Thing Explainer - Revision history

2001:1C00:2901:7900:A17B:E4E7:3E77:72C2: Changed Sky touched to Sky toucher

2025-06-30T19:33:29Z

Changed Sky touched to Sky toucher

FaviFake at 15:00, 17 May 2025

2025-05-17T15:00:04Z

FaviFake at 10:32, 30 March 2025

2025-03-30T10:32:21Z

172.71.81.145: Added the fact that the Sky Toucher page is a poster.

2025-03-30T04:00:42Z

Added the fact that the Sky Toucher page is a poster.

172.71.81.145: /* References to comics */

2025-03-30T03:58:35Z

‎References to comics

172.71.81.183: My copy of the book says “Oh, the [humans]!”

2025-03-30T03:54:01Z

My copy of the book says “Oh, the [humans]!”

FaviFake at 17:43, 21 March 2025

2025-03-21T17:43:28Z

ConscriptGlossary: Fixed typo

2024-07-21T13:17:54Z

Fixed typo

Usb-rave: italicized titles

2024-06-04T02:01:08Z

italicized titles

172.70.114.5: /* Word decoder */

2024-01-30T02:19:32Z

‎Word decoder

@@ Line 85: / Line 85: @@
 There are 45 entries, but with the introduction, the list of used words and the acknowledgments taking up three, the total ends up at 48 explanations.
-*Note that the Sky touched chapter is actually a pull-out poster.
+*Note that the Sky toucher chapter is actually a pull-out poster.
 ==The ten hundred words people use the most==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{DISPLAYTITLE:''Thing Explainer''}}{{book navigation}}
-[[File:ThingExplainerBookCover.png|260px|right|thumb|The original cover of the book]][[File:New Thing Explainer cover.jpeg|260px|right|thumb|The new cover of the book]]{{TOC}}'''''Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words''''' is a book by [[Randall|Randall Munroe]] which explains things in the style of [[Up Goer Five]] (also included in the book), using only {{w|blueprint}} like drawings and a vocabulary of the 1,000 (or ''ten hundred'') most common words in the English language. Randall found his own method to determine which words would go on his list, a list that is revealed in the book. (It can also be found [https://www.xkcd.com/simplewriter/words.js here].)
+{{TOC}}[[File:ThingExplainerBookCover.png|260px|right|thumb|The original cover of the book]][[File:New Thing Explainer cover.jpeg|260px|right|thumb|The new cover of the book]]'''''Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words''''' is a book by [[Randall|Randall Munroe]] which explains things in the style of [[Up Goer Five]] (also included in the book), using only {{w|blueprint}} like drawings and a vocabulary of the 1,000 (or ''ten hundred'') most common words in the English language. Randall found his own method to determine which words would go on his list, a list that is revealed in the book. (It can also be found [https://www.xkcd.com/simplewriter/words.js here].)
 The book explores, among other things, computer buildings (datacenters), the flat rocks we live on (tectonic plates), the things you use to steer a plane (airliner cockpit controls), and the little bags of water you're made of (cells). See a summary below and also the [[#Things in this book by page|entire index from the book]] listing all the 45 different explanations.

@@ Line 224: / Line 224: @@
 **The commercial from above still stayed at the bottom below the comics even after April 1st 2016, until [http://web.archive.org/web/20160418061448/http://xkcd.com/ April 18th 2016].
 **On [http://web.archive.org/web/20160418185337/http://xkcd.com/ April 19th 2016] the last reference to Thing Explainer disappeared from main page.
- [[File:Thing Explainer promoted on xkcd.PNG]]
+[[File:Thing Explainer promoted on xkcd.PNG]]
 == Word decoder ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:00, 30 March 2025
Line 85:		Line 85:

	There are 45 entries, but with the introduction, the list of used words and the acknowledgments taking up three, the total ends up at 48 explanations.		There are 45 entries, but with the introduction, the list of used words and the acknowledgments taking up three, the total ends up at 48 explanations.
		+	*Note that the Sky touched chapter is actually a pull-out poster.

	==The ten hundred words people use the most==		==The ten hundred words people use the most==

@@ Line 197: / Line 197: @@
 :::*The other squirrels are under the pipe at the bottom of the explanation for ''Big tiny thing hitter'', in the top of the ''Tree'' and of course in the ''Tree of life''.
 ::*There are plenty of other animals including for instance {{w|Whales}} and {{w|ants}} who appear in several explanations
 ==Book Cover==

@@ Line 122: / Line 122: @@
 ***The tip of the Saturn V rocket can be seen at the top of ''Sky Toucher''
 ***The moon lander (and two astronauts) can been seen on the Moon in ''Worlds Around the Sun''.
-***In the explanation for ''The pieces everything is made of'' hydrogen is similarly "named" by showing a picture of the burning Hindenburg and using the same quote as in the comic, "Oh, the humanity", which becomes "Oh the Humans!" in the book vs. "Oh, the [Humans]!" in the comic.
+***In the explanation for ''The pieces everything is made of'' hydrogen is similarly "named" by showing a picture of the burning Hindenburg and using the same quote as in the comic, "Oh, the humanity", which becomes "Oh the [humans]!" in the book.
 **[[1608: Hoverboard]]. (See this [[1608:_Hoverboard#Reference_to_Thing_Explainer|extensive list]] of connections).
 *But there are also other comics that are directly or indirectly references in the book.

