https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.70.230.157&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T00:06:31ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2770:_Tapetum_Lucidum&diff=312140Talk:2770: Tapetum Lucidum2023-05-01T23:22:52Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
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Added possibility of XPilot as inspiration, as a different branch of "triangular ships in 2D worlds" from Asteroids, which is a single-player PvE with no static walls or rebounding shots. The shots from xpilot ships can, if the map is set to do so, bounce off walls. Or be distorted by gravity, so aren't lasers. (Or maybe they can be, but it's been decades since I played it and development moves on!) But I'm sure the ecosystem of clone-games arising from both these inspirations (and other predecessors to both/between their respective releases) is nigh on uncatalogued so who knows if Randall's depicting some actual specific release or just a memetic interloper that just has the right narrative features for this particular comic's "message". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.169|172.70.85.169]] 12:56, 1 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
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:Lasers are distorted by gravity. If we are talking about black holes, at least. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 20:54, 1 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
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::(Technically lasers aren't distorted. The space they pass through is. ;) )<br />
::Not as much as physical things. I too was an XPilot player/hoster, a few decades ago now. Ah, nostalgia...<br />
::The "bullets" could be fired into a cluster of gravity-blocks and whip around like mad until they timed-out or managed to escape from whatever 'random' side their chaotic paths led them to. Great fun to include such features when editing maps (adding detailing and fine-tuning with a text editor to the conversion of some interesting image to the map format, often obtained via netpbm piping and a bit of other automatic/manual editing), especially with shields a disabled feature so as to make it a risky proposition to enter combat in close proximity (and a rather desperate escape-route, if piled up between walls).<br />
::Or set your map with huge time-to-die (bullets, drifting mines, etc), a high number of wall bounces allowed and skew the pickup populations with many multiple spread-shooters (front and rear) and let the players create a 'bullet soup' situation oh so easily! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.98|141.101.99.98]] 22:40, 1 May 2023 (UTC)<br />
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Come on, Randall- Tapetum Ludum was right there! [[User:Breensht|SaturnVI]] ([[User talk:Breensht|talk]]) 11:49, 2 May 2023 (UTC)</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2003:_Presidential_Succession&diff=3090012003: Presidential Succession2023-03-22T13:24:14Z<p>172.70.230.157: /* List of specific individuals */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2003<br />
| date = June 6, 2018<br />
| title = Presidential Succession<br />
| image = presidential_succession.png<br />
| titletext = Ties are broken by whoever was closest to the surface of Europa when they were born.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The {{w|United States presidential line of succession}} is the order of people who serve as president if the current incumbent president is incapacitated, dies, resigns, or is removed from office. <br />
<br />
The {{w|Presidential_Succession_Act#Presidential_Succession_Act_of_1947|Presidential Succession Act of 1947}} revised the presidential order of succession to its current order. This Act, though never challenged in the courts, may not be constitutional for two reasons. First, the Act names two members of Congress as successors. There are serious questions as to whether this violates the principle of Separation of Powers. The second issue is that the Act allows for anyone skipped over for succession to later assume the office if circumstances change to allow them to hold it. This would mean that the person in question could effectively unseat a sitting President, which raises serious constitutional issues. <br />
<br />
There are also practical concerns regarding the Act. The line of succession includes all members of the Cabinet in the order that their department was established, with the oldest departments first. No consideration is given to which departments would be most relevant to the Presidency, particularly considering that this type of succession would presumably involve a serious crisis, which the new president would need to be able to address immediately. The Department of Homeland Security is in charge of the security and protection of the United States and its citizens and would probably already be privy to sensitive intelligence and briefings related to national security, but because it is the latest of the Departments to have been established (in 2003), the Secretary of Homeland Security is last in the current Presidential line of succession, behind Secretaries in much less sensitive roles, such as those of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, and Education.<br />
<br />
Another concern is that, by including members of Congress immediately after the Vice President, there is a serious risk that the simultaneous death of the President and Vice President could cause the Presidency to change to the opposing party, which could lead to serious political instability at the precise moment when the country is facing a national crisis. It even presents the possibility that simultaneous assassinations of the President and Vice President could function as an effective coup, shifting power to their opponents. <br />
<br />
Finally, there is the issue that, usually, everyone in the line of succession lives and works in Washington D.C. Hence, a sufficiently destructive attack or natural disaster impacting the city could realistically incapacitate all of them, leaving the USA leaderless at a time of extreme crisis. It is already established practice in the USA that everyone in this line not gather together at once. In cases where most senior government officials gather (such as the {{w| State of the Union}}), at least one member of the line of succession (referred to as the "designated survivor") is secured off-site, and would assume the presidency in the unlikely event that a {{w| mass casualty event}} were to kill or incapacitate everyone else in the line. However, disasters impacting an entire city remain a possibility, and no provision is made for them in current law.<br />
<br />
To correct these issues, a think tank known as the {{w| Continuity of Government Commission}} prepared a report recommending a new line of succession, which would not include members of Congress, would reorder the cabinet secretaries so that the most suitable roles would be the first successors, and would include people who do not live or work in Washington DC. The full text of their report can be found [https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/06_continuity_of_government.pdf here]. A short, readable summary, including the report's recommended new line of succession, is [https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-continuity-of-the-presidency-the-second-report-of-the-continuity-of-government-commission here]. <br />
<br />
The first six members of the commission's list are taken from the current line of succession, though the order is changed; they propose that after this, five new people should be appointed specifically for the purpose of assuming the presidency, if needed. Randall's list begins with these eleven people (combining the five new appointees into #7); afterwards, his list becomes increasingly comical and ridiculous.<br />
<br />
Randall's list omits members of Congress, as well as other cabinet positions, in accordance with the report's concerns about constitutionality and qualifications. However, his other additions totally ignore these issues, including people with no apparent qualifications for the office (such as actors, athletes, and competitive eaters) and people who are constitutionally ineligible for the office. The US Constitution requires that the President of the United States must be a natural-born US citizen, at least 35 years of age, and have resided in the US for at least fourteen years. Randall's list includes many people who don't meet these requirements. Most notably, he includes the entire succession to the British crown, almost none of whom meet the requirement of being natural-born citizens of the United States.<br />
<br />
It may be expected that many of the athletes, musicians and actors on this list are likely to be ineligible as well. Most professional athletes in the relevant sports are under 35 years old, particularly those at the peak of their careers (when they'd likely win MVP awards), the most popular musicians also tend to be younger than 35, and many who meet these requirements were not born US citizens (and some many not even reside in the US). However, the existing line of succession can also contain ineligible people, who would simply be skipped over for succession. For example, at the comic's publication, {{w|Elaine Chao}} was the Secretary of Transportation and would normally be 14th in line, but because she is a naturalized citizen of the US, rather than native-born (she was born in Taiwan) she would not qualify for the office if the line came to her.<br />
<br />
The title text mentions that ties will be broken by whoever was closest to the surface of {{w|Europa}} when they were born. Europa is a moon of Jupiter and one of the most likely locations in the Solar System for {{w|Habitability of natural satellites|potential habitability}}. This is likely a parody of systems in which ties are broken by semi-arbitrary rules (such as the older candidate automatically winning a tie) or a randomized ones (such as ties being decided by a coin flip). The position of Europa with respect to Earth at the time of one's birth depends on enough factors that it acts as a pseudo-random tie breaker, albeit a needlessly complicated one.<br />
<br />
The presidential line of succession was first mentioned in [[1933: Santa Facts]]<br />
<br />
==Order of succession==<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
!#<br />
!Randall's order<br />
!Current order by the 1947 Act<br />
!Notes<br />
|-<br />
|1<br />
|{{w|POTUS|President}}<br />
|President<br />
|Not generally considered part of the line of succession, as incumbents cannot "succeed" to their own post. (This should really be item 0 on the list.)<br />
|-<br />
|2<br />
|{{w|POTUS|Vice president}}<br />
|Vice president<br />
|This is the same as in the actual line of succession. Succeeding the President is one of the only two roles assigned to the Vice President by the Constitution, the other being presiding over the Senate (including breaking ties), but Vice Presidents are often given additional roles during office.<br />
|-<br />
|3<br />
|{{w|United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State}}<br />
|Speaker of the House of Representatives<br />
|Moved up from 5th position. This is likely a serious suggestion. As mentioned above, the existing Succession Act includes the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, which presents serious practical and constitutional issues. The Secretary of State is the chief officer responsible for the country's international relations and diplomatic missions, and would be a logical successor, particularly in times of crisis. <br />
|-<br />
|4<br />
|{{w|United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense}}<br />
|{{w|President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President pro tempore of the Senate}}<br />
|Moved up from 7th position. Also likely a serious suggestion. The existing succession places the Secretary of Defense behind the Secretary of the Treasury in succession. If the three preceding officials were simultaneously killed or incapacitated, there would be a high likelihood that the country was under attack, and other powers could easily try to take advantage of any power vacuum. Since the Secretary of Defense is most connected to the nation's military, and most in tune with information regarding potential threats and risks, this would be a logical succession. <br />
|-<br />
|5<br />
|{{w|United States Secretary of Homeland Security|Secretary of Homeland Security}}<br />
|Secretary of State<br />
|Moved up from 19th position. Again likely a serious suggestion. As with the Secretary of Defense, this officer would likely be closely aligned with the national emergency response infrastructure (including overseeing the {{w|Federal Emergency Management Agency}}), and would be well equipped to deal with a major attack or natural disaster. <br />
|-<br />
|6<br />
|{{w|United States Attorney General|Attorney General}}<br />
|{{w|United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury}} <br />
|Moved up from 8th position. Once again, likely a serious suggestion. The Attorney General oversees national law enforcement, and would be in a position to deal with internal chaos that could result from a disaster that impacted the federal government so deeply. <br />
|-<br />
|7<br />
|Five people who do not live in {{w|Washington, D.C.}}, nominated at the start of the President's term and confirmed by the Senate<br />
|Secretary of Defense<br />
|Washington, D.C is the capital of the United States, and is where the {{w|White House}}, the President's residence, is located. Presumably this provision covers the case where much of the government, including positions 1–6 here, are killed by a natural disaster or attack in Washington, D.C.<br />
<br />
This suggestion establishes no qualifications for these people, but the fact that they'd need to be confirmed by the Senate suggests that they would be chosen to be competent for the role. It is also unclear if an order is determined among these five or if they take up a joint presidency. This suggestion is taken from the Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission to prevent the danger of the entire line of succession being removed in a single event. <br />
|-<br />
|8<br />
|{{w|Tom Hanks}}<br />
|Attorney General<br />
|Academy Award-winning American actor. This is the first unambiguously unserious suggestion.{{Citation needed}} Tom Hanks is very popular and considered exceptionally likeable by many Americans, but has never served in public office or displayed any particular affinity for politics. The implication is that Mr. Hanks would be easily accepted as a leader, based solely on his personal charm. It should also be noticed that Tom Hanks played Jim Lovell, who served in the navy before becoming an astronaut (Many early astronauts were former military members.), in ''Apollo 13'', a military captain in ''Saving Private Ryan'', a prison officer in ''The Green Mile'', a naval intelligence officer in ''James B. Donovan'', and a member of the House of Representatives in ''Charlie Wilson's War''; if Tom Hanks's appearances in movies counted as real-life experience, then he would be adequately qualified.<br />
|-<br />
|9<br />
|State Governors, in descending order of state population at last census<br />
|{{w|United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior}}<br />
|Also taken from Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission. At the time of publication, the last {{w|United States Census}} was the 2010 Census. As California is the most populous state, its Governor ({{w|Jerry Brown}} at the time of publication) would have been first in line. <br />
<br />
See also the {{w|2010_United_States_Census#State_rankings|state population rankings}} and the {{w|list of current United States governors}}. As worded, this criterion would exclude territorial governors (and the Mayor of Washington, D.C.).<br />
|-<br />
|10<br />
|Anyone who won an Oscar for playing a governor<br />
|{{w|United States Secretary of Agriculture|Secretary of Agriculture}}<br />
|Oscars, or {{w|Academy Awards}}, are annual film awards awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the time of publication, the only Oscar awarded for playing a governor was {{w|Broderick Crawford}}'s 1949 Best Actor award for the fictional Willie Stark in ''{{w|All the King's Men (1949 film)|All the King's Men}}'' (a character based on {{w|Huey Long}}). However, Crawford died in 1986, so would be unable to serve as President.<br />
<br />
This may be a reference to the {{w|Political career of Arnold Schwarzenegger}}: a highly-lauded actor who became governor of California, but did not win an Oscar or play a governor before being elected. (As a naturalized citizen, he is also ineligible for the Presidency.)<br />
There is also humor in suggesting that playing a governor delivers just as much experience as being a governor. (Something similar was mentioned in the section about Tom Hanks, who played, among other things, a member of the House of Representatives.)<br />
|-<br />
|11<br />
|Anyone who won a Governor's award for playing someone named Oscar<br />
|{{w|United States Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce}} <br />
|The {{w|Governors Awards}} are an annual award ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to present lifetime achievement awards within the film industry. As this award is a lifetime achievement award, it does not seem possible that an actor could win this award for simply playing someone named Oscar. Notwithstanding the nature of the award, at the time of publication, no recipient of a Governors Award has played a character named Oscar.<br />
<br />
Obviously, the joke is that changing the order of the words from the previous proposal produces something that could actually exist.<br />
|-<br />
|12<br />
|{{w|Kate McKinnon}}, if available<br />
|Secretary of Labor<br />
|Comedic actress famous for being a cast member on {{w|Saturday Night Live}}. She is known for her character work and celebrity impressions. She has recently done impersonations of members of the Trump administration including Spokeswoman {{w|Kellyanne Conway}} and Attorney General {{w|Jeff Sessions}}. She also played {{w|Hillary Clinton}} during the 2016 campaign and presumably would have played her when she was President had she won; but since Clinton lost, McKinnon has not actually played a President. At the time the comic was released, she was 34 years 5 months old; thus she was not "available" until seven months later. Being available could also refer to not already having an acting commitment, in which case the comic would be humorously implying that fulfilling her acting roles is more important than the country having leadership.<br />
|-<br />
|13<br />
|Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles artists #1 through #10 (for groups, whoever is credited first in name, liner notes, etc)<br />
|Secretary of Health and Human Services <br />
|The {{w|Billboard Hot 100}} is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for singles, published weekly by Billboard magazine. The weekly data is aggregated into a cumulative {{w|Billboard Year-End}} (based on a "year" that ends the third week of November, in order to meet December publication deadlines). At the time of publication, the most recent such list was the {{w|Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2017}}.<br />
<br />
Based on that list, the artists considered for the presidential succession would be: {{w|Ed Sheeran}}, {{w|Luis Fonsi}}, {{w|Bruno Mars}}, {{w|Kendrick Lamar}}, Alex Pall (of {{w|The Chainsmokers}}), {{w|Quavo|Quavoius Keyate Marshall}} (of {{w|Migos}}), {{w|Sam Hunt}}, {{w|Dan Reynolds}} (of {{w|Imagine Dragons}}), and {{w|Post Malone}}. There are only nine names instead of ten because The Chainsmokers had two of the top 10 singles in 2017. Of these, only Luis Fonsi (40 years old, born in Puerto Rico) was legally eligible for the office; all the others were too young, and Sheeran is additionally from the United Kingdom.<br />
|-<br />
|14<br />
|The top 5 US astronauts in descending order of total spaceflight time<br />
|Secretary of Housing and Urban Development <br />
|Astronauts are highly respected and rigorously selected, but most have little involvement in politics. According to [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-station-astronaut-record-holders NASA], the top 5 US astronauts by cumulative space time at the time of publication were: {{w|Peggy Whitson}}, {{w|Jeffrey Williams (astronaut)|Jeff Williams}}, {{W|Scott Kelly (astronaut)|Scott Kelly}}, {{w|Mike Fincke}}, and {{w|Mike Foale}}. However, it is unclear whether Foale would qualify as a natural-born citizen, as he was born in the United Kingdom to a British father and American mother.<br />
|-<br />
|15<br />
|{{w|Serena Williams}} (or, if she lost her most recent match, whoever beat her)<br />
|Secretary of Transportation<br />
|As of the time of publication, Serena Williams was a top female tennis player. She is arguably the greatest female tennis player of all-time, winning 39 {{w|Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam}} titles, including 23 women's singles titles. At the time of publication Serena Williams did win her most recent match (2018 French Open, third round, on June 2nd), although she withdrew from her next match against Maria Sharapova (which perhaps should count as a loss, especially if she withdrew in order to preserve her place in the line of succession and killed everyone in place ahead of her).<br />
<br />
If her most recent defeat was to a non-US player, presumably she would be skipped over in line although this is not explicitly stated (the current succession list skips over anyone who would not normally qualify for not being a natural-born US citizen).<br />
|-<br />
|16<br />
|The most recent season NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL MVPs<br />
|Secretary of Energy<br />
|MVP stands for {{w|Most Valuable Player}}. The 4 listed leagues are the major sports leagues in the United States, the {{w|National Basketball Association}} (NBA), the {{w|National Football League}} (NFL), {{w|Major League Baseball}} (MLB), and the {{w|National Hockey League}} (NHL). We're assuming that Randall meant the regular season MVPs of each league, as each league also awards MVPs for their respective championships (or in the case of the NHL's {{w|Conn Smythe Trophy}}, their entire playoffs).<br />
<br />
As of the time of publication, the most recent MVPs for the listed sports were {{w|Russell Westbrook}} (NBA), {{w|Tom Brady}} (NFL), {{w|José Altuve}} and {{w|Giancarlo Stanton}} (MLB has two, one for the American League and one for the National League), and {{w|Connor McDavid}} (NHL). Of these, only Brady would qualify for the list - Altuve and McDavid are Venezuelan and Canadian citizens respectively, and Westbrook (29) and Stanton (28) were too young.<br />
|-<br />
|17<br />
|{{w|Bill Pullman}} and his descendants by absolute primogeniture<br />
|Secretary of Education <br />
|American actor, known for playing President Thomas J. Whitmore in the 1996 film ''{{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Independence Day}}''. <br />
<br />
Absolute primogeniture is a form of succession where the oldest direct descendant regardless of gender receives the title. This is contrasted to {{w|Male-preference primogeniture}}, in which males come before females in the order of the throne, whether the males were born first or not. This may be a reference to the British law {{w|Succession to the Crown Act 2013}}, which changed the order of the throne from male-preference primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. This act allows {{w|Princess Charlotte of Cambridge|Princess Charlotte}} to retain her place in line before {{w|Prince Louis of Cambridge|Prince Louis}}. <br />
<br />
At the time of publication, Pullman's immediate descendants consisted of three children, with Maesa Pullman being the oldest at age 29. Thus all but Bill Pullman himself were too young for the presidency.<br />
|-<br />
|18<br />
|The entire line of succession to the British throne<br />
|Secretary of Veterans Affairs <br />
|According to the Constitution, only a natural-born citizen of the United States can become President, which means that at least most of the line of succession to the British throne is ineligible. However, it is possible that someone in the line of succession to the British throne either is a dual citizen or is not British (a person from outside of Britain or Ireland can become King; for example, some, including George I, were from what is now Germany). <br />
<br />
The first 59 names on the list are {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne#Current_line_of_succession|here}}. [https://lineofsuccession.co.uk/?date=2018-06-06 British Line of Succession on 6 June 2018] shows the list as it was at the comic's publication. American citizens [http://articles.latimes.com/1988-02-11/news/vw-42233_1_royal-house have, at times] been on the list, but no natural-born Americans were on the list when the comic was published. However, after this comic was published {{w|Archie Mountbatten-Windsor}} was born on May 6, 2019; he is currently seventh in the line of succession to the British throne and has US citizenship through his mother {{w|Meghan, Duchess of Sussex}}. As with Mark Foale, though, whether that qualifies as natural-born has not be tested (leaving aside his age and the fact that many royals in his position have historically relinquished their birthright US citizenship voluntarily, which he may choose to do once he reaches age 16). In theory, the full British succession list includes [http://www.wargs.com/essays/succession/2011.html several thousand people] (living descendants of {{w|Sophia of Hanover}} who are not Roman Catholic or otherwise disqualified), and it is possible that one or more such people would also be eligible to be President of the United States beyond Master Archie. Archie's sister Lillibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born in Santa Barbara, California, USA, on June 4, 2021, making her definitively a natural born US citizen, and thus, theoretically eligible to become US president upon turning 35.<br />
