https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.69.33.25&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T07:52:03ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2665:_America_Songs&diff=293809Talk:2665: America Songs2022-08-31T05:33:20Z<p>172.69.33.25: +1111</p>
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<div>Many of these rely on "ia"/"ie"/"io" serving as the 3rd and 4th syllables, so every song would be sung like "God Bless <s>Olimpiya</s> Algeriya". Virginia Beach appears to be the only one to escape this.--[[User:Magtei|Magtei]] ([[User talk:Magtei|talk]]) 19:39, 29 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:As a Washingtonian, I pronounce Olympia without the diphthong (so four syllables; the “a” being distinct). It’s probably a dialect thing, and some pronunciations are more common than others, but as long as one fairly-common pronunciation scans, I think it’s fine. [User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 03:37, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Alright, bad example. Skipping it is unheard of in areas further south. Do you (or a large part of the US) fully pronounce most dipthongs, [https://www.howmanysyllables.com/syllables/syria Syria with three syllables], etc.?--[[User:Magtei|Magtei]] ([[User talk:Magtei|talk]]) 07:02, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::I can't speak for the rest of the US, but in the case of places I usually pronounce the extra syllable. Virginia is the one exception I can think of right now. [[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 21:08, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:There are also some locations with three-syllable names, such as Detroit Lakes or Fergus Falls (both located northwest of St. Cloud, Minnesota) which, although not listed by Randall, will also work and not use the noted syllables. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 02:35, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
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This phrase, "scans to", has me confused. Can the explanation address what this is supposed to mean?<br />
--anon 16:23, 29 August 2022<br />
:You betcha [[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 20:38, 29 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::What does scanning mean in relation to sung verse? Just syllables and their stress pattern, or is their more? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.28|172.69.34.28]] 23:11, 29 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::I'm not familiar with the term, but I assume it's related to scansion. If I'm right, it's probably just syllables and stress pattern. [[User:GreatWyrmGold|GreatWyrmGold]] ([[User talk:GreatWyrmGold|talk]]) 06:52, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::- There was a young man from Japan<br />
::::- Whose limericks never would scan.<br />
::::- And when they asked why,<br />
::::- He said "I do try!<br />
::::- But when I get to the last line I try to fit in as many words as I can."<br />
::::...though – and this is me talking, not the famous limerick – after making sure your poetry rhymes (if you want it to; and/or assonate, consonate, etc) and scans (some words are tricky, as mentioned, according to dialect/accent/etc) you also need to check the meter (does it obviously flow and split in patterns like the iambic one where "da-DUM da-DUM-da DUM-da DUM-da-DUM" might be how it works with word-boundries).<br />
::::You might be wise to avoid words like "vehicle" with theoretically, two to four syllables and all kinds of stress-patterns and vowel-sounds (c.f. stereotypical Deep South, north British, Aussie, etc), at least as an early (establishing) element. Maybe you can set up its far more knowable rhyme/scan/metering partner first and rely upon the reader adopting the intended variation (give or take the relatively opposing strengths of writer/reader accents, etc) after being given the prior clue.<br />
::::I would personally say the scan(sion) is mostly the simple syllable count, and may need some writing tricks ("learned" as in "I learned something" and "learn'ed" as in "a very learned person") to convey well during sight-reading or initial internalised read-through.<br />
::::On that, I personally have some problems reading "-ya" syllables as singular (depending upon what the preceding symbol is, I would consider it a "-ee-ah"/"-ee-uh" (or mid-point) with a cut-down "-ee-"), while I have no problem with the "-lm" dipthong/whatever (c.f. Northern Irish tends to clearly enunciate as "fill-um" for 'film', whilst I might almost consider it a syllable/beat of its own). But I suspect the right voice (internal or external) could convince me of any of those examples as given, eventually... ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.105|162.158.159.105]] 13:46, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Aussie here: we tend to say (and sing) "Australia" with three syllables. For example, see the [https://www.pmc.gov.au/resource-centre/government/australian-national-anthem-scores Australian national anthem]. Occasionally two syllables: Straya mate!! But saying it with four syllables is perhaps an American thing. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.207|162.158.2.207]] 21:19, 29 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Interesting! It probably is a dialect thing. As an American, I've always pronounced it with four. [[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 21:23, 29 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
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In the comic, Saskatchewan is spelled as Sasketchewan. Might be fixed later?<br />
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Just putting this here: https://www.quora.com/A-lot-of-place-names-in-the-USA-have-four-syllables-Minnesota-Chattanooga-Albuquerque-Tallahassee-Talladega-Massachusetts-Massapequa-Mississippi-Cincinnati-Sacramento-Indiana-Alabama-Oklahoma-etc-Is-there-a (with the understanding that "scanning" doesn't necessarily mean only the number of syllables, e.g. Al-BUH-ker-key has the wrong stress pattern.)[[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.49|172.70.210.49]] 21:51, 29 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Hot dog, jumping frog, Albuquerque! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.211|172.69.79.211]] 22:03, 29 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::''AlBUquerque, AlBUquerque, God shed his grace on theee...!'' [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.8|172.70.207.8]] 22:46, 29 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Does anyone know how to craft a Wikidata query for all the place names with four syllables following the .'.. stress pattern? We should probably say how many there are. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.183|172.70.214.183]] 23:15, 29 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Jurassic park, Jurassic park, how lovely are thy branches… [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 23:31, 29 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
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The pronunciation of Vidalia, Georgia, is "vi-DAIL-ya" -- three syllables, not four. It doesn't actually scan like "America". Seems like the comic is assuming the pronunciation is "vee-DAHL-ee-ah", which would scan.ing<br />
:And the age old question of whether an optional schwa constitutes a syllable rears its head. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.134.161|172.69.134.161]] 05:14, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I came to say a similar thing about Montpelier. In Vermont, at least, it has three syllables. [[User:CeramicMug|CeramicMug]] ([[User talk:CeramicMug|talk]]) 10:42, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I simply wish to note the similarity to "Thighs" (#321), which is one of my favorite xkcd comics and one that I find comes to mind surprisingly often.<br />
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For changing the tune of a song but not the lyrics (or the lyrics in entirety but not the tune), see the title text to 788: The Carriage [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.126|172.70.131.126]] 11:24, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Shirley [surely] there must be some overlap between XKCD and "Weird Al" Yankovic fans, but no one has yet mentioned that Randall missed the "American Idiot"/"Canadian Idiot" overlap, mentioning the former but not the latter? '''--BigMal''' // [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.87|172.70.114.87]] 14:12, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Needs a better explanation of "scans" (short for Scansion). Something something ''Syllables'', something something ''stress pattern'', something something ''rhythm''. I'd write it myself, but no one wants a 30 page thesis on the topic. PS to those complaining certain locations usually use a three syllable pronunciation... poetic license frequently stretches (usually middle or penultimate) syllables to cover two beats, even without changing vowel length (although it's more common to do so). At least, in English; some other languages are not as flexible in this regard. --- [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.79|172.70.214.79]] 16:15, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Should it be noted that one of the implicitly suggested songs, "America", from West Side Story, replaced with "LaGuardia", was in fact done in the Saturday Night Live sketch "Airport Sushi" in 2020? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.41|172.69.70.41]] 22:32, 30 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Omission would clearly be a travesty, but do you have a YouTube link? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.243|172.70.210.243]] 02:57, 31 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d7Vk_qaiB8 "Your wish is my command, Kemosabi."] 2m30s. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 04:36, 31 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::I was going to !vote against inclusion until the David Byrne wrap-up. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.243|172.70.210.243]] 04:54, 31 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::The closed captioning is very inaccurate in that video, but exposes information about the pre-pandemic closed captioning cost benefit analyses. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.95|172.70.206.95]] 05:13, 31 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::WHAT? lol, I fukn love this site. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 05:33, 31 August 2022 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2664:_Cloud_Swirls&diff=2936172664: Cloud Swirls2022-08-29T03:56:35Z<p>172.69.33.25: /* Explanation */ Regrouped subbullets</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2664<br />
| date = August 26, 2022<br />
| title = Cloud Swirls<br />
| image = cloud_swirls.png<br />
| titletext = 'Why did you get into fluid dynamics?' 'Well, SOME planet has to have the coolest clouds, odds are it's not ours, and rockets are slow.'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a UNIVERSE WITH NOTHING BETTER TO DO EXCEPT MAKE CLOUDS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
There are planets.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exoplanet] A lot of them, even.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_exoplanets] Like our planet. In 3D video games, models are often rendered at a lower quality when the viewer's perspective is far away from them to save on computational work being done for something the player can't actually get a close look at. This idea is built upon, conceivably to suggest how {{w|Simulation hypothesis|simulations of universes}} might seem different than base reality.<br />
<br />
In this comic, Cueball and Megan theorize that complicated cloud formations occur naturally on other planets in other solar systems. On planets with no observers to look at the clouds closely, our universe, or the simulation thereof, might not afford to render a visual depiction of the atmosphere in higher quality. Meteorologists and physicists on Earth might notice that the exoplanet atmosphere does not obey Navier-Stokes fluid dynamics equations, but instead reflects low-quality skimping on fluid dynamics calculations. The foregoing would make sense if the Universe is actually simulated by a computer (a 43% probability[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA5YuwvJkpQ&t=20m]) and the beings that are running the physics simulator, or have coded our universe, wanted to speed things up. <br />
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{{cot|Further considerations}}<br />
However:<br />
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* Much more computing power could be saved by skimping on the chemistry of the quattuordecillions of atoms in the oceans than the clouds in the sky (especially considering that it would not be necessary to simulate every individual atom and molecule in the sky (for the purpose of making realistic clouds with fluid dynamics); the computer program could instead divide all of the gas particles (e.g., dinitrogen, dioxygen, water vapor, argon, and carbon dioxide) into small chunks, simulate how each chunk would move, and update the chunk boundaries every so often), but skimping on oceanic chemistry would make biogenesis much less feasible. However, Earth has life.{{Citation needed}}<br />
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* It would be difficult to judge when "no one is looking closely". There are many organisms that have some degree of at least rudimentary sight but would have no idea (and in fact no way to conceptualize) whether the computer simulating the Universe is skimping on the cloud-rendering calculations or not. It would be difficult to make some foolproof intelligent-sight-detecting code that would render the clouds with much greater precision once a planet had life that would notice if the clouds were following lazy fluid dynamics.<br />
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** For one thing, this would not only depend on a species's intelligence but also on its knowledge of physics; e.g., humans did not develop the Navier-Stokes equations right after evolving large enough brains to conceive and understand them. Even coding a computer program to detect sight-having life would be difficult, at least for a computer program only looking at the positions and velocities of atoms, electrons, and photons; for example, a blue photon hitting a retinal molecule in a cone cell, causing it to change shape, which triggers a signal transduction cascade that sends a nervous signal to the optical cortex somewhat resembles an ultraviolet photon hitting a DNA strand, leading to the creation of a thymine dimer whose detection by DNA-repairing enzymes triggers a signal transduction cascade that increases the production of melanin, but only one counts as sight.<br />
