Difference between revisions of "2234: How To Deliver Christmas Presents"

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'''Option 3''': Intercept a different package.
 
'''Option 3''': Intercept a different package.
This option is to intercept an order of a different book, and replace the pages of the book with Randall's book (which Black Hat is shown doing). As the recipient, Cueball, remarks, this is similar to {{w|Spoofing attack|content spoofing}} / content injection, where information passed over the Internet is replaced before being delivered to the user. An off-screen person mentions, {{w|HTTPS}}, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, an extension of the regular HTTP protocol, used for secure communication. Cueball and this person believe that "paper" needs HTTPS, so that Cueball's book can be "securely delivered" without being intercepted by third parties such as Black Hat.
+
This option is to intercept an order of a different book, and replace the pages of the book with Randall's book (which Black Hat is shown doing). As the recipient, Cueball, remarks, this is similar to {{w|Spoofing attack|content spoofing}} / content injection, where information passed over the Internet is replaced before being delivered to the user. In this "real-life" case, the book's content has been "injected" and replaced with a different book.
 +
An off-screen person mentions, {{w|HTTPS}}, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, an extension of the regular HTTP protocol, used for secure communication. Cueball and this person believe that "paper" needs HTTPS, so that Cueball's book can be "securely delivered" without being intercepted by third parties such as Black Hat.
  
This could also relate to {{w|code injection}}, where malicious code is injected into a program. An example of code injection is with the famous comic, [[327: Exploits of a Mom]], where Mrs. Roberts deletes the school's database tables. In the "real-life" case, the book's content has been "injected" and replaced with a different book.
+
This could also relate to {{w|code injection}}, where malicious code is injected into a program. An example of code injection is with the famous comic, [[327: Exploits of a Mom]], where Mrs. Roberts deletes the school's database tables.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==

Revision as of 20:04, 27 November 2019

How To Deliver Christmas Presents
Building codes in hurricane zones rely on studies of how easily flying debris can break residential windows. If you're looking for a science fair project idea and you hate your neighbors, I'm sure they could always use more data!
Title text: Building codes in hurricane zones rely on studies of how easily flying debris can break residential windows. If you're looking for a science fair project idea and you hate your neighbors, I'm sure they could always use more data!

Explanation

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This comic is a sneaky way to promote Randall's new book, How To, released on September 3, 2019. Randall's book is used an example of a Christmas present that could be given to a friend or family member. Giving Christmas presents is a traditional way to celebrate the holiday of Christmas, on December 25 of each year. The comic links to https://xkcd.com/how-to/, a description of his book and ways to order it.

The rest of the comic discusses how to "deliver" this Christmas present. As mentioned in the comic, the "traditional" way that parents teach their kids about Christmas and Christmas gift giving is with the story of Santa Claus, a man who lives on the North Pole, who delivers gifts each Christmas Eve by riding a sleigh pulled by reindeer. He is usually depicted entering a house to deliver gifts by going down the home's chimney. Every year, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracks Santa as he delivers gifts around the world.

As mentioned in the comic, fireplaces (and chimneys) are becoming less common in the United States, so Cueball (as Randall) proposes 3 options for how to deliver his new book as a present:

Option 1: Vaporize the gift (and blow it into their house). This would allow the particles of the book to enter the air vents of the house. However, this book would be unreadable, which defeats the purpose of purchasing the book for someone. As noted by Randall, dust particles can remain inside a house for months (with vacuuming) and decades without vacuuming. This inspires Cueball to vacuum his house.

Option 2: Throw the book through their window. Randall has calculated the speed needed to throw a book-sized object through a window to be 25 mph (~40 kph). Breaking a window is probably not an ideal way to deliver a gift, as the recipient likely would not be pleased with a hole in their window. If a house has a broken window, they might cover up the window with a piece of plywood. Randall has calculated the speed to throw a book-sized object through a piece of plywood to be 250 mph (~402 kph), faster than a human can reasonably throw.

The title text mentions that building codes in hurricane-prone areas, like the southern United States, rely on information on how easily flying debris can break windows, presumably to improve reinforcement of such windows. Randall proposes a science fair project contributing to these studies (by throwing books at windows).

Option 3: Intercept a different package. This option is to intercept an order of a different book, and replace the pages of the book with Randall's book (which Black Hat is shown doing). As the recipient, Cueball, remarks, this is similar to content spoofing / content injection, where information passed over the Internet is replaced before being delivered to the user. In this "real-life" case, the book's content has been "injected" and replaced with a different book. An off-screen person mentions, HTTPS, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, an extension of the regular HTTP protocol, used for secure communication. Cueball and this person believe that "paper" needs HTTPS, so that Cueball's book can be "securely delivered" without being intercepted by third parties such as Black Hat.

This could also relate to code injection, where malicious code is injected into a program. An example of code injection is with the famous comic, 327: Exploits of a Mom, where Mrs. Roberts deletes the school's database tables.

Transcript

Ambox notice.png This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.


