https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=173.245.50.144&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-19T07:07:30ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:222:_Small_Talk&diff=138721Talk:222: Small Talk2017-04-13T22:32:55Z<p>173.245.50.144: </p>
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<div>You know, {{w|Watchmen|Dr. Manhattan}} had a response to the question "What's up?" [[Special:Contributions/84.251.27.117|84.251.27.117]] 22:55, 27 September 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Apparently, this is common in German speaking countries. When asked "how are you?" many will give long, detailed, accurate answers.</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1417:_Seven&diff=1022211417: Seven2015-09-21T16:53:21Z<p>173.245.50.144: /* Explanation */ Not a reference</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1417<br />
| date = September 5, 2014<br />
| title = Seven<br />
| image = seven.png<br />
| titletext = The days of the week are Monday, Arctic, Wellesley, Green, Electra, Synergize, and the Seventh Seal.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In this comic, [[Cueball]] (or perhaps [[Randall]]) says he can't distinguish between sets that have exactly seven objects. This leads him to exchange the items in the sets without noticing, to the point where, when attempting to list a single set, each item mentioned actually belongs to a different set.<br />
<br />
This is shown in the comic when [[Megan]] asks Cueball to name the seven dwarfs from ''{{w|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs}}'', a task some people might find difficult, although they would not just choose words from other sets of seven to fill in the gaps.<br />
<br />
The title text reveals that even a trivial set of seven items, like the days of the week, also goes completely wrong.<br />
<br />
The comic may be related to the {{w|Set-theoretic definition of natural numbers#Oldest definition|oldest set-theoretic definition of the natural numbers}}, in which for each natural number, an equivalence class is defined over all sets which contain the same number of items. As Cueball is known for [[:Category:Math|mathematical thinking]], he could be presumed to have taken the underlying equivalence relation to heart, and (over)applying it to real life, genuinely judging sets to be identical if they all contain N objects.<br />
<br />
The number seven being the number for when sets become indistinguishable is possibly a reference to {{w|The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two|Miller's law}}; however, this law refers to elements ''within the same set'' becoming indistinguishable, rather than the indistinguishability of different sets of the same size - indeed, its original tests involved either distinguishing between the items, or repeating them back ''in the correct order''.<br />
<br />
The number seven has culturally been {{w|7 (number)#Religion and mythology|regarded as a special, magical or holy number}}, which contributes to the large number of familiar sets of seven that make this comic possible. This proliferation of well-known sets of 7 items could be another reason why Randall chose to use the number {{w|seven}} in the comic.<br />
<br />
In [[1554: Spice Girls]] the game continues with Cueball saying that it is now Megan's turn and then he asks her a similar question regarding the names of the Spice Girls. Her problem is then that she simply finds different sets of five and then just adds Spice behind each of the words of that set.<br />
<br />
===Comic list===<br />
For each of the seven lists below, the relevant item's traditional position within its own list of seven, according to Wikipedia, is '''not''' necessarily equal to its position on the list in the comic. For some lists the position is equal, but not for most. For instance Sneezy is traditionally never mentioned first amongst the dwarfs since the leader Doc normally comes first. But "phylum" is the second major taxonomic rank as is "phylum" the second item on the list in the comic.<br />
<br />
The seven "dwarfs" mentioned and their relevant sets of seven are (items in the set are written in bold):<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|<br />
! 1<br />
! 2<br />
! 3<br />
! 4<br />
! 5<br />
! 6<br />
! 7<br />
|-<br />
!{{W|Seven Dwarfs#Disney Dwarfs|Disney's Dwarfs}} from ''{{w|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs}}''<ref group=c>The order is taken from the page about the movie. But Sneezy is never no. 1, on the other page, which is listed alphabetically, he is no. 5.</ref><br />
|Doc<br />
|Grumpy<br />
|Happy<br />
|Sleepy<br />
|Bashful<br />
|'''Sneezy''' <br />
|Dopey<br />
|-<br />
!Major {{w|taxonomic ranks}}.<ref group=c>There are now actually 8 on this list as {{w|Domain (biology)|domain}} has been included as the first in the list in 1990. It is, however, still normal to only list the 7 ranks in the table.</ref><br />
|kingdom<br />
|'''phylum'''<br />
|class<br />
|order<br />
|family<br />
|genus<br />
|species<br />
|-<br />
!{{w|Continents}}<ref group=c>Continents are normally listed by size (as here in the table), in which case Europe is no. 6. Alphabetically it would be fifth. By population, Europe would actually be no. 3 (i.e. it would match the position in Cueball's list). But by population density, it is no. 2. In reality Europe is not even a continent in it self, as it is connected directly to Asia (and also Africa) and there are {{w|Continent#Number_of_continents|many reasons}} not to split the continents into seven...</ref><br />
|Asia<br />
|Africa<br />
|North America<br />
|South America<br />
|Antarctica<br />
|'''Europe'''<br />
|Australia<br />
|-<br />
!{{w|Seven deadly sins|Deadly sins}}<ref group=c>List as on Wikipedia.</ref><br />
|lust<br />
|gluttony<br />
|greed<br />
|'''sloth'''<br />
|wrath<br />
|envy<br />
|pride<br />
|-<br />
!{{w|Seven-layer dip|Seven Layer Dip (recipe)}}<ref group=c>The list on Wikipedia is not in the order the dip should be made. The order used above is from this [http://allrecipes.com/recipe/seven-layer-dip-i/ recipe].</ref><br />
|refried beans<br />
|cheese<br />
|ground beef<br />
|sour cream<br />
|'''guacamole'''<br />
|salsa<br />
|chopped black olives/tomatoes/green onions<br />
|-<br />
!|Layers of the {{w|OSI model}}<ref group=c>The order above is in reverse. The numbers given on Wikipedia is from 7 to 1 as they stand above. However when showing them in a table they begin with no. 7. So it can be discussed if this is the correct order or the reverse. Since Data link is no. 2, the reverse above becomes the "correct" no. 6.</ref><br />
|application<br />
|presentation<br />
|session<br />
|transport<br />
|network<br />
|'''data link'''<br />
|physical<br />
|-<br />
!|{{w|Wonders of the World#Seven Wonders of the Ancient World|Wonders of the Ancient World}}<ref group=c>List as on Wikipedia.</ref><br />
|Great Pyramid of Giza<br />
|Hanging Gardens of Babylon<br />
|Statue of Zeus at Olympia<br />
|Temple of Artemis at Ephesus<br />
|Mausoleum at Halicarnassus<br />
|'''Colossus of Rhodes'''<br />
|Lighthouse of Alexandria<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<references group=c /><br />
<br />
===Title text list===<br />
The title text extends this saying he also does the same with the set of the seven days of the week.<br />
<br />
The sets Cueball's "days of the week" come from are:<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|<br />
! 1<br />
! 2<br />
! 3<br />
! 4<br />
! 5<br />
! 6<br />
! 7<br />
|-<br />
!{{w|Days of the week}}<ref group=t>In the US, the weekdays are usually mentioned with Sunday first, whereas the international {{w|ISO week date}} standard defines Monday as the first day of the week. Although Randall is from the US, he has previously expressed his preference for [[1179: ISO 8601|ISO 8601]] (among [[526: Converting to Metric|other international standards]]), so it's reasonable to assume he'd list the days of the week starting on Monday.</ref><br />
|'''Monday'''<br />
|Tuesday<br />
|Wednesday<br />
|Thursday<br />
|Friday <br />
|Saturday<br />
|Sunday<br />
|-<br />
!{{w|Seven Seas#Modern|The Seven Seas (modern version)}}<ref group=t>There are many ways to lists 7 named bodies of water. The one used in the table uses the order from the Wikipedia article on the modern version, from the largest to the smallest of the seven. But at the top of the article on the {{w|Seven Seas}} another set of oceans are used. Here the two largest bodies of water (Pacific and Atlantic) are split in a north and a south part, and the Southern (or Antarctic) Ocean is included. They then displace the three smallest bodies of water mentioned in the table above. If that list is sorted in alphabetic order, using the name Antarctic Ocean instead of Southern Ocean, then "Arctic" would come second: Antarctic, '''Arctic''', Indian, North Atlantic, North Pacific, South Atlantic and South Pacific. "Arctic" could also be a reference to {{w|Climate zones}} - see [[#Trivia|Trivia]]. It could not, however, be a reference to {{w|Continents}}, because the Arctic is not a continent {{w|Continent#Number of continents|regardless of how they're counted}}.</ref><br />
|The Pacific Ocean<br />
|The Atlantic Ocean<br />
|The Indian Ocean<br />
|The '''Arctic''' Ocean<br />
|The Mediterranean Sea <br />
|The Caribbean Sea<br />
|The Gulf of Mexico.<br />
|-<br />
!{{w|Seven Sisters (colleges)|Seven Sisters}}, historically women's colleges in U.S.<ref group=t>List as on Wikipedia.</ref><br />
|Mount Holyoke<br />
|Vassar<br />
|'''Wellesley'''<br />
|Smith<br />
|Radcliffe<br />
|Bryn Mawr<br />
|Barnard<br />
|-<br />
!Traditional {{w|spectral color}}s<ref group=t>On the list on Wikipedia there are only six colors but Indigo was used to get to seven colors by Newton - see [[#Trivia|Trivia]].</ref><br />
|Red<br />
|Orange <br />
|Yellow<br />
|'''Green'''<br />
|Blue<br />
|Indigo <br />
|Violet<br />
|-<br />
!{{w|Pleiades (Greek mythology)|Pleiades}}, Seven Sisters, nymphs and daughters of Atlas and Pleone in Greek mythology<ref group=t>List as on Wikipedia, with the oldest first and the youngest last (it's unclear whether the ones in the middle are also listed by age). In any case, only in reverse alphabetical order Electra would be no. 5: Taygete, Sterope, Merope, Maia, '''Electra''', Celaeno, and Alcyone.</ref><ref group=t>Electra is one of the septet of Pleiades sisters, and also of the septet of the complete extant plays by Sophocles. Until [[Randall]] tells us which he meant, both are possible.</ref><br />
|Maia<br />
|'''Electra'''<br />
|Taygete<br />
|Alcyone<br />
|Celaeno<br />
|Sterope<br />
|Merope<br />
|-<br />
!|''{{w|Sophocles|Complete Plays}}'' by Sophocles<ref group=t>ibid</ref><br />
|Ajax/Aias<br />
|'''Electra'''<br />
|Oedipus The King/Rex/Tyrannus<br />
|Oedipus at Colonus<br />
|Antigone<br />
|The Trachinian Maidens/The Women of Trachis<br />
|Philoctetes<br />
|-<br />
!|''{{w|The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People}}'' by Dr. Stephen R. Covey<ref group=t>These seven habits are clearly named in order as they are listed as Habit 1 through Habit 7.</ref><br />
|Be proactive<br />
|Begin with the end in mind<br />
|Put first things first<br />
|Think win-win<br />
|Seek first to understand and then to be understood<br />
|'''Synergize'''<br />
|Sharpen the saw<br />
|-<br />
!|In the {{w|Book of Revelation}} in the {{w|New Testament}} there are {{w|Seven seals}}<ref group=t>''The Seventh Seal'' is also the name of a movie released in 1957, which belongs to a '''lot''' of sets of seven -- see the [[#Trivia|Trivia]] section.</ref><br />
|The First seal<br />
|The Second seal<br />
|The Third seal<br />
|The Fourth seal<br />
|The Fifth seal<br />
|The Sixth seal<br />
|'''The Seventh seal'''<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<references group=t /><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan and Cueball are talking.]<br />
:Megan: Can you name all the dwarfs from Snow White?<br />
:Cueball: Sure, there's, um...<br />
:Cueball's thoughts: Sneezy, phylum, Europe, sloth, guacamole, data link, Colossus of Rhodes<br />
:I have this problem where all sets of seven things are indistinguishable to me.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*Arctic (no. 2 on the title text list) could also be a reference to {{w|Climate zones|climate zones}}: '''Arctic''', North Temperate, Northern Subtropical, Tropical, Southern Subtropical, South Temperate and Antarctic.<br />
**There are however usually only five mentioned according to the {{w|Köppen climate classification}}. They are: Tropical, Dry, Temperate, Continental and Polar climate.<br />
*Concerning the seven colours of the spectrum (no. 4 on the title text list) {{w|Indigo#Classification as a spectral color|indigo is stuck in}} by {{w|Isaac Newton}} to add up to the seven notes in the {{w|Scale (music)#Western music|Western musical scale}}.<br />
**It should be noted that {{w|Indigo#Classification as a spectral color|Newton probably meant}} the colours {{w|cyan}} and {{w|blue}} as we think of it today, rather than blue and {{w|indigo}}.<br />
**Also note that in a {{w|rainbow}} you usually {{w|Rainbow#Number of colours in spectrum or rainbow|cannot distinguish more than six colours}} with cyan melting in with green and blue and the same for indigo with blue and violet.<br />
***{{w|Color term#Basic color terms|This is highly dependent on the language you speak.}} Russian, for example, has both sinij and goluboj to describe different blues that in English are both blue. Japanese, as another example, has blue and green together (kinda) in 青.<br />
**These are also the traditional seven artists' pigments, {{w|Roy G. Biv|with the accompanying mnemonic "Roy G. Biv"}} (or the "Richard Of York..." counterpart mnemonic, for those indoctrinated by a different method). Indigo dye is a widely known and readily available colouring agent. The ongoing ubiquity of the ''pigment'' (think denim) gives it a unique prominence despite its uncertain status as a spectral colour.<br />
*''The Seventh Seal'' (no. 7 on the title text list) could also refer to the 1957 film {{w|The Seventh Seal}} by Swedish director {{w|Ingmar Bergman}}. Indeed, we can put it in quite a few sets of seven.<br />
