https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=173.245.56.61&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T12:08:24ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1711:_Snapchat&diff=1240711711: Snapchat2016-07-25T12:08:51Z<p>173.245.56.61: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1711<br />
| date = July 25, 2016<br />
| title = Snapchat<br />
| image = snapchat.png<br />
| titletext = For obvious reasons, the prize is awarded at a different time of year from the others, while it's still fresh in the committee's memory.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The Pulitzer Prize is awarded for spectacular journalism. Snapchat is a photo-sending app that allows the recieving user to only view the photo for a few seconds before it is deleted.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>173.245.56.61https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1647:_Diacritics&diff=1214081647: Diacritics2016-06-04T15:08:38Z<p>173.245.56.61: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1647<br />
| date = February 24, 2016<br />
| title = Diacritics<br />
| image = diacritics.png<br />
| titletext = Using diacritics correctly is not my forté.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
A {{w|diacritic}} (or a diacritical mark) is a {{w|glyph}} added to a letter. The main use of diacritical marks in the {{w|latin script}} is to change the sound-values of the letters to which they are added, typically vowels.<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] is writing an e-mail (maybe for a job application) and notes in the mail that he attaches his {{w|résumé}}. The word ''résumé'' uses two e's with an {{w|acute accent}} so they look like this: é.<br />
<br />
While diacritics can be common in several languages, English is an example of a language that rarely ever has any at all. This occurs to such an extent that words and expressions borrowed from other languages (such as "résumé" or "piñata") are frequently written in English with the diacritics omitted, as in "resume" or "pinata".<br />
<br />
Randall may be poking fun at people who use Zalgo, a form of spam where<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
T̯̙̻̼̠͕̙̬̬̜̼̊ͥͦͬͤ̇̎̆̌ͭ͢͠͡o̡̲̩̟̲̬̰̪̜̝͙̺̦̙͍̳ͬͯͯ͋͒̍ͨ̓̇́̚̚̕ ̸̢̬̘̦͕̯̱̜̲̼̤ͬͧͤͨǐ̷̷̯̼̝̹̫ͪ̀̋̿̄̓n̿͂ͩ͂ͮ̔̆͏͎͍͕̜͎̺̯͈̼̩̣̥̬͡͞ͅͅv̴̨̙̼̤̼͙͖̫̖̺̹̠̹̦́͌͑̓̆̂ͯ̑̈̏ͭo̢̫̲̙̺̬̤̲̳ͨ̐ͦ̽͛ͮ͛́͂ͣ͂ͮ͆͑̍̀ͯ̕͟k̵̨̫̙̤͙̹̫͚͈̪͇͓͈̫̬̥͕̱͎̜̉̔ͬͭͦ̓͐ͫ̋̋ͥ̋̀̕͟è̢̛͑͋͐̀̏ͣ̏ͬ̒̌͌́̚͘͝͏̟̞͇̘̤̼̮̤͍͚̫̤͚̰ ̶̧̮̗̣̫͇̦͎̮̤̗͙̗̳͎̺͆̉̈ͭ̽̈́̌̽ͥ̾͑̀̚̚͘͟ͅͅt̸͓͉̩́̓̓ͮ̇̈̆ͣ̀ͪͬ͑̅ͣ̍h̸̡̧ͧ͑̐̂ͥ̄̃̂̄́͋ͨ͑̓̆͋̚͏̸̟̣̤̺͔̘̞̦̖͖̣̺̱̜͔̗̫̰ͅȇ̡͇͎͎̩̮̟̖̖̤̦̜͍̱̇ͨ̃̈́̄̑ͦͭ̚͞ͅ ̛̼̤̟̩̦̻̤̙̥̬̠̩̙̙̱͚͕ͫ͐̏ͥ̄ͧͧͭ̔̆͐̋͘h̶̵̜̤͓̹̰ͣ̄͗́́i̝͕̘̗͉͚̰͓̮͕̣͒̂̒ͨ̽ͫ̎ͪͦ́̕͝ͅv̧̙̞̣̳͍̟̖͚̻̝͈ͧ͊ͫ͋ͩͫ̍͋̏̽ͤ̀͝͞ͅẻ̢͓̣̰͔̟͎̥̻̤̲̟̣̜̄̈́̌͛̌̄͢͞ͅ-̨̡͆̓̌̎̉̑҉͚̝̗m̨̛͎̬͉̯̽ͥͫ̇ͦ̒̿̎́͒́̚͡͠ỉ̧̡͖͙̙͕͔̲ͩ́ͣ͐ͧ͑̊̾̒͑̅͗̊́̎̚n̠̮̜̝̜̤̰̻̘͖̦͚̼ͫ̄͐͗ͣ́͢͜d̡̛̳͕̬̫̯̩͕̰̖̟̲͕͙ͭ̅̓ͥ͛ͨ͒ͯ͌̚ͅͅ ̟̜̳̫͕̺͎̺̲̗̋̐̀͛͑̅̅͛̾̈́̀̚͞͠r̸̯̥͚̟̰͉͎͓̖͉͂̎̅̐ͫͧ͛ͯ͜ë́̎͂̆ͥͩ͟͏̰̤̳͓̩͉̲̣̠͍͔̗̦̬̱̯p̽ͧ͒͗ͣ̿̆̄̑͏̘̜̥̠̜̥̘̲̮̹̤̪̦͕͇͓͞r̴͓̼̺̰̹͙͉̦͚̞̤͕̭̦̈́ͫ̔̂̓̆̒͗͛̿̑̉̿̓ͤ̏̇̀̚͘͘͢é̴̢̛̖̗̖̤ͧ̽͑ͨ̒̌̍ͭ̑̋̃̒ͫ̀͡ş̶͉͚̠̠͇͓̬̙͚̖̝͓͕̤̟́̂̏ͧͩ͌͑͐ͣ͌͌̄̾̿ȩ̢͈̗̝͍ͨ̒͗ͭ̔̈͆ͫ̔ͨ̈́́̊ͣ̃̎̀͝͝n̸̟͔̺̠̺̓̑̏͐ͩͬ̏̈́̌͒́̏ͥ̌̍͊ͧ̀̚͜͞͞tͮ̾͒̇̐ͩ͆̓ͣ҉̢̤͖̩͕̬̮͚͙̖͕̬̘̙͘͠ͅĩ̡̬̙̙̯̩͋̋̄n̡̡̊̐͌ͣ̍̒̽ͩͫ͌ͦ̚͝͏̳̻̞͓̗̹̪̜̘̰̠̟͈̮̲̳̜g̵̎̓́̃ͮ̍̏̈̄ͧ̈́̐̔̏ͤͭͨ҉̛̘̰̘̟̬̝̰̜̗̼ͅͅ ̸̦̞͓̟͉̫͔̦̰̝͈̩̳̞̼̮̩̬͕̿ͩ͗̂̌̐ͭ͟͞c̳̻͚̻̩̻͉̯̄̏͑̋͆̎͐ͬ͑͌́͢h̵͔͈͍͇̪̯͇̞͖͇̜͉̪̪̤̙ͧͣ̓̐̓ͤ͋͒ͥ͑̆͒̓͋̑́͞ǎ̡̮̤̤̬͚̝͙̞͎̇ͧ͆͊ͅo̴̲̺͓̖͖͉̜̟̗̮̳͉̻͉̫̯̫̍̋̿̒͌̃̂͊̏̈̏̿ͧ́ͬ̌ͥ̇̓̀͢͜s̵̵̘̹̜̝̘̺̙̻̠̱͚̤͓͚̠͙̝͕͆̿̽ͥ̃͠͡.̔̈́ͤͣͪ̅̎̄̽ͩͪ͛̓̂̂̑͒҉̤͍͔̲̣̜͕̺͕͇̖͓̺̦̺́̀͢<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
people continuously spam diactrics in chat messages.<br />
<br />
<br />
As Cueball/[[Randall]] is a native English-speaker, it is thus naturally that he often forgets (or just doesn't bother) to add these '''diacritics''' (hence the title of the comic).<br />
<br />
When he occasionally remembers them, for instance when he types a word where he knows they should be included, like résumé, he then makes up for all those he must have forgotten since last time he thought of it, and thus adds a whole bunch at once. This reason is somewhat nonsensical.<br />
<br />
The first diacritic he uses is the normal acute accent for the e to make it an é which does belong in ''résumé''. But the second diacritic he uses is a {{w|Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis}} (or umlaut) on the u making it into ü, which is not part of the word. (Although in French the ''u'' is pronounced like a {{w|Close_front_rounded_vowel|[y]}}, which is also the sound of a German or Turkish ''ü'', and in German the word is spelt using this as ''Resümee'', but then the meaning is not the same but rather conclusions or abstracts).<br />