<br />
The humor here derives from the fact that the United States was established by declaring independence from the United Kingdom, with rejection of the British monarchy being a basic founding principle, and a core principle of US governance. To appoint the British monarchy to the American presidency would contradict the basic goals of American independence. Alternatively, it may reference the recent wedding of {{w|Prince Harry}} to {{w|Meghan Markle}}, although she is not in the order of succession. A similar sequence of events was the plotline of the comedy film ''{{w|King Ralph}}'', which saw an American become the British monarch after the death of the royal family.<br />
|-<br />
|19<br />
|The current champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest<br />
|Secretary of Homeland Security<br />
|The {{w|Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest}} is an annual American hot dog competitive eating competition sponsored by {{w|Nathan's Famous}} held on July 4th. As of the time of publication, the most recent men's winner was {{w|Joey Chestnut}} and the women's winner was {{w|Miki Sudo}}. At the time of publication, neither was old enough to assume the office.<br />
<br />
The comic does not specify whether the men's or women's winner should take office, creating a tie that would be broken by distance from Europa at birth. Had they both been eligible, [https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/29132/was-earth-closer-to-europa-on-1983-11-25-or-1985-07-22 Sudo would have won] by between 0.125 and 2.2 {{w|Astronomical unit}}s.<br />
|-<br />
|20<br />
|All other US citizens, chosen by a 29-round single-elimination Jousting tournament<br />
|''None''<br />
|Effective for a population up to 536,870,912 individuals (2^29) which would be enough to cover the entire US population (estimated at around 325 million at time of publication), although additional rounds can be added should the population grow further.<br />
<br />
This is probably a reference to the {{w|Matter of Britain}} (e.g., {{w|The Sword in the Stone (film)|The Sword in the Stone}}), where, after the death of Uther Pendragon, with no known successor to the throne of Britain (some versions of the legend refer incorrectly to England) for years, it is decided that the winner of a jousting tournament shall be crowned. However, Arthur, the Wart, pulls the Sword from the Stone.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===List of specific individuals===<br />
Based on the comic's defined criteria for the order of succession, these are the specific individuals in that order, including only people who are otherwise eligible to be the President of United States (35 year old and natural born US citizens who lived in US for last 14 years) '''as of the date the comic was published'''. <br />
#{{w|Donald Trump}} ({{w|President of the United States}})<br />
#{{w|Mike Pence}} ({{w|Vice President of the United States}})<br />
#{{w|Mike Pompeo}} ({{w|United States Secretary of State}})<br />
#{{w|Jim Mattis}} ({{w|United States Secretary of Defense}})<br />
#{{w|Kirstjen Nielsen}} ({{w|United States Secretary of Homeland Security}})<br />
#{{w|Jeff Sessions}} ({{w|United States Attorney General}})<br>As Donald Trump did not appoint anyone to fill position #7 on Randall's line of succession, Hanks immediately follows after Sessions.<br />
#{{w|Tom Hanks}} (Tom Hanks) <br />
#{{w|Jerry Brown}} (Governor of California)<br />
#{{w|Greg Abbott}} (Governor of Texas)<br />
#{{w|Andrew Cuomo}} (Governor of New York)<br />
#{{w|Rick Scott}} (Governor of Florida)<br />
#{{w|Bruce Rauner}} (Governor of Illinois)<br />
#{{w|Tom Wolf}} (Governor of Pennsylvania)<br />
#{{w|John Kasich}} (Governor of Ohio)<br />
#{{w|Rick Snyder}} (Governor of Michigan)<br />
#{{w|Nathan Deal}} (Governor of Georgia)<br />
#{{w|Roy Cooper}} (Governor of North Carolina)<br />
#{{w|Phil Murphy}} (Governor of New Jersey)<br />
#{{w|Ralph Northam}} (Governor of Virginia)<br />
#{{w|Jay Inslee}} (Governor of Washington)<br />
#{{w|Charlie Baker}} (Governor of Massachusetts)<br />
#{{w|Eric Holcomb}} (Governor of Indiana)<br />
#{{w|Doug Ducey}} (Governor of Arizona)<br />
#{{w|Bill Haslam}} (Governor of Tennessee)<br />
#{{w|Mike Parson}} (Governor of Missouri)<br />
#{{w|Larry Hogan}} (Governor of Maryland)<br />
#{{w|Scott Walker (politician)|Scott Walker}} (Governor of Wisconsin)<br />
#{{w|Mark Dayton}} (Governor of Minnesota)<br />
#{{w|John Hickenlooper}} (Governor of Colorado)<br />
#{{w|Kay Ivey}} (Governor of Alabama)<br />
#{{w|Henry McMaster}} (Governor of South Carolina)<br />
#{{w|John Bel Edwards}} (Governor of Louisiana)<br />
#{{w|Matt Bevin}} (Governor of Kentucky)<br />
#{{w|Kate Brown}} (Governor of Oregon) <br> Born in Spain to a member of the US Air Force, should be considered a natural-born citizen until proven otherwise.<br />
#{{w|Mary Fallin}} (Governor of Oklahoma)<br />
#{{w|Dannel Malloy}} (Governor of Connecticut)<br />
#{{w|Kim Reynolds}} (Governor of Iowa)<br />
#{{w|Phil Bryant}} (Governor of Mississippi)<br />
#{{w|Asa Hutchinson}} (Governor of Arkansas)<br />
#{{w|Jeff Colyer}} (Governor of Kansas)<br />
#{{w|Gary Herbert}} (Governor of Utah)<br />
#{{w|Brian Sandoval}} (Governor of Nevada)<br />
#{{w|Susana Martinez}} (Governor of New Mexico)<br />
#{{w|Jim Justice}} (Governor of West Virginia)<br />
#{{w|Pete Ricketts}} (Governor of Nebraska)<br />
#{{w|Butch Otter}} (Governor of Idaho)<br />
#{{w|David Ige}} (Governor of Hawaii)<br />
#{{w|Paul LePage}} (Governor of Maine)<br />
#{{w|Chris Sununu}} (Governor of New Hampshire)<br />
#{{w|Gina Raimondo}} (Governor of Rhode Island)<br />
#{{w|Steve Bullock (American politician)|Steve Bullock}} (Governor of Montana)<br />
#{{w|John Carney (politician)|John Carney}} (Governor of Delaware)<br />
#{{w|Dennis Daugaard}} (Governor of South Dakota)<br />
#{{w|Bill Walker (U.S. politician)|Bill Walker}} (Governor of Alaska)<br />
#{{w|Doug Burgum}} (Governor of North Dakota)<br />
#{{w|Phil Scott (politician)|Phil Scott}} (Governor of Vermont)<br />
#{{w|Matt Mead}} (Governor of Wyoming) <br> Entries 10 and 11 on Randall's list have no eligible living members. <br> Kate McKinnon was only 34 years 5 months old at the time the comic was released, making her unavailable.<br />
#{{w|Luis Fonsi}} (Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2017, #2 artist) <br> Fonsi is the only eligible individual under the Billboard criterion.<br />
#{{w|Peggy Whitson}} (Astronaut, 665 days in space)<br />
#{{w|Jeffrey Williams (astronaut)|Jeff Williams}} (Astronaut, 534 days in space)<br />
#{{w|Scott Kelly}} (Astronaut, 520 days in space)<br />
#{{w|Mike Fincke}} (Astronaut, 382 days in space)<br />
#{{w|Mike Foale}} (Astronaut, 374 days in space) <br> Foale was born in the UK but his mother is an American, and he holds dual citizenship with both countries. It isn't clear legally whether this situation would qualify him as being a "natural-born" citizen as US courts have never definitively ruled on what the term means, so similar to Governor Kate Brown his name is included in the list until further notice.<br />
#{{w|Serena Williams}} <br> Serena's place on this list assumes that you do not count her withdrawal against Maria Sharapova as a ''loss''; if that counts as a loss, then subsequent entries move up one position (as Sharapova is ineligible).<br />
#{{w|Tom Brady}} ({{w|National Football League Most Valuable Player Award|NFL MVP}}) <br> The MVPs of all other listed sports leagues are ineligible for the office due to age or nationality.<br />
#{{w|Bill Pullman}} (Bill Pullman) <br> None of his children are old enough to become President at this time.<br />
#''line of succession to the British throne''<br> Assumes that no eligible member of the British order of succession exists due to citizenship issues. The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating champions were too young to hold the office.<br />
#''everyone else'' (Jousting tournament) <br />
<br />
Based on the comic's defined criteria for the order of succession, these are the specific individuals in that order, including only people who are otherwise eligible to be the President of United States (35 year old and natural born US citizens who lived in US for last 14 years) '''as of the current date'''. (Last updated on 27 January 2023<!-- Assuming the last editor did it correctly... -->)<br />
#{{w|Joe Biden}} ({{w|President of the United States}})<br />
#{{w|Kamala Harris}} ({{w|Vice President of the United States}})<br />
#{{w|Antony Blinken}} ({{w|United States Secretary of State}})<br />
#{{w|Lloyd Austin}} ({{w|United States Secretary of Defense}})<br />
#{{w|Alejandro Mayorkas}} ({{w|United States Secretary of Homeland Security}}) <br />
#{{w|Merrick Garland}} ({{w|United States Attorney General}})<br> As Joe Biden did not appoint anyone to fill position #7 on Randall's line of succession, Hanks immediately follows after Garland.<br />
#{{w|Tom Hanks}} (Tom Hanks) <br />
#{{w|Gavin Newsom}} (Governor of California)<br />
#{{w|Greg Abbott}} (Governor of Texas)<br />
#{{w|Ron DeSantis}} (Governor of Florida)<br />
#{{w|Kathy Hochul}} (Governor of New York)<br />
#{{w|Tom Wolf}} (Governor of Pennsylvania)<br />
#{{w|J. B. Pritzker}} (Governor of Illinois)<br />
#{{w|Mike DeWine}} (Governor of Ohio)<br />
#{{w|Brian Kemp}} (Governor of Georgia)<br />
#{{w|Roy Cooper}} (Governor of North Carolina)<br />
#{{w|Gretchen Whitmer}} (Governor of Michigan)<br />
#{{w|Phil Murphy}} (Governor of New Jersey)<br />
#{{w|Glenn Youngkin}} (Governor of Virginia)<br />
#{{w|Jay Inslee}} (Governor of Washington)<br />
#{{w|Katie Hobbs}} (Governor of Arizona)<br />
#{{w|Maura Healey}} (Governor of Massachusetts)<br />
#{{w|Bill Lee (Tennessee politician)|Bill Lee}} (Governor of Tennessee)<br />
#{{w|Eric Holcomb}} (Governor of Indiana)<br />
#{{w|Wes Moore}} (Governor of Maryland)<br />
#{{w|Mike Parson}} (Governor of Missouri)<br />
#{{w|Tony Evers}} (Governor of Wisconsin)<br />
#{{w|Jared Polis}} (Governor of Colorado)<br />
#{{w|Tim Walz}} (Governor of Minnesota)<br />
#{{w|Henry McMaster}} (Governor of South Carolina)<br />
#{{w|Kay Ivey}} (Governor of Alabama)<br />
#{{w|John Bel Edwards}} (Governor of Louisiana)<br />
#{{w|Andy Beshear}} (Governor of Kentucky)<br />
#{{w|Tina Kotek}} (Governor of Oregon)<br />
#{{w|Kevin Stitt}} (Governor of Oklahoma)<br />
#{{w|Ned Lamont}} (Governor of Connecticut)<br />
#{{w|Spencer Cox (politician)|Spencer Cox}} (Governor of Utah)<br />
#{{w|Kim Reynolds}} (Governor of Iowa)<br />
#{{w|Joe Lombardo}} (Governor of Nevada)<br />
#{{w|Sarah Huckabee Sanders}} (Governor of Arkansas)<br />
#{{w|Tate Reeves}} (Governor of Mississippi)<br />
#{{w|Laura Kelly}} (Governor of Kansas)<br />
#{{w|Michelle Lujan Grisham}} (Governor of New Mexico)<br />
#{{w|Jim Pillen}} (Governor of Nebraska)<br />
#{{w|Brad Little}} (Governor of Idaho)<br />
#{{w|Jim Justice}} (Governor of West Virginia)<br />
#{{w|Josh Green}} (Governor of Hawaii)<br />
#{{w|Chris Sununu}} (Governor of New Hampshire)<br />
#{{w|Janet Mills}} (Governor of Maine)<br />
#{{w|Dan McKee}} (Governor of Rhode Island)<br />
#{{w|Greg Gianforte}} (Governor of Montana)<br />
#{{w|John Carney (politician)|John Carney}} (Governor of Delaware)<br />
#{{w|Kristi Noem}} (Governor of South Dakota)<br />
#{{w|Doug Burgum}} (Governor of North Dakota)<br />
#{{w|Mike Dunleavy (politician)|Mike Dunleavy}} (Governor of Alaska)<br />
#{{w|Phil Scott (politician)|Phil Scott}} (Governor of Vermont)<br />
#{{w|Mark Gordon (politician)|Mark Gordon}} (Governor of Wyoming)<br />
#{{w|Kate McKinnon}} (Kate McKinnon) <br> If she is available. Entries 10, 11 and 13 on Randall's list have no eligible living members. <br />
#{{w|Peggy Whitson}} (Astronaut, 665 days in space)<br />
#{{w|Jeffrey Williams (astronaut)|Jeff Williams}} (Astronaut, 534 days in space)<br />
#{{w|Mark Vande Hei}} (Astronaut, 523 days in space)<br />
#{{w|Scott Kelly}} (Astronaut, 520 days in space)<br />
#{{w|Shane Kimbrough}} (Astronaut, 388 days in space)<br />
#{{w|Bill Pullman}} (Bill Pullman) <br> None of Bill Pullman's children are old enough to become President at this time.<br>{{w|Serena Williams}} lost the final match of her career against {{w|Ajla Tomljanović}}, who is ineligible due to age and nationality.<br />
#{{w|Aaron Rodgers}} ({{w|National Football League Most Valuable Player Award|NFL MVP}}) <br />
#{{w|Paul GoldSchmidt}} ({{w|Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|NL MVP}}) <br>The MVPs of all other listed sports leagues are ineligible for the office due to age or nationality.<br />
#''line of succession to the British throne''<br />
#{{w|Miki Sudo}} (Women’s champion of the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest; listed first due to being closer to Europa at birth)<br />
#{{w|Joey Chestnut}} (Men's champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest)<br />
#''everyone else'' (Jousting tournament) <br> Assumes that the number of eligible US Citizens does not exceed 536,870,912.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
: A proposal for a new presidential line of succession<br />
: Current politics aside, most experts agree the existing process is flawed. The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 is probably unconstitutional on several counts, and there are many practical issues with the system as well.<br />
: <span style="color:gray">(For more, see the surprisingly gripping ''Second Report of the Continuity of Government Commission'', June 2009.)</span><br />
: Proposed line of succession:<br />
:# President<br />
:# Vice president<br />
:# Secretary of State<br />
:# Secretary of Defense<br />
:# Secretary of Homeland Security<br />
:# Attorney General<br />
:# Five people who do not live in Washington DC, nominated at the start of the president's term and confirmed by the Senate<br />
:# Tom Hanks<br />
:# State Governors, in descending order of state population at last census<br />
:# Anyone who won an Oscar for playing a governor<br />
:# Anyone who won a Governor's award for playing someone named Oscar<br />
:# Kate McKinnon, if available<br />
:# Billboard year-end Hot 100 singles artists #1 through #10 (for groups, whoever is credited first in name, liner notes, etc)<br />
:# The top 5 US astronauts in descending order of total spaceflight time<br />
:# Serena Williams (or, if she lost her most recent match, whoever beat her)<br />
:# The most recent season NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL MVPs<br />
:# Bull Pullman and his descendants by absolute primogeniture<br />
:# The entire line of succession to the British throne<br />
:# The current champion of the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest<br />
:# All other US citizens, chosen by a 29-round single-elimination Jousting tournament<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Politics]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1625:_Substitutions_2&diff=306724Talk:1625: Substitutions 22023-02-23T23:47:41Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>See previous discussion for browser plugins, scripts, bookmarklets etc. at [[1288:_Substitutions]] [sven]<br />
<br />
Can someone update the plugin for Chrome that does the word swaps? :3 Also swap it for upgoerfive-nouns[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 15:11, 4 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The Title Text should read "...uncontrollably-swerving cars", not "...uncontrollably-swerving cats". But I don't have the heart to change it.<br />
<br />
: Neither do I... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.55|173.245.54.55]] 16:14, 4 January 2016 (UTC)(Daniel)<br />
<br />
:: Actually, if you applied the 1288 substitutions it would be uncontrollably-swerving CATS.<br />
<br />
Ok, I just checked the log, and it was added here,<br />
"(cur | prev) 15:11, 4 January 2016 141.101.104.7 (Talk) . . (+1,212) . . (undo)"<br />
by the person who added the transcript, obviously I don't know if this was deliberate, though I suspect it was. Either way I think it is very funny and we should leave it. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.55|173.245.54.55]] 16:14, 4 January 2016 (UTC)(Daniel)<br />
<br />
How many of them can be used?<br />
"Like hundreds of civilians received friggin awful burns after a not very sudden dog attack Tuesday. After spherical outrage, the blade runner of presidential airbenders probably won't drunkedly egg it on the future."[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.222|162.158.114.222]] 16:20, 4 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
huh...nothing for 'campaign' or 'voters'...also, the 'uncontrollably-swerving cats' is probably a victim of the first substitution filter that changes 'cars' to 'cats'[[Special:Contributions/162.158.56.227|162.158.56.227]] 17:06, 4 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
"The suspect is currently very large" -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 22:45, 4 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
after loading this into the browser plugin I noticed a loop caused "physically expands" to become "physically physically physically physically physically expands" and I began pondering whether the adding of extra physically-ies made the word intensify. Then I wondered why someone would need to intensify the acknowledgement of physicality. Then I looked at my hands, like REALLY looked at my hands. [[User:Beastachu|Beastachu]] ([[User talk:Beastachu|talk]]) 00:18, 5 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
As a small note, "No indication ➜ Lots of signs" would actually create quite a few grammatically incorrect sentences. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.133|108.162.241.133]] 01:19, 5 January 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This page looks interesting when you do the replacements on it http://i.imgur.com/dg0bzw9.png - [[User:Gradient|Gradient]] ([[User talk:Gradient|talk]]) 09:47, 5 January 2016 (UTC<br />
<br />
The 'dog -> drone' relation could also be a referance to a Half-Life 2 robot called "Dog". This "drone" helps the protagonist, Dr. Freeman, with tasks that could otherwise not be completed by humans, much like todays drones. {{unsigned ip|197.234.243.234}}<br />
<br />
The substitution is one-way, for example "years" becomes "minutes", but in the example, the substitution is backwards. {{unsigned ip|134.255.101.92}}<br />
<br />
At large just means unconfined. It gets hyphenated when it gets made part of a noun. So you can have, for example, editor-at-large. It is not reserved solely for fugitives and politicians<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.39.23|162.158.39.23]] 13:05, 31 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Spherical firestorm sounds awesome[[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.157|172.70.230.157]] 23:47, 23 February 2023 (UTC)</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2734:_Electron_Color&diff=305851Talk:2734: Electron Color2023-02-07T00:10:19Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Electrons have no color?! BUt lIgHTnIng strIKeS aRe YEllOw, aND LigHTNing IS MaDe uP of eLECTrOns.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.115|172.71.254.115]] 22:43, 6 February 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It may refer to the Greek etymology of the word "electron". Originally it meant amber, a yellow gem. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.118.146|172.68.118.146]] 23:20, 6 February 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I can't do formatting, I'm new. Sorry! (no signature left on comment)<br />
<br />
To me, this is 1000% building on the idea of debating the colors of school subjects. I've added a bit of explanation to the text about it. I used my own color associations & reasons (science = green, history = red) as an example, and I'm sure people will disagree with me. Leave your color/subject associations in a reply to this comment, could be a fun little debate! (also, English = blue) [[User:Zman350x|Zman350x]] ([[User talk:Zman350x|talk]]) 23:50, 6 February 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:SocStud is yellow, Math is red, Science is green?, ELA is gray, French is blue, and orange is my least favorite subject out of the rest. I have gotten into many arguments with my friends. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.157|172.70.230.157]] 00:10, 7 February 2023 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Science = Green (green flask bubbling)<br />
Social Studies = Blue (blue and green globe, green is taking)<br />
Math = Red (math is reliable, red is a strong color so i associate it with reliability)<br />
English = Yellow (all other colors are taken)<br />
Also electrons are blue [[User:Iffy|Iffy]] ([[User talk:Iffy|talk]]) 23:53, 6 February 2023 (UTC)</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2685:_2045&diff=2967982685: 20452022-10-15T13:41:03Z<p>172.70.230.157: fuck</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2685<br />
| date = October 14, 2022<br />
| title = 2045<br />
| image = 2045_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 350x457px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = "Sorry, doctor, I'm going to have to come in on a different day--I have another appointment that would be really hard to move, in terms of the kinetic energy requirements."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation== <br />
{{incomplete|Created by a GIGANTIC NUCLEAR FURNACE (THE SUN) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The characters are talking about upcoming total {{w|solar eclipses}}. Partial solar eclipses are fairly frequent (2–5 per year), but total eclipses are less frequent (about every 18 months), and most of them will not be in convenient locations for a particular set of people. Cueball seems to be talking about total eclipses visible in much of North America: {{w|Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024|April 8, 2024}} and {{w|Solar eclipse of August 12, 2045|August 12, 2045}}. (There's also a {{w|annular eclipse}} on October 14, 2025.) Making plans for eclipses is awkward given the uncertainty present for anything else far in the future, such as whether the attendees will have children by then, and even whether another scheduling program will catch on and replace Google Calendar.<br />
<br />
Black Hat claims he can't make it, as he has "a thing" on August 12, 2045. Events for that far in the future usually have not yet been scheduled for a precise date{{Citation needed}}, and this combined with the fact that Black Hat remembers this date without checking implies that this could be another of his grand and sinister plans... or he just doesn't want to go.<br />
<br />
The title text is someone cancelling a medical appointment to see the eclipse. The eclipse is hard to move because that would require hastening or delaying it by moving the Earth, Moon or Sun, any of which would require vast amounts of energy.{{Citation needed}} People also don't often schedule doctor's appointments decades in advance.{{Citation needed}} This was published a year before the next eclipse so, if you're someone who plans things a year in advance this serves as a reminder to put it on your calendar.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball, a friend also drawn as Cueball, Danish, and Black Hat are standing together. Danish is looking at her phone.]<br />
:Cueball: ...And then after the one in 2024, there's another on August 12, 2045.<br />
:Friend: We're in! We can invite our kids, assuming we have any.<br />
:Danish: I'll create an event. Do you think we'll still be using Google Calendar in 2045?<br />
:Black Hat: Sorry, I'd love to make it, but I have a thing that day.<br />
<br />
:Caption: It's weird making plans for eclipses.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2685:_2045&diff=2967972685: 20452022-10-15T13:40:41Z<p>172.70.230.157: restored sanitized version (not bloated by invisible characters)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2685<br />
| date = October 14, 2022<br />
| title = 2045<br />
| image = 2045_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 350x457px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = "Sorry, doctor, I'm going to have to come in on a different day--I have another appointment that would be really hard to move, in terms of the kinetic energy requirements."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation== <br />
