Editing 3151: Window Screen

{{comic
| number    = 3151
| date      = October 6, 2025
| title     = Window Screen (UI)
| image     = window_screen_2x.png
| imagesize = 1480x598px
| noexpand  = false
| titletext = The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine or Home Improvement or DIY
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by user interface. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] believes he should receive a {{w|Nobel Prize}} for creating a custom screen for a particularly troublesome window, due to what he considers to be the immense amount of work and consideration that went into it. He is writing to the {{w|Nobel Foundation}} to nominate himself. (The Foundation does not currently accept self-nominations, or nominations from random individuals.)

A {{w|window screen}} is most often used to block insects, other small animals, and debris from passing through an open window, while allowing air and light. One can also make a mesh that attaches to the outside of the glass to display an outward-facing image or limit incoming light. Most windows are flat and rectangular, and pre-made meshes for these can be measured and cut with basic tools. Some windows have complex shapes. It can be very difficult to design a screen that neatly matches a complex glass surface.

An {{w|Angle#Types_of_angles|oblique angle}} is any angle that is not a multiple of 90 degrees (not a right or straight angle). While right angles allow for intuitive mapping of sides to an X-Y coordinate plane, acute or obtuse angles indicate that at least one side will have endpoints that differ in both coordinates. This requires extra calculations.

Curved edges require extra care to measure and cut. Circular or semi-circular windows follow a constant curve that can be traced with limited effort, but the window in the comic is irregular.

{{w|Coplanarity|Noncoplanarity}} is a state where all elements of a system cannot be represented on the same plane. This implies that the window is not flat, suggesting that the glass is curved, and/or that the surrounds that the screen had to be fitted to did not match the shape of the window. The shape in the comic could possibly occur if the room featured in the first and third panels was at least partly conical, with the window narrowing to match the wall sloping inward to a central point above (this would also fit the earlier mention of multiple curved edges). The glass could also be shaped into an outward bubble. Either way, the mesh must be carefully shaped.

Perfectly fitting a custom screen to such a window may be a significant technical accomplishment that the builder may wish to share with acquaintances. However, it is generally not considered near the level of one of the world's most prestigious awards, which often recognize years of effort, rather than something that Cueball did between the "this weekend" and the present (at most one week).

Since no Nobel Prize currently exists that would cover recognition of Cueball's achievement, the title text suggests extending the existing prize in physiology or medicine to also cover home improvement and DIY. [[Randall]] likely chose this prize because it is already anomalous in containing an 'or' in its title, where the other prizes mention only a single area of endeavour.


==Trivia==
At the time this comic was released, there was a technical error making it too large to fit into the page on normal desktop/laptop screens. Since [[1084: Server Problem#Trivia|1084: Server Problem]], two versions of each comic are usually available: normal (1x) and high-resolution (2x). This makes the comic look sharp even on high-DPI screens, such as phones, tablets, and some more expensive computer displays. In this case, however, the 2x version was accidentally uploaded as ''both'' versions, making the 1x comic twice as large as it should be. It is possible that Randall did this intentionally as an added punchline.

Users with this issue can zoom in with their browsers (Ctrl+mouse scroll up) to see the comic better. If the screen is large enough, you might consider always reading xkcd on 200% zoom to see the higher resolution comics.

This issue was fixed at some point between 14:57 and 15:54, 7 October 2025 (UTC).

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:[The text for the first panel appears above the panel itself.]
:This weekend,
:I had to make an oversized screen for a porch window.
:[Cueball is looking out through a window with a straight bottom, slanting sides and a curved upper edge.]

:[In each of the remaining panels, the text appears within the panel but above the illustration.]
:It involved countless tiny problems, each somehow way harder than it should be. 
:Oblique angles. Curved edges. Noncoplanarity.
:[Cueball is shown pondering various problems involving geometry and angles.]

:... I solved them all.
:I measured precisely. I did trigonometry. I made custom parts.
:And it fit '''''perfectly.'''''
:No gaps, no ripples.
:[Cueball with slightly more hair, looking at the window covered by a bordered mesh.]

:I know that your foundation normally limits its purview to physics, medicine, peace, chemistry and literature.
:However, if you review the attached photo showing how well the screen fits into the...
:[Cueball is revealed to be sitting at a computer, typing a message.] 

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]