https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.69.33.65&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T12:00:47ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Char_Latte49&diff=207946User:Char Latte492021-03-12T21:35:59Z<p>172.69.33.65: </p>
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<div>==Hello==<br />
{{infobox<br />
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| abovestyle = background-color:{{{bgcolour|#BCD4E6}}};<br />
| aboveclass = fn<br />
| above = {{{name|{{PAGENAME}}}}}<br />
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| labelstyle = line-height: 1.3em<br />
| datastyle = line-height: 1.3em<br />
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| image = [[File:BeretGirl.png]]<br />
| caption = {{{caption|My only known appearance. Fun fact: I am very hard to get a clear picture of.}}}<br />
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| label1 = First Appearance<br />
| data1 = Time.<br />
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| label2 = Known appearances<br />
| data2 = [[User:BlackHat|Black Hat]] and [[User:Danish|Danish]]'s pages, as well as here.<br />
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| label3 = Contribution score<br />
| data3 = [[Special:ContributionScores|{{#cscore:Char Latte49|score}}]]<br />
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| label4 = Occupations<br />
| data4 = Bun-counting secretary; stapler gun-wielder}}<br />
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I don't know why you're here. I don't know ''how'' you got here. There is nothing to look at. Go do something else. Shoo. <br />
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I said shoo!<br />
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Well ok, since you're still here, go to [[Beret Girl]]. <br />
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Seriously, shoo!<br />
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==Stuff==<br />
Hello, you're still here? I admire your persistence. Ok then, welcome to my corner of the internet! Here's some stuff:<br />
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- I came here to eat scones and misuse staple guns, and [[User:Danish|Danish]] took my scones.<br />
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- I'm a severe procrastinator, explain xkcd being one of my procrastination methods.<br />
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- My favorite xkcd characters are [[Beret Girl]] and [[Beret Guy]], and I also have scones. This isn't a bakery though. <br />
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- I've read every single comic, although I don't understand all of them - even with the explain.<br />
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- I've also read every single Calvin and Hobbes strip.<br />
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- I stand in for Beret Guy when he's unavailable. Be warned that I'm slightly more sarcastic than he is.<br />
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- I started this account before encountering [[User:BlackHat|Black Hat]] and [[User:Danish|Danish]], and decided to keep using it because I'm a little bit more sarcastic and dark than Beret is.<br />
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- If you're looking for [[User:BlackHat|Black Hat]], <s>[[User:Danish|Danish]]</s>, [[Cueball]], or God, they're on the ceiling. (Update: Danish is sucessfully off the ceiling)<br />
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- I'm rather fond of [https://xkcd.com/478/ staple guns].<br />
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- I work in the bun-counting sector of Beret Guy's business.<br />
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- Newspapers don't taste that good, but are edible in a pinch if you're Beret Guy.<br />
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- I'm studying for my subduction license.<br />
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- I can create soup cables, although only chicken noodle at the moment.<br />
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- '''No''' I don't have a webcam, you two.<br />
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- [https://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/index2.html This will, I assure you, take up several hours of your time.] <!--Nerd sniping!--><br />
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- My favorite comics: [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Comics_featuring_Beret_Guy all of these], [https://xkcd.com/1576/ I Could Care Less], [https://xkcd.com/941/ Depth Perception], [https://xkcd.com/260/ The Glass Necklace], [https://xkcd.com/162/ Angular Momentum], [https://xkcd.com/1305/ Undocumented Feature], [https://xkcd.com/769/ War], and [https://xkcd.com/2247/ Weird Hill]. I like a lot more, but am too lazy to put them all on here.<br />
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=Beret Guy's Business=<br />
Hello, and welcome to Beret Guy's Business! We offer many services, including antiques, a bikeshare program (temporary), gold-to-lead transmutation, lead-to-gold transmutation, cloud storage, and a Bun Alert system. Recently, we have also started offering curbside pickup for goods from the cursed shop on the corner, like scones, soup cables, business cards, lug nuts, gulls, fresh pears, ghost-angering amulets, cursed chairs, the video from ''The Ring'', and groceries. Feel free to stop by anytime!</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2355:_University_COVID_Model&diff=1967932355: University COVID Model2020-09-04T19:25:20Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2355<br />
| date = September 4, 2020<br />
| title = University COVID Model<br />
| image = university_covid_model.png<br />
| titletext = I admit this is an exaggeration, since I can think of at least three parties I attended while doing my degree, and I'm probably forgetting several more.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT THAT HAS BEEN TO 42 PARTIES DURING THEIR DEGREE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:COVID-19]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2317:_Pinouts&diff=193074Talk:2317: Pinouts2020-06-09T02:20:27Z<p>172.69.33.65: multi-signal wires</p>
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Can we add this one to a new category, "Comics that Randall makes just to screw with xkcd wiki contributors"? I can think of plenty of candidates for this category! [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 21:42, 8 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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The claim that a coax has only one conductive part is incorrect. It has two. The pin is the inner conductor. The shield is the outer conductor. Without both it wouldn't work.<br />
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I'd also say that the claim at the top that a pin can have only one bit or one voltage of power at a time is incorrect. Power over Ethernet is a perfect example of power and data at the same time. There are also plenty of types of signals which transmit multiple bits at once. A simple example would be a signal using four voltage levels to transmit two bits simultaneously, but there are many more fancy analog encodings that use phase and frequency and other characteristics to transmit data. Plus, you can often included two signals on the same conductors. For example, ADSL combined a normal phone signal and a higher frequency data signal on the same lines. Also cable TV combined many signals on one set of conductors.<br />
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So, anyway, I'd remove the claim.<br />
[[User:Mootstrap|Mootstrap]] ([[User talk:Mootstrap|talk]]) 23:00, 8 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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For that matter, the RF cable connecting a regular TV antenna, or the wire in a car that connects the radio antenna, carries the signals of all the channels.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.65|172.69.33.65]] 02:20, 9 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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I think "Pin Roulette" is a pun on [[wikipedia:Penn Jillette|Penn Jillette]], the talkative half of the [[wikipedia:Penn & Teller|Penn & Teller]] magic act, and maybe also a reference to [[wikipedia:chatroulette|chatroulette]]. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:10, 8 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
:Possible, but I'd stick with the simple explanation - that the "Pin Roulette" pin selects a random function when the connector's plugged in. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.64|108.162.245.64]] 23:18, 8 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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In addition to pins being able to carry both data and power, or to carry multiple bits at a time, some pins function as clock signal pins that indicate bit boundaries rather than themselves carrying data; therefore I also think the claim should be either omitted or changed entirely.<br />
[[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 23:33, 8 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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Firstly, no [[1293|Soup]]? Secondly, [https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/GNDN GNDN] might easily have been referenced. Thirdly, would a pin made of solder melt, as pins connected to wires/boards ''by'' solder do not melt the solder (under proper range of use). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.158|141.101.107.158]] 23:38, 8 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
:i think the implication is that it ''could'' melt, which is a trap--[[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 23:48, 8 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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Perhaps we should add the actual usage of the pins to help those who actually want to know? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.245|162.158.62.245]] 00:08, 9 June 2020 (UTC)<br />
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Wouldn't 3.3eV/C be a tiny fraction of 3.3V, since a columb is a much greater value of charge than that of the electron?--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.203|172.69.63.203]] 00:24, 9 June 2020 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1427:_iOS_Keyboard&diff=1721251427: iOS Keyboard2019-04-03T00:29:27Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */ fix</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1427<br />
| date = September 29, 2014<br />
| title = iOS Keyboard<br />
| image = ios_keyboard.png<br />
| titletext = More actual results: 'Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You [are the best. The best thing ever]', 'Revenge is a dish best served [by a group of people in my room]', and 'They may take our lives, but they'll never take our [money].'<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
It looks like [[Randall]] has been playing with his Apple device after installing the recently released {{w|iOS 8}} update. The comic is referencing the autocomplete function on the iOS virtual keyboard. A comparable feature is also available on other operating systems, like Android. When the phrase, for example, "Revenge is a dish best served" is typed, the keyboard will suggest “by” followed by “a” then “group” and so on.<br />
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The top of the comic, where the keyboard is shown, is a reference to the character Sherlock Holmes, a detective who is often attributed the famous line "Elementary, my dear Watson." despite in the canon having never said that. In Randall's typing history, the word "dear" is most often followed by "lord", "friend", or "friends," and thus the phone suggests those words as a likely continuation of the line.<br />