<br />
Cueball then goes all in on the last e which, like the first e, is supposed to have an acute accent. This e has a {{w|cedilla}} (as in ȩ), a {{w|Ring (diacritic)|ring}} (as in e̊), three acute accents, and is topped off by a {{w|breve}} (as in ĕ). In total, six diacritics are used on this e alone.<br />
<br />
Some languages - notably Vietnamese - {{w|Vietnamese alphabet|can use more than one diacritic per letter}}, but usually only two ( for example ṏ). Using them in this fashion makes little sense though it is reminiscent of [http://stackoverflow.com/q/6579844/256431 Zalgo text].<br />
<br />
To make sure everyone gets it, there are three acute accents over the last period. This is not something that is ever used.<br />
<br />
So for a word that is supposed to have two diacritics, Cueball uses eight, plus three for the period.<br />
<br />
In the title text "not my forté" is supposed to mean that it is not one of Randall's strength or talent. However, to obtain this meaning [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/forte forte] should not have an acute diacritic over the e, thus proving Randall's point that it is not his forte to use diacritics.<br />
<br />
The title text may be a reference to the [[what if?]] released a week before this comic, {{what if|145|''Fire from moonlight''}}, in which note 9 reads "My résumé says étendue is my forté." (With the same error on "forte") It is possible that noticing his mistake was the inspiration for this comic. Also [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%A9tendue étendue] can be written without the accent as [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/etendue#English etendue] and the meaning is only written on this page in the Wiktionary. It means property of the light in an optical system which makes sense in the context of the note. However, it means something different in French where it either refers to size or range as a noun or as a verb is an alternative form of [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%A9tendre#French étendre] meaning stretch or spread. The most correct way of writing the sentence he tried to write would only have involved the accent on résumé: "My résumé says etendue is my forte." Thus again making it clear that Randall has it right when he writes: "Using diacritics correctly is not my forté."<br />
<br />
If there actually has been someone who corrected Randall's mistake in the what if?, then there could be an extra pun hidden in the title. Those who criticized Randall's use of accents, would thus become dia''critics''!<br />
<br />
Comic [[1209: Encoding]] also references an absurd use of diacritics.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball sitting in front of his lap top typing. The text above him is the one he is typing. The last word résumé has too many diacritics. The u has an umlaut (as in ü) and the last é has no less than six diacritics; a cedilla below (as in ȩ), a ring above (as in e̊ ), then three acute accents above the ring (as in é), and finally they are topped off by a breve (as in ĕ). Also the last full stop has three accents "´" above it:]<br />
<br><br />
:Cueball (typing): Attached please fīnd my résümȩ̊́́́̆.́́́<br />
<br />
:I usually leave out diacritics when I type, so I make up for it by occasionally adding a whole bunch at once.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>173.245.56.61https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1647:_Diacritics&diff=1214071647: Diacritics2016-06-04T15:07:56Z<p>173.245.56.61: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1647<br />
| date = February 24, 2016<br />
| title = Diacritics<br />
| image = diacritics.png<br />
| titletext = Using diacritics correctly is not my forté.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
A {{w|diacritic}} (or a diacritical mark) is a {{w|glyph}} added to a letter. The main use of diacritical marks in the {{w|latin script}} is to change the sound-values of the letters to which they are added, typically vowels.<br />
<br />
[[Cueball]] is writing an e-mail (maybe for a job application) and notes in the mail that he attaches his {{w|résumé}}. The word ''résumé'' uses two e's with an {{w|acute accent}} so they look like this: é.<br />
<br />
