3227: Creation

Creation

|< < Prev #3227 (April 1, 2026)

Title text: This xkcd.com update introduces a variety of new reading modes which can be activated through the menu.

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To experience the interactivity, visit the original comic!

Explanation

This is one of 65 incomplete explanations: 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, allowing different viewing options. Some are normal, like light and dark mode, but others are more interesting, like airplane mode (see below).

The comic references one of the first lines of the bible, about God making 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 that this was the comic that was published on the day this new feature was added. It also happened to be April Fool's Day.

MODES:

Mode	Description
Light Mode	The default mode that the site was previously limited to.
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.
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 StarWars style opening scroll.
3D Mode	Makes the comic render in anaglyphic stereoscopy.
Origami Mode	Rotates 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. (A possible reference to the Footer text, which says "Remove your device from airplane mode and set it to Boat Mode).

Transcript

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?

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Discussion

did anyone else wait for the screensaver to hit the corner? 216.25.182.141 20:13, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

I can't work out what Modem mode is meant to do... on my machine it just freezes the whole page. 78.213.151.110 20:22, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

It plays the sound of an old-style phone modem, and scrolls the comic into view slowly. It's supposed to represent the early days when downloading an image would take a long time. Barmar (talk) 20:31, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

can confirm on android firefox it seems to render the page unresponsive to input - Vaedez (talk) 21:18, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

Same here on Desktop Firefox - under "Modem mode", the whole page freezes up and the browser prompts me to close it ("this page is slowing down Firefox", or words to that effect). I wonder if it's a Firefox thing - odd if so, because I imagine Randall of all people would test on browsers other than Chrom* - or some weird side-effect of my ad/popup/script/cookie-blockers. A shame because all the other modes seem to work - "Greyscale mode" is far too subtle, and I'm ashamed to admit I missed the change from "math" to "maths"! - but this is a great April Fools' comic. 50.45.232.78 22:56, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

I clicked darker mode and my screen is black and I cant undo it help

I assume you mean Darkest Mode, since there's no darker mode. The screen turns black but if you look carefully you can still see the grey of the menu and you can click on it. Also, the menu border continues to appear after you select the choice (at least it does on my Mac). P.S. Don't forget to sign your comment with 4 ~ characters. Barmar (talk) 20:31, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

Modem mode doesn’t work for me what does it do 2A06:5906:1412:4100:352D:1A2:184:5F3 20:29, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

Modem mode makes the comic slowly print from above 216.25.182.141 20:34, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

I see the mobile site m.xkcd.com was left out on this change😔 104.28.215.219 20:37, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

I read “Modern mode” instead of Modem mode and I spent a while making wild theories about what it could be referencing. But I’m also quite sleepy. 146.70.116.107 20:51, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

I deminified the code if anyone wants it. There are no hidden options or anything like right-click has, but it would be extremely easy to add modes to it. 2601:441:4B7E:7660:0:0:0:AC72 20:59, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

"Modem mode" works for me in Chromium, but not Firefox. Robobun (talk) 21:06, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

For me it's just slow on Firefox. It takes about 5 seconds to clear the comic and start scrolling it back in, and the static doesn't start until it's almost all showing. Barmar (talk) 21:11, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

applies across the whole website? i forsee a preservation effort in the near future to capture What This Was Like, when randall inevitably removes the menu and all its modes--there's no chance this is staying, is there? - Vaedez (talk) 21:24, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

It applies to older comics, but not other parts of the site. I'm also wondering if this might be just for April Fool's Day. Barmar (talk) 21:27, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

I know it's april the 1st, but could we keep the modes? Stainglass is fun when the background doesn't turn maroon (and makes the text hard to read). I also checked other pages of xkcd, the modes are on on the other comics.

Of course it's the April Fools'/Fools' comic. Nice to see it being on time, this year, and I too wonder how long it'll stay. Might it permanently stay on this comic page, perhaps even stay if you jump off of it, but comic 3228 (or the 'default' latest-comic page) will probably be back to normal on Friday. 81.179.199.253 22:14, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

Finally we have the Boat Mode from the footer! B for brain (talk) (youtube channel wobsite (supposed to be a blag)) 21:33, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

Attention admins I think there's an "oops" in this line:

To experience the interactivity, visit the {{xkcd|{comicNum}|original comic}}!

64.201.132.210 21:43, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

Has the full footer always been there? "xkcd.com is best viewed with Netscape Navigator 4.0 or below on a Pentium 3±1 emulated in Javascript on an Apple IIGS at a screen resolution of 1024x1. Please enable your ad blockers, disable high-heat drying, and remove your device from Airplane Mode and set it to Boat Mode. For security reasons, please leave caps lock on while browsing." --Chance2travel (talk) 22:30, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

Yes, always has been. Learn more at the page for Footnote. 104.28.215.219 23:17, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

I think the Dorian Greyscale Mode takes 5 minutes to complete. I see this in the Javascript: body.mode-dorian-greyscale {\n transition: filter 300s ease-out; Pgn674 (talk) 22:36, 1 April 2026 (UTC)

Dorian Greyscale Mode seems like it ought to use only the white keys on a standard piano, and go DEGFCDBA, with adjacent notes differing in a single bit position. 2A02:8084:2862:4F80:65B7:327D:E614:342F 22:56, 1 April 2026 (UTC)
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