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The title text continues, by showing more actual results from keyboard predictions from other movie quotes.<br />
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The following movies are referenced in the comic and title text:<br />
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{|class="wikitable"<br />
!Movie<br />
!Character & Situation<br />
!Full Quote<br />
|-<br />
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|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086250/quotes Scarface (1983)]<br />
|Scarface is holding an M16, defending his house from Sosa's gunmen, shouting to attackers.<br />
|"You wanna fuck with me? Okay. You wanna play rough? Okay. Say hello to my little friend!"<br />
|-<br />
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/quotes The Wizard of Oz (1939)]<br />
|Dorothy with her dog, Toto, in Munchkin land.<br />
|"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."<br />
|-<br />
|[http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0000007/quotes James Bond]<br />
|Bond introducing himself, while holding trademark martini.<br />
|"Bond, James Bond." (nothing follows).<br />
|-<br />
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379786/quotes Serenity (2005)]<br />
|Wash, at the controls of Serenity.<br />
|"I am a leaf on the wind - watch how I soar."<br />
|-<br />
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089218/quotes The Goonies (1985)]<br />
|Mikey standing at the pool in the wishing well, encouraging his troop of misfits to continue on their journey.<br />
|"Goonies never say die!"<br />
|-<br />
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/quotes The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)]<br />
|Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli pledge allegiance to protect the ring bearer on their mission to destroy the ring.<br />
|Aragorn: "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword." Legolas: "And you have my bow." Gimli: "And *my* axe."<br />
|-<br />
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093779/quotes The Princess Bride (1987)]<br />
|Inigo Montoya facing the six fingered man, the man he swore a vendetta against for killing his father.<br />
|"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."<br />
|-<br />
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/ Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982)]<br />
|Khan paraphrasing Shakespeare to justify his vengeance.<br />
|{{w|Revenge#Proverbs|"Revenge is a dish best served cold"}} (e.g. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084726/quotes Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982)]: Khan: "...do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold?") The quote is not originally from Star Trek but was used already in 1967 in {{w|Death Rides a Horse}} but it is likely that it is the Star Trek reference that is best known to Randall as it is also referenced as a Klingon proverb in {{w|Kill Bill: Volume 1}}.<br />
|-<br />
|[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112573/quotes Braveheart (1995)]<br />
|Wallace rallying his Scottish army before a seemingly hopeless battle against the English.<br />
|"They may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!"<br />
|}<br />
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An older comic [[1068: Swiftkey]] is also about keyboard predictions, but without any preceding text (by the Swiftkey keyboard application instead of the iOS 8 keyboard).<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:'''Movie quotes'''<br />
:[Top picture shows a line typed on an iPhone.]<br />
:Elementary, my dear<br />
:[Then the next line shows the words suggested by the virtual keyboard.]<br />
:Friend | Lord | Friends<br />
:[Below are the visible part of keyboard. In the second line only the top of the letters can be seen.]<br />
:QWERTYUIOP<br />
:ASDFGHJKL<br />
:[Below is a new sub heading above six pictures arranged in two rows.]<br />
:According to iOS 8 keyboard predictions<br />
:[For each of the six pictures a part of the text is black, and the other part is light grey. Below the black text is written in bold letters.]<br />
:[Picture 1: Cueball stands with a machine gun.]<br />
:Cueball: '''Say hello to my little''' sister and my mom and my dad and my friends<br />
:[Picture 2: A girl stands next to her dog with a basket.]<br />
:Girl: '''Toto, I've a feeling we're not''' going to the gym today<br />
:[Picture 3: Bond talks to Megan.]<br />
:James Bond: '''Bond, James Bond''' yields<br />
:[Picture 4: A pilot operates his plane and talks to Cueball behind him.]<br />
:Pilot: '''I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch''' me play the piano<br />
:[Picture 5: A guy with dark hair stands behind a jagged edge.]<br />
:Goonie: '''Goonies never say''' anything<br />
:[Picture 6: A dwarf with long beard and helmet stands with an axe.]<br />
:Off panel left: '''You have my sword.''' <br />
:Off panel right: '''And my bow.'''<br />
:Dwarf: '''And my''' dad<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Firefly]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]<br />
[[Category:Smartphones]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2131:_Emojidome&diff=171961Talk:2131: Emojidome2019-04-02T00:28:48Z<p>172.69.33.65: </p>
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I've checked the network tab and console - nothing really seems to happen when you vote, which may be something we want to put on the explanation tomorrow - Myxoh<br />
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I suspect the real april fools joke is going to come on Wednesday when xkdc posts an app showing us our psychological profiles that they are now selling to marketing companies after data-mining our emotional preferences to marketing firms - Nosajimiki<br />
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@Nosajimiki: psychological profiles of xkcd fans. That might be some interesting marketing. - 5Cincinatus<br />
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@Myxoh: I came here to see if anyone else had noticed this! But, I do also see a websocket connection to emojidome.xkcd.com, I bet it's counting votes that way.<br />
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There is a websocket connection. A message is sent every time you vote. It looks like there are also status update messages every second (saying which emoji currently has exactly how many votes, i suspect this changes the amount of hearts that show up), and "bracket start" messages every so often. The bracket start message seems to contain hundreds of upcoming emoji pairs. Edit: a bracket start is sent at the start of every match (so every ~30 seconds). It also contains logs of which messages to show for previous matches, and which emoji are currently battling.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.138.10|172.69.138.10]] 16:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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There seems to be nothing stopping me from clicking multiple times. Do you think it actually counts it all those times? Can I click-spam to say "this is much better"? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:48, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Randall just confirmed that you can vote multiple times, although if you click too fasr you get rate limited. (*warning: generic ip address assigned to phone data.*) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.47|172.69.70.47]] 22:35, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Well this is fun. Look like there are 512 symbols, meaning 256 first-round contests. The first round would take (at 38 seconds / round) ~2.7 hours. The remaining rounds, from an estimate of geometric progression, would just under double this, meaning this comic will run for ~ 5 hours until we have our winner... ~alexandicity [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.177|172.69.226.177]] 16:51, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Did he just add a scroll bar to the previous matches? I didn't notice it earlier [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.148|162.158.255.148]] 18:17, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Nope, you were able to scroll before, too. At least about 2 hours ago. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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While some of the recaps of past battles are generic (taco vs sandwich: "One for the history books"), many seem to be specifically written for the battle (light bulb vs candle: "Some would argue that this one was settled in the 1800s"). I wonder if/how much this will continue into round 2.<br />
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Round two has just begun, and the timeout has been bumped to 60 seconds. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 18:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:If that trend continues, the full competition will take pretty close to 24 hours. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:45, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:It looks like it's 1:14/round, which is double what the time was in round one. Will round three be 2:28? 1:51?<br />
::It's just over 1:15/round from the history JSON (plus some hundredths of a second, but it appears 1:15 is the intent)<br />
:::Hadn't looked there. Round one concluded at 18:39:20-ish, 9560 seconds from 16:00:00. At 256 battles, that's 37.34 seconds/battle. However, it looks like the first battle ended at 15:59:57, which would add about 40 seconds, 9600 seconds/256=37.5 seconds exactly. Doubling for round 2 gives 75 seconds.<br />
::2 minutes 30 seconds per battle now. Looks like each round will be 2 hours 40 minutes long.<br />
:: Well it is after 5:00 PST and round 4 just started - and this thing is at exactly 5 minutes a round - which means another 160 minutes for the round. Will see in 2 hours and 40 minutes if the times go up to minutes. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.65|172.69.33.65]] 00:25, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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And while the match-ups winners are typically colored, and underlined, the losers are endgame grey.<br />
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Has anyone determined if multiple-voting is actually counted? For me at least the vote button fades back to gray after I click it, which implies you can/should click it again, but that may not actually be processed. We might add a clarification about that to the explanation. [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 19:01, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: A reddit user on the r/xkcd thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/b84at1/xkcd_2131_emojidome_script_src2131comicjs/) claims to have attempted "vote stuffing via the console" with no noticeable change in vote totals. So it looks like it may be sending it client-side, but only counting the vote once server-side --l<br />
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::Just few minutes ago there was message in "fun facts" that you can click multiple times, although it's not counted if you click too many times (or something like that). I guess that vote stuffing was too much. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:34, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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It would appear that we are supposed to believe the commentary is live, and unscripted:<br />
" {"This one is a true test of the audience today.",<br />
