https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.68.26.71&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T20:05:50ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1984:_Misinterpretation&diff=1562211984: Misinterpretation2018-04-24T14:40:58Z<p>172.68.26.71: CLEANUP ON SOME NEEDLESS REPETITION</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1984<br />
| date = April 23, 2018<br />
| title = Misinterpretation<br />
| image = misinterpretation.png<br />
| titletext = "But there are seven billion people in the world! I can't possibly stop to consider how ALL of them might interpret something!" "Ah, yes, there's no middle ground between 'taking personal responsibility for the thoughts and feelings of every single person on Earth' and 'covering your eyes and ears and yelling logically correct statements into the void.' That's a very insightful point and not at all inane."<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] is complaining that people are mad at him ''again'' because of a misinterpretation of his statements. This is referenced by the comic's title. Since he is being perfectly clear, (or so he claims,) it cannot be his fault that everyone misinterprets him.<br />
<br />
However, the off-screen voice sarcastically points out that communication is an activity that only involves one person. Hence the speaker makes it clear that "real" communication involves work on behalf of both the speaker as well as the listener. Cueball claims that he is being “perfectly clear”, but if there is room for misinterpretation on behalf of almost everyone that reads his comments, then he is not.<br />
<br />
In the title text, Cueball then answers that he cannot possibly account for the many possible interpretations which the message, potentially reaching the whole world, could acquire. The reply comes once again sarcastically, deriding his point and saying that a middle ground between taking up such an effort and entirely avoiding it must be reached.<br />
<br />
This avoidance is phrased using a [[762: Analogies|simile]] as “covering your eyes and ears and yelling logically correct statements into the void”, implying that no one would understand the logical sentences (thus the void), and would instead read them more naturally – and also that ignoring the appalled reaction of listeners to their own interpretation of the sentences is similar to covering your eyes and years. This action makes communication more difficult through the popular{{Citation needed}} means of speech, text and sign language. If the hands are occupied with covering either part, then Braille communication is also impossible. Therefore, the action of “covering your eyes and ears” is a metaphor for deliberately making it more difficult to communicate with oneself. The simile might also mean that Cueball subconsciously rejects criticism as it would hurt his ego.<br />
<br />
It is clear that Cueball is acting as a straw man to further Randall's point, and the off-panel character is portrayed as the (sarcastic) voice of reason.<br />
<br />
Randall returns to a recurring theme in his comics, regarding, in contexts of communication, the responsibility of the speaker for how they are interpreted. Having gradually gotten less subtle, this theme is now laid bare, there being no joke other than the sarcasm. What follows is a chronological history of this theme.<br />
<br />
*Much earlier than the other comics below, but related, [[169: Words that End in GRY]] is a surreal reprimand upon people who act smug when their bad communication is misunderstood.<br />
*The title text of [[1028: Communication]] notes that “Anyone who says that they're great at communicating but 'people are bad at listening' is confused about how communication works.”<br />
*The title text of [[1860: Communicating]] also asserts that the responsibility of a misunderstanding lies with the speaker, not the listener — a theme explored in the comic via the character Humpty Dumpty.<br />
*The comic [[1911: Defensive Profile]] implies that a person who boasts of having “no filter” in their (social media) speech is actually merely insecure about making people mad with their statements.<br />
<br />
This theme is part of the larger category of comics about [[:Category:Social interactions|social interactions]]. <br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at a desk in front of a laptop with his hands raised above the keyboard. An off-panel person replies to his remarks.]<br />
:Cueball: Ugh, people are mad at me again because they don't read carefully.<br />
:Cueball: I'm being perfectly clear. It's not '''''my''''' fault if everyone misinterprets what I say.<br />
:Off-panel person: Wow, sounds like you're great at communicating, an activity that famously involves just one person.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Social interactions]]</div>172.68.26.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1983:_Clutter&diff=1561031983: Clutter2018-04-20T16:11:45Z<p>172.68.26.71: /* Explanation */ EXPLAINED THE JOKE</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1983<br />
| date = April 20, 2018<br />
| title = Clutter<br />
| image = clutter.png<br />
| titletext = I found a copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, but the idea of reading it didn't spark joy, so I gave it away.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|I'd say this is about done, but you could explain the motivations for each cleanup more in depth if you want.}}<br />
<br />
As the graph shows, the amount of junk sitting around [[Randall]]'s house is on an ever-increasing trend. Thus, it will continue to pile up and cause problems.<br />
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Randall cleans up sometimes, but it is not efficient enough to keep up with the cluttering trend, and hence his worry.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the book ''The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing'' by {{w|Marie Kondo}}. The main concept of the book is that one should gather all belongings and only retain items that "spark joy". Ironically, the thought of reading the book didn't spark joy for Randall so he decided to donate it.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[There is a panel containing a line graph. The x- and y-axes are labeled "time" and "amount of stuff in my house" respectively.]<br />
