Talk:1422: My Phone is Dying

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 15:29, 19 September 2014 by 173.245.55.28 (talk) (Added comment.)
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The dying of Beret's phone is similar to the dying of the sun.

The Sun does not have enough mass to explode as a supernova. Instead it will exit the main sequence in approximately 5.4 billion years and start to turn into a red giant. It is calculated that the Sun will become sufficiently large to engulf the current orbits of the solar system's inner planets, possibly including Earth. (via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun) Oicebot (talk) 04:43, 17 September 2014 (UTC)


I thought, this might be a TARDIS reference. --141.101.93.210 07:03, 17 September 2014 (UTC)


The main page of this explanation mentions White Hat... he's not even in this comic, only Beret Guy and Cueball. Not sure about editing policies/things here yet, so figured I'd mention this on the talk page :P Hope this helps! Tanos (talk) 06:43, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

Fixed. --DaB. (talk) 10:55, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
And anyone is welcome to edit the comic. Thanks for the input! Nealmcb (talk) 16:06, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
Sorry - t'was me. Note to self: Do not edit in the morningTier666 (talk) 16:27, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

Reference to the iPhone (and may be other smartphones) which becomes bigger and bigger with every release. At the same time iPhone becomes less popular and it is 'dying' this way. So - the bigger iPhone becomes the closer it is to 'death'. And it was like a star among other smartphones. In the title text it may be a jesting prophesy - one on future generation of iPhone will be like a set of some separate devices.

108.162.246.229 07:42, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

I had a similar interpretation of a symbolic equivalency between the iPhone and a star (playing on the double meaning of "star" — the celestial body, and that of someone or something that has great fame). Though, not with it getting bigger with each version, but rather within the lifespan of each version (each version grows in fame until it dies with the release of the next version).
108.162.221.242 05:31, 18 September 2014 (UTC)

The first paragraph assumes that the phone is going to become a white dwarf and the supernova is not mentioned until lower down. Personally, I read the "collapse in a violent explosion" comment from the fourth panel as implying that it was already on its way to becoming a supernova(-analog) and the charger would speed it up. Unless red dwarfs actually explode and leave white dwarfs (which I didn't think they did, but maybe I'm wrong there) concluding that it's analogous to the white dwarf doesn't make sense to me, at least. Thoughts? 199.27.128.86 08:42, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

A red giant will have its outer layers blown away (though not in anything like the violent way of a supernova) and the core that remains is a white dwarf. A much larger star that goes supernova will often leave behind a neutron star or, if the star was really massive, a black hole. 141.101.98.190 12:57, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

There is a conspiracy theory that Apple allegedly kills iPhones just before the release of a new model. This comic seems to make a play on that. 141.101.104.193 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~) -Unusual conspiracy. Presumably it's to make sure old customers buy the new iPhone, but wouldn't most Apple fans do that anyways? 108.162.216.109 12:37, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

There are plenty of Apple customers who aren't 'Apple Fans'. And I've heard similar theories about software that encounters a major bug or glitch _just_ after the free warranty runs out. 173.245.55.28 15:29, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

Lol, I didn't even notice the phone was getting bigger until the last panel. Derp. Zowayix (talk) 14:20, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

I have an old iPhone3 which have popped open by an enlarged battery after having been sitting in a box unused for a few years -- but it would be great if somebody could provide a scientific reference to whether this is normal and expected Spongebog (talk) 18:55, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

The two way pager in title text might be a reference to black holes, under the assumption that they act as worm holes to other regions in spacetime. It could explode and leave behind a slowly fading PalmPilot (netron star), Calculator(brown dwarf), Two way pager (blackhole). 108.162.217.125 15:14, 17 September 2014 (UTC)BK

Somewhat relevant, but mostly just funny, link: http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/140820 Smperron (talk) 20:43, 17 September 2014 (UTC)


"However, this is something phones usually don't do.[citation needed]" Do we really need a citation that normal phones don't consume their battery, grow in size and explode, leaving a white dwarf behind? There was the story a while back about iPhones exploding in peoples pockets, and I know that Li-ion batteries can expand and burst, but rarely do they leave white dwarf stars behind. Andyd273 (talk) 15:48, 18 September 2014 (UTC)

Personally, I found this [citation needed] hilarious, and urge you to keep it.--108.162.221.169 15:52, 18 September 2014 (UTC)


"Additionally, some particles and atoms decay by breaking into smaller, more elementary particles. It is humorously implied that a PalmPilot [...] are the more elementary components [...]" no it isn't implied at all? I see no similarity here. ‎108.162.216.149 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)