br />
| Other<br />
| $4,940,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Training and rehab<br />
| $8,200,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Housing<br />
| $547,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Medical care<br />
| $46,340,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Unemployment<br />
| $49,830,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $109,860,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="10"|Military<br />
|-<br />
| R&D<br />
| $78,040,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Housing<br />
| $3,220,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Nuclear security<br />
| $19,580,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| "Defense-related"<br />
| $7,670,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Construction<br />
| $21,460,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Personnel<br />
| $157,810,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Operations<br />
| $279,750,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Equipment<br />
| $135,420,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $703,030,000,000<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Budget options===<br />
<br />
Estimates by the Congressional Budget Office of the effect of various hypothetical policy decisions on annual tax revenue averaged over the next ten years.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Item<br />
! Price<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Cost of existing tax cuts (Loss in annual revenue if tax cuts are made permanent)<br />
|-<br />
| 2001 (Bush) tax cuts<br />
| $158,240,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2003 (Bush) capital gains tax cuts<br />
| $27,190,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2010 (Obama) payroll tax cut<br />
| $111,700,000,000<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Potential new taxes (Increase in annual tax revenue if implimented)<br />
|-<br />
| Raise corporate taxes by one percentage point<br />
| $10,060,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Legalize marijuana (and tax it at levels similar to tobacco)<br />
| $7,020,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Institute tax on CO2 emissions<br />
| $10,060,000,000 (This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $118,000,000,000)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Stimulus spending===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year<br />
! Item<br />
! Value<br />
! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan="5"|2008<br />
|-<br />
| Individual tax breaks <br />
| $120,110,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Student loan guarantees<br />
| $33,470,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Business tax breaks<br />
| $52,360,000,000<br />
| Rounded up to 53 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $205,930,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan="9"|2009<br />
|-<br />
| Tax breaks<br />
| $307,530,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 318 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Education<br />
| $90,460,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 92 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Medicare/Medicaid<br />
| $80,500,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 89 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Transportation<br />
| $32,560,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Unemployment<br />
| $62,740,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Infrastructure<br />
| $24,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Other<br />
| $150,160,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 183 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| Total<br />
| $747,950,000,000<br />
| The chart depicts 800 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Bailouts===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| 1980s-1990 S&L bailout || $78,300,000,000 || total cost to taxpayers (the chart depicts 180 blocks)<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to FDIC of bank failures || $19,000,000,000 || resulting from the 2008 financial crisis<br />
|-<br />
| TARP bailout funds distributed || $392,980,000,000 || Out of $700,000,000,000 available<br />
|-<br />
| Estimated TARP taxpayer losses || $41,660,000,000 || The chart depicts 36 blocks instead of 42.<br />
|-<br />
| Value of outstanding TARP assets || $144,440,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $144,440,000,000.<br />
|-<br />
| Bailout funds returned || $206,880,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Current Eurozone bailout fund || $1,361,700,000,000 || The chart depicts 1162 blocks instead of 1362.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Federal Payments===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Cost !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Annual improper federal payments comprising fraud, abuse and poorly-documented payments || $125,400,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Federal payments to dead retirees || $120,200,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Ground Zero medical expenses fund || $2,800,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| NEA-estimated cost to bring all US schools into good repair || $413,300,000,000,000 || The chart depicts 423 blocks instead of 413.<br />
|-<br />
| Annual economic cost of unmaintained infrastructure || $129,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Estimated direct annual agricultural value of bees || $220,000,000,000 ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Military/Security Spending===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Cost<br />
|-<br />
| Wasted money in Afghanistan/Iraq war contracts || $60,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Reconstruction money reportedly missing || $18,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Total US spending since 2001 to secure borders || $90,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| US nuclear arms spending during the Cold War || $2,818,300,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Ballistic missile submarines || $451,360,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Ballistic missiles to put on those submarines || $136,690,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| The $87 billion which John Kerry voted for/against || $101,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| "Star Wars" missile defense system (1987 Heritage Foundation estimate) || $185,300,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===US Spending on Wars===<br />
<br />
Including only direct spending on war operations, and not the resulting veterans' benefits or interest on debt incurred.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! War !! Cost !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| World War I || $334,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Spanish-American War || $9,030,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Civil War || $79,740,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| American revolution || $2,410,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1812 || $1,550,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Mexican War || $2,380,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| World War II || $4,104,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Korean War || $341,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Vietnam War || $738,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Persian Gulf War || $102,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Iraq War || $784,000,000,000 || The chart depicts 786 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| War in Afghanistan || $321,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Total || $804,410,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake by [[Randall]] and should read $8,044,100,000,000.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Trillions==<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><br />
<br />
===Size of derivatives market by year===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Year !! Amount !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 || $3,090,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1995 || $26,690,000,000,000 || Rounded down to 26 blocks.<br />
|-<br />
| 2001 || $86,390,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2005 || $227,260,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || $439,000,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Size of credit default swap market by year (included in derivatives)===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Year !! Amount<br />
|-<br />
| 2001 || $1,150,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2005 || $19,350,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2007 || $66,280,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || $31,350,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===US household net worth===<br />
<br />
$58,740,000,000,000<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Item !! Net Worth<br />
|-<br />
| Richest 1% || $19,620,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Richer half || $57,270,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Poorer half || $1,470,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Total debt in the US===<br />
<br />
$36,560,000,000,000<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Item !! Debt<br />
|-<br />
