https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=74.213.186.41&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T10:58:08ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1019:_First_Post&diff=32120Talk:1019: First Post2013-04-01T17:01:33Z<p>74.213.186.41: </p>
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<div><span style="color: red"> Consistent posting order . . . .</span><br />
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With a Wiki, you can edit the posting order any way you want, there's no reason you have to add your comments to the bottom [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 20:15, 20 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
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[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=first First!!] (ok, bad joke...)--[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 19:36, 20 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
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I personally prefer seeing comments in chronological order, especially if the respondents reply to each other. I find it very annoying to see the reply before I've had a chance to read the original. The current comment system on Slate (where not only do new comments appear first, the page defaults to auto-updating, so the comments move down the page as you are trying to read them) is especially horrible. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 20:15, 20 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
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<span style="color: red">. . . . is overrated.</span> [[Special:Contributions/74.213.186.41|74.213.186.41]] 17:01, 1 April 2013 (UTC)</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1003:_Adam_and_Eve&diff=32096Talk:1003: Adam and Eve2013-04-01T13:56:40Z<p>74.213.186.41: </p>
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<div>No problem, the ten commandments didn't exist back then. '''[[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:18, 18 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
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There's a "forbidden fruit" joke somewhere in here. [[User:Alpha|Alpha]] ([[User talk:Alpha|talk]]) 20:35, 23 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Missing from the explanation here is that Abel logically must have slept with his own mother because, according to the Biblical account, there were in fact no other women in existence. [[Special:Contributions/66.224.70.107|66.224.70.107]] 00:22, 22 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Actually, it is generally acknowledged that Adam and Eve had children, including daughters, who were not mentioned in the bible. Remember, God marked the brow of Cain to show all the people he encountered that he was a fratricide; where did all those people come from? [[Special:Contributions/74.213.186.41|74.213.186.41]] 13:56, 1 April 2013 (UTC)</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1000:_1000_Comics&diff=32085Talk:1000: 1000 Comics2013-04-01T13:10:01Z<p>74.213.186.41: </p>
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<div>Cueball does not think in multiples of 2, he thinks in base 2 (or powers of 2). I fixed it. [[Special:Contributions/134.102.123.217|134.102.123.217]] 10:35, 10 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
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In the original Blog format of this website, someone named Phillip had [http://www.explainxkcd.com/2012/01/06/1000-comics/#comment-19950 shared the following]: <br />
:"Spoiler ( http://rot13.com/index.php ): Pbaarpg gur ovanel ahzoref ba gur fznyy fvtaf va cnvag-ol-ahzoref znaare."<br />
Hint: copy/paste the weird looking text into the text field provided in the above mentioned website. Even after decryption, I couldn't follow what he meant, but I was hoping someone out there can do so and then explain it differently, thanks. It's a real mystery. [[User:DelendaEst|DelendaEst]] ([[User talk:DelendaEst|talk]]) 08:47, 22 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
: Added hidden image to Trivia section. --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 11:06, 22 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
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Just curious... The explanation says there are 1000 characters in the drawing. Are there 998 + Megan & Cueball? or do they make 1002? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 11:06, 22 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
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: The transcript says "1000 characters ... are arranged to create the number "1000". Two more people stand in the foreground" so I think Megan & Cueball make it 1002. [[User:Coombeseh|Coombeseh]] ([[User talk:Coombeseh|talk]]) 10:56, 12 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
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There's a WOPR machine saying "would you like to play a game?" [[Special:Contributions/116.76.165.167|116.76.165.167]] 05:51, 28 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
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I noticed Barrel Boy isn't on here... [[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 19:10, 31 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
