https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=188.114.102.243&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T01:49:53ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1461:_Payloads&diff=1002441461: Payloads2015-08-25T13:07:33Z<p>188.114.102.243: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1461<br />
| date = December 17, 2014<br />
| title = Payloads<br />
| image = payloads.png<br />
| titletext = With a space elevator, a backyard full of solar panels could launch about 500 horses per year, and a large power plant could launch 10 horses per minute.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
A larger version of the image can be found [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/payloads_large.png here].<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is an infographic representing the launch mass of various spacecraft and artificial satellites, and the {{w|Low Earth orbit|low Earth orbit}} payload capacity of various space launch vehicles. Rather than using standard units of mass such as kilograms or pounds, Randall has assigned values based on the mass of a horse. Based on cross checking researched masses and payloads with the number of horses depicted, it appears that one horse unit is defined as 450 kg (with an average of 432.82<br />
kg), or perhaps 1000 lb. In cases where the mass is less than one horse, an alternative measure of dogs has been used, where one dog appears to be roughly 40 kg (with an average of 48.05kg, or perhaps 100lb.). In the case of {{w|Vanguard 1}}, even a dog is too large a measure, so instead the unit squirrel is used to represent its 1.47 (3.5lb.?) kg mass.<br />
<br />
The overall comic may be an allusion to {{w|horsepower}}, a similar-sounding but completely different concept. Horsepower is a measurement of {{w|power (physics)|power}} ({{w|work (physics)|work}} per unit time). Another commonly referenced unit for power is the {{w|watt}}. 1 horsepower is meant to be approximately the amount of power a horse can deliver. In contrast, Randall uses the horse to measure {{w|mass}} (of particular spacecraft, and of the maximum payload launch vehicles can carry).<br />
<br />
The top pane of the comic (black background) shows the mass of various spacecraft, while the bottom (white background) shows the payload capacity (to low Earth orbit) of launch vehicles. Along the bottom of the image is a timeline, relating to the launch date of the entries.<br />
<br />
There are also several joke insertions:<br />
*T-Rex - A dinosaur, but fairly unlikely to be found orbiting Earth.<br />
*Pegasus - An actual {{w|Pegasus (rocket)|launch vehicle}}, but also the name of a {{w|Pegasus|mythical flying stallion}}. The payload is given as "one Pegasus", which comes out to be slightly less than "one horse".<br />
*Atlas-Centaur - Again, an actual {{w|Atlas-Centaur|launch vehicle}}, but also a reference to the half-human half-horse creatures of Greek mythology. The payload is given in "centaurs", which come out to be slightly more than "horses".<br />
*1981 {{w|Oldsmobile}} - Not a launch vehicle, but in fact a car. The payload is given as 4 horses, which may relate to the carrying capacity (by weight) of the Oldsmobile, not the ability of an Oldsmobile to launch that payload into low Earth orbit. While there are no known examples of an Oldsmobile reaching low Earth orbit, the [[w:Blues Brothers]] movie shows an Oldsmobile performing a very, very long flight, and this might be the reason why Randall chose this specific car.<br />
<br />
The Pegasus, 1981 Oldsmobile, and Stratolaunch spacecraft are depicted horizontally, because these vehicles launch from a horizontal starting position and use forward momentum to facilitate their launch.<br />
<br />
An unlabelled launch vehicle is shown below the H-IIA near 2002. From the payload and date it is believed to represent the {{w|Delta IV#Delta IV Medium|Delta IV M}}. Whether its lack of labelling is intended or a mistake in unknown.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to a favourite subject of Randall's - The {{w|space elevator}}. A space elevator is a (currently theoretical) mechanism for travelling into space, consisting of a very long (>35,000km) cable and counterweight connected to the Earth at the equator. The cable rotates at the same rate as the earth, and thus appears stationary when viewed from earth. It is then possible to climb the cable into space, and even use it as a slingshot to launch vehicles.<br />
<br />
In the title text, the amount of power required to lift a horse into space has been investigated, with the launch capacity of a back yard solar array and large power station compared. A rudimentary (and possibly incorrect) calculation in the discussion section puts the required power output of the solar array at 315kW and the power station at 3.3GW.<br />
<br />
===Tables===<br />
The tables below contain data relating to each entry on the comic image.<br />
<br />
*Name - Should be as shown in the comic<br />
*Launch date - Date of first flight<br />
*Mass/payload (horses) - Value as given in comic<br />
*Mass/payload (kg) - Independently researched value<br />
<br />
Where the researched launch date or mass/payload don't seem to match the comic, they should be identified with <sup>?</sup><br />
<br />
{| <br />
|- style="vertical-align:top;"<br />
|<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
!colspan="4"|Spacecraft mass<br />
|-<br />
!Spacecraft<br />
!Launch date <sup>''{{w|ISO 8601}}''</sup><br />
!Mass (horses)<br />