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** Furthermore, assuming that the computer simulates each part of the Universe in a manner that is is about synchronized according to most celestial bodies, when the computer simulating the Universe simulates a planet, it does not know whether a civilization on a planet a dozen or two light-years away that has advanced enough to have telescopes capable of detailed views of the clouds of planets light-years away will point any telescopes at that planet dozens of light-years later.<br />
***Even if the advanced civilization on another planet does not have such powerful telescopes yet, even a low-resolution (in terms of that planet's entire solar system being one pixel) spectrometer would be enough to reveal that something is up with the fluid dynamics simulations on that planet. Observers light-years away could deduce how much condensed water vapor there is in the atmosphere by calculating the atmosphere's absorbance in a wavelength where condensed water has a low but detectable absorptivity and everything else in that planet's atmosphere either has a negligible absorptivity or can be compensated for, and then one can deduce how compact the clouds are from that and the absorbance of a wavelength where condensed water has a high absorptivity and everything else in that planet's atmosphere either has a negligible absorptivity or can be compensated for. (Actually, in order to calculate the amount and compactlygroupedness of condensed water in the atmosphere from the raw numbers/direct measurements, the scientists would have to know not only the absoprtivity of condensed water suspended in air as clouds but also characteristics of the planet such as its radius and the thickness of its atmosphere. There are also other complicated factors, such as that some of the aerosolized water in clouds is in the form of solid ice, not liquid water. However, the scientists would still notice if the raw numbers from the more rudimentary observational equipment suddenly changed the second they switched on a more powerful telescope, so the following point still stands.) If the computer simulating the Universe did not switch to the more precise simulation of the planet's atmosphere in time for the scientists to only see spectrographs of the planet's atmosphere rendered with precise calculations, then if the scientists later developed a more powerful telescope, like the one described earlier, and then pointed it at the planet, either they would see poorly-rendered clouds and know that the Universe is simulated by a computer that skimps on the fluid dynamics calculations for the atmospheres of certain planets, or the measurements from transit spectrography would suddenly change, so the scientists would know that something weird was going on—although probably not exactly what. This is important because it is more feasible for a society to develop low-resolution transit spectrography quickly enough to catch the computer simulating the Universe off-guard than it would be for a society to develop the technology required for a telescope advanced enough to look at the clouds of a planet in another solar system with high enough resolution to determine whether the atmosphere is simulated by a computer that is skimping on the fluid dynamics calculations quickly enough to catch the computer simulating the Universe off-guard. However, either could conceivably catch the computer simulating the Universe off-guard because it would be difficult for a computer to deduce whether a planet has life and how technologically advanced the life of any planet that has life is when the only raw data for the computer to work with are the positions and velocities of atoms, electrons, and photons.<br />
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* If atmospheric physics suddenly changed upon the evolution of a species capable of distinguishing whether the atmosphere is simulated by a computer program that is skimping on the fluid dynamics calculations, that would likely cause sudden changes in the climate, and the resulting heat waves, droughts, freezes, famines, floods, storms, and/or other (formerly) extreme weather would likely drive that species extinct (considering that it had just evolved, so it would have a small population and therefore be especially susceptible to natural disasters) because it would not have evolved to survive in such conditions. Such disasters and climate changes) would not have to directly kill all members of the species in order to drive it extinct; they could instead diminish the size of the gene pool by killing most of the members or divide the once-larger population into smaller, genetically isolated populations (e.g., by causing the creation of uncrossably swollen rivers dividing what used to be a single genetically-interconnected range into several smaller populations), either of which would cause an unsustainable level of inbreeding that would eventually lead to extinction. However, our species was not driven extinct shortly after it first developed.{{Citation needed}}<br />
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(However, the last two can be averted by just running the improvised calculations over the last hour or so, which makes seem as if it was obeying the Navier-Stokes equations and at the same time not changing the overall climate too much)<br />
{{cob}}<br />
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Of course, most people do not think that the Universe is a simulation, but society does not know that it isn't a simulation with absolute certainty.<br />
<br />
Megan proposes an additional theory that the universe is just about making cool swirly clouds, and that the presence of life to observe these clouds is a bothersome coincidence. This goes against the previous theory, which implies that the Universe must not care about making cool swirly clouds since it wants to skimp on the fluid dynamics calculations. Even among followers of the {{w|simulation hypothesis}}, ascribing sentiment or emotion to the entire universe is usually considered to be in jest, because of the dissimilarities between sentient beings and cosmologically distant sets of galaxies.{{Actual citation needed}}<br />
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The title text includes a dialogue between two people (possibly Megan and Cueball), with one person asking another why they got into fluid dynamics. The response is, more or less, that the second person wants to see “the coolest clouds”. If one devised a system to determine what would qualify as the coolest clouds (an entirely subjective thing), then one could rank planets on how cool their clouds were. Since only one planet would have the best clouds and there is a great number of planets, it is statistically unlikely that Earth - or any of the other planets in our system - will be the winner. Thus, in order to see the coolest clouds, one must either travel to another system or learn fluid dynamics to simulate them. Compared to the vast distances a ship must travel to reach even the nearest star, even rockets seem slow, and it would take a long time to get even a fraction of the way there. Because of this, the latter is chosen.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Cueball and Megan looking out at a landscape of clouds]<br />
:Cueball: It's weird to think there are countless planets with air and stuff but no life.<br />
:Cueball: Billions of years of clouds making cool shapes with no one to look at them.<br />
<br />
:[Just Cueball and Megan standing next to each other]<br />
:Megan: Yeah, it seems like a waste. The universe getting the complex fluid dynamics right for every momentary swirl of cloud.<br />
:Megan: Just a ''huge'' amount of work.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball and Megan walk away to the right]<br />
:Cueball: Maybe atmospheres have smooth laminar flow until someone looks closely.<br />
:Megan: Or maybe the universe just ''likes'' making swirly clouds, and is annoyed that we're watching.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Weather]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2658:_Coffee_Cup_Holes&diff=2927022658: Coffee Cup Holes2022-08-13T04:10:29Z<p>172.69.33.25: /* Explanation */ reword</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2658<br />
| date = August 12, 2022<br />
| title = Coffee Cup Holes<br />
| image = coffee_cup_holes.png<br />
| titletext = Theoretical physicist: At the Planck length, uncountably many.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a CAFFEINE MOLECULE WITH A HOLE DRILLED IN ITS SIDE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
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This comic depicts multiple people in different fields of study answering the question “How many holes are there in a coffee cup?” This question can have multiple interpretations, in particular concerning the definition of a hole.<br />
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[[Ponytail]], a {{w|topology|topologist}}, states the coffee cup belongs in the genus of one hole. A common joke is that topologists can’t tell the difference between a coffee cup and a donut since they’re homeomorphic to each other — they have the same genus. <!-- From the point of view of (reduced) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homology_(mathematics)#Informal_examples homology] (in this case also homotopy), the coffee cup has one 1 dimensional hole and no other dimensional holes. Hence.... -- Way too jargony, topology is too obscure to reasonably ask this of readers. --> From the topologist's point of view, the coffee cup definitely has one hole. See [[2625: Field Topology]] for more information about topology. <br />
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[[Hairy]], a normal person, asks for clarification about whether the opening at the top counts as a hole. This shows flaws in the question, which suffers from the mathematically imprecise, ambiguous common usage of the word hole. Topologists would refer to the opening as a concavity, not a hole, and while they consider such geometrical properties generally outside their field, most practical applications of topolgy do involve geometrical components.{{cn}}<br />
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[[Hairbun]], a philosopher, answers the question with an elucidating counter-question, considering a hypothetical scenario. Drilling a new hole should increase the number of holes by one, and after the hole has been drilled, a common teacup or mug has two holes according to topologists. Since drilling a hole increases the number of holes by one, the philosopher's question requires the original questioner to reveal the answer to their own question.<br />
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[[Cueball]], a chemist, looks at the cup on a molecular level, which naturally means it has lots and lots of holes: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (10<sup>21</sup> or 1 sextillion) “in the caffeine alone.” The implication is that there are more in the cup itself, depending on what material it’s made out of. Also, the coffee itself could have other holes, depending on the type of coffee. For example, espresso contains significant amounts of niacin and riboflavin, each of which has at least one hole in its chemical structure. However, this ignores the fact that bonds are not discrete sticks as portrayed in many molecular models. The "holes" in the middle of a caffeine molecule are not completely empty but instead merely have lower electron densities/probabilities. In a {{w|space-filling model}}, a caffeine molecule has zero holes. So the point-cloud duality of electron orbitals and bonds might not satisfy a topologist's, normal person's, or philosopher's criteria for a connected substrate in which holes may be formed.<br />
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In the title text, the theoretical physicist looks even deeper, at a subatomic level. Since fundamental particle interaction is governed by fundamental forces and collision instead of tensile or ductile solid connectedness, the theoretical physicist posits that any definition providing for a single hole would also describe a number of holes akin to the factorial of the number of particles in the universe, or at least within the cup's {{w|light cone}}, which is a number impractical to accurately count, but not uncountable in a mathematical sense.<br />
<br />
Part of the joke is that all five methods of inquiry don't discern between a cup (as described) and a mug (as depicted), the original cliché being that topologists are unusual because they don't.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[The first panel has text only. The "Q:" below is a large letter Q representing a question, not a character name.]<br />
:Q:<br />
:How many holes are there in a coffee cup?<br />
<br />
:[Each of the next four panels has a caption at the top to indicate the kind of person answering the question.]<br />
:Caption: Topologist<br />
:[Ponytail stands holding a coffee mug.]<br />
:Ponytail: One.<br />
<br />
:Caption: Normal person<br />
:[Hairy stands to the right of Ponytail, holding a coffee mug at an angle to look into it.]<br />
:Hairy: IDK, does the opening count as a hole?<br />
<br />
:Caption: Philosopher<br />
:[Hairbun is shown in closeup, with two drawings of coffee mugs to her left.]<br />
:Hairbun: To answer that question, consider another: If we drill a hole in the side, how many holes are there now?<br />
<br />
:Caption: Chemist<br />
:[Cueball stands with a drawing of a caffeine molecule above him and to the right.]<br />
:Cueball: 10<sup>21</sup> in the caffeine alone<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Philosophy]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2657:_Complex_Vowels&diff=2926042657: Complex Vowels2022-08-12T03:08:40Z<p>172.69.33.25: /* Explanation */ on second thought, this sentence adds nothing</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2657<br />
| date = August 10, 2022<br />
| title = Complex Vowels<br />
| image = complex_vowels.png<br />
| titletext = Pronouncing [ṡṡċċḣḣẇẇȧȧ] is easy; you just say it like the 'x' in 'fire'.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a ROUNDED TONGUE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[File:Ipa-chart-vowels.png|thumb|200px|The standard IPA vowel chart.]]<br />