: Barrel Boy is bottom right on the second "O", just above "WOOOO!" [[User:Coombeseh|Coombeseh]] ([[User talk:Coombeseh|talk]]) 10:56, 12 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
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Well about what cueball says another interesting fact is that the number 1024 is used commonly in computer data, 1024 megabytes makes a gigabyte and so on...<br />
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:So, has anyone noticed that this wasn't actually Randall's thousandth comic, but rather his 999th? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User talk:Schiffy|talk]]) 16:44, 12 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
::Is there a numbered comic that was omitted?[[Special:Contributions/74.213.186.41|74.213.186.41]] 13:10, 1 April 2013 (UTC)</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1000:_1000_Comics&diff=32084Talk:1000: 1000 Comics2013-04-01T13:09:03Z<p>74.213.186.41: </p>
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<div>Cueball does not think in multiples of 2, he thinks in base 2 (or powers of 2). I fixed it. [[Special:Contributions/134.102.123.217|134.102.123.217]] 10:35, 10 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
In the original Blog format of this website, someone named Phillip had [http://www.explainxkcd.com/2012/01/06/1000-comics/#comment-19950 shared the following]: <br />
:"Spoiler ( http://rot13.com/index.php ): Pbaarpg gur ovanel ahzoref ba gur fznyy fvtaf va cnvag-ol-ahzoref znaare."<br />
Hint: copy/paste the weird looking text into the text field provided in the above mentioned website. Even after decryption, I couldn't follow what he meant, but I was hoping someone out there can do so and then explain it differently, thanks. It's a real mystery. [[User:DelendaEst|DelendaEst]] ([[User talk:DelendaEst|talk]]) 08:47, 22 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
: Added hidden image to Trivia section. --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 11:06, 22 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Just curious... The explanation says there are 1000 characters in the drawing. Are there 998 + Megan & Cueball? or do they make 1002? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 11:06, 22 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
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: The transcript says "1000 characters ... are arranged to create the number "1000". Two more people stand in the foreground" so I think Megan & Cueball make it 1002. [[User:Coombeseh|Coombeseh]] ([[User talk:Coombeseh|talk]]) 10:56, 12 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
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There's a WOPR machine saying "would you like to play a game?" [[Special:Contributions/116.76.165.167|116.76.165.167]] 05:51, 28 September 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I noticed Barrel Boy isn't on here... [[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 19:10, 31 October 2012 (UTC)<br />
: Barrel Boy is bottom right on the second "O", just above "WOOOO!" [[User:Coombeseh|Coombeseh]] ([[User talk:Coombeseh|talk]]) 10:56, 12 November 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Well about what cueball says another interesting fact is that the number 1024 is used commonly in computer data, 1024 megabytes makes a gigabyte and so on...<br />
<br />
:So, has anyone noticed that this wasn't actually Randall's thousandth comic, but rather his 999th? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User talk:Schiffy|talk]]) 16:44, 12 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
::Is there a numbered comic that was omitted?13:09, 1 April 2013 (UTC)</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=998:_2012&diff=32082998: 20122013-04-01T13:00:17Z<p>74.213.186.41: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 998<br />
| date = January 2, 2012<br />
| title = 2012<br />
| image = 2012.png<br />
| titletext = To compensate for this, I plan to spend 2013 doing nothing but talking about Mayans. My relationships with my friends and family may not fare well.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
Happy New Year everyone! This comic is in reference to the fact that the {{w|Maya civilization|Mayans}}, an ancient civilization in the {{w|Central America|America}}s, created a calendar that ends (or, more accurately, restarts) on Dec 21st, 2012. This date is regarded as the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the calendar used by the Mayan culture. Knowing this, some thought that the world was going to end on that date.<br />
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Consequently, a lot of people were talking about the Mayans, concerned that the world might end. After December 21st, 2012 passed uneventfully, everyone was less concerned about the Mayans, because the world didn't end. It is worthy of note that this comic was published nearly a year ''before'' the "significant" date and that Randal predicted both the hype and the aftermath perfectly.<br />