While diacritics can be common in several languages, English is an example of a language that rarely ever has any at all. This occurs to such an extent that words and expressions borrowed from other languages (such as "résumé" or "piñata") are frequently written in English with the diacritics omitted, as in "resume" or "pinata".<br />
<br />
Randall may be poking fun at people who use Zalgo, a form of spam where<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
T̯̙̻̼̠͕̙̬̬̜̼̊ͥͦͬͤ̇̎̆̌ͭ͢͠͡o̡̲̩̟̲̬̰̪̜̝͙̺̦̙͍̳ͬͯͯ͋͒̍ͨ̓̇́̚̚̕ ̸̢̬̘̦͕̯̱̜̲̼̤ͬͧͤͨǐ̷̷̯̼̝̹̫ͪ̀̋̿̄̓n̿͂ͩ͂ͮ̔̆͏͎͍͕̜͎̺̯͈̼̩̣̥̬͡͞ͅͅv̴̨̙̼̤̼͙͖̫̖̺̹̠̹̦́͌͑̓̆̂ͯ̑̈̏ͭo̢̫̲̙̺̬̤̲̳ͨ̐ͦ̽͛ͮ͛́͂ͣ͂ͮ͆͑̍̀ͯ̕͟k̵̨̫̙̤͙̹̫͚͈̪͇͓͈̫̬̥͕̱͎̜̉̔ͬͭͦ̓͐ͫ̋̋ͥ̋̀̕͟è̢̛͑͋͐̀̏ͣ̏ͬ̒̌͌́̚͘͝͏̟̞͇̘̤̼̮̤͍͚̫̤͚̰ ̶̧̮̗̣̫͇̦͎̮̤̗͙̗̳͎̺͆̉̈ͭ̽̈́̌̽ͥ̾͑̀̚̚͘͟ͅͅt̸͓͉̩́̓̓ͮ̇̈̆ͣ̀ͪͬ͑̅ͣ̍h̸̡̧ͧ͑̐̂ͥ̄̃̂̄́͋ͨ͑̓̆͋̚͏̸̟̣̤̺͔̘̞̦̖͖̣̺̱̜͔̗̫̰ͅȇ̡͇͎͎̩̮̟̖̖̤̦̜͍̱̇ͨ̃̈́̄̑ͦͭ̚͞ͅ ̛̼̤̟̩̦̻̤̙̥̬̠̩̙̙̱͚͕ͫ͐̏ͥ̄ͧͧͭ̔̆͐̋͘h̶̵̜̤͓̹̰ͣ̄͗́́i̝͕̘̗͉͚̰͓̮͕̣͒̂̒ͨ̽ͫ̎ͪͦ́̕͝ͅv̧̙̞̣̳͍̟̖͚̻̝͈ͧ͊ͫ͋ͩͫ̍͋̏̽ͤ̀͝͞ͅẻ̢͓̣̰͔̟͎̥̻̤̲̟̣̜̄̈́̌͛̌̄͢͞ͅ-̨̡͆̓̌̎̉̑҉͚̝̗m̨̛͎̬͉̯̽ͥͫ̇ͦ̒̿̎́͒́̚͡͠ỉ̧̡͖͙̙͕͔̲ͩ́ͣ͐ͧ͑̊̾̒͑̅͗̊́̎̚n̠̮̜̝̜̤̰̻̘͖̦͚̼ͫ̄͐͗ͣ́͢͜d̡̛̳͕̬̫̯̩͕̰̖̟̲͕͙ͭ̅̓ͥ͛ͨ͒ͯ͌̚ͅͅ ̟̜̳̫͕̺͎̺̲̗̋̐̀͛͑̅̅͛̾̈́̀̚͞͠r̸̯̥͚̟̰͉͎͓̖͉͂̎̅̐ͫͧ͛ͯ͜ë́̎͂̆ͥͩ͟͏̰̤̳͓̩͉̲̣̠͍͔̗̦̬̱̯p̽ͧ͒͗ͣ̿̆̄̑͏̘̜̥̠̜̥̘̲̮̹̤̪̦͕͇͓͞r̴͓̼̺̰̹͙͉̦͚̞̤͕̭̦̈́ͫ̔̂̓̆̒͗͛̿̑̉̿̓ͤ̏̇̀̚͘͘͢é̴̢̛̖̗̖̤ͧ̽͑ͨ̒̌̍ͭ̑̋̃̒ͫ̀͡ş̶͉͚̠̠͇͓̬̙͚̖̝͓͕̤̟́̂̏ͧͩ͌͑͐ͣ͌͌̄̾̿ȩ̢͈̗̝͍ͨ̒͗ͭ̔̈͆ͫ̔ͨ̈́́̊ͣ̃̎̀͝͝n̸̟͔̺̠̺̓̑̏͐ͩͬ̏̈́̌͒́̏ͥ̌̍͊ͧ̀̚͜͞͞tͮ̾͒̇̐ͩ͆̓ͣ҉̢̤͖̩͕̬̮͚͙̖͕̬̘̙͘͠ͅĩ̡̬̙̙̯̩͋̋̄n̡̡̊̐͌ͣ̍̒̽ͩͫ͌ͦ̚͝͏̳̻̞͓̗̹̪̜̘̰̠̟͈̮̲̳̜g̵̎̓́̃ͮ̍̏̈̄ͧ̈́̐̔̏ͤͭͨ҉̛̘̰̘̟̬̝̰̜̗̼ͅͅ ̸̦̞͓̟͉̫͔̦̰̝͈̩̳̞̼̮̩̬͕̿ͩ͗̂̌̐ͭ͟͞c̳̻͚̻̩̻͉̯̄̏͑̋͆̎͐ͬ͑͌́͢h̵͔͈͍͇̪̯͇̞͖͇̜͉̪̪̤̙ͧͣ̓̐̓ͤ͋͒ͥ͑̆͒̓͋̑́͞ǎ̡̮̤̤̬͚̝͙̞͎̇ͧ͆͊ͅo̴̲̺͓̖͖͉̜̟̗̮̳͉̻͉̫̯̫̍̋̿̒͌̃̂͊̏̈̏̿ͧ́ͬ̌ͥ̇̓̀͢͜s̵̵̘̹̜̝̘̺̙̻̠̱͚̤͓͚̠͙̝͕͆̿̽ͥ̃͠͡.̔̈́ͤͣͪ̅̎̄̽ͩͪ͛̓̂̂̑͒҉̤͍͔̲̣̜͕̺͕͇̖͓̺̦̺́̀͢<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
people continuously spam diactrics in chat messages.<br />
<br />
<br />
As Cueball/[[Randall]] is a native English-speaker, it is thus naturally that he often forgets (or just doesn't bother) to add these '''diacritics''' (hence the title of the comic).<br />
<br />
When he occasionally remembers them, for instance when he types a word where he knows they should be included, like résumé, he then makes up for all those he must have forgotten since last time he thought of it, and thus adds a whole bunch at once. This reason is somewhat nonsensical.<br />
<br />
The first diacritic he uses is the normal acute accent for the e to make it an é which does belong in ''résumé''. But the second diacritic he uses is a {{w|Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis}} (or umlaut) on the u making it into ü, which is not part of the word. (Although in French the ''u'' is pronounced like a {{w|Close_front_rounded_vowel|[y]}}, which is also the sound of a German or Turkish ''ü'', and in German the word is spelt using this as ''Resümee'', but then the meaning is not the same but rather conclusions or abstracts).<br />
<br />
Cueball then goes all in on the last e which, like the first e, is supposed to have an acute accent. This e has a {{w|cedilla}} (as in ȩ), a {{w|Ring (diacritic)|ring}} (as in e̊), three acute accents, and is topped off by a {{w|breve}} (as in ĕ). In total, six diacritics are used on this e alone.<br />
<br />
Some languages - notably Vietnamese - {{w|Vietnamese alphabet|can use more than one diacritic per letter}}, but usually only two ( for example ṏ). Using them in this fashion makes little sense though it is reminiscent of [http://stackoverflow.com/q/6579844/256431 Zalgo text].<br />
<br />
To make sure everyone gets it, there are three acute accents over the last period. This is not something that is ever used.<br />
<br />
So for a word that is supposed to have two diacritics, Cueball uses eight, plus three for the full stop.<br />
<br />
In the title text "not my forté" is supposed to mean that it is not one of Randall's strength or talent. However, to obtain this meaning [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/forte forte] should not have an acute diacritic over the e, thus proving Randall's point that it is not his forte to use diacritics.<br />
<br />
The title text may be a reference to the [[what if?]] released a week before this comic, {{what if|145|''Fire from moonlight''}}, in which note 9 reads "My résumé says étendue is my forté." (With the same error on "forte") It is possible that noticing his mistake was the inspiration for this comic. Also [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%A9tendue étendue] can be written without the accent as [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/etendue#English etendue] and the meaning is only written on this page in the Wiktionary. It means property of the light in an optical system which makes sense in the context of the note. However, it means something different in French where it either refers to size or range as a noun or as a verb is an alternative form of [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%A9tendre#French étendre] meaning stretch or spread. The most correct way of writing the sentence he tried to write would only have involved the accent on résumé: "My résumé says etendue is my forte." Thus again making it clear that Randall has it right when he writes: "Using diacritics correctly is not my forté."<br />