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This is another one of Randall's [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this time a Linguistics Tip.<br />
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In phonetics based on the {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}} (IPA), the space of {{w|vocal tract}} articulators determining {{w|vowel}}s <!-- (as opposed to unvoiced consonants) -- nasals and liquids don't care where the tongue is, in any language {acn} --> is represented as two-dimensional, from the position of the tongue. The vertical axis represents vowel height or ''closedness'' (i.e., how close or far the tongue is from the top of the mouth), and the horizontal axis represents front-to-back ''place'' (i.e., how close or far the top of the tongue is from the teeth.) The position of the tongue, along with the frequency of the {{w|vocal cords}} vibrating in the larynx from air being exhaled by the diaphragm, are the primary determinants of the fundamental and second {{w|formant}}s of vowel sounds.<br />
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A third dimension of vowel sounds is the "roundedness" of the lips, represented on the IPA vowel chart to the right by pairs of vowel phoneme {{w|glyph}}s. Other higher-dimensional vowel representations include {{w|diphthong}}s, which are simply two different sequential vowels slurred together; diphones, which represent the last half of one phoneme followed by the first half of the next; {{w|vowel shift}} mappings delineating different accents[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47086396.pdf][https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095447010000562] and long-term evolution of voiced phone sounds; and {{w|cepstrum|cepstral}} representations such as {{w|Mel-frequency cepstrum|mel-frequency cepstral coefficients}}.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] suggests increasing the range of vowel sounds available by using complex notation to indicate an additional dimension using an 'imaginary' axis. In mathematics, {{w|complex number}}s are numbers including both real numbers and {{w|imaginary number}}s. A complex number can be expressed as, "''a'' + ''b''i," where ''a'' and ''b'' are real numbers, but the latter imaginary part is combined with 'i,' the square root of negative one, as depicted in the central expression in the comic by √-̅1̅, indicating a further dimension of coordinates. When expanding the one-dimensional number line with an imaginary axis, it becomes two-dimensional with the "''b''i" component orthogonal to the original "real" number line. Linguists never use the {{w|complex plane}} to represent vowel roundedness or any other higher-dimensional features of phonemes, although the properties of complex numbers could conceivably support representing physiological features of the vocal tract, such as prior position of the articulators.{{cn}}<br />
<br />
This comic conflates complex numbers in mathematics with "complex vowels" in linguistics. Such complex vowels are implied to create sounds which cannot be properly processed by the human brain, represented graphically as {{w|Zalgo text}} IPA, similarly to the cliché of "black speech" in {{w|Lovecraftian horror}}, a language created by alien beings with different vocal patterns than humans. In reality, people find Zalgo text amusing, thus the humor of the comic, but not particularly insanity-inducing or even more than mildly confusing.{{cn}} This is also funny because unadorned IPA shares some characteristics with Zalgo text, such as extremely uncommon glyphs and weird {{w|diacritics}}.<br />
<br />
In linguistics, 'ə' is the {{w|schwa}} symbol, referred to in the title text and the depiction of complex phonemes, the most common vowel sound in English polysyllabic words (the 'a' in "comma" or the second 'e' in "letter.") Production of the schwa sound takes place with the tongue, jaw, and lips all in a relaxed, central position; and certainly sounds nothing like the 'x' in "fire", because "fire" doesn't contain the letter 'x.'<br />
<br />
Another example of weird diacritics is in [[2619: Crêpe]], and with Zalgo text in [[1647: Diacritics]]. The linguist in the comic appears to be {{w|Gretchen McCulloch}}, as previously depicted in [[2421: Tower of Babel]] and [[2381: The True Name of the Bear]]. The use of typography to create psychological stress is explored in [[859: (]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A diagram shows the extrusion of the trapezoidal IPA vowel chart upwards into three dimensions. A point near the center is labeled with an equation that shows "ə + <sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub>√-̅1̅ " as being equivalent to a made-up symbol that looks like two schwas mirroring each other with other markings above and below.]<br />
<br />
:[Below the diagram, a character with shoulder-length dark wavy hair pronounces the new vowel in a speech bubble with unstable lines surrounding it. Two bystanders to her right are bent over slightly, clutching their heads in apparent anguish.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Linguistics tip: Extend the IPA vowel plane along the imaginary axis to produce the ''complex vowels'', cursed sounds which the human mind cannot comprehend.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Tips]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Gretchen McCulloch]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2657:_Complex_Vowels&diff=2926032657: Complex Vowels2022-08-12T03:06:34Z<p>172.69.33.25: /* Explanation */ what are your preferred metaphor prepositions?</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2657<br />
| date = August 10, 2022<br />
| title = Complex Vowels<br />
| image = complex_vowels.png<br />
| titletext = Pronouncing [ṡṡċċḣḣẇẇȧȧ] is easy; you just say it like the 'x' in 'fire'.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a ROUNDED TONGUE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[File:Ipa-chart-vowels.png|thumb|200px|The standard IPA vowel chart.]]<br />
<br />
This is another one of Randall's [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this time a Linguistics Tip.<br />
<br />
In phonetics based on the {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}} (IPA), the space of {{w|vocal tract}} articulators determining {{w|vowel}}s <!-- (as opposed to unvoiced consonants) -- nasals and liquids don't care where the tongue is, in any language {acn} --> is represented as two-dimensional, from the position of the tongue. The vertical axis represents vowel height or ''closedness'' (i.e., how close or far the tongue is from the top of the mouth), and the horizontal axis represents front-to-back ''place'' (i.e., how close or far the top of the tongue is from the teeth.) The position of the tongue, along with the frequency of the {{w|vocal cords}} vibrating in the larynx from air being exhaled by the diaphragm, are the primary determinants of the fundamental and second {{w|formant}}s of vowel sounds.<br />
<br />
A third dimension of vowel sounds is the "roundedness" of the lips, represented on the IPA vowel chart to the right by pairs of vowel phoneme {{w|glyph}}s. Other higher-dimensional vowel representations include {{w|diphthong}}s, which are simply two different sequential vowels slurred together; diphones, which represent the last half of one phoneme followed by the first half of the next; {{w|vowel shift}} mappings delineating different accents[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47086396.pdf][https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095447010000562] and long-term evolution of voiced phone sounds; and {{w|cepstrum|cepstral}} representations such as {{w|Mel-frequency cepstrum|mel-frequency cepstral coefficients}}.<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] suggests increasing the range of vowel sounds available by using complex notation to indicate an additional dimension using an 'imaginary' axis. In mathematics, {{w|complex number}}s are numbers including both real numbers and {{w|imaginary number}}s. A complex number can be expressed as, "''a'' + ''b''i," where ''a'' and ''b'' are real numbers, but the latter imaginary part is combined with 'i,' the square root of negative one, as depicted in the central expression in the comic by √-̅1̅, indicating a further dimension of coordinates. When expanding the one-dimensional number line with an imaginary axis, it becomes two-dimensional with the "''b''i" component orthogonal to the original "real" number line. Linguists never use the {{w|complex plane}} to represent vowel roundedness or any other higher-dimensional features of phonemes, although the properties of complex numbers could conceivably support representing physiological features of the vocal tract, such as prior position of the articulators.{{cn}}<br />
<br />
This comic conflates complex numbers in mathematics with "complex vowels" in linguistics. Such complex vowels are implied to create sounds which cannot be properly processed by the human brain, represented graphically as {{w|Zalgo text}} IPA, similarly to the cliché of "black speech" in {{w|Lovecraftian horror}}, a language created by alien beings with different vocal patterns than humans. In reality, people find Zalgo text amusing, thus the humor of the comic, but not particularly insanity-inducing or even more than mildly confusing.{{cn}} This is also funny because unadorned IPA shares some characteristics with Zalgo text, such as extremely uncommon glyphs and weird {{w|diacritics}}.<br />
<br />
In linguistics, 'ə' is the {{w|schwa}} symbol, referred to in the title text and the depiction of complex phonemes, the most common vowel sound in English polysyllabic words (the 'a' in "comma" or the second 'e' in "letter.") Production of the schwa sound takes place with the tongue, jaw, and lips all in a relaxed, central position; and certainly sounds nothing like the 'x' in "fire", because "fire" doesn't contain the letter 'x.' This could be a metaphor with -1 originally not having a square root, but being able to extend real numbers analytically with complex components.<br />
<br />
Another example of weird diacritics is in [[2619: Crêpe]], and with Zalgo text in [[1647: Diacritics]]. The linguist in the comic appears to be {{w|Gretchen McCulloch}}, as previously depicted in [[2421: Tower of Babel]] and [[2381: The True Name of the Bear]]. The use of typography to create psychological stress is explored in [[859: (]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[A diagram shows the extrusion of the trapezoidal IPA vowel chart upwards into three dimensions. A point near the center is labeled with an equation that shows "ə + <sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub>√-̅1̅ " as being equivalent to a made-up symbol that looks like two schwas mirroring each other with other markings above and below.]<br />
<br />
:[Below the diagram, a character with shoulder-length dark wavy hair pronounces the new vowel in a speech bubble with unstable lines surrounding it. Two bystanders to her right are bent over slightly, clutching their heads in apparent anguish.]<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Linguistics tip: Extend the IPA vowel plane along the imaginary axis to produce the ''complex vowels'', cursed sounds which the human mind cannot comprehend.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Tips]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Gretchen McCulloch]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2657:_Complex_Vowels&diff=292503Talk:2657: Complex Vowels2022-08-11T01:17:22Z<p>172.69.33.25: Reply</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Spoken symbol bears resemblance to 🜏, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%F0%9F%9C%8F<br />
:Not really, it's closer to 'aə.' [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 01:15, 11 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
sscchhwwaa is easy, say it like the x in "fire" and the silent p in "bath"[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.13|172.70.85.13]] 21:42, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:What? There is no 'x' in "fire." [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 01:17, 11 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Ideas: bellows-, reed-, and lucite-based voiced phone production tracts typical in science museums; {{w|diphone}}s as an alternative to phomemes (a diphone is the second half of one phoneme followed by the first half of the next -- NOT two adjacent phomemes as the Wikipedia article claims. Two adjacent phomemes are a biphone, not a diphone); the relationship of the position of the tongue in two dimensional place &times; closedeness space to the fundamental and second {{w|formant}} frequencies of speech audio; {{w|diphthong}}s; {{w|Mel-frequency cepstrum|cepstral}} representation such as {{w|MFCC|mel-frequency ceptstral coefficients}}; and {{w|Zalgo text}} IPA. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 22:41, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The vowelspace is depicted in two dimensions for convenience, but it has at least three dimensions. Look at the IPA vowel diagram (already added to this page). The third dimension is roundedness.<br />
:Yes, of the lips; apart from the two dimensions (out: place, and up: closedeness) of the tongue. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.95|172.70.206.95]] 22:59, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Does roundedness also involve the tongue and cheeks to any extent? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.199|172.69.33.199]] 23:36, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47086396.pdf] just saying. Also [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095447010000562] by the same author. And [http://jlls.org/index.php/jlls/article/download/3168/947] might work too. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.95|172.70.206.95]] 23:10, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This linguist character has appeared 3 times now. Will there be a new character page dedicated to Gretchen or "The Linguist"? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.225|172.69.33.225]] 00:21, 11 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Can someone please create and paste in a zalgostring for the fancy 'aə' ligature shown twice in the comic? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 01:10, 11 August 2022 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2657:_Complex_Vowels&diff=292502Talk:2657: Complex Vowels2022-08-11T01:15:26Z<p>172.69.33.25: Reply</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Spoken symbol bears resemblance to 🜏, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%F0%9F%9C%8F<br />