!Mass (kg)<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Sputnik 1|Sputnik}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/sputnik1.htm]</sup><br />
|1957-10-04<br />
|2 Dogs<br />
|83.6<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Vanguard 1}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/vanuard1.htm]</sup><br />
|1958-03-17<br />
|Squirrel<br />
|1.47<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Pioneer 5}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/pioneer5.htm]</sup><br />
|1960-03-11<br />
|Large Dog<br />
|43<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Venera 1}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/venra1va.htm]</sup><br />
|1961-02-12<br />
|1<br />
|643.5<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Mariner 2}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/marner12.htm]</sup><br />
|1962-08-27<br />
|3 Dogs<br />
|202.8<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Apollo Command/Service Module|Apollo}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/apolocsm.htm]</sup><br />
|1964-05-28<br />
|67<br />
|30,329<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Venera 7}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/ven3vv70.htm]</sup><br />
|1970-08-17<br />
|3<br />
|1,180<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Pioneer 10}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/pior1011.htm]</sup><br />
|1972-03-03<br />
|7 Dogs<br />
|258.8<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Skylab}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/skylab.htm]</sup><br />
|1973-05-14<br />
|171<br />
|77,088<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Venera 9}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/venra4v1.htm]</sup><br />
|1975-06-08<br />
|11<br />
|4,936<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Voyager 2}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/voyager.htm]</sup><br />
|1977-08-20<br />
|2<br />
|800<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Space Shuttle|Shuttle (Total)}}<sup>[http://www.braeunig.us/space/specs/orbiter.htm]</sup><br />
|1981-04-12<br />
|206<br />
|104,328<sup>?</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Space Shuttle|Shuttle (Payload)}}<br />
|1981-04-12<br />
|54<br />
|24,400<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Mir}}<br />
|1986-02-20<br />
|288<br />
|129,700<br />
|-<br />
|T-Rex<br />
|N/A<br />
|15<br />
|6,800<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Hubble}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/hst.htm]</sup><br />
|1990-04-24<br />
|25<br />
|11,110<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Compton Gamma Ray Observatory}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/gro.htm]</sup><br />
|1991-04-05<br />
|38<br />
|17,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Corona_(satellite)|Keyhole 3}}†<br />
|1961<br />
|40<br />
|1150<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|International Space Station}}<br />
|1998<br />
|932<br />
|450,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Cassini-Huygens|Cassini}}<br />
|1997-10-15<br />
|11<br />
|5,300<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Huygens (spacecraft)|Huygens Lander}}<br />
|1997-10-15<br />
|1<br />
|319<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}}<br />
|2004-03-02<br />
|6<br />
|2,900<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity}}<br />
|2003-07-07<br />
|5 Dogs<br />
|185<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Dawn (spacecraft)|Dawn}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dawn.htm]</sup><br />
|2007-09-27<br />
|3<br />
|1,240<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|TerreStar-1|Terrastar}}*<br />
|2009-07-01<br />
|15<br />
|6,910<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Dragon (spacecraft)|Dragon}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/craft/dragon.htm]</sup><br />
|2010-06-04<br />
|17<br />
|8,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Tiangong-1}}<br />
|2011-09-29<br />
|19<br />
|8,506<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Curiosity (rover)|Curiosity}}<br />
|2011-11-26<br />
|2<br />
|900<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|KH-7 Gambit|Keyhole 7}}†<br />
|1963-07-12<br />
|40<br />
|2000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Orion (spacecraft)|Orion (Capsule)}}<br />
|2014-12-05<br />
|20<br />
|8,913<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|James Webb Space Telescope|James Webb Telescope}}<br />
|2018-08 (Projected)<br />
|14<br />
|6,200<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Orion (spacecraft)|Orion}}<br />
|2014-12-05<br />
|20<br />
|8,913<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Orion Service Module}}<br />
|2017 (Projected)<br />
|25<br />
|12,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Deep Space Habitat|Orion Deep Space Habitat}}<br />
|2021 (Projected)<br />
|65<br />
|28,750 & 45,573<br />
|}<br />
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Terrastar is believed to be a mis-spelling of {{w|TerreStar-1|TerreStar}}, based on its mass and launch date.<br />
<br />
<nowiki>†</nowiki>Keyhole 3 and 7 seem to be errors; Keyhole 3 satellites were launched between 1961 and 1962 and Keyhole 7 between 1963 and 1967.<br><br />
The dates and masses in the comic more closely correspond to the {{w|KH-11 Kennan|Keyhole 11}}.<br />
|<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
!colspan="4"|Launch vehicle capacity<br />
