https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=199.27.128.25&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T13:59:10ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1611:_Baking_Soda_and_Vinegar&diff=106443Talk:1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar2015-12-05T01:48:45Z<p>199.27.128.25: </p>
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<div>The only experience I have with such a volcano exhibit is from US TV programmes representing the nerds (or the desperate non-nerds with no imagination) at a science-fair in Stateside schools, but I laid down my impressions of the tradition anyway. No embedded links to anything, as yet, as I expect other people will know what needs explaining (or re-writing) better than me. - I was going to go onto Supervolcano territory, but I'm not sure it's supposed to be more than 'regular' increased volcanic activity, outside, albeit through the power of acid/base interaction (thus salt being the equivalent of volcanic dust plumes, no doubt). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227|162.158.152.227]] 10:00, 2 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Another trans-Atleantean here, I've expanded on your explanation with some links and the title-text, but your overall draft concurs with my experience of science-fair volcanoes being a stereotypical "easy/lame" project for science fairs [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.193|162.158.90.193]] 11:33, 2 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Humanity should hope that the supervolcano is built in scale, resulting in ONLY Decade Volcanoes level of damage. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:50, 2 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
:According to the title text it is so no worries if you do not live close by or has to fly close to the ash clouds ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:03, 2 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Isn't the girl the same one as in Feathers[[https://xkcd.com/1104/]]? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.129.95|199.27.129.95]] 23:08, 2 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I thought Megan was about to say that the mini volcano had nothing to do with the scientific method, which would fill in the holes mentioned by the incomplete box and thus complete the explanation. If anyone else agrees with me, I think we should edit it to say that (I'm too busy right now to do so.)[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.49|173.245.54.49]] 23:39, 2 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Can we all agree that this is a young Danish? {{unsigned ip|Zakka}}<br />
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i personally think shes kinda a black hat type guy who caused unusual things to happen maybe her volcano is like a voodoo doll of sorts for the real earth which now suddenly has such volcanoes because of her. [[User:Needforsuv|Needforsuv]] ([[User talk:Needforsuv|talk]]) 11:39, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
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;other xkcd volcano/lava comics<br />
<br />
* https://xkcd.com/735/<br />
* https://what-if.xkcd.com/122/ (if you drop molten tungsten into hot lava, the lava will freeze the tungsten)<br />
* https://what-if.xkcd.com/35/ (what if we go higher)<br />
* https://what-if.xkcd.com/135/ (digging downward)<br />
* https://what-if.xkcd.com/57/ (ok, it's about mountains, but still...)<br />
[[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 14:14, 3 December 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I don't think that the model "extends some way beyond [the table]". I think the joke is that it's a small-scale model of an actual, geological baking soda/vinegar volcano, countering Ponytail's implied claim that it isn't based on real geology. --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.25|199.27.128.25]] 01:48, 5 December 2015 (UTC)</div>199.27.128.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1605:_DNA&diff=1057051605: DNA2015-11-25T07:24:48Z<p>199.27.128.25: Clarify optimization process refers to natural evolution</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1605<br />
| date = November 18, 2015<br />
| title = DNA<br />
| image = dna.png<br />
| titletext = Researchers just found the gene responsible for mistakenly thinking we've found the gene for specific things. It's the region between the start and the end of every chromosome, plus a few segments in our mitochondria.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Because we have pretty much {{w|Human Genome Project|mapped the entire human genome}}, it's tempting to think we now know what makes our bodies tick and can start changing things. But just knowing what the individual pieces are, doesn't mean we know how they interact and behave in a complex system like our bodies.<br />
<br />
In the comic, [[White Hat]] thinks that mapping the human genome is the same as knowing the {{w|source code}} for a {{w|computer program}}. By studying the source code for a program, a person can often understand why it does what it does, and make effective and fundamental changes to the program's operation. This may be a reference to the hyperbolic [http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010/08/17/ray-kurzweil-does-not-understa/ claims of Raymond Kurzweil,] author of {{w|The Singularity is Near}}, that DNA is closely analogous to a computer program. Kurzweil believes that since we have sequenced DNA, we will soon be able to reverse engineer the brain and program a computer to completely simulate all its functions.<br />
<br />
[[Megan]] points out that even a complete knowledge of DNA would only provide a partial understanding of our body's workings. Complete knowledge would require an understanding of feedbacks and external processing (such as the interactions of the proteins created by DNA). In addition the comparison is not valid because the human body is so many orders of magnitude more complicated than the computers we have running programs. White Hat is not persuaded, even though Megan points out that {{w|DNA}} has been developed in the most aggressive optimization process in the universe (natural evolution), running for billions of years. White Hat's thought process may be similar to the physicist in [[793: Physicists]] who assumes that any other field is simple because it appears to be similar to something he's seen before.<br />
<br />
Finally Megan {{w|Hacker koan|enlightens}} White Hat by making him look at the source code for {{w|Google}}'s front page. In a web browser, the page looks simple; a very plain white page with a search box in the middle plus a few text links and icons, and indeed back in the 1990s Google's {{w|HTML}} code for the page was quite simple. But in less than 20 years, Google developers have vastly expanded it, with over 300 kilobytes of {{w|Minification (programming)|minified}} Javascript and CSS. Looking at some obfuscated source code may make it clearer how misleading even simple looking code can be, and how unreadable correct and well working code can be. This analogy causes White Hat to consider how much more complexity could evolve over billions of years through the relentless forces of nature.<br />
<br />
What makes this even worse with DNA is that although it can be thought of as 'source code' it isn't for a language we fully understand, and this code was generated through various natural mechanisms such as {{w|natural selection}}, feedback loops like {{w|homeostasis}}, etc.; possibly even including processes that are not currently known to science. Further, program maintainability is not an issue, so there is no reason for the code to be easy to understand. Additionally, there are many other non-genetic factors such as {{w|epigenetics}}, {{w|maternal effect}} and {{w|environment (biophysical)|environment}}, which change how the genetic code is used. This means that not all parts make sense and that there may be all kinds of side effects and things that have several purposes.<br />
<br />
The title text reference to finding the gene that is responsible "for mistakenly thinking we've found the gene for specific things" is a reference to the tendency of news organizations to run headlines making similar claims, often by oversimplifying or misrepresenting the actual study. These claims are based off the common belief that since DNA is a 'source code' for our body it should be possible to pin point the effect of individual genes in much the same way that we could describe the effect each line of code has in a very simple program; leading to people expecting one gene to be associated with each observable human trait. In reality even small traits are the results of hundreds of genes, sometime spread across multiple chromosomes, interacting through complex mechanisms; making it rare that a single gene, or gene sequence, can be definitively stated to be the sole, or primary, cause of a given trait.<br />
<br />
The joke of the title text is that the responsible gene is located in ''the region between the start and the end of every {{w|chromosome}}'' meaning that the whole genome, not any one gene or DNA segment, must be considered responsible for the referenced trait, since the interconnected nature of DNA and environment during development means that every gene is at least partially responsible in generating any complex traits. [[Randall]] even includes the {{w|mitochondria}}, recognizing that the short DNA sequences present in these organelles, which are located outside the cell-nucleus, also contribute to development. The organismal chromosome or chromosomes are located in the nucleus, but mitochondria have their own tiny independent genome, reflecting their distant ancestry as separate but symbiotic organisms. This means that the DNA segments coding for any given human trait are not even necessarily all found on the main chromosomes in the nucleus.<br />
<br />
Technically a gene is "a locus (or region) of DNA that encodes a functional RNA or protein product", which means that it is a single discrete unit of DNA, with human DNA containing over 20,000 genes. Thus the theoretical gene could not include the entire ''region between the start and the end of every chromosome'' since that region contains thousands of genes, any more then it's possible to say that the ace of clubs is the card everywhere from the top of the full deck of cards to the bottom of it.<br />
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Of course if such a gene actually did exist, then we would never be able to correctly identify where it was since we would make a mistake every time we thought we found a gene for something specific. So the whole title text is either a {{w|contradiction}} (they could never find this gene if it was there) and/or it is a {{w|Tautology (logic)|tautology}} since if the gene did exist, then of course it has to be part of our entire DNA. (If it is a tautology it is the second title text using this in just two weeks, the last being [[1602: Linguistics Club]].)<br />
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Google's home page for the date this cartoon appeared can be seen at the internet archive: [https://web.archive.org/web/20151118000129/http://www.google.com/ www.google.com homepage (18 Nov 2015)].<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[White Hat, holding a laptop, is talking to Megan who looks at her smart phone.]<br />
:White Hat: Biology is largely solved. DNA is the source code for our bodies. Now that gene sequencing is easy, we just have to read it.<br />
:Megan: It's not just "source code". There's a ton of feedback and external processing.<br />
<br />
:[White Hat, opening his laptop, walks toward a desk and chair past Megan who holds her arms out.]<br />
:Megan: But even if it were, DNA is the result of the most aggressive optimization process in the universe, running in parallel at every level, in every living thing, for four billion years.<br />
:White Hat: It's still just code.<br />
<br />
:[White Hat sits down at the desk with his opens laptop, while Megan looks over his shoulder.]<br />
:Megan: OK, try opening google.com and clicking "View Source."<br />
:White Hat: OK,I-...Oh my god.<br />
:Megan: That's just a few years of optimization by Google devs. DNA is thousands of times longer and way, way worse.<br />
:White Hat: Wow, biology is ''impossible''.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Programming]]<br />
[[Category:Computers]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]<br />
[[Category:Science]]</div>199.27.128.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1256:_Questions&diff=1019311256: Questions2015-09-16T18:43:27Z<p>199.27.128.25: /* Section Ten */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1256<br />
| date = August 26, 2013<br />
| title = Questions<br />
| image = questions.png<br />
| titletext = To whoever typed 'why is arwen dying': GOOD. FUCKING. QUESTION.<br />
}}<br />
A larger version of the picture can be found in http://xkcd.com/1256/large/.<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Google}}, a rather popular internet search engine, has a feature known as [https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/106230?hl=en autocomplete] that guesses at search queries before they are fully typed out. These guesses are generally made based on popular searches by other people. From time to time, a particularly strange or hilarious one may be found, as is evidenced in this comic.<br />
<br />
The largest pictured questions are: "Why are there slaves in the bible" and "Why are there ants in my laptop".<br />
<br />
All of the questions in the comic are "why" questions, so many of them are predicated on false assumptions, such as "Why are there pyramids on the moon". All these questions and many more (33,171 in total) can be found in http://xkcd.com/why.txt.<br />
<br />
Regarding the title text: in the Peter Jackson films of {{w|The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy}}, Arwen becomes sickly for unspecified reasons as the plot advances, apparently giving Aragorn a more personal reason to fight. The only explanation given is by Elrond, who says "As Sauron's power grows, her [Arwen's] strength wanes." This subplot is entirely absent from the {{w|The Lord of the Rings|original novels}}.<br />