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Discussion

Is the equation in the comic wrong? It should be (4 kg*m/s) / (book mass), right? 108.162.221.245 19:34, 27 November 2019 (UTC)

Yes, that's correct. The equation in part 2 should be (speed) = (momentum) / (mass), given (momentum) = (speed) x (mass). Though the answer seems to be correct, assuming a book mass of approximately 0.8lbs (0.36kg). --shabegger -- Shabegger (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
Have added this to a trivia section. Maybe Randall will later update the comic, although it is probably cumbersome... But if he does, then that should go in the trivia and the mention of this that I made in the comic, should be changed to, there was an error... Feel free to improve my formulas. --Kynde (talk) 21:35, 27 November 2019 (UTC)

Is that a "Baby Yoda" in the right window? 172.69.6.94 20:06, 27 November 2019 (UTC)

Houseplant -boB (talk) 20:33, 27 November 2019 (UTC)
Nope that is Pikachu, I'm certain. --Kynde (talk) 21:10, 27 November 2019 (UTC)
I also thought it looked like Yoda. In the 2x version, it looks most like a baby elephant, but careful examination suggests it's probably Pikachu in a really weird perspective (the thing that looks like Yoda's second ear is actually Pikachu's tail, and his actual second ear is probably behind his head). --141.101.77.62 22:47, 27 November 2019 (UTC)
I agree that it is rather difficult to see, but with Randall's use of Pikachu in the past, and the fact that I play Pokémon Go and instantly saw it as Pikachu, I'm quite convinced this is what it should be. Also Yoda do not exist on Earht, but everyone knows Pikachu does :p But can see the baby elephant likeness and the other options as well. By the way, not everyone knows about the 2x version, so here is the link for that.
Close up of Pikachu in window --Kynde (talk) 11:22, 28 November 2019 (UTC)
I may not play Pokémon Go, but I know what a Pikachu looks like, and I don't see it. I'm not even sure which ear the other IP is talking about, or where its eyes and snout are. --162.158.18.82 20:33, 28 November 2019 (UTC)
It’s a gremlin, I’m certain of it. Looks like one, and Gremlins is a Christmas film.
Houseplant -boB (talk) 16:54, 2 December 2019 (UTC)
Definitely Baby Yoda. Pikachu's ears stand up more and therefore you would see both in addition to his tail. Since we don't see both ears and a tail I am certain it is Baby Yoda. 172.69.63.231 17:28, 3 December 2019 (UTC)
I think the timing of the comic being after the recent reveal of the yoda character in Mandalorian lends credibility to that possibility. It being a Christmas comic lends credibility to the possibility of it being a gremlin, because Gremlins is a well known Christmas movie. Having precedent for Pikachu in XKCD and the slight imbalance of one "ear" being perhaps being more square like Pikachu's tail, lends credibility to that conjecture - I think all three deserve mention in the explanation. -- Brettpeirce (talk) 18:54, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

Why the uptick in fireplaces around 2012/2013? 172.68.242.166 02:00, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

It snowed that year, maybe that's why? Mikemk (talk) 09:53, 28 November 2019 (UTC)
There was definitely a particularly strong "Polar Vortex" in the Northeast in Late 2012 / Early 2013. I was stuck in it when I went home for New Years. 172.69.6.94 21:35, 3 December 2019 (UTC)

This comic was posted the day before Thanksgiving, a major American holiday. Can't be a coincidence can it? Mikemk (talk) 09:53, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

Also 2 days before black Friday, a even more major American holiday, and typical ocasion to get christmas gifts. --Lupo (talk) 10:00, 28 November 2019 (UTC)
Yes also think it is Black Friday related. It is now people should think of buying it, as many buy their gifts tomorrow. I buy the way had just ordered the book 10 hours before this comic came came out. But had all along decided that I could wait for x-mas. So someone will give it to me... :-p So although i look forward to reading it, I could wait ;-) --Kynde (talk) 11:14, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

I think it might be notable how, in number 3, the gift explicitly becomes a book. There's no inherent reason--you could just put any gift in the same package as the other and get the same joke. Trlkly (talk) 11:31, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

Of course it's notable, it's the point of this comic. Mikemk (talk) 16:30, 29 November 2019 (UTC)
not just any item has a cover incorporated into the product itself, however, like a book does (?) -- Brettpeirce (talk) 18:54, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

". . . the holiday of Christmas, which in the US happens usually on December 25 of each year." Usually? No, I think Christmas in the US is always on December 25th, by law. 162.158.214.136 12:37, 28 November 2019 (UTC)

The beginning of the sentence is "Giving Christmas presents is a traditional way to celebrate ..." - so it referrs to the giving of presents, which usually happens on the 25th. There is no law defining the day you give christmas gifts.--Lupo (talk) 12:45, 28 November 2019 (UTC) Good rewrite . . . .162.158.214.88 12:01, 29 November 2019 (UTC)

I attempted to add an Original research? template reference, but that template doesn't seem to exist, so I added Citation needed instead. If someone cares to such a template, I'm guessing it would best link to 265: Choices: Part 2. In any case, that's the template I feel would best apply to the NORAD tracking conclusion. Thisisnotatest (talk) 05:12, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

Technically the number of new houses with chimneys alone does not tell anything about disappearing chimneys. If more houses are built than wrecked, the total number of houses with chimneys may rise. This graph is not giving sufficient information about that. Even with a stable number of total houses, the share of chimney-houses may rise, if for some reason (e.g. lower value of the house, lower brick-to-wood rate, etc.) more non-chimney houses are wrecked, than chimney-houses. --Lupo (talk) 08:07, 6 December 2019 (UTC)