explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1760: TV Problems

2016-11-19T00:40:18Z

108.162.215.119: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 1760
| date = November 16, 2016
| title = TV Problems
| image = tv_problems.png
| titletext = Certified skydiving instructors know way more about safely falling from planes than I do, and are way more likely to die that way.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] has broken his computer's software so much that he is unable to "turn on the news" as requested by [[White Hat]]. Since his computer is not working at all, he is using the next best thing to download a fix: his smartphone, via a {{w|CD}}. This is probably one of two things:

1. Cueball has broken his computer enough that the operating system no longer works, in which case he would probably be downloading an {{w|ISO file}}(which is the type of image on a CD) to his phone. This would enable him to connect his phone as a USB device to his computer and boot from it. After booting from his phone, he could repair or reinstall his computer's operating system.

2. Cueball is trying to connect his computer to his TV, but needs a driver or other software to make the connection. He is unable to connect to the Internet from his computer (Maybe he is using a network dongle that also requires drivers/software to function, or maybe the internet from his ISP is down, so he is using cellular data), so he is using his phone to download the files. Perhaps the computer has internal {{w|Bluetooth}} or he can transfer files from his phone to his computer via a wired connection.

He later states that even that first step of mending won't be enough to display the news, as his computer's state is so bad that being able to send information to the TV screen is just the first step of debugging. In the last panel, he tells White Hat that his computer science degree just helps him understand ''how'' he ended up with such a terrible situation, but did not give him enough foresight to prevent the most unexpected issues. The title text clarifies this statement with a similar problem- when things start to go horribly wrong while falling from a plane, certified skydiving instructors will be able to better understand why and how bad the situation is, but won't be able to do anything if their usual tools have failed them. Besides, while they are less likely to make a fatal mistake on a given flight and fall, they are more likely to make one in their life, because of the far greater number of attempts. This also resembles [[795: Conditional Risk]]: the more informed a person is, the more likely this person is to suffer from the issue they know about.

Computers breaking in unexpected ways, and somewhat weird solutions to computer problems seems to be a thing with Cueball - and probably Randall as well. At that point, you might assume he probably enjoys it. In [[1586: Keyboard Problems]], he also had a problem involving both software and hardware. [[1739: Fixing Problems]] could very well apply to this comic; Cueball may have ended with this situation while trying to correct a simple problem (eg: channels in the wrong order), and just made the situation worse every step of the way. In [[456: Cautionary]], he teaches his cousin about <s>break</s>fixing a computer.

<ref>Martin_Samuelson, [https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3w32by/eddy_cue_says_were_working_on_a_new_apple_tv/cxt0noy/ "Physical buttons are great"]</ref> In this instance Cueball has his single tasking phone busy while he downloads to it and cannot interrupt what he's doing just to use the phone as a remote for the TV, although it appears more that the TV is one of the things he is trying to fix.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting by his TV, holding his phone, when White Hat walks in.]
:White Hat: Hey, turn on the news.
:Cueball (Sitting on the floor in front of a computer holding a cell phone): Can't. Downloading a CD onto my phone.

:White Hat (off panel): Why?
:Cueball: So I can use it to fix my computer's operating system enough that I can teach it to talk to my TV screen.

:White Hat: But then you'll be able to watch the news?
:Cueball: (off panel): No.

:White Hat: Don't you have a computer science degree?
:Cueball: That just means I ''understand'' how everything went so wrong.

==References==
<references />

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1759: British Map

2016-11-14T17:00:26Z

108.162.215.119: /* Explanation */ hmm does not seem correct. removed

{{comic
| number = 1759
| date = November 14, 2016
| title = British Map
| image = british_map.png
| titletext = West Norsussex is east of East Norwessex, but they're both far north of Middlesex and West Norwex.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Started the table, editing it now.}}

This comic is a joke similar to [https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#q=how%20americans%20see%20the%20world&safe=active&ssui=on "How Americans see the world"] showing how the average American has opinions on the world, often including jokes such as a lack of {{w|Africa}}, etc. This has been used before in [[850: World According to Americans]].

Many areas of the UK are most familiar to foreigners thanks to their depiction in various fantasy novels and TV series. This map labels some of these, as well as including many silly names that simply sound like real British towns to an American ear. A protractor is shown off the coast of the {{w|Mull of Kintyre}} in reference to the "{{w|Mull of Kintyre test}}" - the angle of the Mull defines the maximum allowed erectness for a man on British television.