:[The y-value generally increases as x increases. There are a few labeled exceptions where the y-value decreases slightly. From left to right:]<br />
:"I need to clean up."<br />
:"I've really let junk build up. Feels good to clear it out."<br />
:"I hate moving, but at least it's a chance to finally get rid of all this excess stuff."<br />
:"Ah, spring cleaning!"<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:I'm starting to worry about my strategy for dealing with clutter.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Line graphs]]</div>172.68.26.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1982:_Evangelism&diff=156054Talk:1982: Evangelism2018-04-19T16:15:28Z<p>172.68.26.71: LEFT A COMMENT</p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
I want to know where vi vs. emacs fits on this spectrum. <br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.53|108.162.238.53]] 15:12, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I use vi by virtue of the fact that it once opened on my computer and I don't know how to close it [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.76|108.162.219.76]] 15:20, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
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When you say people open bananas from the other side, which side is the proper side and which is the other? I open from the proper side, not the side with the stem (just like the monkeys taught us) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.76|108.162.219.76]] 15:20, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Why are you being taught by monkeys? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.28|108.162.219.28]] 22:43, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
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The title text seems to be a reference to the big-endian/little-endian war in "Gulliver's Travels".[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:04, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
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And 3 miles to the right of the banana conflict is "iPhone vs. Android" [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 17:07, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
:What about tabs vs spaces? It somehow feels like a lot of popular and appropriate conflicts and opinions were left out. Another example of high evangelism intensity is people who eat kiwis whole. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.58|162.158.134.58]] 09:00, 19 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
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I ''LOVE'' the "Pun Intended" tag. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.28|108.162.219.28]] 22:43, 18 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
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I suggest we use the metric system, and keep Fahrenheit, but modify it so "0" is room temperature. So a positive temp is usually warm, and vice versa. [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 02:11, 19 April 2018 (UTC)<br />
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The day this comic was posted was Banana day (https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/banana-day/). I noticed because a popular radio station in my area has a recurring segment talking about "What day" it is, obviously they also talked about the "other end" factoid yesterday. I'm not sure who came up with this "day", but daysoftheyear.com may have been an inspiration for the comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.111.151|162.158.111.151]]<br />
<br />
The following paragraph was in the article:<br />
“Due to the fact that these issues have a more trivial impact on life, evangelists may become more frustrated when people refuse to adopt these ‘simple’ changes and therefore argue more strongly for them.”<br />
I removed it because an increase in frustration from unsuccessful convincement does not follow from the triviality of the issues. However, I note this here because the writer (or someone else) may be able to extract a more coherent thought from this. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.71|172.68.26.71]] 16:15, 19 April 2018 (UTC)</div>172.68.26.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1982:_Evangelism&diff=1560521982: Evangelism2018-04-19T16:05:58Z<p>172.68.26.71: MAJOR CLEANUP</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1982<br />
| date = April 18, 2018<br />
| title = Evangelism<br />
| image = evangelism.png<br />
| titletext = The wars between the “OTHER PRIMATES OPEN THEM FROM THE SMALL END” faction versus the “BUT THE LITTLE BIT OF BANANA AT THE SMALL END IS GROSS” faction consumed Europe for generations.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Need a citation for primates opening bananas from the “other end”. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Evangelism}}, in {{w|Christianity}}, is the commitment to or act of publicly preaching of the {{w|Gospel}} with the intention of spreading the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is famously done door-to-door by the {{w|Jehovah’s Witnesses}}, for whom this practice, called “field ministry”, is paramount.<br />
<br />
“Evangelism” is also defined as any zealous advocacy for a cause, religious or not. In this comic, [[Randall]] presents a line plot where causes are listed, in increasing order, by the intensity of the evangelism of their advocates. The first punchline is that religious proselytizers, unexpectedly{{Citation needed}} are much less intense than advocates for such things as opening bananas from the other end—which is also the subject of the title text. The reason for this, for the comic’s release date, is likely to be its assignment as the official [https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/banana-day/ “Banana Day”] in the US (despite not (yet?) being on this {{w|List_of_food_days#United_States|list of food days in the US}}).<br />
<br />
As the graph moves from left to right, the issues at stake have less and less impact on the life of someone who “converts”, but the intensity and fervor of those spreading the cause increases. This is counterintuitive, which is the joke.<br />
<br />
Below, each of the points on the chart, as well as the title text, is discussed.<br />