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From [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167260/faq#.2.1.21 IMDB]: <br /><blockquote><br />
Arwen, like her father (and brothers) is considered to be a Half-Elf, the result of a union between an Elf and a mortal human. The Half-Elven of Middle-earth get a choice, to remain immortal and return to the West (Valinor) or to become mortal and to die as humans do. Elrond chose to remain an Elf. Arwen (like her uncle Elros) chooses to become mortal in order to wed and remain with Aragorn. Elrond senses this; this is what he means when he says that Arwen is dying. It is the same as in The Last Unicorn, when the unicorn is given the form of a human woman and can feel that she is no longer immortal ("I can feel this body dying all around me"). According to Tolkien, though, after Aragorn dies in the year 120 (Fourth Age), Arwen returns to Lórien, where she dies by choice the following winter. </blockquote><br />
<br />
==Selected answers==<br />
The tables below have been created so as to split the comic into almost entirely arbitrary blocks, which have then been identified with similarly arbitrary numbers. As a general rule, section numbers work top to bottom, then right to left.<br />
===Illustrated Panels===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
|Why aren't my arms growing?||Arms stop growing because longer arms would not be a very useful way to spend resources. Human DNA has programmed the body to gradually ossify the growing arms and legs, closing the epiphyseal plate, at which point these extremities stop growing.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there ghosts?||There is no hard evidence of ghosts.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there squirrels?||Squirrels exist because they fit their biological niche better than any other species.<br />
|-<br />
|Why is sex so important?||Sex is important because it is the primary method of reproduction in many different species. However, it can be of varying importance to different people (see [http://www.asexuality.org/home/?q=overview.html asexuality]).<br />
|-<br />
| Why aren't there guns in Harry Potter? || In the {{w|Harry Potter}} universe {{w|guns}} do exist and are mentioned at the beginning of {{w|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban}} when the news gives a warning that Sirius Black has one. Muggle technology (human inventions) are often looked down on by wizards - the majority of half-blooded wizards won't touch one, let alone a wizard extremist like {{w|Voldemort}}. Not only does any Muggle device more complex than a wristwatch interfere with magical artifacts, but wands are usually more versatile than most guns; a revolver can't shoot lightning, summon items or teleport its user. Finally, while Harry himself may or may not consider using firearms due to his Muggle upbringing, ''Harry Potter'' is set in the United Kingdom (which has stricter gun laws than, say, the United States).<br />
|-<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section One===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why do whales jump? || To the whale, it's like going into outer space!<br />
|-<br />
|Why are witches green? || See {{w|Wizard of Oz}}.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there mirrors above beds?|| Often, these are used by couples to view themselves during coitus.<br />
|-<br />
|Why do I say Uh?||See ''[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/05/06/the_odd_body_language_fillers/ Why do we say 'um', 'er', or 'ah' when we hesitate in speaking?]''.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is sea salt better? || The question likely refers to the difference between common {{w|Fortified table salt}} and usually more expensive sea salt. While the major part of both of these is sodium chloride (NaCl) the idea behind the claim is the different composition mostly in regards to trace elements of sea salt compared to "normal" salt. Table salt's composition is often influenced by a country's health department and thus addition of trace elements is regulated. While these regulations are based on scientific studies there remain to be debates concerning the additions, such as iodine.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there trees in the middle of fields? || Many images of fields contain singular trees in the middle of them. While there exist such trees it is likely an artistic choice to give a more pleasing or aesthetically satisfying image compared to just a field. In modern agriculture those would in fact be quite troublesome since they are a hindrance to large machines used and a new tree would be unlikely to grow in a constantly worked field.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is there not a Pokémon MMO? || {{w|Pokémon}} is a popular franchise, spanning game consoles, anime series, a trading card game, and many other things. Among fans, it is a frequent topic of discussion why a Pokémon {{w|massively multiplayer online game}} has not been officially announced by the series' developers {{w|Game Freak}}, as they often [http://www.dorkly.com/comic/52546/be-careful-what-you-wish-for predict] that such a game would be extremely popular, and bring in massive revenue for the company. However, if Game Freak were to develop a Pokémon MMO the MMOs would be strong competition against the console games and therefore reducing the Pokémon demographic significantly.<br />
|-<br />
|Why is there laughing in TV shows? || Sitcoms were once filmed with an audience, so the actors could respond to their reactions. That's the historical reason why there were laughs in TV shows. The tradition continues, with the difference that now the laughter mostly comes from recorded tapes. See {{w|Laugh track}}.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there doors on the freeway?|| Highway/freeway {{w|noise barrier|noise barriers}} sometimes have doors in them to allow workers access to both sides of the barrier.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there so many svchost.exe running?||See {{w|svchost.exe}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Why aren't there any countries in Antarctica? || {{w|Antarctica}} is the southern most continent and is by large covered in ice and in general pretty cold. While it is a regular target of tourists and researchers it also lacks native human inhabitants. At the moment, the territorial claims concerning Antarctica are mostly handled via the {{w|Antarctic Treaty System}}. In short there are a few countries who claim certain parts of the continent as their own in theory but so far it is considered neutral territory and most maps don't concern themselves with displaying the (in some regards disputed) territorial claims because they do not matter at this point in time. If there are ever any worthwhile resources discovered, this might change.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there scary sounds in Minecraft?|| To add atmosphere and to give players hints when there is a dark cave nearby. See [http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Ambience Minecraft Wiki].<br />
|-<br />
|Why is there kicking in my stomach?||See ''[http://www.webmd.com/baby/fetal-movement-feeling-baby-kick Feeling Your Baby Kick]''. Here, ''stomach'' means ''abdomen''.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there two slashes after http?||See ''[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1220286/Sir-Tim-Berners-Lee-admits-forward-slashes-web-address-mistake.html Sir Tim Berners-Lee admits the forward slashes in every web address 'were a mistake']''.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there celebrities?||There are certain people who are more respected and well-known than other people, whether it be because of their acting career, major advancements to science, or a sex tape.<br />
|-<br />
|Why do snakes exist?|| The question is rather general and likely based on a widespread dislike for the reptilians. Be it due to their appearance, their spread, or the danger a few snakes pose to humans (often due to being venomous) many people have a dislike for snakes and would prefer them to not exist (similar to spiders).<br />
In regards to "why do snakes exist on earth?": Because evolution. Snakes fill a gap in the ecosystem as predators and hunt different species, including vermin. Snakes are in that regard similar to many other predatory animals. The question on why snakes developed with their distinct streamlined shape is still debated but {{w|snakes|likely it either provided an advantage when burrowing or swimming}}.<br />
|-<br />
|Why do oysters have pearls?||{{w|pearl|From Wikipedia}}: <blockquote>Pearls are formed inside the shell of certain mollusks as a defense mechanism against a potentially threatening irritant such as a parasite inside the shell, or an attack from outside, injuring the mantle tissue. The mollusk creates a pearl sac to seal off the irritation. Pearls are commonly viewed by scientists as a by-product of an adaptive immune system-like function.</blockquote><br />
|-<br />
|Why are ducks called ducks?||See {{w|Duck#Etymology}}. {{W|wikt:duck|According to Wiktionary}}, the noun ''duck'' can be traced back to the {{w|Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic}} word {{w|wikt:Appendix:Proto-Germanic/dūkaną|''dūkaną''}} ("to dive, bend down"), and, in turn, the {{w|Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European}} {{w|wikt:Appendix:Proto-Indo-European/dʰewb-|''dʰewb-''}} ("deep, hollow"), which is the origin of the verb ''to duck''. The link between the noun and the verb comes from ducks' tendency to dive under water for short periods of time.<br />
|-<br />
|Why do they call it the clap?||An old folk remedy for {{w|gonorrhea}} was to clap on the sides of the penis.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are Kyle and Cartman friends?|| The question relates to the TV show {{w|South Park}}. Both are children living in the small titular town in Colorado. Cartman is widely accepted to a be very bad person, one of his many character flaws being his antisemitism. Kyle on the other hand is a Jew. However, both, along with two other kids, Stan and Kenny, are the core focus of the show (or used to be) and to some extent are considered to be friends. While there are episodes which show Cartman being not entirely a horrible person and him holding Kyle in a position of at least a worthy adversary, most of the time the question should be "Why is anyone friends with Cartman?" However, they most likely remain "friends" because they are in the same class at school and are therefore "forced" to be around one another.<br />
|-<br />
|Why is there an arrow on Aang's head?||{{w|Avatar: The Last Airbender#Characters|Aang}} is the main character of the TV series {{w|Avatar the last Airbender|Avatar - The last Airbender}} and features as part of a large body spanning tattoo an arrow on his head. These tattoos are made to replicate the markings of one of the shows fictional animals, the air bison which are regarded as the original air benders. They are given to human air benders once they attain the status of masters. Because Aang acquired this status very early in life he was already tattooed accordingly.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are text messages blue?||This likely refers to imessage chat being blue. These messages are blue when sending a message to another apple device.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there mustaches on clothes?||Because some people buy them. Mustaches, especially handlebar-style mustaches, were a popular fad at the time of this comic.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there mustaches on cars?||Fuzzy pink mustaches are used to designate cars in the {{w|Lyft}} service.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there mustaches everywhere?||See {{w|Movember}}<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there so many birds in Ohio?||There are an estimated [http://oh.audubon.org/bsc/SOTB.html 400 bird species] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Ohio Ohio], but there are [http://www.jstor.org/discover/2419997sid=21104910103541&uid=4&uid=3739776&uid=2&uid=3739256 2.74 nesting pairs per acre].<br />
|-<br />
|Why is there so much rain in Ohio?|| {{w|lake_effect|Lake-effect}} rain develops in the same manner as lake-effect snow.<br />
|-<br />
|Why is Ohio weather so weird?||See {{w|Lake-effect snow}}.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section Two===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there male and female bikes? || {{w|bicycle|From Wikipedia}}: <blockquote>Historically, women's bicycle frames had a top tube that connected in the middle of the seat tube instead of the top, resulting in a lower {{w|Frame geometry|standover height}} at the expense of compromised structural integrity, since this places a strong bending load in the seat tube, and bicycle frame members are typically weak in bending. This design, referred to as a '''''{{w|step-through frame}}''''' or as an ''open frame'', allows the rider to mount and dismount in a dignified way while wearing a skirt or dress.</blockquote><br />
|-<br />
|Why are there bridesmaids?||See {{w|Bridesmaid#Origin and history}}.<br />
|-<br />
|Why do dying people reach up?|| In many works of fiction dying people are regarded with an outstretched arm, grasping for unseen objects towards the sky. In all likelihood this originates in the idea of heaven as the place where (good) people go after death. People "reach for the light" which is seen when dying according to similar beliefs or possibly for already dead relatives or other associated people waiting for them. An alternative hypothesis is that they want to hug/touch their loved ones one last time.<br />
|-<br />