| Household || $13,560,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| State and local government || $2,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Federal government || $9,510,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Business || $10,980,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===World GDP===<br />
<br />
$62,900,000,000,000<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Region !! GDP<br />
|-<br />
| North America || $17,850,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| United States || $14,530,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| South America || $3,070,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| EU || $16,240,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Europe (incl. Russia and Turkey) || $20,130,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Africa || $1,610,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Asia || $17,530,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Oceania || $1,310,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Total public debt===<br />
<br />
Note: US figures are from 2011, while the other totals use 2010 debt in 2011 dollars, which is likely an underestimate.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Region !! Debt !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| EU (total) || $13,340,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| United States || $10,200,000,000,000 || Plus internal government borrowing of 4,740,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Japan || $8,630,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Germany || $2,480,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Italy || $2,140,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| India || $2,140,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| China || $1,907,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| France || $1,767,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| United Kingdom || $1,654,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Brazil || $1,281,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Canada || $1,130,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Spain || $834,210,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Mexico || $584,860,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Greece || $460,180,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===World total===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Item !! Value !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| proven oil reserves || $131,960,000,000,000 || November 2011 prices<br />
|-<br />
| US reserves || $20,580,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| proven coal reserves || $72,850,000,000,000 || 2011 central Appalachian prices<br />
|-<br />
| US reserves || $20,020,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| proven natural gas reserves || $21,470,000,000,000 || 2011 NYMEX prices<br />
|-<br />
| US reserves || $930,470,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| liquid assets || $77,000,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Estimated total economic production of the human race (so far, roughly three-fifths of it since 1980) || $2,396,950,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Value of 10 years of electricity generated if the surface of Texas were converted to:===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| Solar power plants || $89,240,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Wind turbines || $7,950,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===All US real estate===<br />
<br />
$28,380,000,000,000<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
! Type !! Value !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Home || $23,010,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Commercial || $5,370,000,000,000 || includes stores, apartments, industrial, etc.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Value of all gold ever mined (late 2011 prices)===<br />
<br />
$9,120,000,000,000<br />
<br />
===GDP by year===<br />
{|class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year !! GDP (total economic activity) the world (minus the US) !! GDP (total economic productivity) of the US (minus government) !! US federal government<br />
|-<br />
| 1920 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1930 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1940 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1942 || || || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1943 || || || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1944 || || || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1945 || || || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1946 || || || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1947 || || $2,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1948 || || $2,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1949 || || $2,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1950 || || $2,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1951 || || $2,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1952 || || $2,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1953 || || $2,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1954 || || $2,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1955 || || $3,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1956 || || $3,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1957 || || $3,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1958 || || $3,000,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1959 || || $3,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1960 || || $3,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1961 || || $3,500,000,000,000 || $500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1962 || || $3,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1963 || || $4,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1964 || || $4,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1965 || || $4,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1966 || || $4,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1967 || || $5,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1968 || || $5,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1969 || || $5,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1970 || || $5,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1971 || || $5,500,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1972 || || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1973 || || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1974 || || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1975 || || $5,500,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1976 || || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1977 || || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1978 || || $6,500,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1979 || || $7,000,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 || $19,000,000,000,000 || $6,500,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1981 || $19,000,000,000,000 || $6,500,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1982 || $19,500,000,000,000 || $6,000,000,000,000 || $1,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1983 || $20,000,000,000,000 || $6,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1984 || $20,000,000,000,000 || $7,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1985 || $22,000,000,000,000 || $7,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1986 || $23,000,000,000,000 || $7,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1987 || $23,500,000,000,000 || $7,500,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 || $25,000,000,000,000 || $8,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1989 || $26,000,000,000,000 || $8,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1990 || $27,000,000,000,000 || $8,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1991 || $27,000,000,000,000 || $8,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1992 || $31,000,000,000,000 || $8,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1993 || $32,500,000,000,000 || $8,500,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1994 || $33,000,000,000,000 || $9,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1995 || $34,000,000,000,000 || $9,000,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1996 || $34,500,000,000,000 || $9,500,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1997 || $36,500,000,000,000 || $9,500,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1998 || $36,500,000,000,000 || $10,500,000,000,000 || $2,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1999 || $37,000,000,000,000 || $10,500,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2000 || $39,000,000,000,000 || $10,500,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2001 || $39,000,000,000,000 || $10,500,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2002 || $41,000,000,000,000 || $10,500,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2003 || $42,500,000,000,000 || $11,000,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2004 || $45,000,000,000,000 || $11,500,000,000,000 || $2,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2005 || $47,500,000,000,000 || $11,500,000,000,000 || $3,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2006 || $50,000,000,000,000 || $12,000,000,000,000 || $3,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2007 || $53,000,000,000,000 || $12,000,000,000,000 || $3,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 || $58,500,000,000,000 || $11,500,000,000,000 || $3,000,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || $57,500,000,000,000 || $11,000,000,000,000 || $3,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2010 || $61,000,000,000,000 || $11,500,000,000,000 || $3,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2011 || $63,500,000,000,000 || $11,500,000,000,000 || $4,000,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