<br />
sscchhwwaa is easy, say it like the x in "fire" and the silent p in "bath"[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.13|172.70.85.13]] 21:42, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Not really, it's closer to 'aə.' [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 01:15, 11 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Ideas: bellows-, reed-, and lucite-based voiced phone production tracts typical in science museums; {{w|diphone}}s as an alternative to phomemes (a diphone is the second half of one phoneme followed by the first half of the next -- NOT two adjacent phomemes as the Wikipedia article claims. Two adjacent phomemes are a biphone, not a diphone); the relationship of the position of the tongue in two dimensional place &times; closedeness space to the fundamental and second {{w|formant}} frequencies of speech audio; {{w|diphthong}}s; {{w|Mel-frequency cepstrum|cepstral}} representation such as {{w|MFCC|mel-frequency ceptstral coefficients}}; and {{w|Zalgo text}} IPA. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 22:41, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The vowelspace is depicted in two dimensions for convenience, but it has at least three dimensions. Look at the IPA vowel diagram (already added to this page). The third dimension is roundedness.<br />
:Yes, of the lips; apart from the two dimensions (out: place, and up: closedeness) of the tongue. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.95|172.70.206.95]] 22:59, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Does roundedness also involve the tongue and cheeks to any extent? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.199|172.69.33.199]] 23:36, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47086396.pdf] just saying. Also [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095447010000562] by the same author. And [http://jlls.org/index.php/jlls/article/download/3168/947] might work too. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.95|172.70.206.95]] 23:10, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This linguist character has appeared 3 times now. Will there be a new character page dedicated to Gretchen or "The Linguist"? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.225|172.69.33.225]] 00:21, 11 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Can someone please create and paste in a zalgostring for the fancy 'aə' ligature shown twice in the comic? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 01:10, 11 August 2022 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2657:_Complex_Vowels&diff=292501Talk:2657: Complex Vowels2022-08-11T01:13:30Z<p>172.69.33.25: Ligature</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Spoken symbol bears resemblance to 🜏, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%F0%9F%9C%8F<br />
<br />
sscchhwwaa is easy, say it like the x in "fire" and the silent p in "bath"[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.13|172.70.85.13]] 21:42, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Ideas: bellows-, reed-, and lucite-based voiced phone production tracts typical in science museums; {{w|diphone}}s as an alternative to phomemes (a diphone is the second half of one phoneme followed by the first half of the next -- NOT two adjacent phomemes as the Wikipedia article claims. Two adjacent phomemes are a biphone, not a diphone); the relationship of the position of the tongue in two dimensional place &times; closedeness space to the fundamental and second {{w|formant}} frequencies of speech audio; {{w|diphthong}}s; {{w|Mel-frequency cepstrum|cepstral}} representation such as {{w|MFCC|mel-frequency ceptstral coefficients}}; and {{w|Zalgo text}} IPA. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.213|172.70.206.213]] 22:41, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The vowelspace is depicted in two dimensions for convenience, but it has at least three dimensions. Look at the IPA vowel diagram (already added to this page). The third dimension is roundedness.<br />
:Yes, of the lips; apart from the two dimensions (out: place, and up: closedeness) of the tongue. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.95|172.70.206.95]] 22:59, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Does roundedness also involve the tongue and cheeks to any extent? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.199|172.69.33.199]] 23:36, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/47086396.pdf] just saying. Also [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0095447010000562] by the same author. And [http://jlls.org/index.php/jlls/article/download/3168/947] might work too. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.95|172.70.206.95]] 23:10, 10 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This linguist character has appeared 3 times now. Will there be a new character page dedicated to Gretchen or "The Linguist"? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.225|172.69.33.225]] 00:21, 11 August 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Can someone please create and paste in a zalgostring for the fancy 'aə' ligature shown twice in the comic? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.134|172.70.211.134]] 01:10, 11 August 2022 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=160:_Penny_Arcade_Parody&diff=279980160: Penny Arcade Parody2022-05-26T17:53:02Z<p>172.69.33.25: Undo revision 277142 by Donald Trump (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 160<br />
| date = September 20, 2006<br />
| title = Penny Arcade Parody<br />
| image = penny arcade parody.png<br />
| titletext = No one show this to Tycho's wife, okay?<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
''{{w|Penny Arcade}}'' is a {{w|webcomic}}, primarily about video games and the culture surrounding them. It is written by {{w|Jerry Holkins}} and illustrated by {{w|Mike Krahulik}}, though they are better known as their comic alter-egos: Tycho Brahe and Jonathan "Gabe" Gabriel.<br />
<br />
This strip begins as a parody of the ''Penny Arcade'' strip, which makes fun of Sony for providing a lack-luster selection of PS3 games available on the console's launch date. However, it quickly turns into the narrator's fantasy of what might happen if Tycho discovered his spoof.<br />
<br />
The enormous wall of text in the second and third panels may be a reference to the Penny Arcade strip [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/04/10/ "I Hope You Like Text."]<br />
<br />
The cardboard tube references one of Gabe's alternate characters, {{w|List_of_Penny_Arcade_characters#Cardboard_Tube_Samurai|Cardboard Tube Samurai}}.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[The first panel uses the art style of Penny Arcade.]<br />
:Gabe: What? Sony has plenty of launch titles lined up that aren't lame sequels.<br />
:Tycho: Name one. And furthermore, they... I... uh...<br />
<br />
:[The art style is dropped. The next two panels are just text.]<br />
:I can't do this. I can't parody Penny Arcade. I've got nothing on those guys. They're a class act, they know their audience, they know exactly what they're doing. Gabe experiments with his art, always bold and fresh without trying to perform. Tycho's writing continues to astound day after day. I can just see him, reading my uncultured swill masquerading as his florid prose.<br />
<br />
:[The panel is bottomless, and the text escapes the panel.]<br />
:But he's not angry, no. He's sitting at his desk smiling that condescending half-smile, the corner of his mouth belying the self-assurance of a writer who never misplaces a word. His firm hands rest easily on the keyboard, his right thumb caressing the space bar gently, as I enter the room. He knows I'm there without turning around, and I'm too nervous to speak. But I don't have to; he understands, I can see it in the way his eyes play over me, reading my fears and doubts in a glance and washing them away with a knowing smile. Then he's on his feet, he's in front of me, and I don't feel the electric jolt I expected as our hands meet. It's just warm, warm and right: As I sink into his eyes I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I see Tycho smile at someone behind me. Gabe is standing there, grinning that mischievous grin, and twirling his beloved cardboard tube between his fingers.<br />
<br />
:The night has just begun.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Romance]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2411:_1/10,000th_Scale_World&diff=2695022411: 1/10,000th Scale World2022-05-16T22:55:39Z<p>172.69.33.25: MEGAN IS ON THE OCEAN LIKE FROST WALKER OR JESUS</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2411<br />
| date = January 13, 2021<br />
| title = 1/10,000th Scale World<br />
| image = 1_10000th_scale_world.png<br />
| titletext = OCEAN PLAY AREA RULES: No running, no horseplay, no megatsunamis, and no trying to pry the wreck of the Titanic off the bottom.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is the first in the [[:Category:Scale World|Scale World]] series.<br />
<br />
Large objects (cars, airplanes, etc.) are often reproduced as {{w|scale model}}s, which are proportionally smaller {{w|physical model}}s of the original objects. The {{w|Scale (ratio)|scale}} of such a model is typically expressed as the {{w|ratio}} of the ''size of the model'' (the first number) to the ''size of the original object'' (the second number). For example, a 1/10,000th scale model means that 1 meter in the model represents 10,000 meters in the original object. The same applies to {{w|Scale (map)|maps}} and {{w|globe}}s. What Randall has here, though, is neither a map nor a model but a seemingly complete copy of {{w|Earth}}, at a 1:10,000 scale. Various features and warnings are labeled.<br />
<br />
{{w|Miniature parks}}, also known as model villages, are tourist attractions around the world of a scale between 1:9 and 1:72. For example, the finale of the movie ''{{w|Hot Fuzz}}'' features a battle amongst a miniature of the streets and buildings seen so far in the film. Normally a miniature park would feature a representation of one geographical location rather than a geologically/technologically accurate depiction of our current planet. Whether or not Randall is aware of it, the reputed [http://www.mapascotland.org/ largest outdoor relief map in the world] is set out at a horizontal scale of 1:10,000.<br />
<br />
Real-world phenomena are reproduced at scale, for humorous effect. A real 1/10,000th scale "Earth" would have a diameter of less than a mile, and a surface area of around 2 square miles, the approximate dimensions of a medium-sized asteroid. On such an object, constrained by known physics, there would be no air, standing water, weather, or large magma bodies, and any sort of rough-housing would irrecoverably catapult the visitor into space.<br />
<br />
Normally in a miniature model, most warnings try to prevent the visitors from accidentally doing something cataclysmic to the model. Likewise, the "ocean play area rules" in the title text tell visitors not to create any {{w|megatsunami}}s, which could conceivably be induced by a cannonball dive. But as digging seems to be discouraged mainly where it causes volcanoes to break out, the visitors seem to be given far greater freedom than usual.<br />
<br />
Visitors are also instructed not to try to pry the model of the {{w|wreck of the Titanic}} off the ocean floor. In our world, the wreck is at a depth of 12,500 feet, which would be 1 foot and 3 inches in Randall's model world. The Titanic was over 882 feet long, but the ship split in half as she sank, and now lies in two pieces about a third of a mile apart. Randall's model would have two pieces about a half-inch in size separated by about two inches. If the models are rusted and sunk in mud just like the real wreck is, trying to pry them loose would certainly damage them, but all of Randall's other rules seem to be about preventing harm to guests, not preventing damage to the model, so maybe he just doesn't want guests bending over and exerting themselves in the water where they could slip, submerge their faces, and be at risk of drowning.<br />
<br />
Scale models, and the problems with them, were the subject of [[878: Model Rail]]. In general, illustrating relative scale is a [[:Category:Illustrations of scale|recurring subject]] on xkcd. This comic is also somewhat reminiscent of [[941: Depth Perception]]. <br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Rule<br />
!Reason<br />
!Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Watch out for airliners cruising near shoulder level<br />
| Unintentional catastrophic damage to air traffic. The damage likely wouldn't be reciprocal: actual airplane speed is very similar to the speed at which a bullet is fired [https://pinchito.es/2019/high-speeds], but 1/10,000 of that is quite slow, on the order of 10 inches / 25 cm per second - which is fortunate because the aircraft would weigh about half a milligram (1/50000 oz) or more.<br />
| At this scale, the lowest airliner cruising altitude would be 3 ft or 0.9 m [https://time.com/5309905/how-high-do-planes-fly/#:~:text=Commercial%20aircraft%20typically%20fly%20between,that%20can%20present%20safety%20issues.], shoulder height for a 5-year-old [https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/height-weight-teens.php]. Scaling the height of the highest plane to ever fly [https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/cox/2017/05/28/altitude/102185856/] puts it at 9 ft, which would put it just over the head of the tallest person who ever lived [https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/robert-wadlow-tallest-man-ever]<br />
|-<br />
| Trip hazard: Appalachian Mountains<br />
| At half a foot tall, the Appalachians could trip visitors who are not being careful.<br />
| 6684 ft ≈ 0.67 ft in the model world<br />
|-<br />
| Do not stand or climb on Mt. Everest<br />
| One may destroy the model.<br />
|Also, Everest appears to be rather pointy. Also still a bit steep, so visitors may fall down and hurt themselves.<br />
|-<br />
| Caution: Hydro-thermal vents underfoot<br />
|Hydrothermal vents are extremely hot, which could cause burns to the feet of the viewers<br />
|Underwater volcanoes and stuff<br />
|-<br />
| Children must be supervised while in the ocean, especially near trenches<br />
|They might drown.<br />
|The Challenger Deep is 36,200 feet below the surface; this equates to 3.62 feet in the model world, a depth which small children could conceivably drown in.<br />