|-<br />
!Spacecraft<br />
!Launch date <sup>''{{w|ISO 8601}}''</sup><br />
!Payload (horses)<br />
!Payload (kg)<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Sputnik (rocket)|Sputnik Launcher}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/spuk71ps.htm]</sup><br />
|1957-10-04<br />
|1<br />
|500<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Thor-Able|Thor}}<br />
|1958-04-24<br />
|3 Dogs<br />
|120<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Mercury-Atlas}}<br />
|1960-07-29<br />
|3<br />
|1,360<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Saturn I}}<br />
|1961-10-27<br />
|20<br />
|9,070<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Proton-K}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/protonk.htm]</sup><br />
|1967-03-10<sup>?</sup> <br />
|44<br />
|19,760<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Atlas-Centaur}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlntaur.htm]</sup><br />
|1962-05-08<br />
|8 Centaurs<br />
|3,630<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Titan IIIA}}<br />
|1964-09-01<br />
|7<br />
|3,100<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Saturn IB}}<br />
|1966-02-26<br />
|45<br />
|21,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Soyuz (rocket)|Soyuz}}<br />
|1966-11-28<br />
|14<br />
|6,450<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Saturn V}}<br />
|1967-11-09<br />
|262<br />
|118,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Black Arrow}}<br />
|1969-06-27<br />
|4 Dogs<br />
|135<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|N1 (rocket)|N1}}<br />
|1969-02-21<br />
|211<br />
|90,000<sup>?</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Long March 1}}<br />
|1969-11-16<br />
|2<br />
|300*<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|N-I (rocket)|N-I}}<br />
|1975-09-09<br />
|4<br />
|1,200<sup>?</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Delta 0100|Delta 0900}}<br />
|1972-07-23<br />
|3<br />
|1,300<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Ariane 1}}<br />
|1979-12-24<br />
|3<br />
|1,400<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Satellite Launch Vehicle|SLV}}<br />
|1979-08-10<br />
|1 Dog<br />
|40<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|N-II (rocket)|N-II}}<br />
|1981-02-11<br />
|4<br />
|2,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Oldsmobile#1970s-1980s|1981 Oldsmobile}}<br />
|1981<br />
|4<br />
|N/A (Model dependent)<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|ASLV}}<br />
|1987-03-24<br />
|4 Dogs<br />
|150<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Long March 4A}}<br />
|1988-09-06<br />
|9<br />
|4,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Ariane 4}}<br />
|1988-06-15<br />
|16<br />
|5,000-7,600<sup>?</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Shavit}}<br />
|1988-09-19<br />
|6 Dogs<br />
|350-800<sup>?</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Energia}}<br />
|1987-05-15<br />
|218<br />
|100,000*<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Pegasus (rocket)|Pegasus}}<br />
|1990-04-05<br />
|1 Pegasus<br />
|443<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Atlas I}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/atlasi.htm]</sup><br />
|1990-07-25<br />
|13<br />
|3,630<sup>?</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|PSLV}}<br />
|1993-09-20<br />
|8<br />
|3250<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|J-I}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/j1.htm]</sup><br />
|1996-02-11<br />
|2<br />
|850<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Long March 3B}}<br />
|1996-02-14<br />
|27<br />
|12,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|H-IIA}}<br />
|2001-08-29<br />
|22<br />
|10,000<br />
|-<br />
|(unlabelled) {{w|Delta IV#Delta IV Medium|Delta IV M}}<sup>?</sup>*<br />
|2002-09-20<br />
|21<br />
|4200-6882<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Delta IV Heavy|Delta IV-H}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/delheavy.htm]</sup><br />
|2004-12-21<br />
|64<br />
|28,790<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Falcon 1}}<br />
|2006-03-24<br />
|1<br />
|670 (Proposed)<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Ariane 5#Variants|Ariane 5ES}}<sup>[http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/arine5es.htm]</sup><br />
|2008-03-09<br />
|47<br />
|21,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|H-IIB}}<br />
|2009-09-10<br />
|37<br />
|19,000<sup>?</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Unha}}<br />
|2009-04-05<br />
|2 Dogs<br />
|100<sup>[http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/nwgs/Wright-Analysis-of-NK-launcher-3-18-09.pdf]</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Atlas V|Atlas V 541}}<br />
|2011-11-26<br />
|38<br />
|17,443<sup>[http://www.lockheedmartin.com/data/assets/ssc/cls/AVUG_Rev11_March2010.pdf]</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Falcon 9}}<br />
|2013-09-29<br />
|29<br />
|13,150<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Antares (rocket)|Antares}}<br />
|2013-04-21<br />
|14<br />
|6,120<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Stratolaunch carrier aircraft|Stratolaunch}}<br />
|2016 (Projected)<br />
|14<br />
|6,100<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Falcon Heavy}}<br />
|2015 (Projected)<br />
|118<br />
|53,000<br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Space Launch System|SLS Block 1}}<br />