|Why aren't there varicose arteries?||Blood moves through veins due to irregular pressure from skeletal muscles combined with valves to control direction. In varicose veins these valves malfunction affecting blood flow. In arteries blood flow is produced directly from pressure caused by the heart.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are old Klingons different?|| {{w|Klingon Redesign|From Wikipedia}}: <blockquote>For {{w|Star Trek: The Motion Picture}} (1979), the Klingons were retconned and their appearance and behavior radically changed. To give the aliens a more sophisticated and threatening demeanor, the Klingons were depicted with ridged foreheads, snaggled and prominent teeth, and a defined language and alphabet. Lee Cole, a production designer, used red gels and primitive shapes in the design of Klingon consoles and ship interiors, which took on a dark and moody atmosphere. The alphabet was designed as angular, with sharp edges harkening to the Klingon's militaristic focus.[5] Costume designer Robert Fletcher created new uniforms for the Klingons, reminiscent of feudal Japanese armor.</blockquote><br />
|-<br />
|Why is programming so hard?||Programming is the art of writing instructions for a computer to do. Since the computer has a limited set of instructions for you to use it involves a new way of thinking for many. It is also hard because the computer itself is not smart or adaptable to unexpected problems. For instance when a human is told to sort books in a shelf, he or she can do that despite there might be things in the way (he or she will just move it to the side). A computer will generally just crash if it doesn't have instructions on how to deal with the unexcepted problem.<br />
|-<br />
|Why is there a 0 Ohm resistor?|| A resistor is usually designed to create a certain resistance, measured in {{w|Ohm}} in an electronic device. A 0 Ohm resistor seems pointless as it would only provide the same resistance as a normal cable. However, Wikipedia's {{w|Zero-ohm link}} article gives sufficient explanation.<br />
|-<br />
|Why do Americans hate soccer? || Soccer, or football in British English, is rather unpopular in the USA compared to most other regions of the world. Finding a particular reason behind the (dis)like for certain sports, apart from cultural spread, is difficult. One possible explanation is soccer's tendency to have far fewer points scored in an average game and a higher likelihood of draws compared to such things as American Football, basketball or baseball, which are far more popular. In how far this is a legitimate argument for regarding soccer as "less interesting" is up to debate.<br />
|-<br />
|Why do rhymes sound good?||The brain enjoys repetition especially in music.<br />
|-<br />
|Why do trees die?||Some common reasons include lack of water, lack of nitrogen in the soil and being chopped down.<br />
|-<br />
|Why is there no sound on CNN?||Some stations broadcast a {{w|second audio program}}, an alternative sound track that your TV can be configured to use instead of the primary program. This is intended to be used for broadcasting in an alternate language, or for {{w|Descriptive Video Service}} to make a program accessible to the visually impaired. Many programs that don't actually use SAP will still broadcast an SAP that is identical to the primary program; however, this is not required. If your TV is configured to use SAP and a particular channel isn't broadcasting SAP at that time, there won't be any sound.<br />
|-<br />
|Why aren't Pokémon real?||Pokémon are fantasised creatures that were designed to produce an interesting battle mechanic in a game. Some of the pokémons abilities would be impossible on earth as we know it. For instance, Magcargo is hotter than the surface of the sun.<ref name="Bulbapedia Magcargo">http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Magcargo#Trivia</ref><br />
|-<br />
|Why aren't bullets sharp?||See {{w|Terminal ballistics}}.<br />
|-<br />
|Why do dreams seem so real?|| Most dreams occur during a stage known as REM (Rapid Eye Movement). During REM, your brain is highly active and its wave pattern is the same as the wave patterns in a person who is awake. It should be noted that dreams can occur during other stages of sleep but most dreams that are vivid occur during the REM stage.<br />
|-<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section Three===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why do testicles move?|| The scrotum shrinks and expands to account for temperature changes. <br />
|-<br />
| Why are there psychics?|| Psychics are humans who supposedly have supernatural abilities to know things. A better question would be to ask why do people suppose there are psychics.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are hats so expensive?|| Hats can be expensive depending on the quality of material, size, location, and demand. A probable answer is that hats are simply difficult to make, causing high prices. <br />
|-<br />
| Why is there caffeine in my shampoo?|| Because the producers want you to believe that caffeine penetrates the hair roots and thereby somehow protects it from negative testosterone impacts and from premature hair loss. <br />
|-<br />
| Why do your boobs hurt?|| The most probable reason is that your bra doesn't fit correctly. It could also be a hormone imbalance or awkwardly shaped breasts.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section Four===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why aren't economists rich? || Economists study how laws of self-interest bring about an efficient allocation of resources. In order to become rich, one has to enter a market seeking profit by trading or producing goods or services.<br />
|-<br />
| Why do Americans call it soccer? || {{w|Association Football}} is called Soccer in the USA because {{w|American Football}} is the more popular version there.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are my ears ringing? || {{w|Tinnitus}}, or ringing of the ears, can result from stress, foreign objects in the ear, hearing damage, wax build up, or any other number of causes.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there so many Avengers? ||The number of Avengers has [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Avengers_members varied greatly] over the years and decades, each time with its own justification for why they need to work together, but the simplest answer is money. Cross-branding and cross-merchandising is successful to the brand and brings in new readers, plus creates a new franchise to profit from. <br />
|-<br />
|Why are the Avengers fighting the X Men || {{w|Avengers vs. X-Men}} was a 2012 Marvel crossover event that, like many other recent comic book events, had heroes fight other heroes. In this case, the {{w|Avengers (comics)|Avengers}} and the {{w|X-Men}} fought over the {{w|Phoenix Force (comics)|Phoenix Force}}, a godlike power that often possesses {{w|Jean Grey}} or her descendants (in this case, her alternate universe daughter Hope Summers). The Avengers believed the Phoenix Force is too powerful for humanity to control and wanted to contain it, while the X-Men believed the Phoenix was the messiah for mutants and could fix all of the Earth's problems.<br />
|-<br />
|Why is Wolverine not in the Avengers || Wolverine ''has'' been an Avenger, in some circumstances. e.g. in the {{w|The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes}} cartoon series, the episode ''New Avengers'' had Wolverine (along with Spiderman, War Machine, The Thing and Luke Cage and Iron Fist) substitute while the 'original' Avengers were unavailable to deal with the current crisis (which of course included the fate of the 'proper' Avengers). However, in general his anti-authority personality makes him a difficult team-member to field, and he has frequently disassociated himself even from the X-Men. But, in Avengers vs. X-Men (see above) Wolverine ''sided'' with The Avengers, and more modern treatments have even included the character in about as much a permanent a membership of the group as Logan is ever likely to have.<br />
<br />
But if the question is about why Wolverine didn't appear in {{w|The Avengers (2012 film)|''The Avengers''}}, the answer is that ''The Avengers'' is being produced by Marvel/Disney, while Fox still has the rights to the X-Men and all Marvel mutants in general. Unless there is studio agreement, the two properties cannot cross, except through complicated machinations. For example, there are plans to bring Avengers mainstays Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch to both the ''Avengers'' and ''X-Men'' franchises, but only the Fox films have the right to call them the children of Magneto, and Marvel/Disney cannot even identify them on-screen as "mutants".<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section Five===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there ants in my laptop? || Ants usually come in your laptop when there are little crumbs of food. It is advised to get screen protectors.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is Earth tilted? || The Earth is not tilted. Axial tilt is just a result of conservation of momentum when the Earth was formed, because not everything orbits in the same way. It is pure happenstance that Earth's axis is not normal to its plane of orbit.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is space black? || What we call black is the absence of light. Space is mostly empty. Whe we look at a part of space where there is nothing that can reflect the stars' light, it consequently appears black to us.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is outer space so cold? || Space is not cold. There is no matter in space. However, most of space has very little radiation hitting it, so a person won't receive any energy, but will still radiate some away, resulting in a net loss of energy, colloquially "heat."<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there pyramids on the moon? || There are no pyramids on the moon.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is NASA shutting down? ||NASA isn't shutting down. This question might have something to do with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_government_shutdown_of_2013 Government Shutdown of 2013] or perhaps due to the then-current shuttle program ending, but that is not the entirety of NASA.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section <strike>Spider</strike> Six===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there tiny spiders in my house?<br />
|rowspan="6"|During autumn in particular male spiders reaching maturing will set off to find a mate. By chance they may end up in your house. When encountering spiders in large numbers, it is more likely that they are young from the same female spider. Females lay {{w|Spider#Reproduction_and_life_cycle|up to 3,000}} eggs at a time. These questions also plays off of Munroe's longstanding fear of spiders, especially the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/8:_Red_spiders red spiders] mentioned in [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Red_Spiders several early comics].<br />
|-<br />
| Why do spiders come inside? <br />
|-<br />
| Why are there huge spiders in my house? <br />
|-<br />
| Why are there lots of spiders in my house? <br />
|-<br />
| Why are there spiders in my room? <br />
|-<br />
| Why are there so many spiders in my room? <br />
|-<br />
| Why do spider bites itch? ||This mostly happens as an immune response to [http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/why-do-mosquito-bites-itch histamines] under the skin which are injected through saliva.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is dying so scary? ||Part of human nature is the fear of the unknown, and death is the ultimate unknown because it is not knowable until it's experienced, and there is nobody to report what the result was. This leaves it open to speculation, and many major religions are based on preparing ones soul for death. Also, dying would leave loved ones families with the responsibility of taking care of their remains and finances. And finally, most people don't want to die, living for as long as possible, possibly because the unknown is too unbearable to cope with. Still though several people are not afraid of death and dying, and recognize life is short and to cherish each moment while we can. Death is inevitable, so we should not fear it. In addition, it would be evolutionarily advantageous for our ancestors to have feared and avoided death. <br />
|-<br />
| Why is there no GPS in laptops? ||It is not impossible for laptops to have a GPS, and some do. But there are [http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/50907/are-there-gps-tracker-for-laptops design difficulties] that have to be overcome including battery draining, room within the crowded device to place a receiver, WiFi can give a location just as well, and the product casing could interfere with its ability to functional normally and receive the signals necessary to operate as intended. Some Dell computers have these, but the privacy one needs to give up to accept the terms and conditions makes it unfavorable. <br />
|-<br />
| Why do knees click? || Typical of other clicking and cracking of joints, this may be the sound of [http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/features/knee-cracks-pops ligaments tightening]. However do not rely on a wiki to diagnose a medical conditions. Consult a licensed physician. <br />
|-<br />
|-<br />
| Why aren't there E grades? ||E grades [http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/02/e-f-grading-scale/ actually exist] in some districts, but they are rare. In their long and bizarre history, E was originally used where F is today (E was the lowest grade), but in those systems, students often received E's for an "Excellent" grade, creating much confusion. F was used in place instead and E was eliminated from a standard grading scale. <br />
|-<br />
| Why is isolation bad? ||Isolation is when a person deliberately secludes themselves away from others, often far-removed from society. This can happen in locations as small as a city apartment and as large as the open woods. People evolved as social animals and it is generally held that those who isolate themselves suffer from depression or other forms of psychological imbalance. Of course society can trigger many of these imbalances causing an individual to isolate themselves. Isolation is often seen as therapeutic so people can spend time with themselves constructively, often finding peace within themselves and through mediation. Monks and hermits generally live in solitude as well. Many people view a decision to be isolated as noble, and others as healthy. While general interaction is largely healthy, in the crowded modern world, isolation is neither good or bad; it depends on the person and what that isolation does to them. <br />