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There is a measure of irony to be had in how the Mayans who still exist today were largely ignored by the doomsayers. "Or acknowledging that huge city-building ancient American civilizations existed at all."<br />
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In the final frame, [[Megan]] parodies the phrase, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it," applying a twist to suggest an academic context. In most American schools, a Grade Point Average is computed by assigning numeric value to each letter grade: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, and F=0; receiving high marks (all A's) thus yields a 4.0 GPA. However, if you "Fail to learn from History" — that is, get a failing grade, F, and had at least 3 other classes (not an unusual course load) — you would still get a 3.0 with A's in those other classes. She is making the callous — if roundabout — observation that failing to grasp history, while no doubt troubling, isn't an academic show-stopper (perhaps explaining why so many Americans are so bad at it.)<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Megan are talking.]<br />
:Cueball: Well, it's 2012.<br />
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:[[This panel has no upper and lower borders.]<br />
:Cueball: Yup.<br />
:Megan: Only 354 days left until everybody abruptly stops talking about Mayans.<br />
:Cueball: Or thinking about Mayans.<br />
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:Cueball: Or acknowledging that huge city-building ancient American civilizations existed at all.<br />
:Megan: You know what they say — those who fail to learn from history can still manage a 3.0 if they ace their other subjects.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=985:_Percentage_Points&diff=31526985: Percentage Points2013-03-28T17:20:40Z<p>74.213.186.41: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 985<br />
| date = December 2, 2011<br />
| title = Percentage Points<br />
| image = percentage_points.png<br />
| imagesize = <br />
| titletext = Grayton also proposed making college scholarships available exclusively to sexually active teens, amnesty for illegal immigrants who create room for themselves by killing a citizen, and a graduated income tax based on penis size. He has been endorsed by Tracy Morgan, John Wilkes Booth's ghost, and the Time Cube guy.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
Senator Grayton is a fictional name, made up for this comic, which is a bit surprising as the names used in xkcd are usually references to something.<br />
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A line on each of the issues that Grayton fictionally supports:<br />
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*Tax Breaks to Drunk Drivers - Grayton proposed to give money back on their taxes for people who have been convicted of a DUI or DWI. Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Intoxicated<br />
*{{w|Predator Drones}} and the {{w|Christmas controversy|War on Christmas}} - The War on {{w|Christmas}} is a not a real war, it is simply (some) {{w|Christian}}s who believe that non-Christians are trying to get rid of Christmas trees, Christmas music and the endless barrage of Christmas-themed nonsense we get from Thanksgiving to Christmas.<br />
*College Scholarships to Sexually Active Teens - Not sure how they would test for this on the scholarship application, but it is funny nonetheless.<br />
*Illegal Immigrants Who Murder - This is an argument for immigration, but only if they make "room" and possibly an open job for themselves by getting rid of another person. This one is pretty evil.<br />
*Income Tax Based on Penis Size - Wow, this one would never pass! (depends on what they did with it ... i.e.: are we taxed less if we're smaller - sign me up!)<br />
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On To the Names:<br />
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*{{w|Tracy Morgan}} is an actor in the TV Show {{w|30 Rock}}, who plays {{w|Tracy Jordan}}, he is known for his outlandish statements on politics and everything else in the world. He has been reprimanded for controversial comments on homosexuals and {{w|Sarah Palin}} (in separate incidents).<br />
*{{w|John Wilkes Booth}} is the person who assassinated {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}. He was a sympathizer with the {{w|Confederate}} cause and was for slavery and all its trappings.<br />
*{{w|Time Cube}} Guy is Gene Ray, also known as Otis E. Ray. He has a website known as Time Cube (Thanks Wikipedia) where he sets out his personal model of reality, which he calls Time Cube. He suggests that all of modern physics is wrong, in addition to claiming religion to be evil, specifically Christianity, and the idea of family is poisoning children.<br />
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Ok, finally to the numbers:<br />
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If his polling is at 20% and drops by 19%, without specifying percentage points, that means that his support has only dropped 3.8 percentage points, because 19% of 20% is only 3.8%. That would mean after all his outrageous statements, his support dropped from 20% to 16.2%. However, if they had said his 20% polling dropped 19 percentage points, that would mean his support has dropped to 1%. Therefore, the distinction is important.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
