2831: xkcd Phone Flip

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xkcd Phone Flip

Title text: Theranos partnership: Sorry, we know, but we signed the contract back before all the stuff and the lawyers say we can't back out, so just try to keep your finger away from the bottom of the phone.

Explanation

This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect: Created by THE BOT FORTOLD BY THE FORTUNETELLER PROPHECY - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon. If you can address this issue, please edit the page! Thanks.

This is the 9th in the ongoing xkcd Phone series in which Randall explains his new joke phone designs with many strange and useless features. It is a reference to the somewhat recent Galaxy Z series, but emulating the typical paper fortune teller.

The title text references the company that notably failed to live up to its promise to diagnose many health issues from a single drop of blood. Whether this phone does any better, or not, it will still take that drop of blood unless you're particularly careful. From the top, going clockwise:

Exfoliating Screen

A term commonly found on lotions and facial products, "exfoliating" means to unclog and open pores. This could mean that it will exfoliate pores when pressed to the skin. However, this would probably require a mildly abrasive and/or adhesive screen texture or coating, which are usually not desirable qualities of a touchscreen.

Buy one get one

A play on the phrase "Buy one get one free"

Up to 50% more

A play on the words "Up to 50% more <blank>. Although considering that there is nothing in the blank, this statement is useless. See 870: Advertising.

Bending phone activates chemical flashlight

SPF 15 Coating protects your face from websites

Unclear how sunscreen on the phone protects you from website.

Iatrogenic construction

'Iatrogenic' means 'physician caused', and usually refers to illnesses which are caused or worsened by medical malpractice. This may imply that the phone was made by doctors.

Break Glass to Access Apps

A play on how fire alarms are protected in most places, although in this case it is not that helpful. Unusual things behind glass is also mentioned in 1634: In Case of Emergency.

Transcript

This transcript is incomplete. Please help editing it! Thanks.

Exfoliating screen

Orthotic shape for arch support

Single big pixel

Ready to eat

Hypoimmunogenic

Up to 50% more

Full-spectrum backlight optimized for plant growth

Long-lasting main sequence battery

Break glass to access apps

Buy one get one

Bending phone activates chemical flashlight

SPF 15 coating protects your face from websites

Iatrogenic construction

All-vinyl data storage for maximum fidelity

Locks in moisture

National Weather Service partnership: phone is afraid of thunder

One-click ruina montium

Free refills

Introducing

The xkcd Phone Flip

We actually didn't mean for it to do this™

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Discussion

this is my first time editing, did i do well? 172.70.134.202 21:39, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

Decent enough, assuming you were the one giving the reference to the Z-series. But it'll be expanded, improved and reformatted a lot, I predict. I put in my own (intended) first-edit, but clearly there's you (and possibly A.N. Other) already adding their own thoughts. (Which I am counting on, rather than trying to write it all in one go all by myself... I'll wait for it to settle down and then see if there are various tweaks I'll want try on whatever form it becomes.) 172.70.90.7 21:50, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

The other person was me, but I think there's someone else as well reformatting and rewriting things.--172.68.34.38 23:57, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

So, what is the meaning of "flip" here? JohnHawkinson (talk) 22:07, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

It's a reference to the Samsung Galaxy line of folding smartphones, which is marketed as 'Galaxy Z Flip' phones.  While there had been double-screened smartphones in the past, Samsung was able to figure out some way to have the actual screen flex and fold in the middle so that when it's closed the primary screen is protected, but when opened up the user sees a single screen without a hinge in the middle.  The current model (the 'Z Flip 5') is the sixth iteration of the device since it was originally introduced in China in 2019. RAGBRAIvet (talk) 22:36, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

I think it's just part of the whole marketroid feeling these are supposed to have. It's part of the name and the [alleged] "marketing" department, as is typical, came up with something extremely dumb and useless. See: SunOS vs Solaris 162.158.197.132 22:32, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

Anybody else think the main sequence battery is a fusion cell that is also the chemical flashlight and full spectrum backlight that necessitates the SPF 15 coating? 172.71.151.83 22:36, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

I'm thinking it's a reference to the Cyalume lightsticks which need to be bent, which shatters a small glass vial inside and releases a hydrogen peroxide solution into a second solution of an oxalate ester and electron-rich dye contained within the outer plastic shell. The resulting chemiluminescent reaction creates visible light. RAGBRAIvet (talk) 22:42, 20 September 2023 (UTC)

I assumed main sequence refers to stellar evolution in astronomy. Main sequence These stars have a relatively long life, matching the description. The SPF 15 coating and full spectrum would also make sense. However I am not sure that description as a chemical flashlight would follow appropriate. The primary energy generation would be nuclear (fusion). It has been long enough since I took astronomy I don't remember all the details of how the energy is converted into light, and whether that would ultimately be considered a chemical, thermal, or nuclear process (or combination thereof). 172.69.22.152 00:20, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Even relatively cold parts of stars are too hot for any chemical reactions. The photons produced from fusion are caught and re-emitted by atoms in outer layers of stars and the spectrum DOES match thermal radiation, so thermal maybe. -- Hkmaly (talk) 21:21, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