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
!Label on the map !! Explanation !! Actual location !! Notes
|-
| Helcaraxë
|| The "[http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Helcarax%C3%AB Grinding Ice]", an area of {{w|Middle-Earth}}. Like Helcaraxë, northern Scotland is cold, mountainous and in many areas inhospitable.
|| The {{w|Grampian}} region
||
|-
| Blick
||
||
||
|-
| Everdeen
|| {{w|Katniss Everdeen}} is the heroine of ''{{w|The Hunger Games}}'' series of novels and films
|| {{w|Aberdeen}}
|| In colloquial Scots, its pronunciation is very similar to "Everdeen."
|-
| Highlands
|| {{w|Scottish Highlands|No joke}}
|| {{w|Scottish Lowlands}}
|| Maybe deliberate trolling - Scots have strong feelings about where the Highland-Lowland border is
|-
| Norther Sea
|| Pun on the {{w|North Sea}}
|| {{w|Sea of the Hebrides}}
||
||
|-
| Loch Lomond
|| {{w|Loch Lomond|No joke}}
|| Loch Lomond
|| Loch Lomond is the largest lake in the UK, and the subject of a well-known {{w|The_Bonnie_Banks_o%27_Loch_Lomond|traditional song}}. Referenced in the "beaming" (teleporter) bit in the movie Spaceballs.
|-
| Fjordham
|| {{w|Fjords}} are glacial valleys. "-ham" is a common English placename suffix from Old English, related to the modern {{w|Hamlet (place)|hamlet}}. There are several villages in England named {{w|Fordham}}.
|| Near {{w|Oban}} on the {{w|Firth of Lorn}}
|| The Scottish word "Firth" is related to "Fjord", although Lorn is not a fjord in the strict scientific sense - it was formed along the {{w|Great Glen Fault}} by tectonics, rather than glaciers
|-
| Glassdoor
|| {{w|Glassdoor}} is a website where employees can review their employers
|| {{w|Stirling}}
|| Although it's shown near Stirling, the reference seems to be to {{w|Glasgow}}
|-
| Eavestrough
|| A dialectal word for {{w|rain gutter}}
|| {{w|Edinburgh}}
||
|-
| Seasedge
|| Procan's realm in ''Dungeons & Dragons''
|| Somewhere near the Scotland-England border
||
|-
| Chough
|| A {{w|Chough|species of bird in the crow family}}
|| The {{w|Scottish Borders}}
||
|-
| Meowth
|| {{w|Meowth}} is a cat-like Pokémon
|| {{w|Ayr}}
||
|-
| Glutenfree
|| {{w|Gluten-free}} food lacks the protein {{w|gluten}}. This allows {{w|coeliac disease}} sufferers to enjoy it, but has also become a dietary fad in itself.
|| {{w|Cairnryan}}, {{w|Dumfries and Galloway}}
||
|-
| Blighton
|| A mashup of {{w|Brighton}} and {{w|Blighty}}
|| The {{w|Scottish Borders}}
|| The real Brighton is much further south, on the south coast.
|-
| Eyemouth
|| {{w|Eyemouth|Not a joke}}
|| near {{w|Newcastle-upon-Tyne}}
|| The real Eyemouth is further north, where "Seasedge" is marked on the map.
|-
| Earhand
|| A pun on Eyemouth
|| {{w|Carlisle}}
||
|-
| Hairskull
|| A pun on Eyemouth
|| {{w|Teesside}}
||
|-
| Belfast DeVoe
|| {{w|Belfast}}, capital of Northern Ireland, mashed up with the rock band {{w|Bell Biv DeVoe}}
|| {{w|Belfast}}
||
|-
| Lakebottom
|| The {{w|Lake District}}. "-bottom" is a common placename across Northern England, and refers to a town in a valley.
|| {{w|Lake District}}
|| Below Lakebottom is a sketch of lake with yachts on it. This is {{w|Windermere}}, the largest lake in England, where many boating speed records were set.
|-
| Braintree
|| {{w|Braintree, Essex|Not a joke}}
|| {{w|North Yorkshire}}
|| The real Braintree is much further south, near where "Paulblart" is on the map.
|-
| Skinflower
|| A pun on Braintree
|| {{w|Yorkshire Dales}}
||
|-
| Bjork
|| {{w|Björk}} is an Icelandic singer
|| {{w|East Riding of Yorkshire}}
|| The reference is presumably to York, although it's a bit too far east.
|-
| Weedle
|| {{w|Weedle}} is a Pokémon, and also a word meaning "to obtain by trickery or persuasion"
|| {{w|Forest of Bowland}}
||
|-
| Eeugh
|| An expression of disgust
|| {{w|Kingston-upon-Hull}} (generally just "Hull")
||
|-
| Crewneck
|| A shirt with a {{w|Crewneck|simple round collar}}.
|| {{w|Blackpool}}
|| There is a town called {{w|Crewe}} somewhat further south than shown in Cheshire.
|-
| Paisley
|| {{w|Paisley, Renfrewshire|No joke}}. It sounds funny to Americans because it's associated with {{w|Paisley (design)|paisley}} fabric, a Persian-style print invented in the town
|| {{w|Burnley}}
|| The real Paisley is in Scotland, near Glasgow.
|-
| Basil
|| {{w|Basil|A herb}}, and {{w|Basil Fawlty|one of the most famous British TV characters}}.
|| {{w|Scunthorpe}}
||
|-
| Aidenn
|| An apparent pun on the {{w|Scouse}} accent: {{w|h-dropping}} and {{w|th-fronting}} mean the common "hey, then" would be pronounced "ai denn".
|| {{w|Merseyside}}
||
|-
| Hillfolk
|| {{w|Hillfolk}} is an RPG game. "-hill" (referring to, well, a hill) and "-folk" (referring to a tribe or culture) are common in British placenames
|| {{w|Manchester}}
|| Manchester's name does in fact reference hills: it means "castle on the {{w|breast-shaped hill}}"
|-
| Waterdown
|| To "water something down" is to weaken it. "-down" is common in British placenames and refers to {{w|Downland|chalk hills}}.
|| Near {{w|Grimsby}}
||
|-
| Dubstep
|| {{w|Dubstep}} is a genre of electronic music with a heavy bass line.
|| {{w|Dublin}}
|| Dublin is the only non-UK settlement in the map, and one of two on the island of Ireland.
|-
| Borough-upon-Mappe
|| By being recorded here, this is literally a borough upon a map. The "-upon-" is a common element of placenames for towns on rivers, although there's no River Mappe.
|| {{w|Lincolnshire Wolds}}
||
|-
| Fhqwhgads
|| "[http://www.hrwiki.org/wiki/Fhqwhgads Fhqwhgads]" is a joke from the Homestar Runner internet cartoon.
|| {{w|Crewe}}
|| This is near to the Welsh border; Welsh names often look like a mish-mash of consonants to English speakers.
|-
| Cadbury
|| {{w|Cadbury}} is a British chocolate company
|| Near {{w|Boston, Lincolnshire}}
|| Cadbury actually built a town for its workers... but it's called {{w|Bournville}}. There are several towns called "Cadbury" in the UK (where the Cadbury family presumably got its name), but none are near here.
|-
| Cabinetry
|| The art of making {{w|cabinets}}.
|| Near {{w|Oswestry}}
||
|-
| The Shire
|| {{w|Shire (Middle-earth)|The Shire}} is home to the {{w|Hobbits}} in {{w|Middle-Earth}}
|| {{w|Midlands}}
|| Tolkien drew inspiration for the Shire from the {{w|West Midlands (region)|West Midlands}}, although Tolkien was from the southern part of the Midlands (roughly where Dampshire is on the map)
|-
| Landmouth
|| Literal description
|| {{w|The Wash}}
||
|-
| Brandon
|| {{w|Brandon#United Kingdom|Not a joke}}
|| {{w|The Fens}}
|| There are several Brandons in the UK, none on the banks of the Wash. The area shown is borderline-uninhabitable, as it is marshland and lies mostly below sea-level. Only a few farms and isolated hamlets exist here.
|-
| Hamwich
|| A ham sandwich. Both "-ham" and "-wich" are common generic placenames.
|| {{w|Norwich}}
||
|-
| West Norsussex
|| Mash-up of {{w|Sussex}} ("South Saxons") with the obsolete {{w|Wessex}} ("West Saxons") and never extant {{w|Norsex}} ("North Saxons")
|| {{w|Midlands}}
||
|-
| Redsox
|| The {{w|Boston Red Sox}} are a baseball team
|| {{w|The Fens}}
|| The Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park. The map location is not far from the British {{w|Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston}}
|-
| Keebler
|| The {{w|Keebler Elves}} advertise cookies in the US
|| {{w|Thetford Forest}}
||
|-
| Bloughshire
|| Most British counties have "-shire" in their name. Originally it meant they were administered by a {{w|sheriff}}. However, it is rare in Wales.
|| {{w|Powys}}
||
|-
| Lionsgate
|| {{w|Lionsgate|A film studio}}
|| {{w|Leicester}}
||
|-
| Kingsbottom
|| Another "-bottom". A possible reference to {{w|King's Landing}}, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms of {{w|Westeros}}.
|| {{w|Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve|Suffolk Coast}}
||
|-
| Aberforth
|| {{w|Aberforth Dumbledore}} is {{w|Albus Dumbledore}}'s brother in the ''Harry Potter'' series. "Aber-" and "-forth" both indicate a "river mouth". "Aber-" is widespread in Wales.
|| {{w|Aberystwyth}}
||
|-
| South Norwessex
|| Another mash-up of {{w|Sussex}} ("South Saxons") with the obsolete {{w|Wessex}} ("West Saxons") and never extant {{w|Norsex}} ("North Saxons")
|| {{w|Birmingham}}
||
|-
| Dryford
|| Would refer to a river crossing without water. "{{w|Ford (crossing)|-ford}}" is a common placename element.
|| {{w|Shropshire Hills}}
||
|-
| Frampton
|| There are many {{w|Frampton}}s in the UK. It means "town on the river Frome" - and there are also several {{w|River Frome}}s. The name is famous thanks to rock musician {{w|Peter Frampton}}
|| {{w|Bury St Edmunds}}
||
|-
| Cambridge
|| {{w|Cambridge|No joke}}
|| {{w|Cambridge}}
|| Cambridge and Oxford, the two most prestigious university towns, are correctly marked. Together, they form {{w|Oxbridge}}
|-
| Kingsfriend
|| Possibly a joke about the royal patronage given to certain towns - for instance, {{w|Bognor Regis}} and {{w|Royal Wootton Bassett}}
|| Near the England-Wales border
||
|-
| Cair Paravel
|| {{w|Cair Paravel}} is the castle where the ruler of {{w|Narnia}} lives in the ''Narnia'' series.
|| {{w|Dedham Vale}}
||
|-
| Camelot
|| {{w|Camelot}} was (in legend) {{w|King Arthur}}'s court.
|| Near the England-Wales border
|| The King Arthur myth did in fact originate in the Welsh culture. However, most sites associated with Camelot, such as {{w|Winchester}}, {{w|Glastonbury}} and {{w|Cadbury Castle}}, are in England.
|-
| Nothingham
|| A pun on Nottingham.
|| Near {{w|Northampton}}
||
|-
| Cumberbatch
|| A surname, best known as that of actor {{w|Benedict Cumberbatch}}.
|| {{w|Harlow}}
||
|-
| Dampshire
|| A pun on the county of {{w|Hampshire}}. Generically a joking reference to any county, particularly of the {{w|West Country}}, to imply it is particularly prone to rain.
|| Gloucestershire
||
|-
| The CW
|| {{w|The CW|An American TV channel}}.
|| {{w|Pembrokeshire}}
||
|-
| Whaling
|| The practice of hunting whales. May be a reference to other -ing towns like {{w|Reading, Berkshire|Reading}}.
|| {{w|Merthyr Tydfil}}
||
|-
| Paulblart
|| ''{{w|Paul Blart: Mall Cop}}'' is a 2009 comedy film starring Kevin James
|| Near {{w|Chelmsford}}
||
|-
| Oxford
|| {{w|Oxford|No joke}}
|| {{w|Oxford}}
|| See Cambridge. Surprisingly, Randall made no attempt to troll readers by switching the locations of Cambridge and Oxford.
|-
| Moorhen
|| The {{w|moorhen}} is a waterfowl.
|| {{w|Gower Peninsula}}
|| Possibly punning on nearby {{w|Swansea}}.
|-
| Cardigan
|| {{w|Cardigan, Ceredigion|No joke}} - it seems funny to Americans because of the {{w|Cardigan (sweater)|knitted sweater}} invented there
|| {{w|Newport, Wales}}
|| The actual Cardigan is on the west coast. The name may be punning on the city of {{w|Cardiff}}, capital of Wales, which is further south-west.
|-
| BBC Channel 4
|| A composite of {{w|Channel 4}} and the {{w|BBC}} (UK TV operators) confusing the meaning of TV channel with a geographic channel.
|| {{w|Bristol Channel}}
||
|-
| London
|| {{w|London|No joke}}.
|| London
||
|-
| GMT
|| A reference to {{w|Greenwich Mean Time}}. Shown on the map near the London district of Greenwich through which the GMT meridian passes.
|| {{w|Greenwich}} (roughly)
||
|-
| Corbyn
|| A reference to leader of the UK {{w|Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party}} {{w|Jeremy Corbyn}}.
|| {{w|The Cotswolds}}
||
|-
| Tems-upon-Thames
|| A joke about the counter-intuitive pronunciation of {{w|Thames}}.
|| {{w|Rochester}}
||
|-
| Minas Tirith
|| {{w|Minas Tirith}} is the capital of Gondor in ''Lord of the Rings''.
|| {{w|Bristol}}
||
|-
| Hogsmeade
|| {{w|Hogsmeade}} is the nearest village to Hogwarts in the ''Harry Potter'' books.
|| {{w|Dover}}
|| The fictional Hogsmeade was in Scotland. Randall shows the {{w|Channel Tunnel}} running from there, a possible reference to Hogsmeade's secret connections to Hogwarts.
|-
| Tubemap
|| The {{w|Tube Map}} is the map of the {{w|London Underground}}, widely considered a masterpiece of design.
|| {{w|Outer London}}
||
|-
| Cambnewton
|| {{w|Cam Newton}} is quarterback for the {{w|Carolina Panthers}}. "Cam-" is common for placenames on any of the several British rivers called "{{w|Cam River|Cam}}", while "Newton" means "new town".
|| {{w|West Country}}
||
|-
| Efrafa
|| Efrafa is a rabbit warren in the story ''{{w|Watership Down}}''.
|| {{w|Chidden}}
|| According to the story, the warren should be located near the N of Corbyn on this map - the real {{w|Watership Down, Hampshire|Watership Down}} is in Hampshire.
|-
| Chansey
|| {{w|Chansey|Another Pokémon}}. "-sey" is a common suffix meaning "island".
|| {{w|Dungeness (headland|Dungeness}}
||
|-
| Oughghough
|| Playing on common place name elements, "oughghough" has no clear pronunciation under the rules of English. It could be "Uff-guff", "Oo-gow", "Uh-guh" or any combination of these sounds. The name looks similar to the real {{w|Loughborough}} ("Luff-bruh")
|| {{w|Barnstaple}}
||
|-
| Sundial
|| A {{w|sundial}} is a clock using a shadow to tell the time.
|| {{w|Wiltshire}}
|| The location roughly corresponds with {{w|Stonehenge}}, an ancient stone circle that was likely used to track the sun (though as a ritual calendar, rather than a clock)
|-
| Dobby
|| [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_creatures_in_Harry_Potter#Dobby Dobby] is a character in {{w|Harry Potter}}
|| {{w|Southampton}}
||
|-
| Lower Bottom
|| Another -bottom.
|| {{w|Devon}}
||
|-
| Southframpton
|| A confusion with {{w|Southampton}} which is nearby the location shown. The use of the postfix "frampton" may be a reference to the "Frampton" elsewhere on the map.
|| {{w|Milford on Sea}}
||
|-
| Blandford
|| {{w|Blandford|No joke}}
|| {{w|Cornwall}}
|| The real Blandford is a bit further east, in Dorset.
|-
| Menthol
|| {{w|Menthol}} is a chemical with minty taste that produces a cooling sensation, and is used in mints and flavoured cigarettes.
|| {{w|Eastbourne}}
||
|-
| West Sea
|| Literal description.
|| {{w|Atlantic Ocean}}
|| Historically, this was the name for the ocean off the UK's west coast. According to the {{w|Shipping Forecast#Region names|list of sea areas}} used in the UK's {{w|Shipping Forecast}}, that region of sea is called "Lundy"
|-
| Tarp
|| Tarp, short for {{w|tarpaulin}}, is a waterproof sheet for storage and weather protection.
|| {{w|Teignmouth}}
||
|-
| Longbit
|| Literal description.
|| {{w|Cornwall}}
||
|}

