https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=173.245.52.151&feedformat=atom
explain xkcd - User contributions [en]
2024-03-28T16:41:25Z
User contributions
MediaWiki 1.30.0
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:594:_Period&diff=187205
Talk:594: Period
2020-02-13T03:36:54Z
<p>173.245.52.151: </p>
<hr />
<div>...And angular velocity: 1.97 mHz [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.30|108.162.231.30]] 23:29, 14 December 2014 (UTC)<br />
This just makes me sad for Homestuck. ----<br />
<br />
One must wonder whether Randall noticed the Homestuck connection at the time of making this comic. He is, apparently, a fan, as Homestuck is linked on the main xkcd site, but this comic was made within only a few months of the comic's start, so he mightn't have heard of it yet.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.151|173.245.52.151]] 03:36, 13 February 2020 (UTC)</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2135:_M87_Black_Hole_Size_Comparison&diff=187112
2135: M87 Black Hole Size Comparison
2020-02-11T07:41:56Z
<p>173.245.52.151: /* Explanation */ See talk page</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2135<br />
| date = April 10, 2019<br />
| title = M87 Black Hole Size Comparison<br />
| image = m87_black_hole_size_comparison.png<br />
| titletext = I think Voyager 1 would be just past the event horizon, but slightly less than halfway to the bright ring.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic shows the picture of the {{w|Messier_87#Supermassive black hole|M87 black hole}} by the {{w|Event Horizon Telescope}} that was published on the same day as this comic. Overlaid on the picture is a scale image of the Solar System, showing the Sun, Pluto (one of the most well-known {{w|dwarf planet}}s) and its orbital path, and {{w|Voyager 1}}, a deep-space probe and the current farthest probe from Earth. The comic is quite similar to [[1551: Pluto]], in which Randall overlaid annotations onto the recently-released first images of Pluto taken by the New Horizons spacecraft.<br />
<br />
The point of the comic is to celebrate the release of this image by the Event Horizon Telescope, referenced two comics earlier, in [[2133: EHT Black Hole Picture]], as well as to indicate the hugeness of M87 and the awe-inspiring thing that space is. This image has been widely publicized as being the first image ever of a black hole. Science had no visual evidence of black holes at all [https://www.space.com/16411-black-hole-photo-nasa-telescope.html until 2012].<br />
<br />
In the title text Randall hypothesizes that if the Sun were at the center of M87, Voyager would be outside the event horizon. This is confirmed by a 2015 [https://arxiv.org/abs/1505.03545 study] in which the Schwartzchild radius of M87* was found to be 5.9x10^-4 pc, as opposed to the distance of 7.04x10^-4 pc, at the time the comic was written, between Voyager 1 and the Sun.<br />
<br />
The comic's scale seems to be slightly small; while the orbit of Pluto should be about 4.9 microarcseconds across, in the comic it's about 3.9 microarcseconds across.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[Caption above the panel:]<br />
:Size comparison:<br />
:'''The M87 Black Hole'''<br />
:and<br />
:'''Our Solar System'''<br />
<br />
:[Caption at top left of the panel:]<br />
:EHT Black Hole Image<br />
:Source: NSF<br />
<br />
:[An image of the M87 black hole captured by the event horizon telescope on the day that this comic was published is shown, in the shape of a thick red-and-yellow ring on a black background.]<br />
<br />
:[A white ring about 1/4 of the diameter of the central black portion of the image is labelled with an arrow:]<br />
:Pluto<br />
<br />
:[A small white circle at the center of the image is labelled with an arrow:]<br />
:Sun<br />
<br />
:[A small white dot on the right hand edge of the central black portion of the image is labelled with an arrow:]<br />
:Voyager 1<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2183:_Icon_Swap&diff=177311
Talk:2183: Icon Swap
2019-08-01T15:07:27Z
<p>173.245.52.151: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
Re: hovertext: That's a really brilliant marketing campaign, right there... {{unsigned|162.158.126.46}}<br />
<br />
I'm not sure if it would have any marketing effect, but it definitely sounds as good idea. It doesn't need to be that clever at first either - just posting random sentence from next page is not that likely to be interesting, but even with 2% of success it would help a lot. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:07, 31 July 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wouldn't be very surprised to see a book where each chapter actually started with a breaking news story.<br />
The reader would generally be following the protagonist around, but the articles would show what the rest of the world knows and so either show that something the reader knows is not widely known, or fill the reader in on events that are part of the plot, but where the protagonist was not present. <br />
[[User:Baldrickk|Baldrickk]] ([[User talk:Baldrickk|talk]]) 09:35, 1 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Here's an idea. What if there was no "book" at all, but the story was pushed to your device in real-time coinciding with the unfolding of the plot. The push could happen either night or day depending on what is going on in the story. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 12:57, 1 August 2019 (UTC)<br />
<br />
That’s a series of apps named Lifeline.</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2174:_First_News_Memory&diff=176440
2174: First News Memory
2019-07-10T20:51:58Z
<p>173.245.52.151: /* Frame Four */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2174<br />
| date = July 10, 2019<br />
| title = First News Memory<br />
| image = first_news_memory.png<br />
| titletext = Psychology researchers say our 'flashbulb' memories of big events can be unreliable, but I clearly remember watching live on CNN as Challenger crashed into and destroyed the Berlin Wall.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by a FAULTY FIRST NEWS MEMORY. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
Each frame of the comic shows a different 'first news' memory. Following is a breakdown of the memories given by the characters, in typical xkcd fashion:<br />
===Frame One===<br />
This is the only 'normal' frame.<br />
===Frame Two===<br />
The Challenger exploded in 1986, so Hairy's teacher was not showing them the launch live. Presumably, showing a number of young schoolchildren a traumatizing event led to his dismissal.<br />
===Frame Three===<br />
White Hat says that his first news memory was about the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which is only three years from the publication date of this comic. Given that he is in his thirties, this memory implies that he has not been following the news for quite some time. Alternatively, he could have amnesia and be unable to recall earlier memories.<br />
===Frame Four===<br />
Black Hat's first sentence is normal in the context of the question. Given only the sentence 'we landed on the moon,' the 'we' is inferred to be 'the United States of America' or 'the human race.' However, Black Hat goes on to say that 'my second memory is my mom telling us we were moving to Earth instead, to blend in with the humans.' This gives a completely different meaning to his first memory, as it is now implied that Black Hat is a humanoid alien that moved to the Moon, but whose mother then decided to move to Earth. Hairbun then remarks that this revelation explains Black Hat's odd (and usually evil) behavior. It is unclear whether Black Hat is telling the truth, but knowing Black Hat, he is likely intentionally trying to unnerve others.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Ponytail, Cueball, Megan, Hairy, White Hat, Black Hat and Hairbun are all at a party, discussing their earliest news memories.]<br />
<br />
:[Panel with Ponytail, Cueball, Megan, and Hairy]<br />
:Ponytail: What's your first news memory?<br />
:Cueball: I always like this question! Mine was the 1988 election.<br />
:Megan: Berlin wall for me. You?<br />
<br />
:[Frame-less panel with Megan, Hairy, White Hat, and Black Hat]<br />
:Hairy: Watching the ''Challenger'' launch in class. We were so excited; everyone was horrified when it blew up.<br />
:Hairy: It was 1995.<br />
:Hairy: Our teacher got fired soon after.<br />
<br />
:[Panel with Hairy, White Hat, Black Hat, and Hairbun]<br />
:White Hat: Mine's the 2016 election.<br />
:Hairbun: ...aren't you in your 30's?<br />
:White Hat: Look, we're not all great about keeping up with the news, OK?<br />
<br />
:[Panel with White Hat, Black Hat, and Hairbun]<br />
:Black Hat: My first memory is when we landed on the moon.<br />
:Black Hat: My second memory is my mom telling us we were moving to Earth instead, to blend in with the humans.<br />
:Hairbun: This explains a lot.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:19:_George_Clinton&diff=176340
Talk:19: George Clinton
2019-07-09T02:55:17Z
<p>173.245.52.151: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) Does anybody know what the correct date of issue of this comic is? Also, does anybody know why Randall loves George Clinton?<br />
:Have you listened to George Clinton? It's seems reasonable to me that [[Randall]] should love him. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 03:54, 15 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
While reading that I got curious: How is it possible to gain a B.A. in mathematics? I couldn't find any information about the U.S. bachelor system, but in Germany a bachelor's degree in any STEM field is considered a B.Sc. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:08, 17 November 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:In America, BA and BS are both 4-year degrees with an equivalent number of courses, but a BA usually has a certain percentage of its coursework drawn from what counted as a "liberal arts" education in the mid 19th century--which included math. In Europe, the Bologna Accords standardized a similar system, but based on late 20th century rather than mid 19th standards. (Or, if you're older than that, depending on your country, the meanings could be very different.) So, it makes sense to have a BA in math, and many universities offer that instead of, or in addition to, a BS. For example, at my university, a BA in math required some of your non-math courses to come from philosophy and related fields, while for a BS some of you non-math courses had to be (non-social) science courses that had math (usually calculus/analysis) as a requirement. When I was a student, focusing on mathematical computer science, the computer classes came from engineering rather than science, so I didn't qualify for either the BA or the BS, so my faculty advisor had to create a custom degree profile for me to get a combined BA in mathematics and electrical engineering, but I assume that's no longer a problem nowadays. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.180|199.27.130.180]] 01:40, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Thank you :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:16, 24 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Interestingly, a few years after this comic was made, George Clinton did record the track "Mathematics Of Love" (http://www.metrolyrics.com/mathematics-of-love-lyrics-george-clinton.html). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.77|141.101.99.77]] 11:57, 6 January 2015 (UTC) Kingofderby<br />
<br />
I don't think explainxkcd has a math extension yet...--{{User:17jiangz1/signature|12:49, 01 May 2015}}<br />
<br />
The expression on the blackboard is the expression of Laplace transformation and inverse Laplace transformation.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.145|173.245.53.145]] 06:21, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
added lyrics and background [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.205|173.245.54.205]] 03:57, 5 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel we should just remove the "incomplete marker, as noone seems to have changed anything. Also, regarding the date of this comic, assuming Randall has always uploaded on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays, couldn't we then create a formula to see how many days ago the comic was made? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.105|108.162.219.105]] 22:01, 15 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The author employs the literary concept of 'the unreliable narrator.' We are asked to believe a story told by someone who admits losing touch with reality. The first equation shown on the board, the Laplace transform, takes something that is 'real' and maps it to something 'complex' (having a 'real' and an 'imaginary' part). In the story, we start with something 'real' (George Clinton is a musician). This is transformed into something 'complex' (George Clinton is a musician and a mathematician). The second equation, the inverse Laplace transform, takes something that is 'complex' and maps it to something 'real.' At some point, the narrator's beliefs stop being 'complex' (musician and mathematician). They are transformed back into something real (musician). Therefore, the equations written by the 'imaginary' George Clinton parallel the 'real' journey of the narrator. --[[User:David.poole.9000|DP9000]] ([[User talk:David.poole.9000|talk]]) 23:29, 6 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Fun fact: I spent years thinking this comic was a joke about the low intelligence of US President George W. Bush. (I'd never heard of the musician 'George Clinton', and I managed to conflate then-president George W. Bush with former president Bill Clinton when reading the name.) -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.244|108.162.219.244]] 22:04, 19 December 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Good that you say it, I also didn't notice that the title was not a president's name. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 07:30, 20 December 2018 (UTC)<br />
:George Clinton was 4th Vice President of the US, serving under both Jefferson & Madison. Different George Clinton than the one Randall is referencing, though.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.151|173.245.52.151]] 02:54, 9 July 2019 (UTC)JWC</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:19:_George_Clinton&diff=176339
Talk:19: George Clinton
2019-07-09T02:54:15Z
<p>173.245.52.151: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) Does anybody know what the correct date of issue of this comic is? Also, does anybody know why Randall loves George Clinton?<br />
:Have you listened to George Clinton? It's seems reasonable to me that [[Randall]] should love him. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 03:54, 15 August 2012 (UTC)<br />
<br />
While reading that I got curious: How is it possible to gain a B.A. in mathematics? I couldn't find any information about the U.S. bachelor system, but in Germany a bachelor's degree in any STEM field is considered a B.Sc. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:08, 17 November 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:In America, BA and BS are both 4-year degrees with an equivalent number of courses, but a BA usually has a certain percentage of its coursework drawn from what counted as a "liberal arts" education in the mid 19th century--which included math. In Europe, the Bologna Accords standardized a similar system, but based on late 20th century rather than mid 19th standards. (Or, if you're older than that, depending on your country, the meanings could be very different.) So, it makes sense to have a BA in math, and many universities offer that instead of, or in addition to, a BS. For example, at my university, a BA in math required some of your non-math courses to come from philosophy and related fields, while for a BS some of you non-math courses had to be (non-social) science courses that had math (usually calculus/analysis) as a requirement. When I was a student, focusing on mathematical computer science, the computer classes came from engineering rather than science, so I didn't qualify for either the BA or the BS, so my faculty advisor had to create a custom degree profile for me to get a combined BA in mathematics and electrical engineering, but I assume that's no longer a problem nowadays. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.180|199.27.130.180]] 01:40, 18 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
::Thank you :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:16, 24 September 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Interestingly, a few years after this comic was made, George Clinton did record the track "Mathematics Of Love" (http://www.metrolyrics.com/mathematics-of-love-lyrics-george-clinton.html). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.77|141.101.99.77]] 11:57, 6 January 2015 (UTC) Kingofderby<br />
<br />
I don't think explainxkcd has a math extension yet...--{{User:17jiangz1/signature|12:49, 01 May 2015}}<br />
<br />
The expression on the blackboard is the expression of Laplace transformation and inverse Laplace transformation.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.145|173.245.53.145]] 06:21, 4 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
added lyrics and background [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.205|173.245.54.205]] 03:57, 5 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel we should just remove the "incomplete marker, as noone seems to have changed anything. Also, regarding the date of this comic, assuming Randall has always uploaded on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays, couldn't we then create a formula to see how many days ago the comic was made? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.105|108.162.219.105]] 22:01, 15 May 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The author employs the literary concept of 'the unreliable narrator.' We are asked to believe a story told by someone who admits losing touch with reality. The first equation shown on the board, the Laplace transform, takes something that is 'real' and maps it to something 'complex' (having a 'real' and an 'imaginary' part). In the story, we start with something 'real' (George Clinton is a musician). This is transformed into something 'complex' (George Clinton is a musician and a mathematician). The second equation, the inverse Laplace transform, takes something that is 'complex' and maps it to something 'real.' At some point, the narrator's beliefs stop being 'complex' (musician and mathematician). They are transformed back into something real (musician). Therefore, the equations written by the 'imaginary' George Clinton parallel the 'real' journey of the narrator. --[[User:David.poole.9000|DP9000]] ([[User talk:David.poole.9000|talk]]) 23:29, 6 March 2016 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Fun fact: I spent years thinking this comic was a joke about the low intelligence of US President George W. Bush. (I'd never heard of the musician 'George Clinton', and I managed to conflate then-president George W. Bush with former president Bill Clinton when reading the name.) -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.244|108.162.219.244]] 22:04, 19 December 2018 (UTC)<br />
:Good that you say it, I also didn't notice that the title was not a president's name. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 07:30, 20 December 2018 (UTC)<br />
George Clinton was 4th Vice President of the US, serving under both Jefferson & Madison. Different George Clinton than the one Randall is referencing, though.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.151|173.245.52.151]] 02:54, 9 July 2019 (UTC)JWC</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2045:_Social_Media_Announcement&diff=162612
2045: Social Media Announcement
2018-09-12T12:07:50Z
<p>173.245.52.151: /* Explanation */ Added stuff about #deletefacebook and mastodon.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2045<br />
| date = September 12, 2018<br />
| title = Social Media Announcement<br />
| image = social_media_announcement.png<br />
| titletext = Why I'm Moving Most of My Social Activity to Slack, Then Creating a Second Slack to Avoid the People in the First One, Then Giving Up on Social Interaction Completely, Then Going Back to Texting<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Everyone left explainxkcd for xkcdsucks.com. Don't worry, though--they'll be back. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
In 2018, especially after Facebook privacy abuses were revealed in the Cambrige Analytica scandal, many individuals began seeking alternatives. The #deletefacebook hashtag peaked around April 2018, and in some communities, this type of "why I'm leaving Facebook" announcements were popular. <br />
<br />
Mastodon is a federated microblogging platform similar to twitter. "Federated" means that there is one app hosted in many places, so users can choose a host that meets their needs, but everyone can still talk to each other, similar to email. Near the peak of #deletefacebook, mastodon became trending as a [https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/783akg/mastodon-is-like-twitter-without-nazis-so-why-are-we-not-using-it twitter alternative with less nazis]<br />
<br />
Wil Wheaton famously moved to Mastodon from Twitter, [https://news.avclub.com/wil-wheaton-on-quitting-social-media-i-don-t-deserve-1828743467 but was ultimately disappointed by the experience], because while Mastodon's community is generally less toxic, it does not yet have the tools to handle the kind of targeted harassment that a celebrity might face.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
[Cueball sitting in front of a laptop typing]<br />