</div><br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:0980}}</div>172.68.146.45https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2261:_Worst_Thing_That_Could_Happen&diff=2725022261: Worst Thing That Could Happen2022-05-21T01:19:03Z<p>172.68.146.45: Undo revision 270766 by Explain xkcd server admin (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2261<br />
| date = January 29, 2020<br />
| title = Worst Thing That Could Happen<br />
| image = worst_thing_that_could_happen.png<br />
| titletext = Before I install any patch, I always open the patch notes and Ctrl-F for 'supervolcano', 'seagull', and 'garbage disposal', just to be safe.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
[[Ponytail]] and her friends are considering upgrading some part or program of their computers. They may feel the need to upgrade because the software they are currently using has some vulnerability that is only patched in newer revisions (this comic was released just two weeks after the [https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/windows-7-end-of-life-support-information end of extended support] for {{w|Windows 7}}), or because they want to have access to some new feature. As part of the decision-making process, Ponytail asks her friends, "What's the worst that could happen?" If the computers they are discussing are privately owned, she may be concerned about losing personal data or having to learn new software interfaces. On the other hand, if they are discussing a corporate computer system, there may also be business-related risks. If their company relies on functionality offered by their current system that has been deprecated or modified in the updated version (such as in [[1172: Workflow]], or as with many specialized tools or machines in the real world), they may suffer downtime while they modify the rest of their workflow. Even if the upgraded system should continue to fit their needs, they may need to take some downtime to perform the update and deal with the risks of something going badly along the way, and there may be major costs associated with license subscriptions and support contracts. "What's the worst that could happen?" is also a common {{w|rhetorical question}}; Ponytail may be expressing a belief that nothing bad could happen as a result of the upgrade, and not expecting an answer.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, Ponytail's friends answer with their ideas for the worst things that could happen ''ever'', not ''as a result of the upgrade'', as Ponytail meant, or they are taking the question to the logical extreme and invoking {{w|chaos theory}}. The result is a list of "worst things" ridiculously unconnected to a computer upgrade. At the end, however, [[Megan]] interprets these as possible results of the upgrade, and advises against upgrading. A [[#List of worst things|list with explanations]] can be found below. Ponytail facepalms at her friends' overly-literal senses of humor.<br />
<br />
Alternatively, Ponytail could be facepalming at the fact that the worst thing which could happen, according to her team, is that they are put on a ridiculous game show in which, if they answer a question incorrectly, they are chucked in garbage disposal. This may be bad, but it is nowhere near as bad as an erupting supervolcano or nuclear war.{{Citation needed}} However, [[Cueball]] has shown anxiety and difficulties in social situations, such as the less-than-helpful advice in [[1917: How to Make Friends]], so he (and likewise [[Hairy]] and Megan) may consider that embarrassment on the game show (which might then be immortalized online) is worse than instantaneous death in a nuclear war.<br />
<br />
Megan and Cueball have previously experienced a severely-botched upgrade in [[349: Success]], in which Cueball somehow caused them to end up in shark-infested waters off the coast of a deserted island when he was just trying to get their computer to dual-boot BSD.<br />
<br />
The title text talks about searching upgrade release notes for some of the things listed to be sure none are potential side effects of an upgrade. "Ctrl-F" is a common keyboard shortcut for "find text string" in many programs. Since Randall is just reading but not changing the patch notes, a web browser, PDF viewer, or word processing program such as Adobe Reader or Microsoft Word might have been used.<br />
<br />
===List of worst things===<br />
*The list of "worst things that could happen" discussed by the team are:<br />
<br />
{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"<br />
|'''Thing''' || '''Notes'''<br />
|-<br />
|"{{w|Supervolcano}}." || A supervolcano is a volcano that would (or does) eject over 1,000 cubic kilometers of material when it erupts. The United States in particular is home to a supervolcano in {{w|Yellowstone National Park}}. When it erupts, the results will be catastrophic to the entire world, possibly triggering a volcanic winter, massive crop die-offs (and subsequent cascading extinctions up the food chain), and the destruction of human civilization. This probably would not be set off by any sort of software update (though a weird frequency may be emitted, making the lava rise).<br />
|-<br />
|"{{w|Robot uprising}}." || An artificial intelligence overthrows humanity and takes over the world. Hairy is probably concerned with a violent uprising in which the robots are determined to exterminate humanity, as in, for example, the {{w|Terminator (franchise)|''Terminator''}} films, rather than [[1450: AI-Box Experiment|an AI who just wants to stay in a box]]. Randall has written about robot uprisings (both violent and humorous) in [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|several comic strips]]. If Ponytail's company is involved in artificial intelligence, a robot uprising could be a remotely plausible worst-case scenario from a botched upgrade.<br />
|-<br />
|"Everyone falls down a {{w|well}} at once." || ''{{w|Lassie}}'' was a series of books, films, and television shows about Lassie, a heroic Rough Collie dog who either rescues people from dangerous situations or at least goes to find other humans and lead them to the victim. The archetypal rescue in popular culture is that {{tvtropes|TimmyInAWell|little Timmy, her owner, falls down a well}} (although this never happened in any episode -- it was her first owner, Jeff Miller, who needed rescuing from the well, while Timmy got into [https://sickbastard.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/timmy-fell-down-what-well/ pretty much every ''other'' kind of trouble imaginable]). There have also been several well-publicized incidents in which a real person fell down a well, such as [https://www.biography.com/personality/baby-jessica Baby Jessica] and [https://www.michigan.gov/egle/0,9429,7-135-3313_3675_3689-7996--,00.html this list]. If ''everyone'' fell down a well at once, there would be nobody to summon Lassie to get them out, which would be a pretty bad thing. It's unclear how this upgrade could cause this outcome, making this suggestion preposterous.<br />
|-<br />
|"Instead of hitting the tallest thing around, lightning starts hitting the nicest." || {{w|Lightning}} generally strikes the tallest object under a thunderstorm, a topic addressed in {{what if|16|''What-if #16: Lightning''}}. {{w|Lightning rods}} are built to take advantage of this effect to protect nearby important objects from the lightning. If lightning started hitting the ''nicest'' thing around, then it would presumably strike whatever it was that the lightning rods are meant to protect (nice buildings, nice people, [https://history.nasa.gov/SP-350/ch-7-3.html nice rockets]). If the computer that's being upgraded is connected to the [[1620: Christmas Settings|Universe Control Panel]], this change could be a plausible negative consequence of the update.<br />
|-<br />
|"{{w|Seagulls}} all get {{w|handguns}}." || Guns in the hands of humans account for the large majority of homicides and suicides in the USA. Letting handguns be wielded by seagulls, which lack the impulse control and cognitive thinking required to make the ownership of a handgun somewhat safe, would make this much worse. Seagulls are not particularly known for their intelligence, self control, or kindness toward others. At popular beaches, seagulls are known to aggressively harass humans for their food; if they wielded handguns, a great deal of violence would ensue. Even if mayhem and death were not due to intentional use (i.e., if the seagulls were capable of learning that use of a handgun would get them food or something else they might like), they would happen from accidental use.<br />
|-<br />
|"A really '''''slow''''' nuclear war." || No {{w|nuclear war}} involving two sides launching nuclear weapons at each other has ever been fought, but experts generally agree that an all-out nuclear war between superpowers would end very quickly and very badly for all parties involved (as well as all parties not involved). A "slow" nuclear war might play out as a series of tit-for-tat individual launches rather than a single apocalyptic exchange, but the destruction of cities and release of fallout would be the same. Perhaps the anticipation of when exactly it's "your turn" to be a target would make the slow war a worse experience.<br />
