https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=59.167.244.130&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T09:37:57ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=80:_My_Other_Car&diff=2933180: My Other Car2013-03-01T05:47:26Z<p>59.167.244.130: Fixed image link</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 80<br />
| date = March 24, 2006<br />
| title = My Other Car<br />
| image = other_car.jpg<br />
| titletext = It's much better than the other one.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic references a popular form of {{w|bumper sticker}} (adhesive stickers which are usually short and wide and are designed to be put on the rear bumper of a car so that those following the car in traffic can read them) which says "my other car is a ____". Sometimes the blank is a fancy car like a Porsche or a Ferrari; sometimes it's an even more expensive transportation like "yacht" or "private jet".<br />
<br />
I don't know what the first of this type of sticker said, but the premise was to jokingly imply that someone driving in a less fancy vehicle was wealthier than they looked, as they could afford fancy car (they simply chose to drive the clunker that day). The designer of the first stickers might even have intended them for serious use by wealthy drivers. The form of sticker ultimately became so well known that the phrase entered the pop-culture lexicon.<br />
<br />
Due to their popularity, these stickers also have been parodied in various ways, like the one [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] has invented here. Randall's sticker is a more "honest" sticker which admits "this IS my other car"; in other words, this is the nicer of my cars.<br />
<br />
This sticker could probably be used on an expensive car to mirror the traditional sticker's use on a cheaper car. However, the car in the strip is a Mitsubishi, which is not a particularly expensive brand. Thus it appears Randall is using the sticker for contrasting purposes: while others would drive a modest car but joke that they have a really nice car at home, Randall's car is modest and, as he noted in the title text, his other car is "much" worse than this one.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A blue driving Mitsubishi with spoiler]<br />
:Bumper sticker: This IS my other car.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]</div>59.167.244.130https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=26:_Fourier&diff=2933026: Fourier2013-03-01T05:22:27Z<p>59.167.244.130: Added reference to comic 55: Useless</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 26<br />
| date = November 2, 2005<br />
| title = Fourier<br />
| image = fourier.jpg<br />
| titletext = That cat has some serious periodic components<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete}}<br />
A {{w|Fourier transform}} is a mathematical function often used in physics and engineering.<br />
<br />
The theory is that any line graph can be represented as the sum of a bunch of sine waves of different frequencies, with each frequency having a different amplitude. (The most obvious application is in analysing a sound recording in terms of the different frequencies of sounds used.) So, for any line graph you can produce another graph of the frequencies and their amplitudes. To do this, there is a function where you put in one graph and you get the second graph as output, and this process of going from one to the other is a "transform". This function is actually shown in the third line of the comic [[55: Useless]]. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately Cueball has applied this "transform" to his cat...<br />
<br />
"Periodic components" in the title text refers to the spikes in the graph. Because sine waves repeat themselves as you go along, the presence of large amounts of one particular sine wave in the Fourier transform graph (each spike) shows that the overall result (the initial graph) is likely to have parts that also repeat themselves, like a {{w|periodic function}}. In other words, the cat has repeating parts.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball talks on phone. Cat with many sharp points looks on.]<br />
:Cueball: Hi, Dr. Elizabeth? Yeah, uh ... I accidentally took the Fourier transform of my cat ...<br />
:Cat: Meow!<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*Original comments from [[Randall]]: "I like the idea of a graph meowing. Also, that cat has a lot of periodic components."<br />
*This is the twenty-seventh comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]. The next was [[27: Meat Cereals]].<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>59.167.244.130https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:59.167.244.130&diff=29329User talk:59.167.244.1302013-03-01T05:19:56Z<p>59.167.244.130: </p>