|-<br />
| Why do boys like me? ||Attraction comes in many forms: physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, among others. Many people will lie about what they like about you to get something else (money, sex, etc.), but most are genuine. It is not possible to assert definitively why one person may like another person, and that is something that needs to be discussed openly and honestly with them and nobody else. <br />
|-<br />
| Why don't boys like me? ||Similar to the answer above about what makes one desirable to another, there are an equal number of factors that make one unappealing. This can include everything from physical appearance to how one treats others. If a person is rude and unfriendly, most people find that not-conducive to healthy relationship and avoid the person who is asking. Not being liked by someone you like however does not mean you're wrong or are a bad person and in most cases has to do with the person you are asking about. <br />
|-<br />
| Why is there always a Java update? ||[https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/whatis_java.xml Java] is a software that runs on most computers and mobile devices that is crucial to its security and stability. The reason why it always updates is because it needs to stay current with the ever-upgrading fleet of browsers, operating systems and software that supports Java. Additionally Java updates itself so each version can run optimally. Software coding and debugging is a never-ending process towards perfectly stable releases. <br />
|-<br />
| Why are there red dots on my thighs? || This might be [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petechia Petechia], which are broken blood vessels, however do not rely on a wiki to diagnose medical conditions. Consult a licensed physician. <br />
|-<br />
| Why is lying good? ||Lying and other forms of dishonesty is typically seen as bad because it lowers one's credibility and makes them less likely to be trusted in the future. It is almost always advantageous to tell the truth, as lies have a way of escalating as you need to keep expanding on the lie to cover your tracks. There are instances however where lying may be used in more noble circumstances. For example, if a friend asks your opinion on something they have made (such as a poem or painting) that you do not like, it is okay to tell them you like it because protecting their feelings and your relationship is more important than how you feel. Often military personnel are trained to keep national security secrets at all costs and will lie about what they know to save themselves and the country.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section Seven===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there slaves in the bible? ||Slavery was viewed differently in the early years of human civilization before the contemporary moral and ethical conversations began centuries later. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bible_and_slavery bible justified slavery] for a number of reasons, notably to pay off some sort of debt. Slaves were seen as property and their work provided value to the slave owner. Similarly slave owners rationalized their ownership through scripture, pointing out that it was in the Bible and therefore okay with God.<br />
|-<br />
| Why do twins have different fingerprints? || Fingerprints are not only from the DNA, but from the conditions in the womb which differ from child to child.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are Americans afraid of dragons? ||This question was the title of a [http://blogs.sfu.ca/courses/spring2012/engl387/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Why-are-Americans-Afraid-of-Dragons.docx 1974 essay] by Ursula K. LeGeuin in which she makes a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics semiotic] analysis of dragon mythology. She argues that our belief in dragons (and those outside of America as well) stems from childhood, much like other ferocious fictional creatures such as goblins and hobbits, but many hold onto these fears as a way of avoiding reality. In her closing argument, she writes, "They know that its truth challenges, even threatens, all that is false, all that is phony, unnecessary, and trivial in the life they have let themselves be forced into living. They are afraid of dragons, because they are afraid of freedom."<br />
|-<br />
| Why is HTTPS crossed out in red? || The site accessed has an invalid SSL certificate.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is there a line through HTTPS? || The site accessed has an invalid SSL certificate.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is there a red line through HTTPS on Facebook? || Facebook has an invalid SSL certificate.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is HTTPS important? || For security reasons, as a site with HTTPS has encrypted traffic.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section Eight===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there swarms of gnats? || The reason gnats (and other creatures) tend to swarm together is likely a safety-in-numbers protection, and as a big gathering to find a mate.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is there phlegm? ||{{w|Phlegm#Phlegm|Phlegm}} is a thick, viscous fluid produced by the mucus membranes as a way to clear the airway and aids in the release of bacteria, disease and debris in those passages. <br />
|-<br />
| Why are there so many crows in Rochester, MN || From a Minnesota Paper, [http://www.startribune.com/local/138902104.html the Star Tribune], "Laws prevent the city from poisoning the crows". "Duffy [ {{w|Steve Duffy}}, a co-owner of U.S. Bird Abatement Services, which has contracted with Rochester to get rid of the crows] isn't sure why Rochester has such a bad crow problem; probably a confluence of many bird-friendly conditions that has also made it a magnet for {{w|geese}}. He's seen worse cases, but called Rochester's situation 'hideous.'" And best of all, "The city has twice this winter hired experts to chase them off. They tried {{w|lasers}} and bullhorns — hey, get out of here, you crows — and even employed raptors to pick them off, one by one. That worked, for awhile." Unfortunately, they mean a {{w|bird of prey}}, not a {{w|velociraptor}}.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is Psychic weak to Bug || In Pokémon, Pokémon of the psychic type like Mr. Mime are weak to three types of attacks: Ghost, Dark, and Bug. The general theory is that Psychic Pokémon, relying heavily on their thoughts for attacks, are weak to fears, which ghosts, darkness, and bugs can be classified as.<br />
|- <br />
| Why do children get cancer? ||{{w|Cancer}} is an aggressive and often fatal disease that has the potential to affect all humans as well as other organisms. There are multiple types of cancer, each with their own epidemiology, but children are not immune to succumbing to the horrific effects of the disease. Children are human beings and are subject to the same illnesses adults have, regardless of age, or their innocence. There is no divine or supernatural explanation for this. Simply put, life is a battle for all humans regardless of how small they are. <br />
|-<br />
| Why is Poseidon angry with Odysseus? || {{w|Poseidon}} was the patron deity of the city of {{w|Troy}}, which after a 10 years siege by the Greeks fell due to {{w|Odysseus}}' list of the {{w|Trojan_Horse|Trojan horse}}. As the Greeks were returning home after the Trojan War, Oddyseus' ship accidentally landed on the island home of the cyclops Polyphemus, who imprisoned the crew and ate many of them. In order to escape, Odysseus blinded the cyclops. Poseidon, Polyphemus' father, was extremely angered by his son being blinded, so he cursed Odysseus' ship to prevent him from reaching his home in {{W|Ithaca}}. The adventures which Odysseus encountered during his quest for reaching Ithaca are the main theme of {{w|Homer|Homer's}} {{w|Odyssey}} The Odyssey also says that before sailing, the crew forgot to offer a sacrifice as was ordained.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is there ice in space? || Space is {{w|Outer_space#Environment|Cold}}. The background radiation, which is used to measure the temperature of space's vacuum, is estimated at about 3K (−270&nbsp;°C; −454&nbsp;°F). Water freezes at 273.15 K (0&nbsp;°C; 32&nbsp;°F). Because the temperature in space is less than the freezing point of water, liquids freeze in space, turning into ice.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section <strike>Owl</strike> Nine===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why is there an owl in my back yard? || Owls can be seen all over the world, and live in a wide variety of habitats. They are mainly noctural, and spend a large portion of the night hunting. The owl in your back yard is likely looking for food.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is there an owl outside my window? || As with the question above, the owl is likely to be hunting for food. <br />
|-<br />
| Why is there an owl on the dollar bill? || On the front of a dollar bill, near the upper right '1' is a tiny section of the design which can be seen to represent an owl. Conspiracy theorists will note that owls were symbolically linked to the Masons, while others will instead see a spider.<br />
|-<br />
| Why do owls attack people? || While owls and human often live in close proximity without problems, as with other species, owls may attack if they feel threatened. When people irritate or otherwise make owls feel unsafe, they retaliate with violence to protect themselves.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are AK47s so expensive? || The market value of an AK47 varies depending on where in the world you live. With strict gun control laws, obtaining an AK47 in the UK is likely to be more expensive due to the risks involved for those supplying the weapon. In ex-soviet countries and the middle east, AK47s are more plentiful, and hence the price is likely to be lower.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there helicopters circling my house? ||This question is likely a joke because it is so incongruous to the others in this section. The joke is that people would be Googling about owls attacking people and assault rifle prices, which could, ostensibly alert authorities to come to your house to arrest you. If this is not the case, then the helicopter could be there for myriad reasons. <br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section Ten===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there gods? || All gods and goddesses are man made and are part of ancient and fictional mythology and folklore that are used to give spiritual guidance and explanations for phenomenons that were yet unexplained by natural processes. Lightning for example was thought to be produced by Zeus, King of all Greek Gods.<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there two Spocks? || This is probably a reference to the {{w|Star_Trek_(film)|2009 Star Trek movie}} in which the franchise was given a {{w|Reboot_(fiction)|continuity reboot}}. The modified setting is explained in-universe by time travel, with both the villain Nero and the original-timeline Spock being brought back from the 24th century to the 23rd, creating a timeline in which both older Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) and the younger Spock (played by Zachary Quinto) coexist.<br />
<br />
Another possibility is that the question refers to the episode {{w|Mirror,_Mirror_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series)|"Mirror, Mirror"}}, which mostly takes place in an alternate universe populated by ruthless versions of most of the characters (including Spock). <br />
|-<br />
| Why is Mt Vesuvius there? ||The simple answer is that volcanoes are created by interactions where the Earth's tectonic plates meet. These conditions only exist in a few places on Earth. <p>The question could also be asking, "why is Mt Vesuvius near such a heavily populated area?" Humans have lived near Vesuvius throughout history, due to its pleasant climate, rich soil, and proximity to other major cities. The Italian government [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jun/05/italy.sophiearie offers generous cash incentives] to move people away from the danger zone, but finds few takers.</p><p>This question could also be a reference to mountaineer {{w|George Mallory}}'s famous answer as to why he wanted to climb Mount Everest: "Because it's there."</p><br />
|-<br />
| Why do they say T minus? || Time before the launch of a spacecraft is denoted as T minus because the launch has not happened yet. Any time after the launched is stated without the minus, for example T 3 seconds, so time before the launch can be seen as "minus" time. The T stands for "Test" or "Time".<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there obelisks? || {{w|Obelisk}} article has more<br />
|-<br />
| Why are wrestlers always wet? || Professional wrestling is strenuous activity, whether its fake or not. Strenuous activity results in sweat, giving the bodyan appearance of being wet. Greco-roman wrestling and Turkish Oil Wrestling both involve oiling the body, giving a similar appearance.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are oceans becoming more acidic? || Due to the higher amount of carbon dioxide on the atmosphere, which dissolves in the oceans turning into carbonic acid - CO2+H2O=H2CO3 (see {{w|Ocean acidification}})<br />
|-<br />
| Why is Arwen dying? || {{w|Elf (Middle-Earth)#Death|Elves}} can die from grief .<br />
|-<br />
| Why aren't my quail laying eggs? || Have you tried turning them off and on again?<br />
|-<br />
| Why aren't my quail eggs hatching? || Problems in incubation, probably.<br />
|-<br />