|-<br />
| Danger: positive lightning! Do not touch cloud tops<br />
| The cumulonimbus cloud is an electrocution hazard, as Megan is learning the hard way<br />
| Getting too close to the positive cloud tops risks causing lightning to arc into you down to the negative ground.<br />
|-<br />
| Avoid hypoxia by regularly sitting to bring your lungs below the death zone<br />
| The scale world even has a scale atmosphere, and visitors are cautioned to regularly sit down so they can breathe below the {{w|death zone}}, which is approximately two and a half feet above the surface.<br />
| The death zone is approximately 8,000 meters above the ground, equating to 0.8 meters or 2.62 feet in the model world. There is also a what-if on the subject [https://what-if.xkcd.com/64/].<br />
|-<br />
| Do <i>not</i> dig near Yellowstone<br />
| Digging up the {{w|Yellowstone Caldera}} could potentially reactivate the {{w|supervolcano}} there.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Please do not smack weather balloons<br />
| Smacking balloons around can be a fun activity, mostly done by children, but it would be very unfriendly if done to weather balloons.<br />
| Weather balloons can reach 20 ft in diameter before bursting, corresponding to a 0.6 mm small object at this scale. The idea of smacking research data raises a sense of how advanced the idea of a physics-complete model of the world is, next to possible comparative banality of academic research.<br />
|-<br />
| Be careful not to step on cities with especially pointy towers, like Toronto, Seattle, and Dubai<br />
| The {{w|CN Tower}}, the {{w|Space Needle}} and the {{w|Burj Khalifa}} are much taller than they are wide, thus, "pointy." The Burj Khalifa, the tallest of the three, would stand at 3.2 inches (8.3 cm) at this scale, making it possible to impale one's foot on it when walking<br />
| [[File:Empire State Building (aerial view).jpg|right|100px|thumb|Pointy.]] This seems to be exclusively for the visitors' benefit, rather than that of the cities.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[At the top of the image, inside the panel, a large title is floating in the air.]<br />
:RULES<br />
<br />
:For visitors to my 1/10,000th scale world<br />
<br />
:1 meter = 10 km 1 ft = 10,000 ft ~ 2 miles<br />
<br />
:[Each of the following rules is written near a character or point of interest on the map.]<br />
<br />
:[Two small dots with thin lines coming out of them horizontally are in the air near Cueball, who is brushing them off.]<br />
:Watch out for airliners cruising near shoulder level<br />
<br />
:[Small mountains are seen near the left edge of the screen, by Cueball's feet.]<br />
:Trip hazard: Appalachian Mountains<br />
<br />
:[A young Hairy is climbing on mountains reaching approximately Cueball's waist.]<br />
:Do not stand or climb on Mt. Everest<br />
<br />
:[Under the water, a small bump in the ground expells bubbles.]<br />
:Caution: Hydro-thermal vents underfoot<br />
<br />
:[Science Girl stands shoulder-deep in the ocean, peering down into the trench below.]<br />
:Children must be supervised while in the ocean, especially near trenches<br />
<br />
:[Megan's hand is extended, and lightning from the cloud is jumping to her hand.]<br />
:Danger: positive lightning! Do not touch cloud tops<br />
<br />
:[Ponytail sits near some mountains, with a dotted line in the air stretching across her forehead.]<br />
:Avoid hypoxia by regularly sitting to bring your lungs below the death zone<br />
<br />
:[A blob-shaped thing with wiggly grey texture lines drawn all over is underground.]<br />
:Do ''not'' dig near Yellowstone<br />
<br />
:[A second Cueball is jumping in the air, a hand reached back, in position to smack a weather balloon.]<br />
:Please do not smack weather balloons<br />
<br />
:[Some very tiny vertical lines extend from the ground.]<br />
:Be careful not to step on cities with especially pointy towers, like Toronto, Seattle, and Dubai<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
Megan, who is touching the top of a cloud, appears to be standing on top of the ocean.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Scale World]]<br />
[[Category:Comics sharing name|1/10]]<br />
[[Category:Illustrations of scale]]<br />
[[Category:Geography]]<br />
[[Category:Geology]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2619:_Cr%C3%AApe&diff=268942Talk:2619: Crêpe2022-05-14T21:13:31Z<p>172.69.33.25: Slight</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
You can almost make the same weird circumflex by using combining diacritics. e, then inverted breve then circumflex. Doesn't seem to render properly with firefox at least --> ȇ̂ [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.241|172.70.114.241]] 14:20, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
: U+2372 is a caret with a tilde through it: ⍲ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.251|108.162.245.251]] 14:45, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: Would you like a crē̂pe? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.32|162.158.63.32]] 20:05, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: I looked at a few more unicode things. I'm not too familiar with unicode; there are a few more down curves I think, but I didn't see any way to make it just like the image. I think wiki markup or an embedded image would probably do this best, and may be worthwhile if anybody's excited. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.32|162.158.63.32]] 20:05, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::: The closest I can find is 🢕, which may render okay on desktop but not mobile as <table style="display: inline-table; line-height: 0.5em; vertical-align: 0.85em;"><tr><td style="font-size: 75%; text-align: center;">🢕&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>crepe</td></tr></table> given that terrible table/css hackery that you'll regret looking at if you find this comment in wikitext. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 21:09, 14 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Is it possible to vertically stretch a character? A combination of a "regular" circumflex and a vertically-stretched circumflex might work. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 18:41, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: I didn't realise it was actually two circumflexes of different heights. This is pretty visible in the new picture. There might be a taller or shorter circumflex somewhere in unicode, but I think stretching would take mathml or something dunno. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.65|172.70.110.65]] 23:38, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think the circumflex is not an "A" but more of a split-and-stretched delta, or an arrowhead. Maybe show a zoom-in of the circumflex (obviously from the 2x image) in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:47, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf<br />
: Also, i noticed there are weird white dots past the corners of the border. They are even more visible in the 2x! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:50, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf<br />
: A chevron, perchance? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.15|172.68.50.15]] 14:52, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is it not also a play on "weird flex but OK"? https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/weird-flex-but-okay/ {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.11}}<br />
<br />
IPA would be appreciated {{unsigned ip|172.70.110.241}}<br />
: I would say the accepted online versions seem to work well for me:<br />
:* US pronunciation: /kɹeɪp/ ("krayp")<br />
:* UK possibilities: /kɹɛp/, /kɹeɪp/ ("krep" or "krayp")<br />
:** For me, I'd use the former for food (e.g. "Crêpes Suzette") as a fairly direct loan from French,<br />
:** But I'd say the latter for paper (the crinkly-tissue stuff)<br />
:* Fr pronunciation: /kʁɛp/ ("krep", but with that funny French 'r'! ;) )<br />
: YMMV, and possibly different regional British accents (or just who they learnt the terms from) might vary quite wildly. I'm not sure the average Brit truly understand French (typographic) accents. Though possibly we are more inclined to at least try ''something'' than your average American. :p [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.209|172.69.79.209]] 21:18, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It doesn't really look like an "A". It's more a hollow outline of a circumflex. You can see it more clearly in the 2x version. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.54.247|172.70.54.247]] 19:28, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The crêpe itself is also in the shape of an accent. -JT {{unsigned ip|162.158.126.55}}<br />
<br />
Is this a reference to the vandalism attacks? "crap" and "crêpe" are somewhat similar. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.27|172.70.178.27]] 23:16, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:There tends to be no acknowledgement at all that Randall takes any notice of what goes on here at the moment. Despite the occasional suspicion that he deliberarely Nerd Snipes us with a comic that is particularly designe to be hard to document 'normally'. I'd say it's a pure co-inky-dink, personally. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.223|172.69.79.223]] 18:55, 14 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I admit I have just such a slight suspicion for this very comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 21:11, 14 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
If the circumflex is interpreted as a small capital A, it could be considered a form of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_character ruby text], phonetic characters used to transcribe logographic characters. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.38|172.68.189.38]] 19:21, 14 May 2022 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2619:_Cr%C3%AApe&diff=268941Talk:2619: Crêpe2022-05-14T21:11:39Z<p>172.69.33.25: Suspicion</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
You can almost make the same weird circumflex by using combining diacritics. e, then inverted breve then circumflex. Doesn't seem to render properly with firefox at least --> ȇ̂ [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.241|172.70.114.241]] 14:20, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
: U+2372 is a caret with a tilde through it: ⍲ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.251|108.162.245.251]] 14:45, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: Would you like a crē̂pe? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.32|162.158.63.32]] 20:05, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: I looked at a few more unicode things. I'm not too familiar with unicode; there are a few more down curves I think, but I didn't see any way to make it just like the image. I think wiki markup or an embedded image would probably do this best, and may be worthwhile if anybody's excited. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.32|162.158.63.32]] 20:05, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::: The closest I can find is 🢕, which may render okay on desktop but not mobile as <table style="display: inline-table; line-height: 0.5em; vertical-align: 0.85em;"><tr><td style="font-size: 75%; text-align: center;">🢕&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>crepe</td></tr></table> given that terrible table/css hackery that you'll regret looking at if you find this comment in wikitext. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 21:09, 14 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Is it possible to vertically stretch a character? A combination of a "regular" circumflex and a vertically-stretched circumflex might work. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 18:41, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: I didn't realise it was actually two circumflexes of different heights. This is pretty visible in the new picture. There might be a taller or shorter circumflex somewhere in unicode, but I think stretching would take mathml or something dunno. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.65|172.70.110.65]] 23:38, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think the circumflex is not an "A" but more of a split-and-stretched delta, or an arrowhead. Maybe show a zoom-in of the circumflex (obviously from the 2x image) in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:47, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf<br />
: Also, i noticed there are weird white dots past the corners of the border. They are even more visible in the 2x! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:50, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf<br />
: A chevron, perchance? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.15|172.68.50.15]] 14:52, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is it not also a play on "weird flex but OK"? https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/weird-flex-but-okay/ {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.11}}<br />
<br />
IPA would be appreciated {{unsigned ip|172.70.110.241}}<br />
: I would say the accepted online versions seem to work well for me:<br />
:* US pronunciation: /kɹeɪp/ ("krayp")<br />
:* UK possibilities: /kɹɛp/, /kɹeɪp/ ("krep" or "krayp")<br />
:** For me, I'd use the former for food (e.g. "Crêpes Suzette") as a fairly direct loan from French,<br />
:** But I'd say the latter for paper (the crinkly-tissue stuff)<br />
:* Fr pronunciation: /kʁɛp/ ("krep", but with that funny French 'r'! ;) )<br />
: YMMV, and possibly different regional British accents (or just who they learnt the terms from) might vary quite wildly. I'm not sure the average Brit truly understand French (typographic) accents. Though possibly we are more inclined to at least try ''something'' than your average American. :p [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.209|172.69.79.209]] 21:18, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It doesn't really look like an "A". It's more a hollow outline of a circumflex. You can see it more clearly in the 2x version. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.54.247|172.70.54.247]] 19:28, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The crêpe itself is also in the shape of an accent. -JT {{unsigned ip|162.158.126.55}}<br />
<br />
