https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=172.70.34.190&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T11:27:00ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=522:_Google_Trends&diff=216175522: Google Trends2021-08-07T00:25:55Z<p>172.70.34.190: /* Explanation */ first off, this is just a fact, and second off, not the kind of "duh" fact that would have a citation needed tag, especially because this is a political topic.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 522<br />
| date = December 26, 2008<br />
| title = Google Trends<br />
| image = google_trends.png<br />
| titletext = Obama has been writing Lincoln/Obama erotic fan fiction on his secret livejournal. Excerpt: Lincoln lay back on the bed, nude save for his trademark stovepipe hat. 'Tell me,' he purred seductively, as he and Obama formed a more perfect union. 'When you come, is it 10% ethanol?'<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
{{w|Google Search|Google}} keeps track of which searches are most popular in which regions as part of more general data mining to improve their service. For the enjoyment/education of others, they release select, non-personal parts of this data under the banner "[http://www.google.com/trends/ Google Trends]."<br />
<br />
The first statistic – that "Men kissing" was popular in {{w|Utah}}, a state known for possessing a large population with very conservative social values, including opposition to homosexuality – is real. The others are made up for the sake of the joke. In order:<br />
<br />
*'''"Installing Ubuntu" – Redmond, WA''': {{w|Ubuntu}} is a {{w|Linux}} distribution; {{w|Redmond, Washington}} is home to {{w|Microsoft}}, the company that makes the rival operating system {{w|Microsoft Windows|Windows}}.<br />
*'''"Running for President in 2010" – Wasilla, AK''': 2010 was not a presidential election year in the United States; {{w|Wasilla, Alaska}} is home to {{w|Sarah Palin}}, a politician known for making such gaffes and who was {{w|John McCain}}'s {{w|running mate}} in the {{w|United States presidential election, 2008|2008 election}} that occurred a few weeks before this comic.<br />
*'''"Lincoln Fan Fiction" – Chicago, IL''': {{w|Abraham Lincoln}} was the US president from 1861 to his assassination in 1865; {{w|Chicago, Illinois}} is home to {{w|Barack Obama}}, who apparently reads (presumably {{w|erotic}}) {{w|fanfiction}} about the former president.<br />
*'''"Raptors on Hoverboards" – Somerville, MA''': {{w|Velociraptors}} are a favorite xkcd topic; There are also frequently references to ''{{w|Back to the Future}}'' as with the {{w|hoverboards}} here. {{w|Somerville, Massachusetts}} is home to [[Randall Munroe]]. The speed of a ''Raptor on Hoverboard'' is given in [[526: Converting to Metric]].<br />
*'''"How is babby formed" – Wasilla, AK''': "How is babby formed?" was the title (and most of the content) of an infamous Yahoo! Answers question (see the title text of [[481: Listen to Yourself]] and [[550: Density]]). Wasilla, Alaska is, again, home to {{w|Sarah Palin}}; a few months prior to this comic's release, Sarah Palin revealed that her daughter, {{w|Bristol Palin}}, was pregnant out of wedlock. Ironically, before her pregnancy, Bristol Palin advocated sexual abstinence before marriage as well as banning sex education in schools. Ignorance of common contraceptives like condoms can cause unplanned pregnancies to happen.<br />
*'''"I hate this website" – Mountain View, CA''': {{w|Mountain View, California}} is home to {{w|Google}}'s headquarters. The implication is that Google employees are putting "I hate this website" into Google.<br />
<br />
With regards to the excerpt Randall provides in the title text:<br />
*{{w|Slash fiction}} is a genre of fan fiction that focuses on homosexual behavior.<br />
*Lincoln/Obama (pronounced Lincoln slash Obama) fan fiction normally should be between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama.<br />
*The "more perfect union" line comes from the preamble to the US Constitution: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union...". However, it seems to have a sexual connotation in this case.<br />
*{{w|Ethanol}} is the more scientific name for drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol. <br />
*"{{w|Common ethanol fuel mixtures#E10_or_less|10% ethanol}}" refers to automotive gasoline that includes 10% ethanol (usually made from corn or other vegetables), with the hopes of reducing the dependence on oil for fuel.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Bloggers were recently amused to discover that,<br />
:according to Google Trends, the search term:<br />
:"men kissing" is most popular in conservative Utah.<br />
:A few other embarrassing correlations:<br />
<br />
:[A two column table]<br />
:[On the left side of the table:]<br />
:;<u>Search Term</u><br />
<br />
:;Installing Ubuntu<br />
<br />
:;Running for President in 2010<br />
<br />
:;Lincoln Fan Fiction<br />
<br />
:;Raptors on Hoverboards<br />
<br />
:;How is babby formed?<br />
<br />
:;I hate this website<br />
<br />
:[On the right side of the table:]<br />
:;<u>Top City</u><br />
<br />
:;Redmond, WA<br />
<br />
:;Wasilla, AK<br />
<br />
:;Chicago, IL<br />
<br />
:;Somerville, MA<br />