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:43, 21 March 2025
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Thing Explainer''}}	+	{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Thing Explainer''}}{{book navigation}}
	[[File:ThingExplainerBookCover.png\|260px\|right\|thumb\|The original cover of the book]][[File:New Thing Explainer cover.jpeg\|260px\|right\|thumb\|The new cover of the book]]{{TOC}}'''''Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words''''' is a book by [[Randall\|Randall Munroe]] which explains things in the style of [[Up Goer Five]] (also included in the book), using only {{w\|blueprint}} like drawings and a vocabulary of the 1,000 (or ''ten hundred'') most common words in the English language. Randall found his own method to determine which words would go on his list, a list that is revealed in the book. (It can also be found [https://www.xkcd.com/simplewriter/words.js here].)		[[File:ThingExplainerBookCover.png\|260px\|right\|thumb\|The original cover of the book]][[File:New Thing Explainer cover.jpeg\|260px\|right\|thumb\|The new cover of the book]]{{TOC}}'''''Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words''''' is a book by [[Randall\|Randall Munroe]] which explains things in the style of [[Up Goer Five]] (also included in the book), using only {{w\|blueprint}} like drawings and a vocabulary of the 1,000 (or ''ten hundred'') most common words in the English language. Randall found his own method to determine which words would go on his list, a list that is revealed in the book. (It can also be found [https://www.xkcd.com/simplewriter/words.js here].)

@@ Line 195: / Line 195: @@
 ::::"'''Wait'''
 ::::Why is this in your house?"
-:::*The other squirrels are under the the pipe at the bottom of the explanation for ''Big tiny thing hitter'', in the top of the ''Tree'' and of course in the ''Tree of life''.
+:::*The other squirrels are under the pipe at the bottom of the explanation for ''Big tiny thing hitter'', in the top of the ''Tree'' and of course in the ''Tree of life''.
 ::*There are plenty of other animals including for instance {{w|Whales}} and {{w|ants}} who appear in several explanations