{{incomplete|Created by a GIGANTIC NUCLEAR FURNACE (THE SUN) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The characters are talking about upcoming total {{w|solar eclipses}}. Partial solar eclipses are fairly frequent (2–5 per year), but total eclipses are less frequent (about every 18 months), and most of them will not be in convenient locations for a particular set of people. Cueball seems to be talking about total eclipses visible in much of North America: {{w|Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024|April 8, 2024}} and {{w|Solar eclipse of August 12, 2045|August 12, 2045}}. (There's also a {{w|annular eclipse}} on October 14, 2025.) Making plans for eclipses is awkward given the uncertainty present for anything else far in the future, such as whether the attendees will have children by then, and even whether another scheduling program will catch on and replace Google Calendar.<br />
<br />
Black Hat claims he can't make it, as he has "a thing" on August 12, 2045. Events for that far in the future usually have not yet been scheduled for a precise date{{Citation needed}}, and this combined with the fact that Black Hat remembers this date without checking implies that this could be another of his grand and sinister plans... or he just doesn't want to go.<br />
<br />
The title text is someone cancelling a medical appointment to see the eclipse. The eclipse is hard to move because that would require hastening or delaying it by moving the Earth, Moon or Sun, any of which would require vast amounts of energy.{{Citation needed}} People also don't often schedule doctor's appointments decades in advance.{{Citation needed}} This was published a year before the next eclipse so, if you're someone who plans things a year in advance this serves as a reminder to put it on your calendar.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball, a friend also drawn as Cueball, Danish, and Black Hat are standing together. Danish is looking at her phone.]<br />
:Cueball: ...And then after the one in 2024, there's another on August 12, 2045.<br />
:Friend: We're in! We can invite our kids, assuming we have any.<br />
:Danish: I'll create an event. Do you think we'll still be using Google Calendar in 2045<br />
:Black Hat: Sorry, I'd love to make it, but I have a thing that day.<br />
<br />
:Caption: It's weird making plans for eclipses<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2685:_2045&diff=296796Talk:2685: 20452022-10-15T13:40:02Z<p>172.70.230.157: </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 add a CITATION NEEDED for the medical appointment because in many countries and in the past Soviet Statesit took that long and so is a questionable claim<br />
I've been waiting for Randall to do a comic related to the DART mission. I think I'm going to have to be satisfied with the title text being inspired by it -- altering the orbits of the earth and/or moon would be infinitely harder. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:56, 14 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
though it says Black Hat is rejecting the invitation sarcastically, considering Black Hat it's also possible he's planning something else for the total eclipse, such as playing a prank on people who don't know it's coming, or messing with the meeting under discussion. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.51|108.162.241.51]] 17:31, 14 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Or planning to be actively messing with the eclipse... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.97|172.70.85.97]] 18:59, 14 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
That reminds me: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLW7r4o2_Ow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLW7r4o2_Ow] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.239.32|162.158.239.32]] 19:33, 14 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here’s a source for moving the Earth or the Sun requiring vast amounts of energy: [https://qntm.org/moving https://qntm.org/moving]. It doesn’t really cover moving the Moon though. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.133|172.69.33.133]] 02:23, 15 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:And with that breaks the 104-comic streak where we never saw Black Hat. I'm pretty sure that's the longest ever. [[User:ISaveXKCDpapers|ISaveXKCDpapers]] ([[User talk:ISaveXKCDpapers|talk]]) 03:52, 15 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Is this Megan or Danish? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.117|172.69.33.117]] 05:28, 15 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Can somebody please calculate the minimum needed energy amount, if you start now? --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.242.157|172.70.242.157]] 11:09, 15 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
pretty sure the explanation needs to be sanitized of invisible control characters or zero-width whitespace - there were several edits that added thousands of characters but did not result in a visually different page, and those edits were never reverted --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.115.30|172.70.115.30]] 12:43, 15 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
:edit: just now did it, lmk if i missed anything--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.8|162.158.63.8]] 12:46, 15 October 2022 (UTC)<br />
::unedit: just now undid it, lmk if i missed anything<br />
:::cheeky bastard 💀</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2685:_2045&diff=2967152685: 20452022-10-15T00:04:58Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2685<br />
| date = October 14, 2022<br />
| title = 2045<br />
| image = 2045_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 350x457px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = "Sorry, doctor, I'm going to have to come in on a different day--I have another appointment that would be really hard to move, in terms of the kinetic energy requirements."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a GIGANTIC NUCLEAR FURNACE (THE SUN) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The characters are talking about upcoming total {{w|solar eclipses}}. Partial solar eclipses are fairly frequent (2–5 per year), but total eclipses are less frequent (about every 18 months), and most of them will not be in convenient locations for a particular set of people. Cueball seems to be talking about total eclipses visible in much of North America: {{w|Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024|April 8, 2024}} and {{w|Solar eclipse of August 12, 2045|August 12, 2045}}. (There's also an {{w|annular eclipse}} on October 14, 2023.) Making plans for eclipses is awkward given the uncertainty present for anything else far in the future, such as whether the attendees will have children by then, and even whether another scheduling program will catch on and replace Google Calendar.<br />
<br />
Black Hat claims he can't make it, as he has "a thing" on August 12, 2045. Events as minor and unspecific as "a thing" are not typically scheduled at a precise date this far in the future{{Citation needed}}, implying that this could be one of his more grand and sinister plans... Or he just doesn't want to go.<br />
<br />
The title text is someone canceling a medical appointment to see the eclipse. The eclipse is hard to move because that would require hastening or delaying it by moving the Earth, Moon or Sun, any of which would require vast amounts of energy.{{Citation needed}} People also don't often schedule doctor's appointments decades in advance.{{Citation needed}} This was published a year before the next eclipse so, if you're someone who plans things a year in advance this serves as a reminder to put it on your calendar.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball, a friend also drawn as Cueball, Danish, and Black Hat are standing together. Danish is looking at her phone.]<br />
:Cueball: ...And then after the one in 2024, there's another on August 12, 2045.<br />
:Friend: We're in! We can invite our kids, assuming we have any.<br />
:Danish: I'll create an event. Do you think we'll still be using Google Calendar in 2045?<br />
:Black Hat: Sorry, I'd love to make it, but I have a thing that day.<br />
<br />
:Caption: It's weird making plans for eclipses.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2685:_2045&diff=2967142685: 20452022-10-15T00:04:40Z<p>172.70.230.157: rv vandalsim</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2685<br />
| date = October 14, 2022<br />
| title = 2045<br />
| image = 2045_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 350x457px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = "Sorry, doctor, I'm going to have to come in on a different day--I have another appointment that would be really hard to move, in terms of the kinetic energy requirements."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The characters are talking about upcoming total {{w|solar eclipses}}. Partial solar eclipses are fairly frequent (2–5 per year), but total eclipses are less frequent (about every 18 months), and most of them will not be in convenient locations for a particular set of people. Cueball seems to be talking about total eclipses visible in much of North America: {{w|Solar eclipse of April 8, 2024|April 8, 2024}} and {{w|Solar eclipse of August 12, 2045|August 12, 2045}}. (There's also an {{w|annular eclipse}} on October 14, 2023.) Making plans for eclipses is awkward given the uncertainty present for anything else far in the future, such as whether the attendees will have children by then, and even whether another scheduling program will catch on and replace Google Calendar.<br />
<br />
Black Hat claims he can't make it, as he has "a thing" on August 12, 2045. Events as minor and unspecific as "a thing" are not typically scheduled at a precise date this far in the future{{Citation needed}}, implying that this could be one of his more grand and sinister plans... Or he just doesn't want to go.<br />
<br />
The title text is someone canceling a medical appointment to see the eclipse. The eclipse is hard to move because that would require hastening or delaying it by moving the Earth, Moon or Sun, any of which would require vast amounts of energy.{{Citation needed}} People also don't often schedule doctor's appointments decades in advance.{{Citation needed}} This was published a year before the next eclipse so, if you're someone who plans things a year in advance this serves as a reminder to put it on your calendar.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball, a friend also drawn as Cueball, Danish, and Black Hat are standing together. Danish is looking at her phone.]<br />
:Cueball: ...And then after the one in 2024, there's another on August 12, 2045.<br />
:Friend: We're in! We can invite our kids, assuming we have any.<br />
:Danish: I'll create an event. Do you think we'll still be using Google Calendar in 2045?<br />
:Black Hat: Sorry, I'd love to make it, but I have a thing that day.<br />
<br />
:Caption: It's weird making plans for eclipses.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2685:_2045&diff=2966672685: 20452022-10-14T16:39:09Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2685<br />
| date = October 14, 2022<br />
| title = 2045<br />
| image = 2045_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 350x457px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = "Sorry, doctor, I'm going to have to come in on a different day--I have another appointment that would be really hard to move, in terms of the kinetic energy requirements."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by THE SUN (A MASS OF INCANDESCENT GAS) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Making plans for eclipses is awkward given how infrequently they occur and the uncertainty of what exactly will be going on at the time, e.g. whether the attendants will have children by then, and whether another scheduling program will catch on and replace Google Calendar.<br />
<br />
Black Hat claims he can't make it, as he has "a thing" on August 12th, 2045. Events as minor as "a thing" are not typically scheduled at a precise date this far in the future{{citation needed}}, and this is likely Black Hat sarcastically rejecting Cueball's invitation.<br />
<br />
The title text is someone canceling a doctor appointment to see the eclipse. The event is hard to move because ''the planets composing the eclipse'' are literally hard to move.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball, another person, Danish, and Black Hat are standing together. Danish is looking at her phone.]<br />
:Cueball: ...And then after the one in 2024, there's another on August 12, 2045.<br />
:Friend: We're in! We can invite our kids, assuming we have any.<br />
:Danish: I'll create an event. Do you think we'll still be using Google Calendar in 2045?<br />
:Black Hat: Sorry, I'd love to make it, but I have a thing that day.<br />
<br />
:Caption: It's weird making plans for eclipses.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2685:_2045&diff=2966662685: 20452022-10-14T16:38:38Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2685<br />
| date = October 14, 2022<br />
| title = 2045<br />
| image = 2045_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 350x457px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = "Sorry, doctor, I'm going to have to come in on a different day--I have another appointment that would be really hard to move, in terms of the kinetic energy requirements."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Making plans for eclipses is awkward given how infrequently they occur and the uncertainty of what exactly will be going on at the time, e.g. whether the attendants will have children by then, and whether another scheduling program will catch on and replace Google Calendar.<br />
<br />
Black Hat claims he can't make it, as he has "a thing" on August 12th, 2045. Events as minor as "a thing" are not typically scheduled at a precise date this far in the future{{citation needed}}, and this is likely Black Hat sarcastically rejecting Cueball's invitation.<br />
<br />
The title text is someone canceling a doctor appointment to see the eclipse. The event is hard to move because ''the planets composing the eclipse'' are literally hard to move.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Cueball, another person, Danish, and Black Hat are standing together. Danish is looking at her phone.]<br />
:Cueball: ...And then after the one in 2024, there's another on August 12, 2045.<br />
:Friend: We're in! We can invite our kids, assuming we have any.<br />
:Danish: I'll create an event. Do you think we'll still be using Google Calendar in 2045?<br />
:Black Hat: Sorry, I'd love to make it, but I have a thing that day.<br />
<br />
:Caption: It's weird making plans for eclipses.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2682:_Easy_Or_Hard&diff=2964322682: Easy Or Hard2022-10-11T13:53:12Z<p>172.70.230.157: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2682<br />
| date = October 7, 2022<br />
| title = Easy Or Hard<br />
| image = easy_or_hard_2x.png<br />
| imagesize = 740x400px<br />
| noexpand = true<br />
| titletext = "Friction-driven static electrification is familiar and fundamental in daily life, industry, and technology, but its basics have long been unknown and have continually perplexed scientists from ancient Greece to the high-tech era. [...] To date, no single theory can satisfactorily explain this mysterious but fundamental phenomenon." --Eui-Cheol Shin et. al. (2022)<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by THE EIFFEL TOWER TAKING A TYLENOL - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This comic uses a table to compare the perceived difficulty of various questions with how easily they're answered in real life. [[Randall]] has a long history of comics with similar themes, comparing perceptions to reality. In this case, both the perception and the reality are divided into three levels of difficulty, giving a total of nine categories. Accordingly three of the problems listed are effectively as difficult as one would expect, and the remaining six are not. All three of the questions whose answers are "actually pretty easy to find out" relate to the Eiffel Tower, though there's no apparent theme among the other six questions. <br />
<br />
It's likely that this comic was at least partially inspired by writing the books ''[[How To|How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems]]'', [[what if|''What if?'', and ''What If? 2'']], the latter of which was published just a few weeks before this comic. These books involve answering very elaborate questions from a scientific point of view. This process likely emphasized that some really strange questions are actually difficult to answer, while some questions that seem simple continue to confound scientific knowledge. ''What if? 2'' mentions the fact that no one understands why static charges separate.<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Question !! Perceived Difficulty !! Real Difficulty !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|How tall is the Eiffel Tower?||Easy||Easy||The height of any structure that can be easily observed can be calculated without much difficulty. The Eiffel Tower was constructed to be the centerpiece of the {{w|1889 World's Fair}}. At the time of its construction, it was the tallest man-made structure on earth, which meant that its height was widely publicized since it was first constructed (312m when constructed, and now 330 meters, or 1083 feet, with the antenna added later on). This number is widely published, and easily confirmed. <br />
* albeit with a ±6 inch differential depending on local air temperature; as the Eiffel Tower is built out of cast steel, it expands according to how much heat builds up in the metal, which in turn is derived from the intensity & daily duration of the sun's energy. It can also be argued that the number given above is due to rounding, and at sub-millimetrical lengths, the tower's exact height is fluctating constantly as a result of the aforementioned thermal expansion.<br />
|-<br />
|Where was Mars in the sky from Paris on the day the Eiffel Tower opened?||Difficult||Easy||The date of the opening of the tower to the public is well known (May 6, 1889). Since the motions of the planets are predictable, it's clear that calculating the answer should be possible, but it involves enough factors that one might expect it to be very difficult. However, thanks to the existence of [https://in-the-sky.org/skymap.php?no_cookie=1&latitude=48.85&longitude=2.35&timezone=1.00&year=1889&month=5&day=6&hour=9&min=0&PLlimitmag=2&zoom=182&ra=3.78242&dec=20.26465 online tools], which automatically calculate exactly this sort of thing, finding the answer is quite easy. (It was in the constellation of Taurus, and extremely close to where the Sun also was in the sky during that time so probably not easily directly observable). Alternately, to use the tools available at the time, one might check a nautical almanac for 1889, which gives the position of the major planets (and various other celestial bodies) in the sky throughout the year.<br />
|-<br />
|How much does the {{w|Eiffel Tower}}'s gravity deflect baseballs in Boston?||Near Impossible||Easy||This problem sounds extremely specific and esoteric, concerning an effect far too small for direct experimentation. But in theory, it's actually a very simple physics problem. {{w|Newton's law of universal gravitation|Gravitational acceleration}} is determined entirely by masses and distance, and here even the mass of the baseball can be ignored. Since the mass of the Eiffel Tower and the geographic details of both the tower in Paris and any given location in Boston (perhaps {{w|Fenway Park}}, a famous baseball stadium) are easy to look up, the calculation is quite simple.<br />
|-<br />
|How does {{w|general anesthesia}} work?||Easy||Difficult||While biology is always complex, inducing unconsciousness seems relatively simple. In fact, keeping a person unconscious and insensate without causing permanent damage or death is a difficult proposition, requiring a medical specialist. Despite this field being well-established, it might surprise people to know that {{w|Theories of general anaesthetic action|the mechanism of general anesthesia}} is still the subject of research, and recent studies have revealed things that we didn't previously understand.<br />
|-<br />
|How many ants are there?||Difficult||Difficult||While the existence of ants is a mundane part of life for many people, there are so many of them that coming up with a total number of ants in the whole world sounds exceedingly difficult. It is, in fact, a difficult problem, but experts have done a significant amount of work and have come up with well-founded estimates [https://phys.org/news/2022-09-ants-earth-quadrillion.html in the range of 20 quadrillion ants on earth].<br />
|-<br />
|What time of year did the Cretaceous impact happen?||Near Impossible||Difficult||The "Cretaceous impact" (the {{w|Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event}}) happened approximately 66 million years ago. The margins of error on calculating something that ancient are necessarily thousands of years wide at least, so the notion of determining the time of year seems far-fetched. In fact, the problem is a difficult one, but many of the animals killed in the impact were fossilized, and comparing those fossils to modern-day animals at different points in their seasonal growth cycles has led to [https://www.science.org/content/article/springtime-was-season-dinosaurs-died-ancient-fish-fossils-suggest the suggestion that the impact happened in the northern-hemisphere spring.]<br />
|-<br />
|Why does your hair get a static charge when you rub it with a balloon?||Easy||Near Impossible||Inducing a {{w|Static electricity|static charge}} by {{w|Triboelectric effect|rubbing together two materials}} is a method that's been known since ancient times. Since human hair has a marked tendency to develop a positive charge, and the latex commonly used in balloons tends to develop a negative charge, rubbing the two together is a very simple way to create an electric field. This process is so simple that it's used for both party tricks and as a fun demonstration of electrical phenomena. Because of this simplicity, most people would assume that the phenomenon is well understood. So it's surprising that the actual mechanism remains an unsolved problem in physics. This also has previously been mentioned in [[1867: Physics Confession]]. The title text quotes [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360674587_Derivation_of_a_governing_rule_in_triboelectric_charging_and_series_from_thermoelectricity a recent paper] explaining that, as common as this phenomenon is, there's still no theory that can adequately explain what we observe.<br />
|-<br />
|How does {{w|Tylenol (brand)|Tylenol}} work?||Difficult||Near Impossible||Tylenol is a brand name for {{w|Paracetamol|paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen}}, a drug commonly sold without prescription for pain relief and fever reduction. This drug has been widely used since 1950, and has been well established as being both effective and safe when used properly. Although one would expect the biological mechanism for any drug to be complicated, most people would assume that a drug that's been widely used and studied for so long to be well-documented. Surprisingly, however, the precise action still isn't fully understood.<br />
|-<br />
|How can {{w|Theory of relativity|relativity}} be reconciled with {{w|quantum mechanics}}?||Near Impossible||Near Impossible||This remains one of the {{w|Theory of everything|great unsolved questions}} in physics. The problem sounds almost unsolvable to laypeople, and remains unsolved even to experts in the field.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! !! Actually pretty easy to find out !! Very hard, but there have been recent breakthroughs !! Extremely hard, currently unsolved<br />
|-<br />
! Sounds borderline unsolvable<br />
|How much does the Eiffel Tower's gravity deflect baseballs in Boston?||What time of year did the cretaceous impact happen?||How can relativity be reconciled with quantum mechanics?<br />
|-<br />
! Sounds pretty hard, but you'd assume someone knows<br />
|Where was Mars in the sky from Paris on the day the Eiffel Tower opened?||How many ants are there?||How does Tylenol work?<br />
|-<br />
! Sounds like it would be easy to look up<br />
|How tall is the Eiffel Tower?||How does general anesthesia work?||Why does your hair get a static charge when you rub it with a balloon?<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Ants]]<br />
[[Category:Medicine]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2668:_Artemis_Quote&diff=2941832668: Artemis Quote2022-09-05T21:38:12Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2668<br />
| date = September 5, 2022<br />
| title = Artemis Quote<br />
| image = artemis_quote.png<br />
| titletext = Another option: "It is an honor to be the first human to set foot on the moon."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|That's one small step for a MEAT POPSICLE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The Artemis program is a series of planned space missions that will land humans on the moon and begin to set up infrastructure for a permanent human presence. Humans first landed on the moon in 1969 as part of the Apollo program. They have not been back since 1972. <br />
<br />