<br />
:;Wasilla, AK<br />
<br />
:;Mountain View, CA<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Linux]]<br />
[[Category:Velociraptors]]<br />
[[Category:Google Search]]<br />
[[Category:Homosexuality]]</div>172.70.34.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2487:_Danger_Mnemonic&diff=2149122487: Danger Mnemonic2021-07-11T21:29:47Z<p>172.70.34.190: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2487<br />
| date = July 9, 2021<br />
| title = Danger Mnemonic<br />
| image = danger_mnemonic.png<br />
| titletext = It's definitely not the time to try drinking beer before liquor.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a DRUNKEN SAILOR'S POISON IVY SNAKE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This is a mash-up of three different common sayings: "red touches yellow, dead fellow. Red touches black, happy Jack," "leaves of three, leave them be; berries white, poisonous sight" and "red sky at morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailor's delight."<br />
<br />
The combination of the three sayings make it sound somewhat like an ominous prophecy, citing odd, specific conditions under which some unknown disaster will occur- in which case, you probably should get out of there.<br />
<br />
The adult refers to three different sayings that remind people how to recognize dangerous things or situations. If all are true at once, then things must be especially bad. The sayings are:<br />
<br />
*'''Red touches yellow, kills a fellow.''' This is a saying for how to recognize a venomous {{w|coral snake}}, which has red, black, and yellow stripes, with the red and yellow stripes adjacent. A nonvenomous {{w|king snake}} also has red, black, and yellow stripes, but the black stripes separate the red and yellow ones. Note that this identification is only accurate in eastern North America, coral snakes in other parts of the world sometimes have black stripes touching red stripes. The safest course of action is to avoid any snake with the warning colors of red, yellow/white, and black stripes.<br />
*'''Leaves of three, leave them be''' is used to identify {{w|poison ivy}} (on the east coast) and {{w|poison oak}} (on the west coast) from its many lookalikes, such as the Virginia creeper in [[443: Know Your Vines]].<br />
*'''Red sky at morning, sailor take warning.''' The {{w|Red sky at morning|mnemonic}} predicts bad/good weather conditions based on a particularly red sunrise/sunset. It is predictive at {{w|middle latitudes}} where the prevailing winds go from west to east. Regions of higher air pressure will cause a particularly red sky at sunrise/sunset, so a red sky in the evening indicates a high pressure system is coming in from the west with its calmer weather, while a red sky in the morning indicates a low pressure front coming in (usually with rain/rougher weather). In some countries (such as the United Kingdom), the saying mentions shepherds rather than sailors.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to the myth of '''Beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear''', or one of various other colloquial folk variations that clearly already inspired [[2422: Vaccine Ordering]]. Unlike the first three mnemonics which are genuinely useful for avoiding danger, this one is closer to a myth, unless the order affects how much you drink. <ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/health/the-claim-mixing-types-of-alcohol-makes-you-sick.html</ref> Perhaps the title text is a warning against getting drunk around deadly snakes, and poison ivy, in bad weather.<br />
<br />
Also see [[2038: Hazard Symbol]] for another combination of danger warnings.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[Blondie talking to two children: a younger looking Hairy and Science Girl]<br />
<br />
: Blondie: Now, remember:<br />
: Blondie: If red touches yellow amid leaves of three under a red sky at morning, <br />
: Blondie: you should probably just get out of there.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]</div>172.70.34.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2480:_No,_The_Other_One&diff=214318Talk:2480: No, The Other One2021-06-28T05:36:43Z<p>172.70.34.190: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
We might want a table for this comic, with three columns: one for the name of the town, one for which state the copycat is in, and one for the original. We could also add a column for "why the original is well known," but that might be a bit much. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.124|108.162.245.124]] 20:38, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: I agree, this feels like a very table-able comic. Especially to get all the cities and not make readers try to see "hey, did I miss one?" [[Special:Contributions/172.70.117.158|172.70.117.158]] 20:49, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:: I think the term copy-cat should not be used here, since Lincoln, IL, for instance is older and carries the name longer than Lincoln, NE.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.74|162.158.88.74]] 21:05, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