|2018-11 (Projected)<br />
|156<br />
|70,000<sup>[http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/664158main_sls_fs_master.pdf]</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Space Launch System|SLS Block 1B}}<br />
|2021 (Projected)<br />
|217<br />
|100,000<sup>?</sup><br />
|-<br />
|{{w|Space Launch System|SLS Block 2}}<br />
| 2030's (Projected)<br />
|289<br />
|130,000<sup>[http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/664158main_sls_fs_master.pdf]</sup><br />
|}<br />
<br />
*The unlabelled launch vehicle is believed to be the Delta IV M, based on its payload and date.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript}}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>188.114.102.243https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1311:_2014&diff=97978Talk:1311: 20142015-07-17T17:12:00Z<p>188.114.102.243: </p>
<hr />
<div>Just a note that the PNG file for this comic is (or was initially) actually a TIFF file with a PNG extension. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.236.19|108.162.236.19]] 05:37, 1 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
:And now it's fixed. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.45|173.245.54.45]] 06:07, 1 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I presume most of the quotes are genuine, but surely Randall has made up the one about subsisting on jellies? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.219|141.101.99.219]] 11:08, 1 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:I wouldn't be so sure. The Book-Lover - Vol. 4. (No. 17 to 22) 1903 [http://www.abebooks.com/Book-Lover-Vol-1903-Poe-Edgar-Allan/1224029705/bd contains] Poe, Edgar Allan and Dickens, Charles and Emerson, Ralph Waldo ... maybe it refers to some of Poe's horror stories? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:10, 1 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Spherical jelliies and creams were very fashionable in the era in which it was written, so it may have been simply a prediction of great luxury for the future. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.4|108.162.237.4]] 14:37, 1 January 2014 (UTC)(Kyt)<br />
<br />
:Here's the Book-lover reference: [http://books.google.com/books?id=jaA5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA264&lpg=PA264&dq=%22subsist+entirely+upon+jellies%22+wells&source=bl&ots=HsYajMhDZP&sig=yU1TMIIUcNQfh_-TUh4raXboYn8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OEPEUuq0MtDzoATWzYHwAw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22subsist%20entirely%20upon%20jellies%22%20wells&f=false]<br />
::Two sections from the H.G. Wells book it came from (When the Sleeper Wakes):<br />
::"There were several very comfortable chairs, a light table on silent runners carrying several bottles of fluids and glasses, and two plates bearing a clear substance like jelly."<br />
::"They gave him some pink fluid with a greenish fluorescence and a meaty taste, and the assurance of returning strength grew."<br />
:::-- Jim Gillogly [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.15|108.162.215.15]] 16:50, 1 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Ok ... William Carey Jones quote: [https://archive.org/stream/universitycalif08goog/universitycalif08goog_djvu.txt] ... I would say that while technically true, he didn't meant it because he doesn't refer to first world war but instead some problems of American democracy which were probably forgotten ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:21, 1 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Christopher Baldwin: [http://books.google.cz/books?id=Fiu4czMiCeYC] ... I would say good luck with preserving everything printed :-), but the idea is certainly good and projects like Google Books are attempting to solve the problem he was talking about. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:25, 1 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
::Actually, no. Google Books is trying to make printed books accessible on-line. That does not make them more preserved, just more accessible. Paper books (provided they're printed on acid-free paper) are actually more likely to be preserved and readable two centuries from now than are electronic media, which must be periodically refreshed. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.87}}<br />
<br />
:::Both paper books and electronic media must be periodically refreshed. Electronic media must be refreshed more often, but on the other hand, they may be refreshed more quickly. Compare time it takes to reprint book (even if you use scanner, OCR and high-speed printer) with time it takes to copy the PDF from older HDD to newer. If we manage to evade World War III, it is easily possible the folder "all data obtained in 2014" will still exist in Google datacenters, safely mirrored to all locations, thousands years after all paper printed today will turn to dust. Archaeologist of 40th century wouldn't dig real dirt, they would dig in exabytes of digital archives, trying to find the real important stuff between stuff someone stored simply because storage capacity was cheap enough. (On the other hand, if we DON'T evade World War III, there wouldn't be any archaeologists in 40th century. It's not like the ruins would be safe to enter anyway.) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:29, 25 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Found the reference to Shakespearian rope bridges...<br />