Why I'm quitting Facebook, joining LinkedIn, rejoining Facebook, quitting Twitter, getting locked out of Facebook, moving to Mastadon [sic], and Lobbying Microsoft to take over Mastadon [sic] and merge it with LinkedIn: A manifesto.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
<br />
* Mastodon was originally misspelt as "Mastadon"<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2017:_Stargazing_2&diff=159875
2017: Stargazing 2
2018-07-10T15:11:55Z
<p>173.245.52.151: Corrected some typo errors.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2017<br />
| date = July 9, 2018<br />
| title = Stargazing 2<br />
| image = stargazing_2.png<br />
| titletext = I mean, it wasn't exactly MY thesis. When the FAA came to shut down our observatory for using the telescope mirror to shine light at airplanes, I took a thesis and a bunch of doctorates from the supply cabinet on my way out.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|More on 3rd panel with planet and a satellite. More on last sentence and the entire title text. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
This is the second comic in the [[:Category:Stargazing|Stargazing]] series: The first was [[1644: Stargazing]], two and a half years earlier.<br />
<br />
This comic continues with the male TV host mixing accurate astronomical information with trivialities, as well as utterly bizarre statements. In the first panel, the host voices surprise that the stars are visible again after disappearing during daylight. (See the explanation of the first comic in the series, for why this is certainly a male host, as the comics are probably spoofing {{w|Brian Cox (physicist)|Brian Cox}} who is one of the hosts on {{w|Stargazing Live}}. As can be seen he would end up looking like [[Megan]] in xkcd style).<br />
<br />
The host mentions three stars in a constellation which he says is called The Triangle. This presumably refers to the {{w|Triangulum}} constellation. He then goes on to point out three other stars forming a triangle and concludes that one can form lots of triangles by connecting groups of three stars. In Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry, any set of three points which do not form a line will form a triangle, so to say that there are a "lotta triangles" is both trivial and an understatement.<br />
<br />
Then he points out a planet and a satellite. <br />
<br />
The host eventually goes off on a tangent when someone from the audience points out something blinking in the sky. The host says it is a plane, and tells them what is inside it. The host continues, "don't bother trying to catch that one." This could be understood as he means it's too hard to point the telescope at it properly because it is moving too fast. It turns out, however, he means this literally, revealing that at one point during his studies he apparently used the reflective mirror of a telescope to shine light directly at airplanes, which caused the {{w|Federal Aviation Administration}} (FAA) to close down the observatory.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[In a dark panel a male TV host is standing in front of a group of 5 people, two Cueballs, Ponytail, Hairbun and Megan.]<br />
:Host: Welcome back to stargazing.<br />
:Host: When the stars disappeared this morning, I figured I had to find a new job, but they're '''''back!''''' This '''''rules!'''''<br />
<br />
:[In a frame-less white panel the host points to the upper right. While Megan, ponytail and Cueball are looking to in that direction.]<br />
:Host: Those three stars form a constellation called the triangle.<br />
:Host: Those three are another triangle.<br />
:Host: Lotta triangles. Very important shape.<br />
<br />
:[Back to the dark panel with the host now pointing to the upper left in a close-up.]<br />
:Host: Those dots are planets, or "fool's stars." Without interstellar travel, they're the only ones we can realistically hope to dump trash on.<br />
:Host: Speaking of space trash, that dot is a satellite. There are apps that will tell you whose fault it is.<br />
<br />
:[the host is now turned right not pointing, still in a close-up.]<br />
:Off-panel voice: What's that blinking one?<br />
:Host: Airplane. They're full of snacks and money and stuff, but don't bother trying to catch them- they're '''''way''''' too high up.<br />
:Host: Learned that the hard way in grad school.<br />
:Host: Got a thesis out of it, at least.<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Stargazing|Stargazing]]<br />
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Stargazing]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] <!-- Although the host is not Megan, she is still in the comic, as one of the audience in the 2nd frame! --><br />
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]<br />
[[Category:Astronomy]]</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2014:_JWST_Delays&diff=159587
Talk:2014: JWST Delays
2018-07-04T00:52:26Z
<p>173.245.52.151: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
<br />
Haha - I made this same graph 2 weeks ago! [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 17:39, 2 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Suggest the last sentence be made more general: "The title text refers to a fundamental question of the Big Bang Theory; will the universe expand forever, or will is collapse back on itself? The likely answer to this question has changed over the decades as new measurements have been made, and new theories such as dark matter and dark energy developed to explain the new measurements. Apparently, and for an analogous reason, between 2018 and 2020 the likely answer to the fundamental JWST question will change." [[User:GODZILLA|GODZILLA]] ([[User talk:GODZILLA|talk]]) 17:58, 2 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
:I agree to the current sentence saying "and compares the universe’s accelerating expansion to the apparently ever-delaying schedule" but were the hell comes the conclusion that "the JWST will have enough delays to fill a universe"? This does not make any sense. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:59, 3 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Does today's prediction of 2026 count? If that is included in the data set, it would then skew the best-fit line to be steeper. If a new prediction is made using that new best-fit line, that would further skew the line, and so on, causing the acceleration the title text anticipates between 2018 and 2020.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.88|162.158.63.88]] 20:10, 2 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
> Until the slope of the line becomes more than one and the prediction goes to the past, right? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.16|108.162.216.16]] 21:55, 2 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:No, it doesn't count, because it's just '''prediction''', while the data set is of (official) '''planned launch dates'''. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:06, 2 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
[[wikipedia:Heinz von Foerster#Doomsday equation|Von Foersters's doomsday]] is Friday 13th of November 2026. (cue Twilight Zone intro) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.175|162.158.89.175]] 21:20, 2 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Why does he keep saying it's 2021? Is he trying to skip Trump's term or what? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.211.10|172.68.211.10]] 00:30, 3 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
Why do you think that Trump will get only 1 term?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.70|141.101.76.70]] 17:10, 3 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
This is the same chart for the new airport in Berlin. Sadly its slope is not less than one, it is indeed accelerating...<br><br />
2006 &nbsp; &nbsp; 2011<br><br />
2010 &nbsp; &nbsp; 2012<br><br />
2012 &nbsp; &nbsp; 2013<br><br />
2013 &nbsp; &nbsp; 2014<br><br />
2014 &nbsp; &nbsp; 2016<br><br />
2015 &nbsp; &nbsp; 2018<br><br />
2016 &nbsp; &nbsp; 2018<br><br />
2017 &nbsp; &nbsp; 2022<br><br />
[[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 07:57, 3 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I feel a quadratic regression would be needed to determine acceleration / deceleration [[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.24|172.68.59.24]] 13:54, 3 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I wonder what this chart would look like for new york's 2nd avenue subway.<br />
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.130|162.158.75.130]] 17:36, 3 July 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
At least there _is_ a slope. How about Trump's wall? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.151|173.245.52.151]] 00:52, 4 July 2018 (UTC)</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1648:_Famous_Duos&diff=159585
1648: Famous Duos
2018-07-03T19:48:32Z
<p>173.245.52.151: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1648<br />
| date = February 26, 2016<br />
| title = Famous Duos<br />
| image = famous_duos.png<br />
| titletext = The Romeo and Butt-Head film actually got two thumbs up from Siskel and Oates.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In popular culture (the term is loosely used in this case) there are many '''famous duos''', such as {{w|Calvin & Hobbes}} (six-year-old boy and his toy tiger, from the cartoon strip with the same name) or {{w|David & Goliath}} (famous past King of Israel and giant, {{w|Biblical}} characters from the {{w|Book of Samuel}} in the {{w|Old Testament}}). (See the [[#Trivia|trivia section]] regarding an on-line list of duos).<br />
<br />
In this table, [[Randall]] describes a fictional {{w|Many-worlds interpretation|parallel universe}} where the same names are used in different combinations — instead of Calvin, it is now Thelma (from the movie ''{{w|Thelma & Louise}}'') who is paired up with Hobbes, and Calvin is instead paired off with the King, from ''{{w|Anna and the King}}''. In all cases the one mentioned first on the list is also mentioned first in our universe, so it is always of the form Calvin and the King, never Calvin and Anna. There are 24 duos, and all 48 partners are mentioned (they go through four [[#Cycles|cycles]]). (In the title text of [[1644: Stargazing]] from the week before this comic, there is an indirect reference to parallel universes/{{w|multiverse}}).<br />
<br />
The humor of this comic comes from the ridiculousness of the pairings, and the reader's imagination of the stories that are created with the pairs. See the whole [[#List of real duos|list of real duos]] as well as the [[#List of alternative duos|list of alternative duos]] below, with more detailed explanations.<br />
<br />
In the title text, alternative movie ''Romeo and Butt-Head'' is mentioned, the fifth entry on the list. This is a combination of the famous {{w|Shakespeare}} play "{{w|Romeo and Juliet}}", which has been filmed many times; most recently in ''{{w|Romeo + Juliet}}'' from 1996 with {{w|Leonardo DiCaprio}} and {{w|Claire Danes}} in the leading roles. {{w|Butt-Head}} is the less stupid one (of the very stupid duo) from the animated TV series ''{{w|Beavis and Butt-Head}}'' (and a {{w|Beavis and Butt-Head Do America|film}}). As Romeo and Juliet is one of the best known love stories and Butt-Head is one of the most disgusting teens ever depicted on the big screen (only overtaken by {{w|Beavis}}), the combination could create disturbing pictures in people's heads (especially in the heads of anyone who may identify themselves with Juliet).<br />
<br />
In the alternative universe, when this movie was released, it got the best possible review of two thumbs up from the critics ''Siskel and Oates''. {{w|Gene Siskel}} was paired with {{w|Roger Ebert}}, when they reviewed movies as the famous duo {{w|Siskel and Ebert}}. They were widely known for the "thumbs up/thumbs down" review summaries, with their best combined review being ''Two Thumbs Up'', one from each of them. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, they actually gave {{w|''Beavis & Butthead Do America''}} ''Two Thumbs Up''.<br />
<br />
In the alternative universe Siskel and his partner gives the film a (surprising) two thumbs up, but Ebert has been replaced with Oates. This is a reference to John Oates of {{w|Hall & Oates}}, a famous American musical duo from Philadelphia.<br />
<br />
There also exists a comedy duo named {{w|Garfunkel and Oates}}, formed by Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci, who chose the "Garfunkel and Oates" name by combining the second names from both ''Hall & Oates'' and ''{{w|Simon and Garfunkel}}'' (the latter duo is mentioned in the main comic). Although this exact combo would not be possible in the xkcd version, as the "real universe" combo takes the second names from two duos rather than the first name from one and the second name from another (as in this comic), there may definitely be a deliberate reference to this group as well which has taken the parallel universe idea into our universe.<br />
<br />
===List of real duos===<br />
*See the list of [[#List of alternative duos|alternative duos]] below.<br />
*In this list the ''partner index'' indicates whom the second from the duo is linked with in the comic<br />
**So in the case with Thelma (index 1) and Louise (partner index 3), this means that Louise is paired up with Batman (index 3).<br />
**Thelma is paired up with the Hobbes who has partner index 1.<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
|+ Famous duos in this universe<br />
|-<br />
! scope="col" | Name<br />
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | pairing<br />
! scope="col" | Partner<br />
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Explanation<br />
! scope="col" | Name index<br />
! scope="col" | Partner index<br />
|-<br />
| Thelma<br />
| and<br />
| Louise<br />
| ''{{w|Thelma & Louise}}'' is a famous road trip film from 1991.<br />
| 1<br />
| 3<br />
|-<br />
| When Harry<br />
| Met<br />
| Sally<br />
| ''{{w|When Harry Met Sally...}}'' is a romantic comedy film from 1989.<br />
| 2<br />
| 16<br />
|-<br />
| Batman<br />
| and<br />
| Robin<br />
| {{w|Batman}} and {{w|Robin (comic)|Robin}} are comic book characters (first appearance for Batman was in 1939 Robin the year after). There have been several {{w|Batman_in_film#Films|films}} including one called ''{{w|Batman & Robin (film)|Batman & Robin}}'' from 1997. A new Batman film ''{{w|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}}'' had its release date three weeks after the release of this comic (2016-02-26).<br />
| 3<br />
| 4<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Mark Antony|Antony}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Cleopatra}}<br />
| {{w|Mark Antony#Antony and Cleopatra|Antony and Cleopatra}} are historical figures who had an affair and three children together after the death of {{w|Julius Caesar}} up to Anthony's death 30 BC. Their combined names are best known from the play ''{{w|Antony and Cleopatra}}'' by {{w|Shakespeare}}.<br />
| 4<br />
| 12<br />
|-<br />
| Romeo<br />
| and<br />
| Juliet<br />
| {{w|Romeo and Juliet}} are characters from Shakespeare's famous romantic tragedy, from 1597, made into several {{w|Romeo and Juliet on screen#Significant feature releases|major films}}.<br />
| 5<br />
| 24<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Bonnie and Clyde#Bonnie Parker|Bonnie}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Bonnie and Clyde#Clyde Barrow|Clyde}}<br />
| {{w|Bonnie and Clyde}} were American criminals who traveled the central United States with their gang during the Great Depression until their death on May 23, 1934. They are well known from the film ''{{w|Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde}}''.<br />
| 6<br />
| 7<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Pinky and the Brain#Pinky|Pinky}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Pinky and the Brain#Characters|the Brain}}<br />
| Two mice from ''{{w|Pinky and the Brain}}'', an American animated TV series from the nineties.<br />
| 7<br />
| 20<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Paul Simon|Simon}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Art Garfunkel|Garfunkel}}<br />
| {{w|Simon & Garfunkel}} is a very famous musical duo from the sixties. (See also explanation for the title text).<br />
| 8<br />
| 22<br />
|-<br />
| Beauty<br />
| and<br />
| the Beast<br />
| {{w|Beauty and the Beast}} are fairy tale characters from a French book from 1740, today best known from the {{w|Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Disney film}} from 1991.<br />
| 9<br />
| 10<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Beavis}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Butt-head}}<br />
| ''{{w|Beavis and Butt-Head}}'' is an animated TV series from the nineties shown on {{w|MTV}}.<br />
| 10<br />
| 5<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Rocky the Flying Squirrel|Rocky}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Bullwinkle J. Moose|Bullwinkle}}<br />
| A flying squirrel and a moose known from the ''{{w|The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show}}'', an American animated TV series from the sixties.<br />
| 11<br />
| 2<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Bud Abbott|Abbott}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Lou Costello|Costello}}<br />
| {{w|Abbott and Costello}} is a famous American comedy duo whose work in vaudeville and on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the forties.<br />
| 12<br />
| 17<br />
|-<br />
| Dr. Jekyll<br />
| and<br />
| Mr. Hyde<br />
| Not really a duo, {{w|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (character)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde}} are the two sides of a well known character from the book ''{{w|Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde}}'' written by the Scottish author {{w|Robert Louis Stevenson}} in 1886. It has been adapted into several {{w|Adaptations_of_Strange_Case_of_Dr._Jekyll_and_Mr._Hyde#Film|films}}.<br />
| 13<br />
| 15<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Samson}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Delilah}}<br />
| Not really a duo, Samson and Delilah are Biblical characters from the {{w|Book of Judges}} (chapters 13-16). Samson was given supernatural strength by God in order to combat his enemies. Samson had two vulnerabilities, however: his attraction to untrustworthy women and his hair, without which he was just a normal man. These vulnerabilities ultimately proved fatal for him when Delilah had him reveal the secret of his hair, which she subsequently cut off. Then she handed him over to be captured by the Philistines, who gouged his eyes out and brought him to imprisonment in Gaza. He died while in capture but on his own terms. Delilah had not explained why he was no longer strong so his hair had been allowed to grow out again. When he got it all back he used his power to tear down a temple he was led into, taking many enemies standing on the roof with him in death.<br />
| 14<br />
| 11<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Butch Cassidy}}<br />
| and<br />
| the {{w|Sundance Kid}}<br />
| They are historical criminals who died in 1908. They were notorious American train and bank robbers with the {{w|Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch}} gang in 1899-1901. They were made famous by the film ''{{w|Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid}}'' from 1969.<br />
| 15<br />
| 23<br />
|-<br />
| Bill<br />
| and<br />
| Ted’s Excellent Adventure<br>and Bogus Journey<br />
| {{w|Bill & Ted (franchise)|Bill & Ted}} are characters from the two films ''{{w|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure}}'' (1989) and ''{{w|Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey}}'' (1991). The two titles are spread out on the two new pairings for Bill and Ted, in recognition that this duo is mainly known for these two films, although there also is a {{w|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990 TV series)|spin-off animated series}} from 1990-1991.<br />
| 16<br />
| 6<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|David}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Goliath}}<br />
| Not really a duo, David and Goliath were biblical adversaries best known from small David's defeat of giant Goliath in the story {{w|David#David_and_Goliath|David and Goliath}}. David later became the second king of Israel, according to the {{w|Books of Samuel}}, and according to the {{w|New Testament}}, an ancestor of {{w|Jesus}}.<br />
| 17<br />
| 8<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Sherlock Holmes}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Dr. Watson}}<br />
| Characters from {{w|Arthur Conan Doyle}} famous books (from 1887-1927) which have been made into numerous {{w|Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes#Film|films}}, recently (2009 and 2011) a new {{w|Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|series of movies}} has been released with {{w|Robert Downey Jr.}} and {{w|Jude Law}} as the two characters, and there have also been several TV series, most famously the {{w|Sherlock Holmes (1984 TV series)|1984 TV series}}.<br />
| 18<br />
| 19<br />
|-<br />
| Jay<br />
| and<br />
| Silent Bob<br />
| {{w|Jay and Silent Bob}} is a strange duo from {{w|View Askew Productions|View Askew's}} film universe first seen in the film {{w|Clerks}} from 1994 but they now even have a film names after the duo with {{w|Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back}} from 2001. The director of these movies, {{w|Kevin Smith}} plays Silent Bob, who of course rarely speaks, but when he finally does it often becomes a long defining monologue. Jay (played by {{w|Jason Mewes}}) talks all the time!<br />
