905: Homeownership

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 17:25, 29 April 2016 by KieferSkunk (talk | contribs) (Explanation: Grammar fixes. Also, despite Randall's spelling, "Homeownership" is two words.)
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Homeownership
New research shows over 60% of the financial collapse's toxic assets were created by power drills.
Title text: New research shows over 60% of the financial collapse's toxic assets were created by power drills.

Explanation

One common annoyance of renters is the inability to make simple changes to their dwelling — for example, drilling a hole in a wall to hang a picture — without having to ask for permission from the property owner. In many cases, if the renter drills the hole without asking permission, he or she is charged for repairs. This is one reason that home ownership can be empowering, as it allows the owner to do anything they wish with their property. This can lead to mishaps however, as shown in the comic when Cueball drills holes in the house to prove his ownership, to the point of structural instability. Cueball's last statement expresses the fact that he was actually better off having someone who could dictate what could and could not be done with his residence.

The title text references the fact that 60% of the toxic assets involved in the United States housing bubble were houses, the construction of which typically involves the use of power drills (and other power tools) to construct the supports. This is an example of the misuse of statistics.

Transcript

[Cueball is in an empty room, on the phone with a friend.]
Cueball: I've always rented, so this blows my mind—this house is mine? I own a building?
Friend: Yup!
Cueball: I could, like, decide to drill a hole in that wall there, and nobody could do anything about it?
Friend: That's right!
[Cueball, off the phone, stands in silence.]
Ten hours later:
[Cueball is standing next to a pile of rubble, on the phone with a friend.]
Cueball: Can I come stay with you? My house has a... problem.
Friend: Let me guess: you drilled holes in it until it collapsed?
Cueball: I don't think I'm cut out for homeownership.


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Discussion

Thank god he didn't buy an apartment flat. Davidy²²[talk] 01:48, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

"This is an example for the misuse of statistics." Also, statics... 108.162.254.113 16:51, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

This has got to be a "financial collapse" "house collapse" pun. Jimbo1qaz (talk) 23:43, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

I think the title text might refer to the fact these types of drills are common in construction. To think that at least 60% of these assets would have had that tool involved in their creation seems like a conservative estimate. 108.162.245.118 17:36, 6 January 2017 (UTC)

Many houses are old enough to predate power drills. And the crash did hit a lot of older and poorer neighborhoods particularly hard. --Aaron of Mpls (talk) 00:39, 12 December 2020 (UTC)

This isn't true for a lot of people in the US. There are homeowners' associations that would punish you for this kind of thing. 162.158.159.73 16:37, 17 November 2021 (UTC)