http://books.google.com/books?id=BJIeAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA126&lpg=PA126&dq=oriental+herald+postmaster&source=bl&ots=7_NUMfRlPW&sig=6d6WLenjQBjOiGJBDoQjIa-FYkk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Q0XEUuKbKsTpoATP-4HgCg&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=oriental%20herald%20postmaster&f=false {{unsigned|Androgenoide}}<br />
<br />
Found the reference to Spherical jellies: http://books.google.com/books?id=8IckAQAAIAAJ&lpg=PA87&ots=WRVY13FRwM&dq=%22subsist%20entirely%20upon%20jellies%22&pg=PA87#v=onepage&q=%22subsist%20entirely%20upon%20jellies%22&f=false [[User:Zeeprime|Zeeprime]] ([[User talk:Zeeprime|talk]]) 17:57, 1 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Found another reference to Shakespearian rope bridges. In short, some British officer called Mr. Shakespeare experimented and promoted the use of rope suspension bridges in India, apparently for the ease of colonization and military operations. http://books.google.com/books?id=aZRPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA367 -furrypony [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.181|173.245.48.181]] 21:21, 1 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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This looks like the actual rope bridge quote: http://books.google.com/books?id=8nyrbv2d_EUC&pg=PA115&dq=oriental+herald+%22bard+of+avon%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=g5_IUruFMIyPkAffrIDIAQ&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=oriental%20herald%20%22bard%20of%20avon%22&f=false {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.11}}<br />
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Is it possible that the highlighted words can be shuffled to reveal a hidden message? Has Randall done this before? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.214|141.101.99.214]] 07:53, 2 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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The fourth quote (.."rocked and cradled by electricity"..) seems to appear in The Champagne Standard by LANE, Annie Eichberg (Mrs. John Lane). [http://archive.org/stream/champagnestandar00lane/champagnestandar00lane_djvu.txt] {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.224}}<br />
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;regarding the languages of new york city<br />
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http://languagehat.com/doing-field-linguistics-in-new-york-city/ {{unsigned ip|173.245.53.168}}<br />
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;Tone of the explanation<br />
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I find the tone of the explanation as it stands right now not to be in line with the rest of the explanations available on the site. For example:<br />
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By the twenty-first century I believe we shall all be telepaths.<br />
Absurd<br />
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The plain "absurd" does not provide an explanation, only a judgement. It would be more useful it the explanation contained a link to a source with the quote, to provide context. Or provide a short bio for the person credited with the explanation. I understand the fascination behind arguing against or for the prediction, but that does not explain the comic. For example, you '''could''' argue that this particular prediction is in a sense accurate. Nowadays we all communicate in a way that people from a century ago would consider almost telepathic, given that "telepathy" means "distant experience". No, we are not mind readers, but a lot of us carry a device in our pockets that allows us to experience things at a distance.<br />
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Also, I wonder why some sentences are in boldface. I tried reading only the bold text, and it is not coherent enough. I tried reading the grey text, and it isn't coherent either. I tried several other ways of reading the texts, and I cannot find any "hidden meaning".<br />
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:I believe it's just to highlight content. The grey or non-bold text is (for the most part) non-essential to the content of the quote. {{unsigned ip|173.245.52.213}}<br />
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--[[User:Mem|mem]] ([[User talk:Mem|talk]]) 16:10, 2 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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:I see I'm not the only one who thought of cellphones when he read that sentence. I've edited the article to reflect this explanation. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 17:39, 2 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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It seems to me that Randall believes that bolded text is false and grey text is true.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.62|173.245.50.62]] 16:13, 2 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
:This makes no sense. Most of the grey text has little content, and Abortion is still a very debated topic. {{unsigned ip|173.245.52.213}}<br />
: I think it's just for emphasis. He used a similar style in [[1227: The Pace of Modern Life]] to highlight the bits that particularly resonate with modern times, e.g., the writer in 1905 who complained that people converse while riding their bikes, oblivious to their surroundings. [[User:Fryhole|Fryhole]] ([[User talk:Fryhole|talk]]) 20:53, 6 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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There is also the recent budding prospect of technologically assisted telepathy, such as was recently done with small laboratory rodents. While not exactly "everyone" just yet, (ahem), the prospect is certainly not "absurd". Technologically enabled telepathy certainly looks possible, and given the rate of technological progress of this century, the prediction could well come true.<br />