<br />
Much of the computer networking technology used today has its roots in research into hardening nuclear command and control systems against an incoming first strike, and many works of fiction have depicted nuclear war (or the risk of nuclear war) resulting from computer and software errors in systems that are supposed to "upgrade" the decision-making process, such as ''{{w|WarGames}}'' and "{{w|Fail-Safe (novel)|Fail-Safe}}". If Ponytail's company is involved in the defense industry, a nuclear war could be a plausible worst-case scenario from a botched upgrade.<br />
|-<br />
|"We have to go on a game show where they show you photos of people you've met once and ask you their names, and if you get one wrong a trapdoor opens and you fall into a garbage disposal." || The premise of this game show seems to play on Munroe's frequent references to anxiety about social situations. For people who have troubles remembering names, encountering someone you've met once before can be harrowing, as you may know that you ''should'' know their name, but be unable to recall it, creating embarrassment and awkwardness (particularly if the person remembers your name with ease). The concept is that fear could be exploited in the form of a game show. Many popular game shows feature contests where contestants who fail are subjected to pain and/or humiliation, such as the ''{{w|Ninja Warrior}}'' franchise. This case is particularly exaggerated, as the inability to remember even a single name would result in being dropped into a garbage disposal, which would virtually guarantee serious maiming and/or death. The reaction of the strip characters suggests that they all share a lack of confidence in their ability to remember the names of casual acquaintances, making such a game show one of the "worst things" they could encounter. <br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Ponytail is standing in front of a desk with a computer. One of her hands is on the keyboard. Behind her, Cueball, Hairy, and Megan are looking at the computer screen.]<br />
:Ponytail: We should upgrade. What's the worst that could happen?<br />
:Cueball: Supervolcano.<br />
:Hairy: Robot uprising.<br />
:Megan: Everyone falls down a well at once.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Cueball, Hairy, and Megan. Cueball has turned toward the other two.]<br />
:Cueball: Instead of hitting the tallest thing around, lightning starts hitting the nicest.<br />
:Megan: Seagulls all get handguns.<br />
:Hairy: A really '''''slow''''' nuclear war.<br />
<br />
:[Large panel with the original setting. Ponytail has turned towards the other three but is now facepalming, as Cueball gesturing with his hands at chest-height are still looking at the other two facing him.]<br />
:Cueball: We all have to go on a game show where they show you photos of people you've met once and ask you their names, and if you get one wrong a trapdoor opens and you fall into a garbage disposal.<br />
:Hairy: '''Ooh,''' that's a good one.<br />
:Megan: Yeah, let's put off the upgrade.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Computers]]<br />
[[Category:Volcanoes]]<br />
[[Category:Robots]]<br />
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]<br />
[[Category:Weather]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Nuclear weapons]]</div>172.68.146.45https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2546:_Fiction_vs_Nonfiction&diff=2724992546: Fiction vs Nonfiction2022-05-21T01:18:11Z<p>172.68.146.45: Undo revision 270762 by Explain xkcd server admin (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2546<br />
| date = November 24, 2021<br />
| title = Fiction vs Nonfiction<br />
| image = fiction_vs_nonfiction.png<br />
| titletext = The real challenge is how to file Boba Fett's biography of Doris Kearns Goodwin.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] is asking [[Ponytail]] and [[White Hat]] to classify different ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' books and movies as fiction or nonfiction. (Perhaps he is working at a library or bookstore, or sorting a personal collection.) ''Star Wars'' as a whole is a multimedia franchise, which includes films, TV series, novels, etc, but often singularly refers to {{w|Star Wars (film)|the original 1977 film}} later more lengthily titled ''Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope'' (or, given the fact that the rest of the titles are books, one of several novelizations based on the script). The classifications get more complicated to determine as the conversation progresses while revealing a quite specific obsession with the character of {{w|Boba Fett}}. The complexity may even end up converting {{w|Lumpers and splitters|lumpers into splitters}}, a philosophical distinction that another [[2518: Lumpers and Splitters|recent comic]] touched upon. <br />
<br />
Nonfiction (also spelled non-fiction) is any document or media content that intends, in good faith, to present only truth and accuracy regarding information, events, or people. In contrast, fiction offers information, events, or characters expected to be partly or largely imaginary, or else leaves open if and how the work refers to reality.<br />
<br />
In the end, White Hat suggests that, since Cueball has so many works featuring Boba Fett, it would be more useful to group them together in a new category rather than sorting them into the fiction and nonfiction sections.<br />
<br />
===Table===<br />
{| class="wikitable" <br />
!Media name <br />
!Explanation <br />
|-<br />
| ''{{w|Star Wars (film)|Star Wars}}''<br />
| ''Star Wars'' is a science-''fiction'' movie released in 1977 (re-released in 1981 as ''Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope'')<br />
|-<br />
| ''{{w|The Making of Star Wars}}''<br />
| This was a television special about how ''Star Wars'' was made, which would make it nonfiction.<br />
|-<br />
| ''Star Wars: The Adventures of Boba Fett''<br />
| This would be one of the ''Star Wars'' franchise's continuity of stories, making it fictional. Not a currently extant release, but something like this {{w|List_of_Star_Wars_films#Unproduced_films|has been long anticipated}}, and now possibly inspired by the imminent release (as of the comic's time of posting) of ''{{w|The Book of Boba Fett}}''.<br />
|-<br />
| ''Star Wars: The Official Guide to Boba Fett's Armor and Weapons''<br />
| While the content of this guidebook is entirely fictional, the book is factual. Boba Fett (a fictional character){{citation needed}} does in fact [https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/253196 have durasteel]/[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Boba_Fett%27s_armor Beskar] armor (a fictional material), so the book is technically non-fiction. <br />
|-<br />
| ''Boba Fett's Gadgets and How He Got Them''<br />
| This could either be a non-fictional book or docuseries similar to the previous entry, or instead an in-universe adventure series or film. The rhythm of the words is similar to the in-universe guidebook ''{{w|Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them}}'' from the {{w|Harry Potter}} universe - this is a non-fiction book used educationally for young wizards within the fictitious world and also a fiction book within the real world. This book was turned into a 2016 {{w|Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film)|feature film}}, starring Eddie Redmayne.<br />
|-<br />
| ''Boba Fett: A Life'' by Doris Kearns Goodwin<br />
| {{w|Doris Kearns Goodwin}} is a historian and biographer who has written biographies of many influential people. Since Goodwin is a non-fiction writer, one would have to read this (non-existent<ref>List of books on Goodwin's website: [https://doriskearnsgoodwin.com/books/]</ref>) book to determine whether the biography is a fictional account of the character, or a factual account of the fictional history of the character. If the book doesn't establish any new canon, and is instead citing only recorded (fictional) facts from the Star Wars Universe and, perhaps, the real-world influences on and by the character, it could legitimately be considered non-fiction. Doris Kearns Goodwin is also mentioned in [[2160: Ken Burns Theory]].<br />
|-<br />
| (title text) Boba Fett's biography of Doris Kearns Goodwin<br />
| It is unclear how, or why, a fictional character would write a biography on a real life person, but there's always the possibility that there was already a fictional Doris, in-universe to Boba, whose own life and exploits would be natural for an actually fictional factual output. <br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is talking to Ponytail and White Hat.]<br />
:Cueball: ''Star Wars''?<br />
:Ponytail: Fiction.<br />
<br />
:[Same setting.]<br />
:Cueball: ''The Making of Star Wars''?<br />
:White Hat: Nonfiction.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup of Cueball.]<br />
:Cueball: ''Star Wars: The Adventures of Boba Fett''?<br />
:Off-panel voice: Fiction.<br />
<br />
:[Closeup of Ponytail.]<br />
:Cueball (off-panel): ''Star Wars: The Official Guide to Boba Fett's Armor and Weapons''?<br />
:Ponytail: Nonfiction, technically.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball has lifted a hand palm up as he talks to Ponytail and White Hat.]<br />
:Cueball: ''Boba Fett's Gadgets and How He Got Them''?<br />
:Ponytail: ...Fiction? <br />
:Ponytail: It depends.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is talking to Ponytail and White Hat. Ponytail has turned towards White Hat and has taken a hand to her chin.]<br />