|Why aren't there any foreign military bases in America? || ''Further information: {{w|United States military deployments}}''<p>This is a very interesting question, albeit one likely based on a regional misunderstanding. Presumably, this question is asked by Americans who assume that the existence of {{w|Category:Military facilities of the United States by country|U.S. military bases abroad}} is a general trend among countries, as opposed to being the rarity that it is. In fact, {{w|List of countries with overseas military bases|only a handful of other countries}} have military bases outside of their borders, and the three—{{w|France}}, the {{w|United Kingdom}}, and {{w|Russia}}—that have more than one or two are all countries that, like the United States, {{w|Allies of World War II|were on the winning side of World War II}}, have {{w|List of countries by military expenditures|massive military expenditures}}, and have {{w|United Nations Security Council veto power|UN Security Council vetoes}}. In other words, only the most militarily elite countries have bases overseas. The U.S. is unique, however, in that it has far more overseas bases than any other country (and, pretty much, far more of anything else than any other country, when it comes to the military), and in that {{w|List of United States military bases|it has bases in several other highly-industrialized nations}}, including {{w|List of United States Army installations in South Korea|South Korea}} and the United Kingdom, and, most notably, the World War II {{w|Axis powers}}: {{w|List of United States Army installations in Germany|Germany}}, {{w|United States Forces Japan|Japan}}, and {{w|List of United States Army installations in Italy|Italy}}. France, Russia, and the U.K.'s bases, on the other hand, are almost all within areas that they previously controlled.</p><p>These bases can be controversial in some countries, while in others they are a major source of economic and political stability. The U.S. traditionally justifies their presence as a necessary and crucial element in its efforts to promote peace domestically and worldwide. Despite their major role in {{w|U.S. foreign policy}}, and in the general political structure of the globe, the American public often largely ignores them, and they rarely become a major political issue (apart from an occasional mention by {{w|Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian presidential candidates}}).</p><p>So, essentially, the absence of foreign military bases within the U.S. is primarily because there aren't really any other countries in a position to place bases there. Ironically, although no battles in the traditional sense have been fought within the U.S. since the {{w|U.S. Civil War}} and the U.S. mainland has seen {{w|Mainland invasion of the United States|almost no military action}}, foreign air force bases might have been useful on September 11, 2001. (The {{w|attack on Pearl Harbor}} in 1941 was 18 years before Hawaii became a U.S. state, but Hawaii was still a fundamental part of the United States as it was an incorporated territory.)</p><p>There are, however, foreign troops stationed at some continental US military bases. For example RAF (British Royal Air Force) 39 Sqn and 361 Sqn at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada flying Reaper and Predator drones. But this are not foreign military bases, they are just guests.</p><br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Section Eleven===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why are my boobs itchy? ||It could be anything from dry skin to a rare life-threatening disease. Could also be related to pregnancy, PMS, or puberty. [http://www.just-health.net/Itchy-Breast.html Here's a thorough list] of possible causes and remedies.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are cigarettes legal? ||Despite the obvious detrimental affects nicotine has on health, like caffeine and alcohol, it is easy to regulate. Substances like marijuana and other drugs are mainly illegal because the government and regulatory agencies have no control over their production and distribution and therefore cannot profit from it. Nicotine however, which is the key ingredient in tobacco can be regulated and taxed and is. <br />
|-<br />
| Why are there ducks in my pool? ||Most likely, they're looking for a place to mate. Which means you'll soon have baby ducks in your pool. Most migratory birds are protected by wildlife laws, so you want to prevent them from moving into your pool in the first place. The [http://www.dfwwildlife.org/duck.html DFW Wildlife Coalition] has some tips.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is Jesus white? ||This is an ethnocentric viewpoint that varies throughout cultures. In African cultures he is portrayed as black. In short, whatever culture he is introduced to, those inhabitants will have him fit their own image. <br />
|-<br />
| Why is there liquid in my ear? ||[http://www.healthline.com/symptom/discharge-from-ear It's called otorrhea], and can be caused by infection, trauma, or changes in pressure. A common cause is [http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/swimmers-ear/basics/definition/con-20014723 Swimmer's ear], an infection of the outer ear canal.<br />
|-<br />
| Why do Q tips feel good? ||The inner ear contains [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erectile_tissue erectile tissue] (as does your inner nose which is why sneezing feels good) so you are massing tissue which gets aroused upon stimulation. <br />
|-<br />
| Why do good people die? ||Everybody dies, but loved ones and ones who were known to make memorable or valuable contributions are mourned and revered more than a person who has left much pain to others as their legacy; we remember the good ones and that's why it hurts more. <br />
|-<br />
| Why are ultrasounds important? ||Ultrasound scans provide a great deal of information about a fetus, thus increasing the chances of a healthy birth. They have many other medical uses.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are ultrasound machines expensive? ||As hospital equipment goes, ultrasound machines are actually a bargain. [http://www.costowl.com/healthcare/healthcare-ultrasound-machine-costs.html A new ultrasound machine] costs about $20,000-$75,000, depending on features. Comparable devices are much more expensive: The [http://info.blockimaging.com/bid/84432/CT-Scanner-Price-Guide CT scanner] runs $90,000-$250,000, while the [http://www.ehow.com/about_4731161_much-do-mri-machines-cost.html MRI machine] easily goes over a million.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is stealing wrong? ||Stealing is theft and it is illegal. Taking something that is not yours without permission or payment hurts the livelihood of other individuals as well as damages their trust in others. <br />
|}<br />
<br />
===Vertical Questions===<br />
{| class ="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
!style="width:20%;"|Question !! Possible answer<br />
|-<br />
| Why is there hell if god forgives? ||There is not a single answer to this question. The answer varies based on the religion and that religion's sect mixed with personal interpretations of that religions scripture and how a person decides to follow it. However the idea of what Hell will be like also varies. There is no one answer to this question, but the easiest explanation is that the individual did not pray hard enough, correctly, was not part of the right religion, and their forgiveness was contingent on something that the person either did not do or know to do (or say or think) <br />
|-<br />
| Why do iguanas die? ||All living things die, but iguanas may suffer from [http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/kidneyfailure.html kidney failure].<br />
|-<br />
| Why is GPS free? || GPS was originally developed by the U.S. military for its own use, not for commercial purposes. Once the satellites were launched and service began, anyone could receive the signals. Because it is a one-way transmission, there is no incremental cost to provide service to more users, and no practical way to prevent use without payment.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are trees tall? ||Tall is a relative term, and Redwoods are famous for their height - among the tallest in the world. The reason for this is, in part [http://www.nps.gov/redw/faqs.htm climate, fog, rain, good soil, few predators, among others].<br />
|-<br />
|Why are there female Mr. Mimes? || {{w|Mr. Mime}} is a Pokémon introduced in the first generation of the games, and despite its name, it can be either of a male or female gender. As the Pokémon was introduced before the concept of [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Gender gender in Pokémon games], it is likely that the people in charge of translating its Japanese name (Barrierd) did not take this into account during the process.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is there lava? ||Lava is simply magma (molten rock) which has been ejected from volcanoes. Once it is flowing on land, it is called lava. Magma is heated by the earth's core to create a liquid surface under earth's crust that the land floats on. Sometimes it has to come out through faults and fissures (and volcanoes).<br />
|-<br />
| Why is YKK on a zippers? || YKK Group is the name of a large group of Japanese manufacturing companies, which among other things manufacture a lot of zippers.<br />
|-<br />
| Why is life so boring? ||It is up to an individual to find meaning and interest in life. Monotony, predictability and lack of physical and intellectual stimulation would lead to a feeling of boredom. <br />
|-<br />
| Why aren't there dinosaur ghosts? ||Ghosts are a supernatural phenomenon that have not been empirically proven to exist. Those who believe in ghosts implicitly believe in a soul (of which a ghost is a materialization of), and it is a commonly held belief by religious institutions and ghost-hunters that animals do not have souls and thus dinosaurs would not have any either. <br />
|-<br />
|Why is there no king in England? || ''Note: For simplicity's sake, "England" here is being read as "United Kingdom." The various name changes, mergers, and splits of kingdoms are complicated.''<p>The basis for this question is that for the past several hundred years, there has almost always been a queen in England, the sole exceptions being when the king has not had a wife. However, there is a distinction between being the queen of England (that is to say, {{w|List of British monarchs|a monarch}}) and being the {{w|queen consort|queen ''consort''}} of England: The former refers to a woman who {{w|Succession to the British throne|succeeded to the throne}} in her own right, becoming sovereign, while the latter refers to the wife of the king. Both roles, though, are commonly referred to as "Queen of England," creating the impression that there is always such a person. The logical question, therefore, is why {{w|Elizabeth II}}'s husband, {{w|Prince Philip|Philip}}, is not considered the king of England. The answer lies in Britain's system of {{w|male-preference cognatic primogeniture}}, which causes the monarch of England to usually be a man, not a woman. As a result of this, British laws were generally built around the presumption that the monarch would be a man, and that said man would be married to a woman, [[223: Valentine's Day|comic 223]] be damned. Since the creation of the modern British throne in 1707, only two women have reigned as queen in their own right; it just so happens that these two women have been two of the most famous and longest-reigning monarchs in world history, {{w|Queen Victoria}} and Queen Elizabeth II. This fact may add to people's enhanced perception of the lack of a British king. Victoria and Elizabeth's respective consorts, {{w|Albert, Prince Consort|Albert}} and Philip, have been styled as princes&mdash;Albert as {{w|Prince Consort}} and Philip as "{{w|British prince|Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland}}." Both were explicitly granted their titles by their wives, though Albert was already a prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and Philip had previously been a prince of Denmark and Greece, but had renounced both titles before marrying Elizabeth.</p><p>The title {{w|king consort}} also exists, but has never been used in the United Kingdom.</p><p>Notably, should {{w|Prince Charles}} succeed to his mother's throne, it has been announced that his wife, {{w|Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall|Camilla}}, will be styled as {{w|princess consort}}, ''not'' as queen consort, just as she has declined the title {{w|Princess of Wales}}, which is strongly associated with Charles's first wife, {{w|Princess Diana|Diana}}. Assuming that Charles succeeds, this means that Britain will not have anyone referred to as "queen," after decades of not having anyone referred to as "king."</p><br />
|-<br />
| Why do I feel dizzy? ||Balance is achieved from fluids in the inner-ear, but [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizziness#Epidemiology dizziness] can have nearly a dozen causes.<br />
|-<br />
| Why are dogs afraid of fireworks? ||Loud noises can trigger their flight or fight responses when they are [http://www.cesarsway.com/dogbehavior/hyperdog/How-to-Keep-Your-Dog-Safe-and-Calm-During-Fireworks nervous].<br />
|-<br />
| Why are there weeks? || Weeks were originally important for religious reasons, primarily the requirement to observe a sabbath (day of rest) every seventh day. Today it is used to evenly divide months into equal pieces, much like the months divide a year. Similarly, hours and minutes divide a day.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/1l3na7/questions/cbvigrd, answers to all the questions.<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
<references/><br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[This strip is a rectangular word cloud, titled 'Questions found in Google autocomplete'. Embedded in the cloud are 5 single panels, with illustrated questions. These are described at the end. Questions are given in roughly columnar order. None of the questions have question marks.]<br />
<br />
:Questions found in Google Autocomplete<br />
<br />
:Why do whales jump<br />
:Why are witches green<br />
:Why are there mirrors above beds<br />
:Why do I say uh<br />
:Why is sea salt better<br />
:Why are there trees in the middle of fields<br />
:Why is there not a Pokemon MMO<br />
:Why is there laughing in TV shows<br />
:Why are there doors on the freeway<br />
:Why are there so many svchost.exe running<br />