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http://news.discovery.com/tech/biotechnology/two-rats-communicate-brain-to-brain-130227.htm<br />
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[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.84|108.162.221.84]] 17:06, 2 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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''Technologically assisted telepathy'' redefines the word telepathy. For example Random House says ''communication between minds by some means '''other than sensory perception''''' (my emphasis). Collins: ''the communication between people of thoughts, feelings, desires, etc, involving mechanisms that '''cannot be understood in terms of known scientific laws''''' (my emphasis). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.84|173.245.50.84]] 17:51, 2 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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Note also that the novel is talking about natural telepathy, like the one birds may have. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.84|173.245.50.84]] 22:15, 4 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.208|108.162.219.208]] 17:16, 2 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
I suspect that most -- but not all -- of the "predictions" are apocryphal. For instance, I can indeed find the Gumbril (not "Gumbriel") character and citation in Huxley's "Antic Hay". However, the statement attributed to a methodist preacher and proselytizer (who really existed) in Upper Canada in 1864 seems to me totally out of character, and very hard to believe for the period. It was essentially the French who called themselves "Canadiens". The "others" still saw the place they lived in as an extension of the UK. To wit, John A. MacDonald, who famously wired "Send me another $10,000", also said "A British Subject I was born, a British Subject I shall die".<br />
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;electric baby rearing<br />
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It should be noted that this quote was wrong about making love being a sanctuary from electric devices. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.78}}<br />
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Regarding languages spoken: according to <br />
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http://www.ethnologue.com/statistics/size<br />
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English is only third in languages spoken as primary language after Chinese and Spanish, while closely followed by Hindi and Arabic. I would not be too sure, if English will win out in NYC.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.222|108.162.231.222]] 17:19, 3 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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According to this report from the New York State comptroller's office dated 2006,<br />
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http://www.osc.state.ny.us/osdc/rpt3-2007queens.pdf<br />
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there are about 170 languages spoken in Queens. If that's at all accurate, it means that language diversity in New York hasn't shrunk but indeed nearly tripled.<br />
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--[[User:Dotour|Dotour]] ([[User talk:Dotour|talk]]) 10:21, 4 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
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I think the quote about colleges, football, and partying is included as an aversion. Football is still huge in the south, and partying everywhere. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.60|173.245.50.60]] 16:53, 25 January 2014 (UTC) (P.S. Apparently this comment got eaten by ??? so I had to post it twice. Weird.)<br />
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If not a typo, is it worth mentioning that the guy in the title text is called "Shakespear" not "Shakespeare" but all you modern guys apparently ignored the difference? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.56|108.162.215.56]] 15:31, 9 February 2014 (UTC)<br />
:Could be a typo in the quoted Oriental Herald article. The book referenced above spells it "Shakespeare". [[User:Brion|Brion]] ([[User talk:Brion|talk]]) 17:08, 13 March 2014 (UTC)<br />
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English is not my native language, but surely "barrieres" is a typo, right? I'll edit it. If I'm wrong, please revert it. And, if this comment is absolutely unnecessary, please delete it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.125|108.162.219.125]] 02:58, 10 February 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I was curious about what was meant by "petting parties", and I found this article: http://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/05/26/409126557/when-petting-parties-scandalized-the-nation<br />
It seems to me that what the original quote meant by petting party, is now totally a thing of the past :-) --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.243|188.114.102.243]] 17:12, 17 July 2015 (UTC)</div>188.114.102.243