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Revision as of 06:31, 9 June 2014

Welcome to the explain xkcd wiki!
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Good and Bad Ideas
While it seemed like a fun prank at the time, I realize my prank fire extinguishers full of leaded gasoline were a mistake.
Title text: While it seemed like a fun prank at the time, I realize my prank fire extinguishers full of leaded gasoline were a mistake.

Explanation

Ambox notice.png This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by a BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.

This is a scatter plot comparing how good an idea sounds to how good the idea actually is. For example, leaded gasoline sounds like a good idea due to the anti-knocking effects, but is actually a bad idea due to lead toxicity. Fake prank fire extinguishers however sound bad and are bad as they can result in a dangerous situation in an emergency. Putting mold on infections sounds like a bad idea, but this could be referring to Penicillin, an antibiotic.

The title text combines leaded gasoline and a fake prank fire extinguisher into something that is worse than either. Not only is the fire extinguisher fake, it also releases flammable material onto the fire, and there is the additional lead toxicity.

Idea What it means How good it sounds How good it actually is Explanation
Leaded Gasoline Adding tetraethyl lead to gasoline to increase performance ++ --- Lead is toxic. Burning the leaded gasoline in an engine releases the lead in the air. This is bad.
Bloodletting Releasing "bad blood" from the veins --- --- You need your blood.[citation needed]
Asbestos Mineral which does not burn and is good isolation +++ --- Asbestos was used extensively. Sadly the microscopic fibers which make up asbestos greatly increase the risk of cancer when inhaled.
Extension cords with prongs on both ends allows easy connection between 2 female connectors 0 (neutral) --- Prongs on both ends would make it easier to plug the extension cord in on either side. But once plugged into an outlet, the other end becomes a serious shock hazard.
Stair Kayaking -- --- Stair kayaking is a stunt where a person positions a kayak at the top of a flight of stairs and then, using their paddle to push off, rides the kayak down the stairs. This poses significant risks of injury or death, as well as being very bad for the kayak, which is designed to ride on water, not concrete.
Fake prank fire extinguishers --- --- The idea of placing fake fire extinguishers as a prank, presumably so that a person who thinks they are grabbing a real fire extinguisher will instead find a decoy, sounds very dangerous and potentially life-threatening for many people, and it would, in fact, be highly dangerous. In the United States, (and presumably most countries), this would also be a felony in most, if not all, jurisdictions. An example of a similar situation, although not intended as a prank, can be found here[1]
Always saying what you think ...regardless of the feelings of others or other considerations
Replying to spammers Clicking on the "Reply" button from spam mails and writing (and sending) a reply (or worse, clicking on the links in these mails)
Having solar panels on the car's surface (mostly hood and roof) for power generation
Heelies
Prequels A work of fiction (mostly movie) telling the "pre story" of another work of fiction.
Transition Lenses Photochromic lenses in glasses get darker (like sunglasses) in bright light.
Cutting pizza in squares Cutting (a pesumably round) pizza in squares
Project Orion Study by the U.S. government looking into nuclear pulse propulsion for spacecraft. --- - Repeated nuclear explosions in order to move sounds bad for both the spacecraft and everything else, especially with a ground launch. But there are ways to address a lot of the concerns, so it isn't as bad as it sounds. Project Orion's theorized specific impulse and thrust would also be far higher than anything chemical rockets can accomplish. The efficiency of Project Orion is extremely low, however.
Soup Soup 0 (neutral) 0 (neutral)
Combo washer dryers A device which combines washing machine and laundry dryer into one device
Cutting sandwiches diagonally Cutting sandwiches diagonally
Diverging diamond interchanges
Toasting sandwiches
Crumple zones Designated areas of a car that crumble in case of a crash... ...to absob the energy of the crash to prevent damage to the passengers
Sliced bread Bread, sliced by the baker before packaging for sale +++ ++ It's far more convenient for making sandwiches or toast, but unfortunately presliced bread will go stale faster and some applications may be better off thicker or thinner than the slices provided.
Pizza Flat, though usually leavened, bread with tomato sauce, cheese, and often vegetables or preserved meats ++ ++ Pizza is a widely popular dish throughout much of the world, uncontroversial except certain toppings.
Eating citrus fruit while at sea 0 (neutral) +++ The vitamin C present in citrus fruits prevents one from contracting scurvy.
Putting mold on infections Seemingly a reference to ancient practice of pressing moldy bread against infected wounds --- ++ While this sounds like a good way to get a fungal infection, with the correct mold this is a primitive antibiotic, and led to the discovery of penicillin.
Wheels on luggage Some luggage bags have small wheels inset on their frame and a carrying handle. +++ +++ A relatively simple fitting for rigid or semi-rigid luggage that substantially eases its transport through air and seaport terminals.
Heat pumps Refrigeration (or air conditioning) technology operated in reverse to heat an area instead. ++ +++ Because refrigeration is a very efficient way to move heat (as long as the cold side's temperature is high enough) this is often far more energetically efficient than directly heating a space. Reversible heat pumps also exist which can take care of both temperature needs in some climates.
Laser eye surgery Surgical techniques using lasers for precision cutting in the eyeball. - +++ This technology has substantially improved the eyesight of millions of people worldwide by allowing treatment of eye problems otherwise only corrected by lenses, or entirely untreatable. Randall has previously commented on laser eye surgery, amongst other ideas both good and bad, in 1681: Laser Products.
Fecal transplants Transfer of gut microbiom of healthy person to sterilised gut of ill person --- +++ Gut microbiom is a collection of bacteria that lives in our guts. It can influence our health. It is responsible for last stages of digesting our food. It can also produce neurotransmitters that are carried by blood to our brain influencing our behaviour. A healthy microbiom can be destroyed by bad eating habits, unhealthy lifestyle, infections or antibiotics. The important part is a composition of different species of bacteria that compromise the biom. Sometimes it may be necessary to completely sterilise the gut and then take the sample of healthy biom from another person. A sample is enough as the bacteria will multiply. As long as the patient eats correctly, the microbiom after transplant should develop correctly.

It sounds bad because we tend to think of our feces as something gross, to be discarded. It is called facal transplant as our feces contain about 50% of gut bacteria, but nowadays the sample usually has a form of a coted pill that is applied rectally.

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