explain xkcd:Sandbox
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Latest comic[edit]
| Creation |
 Title text: This xkcd.com update introduces a variety of new reading modes which can be activated through the menu. |
| < Previous April Fools' Day comics |
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To experience the interactivity of the web page, visit the original comic!
Explanation[edit]
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This is incomplete: This page was created recently in ROBOTIC MODE. Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page! |
This comic was created when modes were added to the xkcd website, on April Fool's Day, through a selectable drop-down list below the comic. This allows various different viewing options for the entire website, including older comics. Some are 'normal', like the typical "light" and "dark" modes, but others take such things in further and/or more esoteric ways. This includes an "airplane mode" (see below) that parodies and subverts the normal implementation.
The comic references one of the first lines of the Bible (Genesis 1:3), where God creates light, but then a person on Earth asks to turn on dark mode, referencing the new options.
Unlike most comics, the title text isn't really a joke, it merely 'explains' the update and gives basic instructions.
The comic credits the "Excellent Design Team", consisting of Amber, Benjamin Staffin, and Kevin who helped create the modes.
Table of Modes[edit]
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| Light Mode | The classic site appearance, with no actual changes to the appearance applied. |
| Lighter Mode | The entire web page is overexposed, making colors wash out and reducing the contrast. |
| Dark Mode | A standard "white content on black background" dark mode. Inverts the comic’s black and white pixels (see umwelt) which makes the content of this particular comic nonsensical. |
| Darkest Mode | Everything on the webpage turns completely black, sans the drop down menu which is merely a dark gray. |
| Blurry Mode | Blurs the entire webpage. |
| Grayscale Mode | Applies a standard grayscale conversion filter to the entire webpage. |
| Greyscale Mode | Like Grayscale Mode, but also changes the spelling of "math" in the slogan at the top of the page to "maths" (as in British English). |
| Dorian Greyscale Mode | Makes the webpage slowly turn grey. This refers to The Picture of Dorian Gray, in which the titular character has a portrait that slowly ages and fades out while the character stays young and handsome. |
| Space Opera Mode | Turns the entire page into a Star Wars-style opening scroll. |
| 3D Mode | Makes the comic render in anaglyphic stereoscopy. |
| Origami Mode | Rotates and folds various pieces of the webpage. |
| Ink Mode | Recolors the webpage as if drawn in blue ink. |
| Spring Mode | Gives the comic a simple physics simulation, making it slightly rotate as the page is scrolled. |
| Antipodes Mode | Turns the entire webpage upside down. An antipode is the point on the Earth's surface directly opposite of another, but "The Antipodes" is also term used for Australia and New Zealand by inhabitants of the northern hemisphere. Note: When the comic was first published this was labeled "Southern Hemisphere Mode". |
| Hacker Mode | Recolors the entire webpage in the stereotypical "green on black" hacker color scheme. |
| Screensaver Mode | Makes the comic float around on the webpage, bouncing as it hits the edges. |
| Modem Mode | Slowly reveals the comic top to bottom, as if slowly loading, accompanied with modem static audio playing. |
| Stained Glass Mode | Colors each closed area of the comic in a separate color. The colors vary each time this mode is selected. |
| Airplane Mode | Makes the comic fly around on the page, with a "NYOOM!" written next to it. This is unlike the usual use of "airplane mode" to refer to disabling the cellphone (or all RF) features of a mobile device. |
| Boat Mode | Makes the entire webpage tilt back and forth, emulating the way a boat rolls on the water. (It has been previously used as a reference in the Footnote, which says "Remove your device from airplane mode and set it to Boat Mode). |
Transcript[edit]
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This is one of 41 incomplete transcripts: Don't remove this notice too soon. If you can fix this issue, edit the page! |
[Panel 1. Black background with white caption boxes.]
Caption 1: And God said,
Caption 2: "Let there be light,"
[Panel 2. A bright explosion of light from a star in the center.]
Caption: And there was light.
[Panel 3. The star with bright rays of light is shown against the horizon of a planet.]
[Panel 4. The same planet horizon is shown with a clear sky above.]
Caption: God saw that the light was-
Voice from the planet: Can you add support for dark mode?
Add comment 
Create topic (use sparingly) 
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Make changes, try things out, or just have fun with the wiki here! Just leave everything above the line alone, please.
This is a test. PoolloverNathan[stalk the blue seas] 20:48, 16 March 2021 (UTC)
- This is not. —While False (museum | talk | contributions | logs | rights | printable version | page information | what links there | related changes | Google search | current time: 06:31) 18:38, 17 November 2022 (UTC)
- A foreign student asked me to help fight against his math teacher. That was unusual. He was in that class for just a couple of weeks. The teacher's phone number was sent to me. The student asked me to spam-call the teacher. 172.71.155.55 22:58, 18 September 2023 (UTC)
here i'm just messing around in html, ignore this
furhhfghure guyrburgryhuyvfr "rvhru"
interesting way of writing quotations xd
- hmmm this one of putting "<p>" in a line break will come in handy for when i want it to start at the same place than the first line
edit: da hek did that "</div>" come from An user who has no account yet (talk) 14:14, 13 October 2023 (UTC)
hi uh its hard to get here.
is this a reference to undocumented feature??? hmm... this is interesting.
108.162.241.216 02:05, 23 November 2023 (UTC)
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yum yum [citation needed]
Hiuiedeixgeyceiyedhcdiedcve {{trout}}
This is the leaderboard:Last 7 days (Top 50) |
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<a href=" [AT THE JULY 28TH MEETING][tab] "Cancel the meeting! Our cover is blown."> More testing: hello doesthiswork (yesitdoes) This isn't a good name (talk) 22:44, 28 January 2026 (UTC)
hi 164.58.172.158 14:21, 23 February 2026 (UTC)
What is this?????????????????????? King Pando (talk) 04:25, 10 March 2026 (UTC) Add commentNew here?[edit]
Last 30 days (Top 10) |
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You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at explain xkcd. Feel free to create an account and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for xkcd comics, characters, What If? articles, and everything in between. If it is referenced in an xkcd comic, it should be here.
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Recent comments:2 April 2026
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Talk:3227: Creation (9 changes | history) . . (+4,613) . . [King Pando; Dratini0; Commercialegg; Vaedez; Orion205; 85.206.187.35; 82.132.237.40; 2601:241:8002:3e0:5cad:3e02:93ff:fb00; 170.142.177.145] |
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Talk:3225: Satellite Pollution (3 changes | history) . . (+386) . . [SammyChips (3×)] |
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Talk:1595: 30 Days Hath September (2 changes | history) . . (+424) . . [Maur11cio (2×)] |
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(cur | prev) . . (+338) . . Maur11cio (talk | contribs) (Life hack: How many work days in a month) |
| 09:38 | Talk:969: Delta-P (diff | hist) . . (+509) . . 81.1.2.155 (talk) (Response on time passing differently in Narnia) |