:Cueball: ''Boba Fett: A Life'', by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin?<br />
:Ponytail: Hm.<br />
:White Hat: Maybe we should just have a Boba Fett section.<br />
<br />
== References ==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Star Wars]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]</div>172.68.146.45https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=298:_Tesla_Coil&diff=272497298: Tesla Coil2022-05-21T01:16:54Z<p>172.68.146.45: Undo revision 270764 by Explain xkcd server admin (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 298<br />
| date = August 3, 2007<br />
| title = Tesla Coil<br />
| image = tesla_coil.png<br />
| titletext = For scientists, this can be the hardest thing about dreams.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] diligently creates a {{w|Tesla coil}}, a device that produces {{w|high voltage}} alternating currents. <br />
<br />
After that show by Cueball, [[Black Hat]] magically shoots electricity from his fingertips. When Cueball asks how he did that, he says that science doesn't really work, then hovers in mid-air, further proving his point. There is simply no apparent explanation for Black Hat's abilities, which means science is still woefully incomplete or, as Black Hat said, simply doesn't work.<br />
<br />
The title text indicates that this was all actually a dream, explaining Black Hat's abilities and pointing out how dreams can be difficult for scientists as they will attempt to analyse and understand everything in the dream according to the laws of science, which wouldn't apply in dreams.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Black Hat stand near a tesla coil mounted on a table.]<br />
:Cueball: I finally finished my Tesla Coil!<br />
<br />
:[The room is dark; the characters appear as faint blue outlines on black background. Cueball turns on the Tesla Coil and it sparks white static electricity.]<br />
:''click''<br />
:Black Hat: Cool, but—<br />
<br />
:[Lightning shoots out of Black Hat's hands, Cueball appears to be in shock <!-- get it --> and awe.]<br />
:Black Hat: Check <u>this</u> out!<br />
<br />
:[The lights are back on, Cueball's arms are raised in amazement.]<br />
:Cueball: How did you do that?<br />
:Black Hat: The world doesn't actually make any sense. Science doesn't work. No one told you because you're so cute when you get into something.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat floats up the frame, and Cueball is pointing towards Black Hat.]<br />
:Black Hat: Still, neat toy.<br />
:Cueball: Now you're hovering!<br />
:Black Hat: I guess you're still not getting this.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]</div>172.68.146.45https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2399:_2020_Election_Map&diff=2724962399: 2020 Election Map2022-05-21T01:16:34Z<p>172.68.146.45: Undo revision 270765 by Explain xkcd server admin (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2399<br />
| date = December 16, 2020<br />
| title = 2020 Election Map<br />
| image = 2020_election_map.png<br />
| titletext = There are more Trump voters in California than Texas, more Biden voters in Texas than New York, more Trump voters in New York than Ohio, more Biden voters in Ohio than Massachusetts, more Trump voters in Massachusetts than Mississippi, and more Biden voters in Mississippi than Vermont.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
*A [https://xkcd.com/2399/large/ larger version] of this image can be found by clicking the image at xkcd.com - the comic's page can also be accessed by clicking on the comic number above.<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is a sequel to an earlier comic, [[1939: 2016 Election Map]]. The United States elects its president not directly by popular vote but by an Electoral College composed of a number of electors, partially proportional to population, from each state. Presently, a "winner-take-all" system is used in most states: the winner of the popular vote in each state receives all of the electoral votes for that state. Though, strictly speaking, the electors are not required to cast their ballots according to this system, many states impose penalties on them if they don't. Technically, the popular vote in each state is to elect a slate of electors who in turn elect the President.<br />
<br />
During the election season, news outlets and other political trackers tend to color-code each state with the party which won the state (or which is projected or speculated to win). Since the 2000 election it's become common practice to code Republican victories as red and Democratic victories as blue. Other parties have less consistent colors, but are commonly green. These colors have become embedded in popular vernacular, as states that are heavily Republican are known as "red states" and those that are heavily Democratic are known as "blue states".<br />
<br />
These graphics can be misleading as to the realities on the ground, though. Because each state is colored solidly red or blue, it gives the impression that each state belongs entirely to one party or the other, when the color could represent a very slender minority, or an overwhelming advantage. In addition, such a graphical view means that larger states translate to more area of a given color, giving the impression of party strength, even though that may not represent many voters. In the US, large cities trend largely Democratic, while rural areas trend largely Republican. This means that many Democratic voters are concentrated in relatively small urban areas, so a large "red" state may represent fewer voters than a small "blue" state. <br />
<br />
Randall's solution to this is to represent the Republican and Democratic voters in each state with Cueball icons, each icon representing 250,000 voters. He has made some attempt to distribute the Cueball icons within a state in a manner similar to how the actual votes were distributed. This has the advantage of giving a decent impression of how popular each candidate was, how their popularity varied across the country, and how the votes were distributed by both state and region. It also gives at least a basic indication of population patterns in the US, with large regions that are sparsely inhabited, and populations clustered in urban centers.<br />
<br />
The title text compares different voter pools in terms of absolute size. These facts are frequently counter-intuitive. California is generally thought of as a "blue state", and Texas as a "red state" (Although that may be changing), so it's surprising to realize that, in 2020, Donald Trump received more votes in California than he did in Texas. The reason for this is not complex, California has a huge population, nearly 40 million people, of whom 17.5 million voted in 2020. Even though Joe Biden won the state easily, Trump received 6 million of those votes. Texas, by contrast, has 27.7 million residents and 11.3 million voters in the 2020 election. Trump received 5.9 million of those votes, which was enough to win the state. Because of the huge variation in population among US states, and the political divisions within each state, there are multiple "blue" states which have more Republican voters that at least some "red" states, and vice versa. This underscores the importance of not viewing any state as politically uniform. Even if a state trends heavily toward one party, there is always a substantial population of the other party, and in large states, that means enough people that they'd be a formidable political force anywhere else. <br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!|<br />
!colspan="2"|Biden/Harris<br />
!colspan="2"|Trump/Pence<br />
!rowspan="2"|Total<br />
Votes<br />
|-<br />
!|State<br />
!|Votes<br />
!|Perc<br />
!|Votes<br />
!|Perc<br />
|-<br />
|California<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,110,250<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|63.48%<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: yellow;"|6,006,429<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|34.32%<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|17,500,881<br />
|-<br />
|Texas<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: lightgreen;"|5,259,126<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|46.48%<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: yellow;"|5,890,347<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|52.06%<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,315,056<br />
|-<br />
|New York<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: lightgreen;"|5,230,985<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|60.86%<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: dodgerblue"|3,244,798<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|37.75%<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|8,594,826<br />
|-<br />
|Ohio<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: lightsalmon;"|2,679,165<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|45.24%<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: dodgerblue"|3,154,834<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|53.27%<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,922,202<br />
|-<br />
|Massachusetts<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: lightsalmon;"|2,382,202<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|65.60%<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: chartreuse;"|1,167,202<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|32.14%<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,631,402<br />
