https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.68.55.81&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T12:33:25ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1577:_Advent&diff=131482Talk:1577: Advent2016-11-24T07:19:04Z<p>172.68.55.81: </p>
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<div>[[Media:Example.ogg]]16800 squares counted, corresponding to a projected lifespan of 46 years. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.124|108.162.225.124]] 04:09, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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This description says "64 small drawers" but each of the small drawer sets contains 70. 7 columns, 10 rows. (Then there are 20 columns of drawer sets, and 12 rows.) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.115|199.27.133.115]] 04:54, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Same counting here, I changed the description. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.160|199.27.133.160]] 05:07, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Use × not x. (Editing with this phone is really hard.) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.171|173.245.55.171]] 05:13, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I corrected the number of drawers ((70×12×20)÷365.25≈50) then used that calculation to work out Cueball's approximate age.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 06:36, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
:Note that (70×12×20)÷365.25≈46. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.154|173.245.50.154]] 12:32, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Reminds me on the [http://store.waitbutwhy.com/collections/life-calendars Life calendar] from this [http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/life-weeks.html Wait but why post] [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:54, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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There is a (common) mistake in the life expectancy calculation in the description. If the life expectancy in the US is 75.9, then that doesn't mean you expected remaining life at 25 will be 50.9 years - otherwise that would imply no-one dies under 25. Since, sadly, many people do die before their 25th birthday, the life expectancy remaining at 25 will be somewhat larger than 50 years. As these tables show: http://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html 50 years remaining corresponds roughly to an age of 27-28. In other words your remaining life expectancy drops by less than one year per year, if no new information is presented (i.e. assuming you don't take up smoking etc.) {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.205}}<br />
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There's a link in this explanation stating that the life expectancy refers back to comic 1070. I think this may be the wrong comic, not sure what the correct one should be :/ [[User:apbarratt|apbarratt]] 09:17, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
This is about the title text that mentions "The few dozen doors". 1070 explains that "a few" for most people seems to be anything more than one but at most five.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.97|173.245.49.97]] 11:07, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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What struck me about the comic, and which didn't come out clearly yet in the explanation, is the idea of countdown. An advent calendar is a countdown to Christmas, one day at a time. This is a countdown to Cueball's death. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.167|108.162.241.167]] 11:54, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
: The cruellest surprise of all would be opening one of the boxes and seeing a Grim Reaper. All those other boxes? You don't get to open them! [[User:Margath|Margath]] ([[User talk:Margath|talk]]) 21:32, 16 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I was expecting that the alt text would say "'''Your life may be shorter if you eat all of the chocolate'''". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.148|108.162.241.148]] 14:25, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I don't know about the USA, but in the UK, advent calendars may contain chocolate, but many just show a picture (related to either the Christian or the commercial aspects of Christmas). I'm going to change the description slightly to make that clear. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 17:10, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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:Yes, I would normally get the chocolate ones from my parents. One year my grandmother gave me one with just pictures inside. I was '''not''' amused. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.148|108.162.241.148]] 20:18, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Why on earth would it seem strange for 4 to be included in "a few"? It seems perfectly natural to me. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.243.249|198.41.243.249]] 23:43, 14 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
: Maybe bacause: "One, two, three, many...". But I think the real reason is, that "a few dozen" = "4 dozen" seems fine, while "a few dozen" = "48" doesn't. So it's a conflict between "few" and "48" here. However, I agree in "4" being a totally acceptable value for "a few" [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:26, 15 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Randall makes an advent calendar comic within days of LEGO releasing their 2015 advent calendar sets...Coincidence? I think Randall is a LEGO geek! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.207|108.162.241.207]] 01:25, 16 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;"S&W" Linkage<br />
Lets See if I get this right.<br />
Could this have anything to do with the current story arc over at Sandra and Woo "S&W" about life expectancy? --Mark w --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.160|173.245.54.160]] 11:51, 15 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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This comic reminds me of this dinosaur comic: http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1833 --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.185|141.101.104.185]] 08:08, 16 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Assuming they're all chocolates, the right move to make it sufficiently morbid is to have a chocolate-covered cyanide capsule behind the last door.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.55.81|172.68.55.81]] 07:19, 24 November 2016 (UTC)</div>172.68.55.81https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1759:_British_Map&diff=130974Talk:1759: British Map2016-11-15T13:19:03Z<p>172.68.55.81: </p>