When one of the first two humans on the moon, {{w|Neil Armstrong}}, took the first step on the moon, he was scripted to say, "That's one small step for '''a''' man, but a giant leap for mankind" ,[emphasis added]. In the audio recording he seems to have left out the word "a", making the sentence confusing and self-contradictory. This recording was broadcast worldwide at the time and has become a famous historical quote. However, the extent to which the {{w|schwa}} grammatical article, "a", optional in certain dialects of American English,{{Actual citation needed}} was apparently elided by Armstrong in the excitement, modifying the semantic meaning of the historical phrase, is controversial and therefore funny. Subsequently Armstrong and others have blamed insufficiently tuned {{w|voice activity detection}} hardware circuitry intended to save power in radio voice transmission, but NASA engineers and third-party historians and their hired experts have never been able to corroborate that excuse.<br />
<br />
Randall proposes that the first Artemis astronaut should create an even more confusing quote by referring to the sentence they are currently speaking as if they are quoting something from their past.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests an alternate phrase by which the Artemis astronaut would claim to be the first (rather than 13th) human on the moon. It could also be meant as a phrase Armstrong could have used with less chance of flubbing, but seems inappropriately self-aggrandizing for the mild-mannered car salesman astronaut.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2668:_Artemis_Quote&diff=2941822668: Artemis Quote2022-09-05T21:36:01Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2668<br />
| date = September 5, 2022<br />
| title = Artemis Quote<br />
| image = artemis_quote.png<br />
| titletext = Another option: "It is an honor to be the first human to set foot on the moon."<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|That's one small step for a MEAT POPSICLE. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The Artemis program is a series of planned space missions that will land humans on the moon and begin to set up infrastructure for a permanent human presence. Humans first landed on the moon in 1969 as part of the Apollo program. They have not been back since 1972. <br />
<br />
When {{w|Neil Armstrong}} took the first step on the moon, he was supposed to say, "That's one small step for '''a''' man, and a giant leap for mankind," [emphasis added] or words to that effect. However, the extent to which the {{w|schwa}} grammatical article, "a" optional in certain dialects of American English,{{Actual citation needed}} was apparently elided by Armstrong in the excitement, modifying the semantic meaning of the historical phrase, is controversial and therefore funny. Subsequently Armstrong and others have blamed insufficiently tuned {{w|voice activity detection}} hardware circuitry intended to save power in radio voice transmission, but NASA engineers and third-party historians and their hired experts have never been able to corroborate that excuse.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests a phrase Armstrong could have used with less chance of flubbing, but seems inappropriately self-aggrandizing for the mild-mannered car salesman astronaut.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2662:_Physics_Safety_Tip&diff=2933122662: Physics Safety Tip2022-08-23T06:30:11Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2662<br />
| date = August 22, 2022<br />
| title = Physics Safety Tip<br />
| image = physics_safety_tip.png<br />
| titletext = In general, avoid exposure to any temperatures, pressures, particle energies, or states of matter that physicists think are neat.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT PHYSICISTS ARE EXCITED ABOUT (STEP AWAY, BUSTER) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
In general, there are very narrow ranges of temperature, pressure, and chemical makeup humans can survive in. Human physicists necessarily spend all their time in these conditions and think of them as ordinary. They have thoroughly studied everything there is to study about these ordinary conditions, which makes them now boring. Instead physicists study more extreme conditions, most of which would be quickly lethal to humans &mdash; anything from the core of stars to the vacuum of space and many, many things in between. Thus, extreme conditions are very dangerous for most organisms. Even for especially resilient organisms, such as tardigrades, there is a point past which they will [https://what-if.xkcd.com/141/ stop being biology and start being physics], in which case their resilience will not save them. Thus, if a physicist is excited about something, it likely exists in circumstances where your own existence—as well as other life—would meet an end. One (partial) exception is particle beams; {{w|Anatoli Bugorski|people can stick their heads in particle beams and survive—but not unscathed.}} Also, physicists used to be excited about (particles produced by) cosmic rays before they had powerful accelerators.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:General Physics Safety Tip:<br />
:[The next line of text is shown in gray.]<br />
:(From ''What If 2'', xkcd.com/whatif2)<br />
<br />
:[A flowchart consisting of three rectangular boxes, a diamond box, and three arrows is shown.]<br />
<br />
:[The first rectangular box, at the top, is the starting point. It says:]<br />
:Should I stand near this thing?<br />
<br />
:[A down-pointing arrow leads to a diamond decision box. Two arrows lead from it, one pointing to the right and labeled "No", the other pointing down and labeled "Yes". The diamond box reads:]<br />
:Are physicists excited about it?<br />
<br />
:[The "No" arrow from the diamond box leads to the following rectangular box:]<br />
:Maybe<br />
<br />
:[The "Yes" arrow from the diamond box leads to the following rectangular box:]<br />
:No<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Tips]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]<br />
[[Category:Flowcharts]]<br />
[[Category:Book promotion]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=639:_Lincoln-Douglas&diff=290300639: Lincoln-Douglas2022-07-23T23:54:53Z<p>172.70.230.157: Undo revision 290299 by Ike M. Rivers (talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number =639<br />
| date =September 21, 2009<br />
| title =Lincoln-Douglas<br />
| image =lincoln_douglas.png<br />
| titletext =Stephen Douglas actually died soon after the debates and election, but if you demand historical accuracy in your webcomics you should be reading Hark! A Vagrant.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The {{w|Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858}} were a series of seven debates between {{w|Abraham Lincoln}} and {{w|Stephen A. Douglas|Stephen Douglas}}, respectively the Republican and Democratic nominees for a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois (Douglas was the incumbent). All seven debates were devoted to the topic of slavery, a red-hot issue in the United States that played a significant role in precipitating American Civil War. Although Lincoln ultimately lost the election, he had the edited text of the debates published in a book. The book's popularity and widespread media coverage of the original debates helped put his name on the map in American politics, leading to his nomination for President of the United States by the Republican party in 1860. Lincoln went on to win the election (Douglas was one of his opponents in this race), after which point several states immediately seceded and formed a separate government, the {{w|Confederate States of America}}. The Confederacy {{w|Battle of Fort Sumter|attacked Fort Sumter}} in April 1861, sparking the {{w|American Civil War}}, a vicious conflict between the states that would last for four years.<br />
<br />
In 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac defeated the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at the {{w|Battle of Gettysburg}} in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Four and a half months later, President Lincoln delivered the {{w|Gettysburg Address}}, to dedicate the Soldiers' National Cemetery. The Address, less than three minutes long, became one of the most famous speeches in American history; millions of schoolchildren have memorized it verbatim in the 150 years since.<br />
<br />
In this comic, Stephen Douglas heckles President Lincoln after the opening sentence of the Gettysburg Address with a juvenile "your mom" joke, which is both anachronistic and not up to Douglas's usual elegant standards of debate. The only difference from the original speech is that "our fathers" is replaced with "your mom".<br />
<br />
The title text admits that Douglas actually died soon after the election (passing away in June 1861), but suggests the webcomic ''[http://www.harkavagrant.com/ Hark! A Vagrant]'', written by {{w|Kate Beaton}}, if you're looking for historical accuracy in your webcomics. ''Hark!'s'' usual topics are historical or literary figures.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Abraham Lincoln stands before an audience.]<br />
:Stephen Douglas: Oh yeah? Well, fourscore and seven years ago your MOM brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal!<br />
<br />
:After his 1860 loss to Lincoln, Stephen Douglas's famed debating skills entered a rapid decline.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]<br />
[[Category:Politics]]<br />
[[Category:Your Mom]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2648:_Chemicals&diff=2898492648: Chemicals2022-07-21T21:35:16Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2648<br />
| date = July 20, 2022<br />
| title = Chemicals<br />
| image = chemicals.png<br />
| titletext = It's hard to believe, but lots of kids these days ONLY know how to buy prepackaged molecules.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by BIG ISOMER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] mentions that her company spends a lot on chemicals for which you can find formulas online. She suggests assembling chemicals from atoms "bought in bulk," holding a sheet of paper with the {{w|empirical formula}} C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub> which designates [https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/#query=C6H5NO2 hundreds of compounds] including {{w|nitrobenzene}}, {{w|niacin}}, {{w|isonicotinic acid}}, and {{w|picolinic acid}}, followed by their component elements listed with prices. The ambiguity of chemical formulae is one of the jokes in the comic.<br />
<br />
It is true that many expensive chemicals are composed entirely of inexpensive and commonly available elements, but "assembling" those elements into specific molecules, especially considering the complexity and specificity often required, is rarely a simple task. This set of tasks is the primary purpose of the entire global chemical industry. While in-house {{w|chemical synthesis}} is sometimes cost-effective, usually it is not, because end users are often unable to leverage the {{w|economies of scale}} inherent in bulk manufacturing by specialist industrial firms.[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2880393/] However, we don't know whether Megan and [[Cueball]] work in a laboratory, factory, or some other industrial setting. If they need the chemicals in question in bulk, then synthesizing them might be cost-effective, though it remains a complex and exacting process. <br />
<br />
In any case, producing chemicals from their constituent elements or {{w|Precursor (chemistry)|precursor compound}}s is difficult and time-consuming, requires expensive equipment, and is often fraught with peril.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QwW2owNWgc] {{w|Nitrobenzene}}, one of the C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub> compounds, is an excellent example because it is explosive and extremely toxic, and its synthesis is highly exothermic, making it one of the most dangerou s syntheses in the chemical industry.[https://www.icheme.org/media/10339/xiii-paper-36.pdf] Such issues answer Cueball's question as to why more places don't manufacture their own chemicals. He and Megan appear to be envisioning 'assembling' chemicals as a much simpler process, perhaps akin to snapping together Legos or pieces of a model kit, where there is no reactivity, no energy release, and no hazardous intermediate chemicals. The characters' naivety also gives rise to the humor of the comic, which may also be mocking DIY lifehacks where the cost savings only make sense if their massive time investment is ignored. "Big Molecule" is an [[2130: Industry Nicknames|industry nickname like Big Oil or Big Pharma]], and amusing in its own right.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the fact that many people believe that "kids these days" don't do enough work or are spoiled. Randall has expressed that he dislikes statements like these in [[2165: Millennials|previous comics]].<br />
<br />
This comic may have been prompted by recent news that [https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2022-07-15/for-the-first-time-in-history-we-can-modify-atomic-bonds-in-a-single-molecule.html scientists have found a way to assemble and change atoms in individual molecules] by modifying their bonds.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan and Cueball standing next to each other. Megan has her palms raised.]<br />
:Megan: You know how our company spends a lot on expensive chemicals?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah?<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Megan who is holding piece of paper up in one hand. The paper has a large chemical formula at the top. Below is a list of the atoms needed, with amount and a price tag in dollars but with unreadable amount. There is a sum total at the bottom beneath a line.]<br />
:Megan: Well, I just learned you can look up all of the formulas online!<br />
:Megan: We can just buy the atoms in bulk and assemble them here! <br />
:Paper:<br />
::<big>C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub></big><br />
::Carbon 6 $<br />
::Hydrogen 5 $<br />
::Nitrogen 1 $<br />
::<u>Oxygen 2 $</u><br />
::Total 14 $<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is now on the left of Megan as she is walking past him to the right holding her arms outstretched with her palms up.]<br />
:Cueball: I wonder why more places don't do that.<br />
:Megan: People have no idea they're getting ripped off by Big Molecule!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2648:_Chemicals&diff=2898462648: Chemicals2022-07-21T21:33:01Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2648<br />
| date = July 20, 2022<br />
| title = Chemicals<br />
| image = chemicals.png<br />
| titletext = It's hard to believe, but lots of kids these days ONLY know how to buy prepackaged molecules.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by BIG ISOMER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] mentions that her company spends a lot on chemicals for which you can find formulas online. She suggests assembling chemicals from atoms "bought in bulk," holding a sheet of paper with the {{w|empirical formula}} C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub> which designates [https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/#query=C6H5NO2 hundreds of compounds] including {{w|nitrobenzene}}, {{w|niacin}}, {{w|isonicotinic acid}}, and {{w|picolinic acid}}, followed by their component elements listed with prices. The ambiguity of chemical formulae is one of the jokes in the comic.<br />
<br />
It is true that many expensive chemicals are composed entirely of inexpensive and commonly available elements, but "assembling" those elements into specific molecules, especially considering the complexity and specificity often required, is rarely a simple task. This set of tasks is the primary purpose of the entire global chemical industry. While in-house {{w|chemical synthesis}} is sometimes cost-effective, usually it is not, because end users are often unable to leverage the {{w|economies of scale}} inherent in bulk manufacturing by specialist industrial firms.[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2880393/] However, we don't know whether Megan and [[Cueball]] work in a laboratory, factory, or some other industrial setting. If they need the chemicals in question in bulk, then synthesizing them might be cost-effective, though it remains a complex and exacting process. <br />
<br />
In any case, producing chemicals from their constituent elements or {{w|Precursor (chemistry)|precursor compound}}s is difficult and time-consuming, requires expensive equipment, and is often fraught with peril.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QwW2owNWgc] {{w|Nitrobenzene}}, one of the C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub> compounds, is an excellent example because it is explosive and extremely toxic, and its synthesis is highly exothermic, making it one of the most dangerou s syntheses in the chemical industry.[https://www.icheme.org/media/10339/xiii-paper-36.pdf] Such issues answer Cueball's question as to why more places don't manufacture their own chemicals. He and Megan appear to be envisioning 'assembling' chemicals as a much simpler process, perhaps akin to snapping together Legos or pieces of a model kit, where there is no reactivity, no energy release, and no hazardous intermediate chemicals. The characters' naivety also gives rise to the humor of the comic, which may also be mocking DIY lifehacks where the cost savings only make sense if their massive time investment is ignored. "Big Molecule" is an [[2130: Industry Nicknames|industry nickname like Big Oil or Big Pharma]], and amusing in its own right.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the fact that many people believe that "kids these days" don't do enough work or are spoiled. Randall has expressed that he dislikes statements like these in [[2165: Millennials|previous comics]].<br />
<br />
This comic may have been prompted by recent news that [https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2022-07-15/for-the-first-time-in-history-we-can-modify-atomic-bonds-in-a-single-molecule.html scientists have found a way to assemble and change atoms in individual molecules] by modifying their bonds.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan and Cueball standing next to each other. Megan has her palms raised.]<br />
:Megan: You know how our company spends a lot on expensive chemicals?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah?<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Megan who is holding piece of paper up in one hand. The paper has a large chemical formula at the top. Below is a list of the atoms needed, with amount and a price tag in dollars but with unreadable amount. There is a sum total at the bottom beneath a line.]<br />
:Megan: Well, I just learned you can look up all of the formulas online!<br />
:Megan: We can just buy the atoms in bulk and assemble them here! <br />
:Paper:<br />
::<big>C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub></big><br />
::Carbon 6 $<br />
::Hydrogen 5 $<br />
::Nitrogen 1 $<br />
::<u>Oxygen 2 $</u><br />
::Total 14 $<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is now on the left of Megan as she is walking past him to the right holding her arms outstretched with her palms up.]<br />
:Cueball: I wonder why more places don't do that.<br />
:Megan: People have no idea they're getting ripped off by Big Molecule!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2648:_Chemicals&diff=2898432648: Chemicals2022-07-21T21:31:10Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2648<br />
| date = July 20, 2022<br />
| title = Chemicals<br />
| image = chemicals.png<br />
| titletext = It's hard to believe, but lots of kids these days ONLY know how to buy prepackaged molecules.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by BIG ISOMER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Megan]] mentions that her company spends a lot on chemicals for which you can find formulas online. She suggests assembling chemicals from atoms "bought in bulk," holding a sheet of paper with the {{w|empirical formula}} C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub> which designates [https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/#query=C6H5NO2 hundreds of compounds] including {{w|nitrobenzene}}, {{w|niacin}}, {{w|isonicotinic acid}}, and {{w|picolinic acid}}, followed by their component elements listed with prices. The ambiguity of chemical formulae is one of the jokes in the comic.<br />
<br />
It is true that many expensive chemicals are composed entirely of inexpensive and commonly available elements, but "assembling" those elements into specific molecules, especially considering the complexity and specificity often required, is rarely a simple task. This set of tasks is the primary purpose of the entire global chemical industry. While in-house {{w|chemical synthesis}} is sometimes cost-effective, usually it is not, because end users are often unable to leverage the {{w|economies of scale}} inherent in bulk manufacturing by specialist industrial firms.[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2880393/] However, we don't know whether Megan and [[Cueball]] work in a laboratory, factory, or some other industrial setting. If they need the chemicals in question in bulk, then synthesizing them might be cost-effective, though it remains a complex and exacting process. <br />
<br />
In any case, producing chemicals from their constituent elements or {{w|Precursor (chemistry)|precursor compound}}s is difficult and time-consuming, requires expensive equipment, and is often fraught with peril.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QwW2owNWgc] {{w|Nitrobenzene}}, one of the C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub> compounds, is an excellent example because it is explosive and extremely toxic, and its synthesis is highly exothermic, making it one of the most dangerou s syntheses in the chemical industry.[https://www.icheme.org/media/10339/xiii-paper-36.pdf] Such issues answer Cueball's question as to why more places don't manufacture their own chemicals. He and Megan appear to be envisioning 'assembling' chemicals as a much simpler process, perhaps akin to snapping together Legos or pieces of a model kit, where there is no reactivity, no energy release, and no hazardous intermediate chemicals. The characters' naivety also gives rise to the humor of the comic, which may also be mocking DIY lifehacks where the cost savings only make sense if their massive time investment is ignored. "Big Molecule" is an [[2130: Industry Nicknames|industry nickname like Big Oil or Big Pharma]], and amusing in its own right.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the fact that many people believe that "kids these days" don't do enough work or are spoiled. Randall has expressed that he dislikes statements like these in [[2165: Millennials|previous comics]].<br />
<br />
This comic may have been prompted by recent news that [https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2022-07-15/for-the-first-time-in-history-we-can-modify-atomic-bonds-in-a-single-molecule.html scientists have found a way to assemble and change atoms in individual molecules] by modifying their bonds.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan and Cueball standing next to each other. Megan has her palms raised.]<br />
:Megan: You know how our company spends a lot on expensive chemicals?<br />
:Cueball: Yeah?<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on Megan who is holding piece of paper up in one hand. The paper has a large chemical formula at the top. Below is a list of the atoms needed, with amount and a price tag in dollars but with unreadable amount. There is a sum total at the bottom beneath a line.]<br />
:Megan: Well, I just learned you can look up all of the formulas online!<br />
:Megan: We can just buy the atoms in bulk and assemble them here! <br />
:Paper:<br />
::<big>C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>5</sub>NO<sub>2</sub></big><br />
::Carbon 6 $<br />
::Hydrogen 5 $<br />
::Nitrogen 1 $<br />
::<u>Oxygen 2 $</u><br />
::Total 14 $<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is now on the left of Megan as she is walking past him to the right holding her arms outstretched with her palms up.]<br />
:Cueball: I wonder why more places don't do that.<br />
:Megan: People have no idea they're getting ripped off by Big Molecule!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:229:_Graffiti&diff=289156Talk:229: Graffiti2022-07-20T13:00:35Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>For some reason this reminds me of tor. [[Special:Contributions/184.66.160.91|184.66.160.91]] 02:27, 22 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Indeed [[User:Kripmo|Kripmo]] ([[User talk:Kripmo|talk]]) 01:58, 28 November 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9firPKaB54 If we are lost, then we are lost together.] - Blue Rodeo, 1992<br />
<br />
== Windows NT ==<br />
<br />
The graffiti which the description deciphers as "CUNT" could actually be WNT. An abbreviation for Windows NT. Although "CUNT" is far more likely in an actual toilet cubicle, we must remember the nature of the artist.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.106|141.101.98.106]] 16:54, 12 April 2017 (UTC)<br />
:Pretty sure there is a slight gap between the 'c' and the 'u' (or at least a much fainter line). [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] ([[User talk:Beanie|talk]]) 10:41, 19 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