::: Although the people in Lincoln, UK (also Boston, Washington, Richmond, Plymouth, Newhaven...) might have prior claims - Richmond is an even more interesting case, in fact. And of course I also recognise Lisbon and others. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.244|141.101.98.244]] 21:26, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::: May I suggest merging the first two columns and just listing [City, State] under "Place name in comic"? [[User:MajorBurns|MajorBurns]] ([[User talk:MajorBurns|talk]]) 21:38, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
In the map there are (at least) three Lincoln, two Jamestown, five Houston... [[User:Vdm|Vdm]] ([[User talk:Vdm|talk]]) 20:52, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: There is a Jamestown in NY and PA also. I would expect to find a Jamestown in at least half of the states. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:06, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There seems to be an extra dot in the northeast corner of Colorado - It looks like it might correspond with the Atlanta label, but there is no Atlanta in Colorado. Based on the position of the dot I'm guessing it may correspond to Akron or Yuma.--[[User:MajorBurns|MajorBurns]] ([[User talk:MajorBurns|talk]]) 21:56, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: Google Maps says there's an Atlanta, Colorado, but it is in the south-east corner of the state, not where the dot is. It looks like it is in the middle of nowhere outside of Springfield. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 00:42, 24 June 2021 (UTC) <br />
<br />
Jersey Shore PA - I just drove from New Jersey across the state of Pennsylvania, and saw the sign for Jersey Shore in the mountains in the middle of PA. What the? Turns out there was a town founded by two brothers from New Jersey called Waynesburg. When a neighboring town wanted to insult them by calling them "Jersey Shore" they went ahead and officially made Jersey Shore the name of the town. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore,_Pennsylvania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore,_Pennsylvania]. I wonder how many people turn off the highway in the middle of PA wanting to go to the Jersey Shore hundreds of miles away. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:06, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Why no Hollywood, Florida? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood,_Florida https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood,_Florida]<br />
: Same reason there's no Richmond, Dublin, or Pittsburg (admittedly, a different spelling), California, just to name some of the closest ones to me. The map would be solid black if it labeled every "other one." [[User:Borglord|Borglord]] ([[User talk:Borglord|talk]]) 01:57, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
..''No'' Springfields? Really? There's gotta be 30+ of them! [[User:Danish|Danish]] ([[User talk:Danish|talk]]) 02:00, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:The comic doesn't seem to include the duplicates that are fairly well known, like Hollywood, FL. And the prevalence of Springfield is well known due to "The Simpsons". I think Groening chose that name ''because'' it wouldn't be associated with any particular state. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:06, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
`The most frequently occurring community name varies through the years. In a past year, it was "Midway" with 212 occurrences and "Fairview" in second with 202. More recently, "Fairview" counted 288 and "Midway" 256. The name "Springfield" is often thought to be the only community name appearing in each of the 50 States, but at last count it was in only 34 states.` https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-most-common-citytown-name-united-states [[User:Steve|Steve]] ([[User talk:Steve|talk]]) 02:48, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The comic has been updated to remove Charlestown and move Salem, CT. The extra dot in Colorado remains, however. The image attachment has been updated, but I think I'm still seeing the cached version. [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 03:47, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: While we're on the subject, I thought it was more likely referencing {{w|Charles Town, West Virginia|Charles Town, WV}}. There are quite a lot of {{w|Charlestown}} locations and I don't think any of them are particularly famous. Which is probably why it was removed. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 13:54, 25 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Since so many of the names are duplicated multiple times, shouldn't the title be "No, ''An'' Other One"? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:06, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm surprised he missed Minneapolis, Kansas (about 75 miles west of Manhattan). Though maybe it would've made Kansas too crowded. --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]])<br />
<br />