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Minas Tirith could be a reference to the gorges in North Somerset. It's slap-bang on Cheddar Gorge and Clifton Village (cliff-town) in Bristol is built on the side of the Avon Gorge. [[User:Camarones|Camarones]] ([[User talk:Camarones|talk]]) 12:54, 15 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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The actual location for Braintree should be Essex not North Yorkshire.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.171|141.101.98.171]] 15:22, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Could Highland be a reference to Highlander? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.84|173.245.52.84]] 15:27, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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OK, I know you removed the </nowiki> that ruined the italics there, [[User:Davidy22|Davidy]]. Don't lie to me, you troll. [[User:Jacky720|Jacky720]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]]) 19:04, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Whoops, was removing autogenerated nowiki text from another user, missed the first tag. Also, that edit was completely unnecessary. 21:29, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Blick could be referring to Wick , at the top of Scotland ''Please sign your comments with <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>''<br />
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''Waterdown: Near [the actual] Grimsby'' Interestingly enough, in southern Ontario, Canada, there's a Waterdown not far from a Grimsby. Waterdown is considered part of Hamilton, and is towards its northwestern edge, while Grimsby is to Hamilton's east. --[[User:VonAether|VonAether]] ([[User talk:VonAether|talk]]) 17:01, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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The protractor off the West coast of Scotland is a reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mull_of_Kintyre_test <br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.215|141.101.98.215]] 17:44, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Blick could also be Oldmeldrum.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.229|162.158.234.229]] 19:06, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Why aren't the coordinates part of the first table? [[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 20:05, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Is Waterdown perhaps another Watership Down reference? [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 20:38, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Pity there's no [[wikipedia:Towcester|Towcester]] :) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.251|141.101.98.251]] 20:47, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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"Lakebottom" is equated with Lake Windermere (probably correct, largest lake in the Lake District) and the table states that many waterspeed records were set there. Arguably it is Coniston Water (same area, third largest "Lake" in the region) that is more (in) famous for speed records... Not that Randall references speed at all. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.159|141.101.98.159]] 21:31, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I agree with this, Windermere was home to only one (successful) water speed record attempt. Coniston is more popular for them as it doesn't have as many islands, so you can get a longer run in. Also, whichever one it is, it is drawn roughly east-west, whereas both Coniston and Windermere run north-south.<br />
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Helcaraxë and Blick seem to share a single dot. Maybe Randall forgot to put a dot there, or there's some other reason? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.112|108.162.216.112]] 22:58, 14 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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since Randal Munroe wrote the comic, and he is an american, the map WAS labeled by an american[[User:Jessep13|Jessep13]] ([[User talk:Jessep13|talk]]) 00:08, 15 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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‘Seasedge’ and ‘Eyemouth’ look like they should be Seahouses and Lynemouth. So far as I can tell, Seasedge is marked as a little north of Seahouses, roughly west of Lindisfarne (which suggests Haggerston; regardless, north Northumberland coast), and Eyemouth is marked approximately where Ashington should be; ‘Hairskull’ appears to be where Durham should be. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.160|141.101.98.160]] 02:33, 15 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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"BBC Channel 4" might also be a reference to Torchwood and other BBC Shows that were filmed in Wales (though did not necessarily air on Channel 4) [[User:Bpendragon|Bpendragon]] ([[User talk:Bpendragon|talk]]) 03:04, 15 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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In fact, "Channel 4" is a channel not related to the BBC, so the reference to "BBC Channel 4" would be a mash-up between "Channel 4" and "BBC4" [[User:Gearoid|Gearóid]] ([[User talk:Gearoid|talk]]) 07:30, 15 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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"Wessex", although "obsolete" as a place name, is still in common use as a descriptive term. For example, there is both a Wessex Police Force and a Wessex Water supply company. [[User:Gearoid|Gearóid]] ([[User talk:Gearoid|talk]]) 08:30, 15 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I know the "Fhqwhgads" reference from the Ikea-ripoff video game Home Improvisation - always thought it was a pun in that game on Ikea's Swedish product names. Is the Homestar Runner reference older? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.162|141.101.98.162]] 09:05, 15 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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"Aidenn" is an alternate form of "Eden." It's best known for Poe's using it in "The Raven." If the actual location is Merseyside, it could be a wordplay suggesting divine mercy. [[User:Gmcgath|Gmcgath]] ([[User talk:Gmcgath|talk]]) 11:25, 15 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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The “hey then” explanation for “Aidenn” is so tortured as to be implausible. It should be changed per the above comment. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.55.81|172.68.55.81]] 13:19, 15 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
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== Riffing on Boston? ==<br />
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The title text may be derivitive of an old joke around Randall's home town, where Boston has neighborhoods with geographically illogical names: The geographical center of Boston is in Roxbury. Due north of the center we find the South End.<br />
This is not to be confused with South Boston, which lies directly east from the South End.<br />
North of the South End is East Boston and southwest of East Boston is the North End. BackBay was filled in years ago<br />
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Also, from the counties surrounding Boston: Norfolk is mostly south of Suffolk, except for a small gerrymandered piece that is in the middle between Suffolk and Middlesex.<br />
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==Bottoms==<br />
"Bottoms" are not confined to Northern England. We have many bottoms here in Kent, which is not Northern. (See Lock's Bottom and Pratt's Bottom.) Also, "bottom" may refer to somewhere that is lower than somewhere else, but not necessarily in a valley as such. Also also, snurk. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.143|141.101.98.143]] 12:45, 15 November 2016 (UTC)<br />
*And "-folk" is not common in place names. It exists in Suffolk and Norfolk but two (among thousands) can't be called common. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.143|141.101.98.143]] 12:53, 15 November 2016 (UTC)</div>172.68.55.81