|-<br />
|Mississippi<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: aqua;"|539,508<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|41.06%<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: chartreuse;"|756,789<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|57.60%<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,313,894<br />
|-<br />
|Vermont<br />
|style="text-align: right; background-color: aqua;"|242,820<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|66.09%<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|112,704<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|30.67%<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|367,428<br />
|}<br />
{{w|2020_United_States_presidential_election#Results_by_state|Source}}<br />
<br />
The following table lists the number of 250,000-vote markers in the map by candidate and state, and compares this with the actual number of votes. {{w|2020_United_States_presidential_election#Results_by_state|Source}}<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!|<br />
!colspan="3"|Biden/Harris<br />
!colspan="3"|Trump/Pence<br />
!colspan="3"|Others<br />
!colspan="3"|Total<br />
|-<br />
!|State<br />
!|Markers<br />
!|Votes<br />
!|Actual votes<br />
!|Markers<br />
!|Votes<br />
!|Actual votes<br />
!|Markers<br />
!|Votes<br />
!|Actual votes<br />
!|Markers<br />
!|Votes<br />
!|Actual votes<br />
|-<br />
|Alabama (AL)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|849,624<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,441,170<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|32,488<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|9<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,323,282<br />
|-<br />
|Alaska (AK)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|153,778<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|189,951<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|15,801<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|359,530<br />
|-<br />
|Arizona (AZ)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,672,143 <br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,661,686<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|53,497<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|14<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,387,326<br />
|-<br />
|Arkansas (AR)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|423,932<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|760,647<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|34490<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,219,069<br />
|-<br />
|California (CA)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|44<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,110,250<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|24<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6,006,429<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|384,202<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|70<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|17,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|17,500,881<br />
|-<br />
|Colorado (CO)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,804,352<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,364,607<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|88,021<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|13<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,256,980<br />
|-<br />
|Connecticut (CT)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4.5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,125,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,080,680<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|715,291<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0.5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|125,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|28,309<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|8<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,824,280<br />
|-<br />
|Delaware (DE)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|296,268<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|200,603<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7,475<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|504,346<br />
|-<br />
|District of Columbia (DC)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|317,323<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|18,586<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|8,447<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|344,356<br />
|-<br />
|Florida (FL)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|21<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,297,045<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|23<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,668,731<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|101,680<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|45<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,067,456<br />
|-<br />
|Georgia (GA)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|10<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,473,633<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|10<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,461,854<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|62,229<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|20<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4,997,716<br />
|-<br />
|Hawaii (HI)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|366,130<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|196,864<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,475<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|574,469<br />
|-<br />
|Idaho (ID)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|287,021<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|554,119<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|26,874<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|868,014<br />
|-<br />
|Illinois (IL)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|14<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,471,915<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|10<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,446,891<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|114,938<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|25<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6,033,744<br />
|-<br />
|Indiana (IN)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,242,416<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,729,519<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|61,183<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|12<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,033,118<br />
|-<br />
|Iowa (IA)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|759,061<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|897,672<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|34,138<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,690,871<br />
|-<br />
|Kansas (KS)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|570,323<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|771,406<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|30,574<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,372,303<br />
|-<br />
|Kentucky (KY)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|772,474<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,326,646<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|37,648<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|9<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,136,768<br />
|-<br />
|Louisiana (LA)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|856,034<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,255,776<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|36,252<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|9<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,148,062<br />
|-<br />
|Maine (ME)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|435,072<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|360,737<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|23,652<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|819,461<br />
|-<br />
|Maryland (MD)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|8<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,985,023<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|976,414<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|75,593<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|12<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,037,030<br />
|-<br />
|Massachusetts (MA)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|10<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,382,202<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,167,202<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|81,998<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|15<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,631,402<br />
|-<br />
|Michigan (MI)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,804,040<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|9<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,649,852<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|85,410<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|21<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,539,302<br />
|-<br />