:I'm surprised he missed Duluth, GA too, but we can't have everything we want. ( --Don from Rochester . . . but not from New York ;^) Oh yeah; there's also a Buffalo in MN too. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.190|172.70.34.190]] 11:00, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::In Indiana, there's also another Nashville, another Columbus, a Kokomo... even a Mexico. If every fairly well-known place name were included, wherever it was duplicated, it would need one of those scrollable mega-maps, just to fit it all. -- Just visiting from Indiana, 12:53 UTC 24 June 2021<br />
<br />
I'd like to see a map of all these. Lines linking each of the dots to the location of the more famous town. Possibly with lines in different colours connecting to the oldest and largest other ones, where they're not the same as the most famous one. (I suspect a significant number of the "oldest" lines would point off the right edge of the image) [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 08:37, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:There's also a Bowling Green, Missouri. [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 13:12, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wish Lansing Illinois (just south of Chicago off I-80) had made the list. When I was traveling there for work, our hotel reservations were frequently messed up, because the central booking office had us in Michigan. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.144|172.70.130.144]] 13:17, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: Reminds me of the time a "Microsoft tech support" scammer called and claimed to be calling from Lansing despite obviously being in a call center in India. When we asked what state Lansing was in, he claimed to be calling from "Lansing, Miami." [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.121|172.69.63.121]] 13:41, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel like there is an opportunity for adding "Other examples not in comic" such as Brooklyn, Iowa or the absurd number of Mount Pleasants [[User:OddOod|OddOod]] ([[User talk:OddOod|talk]])<br />
<br />
: At first, I thought about suggesting this, as well. But, it would be an enormous list (orders of magnitude longer than the ones that _are_ in the comic), and therefore not really tenable. For example, I sometimes describe the place I live as being on the line from Jamaica to Florida, adjacent to Jacksonville and just off Halifax. That's Florida, MA and the rest in southern Vermont. That's four just within 20 miles of where I sit. Also, I grew up in Bristol (RI, not England), but there are about 40 places in the US with that name. And, on a different tack the nearby "city" actually promotes itself in being the _only_ place named Brattleboro. [[User:MAP|MAP]] ([[User talk:MAP|talk]]) 22:27, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I can't believe they missed Dublin and/or Albany in the SF bay area in California!<br />
<br />
I actually have a place in Bangor,NY it confuses people all the time [[User:Mr.Do|Mr.Do]]<br />
<br />
Is the {{w|Washington_(state)|State of Washington}} not considered more significant than a mere district? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.149|172.69.35.149]] 18:14, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: I mean, Washington DC is the capital of the entire country, so both are very significant. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.97|172.69.33.97]] 20:08, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Ontario, CA - I have gotten packages that originated in Ontario, CA and wondered why they were shipping from Canada, until I realized that they were coming from Ontario, California. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 20:57, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
How did Lebanon come to be such a popular name (sixth most common according to the Wikipedia list)? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.92.182|162.158.92.182]] 09:04, 25 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
How about entries for what the lesser-known city is known for? I can start: Austin MN is home of Hormel, maker of Spam, and features the Spam Museum. Who is next? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.58|172.70.126.58]] 10:29, 25 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Richmond, VT is home of a person (also apparently given the job of "Weigher Of Coal") who helped to establish the name of Spam (as in unwanted advertising)... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.79|141.101.99.79]] 11:14, 25 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
So, anyway, the Transcript is both empty and marked incomplete. Really, it would at best be a Transcriptised non-tabular list of the named places, grouped to their 'other one' states. I can't see much more that can be done, save for "line-drawn state lines and dots" being mentioned. It's very much an inferior copy of the table itself, but definitely should be there to fulfil the general needs of the Transcript. I'll do it myself if nobody else has (or otherwise resolved) by the time the next comic goes up. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.79|141.101.99.79]] 11:14, 25 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Agree that there should be a transcript. It should mention what type of map and that all states have their abbreviation in gray text. Then proceed approximately in reading order giving each states abbreviation and then the cities mentioned in each state. That would be great. Do not have the time the next week, else this was something I often have done with large transcripts. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:54, 25 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
