1: Barrel - Part 1 - Revision history

FaviFake: Randall also never calls cuball "Cueball", but we don’t call him " a guy with a round head"

2025-09-20T12:38:21Z

Randall also never calls cuball "Cueball", but we don’t call him " a guy with a round head"

82.132.244.254: /* Transcript */ Will make just this one rechange, not to the later examples. But Randall directly refered to "the barrel boy" not "Barrel Boy", in his comics. Either way, " in his barrel" is somewhat redundant, so choosing this simplification.

2025-09-17T14:07:54Z

‎Transcript: Will make just this one rechange, not to the later examples. But Randall directly refered to "the barrel boy" not "Barrel Boy", in his comics. Either way, "<that name> in his barrel" is somewhat redundant, so choosing this simplification.

FaviFake: Undo revision 386688 by 92.17.62.87 (talk) same reason as before

2025-09-16T15:11:24Z

Undo revision 386688 by 92.17.62.87 (talk) same reason as before

92.17.62.87: Undo revision 386634 by BobcatInABox (talk) He's clearly "a boy in the barrel", but the name "Barrel Boy" is not self-evident. (And a "barrel boy" could be carrying/throwing barrels/etc.).

2025-09-15T19:51:44Z

Undo revision 386634 by BobcatInABox (talk) He's clearly "a boy in the barrel", but the name "Barrel Boy" is not self-evident. (And a "barrel boy" could be carrying/throwing barrels/etc.).

BobcatInABox: /* Transcript */

2025-09-15T15:32:40Z

‎Transcript

BobcatInABox: /* Explanation */

2025-09-10T21:26:51Z

‎Explanation

FaviFake: /* Trivia */

2025-07-27T18:19:23Z

‎Trivia

FaviFake at 18:57, 25 April 2025

2025-04-25T18:57:12Z

FaviFake at 20:22, 24 April 2025

2025-04-24T20:22:34Z

FaviFake at 20:22, 24 April 2025

2025-04-24T20:22:04Z

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{notice|Despite being categorised as comic #1, this was the fifth xkcd comic released by Randall. The first xkcd comic was actually {{nowrap|[[7: Girl sleeping (Sketch -- 11th grade Spanish class)]]}}. To learn more, read the [[LiveJournal|history of xkcd]].}}
 {{comic
 | number    = 1

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[Barrel Boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
+:[A boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
-:Barrel Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?
+:The barrel boy: i wonder where i'll float next?
-:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of Barrel Boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]
+:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of the boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]
 ==Trivia==

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[A boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
+:[Barrel Boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
-:Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?
+:Barrel Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?
-:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of the boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]
+:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of Barrel Boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]
 ==Trivia==

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[Barrel Boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
+:[A boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
-:Barrel Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?
+:Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?
-:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of Barrel Boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]
+:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of the boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]
 ==Trivia==

@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ==Transcript==
-:[A boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
+:[Barrel Boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
-:Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?
+:Barrel Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?
-:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of the boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]
+:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of Barrel Boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]
 ==Trivia==

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 ==Explanation==
-This is the first comic in the [[:Category:The Boy and his Barrel|The Boy and his Barrel series]], which shows a young boy floating in a barrel in an ocean that doesn't have a visible end. It comments on the unlikely optimism and perhaps naïveté people sometimes display. The [[Barrel Boy]] is completely lost and seems hopelessly alone, without any plan or control of the situation. Yet rather than afraid or worried, he is instead quietly curious: "I wonder where I'll float next?" Although not necessarily the situation in this comic, this is a behavior people often exhibit when there is nothing they can do about a problematic situation for a long time; they may have given up hope or developed a cavalier attitude as a coping mechanism. The isolation of the boy may also represent the way in which we often feel lost through life, never knowing quite where we are, believing that there is no one to whom to turn. In [[1110: Click and Drag]] there is a reference to this comic at {{1110|1|n|48|e}}. ''{{w|Wired (magazine)|Wired}}'' determined a [http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/12/should-dwarves-stand-up-in-floating-barrels/ more realistic description] of the behaviour of a barrel in the water.
+This is the first comic in the [[:Category:The Boy and his Barrel|The Boy and his Barrel series]], which shows a young boy floating in a barrel in an ocean that doesn't have a visible end. It comments on the unlikely optimism and perhaps naïveté people sometimes display. The [[Barrel Boy]] is completely lost and seems hopelessly alone, without any plan or control of the situation. Yet rather than afraid or worried, he is instead quietly curious: "I wonder where I'll float next?" Although not necessarily the situation in this comic, this is a behavior people often exhibit when there is nothing they can do about a problematic situation for a long time; they may have given up hope or developed a cavalier attitude as a coping mechanism. The isolation of the boy may also represent the way in which we often feel lost through life, never knowing quite where we are, believing that no one can be turned to, and being lonely because of that. In [[1110: Click and Drag]] there is a reference to this comic at {{1110|1|n|48|e}}. ''{{w|Wired (magazine)|Wired}}'' determined a [http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/12/should-dwarves-stand-up-in-floating-barrels/ more realistic description] of the behaviour of a barrel in the water.
 This is the first in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features [[Barrel Boy]], a character that is different from what would quickly become the xkcd [[stick figure]] style. The full series can be found [[:Category:The Boy and his Barrel|here]]. After Randall released the full [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel] story on the site, it became clear that the original comic [[20: Ferret]] was also part of the series. The comics are listed in the order chosen by Randall:

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 ==Trivia==
-* This is the first comic not drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].
+This is the first comic not drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]] and the first comic featuring [[Barrel Boy]].
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 }}
-This was the fifth comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]], and the next one was [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]]. It was among the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|first thirteen comics]] posted to LiveJournal within 12 minutes on September 30, 2005, on the first day of the xkcd LiveJournal account.
+This was the fifth comic [[LiveJournal|originally posted to LiveJournal]]. The previous one was [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]], and the next one was [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]]. It was among the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|first thirteen comics]] posted to LiveJournal within 12 minutes on September 30, 2005, on the first day of the xkcd LiveJournal account.
 ==Explanation==
 This is the first comic in the [[:Category:The Boy and his Barrel|The Boy and his Barrel series]], which shows a young boy floating in a barrel in an ocean that doesn't have a visible end. It comments on the unlikely optimism and perhaps naïveté people sometimes display. The [[Barrel Boy]] is completely lost and seems hopelessly alone, without any plan or control of the situation. Yet rather than afraid or worried, he is instead quietly curious: "I wonder where I'll float next?" Although not necessarily the situation in this comic, this is a behavior people often exhibit when there is nothing they can do about a problematic situation for a long time; they may have given up hope or developed a cavalier attitude as a coping mechanism. The isolation of the boy may also represent the way in which we often feel lost through life, never knowing quite where we are, believing that there is no one to whom to turn. In [[1110: Click and Drag]] there is a reference to this comic at {{1110|1|n|48|e}}. ''{{w|Wired (magazine)|Wired}}'' determined a [http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/12/should-dwarves-stand-up-in-floating-barrels/ more realistic description] of the behaviour of a barrel in the water.