<br />
If there actually has been someone who corrected Randall's mistake in the what if?, then there could be an extra pun hidden in the title. Those who criticized Randall's use of accents, would thus become dia''critics''!<br />
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Comic [[1209: Encoding]] also references an absurd use of diacritics.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball sitting in front of his lap top typing. The text above him is the one he is typing. The last word résumé has too many diacritics. The u has an umlaut (as in ü) and the last é has no less than six diacritics; a cedilla below (as in ȩ), a ring above (as in e̊ ), then three acute accents above the ring (as in é), and finally they are topped off by a breve (as in ĕ). Also the last full stop has three accents "´" above it:]<br />
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:Cueball (typing): Attached please fīnd my résümȩ̊́́́̆.́́́<br />
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:I usually leave out diacritics when I type, so I make up for it by occasionally adding a whole bunch at once.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>173.245.56.61https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1355:_Airplane_Message&diff=120524Talk:1355: Airplane Message2016-05-20T12:41:57Z<p>173.245.56.61: </p>
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<div>How can Iry-Hor, who's name comes from a ''written record'', be considered "prehistoric"? History begins with the written record. By definition, Iry-Hor would be the earliest historical name we know. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 13:51, 14 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:It doesn't say "prehistoric." It says "predynastic." Predynastic means that Iry-Hor was pharaoh before the establishment of any known Egyptian dynasty. You are correct that he is by definition not prehistoric.<br />
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:I believe written records are "historic" only if they can be cross-referenced with other records (or other physical records, such as archeology). That goes for religious texts, as well. That's why Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" is a historical play, but isn't actually history. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.93}}<br />
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:I agree. In fact, the Hebrew Bible goes even farther back, making the beginning of recorded history a much earlier date. I've always thought that the term "prehistoric" was farcical.<br />
:The Hebrew Bible contains the names of many individuals alive before Iry-Hor was born. The man Adam would then qualify as the oldest named individual in history. Even if Adam isn't accepted (and I can't see why not; the Hebrew Scriptures being as much a historical document as any Egyptian papyrii) then take your pick of the many others named well before the Eqyptians came on the scene. [[User:Fiddlinmacx|Fiddlinmacx]] ([[User talk:Fiddlinmacx|talk]]) 14:18, 14 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
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::"...the Hebrew Scriptures being as much a historical document as any Egyptian papyrii..." No. They are not remotely the same (for the same reason that, hundreds or thousands of years from now, we wouldn't want people to consider "Cool Runnings" to be a "historical document" about the *actual* Jamaican olympic bobsled team). While it's certainly possible -- probable, even -- that much of the Torah is based on events that actually occurred, there is also plenty of physical evidence suggesting that large portions of it were fabricated wholesale. For example, no archeological evidence of any kind supports the claim that the Hebrews were ever enslaved in Egypt. It sounds like your criteria for something being a "historical document" is that it *purports* to document that period in history and *appears* to be old enough to do so, but those aren't sufficient conditions. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.187|108.162.238.187]] 23:16, 26 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
