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	<title>explain xkcd &#187; science</title>
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	<link>http://www.explainxkcd.com</link>
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		<title>Green Flash</title>
		<link>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/07/14/green-flash/</link>
		<comments>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/07/14/green-flash/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:41:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Black Hat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Color]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.explainxkcd.com/?p=589</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Image text: The exact cause of the phenomenon is unknown, but it's thought to be linked to atmospheric refraction and you getting a really cool car.
The green flash is an atmospheric optical phenomena in which a small green spot will appear above or around the sun as it sets below the horizon.  The green flash [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://xkcd.com/766/"><img class="alignnone" title="Green Flash" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/green_flash.png" alt="" width="512" height="393" /></a></p>
<p>Image text: The exact cause of the phenomenon is unknown, but it's thought to be linked to atmospheric refraction and you getting a really cool car.</p>
<p>The green flash is an atmospheric optical phenomena in which a small green spot will appear above or around the sun as it sets below the horizon.  The green flash occurs because of refraction of different colors of light.  Green light is higher frequency than red and orange light and so green light stays visible after the red and orange lights are blocked by the Earth.  <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash">Wikipedia has a great gallery of examples of the green flash.</a> Personally, I have been looking for the green flash my whole life and have never seen it.  The name is slightly a misnomer as it is not really a flash at all, but stays for a few minutes.</p>
<p>The Tesla roadster is a new car from the Tesla Motors.  All of the Tesla Motors cars run entirely on electricity.  <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/roadster">Check out the car here</a>, as it is a pretty sweet little sports car.  No wonder the Black Hat Character wants to smash the other character over the head with the bottle he is holding to steal the car.</p>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Study</title>
		<link>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/06/04/study/</link>
		<comments>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/06/04/study/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:02:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.explainxkcd.com/?p=530</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Image text: Volunteers needed for a study on transmission of urushiol from digital contact with thin strips of fibrous cellulose pulp.
I'm always wary of these things, especially when they said they will require a 24-48 hour stay at "our facility". Yikes.
The key word in the image text is: Urishiol is the chemical produced by poision [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://xkcd.com/749/"><img class="alignnone" title="Study" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/study.png" alt="" width="314" height="431" /></a></p>
<p>Image text: Volunteers needed for a study on transmission of urushiol from digital contact with thin strips of fibrous cellulose pulp.</p>
<p>I'm always wary of these things, especially when they said they will require a 24-48 hour stay at "our facility". Yikes.</p>
<p>The key word in the image text is: Urishiol is the chemical produced by poision ivy.</p>
<p>From there you can probably figure it out, but essentially the image text is a soliciting volunteers for a study in which the volunteers use their fingers or toes to touch <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">poison ivy leaves.</span> Brilliant readers have notified me that fibrous cellulose pulp is not leaves, but in fact the strips of paper that are on the ad in the comic. Thanks for correcting me!</p>
<p>Sounds like fun!</p>
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		<slash:comments>6</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Seismograph</title>
		<link>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/03/08/seismograph/</link>
		<comments>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/03/08/seismograph/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:54:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.explainxkcd.com/?p=410</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ 
Image text: The reverse only works if the subject has a nervous twitch.
This is another instance of the "pro tip" meme, which is designed to turn the reader into an expert from a novice in one easy step.
This comic is suggesting that if a lie-detector was placed on its side, that it would function [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href=" http://xkcd.com/711/"><img class="alignnone" title="Seismograph" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/seismograph.png" alt="" width="187" height="201" /> </a></p>
<p>Image text: The reverse only works if the subject has a nervous twitch.</p>
<p>This is another instance of the "pro tip" meme, which is designed to turn the reader into an expert from a novice in one easy step.</p>
<p>This comic is suggesting that if a lie-detector was placed on its side, that it would function as a seismograph to detect the size of earthquakes.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Snow Tracking</title>
		<link>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/02/15/snow-tracking/</link>
		<comments>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/02/15/snow-tracking/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:56:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Math]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Movies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nature]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Physics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.explainxkcd.com/?p=375</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Image text: I suppose that's more accurately a hare dryer.
Moose and Squirrel is a reference to the Rocky and Bullwinkle series of cartoons.
Longcat is a internet meme from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long).