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<div>Do anonymous users have access to the 'minor edit' tickbox? (Is it even a tickbox on this wiki?) [[Special:Contributions/59.167.244.130|59.167.244.130]] 04:03, 1 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
:I believe I had to register before that box became available. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 04:50, 1 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
:Never mind, I now realize that minor edit is only available on existing pages, when creating new page it will be grayed out. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 05:17, 1 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
:I've been looking for it on pages where I am making edits and want to mark them as minor. Haven't seen it. I'm guessing your first guess about having to register is right. [[Special:Contributions/59.167.244.130|59.167.244.130]] 05:19, 1 March 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
(I tend to bore of things quickly and am not likely to be here long, but I'll do what I can until then.) [[Special:Contributions/59.167.244.130|59.167.244.130]] 04:03, 1 March 2013 (UTC)</div>59.167.244.130https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=26:_Fourier&diff=2931726: Fourier2013-03-01T04:41:01Z<p>59.167.244.130: Filled out explanation</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 26<br />
| date = November 2, 2005<br />
| title = Fourier<br />
| image = fourier.jpg<br />
| titletext = That cat has some serious periodic components<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete}}<br />
A {{w|Fourier transform}} is a mathematical function often used in physics and engineering.<br />
<br />
The theory is that any line graph can be represented as the sum of a bunch of sine waves of different frequencies, with each frequency having a different amplitude. (The most obvious application is in analysing a sound recording in terms of the different frequencies of sounds used.) So, for any line graph you can produce another graph of the frequencies and their amplitudes. To do this, there is a function where you put in one graph and you get the second graph as output, and this process of going from one to the other is a "transform". Unfortunately Cueball has applied this "transform" to his cat...<br />
<br />
"Periodic components" in the title text refers to the spikes in the graph. Because sine waves repeat themselves as you go along, the presence of large amounts of one particular sine wave in the Fourier transform graph (each spike) shows that the overall result (the initial graph) is likely to have parts that also repeat themselves, like a {{w|periodic function}}. In other words, the cat has repeating parts.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball talks on phone. Cat with many sharp points looks on.]<br />
:Cueball: Hi, Dr. Elizabeth? Yeah, uh ... I accidentally took the Fourier transform of my cat ...<br />
:Cat: Meow!<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*Original comments from [[Randall]]: "I like the idea of a graph meowing. Also, that cat has a lot of periodic components."<br />
*This is the twenty-seventh comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]. The next was [[27: Meat Cereals]].<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]</div>59.167.244.130https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User_talk:59.167.244.130&diff=29316User talk:59.167.244.1302013-03-01T04:03:27Z<p>59.167.244.130: Minor editing question</p>
<hr />
<div>Do anonymous users have access to the 'minor edit' tickbox? (Is it even a tickbox on this wiki?)<br />
<br />
(I tend to bore of things quickly and am not likely to be here long, but I'll do what I can until then.) [[Special:Contributions/59.167.244.130|59.167.244.130]] 04:03, 1 March 2013 (UTC)</div>59.167.244.130https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:16:_Monty_Python_--_Enough&diff=29315Talk:16: Monty Python -- Enough2013-03-01T03:57:58Z<p>59.167.244.130: /* Comic image broken */ Fixed.</p>
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<div>An army of suicidal scotsmen are outside. They would like to object to your refusal to remember their plight. '''[[User:Davidy22|<span title="I want you."><u><font color="purple" size="2px">David</font><font color="green" size="3px">y</font></u><sup><font color="indigo" size="1px">22</font></sup></span>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:11, 8 January 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
== Comic image broken ==<br />
<br />
I'm hoping that someone else will notice this comment and fix it, since I'm not sure how to. --[[Special:Contributions/143.112.144.129|143.112.144.129]] 22:53, 14 February 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