As chemist, I automatically interpreted it as made from main group elements in the periodic system. Which actually would be a neat feature. 172.71.160.36 19:10, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

Arch support may also refer to the Linux distro 162.158.110.237 08:42, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

I initially misread the title text as being a Thanos partnership. In which case, presumably inadvertently touching the button could wipe out half the population of the universe.172.71.242.77 10:25, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Can destroy mountains with one click, but not half the population 172.70.90.220 10:32, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

The breaking the glass might refer to “ Break glass (which draws its name from breaking the glass to pull a fire alarm) refers to a quick means for a person who does not have access privileges to certain information to gain access when necessary.”

With a chemical flashlight, I assume the free refills might actually come in handy (though it doesn't say there is a chemical flashlight and with the flip form, bending might just refer to some mechanical switch activating the flashlight - or considering the possibly stellar power source, it just removes shielding). 627235 (talk) 11:01, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

At least it isn't a "chemical fleshlight". Moreover one activated by severe bending! 172.70.162.46 11:20, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Had thought to note (but couldn't find a way to slip it into the Explanation) that the origami-form relies upon a square sheet, but the unfolded form seems to be (close enough to) 2:1 ratio. If it is 2:1 (give or take excess to go around the initial bend), the first step might of course be to make the screen effectively 2-ply, then worry about how to seemlessly fold that into the Fortune Teller, with convex/concave folds and the necessary compound corners. 172.70.162.46 11:20, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

"One pixel display" - I was surprised by the suggestion that this could be a static image, like a slide; I had imagined, and would like to see (perhaps more explicitly) the alternative, that the whole screen simply lights up in a single color (within the __-bit colorspace). --108.162.245.177 17:03, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

I agree with the latter - I would consider the pixel as the minimum picture element, no subdetails. Vdm (talk) 20:30, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

A single pixel with a lot of display states need not be static. Show a bunch in sequence like a film based movie projector. Pixel is the minimum addressable picture element. Think about ASCII art (e.g., printing Mona Lisa on a daisywheel printer), or graphics on the IBM PC monochrome display, Commodore PET, etc. There are also those pieces of art where each pixel is a small photograph (I don't know if there is a name for that). Not typical pixels, bit of a gray area. 172.71.158.15 21:10, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

A name for that: Photographic mosaic.

Also, consider perhaps waving a single pixel around fast and using time and actual position at that time with sufficient image-retention (by the static viewer) to build up an observable but very temporary image. 172.69.79.152 22:22, 21 September 2023 (UTC)

Anyone thinks the "Main sequence battery" could be a reference to 1422: My Phone Is Dying? --141.101.97.11 08:00, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

I wonder if the "we didn't actually mean" thing is a reference to those bendy iPhones almost a decade ago? 162.158.38.74 08:45, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

Maybe the explanation should also mention that kid's game that you do with a folded paper like the images on the right. I don't know how it is called, but this Facebook comment by "AJ Himmel" references it: "Can also be used to find out who you'll marry someday! Just repeatedly flip it open then unfold a flap!" Rps (talk) 17:01, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

It already does mention the kids' (note apostrophe!) game... "paper fortune teller". 172.70.91.152 17:22, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

I don't see any reason why a kid (singular) couldn't play with it on their own. In fact, in my experience, it was usually one kid that was playing the game - the rest were simply reluctant stooges.172.71.242.70 09:26, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

Are you saying that only one particular kid ever played with such a game? With as solo an effort as any such individual(s) may have had? 172.70.85.59 16:10, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

Should Ruina montium really be described as a "lost mining technique" given [1] and [2]exist? It seems more like a colloquialism than lost knowledge to me.172.70.179.124 05:23, 23 September 2023 (UTC)

Possible (tenuous) connection: the Ruina Montium feature in combination with the phone's demonstrated ability to shift into an angular, geometric form could be a reference to the angel Ramiel in Neon Genesis Evangelion, which demonstrated a mountain-destroying energy blast and has a somewhat similar shape. Shown here: [3] 172.70.127.132 07:13, 24 September 2023 (UTC)

What's incomplete in the transcript? I couldn't find anything in the text that wasn't there already.Something (talk) 14:39, 21 October 2023 (UTC)

Well, I had to remove the non-canon bulletpoints, to make it correct for Transcripts But I haven't also removed the {{incomplete transcript}} tag, just yet, as it probably needs someone else checking the way it has ended up and being happy with it. (NB. whenever someone declares themselves as happy, inevitably they attract the attention of someone who disagrees. ;) ) 172.70.86.68 17:50, 21 October 2023 (UTC)