:Why aren't there any countries in antarctica<br />
:Why are there scary sounds in Minecraft<br />
:Why is there kicking in my stomach<br />
:Why are there two slashes after HTTP<br />
:Why are there celebrities<br />
:Why do snakes exist<br />
:Why do oysters have pearls<br />
:Why are ducks called ducks<br />
:Why do they call it the clap<br />
:Why are Kyle and Cartman friends<br />
:Why is there an arraow on Aang's head<br />
:Why are text messages blue<br />
:Why are there mustaches on clothes<br />
:Why are there mustaches on cars<br />
:Why are there mustaches everywhere<br />
:Why are there so many birds in Ohio<br />
:Why is there so much rain in Ohio<br />
:Why is Ohio weather so weird<br />
:Why are there male and female bikes<br />
:Why are there bridesmaids<br />
:Why do dying people reach up<br />
:Why aren't there varicose arteries<br />
:Why are old Klingons different<br />
:Why is programming so hard<br />
:Why is there a 0 ohm resistor<br />
:Why do Americans hate soccer<br />
:Why do rhymes sound good<br />
:Why do trees die<br />
:Why is there no sound on CNN<br />
:Why aren't Pokemon real<br />
:Why aren't bullets sharp<br />
:Why do dreams seem so real<br />
:Why aren't there dinosaur ghosts<br />
:Why do iguanas die<br />
:Why do testicles move<br />
:Why are there psychics<br />
:Why are hats so expensive<br />
:Why is there caffeine in my shampoo<br />
:Why do your boobs hurt<br />
:Why aren't economists rich<br />
:Why do Americans call it soccer<br />
:Why are my ears ringing<br />
:Why are there so many Avengers<br />
:Why are the Avengers fighting the X men<br />
:Why is Wolverine not in the Avengers<br />
:Why are there ants in my laptop<br />
:Why is Earth tilted<br />
:Why is space black<br />
:Why is outer space so cold<br />
:Why are there pyramids on the moon<br />
:Why is NASA shutting down<br />
:Why is there Hell if God forgives<br />
:Why are there tiny spiders in my house<br />
:Why do spiders come inside<br />
:Why are there huge spiders in my house<br />
:Why are there lots of spiders in my house<br />
:Why are there spiders in my room<br />
:Why are there so many spiders in my room<br />
:Why do spider bites itch<br />
:Why is dying so scary<br />
:Why is there no GPS in laptops<br />
:Why do knees click<br />
:Why aren't there E grades<br />
:Why is isolation bad<br />
:Why do boys like me<br />
:Why don't boys like me<br />
:Why is there always a Java update<br />
:Why are there red dots on my thighs<br />
:Why is lying good<br />
:Why is GPS free<br />
:Why are trees tall<br />
:Why are there slaves in the Bible<br />
:Why do twins have different fingerprints<br />
:Why are Americans afraid of dragons<br />
:Why is there lava<br />
:Why are there swarms of gnats<br />
:Why is there phlegm<br />
:Why are there so many crows in Rochester, MN<br />
:Why is psychic weak to bug<br />
:Why do children get cancer<br />
:Why is Poseidon angry with Odysseus<br />
:Why is there ice in space<br />
:Why are there female Mr Mimes<br />
:Why is there an owl in my backyard<br />
:Why is there an owl outside my window<br />
:Why is there an owl on the dollar bill<br />
:Why do owls attack people<br />
:Why are AK47s so expensive<br />
:Why are there helicopters circling my house<br />
:Why are there gods<br />
:Why are there two Spocks<br />
:Why is Mt Vesuvius there<br />
:Why do they say T minus<br />
:Why are there obelisks<br />
:Why are wrestlers always wet<br />
:Why are oceans becoming more acidic<br />
:Why is Arwen dying<br />
:Why aren't my quail laying eggs<br />
:Why aren't my quail eggs hatching<br />
:Why aren't there any foreign military bases in America<br />
:Why is life so boring<br />
:Why are my boobs itchy<br />
:Why are cigarettes legal<br />
:Why are there ducks in my pool<br />
:Why is Jesus white<br />
:Why is there liquid in my ear<br />
:Why do Q tips feel good<br />
:Why do good people die<br />
:Why are ultrasounds important<br />
:Why are ultrasound machines expensive<br />
:Why is stealing wrong<br />
:Why is YKK on all zippers<br />
:Why is HTTPS crossed out in red<br />
:Why is there a line through HTTPS<br />
:Why is there a red line through HTTPS on Facebook<br />
:Why is HTTPS important<br />
:Why are there weeks<br />
:Why do I feel dizzy<br />
:Why are dogs afraid of fireworks<br />
:Why is there no king in England<br />
<br />
:[We see Cueball from the torso up, with arms outstretched.]<br />
:Cueball: Why aren't my arms growing<br />
<br />
:[Megan stands with a grey ghost on either side of her.]<br />
:Megan: Why are there ghosts<br />
<br />
:[Beret Guy stands, looking at a squirrel.]<br />
:Beret Guy: Why are there squirrels<br />
<br />
:[Cueball stands.]<br />
:Cueball: Why is sex so important.<br />
<br />
:[We see Ponytail from the torso up.]<br />
:Ponytail: Why aren't there guns in Harry Potter<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Large drawings]]<br />
[[Category:LOTR]]<br />
[[Category:Pokémon]]<br />
[[Category:Google Search]]<br />
[[Category:Squirrels]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]<br />
[[Category:Soccer]]</div>199.27.128.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=898:_Chain_of_Command&diff=68943898: Chain of Command2014-06-06T02:43:09Z<p>199.27.128.25: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 898<br />
| date = May 13, 2011<br />
| title = Chain of Command<br />
| image = chain of command.png<br />
| titletext = Themistocles said his infant son ruled all Greece -- "Athens rules all Greece; I control Athens; my wife controls me; and my infant son controls her." Thus, nowadays the world is controlled by whoever buys advertising time on Dora the Explorer.<br />
}}<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The President of the United States is at the top of the US Nuclear Chain of Command, but the engineer is ''de facto'' above him because the engineer is in charge of configuring how the button works, and thus could have installed an override so that he could block the President's use of the button and/or use it himself. The "Red Button" is usually a worst-case scenario as it launches all nuclear capabilities.<br />
<br />
This paradoxical situation applies in many other fields. In a major corporation commercially sensitive information is generally hidden from employees at lower levels but available to management, but the systems administrator (who usually sits low on the hierarchy and doesn't manage any other employees) can access not only the sensitive information but the raw data that it's calculated from. Not only that, but the systems administrator is usually responsible for controlling who has access to the information - making him/her the most powerful person in the company (as far as the IT infrastructure is concerned). Many managers think of themselves as being "above" engineers and have trouble coming to grips with this concept.<br />
<br />
{{w|Themistocles}}, mentioned at the title text, was an Ancient Greek politician. In the title text is a similar joke placed at the top of the chain of command, this time in Ancient Greece. It refers to Plutarch's [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Themistocles*.html#p53 ''Life of Themistocles'']:<br />
Of his son, who lorded it over his mother, and through her over himself, he said, jestingly, that the boy was the most powerful of all the Hellenes; for the Hellenes were commanded by the Athenians, the Athenians by himself, himself by the boy's mother, and the mother by her boy.<br />
<br />
The part about television advertisements is a proposal that, by controlling the "infant son" of the aforementioned Red Button engineer, one could control the engineer, and thus the President, and so on and so forth. ''{{w|Dora the Explorer}}'' is an educational show for young children, something a busy man like the President might turn on for his son.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A flowchart shows the President at the top, with an arrow to the Secretary of Defense, and then fourteen arrows leading to a series of boxes labeled Unified Combat Commanders. On the side, a box with a dotted outline has a dotted arrow leading to the president. It's labeled "Engineer Who Installed the Red Button."]<br />
:US NUCLEAR CHAIN OF COMMAND<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Charts]]<br />
[[Category:Politics]]</div>199.27.128.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=882:_Significant&diff=68942882: Significant2014-06-06T02:39:21Z<p>199.27.128.25: Do we even use the Multiple Comparisons Fallacy? The scene is about studying the effects of jelly beans on skin acne, not skin acne in general</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 882<br />
| date = April 6, 2011<br />
| title = Significant<br />
| image = significant.png<br />
| titletext = So, uh, we did the green study again and got no link. It was probably a-- "RESEARCH CONFLICTED ON GREEN JELLY BEAN/ACNE LINK; MORE STUDY RECOMMENDED!"<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is about the often difficult relationship between science, statistics and the media. [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] commission some research on the link between jelly beans and acne. At first the scientists do not want to stop playing the addictive game {{w|Minecraft}} (which has been referenced in a [[861|previous xkcd]]), but they do eventually start.<br />
<br />
First some basic statistical theory. Let's imagine you are trying to find out if jelly beans cause acne. To do this you could find a group of people and randomly split them into two groups - one group who you get to eat lots of jelly beans and a second group who are banned from eating jelly beans. After some time you compare whether the group that eat jelly beans have more acne than those who do not. If more people in the group that eat jelly beans have acne then you might think that jelly beans cause acne. However, there is a problem.<br />
<br />
Some people will suffer from acne whether they eat jelly beans or not and some will never have acne even if they do eat jelly beans. There is an element of chance in how many people prone to acne are in each group. What if, purely by chance, all the group we selected to eat jelly beans would have had acne anyway while those who didn't eat jelly beans were the lucky sort of people who never get spots? Then, even if jelly beans did not cause acne, we would conclude that jelly beans did cause acne. Of course it is very unlikely that all the acne prone people end up in one group by chance, especially if we have enough people in each group. However, to give more confidence in the result of this type of experiment, scientists use statistics to see how likely it is that the result they find is purely by chance. This is known as {{w|statistical hypothesis testing}}. Before we start the experiment, we choose a threshold known as the significance level. In the comic the scientists choose a threshold of 5%. If they find that that more of the people who ate jelly beans had acne and the chance it was a purely random result is less than 1 in 20, they will say that jelly beans do cause acne. If however, the chance that their result was purely by random chance is greater than 5% they will say they have found no evidence of a link. The important point is this - '''there could still be a 1 in 20 chance that this result was purely a statistical fluke'''.<br />
<br />
The scientists find no link between jelly beans and acne (the probability that the result is by chance is more than 5% i.e. p > 0.05) but then Megan and Cueball ask them to see if only one colour of jelly beans is responsible. They test 20 different colors each at a significance level of 5%. If the probability that each trial gives a false positive result is 1 in 20, then by testing 20 different colors it is now highly likely that at least one jelly bean test will give a false positive. To be precise, the probability of having ''no'' false positive in 20 tests is (0.95)^20 = 35.85%. Probability of having ''no'' false positive in 21 tests (counting the test without color discrimination) is (0.95)^21 = 34.06%. In this case they find that green jelly beans do cause acne.<br />
<br />
This leads to a big newspaper headline saying '''GREEN JELLY BEANS CAUSE ACNE''' but when the scientists {{w|Reproducibility|repeat the experiment}} (another key part of the scientific method) they find no evidence for a link. They try to tell the reporter that it was probably a coincidence but that is not news. Instead it leads to another major headline saying '''RESEARCH CONFLICTED'''.<br />
<br />
This can be an issue with more serious matters than jelly beans and acne - at any one time there are many studies about possible links between substances (e.g. red wine) and illness (e.g. cancer). Because only the positive results get reported, this limits the value any single study has - especially if the mechanism linking the two things is not known.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Ponytail runs up to another person, who subsequently points off-panel where there are presumably scientists.]<br />
:Ponytail: Jelly beans cause acne!<br />
:Another: Scientists! Investigate!<br />
:Scientists: But we're playing Minecraft! ...Fine.<br />
<br />
:[Two scientists. Cueball has safety goggles, Megan has a sheet of notes.]<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:[Back to the original two.]<br />
:Another: That settles that.<br />
:Ponytail: I hear it's only a certain color that causes it.<br />
:Another: Scientists!<br />
:Scientists: But Miiiinecraft!<br />
<br />
:[20 near identical small panels follow, 4 rows 5 columns.]<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between purple jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between brown jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between pink jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between blue jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between teal jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between salmon jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between red jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between turquoise jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between magenta jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between yellow jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between grey jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between tan jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between cyan jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found a link between green jelly beans and acne (p < 0.05).<br />