::I prepped a version that satisfies almost all your demands, already, except that it's arranged alphabetical to state ID, because that seemed more logical to dive into than to try a 'reading order' of any kind. I also took a couple of other small liberties with the usual Transcript notation to improve understanding, not having found a prior example that has done this in a 'better' way. I'll pop it in right now and then leave it to the multitudinous Gods Of Wikiediting to correct it, 'correct' it, improve it and 'improve' it as they see fit. Fill yer boots! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.124|141.101.98.124]] 21:42, 25 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
here is a challenge: find a regex that matches all the cities in this map in the top half of the US, but not the ones in the bottom half. have fun and dont use the auto-regex-golf thing, thats just no fun. :) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.7|172.69.63.7]] 16:40, 25 June 2021 (UTC)Bumpf<br />
:Unless I misunderstand you, it's probably impossible. Houston in Ohio is in the top half of the map (however you define that line) while the Houston in the usual Alaska map-discontinuity is in the bottom half of the map. And I bet that a moment's search will find others amongst the shared names. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.104|141.101.99.104]] 17:35, 25 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
::Bowling Green (OH and FL) splits even on true latitude, at well within each band of top/bottom value ranges. Assuming you don't add the home-state code (which could be the only thing needed to even try to regex, if you do), there's no wedge you can apply. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.105|162.158.158.105]] 22:10, 25 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Bloomington MN is an odd one — it is both larger by area and by population than Bloomington IN! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.206|141.101.98.206]] 20:31, 25 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Even if there's no plans for a wall around Mexico, NY, maybe that's who Trump expected would pay for his wall. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 13:19, 26 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm really annoyed that he included Portland. Doesn't everybody know about Portland, ME?<br />
<br />
Here's how he might have come up with this list. (1) Find all duplicates in a list of U.S. city names. (2) Select the top 100 (searched on the web, occurring on the web, etc.) names (or enough to fill the comic nicely). An alternate (2) is select the top 100 (or some number) largest cities of those.</div>172.70.34.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2480:_No,_The_Other_One&diff=214101Talk:2480: No, The Other One2021-06-24T11:00:02Z<p>172.70.34.190: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
We might want a table for this comic, with three columns: one for the name of the town, one for which state the copycat is in, and one for the original. We could also add a column for "why the original is well known," but that might be a bit much. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.124|108.162.245.124]] 20:38, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: I agree, this feels like a very table-able comic. Especially to get all the cities and not make readers try to see "hey, did I miss one?" [[Special:Contributions/172.70.117.158|172.70.117.158]] 20:49, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:: I think the term copy-cat should not be used here, since Lincoln, IL, for instance is older and carries the name longer than Lincoln, NE.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.74|162.158.88.74]] 21:05, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
::: Although the people in Lincoln, UK (also Boston, Washington, Richmond, Plymouth, Newhaven...) might have prior claims - Richmond is an even more interesting case, in fact. And of course I also recognise Lisbon and others. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.244|141.101.98.244]] 21:26, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::: May I suggest merging the first two columns and just listing [City, State] under "Place name in comic"? [[User:MajorBurns|MajorBurns]] ([[User talk:MajorBurns|talk]]) 21:38, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
In the map there are (at least) three Lincoln, two Jamestown, five Houston... [[User:Vdm|Vdm]] ([[User talk:Vdm|talk]]) 20:52, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: There is a Jamestown in NY and PA also. I would expect to find a Jamestown in at least half of the states. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:06, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