**This was Bergman's seventh film with an English title beginning with the letter 'S' (ignoring articles). ''A Ship Bound for India'', ''Summer Interlude'', ''Secrets of Women'', ''Summer with Monika'', ''Sawdust and Tinsel'', ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', '''''The Seventh Seal'''''.<br />
**Similary ''The Seventh Seal'' is also the seventh Bergman film whose Swedish title starts with 'S', although the list has some different members. ''Skepp till Indialand'', ''Sånt händer inte här'', ''Sommarlek'', ''Sommaren med Monika'', ''Sommarnattens leende'', ''Sista paret ut'', '''''Det sjunde inseglet'''''.<br />
**''The Seventh Seal'' was also one of seven Bergman films submitted by Sweden for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film during the 1950s and 1960s. '''The Seventh Seal''', ''The Magician'', ''The Virgin Spring'', ''Through a Glass Darkly'', ''The Silence'', ''Persona'', ''Shame''.<br />
**According to the Wikipedia page on {{w|The Seventh Seal|The Seventh Seal}}, the Jesuit publication America wrote, "It also began a series of seven films that explored the possibility of faith in a post-Holocaust, nuclear age. In 'The Virgin Spring' (1960), 'Through a Glass Darkly' (1961), 'Winter Light' (1962) and 'The Silence' (1963), he poses traditional faith questions in identifiably religious language. The characters struggle self-consciously with their inability to believe in God and form relationships with one another. In 'Wild Strawberries' (1957) and 'The Magician' (1958), the issues are veiled in layers of metaphor. The theological questions become apparent only by placing them in the context of the other films of the period. With 'The Silence' he concludes that God is unknowable, and the human person must simply continue life's journey seeking understanding and happiness however one can. At that point, [http://americamagazine.org/node/148305 God-questions drop out of his films altogether].<br />
*One way to remember the names of the Seven Dwarfs from the Disney film is: three emotions (Happy, Bashful, Grumpy), two S's (Sleepy, Sneezy), two D's (Dopey, Doc). Cueball assumes that Megan is asking in the context of the Disney film, but other works have named the dwarfs differently; see {{w|Seven Dwarfs}}.<br />
*Megan's question uses the plural '''dwarfs'''. Astronomers also refer to the plural of {{w|dwarf star}}s as "dwarfs". The word "dwarves" is used in {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}'s works, but has been seen as far back as [http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000293.html the early 1800s].<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1579:_Tech_Loops&diff=1021711579: Tech Loops2015-09-21T12:58:56Z<p>173.245.50.144: /* Explanation */ Link to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repository_(version_control)</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1579<br />
| date = September 18, 2015<br />
| title = Tech Loops<br />
| image = tech_loops.png<br />
| titletext = And when I think about it, a lot of "things I want to do" are just learning about and discussing new tools for tinkering with the chain.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Missing explanation for each of the items in the list. Also, title text}}<br />
<br />
The comic is about how much of the time one might spend on a computer as a geek tends to be in maintaining the system itself rather using it, up to the point where maintaining the system becomes the main goal. Often the operating system needs periodic updates, which might break some apps which in turn need to be updated; apps themselves might need to be updated, which can create all sort of incompatibilities which one then needs to spend time fixing.<br />
<br />
Most people consider computers as tools to achieve something else -- e.g. to surf the web, read news or balance their bank account -- and they rather not have to maintain the OS or the computer if they can avoid it. However here [[Randall]] finds he's spending most of the time using his computer just for the sake of maintaining the OS or the hardware on said computer. It's tools for the sake of tooling, rather than tools as helpers to build something else.<br />
<br />
A hardware equivalent would be {{w|RepRap Project}}: get a 3D printer and end up spending all the time printing 3D parts for itself instead of creating something else like toys or art.<br />
<br />
An alternative interpretation is how a simple task can get maddeningly tricky because of the inherent complexity of the system. An example of this appears in [[949: File Transfer]], where the simple task of sending a file from one computer to another gets practically impossible despite having all kinds of "cloud" tools available, many of them designed to perform much more complex tasks with one simple click. In this view, the part of the comic labeled "things I actually want to use my computer for" could refer to simple actions like transferring a file and all the rest of the graph are unsuccessful tiring attempts to solve the problem by installing increasingly complex tools which end up not solving the simple problem properly. This is similar to a traditional joke which can be found on [http://www.pfccheatsheet.com/fnpgmr90.htm this link].<br />
<br />
Here is a list of all the items explained individually:<br />
* Tool: In this context, a tool is mostly any general purpose computer program. Typical tools are text editors and calendar applications. [[Randall]] is presumably spending all his time installing and maintaining tools but never using them for their intended purpose.<br />
* Updater: An application designed to automatically download and install new versions of an already installed program. Referenced in [[1197: All Adobe Updates]]. The time spent in updating an application can't be used to get productive work from the application.<br />
* {{w|Repository (version control)|Repository}}: For programmers a repository is a database where programs are stored. All modifications of the programs are preserved for posterity, in the same way as the Wikipedia {{w|Help:Page history|View page}} tab.<br />
* Library: In this context, a {{w|Library (computing)}} is a part of a computer program which is developed separately, with the idea that the library will be used for more than one program and therefore saving effort, as the library has to be developed only once. Often, programs require specific versions of specific libraries that can or can not be available. A typical example of a library often required and not always available is Microsoft's {{w|Framework Class Library}}, more known as {{w|.NET Framework}}.<br />
* VM: A {{w|Virtual machine}} is a computer program designed to emulate a complete computer. Probably a reference to [[1305: Undocumented Feature]], combined with the next item "Chat client".<br />
* Chat client: an {{w|Online chat}} program, probably a reference to [[1305: Undocumented Feature]], combined with the previous item "VM".<br />
* IRC for some reason: {{w|Internet Relay Chat}}.<br />
* Custom settings: Some programs (and especially web sites) assume a fixed setup in the user's computer. Many web pages even state plainly that they are only intended to work in one single browser with some settings enabled. This is a nuisance for users, and it becames helplessly burdensome when the user must install several programs requiring different settings.<br />
* Hardware workaround: Sometimes a problem can be solved by hardware changes. Removing TV tuner or telephone modem cards, changing an USB device from one port to another, opening and closing the CD tray, etc. are operations that, in many cases, have led to solving a problem; most of the time with no one knowing exactly why such an operation should or could have any effect in the computer's behavior.<br />
* Awful hack from 2009: An example of an awful hack can be found in [[1479: Troubleshooting]]. When an awful hacks is necessary, it is often because less awful alternatives do not exist; so awful hacks tend to remain useful for many years. An example can be the 256-caracter limit in the Windows path for a file, which has been inherited from MS-DOS and is still there up to Windows 10 [citation needed].<br />
* DLL needed by something: Acronym for {{w|Dynamic-link library}}. Although DLL is a term used by Microsoft Windows, all modern operating systems use dynamic libraries, each with its own name. A dynamic library is a part of a program which is not loaded when the program starts, but rather it's attached "dynamically" to the running process when it is needed. This has the advantage that the dynamic library is not loaded at all if it's not needed, and also several processes which need the same dynamic library can share the same copy in memory.<br />
* Things I actually want to use my computer for:<br />
<br />
Other comics about the same concept are [[349: Success]] and [[763: Workaround]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A flow chart]<br />
:→ means supports (key)<br />
:<br/><br />
:Things I actually want to use my computer for [isolated box with no links into or out of, by any of the following]<br />
:<br />
:DLL needed by something → ? [two exits to unknowns]<br />
:<br />
:Library (1) → Awful hack from 2009 →<br />
::Awful hack from 2009 → IRC for some reason → Awful hack from 2009 → (Loop)<br />
::Awful hack from 2009 → Library (2) → Library (3) → Repository<br />
::Awful hack from 2009 → Library (4) → Library (5) → Custom Settings → Library (6) →<br />
:::Library (6) → Chat Client → Repository<br />
:::Library (6) → Hardware Workaround →<br />
::::Hardware Workaround → VM → Chat Client → Repository<br />
::::Hardware Workaround → Awful hack from 2009 → (Loop)<br />
:::Library (6) → Tool (1) → Updater →<br />
::::Updater → Repository<br />
::::Updater → Library (6) → (Loop)<br />
::::Updater → Tool (2) → VM → Chat Client → Repository<br />
:<br />
:(Note the Repository node leads to nowhere)<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Programming]]<br />
[[Category:Logic]]<br />
[[Category:Computers]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1577:_Advent&diff=1017031577: Advent2015-09-14T12:21:09Z<p>173.245.50.144: /* Explanation */ wiki link</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1577<br />
| date = September 14, 2015<br />
| title = Advent<br />
| image = advent.png<br />
| titletext = The few dozen doors that have little Christmas trees on them are a nice touch.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|first drafts}}<br />
An {{w|Advent calendar}} is usually a mean of celebrating the days before Christmas. Each day on the calendar contains a small gift. This comic satirizes the concept by proposing such a calendar that would have one gift for each day one is anticipated to live. Such a calendar would be very morbid and existential. This is especially disturbing when given as a gift because it implies someone has put extensive thought into when the recipient will die.<br />
<br />
In Cueball's case, assuming each square in the calendar represents one day, and that the wall he is facing is the entire present he received, the sender of the gift assumes he will live for just under 50 more years. (Each smaller grid is 10×7, and the larger grid is 12×20 smaller grids). Assuming that Cueball is a US male (with a life expectancy of 76.18 years), he is probably 27-28 years old at the time of this comic's publication.<br />
<br />
The title text refers back to a standard advent calendar by saying that the Christmases are specially marked; on a traditional Advent calendar, only the 1st to the 24th of December have doors, however in recent times, Advent calendars often also include an additional door for the day after Advent, Christmas Day. Referring back to [[1070]], the calendar seems to place Cueball's death between 24 and 60 years in the future.<br />
<br />
A completely different advent calendar was mentioned in [[994: Advent Calendar]].<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is looking at a large wall subdivided into a rectangular grid, with each grid subdivided into 70 small drawers]<br />
:Caption: Unsettling gift: Life expectancy Advent calendar<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1460:_SMFW&diff=1015421460: SMFW2015-09-11T14:01:36Z<p>173.245.50.144: /* Explanation */ deleting parentheses</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1460<br />
| date = December 15, 2014<br />
| title = SMFW<br />
| image = smfw.png<br />
| titletext = wtfw it's like smho tbfh, imdb.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Randall gives some examples of confusing acronyms that closely resemble more commonly-used acronyms. He depicts [[Cueball]] apparently puzzling over the meaning of one such acronym.<br />
<br />
"SMFW", the title of the comic and an acronym used as the caption, is very close to a number of other common acronyms, including:<br />
<br />
*"SFW", meaning "safe/suitable for work", denoting that something does not have suggestive content<br />
*"MFW", meaning "my face when...", setting up for a user's reaction to something: possibly the intended replacement for the caption at the bottom of the comic<br />
*"SMH", meaning "shaking my head", used to indicate dismay<br />
*"SMF", meaning "so much fun"<br />
*"NSFW", meaning "not safe for work", the opposite of "SFW"<br />
*"MWF", meaning "Monday, Wednesday, Friday", the update schedule of XKCD<br />
<br />
The title text contains more examples of imaginary acronyms of a similar nature:<br />
<br />
*"WTFW" is a combination of "WTF" ("What the fuck?") and "TFW" ("That feel when...", used in a similar nature to "MFW"), and possibly "FTW" ("For The Win") and "FWIW" ("For What It's Worth")<br />
*"SMHO" is a combination of "SMH" ("shake my head") and "IMHO" ("In my humble/honest opinion..."), and possibly "LMAO" ("Laughing My Ass Off")<br />
*"TBFH" is a combination of "TBF" ("to be fair") and "TBH" ("to be honest"), also similar to "BOFH" ("Bastard Operator From Hell")<br />
*"IMDB" is, of course, [http://www.imdb.com/ the Internet Movie Database], but also resembles "IMHO" ("in my humble opinion")<br />
<br />
Below are possible examples of potential (already existing, albeit rare) representations for each acronym, according to the {{w|Urban Dictionary}}:<br />
<br />
*[http://www.urbandictionary.com/SMFW SMFW] is listed as an acronym for "Smoke more fucking weed".<br />
*[http://www.urbandictionary.com/WTFW WTFW] is listed as an acronym for "What the fuck, what?".<br />
*[http://www.urbandictionary.com/SMHO SMHO] is listed as an acronym for "Shaking my head off".<br />
*[http://www.urbandictionary.com/TBFH TBFH] is listed as an acronym for "To be fucking honest".<br />
<br />
Knowing Randall, the sentence is [probably] not supposed to make sense, but there are some mildly-plausible translations if one discounts IMDB, which is only there to make an already obnoxious sentence completely absurd. One way would be "What the fuck, what? It's like shaking my head off, to be fucking honest." Another possible interpretation includes: "See [or So,] My Face When (SMFW)" and "What the fuck, world? (WTFW) It's like so many horrible options (SMHO), to be fucking honest (TBFH) I'm done; bye. (IMDB)"<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk, crouched over a laptop.]<br />
:SMFW an acronym ''almost'' makes sense<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=725:_Literally&diff=101533725: Literally2015-09-11T13:07:43Z<p>173.245.50.144: /* Explanation */ Not only Merriam-Webster</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 725<br />
| date = April 9, 2010<br />
| title = Literally<br />
| image = literally.png<br />