Is this a reference to the vandalism attacks? "crap" and "crêpe" are somewhat similar. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.27|172.70.178.27]] 23:16, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:There tends to be no acknowledgement at all that Randall takes any notice of what goes on here at the moment. Despite the occasional suspicion that he deliberarely Nerd Snipes us with a comic that is particularly designe to be hard to document 'normally'. I'd say it's a pure co-inky-dink, personally. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.223|172.69.79.223]] 18:55, 14 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I admit I have just such suspicion for this very comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 21:11, 14 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
If the circumflex is interpreted as a small capital A, it could be considered a form of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_character ruby text], phonetic characters used to transcribe logographic characters. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.38|172.68.189.38]] 19:21, 14 May 2022 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2619:_Cr%C3%AApe&diff=268940Talk:2619: Crêpe2022-05-14T21:09:37Z<p>172.69.33.25: 🢕</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
You can almost make the same weird circumflex by using combining diacritics. e, then inverted breve then circumflex. Doesn't seem to render properly with firefox at least --> ȇ̂ [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.241|172.70.114.241]] 14:20, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
: U+2372 is a caret with a tilde through it: ⍲ [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.251|108.162.245.251]] 14:45, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: Would you like a crē̂pe? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.32|162.158.63.32]] 20:05, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: I looked at a few more unicode things. I'm not too familiar with unicode; there are a few more down curves I think, but I didn't see any way to make it just like the image. I think wiki markup or an embedded image would probably do this best, and may be worthwhile if anybody's excited. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.32|162.158.63.32]] 20:05, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
::: The closest I can find is 🢕, which may render okay on desktop but not mobile as <table style="display: inline-table; line-height: 0.5em; vertical-align: 0.85em;"><tr><td style="font-size: 75%; text-align: center;">🢕&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>crepe</td></tr></table> given that terrible table/css hackery that you'll regret looking at if you find this comment in wikitext. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 21:09, 14 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Is it possible to vertically stretch a character? A combination of a "regular" circumflex and a vertically-stretched circumflex might work. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 18:41, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: I didn't realise it was actually two circumflexes of different heights. This is pretty visible in the new picture. There might be a taller or shorter circumflex somewhere in unicode, but I think stretching would take mathml or something dunno. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.65|172.70.110.65]] 23:38, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I think the circumflex is not an "A" but more of a split-and-stretched delta, or an arrowhead. Maybe show a zoom-in of the circumflex (obviously from the 2x image) in the explanation? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:47, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf<br />
: Also, i noticed there are weird white dots past the corners of the border. They are even more visible in the 2x! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 14:50, 13 May 2022 (UTC)Bumpf<br />
: A chevron, perchance? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.15|172.68.50.15]] 14:52, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is it not also a play on "weird flex but OK"? https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/weird-flex-but-okay/ {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.11}}<br />
<br />
IPA would be appreciated {{unsigned ip|172.70.110.241}}<br />
: I would say the accepted online versions seem to work well for me:<br />
:* US pronunciation: /kɹeɪp/ ("krayp")<br />
:* UK possibilities: /kɹɛp/, /kɹeɪp/ ("krep" or "krayp")<br />
:** For me, I'd use the former for food (e.g. "Crêpes Suzette") as a fairly direct loan from French,<br />
:** But I'd say the latter for paper (the crinkly-tissue stuff)<br />
:* Fr pronunciation: /kʁɛp/ ("krep", but with that funny French 'r'! ;) )<br />
: YMMV, and possibly different regional British accents (or just who they learnt the terms from) might vary quite wildly. I'm not sure the average Brit truly understand French (typographic) accents. Though possibly we are more inclined to at least try ''something'' than your average American. :p [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.209|172.69.79.209]] 21:18, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It doesn't really look like an "A". It's more a hollow outline of a circumflex. You can see it more clearly in the 2x version. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.54.247|172.70.54.247]] 19:28, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The crêpe itself is also in the shape of an accent. -JT {{unsigned ip|162.158.126.55}}<br />
<br />
Is this a reference to the vandalism attacks? "crap" and "crêpe" are somewhat similar. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.27|172.70.178.27]] 23:16, 13 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
:There tends to be no acknowledgement at all that Randall takes any notice of what goes on here at the moment. Despite the occasional suspicion that he deliberarely Nerd Snipes us with a comic that is particularly designe to be hard to document 'normally'. I'd say it's a pure co-inky-dink, personally. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.223|172.69.79.223]] 18:55, 14 May 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If the circumflex is interpreted as a small capital A, it could be considered a form of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_character ruby text], phonetic characters used to transcribe logographic characters. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.38|172.68.189.38]] 19:21, 14 May 2022 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=576:_Packages&diff=264885576: Packages2022-05-06T17:50:12Z<p>172.69.33.25: /* Transcript */ ce</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 576<br />
| date = May 1, 2009<br />
| title = Packages<br />
| image = packages.png<br />
| titletext = Day six: 'The hell? Who mails a bobcat?'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] wrote a script that searches online shopping sites for items that cost US$1 with free shipping. Because the script is programmed to use an account with a $365 balance, this script will buy one random item per day for a full year. [[Megan]] comments that Cueball might just end up with "lots of crap" but he replies that he might get something interesting.<br />
<br />
Over five days the script orders a length of rubber hose, a ski mask, a bear trap, a map of {{w|The Pentagon}} and "lube" (sexual lubrication). This pattern prompts Cueball to stop the script out of fear of being placed on a FBI watch list; to a paranoid passerby, the purchased items make Cueball look like a terrorist who plans to kidnap and {{w|Rubber-hose cryptanalysis|torture}} federal employees. And also a pervert; such a contrast is considered funny.<br />
<br />
In the title text a sixth item is sent, a {{w|bobcat}}. This is probably connected with [[325: A-Minus-Minus]] where [[Black Hat]] delivered a bobcat instead of a chair.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting at his computer.]<br />
:Cueball: I love getting packages.<br />
<br />
:[Megan enters and Cueball turns towards her.]<br />
:Cueball: I set up a script to search eBay et. al. for $1 items with free shipping.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball comes home with a backpack on his back and find a package waiting for him on his doorstop.]<br />
:Cueball: I gave it $365, so each day it can buy me something random.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball, again sitting at his computer.]<br />
:Megan (off-screen): What if you just end up with lots of crap?<br />
:Cueball: I'll give it away. <br />
:Cueball: But I'm sure I'll end up with some interesting stuff.<br />
<br />
:[The next five panels have a caption in a black frame at the top. The caption is written first for each panel. In the first panel Cueball has unpacked a hose. The paper lies in tatters on the floor. Megan stands next to him.]<br />
:Day 1: Length of rubber hose<br />
:Cueball: Could be handy around the house.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball stands with a black item and the packaging material it came in. Megan looks on.]<br />
:Day 2: Ski mask<br />
:Cueball: It's spring, but hey.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is standing alone with a bear trap and the box it came in on the floor.]<br />
:Day 3: Bear trap<br />
:Cueball: Huh.<br />
<br />
:[Megan is back as Cueball looks at a piece of paper that came in an envelope.]<br />
:Day 4: Tourist map of the Pentagon.<br />
:Megan: Uh oh.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is standing alone with a bottle of lube in one hand and the box it came in in the other hand.]<br />
:Day 5: Lube<br />
:Cueball: I'm stopping this before I end up on every F.B.I. watch list ever.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
Someone has set up an [http://bobcatinabox.com/ actual service] inspired by this comic, which does exactly what this comic describes, and has been featured in the advertisements section to the left.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Bobcats]]<br />
[[Category:Money]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2489:_Bad_Map_Projection:_The_Greenland_Special&diff=2318762489: Bad Map Projection: The Greenland Special2022-05-02T18:41:45Z<p>172.69.33.25: Remove dangling “which”</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2489<br />
| date = July 14, 2021<br />
| title = Bad Map Projection: The Greenland Special<br />
| image = bad_map_projection_the_greenland_special.png<br />
| titletext = The projection for those who think the Mercator projection gives people a distorted idea of how big Greenland is, but a very accurate idea of how big it SHOULD be.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is the fourth comic in the series of [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]] displaying Bad Map Projection #299: The Greenland Special. It came one and a half year after the third [[2256: Bad Map Projection: South America]] (#358). And was followed about 10 months later by [[2613: Bad Map Projection: Madagascator]] (#248). <br />
<br />
{{W|Map projection}}s are different methods of representing the curved surface of the Earth on a two-dimensional map. There's no perfect way to do so. Because the Earth is not flat, any 2D map projection of it will always distort in a way the spherical reality, and a map projection that is useful for one aspect (like navigation, geographical shapes and masses visualization, etc.) will not be so for all the others. Typically a projection can represent only distances, areas ''or'' angles correctly, or at best imperfectly compromise two of these. The map choice should reflect the purpose you need to put it to, as it will necessarily distort (perhaps by twisting, skewing and/or resizing) those aspects it was not designed to show intact. <br />
<br />
One such projection is the {{w|Mercator projection}}, which is designed so that all north-south lines of longitude are parallel to each other and all {{w|rhumb line}}s are consistent, which is most important in the time of map-based navigation. In reality, apart from the direct east-west directions, all the imaginary straight lines eventually meet at the poles - even if they look parallel. The apparent distance between lines of latitude at the more extreme latitudes expands and the vicinity around each pole can never be drawn, as Mercator maps show geographic features plotted over ever larger map areas and distances than they should, for those nearer the poles, compared to those more equatorial. It is not possible to accurately compare the sizes of features across the globe using this projection, although the distortions can be effectively ignored for more local maps that do not plot a significant area of the globe (other than ''very'' close to the poles, historically not an issue) and along or between any given narrow strips of latitude away from the equator the comparison is between near equal scalings.<br />
<br />
Greenland is a large {{Citation needed}} island in the Arctic ocean and one of the nearest pieces of land to the north pole. The Mercator projection shows it to be significantly larger than it really is, compared to equator-straddling features such as Africa. It is therefore one of the most obvious inaccuracies of Mercator's map, if used (e.g.) in the classroom to teach physical geography (which perhaps would best use a representation that was consistent to area) rather than navigation.<br />
<br />
The {{w|Equal-area_map|equal-area}} projections such as {{w|Mollweide_projection|Mollweide}} or {{w|Tobler_hyperelliptical_projection|Tobler Hyperelliptical}}, the latter of which seems to extremely closely match the majority of the features evident upon the hand-drawn map, ensure that shapes contain the same relative proportion of area as they would upon the original spherical (or {{w|Spheroid#Oblate_spheroids|slightly spheroidal}}) surface, across all latitudes, but only by bending the directions and rescaling the distances ever more drastically the closer to the map edge (the anti-meridian to that the map is centred upon) you go. Unlike the Mercator projection, you ''can'' show the poles (as the extreme upper and lower limits of the rim) from an equatorially-centred view, and every point of the Earth is given one definite position (or two, where they lie exactly upon the crossing point between the left/right extremes of the map).<br />
<br />
This comic's projection has retained this singular inaccuracy as a deliberate feature, though avoiding all other such inaccuracies of the Mercator projection by using a different projection elsewhere that is designed explicitly to avoid them. For example, a traditional Mercator map would show other polar areas such as Antarctica, southern South America, or even New Zealand as larger, but this map does not.<br />