Mouse riding Bicycle is a reference to Ralph S. Mouse, a series of novels [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://xkcd.com/702/"><img class="alignnone" title="Snow Tracking" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/snow_tracking.png" alt="" width="381" height="378" /></a></p>
<p>Image text: I suppose that's more accurately a hare dryer.</p>
<p>Moose and Squirrel is a reference to the Rocky and Bullwinkle series of cartoons.</p>
<p>Longcat is a internet meme from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long).</p>
<p>Mouse riding Bicycle is a reference to Ralph S. Mouse, a series of novels by Beverly Cleary.</p>
<p>The image text is a pun on the Rabbit with a hair dryer frame.</p>
<p>Legolas is a reference to the character by the same name in the Lord of the Rings trilogy of books and movies.</p>
<p>Knight is a chess reference as the tracks move just like the knight piece in chess.</p>
<p>The two "Kid with" frames are a reference to Calvin and Hobbes.</p>
<p>Prius is a reference to current events in which the car Toyota Prius's pedals have malfunctioned causing accidents.</p>
<p>The final frame is the Higgs Boson which is an elementary particle they are attempting to find evidence of in the Large Hadron Collider.</p>
<p>Anyone know what the Bobcat on a Pogo Stick is a reference to?  That's the only one I can't get.</p>
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		<slash:comments>12</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Complexion</title>
		<link>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/02/10/complexion/</link>
		<comments>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/02/10/complexion/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:19:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Color]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Movies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.explainxkcd.com/?p=369</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Image text: Why do all my attempts at science end with me being punched by Batman?  (P.S. benzoyl peroxide soap works great.)
This comic is a reference to the Batman villain "Two-Face".  Because the main character had pimples on one side of his face and not the other, he resembled the Batman villain.  Two-Face is also [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://xkcd.com/700/"><img class="alignnone" title="Complexion" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/complexion.png" alt="" width="518" height="151" /></a></p>
<p>Image text: Why do all my attempts at science end with me being punched by Batman?  (P.S. benzoyl peroxide soap works great.)</p>
<p>This comic is a reference to the Batman villain "Two-Face".  Because the main character had pimples on one side of his face and not the other, he resembled the Batman villain.  Two-Face is also fond of flipping a coin to decide what to do.  The two different sides of his face and the flipping of the coin is what drew Batman into the comic.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>FIRST Design</title>
		<link>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/01/15/first-design/</link>
		<comments>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/01/15/first-design/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:52:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Color]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pranks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Robots]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.explainxkcd.com/?p=332</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Image text: Pool on the roof must've sprung a leak.
This comic is about a robot competition between two sides.  The protagonist's side comes up with a robot that has a match on an extending arm to set off the sprinkler system to disable the opposing robot.  Then the protagonists added an umbrella to their robot [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://xkcd.com/689/"><img class="alignnone" title="FIRST Design" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/first_design.png" alt="" width="303" height="648" /></a></p>
<p>Image text: Pool on the roof must've sprung a leak.</p>
<p>This comic is about a robot competition between two sides.  The protagonist's side comes up with a robot that has a match on an extending arm to set off the sprinkler system to disable the opposing robot.  Then the protagonists added an umbrella to their robot so that their robot could complete the competition without getting wet.</p>
<p>The image text is the protagonist's flimsy excuse for the reason there is water everywhere.</p>
<p>UPDATE: As Zero Cool and Alexandra said in the comments, the Image text is a reference to the movie, Hackers.</p>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Dimensional Analysis</title>
		<link>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/01/11/dimensional-analysis/</link>
		<comments>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/01/11/dimensional-analysis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:22:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Color]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Math]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.explainxkcd.com/?p=326</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Image text: Or the pressure at the Earth's core will rise slightly.
Dimensional analysis is a tool to better understand the properties of items using an equation the helps to convert between different units of measure.  In this case, the comic says that the units check out.
Planck energy is a system energy made up of Planck [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://xkcd.com/687/"><img class="alignnone" title="Dimensional Analysis" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/dimensional_analysis.png" alt="" width="350" height="338" /></a></p>
<p>Image text: Or the pressure at the Earth's core will rise slightly.</p>
<p>Dimensional analysis is a tool to better understand the properties of items using an equation the helps to convert between different units of measure.  In this case, the comic says that the units check out.</p>
<p>Planck energy is a system energy made up of Planck units.</p>
<p>The pressure at the earth's core is over 3.5 million times atmospheric pressure.</p>
<p>Prius's gas mileage (as tested by the EPA) is 51 highway / 48 city.</p>
<p>The smallest width of the English Channel is 21 miles between Dover, England and Calais, France.</p>
<p>The image text is a continuation of the teacher's comments from the comic.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Science Montage</title>
		<link>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/01/01/science-montage/</link>
		<comments>http://www.explainxkcd.com/2010/01/01/science-montage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:54:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jeff</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Movies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[science]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.explainxkcd.com/?p=315</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Image text: The rat's perturbed; it must sense nanobots! Code grey!  We have a Helvetica scenario!
This one is pretty straightforward as science always looks more fun and it always takes a lot less time in the movies and on TV.  As you can see in the movie montage, they complete 4 experiments, while in real [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://xkcd.com/683/"><img class="alignnone" title="Science Montage" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/science_montage.png" alt="" width="277" height="519" /></a></p>
<p>Image text: The rat's perturbed; it must sense nanobots! Code grey!  We have a Helvetica scenario!</p>
<p>This one is pretty straightforward as science always looks more fun and it always takes a lot less time in the movies and on TV.  As you can see in the movie montage, they complete 4 experiments, while in real life they only complete 1.</p>
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