| titletext = The chemistry experiment had me figuratively -- and then shortly thereafter literally -- glued to my seat.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The adverb "literally" implies that the action it describes actually happened, while its opposite, "figuratively", is used when the action it describes is being used as a figure of speech, and is not a representation of what actually happened. However, "literally" is often used colloquially as an intensifier, to mean "really" or "very", and even though many dictionaries (such as [http://www.merriam-webster.com/video/0038-literally.htm Merriam-Webster] or [http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/literally Oxford Learner's Dictionaries]) state that this is a valid use of the word, many people object to this usage.<br />
<br />
In this comic, [[Cueball]] mentions he was ''literally'' glued to his seat (one could easily assume that they had just left a theater), at which point a crazy man off-panel loudly corrects him. The crazy man declares that he has been stalking Cueball for eighteen years since an incident in seventh grade, where the crazy man (as a kid) incorrectly uses "literally" and young Cueball corrects him. He felt humiliated, overreacting to young Cueball's simple correction, and began to follow Cueball everywhere, vowing to be present when he makes the same mistake the crazy man had made in seventh grade.<br />
<br />
When Cueball tells him that he is "literally the craziest person" he's ever met, the crazy man thinks that he incorrectly used the word "literally" again; however, Cueball reassures him that he did not misuse it, meaning that the crazy man actually is ''the'' craziest person he has ever met.<br />
<br />
The title text points out that a chemistry experiment gone wrong is one of the few things that could cause someone to ''literally'' be glued to their seat, having previously been figuratively glued to their seat in fascination.<br />
<br />
The title text could thus also be understood as an explanation of how the sentence which was interrupted would have ended: ''I was literally glued to my seat through the entire chemistry experiment''. <br />
<br />
In this case the crazy person did not even catch Cueball in making the error - and because he interrupted too soon and gave himself away, he has lost the chance to do so, ever. <br />
Even though he stalks Cueball, he may not have been able to join his chemistry class to witness the glue accident - and may thus, as described above, wrongly believe that Cueball was talking about a theater experience.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and a friend walking together. Cueball turns to the friend.]<br />
:Cueball: I was literally glued to my seat through the entire-<br />
:Off-panel voice: ''HAH!''<br />
:Off-panel voice: ''You mean "figuratively"!''<br />
<br />
:[Crazy man walks into the panel. He has messy hair and a messy beard. Cueball and his friend stop walking.]<br />
:Cueball: Who are you?<br />
:Crazy man: Eighteen years I've watched you! Waiting!<br />
<br />
:Crazy man: Ever since that day in seventh grade when you humiliated me.<br />
:[Short flashback panel. 4 are standing around talking to each other.]<br />
:Kid #2 (Crazy man): I told him and he literally exploded!<br />
:Kid Cueball: Uh, unless he physically ''burst'', you mean "figuratively".<br />
:Hairy: Hah.<br />
:Crazy man (outside of flashback panel): Remember?<br />
<br />
:Crazy man: I knew one day you'd slip, and I vowed I'd be there to see you fall. ''How does it feel?''<br />
:Cueball: You are literally the craziest person I've ever met.<br />
:Crazy man: You did it again!<br />
:Cueball: No, I didn't.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1575:_Footprints&diff=1014121575: Footprints2015-09-09T14:10:01Z<p>173.245.50.144: /* Explanation */ link to AT-ST</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1575<br />
| date = September 9, 2015<br />
| title = Footprints<br />
| image = footprints.png<br />
| titletext = "There's one set of foot-p's cause I was totes carrying you, bro!" said Jesus seconds before I punched him.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
<br />
The comic is a satirical graphical representation of the inspirational Christian poem "{{w|Footprints (poem)|Footprints}}," which has been recounted in many versions and is of disputed authorship. <br />
<br />
The basic idea of the poem is that the narrator looks back at scenes of his life and sees two sets of footprints, his and those of Jesus. During the most difficult times of his life, the narrator sees only one set of footprints and assumes that Jesus had left him during those times. In the climax of the poem, Jesus responds to the narrator that he saw only one set of footprints during the most difficult times of his life because Jesus was carrying him during those times. <br />
<br />
The poem is seen by many as overly sentimental and is thus ripe for parody of this kind. The graph mockingly illustrates various times when Jesus or the narrator left the scene, or otherwise gives various reasons why the number of footprints may have been other than two, such as at one point "riding around in captured {{w|Walker (Star_Wars)#All_Terrain_Scout_Transport_.28AT-ST.29|AT-ST}}", a reference to a two-legged combat "walker" from Star Wars. The implication is that Jesus would have participated in forcibly taking a war machine, which appears somewhat out of character. Likewise, the "Got lost and followed our own footprints" may be a reference to "Winnie the Pooh(1926)", in which the titular bear and his friend try and hunt a "Woozle" by its footprints, actually following their own round and round a bush, which also seems slightly childish for Jesus as traditionally portrayed. The reference at the end to Jesus drowning in a patch of quicksand, and then the narrator simply going home, again subverts the poem's earnestness. "Going home" may be a reference to dying, implying that the narrator died without Christ.<br />
<br />
The title text continues the parody by imagining that Jesus delivers the poem's climactic lines in stereotypical {{w|California English|"surfer dude"}} speak, a dialect perceived by many to be obnoxious. The reference to punching Jesus is possibly another reference to the poem's perceived excessive sentimentality. Another interpretation is that the narrator, like many people, dislikes usage of textese and punched Jesus as a result of this hatred.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
<br />
A graph with time on the x-axis and numbers 1 through 5 on the y axis, labeled "Sets of footprints". A single red line runs through from left to right, showing different values at different times. Until the very end, the line always returns to the value 2, signifying two sets of footprints in the sand.<br />
<br />
* The line starts at the value 2, then dips twice to the value 1. The two troughs are labeled, "Jesus carried me".<br />
* The line then dips once again to the value 1. The trough is labeled, "I carried Jesus".<br />
* The line rises to 3 briefly, and is labeled, "Who was that guy?"<br />
* The line rises to 5 sharply, and then falls in a sharp staircase pattern, labeled "Ducklings imprinted on Jesus and followed him around".<br />
* The line rises to 4, labeled "Got lost and followed our own footprints".<br />
* The line dips for very short periods five times to the value 1. The troughs are labeled, "Jesus disappeared for an evening each time a new <em>Twilight</em> movie came out". The first dip is between "I carried Jesus" and "Who was that guy?", the second between "Who was that guy?" and "Duckings imprinted on Jesus..." and the final three are all between the "Ducklings imprinted on Jesus..." and "Got lost and followed our own footprints".<br />
* The line dips to 1, labeled "Rode around with Jesus in captured AT-ST"<br />
* The line dips and stays level at 1, labeled "Hit quicksand patch. Jesus didn't make it :("<br />
* The line dips to zero at the end, and is labeled "Went home".<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Religion]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1574:_Trouble_for_Science&diff=1012581574: Trouble for Science2015-09-07T12:16:31Z<p>173.245.50.144: /* Explanation */ Two explanations</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1574<br />
| date = September 7, 2015<br />
| title = Trouble for Science<br />
| image = trouble_for_science.png<br />
| titletext = Careful mathematical analysis demonstrates small-scale irregularities in Gaussian distribution<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}<br />
;Many commercial antibody-based inmunoassays are unreliable<br />
This sentence is true. See Kebaneilwe Lebani, [http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/mwg-internal/de5fs23hu73ds/progress?id=Gv4yxghu7eDamGI-7Q_1LbB17e2FL9ky_YXqq1fiuIQ,&dl Antibody Discovery for Development of a Serotyping Dengue Virus NS1 Capture Assay], 2014. In this Phd thesis 11 references are given.<br />
<br />
;Controlled trials show Bunsen burners make thinks colders<br />
This is a joke.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1560:_Bubblegum&diff=991311560: Bubblegum2015-08-05T12:25:58Z<p>173.245.50.144: /* Explanation */ May be a tribute. We are not sure</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1560<br />
| date = August 5, 2015<br />
| title = Bubblegum<br />
| image = bubblegum.png<br />
| titletext = I came here to chew bubblegum and say no more than eighteen words ... and I'm all out of<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|First draft.}}<br />
<br />
This comic spoofs the iconic line from the action movie "{{w|They Live}}", where the armed protagonist, upon entering a bank, states that "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I'm all out of bubblegum." This implies that the protagonist will soon fight the inhabitants of the bank, as he cannot do the other objective he came there for (chewing bubble gum). This phrase was also used by the title character of the video game ''{{w|Duke Nukem 3D}}'' and is often mistakenly believed to have originated in it. Furthermore the phrase has itself been parodied by British comedy ''IT Crowd''.<br />
<br />
Former wrestler Rowdy {{w|Roddy Piper}}, who played the protagonist in "They Live," died five days prior to the publication of this comic. This comic may be a tribute to him.<br />
<br />
In the comic, [[Beret Guy]] stands in the open doorway with a strong light behind him, a typical pose in action movies when someone is dramatically entering somewhere. However, in this instance, Beret Guy claims that he is here to "chew bubble gum and make friends". He then offers a stick of gum to both [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]], making it clear he intends to do both of his stated objectives. This is expected from Beret Guy, usually being quite naïve about the world/beings that surround him.<br />
<br />
The title text is another variation of the line, with meta-humor. The speaker states that he is here to say 18 words and chew bubble gum, but reaches 18 words before he is able to finish his sentence. Thus, readers are left in ambiguity as to whether or not he is also out of bubble gum, as the line could either end "and I'm all out of words", or "and I'm all out of both".<br />
<br />
The title text seems to be a slight dig at the trope of a laconic hero who utters only a few gnomic words, as in the They Live scene. Strangely, though, Randall has not preserved the number of words in the film quote: there are 16. There would be 18 if 'bubble gum' were taken as two words, but in the comic, it is clear that Randall takes it as one.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
:[Beret Guy is dramatically standing silhouetted in a doorway.]<br />
:Beret Guy: I came here to chew bubblegum and make friends!<br />
<br />
:[Inside the room Beret Guy entered with Megan and Cueball]<br />
:(pause)<br />
:Beret Guy: Want some gum?<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1559:_Driving&diff=990021559: Driving2015-08-03T17:01:19Z<p>173.245.50.144: /* Explanation */ contiguous, not continuous</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1559<br />
| date = August 3, 2015<br />
| title = Driving<br />
| image = driving.png<br />
| titletext = Sadly, it probably won't even have enough gas to make it to the first border crossing.}}<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== Explanation ==<br />
A {{w|self-driving car}} is a car that requires no human interaction to navigate streets to a destination. Thus, when [[Black Hat]] places the rock that weighs "as much as a small adult" into the car's seat, he begins the process of fooling the car into thinking it has an occupant when it does not. His purpose in doing so appears to be to send the car to {{w|Anchorage}}, {{w|Alaska}}, which is presumably far from where Black Hat and [[Cueball]] are standing, thus taking the car far away from its owner with relatively little effort on the part of Black Hat. This is the kind of evil prank Black Hat is infamous for.<br />
<br />
The title text references the fact that driving to Alaska from the continental or {{w|contiguous 48 states}} requires two border crossings, once into Canada from the mainland, and once from Canada into Alaska. The car apparently begins some distance from the Canadian border, since it will likely run out of gas before reaching Canada. Black Hat expresses regret about this probable failure; presumably he was looking forward to the encounter between the border guards and the vehicle's "occupant". However even if the car does not go to Anchorage he will have created a serious problem for its owner. A typical car can travel 300 to 800 miles (500 to 1300 kilometers) on a tank of gas, and with no way to know the car was going to Alaska, the owner will have to search an area with that radius, and will probably fail to find the car before it is towed.<br />
<br />
Nevada was the first state to allow the testing of self-driving cars on public roads. But there are now several states in the US (as well as several countries in Europe) that allow this type of test. It is thus not possible to place Black Hat and Cueball based on this, except that they are in mainland USA, Mexico, or Central America (the regions connected by overland routes to Alaska, but at least two border crossings away). At the time of the release of this comic there were no places where these cars could be used privately. So unless a tester left his car running (unlikely), then this comic must be set in the (near?) future.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Black Hat, carrying a large rock, is walking toward Cueball. Small fragments (earth?) falls of the rock leaving a trail after Black Hat.]<br />
:Black Hat: Would you guess this weighs as much as a small adult? <br />
:Cueball: What? <br />
:Cueball: Uh, probably. <br />
<br />
:[Black Hat walks past Cueball who turns to look after him.]<br />
:Black Hat: Great! <br />
<br />
:[Black Hat has walked out of the frame. Cueball is looking in the direction he left. Several noises and voices are coming from off-panel.]<br />
:Off-panel: <nowiki>*</nowiki>Thump*<br />
:Car voice (off-panel): ''Please fasten your seatbelt.''<br />
:Off-panel: <nowiki>*</nowiki>click*<br />
:Black Hat (off-panel): Take me to Anchorage, Alaska. <br />
:Car voice (off-panel): ''Navigating''<br />
:Off-panel: <nowiki>*</nowiki>slam*<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat walks back in the panel towards Cueball.]<br />