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! X !! Y !! Label
|-
| 258 || 32 || Helcaraxë
|-
| 244 || 55 || Blick
|-
| 294 || 80 || Everdeen
|-
| 34 || 89 || Norther Sea
|-
| 238 || 119 || Highlands
|-
| 144 || 151 || Lock Lomond
|-
| 83 || 172 || Fjordham
|-
| 440 || 184 || A British Map Labeled by an American
|-
| 164 || 192 || Glassdoor
|-
| 250 || 219 || Eavestroughs
|-
| 312 || 237 || Seasedge
|-
| 260 || 262 || Chough
|-
| 148 || 267 || Meowth
|-
| 76 || 298 || (A picture of an upsidedown protractor)
|-
| 256 || 303 || Blighton
|-
| 344 || 309 || Eyemouth
|-
| 124 || 320 || Glutenfree
|-
| 486 || 320 || North Sea
|-
| 254 || 329 || Earhand
|-
| 353 || 347 || Hairskull
|-
| 38 || 362 || Belfast DeVoe
|-
| 224 || 365 || Lakebottom
|-
| 411 || 389 || Braintree
|-
| 335 || 408 || Skinflower
|-
| 430 || 431 || Bjork
|-
| 279 || 432 || Weedle
|-
| 440 || 451 || Eeugh
|-
| 258 || 453 || Crewneck
|-
| 310 || 454 || Paisley
|-
| 414 || 473 || Basil
|-
| 259 || 479 || Aidenn
|-
| 461 || 496 || Waterdown
|-
| 288 || 499 || Hillfolk
|-
| 31 || 509 || Dubstep
|-
| 464 || 517 || Borough-Upon-Mappe
|-
| 269 || 535 || Fhqwhgads
|-
| 490 || 537 || Landmouth
|-
| 461 || 539 || Cadbury
|-
| 237 || 554 || Cabinetry
|-
| 360 || 355 || The Shire
|-
| 464 || 562 || Brandon
|-
| 567 || 567 || Hamwich
|-
| 356 || 577 || West Norsussex
|-
| 420 || 578 || Redsox
|-
| 502 || 590 || Keebler
|-
| 372 || 597 || Lionsgate
|-
| 229 || 597 || Bloughshire
|-
| 573 || 609 || Kingsbottom
|-
| 182 || 613 || Aberforth
|-
| 328 || 615 || South Norwessex
|-
| 244 || 617 || Dryford
|-
| 495 || 630 || Frampton
|-
| 477 || 634 || Cambridge
|-
| 251 || 635 || Kingsfriend
|-
| 539 || 652 || Cair Paravel
|-
| 235 || 655 || Camelot
|-
| 408 || 655 || Nothingham
|-
| 429 || 673 || Cumberbatch
|-
| 121 || 673 || The CW
|-
| 303 || 674 || Dampshire
|-
| 210 || 676 || Whaling
|-
| 511 || 690 || Paulblart
|-
| 397 || 693 || Oxford
|-
| 169 || 695 || Moohren
|-
| 255 || 706 || Cardigan
|-
| 462 || 710 || GMT
|-
| 445 || 711 || London
|-
| 308 || 716 || Corbyn
|-
| 507 || 729 || Tems-Upon-Thames
|-
| 161 || 737 || BBC Channel 4
|-
| 267 || 737 || Minas Tirith
|-
| 560 || 746 || Hogsmeade
|-
| 454 || 748 || Tubemap
|-
| 296 || 756 || Cambnewton
|-
| 398 || 765 || Efrafa
|-
| 186 || 767 || Oughghough
|-
| 536 || 767 || Chansey
|-
| 351 || 777 || Sundial
|-
| 370 || 782 || Dobby
|-
| 162 || 784 || Lower Bottom
|-
| 496 || 784 || Menthol
|-
| 362 || 796 || Southframpton
|-
| 56 || 800 || West Sea
|-
| 154 || 804 || Blandford
|-
| 216 || 824 || Tarp
|-
| 123 || 846 || Longbit
|}