{{Quote |i think the BITCHAS text was supposed to be BITCHASS, an actual word i have heard before, with the last S covered up by Cueball. i dont think a weird way of spelling the plural of something where only one person is going to be in the bathroom to see it at a time makes sense. also the BITCH and AS are colored differently? maybe say that in the transcript. |''Bumpf, 3/23/21''}} [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.87|162.158.62.87]] 23:41, 23 March 2021 (UTC)<br />
I saw this graffiti at Smith Nelson Library</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2577:_Sea_Chase&diff=227739Talk:2577: Sea Chase2022-02-28T21:35:14Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
The flag on the lefthand ship (port-side, if you will :P) looks like the {{w|Rising Sun Flag}} that the Japanese Navy uses as its ensign. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.147|172.70.110.147]] 02:31, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Actually, that the Navy used in 1889 (not uses). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.147|172.70.110.147]] 02:31, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I reckon it looks more like a Jolly Roger. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.87|108.162.249.87]] 02:44, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Ah, you're right. I was thinking Union Jack for a minute but thought there were too many streaks. The upper and lower portions of the skull nearly touch the edge of the flag, making it look like something akin to a sunburst. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]] 02:46, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::If you look at the [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/sea_chase_2x.png 2x size image] and zoom in it is very clearly the Skull and Crossbones flag from pirates. Which makes a lot of sense. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:27, 13 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Okay, I added an initial description for the title text and made a bunch of edits. I'll stop now to let other people get in on the action. :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]] 02:54, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Yeah, I kept edit-conflicting (except the first time, when I ended up just appended to some else's first edit) and I ''think'' I have reached the point where I've unruined everything of everyone else's that I didn't fully intend to change or add to. But it's late (GMT) and I need my sleep so if I've accidentally rushed through some stuff I shouldn't have then please fill your boots and tweak it back (or onwards) to how it should be. G'night! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.11|162.158.159.11]] 03:07, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
::G'night. I think we were conflicting. It was my first experience live editing and it was fun. lol [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.157|172.70.230.157]] 03:08, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
If that is the goode one, I'd like to keep clear of the Baad Homolosine. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.41|141.101.105.41]] 14:08, 6 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
What's the reason for thinking the ships are sailing towards Europe? The prevailing wind in the north Atlantic is more or less westerly, so ships tacking into the wind are more likely to be heading west. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.155|162.158.222.155]] 20:00, 6 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:They're pointing right, which matches the map? (Was posting the following comment, but might as well answer this straight away.) Also, being chased by a pirate ''towards'' all those lovely New World riches seems funny idea, on balance. Although of course it depends on when and how a privateer discovers a possible prize... for some reason in the very middle of the Atlantic rather than in a more bottlenecked part of the trade-routes. Perhaps the merchantman was spotted leaving the vicinity of Bermuda (they have the sails for it!), with signs of carrying cargo of value, and it was considered worth chasing all the way to the mid-Atlantic, just about catching them up. The voice 'from the map' comes from the Easterly ship, as well, so that can really only mean that it went just a little more east prior to the gap-in-the-map appears and it would make Europe the most practical destination afterwards. As for the winds, matching the map position with prevailing/trade-wind diagrams, they could easily be caught in a north-westerly/north-easterly zone that naturally forms a gyre in the atmospheric flow (on average, and of course passing weather systems can send contrary winds any which way off the various edges of a rotating or counter-rotating pressure-system as it moves loosely across the ocean. On the whole I think it was a reasonable assumption to make that they're Europe-bound (by inclination and/or because that's the way the chase takes them), based upon both illustrative convention and the general logistics of the situation, but then with the possible top-mast flags 'error' I'm not sure exactly how strictly Randall intended this all to be. He could have colour-coded the dots, individually, if he was even that bothered - not just made them both red. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 20:23, 6 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Very long explanation for nothing ;-) That they are sailing east is clear from the fact that the red dot closest to Europe is the one being chased, and it just crosses the meridian from the west to the east so they can throw the switch. End of all other arguments. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:27, 13 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:{{w|Westerlies}} blow from the West to the East. It could be argued they're within the Trade Wind latitudes, but the ships are positioned far enough up North for me to believe they're meant to be in the Westerlies. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.157|172.70.230.157]] 21:35, 28 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
So by my (less than encyclopedic) reckoning, that's a fast gaff-rigged sloop flying chasing what appears to be a more cumbersome gunter-rigged (or bermuda?) schooner (iffy on that one, but it's not a ketch). What's most strange is that they're triangular, not square, as a merchantman/non-raider should need (especially in a chase such as this) as much sail as possible just to get its deeper and wider hull moving. Neither are using topsails, maybe because the wind conditions are contrary. Yes, the top-flags are pointing backwards, but then that's also a common artist error (with anything other than a modern wingsail), while both ships are flying clearly foreward sails (not spinnakers, I'm sure) and the chased one seems distinctly inflated to the direction of travel. Era-specific peculiarities are beyond my easy assessment (or indeed what century such an encounter might actually be in). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 20:23, 6 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I think it is safe to say that Randall did not think too much about how the ships sails worked. For one if the ship has the wind in from the back, then the flags would blow the other way, since the ship will never sail as fast as the wind. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:30, 13 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
It should be noted that the Dymaxion map used afloat would almost assuredly be of the "contiguous oceans" variety of projections, not one of the versions that splits the oceans to produce contiguous land masses... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.104|162.158.107.104]] 16:21, 7 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Changing the projection would be extremely unhelpful for any other ships traveling the Atlantic between North America and Europe which hadn't arrived at the meridian yet, as they would have to travel hundreds of miles out of their way to continue their journey. Not to mention, any ship that was ''on'' the meridian elsewhere in the ocean would be split in half. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.25|172.70.178.25]] 21:42, 7 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;The strange large anachronistic square incongruous inscribed otherworldly ¿synthetic? reality-warping switch....<br />
Interesting edits about the switch, along the way. Generally I think compounded adjectival descriptors go by the order of opinion, size, age, shape, (existential) quality, colour, origin, material and purpose - though there are disagreements and alternate versions of that list. What is incongruousity? An opinion or a quality (or origin, at a push?), I'd guess, making each order potentially valid. (In advance of any further arguments, I suggest "strange large" rather than an edit-war, though I personally like its incongruousness being mentioned, and incongruousicity in general. YMMV.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.73|162.158.159.73]] 17:22, 5 February 2022 (UTC)</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2586:_Greek_Letters&diff=2276422586: Greek Letters2022-02-26T23:27:27Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2586<br />
| date = February 25, 2022<br />
| title = Greek Letters<br />
| image = greek_letters.png<br />
| titletext = If you ever see someone using a capital xi in an equation, just observe them quietly to learn as much as you can before they return to their home planet.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by '''''O R B S''''' PRO®- Missing explanations for some letters. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Mathematics uses lots of Greek letters, typically using {{w|Greek_letters_used_in_mathematics,_science,_and_engineering|the same letter consistently}} to represent a particular constant or type of variable. <br />
This comic gives a (non-)explanation of what they typically mean.<br />
<br />
The letters are:<br />
<br />
* '''π (lower-case pi)''' — Typically used to refer to the constant ratio between a circle’s circumference and its diameter (approximately 3.14). This usage of pi commonly applies to equations in introductory geometry classes, which would be considered "simple" by advanced mathematicians. However, pi also shows up seemingly randomly in extremely advanced and complicated equations (that have nothing to do with a circle), as part of the solution to an infinite series or whatnot. (There are also {{w|Pi_(letter)#Lowercase_Pi|several advanced equations}} which use pi to represent variables other than the ratio of the circumference to the diameter.) "Impossible" may mean the impossibility of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squaring_the_circle squaring the circle] (a consequence of π being transcendental).<br />
<br />
* '''Δ (capital delta)''' — Typically used to refer to a change in quantity.<br />
<br />
* '''δ (lower-case delta)''' — Also typically used to refer to a change in quantity, but unlike the capital delta, this is only for infinitesimal changes and is used in derivative and integration expressions in mathematics hence the text's reference to "a mathematician's fault".<br />
<br />
* '''θ (lower-case theta)''' — Typically used to refer to an angle, and is notably used in the polar coordinate system. The text refers to its close relationship with circles, on which the polar coordinate system is based.<br />
<br />
* '''ϕ (lower-case phi)''' — Typically used to refer to another angle other than one referred to by theta. It's used in spherical coordinates, and the text refers to how spheres, or orbs, are important in spherical coordinates. <br />
<br />
* '''ϵ (lower-case epsilon)''' — Epsilon is typically used to refer to very small quantities which go to zero in the limit. In this interpretation, the comic suggests that because these quantities are very small, they are unimportant, when in reality the study of quantities that go to zero gives rise to limits and calculus. Also used for the series of transfinite numbers that are unreachable from ω (see below) using addition, multiplication, and exponentiation, and in statistical modelling to denote observational noise. <br />
<br />
* '''υ,ν (lower-case upsilon and lower-case nu)''' — If these are being used it implies that the normal u & v characters are already assigned as constants or variables, and thus the math is probably of a higher level. Common in college level physics and engineering equations.<br />
<br />
* '''μ (lower-case mu)''' — Among others, ''μ'' is used in category theory, measure theory, and as the symbol for the Ramanujan–Soldner constant, all uses with highly abstract applications. It is, however, also employed in statistics for the mean of a population, and in various physical fields, e.g. as the symbol for the coefficient of friction, both concepts that most people are well acquainted with empirically if not formally. Another common use of ''μ'' – outside of equations – is the symbol of the SI prefix ''micro-''.<br />
<br />
* '''Σ (capital sigma)''' — Typically used as a symbol for summation of a series of numbers.<br />
<br />
* '''Π (capital pi)''' — Typically used as a symbol for multiplication of a series of numbers.<br />
<br />
* '''ζ (lower-case zeta)''' — Frequently used with number theory, in particular the {{w|Riemann zeta function}}, which is a the focus of a famously unsolved problem in highly advanced mathematics.<br />
<br />
* '''β (lower-case beta)''' — This could be a reference to the typical usage of beta to represent coefficients of independent variables in the {{w|Ordinary_least_squares#Linear_model|ordinary least squares regression model}}. Regression can potentially have a large number of independent variables, hence potentially many different betas (differentiated by subscript, or compacted into matrix notation) would be used. Alternatively, the comic might suggest whatever source this equation is from has run out of Latin letters to use as symbols, and is now going through the Greek letters.<br />
<br />
* '''α (lower-case alpha)''' — Possibly referring to the {{w|fine-structure constant}} which shows up in high energy physics, atomic physics, quantum electrodynamics, and at least [https://explainxkcd.com/1047/ one other xkcd comic]. Alpha could also refer to {{w|angular acceleration}}, or the acceleration of spinning systems, which are capable of killing people in a number of [https://explainxkcd.com/123/ interesting ways]. Another dangerous annotation of α comes from radioactive α-radiation: while it can be easily blocked by even a sheet of paper, it has been [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Litvinenko#Poisoning_and_death used for assessinations] through ingestion.<br />
<br />
* '''Ω (capital omega)''' — Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, and thus often seen as momentous (the end, the final word, death). This symbol has been used for a {{w|Omega_function|variety of mathematical functions}} and as the symbol for the {{w|first uncountable ordinal}}. Commonly used – outside of equations – as the symbol for {{w|ohms}}, a unit for electrical resistance. <br />
<br />
* '''ω (lower-case omega)''' — Lower-case omega is used for the {{w|Transfinite_number|lowest transfinite ordinal number}}, a specific way of referring to a type of infinity in a mathematically robust way. The line about dying here among the transfinite equations may be in reference to the literally infinite scope of the branch of mathematics. It is also used in physics and electrical engineering for angular velocity, equal to 2πf.<br />
<br />
* '''σ (lower-case sigma)''' — In statistics, commonly refers to the standard deviation of a distribution. Statistics often attempts to use simplified models to explain real-world phenomena.<br />
<br />
* '''ξ (lower-case xi)''' — Randall comments that this looks like a strand of curly hair. Xi is used in the {{w|Riemann Xi function}}. <br />
<br />
* '''γ (lower-case gamma)''' — Used for the Lorentz factor, an important variable in special relativity calculations. Its use implies that you are dealing with speeds approaching the speed of light, and therefore with spaceships or other moving objects not confined to Earth. <br />
<br />
* '''ρ (lower-case rho)''' — often used to measure density, such as air density that a wing might be travelling through.<br />
<br />
* '''Ξ (capital xi)''' — Resembles the icon of some {{w|Stack Exchange}} [https://stackexchange.com/sites# sites]. This character is also identical to Besh, the second letter of the {{w|Aurebesh}} alphabet [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Aurebesh] used in ''Star Wars.'' According to the comic, anyone using this letter is likely a being from another planet. That is perhaps the character looks vaguely like a poster depicting an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unidentified_flying_object UFO].<br />
<br />
* '''ψ (lower-case psi)''' — Psi looks exactly like a trident. In quantum mechanics it's used to describe the wave function of a particle, leading to a bad pun. (Psi is also used in mathematics to represent the sum of the inverse of the Fibonacci numbers, the division polynomials, and the supergolden ratio.)<br />
<br />
Randall has posted another comic about math symbols before: [[2520: Symbols]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Header:]<br />
:What Greek letters mean in equations<br />
<br />
:[What follows is a list of Greek letters, with explanations next to them.]<br />
:π This math is either very simple or impossible.<br />
:Δ Something has changed.<br />
:δ Something has changed and it's a mathematician's fault.<br />
:θ Circles!<br />
:Φ '''''O R B S'''''<br />
:ϵ Not important, don't worry about it.<br />
:υ,ν Is that a V or a U? Or...oh no, it's one of ''those''.<br />
:μ This math is cool but it's not about anything that you will ever see or touch, so whatever.<br />
:Σ Thank you for purchasing ''Addition Pro''®!<br />
:Π ...and the ''Multiplication''® expansion pack!<br />
:ζ This math will only lead to more math.<br />
:β There are just too many coefficients.<br />
:α Oh boy, now '''''this''''' is math about something real. This is math that could '''''kill''''' someone.<br />
:Ω Oooh, ''some'' mathematician thinks their function is cool and important.<br />
:ω A lot of work went into these equations and you are going to die here among them.<br />
:σ Some poor soul is trying to apply this math to real life and it's not working.<br />
:ξ Either this is terrifying mathematics or there was a hair on the scanned page.<br />
:γ ''Zoom'' pew pew pew [space noises] ''zoooom!''<br />
:ρ Unfortunately, the test vehicle suffered an unexpected wing separation event.<br />
:Ξ Greetings! We hope to learn a great deal by exchanging knowledge with your Earth mathematicians.<br />
:ψ You have entered the domain of King Triton, ruler of the waves.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2586:_Greek_Letters&diff=2276162586: Greek Letters2022-02-26T13:17:29Z<p>172.70.230.157: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2586<br />
| date = February 25, 2022<br />
| title = Greek Letters<br />
| image = greek_letters.png<br />
| titletext = If you ever see someone using a capital xi in an equation, just observe them quietly to learn as much as you can before they return to their home planet.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by '''''O R B S''''' PRO®- Missing explanations for some letters. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
Mathematics uses lots of Greek letters, typically using {{w|Greek_letters_used_in_mathematics,_science,_and_engineering|the same letter consistently}} to represent a particular constant or type of variable. <br />
This comic gives a (non-)explanation of what they typically mean.<br />
<br />
The letters are:<br />
<br />
* '''π (lower-case pi)''' — Typically used to refer to the constant ratio between a circle’s circumference and its diameter (approximately 3.14). This usage of pi commonly applies to equations in introductory geometry classes, which would be considered "simple" by advanced mathematicians. However, pi also shows up seemingly randomly in extremely advanced and complicated equations (that have nothing to do with a circle), as part of the solution to an infinite series or whatnot. (There are also {{w|Pi_(letter)#Lowercase_Pi|several advanced equations}} which use pi to represent variables other than the ratio of the circumference to the diameter.)<br />
<br />
* '''Δ (capital delta)''' — Typically used to refer to a change in quantity.<br />
<br />
* '''δ (lower-case delta)''' — Also typically used to refer to a change in quantity, but unlike the capital delta, this is only for infinitesimal changes and is used in derivative and integration expressions in mathematics hence the text's reference to "a mathematician's fault".<br />
<br />
* '''θ (lower-case theta)''' — Typically used to refer to an angle, and is notably used in the polar coordinate system. The text refers to its close relationship with circles, on which the polar coordinate system is based.<br />
<br />
* '''Φ (lower-case phi)''' — Typically used to refer to another angle other than one referred to by theta. It's used in spherical coordinates, and the text refers to how spheres, or orbs, are important in spherical coordinates. <br />
<br />
* '''ϵ (lower-case lunate epsilon)''' — Epsilon is typically used to refer to very small quantities which go to zero in the limit. In this interpretation, the comic suggests that because these quantities are very small, they are unimportant, when in reality the study of quantities that go to zero gives rise to limits and calculus. It is also used for the series of transfinite numbers that are unreachable from ω (see below) using addition, multiplication, and exponentiation. Also used in statistical modelling to denote observational noise. <br />
<br />
* '''υ,ν (lower-case upsilon and lower-case nu)''' — If these are being used it implies that the normal u & v characters are already assigned as constants or variables, and thus the math is probably of a higher level. Common in college level physics and engineering equations.<br />
<br />
* '''μ (lower-case mu)''' — The SI prefix for "micro" = 10<sup>-6</sup>, representing very small quantities: a micrometer (μm) is tens of times smaller than the width of a human hair, a microgram (μg) is one single fine speck of flour, both of which are barely visible with the bare human eye nor feelable through the skin.<br />
<br />
* '''Σ (capital sigma)''' — Typically used as a symbol for summation of a series of numbers.<br />
<br />
* '''Π (capital pi)''' — Typically used as a symbol for multiplication of a series of numbers.<br />
<br />
* '''ζ (lower-case zeta)''' — Frequently used with number theory, in particular the {{w|Riemann zeta function}}, which is a the focus of a famously unsolved problem in highly advanced mathematics.<br />
<br />
* '''β (lower-case beta)''' — This could be a reference to the typical usage of beta to represent coefficients of independent variables in the {{w|Ordinary_least_squares#Linear_model|ordinary least squares regression model}}. Regression can potentially have a large number of independent variables, hence potentially many different betas (differentiated by subscript, or compacted into matrix notation) would be used. Alternatively, the comic might suggest whatever source this equation is from has run out of Latin letters to use as symbols, and is now going through the Greek letters.<br />
<br />
* '''α (lower-case alpha)''' — Possibly referring to alpha radiation, which certainly could kill someone. Quite likely refers to angular acceleration, or the acceleration of spinning systems, which are capable of killing people in a number of [https://xkcd.com/123/ interesting ways]...<br />
<br />
* '''Ω (capital omega)''' — Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet, and thus often seen as momentous (the end, the final word, death). This symbol has been used for a {{w|Omega_function|variety of mathematical functions}}. Also used for the symbol for {{w|ohms}}, a unit for electrical resistance, and for the first uncountable ordinal. <br />
<br />
* '''ω (lower-case omega)''' — Lower-case omega is used for the {{w|Transfinite_number|lowest transfinite ordinal number}}, a specific way of referring to a type of infinity in a mathematically robust way. The line about dying here among the transfinite equations may be in reference to the literally infinite scope of the branch of mathematics. It is also used in physics and electrical engineering for angular frequency, equal to 2πf.<br />
<br />
* '''σ (lower-case sigma)''' — In statistics, commonly refers to the standard deviation of a distribution. Statistics often attempts to use simplified models to explain real-world phenomena.<br />
<br />
* '''ξ (lower-case xi)''' — Randall comments that this looks like a strand of curly hair. Xi is used in the {{w|Riemann Xi function}}. <br />
<br />
* '''γ (lower-case gamma)''' — Gamma ray is the most powerful classification of electromagnetic radiation AKA "light", and powerful lights are frequently associated with high-tech, futuristic devices and weapons, hence "space noises". Alternatively, this might be a reference to the Lorentz factor, an important variable in special relativity calculations.<br />
<br />