<br />
Although it may not be obvious, due to no land-masses being normally shown at/close-enough to the North Pole, the Mercatorish Greenland actually extends beyond the Elliptic map's northern limits into positions that do not even ''exist'' in reality - it does not even 'wrap around and over' the pole (like a bad toupée) but passes through it and the arbitrary back-edge meridian line and into purely imaginary space that does not exist upon the surface of the Earthly sphere. (For a flipped comparison, the lower 'curve' of Antarctica is not its coast, but merely the map's 'wrap-around' edge where a further step would have you stepping back onto the continent at a second point of this nominal edge. The true coast of Antarctica is only the rough upper edge, passing between the two points which each represent the one arbitrary 'wrap-around' coordinate that is opposite-but-adjacent on the map's oval edging, i.e. at ±180°E/W, but which otherwise has no particularly special quality 'on the ground'.) <br />
<br />
The title text suggests that this map was created for people who believe Greenland should be larger. Whether these people believe it should be physically increased in size in some manner or should simply receive a greater share of the attention is unclear. One method for increasing its size would be to increase the coverage of its ice cap, which is currently decreasing in size due to increases in temperature. However, increasing Greenland's ice coverage to the size it appears on a Mercator map would involve covering the entire island and surrounding ocean with ice, which would be very problematic for Greenland's population{{citation needed}}.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Bad Map Projection #299:<br />
:<big>The Greenland Special</big><br />
:Equal-area map preserves size everywhere except Greenland, which uses the Mercator projection.<br />
:[A drawn world map, perhaps the Tobler hyperelliptical projection, except for Greenland which is of a typical Mercator appearance and sized at almost the size of Africa, to almost entirely fill the space between Canada and Iceland. It extends up well beyond the nominal location of the North Pole, while its southern tip has an apparent latitude comparable to that of Spain or the vicinity of Virginia.]<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Bad Map Projections]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2484:_H-alpha&diff=2146132484: H-alpha2021-07-04T14:51:14Z<p>172.69.33.25: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2484<br />
| date = July 2, 2021<br />
| title = H-alpha<br />
| image = h_alpha.png<br />
| titletext = "All the companies whose blimps I shot fireworks at are mad, but MetLife is especially miffed because I dressed up as the Red Baron."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a RED BARON. Elaborate on title-text. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[Black Hat]] has acquired an {{w|H-alpha}} filter. As he explains to [[Cueball]], these filters are used to look at the Sun during scientific observations, as looking at the Sun bare-eyed will do damage to one's eyes; a camera using such a filter was seen in [[1828: ISS Solar Transit]], and the consequences of not using such a filter were explored in [[2227: Transit of Mercury]]. <br />
<br />
Black Hat points out that the filter can also be used to look at {{w|nebula}}e, but doesn't see much further use for it; as the filter only transmits a very narrow bandwidth of light, one generated by hot hydrogen, it is not useful for looking at much else. This gives him an idea, and he leaves.<br />
<br />
WARNING: A deep sky nebula H-alpha filter has a wider bandwidth than a solar H-alpha filter and WILL hurt the eyes if used to try and observe the sun !!!!<br />
<br />
Upon returning, he shares with Cueball three seemingly unrelated observations which suggest what he got up to in the meantime: that most modern {{w|blimp|blimps}} use helium to keep them aloft, that their household is out of fireworks, and that an advertising company (or several, going by the title text) is upset. Before the 1960s, most {{w|airship|airships}} such as blimps and {{w|zeppelin|zeppelins}} used hydrogen as the lifting gas, which resulted in several catastrophic accidents when the highly flammable gas caught fire such as the {{w|LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg}}. Apparently, Black Hat was not aware that modern blimps use helium instead, and tried to set someone else's advertising blimp alight using fireworks: he could then have used his H-alpha filter to look at the burning hydrogen. (Several companies use blimps for advertising, as they are an unusual and hence enticing sight in the sky, offer a large surface area that can be used to show a slogan or logo, and can stay aloft for a long time with comparatively little cost.)<br />
<br />
While modern blimps do use helium, which is an inert gas, Black Hat also should have failed because advertising blimps typically fly higher than firework range, which raises the question of why Black Hat would have suspected that the blimps did not ignite if the fireworks did not reach the blimps. However, it's possible that Black Hat has a way to make fireworks go higher/farther, especially considering Black Hat's old penchant to change things creatively to meet his goals. Given the title text he was likely in a small plane or glider. Fireworks were used possibly aggressively in demonstrations in Oregon (These citations are broken but contain links in the source are they appropriate/relevant?).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wallace |first1=Danielle |title=Crowds launch fireworks at brewery, draw guns on drivers as riots spread from Portland to smaller Oregon city |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-riots-spread-eugene-oregon-antifa |website=Fox News |access-date=3 July 2021 |date=27 July 2020 |quote=A small Oregon city less than a two-hour drive from Portland experienced rioting Saturday night as hundreds targeted a county jail and federal courthouse with fireworks before attacking businesses downtown while employees remained trapped inside.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Artemis Moshtaghian |author2=Eliott C. McLaughlin |title=Portland demonstration declared a riot after protesters launch fireworks at federal courthouse |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/portland-riots-july-4/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=3 July 2021 |quote=During demonstrations in downtown Portland, Oregon, protesters blocked traffic on Main Street and launched fireworks from the street, injuring officers, the Portland Police Bureau said in a Sunday statement.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Artemis Moshtaghian |author2=Eliott C. McLaughlin |title=Portland demonstration declared a riot after protesters launch fireworks at federal courthouse |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/portland-riots-july-4/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=3 July 2021 |quote=The crowd also blocked traffic and launched "commercial-grade fireworks" toward the justice center and at the nearby federal courthouse, police said.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Artemis Moshtaghian |author2=Eliott C. McLaughlin |title=Portland demonstration declared a riot after protesters launch fireworks at federal courthouse |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/portland-riots-july-4/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=3 July 2021 |quote=The fireworks injured several officers when they exploded on or near them, the statement said.}}</ref><br />
<br />
Cueball "responds" by holding whatever he's reading closer to his face, apparently hoping to avoid further conversation (or consequences).<br />
<br />
The title text references how, until 2016, insurance company MetLife used the character Snoopy as an advertising mascot. In the ''Peanuts'' comics, Snoopy would frequently imagine himself as a fighter pilot in World War I in an aerial battle with the Red Baron, which he would frequently lose.<br />
<br />
This comic was published shortly before {{w|Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day}} 2021, a US holiday that is often commemorated with fireworks, which may explain why the house had so many fireworks at the beginning of this comic. As parts of America were undergoing an extreme {{w|2021 Western North America heat wave|heat wave}} at the same time, several regions recommended against or banned the firing of fireworks, to reduce the risk of wildfires.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat is holding a device in his hand]<br />
:Black Hat: I got an H-Alpha filter for looking at the sun.<br />
<br />
:[non-bordered panel with Black Hat standing behind Cueball, who is reading on an armchair]<br />
:Black Hat: It also works for nebulae. But that's about it. There just aren't that many hot blobs of hydrogen to look at, I guess.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat is now holding his empty hand to his chin]<br />
:Black Hat: Unless...<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat leaves, away from Cueball]<br />
<br />
:[Beat panel]<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat re-enters; his black hat is somewhat out of shape; Cueball is now hunched further forward, with his face closer to his reading material]<br />
:Black Hat: Huh, did you know blimps all use helium now? You learn something new every day! By the way, we're out of fireworks.<br />
:Black Hat: And some advertising company is ''real'' mad.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2484:_H-alpha&diff=2146122484: H-alpha2021-07-04T14:50:01Z<p>172.69.33.25: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2484<br />
| date = July 2, 2021<br />
| title = H-alpha<br />
| image = h_alpha.png<br />
| titletext = "All the companies whose blimps I shot fireworks at are mad, but MetLife is especially miffed because I dressed up as the Red Baron."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a RED BARON. Elaborate on title-text. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[[Black Hat]] has acquired an {{w|H-alpha}} filter. As he explains to [[Cueball]], these filters are used to look at the Sun during scientific observations, as looking at the Sun bare-eyed will do damage to one's eyes; a camera using such a filter was seen in [[1828: ISS Solar Transit]], and the consequences of not using such a filter were explored in [[2227: Transit of Mercury]]. <br />
<br />
Black Hat points out that the filter can also be used to look at {{w|nebula}}e, but doesn't see much further use for it; as the filter only transmits a very narrow bandwidth of light, one generated by hot hydrogen, it is not useful for looking at much else. This gives him an idea, and he leaves.<br />
<br />
WARNING: A deep sky nebula H-alpha filter has a wider bandwidth than a solar H-alpha filter and WILL hurt the eyes if used to try and observe the sun !!!!<br />
<br />
Upon returning, he shares with Cueball three seemingly unrelated observations which suggest what he got up to in the meantime: that most modern {{w|blimp|blimps}} use helium to keep them aloft, that their household is out of fireworks, and that an advertising company (or several, going by the title text) is upset. Before the 1960s, most {{w|airship|airships}} such as blimps and {{w|zeppelin|zeppelins}} used hydrogen as the lifting gas, which resulted in several catastrophic accidents when the highly flammable gas caught fire such as the {{w|LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg}}. Apparently, Black Hat was not aware that modern blimps use helium instead, and tried to set light to an someone else's advertising blimp using fireworks: he could then have used his H-alpha filter to look at the burning hydrogen. (Several companies use blimps for advertising, as they are an unusual and hence enticing sight in the sky, offer a large surface area that can be used to show a slogan or logo, and can stay aloft for a long time with comparatively little cost.)<br />
<br />
While modern blimps do use helium, which is an inert gas, Black Hat also should have failed because advertising blimps typically fly higher than firework range, which raises the question of why Black Hat would have suspected that the blimps did not ignite if the fireworks did not reach the blimps. However, it's possible that Black Hat has a way to make fireworks go higher/farther, especially considering Black Hat's old penchant to change things creatively to meet his goals. Given the title text he was likely in a small plane or glider. Fireworks were used possibly aggressively in demonstrations in Oregon (These citations are broken but contain links in the source are they appropriate/relevant?).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wallace |first1=Danielle |title=Crowds launch fireworks at brewery, draw guns on drivers as riots spread from Portland to smaller Oregon city |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/portland-riots-spread-eugene-oregon-antifa |website=Fox News |access-date=3 July 2021 |date=27 July 2020 |quote=A small Oregon city less than a two-hour drive from Portland experienced rioting Saturday night as hundreds targeted a county jail and federal courthouse with fireworks before attacking businesses downtown while employees remained trapped inside.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Artemis Moshtaghian |author2=Eliott C. McLaughlin |title=Portland demonstration declared a riot after protesters launch fireworks at federal courthouse |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/portland-riots-july-4/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=3 July 2021 |quote=During demonstrations in downtown Portland, Oregon, protesters blocked traffic on Main Street and launched fireworks from the street, injuring officers, the Portland Police Bureau said in a Sunday statement.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Artemis Moshtaghian |author2=Eliott C. McLaughlin |title=Portland demonstration declared a riot after protesters launch fireworks at federal courthouse |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/portland-riots-july-4/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=3 July 2021 |quote=The crowd also blocked traffic and launched "commercial-grade fireworks" toward the justice center and at the nearby federal courthouse, police said.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Artemis Moshtaghian |author2=Eliott C. McLaughlin |title=Portland demonstration declared a riot after protesters launch fireworks at federal courthouse |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/portland-riots-july-4/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=3 July 2021 |quote=The fireworks injured several officers when they exploded on or near them, the statement said.}}</ref><br />
