2375: Worst Ladder

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
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Worst Ladder
[Six months later] "Well, our 'worst ladder' subscription series was a surprisingly lucrative success, but was completely canceled out by the losses from the disastrous Home Depot merchandising tie-in."
Title text: [Six months later] "Well, our 'worst ladder' subscription series was a surprisingly lucrative success, but was completely canceled out by the losses from the disastrous Home Depot merchandising tie-in."

Explanation

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Transcript

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Discussion

Their ladder is obviously placed somewhere where they all have to walk under it to get into the boardroom. 162.158.158.247 00:59, 22 October 2020 (UTC)


I find it extremely pleasing that within 20 minutes the XKCD itself in on the front page of Google results 108.162.237.4 01:09, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

Google searches gonna be skyrocketing for "Worst Ladder". --01:24, 22 October 2020‎ (UTC) 198.41.238.108 (Please sign your comments)

Can definitely see when the comic was posted [1]. Maybe we should add a screenshot to the trivia section --Luckykaa (talk) 07:16, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

Can someone create a category for "business"-related comics? There are quite a few (some related to Beret Guy's businesses, but others just general). 172.69.33.37 01:31, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

Can someone confirm if this comic is related to Quibi's shutdown announcement? Because if it isn't, then it's one major coincidence. Aderon (talk) 01:50, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

I'm not entirely sure of the parallels but I'd love them to be in the article--FrankHightower (talk) 02:07, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

I thought someone had added a practical screenshot of Google's "worst ladder" search, before realising it was one of the inline Google-powered ads, this one 'aptly' for a certain popular online auction site which illustrated various ladders apparently up for sale upon its platform.... 141.101.107.82 01:55, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

I tried doing it, but it says I'm not allowed--FrankHightower (talk) 02:07, 22 October 2020 (UTC)
I saw that link (yours?) too, and appreciated it. Now, being just an IP I'm fairly sure I'd not be allowed to upload media to the Explain wiki, but I know it's been possible for others. Like with created highlights of the XKCD Garden, IIRC. But maybe it isn't automatic to all usernames but time/authorisation-prompted, after a certain length of engagement. Maybe the answer lies in the Community Portal, or the question could be asked there if not. 162.158.158.225 02:46, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

I've got a screenshot of "Worst Ladder" GIS results taken around 02:45 UTC. Would it be worth adding to the wiki, and is there a way to upload it here? GreatWyrmGold (talk) 02:49, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

Update: Even searching "worst ladder -xkcd" (which should remove all pages mentioning xkcd) has resulted in the xkcd comic coming up.

I kept feeling like I was missing some more specific reference about what company could possibly find itself replaced by "worst ladder" searches. Like, it's so specific it doesn't feel like "welp, all media companies are SOL because everyone just likes ladders now", it feels like this company was somehow in a niche that was uniquely affected...but I can't imagine what that niche could be haha.- jerodast (talk) 03:31, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

No, I think "worst ladder" is just a stand-in for any random (and absurd) internet hype. I mean, who would ever be interested in watching people randomly pouring buckets of ice water over their heads... Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 06:56, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

I moved the Google Image Search part to the Trivia section. The actual results of such a searhc are imho not relevant for explaining the comic. Elektrizikekswerk (talk) 08:14, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

Also try "worst wheelchair ramps." Probably not Douglas Hofstadter (talk) 12:34, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

I thought the reason for the disastrous Home Depot tie-in was the lawsuits that resulted from people buying Worst Ladders (tm) and having accidents. --Itub (talk) 13:24, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

That would require some people to actually buy and use them. You can lose a lot of money by manufacturing a product that no one buys.--162.158.74.55 09:37, 23 October 2020 (UTC)

I find it so jarring to see XKCD mention TikTok. For whatever reason, I associate XKCD with the 'old interenet', which obviously doesn't include TikTok. -neverdroptop 15:46, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

xkcd may be "old internet," but it's still on the "new internet". Randall Munroe's been around here a while, but he ain't out of touch. GreatWyrmGold (talk) 16:33, 22 October 2020 (UTC)
I consider anything from earlier than the Web as Old Internet, anything post-Eternal September to be New Internet, and in-between is a very interesting time. xkcd at its core (before you also consider its official Twitter/etc accounts) is firmly NI, but also definitely Web 2.0(+) in 'vintage'. But with an OI charm quite often lost in today's electronic biosphere. I don't think there's anything wrong with Randall commenting on the latest (or potentially so) Social Media platforms, or participating. I suppose a usenet://alt.fan.xkcd presence might be a bit too 'retro', but... now I think of it, why not? 162.158.155.102 18:00, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

I performed the "worst ladder" search at 19:00 UTC and the top two search results are the XKCD page, followed by this ExplainXkcd page! We're number 2! Mind you that might be a reflection of how often I visit this site. Nutster (talk) 19:02, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

At this time, explainXKCD is number 1 for my sister, who doesn't visit this site at all, in incognito mode--108.162.210.212 19:49, 22 October 2020 (UTC)
I'm seeing the explainxkcd copy of the image in first place, the one on xkcd in 4th, and the same comic on 3 other sites on the first screen. Didn't realise there were that many popular mirrors. Angel (talk) 00:41, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
I'm seeing a reddit post "the top google image search result for worst ladder is", then this Explain XKCD second. There are other sites that reference XKCD in the top 25 images, but not actually XKCD itself. --162.158.158.247 10:30, 23 October 2020 (UTC)

Anyone think it's possible this is a reference to that Quibi service, which shut down a few days before? w.J 172.69.248.146 02:18, 24 October 2020 (UTC)

I was toying around with google trends, and I noticed a certain spike on the searches for 'worst ladder' around the time the comic was posted, which means xkcd had a measurable impact on google searches!! do yall think it's worth putting in the trivia section?? this link should hopefully work [2]