"Just to stress this again. Live commentary, folks. Completely unscripted and coming in hot.} "--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.173|162.158.79.173]] 19:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:It's clearly live because the result of a previous round is affecting the next round's commentary - and the combinatorial explosion would prohibit that from being remotely plausible. We're watching live comedy here! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 19:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: On the dog vs. wolf, he said "Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks." Proof I guess. HI RANDALL! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:31, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Is there really anything we can put for the transcript? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:25, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Aby ideas on how the commentary is done? It seems to sort of match the emojis.<br />
[[User:Svízel přítula|Svízel přítula]] ([[User talk:Svízel přítula|talk]]) 19:31, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: It seems that Randall is commetating this live, as he periodcally says it's live in the robot commentator text. See above. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:36, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Perhaps not "live" as each round 2 matchup was known 160 minutes before it was voted on. He could comment on the battle itself, and/or provide a comment if one or the other combatant won. I think he's a couple hours ahead of us.<br />
::: I dunno. Whenever a new battle starts, there is a default message, that is soon replaced by a more pertinent message. That seems to suggest that he's doing it on the fly. [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:03, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::If that's live, Randall, and if you see this, give us a shout-out as proof. -Brent<br />
This is a quick piece of python to see the json results (and commentary):<br />
<nowiki>import json, urllib.request<br />
d = json.loads(urllib.request.urlopen("https://emojidome.xkcd.com/2131/socket ").read().decode('utf-8'))<br />
for g in d['bracket']['played'][0]:<br />
c1, c2 = g['game']<br />
print(f"{c1['score']} {c1['competitor']}-{c2['competitor']} {c2['score']}")</nowiki><br />
[[User:Tammo80|Tammo80]] ([[User talk:Tammo80|talk]]) 19:42, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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: or if you want to see the vote count live in browser: https://emojidome.playcode.io/ -Andy 22:01, April 2019<br />
:: Awesome, thank you [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:23, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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There must be some kind of manipulation going on with the votes. There is NO WAY the poop emoji would lose to the skull emoji in round two. It was my guess for the winner >:( [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.138|162.158.106.138]] 20:50, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: And the 100 emoji just lost to the shiny heart. :(<br />
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The second round bracket was released, but is hidden behind the bottom nav buttons: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_256.png --[[User:Thefallen138|Thefallen138]] ([[User talk:Thefallen138|talk]]) 20:56, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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And now the third round has begun. Strangely, the bracket is not visible yet: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_128.png. The delay has been bump to something above two minutes as well. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 21:21, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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: It's here https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_3.png [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.79|162.158.107.79]] 21:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
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Both the Emojidome and counter were brought together in iframes https://ducakedhare.co.uk/emojidome.html [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.17|141.101.99.17]] 23:39, 1 April 2019 (UTC)taikedz<br />
<br />
== "Emoji" or "emojis" as the plural? ==<br />
<br />
Due to the nature of the Japanese language, "emoji" is technically both the plural and the singular - however, the improper form "emojis" is used more as a plural frequently nowadays among English speakers. Which form should this explanation use? --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 22:27, 1 April 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2131:_Emojidome&diff=171960Talk:2131: Emojidome2019-04-02T00:25:34Z<p>172.69.33.65: Well it is after 5:00 PST and this thing is at exactly 5 minutes a round - which means another 160 minutes for the round. Will see in 2 hours and 40 minutes if the times go up to minutes.</p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
I've checked the network tab and console - nothing really seems to happen when you vote, which may be something we want to put on the explanation tomorrow - Myxoh<br />
<br />
I suspect the real april fools joke is going to come on Wednesday when xkdc posts an app showing us our psychological profiles that they are now selling to marketing companies after data-mining our emotional preferences to marketing firms - Nosajimiki<br />
<br />
@Nosajimiki: psychological profiles of xkcd fans. That might be some interesting marketing. - 5Cincinatus<br />
<br />
@Myxoh: I came here to see if anyone else had noticed this! But, I do also see a websocket connection to emojidome.xkcd.com, I bet it's counting votes that way.<br />
<br />
There is a websocket connection. A message is sent every time you vote. It looks like there are also status update messages every second (saying which emoji currently has exactly how many votes, i suspect this changes the amount of hearts that show up), and "bracket start" messages every so often. The bracket start message seems to contain hundreds of upcoming emoji pairs. Edit: a bracket start is sent at the start of every match (so every ~30 seconds). It also contains logs of which messages to show for previous matches, and which emoji are currently battling.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.138.10|172.69.138.10]] 16:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There seems to be nothing stopping me from clicking multiple times. Do you think it actually counts it all those times? Can I click-spam to say "this is much better"? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:48, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Randall just confirmed that you can vote multiple times, although if you click too fasr you get rate limited. (*warning: generic ip address assigned to phone data.*) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.47|172.69.70.47]] 22:35, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Well this is fun. Look like there are 512 symbols, meaning 256 first-round contests. The first round would take (at 38 seconds / round) ~2.7 hours. The remaining rounds, from an estimate of geometric progression, would just under double this, meaning this comic will run for ~ 5 hours until we have our winner... ~alexandicity [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.177|172.69.226.177]] 16:51, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Did he just add a scroll bar to the previous matches? I didn't notice it earlier [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.148|162.158.255.148]] 18:17, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:Nope, you were able to scroll before, too. At least about 2 hours ago. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
While some of the recaps of past battles are generic (taco vs sandwich: "One for the history books"), many seem to be specifically written for the battle (light bulb vs candle: "Some would argue that this one was settled in the 1800s"). I wonder if/how much this will continue into round 2.<br />
<br />
Round two has just begun, and the timeout has been bumped to 60 seconds. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 18:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:If that trend continues, the full competition will take pretty close to 24 hours. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:45, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:It looks like it's 1:14/round, which is double what the time was in round one. Will round three be 2:28? 1:51?<br />
::It's just over 1:15/round from the history JSON (plus some hundredths of a second, but it appears 1:15 is the intent)<br />
:::Hadn't looked there. Round one concluded at 18:39:20-ish, 9560 seconds from 16:00:00. At 256 battles, that's 37.34 seconds/battle. However, it looks like the first battle ended at 15:59:57, which would add about 40 seconds, 9600 seconds/256=37.5 seconds exactly. Doubling for round 2 gives 75 seconds.<br />
::2 minutes 30 seconds per battle now. Looks like each round will be 2 hours 40 minutes long.<br />
<br />
And while the match-ups winners are typically colored, and underlined, the losers are endgame grey.<br />
<br />
Has anyone determined if multiple-voting is actually counted? For me at least the vote button fades back to gray after I click it, which implies you can/should click it again, but that may not actually be processed. We might add a clarification about that to the explanation. [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 19:01, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: A reddit user on the r/xkcd thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/b84at1/xkcd_2131_emojidome_script_src2131comicjs/) claims to have attempted "vote stuffing via the console" with no noticeable change in vote totals. So it looks like it may be sending it client-side, but only counting the vote once server-side --l<br />
<br />
::Just few minutes ago there was message in "fun facts" that you can click multiple times, although it's not counted if you click too many times (or something like that). I guess that vote stuffing was too much. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:34, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It would appear that we are supposed to believe the commentary is live, and unscripted:<br />
" {"This one is a true test of the audience today.",<br />
"Just to stress this again. Live commentary, folks. Completely unscripted and coming in hot.} "--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.173|162.158.79.173]] 19:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
:It's clearly live because the result of a previous round is affecting the next round's commentary - and the combinatorial explosion would prohibit that from being remotely plausible. We're watching live comedy here! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 19:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: On the dog vs. wolf, he said "Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks." Proof I guess. HI RANDALL! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:31, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is there really anything we can put for the transcript? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:25, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Aby ideas on how the commentary is done? It seems to sort of match the emojis.<br />
[[User:Svízel přítula|Svízel přítula]] ([[User talk:Svízel přítula|talk]]) 19:31, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: It seems that Randall is commetating this live, as he periodcally says it's live in the robot commentator text. See above. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:36, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::Perhaps not "live" as each round 2 matchup was known 160 minutes before it was voted on. He could comment on the battle itself, and/or provide a comment if one or the other combatant won. I think he's a couple hours ahead of us.<br />