<br />
Cueball "responds" by holding whatever he's reading closer to his face, apparently hoping to avoid further conversation (or consequences).<br />
<br />
The title text references how, until 2016, insurance company MetLife used the character Snoopy as an advertising mascot. In the ''Peanuts'' comics, Snoopy would frequently imagine himself as a fighter pilot in World War I in an aerial battle with the Red Baron, which he would frequently lose.<br />
<br />
This comic was published shortly before {{w|Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day}} 2021, a US holiday that is often commemorated with fireworks, which may explain why the house had so many fireworks at the beginning of this comic. As parts of America were undergoing an extreme {{w|2021 Western North America heat wave|heat wave}} at the same time, several regions recommended against or banned the firing of fireworks, to reduce the risk of wildfires.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat is holding a device in his hand]<br />
:Black Hat: I got an H-Alpha filter for looking at the sun.<br />
<br />
:[non-bordered panel with Black Hat standing behind Cueball, who is reading on an armchair]<br />
:Black Hat: It also works for nebulae. But that's about it. There just aren't that many hot blobs of hydrogen to look at, I guess.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat is now holding his empty hand to his chin]<br />
:Black Hat: Unless...<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat leaves, away from Cueball]<br />
<br />
:[Beat panel]<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat re-enters; his black hat is somewhat out of shape; Cueball is now hunched further forward, with his face closer to his reading material]<br />
:Black Hat: Huh, did you know blimps all use helium now? You learn something new every day! By the way, we're out of fireworks.<br />
:Black Hat: And some advertising company is ''real'' mad.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2478:_Alien_Visitors_2&diff=2145362478: Alien Visitors 22021-07-01T18:35:19Z<p>172.69.33.25: clarified</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2478<br />
| date = June 18, 2021<br />
| title = Alien Visitors 2<br />
| image = alien_visitors_2.png<br />
| titletext = "Although fresh juice DOES sound--" "NO! For humanity to survive we must learn from the mistakes of the past."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
This is the second comic in a [[:Category:Alien Visitors|series]], following the previous comic [[2477: Alien Visitors]].<br />
<br />
The aliens now return to show us even more "advanced" inventions. As with the previous strip, the only innovations they offer are not only things that humans know how to build, but things we figured out some time ago, and are now obsolete. As with the pyramids and Stonehenge, these inventions might have been impressive in their time, but now offer nothing to humanity.<br />
<br />
{{w|Biplane}}s are planes with two sets of wings, which provide more of the necessary lift at slow speed than a contemporaneous {{w|monoplane}}, but develop increased drag and aerodynamic and air-frame issues as higher air-speeds became possible/necessary. Biplanes have been obsolete for most purposes since the 1930s, though they remain in use for agriculture and aerial sports.<br />
<br />
A {{w|blimp}} is a lighter than air aircraft with no internal structure. These aircraft were traditionally filled with hydrogen gas to provide the needed buoyancy, due to the lower density of hydrogen and a US monopoly on helium limiting availability for the German blimp manufacturer. Hydrogen is highly flammable and thus presents a safety issue. The famous {{w|Hindenburg_disaster|''Hindenburg'' disaster}} is widely seen as a reason hydrogen airships are unlikely to be widely accepted. However, it is still disputed whether the hydrogen or the coating of the airframe caused the fire. Blimps are still used today, but only rarely, in niche applications, such as for advertising or for aerial photography/videography. Modern airships generally use helium as a lifting gas, which is more expensive, but non-flammable. <br />
<br />
{{w|Tetraethyllead}} ((CH<sub>3</sub> CH<sub>2</sub>)<sub>4</sub>Pb) is a chemical added to gasoline (mostly from the 1920s to the 1990s &mdash; although some countries [https://web.archive.org/web/20171115235249/http://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/17542/MapWorldLead_March2017.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y still use it to this day]) to prevent {{w|engine knocking}}. Lead is toxic and bio-accumulative, and there's substantial evidence that its use in gasoline caused widespread lead exposure, impacting public health on a huge scale. While it is unclear whethere this chemical is also harmful to the aliens, they seem surprised to learn of these toxic effects, and their concern implies that they may be using leaded gasoline themselves.<br />
<br />
The final invention appears to be a reference to {{w|Juicero}}, a defunct and short-lived brand of juicer, which has become iconic of the absurdity of modern technology investment. The company produced a high-tech, internet-connected juicer which sold for $700, and only worked on the company's proprietary branded single-serving bags of pulped fruit, which were available by subscription for $5-$7 per serving. The company raised over $100 million in startup capital, but quickly went out of business because most consumers considered the expensive product to be nearly useless, coupled with a rather damning [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lutHF5HhVA video by Bloomberg] demonstrating said packets could easily be squeezed by hand. The title text singles this invention out, calling it one of the "mistakes of the past". <br />
<br />
After the latest showing of unimpressive "inventions", the humans start questioning how "advanced" the aliens really are. It's traditionally assumed that a species capable of interplanetary travel would have a host of other advanced technologies, which is inconsistent with the unimpressive and not only obsolete, but also fatally-flawed inventions they're offering to humanity. The humans on the ground ask whether they actually built their own flying saucer. They also consider the wiseness of standing directly under the saucer, implying that, if the aliens did build it, it's likely to be unreliable, and may be at risk of crashing (though perhaps a bit ironically, the humans say this in response to the juicer, and while the actual device it is spoofing was a failure in many ways, one thing it was ''not'' was shoddily built - one critique of the Juicero was that it was needlessly over-engineered).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A flying saucer is flying high above Ponytail who is walking towards White Hat, Cueball and Megan. Those three are looking up at the spacecraft. The humans are drawn very small standing on the ground beneath it. The aliens inside speak to them from inside their saucer, indicated with zigzag lines between it and the text.]<br />
:Aliens: Greetings, humans. We have returned. <br />
:Aliens: Since you already have pyramids, we've brought you more advanced wonders.<br />
<br />
:[Pan up to only showing the flying saucer which has two beams below it, the left showing an outline of a biplane and the right is showing an outline of a blimp. The humans reply off-panel. Given their positions before, the first is probably Ponytail, but it cannot be determined.]<br />
:Aliens: These machines will let you conquer the sky!<br />
:Voice 1 (off-panel): A biplane? <br />
:Voice 1 (off-panel): Aren't monoplanes more efficient?<br />
:Voice 2 (off-panel): Does that blimp use hydrogen?<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on the four humans looking up, the Aliens reply from above the panel. There is a chemical formula in an outline from the alien flying saucer, shown in a similar manner to the other items.]<br />
:Chemical formula: (CH<sub>3</sub> CH<sub>2</sub>)<sub>4</sub> Pb<br />
:Aliens (off-panel): Add this elixir of lead to your gasoline and your engines will run smooth.<br />
:White Hat: Lead? Isn't that stuff toxic?<br />
:Aliens: Is it? <br />
:Aliens: Oh no.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom back out, as in first panel but the flying saucer and the humans are shown in silhouette. A beam from the saucer is showing an outline of a juice machine.]<br />
:Aliens: Okay, uh.<br />
:Aliens: This device's electric press can squeeze fresh fruit juice from bags of pulp!<br />
:Ponytail: ...Just curious, did you build that saucer? <br />
:Cueball: Maybe we shouldn't stand right under it.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Alien Visitors]]<br />
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Alien Visitors 2]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Aliens]]</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2349:_Rabbit_Introduction&diff=196267Talk:2349: Rabbit Introduction2020-08-21T07:50:41Z<p>172.69.33.25: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Comic posted shortly after this made national news in the USA:<br />
https://www.newsweek.com/why-hundreds-millions-genetically-engineered-mosquitoes-will-soon-released-florida-1526375<br />
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.56|172.69.34.56]] 05:06, 21 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This comic was posted incredibly early compared to the other recent comics [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.232|172.69.34.232]] 07:22, 21 August 2020 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Yeah wtf it's so early [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.25|172.69.33.25]] 07:50, 21 August 2020 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2348:_Boat_Puzzle&diff=1962132348: Boat Puzzle2020-08-20T15:35:03Z<p>172.69.33.25: /* Transcript */ more</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2348<br />
| date = August 19, 2020<br />
| title = Boat Puzzle<br />
| image = boat_puzzle.png<br />
| titletext = 'No, my cabbage moths have already started laying eggs in them! Send the trolley into the river!' 'No, the sailing wolf will steal the boat to rescue them!'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a GOAT THAT EATS WOLVES. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This comic is a twist on {{w|Wolf, goat and cabbage problem|an old riddle}}. In the original riddle, a person has to cross a river in a boat that can only hold them and one other object. They have a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage that they need to bring across with them, similar to the first panel. If the wolf is left alone with the goat, however, the wolf will eat the goat; and if the goat and cabbage are alone, the goat will eat the cabbage. (The problem can be solved in seven trips.)<br />
<br />
However, the comic quickly devolves into surrealism in the later panels as new characters show up, bringing deviations of the original "cabbage", "goat", and "wolf" that add extra layers of complexity to the riddle. White Hat brings extra wolves and cabbages. Black Hat, in his traditional classhole style, brings {{w|cabbage moth}}s which will infest unsupervised cabbages with destructive larvae, and boat-destroying {{w|termite}}s. How he intends to bring them across the river (or even if he wants to) is unknown, but it brings to mind the parable of {{w|The Scorpion and the Frog}}. Beret Guy arrives with a wolf who can operate a boat, who could perhaps serve as a second pilot to expedite the crossing, so long as he is not asked to ferry a goat, and also a goat who eats wolves (which does not alter the problem constraints but is unusual, as one would expect from Beret Guy's associate).<br />
<br />
The last panel is a reference to the {{w|Trolley_Problem|Trolley Problem}}, a moral test that asks the participant whether they would passively let people in the way of an uncontrollable trolley die or actively divert the trolley to kill a single person standing on a branch of the tracks. The comic gives a twist here too: according to the title text, the characters must choose between stopping the trolley full of wolves with a cushion of cabbages (in which Black Hat's cabbage moths have laid eggs, which he implicitly argues are morally equivalent to "innocent children") or letting it crash into the river (at which point the wolf who can operate a boat will steal the boat to rescue the wolves from the trolley, which will delay the other characters from crossing the river).<br />
<br />
The River Crossing puzzle was also mentioned in [[1134: Logic Boat]] and referenced in [[589: Designated Drivers]].<br />
<br />
The Trolley Problem was also mentioned in [[1455: Trolley Problem]] and referenced in [[1938: Meltdown and Spectre]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Ponytail are standing on the bank of a river. There is a boat in the river. A goat and wolf are also on the riverbank, and Ponytail is holding a cabbage.]<br />
:Ponytail: I need to cross the river. I have a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage.<br />
:Cueball: Hmm.<br />
<br />
:[White Hat appears, accompanied by two wolves and pulling a wagon full of cabbages.]<br />
:Cueball: OK, here's what-<br />
:White Hat: Hi, I also need to cross. I have two wolves and 100 cabbages.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat arrives, surrounded by a cloud of flying creatures and carrying a jar of bugs under his arm. Beret Guy follows with another wolf and goat on leashes.]<br />
:Black Hat: I have 50 cabbage moths and 2,000 boat-destroying termites.<br />
:Beret Guy: I have a wolf that can operate a boat, and a goat that eats wolves.<br />
<br />
:[The fourth panel is a zoomed-out shot, where everything but the sky appears black.]<br />
<br />
:[A trolley speeds in, leaving a trail of dust in its wake. A person is standing on the front, and many ears are barely visible above the seats.]<br />
<br />
:Cueball: Hang on, I need to make a spreadsheet.<br />
:Trolley operator: Look out!<br />
:Trolley operator: My wolf-filled trolley is out of control and can only be stopped by a cushion of cabbages!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Logic]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Food]]</div>172.69.33.25