:Car driving off:''Vrrrrrrrrrrrr<small>rrrr<small>rrrrr<small>rr</small></small></small>''<br />
:Black Hat: I love self-driving cars. <br />
:Cueball: ...Whose car was that? <br />
:Black Hat: Dunno, but they shouldn't have left it running. <br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1555:_Exoplanet_Names_2&diff=987871555: Exoplanet Names 22015-07-30T12:59:07Z<p>173.245.50.144: Wiki links</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1555<br />
| date = July 24, 2015<br />
| title = Exoplanet Names 2<br />
| image = exoplanet_names_2.png<br />
| titletext = I'm going to drive this Netherlands joke so far into the ground they'll have to build levees around it to keep the sea out.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Complete table entries, check all table text (some black entries have changed), add wiki links, add explanations, red text to match comic?, detail on NASA announcement}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a continuation of [[1253: Exoplanet Names]], and was published the day after NASA announced the discovery of a number of planets, including an Earth-like planet, Kepler-452b. [[Black Hat]] proposes naming it {{w|Pluto}}, to commemorate the flyby of the {{w|dwarf planet}} of that name by NASA's {{w|New Horizons}} earlier the same month. He admits an alternative reason for the name, which is to add confusion to the debate about the status of Pluto (whether it should be considered a planet, a dwarf planet, or something else); by naming Kepler-452b (indisputably a planet) "Pluto", this means that the answer to the question "is Pluto a planet?" will always be "yes" regardless of the status of the Pluto in our Solar System, which is not a helpful answer. - Although, according to the [http://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau0603/ IAU official definition] a 'planet' has to orbit (our) sun, so it won't help. Similar agglomerations of matter orbiting other stars are technically recognised by the IAU only as exoplanets and not as planets.<br />
<br />
The {{w|International Astronomical Union}} (IAU) is the organization which is responsible for naming celestial bodies (planets, stars, etc).`<br />
<br />
The title text is referring to the planet name entry ''Netherlands VI'' for the star ''EPIC201912552''. Randall thus continues his references to the dutch people taking over the world and then the universe after the earth's oceans has been drained and transported to Mars. This happens in two consecutive [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/what_if%3F What if?]'s, [http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/53/ Drain the Oceans] and [http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/54/ Drain the Oceans: Part II], and was referenced again the week before this comic in [[1551: Pluto]]. Due to a drain in the Earth's ocean the Netherlands does not have to worry about getting flooded anymore and since it now does not have to use all its resources preventing floods, it can use these to conquer the world (including Antarctica becoming South Netherlands). Then it takes on Mars (which becomes New Netherlands), and then a section of Pluto (again calling it New Netherlands). There is also a possible reference to [[1519: Venus]], but that comic has no direct relation to the conquests of the Dutch people like in the other three references. It should be mentioned, that {{w|New Netherland}} was actually a Dutch colony with {{w|New York City}}, formally known as {{w|New Amsterdam}}, as its capital. So the name "New Netherlands" is "historically correct", while "Netherlands VI" isn't. <br />
<br />
In the title text Randall mentioned that he will continue with ''this Netherlands joke'' driving it so far into the ground, (i.e. way beyond the point where it stops being funny), that they (the Dutch people) will have to build {{w|Levee|levees}} (or dykes) around it to keep the sea out - thus making it funny again... By forcing the Dutchmen to build new levees for this reason, the whole issue with their conquest of the world will be over before it happens.<br />
<br />
===Table===<br />
This table explains each entry in the comic table. <br />
The "Status" column refers to the comic [[1253: Exoplanet Names]], and indicates if the entry was already in that version (Old), if it is an addition since then (New) or if the entry has been updated (Update).<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Star !! Planet !! Status !! Suggested Name !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=7 | {{w|Gliese 667}} || {{w|Gliese 667 Cb|b}} || Old || Space Planet || A very unimaginative name; every planet is in space.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cc|c}} || Old || PILF || Pun of {{w|MILF pornography|MILF}}, i.e. ''Planet I'd Like to Fuck''. Planet c is a relatively hot planet, within the habitable zone.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cd|d}} || Old || A Star || "A {{w|Star}}" is obviously a bad name for a planet. A* (pronounced "A star") is already used in astronomy, for example the Milky Way's black hole core is {{w|Sagittarius A*}}. "A star" is also the name for the character {{w|asterisk}} and the name of the popular {{w|A* search algorithm}} in computer science.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 667 Ce|e}} || Old || e'); DROP TABLE PLANETS;-- || [[Mrs. Roberts]] is probably trying to use {{w|SQL injection}} like in [[327|Exploits of a Mom]], in which her son [[Robert'); DROP TABLE students;--]] caused the school a lot of trouble when his name was put in. The idea here is that the {{w|IAU}} would enter the name into their system and promptly lose all of their data pertaining to planets. Note that Planet e is located in the habitable zone of the star system.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cf|f}} || Old || Blogosphere || rowspan = 2 | Weird ''{{w|blog}}''-related terms are a recurring theme in xkcd. See, for instance, [[181|comic 181]].<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cg|g}} || Old || Blogodrome<br />
|-<br />
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_667c_h/ h] || Old || Earth || Planet candidate h is about the mass of the Earth, and described as "tantalizing": [http://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2013/08/aa21331-13/aa21331-13.html A dynamically-packed planetary system around GJ with three super-Earths in its habitable zone]. See also ([[1231: Habitable Zone]]). Like several other names below, naming a second planet Earth would be highly confusing.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=5 | {{w|Tau Ceti}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_b/ b] || Old || Sid Meier's Tau Ceti B || This refers to the game {{w|Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri}}.<br />
|-<br />
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_c/ c] || Old || Giant Dog Planet || {{w|VY Canis Majoris}} is one of the largest known stars at our galaxy and belongs to the constellation {{w|Canis Major}}, Latin for "greater dog". The constellation further contains {{w|Sirius}}, the brightest star in the night sky, also called "Dog Star".<br />
|-<br />
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_d/ d] || Old || Tiny Dog Planet || cf. {{w|Canis Minor}}, Latin for "lesser dog", another constellation.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Tau Ceti e|e}} || Old || Phil Plainet || A reference to {{w|Phil Plait}}, a.k.a. The Bad Astronomer.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Tau Ceti f|f}} || Old || Unicode Snowman || The Unicode character [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2603/index.htm <span style="font-size:200%">&#x2603;</span>] may be a reference to the planet's estimated surface temperature of -40&nbsp;°C (-40&nbsp;°F). However, this name would be pronounced differently (being a symbol, not a word or name) in different languages. Planets in our solar system are assigned to {{w|Astronomical symbols|astronomical symbols}} like <span style="font-size:150%">&#x2641;</span> for Earth or <span style="font-size:150%">&#x2642;</span> for Mars.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 832}} || {{w|Gliese 832 b|b}} || Old || Asshole Jupiter || This massive planet orbits a {{w|red dwarf}} star at the longest known period of 3416 days at this category. Many exoplanets are described as "Hot Jupiters" because they are high-temperature gas giants; if one were to read "hot" as a description of attractiveness rather than temperature, one might generate names like this one.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Gliese 832 c|c}} || New || Waterworld starring Kevin Costner || [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114898/ Waterworld] is a 1995 film starring Kevin Costner about Earth almost completely covered in water. The surname was previously spelled incorrectly with a 'K'.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=6 | {{w|Gliese 581}} || {{w|Gliese 581 b|b}} || Old || Waist-deep Cats || {{w|Waist Deep}} is an action film from 2006, and the {{w|Lolcat}} meme does not need explaining. The name may also simply be a reference to being "waist-deep" in (i.e. surrounded by many) cats.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Gliese|c}} || Old || Planet #14 || About 200th discovered exoplanet (in 2007); reported to be the first potentially Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of its star, though that is in doubt now. The joke might be that like "Space Planet", "Planet #14" is a generic and unoriginal name. Also note that this is the 15th entry in the original table so the numbering is {{w|Zero-based numbering|zero-based}}.<br />
An interesting (?) coincidence is that the 14th and 15th {{w|Definition of planet#Minor planets|Minor planets}} (then called asteroids) were discovered in 1851; see see {{w|List of minor planets: 1–1000}}. If they were to be counted among the planets of the {{w|Solar System}}, as was sometimes done then, the 14th known planetary body would be {{w| 7 Iris|Iris}} (discovered in 1847, a year before {{w|Neptune}}).<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 581 d|d}} || Old || Ballderaan || A {{w|wikt:balls|crude pun}} on the planet {{w|Alderaan}} from the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' universe.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 581 e|e}} || Old || Eternia Prime || {{w|Eternia}} is a fictional planet, venue of the ''{{w|Masters of the Universe}}'' animated series and toy collection.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Gliese 581 f|f}} || Old || Taupe Mars || {{w|Kim Stanley Robinson}}'s award-winning {{w|Mars trilogy}} (''Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars'' after various stages of {{w|terraformation}}). {{w|Taupe}} is a brownish-grey colour.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese|g}} || Old || Jelly-Filled Planet || Possibly a reference to the conjecture that this tidally locked planet has an isolated habitable zone under the substellar point, akin to the pocket of jelly in a jelly doughnut.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Epsilon Eridani}} || {{w|Epsilon Eridani b|b}} || Old || Skydot || [http://skydot.lanl.gov SkyDOT] is the Sky Database for Objects in Time-Domain run by {{w|LANL}} for the {{w|U.S. Dept. of Energy}} and includes data for [http://skydot.lanl.gov/nsvs/star.php?num=14831575&mask=32004 Epsilon Eridani] that can be used to constrain the orbital parameters of &epsilon; Eri b. It may also refer to how objects in space may appear as bland, bright dots in the night sky.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Epsilon Eridani c#Planet c|c}} || Old || Laser Noises || A {{w|Laser}} does not produce {{w|Noise (electronics)|noise}} in the signal sense; it only works at a well defined frequency. In science fiction films, however, laser weapon discharges are usually accompanied by sound. Sun-like Epsilon Eridani became a popular setting for science fiction after its publicity as a target of the {{w|Project Ozma}} experiment.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 176}} || {{w|Gliese 176 b|b}} || Old || Pandora || The mythological name {{w|Pandora}} fulfills most of IAU's guidelines and has been popular for planets in science fiction; most recently and famously is {{w|Pandora (Avatar)|the venue}} of James Cameron's ''{{w|Avatar (film)|Avatar}}'' (although actually it is not a planet but just a moon of a gas giant in Alpha Centauri A). It is also a hellish planet from {{w|Frank Herbert}}'s {{w|Frank Herbert bibliography#WorShip novels|WorShip}} series of novels, a jungle planet in Brothers Strugatsky's {{w|Noon Universe}} and the planet used in {{w|Borderlands (video game)|Borderlands Games}}.<br />
|-<br />
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_176_c/ c] || Old || Pantera || A near homophone of Pandora, possibly named for the {{w|Pantera|heavy metal band}}, which was named for the {{w|De Tomaso Pantera|Italian sports car}}, which was named for the panther.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-61}} || {{w|Kepler-61b|b}} || Old || GoldenPalace.com || A gambling website, known for {{w|GoldenPalace.com|paying to have their name in unusual places}} (like forehead tattoos, species names...).<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Groombridge 34|Groombridge 34A}} || b || New || Hot Mess || This is a reference to the phrase [http://arresteddevelopment.wikia.com/wiki/Hot_mess Hot mess] from the popular television show Arrested Development.<br />
|-<br />
| Kepler-442 || {{w|Kepler-442b|b}} || New || Seas of Toothpaste || <br />
|-<br />
| Gliese-442 || b || New || This one weird planet || Most likely a reference to {{w|clickbait}} articles found on the internet. <br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | EPIC-201367065 || b || New || Sulawesi || {{w|Sulawesi|An island }} in the Indonesian archipelago.<br />
|-<br />
| c || New || Huge Soccer Ball ||<br />
|-<br />
| d || New || Geodude || [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Geodude_%28Pok%C3%A9mon%29 Geodude] is a Pokemon characterised by its ball-like shape. It resembles a clump of rocks.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=5 | Kepler-296 || b || New || Kerbal Space Planet || {{w|Kerbal Space Program}} is a game where model rockets are launched on a scale version of the Earth. It has been referenced in xkcd a number of times (in the title text of [[1106: ADD]], in [[1244: Six Words]], as a part of [[1350: Lorenz]] and in [[1356: Orbital Mechanics]]). Note, though, that the actual planet corresponding to the Earth in the game is called "Kerbin".<br />
|-<br />
| c || New || A$aplanet || Most probably a pun on the rap group {{w|A$AP Mob}} and their most prominent member {{w|A$AP Rocky}}. May also be a pun on {{w|Kesha}}, also written as Ke$ha. In that case the c of the planet's designation would belong to the name.<br />
|-<br />
