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We have an explanation for all 3322 xkcd comics, the 21 extra comics, and everything xkcd-related.
Only 69 explanations (2.1%) are incomplete. Help us finish them!


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Dragonfly
I'm excited for Dragonfly, because on the list of places in the solar system that I desperately want more pictures from, 'Titan's surface' is right up there at the top with 'Jupiter's atmosphere.'
Title text: I'm excited for Dragonfly, because on the list of places in the solar system that I desperately want more pictures from, 'Titan's surface' is right up there at the top with 'Jupiter's atmosphere.'

    Explanation

    The comic depicts a checklist of all bodies in the Solar System with thick enough atmospheres and low enough temperatures (i.e., not the Sun) that helicopters could work there. Tick-marks have been made in the boxes of those two where humanity has already managed to fly a helicopter, with one other annotated to show the anticipation of it soon having a helicopter flight.

    Dragonfly is a NASA mission planned to be launched in 2028 to send an aircraft to Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. This would make Titan the third celestial body to have a rotorcraft on it, following pioneering helicopter flight on Earth and Mars.

    The title text continues with the general theme of an excited anticipation of Dragonfly's mission to Titan, but also reveals a desire for a proper atmospheric-loitering Jupiter mission as well.

    Transcript

    [A lone panel, with this caption:]
    Places in the solar system where helicopters can work
    [Eight tick boxes arranged in two columns of four, left column to right column:]
    Earth [tick], Mars [tick], Venus, Titan (circled, with a "Soon!" label at top right), Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
    [Caption below panel]
    When Dragonfly reaches Titan in 2034, we'll go from 25% to 37% on the solar system helicopter achievement checklist.

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    Edit this week's pick!

    This Week's Explanation for Improvement

    As part of the Explanation Improvement Project, each week the community selects one older, stagnant, or otherwise neglected explanation to expand and polish together. This week's pick is comic 1008: Suckville, you can help us by editing its explanation!

    To get involved with the project, you can also nominate an explanation that you think should be improved, or vote on current nominations!

    Suckville
    Suckville is considered by the Census Bureau to be part of the Detroit metropolitan statistical area, despite not being located anywhere near Detroit.
    Title text: Suckville is considered by the Census Bureau to be part of the Detroit metropolitan statistical area, despite not being located anywhere near Detroit.

      Explanation

      Welcome to This Week's Explanation for Improvement! Anyone is encouraged to help explain comic 1008: Suckville; click here to get started! If you are new to wiki editing, you can read our editing FAQ for guidance. Here are some suggestions for improving this explanation:

        We can elaborate on "ubiquitous signage you see along American roads".
        The "population: you" joke is poorly explained.
        Does "SF-1 table P1" mean something, is it a reference?
        Explain why the city is considered to be part of the Detroit metropolitan statistical area.


      Megan and Cueball are playing a card game (possibly Dominion) and Megan whips a common insult, a play on the word "suck" that adds a typical city name suffix to the end of it. Other variations are: "Losercity", "Lamesburg", “Happyfriendsland,” etc.

      The phrase is originally based on the signage commonly used in the United States that says "Welcome to Town X — Population Y". These signs are usually posted on entry roads to towns, and as the name suggests, welcome visitors to the town, generally mentioning distinctive characteristics as well as information regarding traffic laws, the town's motto, founding date, etc.

      The intention of the statement is to suggest "Suckville" is inhabited solely by Cueball, thus making him "a sucker".

      Then, Cueball one-ups Megan by indicating there is a city by that name. Since Cueball knows where Suckville can be found in the census data, it's likely that he has received this insult in the past (maybe even from Megan) and searched through the census data to prepare a comeback for this time. it is also possible he has found out about its existence after falling through a Wikipedia rabbit hole, as shown in other comics (i.e 1051: Visited, 214: The Problem with Wikipedia)

      In the US Decennial (2010, 2020, etc) Census datasets, SF-1 is the Summary File of a Census Report that contains "the data compiled from the questions asked of all people and about every housing unit", and within that, P1 is the main population table. If "Suckville" did exist in the 2010 Census, Megan would have been able to find it in the location Cueball suggests.

      The title text informs the reader that Suckville is classified as part of the Detroit area despite not being located there. Detroit, of course, is the quintessential example of a city so run down, it might as well really be named "Suckville", or include a district of that name. In fact, the city only recently (2013) declared itself bankrupt. (Fun fact: looking in the US Census Suckville is "corrected" to Saukville, Wisconsin, which is indeed not particularly close to Detroit, Michigan. However the population of Saukville in the 2010 census is given as 4451 for the village, and 1755 for the surrounding town municipality.)

      Transcript

      [Megan is kneeling on the floor, playing a card game.]
      Megan: Hah!
      Megan: Welcome to Suckville–population: You.
      [In a frame-less panel, Cueball is sitting on the floor opposite her, also playing the game.]
      Cueball: Why are you using 2000 census data?
      Cueball: That's an old figure.
      [Megan turns around from the game to look at her laptop, which is sitting on the floor behind her.]
      Megan: I couldn't find Suckville in the 2010 census.
      Cueball: Huh? It's right there in SF-1 table P1.
      Megan: Oh. So it is.
      [Megan turns back to Cueball, who is looking at his cards.]
      Megan: Well, then.
      Megan: Welcome to Suckville–population: 83.
      Cueball: Much better.

      Trivia

      In the third panel, Megan appears to have 3 arms and 4 legs. This may indicate a movement between the cards and the laptop or just a drawing error.


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