<br />
;''Religious proselytizers''<br />
{{w|Proselytism|Religious proselytizers}} are the best known evangelists, and the term “evangelism” originally applied only to them. Christian evangelism has become less common and less accepted in the public sphere in recent decades, and often only practiced in specific venues. Randall contrasts them in this strip with four other groups which he finds to be more intense in their “evangelism”.<br />
<br />
;''People who want the US to switch to metric'' <br />
Unlike most of the world, the US uses {{w|United States Customary Units|US customary units}} instead of {{w|metric units}}. Some people wish for this to change.<br />
<br />
Randall has made a conversion chart for helping US people with the confusing metric units: [[526: Converting to Metric]].<br />
<br />
;''People who want the US to switch to metric but keep Fahrenheit''<br />
Pro-metric people who wish to keep the {{w|Fahrenheit}} scale rather than change to {{w|Celsius}} are ranked as slightly more evangelic. A common argument for keeping the Fahrenheit scale is due to 0°F equating to “really cold” and 100°F to “really hot” when talking about weather. Fahrenheit also has smaller degrees than Celsius, so temperatures can be cited more precisely without the need to include fractional degrees. This also gives Fahrenheit the advantage that “decades” of temperatures are more useful as in saying the weather is in the 40s or the 70s, for instance. Because the Celsius degree is larger, the range of temperatures within any decade is wider and saying the temperature is in the 10s may not be as useful as it is a wider range of temperatures, compared to Fahrenheit. <br />
<br />
To many people, making the shift only partially may immediately seem very silly—and yet the people arguing for this are even more ardent than those that wish to shift entirely, perhaps precisely because of this immediate strangeness. Also, if someone is being an SI purist, supporting a full shift to SI units, one could argue they should be advocating a switch to {{w|Kelvin}} as the unit of thermodynamic temperature, even though Celsius has the status of an {{w|SI derived unit}}.<br />
<br />
Fahrenheit versus Celsius has been the topic of [[1643: Degrees]] and [[1923: Felsius]].<br />
<br />
;''People who threw away their socks and bought all one kind''<br />
The reason to do such a thing would be that any two socks in your drawer will match, reducing the likelihood of ending up with an unmatched sock—or a whole stack of them—in your drawer. This is a problem that [http://www.techtimes.com/articles/154000/20160427/science-reveals-why-you-always-lose-your-socks-in-the-laundry.htm scientists have researched].<br />
<br />
To most people, it immediately seems quite aesthetically boring to always wear the same color of socks or other clothing. Despite this, those that do so recommend it quite ardently to all their friends, according to the comic—even more so than the pro-metric advocates.<br />
<br />
Randall previously referenced this idea in the xkcd survey (see [[1572: xkcd Survey]]) from September 2015. It included this question:<br />
<br />
<blockquote><br />
Have you ever thrown out all your different pairs of socks/underwear, bought a bunch of replacements that were all one kind, and then told all your friends how great it was and how they should do it too?<br />
</blockquote><br />
<br />
;''People who open bananas from the other end''<br />
The most evangelic people Randall can think of is the people who open {{w|bananas}} from the “other” end! Some people prefer to open bananas from the bottom (small end) instead of the top (stem end). This thought is continued in the title text.<br />
<br />
;''Title text''<br />
The title text is a fictional argument that apparently somehow tore apart Europe between the two factions ''Other primates open them from the small end'' and ''But the little bit of banana at the small end end is gross''. It continues the most evangelic point in the chart about how bananas are supposed to be opened from the “right” end. It seems absurd that this could have actually happened, over such a trivial issue. However, major {{w|schisms}} in religion, such as that between {{w|Catholicism}} and {{w|Protestantism}} (which did split Europe) seem similarly trivial to the non-religious.<br />
The supposed argument ''stems''<sup><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[No Pun Intended|Pun Intended]]<nowiki>]</nowiki></sup> from a disagreement between those that find it easier to open a banana from the bottom and those that find the small bit at the base of a banana unappetizing. <br />
<br />
In the wild, {{w|primates}} have been observed to open bananas{{Citation needed}} from the bottom end away from the stem, as one of the two factions refers to. Less force is required to open a banana at the bottom than at the stem, causing less bruising of the fruit and generally making it easier to open. However, if not done carefully, this can result in the fruit getting squished and making a mess on the person’s fingers. Opening bananas from the stem end appears to be the predominant habit of most banana-eating humans (in Randall’s sample). One explanation is that using the stem as a lever makes for greater ease of opening and thus less damage in practice. (Bananas grow with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Banana_farm_Chinawal.jpg the stem at the bottom]).<br />
<br />
The entire “correct banana end” discussion could be a reference to the wars between the Blefuscudians, who opened their eggs at the big end, and the Lilliputians, who broke their eggs at the small end, as told in {{w|Jonathan Swift|Jonathan Swift’s}} epic novel {{w|Gulliver’s Travels}}.<br />
<br />
Randall’s thoughts on the problems with opening bananas could also explain why this fruit, which many find very easy to peel and consume, is listed in the middle of the easy/difficult scale in the [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]] chart.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A chart is shown with a line drawn from left to right with five markers on it. Each marker has a line going to it from a labeled below the main line. Above this there is a title and right below that a label above an arrow pointing to the right.]<br />
:<big>People by intensity of evangelism</big><br />