| d || New || {{w|Jurassic World}} || Jurassic world is the most recent movie in the Jurassic park series.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-296e|e}} || New || This Land || Reference to Wash's dialogue in the pilot episode of {{w|Firefly (TV Series)|Firefly}}. Or perhaps the folk song "This Land is Your Land", written and made famous by Woody Guthrie.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-296f|f}} || New || Springfield || The name of {{w|Springfield (The Simpsons)|the town}} in which animated sitcom {{w|The Simpsons}} is set; possibly a reference to the running joke that the state in which Springfield is located has never been named.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|HR 7722}} || {{w|HR 7722 b|b}} || New || Betelgeuse || rowspan=2 | {{w|Betelgeuse}} is a star in the constellation Orion. It is commonly (at least by speakers of English) pronounced as "beetlejuice". {{w|Beetlejuice}}, however is a film directed by {{w|Tim Burton}} from 1988. Similarly to Dune/Arrakis (see Gliese 180) and the two Uranuses (see Kepler-283), naming two planets with names that are generally regarded to be identical would cause severe confusion in astronomical discussions.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|HR 7722 c|c}} || New || Beetlejuice<br />
|-<br />
| EPIC201912552 || b || New || Netherlands VI || The title text references this entry. See the explanation of the title text above the table entry.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | Gliese 3293 || b || New || Antispit || In the comic [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/ Homestuck] there is a planet named [http://mspaintadventures.wikia.com/wiki/Prospit Prospit]<br />
|-<br />
| c || New || Google Earth || {{w|Google Earth}} is a service, similar to Google Maps, which projects satellite data on a 3D globe that can be zoomed in on. Other features, such as models of buildings, can also appear.<br />
|-<br />
| d || New || Planet of the Apes (Disambiguation) || The way a Wikipedia article would be titled, for example, to distinguish from the {{w|Planet of the Apes (novel)|the original novel}}, {{w|Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|the first film}}, {{w|Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|the Tim Burton remake}} and {{w|Rise of the Planet of the Apes|the reboot series}}. In each adaptation, a group of astronauts lands on what is believed to be a "Planet of the Apes", which turns out to be a post-apocalyptic Earth. A Wikipedia page for this planet would itself conflict with an existing disambiguation page, possibly requiring a second-level disambiguation page to be created.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | Kepler-283 || b || New || ˈjʊərənəs || rowspan = 2 | Two alternative pronunciations (written in {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}}) for the planet name Uranus; the first one translates as "YU-ri-nus" ("urine-us"), while the second translates as "yu-RAIN-us" ("your anus"). The first pronunciation (being the same as how the {{w|Uranus (mythology)|Greek god}} is pronounced in English) is preferred by astronomers, but both are commonly heard. Similarly to Dune/Arrakis (see Gliese 180) and Betelgeuse/Beetlejuice (see HR 7722), naming two planets with names that are generally regarded to be identical would cause severe confusion in astronomical discussions.<br />
|-<br />
| c || New || jʊˈreɪnəs<br />
|-<br />
! colspan=5 | (right column)<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=4 | {{w|Upsilon Andromedae}} || b || New || Fourthmeal || {{w|Taco Bell}} has an ad campaign adding a meal after dinner. Possibly also a reference to {{w|Hobbit}}s and [http://askmiddlearth.tumblr.com/post/41765286488/the-seven-daily-hobbit-meals seven daily meals]. This entry was misspelled Andromidae in the first comic (and also in the first released version of this one, see [[#Trivia|trivia]].) Although the star was mentioned in the previous chart, this entry "b" was not. In that comic the chart was shown as a part of a list. And the b entry was above the cut-off line. So the next object was also called "c" in the previous chart.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae c|c}} || Old || Stampy || The name of the elephant from the {{w|Simpsons}} episode {{w|Bart Gets an Elephant}}.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae d|d}} || Old || Moonchild || The name Bastian gives the Childlike Empress in {{w|The Neverending Story}}.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae e|e}} || Old || Ham Sphere || [http://www.hamsphere.com HamSphere] is a {{w|Amateur radio|Ham Radio}} simulator program. Ham radio uses designated radio frequencies for non-commercial exchange of messages and more. A pun of Hemisphere.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | {{w|. Eridani|HD 20794}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_b/ b] || Old || Cosmic Sands || style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS', 'Comic Sans'" | A {{w|pun}} on the name of the font {{w|Comic Sans}}. (<span style="font-family:papyrus">See also: [[590|590: Papyrus]].</span>)<br />
|-<br />
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_c/ c] || Old || Legoland || {{w|Legoland}} is a chain of {{w|theme park}}s owned by the {{w|Lego Group}}. Potentially a reference to the movie {{w|The World's End (film)|The World's End}}, in which the protagonist Gary King tells the alien invaders to "get in your rocket and fuck off back to Legoland".<br />
|-<br />
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_d/ d] || Old || Planet with Arms || A reference to the [http://www.thecolorsofmysoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/The-Hitchhikers-Guide-to-the-Galaxy.jpg early covers] of {{w|Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}?<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|HD 85512}} || {{w|HD 85512 b|b}} || Old || Lax Morality || Possibly a parody of science fiction in which certain planets are suggested to be uniformly lax in morals (i.e. full of sex, drugs, etc.). See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Planetville and related. Or, possibly a reference to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCU_Grey_Area.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=6 | {{w|HD 40307}} || {{w|HD 40307 b|b}} || Old || Good Planet || Similar to the above, except with good planets. May also be yet another non-descriptive name, like "Space Planet" and "Planet #14".<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|HD|c}} || Old || Problemland || See above. Also may be a reference to Iceland/Greenland naming scheme[http://anitasnotebook.com/travelstories/how-iceland-and-greenland-ended-up-with-such-messed-up-names/], where Problemland may actually be a better place to visit than "Good Planet."<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|HD 40307 d|d}} || Old || Slickle || This is a reference to "[http://zdarsky.tumblr.com/post/2837139960 The Petals Fall Twice]", which was made as a humorous example of bad fan-fiction. The word itself is a portmanteau of "slowly", "licked", and "tickled".<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|HD 40307 e|e}} || Old || Spare Parts || This suggests that the planet is "worthless" or "junk". This is false, of course. May be a reference to the fact it is a planet with nothing much different from the other planets.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|HD 40307 f|f}} || Old || New Jersey VI || Refers to the state of {{w|New Jersey}}; may be an insult to either.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|HD|g}} || Old || How Do I Join the&nbsp;IAU || This implies that the user "got lost" on the IAU website and thought that the "planet name suggestion" input was for general queries.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | {{w|Gliese 163}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_163_b/ b] || Old || Neil Tyson's Mustache || {{w|Neil deGrasse Tyson}} is a famous American astrophysicist and science communicator who does maintain a distinguished mustache.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese|c}} || Old || help@gmail.com || Similar to "How Do I Join the IAU", this implies that the user confused the "planet suggestion" text box for a new email they are trying to send<br />
|-<br />
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_163_d/ d] || Old || Hair-Covered Planet || Refers to the well-known {{w|Hairy ball theorem}} of topology.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Pi Mensae}} || {{w|Pi Mensae b|b}} || Old || Moon Holder || {{w|Jupiter}} has more than 60 discovered moons, and still counting... A planet ten times more massive ''must'' also be a Moon Holder.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|HD 189733}} || {{w|HD 189733 b|b}} || Old || Permadeath || A well-characterized "{{w|Hot Jupiter}}" at a temperature range of 973 ± 33 K to 1,212 ± 11 K. The name refers to the feature of {{w|Permanent death}} common in many RPGs and roguelikes. Or may reference permafrost, which has also been discussed in the comic.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-22}} || {{w|Kepler-22 b|b}} || Old || Blue Ivy || Blue Ivy Carter is the daughter of musicians {{w|Beyoncé}} and {{w|Jay-Z}}.<br />
|-<br />
| KOI-2474 || b || New || Store-Brand Earth || A {{w|Store brand}} is a line of products branded by a retailer. They have a reputation for being lower quality than other brands, and are often marketed similarly to other brands. This is implying that this is a cheaper version of Earth. (This entry replaced the completely different entry Kepler-3284b Blainsley from the previous chart).<br />
|-<br />
| Kepler-437 || b || Update || Unicorn Thresher || As far as we can tell, Kepler-437b is in the vicinity of the constellation Monoceros, aka the Unicorn. (This was labeled Kepler-3255b in the previous chart)<br />
|-<br />
| KOI-2418 || b || Old || Spherical Discworld || {{w|The Discworld}} is the fictional setting for British author {{w|Terry Pratchett}}'s {{w|Discworld}} series of humorous fantasy novels; it consists of a large disc supported by four elephants themselves standing on top of a turtle flying through space. The joke being that the planet could not be spherical and disc-shaped at the same time. (Was listed as Kepler-2418 in the previous chart).<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-438}} || {{w|Kepler-438b|b}} || Update || Emergency Backup Earth || This candidate planet has an {{w|Earth Similarity Index}} of 0.89, making it one of the most habitable {{w|Kepler object of interest}}. The name suggests that it could be used as a backup in case something happened to our current planet. (Was listed as Kepler-1686 in the previous chart; Kepler-1686 b was proven to be a false positive by NASA in 2015).<br />
|-<br />
| KOI-3010 || b || Old || Feeeoooooooop || Possibly the onomatopoeia for something getting sucked into a black hole.<br />
|-<br />
| Kepler-442 || b || Old || Liz || ...Just a regular name (for a person, not a planet). Maybe a reference to the Magic School Bus.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | 82 Eridani || b || New || Horsemeat Surface|| A reference to the {{w|2013 meat adulteration scandal}}, where horsemeat was found in burgers alleging to contain beef. This planet's name suggests that the surface of the entire planet would also contain improperly declared horsemeat.<br />
|-<br />
| c || New || The Moon || This name would cause confusion with the Earth's moon, which in English is called The Moon. It is also a poor name choice as 82 Eridani c is not a moon, but a planet.<br />
|-<br />
| d || New || Constant Saxophones ||<br />
|-<br />
| HD 102365 || b || New || Little Big Planet || This refers to the videogame {{w|LittleBigPlanet}}.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 180}} || b || New || Dune || rowspan=2 | Both references to Frank Herbert's {{w|Dune (novel)|Dune}} book series. The planet Arrakis (informally referred to as 'Dune') is the central planet in the mythology, where the mind-enhancing substance 'spice' comes from. Use of spice enables, among others, supercomputing-like mental computation as well as hyperspace navigation. Having two neighbouring planets with names that are historically used to refer to a single planet would sow further confusion in the already extensive catalog of planet names. This is similarly to Betelgeuse/Beetlejuice (see HR 7722) and the two Uranuses (see Kepler-283).<br />
|-<br />
| c || New || Arrakis<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Fomalhaut}} || b || New || Swarm of Bees ||<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=5 | {{w|Kepler-62}} || {{w|Kepler-62b|b}} || New || Sporty || rowspan=5 | A reference to [[1554: Spice Girls]], where [[Megan]] was unable to list the members of the {{w|Spice Girls}} pop group. In this case the names are correct, and would give Megan a new and interesting reason to remember them. {{w|Kepler-62f}} is a [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/multimedia/images/kepler-62e.html super-Earth-size planet], that may be potentially habitable. {{w|Kepler-62e}} is a possible [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/multimedia/images/kepler-62e.html water world].<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-62c|c}} || New || Baby<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-62d|d}} || New || Scary<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-62e|e}} || New || Ginger<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-62f|f}} || New || Posh<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | HD 69830 || b || New || Planet.xxx || {{w|.xxx}} is a controversial top level domain (like to .com and .net) that is intended to distinguish porn sites from other types of website.<br />
|-<br />
| c || New || Novella || A {{w|novella}} is a form of prose with length between a {{w|short story}} and a {{w|novel}}. Common examples of novellas are romance literature centering around intense lustful encounters in cheap paperback books, though also 'serious' literature may be in novella form.<br />
|-<br />
| d || New || Sexoplanet || Like the other two planets orbiting this star, the "69" in the stars designation has lead to a sex joke: All planets in this comic are "exo-planets", planets not orbiting our sun. Adding a single "s" in front results in immature humor. <br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 682}} || {{w|Gliese 682 b|b}} || New || Verdant Hellscape || A contradictory name. "[[wikt:verdant|Verdant]]" usually signifies to be lush with green plantlife, while "[[wikt:hellscape|hellscape]]" describes a desolate landscape destroyed by heat and cataclysm.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Gliese 682 c|c}} || New || Unsubscribe || On YouTube, "subscribers" (people who get updates on a person's channel) are highly valued, and to "unsubscribe" from anyone is deemed to be offensive. "Unsubscribe" is also the command one sends to {{w|Electronic mailing list}}s to stop receiving said mailing list. In this sense it may imply a desire to no longer be bothered with these silly discussions around planet-names. Like "help@gmail.com" and "How do I join the IAU", "unsubscribe" is a frequently seen accidental message on the Internet in contexts where it is not going to work as a command.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-452}} || {{w|Kepler-452b|b}} || New || Pluto || This is the planet Black Hat is referring to at the top of the table.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Black Hat is pointing with a stick at a slide with an image of a planet with features (continents, water atmosphere). All over the planet is written 12 questions marks. The planet is labeled.]<br />