==Transcript==
Helcaraxë, Blick, Everdeen, Norther Sea, Highlands, Lock Lomond, Fjordham, A British Map Labeled by an American, Glassdoor, Eavestroughs, Seasedge, Chough, Meowth, (A picture of an upsidedown protractor), Blighton, Eyemouth, Glutenfree, North Sea, Earhand, Hairskull, Belfast DeVoe, Lakebottom, Braintree, Skinflower, Bjork, Weedle, Eeugh, Crewneck, Paisley, Basil, Aidenn, Waterdown, Hillfolk, Dubstep, Borough-Upon-Mappe, Fhqwhgads, Landmouth, Cadbury, Cabinetry, The Shire, Brandon, Hamwich, West Norsussex, Redsox, Keebler, Lionsgate, Bloughshire, Kingsbottom, Aberforth, South Norwessex, Dryford, Frampton, Cambridge, Kingsfriend, Cair Paravel, Camelot, Nothingham, Cumberbatch, The CW, Dampshire, Whaling, Paulblart, Oxford, Moohren, Cardigan, GMT, London, Corbyn, Tems-Upon-Thames, BBC Channel 4, Minas Tirith, Hogsmeade, Tubemap, Cambnewton, Efrafa, Oughghough, Chansey, Sundial, Dobby, Lower Bottom, Menthol, Southframpton, West Sea, Blandford, Tarp, Longbit

{{comic discussion}}

1759: British Map

2016-11-14T16:57:18Z

108.162.215.119: /* Explanation */ actual location wick, scotland

{{comic
| number = 1759
| date = November 14, 2016
| title = British Map
| image = british_map.png
| titletext = West Norsussex is east of East Norwessex, but they're both far north of Middlesex and West Norwex.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Started the table, editing it now.}}

This comic is a joke similar to [https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&safe=active&ssui=on#q=how%20americans%20see%20the%20world&safe=active&ssui=on "How Americans see the world"] showing how the average American has opinions on the world, often including jokes such as a lack of {{w|Africa}}, etc. This has been used before in [[850: World According to Americans]].

Many areas of the UK are most familiar to foreigners thanks to their depiction in various fantasy novels and TV series. This map labels some of these, as well as including many silly names that simply sound like real British towns to an American ear. A protractor is shown off the coast of the {{w|Mull of Kintyre}} in reference to the "{{w|Mull of Kintyre test}}" - the angle of the Mull defines the maximum allowed erectness for a man on British television.