::: I dunno. Whenever a new battle starts, there is a default message, that is soon replaced by a more pertinent message. That seems to suggest that he's doing it on the fly. [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:03, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
::::If that's live, Randall, and if you see this, give us a shout-out as proof. -Brent<br />
This is a quick piece of python to see the json results (and commentary):<br />
<nowiki>import json, urllib.request<br />
d = json.loads(urllib.request.urlopen("https://emojidome.xkcd.com/2131/socket ").read().decode('utf-8'))<br />
for g in d['bracket']['played'][0]:<br />
c1, c2 = g['game']<br />
print(f"{c1['score']} {c1['competitor']}-{c2['competitor']} {c2['score']}")</nowiki><br />
[[User:Tammo80|Tammo80]] ([[User talk:Tammo80|talk]]) 19:42, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: or if you want to see the vote count live in browser: https://emojidome.playcode.io/ -Andy 22:01, April 2019<br />
:: Awesome, thank you [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:23, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There must be some kind of manipulation going on with the votes. There is NO WAY the poop emoji would lose to the skull emoji in round two. It was my guess for the winner >:( [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.138|162.158.106.138]] 20:50, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
: And the 100 emoji just lost to the shiny heart. :(<br />
<br />
The second round bracket was released, but is hidden behind the bottom nav buttons: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_256.png --[[User:Thefallen138|Thefallen138]] ([[User talk:Thefallen138|talk]]) 20:56, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
And now the third round has begun. Strangely, the bracket is not visible yet: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_128.png. The delay has been bump to something above two minutes as well. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 21:21, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Well it is after 5:00 PST and this thing is at exactly 5 minutes a round - which means another 160 minutes for the round. Will see in 2 hours and 40 minutes if the times go up to minutes. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.65|172.69.33.65]] 00:25, 2 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: It's here https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_3.png [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.79|162.158.107.79]] 21:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Both the Emojidome and counter were brought together in iframes https://ducakedhare.co.uk/emojidome.html [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.17|141.101.99.17]] 23:39, 1 April 2019 (UTC)taikedz<br />
<br />
== "Emoji" or "emojis" as the plural? ==<br />
<br />
Due to the nature of the Japanese language, "emoji" is technically both the plural and the singular - however, the improper form "emojis" is used more as a plural frequently nowadays among English speakers. Which form should this explanation use? --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 22:27, 1 April 2019 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=787:_Orbiter&diff=171750787: Orbiter2019-03-28T22:42:31Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Transcript */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 787<br />
| date = September 1, 2010<br />
| title = Orbiter<br />
| image = orbiter.png<br />
| titletext = Normally, the Shuttle can't quite safely reach the orbital inclination required to pass over both those points from a Canaveral launch, but this is an alternate history in which either it launches from Vandenberg or everyone hates the Outer Banks.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is about disputed territories and {{w|Low Earth orbit|low Earth orbits}}.<br />
<br />
In the early days of manned spaceflight and also the {{w|Space Shuttle}} the communication to the {{w|Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center|mission control center}} in Houston required many ground stations all around the Earth. Each station could provide a link for only a few minutes and there were still gaps between them. After 1989/90, when the geostationary {{w|Tracking and data relay satellite|TDRS}} system became fully operational, these ground stations became obsolete.<br />
<br />
In this comic [[Cueball]], the main controller at mission control, is planning the next check-in with the Space Shuttle (also called orbiter), which is set to occur at [https://www.google.com/maps/place/32%C2%B000'00.0%22N+35%C2%B030'00.0%22E/@-1.9607689,-49.5389658,3z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d32!4d35.5?hl=en 32.0N 35.5E], approx 20 miles north-east of Jerusalem, over the hotly contested {{w|Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Israeli-Palestinian territories}}. Frank and the other off-screen character start to dispute the ownership of this geographical location, and rather than becoming involved in an argument, Cueball decides to change the check-in location to [https://www.google.com/maps/place/35%C2%B012'00.0%22N+96%C2%B036'00.0%22W/@7.0800073,-69.7878505,3.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d35.2!4d-96.6?hl=en 35.2N 96.6W], approximately 50 miles east of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which he considers to be a neutral, non-disputed location. Unfortunately, Frank is being a dick, and he then starts to make the claim that {{w|Greer County, Texas|part of Oklahoma in fact should belong to Texas}}.<br />
<br />
In the title text [[Randall]] incorrectly states that the orbiter would require a different orbit to reach both Palestine and Oklahoma, which cannot be achieved from a launch at {{w|Kennedy Space Center|Cape Canaveral}}. Thus, Randall proposes that the comic exists in an alternate history in which the Space Shuttles launch from {{w|Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg}}. This is a reference to the plans to launch shuttles from there before the {{w|Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Challenger accident}} occurred. After Challenger was lost, the Vandenberg missions were scrapped and Cape Canaveral became the sole launch site for the Space Shuttle. Another possibility in this alternate history is that the rules forbidding orbital launches from Cape Canaveral to a northern direction don't exist, because nobody likes the {{w|Outer Banks}} (which would be in the flight path) and thus don't care about space debris falling on them.<br />
<br />
Randall's incorrectness was discussed in many forums and probably based on the wrong assumption that the inclination cannot be higher than the latitude of the launch site (28° at Cape Canaveral). But this is only the optimal inclination, actually all shuttle launches to the {{w|Mir|Mir station}} and the {{w|International Space Station}} did reach an inclination of 51.6°, with the cost of some payload mass. And following the ISS at [http://heavens-above.com/orbit.aspx?satid=25544 Heavens above] when it moves over Israel to the south it will pass over Texas approximately an hour later. Nevertheless this orbit is not possible at the first orbit after a launch in Cape Canaveral.<br />
<br />
The title text doesn't mention the region south of Iceland from the beginning of the comic. This is roughly at 64° North or less (if more south) and the distance from the highest possible orbital inclination of 57° from the Cape is 780 km. But even 1,000 km south of Iceland is only the Atlantic Ocean and the nearest landmass is still Iceland, which could explain this vague location.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Cueball: Okay, people. The orbiter is passing south of Iceland. The next scheduled check-in will be at 32.0N 35.5E, over the Palestinian territories.<br />
:Off-screen character: You mean over the state of Palestine?<br />
:Frank (off-screen): You mean over Israel?<br />
:[Frameless beat panel.]<br />
:Cueball: I've rescheduled the check-in for 35.2N 96.6W, over Oklahoma.<br />
:Frank (off-screen): You mean occupied North Texas?<br />
:Cueball: Dammit, Frank.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*There was also a typo in the title text: It was written ''Vandenburg'' instead of ''Vandenberg''. This was later fixed.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2126:_Google_Trends_Maps&diff=1714092126: Google Trends Maps2019-03-20T16:09:47Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */ expanded big cat / little dog</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2126<br />
| date = March 20, 2019<br />
| title = Google Trends Maps<br />
| image = google_trends_maps.png<br />
| titletext = It's early 2020. The entire country is gripped with Marco Rubio fever except for Alaska, which is freaking out. You're frantically studying up on etiquette and/or sexting.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an ALLIGATOR. Each map needs to be individually explained. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
[https://trends.google.com/ Google Trends] is a website for visualizing Google search activity by date and region. Used properly, it can give a picture of what topics people are interested in (as evidenced by what they search for) at particular times and in different places. Used improperly, it can simply [[1845:_State Word Map|amplify random noise]].<br />
<br />
[[Randall]] has created several Google Trends maps of search activity in the US. Each map colors in states according to which of two (or more) search queries was more popular. As noted at the top of the comic, all of these based on real queries (though not reflecting the same time period across all maps). However, none of them seem to show any especially ''useful'' comparisons.<br />
<br />
* "Frostbite" vs "heat stroke": This is probably the most sensible comparison of the lot, showing which of these two risks of exposure people search up more often. However, the results are fairly obvious: in the colder northern and eastern states, "frostbite" is the more common search, while across the south and west, it's "heat stroke".<br />
* "Best church" vs "best strip club": This map would seem to indicate people in Nevada (and only in Nevada) are more interested in strip clubs than religion. This may have something to do with the fact that Las Vegas is in Nevada.<br />
* "Bigfoot" vs "Mike Pence": Apparently, everywhere except for Indiana, people in the US are more interested in a fictitious hairy creature than in the current (at the time of this comic's release) Vice President of the United States. This probably has something to do with the fact that Mike Pence is the former governor of Indiana.<br />
* "Etiquette" vs "sexting": Similar to the church/strip club example, this map contrasts search interest in polite behavior against risqué behavior.<br />
* "Little dog" vs "big cat": "Little Dog" is a television series, and the Trend map probably references this while contrasting searches for unidentified and briefly glimpsed wildlife that often snatch household pets left outside. The smallest canid in the wilds of America is the coyote, Canis latrans, which are often smaller than the American wild dog, Canis lupus. They are known for being scavenger/hunters and for the ululating "songs" their packs break into in the middle of the night. By contrast, "big cat" is a term for the largest members of the cat family (Felidae). Except for the jaguar, which is a roaring cat of the Panthera genus that inhabits Mexico and sometimes Arizona, the largest wild cat in North America is the mountain lion, Puma concolor. It is also known as cougar, puma, catamount, ghost cat, over seventy other regional names, and the misnomer panther. (The cougar is ironically of the Felinae subfamily, all of which purr, and not Pantherinae, which roar. Black panthers in Africa are black-coated leopards, while black panthers in the Americas are black-coated jaguars, and both are Pantherinae. No black-coated pumas have been verified, leading zoologists to believe such sightings are misidentified.)<br />