| 19<br />
| 18<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Anna Leonowens|Anna}}<br />
| and<br />
| the {{w|Mongkut|King}}<br />
| Recently made famous by the film ''{{w|Anna and the King}}'' from 1999, based on the book ''{{w|Anna and the King of Siam (novel)|Anna and the King of Siam}}'' from 1944 by {{w|Margaret Landon}} who again is based on two memoirs written by Anna Leonowens in 1870 and 1872 based on her experience as Royal governess for King Mongkut's children and also as language secretary for the king from 1862-1867.<br />
| 20<br />
| 21<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes)|Calvin}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes)|Hobbes}}<br />
| ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}'' is a famous comic series by {{w|Bill Watterson}} that ran from 1985-1995. Calvin being a six-year-old boy and Hobbes is Calvin's stuffed tiger and best friend, who becomes animated in his private fantasy world. They have been [[:Category:Calvin and Hobbes|featured regularly]] in xkcd most prominently in the "duo" comic: [[409: Electric Skateboard (Double Comic)]].<br />
| 21<br />
| 1<br />
|-<br />
| Timon<br />
| and<br />
| Pumbaa<br />
| {{w|Timon and Pumbaa}} are characters from ''{{w|The Lion King}}'' film (1994) and they now also have their own {{w|The Lion King 1½|film from 2004}} and a {{w|Timon & Pumbaa (TV series)|TV series}} that ran from 1995-1999. There have been [[:Category:The Lion King|many references]] to ''The Lion King'' in xkcd, for instance the comment in the final panel of [[1504: Opportunity]], is from the original movie.<br />
| 22<br />
| 14<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Mary Kate Olsen|Mary Kate}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Ashley Olsen}}<br />
| Known as the {{w|Mary-Kate_and_Ashley_Olsen|Olsen twins}} these {{w|Twin#Dizygotic_.28fraternal.29_twins|fraternal twin}} actresses from 1986 have been on TV since they were infants (on ''{{w|Full House}}'' from 1987) and began starring together in TV, film, and video projects, which enabled them to join the ranks of the wealthiest women in the entertainment industry at a young age. They have previously been the pun of the joke in [[362: Blade Runner]].<br />
| 23<br />
| 13<br />
|-<br />
| {{w|Mario}}<br />
| and<br />
| {{w|Luigi}}<br />
| In the {{w|Mario (franchise)|''Mario'' series of video games}}, which started with the 1983 game ''{{w|Mario Bros.}}'', Mario and his brother Luigi are the main characters. ''Mario'' games have been referenced in several xkcd comics, such as [[151: Mario]] and the comics in the {{w|''Mario Kart''}} [[:Category:Mario Kart|category]].<br />
| 24<br />
| 9<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===List of alternative duos===<br />
*See the list of [[#List of real duos|real duos]] above.<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
|+ Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe<br />
|-<br />
! scope="col" | Duo name<br />
! scope="col" | Explanation<br />
|-<br />
| Thelma&nbsp;and&nbsp;Hobbes<br />
| In this essay [http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper/207623.html Political Philosophies in Thelma and Louise] the sentence ''Thelma and Hobbes's Total Sovereign Authority'' can be found. In this case it is a reference to {{w|Thomas Hobbes}} as the essay is an analysis of Thelma and Louise's actions and the decision they make in comparison to the political philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and {{w|Jean Jacques Rousseau}}. Hobbes was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy. He also developed some of the fundamentals of European liberal thought, which could be said to be relevant for the movie.<br />
|-<br />
| When Harry met Bullwinkle<br />
| {{w|Billy Crystal}} who played Harry in When Harry Met Sally... also has an uncredited cameo part as a mattress salesman in the movie {{w|The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle}} (see the list of uncredited actors on [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0131704/combined IMDb]). In this real action movie, Rocky and Bullwinkle ends up in the real world, where it thus becomes likely that Billy who played Harry ends up meeting Bullwinkle "in real life".<br />
|-<br />
| Batman and Louise<br />
| This duos name comes rather close to the real duo {{w|Clark Kent}} and {{w|Lois Lane}} especially since the film {{w|Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice}} was set for release three weeks after the release of this comic in February 2016.<br />
|-<br />
| Antony and Robin<br />
| There is a book called ''[http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Antony-Cleopatra-English-Literature/dp/0713155884 Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra"] written by a Robin Lee.<br />
|-<br />
| Romeo and Butthead<br />
| It would be quite a different story if either Butt-head should replace Juliet or if Romeo should replace Beavis... (Note Butt-Head is spelled with a hyphen, but has been misspelled in the comic.)<br />
|-<br />
| Bonnie and Ted's excellent adventure<br />
| There was not much excellent about the adventure for Bonnie as {{w|Ted Hinton}} was a Dallas County, Texas, deputy sheriff, the youngest of the posse that ambushed and killed Bonnie and Clyde in 1934. That they could have had an excellent adventure in an alternative universe becomes clear from this segment from his history on Wikipedia: "Ted Hinton was also once acquainted with young Bonnie Parker while she was working in Marco's Cafe in Dallas. Because of her good looks, many of the male customers would flirt with her. Hinton was always gentlemanly and treated Bonnie with respect. Hinton admitted in a later biography that he had a crush on Bonnie, which made it difficult for him as one of the men on the team sent to kill her and her lover, Clyde."<br />
|-<br />
| Pinky and Clyde<br />
| As can be seen in the table above this refers to Pinky the mouse from Pinky and the Brain and Clyde from Bonnie and Clyde. But {{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)#Pinky|Pinky}} and {{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)#Clyde|Clyde}} are also the names of the pink and orange {{w|Pacman}} ghosts in this universe. They are, however, not a duo as there are {{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)|four ghosts}} ({{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)#Blinky|Blinky}} and {{w|Ghosts (Pac-Man)#Inky|Inky}} being the two others).<br />
|-<br />
| Simon and Goliath<br />
| Goliath begins with G as Garfunkel. Simon was the shorter of the duo thus fitting as David vs. Goliath.<br />
|-<br />
| Beauty and Luigi<br />
| No direct relation to either Mario or the Beast. However, each story has had a less-popular adaptation that takes place in the sewers of New York City: the 1993 {{w|Super Mario Bros. (film)|''Super Mario Bros.'' film}} and the 1987-1990 {{w|Beauty and the Beast (1987 TV series)|"Beauty and the Beast" TV series}}. Of course, Mario and Luigi are beast hunters rather than beasts.<br />
|-<br />
| Beavis and the Beast<br />
| Beavis starts with the same three letters as Beauty, just like Beast does.<br />
|-<br />
| Rocky and Delilah<br />
| There is a book called ''[http://www.bensonink.com/delilahsdaughters.html Delilah's Daughters]'', by Angela Benson, where Delilah Monroe's (note the closeness to Munroe) late husband is called Rocky. (See also [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsIvBLuiiRs Rocky and Delilah] on YouTube...)<br />
|-<br />
| Abbot and Cleopatra<br />
| Abbot starts with an A as does Anthony. Cleopatra starts with a C as does Costello.<br />
|-<br />
| Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen<br />
| In the Robert Louis Stevenson story, Dr. Jekyll has a sinister alter-ego in Mr. Hyde just like twins are (almost) the same persons. Though the Olsen twins are not {{w|Twin#IdenticalTwins|identical twins}}, as children the two shared the role of Michelle Tanner on the U.S. sitcom ''Full House''. Jekyll and Hyde are two people in one body, while Mary Kate and Ashley were, in a way, one person in two bodies. There are only three switches in this cycle. Butch Cassidy takes Mr. Hyde and the other Olson twin takes The Sundance Kid. This means that both twins are paired with a man instead of as in real life with a woman.<br />
|-<br />
| Samson and Pumbaa<br />
| Samson has several letters in common with Timon but Samson is a huge man where Timon is a very small animal compared to the other main characters in The Lion King film.<br />
|-<br />
| Butch Cassidy and Mr. Hyde<br />
| See above explanation for Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen.<br />
|-<br />
| Bill and Sally's Bogus Journey<br />
| In this [http://www.rogerwhitney.com/casestudy/ case study] regarding retirement we ''meet Bill and Sally'' (as Sally met Harry). It could be said to be a ''bogus journey'' as it is just a case study.<br />
|-<br />
| David and Costello<br />
| As Costello was the smaller of Abbot and Costello this does not match up with David vs. a Goliath as it did with Goliath vs small Simon.<br />
|-<br />
| Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob<br />
| This is the only case of a direct switch between two duos. Dr. Watson usually listen to the musings of Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob is, as his name indicates, mainly silent. Jay talks all the time.<br />
|-<br />
| Jay and Dr. Watson<br />
| See explanation above for their respective real universe partners (the only case of a direct switch between two duos).<br />
|-<br />
| Anna and the Brain<br />
| The Brain desires to take over the world; the King is ruler of his domain.<br />
|-<br />
| Calvin and the King<br />
| Although it is Calvin's fantasy that decides what happens, it is Hobbes that behaves like the King in their relationship at least when it comes to displaying physical strength to determine who decides.<br />
|-<br />
| Timon and Garfunkel<br />
| Timon is put together with Garfunkel, which makes it a close match to Simon and Garfunkel.<br />
|-<br />
| Mary-Kate and the Sundance Kid<br />
| See above explanation for Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen.<br />
|-<br />
| Mario and Juliet<br />
| Mario would have no issue with balconies. His name has some similarities with Romeo.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Cycles===<br />
*There are four cycles.<br />
*The cycles listed below are sorted like explained this example from the longest cycle:<br />
**It starts with "Thelma" (from Thelma and Louse), who is paired with "Hobbes". Hobbes is then shown diagonally down in the next entry below, Calvin and Hobbes, thus leading from "Hobbes" to "Calvin", who is similarly paired with "the King" leading to Anna and so on, until "Batman" is paired with "Louise", completing the cycle.<br />
* First cycle: length 15<br />
Thelma & Louise<br />
Calvin & Hobbes<br />
Anna & the King<br />
Pinky & the Brain<br />
Bonnie & Clyde<br />
Bill & Ted<br />
Harry & Sally<br />
Rocky & Bullwinkle<br />
Samson & Delilah<br />
Timon & Pumbaa<br />
Simon & Garfunkel<br />
David & Goliath<br />
Abbot & Costello<br />
Antony & Cleopatra<br />
Batman & Robin<br />
<br />
* Second cycle: length 4<br />
Romeo & Juliet<br />
Beavis & Butthead<br />
Beauty & the Beast<br />
Mario & Luigi<br />
<br />
* Third cycle: length 3<br />
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde<br />
Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen<br />
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid<br />
<br />
* Fourth cycle: length 2<br />
Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson<br />
Jay & Silent Bob<br />
<br />
* Assigning an index starting with 1 (= Thelma & Louise) to 24 (= Mario & Luigi), they can be written as:<br />
<br />
(1, 21, 20, 7, 6, 16, 2, 11, 14, 22, 8, 17, 12, 4, 3)<br />
(5, 10, 9, 24)<br />
(13, 23, 15)<br />
(18, 19)<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Caption above the panel:]<br />
:Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe<br />
<br />
:[A list with 24 duos with a gray “and" between the two names (in one case it is a “met") and three times there is a gray word before (once) or after (twice) the names. The list is centered with the “and" in the middle disregarding the length of the names on each side:]<br />
:{|<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Thelma<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Hobbes<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | <font color="gray">When</font> Harry<br />
| <font color="gray">met</font><br />
| Bullwinkle<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Batman<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Louise<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Antony<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Robin<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Romeo <br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Butthead<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Bonnie<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Ted<font color="gray">'s excellent adventure</font><br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Pinky<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Clyde<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Simon<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Goliath<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Beauty<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Luigi<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Beavis<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| the Beast<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Rocky<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Delilah<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Abbot<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Cleopatra<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Dr. Jekyll<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Ashley Olsen<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Samson<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Pumbaa<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Butch Cassidy<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Mr. Hyde<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Bill<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Sally<font color="gray">'s Bogus Journey</font><br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | David<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Costello<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Sherlock Holmes<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Silent Bob<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Jay<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Dr. Watson<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Anna<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| the Brain<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Calvin<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| the King<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Timon<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Garfunkel<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Mary-Kate<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| the Sundance Kid<br />
|-<br />
| style="text-align:right;" | Mario<br />
| <font color="gray">and</font><br />
| Juliet<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*Here is a ranked list with [http://www.ranker.com/list/best-duos-of-all-time/ariel-kana The Best Duos of All Time].<br />
**When this comic came out there was still less than 300 duos on the list.<br />
**16 of the 24 in the comic, and one of the two mentioned in the title text was on this list.<br />
**Below the ranking refers to where they were on the list Sunday after the release of the comic (on Friday).<br />
**The index refers to the index from the table above with the [[#List of real duos|list of real duos]].<br />
:{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
|+ Ranking (on 2016-02-28) of famous Duos<br />
|-<br />
! scope="col" | Rank<br />
! scope="col" | Duo<br />
! scope="col" | Index<br />
|-<br />
| 2 || Batman and Robin|| 3<br />
|-<br />
| 8 || Holmes and Watson|| 18<br />
|-<br />
| 11 || Simon and Garfunkel|| 8<br />
|-<br />
| 22 || Thelma and Louise|| 1<br />
|-<br />
| 23 || Pinky and The Brain|| 7<br />
|-<br />
| 24 || Hall and Oates|| 26 Title text<br />
|-<br />
| 31 || Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid|| 15<br />
|-<br />
| 35 || Calvin and Hobbes|| 21<br />
|-<br />
| 41 || Jay and Silent Bob|| 19<br />
|-<br />
| 46 || Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|| 13<br />
|-<br />
| 71 || Abbott and Costello|| 12<br />
|-<br />
| 79 || Beauty and the Beast || 9<br />
|-<br />
| 85 || Antony and Cleopatra|| 4<br />
|-<br />
| 99 || Beavis and Butt-head|| 10<br />
|-<br />
| 106 || Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen|| 23<br />
|-<br />
| 110 || Romeo and Juliet|| 5<br />
|-<br />
| 206 || Rocky and Bullwinkle|| 11<br />
|-<br />
| N/A || When Harry Met Sally...|| 2<br />
|-<br />
| N/A || Samson and Delilah || 14<br />
|-<br />
| N/A || Bill & Ted|| 16<br />
|-<br />
| N/A || David and Goliath || 17<br />
|-<br />
| N/A || Anna and the King || 20<br />
|-<br />
| N/A || Timon and Pumbaa || 22<br />
|-<br />
| N/A || Mario and Luigi || 24<br />
|-<br />
| N/A || Siskel and Ebert || 25 Title text<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]<br />
[[Category:Calvin and Hobbes]]<br />
[[Category:The Lion King]]</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=113:_Riemann-Zeta&diff=159072
113: Riemann-Zeta
2018-06-21T04:24:00Z
<p>173.245.52.151: Did the formula for the zeta function in LaTeX</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 113<br />
| date = June 9, 2006<br />
| title = Riemann-Zeta<br />
| image = riemann-zeta.jpg<br />
| titletext = The graph is of the magnitude of the function with the real value between 0 and 2 and the imaginary between about 35 and 40. I've misplaced the exact parameters I used.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
A {{w|prime number}} is any natural number with exactly two natural factors (1 and itself). The set of prime numbers is infinite, but they are somewhat elusive; there is no known way to find or identify very large prime numbers except by trial and error. Some regularities in the primes have been found, but none that can fully predict their distribution.<br />
<br />
The {{w|Riemann zeta function}}, errantly referred to as the Riemann-Zeta function in the comic, is a function that takes in {{w|complex numbers}} and returns complex numbers. It is defined for Re(s)>1 as <math>\zeta(s)=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} \frac{1}{n^s}</math>. For the rest of its domain (all complex numbers except 1) it is defined with {{w|analytic continuation}}. Its magnitude can be graphed in 3D, producing the "rippled curtain" referenced and depicted in the comic. There is a particular relationship between the Riemann zeta function and prime numbers, which makes the function a viable target for those attempting to understand primes.<br />
<br />
Here, [[Randall]] appears to be talking to his significant other, comparing her to prime numbers and himself to the Riemann zeta function. It is mathematically correct and quite poetic, until he mentions that his relationship differs from the comparison because "The Riemann-Zeta function couldn't have given you {{w|herpes}}." This implies that he has infected his lover with an incurable venereal disease. The comic effect of an abrupt change in tone like this is known as {{w|bathos}}.<br />
<br />
As the alt-text indicates, the graph in the picture is of the magnitude of ζ(s) for some section of the complex plane. Randall has forgotten the exact imaginary bounds of the graph, but he knows that the real axis goes from 0 to 2 and the imaginary axis goes from about 35i to about 40i.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A z = fn(x, y) plot, with pointy spikes on the back sloping to a relatively flat front.]<br />
<br />
:You are like the prime numbers<br />
:Unpredictable turns, unconstrainable<br />
:Tantalizingly regular but never quite the same<br />
<br />
:I am like the Riemann-Zeta function<br />
:A rippled curtain of the imagined and real<br />
:Deeply tied with you in ways incomprehensible<br />
<br />
:Although, strictly speaking, The Riemann-Zeta function couldn't have given you herpes<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Charts]]</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=980:_Money/Prices_in_tables&diff=158895
980: Money/Prices in tables
2018-06-17T02:03:58Z
<p>173.245.52.151: Made Dollars, Thousands, and Millions sections collapsible.</p>
<hr />
<div>__NOTOC__<br />
*Here below are five sections with tables listing the prices of several items in [[980: Money]].<br />
*This is still work in progress.<br />
**[[980: Money/Prices in tables#Dollars|Dollars]]<br />
**[[980: Money/Prices in tables#Thousands|Thousands]]<br />
**[[980: Money/Prices in tables#Millions|Millions]]<br />
**[[980: Money/Prices in tables#Billions|Billions]]<br />
**[[980: Money/Prices in tables#Trillions|Trillions]]<br />
<br />
{{incomplete|''So'' disorganized. If you can organize this, please do. Many items are missing from the Billions and Trillions sections. Also we need someone to double-check the values, please.}}<br />
==Dollars==<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Item<br />
! Price<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Dollar bills<br />
|-<br />
| $1 Bill<br />
| $1<br />
|-<br />
| $10 Bill<br />
| $10<br />
|-<br />
| $500 Bill (William McKinley, discontinued)<br />
| $500<br />
|-<br />
| $1000 Bill (Grover Cleveland, discontinued)<br />
| $1000<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Fruit<br />
|-<br />