fixed. [[Special:Contributions/59.167.244.130|59.167.244.130]] 03:57, 1 March 2013 (UTC)</div>59.167.244.130https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=16:_Monty_Python_--_Enough&diff=2931416: Monty Python -- Enough2013-03-01T03:56:58Z<p>59.167.244.130: fixed image - someone had inserted "image size" specification in the template, not sure why</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 16<br />
| date = October 4, 2005<br />
| title = Monty Python -- Enough<br />
| image = monty_python.jpg<br />
| titletext = I went to a dinner where there was a full 10 minutes of Holy Grail quotes exchanged, with no context, in lieu of conversation. It depressed me badly.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic refers to the classic British sketch comedy group, {{w|Monty Python}} (active primarily during the 1970s and early 1980s) whose humour style was frequently based on surreal jokes that did not make sense. Their sketches are so popular that, as noted in the comic, many fans can repeat the dialogue word-for-word, and often do. This comic points out the inherent irony of repeating a surrealist sketch, as surrealist humour primarily depends on presenting something the audience does not expect. By repeating the sketch verbatim among those who have already seen it, the listeners know and expect the punchlines and jokes. This is akin to a common ironic concept of a teenager who wants to rebel against conformity by doing all the things his friends are also doing.<br />
<br />
The Monty Python sketch in question here is the "{{w|Knights who say Ni}}" sketch about a group of knights who protect certain sacred words, including the word "Ni" (pronounced like "knee", but shortened and with more staccato). The image text references the film ''{{w|Monty Python and the Holy Grail}}'' in which the Knights sketch appeared.<br />
<br />
The comic suggests that readers continue in the surreal traditions of Monty Python, and provides and example: The character in panels 3-6 interrupts his retelling of the sketch with what appears to be an apology for running a woman over with his car, before returning to the sketch. The surreal humour is that the character dismisses the significant and serious comment he has just made by returning to the sketch as if nothing happened.<br />
<br />
The image text refers to how fans of Monty Python can go for long periods of time simply quoting the sketches, as one person quotes a sketch, another recognizes it and says another quote without context, assuming everyone will recognize it. Perhaps a more contemporary version of this might be Simpsons or Family Guy quote frenzies.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
* [Original Randall quote] "Just sayin'. It's been 30 years now."<br />
* [Original title] "Support Surreal Humor"<br />
* This is the fifteenth comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was [[15: Just Alerting You]]. The next was [[17: What If]].<br />
<br />
== Transcript ==<br />
:Character #1 [Raising his hands]: We are the knights who say... Ni!!<br />
:Two guys and a girl: hahaha<br />
:[written] Does anyone else find it funny that decades later, people are still quoting—word-for-word—a group loved for its mastery of shock, the unexpected and defiance of convention?<br />
:[Two guys looking at a third]<br />
:Third guy: We are the knights who... Oh, God, I'm so sorry<br />
:[Close up to Third guy's face]<br />
:Third guy: So sorry, the car just came too fast and<br />
:[Words crumpled inside the panel, there's barely enough space for the third guy]<br />
:Third guy: She was right there and I saw her and then it was a blur and so much I ran to help didn't know what she wasn't moving I'm so sorry ... so sorry<br />
:[Same two guys looking again at the third guy]<br />
:Third guy: Anyway, yeah, knights who say "Ni".<br />
:[Written centered, in marquee format]<br />
:<u>Honor</u><br />
:Monty Python:<br />
:Promote surreal humor.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>59.167.244.130https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Qwertial_Aphasia&diff=29121Qwertial Aphasia2013-02-27T12:15:43Z<p>59.167.244.130: Redirected page to 604: Qwertial Aphasia</p>
<hr />
<div>#REDIRECT [[604: Qwertial Aphasia]]</div>59.167.244.130https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=604&diff=291206042013-02-27T12:14:18Z<p>59.167.244.130: Redirect</p>
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<div>#REDIRECT [[604: Qwertial Aphasia]]</div>59.167.244.130https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=604:_Qwertial_Aphasia&diff=29119604: Qwertial Aphasia2013-02-27T12:10:04Z<p>59.167.244.130: /* Explanation */ changed 'the Man' to 'Cueball'</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 604<br />
| date = July 1, 2009<br />
| title = Qwertial Aphasia<br />
| image = qwertial_aphasia.png<br />