* "Shark attack" vs "childbirth": While both of these things might be considered risky, there is not much of a relationship between them. As might be expected, the "shark attack" search is more common in most coastal states (and, for some reason, both Kentucky and Nevada).<br />
* "Snakes" vs "ants" vs "bees" vs "alligators": These are all dangerous animals that cause occasional human fatalities (mainly from allergic reactions for ants and bees). There is no noticeable pattern in which animal is searched most often, though only Florida has alligators as the most common search of the four. Florida presumably has Alligators as the most searched item on this list as it is where the Everglades are located, a vast area of swamp and marsh that, aside from maintaining the ecosystem and the water supply of Florida, also is home to an obscene amount of alligators.<br />
* "Retirement planning" vs "bungee jumping": The implication here is that people in some states are more concerned with short-term fun rather than long-term planning.<br />
* "Super Bowl" vs "funeral home": This is an attempt to contrast interest in a popular sports (and media) event against a rather somber topic.<br />
* "Resume tips" vs "skateboard tricks": Another comparison between learning a "serious", goal-oriented skill (career advancement) and a "silly", fun skill (skateboarding).<br />
* "Donald Trump" vs "What do I do": The implication here seems to be that people in some states are more likely to ask Google "what do I do?", either in panic or in ignorance, than they are to look up the latest doings of the US President. The split shown is not too different to the actual split between states voting for Trump and for his opponent, Hillary Clinton.<br />
* "Existential crisis" vs "Marco Rubio": Senator Marco Rubio was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Everywhere but Alaska, people were more likely to look up his name than to search for "existential crisis".<br />
<br />
The title text uses two of these maps to paint a picture of the year 2020 (implying that these search patterns are both meaningful and likely to continue into the future). In this scenario, most of the country continues to read about Marco Rubio (except for Alaskans, still searching for help with their existential crises), and individuals are trying to learn about etiquette, sexting, or both, depending on their location.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Add the colored states. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:The least informative<br />
:'''Google Trends Maps'''<br />
:I've created over the years<br />
<br />
:(All are real but not all cover the same date range)<br />
<br />
:[12 maps of the United States are shown with the states colored. There are labels for the colors. Refer to the explanation for details on which states or areas are which color.]<br />
<br />
:[Map 1]<br />
:[Blue:] Frostbite<br />
:[Red:] Heat stroke<br />
<br />
:[Map 2]<br />
:[Blue:] Best church<br />
:[Red:] Best strip club<br />
<br />
:[Map 3]<br />
:[Blue:] Bigfoot<br />
:[Red:] Mike Pence<br />
<br />
:[Map 4]<br />
:[Blue:] Etiquette<br />
:[Red:] Sexting<br />
<br />
:[Map 5]<br />
:[Blue:] Little dog<br />
:[Red:] Big cat<br />
<br />
:[Map 6]<br />
:[Blue:] Shark attack<br />
:[Red:] Childbirth<br />
<br />
:[Map 7]<br />
:[Blue:] Snakes<br />
:[Red:] Ants<br />
:[Yellow:] Bees<br />
:[Green:] Alligators<br />
<br />
:[Map 8]<br />
:[Blue:] Retirement planning<br />
:[Red:] Bungee jumping<br />
<br />
:[Map 9]<br />
:[Blue:] Super Bowl<br />
:[Red:] Funeral home<br />
<br />
:[Map 10]<br />
:[Blue:] Resume tips<br />
:[Red:] Skateboard tricks<br />
<br />
:[Map 11]<br />
:[Blue:] Donald Trump<br />
:[Red:] What do I do<br />
<br />
:[Map 12]<br />
:[Blue:] Existential crisis<br />
:[Red:] Marco Rubio<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Maps]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2020:_Negative_Results&diff=1601272020: Negative Results2018-07-16T16:18:59Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Transcript */ ce</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2020<br />
| date = July 16, 2018<br />
| title = Negative Results<br />
| image = negative_results.png<br />
| titletext = P.S. We're going to the beach this weekend, so I'm attaching my preregistration forms for that trip now, before we find out whether it produces any interesting results.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a NULL HYPOTHESIS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Recently, scientists have begun encouraging each other to publish negative results, where a study failed to find the intended effect, as a way of counteracting {{w|publication bias}} (where only interesting positive results get published), which results in false-positive results being published while negative results are not.<br />
<br />
Cueball misinterprets the "push to publish negative results" as meaning that he should always attempt to publish the fact that he failed to find evidence of an effect, even when he didn't even try. This plays on the unspoken assumption that scientists would only choose to submit (and journals would only accept) negative results where a study was designed and executed well enough that it should have shown an effect if there was one.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at a desk typing on a laptop computer.]<br />
:Cueball: Dear ''Nature'' Magazine, I found no evidence sufficient to reject the null hypothesis in any research areas because I spent the whole week playing ''The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild''. I'll send another update next week!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:The push to publish negative results seems kinda weird, but I'm happy to go along with it.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2020:_Negative_Results&diff=1601262020: Negative Results2018-07-16T16:18:22Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Transcript */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2020<br />
| date = July 16, 2018<br />
| title = Negative Results<br />
| image = negative_results.png<br />
| titletext = P.S. We're going to the beach this weekend, so I'm attaching my preregistration forms for that trip now, before we find out whether it produces any interesting results.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a NULL HYPOTHESIS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Recently, scientists have begun encouraging each other to publish negative results, where a study failed to find the intended effect, as a way of counteracting {{w|publication bias}} (where only interesting positive results get published), which results in false-positive results being published while negative results are not.<br />
<br />
Cueball misinterprets the "push to publish negative results" as meaning that he should always attempt to publish the fact that he failed to find evidence of an effect, even when he didn't even try. This plays on the unspoken assumption that scientists would only choose to submit (and journals would only accept) negative results where a study was designed and executed well enough that it should have shown an effect if there was one.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at a desk typing on a laptop computer.]<br />
:Cueball: Dear ''Nature'' Magazine, I found no evidence sufficient to reject the null hypothesis in any research areas because I spent the whole week playing ''The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild''. I'll send another update next week!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
The push to publish negative results seems kinda weird, but I'm happy to go along with it.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2020:_Negative_Results&diff=1601252020: Negative Results2018-07-16T16:11:45Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */ ce</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2020<br />
| date = July 16, 2018<br />
| title = Negative Results<br />
| image = negative_results.png<br />
| titletext = P.S. We're going to the beach this weekend, so I'm attaching my preregistration forms for that trip now, before we find out whether it produces any interesting results.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a NULL HYPOTHESIS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Recently, scientists have begun encouraging each other to publish negative results, where a study failed to find the intended effect, as a way of counteracting {{w|publication bias}} (where only interesting positive results get published), which results in false-positive results being published while negative results are not.<br />
<br />
Cueball misinterprets the "push to publish negative results" as meaning that he should always attempt to publish the fact that he failed to find evidence of an effect, even when he didn't even try. This plays on the unspoken assumption that scientists would only choose to submit (and journals would only accept) negative results where a study was designed and executed well enough that it should have shown an effect if there was one.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=351:_Trolling&diff=158691351: Trolling2018-06-11T15:51:20Z<p>172.69.33.65: image size</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 351<br />
| date = November 30, 2007<br />
| title = Trolling<br />
| image = trolling.png<br />
| titletext = And I was really impressed with how they managed to shock the Goatse guy.<br />
}}<br />
[[File:Rick_Astley_-_Pepsifest_2009.jpg|thumb|200px| Rick Astley. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The term ''{{w|Trolling}}'' is used to describe provocative, destructive or annoying behavior on the {{w|Internet}}. Especially common are Internet pranks of the {{w|bait-and-switch}} type, an example of which is {{w|Rickrolling}}. It involves placing a {{w|hyperlink|link}} that is supposed to contain interesting or funny material, but instead directs to the music video of the 1987 {{w|Rick Astley}} song ''{{w|Never Gonna Give You Up}}''. The prank first occurred in May 2007 on the popular {{w|imageboard}} {{w|4chan}} and has since become a widespread {{w|internet meme}}.<br />
<br />
The comic has [[Black Hat]] and [[Cueball]] digging into the ground and splicing Black Hat's computer into the TV cables of {{w|Rick Astley}}'s house. They are feeding the video of ''{{w|Never Gonna Give You Up}}'' into Astley's TV signal, who can be seen sitting in his living room and wondering why CNN has been replaced by his own video. The act of Rickrolling Rick Astley himself is declared to be a "great moment in trolling".<br />
<br />
The title text mentions {{w|Goatse.cx}} (pronounced ''goat sex''), a former {{w|shock site|shock website}} that was used in a similar prank. People clicking on the feigned link would instead see the disturbing picture of a practitioner of anal stretching. The title text suggests that Black Hat and Cueball somehow made the (unknown) founder of the site click on an even more shocking link.<br />
<br />
Also note that the comic image itself is itself a Rickroll. Anyone curious enough as to why their mouse pointer became the selection icon to click on the comic would find themselves watching "Never Gonna Give You Up."<br />
<br />
Rick Astley was actually Rickrolled on Tout le Monde en parle, a French Canadian television show. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh5bxY1Radk]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Black Hat and Cueball are in Rick Astley's yard, hacking into his cable TV connection and replacing the signal. Rick Astley is sitting in a chair in his house, watching TV.]<br />