:Off-panel: ''WHOA!''<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between yellow jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between beige jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between lilac jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between black jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between peach jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:Cueball: We found no link between orange jelly beans and acne (p > 0.05).<br />
<br />
:[Newspaper front page.]<br />
:NEWS Green Jelly Beans Linked To Acne! 95% Confidence<br />
:[There is a picture of 3 green jelly beans.]<br />
:Only 5% chance of coincidence!<br />
:Scientists...<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Statistics]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]</div>199.27.128.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=878:_Model_Rail&diff=68941878: Model Rail2014-06-06T02:27:21Z<p>199.27.128.25: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 878<br />
| date = March 28, 2011<br />
| title = Model Rail<br />
| image = model rail.png<br />
| titletext = I don't know what's more telling--the number of pages in the Wikipedia talk page argument over whether the 1/87.0857143 scale is called "HO" or "H0", or the fact that within minutes of first hearing of it I had developed an extremely strong opinion on the issue.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
In model rail construction, {{w|HO scale}} refers to the currently most popular scale for modeling railroads, in which 3.5 millimeters in the model corresponds to 1 real-world Imperial foot. As the comic suggests, it works out to a ratio of about 1:87.1. In Europe, the scale is defined as exactly 1:87 instead, to avoid reference to US measurements.<br />
<br />
The (apparently less-experienced) modeller wants to make an HO model layout of his town. However, the more-experienced modeller points out that this is a bad idea, due to nesting. To make it a perfectly accurate model, the modeller would have to include a model of his house, which includes his basement, which includes the model. So, he would have to make a model of the model, which will include a smaller model of the model, and so forth.<br />
<br />
{{w|Matryoshka doll|Matryoshka dolls}} are toys of Russian origin that can be stacked inside one another. Here, the "Matryoshka limit" is the hard barrier that follows as a result of the nesting. Matter is not infinitely divisible; once one gets the level of atoms, it's impossible to go any smaller. The unit shown in the last diagram is the {{w|Angstrom|ångström}}, a preposterously small unit of measurement that was created when humans started discovering preposterously small things, like crystal structures and wavelengths.<br />
<br />
The rules of model train layouts reference the 1999 cult classic ''{{w|Fight Club}}'', where the first rule of Fight Club is "do not talk about Fight Club." However, while the club instituted the rule because their activities were morally and legally questionable, the rule in the comic was instituted by friends and family members who, apparently, were sick of hearing the train enthusiasts talk about model train layouts all the time.<br />
<br />
The "Philistines" comment is not referring to citizens of ancient Palestine (at least not directly), but rather the philosophy of {{w|Philistinism}}. {{w|Friedrich Nietzsche}} defined a Philistine as someone who is purely negative in how they define style, i.e. they know exactly what they hate and don't really have anything they like. A common stereotype for artists is to refer to anyone who dislikes their work as "Philistines," thus dismissing their criticism as being part of a larger personality defect on the critic's part rather than any particular failing of the artwork in question.<br />
<br />
The title text references {{w|HO scale}} and, more specifically, whether it should be spelled with the letter "O" or the number zero (0). Such debates often seem petty to the "layman:, yet the people involved in the debates can form ''very'' strong feelings for their side. Randall recognizes "nerdy tendencies" almost immediately when he gets the urge to take a side. The comic [[1167: Star Trek into Darkness]] is about a similar debate on Wikipedia.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Cueball: I want to build a perfect HO-scale (~1/87) model train layout of my town.<br />
:Friend: In your basement? Bad idea. Never make a layout of the area you're in.<br />
<br />
:Cueball: Why not?<br />
:Friend: Because it'd include a little 10" replica of your house.<br />
<br />
:Cueball: So? That's be cool! I'd make tiny replicas of my rooms, my furniture—<br />
:Friend: —and your train layout?<br />
<br />
:[The comic shows how the models would nest together.]<br />
:[Layer 1: 18 meters across. The two modelers are shown standing next to it.]<br />
:[Layer 2: 21 cm across.]<br />
:[Layer 3: 2.4 mm across. A mosquito is shown for comparison. It stands over roughly half of the town.]<br />
:[Layer 4: 28 μm across. A strand of spider silk is shown for comparison. It is much thicker than the roads.]<br />
:[Layer 5: 320 nm across. A cold virus is shown for comparison. It covers roughly a quarter of the town. At this level the town becomes notably "fuzzy" as individual atoms are discernible.]<br />
:[Layer 6: 37 Å across. The town is simply spheres (atoms) at this point. The large hill near the back is the only noticeable feature, consisting of five atoms jutting out from the mostly flat ground.]<br />
:The Matryoshka limit: It is impossible to nest more than six HO layouts<br />
<br />
:Cueball: My God.<br />
:Friend: Yeah. It's the second rule of model train layouts: No nesting.<br />
<br />
:Cueball: ...What's the first rule?<br />
:Friend: "Do ''not'' talk about model train layouts." That rule was actually voted in by our friends and families.<br />
:Cueball: Philistines.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>199.27.128.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=766:_Green_Flash&diff=68940766: Green Flash2014-06-06T02:18:12Z<p>199.27.128.25: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 766<br />
| date = July 14, 2010<br />
| title = Green Flash<br />
| image = green_flash.png<br />
| titletext = The exact cause of the phenomenon is unknown, but it's thought to be linked to atmospheric refraction and you getting a really cool car.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{w|Green flash}} refers to an optical phenomenon which occurs at twilight (early {{w|sunrise|dawn}} or late {{w|sunset|dusk}}), where a flash of green light can be seen at the very edge of the sun. [[Black Hat]] attempts to distract [[Cueball]] with this event so that he may knock out Cueball with the bottle in his hand and steal his {{w|Tesla Roadster|new car}}.<br />
<br />
The title text simply continues this, wherein Black Hat jokes that Green Flashes are actually caused, at least in part, by the act of stealing a car.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Black Hat and Cueball are standing on the beach, watching the sun set. Black Hat is holding something in his left hand.]<br />
:Black Hat: Did you know that if you stare at the sun just as it sets, you can see a green flash? And feel a sharp blow to the head, and hear the faint hum of me driving away in your new Tesla Roadster?<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]</div>199.27.128.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=821:_Five-Minute_Comics:_Part_3&diff=68939821: Five-Minute Comics: Part 32014-06-06T01:34:34Z<p>199.27.128.25: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 821<br />
| date = November 19, 2010<br />
| title = Five-Minute Comics: Part 3<br />
| image = five minute comics part 3.png<br />
| titletext = Resulting in The Little Rock 9x + C.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is the third and final "five-minute comics" post Randall made during November 2010. The introduction to the comic explains everything you need to know about the circumstances behind it.<br />
<br />
*{{w|Pearl Harbor}} is a US Navy base that was {{w|Attack on Pearl Harbor|attacked}} in 1941 by Japanese airplanes, which prompted the US to join World War II. Of the attacks, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is claimed to have said "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve" (although this claim is disputed, as the quote first appeared in the 1970 film ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' and isn't substantiated by any sources that would have heard him say it).<br />
:The attacks were made on ''December'' 7, 1941, not November 7. Thus, Randall is correct in depicting a Navy base going about its usual business.<br />
<br />
*{{w|Breastfeeding in public}} is a touchy subject in parts of the world. In the US, it is considered by some to be inconsiderate to others who would prefer not to see such a display. Of course, women breastfeeding in public are generally feeding their infants, not other adults. The situation presented in the comic is an absurd exaggeration of the debate.<br />
<br />
*"s" is the command in {{w|sed}} to perform a pattern search-and-replace; the syntax has also been adopted by other text-processing utilities, including {{w|Perl}} (a favorite subject of xkcd), and has entered into the geek lexicon as something that could appear in general conversation. The specific command "s/I think that/I saw a study once that said/g" means "Find all occurrences of the phrase 'I think that', and replace it with the phrase 'I saw a study once that said'." This will, indeed, improve the persuasiveness of an article, as the existence of scientific evidence will make people more likely to believe what's said, while most people won't even think to actually look up the study in question.<br />
<br />
*Arson is the crime of intentionally setting fire to a structure. {{w|Billy Joel}} will no doubt claim {{w|We Didn't Start the Fire|he didn't start the fire}}.<br />
<br />
*Coca-Cola is a fizzy cola-flavored soft drink, commonly abbreviated as "coke." {{w|Pop Rocks}} are a candy that contain tiny bubbles of gas, so that as the sugary candy dissolves on your tongue, it creates a popping sensation. For a long time, it was claimed that drinking the two together would cause one's stomach to explode; this was finally put to rest as some people (the Mythbusters in particular) started actually trying it, and discovered that it's merely painful, not lethal.<br />
:Randall, of course, just thinks outside the box.<br />
<br />
*After ''{{w|Brown v. Board of Education}}'' ruled that schools could not segregate based on race, nine African American students from Little Rock, Arkansas enrolled in the previously-segregated Little Rock Central High School. The school board could not officially deny them attendance, but members of the community (and, after Arkansas governor Orval Faubus intervened, the Arkansas National Guard) formed a blockade to physically prevent them from entering the school building. The governor claimed this was within his power even after ''Brown v. Board'', because the students were enrolled without issue, they were just physically blocked from entering the school building. After determining that the right to enroll in a school does, implicitly, include the right to actually attend classes there, president Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division to accompany the students and force the National Guard to stand down, thus integrating the school. This incident became known as the {{w|Little Rock Nine}}.<br />
:However, {{w|Integral|integration}} also has a meaning in mathematics. This is indicated in the comic with the soldiers lifting up a giant integral sign to place beside the school, in order to (mathematically) integrate it. Normally, an integral only makes sense on functions; however, since this is the Little Rock ''Nine'', if we take the integral of the constant function ''f''(''x'') = 9, we do, in fact, get 9''x'' + ''C'', as stated in the title text.<br />
<br />
*Cell phones with advanced computing capabilities, typically at least requiring fully-featured Internet browsing, multimedia capabilities, and the ability to run software applications, are called "smartphones." Most cell phones also have a "vibrate" function that allows someone in a public situation to receive calls without alerting others; the phone will discreetly vibrate rather than activate a ringtone, thus privately notifying the owner that a call is incoming. A semi-common problem with this feature is that a vibrating phone on a table that has a slight slope will slowly - or, if the slope is bad enough, rather quickly - slide down the slope, possibly falling off the table and breaking. If our smartphones ever decided to kill us, this would possibly be their only method of attack.<br />
**Randall later covered this in his [[what if?]] blog. [http://what-if.xkcd.com/5/]<br />
<br />
*The Three Little Pigs is a children's fairy tale about three pigs who build their houses out of, respectively, straw, sticks, and bricks. A wolf comes along and eats the pigs living in the straw and stick houses, but he can't knock down the brick house, because his only method for breaking them down is to blow on them until the material falls to pieces. The moral is something of an understated {{w|Murphy's law}}, that is, plan for the worst (getting your house knocked over) and it won't happen. Of course, a standard brick house is ''no'' match for the ''worst'' possible thing that could happen, the wolf dropping a nuke down the chimney.<br />
:The 119 Little Pigs seems to be a variant where the pigs build their houses out of the 119 chemical elements. The 38th little pig builds his house out of {{w|strontium}}, which is, of course, the 38th element on the Periodic Table. One wonders what happened to the pigs who are stuck making their houses out of elements that are gaseous or liquid at room temperature, or those whose houses would react with the air and/or undergo nuclear decay.<br />