:Planet: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? <br />
:Label: Kepler-452b <br />
:Black Hat: NASA has announced the discovery of a (super-)Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a sun-like star.<br />
:Black Hat: I suggest we name this planet "Pluto", both to celebrate the great work by the ''New Horizons'' team, and to make the stupid "Is Pluto a planet" debate a little more confusing<br />
<br />
:[Below Black Hat is a frame with a caption above a table which shows a list of planet names.]<br />
:While we wait to hear from the IAU, <br />
:here's a revised and updated list of <br />
:planet name suggestions (see xkcd.com/1253) <br />
:<font color="red">New or updated entries in red</font><br />
<br />
:[The table is in two separate columns, but there is only headings over the left, so the right column is a direct continuation of the left. In the table it is mentioned when the right column begins. There is a small arrow pointing from the word "Planet" down to the second column of the table. The headings in the comic are not inside the table as they are here below:]<br />
<br />
:{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Star !! Planet !! Suggested Name<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=7 |Gliese 667||b||Space Planet<br />
|-<br />
|c||PILF<br />
|-<br />
|d||A Star<br />
|-<br />
|e||e'); DROP TABLE PLANETS;--<br />
|-<br />
|f||Blogosphere<br />
|-<br />
|g||Blogodrome<br />
|-<br />
|h||Earth<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=5 |Tau Ceti||b||Sid Meier's Tau Ceti B<br />
|-<br />
|c||Giant Dog Planet<br />
|-<br />
|d||Tiny Dog Planet<br />
|-<br />
|e||Phil Plainet<br />
|-<br />
|f||Unicode Snowman<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2|Gliese 832||b||Asshole Jupiter<br />
|-<br />
|<font color="red">c</font>||<font color="red">Waterworld starring Kevin Costner</font><br />
|-<br />
| rowspan= 6|Gliese 581||b||Waist-deep Cats<br />
|-<br />
|c||Planet #14<br />
|-<br />
|d||Ballderaan<br />
|-<br />
|e||Eternia Prime<br />
|-<br />
|f||Taupe Mars<br />
|-<br />
|g||Jelly-Filled Planet<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan= 2|Epsilon Eridani||b||Skydot<br />
|-<br />
|c||Laser Noises<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan= 2|Gliese 176||b||Pandora<br />
|-<br />
|c||Pantera<br />
|-<br />
|Kepler-61||b||GoldenPalace.com<br />
|-<br />
|<font color="red">Groombridge 34A</font>||<font color="red">b</font>||<font color="red">Hot Mess</font><br />
|-<br />
|<font color= "red" >Kepler-442</font>||<font color= "red" >b</font>||<font color= "red" >Seas of Toothpaste</font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >Gliese-442</font>||<font color= "red" >b</font>||<font color= "red" >This one weird planet</font><br />
|- <br />
| rowspan= 3|<font color= "red" >EPIC-201367065</font>||<font color= "red" >b</font>||<font color= "red" >Sulawesi</font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >c</font>||<font color= "red" >Huge Soccer Ball</font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >d</font>||<font color= "red" >Geodude</font> <br />
|- <br />
| rowspan= 5|<font color= "red" >Kepler-296</font>||<font color= "red" >b</font>||<font color= "red" >Kerbal Space Planet</font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >c</font>||<font color= "red" >A$aplanet</font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >d</font>||<font color= "red" >Jurassic World</font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >e</font>||<font color= "red" >This Land</font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >f</font>||<font color= "red" >Springfield</font> <br />
|- <br />
| rowspan= 2|<font color= "red" >HR 7722</font>||<font color= "red" >b</font>||<font color= "red" >Betelgeuse</font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >c</font>||<font color= "red" >Beetlejuice</font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >EPIC201912552</font>||<font color= "red" >b</font>||<font color= "red" >Netherlands VI</font><br />
|- <br />
| rowspan= 3|<font color= "red" >Gliese 3293</font>||<font color= "red" >b</font>||<font color= "red" >Antispit</font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >c</font>||<font color= "red" >Google Earth</font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color= "red" >d</font>||<font color= "red" >Planet of the Apes (Disambiguation)</font> <br />
|- <br />
| rowspan= 2|<font color= "red" >Kepler-283</font>||<font color= "red" >b</font>||<font color= "red" >ˈjʊərənəs</font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">c</font>||<font color= "red" >jʊˈreɪnəs</font><br />
|-<br />
! colspan=3 | [Below is the right column.]<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan= 4|Upsilon Andromedae||<font color="red">b</font>||<font color="red">Fourthmeal</font><br />
|-<br />
|c||Stampy<br />
|-<br />
|d||Moonchild<br />
|-<br />
|e||Ham Sphere<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan= 3|HD 20794||b||Cosmic Sands<br />
|-<br />
|c||Legoland<br />
|-<br />
|d||Planet with Arms<br />
|-<br />
|HD 85512||b||Lax Morality<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan= 6|HD 40307||b||Good Planet<br />
|-<br />
|c||Problemland<br />
|-<br />
|d||Slickle<br />
|-<br />
|e||Spare Parts<br />
|-<br />
|f||New Jersey VI<br />
|-<br />
|g||How Do I Join the IAU<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan= 3|Gliese 163||b||Neil Tyson's Mustache<br />
|-<br />
|c||help@gmail.com<br />
|-<br />
|d||Hair-Covered Planet<br />
|-<br />
|Pi Mensae||b||Moon Holder<br />
|-<br />
|HD 189733||b||Permadeath<br />
|-<br />
|Kepler-22||b||Blue Ivy<br />
|-<br />
|<font color="red">KOI-2474</font>||<font color="red">b</font>||<font color="red">Store-Brand Earth</font><br />
|-<br />
|<font color="red">Kepler-437</font>||b||Unicorn Thresher<br />
|-<br />
|KOI-2418||b||Spherical Discworld<br />
|-<br />
|<font color="red">Kepler-438</font>||<font color="red">b</font>||<font color="red">Emergency Backup Earth</font><br />
|-<br />
|KOI-3010||b||Feeeoooooooop<br />
|-<br />
|Kepler-442||b||Liz<br />
|-<br />
|rowspan = 3|<font color="red">82 Eridani </font>||<font color="red">b </font>||<font color="red">Horsemeat Surface </font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">c </font>||<font color="red">The Moon </font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">d </font>||<font color="red">Constant Saxophones </font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">HD 102365 </font>||<font color="red">b </font>||<font color="red">Little Big Planet </font><br />
|- <br />
|rowspan = 2|<font color="red">Gliese 180 </font>||<font color="red">b </font>||<font color="red">Dune </font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">c </font>||<font color="red">Arrakis </font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">Fomalhaut </font>||<font color="red">b </font>||<font color="red">Swarm of Bees </font><br />
|- <br />
|rowspan = 5|<font color="red">Kepler-62 </font>||<font color="red">b </font>||<font color="red">Sporty </font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">c </font>||<font color="red">Baby </font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">d </font>||<font color="red">Scary </font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">e </font>||<font color="red">Ginger </font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">f </font>||<font color="red">Posh </font> <br />
|- <br />
|rowspan = 3|<font color="red">HD 69830 </font>||<font color="red">b </font>||<font color="red">Planet.xxx </font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">c </font>||<font color="red">Novella </font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">d </font>||<font color="red">Sexoplanet </font> <br />
|- <br />
|rowspan = 2|<font color="red">Gliese 682 </font>||<font color="red">b </font>||<font color="red">Verdant Hellscape </font><br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">c </font>||<font color="red">Unsubscribe </font> <br />
|- <br />
|<font color="red">Kepler-452 </font>||<font color="red">b </font>||<font color="red">Pluto </font><br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*The IPA character for stress is a vertical line ˈ. Randall uses a slanted line similar to acute accent ´ or prime ′.<br />
*There were three errors in the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/f/fd/20150725002854!exoplanet_names_2.png original version] of this comic. These were corrected later the same day. <br />
**The three errors were:<br />
*#Waterworld starring Kevin '''Kostner''' (Kostner instead of Costner)<br />
*#Upsilon '''Andromidae''' (Andromidae instead of Andromedae)<br />
*#'''Formalhaut''' (Formalhaut instead of Fomalhaut)<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Exoplanets]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Firefly]]<br />
[[Category:Star Wars]]<br />
[[Category:Spice Girls]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1555:_Exoplanet_Names_2&diff=983611555: Exoplanet Names 22015-07-24T14:25:58Z<p>173.245.50.144: /* Trivia */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1555<br />
| date = July 24, 2015<br />
| title = Exoplanet Names 2<br />
| image = exoplanet_names_2.png<br />
| titletext = I'm going to drive this Netherlands joke so far into the ground they'll have to build levees around it to keep the sea out.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Complete table entries, check all table text (some black entries have changed), add wiki links, add explanations, red text to match comic?, detail on NASA announcement}}<br />
<br />
This comic is a continuation of [[1253: Exoplanet Names]], and was published the day after NASA announced the discovery of a number of planets, including an Earth-like planet, Kepler-452b.<br />
The {{w|International Astronomical Union}} (IAU) is the organisation which is responsible for naming celestial bodies (planets, stars, etc).<br />
<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Star !! Planet !! Suggested Name !! Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=7 | {{w|Gliese 667}} || {{w|Gliese 667 Cb|b}} || Space Planet || A very unimaginative name; every planet is in space.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cc|c}} || PILF || Pun of {{w|MILF pornography|MILF}}, i.e. ''Planet I'd Like to Fuck''. Planet c is a relatively hot planet, within the habitable zone.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cd|d}} || A Star || "A {{w|Star}}" is obviously a bad name for a planet. A* (pronounced "A star") is already used in in astronomy, for example the Milky Way's black hole core is {{w|Sagittarius A*}}. "A star" is also the name for the character {{w|asterisk}} and the name of the popular {{w|A* search algorithm}} in computer science.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 667 Ce|e}} || e'); DROP TABLE PLANETS;-- || [[Mrs.Roberts]] is probably trying to use {{w|SQL injection}} like in [[327|Exploits of a Mom]], in which her son [[Robert'); DROP TABLE students;--]] caused the school a lot of trouble when his name was put in. The idea here is that the {{w|IAU}} would enter the name into their system and promptly lose all of their data pertaining to planets. Note that Planet e is located in the habitable zone of the star system.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cf|f}} || Blogosphere || rowspan = 2 | Weird ''{{w|blog}}''-related terms are a recurring theme in xkcd. See, for instance, [[181|comic 181]].<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cg|g}} || Blogodrome<br />
|-<br />
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_667c_h/ h] || Earth || Planet candidate h is about the mass of the Earth, and described as "tantalizing": [http://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2013/08/aa21331-13/aa21331-13.html A dynamically-packed planetary system around GJ with three super-Earths in its habitable zone]. See also ([[1231: Habitable Zone]]).<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=5 | {{w|Tau Ceti}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_b/ b] || Sid Meier's Tau&nbsp;Ceti&nbsp;B || This refers to the game {{w|Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri}}.<br />
|-<br />
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_c/ c] || Giant Dog Planet || {{w|VY Canis Majoris}} is one of the largest known stars at our galaxy and belongs to the constellation {{w|Canis Major}}, Latin for "greater dog". The constellation further contains {{w|Sirius}}, the brightest star in the night sky, also called "Dog Star".<br />
|-<br />
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_d/ d] || Tiny Dog Planet || cf. {{w|Canis Minor}}, Latin for "lesser dog", another constellation.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Tau Ceti e|e}} || Phil Plainet || A reference to {{w|Phil Plait}}, a.k.a. The Bad Astronomer.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Tau Ceti f|f}} || Unicode Snowman || The Unicode character [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2603/index.htm <span style="font-size:200%">&#x2603;</span>] may be a reference to the planet's estimated surface temperature of -40&nbsp;°C (-40&nbsp;°F). However, this name would be pronounced differently (being a symbol, not a word or name) in different languages. Planets in our solar system are assigned to {{w|Astronomical symbols|astronomical symbols}} like <span style="font-size:150%">&#x2641;</span> for Earth or <span style="font-size:150%">&#x2642;</span> for Mars.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 832}} || {{w|Gliese 832 b|b}} || Asshole Jupiter || This massive planet orbits a {{w|red dwarf}} star at the longest known period of 3416 days at this category.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Gliese 832 c|c}} || Waterworld starring Kevin Kostner || Waterworld ([http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114898/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 imdb]) is a 1995 film starring Kevin Costner about Earth almost completely covered in water. It is unclear whether the surname being spelt incorrectly with a 'K' is intentional.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=6 | {{w|Gliese 581}} || {{w|Gliese 581 b|b}} || Waist-deep Cats || {{w|Waist Deep}} is an action film from 2006, and the {{w|Lolcat}} meme does not need explaining. The name may also simply be a reference to being "waist-deep" in (i.e. surrounded by many) cats.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Gliese|c}} || Planet #14 || About 200th discovered exoplanet (in 2007); reported to be the first potentially Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of its star, though that is in doubt now. The joke might be that like "Space Planet", "Planet #14" is a generic and unoriginal name. Also note that this is the 15th entry in the table so the numbering is {{w|Zero-based_numbering|zero-based}}.<br />