:TV: CNN has obtained this exclusive footage of the riot-torn-- ''*CZZZHT*'' ♫ Never gonna give you up... ♪<br />
:Rick Astley: What the hell?<br />
<br />
:GREAT MOMENTS in TROLLING:<br />
:Rick Astley is successfully Rickrolled<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Rickrolling]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2005:_Attention_Span&diff=1586902005: Attention Span2018-06-11T15:48:52Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */ links to wiki; italicize</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2005<br />
| date = June 11, 2018<br />
| title = Attention Span<br />
| image = attention_span.png<br />
| titletext = I didn't even realize they MADE a novelization of "Surf Ninjas." How did you-- Oh my god, it's signed by the author?!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a FASCIST TRAIN ENGINE - What is the dragon book? Also, discuss Megan's dissing. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
People often groan about their shrinking attention span, attributing it to an increased illiteracy. This allows for fond nostalgia about the times when they were supposedly more intelligent and focused. Cueball does the same here, but Megan retorts that he spent six hours reading over a pointless (if disturbingly plausible) theory about a banal show based off a series of bedtime stories made to entertain small children. Cueball qualifies his statement: he has no attention span for anything good anymore. Megan, in reply, examines Cueball’s bookshelf, finding a book that cements Cueball’s status as a nerd who reads high fantasy. Cueball protests that the book is a classic, but Megan dismisses the fact.<br />
<br />
''{{w|Thomas & Friends|Thomas The Tank Engine}}'' is a British children's series based off a series of books written by Wilbert Awdry. It follows the adventures of anthropomorphized train locomotives and other vehicles.<br />
<br />
To be fair to Cueball, many great fantasies have covers such as those in the comic (e.g. ''{{w|A Song of Ice and Fire}}'', ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'', Randall's personal favorite ''{{w|Discworld}}''). To be fair to Megan, this book is apparently not one of them, being thicker than it is wide (like ''The Complete {{w|Miss Marple}}'' by {{w|Agatha Christie}}), a telltale sign of needless bombast and turgid prose.<br />
<br />
If there was any doubt about Cueball’s dubious literary tastes before, Megan dispels them in the title text, refering to a novelization of the excoriated movie ''{{w|Surf Ninjas}}'', a movie that is, unfortunately, exactly what it sounds like. Signed novelizations of a movie named “Surf Ninjas” are not typical fodder for great minds.<br />
<br />
The dragon book is possibly ''{{w|A Game of Thrones}}'' or ''{{w|A Dance With Dragons}}'' from the ''{{w|A Song of Ice and Fire}}'' saga, ''{{w|His Majesty's Dragon}}'' from the ''{{w|Temeraire (series)|Temeraire}}'' series, or ''{{w|Dragonsbane}}'' from the Winterlands series.<br />
<br />
The comic contains a hyperlink to an article with the same unfortunate content Cueball has apparently finished reading prior to this comic: [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/the-repressive-authoritarian-soul-of-thomas-the-tank-engine-and-friends The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends”]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Megan are standing together.]<br />
:Cueball: I haven't read any books in forever. I have no attention span anymore.<br />
<br />
:Megan: Didn't you literally ''just'' spend six hours obsessively reading about the theory that ''Thomas the Tank Engine'' is authoritarian propaganda depicting a post-apocalyptic fascist dystopia?<br />
<br />
:Cueball: OK<br />
:Cueball: I mean I have no attention span for anything ''good'' anymore.<br />
:Megan: Let's check out your bookshelf, shall we?<br />
<br />
:Cueball: What are you-<br />
:Megan (off-panel): I see a dragon holding a sword in its teeth on the cover of a book that's thicker than it is wide.<br />
:Cueball: And? That's a ''classic!''<br />
:Megan (off-panel): Just saying, I don't think this is a new development.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2005:_Attention_Span&diff=1586892005: Attention Span2018-06-11T15:41:57Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */ link pipe order</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2005<br />
| date = June 11, 2018<br />
| title = Attention Span<br />
| image = attention_span.png<br />
| titletext = I didn't even realize they MADE a novelization of "Surf Ninjas." How did you-- Oh my god, it's signed by the author?!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a FASCIST TRAIN ENGINE - What is the dragon book? Also, discuss Megan's dissing. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
People often groan about their shrinking attention span, attributing it to an increased illiteracy. This allows for fond nostalgia about the times when they were supposedly more intelligent and focused. Cueball does the same here, but Megan retorts that he spent six hours reading over a pointless (if disturbingly plausible) theory about a banal show based off a series of bedtime stories made to entertain small children. Cueball qualifies his statement: he has no attention span for anything good anymore. Megan, in reply, examines Cueball’s bookshelf, finding a book that cements Cueball’s status as a nerd who reads high fantasy. Cueball protests that the book is a classic, but Megan dismisses the fact.<br />
<br />
''{{w|Thomas & Friends|Thomas The Tank Engine}}'' is a British children's series based off a series of books written by Wilbert Awdry. It follows the adventures of anthropomorphized train locomotives and other vehicles.<br />
<br />
To be fair to Cueball, many great fantasies have covers such as those in the comic (e.g. A Song of Ice and Fire, The Lord of the Rings, Randall’s personal favorite Discworld.) To be fair to Megan, this book is apparently not one of them, being thicker than it is wide (like The Complete Miss Marple by Agatha Christie), a telltale sign of needless bombast and turgid prose.<br />
<br />
If there was any doubt about Cueball’s dubious literary tastes before, Megan dispels them in the title text, refering to a novelization of the excoriated movie ''{{w|Surf Ninjas}}'', a movie that is, unfortunately, exactly what it sounds like. Signed novelizations of a movie named “Surf Ninjas” are not typical fodder for great minds.<br />
<br />
The dragon book is possibly A Game of Thrones or A Dance With Dragons from the Song of Ice and Fire saga, His Majesty’s Dragon from the Temeraire series, or Dragonsbane from the Winterlands series.<br />
<br />
The comic contains a hyperlink to an article with the same unfortunate content Cueball has apparently finished reading prior to this comic: [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/the-repressive-authoritarian-soul-of-thomas-the-tank-engine-and-friends The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends”]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Megan are standing together.]<br />
:Cueball: I haven't read any books in forever. I have no attention span anymore.<br />
<br />
:Megan: Didn't you literally ''just'' spend six hours obsessively reading about the theory that ''Thomas the Tank Engine'' is authoritarian propaganda depicting a post-apocalyptic fascist dystopia?<br />
<br />
:Cueball: OK<br />
:Cueball: I mean I have no attention span for anything ''good'' anymore.<br />
:Megan: Let's check out your bookshelf, shall we?<br />
<br />
:Cueball: What are you-<br />
:Megan (off-panel): I see a dragon holding a sword in its teeth on the cover of a book that's thicker than it is wide.<br />
:Cueball: And? That's a ''classic!''<br />
:Megan (off-panel): Just saying, I don't think this is a new development.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2005:_Attention_Span&diff=1586882005: Attention Span2018-06-11T15:41:22Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */ brief explanation of tv series</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2005<br />
| date = June 11, 2018<br />
| title = Attention Span<br />
| image = attention_span.png<br />
| titletext = I didn't even realize they MADE a novelization of "Surf Ninjas." How did you-- Oh my god, it's signed by the author?!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a FASCIST TRAIN ENGINE - What is the dragon book? Also, discuss Megan's dissing. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
People often groan about their shrinking attention span, attributing it to an increased illiteracy. This allows for fond nostalgia about the times when they were supposedly more intelligent and focused. Cueball does the same here, but Megan retorts that he spent six hours reading over a pointless (if disturbingly plausible) theory about a banal show based off a series of bedtime stories made to entertain small children. Cueball qualifies his statement: he has no attention span for anything good anymore. Megan, in reply, examines Cueball’s bookshelf, finding a book that cements Cueball’s status as a nerd who reads high fantasy. Cueball protests that the book is a classic, but Megan dismisses the fact.<br />
<br />
''{{w|Thomas The Tank Engine|Thomas & Friends}}'' is a British children's series based off a series of books written by Wilbert Awdry. It follows the adventures of anthropomorphized train locomotives and other vehicles.<br />
<br />
To be fair to Cueball, many great fantasies have covers such as those in the comic (e.g. A Song of Ice and Fire, The Lord of the Rings, Randall’s personal favorite Discworld.) To be fair to Megan, this book is apparently not one of them, being thicker than it is wide (like The Complete Miss Marple by Agatha Christie), a telltale sign of needless bombast and turgid prose.<br />
<br />
If there was any doubt about Cueball’s dubious literary tastes before, Megan dispels them in the title text, refering to a novelization of the excoriated movie ''{{w|Surf Ninjas}}'', a movie that is, unfortunately, exactly what it sounds like. Signed novelizations of a movie named “Surf Ninjas” are not typical fodder for great minds.<br />
<br />
The dragon book is possibly A Game of Thrones or A Dance With Dragons from the Song of Ice and Fire saga, His Majesty’s Dragon from the Temeraire series, or Dragonsbane from the Winterlands series.<br />
<br />
The comic contains a hyperlink to an article with the same unfortunate content Cueball has apparently finished reading prior to this comic: [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/the-repressive-authoritarian-soul-of-thomas-the-tank-engine-and-friends The Repressive, Authoritarian Soul of “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends”]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Megan are standing together.]<br />
:Cueball: I haven't read any books in forever. I have no attention span anymore.<br />
<br />
:Megan: Didn't you literally ''just'' spend six hours obsessively reading about the theory that ''Thomas the Tank Engine'' is authoritarian propaganda depicting a post-apocalyptic fascist dystopia?<br />
<br />
:Cueball: OK<br />
:Cueball: I mean I have no attention span for anything ''good'' anymore.<br />
:Megan: Let's check out your bookshelf, shall we?<br />
<br />
:Cueball: What are you-<br />
:Megan (off-panel): I see a dragon holding a sword in its teeth on the cover of a book that's thicker than it is wide.<br />
:Cueball: And? That's a ''classic!''<br />
:Megan (off-panel): Just saying, I don't think this is a new development.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1995:_MC_Hammer_Age&diff=1572411995: MC Hammer Age2018-05-18T17:20:33Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1995<br />