:Although given the water content in exhaled breath, it's {{w|Alkali metal#Reaction with water (alkali metal hydroxides)|easy to see}} how the wolf would huff, puff, and blow down the houses made of {{w|lithium}}, {{w|sodium}}, {{w|potassium}}, {{w|rubidium}}, {{w|caesium}}, and {{w|francium}}. Though making a houses out of hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, chlorine and krypton would all be very difficult as they are gasses at room temperature. Also, there would be issues such as death from the toxicity of the elements, e.g. fluorine would kill the wolf. The piggies may have difficulty collecting enough metal, as they would have trouble collecting enough Technetium (43), which doesn't naturally occur, and Astatine, of which approximately 1 ounce exists on earth. <br />
<br />
*"Fastest gun in the West" is a boast commonly made in Western movies, where it is used to mean that a person is the fastest at drawing his gun in a duel (or, alternatively, can fire his gun the fastest). It doesn't actually describe the gun itself, and certainly doesn't describe how fast the gun can gallop across the land.<br />
<br />
*"It's what separates the ''men'' from the ''boys''" is a phrase used to describe "macho" activities that, apparently, only "real men" will participate/do well in; all the other men haven't grown up yet, and are thus "boys." {{w|Centrifuge}}s are used to rapidly separate a material from the liquid it's suspended in, so apparently they can also be used to separate men from boys.<br />
**In the film {{W|Moonraker_(film)|Moonraker}} {{W|James Bond}} was almost killed in a centrifuge used as a g-force training vehicle for pilots/astronauts - but he survived - and he for sure is a real man... See also [[123: Centrifugal Force]].<br />
<br />
*Narnia is the mythical land in ''{{w|The Chronicles of Narnia}}''. In the books, time passes differently in Narnia, such that one can spend many years in Narnia and come out to find that almost no time at all has passed on Earth; conversely, during a short trip back to Earth, hundreds of years could pass in Narnia. {{w|Lucy Pevensie|Lucy}} is taking advantage of this by putting a computer in Narnia to perform extremely fast computation. {{w|Folding@home}} and {{w|SETI@home}} are distributed computing projects that aim to solve extremely large computational problems by pooling together computer resources of thousands of home computers who volunteer for the project; Folding@home looks at how proteins are folded, which has applications in medical science, and SETI@home analyzes EM waves from space, looking for signs extraterrestrial intelligent life amongst the cosmic background noise. Running through all of that data in a few hours would be quite an accomplishment indeed, given that, as Peter points out, the idea has many problems Lucy has evidently overcome:<br />
**The book was written in 1957 and it occurs even earlier than that, long predating personal computers, so Lucy shouldn't even have one.<br />
**Even if it occurs in an alternate universe where the PC was invented before 1957, the storage that would be needed to store the entire Folding@home and SETI@home databases would be far beyond her means, since the characters in the book are evacuees who don't have any money.<br />
**Even if she somehow pulled that much storage space together, the time needed for one computer to run through those databases is on the order of millennia. A computer would not continuously run for that long without careful treatment, which Narnia is not equipped for.<br />
**Even if we handwave around that issue (''"Aslan, use your power to keep all dust away from this computer for the next ten thousand years, please"''), the wall socket powering the computer is on the Earth side. Mains power outlets in the UK provide alternating current with an amplitude of 230 volts and a frequency of 50 hertz. The 50&nbsp;Hz part is what's important here: all devices designed to work with UK mains power expect a 50&nbsp;Hz sine wave. The time difference between Earth and Narnia would substantially elongate the sine wave in a method similar to the Doppler effect, which would probably prevent the computer from functioning at all, though ignoring this, the electricity costs would be too high.<br />
**The time differential doesn't occur while people are entering/exiting Narnia (though they do occur while the wardrobe's open) or the Pevensie children would have had had some difficulty surviving the transition. Since the cables of the computer are crossing between the worlds, it seems unlikely that the time differential is even active yet.<br />
<br />
*''{{w|The Honeymooners}}'' is a classic American sitcom. The show stars Ralph and Alice Kramden, and Ralph frequently makes empty threats of the form "One of these days, Alice...," followed by a combination of onomatopoeia. For example: "One of these days, Alice... BANG! ZOOM! Straight to the moon!" (Alice inevitably replies "Ahhh, shut up.")<br />
:Here, Randall takes the pattern to a ridiculous and not-at-all threatening place.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Because of a family illness, instead of regular comics, this week I'll be sharing some strips that I drew as part of a game I played with friends. Each comic had to be written and drawn in five minutes.<br />
<br />
:--Randall<br />
<br />
:;Comic #1<br />
:Pearl Harbor. November 7th, 1941.<br />
:[There is a beach, with some ships floating in a crescent shaped harbor.]<br />
<br />
:[The same bay, again.]<br />
<br />
:[The boats continue to move about the harbor.]<br />
<br />
:[The boats do their thing. A title explains.]<br />
:(We're going to be here a while, since the attack wasn't until December.)<br />
<br />
:;Comic #2<br />
:[Cueball is sitting on a bus, Megan in front of him.]<br />
:I know it's natural and all, but I really wish women on the bus wouldn't try to breastfeed me.<br />
:Woman: C'mon, have some milk. Right here.<br />
:Me: I'm ''reading''.<br />
<br />
:;Comic #3<br />
:s/I think that/I saw a study once that said that/g<br />
:Instant persuasiveness multiplier!<br />
<br />
:;Comic #4<br />
:[A newspaper front page. Billy Joel is between two policemen.]<br />
:Times<br />
:Billy Joel Arrested for Arson<br />
<br />
:;Comic #5<br />
:[One person has a cord leaving their mouth, the other is holding a handset on the end of it to their ear.]<br />
:Handset: Hee hee hee... *giggle*<br />
:I hear that if you drink coke and eat pop rocks, you vomit up a corded telephone handset on which you hear creepy little girls giggling.<br />
<br />
:;Comic #6<br />
:[Three soldiers are holding a large integral sign, while a fourth points a gun at the Little Rock High School.]<br />
:1957: Eisenhower orders the military to integrate Little Rock High School.<br />
<br />
:;Comic #7<br />
:[A smartphone is vibrating across a table, towards a person.]<br />
:The smartphones got ''too'' smart... and developed a taste... for BLOOD!<br />
:Fortunately, the only way they could move was by turning on their vibrate while on a sloped table.<br />
<br />
:;Comic #8<br />
:[Cueball is reading to his child.]<br />
:Cueball: And the wolf went to see the 38th little pig, who had built his house out of strontium.<br />
:Cueball: And the wolf was all, "Ok, what is ''with'' this shit?"<br />
:The 119 Little Pigs<br />
<br />
:;Comic #9<br />
:[Cueball is holding up a gun.]<br />
:Cueball: Fastest gun in the west!<br />
<br />
:[The gun is galloping across the desert.]<br />
:''gallop gallop''<br />
<br />
:[There is a podium, with a gun in each position.]<br />
:Winner!<br />
<br />
:;Comic #10<br />
:[A picture of a centrifuge dominates the panel.]<br />
:Centrifuges: They're what separate the men from the boys.<br />
<br />
:;Comic #11<br />
:[A computer monitor is plugged in, and cables run into a wardrobe.]<br />
:Lucy: Time passes differently in Narnia, so by putting the CPU and storage for my machine there, I was able to run through the Folding@Home and Seti@Home databases in about an hour.<br />
:Peter: There are <u>so</u> many problems with that.<br />
<br />
:;Comic #12<br />
:[Someone is talking to Alice.]<br />
:Person: One of these days, Alice... Wham, zoom, sploosh, fwoom, splash, gurlle, wheeeee, fwoosh, aren't waterslides fun?!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Five-minute comics]]</div>199.27.128.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=670:_Spinal_Tap_Amps&diff=68938670: Spinal Tap Amps2014-06-06T01:29:26Z<p>199.27.128.25: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 670<br />
| date = December 2, 2009<br />
| title = Spinal Tap Amps<br />
| image = spinal tap amps.png<br />
| titletext = Wow, that's less than $200 per... uh... that's a good deal!<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic is in reference to the 1984 mock documentary ''{{w|This Is Spinal Tap}}'' about the tour of the fictional rock band Spinal Tap. Here we see lead guitarist {{w|Nigel Tufnel}} (a character portrayed in the movie by {{w|Christopher Guest}}) explaining to [[Cueball]] how the volume dial on his amp goes all the way to eleven. This is impressive to Nigel since guitar amplifiers generally only go to ten. This leads him to believe his amp is "one" louder than other amplifiers.<br />
<br />
In reality, the loudness of an amplifier is largely dependent on how much power it has. The highest mark on the volume dial could just as easily be labelled 'Maximum', which would then accurately describe the meaning of that setting.<br />
<br />
The normal guy knows intuitively that using eleven is silly, and wants to know what is wrong with the usual way of numbering from one to ten -- the question that is raised in the original film.<br />
<br />
The engineer is desperate to explain to Nigel the fallacy in his thinking, but his {{w|jargon}} just sends Nigel to sleep. He remains unenlightened.<br />
<br />
The smart engineer sees an opportunity: it doesn't cost any more to number the volume dial differently, but Nigel places a real value on higher numbers. The smart engineer offers to sell him an amp that goes to twelve, but at a hefty premium. <br />
<br />
The title text further plays on the fact that the amp's levels are on an arbitrary scale. Many products are sold at a certain price per unit weight, volume, etc. (e.g., $2.99/lb for grapes). Nigel calculates that the $2000 amp would cost less than $200 per "something", but he is unable to articulate what the "something" is (effectively, the ''number of notches on the dial'', a unit of measure which is humorously trivial). However, he decides that it's a good deal anyway, and it looks like the smart engineer has made a sale.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap is showing off his amplifier to Cueball.]<br />
:Nigel: These amps go to 11.<br />
:Cueball: Is that louder?<br />
:Nigel: It's one louder.<br />
<br />
:Normal Person:<br />
:Cueball: Why not make 10 louder and make 10 the highest?<br />
<br />
:Engineer:<br />
:Cueball: But 11 doesn't have any units. It's an arbitrary scale mapping outputs—<br />
:Nigel: Zzzz<br />
<br />
:Smart Engineer:<br />
:Cueball: For $2,000 I'll build you one that goes to 12.<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>199.27.128.25https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=674:_Natural_Parenting&diff=68937674: Natural Parenting2014-06-06T01:14:37Z<p>199.27.128.25: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 674<br />
| date = December 11, 2009<br />
| title = Natural Parenting<br />
| image = natural_parenting.png<br />
| titletext = On one hand, every single one of my ancestors going back billions of years has managed to figure it out. On the other hand, that's the mother of all sampling biases.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic relates to the anxiety most couples experience after having a child. Often people will advise new parents to "do what comes naturally and trust their instincts", a vague snippet of thought that offers little help to the new parents.<br />
<br />
The couple [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] find themselves with a child. Both parents experience anxiety over how to manage their life with the child. The father defuses the situation and states that parenting can not be that hard because they should do what comes naturally... only for the couple to find themselves with a second child and still no idea about how to parent. The joke is they took the phrase "what comes naturally" literally and acted upon their base urges, giving into the urge "have more sex", rather than actually focusing on the child(ren).<br />
<br />
The title text claims that parenting can't be too hard because historically everyone's parents and grandparents must have figured it out since they produced a child that successfully bred. [[Randall]] jokes that this is the "mother" of all {{w|sampling bias}}es because his ancestors represent only a small fraction who successfully raised children, instead of the entire sample of people attempting to raise children.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Megan are standing with a baby in between them.]<br />
:Cueball: Oh man, we made a baby.<br />
:Megan: ''Don't panic. Don't panic.''<br />
:Baby: Baby!<br />
<br />
:Cueball: Parenting can't be that hard. Let's just do what comes naturally.<br />
<br />
:[Beat frame.]<br />
<br />
:Soon:<br />
:[There are now two babies in between them.]<br />
:Megan: Aw, crap.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*The baby says, "Baby!", either copying Cueball, or saying its name, Pokémon-style.<br />
*[[441: Babies]] is another strip featuring clueless new parents.<br />
*Natural parenting may be an allusion to {{w|attachment parenting}}. This strategy for child-rearing normally entails extended nursing and encourages positive reinforcement. Sometimes modern medicine and processed foods are restricted as well. Natural parenting approaches can vary greatly from parent to parent. Because of the awkwardness and stigma of breastfeeding as well as its traditionalism, attachment parenting can elicit powerful opinions from both its opponents and proponents. Various media and politicians have seized on this hot topic, as well as motherhood in general. Extreme natural parenting methods became the notorious cover story of TIME Magazine in May 2012.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Romance]]</div>199.27.128.25