[An average news anchor reading news copy of below average intelligence appears on a TV, with one person watching it in utter disgust]<br />
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News Anchor: Senator Grayton's campaign has imploded following the candidate's promise to give tax breaks to drunk drivers and to authorize the use of unmanned Predator drones in the War On Christmas. Grayton had been polling at 20%, but his support has since plunged by 19%.<br />
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I hate the ambiguity created when people don't distinguish between percentages and percentage points.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Politics]]</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:973:_MTV_Generation&diff=31514Talk:973: MTV Generation2013-03-28T15:52:45Z<p>74.213.186.41: </p>
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<div>Yeah, so it made them bad parents. Still a valid complaint. On a side note, how old must White Hat be to be dismissive of the MTV generation himself? '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|purple|David}}<font color=green size=3px>y</font></u><font color=indigo size=4px>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 08:19, 9 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
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Actually it's worse. The MTV generation is nearly 50. Some are grandparents. -[[Special:Contributions/74.213.186.41|74.213.186.41]] 15:52, 28 March 2013 (UTC)</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:956:_Sharing&diff=31470Talk:956: Sharing2013-03-28T12:21:33Z<p>74.213.186.41: </p>
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<div>- What can we learn from this? -<br />
I've learned that DRM does not work (Thank you Mr. XKCD for reminding us). As with Creative Commons used by Mr. XKCD each idea should be shared as freely as possible, if it is thought out well and proves helpful to others, we will reward the author of such a great idea with riches beyond their wildest dreams (such as through Movie and Marketing rights owned by madam J.K. Rowling to got our children to read again). - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:55, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
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What is it about the digital medium that makes people feel that the hard work of others should be available to them for free? We all agree that it is wrong to steal a (physical) book from a bookstore. However, now that the tablet has been invented, authors should give away their hard work for free and write on a volunteer basis as a public service? Certainly there are problems to be resolved when Apple and Amazon are profiting disproportionately from digital sales (as compared to authors and artists), however exploitation of artists by publishers is not a new phenomenon and was never an issue for the hacker set until entertainment went digital and they had access to free stuff. There are those on-line who think that the internet should offer-up everything for free but this attitude forgets that there is a cost to creating art and if that price is not paid, far fewer art will be created.. JB. [[Special:Contributions/74.213.186.41|74.213.186.41]] 12:21, 28 March 2013 (UTC)</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:954:_Chin-Up_Bar&diff=30774Talk:954: Chin-Up Bar2013-03-22T19:16:08Z<p>74.213.186.41: </p>
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<div>I know the Wheaton Metro station and its escalator very well (I live about 5 miles from there). There are several issues with the comic.<br />
*There isn't a convenient place that the panels showing diagonal motion (1-6 & 10) can be shown from. The entire escalator set is in a solid tube through the rock. I guess that it could be done from the *third* escalator.(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_(WMATA_station) ) (This would be with (viewed from the bottom, the center going up, the left going down and the right either not moving or going up)<br />
*There are emergency cut off boxes both at the top and the bottom of the escalators.<br />
*There is a kiosk about 40 feet from the top of the escalator staffed by an employee next to the fare gates.<br />
*In panel 9 there are two raised disks between the up and down escalators. While this is true in some of the other escalators, the ones for Wheaton are very close together and there is only one column of raised disks.[[User:Naraht|Naraht]] ([[User talk:Naraht|talk]]) 16:41, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
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- What can we learn from this? - That not all of the facts in XKCD comics are right, and some are outright exaggerated (thank you Mr. Naraht). I personally learned that life will keep hurting me on purpose until I figure out how to help myself (Thank you Life and thank you Mr. XKCD for this lesson). - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 16:46, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