| Apples (one dozen) <br />
| $5.68<br />
|-<br />
| Oranges (one dozen)<br />
| $3.08<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Fast Food<br />
|-<br />
| Dollar menu item<br />
| $1.00<br />
|-<br />
| Starbucks Coffee<br />
| $2.00<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Average US Restaurant Meals<br />
|-<br />
| Average single US restaurant meal<br />
| $35.65<br />
|-<br />
| Average meal at the 20 costliest San Francisco restaurants<br />
| $85.27<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="7"|Dinner for four<br />
|-<br />
| Homemade rice and pinto beans<br />
| $9.26 (With time cost of two hours of shopping, travel, prep and cleanup: $41.80)<br />
|-<br />
| Homemade chicken dinner<br />
| $13.78 (With time cost of two hours of shopping, travel, prep and cleanup: $46.32)<br />
|-<br />
| McDonalds<br />
| $27.89 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $36.03)<br />
|-<br />
| Arby’s<br />
| $34.00 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $42.13)<br />
|-<br />
| Chili’s<br />
| $69.64 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $77.78)<br />
|-<br />
| Outback Steakhouse<br />
| $109.82 (With time cost of 30 minutes travel: $117.96)<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Vehicles<br />
|-<br />
| Low-end bicycle<br />
| $190<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Clothes<br />
|-<br />
| Men's suit<br />
| $400<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Debt<br />
|-<br />
| Daily interest on average credit card debt<br />
| $5.63<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Daily income<br />
|-<br />
| Median household daily income<br />
| $136.28<br />
|-<br />
| Taxes<br />
| $32.16<br />
|-<br />
| After-tax<br />
| $104.12<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Game Consoles<br />
|-<br />
| PS3<br />
| $250<br />
|-<br />
| Xbox 360<br />
| $200<br />
|-<br />
| Wii<br />
| $150<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="9"|Electronics<br />
|-<br />
| Kindle Fire<br />
| $199<br />
|-<br />
| Basic iPad<br />
| $499<br />
|-<br />
| iPad + 3G + a year of data<br />
| $869<br />
|-<br />
| Basic Macbook Air<br />
| $999<br />
|-<br />
| Netbook<br />
| $249.99<br />
|-<br />
| iPod Nano<br />
| $129<br />
|-<br />
| Mac Mini<br />
| $599<br />
|-<br />
| Comcast cable internet for a year ($59.99/month) || $719.88<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="7"|Books<br />
|-<br />
| Paperback book<br />
| $6.80<br />
|-<br />
| Hardcover book<br />
| $32.27<br />
|-<br />
| Audio book<br />
| $50.42<br />
|-<br />
| [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I15SB16/ref=r_kdia_h_i_gl Kindle]<br />
| $79.00<br />
|-<br />
| New video game<br />
| $49.99<br />
|-<br />
| Kindle keyboard + 3G<br />
| $139<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Loose change<br />
|-<br />
| Loose change per pound<br />
| $12.80<br />
|-<br />
| Loose change with no quarters<br />
| $5.40<br />
|-<br />
| One-gallon jug of loose change<br />
| $270<br />
|-<br />
| Loose change with no pennies<br />
| $17.40<br />
|-<br />
| Annual value of pennies received in change (at one daily cash purchase)<br />
| $7.30<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="7"|Pet ownership (Based on ASPCA estimations)<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of rabbit ownership<br />
| $730<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of dog ownership<br />
| $695<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of cat ownership<br />
| $670<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of fish ownership<br />
| $35<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of bird ownership<br />
| $200<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of small mammal ownership<br />
| $300<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Cell phone bill<br />
|-<br />
| Traditional cell phone average annual bill<br />
| $928.30<br />
|-<br />
| Smartphone average annual bill<br />
| $1,320<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Worker/CEO comparison<br />
|-<br />
| 1965 production worker average hourly wage<br />
| $19.61<br />
|-<br />
| 2007 production worker average hourly wage<br />
| $19.71<br />
|-<br />
| Typical 1965 CEO pay for the same period<br />
| $490.31<br />
|-<br />
| Typical 2007 CEO pay for the same period<br />
| $5419.97<br />
|}<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Thousands==<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Item<br />
! Price<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Typical household net worth by head of household’s age in 1984<br />
|-<br />
| <35 years<br />
| $11,680<br />
|-<br />
| 35-44 years<br />
| $72,090<br />
|-<br />
| 45-54 years<br />
| $115,060<br />
|-<br />
| 55-64 years<br />
| $149,240<br />
|-<br />
| >65 years<br />
| $122,100<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Typical household net worth by head of household’s age in 2009<br />
|-<br />
| <35 years<br />
| $3,710<br />
|-<br />
| 35-44 years<br />
| $40,140<br />
|-<br />
| 45-54 years<br />
| $103,040<br />
|-<br />
| 55-64 years<br />
| $164,270<br />
|-<br />
| >65 years<br />
| $172,820<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Raising a child to age 17<br />
|-<br />
| Upper income <br />
| $302,860<br />
|-<br />
| Middle income<br />
| $206,920<br />
|-<br />
| Lower income <br />
| $150,380<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="5"|Vacations<br />
|-<br />
| All-inclusive one-week trip for two to St. Lucia resort from New England (incl. flights)<br />
| $3,204<br />
|-<br />
| Twenty week-long Hawaiian vacations<br />
| $136,020<br />
|-<br />
| Typical week-long Hawaii trip for two from US West Coast (incl. flights)<br />
| $6,801<br />
|-<br />
| Typical weekend Hawaii trip for two from US West Coast incl. flights)<br />
| $2,863<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="5"|School Prices<br />
|-<br />
| Estimated one-year Hogwarts cost (incl. tuition)<br />
| $43,000<br />
|-<br />
| Seven-year Hogwarts degree<br />
| $301,000<br />
|-<br />
| Average community college tuition<br />
| $10,340 (One year $2,580)<br />
|- <br />
| Average in-state university tuition<br />
| $28,920 (One year $7,230)<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="8"|Income per capita (2005)<br />
|-<br />
| United States 2005 per capita income<br />
| $32,360<br />
|-<br />
| Switzerland 2005 per capita income<br />
| $29,910<br />
|-<br />
| Germany 2005 per capita income<br />
| $27,550<br />
|-<br />
| UK 2005 per capita income<br />
| $23,240<br />
|-<br />
| France 2005 per capita income<br />
| $16,400<br />
|-<br />
| China 2005 per capita income<br />
| $3,540<br />
|-<br />
| Brazil 2005 per capita income<br />
| $5,540<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="3"|Houses<br />
|-<br />
| Small rural house<br />
| $100,000<br />
|-<br />
| Typical new home<br />
| $224,910<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="3"|Health<br />
|-<br />
| Average individual health insurance annual premium<br />
| $5,430<br />
|-<br />
| Cancer treatment including chemo<br />
| $117,260<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="8"|Annual Household Costs<br />
|-<br />
| A daily pack of cigarettes for a year (NJ)<br />
| $3,050<br />
|-<br />
| One Starbucks latte per day<br />
| $1,820 <br />
|-<br />
| Average smartphone annual cost<br />
| $1,320<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost of car ownership<br />
| $3,650<br />
|-<br />
| Typical annual household spending<br />
| $5,650<br />
|-<br />
| Average household CC debt<br />
| $9,960<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost to carry that debt<br />
|$2,090<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="13"|Typical annual housing costs<br />
|-<br />
| NYC<br />
| $25,416<br />
|-<br />
| San Francisco<br />
| $21,888<br />
|-<br />
| Boston<br />
| $18,216<br />
|-<br />
| Los Angeles<br />
| $17,640<br />
|-<br />
| Washington DC<br />
| $16,380<br />
|-<br />
| Chicago<br />
| $13,664<br />
|-<br />
| Worcester<br />
| $12,456<br />
|-<br />
| Houston<br />
| $11,888<br />
|-<br />
| Minneapolis<br />
| $10,908<br />
|-<br />
| Detroit<br />
| $10,080<br />
|-<br />
| Salt Lake City<br />
| $9,108<br />
|-<br />
| Scranton<br />
| $8,604<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="4"|Prince William and Kate Middleton's Wedding<br />
|- <br />
| Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding cake<br />
| $78,000<br />
|-<br />
| Kate Middleton's wedding dress<br />
| $350,000<br />
|- <br />
| Flower cost for Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding<br />
| $800,000<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="10"|Value of an investment of $1,000/year <br />
(NOT accounting for inflation) for 30 years with 5% annual interest<br />
|-<br />
| 1 year<br />
| $1,000<br />
|- <br />
| 5 years<br />
| $5,526<br />
|- <br />
| 10 years<br />
| $12,850<br />
|-<br />
| 15 years<br />
| $21,580<br />
|-<br />
| 20 years<br />
| $33,070<br />
|- <br />
| 25 years<br />
| $47,730<br />
|-<br />
| 30 years<br />
| $66,440<br />
|- <br />
| 30 years ($30,000 saved in mattress)<br />
| $30,000<br />
|- <br />
| 30 years ($1,000/yr at 4% real return (long-term stock + divident average)<br />
| $56,080<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="3"|Value of investment (accounting for inflation)<br />
|-<br />
| 30 years<br />
| $27,370<br />
|- <br />
| 30 years ($30,000 saved in mattress)<br />
| $12,360<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="4"|Average Vehicle Costs<br />
|-<br />
| Average used car<br />
| $8,910<br />
|-<br />
| Average new car<br />
| $27,230<br />
|-<br />
| High-end bicycle <br />
| $1,500<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="15"|Total cost to buy and own selected vehicles for five years<br />
|-<br />
| Honda Insight<br />
| $27,874<br />
|- <br />
| Toyota Prius<br />
| $38,771<br />
|-<br />
| Jeep Patriot<br />
| $35,425<br />
|-<br />
| Honda Fit<br />
| $28,745<br />
|-<br />
| BMW Z4<br />
| $61,312<br />
|-<br />
| Ford Explorer<br />
| $45,524<br />
|-<br />
| Toyota Camry<br />
| $34,679<br />
|-<br />
| smart fortwo<br />
| $29,629<br />
|-<br />
| Honda CR-V<br />
| $35,183<br />
|-<br />
| Chevy Volt<br />
| $42,180<br />
|-<br />
| Hyundai Sonata<br />
| $34,644<br />
|-<br />
| Ford F-150<br />
| $48,734<br />
|-<br />
| Nissan Cube<br />
| $29,383<br />
|-<br />
| Porsche 911<br />
| $91,590<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="7"|Total cost to buy and own selected vehicles for five years if gas were $10/gallon<br />
|-<br />
| Toyota Prius<br />
| $48,990<br />
|-<br />
| Honda Fit<br />
| $45,233<br />
|-<br />
| Ford Explorer<br />
| $69,076<br />
|-<br />
| smart fortwo<br />
| $45,058<br />
|-<br />
| Chevy Volt<br />
| $50,612<br />
|-<br />
| Ford F-150<br />
| $77,111<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="8"|Typical annual household income<br />
|-<br />
| Bottom 20%<br />
| $10,200<br />
|- <br />
| Second 20%<br />
| $24,800<br />
|- <br />
| Middle 20%<br />
| $44,400 <br />
|- <br />
| Fourth 20%<br />
| $76,100<br />
|- <br />
| Top 10%<br />
| $201,100<br />
|-<br />
| Top 1%<br />
| $822,000<br />
|-<br />
| Top 1/500th<br />
| $2,080,000<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="6"|Median US household income<br />
|-<br />
| Median US household income<br />
| $51,570<br />
|-<br />
| After-tax<br />
| $39,170 <br />
|-<br />
| Taxes<br />
| $12,100<br />
|-<br />
| Total lifetime income from ages 25-65 at $50,000/year after 25% taxes (including Social Security)<br />
| $1,500,000<br />
|-<br />
| Cost per household served by US Rural Utilities Service program to expand broadband access<br />
| $359,790<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="13"|If I had $1000000 (Cost of the items the singer in "If I had $1000000" would buy in order to win your love: $263,330)<br />
|-<br />
| Furniture<br />
| $21,160<br />
|-<br />
| Plymouth Reliant<br />
| $3,000<br />
|-<br />
| Tree fort<br />
| $15,000<br />
|-<br />
| Llama<br />
| $2,120<br />
|-<br />
| Joseph Merrick's remains<br />
| N/A (Held in Royal London Hospital collection and not available for purchase)<br />
|-<br />
| House<br />
| $224,820<br />
|-<br />
| Tiny fridge<br />
| $99.08<br />
|-<br />
| Gourmet pre-wrapped sausages (2)<br />
| $34.48<br />
|- <br />
| Kraft Dinner (two double servings)<br />
| $3.06<br />
|-<br />
| Expensive ketchup<br />
| $10.75<br />
|-<br />
| Faux fur coat<br />
| $198.00<br />
|-<br />
| Limo ride to the store<br />
| $186.59<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="5"|Luxuries<br />
|-<br />
| [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Opulence_Sundae Golden Opulence ice cream sundae]<br />
| $1,000<br />
|-<br />
| Waist deep half-room ball pit<br />
| $2,400<br />
|-<br />
| All 30 bestselling game consoles (refurb, eBay)<br />
| $2,640<br />
|-<br />
| Initial seat on Virgin Galactic suborbital flight<br />
| $200,000<br />
|-<br />
!rowspan="3"|Video Games<br />
|-<br />
| Typing F-U-N-D-S<br />
| $10,000<br />
|-<br />
| Daily sales of [http://www.minecraft.net/ Minecraft]<br />
| $193,500<br />
|}<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Millions==<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Item<br />
! Price<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|Dr. Evil<br />
|-<br />
| Amount Dr. Evil thought he was demanding from the 1997 world<br />
| $6,630,000<br />
|-<br />
| Amount he was actually demanding<br />
| $1,380,000<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|William and Kates wedding<br />
|-<br />
| Flowers<br />
| $800,000<br />
|-<br />
| Security<br />
| $20,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Total cost<br />
| $800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="3"|$50000 salary for 40 years after 25% taxes<br />
|-<br />
| 50,000 salary for 40 years after 25% taxes<br />
| $1,500,000<br />
|-<br />
| Lifetime cost to avoid changing your oil by abandoning your car and buying a new one whenever you hit 5.000 miles<br />
| $3,270,000<br />
|}<br />
===Rare Items===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Thing !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| Qianlong Chinese vase sold in 2010 || $83,710,000<br />
|-<br />
| Leonardo’s Codex Leicester (bought by Bill Gates) || $45,930,000<br />
|-<br />
| Estimated value of first-edition Gutenberg Bible || $34,610,000<br />
|-<br />
| Double Eagle coin (All destroyed uncirculated save a few stolen from the US Mint) || $9,330,000<br />
|-<br />
| Treskilling Yellow postage stamp (At $50 billion/lb possibly the world’s most expensive thing by weight) || $2,780,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1297 Magna Carta original coypy signed by Edvard I || $21,890,000<br />
|-<br />
| Painting from The Card Players series (rumor) || $250,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Willem de Kooning’s “Woman III” (2006 auction) || $168,780,000<br />
|-<br />
| Jackson Pollock’s “No. 5, 1948” (2006 auction) || $153,440,000<br />
|-<br />
| Airbus A380 || $264,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mona Lisa assessed value || $730,660,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Prizes===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Amount !! Year !! Show/Movie !! Amount Today<br />
|-<br />
| $64,000<br />
| 1955<br />
| The $64,000 Question<br />
| $528,310<br />
|-<br />
| £1,000,000<br />
| 1998<br />
| Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (UK)<br />
| $2,270,000<br />
|-<br />
| $1,000,000<br />
| 1999<br />
| Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (USA)<br />
| $1,330,000<br />
|-<br />
| $1,000,000<br />
| 1955<br />
| The Millionaire (TV Show)<br />
| $8,250,000<br />
|-<br />
| $1,000,000<br />
| 1931<br />
| The Millionaire (Movie)<br />
| $14,530,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Bitcoins===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Thing !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| Market value of all Bitcoins as of 11/2011 || $22,819,797<br />
|-<br />
| Market value of all Bitcoins as at July 2011 peak price || $210,000,000<br />
|}<br />
===Elections===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Person !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| 2012 presidential fundraising || $188,260,000<br />
|-<br />
| Herman Cain || $5,380,000<br />
|-<br />
| Jon Huntsman || $4,510,000<br />
|-<br />
| Michele Bachmann || $9,870,000<br />
|-<br />
| Ron Paul || $12,790,000<br />
|-<br />
| Rick Perry || $17,200,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mitt Romney || $32,610,000<br />
|-<br />
| Barack Obama || $88,420,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $17,480,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Person !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 presidential campaign fundraising ||$1,860,390,000<br />
|-<br />
| Excluding candidate Lee L. Mercer, Jr of Houston, who claimed, in his combined FEC filings, || $900,005,507 in fundraising and $900,006,431 in campaign spending.<br />
|-<br />
| Ron Paul || $32,480,000<br />
|-<br />
| John Edwards || $64,410,000<br />
|-<br />
| Rudy Giuliani || $66,520,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mitt Romney || $116,730,000<br />
|-<br />
| Barack Obama ||$799,670,000<br />
|-<br />
| John McCain || $394,280,000<br />
|-<br />
| Hilary Clinton || $259,050,000<br />
|- <br />
| Other || $127,250,00<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Person !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| 2004 presidential campaign fundraising || $1,006,810,000<br />
|-<br />
| Howard Dean || $61,620,000<br />
|-<br />
| Wesley Clark || $34,610,000<br />
|-<br />
| John Edwards || $39,310,000<br />
|-<br />
| John Kerry || $352,090,000<br />
|-<br />
| George W. Bush || $429,660,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $89,520,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Person !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| 2000 presidential campaign fundraising || $805,120,000<br />
|-<br />
| Pat Buchanan || $37,440,000<br />
|-<br />
| John McCain || $75,180,000<br />
|-<br />
| Bill Bradley || $65,680,000<br />
|-<br />
| Steve Forbes || $114,400,000 *The Money Chart incorrectly reads $11,440,000<br />
|-<br />
| Al Gore || $170,520,000<br />
|-<br />
| George W. Bush || $247,100,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $94,800,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===2010 midterm elections fundraising===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Party !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| Democrats || $815,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Republicans || $587,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===2011-2012 Campaign donations by industry===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Party !! Funds donated<br />
|-<br />
| To Other || $16,000,000 approximately<br />
|-<br />
| To Democrats || $146,000,000 approximately<br />
|-<br />
| To Republicans || $145,000,000 approximately<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Party !! Funds donated<br />
|-<br />
| Finance industry || $122,900,000<br />
|-<br />
| Organized labor || $18,720,000<br />
|-<br />
| Energy industry || $26,680,000<br />
|-<br />
| Lawyers and general lobbyists || $57,590,000<br />
|-<br />
| Health industry || $42,727,000<br />
|-<br />
| Electronics and communication industry || $32,420,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Inaugurations===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Thing !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration || $174,100,000<br />
|-<br />
| Festivities (private donors) || $46,400,000<br />
|-<br />
| Federal + state + local government (mainly security) || $127,700,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Thing !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| George Bush’s 2005 inauguration || $178,600,000<br />
|-<br />
| Festivities (private donors) || $47,800,000<br />
|-<br />
| Federal + state + local government (mainly security) || $130,800,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Past presidential campaign fundraising===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|- <br />
! Campaign Year !! Funds raised<br />
|-<br />
| 1996 || $559,810,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1992 || $521,480,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 || $606,300,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1984 || $429,860,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 || $434,220,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1976 || $664,160,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Millionaires===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| Darell Issa (R-CA) net worth || $304,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Jane Harman (D-CA) net worth || $294,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| John Kerry (D-MA) net worth || $239,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mitt Romney net worth || $210,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Jon Huntsmann net worth || $40,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Average net worth of US senator || $13,400,000<br />
|-<br />
| Average net worth of US representative || $4,900,000<br />
|-<br />
| A billionare || $1,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Value of a solid gold toilet (626 lbs) by year===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year !! Value (Approximate)<br />
|-<br />