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::The text (glyphs, really) about Iry-Hor were written during his lifetime. The Hebrew Scriptures were not written until around 2,500 years later, literally eons after the Egyptians had been 'on the scene.' Claiming that characters in Genesis are historical figures from 4000 BC is approximately as scientific as claiming that Tumok (from the 1940 film 'One Million B.C.') is actually the oldest human whose name we know. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.73|108.162.221.73]] 14:47, 14 April 2014 (UTC)Oz<br />
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::: +1 -- Religious scripts are not reliable as historical records. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 16:23, 14 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::: Not the ones in the Pentateuch, anyway. Once they get to the book of Joshua they start getting their facts straight. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.65|199.27.128.65]] 18:16, 14 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The explanation seems complete. Can the incomplete tag be removed? [[User:Cheeselord99|Cheeselord99]] ([[User talk:Cheeselord99|talk]]) 17:32, 14 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:DONE, but please check the language and the layout first before calling on this. I'm not native English, so I can't be better than native speakers. Couldn't believe...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:48, 14 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Done. Editing on a mobile, though, so anyone else want to double-proof? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.210|141.101.88.210]] 02:19, 15 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::Looks okay to me - I'm on a desktop Computer [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.42|108.162.219.42]] 06:54, 15 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The title text is a reference to a recent [http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1tqfef/what_is_the_oldest_recorded_human_name/ askhistorians question at reddit] [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.131|173.245.53.131]] 13:22, 15 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I'm not sure about the trivia. I don't think it's appropriate to add a chunk of text every time cancer comes up. The category can be added, and those wanting more information can click through to that page. Second note, nowhere else on the wiki is a recurring theme noteworthy enough for the inclusion of a trivia section. I'm going to wholesale remove the section, but I wanted to be verbose enough to be clear about my reasoning for it. Anyone who thinks otherwise is welcome to either leave a compelling summary for its re-inclusion, or to comment on this thread. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 05:55, 16 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:::Iry-Hor is the pharoh's regnal name and not the name he was born with. Companion of Horus obviously is not a real name. Iry-Hor is the name he made up for himself when he took the throne.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.202|108.162.250.202]] 15:40, 18 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Just a side note, but banners are not usually assembled in hangers. The banner plane takes off without the banner, and circles back to hook the banner from a stand in some suitably open area of the airport. The banners are usually assembled (i.e. the letters spelling the message are attached to the banner frame) right before being put on the stand to be hooked. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.219}}<br />
:You should put that on a banner. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.209|141.101.98.209]] 19:00, 1 January 2015 (UTC)</div>173.245.56.61https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=806:_Tech_Support&diff=111755806: Tech Support2016-02-15T05:08:16Z<p>173.245.56.61: /* Explanation */ (HOW DID YOU MISS THIS?)</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 806<br />
| date = October 15, 2010<br />
| title = Tech Support<br />
| image = tech support.png<br />