* '''ρ (lower-case rho)''' — often used to measure density, such as air density that a wing might be travelling through.<br />
<br />
* '''Ξ (capital xi)''' — Resembles the icon of some {{w|Stack Exchange}} [https://stackexchange.com/sites# sites]. This character is also identical to Besh, the second letter of the {{w|Aurebesh}} alphabet [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Aurebesh] used in ''Star Wars.'' According to the comic, anyone using this letter is likely a being from another planet.<br />
<br />
* '''ψ (lower-case psi)''' — Psi looks exactly like a trident. In quantum mechanics it's used to describe the wave function of a particle, leading to a bad pun. (Psi is also used in mathematics to represent the sum of the inverse of the Fibonacci numbers, the division polynomials, and the supergolden ratio.)<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
:[Header:]<br />
:What Greek letters mean in equations<br />
<br />
:[What follows is a list of Greek letters, with explanations next to them.]<br />
:π This math is either very simple or impossible.<br />
:Δ Something has changed.<br />
:δ Something has changed and it's a mathematician's fault.<br />
:θ Circles!<br />
:Φ '''''O R B S'''''<br />
:ϵ Not important, don't worry about it.<br />
:υ,ν Is that a V or a U? Or...oh no, it's one of ''those''.<br />
:μ This math is cool but it's not about anything that you will ever see or touch, so whatever.<br />
:Σ Thank you for purchasing ''Addition Pro''®!<br />
:Π ...and the ''Multiplication''® expansion pack!<br />
:ζ This math will only lead to more math.<br />
:β There are just too many coefficients.<br />
:α Oh boy, now '''''this''''' is math about something real. This is math that could '''''kill''''' someone.<br />
:Ω Oooh, ''some'' mathematician thinks their function is cool and important.<br />
:ω A lot of work went into these equations and you are going to die here among them.<br />
:σ Some poor soul is trying to apply this math to real life and it's not working.<br />
:ξ Either this is terrifying mathematics or there was a hair on the scanned page.<br />
:γ ''Zoom'' pew pew pew [space noises] ''zoooom!''<br />
:ρ Unfortunately, the test vehicle suffered an unexpected wing separation event.<br />
:Ξ Greetings! We hope to learn a great deal by exchanging knowledge with your Earth mathematicians.<br />
:ψ You have entered the domain of King Triton, ruler of the waves.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2583:_Chorded_Keyboard&diff=2272892583: Chorded Keyboard2022-02-20T22:14:37Z<p>172.70.230.157: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2583<br />
| date = February 18, 2022<br />
| title = Chorded Keyboard<br />
| image = chorded_keyboard.png<br />
| titletext = And even though it all went wrong / I'll stand before the lord of song / with nothing on my tongue but 'I don't understand, I swear I backed up my keyboard config before messing with it'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by LEONARD COHEN - Someone with proper computer knowledge should probably elaborate on the terms "chorded keyboard" and "keyboard config". Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This strip is a parody of the first verse (and in the title text, the end of the last verse) of {{w|Leonard Cohen}}'s "{{w|Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)|Hallelujah}}", which has become a distinctive and popular song of which {{w|Cover version|covers}} and versions exist. Written as a {{w|Sentimental ballad|ballad}}, it is partly based upon the allegory of a mystical {{w|Chord (music)|musical chord}} of several musical notes, that the words and tune both describe and illustrate by example.<br />
<br />
Here is the verse from the song (see the lyrics [https://genius.com/Leonard-cohen-hallelujah-lyrics here]):<br />
:Now I've heard there was a secret chord<br />
:That David played, and it pleased the Lord<br />
:But you don't really care for music, do ya?<br />
:It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth<br />
:The minor fall, the major lift<br />
:The baffled king composing "Hallelujah"<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] is {{w|Filk music|filking}} upon this theme, but in his case he has somehow set up his computer so that, upon pressing a certain combination of multiple keys on his keyboard, the system will automatically type out the word "hallelujah" (xkcd's all-caps typesetting makes it unclear how the word is capitalized). In his description of the process, in both the comic proper and the title text, he uses adapted lyrics that again both describe and illustrate by example. Most of the initial lyrics are floating 'thoughts'. The punchline "hallelujah", however, is 'spoken' out of his computer monitor - typical of how on-screen text is indirectly shown in this comic series. It partially continues as a song parody through the title text but then trails off into a typical computer-complaint that he perhaps [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|may often have cause to make]].<br />
<br />
The original lyrics rely upon typically nuanced rhymes, such as "do you" (or "do ya'") with "Hallelujah", and "fifth" with "lift", but fairly reliably rhymes "chord" with "Lord". In [[Randall]]'s version, it starts with "chord" and "word" which ''look'' like they should rhyme, but would be /kɔɹd/ {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet|vs.}} /wɝd/ in an typical US accent. Similarly "shift" and "left" might be considered not a {{w|Perfect and imperfect rhymes|perfect rhyme}} when read as prose, but should still be possible to meaningfully sing.<br />
<br />
Technically, a {{w|chorded keyboard}} is one in which (nearly) all inputs are made by simultaneous pressing of a given combination of a limited number of keys, such as a literal handful of non-alphabetic keys that the user learns to combine to represent the key-presses of more standard keyboards. The workings of such a keyboard tends to be handled internally, sending to the computer the signal(s) that ''would'' have been sent from its larger cousin.<br />
<br />
A big thing among millenial hackers like Randall and his original audience was customising keyboard uses. The linux operating system was originally designed and used for personal customisation, and people move their configurations from system to system, often customising how things respond to such a degree that other users struggle to make use of their system at all. The first major two text editors, vim and emacs, were composed of different camps of how to efficiently type. The emacs camp believed it was more effective to hit many keys at once to accomplish a large task, but both editors were designed to be highly customisable. It's well known that the traditional qwerty keyboard was specifically designed to make typing inefficient so as to reduce engineering burden in making old typewriters responsive and reliable. Given the prevalence of them, it has been common among hackers to remap a keyboard to be more efficient, such as to use a dvorak layout rather than a qwerty layout, as it is known to be far more efficient to type with. Chorded configurations are an order of magnitude more efficient than the dvorak layout, but are more complex to configure because the result is not at all a one-to-one mapping. The traditional court reporting device is a chorded keyboard, to keep up with human speech.<br />
<br />
Using a combination of normally single-use keys (the 'H' and a cursor) with others, including modifiers ('shift' and 'control'), i.e. 'chording' ''with'' his keyboard, is the kind of key combination found traditionally in emacs. The ballad then comes across as an ode to system customisation and the days of millenial linux hacking, when everybody who used a computer knew how to rebuild it by hand in any way they wanted.<br />
<br />
The chording example goes beyond mainstream use (shift and an an alphabetic character changes the character case, whilst ctrl and a character may initiate an editing command) or mainstream multi-modifier combinations (ctrl, alt and the 'e' may result in the 'é', where the keyboard does not otherwise support it) and even goes beyond [[378: Real Programmers|emacs-like command ''sequences'']] which are generally software-specific. It seems more likely that such a setup is handled within the computer, either defined within the OS or (as is often the case with specialist configurable gaming keyboards) via the driver installed to mediate such esoteric keyboard combinations as the user has predefined for themselves.<br />
<br />
Cueball's combination-keypress may in fact be better termed a 'macro', in some contexts. The single event, somehow triggered by this particular simultaneous multi-key input, invokes the injection of a pre-specified sequence of standard characters into the appropriate text-buffer/-stream in lieu of manual input.<br />
<br />
The title text spoofs the last verse of the (original) song, with "Hallelujah" being replaced by Cueball trailing off musing about having apparently lost the backup of his keyboard configuration, implying that he ended up in a position where he would want to restore said backup (for instance, having tampered with it to the point he is no longer capable of operating the keyboard efficiently, if at all).<br />
<br />
Here is the original verse, where the title text spoofs the last three lines:<br />
:I did my best, it wasn't much<br />
:I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch <br />
:I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool ya<br />
:And even though it all went wrong<br />
:I'll stand before the lord of song<br />
:With nothing on my tongue but hallelujah<br />
<br />
As added irony, while in the original that verse is hopeful, with the singer being thankful for experiencing joy even from a relationship that ultimately failed, contrarily in the alt text Cueball is apparently expressing regret. Or, if taken literally, it could instead imply that God himself is questioning Cueball about his tampering with software, which could fit with the running gag of [[:Category:Cueball Computer Problems|Cueball's (often self-inflicted) computer problems being hyperbolically atrocious]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting in an office chair at his desk, typing on his keyboard as shown by small lines over one hand, while looking at the screen of his stationary computer. The screen is on a raised platform on his desk. Lyrical text is written upon each scene as an unspoken narration.]<br />
:I heard there was a secret chord<br />
:That David pressed and it typed a word<br />
<br />
:[A closeup on Cueball in a slim panel. We see him from the waist up, with his hands on the keyboard just beneath the panels frame.]<br />
:But you don't use a chorded keyboard, do you<br />
<br />
:[Same setting as in the first panel, except Cueball's arms have moved and there are movement lines above and below his arms.]<br />
:It goes like this, <control> and <shift><br />
:The other hand hits H and <left><br />
<br />
:[Slimmer panel but same setting as in the first panel, again the arms have moved a bit, with movement lines above them. The final written word of text is marked as arising directly from the computer monitor, thus written there.]<br />
:And all at once it types out<br />
:Computer: Hallelujah<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Songs]]<br />
[[Category:Cueball Computer Problems]] <!-- In the title text --></div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2577:_Sea_Chase&diff=226551Talk:2577: Sea Chase2022-02-05T03:08:06Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
The flag on the lefthand ship (port-side, if you will :P) looks like the [Rising Sun Flag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_Flag) that the Japanese Navy uses as its ensign. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.147|172.70.110.147]] 02:31, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Actually, that the Navy used in 1889 (not uses). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.147|172.70.110.147]] 02:31, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I reckon it looks more like a Jolly Roger. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.87|108.162.249.87]] 02:44, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Ah, you're right. I was thinking Union Jack for a minute but thought there were too many streaks. The upper and lower portions of the skull nearly touch the edge of the flag, making it look like something akin to a sunburst. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]] 02:46, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Okay, I added an initial description for the title text and made a bunch of edits. I'll stop now to let other people get in on the action. :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]] 02:54, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Yeah, I kept edit-conflicting (except the first time, when I ended up just appended to some else's first edit) and I ''think'' I have reached the point where I've unruined everything of everyone else's that I didn't fully intend to change or add to. But it's late (GMT) and I need my sleep so if I've accidentally rushed through some stuff I shouldn't have then please fill your boots and tweak it back (or onwards) to how it should be. G'night! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.11|162.158.159.11]] 03:07, 5 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
::G'night. I think we were conflicting. It was my first experience live editing and it was fun. lol [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.157|172.70.230.157]] 03:08, 5 February 2022 (UTC)</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2574:_Autoresponder&diff=226361Talk:2574: Autoresponder2022-02-02T17:10:34Z<p>172.70.230.157: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
In Russia, this comic won't be relatable. Bosses here still use e-mail, and use regular phone calls for ASAP-like urgent requests. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.207|172.68.10.207]] 05:21, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:(This comment reinstated. Looks like an editing error by the person who added something else... Is definitely relevent.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 15:11, 30 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: Actually in Germany my boss uses email, too and I have an autoresponder for that case. He also can call me if it is urgent but he only very rarely does do that.--[[User:Gunterkoenigsmann|Gunterkoenigsmann]] ([[User talk:Gunterkoenigsmann|talk]]) 10:53, 31 January 2022 (UTC) <br />
<br />
1) Why is White Hat is hairless, and 2) what’s with the nested panels? [[User:ISaveXKCDpapers|ISaveXKCDpapers]] ([[User talk:ISaveXKCDpapers|talk]]) 06:48, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:White Hat never has hair. Yes the nested panel is a bit special but not unique. But should be mentioned in the transcript. I think it is to indicate the immediate response. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:27, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Is the harness an auto responding exoskeleton?--[[User:Gunterkoenigsmann|Gunterkoenigsmann]] ([[User talk:Gunterkoenigsmann|talk]]) 06:59, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm definitely going to need to come back when this has an explanation. I know what an email autoresponder is but that doesn't explain the joke. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.91|172.70.130.91]] 07:23, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Randall's riffing on the theme of advanced technology trickling into the commonplace. The autoresponder is a robot made with AI. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.147|172.70.110.147]] 18:53, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
: It could also be seen as a more subtle joke that people are enslaving members of opposing political parties to be their autoresponders. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.99|172.70.114.99]] 09:45, 30 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: Very subtle. I don't see it. It's the absurdity of a physical in-presence response, given how most rogue out-of-workhours emailers wouldn't even be a mere shove away from being responded to in such a way. (Now, if everyone had a swordsperson/-bot behind them and your own one of these attacked you when it sensed/was told you had made such an email. That would be 'workable', if strange to implement. This comic has a (usually) unworkable solution that's even stranger!)<br />
::: I guess I'm joking about the responses that ended up in the description, and the intensity of our current issues, and how so much power can stem from simple meme, suggestions, nonsensical responses or misunderstandings. The joints are obviously gears, not human garb. The bot doesn't look like any of the female comic characters at all. The description treats this as ambiguous which is maybe a little dangerous but also important if people see it that way. I was exposed to how the new political AIs were used to predictably influence women for sex, so it scared me. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.157|172.70.230.157]] 17:10, 2 February 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: PS., I think it works best with a (to my eye) female adversary, whether swordswoman or fembot. An armoured Cueball (or most anybother male character) wouldn't have the same "Summer Glau"-type femme fatale thing about them. La Femme Nikita, Mrs Steed, etc. "The female of the species is deadlier than the male" sort of thing. Good choice of characterisation, Randall! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 15:11, 30 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I've never once been sent an autoresponder message about the hour, just OOTO vacations and the like. Are the former common these days? What about people in different time zones? Or who work different shifts? Isn't the whole idea about using asynchronous email instead of synchronous chat or DM or whatever that the time of day doesn't matter? Weird. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.84|172.69.34.84]] 08:03, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Some territories, and/or businesses are moving to a situation which respects work/life-balance, again, after the 24/7 always-online world started to eat into (mostly) after-hours time off - e.g. the EU's Working Time Directive, or the automatic shutdown of office computers at the end of the (nominal) working day. But there are still ways for employer/employee to get round these measures if they 'need' to (or feel pressurised to).<br />
:The US as a whole isn't that advanced in such things, I understand... Certainly regressive in other employment issues. But it would depend upon what position White Hat actually has in what kind of business. It seems he can (and feels he can) set up something, but of course he seems to have gone over oard in the configuration of it! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.68|172.70.86.68]] 12:29, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: I'm perfectly happy to ignore emails until an appropriate hour, but I don't want someone to forgo sending me an email they or I need because of the time. That's what asynchronous means! This is just nuts. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.206.205|172.70.206.205]] 17:33, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Me, too. But with many people checking email on their phones, it has become more common to expect them to be handled at any time. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:06, 31 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Deletion of: "(probably, as electronic tickets with one-use QR Codes, in case they are separated before they arrive, to save time.)" - I found that necessary to be explained, myself. I can't see how/why the email is even sent, otherwise. Like being given your physical ticket, in advance (but only yours) after someone else bought the set of 'Upper Circle, Row F seats 15-20' for your little group, in advance. Either that or Cueball keeps the tickets (physical or electronic) and is there to get his whole party (WH and anybody else they'll plan to meet on the way) past the entrance to the theatre/arena/whatever by showing them all to the gatekeeper/whatever. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.147|172.70.162.147]] 15:08, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I had to go all the way down here to find any explanation whatsoever of “email [a way to send information] the tickets [physical pieces of paper]” but at least the explanation (of sorts) is here somewhere.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.167|108.162.245.167]] 22:45, 29 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Also, separate point, this is one of the first comics to not only not be ''about'' the pandemic, but seems to indicate ''normality'' with no notable remaining effects of it, suggesting it is not even a significant background factor. Though of course we can't know what precautions (reduced-capacity spacing, recent negative testing documents, proof-of-vaccination, whatever) might be seen off-strip, at the event itself, and I know it'd be a rash set of xkcd characters that aren't still fully aware and (somehow) reducing the ongoing risks, still. But for those who complained about too much Covid-focus, here you are, and then sorry I mentioned it (even for the good reason of making it clear that they should feel happier now, if they hadn't already realised it). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.121|172.70.90.121]] 15:11, 29 January 2022 (UTC)</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:Countdown_in_header_text&diff=224629Talk:Countdown in header text2022-01-17T18:25:58Z<p>172.70.230.157: adding link to an xkcd comic called Countdown that has multiple similarities to this</p>
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<div>The talk on from [[2565: Latency]] and [[2566: Decorative Constants]] has been moved here by me when I created this page --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:01, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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;From Latency:<br />
What is happening around Feb 1st, there is a countdown that appeared a few hours ago in the upper right corner of the xkcd index. There is also the directory xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef which might be an acronym, if it isnt a countdown package? {{unsigned ip|172.70.130.57}}<br />
:Damn you beat me to it ;-). But I have made a [[2565:_Latency#Trivia|Trivia]] here on this comics page and links to more detail on the [[xkcd Header text]] page. I belie you are a day of, but someone will likely correct me if I'm wrong. As I can see it will be January 31st, 9:59 in Randall's home town Boston.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::But damned if I can wait. Sure millions will watch the page when it goes to zero! At least it is no April 1st. :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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;From Decorative Constants<br />
Any idea what's going on with the clock that's counting downwards in the banner? Currently counting down from 20 days 16 hours? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.95|172.70.214.95]] 22:08, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:(Simultaneous edit) What is the days-hours-minutes in the box above the comic referring to? The image itself is dated yesterday, as you can see by saving it. Worst-case-scenario, is this a countdown to the end of XKCD? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.223|108.162.245.223]] 22:11, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:: It's going to hit zero at around midnight on Jan 31st 2022 CST? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 22:16, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::'''Posted this on the previous comics discussion. But lets take it here where there will be more traffic:''' --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:44, 10 January 2022 (UTC) -- Copy paste from previous comics discussion:<br />