| 1967 || $2,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1968 || $2,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1969 || $2,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1970 || $2,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1971 || $2,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1972 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1973 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1974 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1975 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1976 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1977 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1978 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1979 || $9,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 || $15,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1981 || $10,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1982 || $8,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1983 || $9,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1984 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1985 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1986 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1987 || $8,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1989 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1990 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1991 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1992 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1993 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1994 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1995 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1996 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1997 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1998 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1999 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2000 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2001 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2002 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2003 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2004 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2005 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2006 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2007 || $8,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 || $8,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || $10,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2010 || $13,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2011 || $15,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Value of a carry-on suitcase full of $100 bills (30,00 ct, 60lbs)===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year !! Value (Approximate)<br />
|-<br />
| 1967 || $20,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1968 || $19,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1969 || $18,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1970 || $17,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1971 || $16,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1972 || $16,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1973 || $15,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1974 || $13,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1975 || $12,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1976 || $12,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1977 || $11,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1978 || $10,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1979 || $9,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 || $8,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1981 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1982 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1983 || $7,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1984 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1985 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1986 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1987 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 || $6,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1989 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1990 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1991 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1992 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1993 || $5,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1994 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1995 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1996 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1997 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1998 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1999 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2000 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2001 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2002 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2003 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2004 || $4,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2005 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2006 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2007 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2010 || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2011 || $3,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Per US resident===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| $1 per US resident || $312,620,000<br />
|-<br />
| $1 per US household || $117,290,000<br />
|-<br />
| $10 from every US resident || $3,326,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| $10 from every US household || $1,179,180,000<br />
|-<br />
| Amount needed to live comfortably off investments || $4,090,000<br />
|-<br />
| EPA value of a human life || $8,120,000<br />
|-<br />
| Six Million Dollar Man (2011 dollars) || $29,870,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Raptors===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Price !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| One F-22 raptor || $154,500,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| One velociraptor || $1,9300,000 || (25% of Jurassic Park production budget amortized over three velociraptors)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Professional rapper net worth===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Rapper !! Net worth <br />
|-<br />
| 50 Cent || $100,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 50 Cent (stage name) || $0.50<br />
|-<br />
| 50 Cent (adjusted for inflation) || $0.70<br />
|-<br />
| Birdman || $100,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Dr Dre || $125,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Jay-Z || $450,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Diddy || $475,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===J.K. Rowling===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| J.K. Rowlinng || $1,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| J. K. Rowling had she become a rapper || $82,000 || Professional assessment by rapper/geek culture expert MC Frontalot<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Annual hurricane forecast R&D funding===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| Annual hurricane forecast R&D funding || $20,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Hurricane forecast improvement funding since 1989 || $440,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Economic savings--during Hurricane Irene alone--due to limiting evacuations made possible by recent forecast advances || $700,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Corporation Expenses===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| 30-second Super Bowl ad slot || $3,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Annual cost to run Wikipedia || $18,500,000<br />
|-<br />
| Loss in NewsCorp value over hacking scandal || $750,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Vehicles===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Price<br />
|-<br />
|Most expensive production car (Bugatti Veyron) || $2,400,000<br />
|-<br />
| Most expensive car ever sold (1957 Ferrari 250) || $16,390,000<br />
|-<br />
| Marginal cost to launch one shuttle || $450,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Total shuttle program per launch || $450,000,000 <br />
|- <br />
| One B-2 bomber || $2,500,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Structures===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| Large city office building || $100,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Dubai Fountain || $224,540,000<br />
|-<br />
| Burj Khalifa || $1,5210,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| New Yankee Stadium || $1,545,000,000<br />
|}<br />
===Video Games===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Price<br />
|-<br />
| Minecraft sales by October 2011 || $56,780,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Billions==<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><br />
<br />
===Harry Potter movie franchise total revenue===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|- <br />
| Harry Potter movie franchise total revenue || $21,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Treasure found in a temple in India in 2011 || $22,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Box office revenue===<br />
Adjusted for monetary inflation but not ticket price inflation<br />
Hilighted [sic]: films that earned more than 2009's ''Avatar''<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year !! Movie !! Revenue !! Highlighted<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || ''Avatar'' || $783,510,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 || ''The Dark Knight'' || $547,520,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2003 || ''Shrek 3'' || $516,610,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1999 || ''The Phantom Menace'' || $572,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1997 || ''Titanic'' || $827,260,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1994 || ''Lion King'' || $625,810,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1993 || ''Jurassic Park'' || $625,810,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1984 || ''Ghostbusters'' || $507,720,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1983 || ''Return of the Jedi'' || $686,710,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1982 || ''E.T.'' || $996,580,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 || ''The Empire Strikes Back || $778,530,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1977 || ''Star Wars'' || $1,681,000,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1975 || ''Jaws'' || $1,067,510,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1973 || ''The Exorcist'' || $1,019,000,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1965 || ''The Sound of Music'' || $1,144,920,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1962 || ''101 Dalmatians'' || $1,131,310,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1960 || ''Ben-Hur'' || $561,090,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1957 || ''The Ten Commandments'' || $532,570,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1943 || ''Bambi'' || $1,391,000,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1942 || ''Fantasia'' || $1,146,000,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1940 || ''Gone with the Wind'' || $3,157,000,000 || Yes<br />
|-<br />
| 1938 || ''Snow White'' || $2,841,700,000 || Yes<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
===Charity===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Amount given<br />
|-<br />
| US annual charitable giving || $294,850,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To religious organizations || $102,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To educational organizations || $42,240,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To foundations || $33,450,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To human services || $26,850,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To societal benefit organizations || $24,570,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To health organizations || $23,140,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To international affairs || $15,980,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To arts and culture || $13,460,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| To animals and environment || $6,750,000,000<br />
|}<br />
====Type of giving:====<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Type !! Amount given<br />
|-<br />
| Individual giving || $214,650,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Foundation grantmaking || $41,560,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Bequests || $23,140,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Corporate giving || $15,500,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Gates Foundation total giving since 1994===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Amount given<br />
|-<br />
| Gates Foundation total giving since 1994 || $25,360,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Global health || ~12B<br />
|-<br />
| US || ~4B<br />
|-<br />
| Developments || ~3B<br />
|-<br />
| Grants || ~1B<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Book publishing industry revenue===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Genre !! Revenue<br />
|-<br />
| Book publishing industry revenue || $28,320,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Romance || $1,380,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Trade books || $14,130,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| K-12 || $5,570,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Professional || $3,750,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Higher education || $4,560,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Video game industry revenue===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Revenue<br />
|-<br />
| Video game industry revenue || $48,900,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| United States || $18,830,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Education===<br />
{| class= "wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Student loans outstanding || $955,800,000,000 ||<br />
|- <br />
| Federal student loans || $792,900,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Defaulted Federal student loans || $65,020,000,000 || Private total unknown<br />
|-<br />
| Private student loans || $163,900,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Total spending on primary and secondary education in the US || $612,470,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Teacher Salaries || $295,810,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Total annual higher education spending in the US || $355,110,000,000 ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Harvard University revenue===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Revenue<br />
|-<br />
| Tuition, donations, and fees || $1,425,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Investments || $7,900,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
In other words, if Harvard completely eliminated tuition, it would mean roughly a 15% budget cut.<br />
<br />
===Education foundations===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Foundation !! Amount given<br />
|-<br />
| Gates Foundation || $36,700,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| INGKA Foundation || $36,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute || $14,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Ford Foundation || $13,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation || $6,100,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Endowments of the 63 wealthiest universities===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! University !! Endowments<br />
|-<br />
| Endowments of the 63 wealthiest universities || $277,570,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Harvard || $32,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Yale || $19,400,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Princeton || $17,100,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| U of Texas || $16,610,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Stanford || $16,500,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| MIT || $9,900,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Columbia || $7,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| U of Michigan || $7,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Texas A&M || $7,030,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Northwestern || $7,030,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Corporate revenue===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Corporation !! Revenue !! Profit !! Loss<br />
|-<br />
| Walmart || $421,800,000,000 || $16,390,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| ExxonMobil || $354,700,000,000 || $30,460,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Chevron || $196,300,000,000 || $19,020,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Fannie Mae || $153,800,000,000 || || $14,010,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| GE || $151,600,000,000 || $11,640,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Berkshire Hathaway || $136,100,000,000 || $12,970,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| PepsiCo || $57,840,000,000 || $6,320,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Coca-Cola || $35,840,000,000 || $11,800,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| VISA || $8,100,000,000 || $2,700,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| MasterCard || $5,500,000,000 || $1,850,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| General Motors || $135,600,000,000 || $6,170,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Ford || $129,000,000,000 || $6,560,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Chrysler || $44,950,000,000 || || $653,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| AT&T || $124,600,000,000 || $19,860,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Verizon || $106,560,000,000 || $2,550,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Bank of America || $134,20,000,000 || || $2,240,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| JP Morgan Chase || $115,480,000,000 || $17,370,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Citigroup || $111,060,000,000 || $10,600,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| AGI || $104,420,000,000 || $17,370,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| HP || $126,000,000,000 || $8,780,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Apple || $65,230,000,000 || $14,010,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Microsoft || $62,480,000,000 || $18,760,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Google || $29,320,000,000 || $8,510,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Combined annual profit of the Fortune 500 companies || || $708,600,000,000 ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===US health care spending===<br />
<br />
===Total annual tax breaks to the five largest oil companies===<br />
<br />
===US GDP===<br />