| titletext = I recently had someone ask me to go get a computer and turn it on so I could restart it. He refused to move further in the script until I said I had done that.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] runs into some problems with his network connection and contacts his Internet service provider's (ISP's) tech support for help. The customer service agent is not very helpful, giving clearly pre-scripted advice that has nothing to do with Cueball's problem. Cueball gives up and asks to speak to someone more knowledgeable about the technology. Noticing the {{w|Tux|stuffed penguin}} and the [[225: Open Source|bearded dude with swords]] — signs of a GNU/Linux geek — the agent transfers him over to an engineer, who immediately recognizes the problem and fixes it. Then she tells him of a secret word (shibboleet) which, if he speaks on the phone, will transfer him to a tech-savvy person able to help him. At this point Cueball wakes up and unfortunately, the incident turns out to be a dream.<br />
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Poor customer and technical support is a common complaint of many ISPs. Many ISPs {{w|outsourcing|outsource}} their support staff to foreign countries to reduce costs, and/or they delegate first-tier support to workers with little or no training. Typically, these workers are given general scripts that prompt the customer to try common troubleshooting steps, such as restarting the computer, without any specific knowledge of the customer's complaint. While these scripts may help resolve problems for the average customer, a representative using such a script is usually unprepared to assist someone who has a more advanced problem. Furthermore, these scripts generally assume that the problem is on the customer's end and do not acknowledge problems that occur within the ISP, such as server or line problems.<br />
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Customers like Cueball often find it frustrating to deal with representatives reading from scripts. As Randall mentions in the title text, this frustration is magnified when the representative refuses to move on to the next step until the customer has performed the previous one, whether or not it necessary or helpful. In cases like this, it's often necessary to request an escalation to a higher "tier" of support, or to speak to a supervisor who presumably has more knowledge and/or influence, though even that can sometimes be a painful process. Thus, it is easy to see why Cueball would be elated to discover a way to automatically connect with the most helpful technical support representatives whenever he has a problem.<br />
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Cueball is running {{w|Haiku (operating system)|Haiku}}, an {{w|open source}} operating system which is still in a state of active development, having had no official release as of yet. While low-level tech support operators are given scripts which are predicated on the assumption that many computer problems are actually caused by the actions of clueless end users (as, in fact, they are), it's exceedingly unlikely most of these first-tier operators would have even heard of Haiku, not to mention that their scripts' assumptions would never apply to the sort of person who would be using an experimental OS as opposed to {{w|Windows}}, for instance. (Note that when trying to explain Haiku, Cueball accidentally composes a haiku.)<br />
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"Shibboleet" is a portmanteau of "shibboleth" and "leet". A "{{w|shibboleth}}" means any word, custom, or other signifier which is used by members of a group to recognize other members or those who are "in the know" about something. Its use originates in the Hebrew Bible, where the precise pronunciation of this word was used to distinguish Gileadites from Ephramitites. {{w|Leet}} (based on the word "elite") refers to "leet-speak", a practice of character substitution and abbreviation common across the Internet (or "teh 1n73rn3t", as you would say in leet). Thus, "shibboleet" is a shibboleth used to identify someone whose computer-knowledge is "elite."<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is on the phone, and holding up some networking hardware.]<br />
:Cueball: ...restart my computer? I know you have a script to follow, but the uplink light on the modem is going off every few hours. The problem is between your office and the modem.<br />