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
!Label on the map !! Explanation !! Actual location !! Notes
|-
| Helcaraxë
|| The "[http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Helcarax%C3%AB Grinding Ice]", an area of {{w|Middle-Earth}}. Like Helcaraxë, northern Scotland is cold, mountainous and in many areas inhospitable.
|| The {{w|Grampian}} region
||
|-
| Blick
||
|| {{w|Wick, Caithness}}
||
|-
| Everdeen
|| {{w|Katniss Everdeen}} is the heroine of ''{{w|The Hunger Games}}'' series of novels and films
|| {{w|Aberdeen}}
|| In colloquial Scots, its pronunciation is very similar to "Everdeen."
|-
| Highlands
|| {{w|Scottish Highlands|No joke}}
|| {{w|Scottish Lowlands}}
|| Maybe deliberate trolling - Scots have strong feelings about where the Highland-Lowland border is
|-
| Norther Sea
|| Pun on the {{w|North Sea}}
|| {{w|Sea of the Hebrides}}
||
||
|-
| Loch Lomond
|| {{w|Loch Lomond|No joke}}
|| Loch Lomond
|| Loch Lomond is the largest lake in the UK, and the subject of a well-known {{w|The_Bonnie_Banks_o%27_Loch_Lomond|traditional song}}. Referenced in the "beaming" (teleporter) bit in the movie Spaceballs.
|-
| Fjordham
|| {{w|Fjords}} are glacial valleys. "-ham" is a common English placename suffix from Old English, related to the modern {{w|Hamlet (place)|hamlet}}. There are several villages in England named {{w|Fordham}}.
|| Near {{w|Oban}} on the {{w|Firth of Lorn}}
|| The Scottish word "Firth" is related to "Fjord", although Lorn is not a fjord in the strict scientific sense - it was formed along the {{w|Great Glen Fault}} by tectonics, rather than glaciers
|-
| Glassdoor
|| {{w|Glassdoor}} is a website where employees can review their employers
|| {{w|Stirling}}
|| Although it's shown near Stirling, the reference seems to be to {{w|Glasgow}}
|-
| Eavestrough
|| A dialectal word for {{w|rain gutter}}
|| {{w|Edinburgh}}
||
|-
| Seasedge
|| Procan's realm in ''Dungeons & Dragons''
|| Somewhere near the Scotland-England border
||
|-
| Chough
|| A {{w|Chough|species of bird in the crow family}}
|| The {{w|Scottish Borders}}
||
|-
| Meowth
|| {{w|Meowth}} is a cat-like Pokémon
|| {{w|Ayr}}
||
|-
| Glutenfree
|| {{w|Gluten-free}} food lacks the protein {{w|gluten}}. This allows {{w|coeliac disease}} sufferers to enjoy it, but has also become a dietary fad in itself.
|| {{w|Cairnryan}}, {{w|Dumfries and Galloway}}
||
|-
| Blighton
|| A mashup of {{w|Brighton}} and {{w|Blighty}}
|| The {{w|Scottish Borders}}
|| The real Brighton is much further south, on the south coast.
|-
| Eyemouth
|| {{w|Eyemouth|Not a joke}}
|| near {{w|Newcastle-upon-Tyne}}
|| The real Eyemouth is further north, where "Seasedge" is marked on the map.
|-
| Earhand
|| A pun on Eyemouth
|| {{w|Carlisle}}
||
|-
| Hairskull
|| A pun on Eyemouth
|| {{w|Teesside}}
||
|-
| Belfast DeVoe
|| {{w|Belfast}}, capital of Northern Ireland, mashed up with the rock band {{w|Bell Biv DeVoe}}
|| {{w|Belfast}}
||
|-
| Lakebottom
|| The {{w|Lake District}}. "-bottom" is a common placename across Northern England, and refers to a town in a valley.
|| {{w|Lake District}}
|| Below Lakebottom is a sketch of lake with yachts on it. This is {{w|Windermere}}, the largest lake in England, where many boating speed records were set.
|-
| Braintree
|| {{w|Braintree, Essex|Not a joke}}
|| {{w|North Yorkshire}}
|| The real Braintree is much further south, near where "Paulblart" is on the map.
|-
| Skinflower
|| A pun on Braintree
|| {{w|Yorkshire Dales}}
||
|-
| Bjork
|| {{w|Björk}} is an Icelandic singer
|| {{w|East Riding of Yorkshire}}
|| The reference is presumably to York, although it's a bit too far east.
|-
| Weedle
|| {{w|Weedle}} is a Pokémon, and also a word meaning "to obtain by trickery or persuasion"
|| {{w|Forest of Bowland}}
||
|-
| Eeugh
|| An expression of disgust
|| {{w|Kingston-upon-Hull}} (generally just "Hull")
||
|-
| Crewneck
|| A shirt with a {{w|Crewneck|simple round collar}}.
|| {{w|Blackpool}}
|| There is a town called {{w|Crewe}} somewhat further south than shown in Cheshire.
|-
| Paisley
|| {{w|Paisley, Renfrewshire|No joke}}. It sounds funny to Americans because it's associated with {{w|Paisley (design)|paisley}} fabric, a Persian-style print invented in the town
|| {{w|Burnley}}
|| The real Paisley is in Scotland, near Glasgow.
|-
| Basil
|| {{w|Basil|A herb}}, and {{w|Basil Fawlty|one of the most famous British TV characters}}.
|| {{w|Scunthorpe}}
||
|-
| Aidenn
|| An apparent pun on the {{w|Scouse}} accent: {{w|h-dropping}} and {{w|th-fronting}} mean the common "hey, then" would be pronounced "ai denn".
|| {{w|Merseyside}}
||
|-
| Hillfolk
|| {{w|Hillfolk}} is an RPG game. "-hill" (referring to, well, a hill) and "-folk" (referring to a tribe or culture) are common in British placenames
|| {{w|Manchester}}
|| Manchester's name does in fact reference hills: it means "castle on the {{w|breast-shaped hill}}"
|-
| Waterdown
|| To "water something down" is to weaken it. "-down" is common in British placenames and refers to {{w|Downland|chalk hills}}.
|| Near {{w|Grimsby}}
||
|-
| Dubstep
|| {{w|Dubstep}} is a genre of electronic music with a heavy bass line.
|| {{w|Dublin}}
|| Dublin is the only non-UK settlement in the map, and one of two on the island of Ireland.
|-
| Borough-upon-Mappe
|| By being recorded here, this is literally a borough upon a map. The "-upon-" is a common element of placenames for towns on rivers, although there's no River Mappe.
|| {{w|Lincolnshire Wolds}}
||
|-
| Fhqwhgads
|| "[http://www.hrwiki.org/wiki/Fhqwhgads Fhqwhgads]" is a joke from the Homestar Runner internet cartoon.
|| {{w|Crewe}}
|| This is near to the Welsh border; Welsh names often look like a mish-mash of consonants to English speakers.
|-
| Cadbury
|| {{w|Cadbury}} is a British chocolate company
|| Near {{w|Boston, Lincolnshire}}
|| Cadbury actually built a town for its workers... but it's called {{w|Bournville}}. There are several towns called "Cadbury" in the UK (where the Cadbury family presumably got its name), but none are near here.
|-
| Cabinetry
|| The art of making {{w|cabinets}}.
|| Near {{w|Oswestry}}
||
|-
| The Shire
|| {{w|Shire (Middle-earth)|The Shire}} is home to the {{w|Hobbits}} in {{w|Middle-Earth}}
|| {{w|Midlands}}
|| Tolkien drew inspiration for the Shire from the {{w|West Midlands (region)|West Midlands}}, although Tolkien was from the southern part of the Midlands (roughly where Dampshire is on the map)
|-
| Landmouth
|| Literal description
|| {{w|The Wash}}
||
|-
| Brandon
|| {{w|Brandon#United Kingdom|Not a joke}}
|| {{w|The Fens}}
|| There are several Brandons in the UK, none on the banks of the Wash. The area shown is borderline-uninhabitable, as it is marshland and lies mostly below sea-level. Only a few farms and isolated hamlets exist here.
|-
| Hamwich
|| A ham sandwich. Both "-ham" and "-wich" are common generic placenames.
|| {{w|Norwich}}
||
|-
| West Norsussex
|| Mash-up of {{w|Sussex}} ("South Saxons") with the obsolete {{w|Wessex}} ("West Saxons") and never extant {{w|Norsex}} ("North Saxons")
|| {{w|Midlands}}
||
|-
| Redsox
|| The {{w|Boston Red Sox}} are a baseball team
|| {{w|The Fens}}
|| The Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park. The map location is not far from the British {{w|Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston}}
|-
| Keebler
|| The {{w|Keebler Elves}} advertise cookies in the US
|| {{w|Thetford Forest}}
||
|-
| Bloughshire
|| Most British counties have "-shire" in their name. Originally it meant they were administered by a {{w|sheriff}}. However, it is rare in Wales.
|| {{w|Powys}}
||
|-
| Lionsgate
|| {{w|Lionsgate|A film studio}}
|| {{w|Leicester}}
||
|-
| Kingsbottom
|| Another "-bottom". A possible reference to {{w|King's Landing}}, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms of {{w|Westeros}}.
|| {{w|Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve|Suffolk Coast}}
||
|-
| Aberforth
|| {{w|Aberforth Dumbledore}} is {{w|Albus Dumbledore}}'s brother in the ''Harry Potter'' series. "Aber-" and "-forth" both indicate a "river mouth". "Aber-" is widespread in Wales.
|| {{w|Aberystwyth}}
||
|-
| South Norwessex
|| Another mash-up of {{w|Sussex}} ("South Saxons") with the obsolete {{w|Wessex}} ("West Saxons") and never extant {{w|Norsex}} ("North Saxons")
|| {{w|Birmingham}}
||
|-
| Dryford
|| Would refer to a river crossing without water. "{{w|Ford (crossing)|-ford}}" is a common placename element.
|| {{w|Shropshire Hills}}
||
|-
| Frampton
|| There are many {{w|Frampton}}s in the UK. It means "town on the river Frome" - and there are also several {{w|River Frome}}s. The name is famous thanks to rock musician {{w|Peter Frampton}}
|| {{w|Bury St Edmunds}}
||
|-
| Cambridge
|| {{w|Cambridge|No joke}}
|| {{w|Cambridge}}
|| Cambridge and Oxford, the two most prestigious university towns, are correctly marked. Together, they form {{w|Oxbridge}}
|-
| Kingsfriend
|| Possibly a joke about the royal patronage given to certain towns - for instance, {{w|Bognor Regis}} and {{w|Royal Wootton Bassett}}
|| Near the England-Wales border
||
|-
| Cair Paravel
|| {{w|Cair Paravel}} is the castle where the ruler of {{w|Narnia}} lives in the ''Narnia'' series.
|| {{w|Dedham Vale}}
||
|-
| Camelot
|| {{w|Camelot}} was (in legend) {{w|King Arthur}}'s court.
|| Near the England-Wales border
|| The King Arthur myth did in fact originate in the Welsh culture. However, most sites associated with Camelot, such as {{w|Winchester}}, {{w|Glastonbury}} and {{w|Cadbury Castle}}, are in England.
|-
| Nothingham
|| A pun on Nottingham.
|| Near {{w|Northampton}}
||
|-
| Cumberbatch
|| A surname, best known as that of actor {{w|Benedict Cumberbatch}}.
|| {{w|Harlow}}
||
|-
| Dampshire
|| A pun on the county of {{w|Hampshire}}. Generically a joking reference to any county, particularly of the {{w|West Country}}, to imply it is particularly prone to rain.
|| Gloucestershire
||
|-
| The CW
|| {{w|The CW|An American TV channel}}.
|| {{w|Pembrokeshire}}
||
|-
| Whaling
|| The practice of hunting whales. May be a reference to other -ing towns like {{w|Reading, Berkshire|Reading}}.
|| {{w|Merthyr Tydfil}}
||
|-
| Paulblart
|| ''{{w|Paul Blart: Mall Cop}}'' is a 2009 comedy film starring Kevin James
|| Near {{w|Chelmsford}}
||
|-
| Oxford
|| {{w|Oxford|No joke}}
|| {{w|Oxford}}
|| See Cambridge. Surprisingly, Randall made no attempt to troll readers by switching the locations of Cambridge and Oxford.
|-
| Moorhen
|| The {{w|moorhen}} is a waterfowl.
|| {{w|Gower Peninsula}}
|| Possibly punning on nearby {{w|Swansea}}.
|-
| Cardigan
|| {{w|Cardigan, Ceredigion|No joke}} - it seems funny to Americans because of the {{w|Cardigan (sweater)|knitted sweater}} invented there
|| {{w|Newport, Wales}}
|| The actual Cardigan is on the west coast. The name may be punning on the city of {{w|Cardiff}}, capital of Wales, which is further south-west.
|-
| BBC Channel 4
|| A composite of {{w|Channel 4}} and the {{w|BBC}} (UK TV operators) confusing the meaning of TV channel with a geographic channel.
|| {{w|Bristol Channel}}
||
|-
| London
|| {{w|London|No joke}}.
|| London
||
|-
| GMT
|| A reference to {{w|Greenwich Mean Time}}. Shown on the map near the London district of Greenwich through which the GMT meridian passes.
|| {{w|Greenwich}} (roughly)
||
|-
| Corbyn
|| A reference to leader of the UK {{w|Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party}} {{w|Jeremy Corbyn}}.
|| {{w|The Cotswolds}}
||
|-
| Tems-upon-Thames
|| A joke about the counter-intuitive pronunciation of {{w|Thames}}.
|| {{w|Rochester}}
||
|-
| Minas Tirith
|| {{w|Minas Tirith}} is the capital of Gondor in ''Lord of the Rings''.
|| {{w|Bristol}}
||
|-
| Hogsmeade
|| {{w|Hogsmeade}} is the nearest village to Hogwarts in the ''Harry Potter'' books.
|| {{w|Dover}}
|| The fictional Hogsmeade was in Scotland. Randall shows the {{w|Channel Tunnel}} running from there, a possible reference to Hogsmeade's secret connections to Hogwarts.
|-
| Tubemap
|| The {{w|Tube Map}} is the map of the {{w|London Underground}}, widely considered a masterpiece of design.
|| {{w|Outer London}}
||
|-
| Cambnewton
|| {{w|Cam Newton}} is quarterback for the {{w|Carolina Panthers}}. "Cam-" is common for placenames on any of the several British rivers called "{{w|Cam River|Cam}}", while "Newton" means "new town".
|| {{w|West Country}}
||
|-
| Efrafa
|| Efrafa is a rabbit warren in the story ''{{w|Watership Down}}''.
|| {{w|Chidden}}
|| According to the story, the warren should be located near the N of Corbyn on this map - the real {{w|Watership Down, Hampshire|Watership Down}} is in Hampshire.
|-
| Chansey
|| {{w|Chansey|Another Pokémon}}. "-sey" is a common suffix meaning "island".
|| {{w|Dungeness (headland|Dungeness}}
||
|-
| Oughghough
|| Playing on common place name elements, "oughghough" has no clear pronunciation under the rules of English. It could be "Uff-guff", "Oo-gow", "Uh-guh" or any combination of these sounds. The name looks similar to the real {{w|Loughborough}} ("Luff-bruh")
|| {{w|Barnstaple}}
||
|-
| Sundial
|| A {{w|sundial}} is a clock using a shadow to tell the time.
|| {{w|Wiltshire}}
|| The location roughly corresponds with {{w|Stonehenge}}, an ancient stone circle that was likely used to track the sun (though as a ritual calendar, rather than a clock)
|-
| Dobby
|| [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_creatures_in_Harry_Potter#Dobby Dobby] is a character in {{w|Harry Potter}}
|| {{w|Southampton}}
||
|-
| Lower Bottom
|| Another -bottom.
|| {{w|Devon}}
||
|-
| Southframpton
|| A confusion with {{w|Southampton}} which is nearby the location shown. The use of the postfix "frampton" may be a reference to the "Frampton" elsewhere on the map.
|| {{w|Milford on Sea}}
||
|-
| Blandford
|| {{w|Blandford|No joke}}
|| {{w|Cornwall}}
|| The real Blandford is a bit further east, in Dorset.
|-
| Menthol
|| {{w|Menthol}} is a chemical with minty taste that produces a cooling sensation, and is used in mints and flavoured cigarettes.
|| {{w|Eastbourne}}
||
|-
| West Sea
|| Literal description.
|| {{w|Atlantic Ocean}}
|| Historically, this was the name for the ocean off the UK's west coast. According to the {{w|Shipping Forecast#Region names|list of sea areas}} used in the UK's {{w|Shipping Forecast}}, that region of sea is called "Lundy"
|-
| Tarp
|| Tarp, short for {{w|tarpaulin}}, is a waterproof sheet for storage and weather protection.
|| {{w|Teignmouth}}
||
|-
| Longbit
|| Literal description.
|| {{w|Cornwall}}
||
|}

