1688: Map Age Guide - Revision history

FaviFake: this is what i meant.

2026-02-16T16:49:37Z

this is what i meant.

Maxcodes: Removed the Incomplete tag after moving "Errors Randall later fixed" to Trivia

2026-02-15T15:48:15Z

Removed the Incomplete tag after moving "Errors Randall later fixed" to Trivia

Maxcodes: Moved the British Tanganyika error to Trivia.

2026-02-15T15:45:17Z

Moved the British Tanganyika error to Trivia.

141.166.153.0: /* Table */

2025-10-02T21:15:53Z

‎Table

FaviFake: added Category:Turtles using HotCat

2025-07-28T12:59:38Z

added Category:Turtles using HotCat

FaviFake: /* Explanation */

2025-07-21T16:19:38Z

‎Explanation

FaviFake: added Category:Comics edited after their publication using HotCat

2025-07-21T16:17:14Z

added Category:Comics edited after their publication using HotCat

FaviFake: /* Explanation */

2025-07-21T16:12:54Z

‎Explanation

92.23.2.228: /* Explanation / Remove the need to update it again (and again and again). At least until it (belatedly) becomes true and that* needs to be mentioned.... ;)

2025-07-09T18:58:26Z

‎Explanation: Remove the need to update it again (and again and again). At least until it (belatedly) becomes true and *that* needs to be mentioned.... ;)

50.35.40.71: /* Explanation */

2025-07-09T03:19:00Z

‎Explanation

@@ Line 1,182: / Line 1,182: @@
 There are some errors and several discrepancies in the comic regarding how year ranges are given although it appears Randall has been fixing these errors. I-25 was built in 1970–1990 through New Mexico; see the [[#Table|table]] above for more info.
-Initially there was an error as this question was on a path from the British Tanganyika (directly above it) instead of from the "Fine" option of "Canada is.." but this has been fixed.
+In the [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fd/map_age_guide.png original version of the comic], there was an error in the 63rd balloon ("The town on I-25 between Albuquerque and El Paso is..."). This question was on a path from the British Tanganyika (directly above it) instead of from the "Fine" option of "Canada is.." but this has been fixed. Similarly, the 52nd question's ("Is most of West Africa a giant French blob?") "Yes" option pointed to the wrong balloon.
 {{comic discussion}}

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:48, 15 February 2026
Line 10:		Line 10:

	==Explanation==		==Explanation==
−	{{incomplete\|The original errors that Randall later fixed should go in the [[#Trivia]] section, not the explanation. Move them from the table into the trivia section and provide the original comic picture (with errors).}}
	The comic consists of a flowchart depicting various ways to tell what era a map is from based on present country borders and land forms. (Except in the Not a Political Map Branch (from "Can you see the familiar continents?" downwards), the comic applies to a political map.) While many of the options are very serious, a few bizarre options reference fictional maps (Pratchett's {{w\|Discworld}}, Lewis's {{w\|Narnia}} and Tolkien's {{w\|Middle-earth}}), or consider that cats, seagulls, staplers, tubas or breadboxes could be mistaken for a map. Randall also mentions US President {{w\|Jimmy Carter}} being [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_rabbit_incident attacked by a giant swimming rabbit], an event previously referenced as one we must never forget in [[204: America]].		The comic consists of a flowchart depicting various ways to tell what era a map is from based on present country borders and land forms. (Except in the Not a Political Map Branch (from "Can you see the familiar continents?" downwards), the comic applies to a political map.) While many of the options are very serious, a few bizarre options reference fictional maps (Pratchett's {{w\|Discworld}}, Lewis's {{w\|Narnia}} and Tolkien's {{w\|Middle-earth}}), or consider that cats, seagulls, staplers, tubas or breadboxes could be mistaken for a map. Randall also mentions US President {{w\|Jimmy Carter}} being [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_rabbit_incident attacked by a giant swimming rabbit], an event previously referenced as one we must never forget in [[204: America]].