|Minnesota (MN)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,717,077<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,484,065<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|76,029<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|13<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,277,171<br />
|-<br />
|Mississippi (MS)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|539,508<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|756,789<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|17,597<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,313,894<br />
|-<br />
|Missouri (MO)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,253,014<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,718,736<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|54,212<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|12<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,025,962<br />
|-<br />
|Montana (MT)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|244,786<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|343,602<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|15,286<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|603,674<br />
|-<br />
|Nebraska (NE)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|374,583<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|556,846<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|25,044<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|956,383<br />
|-<br />
|Nevada (NV)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|703,486<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|669,890<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|32,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,405,376<br />
|-<br />
|New Hampshire (NH)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|424,937<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|365,660<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|13,236<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|790,597<br />
|-<br />
|New Jersey (NJ)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|9<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,608,335<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,833,274<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|57,744<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|16<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4,549,353<br />
|-<br />
|New Mexico (NM)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|501,614<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|401,894<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|20,457<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|923,965<br />
|-<br />
|New York (NY)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|20.5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,125,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,230,985<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|13<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,244,798<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0.5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|125,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|119,043<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|34<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|8,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|8,594,826<br />
|-<br />
|North Carolina (NC)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,684,292<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,758,775<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|81,737<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|22<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,524,804<br />
|-<br />
|North Dakota (ND)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|114,902<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|235,595<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,322<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|361,819<br />
|-<br />
|Ohio (OH)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,679,165<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|12<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,154,834<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|88,203<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|24<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,922,202<br />
|-<br />
|Oklahoma (OK)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|503,890<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,020,280<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|36,529<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,560,699<br />
|-<br />
|Oregon (OR)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,340,383<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|958,448<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|75,490<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|10<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,374,321<br />
|-<br />
|Pennsylvania (PA)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|15<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,458,229<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|14<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,377,674<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|79,380<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|29<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6,915,283<br />
|-<br />
|Rhode Island (RI)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|307,486<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|199,922<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|10,349<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|517,757<br />
|-<br />
|South Carolina (SC)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,091,541<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,385,103<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|36,685<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|10<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,513,329<br />
|-<br />
|South Dakota (SD)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|150,471<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|261,043<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,095<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|422,609<br />
|-<br />
|Tennessee (TN)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,143,711<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,852,475<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|57,665<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|12<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,053,851<br />
|-<br />
|Texas (TX)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|21<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,259,126<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|24<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|5,890,347<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|165,583<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|46<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|11,315,056<br />
|-<br />
|Utah (UT)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|560,282<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|865,140<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|62,867<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,488,289<br />
|-<br />
|Vermont (VT)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|242,820<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|112,704<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,608<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|367,428<br />
|-<br />
|Virginia (VA)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|10<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,413,568<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|8<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,962,430<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|84,526<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|18<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4,460,524<br />
|-<br />
|Washington (WA)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|9<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,369,612<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,584,651<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|133,368<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|16<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|4,087,631<br />
|-<br />
|West Virginia (WV)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|235,984<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|545,382<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|13,365<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|794,731<br />
|-<br />
|Wisconsin (WI)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|7<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,750,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,630,866<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|6<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,500,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1,610,184<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|56,991<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|13<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,298,041<br />
|-<br />
|Wyoming (WY)<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|73,491<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|193,559<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|0<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|9,715<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|1<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|276,765<br />
|-<br />