Combined economic value of all goods and services produced in a year<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| US GDP || $14,545,950,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Government || $1,980,640,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Real estate || $1,925,210,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Non-rental Real estate || $1,737,500,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Rental and leasing || $187,610,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Nondurable goods || $739,300,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Food, beverage, and tobacco || $212,330,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Chemicals || $223,050,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Petroleum and coal || $123,630,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Apparel || $12,050,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Paper products || $57,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Plastics and rubber products || $58,410,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Textile mills || $18,130,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Printing and related supports || $33,790,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Durable goods || $898,420,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Computers and electronics|| $212,640,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Metal products || $125,590,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Machinery || $116,110,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Wood products || $21,530,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Furniture || $24,930,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Motor vehicles, trailers, and parts || $80,560,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other transportation equipment || $93,440,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mineral products || $39,360,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Metals || $44,710,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Electrical equipment and components|| $53,260,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Miscellaneous || $81,390,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Finance and insurance || $1,207,030,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Federal Reserve banks and credit intermediaries || $529,540,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Insurance || $437,340,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Investments || $180,500,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Funds and trusts || $59,550,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Professional and business services || $1,752,750,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Waste management || $39,870,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Administrative and support services || $358,110,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Legal services || $225,830,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Computer systems design and service || $174,730,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Corporate management || $253,950,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other professional or technical services || $700,250,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Health and education || $1,294,580,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Social assistance || $93,750,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Ambulatory health care services || $529,750,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Hospitals || $466,390,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Educational services || $159,580,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Utilities || $276,210,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other services || $345,540,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Construction || $553,750,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Retail trade || $844,380,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Wholesale trade || $804,410,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mining || $248,080,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mining (other than oil and gas) || $50,380,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mining support || $51,270,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Oil and gas || $145,990,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Agriculture || $137,120,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Farms || $107,140,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Forestry, fishing, and related || $30,080,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Arts and entertainment || $528,620,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Food service || $285,480,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Performing arts, sports, and museums || $73,040,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Amusements, gambling, and general recreation || $73,040,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake Randall made and should read $58,110,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Accommodation || $111,990,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Information || $658,630,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Broadcasting and telecommunications|| $366,560,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Information and data processing || $78,300,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Film, video, and sound recording || $61,610,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Publishing (including software) || $152,170,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Transportation and storage || $401,280,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Warehousing and storage || $40,590,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Water || $14,730,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Air || $36,770,000,000 || This appears to be a mistake Randall and should read $63,680,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Rail || $31,730,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Truck || $116,520,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Transit and land passenger || $24,110,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Pipeline || $12,360,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other transport) || $97,560,000,000<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Billionaires===<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
! Category<br />
! Person<br />
! Networth<br />
! Ten Richest Ranking<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="14"|Technology<br />
|-<br />
| Carlos Slim Helú and family<br />
| $74,000,000,000<br />
| First<br />
|-<br />
| Bill Gates<br />
| $56,000,000,000<br />
| Second<br />
|-<br />
| Larry Ellison<br />
| $39,500,000,000<br />
| Fifth<br />
|-<br />
| Larry Page<br />
| $19,800,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Sergey Brin<br />
| $19,800,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Jeff Bezos<br />
| $18,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Steve Ballmer<br />
| $14,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Mark Zuckerberg<br />
| $13,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Paul Allen<br />
| $13,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Steve Jobs (D)<br />
| $8,300,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Eric Schmidt<br />
| $7,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Sean Parker<br />
| $1,600,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Steve Case<br />
| $1,300,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="9"|Politicians and alleged evil plutocratic puppet masters<br />
|-<br />
| Warren Buffett<br />
| $50,000,000,000<br />
| Third<br />
|-<br />
| Charles Koch<br />
| $22,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| David Koch<br />
| $22,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Michael Bloomberg<br />
| $18,100,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| George Soros<br />
| $14,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Silvio Berlusconi and family<br />
| $7,800,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Rupert Murdoch<br />
| $7,600,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| David Geffen<br />
| $6,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="6"|Uncategorized<br />
|-<br />
| Bernard Arnault<br />
| $41,000,000,000<br />
| Fourth<br />
|-<br />
| Lakshmi Mittal<br />
| $31,100,000,000<br />
| Sixth<br />
|-<br />
| Amancio Ortega<br />
| $31,000,000,000<br />
| Seventh<br />
|-<br />
| Eike Batista<br />
| $30,000,000,000<br />
| Eighth<br />
|-<br />
| Mukesh Ambani<br />
| $27,000,000,000<br />
| Ninth<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Walmart<br />
|-<br />
| Christy Walton and family<br />
| $26,500,000,000<br />
| Tenth<br />
|-<br />
| Jim Walton<br />
| $21,300,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Alice Walton<br />
| $21,200,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| S. Robson Walton<br />
| $21,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Fictional (source: ''Forbes'')<br />
|-<br />
| Carlisle Cullen<br />
| $34,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Scrooge McDuck<br />
| $33,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Bruce Wayne<br />
| $6,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Artemis Fowl<br />
| $1,900,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="4"|Fashion<br />
|-<br />
| Lilianne Bettencourt<br />
| $23,500,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Ralph Lauren<br />
| $5,800,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Ronald Lauder<br />
| $3,100,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="5"|Art and media<br />
|-<br />
| George Lucas<br />
| $3,200,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Oprah Winfrey<br />
| $3,200,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| Five wealthiest rappers combined<br />
| $1,250,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
| J. K. Rowling<br />
| $1,000,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
! rowspan="2"|Donald Trump<br />
|-<br />
| Donald Trump<br />
| $2,700,000,000<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Combined net worth of the world's 1,210 billionaires $4,500,000,000,000<br />
<br />
===Corporations===<br />
by market capitalization (combined value of all stock)<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Company !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| Saudi Aramco (State-owned company--estimated market value) || $2,940,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Apple || $358,310,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| ExxonMobil || $357,910,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| PetroChina || $280,160,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| IBM || $211,640,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Microsoft || $211,340,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Bank of China || $208,810,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| China Mobile || $201,510,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Royal Dutch Shell || $199,780,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Nestle || $193,700,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Chevron || $188,030,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Facebook 2011 valuation || $70,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| AT&T attempted T-Mobile purchase || $39,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Facebook 2010 valuation || $33,450,000,000<br />
|- <br />
| Zynga 2011 valuation || $14,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| LivingSocial 2011 valuation || $2,980,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===US household income===<br />
<br />
===Cost to buy the world a coke===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Cost<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to buy the world a coke (2011 wholesale prices) || $2,240,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Coca-Cola's annual marketing budget || $2,980,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to teach the world to sing (four half-hour lessons at $30 each) || $840,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===State government spending===<br />
<br />
[map without amounts]<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
| Total US states' debt || $46,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====US foreign military aid====<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Amount <br />
|-<br />
| Total || $11,010,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Afghanistan || $5,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Israel || $2,410,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Egypt || $1,320,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $5,800,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====US foreign humanitarian and economic aid====<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Amount<br />
|-<br />
| Total || $11,010,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Iraq and Afghanistan || $5,370,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| West Bank and Ghana || $1,050,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Africa (total) || $8,850,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $19,130,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Ft. Knox gold reserves===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| Ft. Knox gold reserves (November 2011 prices) || $245,900,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Unclaimed US treasury bonds || $16,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| All the tea in China || $4,210,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Corporate tax deduction===<br />
<br />
(Note: some of the corporate deductions are very technical, and even with the help of a technical accountant, I had trouble making sense of them. The text below is my best attempt at an English interpretation of the legalese.)<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Deductions<br />
|-<br />
| Corporate tax deduction || $125,180,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Reduced tax on first $10 million of corporate income || $3,240,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Delay of taxes on 'income' made from defaulting on a debt (Temporary stimulus measure) || $21,390,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Temporary change to equipment depreciation rules allowing more (and sooner) deductions on the purchase of new equipment || $24,390,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Clean energy, space, science, and tech R&D || $13,900,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Miscellaneous rules for international corporate finance || $6,800,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Foreign corporation income financing rules || $13,680,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Individual tax deductions===<br />
These are types of income, or uses of income, which the government has partly or fully exempt from tax, often to encourage some activity. This can be thought of as "spent" tax revenue, although it's not quite that simple; there's no guarantee that removing the deduction would add that amount of revenue, because the presence of the deduction may be affecting taxpayers' spending habits.<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Deductions<br />
|-<br />
| Small business health insurance|| $1,620,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Federal employee expenses abroad || $7,910,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| EITC (anti-poverty low-income tax credit) || $78,760,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Donations to charity || $39,130,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Capital gains (investment income) || $78,760,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Pension contributions || $84,940,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other || $64,970,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Employee fringe benefits || $6,690,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Scholarships || $2,130,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Property taxes || $15,710,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Employer-provided transportation || $3,850,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Retirement accounts || $24,630,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Cafeteria plans || $26,760,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| State and local bonds || $19,560,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Company daycare || $3,140,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| College and university tax credits || $12,060,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mortgage interest || $92,040,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Medicare Benefits || $55,850,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Child care || $55,850,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Employer health plans || $107,140,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Making Work Pay (ending) || $60,510,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| First-time homebuyer credit || $8,820,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Veterans' benefits || $5,570,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Life insurance benefits || $25,750,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Capital gains death exclusion || $25,750,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Social security and railroad retirement || $27,170,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Home sale capital gains || $15,200,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Federal spending===<br />
<br />
===Disasters===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Disaster !! Estimated Total Damage !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Japan 2011 Earthquake || $235,000,000,000 || reconstruction and recovery cost, World Bank estimate<br />
|-<br />
| Hurricane Katrina || $107,440,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 US Drought || $78,060,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 US Drought || $60,740,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Hurricane Andrew || $46,180,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 9/11 insured losses || $40,000,000,000 || For hurricanes, the rule of thumb is that total losses are roughly double insured losses. It is unclear if a similar rule exist for terrorism.<br />
|-<br />
| Hurricane Ike || $28,170,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Hurricane Irene || $8,000,000,000 || (estimated)<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Hypothetical disasters===<br />
Estimated total losses if the disaster happened today<br />
(based on insurance industry modeling)<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Disaster !! Estimated Total Losses !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| 1938 Long Island Express || $236,960,000,000 || if it had curved left and made landfall in New Jersey instead of Long Island<br />
|-<br />
| 1812 New Madrid, Missouri earthquake || $206,050,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1926 Miami hurricane || $202,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1909 San Francisco earthquake || $197,810,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1907 Galveston hurricane || $82,420,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Long Island Express || $78,060,000,000 || (1938 New England Hurricane)<br />
|-<br />
| Charleston SC, quake of 1886 || $76,240,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake || $12,360,000,000 ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Cost of electricity===<br />
<br />
===BP oil spill claims fund===<br />
<br />
===New York CIty===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Combined Property Value<br />
|-<br />
| New York City || $806,490,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Manhattan || $281,040,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Queens || $208,180,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Brooklyn || $201,230,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Staten Island || $61,230,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Bronx || $54,660,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Megaprojects===<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Project !! Cost !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| National missile defense shield cost through 2013 || $107,690,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| F-22 Raptor program || $67,610,000,000 || halted<br />
|-<br />
| Planned Russian Bering Strait tunnel || $66,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Obama's 2011 high-speed rail proposal || $53,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to build SF-to-LA high-speed rail || $45,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| UK Crossrail || $26,490,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| King Abdullah Economic City || $50,020,000,000 || High-speed rail $9,120,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Hong Kong International airport || $27,120,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Manhattan Project || $24,400,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2nd Avenue NYC subway line || $17,960,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Big Dig cost || $18,510,000,000 || as of 2008<br />
|-<br />
| Failed Army intelligence-sharing computer system || $2,700,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Bay Bridge span replacement || $6,300,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Downtown Dubai project || $20,270,000,000 || Burj Khalifa $1,520,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Channel Tunnel || $22,960,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Nimitz-class carrier || $4,930,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Gerald R. Ford-class carrier || $9,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Amtrak 30-year plan for northeast corridor || $192,000,000,000 || Randall made a mistake here the value represented by the blocks is $117,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| City Qatar is building to host the 2022 World Cup || $207,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Apollo moon landing project || $192,000,000,000 || <br />
|-<br />
| International Space Station || $138,000,000,000 || <br />
|-<br />
| Space Shuttle program || $194,620,000,000 || <br />
|-<br />
| US interstate highway system || $465,970,000,000 || The largest single public-works project in the history of mankind<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Federal budget===<br />
<br />
===Budget options===<br />
<br />
===Stimulus spending===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 Total || $205,930,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Individual tax breaks || $120,110,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Student loan guarantees || $33,470,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Business tax breaks || $52,360,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 Total || $747,950,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Tax breaks || $307,530,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Education || $90,460,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Medicare/Medicaid || $80,500,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Transportation || $32,560,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Unemployment || $62,740,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Infrastructure || $24,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Other spending || $150,160,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Bailouts===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| 1980s-1990 S&L bailout || $78,300,000,000 || total cost to taxpayers<br />
|-<br />
| Cost to FDIC of bank failures || $19,000,000,000 || resulting from the 2008 financial crisis<br />
|-<br />
| TARP bailout funds distributed || $392,980,000,000 || Out of $700,000,000,000 available<br />
|-<br />
| Estimated TARP taxpayer losses || $41,660,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Value of outstanding TARP assets || $144,440,000 || Randall made a mistake here the chart should read $144,440,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Bailout funds returned || $206,880,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Current Eurozone bailout fund || $1,361,700,000,000 ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===US Spending on Wars===<br />