An interesting (?) coincidence is that the 14th and 15th {{w|Definition of planet#Minor planets|Minor planets}} (then called asteroids) were discovered in 1851; see see {{w|List of minor planets: 1–1000}}. If they were to be counted among the planets of the {{w|Solar System}}, as was sometimes done then, the 14th known planetary body would be {{w| 7 Iris|Iris}} (discovered in 1847, a year before {{w|Neptune}}).<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 581 d|d}} || Ballderaan || A {{w|wikt:balls|crude pun}} on the planet {{w|Alderaan}} from the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' universe.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese 581 e|e}} || Eternia Prime || {{w|Eternia}} is a fictional planet, venue of the ''{{w|Masters of the Universe}}'' animated series and toy collection.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Gliese 581 f|f}} || Taupe Mars || {{w|Kim Stanley Robinson}}'s award-winning {{w|Mars trilogy}} (''Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars'' after various stages of {{w|terraformation}}). {{w|Taupe}} is a brownish-grey colour.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese|g}} || Jelly-Filled Planet || Possibly a reference to the conjecture that this tidally locked planet has an isolated habitable zone under the substellar point, akin to the pocket of jelly in a jelly doughnut.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Epsilon Eridani}} || {{w|Epsilon Eridani b|b}} || Skydot || [http://skydot.lanl.gov SkyDOT] is the Sky Database for Objects in Time-Domain run by {{w|LANL}} for the {{w|U.S. Dept. of Energy}} and includes data for [http://skydot.lanl.gov/nsvs/star.php?num=14831575&mask=32004 Epsilon Eridani] that can be used to constrain the orbital parameters of &epsilon; Eri b. It may also refer to how objects in space may appear as bland, bright dots in the night sky.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Epsilon Eridani c#Planet_c|c}} || Laser Noises || A {{w|Laser}} does not produce {{w|Noise (electronics)|noise}} in the signal sense; it only works at a well defined frequency. In science fiction films, however, laser weapon discharges are usually accompanied by sound. Sun-like Epsilon Eridani became a popular setting for science fiction after its publicity as a target of the {{w|Project Ozma}} experiment.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 176}} || {{w|Gliese 176 b|b}} || Pandora || The mythological name {{w|Pandora}} fulfills most of IAU's guidelines and has been popular for planets in science fiction; most recently and famously is {{w|Pandora (Avatar)|the venue}} of James Cameron's ''{{w|Avatar (film)|Avatar}}'' (although actually it is not a planet but just a moon of a gas giant in Alfa Centauri A). It is also a hellish planet from {{w|Frank Herbert}}'s {{w|Frank Herbert bibliography#WorShip novels|WorShip}} series of novels, a jungle planet in Brothers Strugatsky's {{w|Noon Universe}} and the planet used in {{w|Borderlands (video game)|Borderlands Games}}.<br />
|-<br />
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_176_c/ c] || Pantera || Named for the {{w|Pantera|heavy metal band}} - which was named after an Italian sports car, the {{w|De Tomaso Pantera}}.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-61}} || {{w|Kepler-61b|b}} || GoldenPalace.com || A gambling website, known for {{w|GoldenPalace.com|paying to have their name in unusual places}} (like forehead tattoos, species names...).<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Groombridge 34|Groombridge 34A}} || b || Hot Mess || This is a reference to the phrase [http://arresteddevelopment.wikia.com/wiki/Hot_mess Hot mess] from the popular television show Arrested Development.<br />
|-<br />
| Kepler-442 || {{w|Kepler-442b|b}} || Seas of Toothpaste || <br />
|-<br />
| Gliese-442 || b || This one weird planet || Most likely a reference to {{w|clickbait}} articles found on the internet. <br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | EPIC-201367065 || b || Sulwesi ||<br />
|-<br />
| c || Huge Soccer Ball ||<br />
|-<br />
| d || Geodude || [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Geodude_%28Pok%C3%A9mon%29 Geodude]] is a pokemon characterised by its ball-like shape. It resembles a clump of rocks.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=5 | Kepler-296 || b || Kerbal Space Planet || {{w|Kerbal Space Program}} is a game where model rockets are launched on a scale version of the Earth. It has been referenced in xkcd a number of times ([[1106]], [[1244]], [[1356]]). Note, though, that the actual planet corresponding to the Earth in the game is called "Kerbin".<br />
|-<br />
| c || A$aplanet || Most probably a pun on the rap group {{w|A$AP Mob}} and their most prominient member {{w|A$AP Rocky}}. May also be a pun on {{w|Kesha}}, also written as Ke$ha. In that case the c of the planet's designation would belong to the name.<br />
|-<br />
| d || {{w|Jurassic World}} || Jurassic world is the most recent movie in the Jurassic park siries<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-296e|e}} || This Land || Reference to Wash's dialogue in the pilot episode of {{w|Firefly_(TV_Series)}}.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-296f|f}} || Springfield || The name of {{w|Springfield (The Simpsons)|the town}} in which animated sitcom {{w|The Simpsons}} is set; possibly a reference to the running joke that the state in which Springfield is located has never been named.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|HR 7722}} || {{w|HR 7722 b|b}} || Betelgeuse || rowspan=2 | {{w|Betelgeuse}} is a star in the constellation Orion. It is commonly pronounced as "beetlejuice". {{w|Beetlejuice}}, however is a film directed by {{w|Tim Burton}} from 1988. Similarly to Dune/Arrakis and the two Uranuses, naming two planets with names that are generally regarded to be identical would cause severe confusion in astronomical discussions.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|HR 7722 c|c}} || Beetlejuice ||<br />
|-<br />
| EPIC201912552 || b || Netherlands VI || As the title text a reference to [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/what_if%3F What if?]'s [http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/53/ 53], [http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/54/ 54] and comic [[1551: Pluto]]. Due to a drain in the Earth's ocean the Netherlands have not to worry about getting flooded, anymore and take the opportunity to conquer the world (including Antarctica becoming South Netherlands) in What if 53, Mars (New Netherlands) in What if 54, and a section of Pluto (again: New Netherlands) in comic 1551. This may also be a possible reference to [[1519: Venus]], but there seems to be no relation to the other conquests of the Netherlands. Maybe it should also be mentioned, that {{w|New Netherland}} was a Dutch colony with {{w|New York City}}, formally known as {{w|New Amsterdam}}, as its capital. So the name "New Netherlands" can be assumed as "historically correct", while "Netherlands VI" isn't. <br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | Gliese 3293 || b || Antispit ||<br />
|-<br />
| c || Google Earth || {{w|Google Earth}} is a service, similar to Google Maps, which projects satellite data on a 3D globe that can be zoomed in on. Other features, such as models of buildings, can also appear.<br />
|-<br />
| d || Planet of the Apes (Disambiguation) || The way a Wikipedia article would be titled, for example, to distinguish from the {{w|Planet of the Apes (novel)|the original novel}}, {{w|Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|the first film}}, {{w|Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|the Tim Burton remake}} and {{w|Rise of the Planet of the Apes|the reboot series}}. In each adaptation, a group of astronauts lands on what is believed to be a "Planet of the Apes", which turns out to be a post-apocalyptic Earth.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | Kepler-283 || b || ˈjʊərənəs || rowspan = 2 | Two alternative pronunciations (written in {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}}) for the planet name Uranus; the first one translates as "YU-ri-nus" (Urine-us), while the second translates as "you-RAIN-us", or, more commonly, "your anus".<br />
|-<br />
| c || jʊ'reɪnəs<br />
|-<br />
! colspan=4 | (right column)<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=4 | {{w|Upsilon Andromedae}} || b || Fourthmeal || {{w|Taco_Bell}} has an add campaign adding a meal after dinner. Possibly also a reference to {{w|Hobbit}}s and [http://askmiddlearth.tumblr.com/post/41765286488/the-seven-daily-hobbit-meals seven daily meals].<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae c|c}} || Stampy || The name of the elephant from the {{w|Simpsons}} episode {{w|Bart Gets an Elephant}}.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae d|d}} || Moonchild || The name Bastian gives the Childlike Empress in {{w|The Neverending Story}}.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae e|e}} || Ham Sphere || [http://www.hamsphere.com HamSphere] is a {{w|Amateur radio|Ham Radio}} simulator program. Ham radio uses designated radio frequencies for non-commercial exchange of messages and more. A pun of Hemisphere.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | {{w|. Eridani|HD 20794}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_b/ b] || Cosmic Sands || style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS', 'Comic Sans'" | A {{w|pun}} on the name of the font {{w|Comic Sans}}. (<span style="font-family:papyrus">See also: [[590|590: Papyrus]].</span>)<br />
|-<br />
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_c/ c] || Legoland || {{w|Legoland}} is a chain of {{w|theme park}}s owned by the {{w|Lego Group}}. Potentially a reference to the movie {{w|The World's End (film)|The World's End}}, in which the protagonist Gary King tells the alien invaders to "get in your rocket and fuck off back to Legoland".<br />
|-<br />
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_d/ d] || Planet with Arms || A reference to the [http://www.thecolorsofmysoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/The-Hitchhikers-Guide-to-the-Galaxy.jpg early covers] of {{w|Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}?<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|HD 85512}} || {{w|HD 85512 b|b}} || Lax Morality || Possibly a parody of science fiction in which certain planets are suggested to be uniformly... lax in morals (i.e. full of sex, drugs, etc.). See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Planetville and related.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=6 | {{w|HD 40307}} || {{w|HD 40307 b|b}} || Good Planet || Similar to the above, except with good planets. May also be yet another non-descriptive name, like "Space Planet" and "Planet #14".<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|HD|c}} || ProblemLand || See above.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|HD 40307 d|d}} || Slickle || This is a reference to "[http://zdarsky.tumblr.com/post/2837139960 The Petals Fall Twice]", which was made as a humorous example of bad fan-fiction. The word itself is a portmanteau of "slowly", "licked", and "tickled".<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|HD 40307 e|e}} || Spare Parts || This suggests that the planet is "worthless" or "junk". This is false, of course. May be a reference to the fact it is a planet with nothing much different from the other planets.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|HD 40307 f|f}} || New Jersey VI || Refers to the state of {{w|New Jersey}}; may be an insult to either.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|HD|g}} || How Do I Join the&nbsp;IAU || This implies that the user "got lost" on the IAU website and thought that the "planet name suggestion" input was for general queries.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | {{w|Gliese 163}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_163_b/ b] || Neil Tyson's Mustache || {{w|Neil deGrasse Tyson}} is a famous American astrophysicist and science communicator who does maintain a distinguished mustache.<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Gliese|c}} || help@gmail.com || Similar to "How Do I Join the IAU", this implies that the user confused the "planet suggestion" text box for a new email they are trying to send<br />
|-<br />
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_163_d/ d] || Hair-Covered Planet || Refers to the well-known {{w|Hairy ball theorem}} of topology.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Pi Mensae}} || {{w|Pi Mensae b|b}} || Moon Holder || {{w|Jupiter}} has more than 60 discovered moons, and still counting... A planet ten times more massive ''must'' also be a Moon Holder.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|HD 189733}} || {{w|HD 189733 b|b}} || Permadeath || A well-characterized "{{w|Hot Jupiter}}" at a temperature range of 973 ± 33 K to 1,212 ± 11 K. The name refers to the feature of {{w|Permanent death}} common in many RPGs and roguelikes.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-22}} || {{w|Kepler-22 b|b}} || Blue Ivy || Blue Ivy Carter is the daughter of musicians {{w|Beyoncé}} and {{w|Jay-Z}}.<br />
|-<br />
| KOI-2474 || b || Store-Brand Earth || <br />
|-<br />
| Kepler-437 || b || Unicorn Thresher || As far as we can tell, Kepler-437b is in the vicinity of the constellation Monoceros, aka the Unicorn.<br />
|-<br />
| KOI-2418 || b || Spherical Discworld || {{w|The Discworld}} is the fictional setting for British author {{w|Terry Pratchett}}'s {{w|Discworld}} series of humorous fantasy novels; it consists of a large disc supported by four elephants themselves standing on top of a turtle flying through space.<br />
|-<br />
| Kepler-438 || b || Emergency Backup Earth || This candidate planet has an {{w|Earth Similarity Index}} of 0.89, making it one of the most habitable {{w|Kepler object of interest}}. The name suggests that it could be used as a backup in case something happened to our current planet.<br />
|-<br />
| Kepler-3010 || b || Feeeoooooooop || Possibly the onomatopoeia for something getting sucked into a black hole.<br />
|-<br />
| Kepler-442 || b || Liz || ...Just a regular name (for a person, not a planet). Maybe a reference to the Magic School Bus.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | 82 Eridani || b || Horsemeat Surface|| <br />
|-<br />
| c || The Moon ||<br />
|-<br />
| d || Constant Saxophones ||<br />
|-<br />
| HD 102365 || b || Little Big Planet || This refers to the videogame {{w|LittleBigPlanet|LittleBigPlanet}}.<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | Gliese 180 || b || Dune || rowspan=2 | Both references to Frank Herbert's {{w|Dune_(novel)|Dune}} book series. The planet Arrakis (informally referred to as 'Dune') is the central planet in the mythology, where the mind-enhancing substance 'spice' comes from. Use of spice enables, among others, supercomputing-like mental computation as well as hyperspace navigation. Having two neighbouring planets with names that are historically used to refer to a single planet would sow further confusion in the already extensive catalog of planet names.<br />