| titletext = If this were SMBC, the alt-text drawing thingy would be a giraffe hooker fluttering her eyelashes.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Randall]] has invented the name "Qwertial Aphasia", to describe the common experience of having a word, from a spoken conversation, accidentally spill over into something one is typing, often with humorous results.<br />
<br />
{{w|Aphasia}} is a class of medical conditions which affect the production and understanding of language. The description "Qwertial" probably refers to the position of the top row of letters in the most common keyboard arrangement, the {{w|QWERTY}} keyboard layout.<br />
<br />
The joke set up in the comic comes from the substitution of the word 'giraffe' for the word 'frequently', which changes the whole meaning of the sentence. The original sentence would have been 'I can't afford to keep eating out this frequently.' The unintentional replacement makes 'giraffe' the object of the sentence, and implies that Cueball is 'eating out' (slang for {{w|cunnilingus}}) a giraffe. He tries to correct himself but the damage is done.<br />
<br />
The title text continues the image of a giraffe as a sexual object - in particular, one which costs money. SMBC refers to the comic [http://www.smbc-comics.com/ Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal], a whimsical joke-a-day comic which comes with a second illustration, which can be seen by mousing over a button known as the "votey". This additional panel often serves as a second punchline in the same way as the title text does in xkcd.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:I hate how when I'm talking while I type, sometimes I accidentally type a word I'm saying.<br />
:[Cueball is sitting at a computer.]<br />
:Computer: Wanna go get food later?<br />
<br />
:[A woman runs over, holding a giraffe.]<br />
:Woman: Check out what I found in the closet!<br />
:''Type type''<br />
:Cueball [Typing]: Sorry, I really shouldn't.<br />
<br />
:Cueball [talking]: Aww, what an adorable stuffed giraffe!<br />
:''Type type''<br />
:Cueball [typing]: I can't afford to keep eating out this giraffe.<br />
<br />
:''Frequently!'' I meant ''"frequently"''!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Language]]</div>59.167.244.130https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=604:_Qwertial_Aphasia&diff=29117604: Qwertial Aphasia2013-02-27T11:59:34Z<p>59.167.244.130: New explanation: Qwertial Aphasia comic</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 604<br />
| date = July 01, 2009<br />
| title = Qwertial Aphasia<br />
| image = qwertial_aphasia.png<br />
| titletext = If this were SMBC, the alt-text drawing thingy would be a giraffe hooker fluttering her eyelashes.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Randall]] has invented the name "Qwertial Aphasia", to describe the common experience of having a word, from a spoken conversation, accidentally spill over into something one is typing, often with humorous results.<br />
<br />
{{w|Aphasia}} is a class of medical conditions which affect the production and understanding of language. The description "Qwertial" probably refers to the position of the top row of letters in the most common keyboard arrangement, the {{w|QWERTY}} keyboard layout. <br />
<br />
The joke set up in the comic comes from the substitution of the word 'giraffe' for the word 'frequently', which changes the whole meaning of the sentence. The original sentence would have been 'I can't afford to keep eating out this frequently.' The unintentional replacement makes 'giraffe' the object of the sentence, and implies that the Man is 'eating out' (slang for {{w|cunnilingus}}) a giraffe. He tries to correct himself but the damage is done.<br />
<br />
The title text continues the image of a giraffe as a sexual object - in particular, one which costs money. SMBC refers to the comic [http://www.smbc-comics.com/ Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal], a whimsical joke-a-day comic which comes with a second illustration, which can be seen by mousing over a button known as the "votey". This additional panel often serves as a second punchline in the same way as the title text does in xkcd.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Narrator: I hate how when I&#39;m talking while I type, sometimes I accidentally type a word I&#39;m saying.<br />
:[A man is sitting at a computer.]<br />
:Computer: Wanna go get food later?<br />
:<br />
:[A woman runs over, holding a giraffe.]<br />
:Woman: Check out what I found in the closet!<br />
:&lt;&lt;Type type&gt;&gt;<br />
:Man ((typing)): Sorry, I really shouldn&#39;t.<br />
:<br />
:Man ((talking)): Aww, what an adorable stuffed giraffe!<br />
:&lt;&lt;Type type&gt;&gt;<br />
:Man ((typing)): I can&#39;t afford to keep eating out this giraffe.<br />
:Narrator: <br />
:Frequently! I meant &#39;frequently&#39;!<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<!-- Include any categories below this line--></div>59.167.244.130