There seems to be an extra dot in the northeast corner of Colorado - It looks like it might correspond with the Atlanta label, but there is no Atlanta in Colorado. Based on the position of the dot I'm guessing it may correspond to Akron or Yuma.--[[User:MajorBurns|MajorBurns]] ([[User talk:MajorBurns|talk]]) 21:56, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: Google Maps says there's an Atlanta, Colorado, but it is in the south-east corner of the state, not where the dot is. It looks like it is in the middle of nowhere outside of Springfield. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 00:42, 24 June 2021 (UTC) <br />
<br />
Jersey Shore PA - I just drove from New Jersey across the state of Pennsylvania, and saw the sign for Jersey Shore in the mountains in the middle of PA. What the? Turns out there was a town founded by two brothers from New Jersey called Waynesburg. When a neighboring town wanted to insult them by calling them "Jersey Shore" they went ahead and officially made Jersey Shore the name of the town. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore,_Pennsylvania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore,_Pennsylvania]. I wonder how many people turn off the highway in the middle of PA wanting to go to the Jersey Shore hundreds of miles away. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:06, 23 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Why no Hollywood, Florida? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood,_Florida https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood,_Florida]<br />
: Same reason there's no Richmond, Dublin, or Pittsburg (admittedly, a different spelling), California, just to name some of the closest ones to me. The map would be solid black if it labeled every "other one." [[User:Borglord|Borglord]] ([[User talk:Borglord|talk]]) 01:57, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
..''No'' Springfields? Really? There's gotta be 30+ of them! [[User:Danish|Danish]] ([[User talk:Danish|talk]]) 02:00, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:The comic doesn't seem to include the duplicates that are fairly well known, like Hollywood, FL. And the prevalence of Springfield is well known due to "The Simpsons". I think Groening chose that name ''because'' it wouldn't be associated with any particular state. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:06, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
`The most frequently occurring community name varies through the years. In a past year, it was "Midway" with 212 occurrences and "Fairview" in second with 202. More recently, "Fairview" counted 288 and "Midway" 256. The name "Springfield" is often thought to be the only community name appearing in each of the 50 States, but at last count it was in only 34 states.` https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-most-common-citytown-name-united-states [[User:Steve|Steve]] ([[User talk:Steve|talk]]) 02:48, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The comic has been updated to remove Charlestown and move Salem, CT. The extra dot in Colorado remains, however. The image attachment has been updated, but I think I'm still seeing the cached version. [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 03:47, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Since so many of the names are duplicated multiple times, shouldn't the title be "No, ''An'' Other One"? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 04:06, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm surprised he missed Minneapolis, Kansas (about 75 miles west of Manhattan). Though maybe it would've made Kansas too crowded. --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]])<br />
<br />
:I'm surprised he missed Duluth, GA too, but we can't have everything we want. ( --Don from Rochester . . . but not from New York ;^) Oh yeah; there's also a Buffalo in MN too. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.34.190|172.70.34.190]] 11:00, 24 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'd like to see a map of all these. Lines linking each of the dots to the location of the more famous town. Possibly with lines in different colours connecting to the oldest and largest other ones, where they're not the same as the most famous one. (I suspect a significant number of the "oldest" lines would point off the right edge of the image) [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 08:37, 24 June 2021 (UTC)</div>172.70.34.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2476:_Base_Rate&diff=2136272476: Base Rate2021-06-17T23:55:38Z<p>172.70.34.190: /* Explanation */ base rate error if there is no conneciton between handedness and base rate errors</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2476<br />
| date = June 14, 2021<br />
| title = Base Rate<br />
| image = base_rate.png<br />
| titletext = Sure, you can talk about per-capita adjustment, but if you want to solve the problem, it's obvious that this is the group you need to focus on.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a LEFTY. Seems like the entire first paragraph has very little to do with this comic. And there is not enough explanation of why Cueball's statement is a base rate error. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