|Total<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|325<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|81,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|81,268,867<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|296<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|74,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|74,216,747<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|12<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|3,000,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|2,896,077<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|633<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|158,250,000<br />
|style="text-align: right;"|158,381,691<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:2020 Election Map<br />
:[One stick figure in a black circle] = 250,000 votes<br />
:[Stick figure in a blue circle] <font color="blue">Biden</font color><br />
:[Stick figure in a red circle] <font color="red">Trump</font color><br />
:[Stick figure in a green circle] <font color="green">Other</font color><br />
:Votes are distributed by state as accurately as possible while keeping national totals correct.<br />
:Location within each state is approximate.<br />
:[Blue, red, and green circles are distributed across a map of the United States.]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Elections]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Large drawings]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring politicians]]<br />
[[Category:US maps]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Donald Trump]]</div>172.68.146.45https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=783:_I_Don%27t_Want_Directions&diff=272489783: I Don't Want Directions2022-05-21T01:11:53Z<p>172.68.146.45: /* Explanation */ Add 'citation needed' tag where obviously needed</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 783<br />
| date = August 23, 2010<br />
| title = I Don't Want Directions<br />
| image = i_dont_want_directions.png<br />
| titletext = Yes, I understand that the turn is half a mile past the big field, but my GPS knows that, too. This would be easier if you weren't about to ask me to repeat it all back to you.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] wants to use his {{w|GPS navigation device|GPS device}} to find an individual's house, and therefore needs the house's address. The person on the phone is giving him directions, something that is useless because by giving Cueball the address, the GPS can give directions to the address, possibly better than the ones he is getting over the phone. Cueball then decides to tell the person that he would like to mail something to their house, hoping they will give him the address, because you must have the address to mail something.{{Citation needed}}<br />
<br />
The title text is a continuation of the comic's joke. By the end of the comic, Cueball has got the information he needs, and has just ignored the directions he did not want. However, if the person on the phone insists on checking Cueball has remembered the directions correctly, Cueball has to be able to learn the useless information he did not want in the first place, and has been mostly ignoring, at least well enough to repeat it once.<br />
<br />
Judging by the roads mentioned in the comic (Highland Rd and presumably {{w|Interstate 495 (Massachusetts)|I-495}} and {{w|Massachusetts Route 18|MA-18}}), the person on the phone lives somewhere around [http://goo.gl/maps/tXFbF southern Lakeville, Massachusetts], and Cueball is starting from the Boston area.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball on phone.]<br />
:Cueball: Looking forward to seeing your new place! What's the address?<br />
:Cueball: Mm hmm. Yes, I'm taking 495, but I have a GPS, so I really just need the street address.<br />
<br />
:[Close up.]<br />
:Cueball: ...then south on 18, okay, but I have a GPS, so if you just want to skip to the street address, I can...<br />
<br />
:[Full body shot, facing other direction.]<br />
:Cueball: Thanks, I'm glad to know Highland Road comes a mile after the big intersection, but I keep saying I ''have a GPS'', can you tell me the street address?<br />
:Cueball: ...<br />
:Cueball: Technically that's just more information on how to get to your place, not the address itself. If you could-<br />
<br />
:[Close up again, Cueball writing on pad.]<br />
:Cueball: ...I appreciate that you want to help, but I'm ''ignoring'' you and just waiting for the...<br />
:Cueball: Listen, I just remembered I need to mail you a letter. What's your address?<br />
:Cueball: Mhm... okay...<br />
:Cueball: Great, thanks! I'll see you in an hour!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>172.68.146.45https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=269:_TCMP&diff=229783269: TCMP2022-04-06T03:20:40Z<p>172.68.146.45: /* Explanation */ Obvious error</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 269<br />
| date = May 28, 2007<br />
| title = TCMP<br />
| image = tcmp.png<br />
| titletext = A big obstacle in experimenting with the mind's dream-simulation-engine is holding onto the details as you wake up. With TCMP you can bring back any information you want.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] trained himself to type while asleep, so he could communicate from inside his dreams. He calls this ''Trans-Consciousness Messaging Protocol'', or '''TCMP'''. He succeeds in using this system to send a message from inside his dream, but his friends, [[Megan]] and another Cueball, are disappointed when that first message is a {{w|troll (Internet)|trollish}} "F1rst p0st!!", in this case, "trans-reality trolling", instead of something constructive.<br />
<br />
Firstposting, or [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=thread%20sniping thread sniping], is the practice of posting short messages to brag to others that you found and saw this content first. This practice was far more common at the time this comic was written, when high-traffic and poorly-moderated social media sites tended to display comments in increasing chronological order by default; as such, the oldest comments would be most prominently displayed at the top, while the newest comments would be buried at the bottom. These days, while low-traffic and closely-monitored forums still use this approach, social media sites instead tend to sort comments by rating, so that the most appreciated comments are given the most prominence and trollish comments like the cliche "F1rst p0st!!" are buried. See also [[1019: First Post]] and [[1258: First]] and regarding trolling [[493: Actuarial]].<br />
<br />
"Bell & Watson" refers to {{w|Alexander Graham Bell}} and his assistant {{w|Thomas A. Watson}}. Bell is traditionally credited with inventing the {{w|telephone}}, because he was awarded the patent for it, although {{w|Elisha Gray and Alexander Bell telephone controversy|that is still controversial}}. His first phone call was to Watson in another part of their lab.<br />
<br />
The name "TCMP" is likely to be a portmanteau of TCP ({{w|Transmission Control Protocol}}) and ICMP ({{w|Internet Control Message Protocol}}), which are actual protocols used in computer networking.<br />
<br />
The title text explains how this protocol, if real, would be of great value in dream research, since you then would not have to worry about forgetting the dreams after waking up like as in [[430: Every Damn Morning]]. You can relay the dreams as you experience them.<br />
<br />
A possible downside is that in order for this to work, the dream has to be {{w|Lucid dream|lucid}}, where the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming. This type of dream is very fascinating to [[Randall]], as mentioned in the title text of [[203: Hallucinations]]. Because this method could not be used to study regular dreams, some possibilities for studying dreams would be limited.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball stand with a keyboard next to a bed. The keyboard is connected with a wire to a computer on a desk to the right. He talks to Megan and a Cueball-like friend.]<br />
:Cueball: Hey, help me test the Trans-Consciousness Messaging Protocol.<br />
:Friend: What's that?<br />
:Cueball: I've been training myself to keep my fingers moving slightly as I fall asleep. So I can type from inside dreams.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball sits with the keyboard on the bed.]<br />
:Cueball: I'm going to sleep now. My computer will relay my messages to you as I explore the dream world.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball stand with the keyboard in a forest with tall trees. The leaves are not visible; they are above the top of the drawing. At the top, there is a frame with text:]<br />
:In the dream:<br />
:Cueball (thinking): So strange to think none of this is real. <br />
:Cueball (thinking): And yet I have this lifeline to the internet back home.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball places the keyboard on a stone, bends down, and types.]<br />
:Cueball (thinking): A chance to speak from one reality to another. <br />
:Cueball (thinking): I feel like Bell & Watson. I get to write the inaugural TCMP message. <br />
:Cueball (thinking): Let's see...<br />
:Keyboard: *Type type type*<br />
<br />
:[Megan is at the computer, and the Cueball-like friend behind her looks at his message from the dream. At the top, there is a frame with text:]<br />
:Outside:<br />
:Megan: "F1RST P0ST!!"?<br />
:Friend: Great. He's jumped straight to trans-reality trolling.<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Dreams]]</div>172.68.146.45