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! X !! Y !! Label
|-
| 258 || 32 || Helcaraxë
|-
| 244 || 55 || Blick
|-
| 294 || 80 || Everdeen
|-
| 34 || 89 || Norther Sea
|-
| 238 || 119 || Highlands
|-
| 144 || 151 || Lock Lomond
|-
| 83 || 172 || Fjordham
|-
| 440 || 184 || A British Map Labeled by an American
|-
| 164 || 192 || Glassdoor
|-
| 250 || 219 || Eavestroughs
|-
| 312 || 237 || Seasedge
|-
| 260 || 262 || Chough
|-
| 148 || 267 || Meowth
|-
| 76 || 298 || (A picture of an upsidedown protractor)
|-
| 256 || 303 || Blighton
|-
| 344 || 309 || Eyemouth
|-
| 124 || 320 || Glutenfree
|-
| 486 || 320 || North Sea
|-
| 254 || 329 || Earhand
|-
| 353 || 347 || Hairskull
|-
| 38 || 362 || Belfast DeVoe
|-
| 224 || 365 || Lakebottom
|-
| 411 || 389 || Braintree
|-
| 335 || 408 || Skinflower
|-
| 430 || 431 || Bjork
|-
| 279 || 432 || Weedle
|-
| 440 || 451 || Eeugh
|-
| 258 || 453 || Crewneck
|-
| 310 || 454 || Paisley
|-
| 414 || 473 || Basil
|-
| 259 || 479 || Aidenn
|-
| 461 || 496 || Waterdown
|-
| 288 || 499 || Hillfolk
|-
| 31 || 509 || Dubstep
|-
| 464 || 517 || Borough-Upon-Mappe
|-
| 269 || 535 || Fhqwhgads
|-
| 490 || 537 || Landmouth
|-
| 461 || 539 || Cadbury
|-
| 237 || 554 || Cabinetry
|-
| 360 || 355 || The Shire
|-
| 464 || 562 || Brandon
|-
| 567 || 567 || Hamwich
|-
| 356 || 577 || West Norsussex
|-
| 420 || 578 || Redsox
|-
| 502 || 590 || Keebler
|-
| 372 || 597 || Lionsgate
|-
| 229 || 597 || Bloughshire
|-
| 573 || 609 || Kingsbottom
|-
| 182 || 613 || Aberforth
|-
| 328 || 615 || South Norwessex
|-
| 244 || 617 || Dryford
|-
| 495 || 630 || Frampton
|-
| 477 || 634 || Cambridge
|-
| 251 || 635 || Kingsfriend
|-
| 539 || 652 || Cair Paravel
|-
| 235 || 655 || Camelot
|-
| 408 || 655 || Nothingham
|-
| 429 || 673 || Cumberbatch
|-
| 121 || 673 || The CW
|-
| 303 || 674 || Dampshire
|-
| 210 || 676 || Whaling
|-
| 511 || 690 || Paulblart
|-
| 397 || 693 || Oxford
|-
| 169 || 695 || Moohren
|-
| 255 || 706 || Cardigan
|-
| 462 || 710 || GMT
|-
| 445 || 711 || London
|-
| 308 || 716 || Corbyn
|-
| 507 || 729 || Tems-Upon-Thames
|-
| 161 || 737 || BBC Channel 4
|-
| 267 || 737 || Minas Tirith
|-
| 560 || 746 || Hogsmeade
|-
| 454 || 748 || Tubemap
|-
| 296 || 756 || Cambnewton
|-
| 398 || 765 || Efrafa
|-
| 186 || 767 || Oughghough
|-
| 536 || 767 || Chansey
|-
| 351 || 777 || Sundial
|-
| 370 || 782 || Dobby
|-
| 162 || 784 || Lower Bottom
|-
| 496 || 784 || Menthol
|-
| 362 || 796 || Southframpton
|-
| 56 || 800 || West Sea
|-
| 154 || 804 || Blandford
|-
| 216 || 824 || Tarp
|-
| 123 || 846 || Longbit
|}