::::Damn you beat me to it ;-). But I have made a [[2565:_Latency#Trivia|Trivia]] here on this comics page and links to more detail on the [[xkcd Header text]] page. I believe you are a day of, but someone will likely correct me if I'm wrong. As I can see it will be January 31st, 9:59 in Randall's home town Boston.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:06, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::But damned if I can wait. Sure millions will watch the page when it goes to zero! At least it is no April 1st. :-D --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::Yeah - you're right - I messed up. So as I type this, it's Jan 10th 2022 at 4pm - 1600 hrs Mountain time - which is 1800 hours EST. At this moment, the countdown reads 20d 16h 0m - so Jan 30th + (18+16) hours = which is Jan 30th + 34 hours - which is Jan 31st + 10am in Boston (EST). [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 23:05, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::Hey great, can see they agree in the link to reddit below. So happy I got it right both in UTC and Boston. It will be 15:59 here in DK. Not 16:00. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:44, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Counting down to Backwards Day? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.88|162.158.91.88]] 23:28, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:There's a reddit thread discussing it: https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/s0oynl/xkcd_countdown_timer_20d_21h_49m_remaining_until/ I think the most likely guess is that Randall has a new book coming out. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:40, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Would still seem strange if it came out that day with only promotion before being a count down. But then again, he will have the xkcd communities boiling if he gives no other hint. So every one will see if he promotes a book. Also as they wrote at the time I looked at reddit I do not think it is the end of xkcd, or Webb related. Although Webb was the first I thought about. But I mean even if it came to L2 at that day, it is not going to any specific point but just in orbit. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:47, 10 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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::The date fits the idea of it being Backwards Day (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/backward-day-january-31) but what about the choice of time? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 03:38, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Backwards day... Never head of it until now. Is it big in the US. I mean when looking after dates so obscure they are not mentioned on wikipedia then there are probably lots of things happening on that day? But maybe it is a think in the US? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:48, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::: I haven't heard of it until now either, so it is probably one of the bajillions of holidays no one actually cares about, and is unrelated to the countdown. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.163|108.162.221.163]] 13:22, 11 January 2022 (UTC)Bumpf<br />
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Someone has noticed the image is changing with pixels added at the bottom left corner and is keeping track of it here: https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.107|198.41.238.107]] 05:49, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Looks like an image is "moving" into the frame because at the moment you can see some white pixel in the lower left, i.e. the black part might end up as a line as part of some comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.8|162.158.89.8]] 08:31, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Thanks used that to pinpoint the start of the countdown. Have added this info to the header text page, and the original trivia. Also just added a line of trivia to this explanation with the link. This was when this comic came out most people noticed the count down. But it did came out while [[Latency]] was up. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:43, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::Speculating on what it could be, the only thing that makes sense at that angle is a character's arm. 04:47, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:As of 7 PM PST, the two lines appear to be disconnected from anything else, which rules out a lot of the theories put forth here. Hmmm… I can’t really think of anything it could be other than the wing of an airplane. Maybe it’ll zoom out after it moves into view?[[User:Szeth Pancakes|Szeth Pancakes]] ([[User talk:Szeth Pancakes|talk]]) 03:17, 17 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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The header changes page says that it's forcing "Friday" to move down to the next line. Not for me. Did he fix it, or is it browser-specific? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:58, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:It must be browser specific. But i have tried bot the old Internet Explorer, Edge, Chrome and Firefox, and it does it in all cases and zooming does nothing.. Which browser do you use? I have corrected to in some browsers though, in the [[xkcd_Header_text#2022-01-10_-_Standard_text_with_countdown|explanation]] you refer to. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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This is much more likely a count down related to the James Webb Space Telescope. At approximately the day the count down indicates the telescope will be orbiting the L2 gravitational spot.Perhaps most of the mirrors will be approximate place to allow for months of fine tuning. An example of a slightly similar idea is https://www.space.com/nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-next-steps<br />
[[User:Punchcard|Punchcard]] ([[User talk:Punchcard|talk]]) 15:35, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I really do not think so. There is nothing special about a specific moment for reaching L2. It will go in orbit around it, but when to day it is there or in orbit is hard to pinpoint. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::And after I looked at it, it seems it will reach L2 several days before the countdown. See [[Countdown in header text#Theories]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I think the Countdown should get its own entry. What do we think? [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 16:25, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
: I think it should! What with the count itself, the speculation about what it could mean, and now the slowly arriving image (?) this seems like something beyond either of the two comics since it started! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.49|108.162.219.49]] 18:00, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
: I'm surprised it doesn't have one already. This is one of the more unique situations in a long while, more speculation could happen. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 22:26, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I have now created this page and talk page for us to continue the discussion and make dedicated changes about this countdown here. And have moved all discussion from the two pages that had some already (except a few on the first talk page that was also mentioned here. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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If you take a look at this [[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/state|link]] it displays this: '''{"img":"72cb154b23f959f908f5dc8eb03069c6df3f0f54aae896a0e7ed27befb2ee639.png","start":"2022-01-10T17:00:00Z","target":"2022-01-31T15:00:00Z","until":"2022-01-11T20:55:38.205303701Z"}''' [[User:Hoodiesandboba|Hoodiesandboba]] ([[User talk:Hoodiesandboba|talk]]) 20:58, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:To correct your link:<br />
:"...If you take a look at this [https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/state link] it displays..."<br />
:As to where the "72cb154b23f959f908f5dc8eb03069c6df3f0f54aae896a0e7ed27befb2ee639.png" is rooted, I haven't dug into that (or what transforms might be being applied), but it looks like a manipulation of browser states might be able to prematurely reveal it. (I'm on mobile at the moment, and it's significantly more fiddly to poke into the page-scripting and markup than I can be bothered with this moment, but I know what I'd do with a good acreage of screen, mouse control and a proper keyboard to rattle away at. And the combined minds here surely can do even better than myself.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.116|172.70.91.116]] 22:38, 11 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::The filename is a random number long enough to prevent brute force guessing to find future images. The state-file looks like some information for the javascript script where this URL comes from. I haven't looked into the script that much but from the values I'd say that it's telling when to start doing refreshs (2022-01-10T17:00:00Z) and when to stop doing that (2022-01-31T15:00:00Z). While these values are constant, the third value changes and is ten minutes after the time the page has been requested. I suppose this is telling the script, when to do a refresh of the image load. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.16|141.101.77.16]] 11:05, 13 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::After some fiddeling, I've found the origin of the filename: It's the SHA-256 hash of the image [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.16|141.101.77.16]] 11:05, 13 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::::There's already a note that it would be impossible to brute-force the filenames. But as the images are very similar to each other, would it be feasible to programmatically generate images similar to the last one (extending up and to the right, different variations of the line shape), hash those files, and test to see if they match images on the server? I'd expect it to reduce the number of possibilities by orders of magnitude, but not sure if that's enough to make brute-force attempts feasible and non-destructive. (Also don't know the PNG format well enough to know if an image with the same pixels in it is guaranteed to produce the same bytes in the file across different implementations) -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:16, 14 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:::::Hmm… if it was pure black and white, the total number of possible images would be within the realms of sanity to brute force. But add antialiasing and the numbers rapidly become silly. Even if you only allow pixels to change within a certain distance of the previous image, and restrict greys to places between a black and a white, the numbers quickly become absurd. Although that makes me think about making 1-bit versions of all the images so far, predicting a set of "next frame" possibilities at each step, and training a CNN to pick the correct next one; and if it gets accurate enough by the time we get to the present… hmm. How predictable is antialiasing? Do we know the software he's using to create the images; and if so is there a relatively predictable algorithm applied along the edges? [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 11:41, 14 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I think it counts down to Lunar New Year (the Year of the Tiger), as measured in Korea (the earliest timezone where that is celebrated). Actually, it reaches 0 one minute before the New Year, so maybe it will switch to seconds for the last minute. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.98.75|172.70.98.75]] 05:10, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Could be, but why. Randall has never to rarely? mentioned this new year... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:13, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I think we are seeing a zoom out of some image. Perhaps it is the arm of Cueball? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:36, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:It looks like there's a little curve at the top left of the line entering the frame! This makes the Cueball arm hypothesis more likely. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 14:18, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::I also noticed that (and moved your comment up here, as it is kind of a reply to that). Seems like the picture updates every four hours, and that it happened last time at noon UTC today. And thus it will also be at midnight. So 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24. But it is not certain yet and not sure it happened like that the first day or two. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:46, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I have added the first 12 images on this page: [[Countdown in header text/images]] - anyone may help uploading the new ones there. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:43, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
: Thank you! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.194|173.245.52.194]] 12:44, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Does anyone mind if I make a few spelling/grammar corrections to the article? It feels like the kind of thing that could be interpreted as rude, so I wanted to ask first. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.167|172.70.114.167]] 13:00, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:No no please help me with my poor spelling. I'm Danish and not very good at spelling in English. Also anything I write is up for debate and can be changed. Just because I started this page do not give me ownership over it. As long as relevant info is not deleted the entire layout maybe changed. But better to get the page going sooner rather than later.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:46, 12 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Alright!! Thank you so much for all your great work on this page! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.151|172.70.110.151]] 18:02, 13 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I originally put this (without realising it wasn't the Talk page) in the Images sub-page, in response to the revelation it was (very probably) the SHA256 of the image data that was used to name the file:<br />
*When I first looked at it and decided it was an obvious hash (yes SHA256 sounds about right, but nice to know someone's tried it) I personally had hoped it would be a hash of the datetime (plus a salt, maybe, to give it that extra little frisson of difficulty in reverse engineering... ;) ). But if it's as you say I think I'll refrain from getting any rainbow-tables set up and bashing through the possibilities in the rather huge phase-space it could represent. Of course, there must be a look-up table used by the server. It'd be too much to hope for that it's publically exposed though, and totally a rookie-error if it is. (That Randall, and maybe anyone he actually drafted in to implement it to save himself the worry, is surely not going to commit.)<br />
...anyway, bringing it here, as being more conversational than informative. Still thought I should say it, but stupidly long as a comment so maybe I needn't have repasted it again! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.79|172.70.85.79]] 03:39, 13 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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(Put this in here as it was before in the explanation --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:02, 13 January 2022 (UTC):)<br />
Was going to say it's Hangman, but it looks like it's zooming in on the diagonal instead of continuing to make a gibbet. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 06:37, 13 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I read the javascript of the countdown and noticed one thing that i didn't see mentioned anywhere on this page: the countdown text is moving upwards. When the countdown started the text was exactly in the middle of the image and at the end of the countdown the text will be at the top (you can see how it will look by changing the time in your system). The code will also make the text disappear and leave only the image after the countdown goes to zero. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.41|162.158.90.41]] 23:52, 13 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:Uuuh thanks that was interesting. Maybe to make more room for the image? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:09, 14 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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The Greensboro sit-ins started on Feb 1, though the time is different.. But black history month? {{unsigned ip|172.70.135.48}}<br />
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Thanks to [[User:Theusaf|Theusaf]] for helping with putting the images up on the image page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:09, 14 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Anyone here that can make an animation out of the images and put it in the explanation? If it is "easy" could it be updated some times on the way towards the final image on January 31st... Like the one on [[Time]]. That would be really nice. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:02, 14 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I made an animation: [https://imgur.com/a/INh77nL] (Now i realize it wasn't needed because there already is automatically updating animation linked from the page...) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.105|162.158.159.105]] 18:18, 15 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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There's something else moving into the frame... We'll have to see what it is. [[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 19:12, 14 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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To even find this page, I had to page backward through the comic to get to Decorative Constants, go to the discussion, and come across the link to this page from there. I suggest that there be a direct link to this page from the explanation of every comic that existed while the countdown was in progress. A second question: has anyone determined for sure whether the ‘camera’ is zooming out from a blank spot in the final image, in which case we can expect other stuff to come into view from above and right, OR is it panning onto an image that is not changing size, in which case nothing will appear except from the direction it’s moving toward? And if it’s panning, has anyone tried estimating where the current stuff will end up?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.76|108.162.246.76]] 07:42, 15 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I agree with you and have now changed the four comics that was active while the count down was active so far, so the link to this page is above their explanations. If people keep updating like this for new comics, there will be a link to the countdown page from the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page front page]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:40, 15 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Does Randall already have kids? If not, maybe his wife is expecting? That's something you'd announce and the last two comics are about kids. Another idea: he's going to space 🚀. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.233.115|162.158.233.115]] 20:47, 15 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
:I’m sure he would have a birth announcement afterward, but I doubt he would try to predict it to the exact second, 21 days in advance.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.105|162.158.106.105]] 22:36, 15 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
::Maybe it's a C section? Those are usually scheduled. lol but yeah that's unlikely.Wouldn't rule it out though.[[User:Sure|Sure]] ([[User talk:Sure|talk]]) 13:58, 17 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I noticed that it almost appears to be the tail fin of an airplane. I don’t know if it is, or if an airplane even makes sense? --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.57|172.70.230.57]] 22:11, 15 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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I believe it looks like he would draw the arm and upper "body" of a person running to the left. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.50.107|172.68.50.107]] 01:11, 16 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Am I the only one thinking it'll be another extra long comic like 1190? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.91|108.162.241.91]] 02:52, 16 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
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Randall is secretly in space, having launched a few days after JWST, and the countdown is to when NASA will see the fruits of his elaborate plan to create the most epic photo bomb of all time. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.187.220|162.158.187.220]] 20:59, 16 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Surprised no one has linked to the xkcd comic called Countdown. It centers on the problem of having a countdown to something and people not knowing what it is (and also not being able to see all relevant information). Seems relevant in a couple ways. https://xkcd.com/1159/</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Countdown_in_header_text/images&diff=224221Countdown in header text/images2022-01-12T23:23:13Z<p>172.70.230.157: /* Explanation */ no one's guessing future file names</p>
<hr />
<div>'''[[#Go to bottom|Go to bottom picture]]'''<br />
==Explanation==<br />
*Here are (work in process) all the images from {{xkcd}} used in the [[Countdown in header text]].<br />
**The images can also be found [https://munvoseli.github.io/xkcd-countdown/ here], on munvoseli's page.<br />
*The images have been numbered here on explain xkcd and the number is a link to the image in the count-wimRikmef folder on xkcd.com:<br />
**<nowiki>https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/</nowiki><br />
**Each picture's filename is the [[:wikipedia:SHA256|SHA256]] hash of the image itself, so it is impossible to predict future file names:<br />
***Here the name for the first picture: ac84f99b9c41eb75e1a595ea74c7bccf48f36c345d8b88ad5dd478d4520bc0b2.png<br />
***https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/ac84f99b9c41eb75e1a595ea74c7bccf48f36c345d8b88ad5dd478d4520bc0b2.png<br />
*Attempting to brute-force future files, assuming you could test 1 trillion file names per second, would take 200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 times the age of the universe.<br />
<br />
==Images==<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/ac84f99b9c41eb75e1a595ea74c7bccf48f36c345d8b88ad5dd478d4520bc0b2.png 0001]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0001.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/6a73d565838a58e4d3069ad6cc49cc1a1466a8e602c95fd752126900d2074e28.png 0002]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0002.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/98b1c93977c76fd31529ff07f8f6f83209ba69ccc5a6b245e3a1061d36093370.png 0003]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0003.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/154e4cdc63e9b5c6874e0f8cc2146a945c6b53089854fe4827ed6a822fbf8f53.png 0004]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0004.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/582bbf28305fefb09ea44beae1330585aea155adf6f5125fc70ebdfa6af8c70c.png 0005]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0005.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/5c65f55f9a51a8b5bb7184a7b42e2930aea829e4d5ef2ff6373d1408fee4cce3.png 0006]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0006.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/75f4551c542cadfde5b5708d40679dfb66c1477ed344d061d6ba4e28f46fc0b8.png 0007]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0007.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/32fe6cc4abef25d91abebdbdd59273044061be7d49a9b4a16ce2864628247999.png 0008]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0008.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/72cb154b23f959f908f5dc8eb03069c6df3f0f54aae896a0e7ed27befb2ee639.png 0009]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0009.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/5a0d51a4f85c24edbd647e18e33044ffe5e49a8474c5f9850dadb742252a5582.png 0010]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0010.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/85cb9234739c590b3c649c80e6d388f8c53f600327abbdbe476dca495705f86c.png 0011]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0011.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/62081002ad92456a911eae8eae3f3d74f8147eab8f42330d4f81c473aaa648ba.png 0012]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0012.png]]<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/6782889ad1cf7ebdf154672b58f7260df61662537ca00536efeb3470c29d66b1.png 0013]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0013.png]]<br />
<br />
<br />
<!-- USE THIS LINE TO ADD MORE IMAGES:<br />
*[https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/NAME.png 0014]: [[File:Countdown in header text 0014.png]]<br />
ADD THE NAME OF THE FILE WHERE IT SAYS NAME AND UPDATE TO TWO NUMBERS TO THE NEXT IN THE LINE--><br />
<br />
==Go to bottom==<br />
*Just an easy fix making it easy to jump to the newest image here at the bottom of a potentially very long list of pictures.<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Countdown in header text}}<br />
[[Category:Comic subpages]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2567:_Language_Development&diff=2241982567: Language Development2022-01-12T19:20:53Z<p>172.70.230.157: because Megan says "we've noticed" when talking to Cueball, we can infer that he is not the child's parent. If Cueball was the father, he would not need to be told this.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2567<br />
| date = January 12, 2022<br />
| title = Language Development<br />
| image = language_development.png<br />
| titletext = The worst is the Terrible Twos, when they're always throwing things and shrieking, "forsooth, to bed thou shalt not take me, cur!"<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a AUTOMATON - What the baby hast sayeth? Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Rather than learning to speak normally, this baby is going through all of the stages of the evolution of the English language, from proto-Indo-European to Germanic to Old English. <br />