The "{{w|base rate}}" is a type of base probability, which a statistical probability can be based on. The {{w|base rate fallacy}} is a type of error in which people are presented with the rate at which something occurs throughout an entire population along with more specific information about a subset of that population, and tend to ignore the whole-population information in favor of the specific information. For instance, imagine a disease that is present in 1% of the population, for which there is a test with a 5% false-positive rate. This test might be presented as "95% accurate", and so people who receive a positive result from such a test are likely to think they have the disease. However, someone who receives a positive test result has only a 17% chance of actually having the disease; a much more likely reason for the positive result, occurring in 83% of all positive test results, is a false (wrong) positive.<br />
<br />
In this case, the joke is that 90% of people are right-handed, so if there is no connection between handedness and making base rate errors, then 90% of these errors would be made by right handers. Thus [[Cueball|Cueball's]] claim that right-handers commit 90% of base-rate errors is itself a base-rate error. <br />
<br />
Cueball may be holding the pointer in his right hand, suggesting he might be right-handed (as 90% of stick figures are{{fact}}). Since Cueball has no facial features it is impossible to tell if he faces the audience, or looking at his graph. However, it seems most likely that he is looking at his audience while delivering the take home message and thus points at the graph behind him. Thus he likely belongs to the 90% that makes 90% of the base-rate errors, one of those he is just committing.<br />
<br />
In the title text, Cueball dismisses the idea of adjusting his graph to account for the difference in numbers of left-handed versus right-handed members of the population. He suggests focusing efforts on the right-handed majority to resolve that 90% of base rate errors. How exactly an educational outreach program should focus its efforts on right-handed people is unclear.<br />
<br />
Something similar occurs in [[1138: Heatmap]], where Cueball makes inferences simply based on a population map of the US, instead of statistical evidence.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing in front of a screen that shows a bar graph with 2 bars with labels beneath. The right bar is significantly higher than the left. Cueball is holding a pointer which he points at the label of the highest bar, which has been encircled.]<br />
:Cueball: Remember, right-handed people commit 90% of all base rate errors.<br />
:Label: L R<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Bar charts]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Statistics]]</div>172.70.34.190https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2472:_Fuzzy_Blob&diff=213241Talk:2472: Fuzzy Blob2021-06-07T16:34:27Z<p>172.70.34.190: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
That bot description is comedy gold, I think the page is already perfect. "It's a finger." [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.60|141.101.98.60]] 02:30, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Really, what more explanation do we need? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.13|172.69.63.13]] 02:39, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:The only thing I could see being added is if there is a sub joke regarding the historic 4th ave church being unusual. It might just be an unimportant detail, but most of Randell's jokes have something extra behind them.[[User:Andyd273|Andyd273]] ([[User talk:Andyd273|talk]]) 03:28, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:That didn't come from the bot, it comes from anonymous user 162.158.62.37. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 09:46, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
<br />
The NAVY UFOs are the same type of feature; a little bug is inside the camera, sitting on the lens inside the aircraft window. You can see the insects feet, blurry, of course, and you can watch it turn around.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.186|172.69.35.186]] 02:48, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:Nice of the insects to show up on radar too, for consistency.[[User:Andyd273|Andyd273]] ([[User talk:Andyd273|talk]]) 03:28, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The people in the comics are stick figures. Their limbs and appendages are simple lines. Why would they know that the blob in the image is a finger? That’s a construct for the 3D world of people.<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