==Transcript==
Helcaraxë, Blick, Everdeen, Norther Sea, Highlands, Lock Lomond, Fjordham, A British Map Labeled by an American, Glassdoor, Eavestroughs, Seasedge, Chough, Meowth, (A picture of an upsidedown protractor), Blighton, Eyemouth, Glutenfree, North Sea, Earhand, Hairskull, Belfast DeVoe, Lakebottom, Braintree, Skinflower, Bjork, Weedle, Eeugh, Crewneck, Paisley, Basil, Aidenn, Waterdown, Hillfolk, Dubstep, Borough-Upon-Mappe, Fhqwhgads, Landmouth, Cadbury, Cabinetry, The Shire, Brandon, Hamwich, West Norsussex, Redsox, Keebler, Lionsgate, Bloughshire, Kingsbottom, Aberforth, South Norwessex, Dryford, Frampton, Cambridge, Kingsfriend, Cair Paravel, Camelot, Nothingham, Cumberbatch, The CW, Dampshire, Whaling, Paulblart, Oxford, Moohren, Cardigan, GMT, London, Corbyn, Tems-Upon-Thames, BBC Channel 4, Minas Tirith, Hogsmeade, Tubemap, Cambnewton, Efrafa, Oughghough, Chansey, Sundial, Dobby, Lower Bottom, Menthol, Southframpton, West Sea, Blandford, Tarp, Longbit

{{comic discussion}}

1757: November 2016

2016-11-09T20:44:28Z

108.162.215.119: /* Table */ ce

{{comic
| number = 1757
| date = November 9, 2016
| title = November 2016
| image = november_2016.png
| titletext = Once you've done this, make a note of how old they were. Then, when their age reaches double that, show them this chart again.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Need individual explanations.}}
This is yet another comic designed to [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|make you feel old]].

It lists ages between 16 and 41 and links each age to one ore more events that (should have) happened a little over half their life ago. But it seems [[Randall]] has not been very accurate in his measure of what majority means. For instance for a 16-year-old person (born between December 1999 and November 2000), it lists the release of GTA IV, which was released in April 2008. GTA IV has been around for 8.5 years, i.e. more than half of their life. For the 41-year-old, though, it fits with Toy Story, which was released almost exactly 21 years before this comic in November 1995, and in that year today's 41-year-olds would only have been 20. So that movie has been in their life for the majority of their life.

This matches earlier attempts to make people feel old by mentioning how long ago it was that, for instance, a movie comes out. When an event seems to have occurred recently to you, like seeing a movie when you were twenty-one (with Toy Story) and then suddenly realizing that this was 20 years ago, you will very likely feel old. Since humans' perception of time is not related to how much time has actually passed but rather to important memories, then memories like seeing the first feature-length animated movie (Toy Story) makes a big impression and may stay vivid in peoples' memories. When they then, after hearing the sentence from this comic, realize that half their life has passed since that event, they realize how much time has passed and that makes them feel old.

This is why it affects a 20-year-old to hear that twitter is ten years old, where this will not have the same impact on a 16-year-old, since they were so young when it came out that they probably feel like it has been around for ever, and you do not feel old by hearing that, for instance, the TV was invented before you were born. It thus makes sense to pick something that happened almost midway through a person's life, because they then realize they are now double as old as when they first heard of Twitter.

The joke at the end is that people over 41 don't need anything to make them feel old, because they already feel old. He thus teases people above 41 years old by claiming they are old, although many people (above 40) would claim you are not old before you retire. It may be a coincidence, but still interesting, that he stopped the list just before 42, a number Randall has referred to many times.

The title text points out that the same chart can be used for the same person once they are twice as old. So it urges the user to note down the age of the person it was used on, and then wait until their age reaches double that. So for a 16-year-old that would only be 16 more years until they are 32, but for a 41-year-old it would have to wait until they are 82 years old. When showing them this chart, they will remember how old they felt when the user made them feel old the first time by using a line from this list. And then they realize that they are now twice as old, and will thus again feel very very old because of this comic. For about the last half of the list, they will actually have reached an age where many people would consider them old, not just because they might feel old.

==Table==
*Explanation of table:
**Persons age as given in the comic.
**Persons birth year. 2016 minus persons age.
**Date of things. For instance a release date, the year that a thing began/happened or a year where it became a phenomenon (in the US that is, in case if was already a phenomenon somewhere else first).
**Things as given in the comic. There can be more than one "thing" for each age, so it should be things in plural form.
**Half age - Persons age divided by two. This should in principle always be less than than the last column.
**Years ago - the number of years since the things became "a thing". In order for this thing to have been in a persons life for the majority of their life this need to be larger (or at least equal) than half that persons age. So this number should be larger than the column before. If there are more than one thing for a given age, the average year for these things are taken and used to calculate the number of years.