{{w|Proto-Indo-European_language|Proto-Indo-European}} is a theorized common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. {{w|Proto-Germanic_language|Proto-Germanic}} is a reconstructed language formerly spoken in Iron Age Scandinaia. It developed out of proto-Indo-European and is the common ancestor for all {{w|Germanic languages}}. Old English and later English developed out of Germanic.<br />
<br />
In writing, reconstructed words from the Proto-Indo-European language are commonly marked with an asterisk (*). Somehow, the baby seems to actually pronounce these asterisks. The baby says the Proto-Indo-European roots that the words "milk" and "please" are derived from.<br />
<br />
Some sounds babies make are hard to interpret.{{citation needed}} However, humans have a tendency to recognize known things and patterns. They see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. Thus, a parent familiar with proto-Indo-European may falsely hear their baby speak proto-Indo-European by misinterpreting unintelligible sounds.<br />
<br />
The conventional meaning of {{w|Language development}} is the process by which infants begin to talk, that is to understand and produce intelligible speech. The field of {{w|Language acquisition}} seeks to understand how baby humans are able to rapidly comprehend, internalize, and begin producing a new language so rapidly.<br />
<br />
A field that is normally only seen as tangentially related is {{w|Historical linguistics}}, which studies how languages evolved from each other throughout tens of thousands of years. The {{w|Proto-Indo-European language}} is the theorized common ancestor of all Indo-European languages. When linguists in the field of {{w|Comparative linguistics}} notice similarities in different languages (say English and Germanic), they create theoretical ancestral proto-languages to theorize what common ancestor that the two languages English and German (for example) had in common. Thus the proto-language of Proto-Indo-European has been proposed to explain the similarities between most of the languages in Europe as well as several languages spoken in the Middle East, India, and regions between.<br />
<br />
When Megan describes her baby's speech as progressing from Proto-indo-european to Germanic to Old English, she is describing the languages that in the theoretical chain from Proto-indo-european leading up to Modern English today, as if the baby is progressing through the history of language evolution. In doing so, Megan seems to be applying {{w|Recapitulation Theory}} from biology to language development. In reality, babies develop their language faculties by mimicking what they hear around them, starting with {{w|Babbling}}.<br />
<br />
Perhaps this is an alternate universe where every baby has to gradually develop their language skills until they reach the ultimately developed language of Modern English, belying an ethnocentric implication that Modern English is somehow an intrinsically a natural end-point of linguistic evolution.<br />
<br />
In the title text, Randall describes a 2 year old child as speaking Elizabethan English, a dialect of modern English used by Shakespeare more than 400 years ago.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:[Megan and Cueball stand to the right of the frame, discussing her baby, Hairy. Hairy sits on the left side of a table in an elevated baby chair.]<br />
:Megan: He's only 1, so he still mostly speaks proto-Indo-European.<br />
:Megan: But we've heard a few Germanic words already, so Old English can't be far off.<br />
:Cueball: They progress so fast!<br />
:Baby Hairy: *melg-<br />
:Baby Hairy: *pl(e)hk-<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1136:_Broken_Mirror&diff=2236661136: Broken Mirror2022-01-05T18:32:50Z<p>172.70.230.157: /* Quoted sections */ remove footnote reference copied from translation</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1136<br />
| date = November 19, 2012<br />
| title = Broken Mirror<br />
| image = broken_mirror.png<br />
| titletext = 'I see you're in this mood again.' 'I am always in this mood.'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
It is a common superstition that breaking a mirror will result in 7 years of bad luck. [[Black Hat]] mocks the superstition, claiming that all is random, but ultimately cause the superstition to become true as his {{w|Existential nihilism|nihilistic}} apathy prevents him believing that cleaning the glass on the floor will have a significant impact. The joke is that Black Hat will likely get glass in his feet as long as he refuses to clean it, and thus the broken mirror will have a lasting impact.<br />
<br />
Black Hat breaks a mirror and sarcastically claims that it will bring bad luck for 7 years, implying that the broken mirror will have no impact on his life. After [[Cueball]] reminds Black Hat that the broken mirror will at least cause him to clean up the glass. Black Hat responds with a quote from {{w|Ecclesiastes}} that explains "being clean" (doing good) or "being unclean" (doing bad) things does not affect whether good or bad things happen to us. Due to Black Hat's interpretation of {{w|Ecclesiastes}}, he is not going to clean the shards, and thus be "unclean", and feels nihilistically that this will not significantly alter his life. Of course, it will have an impact as he will get glass in his feet if he does not clean it. <br />
<br />
Black Hat continues saying that "My fate is as these shards" this mirrors another quote from Ecclesiastes "For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals". Cueball tries to cheer up Black Hat by reminding him that life is not that bad, "it's just a vanity mirror". Black Hat responds saying, " All is vanity mirrors". "All is vanity" another quote from Ecclesiastes, this line is repeated throughout the book and refers to impermanence of man and his creations. As the mirror just broke, its impermanence is apparent.<br />
<br />
It is possible that this is a reference to the now-defunct webcomic [http://meninhats.com Men in Hats] and its character Aram, specifically in [http://meninhats.com/d/20031022.html this page]. Aram has been described as the inspiration for Black Hat in [[29: Hitler]].<br />
<br />
In the title text Cueball says "I see you're in this mood again" to which Black Hat responds, "I am always in this mood". This is a reference to Black Hat being a nihilist in his other appearances.<br />
<br />
Breaking mirrors is also mentioned in [[2447: Hammer Incident]].<br />
<br />
==Ecclesiastes== <br />
The rejection of the idea that good things happen to good people, and therefore the rejections of concepts like karma, is one of the primary tenets of the Abrahamic faiths. The argument goes that if people deserve what happens to them, then they don't deserve help. This, and the pursuit of justice (fairness, and truth) are the core beliefs that prescribe that each person has an individual responsibility to help others, so that justice can be achieved. Since Black Hat is by no means charitable, this belief clearly never took root. <br />
<br />
===Quoted sections=== <br />
*Ecclesiastes 9:2, '''All things come alike to all:''' One event happens to the righteous and the wicked; To the good, '''the clean, and the unclean'''; To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath. <br />
*Ecclesiastes 1:2, "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, '''all is vanity'''." <br />
*Ecclesiastes 1:14, I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, '''all is vanity''' and grasping for the wind. <br />
*Ecclesiastes 2:17, Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for '''all is vanity''' and grasping for the wind. <br />
*Ecclesiastes 3:19, For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for '''all is vanity'''.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Black Hat and Cueball stand in a bedroom. There is a broken mirror on the floor at Black Hat's feet.]<br />
:Black Hat: Oops. Guess this means seven more years of the illusion that my actions somehow influence the indifferent hand of probability which governs our lives.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat looks down at the broken shards of glass on the floor.]<br />
<br />
:Cueball: Plus like half an hour of sweeping.<br />
:Black Hat: No, I think I'll leave it.<br />
:Cueball: You'll get glass in your feet.<br />
<br />
:Black Hat: Eccles. 9:2—All things come alike to all: to the clean, and to the unclean.<br />
:Black Hat: My fate is as these shards.<br />
:Cueball: Dude, chill. It's just a vanity mirror.<br />
:Black Hat: ''All'' is vanity mirrors.<br />
<br />
== Trivia ==<br />
Judging from the damage done to the wall and the way the mirror landed face up, it is likely that Black Hat intentionally broke the mirror.<br />
<br />
The way Cueball and Black Hat appears and the subject has some similarities to the next comic [[1137: RTL]]. See the [[1137: RTL#Trivia|trivia section]] for that comic.{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Philosophy]]<br />
[[Category:Religion]]</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:326:_Effect_an_Effect&diff=223508Talk:326: Effect an Effect2022-01-04T06:05:01Z<p>172.70.230.157: Answering a five-year-old question, because I was asking it myself five years later.</p>
<hr />
<div>Can someone explain the title text, thanks! –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 14:20, 22 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Yeah, I'd like to see that get added as well. I kind of assumed it was like taking a kill-count; one painting for each victim. I'm not sure what it specifically refers to, or what the origin of the term is. [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 05:55, 28 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
:seen the silhouette images of enemy planes painted next to the pilots canopy on mid 20th century fighter planes? its a reference to that. i've only seen it in films but presumably where there's smoke there's fire. *edit for improved explanation: the images are painted by the pilot to show how many 'bogies' he's shot down,much like how cueball will paint the grammarian on his desktop as another victim. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 10:02, 15 April 2013 (UTC)<br />
::"mid 20th century fighter planes"?? As opposed to what? Late 18th century fighter planes?[[Special:Contributions/86.44.215.73|86.44.215.73]] 02:44, 23 April 2013 (UTC)<br />
:::As opposed to late 20th and 21st century fighter planes perhaps? [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 08:20, 24 April 2013 (UTC)<br />
::::And assuming "mid 20th century" refers to World War II of 1939-45 (less years for Americans, arguably more so for some other countries), there were already gun-attached 'fighter aircraft' in WWI and onward (though often technically called "scouts" or "pursuit" aircraft, in English and American terminology, respectively... other countries/languages having their own varients). Maybe not from the ''very'' start of the 1914-18 conflict, as opposing aircrews were apparently quite friendly to each other for a while until some air-reconnaissance pilot took a pistol up with him (or perhaps it was originally a solution against airships, leastwise those that they could get high enough to attack). And then some people had the idea to hard-attach various projectile weapons to the planes. And, oh boy, they had fun for a while trying to mount them to fire through their own front propellers, didn't they? ;)<br />
::::Anyway, the concept definitely had become engrained before the 'mid' 20thC, by whatever name. Did the Red Baron paint kills on his triplane? Did Biggles (fictionally) do so? Someone ought to actually research this. ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.31.27|178.98.31.27]] 16:27, 19 June 2013 (UTC)<br />
:::::At least in his autobiography "Der rote Kampfflieger" (The red Fighter pilot) Manfred von Richthofen (the actual name of the Red Baron) did not tell about that. And he did not mention any other pilot doing so, either. But since he considered being a fighter pilot as a sport such as hunting and he was very proud of his "score" it is most likely he would have telled if there were such a rite, I guess. As such I would consider "mid 20th century" as correct, since most if not all actual evidences of that tradition I am aware of are from WWII or later. Unfortunately I did not found any information about the origin of that tradition. The only wikipedia entry is the German article about "Abschussmarkierung" which has no links to translations of other languages and does not contain any information about the origin and searching for "kill marks" or "kill scores" leads to nothing but hobbyist forums or World of Tanks/World of Warplanes (both being more or less WWII games) and similar. Maybe I do some more research on this, later. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 15:48, 4 December 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Effects effecting affects affect effects effectively. Also, Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. --naginalf [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.40|108.162.216.40]] 20:29, 12 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: Wouldn’t the sentence “I want to put a hyphen between the words Fish and and and and and Chips in my Fish-and-Chips sign” have been clearer if quotation marks had been placed before Fish, and between Fish and and, and and and and, and and and and, and and and and, and and and and, and and and Chips, as well as after Chips? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.14|172.68.141.14]] 19:54, 24 December 2020 (UTC)<br />
: Sure, but really, if an effect can effect affects effectively, how many affects can an effect effectively effect? [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:46, 3 October 2014 (UTC)<br />
:: As many affects as an effect can effect if an effect can effect affects effectively. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.162|108.162.238.162]] 04:09, 4 November 2014 (UTC)<br />
::: What that is that that is is that that is what that is, I guess. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.174|173.245.56.174]] 19:42, 14 February 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I was in a meeting once where a guy said, "I am effected by my environment." I replied, "Oh? We think, therefore you are?" Nobody laughed. Sigh. {{unsigned|CoderLass}}<br />
<br />
Can someone simplify the meaning / alternative words for the two variants and verb/noun uses in a spreadsheet? --[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Lazer%20erazer Björn Eberhardt] 14:50, 3 June 2015 (CEST)<br />
<br />
:You shouldn't need a spreadsheet, since it's only a 2x2 matrix, meaning just 4 meanings. Briefly:<br />
:* Effect (noun): result<br />
:* Effect (verb): cause<br />
:* Affect (noun): visible sign of mood<br />
:* Affect (verb): change<br />
<br />
:There are additional meanings for all of these, but they're generally related to the main meaning in obvious ways. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.69|162.158.255.69]] 07:28, 16 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
Bjorn- if you find anyone to do that, I'm getting it as a tattoo.<br />
[[User:Gwynfshae|Gwynfshae]] ([[User talk:Gwynfshae|talk]]) 15:01, 1 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The spelling of "foreign" was corrected several hours after it was posted, according to [http://blog.xkcd.com/2007/10/08/embarassing-typo/ the XKCD blog]. Anyone know how it was initially spelled? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.148|162.158.255.148]] 23:34, 31 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:"Foriegn". (The 'e' and 'i' are transposed.) [https://web.archive.org/web/20071008161224/http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/effect_an_effect.png Here]'s a Wayback Machine link.<br />
:I imagine ''someone'''s gonna want this. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.157|172.70.230.157]] 06:05, 4 January 2022 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Does the plane-painting thing actually ever happen? I have heard people say the practice exited from well before WWII, but in almost every case both before and after I think it’s an urban legend. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.214.137|108.162.214.137]] 17:03, 22 April 2016 (UTC)</div>172.70.230.157https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=878:_Model_Rail&diff=223146878: Model Rail2021-12-27T18:22:37Z<p>172.70.230.157: added link /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 878<br />
| date = March 28, 2011<br />
| title = Model Rail<br />
| image = model rail.png<br />
| titletext = I don't know what's more telling--the number of pages in the Wikipedia talk page argument over whether the 1/87.0857143 scale is called "HO" or "H0", or the fact that within minutes of first hearing of it I had developed an extremely strong opinion on the issue.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In model rail construction, the {{w|HO scale}} refers to the most popular scale for modeling railroads, in which 3.5 millimeters in the model corresponds to 1 real-world Imperial foot. As the comic suggests, it works out to a ratio of about 1:87.1 (or 3048:35 exactly, which equals 1:87.08̄5̄7̄1̄4̄2̄8). In Europe, the scale is defined as exactly 1:87 instead, to avoid references to non-metric measurements.<br />
<br />
This comic features [[:Category:Multiple Cueballs|two Cueballs]] conversing; we'll refer to them as Lefty and Righty to avoid confusion. The conversation takes place in Lefty's basement. Lefty is apparently a less-experienced train modeler, and he tells Righty that he wants to make an HO model layout of his town. However, the more-experienced Righty points out that this is a bad idea, due to nesting. To make it a perfectly accurate model, Lefty would have to include a model of his house, which includes his basement, which includes the model. So, he would have to make a model of the model, which will include a smaller model of the model, and so forth. This is illustrated in the comic.<br />
<br />
At the end of these six nested models ''The Matryoshka limit'' is stated: "It is impossible to nest more than six HO layouts". {{w|Matryoshka doll|Matryoshka dolls}} are toys of Russian origin that can be stacked inside one another. Here, the "Matryoshka limit" is the hard barrier that follows as a result of the nesting. Matter is not infinitely divisible; once one gets to the level of atoms, it is impossibly difficult to go any smaller. The unit shown in the last diagram is the {{w|Angstrom|ångström}}, a very small unit of measurement (1/10000th of a {{w|micrometre}}, 1/10 of a {{w|nanometre}}, 100 {{w|picometre}}s or 10<sup>−10</sup> m) which was created when humans started discovering objects on an atomic scale, such as crystal structures or wavelengths. The last nested model looks like the atoms on a surface as seen using a {{w|scanning tunneling microscope}} (STM).<br />
<br />
The rules of model train layouts reference the 1999 cult classic ''{{w|Fight Club}}'', where the first rule of Fight Club is "do not talk about Fight Club." However, while the club instituted the rule because their activities were morally and legally questionable, the rule in the comic was instituted by friends and family members who were apparently sick of hearing the train enthusiasts talk about model train layouts all the time. The second rule of Fight Club is "you ''do not'' talk about Fight Club", repeated for emphasis, but evidently Cueball and his friend are good enough at following the first rule of model train layouts that they only had to be told once.<br />
<br />
The "Philistines" comment is not referring to citizens of ancient {{W|Philistia}} (at least not directly), but rather the philosophy of {{w|Philistinism}}. {{w|Friedrich Nietzsche}} defined a Philistine as someone who is purely negative in how they define style, i.e. they know exactly what they hate and don't really have anything they like. A common stereotype for artists is to refer to anyone who dislikes their work as "Philistines," thus dismissing their criticism as being part of a larger personality defect on the critic's part rather than any particular failing of the artwork in question.<br />
<br />
The title text references {{w|HO scale}} and, more specifically, whether it should be spelled with the letter "O" or the number zero (0). Such debates often seem petty to the "layman", yet the people involved in the debates can form ''very'' strong feelings for their side. Randall recognizes "nerdy tendencies" almost immediately when he gets the urge to take a side.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball to the left and his friend, who also looks like Cueball, are standing in the friend's rather large basement, where the celling is held up by six thin columns, and the walls are shown angling in towards a point of perspective, to display how big the room is.]<br />
:Friend: I want to build a perfect HO-scale (~1/87) model train layout of my town.<br />
:Cueball: In your basement? Bad idea. Never make a layout of the area you're in.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on the two friends without the basement visualized.]<br />
:Friend: Why not?<br />
:Cueball: Because it'd include a little 10" replica of your house.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in Cueball's friend who takes his hand to his chin.]<br />
:Friend: So? That's be cool! I'd make tiny replicas of my rooms, my furniture—<br />
:Cueball (off-screen)l: —And your train layout?<br />
<br />
:[Beneath this first row of the comic is the zoom-out of how the full model would look in the basement. The town lies beneath some small mountains. There is some water with a bridge over it continuing to the roads going through the city. There is no frame around this section, but instead there follows five zoom-outs, each one going from the friend's house, that proceeds to a circular frame. Within each of these is shown a nested model. Starting to the right of the main model, and then moving down, then left, and then down and right. Each layer has a broken arrow above the model between two vertical lines to indicate the scale, the length being written between the two parts of the arrow. Some foreign objects are also labeled to help understand the scale.]<br />
<br />
:[Layer 1, the model with the two friends standing to the left of it.]<br />
:18 m<br />
<br />
:[Layer 2, looks exactly as the model, but without the friends.]<br />
:21 cm<br />
<br />
:[Layer 3, with a mosquito shown for comparison. It stands over half the model covering the mountains.]<br />
:2.4 mm <br />
<br />
:[Layer 4, with a strand of spider silk (labeled) shown for comparison. The silk is much thicker than the roads, almost as thick as the mountains and much longer than the model. But the model still looks fairly much like the original one.]<br />
:28 μm<br />
:Spider web<br />
<br />
:[Layer 5, with a cold virus (labeled) shown for comparison. It covers roughly a quarter of the model, taking up the water part of the model. At this level the whole model becomes notably "fuzzy" as individual atoms are discernible, and most of the features apart from the mountain is indiscernible. There may be two viruses. The other would then be to the right of the one in the water but above the model. The label stands between them.]<br />
:320 nm<br />
:Cold virus <br />
<br />
:[Layer 6, is simply spheres (atoms) at this point. The mountain near the back is the only noticeable feature, consisting of five atoms jutting out from the surface of atoms, which is by no mean flat.]<br />
:37 Å <br />
<br />
:[Beneath these six versions of the model is a caption:]<br />
:The Matryoshka limit: <br />
:It is impossible to nest <br />
:more than six HO layouts<br />
<br />
:[Back to the two friends in the basement, still not showing the basement.]<br />
:Friend: My God.<br />
:Cueball: Yeah. It's the second rule of model train layouts: No nesting.<br />
<br />
:[Zoom in on the heads of the two friends.]<br />
:Friend: ...What's the first rule?<br />
:Cueball: "Do ''not'' talk about model train layouts." That rule was actually voted in by our friends and families.<br />
:Friend: Philistines.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* The city of Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, England actually contains such a model. Although, it only has 4 nestings, and is built at a larger scale.<br />
* The {{w|Miniatur Wunderland|Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg (Germany)}}, the biggest model rail construction in the world, contains a 1:7500 version of the Miniatur Wunderland with movable vehicles.<br />
* It should be noted that the day this comic went up, it was then repeatedly referenced in the HO talk page by several people commenting on the arguable triviality of the edit war.<br />
* The comic [[1167: Star Trek into Darkness]] is about a similar debate on Wikipedia.<br />
* Randall later created a series discussing scale-model worlds more generally: [[2411: 1/10,000th Scale World]], [[2412: 1/100,000th Scale World]], and [[2417: 1/1,000th Scale World]]. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Illustrations of scale]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Recursion]]<br />
[[Category:Fight Club]]<br />
[[Category:Wikipedia]]</div>172.70.230.157