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This is a comic. It's Fiction. It does not claim to be the "Wheaton Metro" escalator anyway - that was in the commentary. Relax. [[Special:Contributions/74.213.186.41|74.213.186.41]] 19:16, 22 March 2013 (UTC)</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:954:_Chin-Up_Bar&diff=30773Talk:954: Chin-Up Bar2013-03-22T19:14:58Z<p>74.213.186.41: </p>
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<div>I know the Wheaton Metro station and its escalator very well (I live about 5 miles from there). There are several issues with the comic.<br />
*There isn't a convenient place that the panels showing diagonal motion (1-6 & 10) can be shown from. The entire escalator set is in a solid tube through the rock. I guess that it could be done from the *third* escalator.(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_(WMATA_station) ) (This would be with (viewed from the bottom, the center going up, the left going down and the right either not moving or going up)<br />
*There are emergency cut off boxes both at the top and the bottom of the escalators.<br />
*There is a kiosk about 40 feet from the top of the escalator staffed by an employee next to the fare gates.<br />
*In panel 9 there are two raised disks between the up and down escalators. While this is true in some of the other escalators, the ones for Wheaton are very close together and there is only one column of raised disks.[[User:Naraht|Naraht]] ([[User talk:Naraht|talk]]) 16:41, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
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- What can we learn from this? - That not all of the facts in XKCD comics are right, and some are outright exaggerated (thank you Mr. Naraht). I personally learned that life will keep hurting me on purpose until I figure out how to help myself (Thank you Life and thank you Mr. XKCD for this lesson). - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 16:46, 28 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
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This is a comic. It's Fiction. It does not claim to be the "Wheaton Metro" escalator anyway. Relax.</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:899:_Number_Line&diff=30671Talk:899: Number Line2013-03-21T22:49:53Z<p>74.213.186.41: </p>
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<div>Where does sqrt(-1) go? [[Special:Contributions/67.78.183.206|67.78.183.206]] 19:07, 2 January 2013 (UTC)<br />
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:It goes up (literally above 0). A number line can be extended to a complex plane with sqrt(-1) as the unit of measurement in the vertical direction. Or at least, that's where it actually goes. I don't know where Randall would put it. [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 01:04, 5 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
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I'm sorry...are you indicating the ACTUAL location for an IMAGINARY number?</div>74.213.186.41https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1096:_Clinically_Studied_Ingredient&diff=95131096: Clinically Studied Ingredient2012-08-17T15:24:03Z<p>74.213.186.41: fixing typo</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1096<br />
| date = August 17, 2012<br />
| title = Clinically Studied Ingredient<br />
| image = Clinically Studied Ingredient.png<br />
| titletext = Blatantly banking on customers not understanding that it's like a Hollywood studio advertising that their new movie was 'watched by Roger Ebert'.<br />
| imagesize =<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is poking fun at a phrase which some ads use to boost sales of their product. They state that their product contains a "clinically studied ingredient", which consumers assume means that the product itself has been clinically tested and proven. However, the phrase is very ambiguous. Firstly, only a single ingredient has necessarily been studied, not the combined effect of all the ingredients in the product (which can produce drastically different effects). Secondly, the phrase just states an ingredient was clinically studied, and doesn't mention the findings of that study (which, for all we know, could have found the ingredient to be ineffective or harmful). In other words, the phrase is used in shrewd marketing techniques.<br />
<br />
In the comic, we come in the middle of a conversation with a female character telling [[Cueball]] that she's been tested. Although, she doesn't state what she was tested for, the implication is that they were talking about {{w|STD}}s. However, Megan does not reveal the results of the tests. When Cueball inquires, Megan acts like he is being unreasonable to also want that information. In this way, [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] is making an analogy to how the marketer might think consumers would be unreasonable to want to know the ''results'' of the clinical studys on the ingredient.<br />
<br />
In the title text, {{w|Roger Ebert}} is a famous film critic. However, we can expect most big name movies to be watched by him. Simply stating that he saw a movie doesn't necessarily mean that he liked it.<br />
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{{Comic discussion}}</div>74.213.186.41