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:Cueball: My computer has nothing to do with... okay, whatever, I "restarted my computer."<br />
:Cueball: It's still down, and even if it comes back, it's going to die again in a few hours, because your—<br />
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:Cueball: I don't ''have'' a start menu. This is a Haiku install, but that's not import—<br />
:Cueball: Haiku? It's an experimental OS that I ... oh, never mind.<br />
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:Cueball: I'm sorry, but this won't get fixed until I talk to an engineer. Can you look around for someone wearing cargo pants, maybe a subway map on their wall?<br />
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:[The tech support person on the other end is wearing a headset, and looks around.]<br />
:Tech: There's a chick two phones over with a stuffed penguin doll and a poster of some bearded dudes with swords.<br />
:Cueball: Perfect. Can you put her on?<br />
:Tech: Sure.<br />
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:[Cueball is now talking to the engineer.]<br />
:Cueball: Hey, so sorry to bother you, but my connection—<br />
:Engineer: Yeah, I see it. Lingering problems from a server move.<br />
:<type type><br />
:Engineer: Should be fixed now.<br />
:Cueball: Thank you ''so much.''<br />
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:Engineer: No problem. Hey, in the future, if you're on any tech support call, you can say the code word "shibboleet" at any point and you'll be automatically transferred to someone who knows a minimum of two programming languages.<br />
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:Cueball: Seriously?<br />
:Engineer: Yup. It's a backdoor put in by the geeks who built these phone support systems back in the 1990's.<br />
:Engineer: Don't tell anyone.<br />
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:Cueball: Oh my god, this is the greatest—<br />
:[Cueball wakes up.]<br />
:Cueball: Wha—<br />
:Cueball: ... ''Dammit.''<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Computers]]<br />
[[Category:Dreams]]</div>173.245.56.61https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:559:_No_Pun_Intended&diff=109117Talk:559: No Pun Intended2016-01-11T18:59:32Z<p>173.245.56.61: add comment</p>
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<div>To be fair, internalising anything from a girlfriend... or a girlfriend internalising anything from a boyfriend.... could have some implications. Which wasn't intended here I'm sure. [[Special:Contributions/122.148.216.22|122.148.216.22]] 08:21, 14 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Perhaps, but that's not a pun. That's a double entendre in the strictest sense. Anonymous 05:29, 4 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
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This needs an incomplete flag. --[[User:Mynotoar|Mynotoar]] ([[User talk:Mynotoar|talk]]) 22:31, 10 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
:So, just give us a reason. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:55, 10 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
::Sorry, the title text needs explanation, and I think it needs more detail, especially as it doesn't really explain the punchline. --[[User:Mynotoar|Mynotoar]] ([[User talk:Mynotoar|talk]]) 23:13, 10 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
:::The incomplete tag is set. I did copy your remarks. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:32, 11 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Is the fact that this explanation is set as incomplete ironic? Surely the point of this post is that there IS no punchline - the victim is searching the sentence for humour that does not exist. As the alt text explains, the more literate the victim, the more they will agonize over potential wordplay which is simply not present. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.237|141.101.98.237]] 07:30, 12 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Inserting "if you'll pardon the pun" into a phrase with no pun is a recurring joke on "A Bit of Fry and Laurie". {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.60}}<br />