Including only direct spending on war operations, and not resulting veterans' benefits or interest on debt incurred.<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! War !! Cost<br />
|-<br />
| World War I || $334,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Spanish-American War || $9,030,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Civil War || $79,740,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| American revolution || $2,410,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1812 || $1,550,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Mexican War || $2,380,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| World War II || $4,104,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Korean War || $341,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Vietnam War || $738,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Persian Gulf War || $102,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Iraq War || $784,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| War in Afghanistan || $321,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
</div><br />
<br />
==Trillions==<br />
<div class="toccolours mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><br />
<br />
===Size of derivatives markets by year===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year !! Size of market<br />
|-<br />
| 1988 || $3,090,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 1995 || $26,690,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2001 || $86,390,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2005 || $227,260,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || $439,000,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
====Size of credit default swap market by year (included in derivatives)====<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year !! Size of market<br />
|-<br />
| 2001 || $1,150,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2005 || $19,350,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2007 || $66,280,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || $31,350,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
===US household net worth===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Worth<br />
|-<br />
| US household || $58,740,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Poorer half || $1,470,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Richer half || $57,270,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Richest 1% || $19,620,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Total debt in the US===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Worth<br />
|-<br />
| Total debt in the US || $36,580,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| State and local government || $2,500,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Household || $13,560,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Federal government || $9,510,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Business || $10,980,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===World GDP===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! GDP<br />
|-<br />
| World || $62,900,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| North America || $17,850,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| United States || $14,530,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| South America || $3,070,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| EU || $16,240,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Europe (incl. Russia and Turkey) || $20,130,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Africa || $1,610,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Asia || $17,530,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Oceania || $1,310,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Total public debt===<br />
(Note: US figures are from 2011, while the other totals use 2010 debt in 2011 dollars, which is likely an underestimate.)<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Area !! Debt !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| EU (total) || $13,340,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| United States || $10,200,000,000,000 || (Plus internal government borrowing of 4,740,000,000,000)<br />
|-<br />
| Japan || $8,630,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Germany || $2,480,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Italy || $2,140,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| India || $2,140,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| China || $1,907,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| France || $1,767,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| United Kingdom || $1,654,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Brazil || $1,281,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Canada || $1,130,000,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Spain || $834,210,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Mexico || $584,860,000,000 ||<br />
|-<br />
| Greece || $460,180,000,000 ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
===Energy reserves===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Type of energy !! World total proven [type] reserves !! US Reserves<br />
|-<br />
| Oil || $131,960,000,000,000 (November 2011 prices) || $20,580,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Coal || $72,850,000,000,000 (2011 central Appalachian prices) || $20,020,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Natural gas || $21,470,000,000,000 (2011 NYMEX prices) || $930,470,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Value of 10 years of electricity generated if the surface of Texas was converted to:===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Thing !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| Solar power plants || $89,240,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Wind turbines || $7,950,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===All US real estate===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Type !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| All || $28,380,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Home || $23,010,000,000,000<br />
|-<br />
| Commercial (includes stores, apartments, industrial, etc.) || $5,370,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Value of all gold ever mined===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| Value of all gold ever mined (late 2011 prices) || $9,120,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Liquid Assets===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Item !! Value<br />
|-<br />
| World Total Liquid Assets || $77,000,000,000,000<br />
|}<br />
<br />
<br />
===GDP by year===<br />
{|class=wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year !! GDP (total economic activity) the world (minus US) !! GDP (total economic productivity) of the US (minus government) !! US federal government<br />
|-<br />
| 1920 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1930 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1940 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1950 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1960 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1970 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1980 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 1990 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2000 || || ||<br />
|-<br />
| 2010 || || ||<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Estimated total economic production of the human race (so far)===<br />
{| class="wikitable sortable"<br />
|-<br />
! Thing !! Value !! Notes<br />
|-<br />
| Estimated total economic production of the human race (so far) || $2,396,950,000,000,000 || (roughly three-fifths of it since 1980)<br />
|}<br />
</div><br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:0980}}</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2000:_xkcd_Phone_2000&diff=158008
2000: xkcd Phone 2000
2018-05-30T20:08:30Z
<p>173.245.52.151: Noted that the name is also a reference to the comic number</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 2000<br />
| date = May 30, 2018<br />
| title = xkcd Phone 2000<br />
| image = xkcd_phone_2000.png<br />
| titletext = Our retina display features hundreds of pixels per inch in the central fovea region.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|Created by an XKCD PHONE 2000 USER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
<br />
This is the seventh entry in the ongoing [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]] after [[1889: xkcd Phone 6]]. This time a nonconsecutive version number is used to match the milestone comic number.<br />
<br />
List of features (clockwise from top-center):<br />
<br />
*'''Dockless:''' It was common practice for older standard cellphones (i.e. non-smartphones) to use a docking station for charging. "Dockless" could be a catchy marketing term for wireless charging.<br />
*'''Silent:''' Implying perhaps that the phone is unable to produce sound entirely. Labelled at the location where a headphone socket would traditionally be, although some recent phones have discarded the traditional headphone jack in place of wireless headphones.<br />
*'''Quad Camera Takes Four Copies of Every Picture:''' Recent phones have added up to three rear-facing cameras, offering different fields of view, monochrome cameras for low light, and a wider base for emulating depth of field effects. At the time of writing no phone on the market has four rear-facing cameras. However, YouTube personality nigahiga created a parody of the iPhone (iFhone 8) that has four cameras structured similarly, e.g. taking a picture of a letter K gives 4K. An alternative interpretation is that the cameras take four ''identical'' pictures simultaneously, which would use up storage space at 4 times the rate of a standard camera while providing no advantage.<br />
*'''Front-Facing Camera Obscura:''' A {{w|Camera_obscura|camera obscura}} is a dark room or box with a small hole allowing light to enter. The size of the hole causes light travelling in straight lines to project a dim inverted image on the back of the room or box; the concept is the predecessor to a modern camera, which uses a lens to allow more light to enter. A camera obscura is not strictly speaking a camera as in an image capture device (although there are pin-hole cameras which use the same mechanism). Actual phones have front-facing conventional cameras, allowing selfies, video calling, etc.<br />
*'''3D Facial Contour Analysis Shows You a Realistic Preview of Your Death Mask:''' Recent computational photography effects implemented on mobile phones support facial analysis, allowing for artificial relighting or the creation of avatars. A {{w|death mask}} would be a new take on this.<br />
*'''Sponsored Pixels:''' Presumably this means that parts of the screen (pixels) can be bought in a sponsoring deal. If enough pixels are sold, your screen would be rendered unusable. It is common for advertisers to buy part of the screen real-estate on a service web site (in fact, {{w|The Million Dollar Homepage}} hosted nothing but a 1000x1000 pixel grid of advetisements), and "images" the size of individual pixels can be used to track site access without being intrusive to the user. For the XKCD Phone 2000, it appears that advertisers have access to part of the screen (worryingly, right in the middle). Slightly less intrusive approaches have been used in bookstores selling customised versions of the Kindle, for example, and it is common for cell phone networks to insist on network-specific software to be installed on a phone. <br />
*'''Front and Rear Pop-Out Grips:''' There are accessories that stick to the rear of a phone and can be "popped out", offering a grip, a stand, or somewhere to store headphone cables. Integrating such a feature into the phone design is novel, although some phones have incorporated kick stands. Pop-out grips are normally placed on the back of the phone to make it easier to hold with one hand. Having a second grip to the front of the phone does nothing except block part of the screen. There could be a small screen on the top of the grip since the grip is shown to contain "Sponsored Pixels".<br />
*'''Humidity-Controlled Crisper:''' A crisper is a drawer in a refrigerator meant to control the humidity to keep vegetables from drying out and getting limp. <br />
*'''Antikythera Mechanism:''' The {{w|Antikythera_mechanism|Antikythera Mechanism}} is an ancient Greek clockwork device for predicting astronomical positions. It is one of the earliest known analogue computers.<br />
*'''New York Times Partnership: All Photos Taken with Camera App are Captioned in Real Time by Reporter Maggie Haberman:''' Modern phones can use machine learning techniques (usually in the cloud) to identify and tag camera content - this makes it possible to search, for example, for photos containing a particular person or subject without requiring user input. Cellphone photos are often used in contributions to social media with some form of user-provided caption. This phone appears to combine the two, using {{w|Maggie Haberman}} to provide automatic captions for photos taken by the phone's owner (although whether this is explicitly for social media use or internal to the phone is unclear).<br />
*'''Spit Valve:''' A spit valve is used for emptying saliva out of wind instruments, particularly large brass instruments. It is to be hoped that less saliva accumulates in a smart phone than a tuba. (best not to think about it){{Citation needed}}<br />
*'''Standard USB Connector:''' a USB 3.0 A port is displayed. Unfortunately, a "standard" USB connector, according to the USB standard, would be a USB B port as a phone typically acts as the "slave" device, rather than the "host" as a USB A port would imply.<br />
*'''Coin Purse-Style Squeeze Access:''' presumably, the casing is flexible in this region, and when squeezed at the sides (a bad idea, considering the next design item) reveals the USB A port and spit valve.<br />
*'''Hollow-Ground:''' a {{w|Grind#Typical_grinds|hollow grind}} is a type of knife (or similar sharp tool) edge noted for sharpness and general fragility, often seen in razors and certainly not what you'd want on the edge of a phone.<br />
*'''Absorbent:''' Many modern phones are designed to be waterproof, to avoid accidents and allow use in the rain. It's also common to have some form of oleophobic coating on the screen to reduce smearing as fingers are used on the touchscreen. This phone seems to have the reverse feature, and be explicitly designed to absorb things (presumably liquids--perhaps that's why it needs a spit valve).<br />
*'''Keyboard Supports Dynamic Typing:''' {{w|Type_system#Dynamic_type_checking_and_runtime_type_information|dynamic typing}} is a computer programming concept, and has nothing to do with typing on a keyboard.<br />
*'''Backflow Preventer:''' A {{w|Backflow_prevention_device|backflow prevention device}} is a mechanism that avoids the possibility of liquid (usually water) travelling in the opposite direction from the normal intent if the expected pressure is inverted. Since there is not normally any liquid flowing through a phone (unless in this case relating to the spit valve), this would not normally be a useful feature. However, some smart phones do contain pressure measuring devices such as barometers (which can also be used in some cases to detect the phone being squeezed), so maybe this phone is intended to be resilient to such conditions.<br />
*'''Swiss Army Partnership: Folding Knife (Unlocks Only if Switzerland is Invaded):''' A {{w|Swiss Army knife}} is a folding knife, traditionally with many secondary "blades" for multiple uses such as can openers and files. {{w|Switzerland}} is known for remaining neutral (and not being invaded) in both of the World Wars of the 20th century despite war raging across surrounding countries, suggesting that it is unlikely that the knife would ever been unlocked. While such a feature on a phone (or phone case) may be useful, it is likely to be a safety concern, and a phone does not provide the ideal grip for a knife blade - especially if force is to be applied to it.<br />
*'''100% BPA-Free PCB Construction:''' {{w|Bisphenol A}} (BPA) is a chemical used in plastics such as waterbottles. Recent studies show that BPA can leech estrogen-like compounds into liquids, so BPA-free water bottles have become popular. PCB probably refers to a {{w|Printed Circuit Board}}, which contains the electrical components that control most modern electronic devices such as phones. It may also refer to {{w|Polychlorinated biphenyl}} (PCBs), a category of persistent organic pollutants which are not used very much any more; it would be far worse than BPA for anyone concerned with the issue.<br />
*'''AMOLCD Display (7-Segment):''' {{w|AMOLED}} is a display technology often used in cell phones, providing thin and emissive displays. {{w|Liquid-crystal_display|LCD}} is another display technology used in phones, and works by blocking light from a separate backlight. A {{w|Seven-segment_display|7-segment display}} is a device made of seven independently-controlled segments (usually either LCD or LED) which can be used to display a single digit; as such the technology is common in traditional digital watches. In contrast most phone displays are made of a uniform high-resolution pixel grid that allows arbitrary content to be displayed, although some very old (pre-smart) cellphones and land lines did use this technology in displaying a phone number. The technology cannot represent the entire alphabet without modification, so it is inappropriate for text messages, let alone graphics.<br />
*'''Runs on Battery for the First 6 Hours, then Uses Gasoline:''' A nod to the increased popularity of gas-electric hybrid vehicles. This would be a fantastic breakthrough for fuel cells. There have been many attempts to create a highly portable fuel cell that can be used to power phones. Although having to use gasoline instead of a USB cord would likely cause more problems for the average consumer a fuel cell does have some notable advantages over a standard lithium-ion battery. When comparing a fuel cell to a battery of equal size the fuel cell will be capable of powering an object for far longer than the battery. This includes lithium-ion batteries which are commonly used for powering phones and are typically the majority of it's mass. This would mean one could shrink the size of the battery substantially yet still be able to provide the same amount of power. The smaller battery can be kept as is in order to reduce the weight of the phone or can free up space for more features to be installed into the phone. This might simply be the first XKCD phone that mentions that it does this. Providing a possible explanation to how the manufacturer of the phone is capable of fitting so many unusual features into the phone to begin with. Another advantage of a fuel cell powered phone is that it is independent from a working power grid (useful for disaster situations where thousands of people would no longer be capable of staying in contact with others or people who are stranded and alone) and there is no need for a bulky generator to convert the gasoline into electricity first. This is not the first time Randall has talked about this before, with much of the information here coming from what-if #128: {{what if|128|Zippo Phone}}.<br />
*'''Sharpie® Dual Stylus (Dry-Erase + Permenant)''' "Permenant" is curiously spelled incorrectly, perhaps comically highlighting that the permanent portion of the dual stylus would be unable to correct any typos that a dry-erase marker would allow.<br />
*'''Mouse Cursor:''' A feature of Blackberry smartphones which has gone out of favor due to the popularity of touch screens. However, Android phones, at least, still support bluetooth HID access, and on some devices it is possible to pair the phone with a mouse (and keyboard) and access the screen through a mouse pointer. This can be particularly useful if the phone is exporting its display to a large external screen - and {{w|Samsung_DeX|some manufacturers}} have provided tethering systems based around pairing a phone with a mouse. A mouse pointer is relatively useless when a touch screen is in use, since the user's finger usually covers the pointer.<br />
<br />
The tagline for the phone says that the marketing team hopes that 2000 still sounds like a futuristic number. It was common for a time to have futuristic science-fiction take place on or around the year 2000 (e.g. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Knight Rider 2000, Death Race 2000, Space: 1999), and many devices marketed in the late 20th century had a "2000" as part of their product name in order to sound futuristic. However, since the year 2000 was 18 years ago at the time of this comic's publication, this is no longer the case. The number 2000 also represents the fact that this is the 2000th xkcd comic.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to {{w|Retina Display}}, a term used to describe Apple products with higher pixel densities. The XKCD Phone marketing team would be unable to use the term due to Apple's having registered it as a trademark. Additionally, the {{w|Fovea centralis|Central fovea region}} is a portion of your eye's retina (confusing the biological retina with the electronics display of the same name). {{w|Foveated rendering}} is a genuine computer graphics technique intended to increase performance by rendering with higher quality to the regions of the display where the user is looking, and lower quality at the edges of vision; it is expected to be useful for virtual reality (one of the uses for cell phones) as a way to deal with the required high pixel densities while managing power consumption. There are displays with variable density, in specialist uses, but such a feature is not practical in a phone because the whole area of the display is typically useful and needs to provide high resolution (as the user's eye moves across it).<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