:More intense<br />
<br />
:Religious proselytizers<br />
:People who want the US to switch to metric<br />
:People who want the US to switch to metric but keep Fahrenheit<br />
:People who threw away their socks and bought all one kind<br />
:People who open bananas from the other end<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Rankings]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]</div>172.68.26.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1980:_Turkish_Delight&diff=155803Talk:1980: Turkish Delight2018-04-13T15:42:45Z<p>172.68.26.71: COMMENT</p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
whomever[[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.71|172.68.26.71]] 15:42, 13 April 2018 (UTC)</div>172.68.26.71https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1972:_Autogyros&diff=154917Talk:1972: Autogyros2018-03-27T13:54:04Z<p>172.68.26.71: ADDED A COMMENT, FORMATED</p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
==Land vertically?==<br />
<br />
Hi, searching 'autogyro' has led me to find autogyros can't land vertically. Could this be a mistake on Randall's part, or am I missing a joke here?<br />
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[[Special:Contributions/172.69.186.58|172.69.186.58]] 13:55, 26 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
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:I just read about them on Wikipedia and I see that they can't take off vertically, but there are kinds (possibly all) that can land vertically [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.76|108.162.219.76]] 14:01, 26 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
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::The Wikipedia article was edited this morning to claim that they could not land vertically, but the edit was short-lived and reverted. So, be careful what you trust. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 14:37, 26 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
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::It appears they can land vertically with the correct wind conditions. Here is a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAoK9zM8FFQ - and they say "Actually it is a 'Zero GROUND Speed Landing' approx. 25 kts headwind".<br />
<br />
::Here is a YouTube video of a zero ground speed takeoff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd7_V4pW--Q<br />
<br />
::I think the confusion here is that yes, it can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes that feasible. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 21:26, 26 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
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::: "Landing vertically"...having so little forward airspeed on touchdown that it is negligible[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.208|108.162.216.208]] 23:40, 26 March 2018 (UTC) <br />
:::: I disagree with this. If that were the case, an autogyro could NOT land vertically or anything close to it. I think it's clear that "vertical" refers to movement relative to the ground, as movement relative to airflow is invisible. I'm having a hard time finding hard numbers on minimum airspeed for an autogyro (and unlike fixed wing aircraft, I've never flown one myself, so I don't have practical experience to fall back on). However I've seen a typical autogyro's best rate of climb speed is 50-50 mph, versus almost 70 for a 152; so I'll project about 30 mph for a minimum speed in landing configuration. Landing in that kind of headwind is certainly not unreasonable (though it would probably be not that much fun). [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 12:56, 27 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
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::: I'd expect an autogyro to be capable of landing the same way a helicopter with an engine malfunction lands - autorotate the rotor to store energy and then stop while relying on the rotor to slow the descent. Does not sound like the safest of procedures, but it certainly gives you a vertical landing. [[User:Mat|Mat]] ([[User talk:Mat|talk]]) 08:30, 27 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
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Thanks for the comments, guys. I'm not the original commenter, but I had a [https://i.imgur.com/52JZlwf.png severe misunderstanding] of what "landing vertically" meant. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.71|172.68.26.71]] 13:54, 27 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
==Trivia==<br />
First successful flight of an autogyro was in 1923, so they have been around for close to 100 years. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 17:04, 26 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
The 1981 movie ''Mad Max II'' prominently featured an autogyro as part of the action. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 17:04, 26 March 2018 (UTC) <br />
Also James Bond 007 flew the autogyro 'Little Nellie' in " You Only Live Twice". Reputedly prompting a bit of an autogyro revival. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 17:46, 26 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
First of all, I've converted section headings to bold labels - we should avoid them in discussion content. Secondly, my take on how to order the labels around the autogyro is down the left side, then across the top, and finally down the right side. I realize it's entirely up to the reader, but that order makes the most sense to me instead of clockwise - the text on the lower-right seems to be climactic in a strange Randell-esque way. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:15, 26 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Agree with your entire comment, and have changed the order in the transcript --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:03, 26 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Has Megan been seen wearing goggles before? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 23:05, 26 March 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"Powered parachute"? Sounds to me like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramotor this awesome thing]. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:50, 27 March 2018 (UTC)</div>172.68.26.71