@@ Line 776: / Line 776: @@
 ! 63
 | '''The town on I-25 between Albuquerque and El Paso is... '''
-| {{w|Interstate 25 in New Mexico|I-25}} didn't exist for any of the years listed for this item, since the Interstate Highway System wasn't launched until 1956.  The highway designation on maps printed during the years listed was {{w|U.S. Route 85#New Mexico|US-85}}, and it was first replaced by I-25 in 1970–1990.  The town changed its name from Hot Springs to "{{w|Truth or Consequences, New Mexico|Truth or Consequences}}" in 1950, although locals say that it provides more of the latter than of the former. Initially there was an error as this question was on a path from the British Tanganyika (directly above it) instead of from the "Fine" option of "Canada is.." but this has been fixed.
+| {{w|Interstate 25 in New Mexico|I-25}} didn't exist for any of the years listed for this item, since the Interstate Highway System wasn't launched until 1956.  The highway designation on maps printed during the years listed was {{w|U.S. Route 85#New Mexico|US-85}}, and it was first replaced by I-25 in 1970–1990.  The town changed its name from Hot Springs to "{{w|Truth or Consequences, New Mexico|Truth or Consequences}}" in 1950, although locals say that it provides more of the latter than of the former.
 |1949–1952
+|
@@ Line 1,182: / Line 1,182: @@
 ==Trivia==
 There are some errors and several discrepancies in the comic regarding how year ranges are given although it appears Randall has been fixing these errors. I-25 was built in 1970–1990 through New Mexico; see the [[#Table|table]] above for more info.
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 90: / Line 90: @@
 ! 5
 | '''Texas is...<br/>Part of Mexico?<br/>Independent?<br/>Part of the US?'''
-| {{w|Mexico}} (and before its independence, {{w|New Spain}}) occupied the area modern-day Texas from around 1718 ({{w|Spanish Texas|when the first permanent Spanish settlements were founded}}) to the {{w|Texas Declaration of Independence}} in 1836 (the comic apparently cited 1834 as the date) – the land called "Texas" was only a small part of the modern-day state. The {{w|Republic of Texas}} only lasted a decade and joined the US in 1846.
+| {{w|Mexico}} (and before its independence, {{w|New Spain}}) occupied the area modern-day Texas from around 1718 ({{w|Spanish Texas|when the first permanent Spanish settlements were founded}}) to the {{w|Texas Declaration of Independence}} in 1836 (the comic apparently cited 1834 as the date) – the land called "Texas" was only a small part of the modern-day state. The {{w|Republic of Texas}} only lasted a decade and joined the US in 1846. Note that this question does not take into account the American Civil War, as from 1861 to 1865, Texas was part of the Confederate States of America, not the US (or Mexico).
 | 1806–67
+|

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:59, 28 July 2025
Line 1,198:		Line 1,198:
	[[Category:Redwall]]		[[Category:Redwall]]
	[[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]		[[Category:Comics edited after their publication]]
		+	[[Category:Turtles]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-{{incomplete|The original errors that Randall later fixed should go in the [[#Trivia]] section, not the explanation. Move them from the table into the trivia section and provide an image of how the comic looked initially.}}
+{{incomplete|The original errors that Randall later fixed should go in the [[#Trivia]] section, not the explanation. Move them from the table into the trivia section and provide the original comic picture (with errors).}}
 The comic consists of a flowchart depicting various ways to tell what era a map is from based on present country borders and land forms. (Except in the Not a Political Map Branch (from "Can you see the familiar continents?" downwards), the comic applies to a political map.) While many of the options are very serious, a few bizarre options reference fictional maps (Pratchett's {{w|Discworld}}, Lewis's {{w|Narnia}} and Tolkien's {{w|Middle-earth}}), or consider that cats, seagulls, staplers, tubas or breadboxes could be mistaken for a map. Randall also mentions US President {{w|Jimmy Carter}} being [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_rabbit_incident attacked by a giant swimming rabbit], an event previously referenced as one we must never forget in [[204: America]].