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A great comeback to this, if you're quick enough to realize it, comes courtesy of the Get Fuzzy comic strip: "No pun... implemented." [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.61|173.245.56.61]] 18:59, 11 January 2016 (UTC)Krkn</div>173.245.56.61https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:947:_Investing&diff=53092Talk:947: Investing2013-11-19T20:38:43Z<p>173.245.56.61: </p>
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<div>Accounting for inflation, you'll probably end up losing money if you're just relying on bank interest for income. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 10:04, 9 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
:Losing money compared to what? Even if inflation is 3%, getting 2% interest in a bank is better than getting 0% interest under your mattress... [[Special:Contributions/72.169.224.98|72.169.224.98]] 14:09, 6 December 2012 (UTC)<br />
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::Losing money compared to $1 spending power from the start date to $1 spending power at the end date, regardless of how much interest is earned, you still can't buy the same amount of stuff. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]<span title="I'm an admin. I can help.">_a</span> ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:00, 6 December 2012 (UTC)<br />
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:::Actually, putting money in the bank, you lose more in inflation than you gain in interest. It's really a scam. However, by putting it under your mattress, you're taking it out of circulation and, in effect, increasing its value through deflation. It really IS a better alternative. At least until you put it back into circulation, then the deflation is undone but, by then, it's no longer in your hands so what the hell do you care?[[Special:Contributions/76.29.225.28|76.29.225.28]] 06:01, 8 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
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:::: Unless you own a bank, it's unlikely that the quantity of money you're able to store in your mattress will have any effect on the rate of inflation. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.61|173.245.56.61]] 20:38, 19 November 2013 (UTC)<br />
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::An alternative to investing in a bank account is to do with your money what the bank intends to do with your money, which is to loan it to other people at a higher interest rate, higher than the rate of inflation. Of course, some fraction of these loans will never be repaid, and you can't simply withdraw your money whenever you feel like it, so this type of scheme works better if you have tons of money to begin with-- more than just a thousand dollars seed money.[[Special:Contributions/63.155.139.54|63.155.139.54]] 14:39, 26 April 2013 (UTC)<br />
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:::You don't really have to have the money. You just have to be buddy-buddy with the Fed. Banks are allowed to lend out ten times more money than they actually have.[[Special:Contributions/76.29.225.28|76.29.225.28]] 06:01, 8 July 2013 (UTC)<br />
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:::I see! So in order to avoid having to use a bank, you should... become a bank! ...oh.--[[Special:Contributions/199.244.214.110|199.244.214.110]] 20:42, 2 May 2013 (UTC)<br />
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::::Banks don't have the luxury of being able to put all their money in insured term deposits. [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 03:08, 3 May 2013 (UTC)</div>173.245.56.61https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1078:_Knights&diff=53025Talk:1078: Knights2013-11-18T15:57:07Z<p>173.245.56.61: </p>
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<div>At the beginning of a chess game, neither knight can move to e3. The proper move (and the move actually made, in the picture) is Nf3. The Nc3 move is correct.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/128.187.97.21|128.187.97.21]] 23:44, 29 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
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: Indeed, thanks for pointing that out; the move was corrected on xkcd.com, so I did the same here. - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 13:53, 30 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
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Why didn't black move? {{unsigned ip|108.162.246.120}}<br />
He did. The lines represent black pawns raining down a hail of arrows to kill the knights.</div>173.245.56.61