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File:ThingExplainerBookCover.png|260px|right|thumb|The original cover of the book]][[File:New Thing Explainer cover.jpeg|260px|right|thumb|The new cover of the book]]{{TOC}}'''''Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words''''' is a book by [[Randall|Randall Munroe]] which explains things in the style of [[Up Goer Five]] (also included in the book), using only {{w|blueprint}} like drawings and a vocabulary of the 1,000 (or ''ten hundred'') most common words in the English language. Randall found his own method to determine which words would go on his list, a list that is revealed in the book. (It can also be found [https://www.xkcd.com/simplewriter/words.js here].)
 The book explores, among other things, computer buildings (datacenters), the flat rocks we live on (tectonic plates), the things you use to steer a plane (airliner cockpit controls), and the little bags of water you're made of (cells). See a summary below and also the [[#Things in this book by page|entire index from the book]] listing all the 45 different explanations.
-''Thing Explainer'' is Randall's second published book, not including xkcd comic books, which he announced on May 13th, 2015 in [http://blog.xkcd.com/2015/05/13/new-book-thing-explainer/ the blag] following the amazing success of his [[What If? (book)|what if? book]] based on the [[what if? (blog)|what if?]] blog.
+''Thing Explainer'' is Randall's second published book, not including ''xkcd'' comic books, which he announced on May 13th, 2015 in [http://blog.xkcd.com/2015/05/13/new-book-thing-explainer/ the blag] following the amazing success of his [[What If? (book)|''what if?'' book]] based on the ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'' blog.
-The book is a collection of diagrams and line drawings similar in style to the Up Goer Five comic, which can also be purchased as a poster. It was [[#Release day|published]] by {{w|Houghton Mifflin Harcourt}} on November 24th and is available from among others {{w|Amazon.com|Amazon}} to which [http://amzn.to/1GCXMJ5 a link] has been posted on xkcd for a long time.
+The book is a collection of diagrams and line drawings similar in style to the Up Goer Five comic, which can also be purchased as a poster. It was [[#Release day|published]] by {{w|Houghton Mifflin Harcourt}} on November 24th and is available from among others {{w|Amazon.com|Amazon}} to which [http://amzn.to/1GCXMJ5 a link] has been posted on ''xkcd'' for a long time.
 When the book was released, Randall collaborated with [https://www.youtube.com/@MinutePhysics Minute Physics] to publish a "commercial" [https://youtu.be/2p_8gx-XHJo version of the Upgoer comic].
 ==Release day==
-On the day of the book's release (even though it was a Tuesday) Randall also released the comic [[1608: Hoverboard]], which was a direct celebration of the book's release (it says so in the comic). But it was far from being a small or normal comic! It was the first "real" game comic released on xkcd (albeit not the first [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive comic]]). In the style of [[1110: Click and Drag]] it was possible to move around in a very much larger picture than what was shown in the frame. But this is not done by clicking and dragging though, instead the user controls [[Cueball]] on a {{w|hoverboard}} (hence the title of the comic) by using the arrow keys, assuming that the user is on a desktop computer or a laptop.  If they are on a mobile device such as a smartphone, [[Cueball]] is controlled by tilting the device.
+On the day of the book's release (even though it was a Tuesday) Randall also released the comic [[1608: Hoverboard]], which was a direct celebration of the book's release (it says so in the comic). But it was far from being a small or normal comic! It was the first "real" game comic released on ''xkcd'' (albeit not the first [[:Category:Interactive comics|interactive comic]]). In the style of [[1110: Click and Drag]] it was possible to move around in a very much larger picture than what was shown in the frame. But this is not done by clicking and dragging though, instead the user controls [[Cueball]] on a {{w|hoverboard}} (hence the title of the comic) by using the arrow keys, assuming that the user is on a desktop computer or a laptop.  If they are on a mobile device such as a smartphone, [[Cueball]] is controlled by tilting the device.
-There are many themes and references throughout the game, but the two main themes are {{w|Star Wars}} (the largest part to the right part) and {{w|The Lord of the Rings}} to the left. Several references goes back to the book from this comic. These are [[1608: Hoverboard#Reference_to_Thing_Explainer|listed in the explanation]] for the hoverboard comic.
+There are many themes and references throughout the game, but the two main themes are ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' (the largest part to the right part) and ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'' to the left. Several references goes back to the book from this comic. These are [[1608: Hoverboard#Reference to Thing Explainer|listed in the explanation]] for the hoverboard comic.
 On the release day Randall also released a [http://www.xkcd.com/simplewriter/ simple writer] that would only accept the thousand words listed at the back of the book under ''The ten hundred words people use the most''. In this way others can try to create simple explanations themselves.
@@ Line 212: / Line 213: @@
 == Promotion at the xkcd home page ==
-*Already on [http://web.archive.org/web/20150514053623/http://www.xkcd.com/ May 14th 2015] the first promotion of the book appeared at the top in the [[Header text|header text]] of the xkcd home page. This was more than half a year before the release of the book.
+*Already on [http://web.archive.org/web/20150514053623/http://www.xkcd.com/ May 14th 2015] the first promotion of the book appeared at the top in the [[Header text|header text]] of the ''xkcd'' home page. This was more than half a year before the release of the book.
 **See the first entry described [[Header text#2015-05-14_-_New_book_Thing_Explainer|here]], and other changes will be mentioned above.
 *While [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]] was on the front page (2015-12-03), and until the comic [[1612: Colds]] came out, the top part of xkcd had been changed to [http://web.archive.org/web/20151203234149/http://xkcd.com/ promote the book], (see the image here below).
 **The entire section was a link to [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544668251/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0544668251&linkCode=as2&tag=thekcs-20&linkId=S4XRZJJKSMHOWEQU the book on amazon.com]
-***See more details in the [[Header text|header text]] page here: [[Header text#2015-11-24_-_Pages_from_my_new_book_Thing_Explainer|Pages from my new book]]. Here the image below is transcribed.
+***See more details in the [[Header text|header text]] page here: [[Header text#2015-11-24 - Pages from my new book Thing Explainer|Pages from my new book]]. Here the image below is transcribed.
 *Already later on the release day of Colds, (2015-12-04) it was moved to [http://web.archive.org/web/20151204190925/http://xkcd.com/ bottom section] of xkcd.
 *But a [http://web.archive.org/web/20160401175527/https://www.xkcd.com/ commercial stayed at the top in the header] all the way until the problems with the [http://web.archive.org/web/20160401204749/https://xkcd.com/ April 1st comics release] in 2016, [[1663: Garden]].

@@ Line 224: / Line 224: @@
 == Word decoder ==
-Part of the fun of reading the book is finding out what 'complex' word the simple word phrases are encoding. For example, the {{w|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Supply_vehicles_for_the_International_Space_Station|International Space Station Supply vehicle}} described as 'bird' is {{w|Cygnus_(spacecraft)|Cygnus}}, and the one described as 'Pretend Fire Animal' is {{w|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Dragon|Dragon}}.
+Part of the fun of reading the book is finding out what 'complex' word the simple word phrases are encoding. For example, the {{w|Category:Supply_vehicles_for_the_International_Space_Station|International Space Station Supply vehicle}} described as 'bird' is {{w|Cygnus_(spacecraft)|Cygnus}}, and the one described as 'Pretend Fire Animal' is {{w|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Dragon|Dragon}}.
 [[Category:Simplified language]]
 [[Category:Books]]
 {{xkcdmeta}}