| date = May 18, 2018<br />
| title = MC Hammer Age<br />
| image = mc_hammer_age.png<br />
| titletext = Wait, sorry, I got mixed up--he's actually almost 50. It's the kid from The Karate Kid who just turned 40.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a sixty-year-old man (actually seventy) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This is yet another comic following the theme of facts that [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|make one feel old]]. Here, Cueball is telling White Hat that MC Hammer just turned 40, but this is actually less surprising than the truth, that he is actually over ten years older than that. The caption explains that this is another one of Randall's many hobbies, that he likes to tell inaccurate "feel old" facts which are less dramatic than the truth; this creates a one-two punch effect when the audience looks it up and finds out that the truth makes them feel even older. This is continued in the title text, when even the corrections are both "lowballed" facts, still preserving the effect while adding more credibility to the claims.<br />
<br />
Of course, this is assuming they ''do'' look it up, and if they believe you the first time, there is no reason to assume this will happen.<br />
<br />
On the day this comic came out, both {{w|MC Hammer}} and {{w|Ralph Macchio}} (the actor who starred in the first three {{w|The Karate Kid|Karate Kid}} movies) were 56 years old.<br />
<br />
This is yet another entry into the "[[My Hobby]]" series.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and White Hat are walking together.]<br />
:Cueball: Want to feel old? MC Hammer just turned 40.<br />
:White Hat: Wow.<br />
:White Hat: I mean, I guess that's not too surprising, right?<br />
:White Hat: It's been a long time.<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:My hobby: Deliberately lowballing "Want to feel old" factoids to set up a bigger payoff later when they learn the correct number.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]<br />
[[Category:My Hobby]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1993:_Fatal_Crash_Rate&diff=1570431993: Fatal Crash Rate2018-05-14T14:51:09Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Transcript */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1993<br />
| date = May 14, 2018<br />
| title = Fatal Crash Rate<br />
| image = fatal_crash_rate.png<br />
| titletext = Fixating on this seems unhealty. But in general, the more likely I think a crash is, the less likely one becomes, which is a strange kind of reverse placebo effect.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a bad driver - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This is the second recent comic on the subject of the dangers of cars.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Graphs are shown inside of a panel.]<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:It feels weird to look at car crash statistics and wonder whether we'll all be able to stop driving before I'm involved in a fatal crash.<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1991:_Research_Areas_by_Size_and_Countedness&diff=1568401991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness2018-05-09T19:26:38Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1991<br />
| date = May 9, 2018<br />
| title = Research Areas by Size and Countedness<br />
| image = research_areas_by_size_and_countedness.png<br />
| titletext = Mathematicians give a third answer on the vertical axis, "That question is poorly defined, but we have a sub-field devoted to every plausible version of it."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a VERY BIG AND NUMEROUS RESEARCH FIELD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This is a 2-dimensional chart that is about different research fields. The vertical axis is the accuracy of how many of the studied object there are, and the horizontal axis is how large the studied object is.<br />
<br />
Entymology on the graph is possibly a reference to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]].<br />
<br />
;Upper left quadrant (Small & count known)<br />
<br />
{| class = "wikitable"<br />
! Research field<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Elementary particle physics}}<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Dentistry}}<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Shakespeare}} studies<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Ornithology}}<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w| literature}}<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
<br />
;Lower left quadrant (Small & count unknown)<br />
<br />
{| class = "wikitable"<br />
! Research field<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Mycology}}<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Entymology<br />
|It is unclear whether [[Randall]] means {{w|entomology}} or {{w|etymology}} (probably neither; it's likely that this wasn't a mistake).<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Microbiology}}<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Pharmacology}}<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
<br />
;Upper right quadrant (Big & count known)<br />
<br />
{| class = "wikitable"<br />
! Research field<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|Marine Mammology<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Presidential History<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Railway}} Engineering<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Geology}}<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Cosmology}}<br />
|Cosmology is the study of the universe. There is an asterisk with the note "Depends on who you ask", relating to the estimate of how many universes there are. While it might seem obvious that there is only one universe, some branches of physics believe that our universe is part of a {{w|multiverse}}, and this remains an open and contested subject in the field.<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
<br />
;Upper right quadrant (Big & count unknown)<br />
<br />
{| class = "wikitable"<br />
! Research field<br />
! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Botany}}<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Paleontology}}<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Black Hole}} Astronomy<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Exobiology}}<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Theology}}<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1990:_Driving_Cars&diff=156741Talk:1990: Driving Cars2018-05-07T20:10:16Z<p>172.69.33.65: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Am I seeing things or is there a slight shadow figure behind cueball? [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 17:51, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
:You're not seeing things. It's a bigger Cueball, and its colors are colors like F9F9F9 and F8F8F8. [[User:Grabadora304|Grabadora304]] ([[User talk:Grabadora304|talk]]) 18:01, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
::That's very odd, someone mentioned this may have been from a draft. Have we seen anything like this before? Does anyone know Randall's actual drawing process? [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 19:24, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This comic may also be an indirect commentary on the concern some people have about the safety of self-driving cars, which may in fact be more capable of safe driving than someone who took a 20-minute test in high school. Maybe their concern about safety is misplaced! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 19:19, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:We have 10-12 90-minute evening lectures, a 40-minute multiple-choice test, plus 10 mandatory hours of training behind the wheel and a half-hour practical examination, but I'm really not sure to which side ''I'' want to lean with autonomous cars ... ;-) --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.248|141.101.77.248]] 20:08, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is the transcript still "incomplete"? [[User:Cgrimes85|Cgrimes85]] ([[User talk:Cgrimes85|talk]]) 20:04, 7 May 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Anyone know the brand of car? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.65|172.69.33.65]] 20:10, 7 May 2018 (UTC)</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1990:_Driving_Cars&diff=1567391990: Driving Cars2018-05-07T20:04:16Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Transcript */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1990<br />
| date = May 7, 2018<br />
| title = Driving Cars<br />
| image = driving_cars.png<br />
| titletext = It's probably just me. If driving were as dangerous as it seems, hundreds of people would be dying every day!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a SCARY CAR- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a joke about how dangerous cars are. It says how it is a giant machine, and Cueball is able to drive it simply because he took a driving test. This is similar to other comics (need links) where Randall comments on how odd some of our "routine" everyday tasks are quite unusual when viewed from a certain perspective. <br />
<br />
The rest of the joke is in the title text, "It's probably just me. If driving were as dangerous as it seems, hundreds of people would be dying every day!" Of course, many people ([http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics over 3,000] world-wide, about 100 in USA) do die every day in car accidents. Furthermore, an unknown and difficult to estimate number of people die prematurely as a consequence of pollution caused by cars. Many people would, however, argue that this human sacrifice is acceptable in view of the real and perceived advantages of being able to drive giant machines from A to B.<br />
<br />
A faded Cueball is visible above Cueball in the comic picture. This may be a previous draft that Randall drew on top of.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[In a panel, Cueball stands in front of a car with his hands together.]<br />
:Cueball: Time to accelerate this giant machine up to terrifying speeds and steer it using my hands, which I am allowed to do because I took a 20-minute test in high school!<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:Driving freaks me out.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1987:_Python_Environment&diff=1565251987: Python Environment2018-05-01T17:51:07Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1987<br />
| date = April 30, 2018<br />
| title = Python Environment<br />
| image = python_environment.png<br />
| titletext = The Python environmental protection agency wants to seal it in a cement chamber, with pictoral messages to future civilizations warning them about the danger of using sudo to install random Python packages.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a PYTHON script (well actually PERL but that's besides the point) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{w|Python_(programming_language)|Python}} is a {{w|computer}} {{w|programming language}} which has been around for quite awhile, especially on {{w|Linux}} platforms. [[Randall]] has likely used it on his computer for quite a few years, from the early years where it wasn't so easy to install, through newer versions where there is a more defined way to install it. Because standards change over time, and he didn't completely uninstall old versions before installing new versions (likely to not break what was already working), he's ended up with a mess where different pieces and versions of Python and its related components litter his {{w|hard drive}}'s {{w|directory structure}}.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Text<br />
! Explanation<br />
! Leads from<br />