|-<br />
| c || Arrakis ||<br />
|-<br />
| Formalhaut || b || Swarm of Bees ||<br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=5 | Kepler-62 || b || Sporty || rowspan=5 | A reference to [[1554: Spice Girls]], where Megan was unable to list the members of the pop group. In this case the names are correct.<br />
|-<br />
| c || Baby || <br />
|-<br />
| d || Scary || <br />
|-<br />
| e || Ginger || <br />
|-<br />
| f || Posh || <br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=3 | HD 69830 || b || Planet.xxx || {{w|.xxx}} is a controversial top level domain (like to .com and .net) that is intended to distinguish porn sites from other types of website.<br />
|-<br />
| c || Novella || A {{w|novella}} is a form of prose with length between a {{w|short story}} and a {{w|novel}}. Common examples of novellas are romance literature centering around intense lustful encounters in cheap paperback books, though also 'serious' literature may be in novella form.<br />
|-<br />
| d || Sexoplanet || Like the other two planets orbiting this star, the "69" in the stars designation has lead to a sex joke: All planets in this comic are "exo-planets", planets not orbiting our sun. Adding a single "s" in front results in immature humor. <br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 682}} || {{w|Gliese 682 b|b}} || Verdant Hellscape || A contradictory name. "[[wikt:verdant|Verdant]]" usually signifies to be lush with green plantlife, while "[[wikt:hellscape|Hellscape]]" describes a desolate landscape destroyed by heat and cataclysm.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Gliese 682 c|c}} || Unsubscribe || On YouTube, "subscribers" (people who get updates on a person's channel) are highly valued, and to "unsubscribe" from anyone is deemed to be offensive. "Unsubscribe" is also the command one sends to {{w|Electronic mailing list}}s to stop receiving said mailing list. In this sense it may imply a desire to no longer be bothered with these silly discussions around planet-names.<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Kepler-452}} || {{w|Kepler-452b|b}} || Pluto || This is the planet Black Hat is referring to at the top of the table.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
<br />
[Black Hat is pointing slide with image of Kepler-452b planet]<br />
:Black Hat: NASA has announced the discovery of a (super-)Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a sun-like star.<br />
:Black Hat: I suggest we name this planet "Pluto", both to celebrate the great work by the ''New Horizons'' team, and to make the stupid "Is Pluto a planet" debate a little more confusing<br />
<br />
:[Table showing a list of planet names is shown.]<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable" |<br />
While we wait to hear from the IAU, here's a revised and updated list of planet name suggestions (see xkcd.com/1253) New or updated entries in red<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
The IPA character for stress is a vertical line ˈ. Randall uses a slanted line similar to acute accent ´ or prime ′.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Firefly]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Exoplanets]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1540:_Hemingway&diff=982391540: Hemingway2015-07-23T13:18:48Z<p>173.245.50.144: Reinserting text present in http://explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1540:_Hemingway&diff=prev&oldid=95948</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1540<br />
| date = June 19, 2015<br />
| title = Hemingway<br />
| image = hemingway.png<br />
| titletext = Instead of bobcat, package contained chair.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is a reference to the six-word short story ''{{w|For sale: baby shoes, never worn}}'', which has been commonly attributed to famous author {{w|Ernest Hemingway}}; however, [[Randall|Randall Munroe]] explicitly states that this might not be the case at all. Whether Hemingway once wrote this story and called it his best work is a matter of urban legend.<br />
<br />
The comic plays on the fact that the original story takes the form of a short advertisement that might have been seen in a newspaper, and makes up alternate versions that use various modern 'standards' that did not exist in Hemingway's time. In keeping with the original, each example remains six words long. The title text obeys this rule, too. Many of the drafts poke fun at the tragedy that the original story suggests. With the original ("For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn"), readers could infer that the baby who would have worn the shoes must have died. Randall tries to make the reader infer other, more absurd things instead.<br />
<br />
The comic also alludes to Hemingway's practice of repeatedly re-working drafts of his novels before publication. For example, he is [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/books/a-farewell-to-arms-with-hemingways-alternate-endings.html reported] to have rewritten the final passage of [https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=A_Farewell_to_Arms A Farewell To Arms] 39 times. Later editions of his works include these rough drafts, allowing the devoted reader to understand how the work developed.<br />
<br />
The various drafts offered in the comic are:<br />
*"For Sale: This gullible baby's shoes": This suggests the seller somehow tricked the baby out of its shoes.<br />
*"Baby shoes for sale by owner": This suggests that a very intelligent baby is somehow selling its own shoes, or that someone is selling an old pair of shoes they had as a baby.<br />
*“<strike>Actually, there’s no evidence Hemingway wrote</strike>”: A fragment of a preemptive rebuttal to the comic’s premise (or at least its title), for some reason.<br />
:This sentence was stopped at the sixth word<br />
*"Free shoes, provided you overpower baby": This suggests the person posting the ad is asking people to forcibly steal shoes from a baby. This alludes to the common expression "[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/like_taking_candy_from_a_baby like taking candy from a baby]", meaning a task is extremely simple and effortless. One doesn't necessarily need to overpower a baby to steal its shoes either; there are other methods such as annoying the baby until it throws its shoes or tricking the baby (see the first example above).<br />
*"For Sale: Weird baby's toe shoes": This might be a reference to [[1065: Shoes]], where shoes with toes were considered "creepy".<br />
*"For Sale: Baby shoes <span style="color:gold">✓</span><span style="color:teal">Prime</span> <span style="color:gray">Eligible</span>": This is a reference to {{w|Amazon.com|Amazon}}, which offers Prime as a paid service to expedite shipping of items ordered on its website.<br />
*“<strike>Though popularly attributed to Hemingway, the</strike>”: Another fragment of a rebuttal, written in an encyclopedic style.<br />
*"This weird trick covers baby feet!": This is modeled after common 'click bait' wording designed to get users to visit web pages, typically using words such as "this weird trick" or "secrets they don't want you to know" to artificially increase its apparent appeal. XKCD has previously parodied click bait in [[1283: Headlines]].<br />
*"For Sale: Baby shoes, just hatched": This plays on the meaning of the phrase "baby shoes", reframing it to mean a newly-born shoe (similar to "baby bird"), rather than its typical meaning of footwear designed for babies.<br />
*"Sale: Seven-league boots (expedited shipping)": {{w|Seven-league boots}} are mythical boots that allow their user to move seven leagues (21 miles) per step. The "expedited shipping" part suggests that the people delivering these boots may be wearing seven-league boots themselves, allowing them to reach the customer much faster than if by airplane (except, of course, if the boots had to be shipped overseas).<br />
*"Complete this survey for free shoes": This is another reference to common internet marketing campaigns, where users are incentivized to take surveys in exchange for small compensation such as free samples or coupons.<br />
*"''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway [Citation needed]": This is a reference to Wikipedia. "Citation needed" is used to mark claims that require additional evidence to justify as true. In this case, Randall is using this to question whether the short story was really written by Hemingway.<br />
*"This is my greatest short story": This is a completely different style that could also have been used to write a short story in six words. Rather than telling a story about shoes, this is more "meta" by referencing itself and being a self-fulfilling (or self-defeating) prophecy. (The sequel was titled "Don't bother reading my other stories").<br />
*"For Sale: Baby shoes (-1) [Cursed]": This is written like a description of a virtual item typically found in Roguelike games or MMOs. "-1" typically means the item will reduce its wearer's stats (such as defense or speed rating) by one point. "Cursed" usually means the item cannot be taken off the wearer's body once it is put on.<br />
*"<blink><marquee>Baby shoes!</marquee></blink>": This is reminiscent of the style of HTML widely used in the 1990s. Both the <Blink> and <Marquee> tags make the text content ("Baby shoes!") appear more prominent and attention-grabbing. On a normal web page, these tags only affect how the text content is displayed on screen and aren't directly shown to visitors. However they are shown here to make the six words count, albeit in a lighter shade of gray to reinforce the fact that they're not part of the text content. An interesting note: When this comic was first posted to xkcd.com, the '/' in the </Blink> tag was missing. This was fixed between the 19th and 20th of June, 2015, showing that the omission was, indeed, unintentional.<br />
*"For Sale: Baby-sized saddle, bobcat": This is a reference to [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]] in which [[Cueball]] says: 'Instead of office chair, package contained bobcat'. A 'baby-sized saddle' is presumably a very small saddle that's only usable if the user was a baby and was trying to ride a small animal such as a bobcat.<br />
*"Hemingway busted for Craigslist shoe scam": This is written like a news headline where Hemingway supposedly wrote about shoes in order to perpetrate a scam. {{w|Craigslist}} is a website where users can advertise and seek goods and services.<br />
<br />
The title text continues the reference to [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]], but inverts the situation. Rather than unexpectedly receiving a bobcat by package, this time the package contains a regular item instead of the expected bobcat.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Hemingway's Rough Drafts<br />
<br />
:[A list of rough draft stories.]<br />
:For sale: This Gullible Baby's Shoes<br />
:Baby Shoes For Sale By Owner<br />
:<strike>Actually, there's no evidence Hemingway wrote</strike><br />
:Free Shoes, Provided You Overpower Baby<br />
:For Sale: Weird Baby's Toe Shoes<br />
:For Sale: Baby Shoes <span style='color: #FF9900; font-style: italic;'>✓</span> <span style='color: #4DA3C5; font-style: italic;'>Prime</span> <span style='color: #727272;'>eligible</span><br />
:<strike>Though popularly attributed to Hemingway, the</strike><br />
:This Weird Trick Covers Baby Feet!<br />
:For Sale: Baby Shoes, Just Hatched<br />
:Sale: Seven-League Boots (Expedited Shipping)<br />
:Complete this survey for free shoes!<br />
:''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway <sup>[<span style='color: #0645ad; font-style: italic;'>citation needed</span>]</sup><br />
:This is my greatest short story.<br />
:For sale: Baby shoes (-1) [cursed]<br />
:<span style='color: #727272;'>&lt;blink&gt;&lt;marquee&gt;</span>Baby Shoes!<span style='color: #727272;'>&lt;/marquee&gt;&lt;/blink&gt;</span><br />
:For Sale: Baby-sized Saddle, Bobcat<br />
:Hemingway Busted for Craigslist Shoe Scam<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics]] <br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]</div>173.245.50.144https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:221:_Random_Number&diff=90318Talk:221: Random Number2015-04-20T14:27:31Z<p>173.245.50.144: </p>
<hr />
<div>The syntax looks like perfectly valid java to me.[[Special:Contributions/213.64.1.189|213.64.1.189]] 22:00, 11 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Looks like Java to me too.{{unsigned ip|139.216.242.254}}<br />
:How can Java come to mind when it is pure C syntax, which predates Java by several years and is arguably better known. A feature of most languages is that they have a "C-like syntax". See, a whole page on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_C-based_programming_languages [[Special:Contributions/122.161.20.238|122.161.20.238]] 19:53, 22 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
::"C-like syntax" is the best explain, this covers all. Even when I disagree that it's better known than Java these days.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:04, 22 August 2013 (UTC)<br />
:::Just to be particularly pedantic, the double slash for the comment (which is generally utilised in object oriented C-style languages) should be avoided in C to retain backwards compatibility with C89, although it's a valid construct in C99. I'd offer, too, that the lack of library inclusion suggests this isn't necessarily Java, though it's been a couple years since I've had the opportunity to code in it. [[User:Thokling|Thokling]] ([[User talk:Thokling|talk]]) 15:35, 20 September 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
As a proof of good joke, RFC 1149 was successfully implemented several times. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:55, 11 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Actually, a poor “random” function like “return 4;” would be quickly determined by statistical test tools (Diehard, Dieharder, etc.) to generate very poor random number. [[User:Samiam|Samiam]] ([[User talk:Samiam|talk]]) 19:55, 28 October 2013 (UTC)<br />
:The number is random, I'm sure Randall really did this "fair dice roll". And even the name of the function is correct, it just returns a random number. A programmer would expect a random number generator, but Randall can't roll the dice all the time.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:37, 28 October 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:<<sound of crickets chirping>> [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 02:24, 6 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;Playstation 3 jailbreak reference?<br />
<br />
Isn't this a reference to Sony Playstation 3's random number generator function that allowed to discover the private key to 3.55 firmware? {{unsigned ip|141.101.64.23}}<br />
<br />
:The comic is from February 9, 2007. The 3.55 firmware was released December 7, 2010.</div>173.245.50.144