Someone showed me a photo of a "spirit guide" - a strange glowing fuzzy orb, floating near a group of spiritually-minded people in a dim room. I thought a few minutes, threw a pinch of flour into the air in a dim room, took a flash photo, and there were dozens of little fuzzy orbs in the photo! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.72|172.69.35.72]] 06:29, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:That's why ghosts are white, obviously. They keep throwing flour around, and end up covering themselves. ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.36|141.101.98.36]] 08:54, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:I have photos full of fuzzy orbs from tunnel. I'm not sure what EXACTLY those are, but I think bad lighting has more to do with them than ghosts. Unless there were much more causalities building that tunnel than reported. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 03:54, 6 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Will there be an explanation of “zoning permits” joke? Sounds like something local to US. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.122|162.158.222.122]] 07:02, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: I just did add something, but without seeing your request here so maybe I need to dig up a Wikilink for that definition in particular. But I always understood Zoning Permits as being roughly equivalent to Planning Permissions in the UK, or close enough. That's from my exposure to US films/TV, where it can be a (usually) minor plot-point. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.36|141.101.98.36]] 08:54, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: Addendum: Yeah, it's like Planning Permission (skewed towards Land Use designations, but the two systems are overlapping in concept). What I found funny was that "Euclidean zoning" was ''not'' actually named for the coordinate system. ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.46|141.101.98.46]] 09:12, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
What's the joke about 4th avenue church? Google fins a 4th avenue church, but it doesn't seem to be related to any mistery.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 10:24, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: It might just be that churches tend to employ unusual architecture, and historic churches tend to employ a combination of antique and unusual architecture, making them distinct from the surrounding buildings, especially in urban areas. Maybe people seeing the churches would think that there's some hidden conspiratorial meaning behind their structure. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.117.38|172.70.117.38]] 14:12, 7 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
<br />
: Could be this church: https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x88690d53a414c0ff%3A0x38c51a845c08ff8a!3m1!7e115!4s%2Fmaps%2Fplace%2F%2522historic%2Bfourth%2Bavenue%2Bchurch%2522%2F%4038.2373688%2C-85.7595726%2C3a%2C75y%2C190.58h%2C90t%2Fdata%3D*213m4*211e1*213m2*211s8YHVWQJ-DS513U1EBHZ7Tg*212e0*214m2*213m1*211s0x88690d53a414c0ff%3A0x38c51a845c08ff8a%3Fsa%3DX!5s%22historic%20fourth%20avenue%20church%22%20-%20Google%20Search!15sCgIgAQ&imagekey=!1e2!2s8YHVWQJ-DS513U1EBHZ7Tg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUmdTU94XxAhXaMlkFHfpaAZMQpx8wBXoECDQQCA. There's a blur in the middle of the lens.<br />
<br />
----<br />
<br />
Should it mentioned that these are stick figures, and usually don't have "fingers"? Also, why is it (white) flesh-toned instead of (ink) black? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.178|172.69.71.178]] 23:59, 5 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
: Rand's white, so he probably didn't think of that and would possibly be embarrassed or change it if brought to his attention. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.226|172.70.110.226]] 00:59, 6 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
::A finger in front of a lens blocks light from reaching the film, or the sensor array. Why, then, is the finger a light shade of supposed skin tone? Isn't that another reason why it should appear black instead? [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 04:40, 6 June 2021 (UTC)<br />
:::The convex nature of a fingertip means often plenty of side-lighting is available (unless you've stoppered the whole finger right straight over the whole aperture and have no exposure at all, never mind an off-focus finger). I can confirm a finger-blob looks lit and skin-coloured (assuming daytime/lit-room photography) from a non-zero number of photos returned from the lab (remember those days?) with a sticker on them to suggest that their sharp-eyed QCing (and possibly statutory "illegal/immoral content guardianship" filtering) had determined that there was an obvious technical fault with the image, but it wasn't their fault/nothing they can do about it, and next time don't stick your finger there (or shake the camera, or fail to use a flash, or get the basic focal length right, or whatever). But an easily removable sticker, because maybe you ''were'' a budding experimental photographer not yet with your own darkroom to see your results quicker than an hour (drop-in photography shops) or a few days/couple of weeks (postal processing).<br />
::: ((There's also precedence for the 'stick figures' having close up details, but I'm not going to reference them, because having it ''not'' be a flesh-pink blob, but something more stick-figurey would remove a layer of viewer certainty in interpreting the desired joke. And, possibly, there's a little bit of an echo of Spiderman Noir (from the "Spiderverse" film) and the Rubik's Cube, making it ''actually'' and legitimately surprising to stickworld civilisation...)) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.38|141.101.98.38]] 07:23, 6 June 2021 (UTC)</div>172.70.34.190