! Leads to<br />
|-<br />
| $PATH<br />
| $PATH refers to the {{w|PATH (variable)|PATH}} environment variable, which determines where to search for executable files. In this case, it indicates that the pip, Homebrew Python (2.7), and OSX's pre-installed Python are accessible on path, with ~/newenv/ and a mysterious ???? as part of PATH.<br />
|-<br />
| pip<br />
| {{w|pip (package manager)|pip}} is the Python {{w|package management system}}, and is used to install and manage python packages. As it is written in Python, it requires Python to run. It leads to easy_install, Homebrew Python (2.7), "(misc folders owned by root)", and ????.<br />
|-<br />
| Homebrew Python (2.7)<br />
| {{w|Homebrew (package management software)|Homebrew}} is the de facto standard third-party OSX package manager. Homebrew Python (2.7) is the Python 2 version installed through Homebrew. This leads to Python.org binary (2.6) and /usr/local/Cellar.<br />
|-<br />
| OS Python<br />
| Apple bundles an (out of date) version of Python with OSX. This only leads to ????.<br />
|-<br />
| ????<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| easy_install<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Anaconda Python<br />
| {{w|Anaconda (Python distribution)|Anaconda}} is a Python distribution for data science and machine learning related applications.<br />
|-<br />
| Homebrew Python (3.6)<br />
| As of the creation of the comic, Python 3.6 is the current stable version of Python.<br />
|-<br />
| Python.org binary (2.6)<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| (Misc folders owned by root)<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| /usr/local/Cellar<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| <code>/usr/local/opt</code><br />
| Both <code>/usr/local</code> and <code>/opt</code> are directories that store files that do not belong to a Unix-like operating system. Usually, files in <code>/usr/local</code> were created with a {{w|make (software)|make command}}, and files in <code>/opt</code> are unbundled packages. The joke is that <code>/usr/local/opt</code> should really, really not exist.<br />
|-<br />
| /(A bunch of items with "Frameworks" in them somewhere)/<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| $PYTHONPATH<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Another pip??<br />
| There should only be one PIP (package management system) in place. More that one would lead to them contradicting each other. Randall is confused as to how the second one got there.<br />
|-<br />
| ~/python/<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| ~/newenv/<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| /usr/local/lib/python3.6<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| /usr/local/lib/python2.7<br />
|<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Randall compares his degraded Python environment to a {{w|Superfund}} site. Superfund is a US federal government program created for cleaning up contaminated land.<br />
<br />
The title text may refer to the philosophical debate surrounding the construction of warning features around the [[wikipedia:Waste_Isolation_Pilot_Plant#Warning_messages_for_future_humans|WIPP]] site in New Mexico, and other nuclear waste disposal sites. In particular, it may refer to [https://web.archive.org/web/20090320054657/http://www.wipp.energy.gov/picsprog/articles/wipp%20exhibit%20message%20to%2012,000%20a_d.htm this article]. These would have to last and be understandable for tens of thousands of years, longer than any known human-made structure or language to date.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[A single frame depicting a flowchart is shown. Many chaotic arrows are arranged between the items which are:]<br />
:$PYTHONPATH<br />
:EASY_INSTALL<br />
:ANACONDA PYTHON<br />
:HOMEBREW PYTHON (3.6)<br />
:ANOTHER PIP??<br />
:HOMEBREW PYTHON (2.7)<br />
:PYTHON.ORG BINARY (2.6)<br />
:PIP<br />
:EASY_INSTALL<br />
:$PATH<br />
:(MISC FOLDERS OWNED BY ROOT)<br />
:????<br />
<br />
:[The endpoints are:]<br />
:/usr/local/Cellar <br />
:/usr/local/opt<br />
:/(A BUNCH OF PATHS WITH "FRAMEWORKS" IN THEM SOMEWHERE)/<br />
:~/python/ <br />
:~/newenv/<br />
:/usr/local/lib/python3.6<br />
:/usr/local/lib/python2.7<br />
<br />
:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:My Python environment has become so degraded that my laptop has been declared a superfund site.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Computers]]<br />
[[Category:Programming]]<br />
[[Category:Flowcharts]]</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1986:_River_Border&diff=1563591986: River Border2018-04-27T15:56:05Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Exterior Links */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1986<br />
| date = April 27, 2018<br />
| title = River Border<br />
| image = river_border.png<br />
| titletext = I'm not a lawyer, but I believe zones like this are technically considered the high seas, so if you cut a pizza into a spiral there you could be charged with pieracy under marinaritime law.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a PIERACY [sic] EXPERT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
==External Links==<br />
[https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5270132,-95.6954944,10627m/data=!3m1!1e3 Google map of the region suggested by the comic]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Ponytail and Megan are standing next to a river.]<br />
:Ponytail: This is a cool spot.<br />
:Ponytail: The Missouri-Nebraska state line follows this river. If the river's path changes gradually, the border moves with it.<br />
:[A map is shown.]<br />
:Ponytail: But when it ''abruptly'' changes course, the border stays behind.<br />
:Ponytail: This is a spot where that happened. We're on the Missouri side, but we're in Nebraska.<br />
:[Cuts back to Ponytail and Megan standing.]<br />
:Megan: Wow.<br />
:Megan: So...<br />
:Megan: We can commit all the crimes we want here and the cops can't do a thing!<br />
:[Megan points her finger up.]<br />
:Ponytail: What? No. Why would you even think that?<br />
:Megan: I'm going to cut a pizza into a ''spiral!''<br />
:Ponytail: That's not even illegal!<br />
:Megan: ''Crimes!''<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1986:_River_Border&diff=1563581986: River Border2018-04-27T15:53:23Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1986<br />
| date = April 27, 2018<br />
| title = River Border<br />
| image = river_border.png<br />
| titletext = I'm not a lawyer, but I believe zones like this are technically considered the high seas, so if you cut a pizza into a spiral there you could be charged with pieracy under marinaritime law.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a PIERACY [sic] EXPERT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
==Exterior Links==<br />
[https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5270132,-95.6954944,10627m/data=!3m1!1e3 Google map of the region suggested by the comic]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Ponytail and Megan are standing next to a river.]<br />
:Ponytail: This is a cool spot.<br />
:Ponytail: The Missouri-Nebraska state line follows this river. If the river's path changes gradually, the border moves with it.<br />
:[A map is shown.]<br />
:Ponytail: But when it ''abruptly'' changes course, the border stays behind.<br />
:Ponytail: This is a spot where that happened. We're on the Missouri side, but we're in Nebraska.<br />
:[Cuts back to Ponytail and Megan standing.]<br />
:Megan: Wow.<br />
:Megan: So...<br />
:Megan: We can commit all the crimes we want here and the cops can't do a thing!<br />
:[Megan points her finger up.]<br />
:Ponytail: What? No. Why would you even think that?<br />
:Megan: I'm going to cut a pizza into a ''spiral!''<br />
:Ponytail: That's not even illegal!<br />
:Megan: ''Crimes!''<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1986:_River_Border&diff=1563571986: River Border2018-04-27T15:51:04Z<p>172.69.33.65: Added transcript</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1986<br />
| date = April 27, 2018<br />
| title = River Border<br />
| image = river_border.png<br />
| titletext = I'm not a lawyer, but I believe zones like this are technically considered the high seas, so if you cut a pizza into a spiral there you could be charged with pieracy under marinaritime law.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a PIERACY [sic] EXPERT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
[https://www.google.com/maps/@40.5270132,-95.6954944,10627m/data=!3m1!1e3 Google map of the region suggested by the comic]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Ponytail and Megan are standing next to a river.]<br />
:Ponytail: This is a cool spot.<br />
:Ponytail: The Missouri-Nebraska state line follows this river. If the river's path changes gradually, the border moves with it.<br />
:[A map is shown.]<br />
:Ponytail: But when it ''abruptly'' changes course, the border stays behind.<br />
:Ponytail: This is a spot where that happened. We're on the Missouri side, but we're in Nebraska.<br />
:[Cuts back to Ponytail and Megan standing.]<br />
:Megan: Wow.<br />
:Megan: So...<br />
:Megan: We can commit all the crimes we want here and the cops can't do a thing!<br />
:[Megan points her finger up.]<br />
:Ponytail: What? No. Why would you even think that?<br />
:Megan: I'm going to cut a pizza into a ''spiral!''<br />
:Ponytail: That's not even illegal!<br />
:Megan: ''Crimes!''<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.69.33.65https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1984:_Misinterpretation&diff=1561781984: Misinterpretation2018-04-23T19:30:26Z<p>172.69.33.65: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1984<br />
| date = April 23, 2018<br />
| title = Misinterpretation<br />
| image = misinterpretation.png<br />
| titletext = "But there are seven billion people in the world! I can't possibly stop to consider how ALL of them might interpret something!" "Ah, yes, there's no middle ground between 'taking personal responsibility for the thoughts and feelings of every single person on Earth' and 'covering your eyes and ears and yelling logically correct statements into the void.' That's a very insightful point and not at all inane."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by SOMEONE WHO MISINTERPRETED THIS TAG - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
[[Cueball]] is here complaining that people are mad at him because of misinterpretation. However, the off-screen voice sarcastically points out that communication involves work on behalf of the speaker as well as the listener. Cueball claims that he is being "perfectly clear", but if there is room for misinterpretation on behalf of the listener, then he is not.<br />
<br />
It is clear that Cueball is acting as a straw man to further Randall's point, and the off-panel character is the voice of reason.<br />
<br />
A similar theme is explored in the title text of [[1028: Communication]], which notes that "Anyone who says that they're great at communicating but 'people are bad at listening' is confused about how communication works."<br />
The title text of [[1860: Communicating]] also asserts that the responsibility of a misunderstanding lies with the speaker, not the listener.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[This single-frame comic shows Cueball sitting at a desk in front of a laptop with his hands above the keyboard indicating he is typing in rage.]<br />
:Cueball: Ugh, people are mad at me again because they don't read carefully.<br />
:Cueball: I'm being perfectly clear. It's not ''my'' fault if everyone misinterprets what I say.<br />
:Off-screen voice: Wow, sounds like you're great at communicating, an activity that famously involves just one person.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>172.69.33.65