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 }}
-* A [http://xkcd.com/1688/large/ larger version] of this image can be found by clicking the image at xkcd.com - the comic's page can also be accessed by clicking on the comic number above.
+A [http://xkcd.com/1688/large/ larger version] of this image can be found by clicking the image at xkcd.com - the comic's page can also be accessed by clicking on the comic number above.
 ==Explanation==
 The comic consists of a flowchart depicting various ways to tell what era a map is from based on present country borders and land forms. (Except in the Not a Political Map Branch (from "Can you see the familiar continents?" downwards), the comic applies to a political map.) While many of the options are very serious, a few bizarre options reference fictional maps (Pratchett's {{w|Discworld}}, Lewis's {{w|Narnia}} and Tolkien's {{w|Middle-earth}}), or consider that cats, seagulls, staplers, tubas or breadboxes could be mistaken for a map. Randall also mentions US President {{w|Jimmy Carter}} being [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_rabbit_incident attacked by a giant swimming rabbit], an event previously referenced as one we must never forget in [[204: America]].
@@ Line 1,196: / Line 1,197: @@
 [[Category:Chronicles of Narnia]]
 [[Category:Redwall]]

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 The flowchart, although probably effective in eventually identifying the production year of certain maps, is designed in a rather inefficient way, as some early distinctions are already on a very detailed level before some really important distinctions (fictional or non-political map) are made. This, of course, adds to the humorous tone of the comic. It is also hampered by several smaller or larger errors (see [[#Trivia|trivia]]), the biggest being a whole section on I-25 that gives years in the range 1948–1952, before I-25 was built, and coming from a question that fixed the year range to 1960–1961.
-Additionally, (possible) future maps including a "Radioactive Exclusion Zone" in the place of Colorado are mentioned. It predicts that some kind of nuclear incident will occur in Colorado (possibly at Rulison or Rio Blanco nuclear testing sites) in 2022. It also predicts that the area will be infested by radioactive spiders one year later. As it is now several years beyond that date, we see that both claims have been proven incorrect.{{Citation needed}}
+Additionally, (possible) future maps including a "Radioactive Exclusion Zone" in the place of Colorado are mentioned. It predicts that some kind of nuclear incident will occur in Colorado (possibly at Rulison or Rio Blanco nuclear testing sites) in 2022. It also predicts that the area will be infested by radioactive spiders one year later. As it is now several years beyond that date, we see that both claims have been proven incorrect.
 The title text continues the path where the user has confused a seagull for a map by inquiring if the (presumed) seagull might be a banshee based on the effect of its screams.
 ===Table===
-*Going through the flowchart, taking the leftmost path first, recursively. (Note there is no recursive loop, any loop is your mistake). See also {{w|Depth-first search}}.
+Going through the flowchart, taking the leftmost path first, recursively. (Note there is no recursive loop, any loop is your mistake). See also {{w|Depth-first search}}.
-**"Prior Date Range" is the range determined immediately before the question, carried over from the previous question.
+*"Prior Date Range" is the range determined immediately before the question, carried over from the previous question.
-**"Question Date Range" is the range each answer choice implies.
+*"Question Date Range" is the range each answer choice implies.
-**"New Date Range" is the intersection of the Prior Date Range and the Question Date Range for each choice, and is the range determined by all questions hitherto answered.
+*"New Date Range" is the intersection of the Prior Date Range and the Question Date Range for each choice, and is the range determined by all questions hitherto answered.
-{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
+{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable sortable"
 ! # !! Question !! Explanation !! Prior Date Range !! Question Date Range !! New Date Range
 |-

1688: Map Age Guide - Revision history

FaviFake: this is what i meant.

Maxcodes: Removed the Incomplete tag after moving "Errors Randall later fixed" to Trivia

Maxcodes: Moved the British Tanganyika error to Trivia.

141.166.153.0: /* Table */

FaviFake: added Category:Turtles using HotCat

FaviFake: /* Explanation */

FaviFake: added Category:Comics edited after their publication using HotCat

FaviFake: /* Explanation */

92.23.2.228: /* Explanation */ Remove the need to update it again (and again and again). At least until it (belatedly) becomes true and *that* needs to be mentioned.... ;)

50.35.40.71: /* Explanation */

92.23.2.228: /* Explanation / Remove the need to update it again (and again and again). At least until it (belatedly) becomes true and that* needs to be mentioned.... ;)