:Dockless<br />
:Silent<br />
:Quad camera takes four copies of every picture<br />
:Front-facing camera obscura<br />
:3d facial contour analysis shows you a realistic preview of your death mask<br />
:Sponsored pixels<br />
:Front and rear pop-out grips<br />
:Humidity-controlled crisper<br />
:Antikythera mechanism<br />
:New Tork Times partnership: all photos taken with camera app are captioned in real time by reporter Maggie Haberman<br />
:Spit valve<br />
:Standard usb connector<br />
:Coin purse-style squeeze access<br />
:Hollow-ground<br />
:Absorbent<br />
:Keyboard supports dynamic typing<br />
:Backflow preventer<br />
:Swiss Army partnership: folding knife (unlocks only if Switzerland is invaded)<br />
:100% BPA-free PCB construction<br />
:AMOLCD display (7-segment)<br />
:Runs on battery for the first 6 hours, then uses gasoline<br />
:Sharpie® dual stylus (dry-erase + permenant)<br />
:Mouse cursor<br />
<br />
:Introducing<br />
:<big>The xkcd Phone 2000</big><br />
:We're still hoping this sounds like a futuristic number®®™®©™<sup>®</sup><br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:xkcd Phones]]</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1301:_File_Extensions&diff=154355
1301: File Extensions
2018-03-15T08:29:27Z
<p>173.245.52.151: Added Trivia section explaining extensions etymologies</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1301<br />
| date = December 9, 2013<br />
| title = File Extensions<br />
| image = file_extensions.png<br />
| titletext = I have never been lied to by data in a .txt file which has been hand-aligned.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Computer file names often end in {{w|file extension}}s like ".ppt" or ".exe". These extensions are a holdover from early operating systems like {{W|DOS}} in which filenames had a maximum eight characters followed by a period and the three-character extension. The extension was used by the operating system to determine filetype so that the system would know how to handle the file (e.g. which program could open the file). Newer operating systems and file systems now accept longer-than eight-character filenames, and extensions of greater than three characters; although most extensions remain three characters.<br />
<br />
Most extensions are created as proprietary to certain pieces of software, although software by other developers may later be designed to be able to read the format. For example, .doc is a Microsoft Word document, although because of that software's popularity, many word processors include the ability to open .doc files. Some common file extensions are not proprietary to a piece of software and may be handled by various programs; .jpg or .gif images are examples. In either case, a file's extension is generally a good indicator of what type of data the file contains.<br />
<br />
Certain file types are more prevalent for certain uses, with some being almost exclusive to one use, while other are in general use and might contain almost anything. Here, [[Randall]] presents a series of file extensions which often contain information, and he is rating the reliability of the information they generally contain from most reliable to least.<br />
<br />
*{{w|.tex}} files are source files for the programs {{w|TeX}} and {{w|LaTeX}}, which are used often and almost exclusively by academics, especially in mathematics and the hard sciences. .tex pretty much means serious business, and Randall does not anticipate that anyone would use such a format other than for reliable information.<br />
*{{w|.pdf}} files are a ('''p'''ortable (as in over the web)) '''d'''ocument '''f'''ormat by Adobe, frequently used for publication. Companies use them for official documentation. Thus, a .pdf file is likely to be some type of final product or polished work. Further, .tex files are generally compiled into .pdf files in order to make them readable. It would be strange to trust a .tex file without trusting the .pdf to which it compiles. For example, when submitting to academic journals in math and the hard sciences, the journal accepts the .tex file, but then compiles it and publishes the resulting .pdf.<br />
*{{w|.csv}} are '''c'''omma-'''s'''eparated '''v'''alues: tables of information delimited by commas, and often consist of computer-generated raw data (from, say, a scientific experiment or a database).<br />
*{{w|.txt}} files contain only plain text, no "rich text" or anything fancy. Programmers often use them for README files.<br />
*{{w|.svg}} files are a ('''s'''calable) '''v'''ector '''g'''raphics format used a lot for diagrams, such as on Wikipedia.<br />
*{{w|.xls}} and {{w|.xlsx}} files are spreadsheets used and created by the program Microsoft Excel, part of a bundle of applications known as Microsoft Office (also supported by compatible free software such as LibreOffice). These applications are very commonly used, especially for business, finance and data analysis tasks. {{w|.xls}} is a binary format used for Excel versions up to 2003, while {{w|.xlsx}} is a ZIPped XML-based format used for Excel versions 2007 and later.<br />
*{{w|.doc}} files are a rich-text document format used and created by the program {{w|Microsoft Word}}, another application in the Microsoft Office bundle. As with .xls, almost anyone with access to Microsoft Office could easily make one of these. While Excel is generally used for creating tables and presenting data, Word could be used for any text-based document. Thus, Word documents tend to be far more prevalent and casually created than Excel documents, which is presumably why Randall doesn't trust them as much.<br />
*{{w|.png}} files are a bitmap image format designed for the Internet. They enjoy wide popularity for providing crisp, full-color images with lossless (reversible) compression. Almost all xkcd comics, this diagram included, use PNG. But since he rates the format so low, is Randall saying we shouldn't trust this chart?<br />
*{{w|.ppt}} files are used and created by the program {{w|Microsoft PowerPoint}}; as with the other two Office applications, almost anyone could easily make one of these. As they are usually used for presentations rather than documents, the information in them may be arranged differently, possibly to "dumb down" the content, or in marketing materials or talks in which the author may not be very objective. Further, several years ago, PowerPoint presentations were sometimes included instead of plain images as attachments in e-mail forwards containing inaccurate information. These emails still occasionally circulate, and may be the source of Randall's distrust.<br />
*{{w|.jpg}} files are another image format with high compression capabilities, good for storing photos and not so good for many other things. Photographs in general are prone to image manipulation, hence Randall's low score for this file format.<br />
*{{w|.jpeg}} files are the same thing as .jpg files, but these are more likely to have been created manually rather than automatically, making them even less reliable.<br />
*{{w|.gif}} files are yet another bitmap image format, notable for supporting short animations. GIF was once ''the'' Internet image file format until PNG gradually replaced it. Since GIF is the only common image format capable of animation, it is often used to contain things like silly clips of cats falling into boxes, or annoying, blinking advertisements claiming that you're the '''[[570|100,000,000]]th VISITOR!'''. GIFs are also created by Internet trolls, such as on 4chan.org, to feed misinformation to gullible gamers and computer users. For example, a recent [http://mashable.com/2013/12/09/xbox-one-hoax-4chan-backward-compatible/ Xbox One Hoax GIF] contained supposed instructions for making the Xbox One backwards compatible. The instructions instead make the console inoperable.<br />
<br />
Note that while the extensions .xls/.xlsx, .doc, and .ppt were originally exclusive only to Microsoft Office and users of Windows, there now exist a number of open source programs such as Open Office, Libre Office, and some Android apps that are capable of editing such files. These programs can run on systems other than just Windows, such as Linux, perhaps contributing to making them even more widespread and easy to make than before.<br />
<br />
The title text refers to how .txt files contain only plain text and nothing else, meaning that any alignment (such as for indentation, tables, or {{w|Justification (typesetting)|justification}}) would have to be performed manually by adding in spaces or tabs. Anyone who would go through such an effort to improve their text's readability is likely to be trustworthy, and almost by definition, the opinion presented would be justified.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Caption above the bar chart:]<br />
:Trustworthiness of Information by File Extension<br />
<br />
:[A line is going down and from that gray bars charting the trustworthiness in a bar graph that goes both left and right of the line. No units or figures are given. For ease of comprehension this transcript will arbitrarily designate the highest score as [+100]; subsequent scores are estimates based on the size of their bars.]<br />
:[+100]: .tex<br />
:[+89]: .pdf<br />
:[+85]: .csv<br />
:[+67]: .txt<br />
:[+65]: .svg<br />
:[+49]: .xls/.xlsx<br />
:[+21]: .doc<br />
:[+15]: .png<br />
:[+14]: .ppt<br />
:[+3]: .jpg<br />
:[-8]: .jpeg<br />
:[-36]: .gif<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
The various extensions are, for the most part, abbreviations of the file type. <br />
*.tex isn't short for anything, {{w|TeX}} (that lowercase e is very important) is in fact the full name of the program<br />
*.pdf is an acronym for Portable Document Format<br />
*.csv is an acronym for Comma-Separated Values<br />
*.txt is short for "text" - the 8.3 format meant the vowel was dropped<br />
*.svg is an acronym for Scalable Vector Graphics<br />
*.xls is short for eXceL Sheet (it's also why Microsoft Excel has an "X" on its icon rather than an "E")<br />
*The extra x in .xlsx (.docx and .pptx) refers to the upgrade from binary to ZIPped '''X'''ML for those formats<br />
*.doc is short for DOCument<br />
*.ppt is short of PowerPoinT presentation<br />
*.png is an acronym for Portable Network Graphics<br />
*.jpg is short for .jpeg - the 8.3 format again removed the vowel<br />
*.jpeg is an acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the organization that created the standard<br />
*.gif is an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Bar chart]]</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1937:_IATA_Airport_Abbreviations&diff=150398
Talk:1937: IATA Airport Abbreviations
2018-01-04T16:49:59Z
<p>173.245.52.151: </p>
<hr />
<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--><br />
CLT is Charlotte Douglass International, but maybe the [censored] tag is referring to what this acronym sounds like when it's pronounced phonetically? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.219|172.69.68.219]] 16:01, 3 January 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
IATA actually stands for [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Air_Transport_Association|International Air Transport Association]]. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 16:12, 3 January 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Ankh-Morpork is from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Hogsmeade is from Harry Potter. Kingdom of Loathing is a web-based multiplayer game. Sunnydale is from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BUF). fhqwhgads is from a Strong Bad email (Homestar Runner). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.35|108.162.238.35]] 16:15, 3 January 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
The Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (Downtown Toronto) actually uses the call sign YTZ, not YYY. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 16:18, 3 January 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
;List of the codes and airport names<br />
AMD Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport<br />
BAE Barcelonnette – Saint-Pons Airport<br />
ORD O'Hare International Airport<br />
IAD Washington Dulles International Airport<br />
JFC -<br />
IUD -<br />
FYI -<br />
LOL Derby Field<br />
ATL Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport<br />
HGM - <br />
OMW -<br />
ANC Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport<br />
HSV Huntsville International Airport (Carl T. Jones Field)<br />
SAN San Diego International Airport<br />
DWI -<br />
DFW Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport<br />
DTW Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport<br />
TMI Tumlingtar Airport<br />
LAX Los Angeles International Airport<br />
EWR Newark Liberty International Airport<br />
PHL Philadelphia International Airport<br />
SWF Stewart International Airport<br />
KUL Kuala Lumpur International Airport<br />
STL Lambert–St. Louis International Airport<br />
BUF Buffalo Niagara International Airport<br />
TBA Tabibuga Airport<br />
SMH Sapmanga Airport<br />
BLT Blackwater Airport<br />
YYY Mont-Joli Airport<br />
YYZ Toronto Pearson International Airport<br />
MIA Miami International Airport<br />
CLT Charlotte Douglas International Airport<br />
FHQ -<br />
FFS -<br />
DTF -<br />
MDW Midway International Airport <br />
PDX Portland International Airport<br />
SEA Seattle–Tacoma International Airport<br />
<br />
[[User:Jefe9247|Jefe9247]] ([[User talk:Jefe9247|talk]]) 16:33, 3 January 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Could "Las Angalas" be the way Tommy Wiseau pronounces it? [[User:Tait marconi|Tait marconi]] ([[User talk:Tait marconi|talk]]) 20:17, 3 January 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Re SWF being Sherwood Forest. Robin Hood airport, nearish to the historic location of Sherwood Forest actually exists. Sadly the IATA code is DSA (Doncaster Sheffield airport) - Putters {{unsigned| Putters}}<br />
<br />
I think that substituting PHL for Pittsburgh's airport might also be a jab at how Facebook got confused a few months ago, labeling posts from Pittsburgh as originating in Philadelphia. {{unsigned| FuzzyBoots}}<br />
<br />
Possibly also relevant that quite a few of these are common abbreviations used in text-based communication (e.g. LOL, FYI, FFS, TMI, etc.). I wonder if it's something like https://xkcd.com/1015/, where once you've memorised these abbreviations you can't help but think of the (annoying and incorrect) airports that they stand for when reading text messages from others. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.31|162.158.89.31]] 23:00, 3 January 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Major Omission ==<br />
<br />
i'd like to add BHD -- Baggage Handlers' Decision. [[User:MCMXLVII|MCMXLVII]] ([[User talk:MCMXLVII|talk]]) 02:34, 4 January 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
:Also: HIJ - hijacking; ISS - self-explanatory[[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.16|141.101.76.16]] 09:50, 4 January 2018 (UTC)<br />
<br />
==A Question ==<br />
<br />
The page has the line "Randall notes in the what if? book that Delaware has no airports. This entry is also a play on the nearby real airport BWI, Baltimore-Washington International." Which what-if is this from?<br />
<br />
--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.151|173.245.52.151]] 16:49, 4 January 2018 (UTC)</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=374:_Journal&diff=77030
374: Journal
2014-10-12T02:05:10Z
<p>173.245.52.151: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 374<br />
| date = January 23, 2008<br />
| title = Journal<br />
| image = journal.png<br />
| titletext = And the journal is filled with all the things I'd say to her if I were nice like you. I burn it when it's full.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Black Hat]] isn't the type of person to keep a journal, so [[Cueball]] is understandably surprised when he sees Black Hat's journal. Black Hat lives up to our expectations of him, as it turns out that the journal is just part of a plot to hurt innocents. The title-text implies that he really does use his journal to record his private, whistful thoughts and that he may be more than just a sociopath.<br />
<br />
If you want to see how well the plan worked, check out [[377: Journal 2]]<br />
<br />
The whole "[[:Category:Journal|Journal]]" story are:<br />
*374: Journal (this one)<br />
*[[377: Journal 2]]<br />
*[[405: Journal 3]]<br />
*[[432: Journal 4]]<br />
*[[433: Journal 5]]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball picks up book from a table.]<br />
:Cueball: Since when do you keep a journal?<br />
:[Black Hat leans over from computer to answer.]<br />
:Black Hat: Oh, I pretend to write in it on the train, and wait for a shy-looking girl to sit across from me.<br />
<br />
:[Scene change to a train. Black Hat is sitting across from a girl.]<br />
:Black Hat: I glance up and wait for her to make eye contact, then look down bashfully and, if I can, blush.<br />
<br />
:[Scene back to original room with Cueball and Black Hat.]<br />
:Black Hat: Then, when I see her start to smile at me, I roll my eyes and hit her with a quick glare, then resume writing. The alienation stays with her all day. It's great.<br />
<br />
:[Black Hat is back to typing on the computer.]<br />
:Cueball: You're sickening. This is why we can't have nice people.<br />
:Black Hat: I can't help it. It's like shooting lonely, angsty fish in a barrel.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Journal|01]]</div>
173.245.52.151
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1390:_Research_Ethics&diff=70975
1390: Research Ethics
2014-07-04T17:32:21Z
<p>173.245.52.151: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1390<br />
| date = July 4, 2014<br />
| title = Research Ethics<br />
| image = research_ethics.png<br />
| titletext = I mean, it's not like we could just demand to see the code that's governing our lives. What right do we have to poke around in Facebook's private affairs like that?<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|First draft. The image must be updated.}}<br />
<br />
This comic references the recent revelation that Facebook engaged in a "psychological experiment" by selectively showing users more "positive" or "negative" posts on their news feed and recording the users' comments to see if the change affected the positivity or negativity of their posts. Further experiments have since been revealed [http://online.wsj.com/articles/facebook-experiments-had-few-limits-1404344378 such as one that tested security measures by locking users out of their accounts]. Here, Megan is commenting on the fact that, while the media is calling this control over what content the user sees "unethical," Facebook, and other companies like Google, must, one way or another, control what content the user sees, whether to present users with a limited selection of all postings, or to tailor ads to particular users; even if the regular algorithms are not set up for psychological experiments, they are still "manipulating" what posts users see or don't see. As Megan points out, no one really knows what the "normal" constraints are of the algorithm which chooses which posts are shown on news feeeds. This comic is parodying the strong reaction to what is basically already a common practice.<br />
<br />
Accumulation, control and analysis of user-generated information can be a part of the terms of service/end user license agreement of a Website or software. In such a scenario, the user has effectively signed his/her consent to being part of such research. Unfortunately, most users don't read the terms before clicking the "I agree" option, so it can come as a shock when the service uses the data in a way the user hadn't anticipated.<br />
<br />
The comic that Randall originally published contained the word "what" twice (on the end of the first line and again on the start of the second line), which is a typical mistake that would be detected by many spell checkers [http://blogmines.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image_thumb18.png]. Randall fixed the error after a few hours.<br />
<br />
The title text ironically/sarcastically accepts that Facebook has access to all of its users thoughts (through posts/messages and photos, and they can read them for research (or whatever other) purposes, but contrasts this with a suggestion (which likely mirrors how Facebook would respond to such a request) that Facebook's code is private and can not be revealed to us. The title text basically appears to be musing that this is backwards, and our personal data should be considered MORE private than Facebook's programming code, which may be proprietary, but is not personal private data.<br />
<br />
It is as if your neighbor was spying on you while you left all your shades open, but you felt it to be inappropriate to find out what he knew about you because that's his business.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
<br />
:[Megan is facing Cueball and Ponytail]<br />
:Megan: Facebook shouldn't choose what stuff they show us to conduct unethical psychological research. <br />
:Megan: They should ''only'' make those decisions based on, uh...<br />
:Megan: However they were doing it before. <br />
:Megan: Which was probably ethical, right?<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}</div>
173.245.52.151