{| class = "wikitable"
! Age
! Birth year
! Date of things
! Things
! Explanation
! Half age
! Years ago
|-
| 16
| 2000
| April 29, 2008
| ''{{w|Grand Theft Auto IV}}''
| Popular video game published by {{w|Rockstar Games}}; the 11th title in the ''{{w|Grand Theft Auto}}'' series
| 8
| 8.5
|-
| 17
| 1999
| May 2007
| {{w|Rickrolling}}
| A prank and internet meme involving an unexpected appearance of the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song "{{w|Never Gonna Give You Up}}". A type of bait and switch.
| 8.5
| 9.5
|-
| 18
| 1998
| April 13, 2007
| ''{{w|Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters}}
| American Flash animated surreal comedy film based on the {{w|Adult Swim}} animated series {{w|Aqua Teen Hunger Force}}. This seems to be a joke, as both this movie and the one it was based on is for adults, and the person this targets would only have been 9 when it was released, and will thus not even recognize the reference. And then the joke will fail as they will not feel old.
| 9
| 9.5
|-
| 19
| 1997
| November 19, 2006
| The {{w|Nintendo Wii}}
| From 2006 onwards is the time when the Nintendo Wii brand (Wii - Wii U) was released, with the Wii dominating 2006-2012 and the Wii U being *a small* part of 2012-2016.
| 9.5
| 10
|-
| 20
| 1996
| March 2006
| {{w|Twitter}}
| 2006 was a big year, in that it lead to the creation of Twitter, a social networking service that is still used to this day.
| 10
| 10
|-
| 21
| 1995
| November 22, 2005 (Xbox), September 2005 (xkcd)
| The {{w|Xbox 360}}, {{w|xkcd}}
| 2005 led to the creation of the Xbox 360, another successful console. [[Randall]] also decided to throw in a 'reference joke', referring to the fact that xkcd was also created in 2005 and fits the criteria of the comic (and as a call back to the recent [[1750: Life Goals]] he has two x words in the same sentence, which where also both used in that comic).
| 10.5
| 11
|-
| 22
| 1994
| 2005
| {{w|Chuck Norris Facts}}
| Satirical factoids about martial artist and actor {{w|Chuck Norris}} which began to appear on the Internet in early 2005.
| 11
| 11
|-
| 23
| 1993
| January 25, 2004
| {{w|Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity}}'s Mars Exploration
| {{w|Opportunity (rover)|Opportunity}} is a Mars rover that landed on Mars on January 25, 2004
| 11.5
| 12
|-
| 24
| 1992
| February 4, 2004
| {{w|Facebook}}
| Facebook was a social networking service created in 2004 as a competitor to {{w|Myspace}} and quickly dominated as the #1 most used social networking service of all time.
| 12
| 12
|-
| 25
| 1991
| April 1, 2004 (Gmail), July 9, 2003 (Pirates of the Caribbean)
| {{w|Gmail}}, ''{{w|Pirates of the Caribbean}}''
| Gmail is an email service created by Google as a replacement to {{w|Hotmail}}. Pirates of the Caribbean, a popular movie franchise, had its first movie {{w|Curse of the Black Pearl}} debut in 2003.
| 12.5
| 12.5
|-
| 26
| 1990
| January 7, 2003
| {{w|In da Club}}
| Rap song by {{w|50 Cent}}
| 13
| 13
|-
| 27
| 1989
| September 20, 2002
| ''{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}''
| ''{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}'' is a space western drama TV series created by Joss Whedon, that became a cult classic
| 13.5
| 14
|-
| 28
| 1988
| October 7, 2001
| The {{w|War in Afghanistan}}
| The United States of America invaded Afghanistan shortly after the events of September 11, 2001, in an effort to eliminate the terrorist group {{w|al-Qaeda}}.
| 14
| 15
|-
| 29
| 1987
| 2001
| The {{w|iPod}}
| The iPod was a music playing device created by {{w|Apple}} in 2001 as a replacement for MP3 players.
| 14.5
| 15
|-
| 30
| 1986
| May 18, 2001 (Shrek), January 15, 2001 (Wikipedia)
| {{w|Shrek}}, {{w|Wikipedia}}
| Shrek is a popular parody film about fairy tales based on the book of the same name. It quickly gained a cult following and became a mega-hit, earning it 3 sequels and a franchise. Wikipedia is a website with articles dedicated for looking up information based on specific tops, created in 2001.
| 15
| 15
|-
| 31
| 1985
| July 14, 2000
| Those X-Men movies
| The {{w|X-Men}} series ({{w|X-Men}}, {{w|X2: X-Men United}}, {{w|X-Men: The Last Stand}}) The release date refers to the first of these three movies.
| 15.5
| 16
|-
| 32
| 1984
| February 4, 2000
| {{w|The Sims}}
| The Sims is a video game created by Maxis in 2000 as a simulation game where you build homes, cities, and families. It was an immediate success upon launch.
| 16
| 16
|-
| 33
| 1983
| 1998
| Autotuned hit songs
| 1998 was the time period when people realized the capabilities of {{w|Auto-Tune|autotuning}} songs. {{w|Cher|Cher's}} song "{{w|Believe (Cher song)|Believe}}" from 1998 {{w|Auto-Tune#In_popular_music|may be the first time}} that people really noticed this effect.
| 16.5
| 18
|-
| 34
| 1982
| May 19, 1999
| The {{w|Star Wars Prequels}}
| The Star Wars prequel trilogy ({{w|Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace}}, {{w|Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones}}, {{w|Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith}}). The date refers to the release of the first movie.
| 17
| 17
|-
| 35
| 1981
| March 31, 1999
| {{w|The Matrix}}
| Action film created by the {{w|Wachowski borthers}}
| 17.5
| 17.5
|-
| 36
| 1980
| 1998 (outside Japan)
| {{w|Pokemon Red & Blue}}
| A popular childrens' video game franchise
| 18
| 18
|-
| 37
| 1979
| April 29, 1997 (Netflix), June 26, 1997 (Harry Potter), September 15, 1997 (Google)
| {{w|Netflix}}, {{w|Harry Potter}}, {{w|Google}}
| All three are major things still today 19 years later. "Harry Potter" refers to the original publishing date of ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone}}''. Google refers to the date that the Google domain name was registered.
| 18.5
| 19
|-
| 38
| 1978
| May 11, 1997
| Deep Blue's Victory
| {{w|Deep Blue}} was a {{w|chess computer}}, who defeated {{w|Garry Kasparov}}, the reigning chess champion, in 1997. It was the first chess computer to defeat a world champion under tournament conditions.
| 19
| 19
|-
| 39
| 1977
| September 13, 1996
| Tupac's Death
| {{w|Tupac Shakur}} was an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in 1996.
| 19.5
| 20
|-
| 40
| 1976
| December 31, 1995
| The [http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/12/31 last Calvin and Hobbes strip]
| {{w|Calvin and Hobbes}} is a comic strip by {{w|Bill Watterson}} that ran from November 18, 1985 to December 31, 1995.
| 20
| 21
|-
| 41
| 1975
| November 22, 1995
| {{w|Toy Story}}
| The {{w|Pixar}} animated film ''Toy Story'' which was the first feature length animation film to be released theatrically (and thus also Pixar's first feature film)
| 20.5
| 21
|-
| >41
| Before 1975
| N/A
| [Don't worry, they've got this covered]
| This jokes that people legitimately old already feel old. Could be a reference to the number 42, that Randall stopped when this number was supposed to occur. He has referenced this number more than once before, for instance in the [[1608#Messages_in_Play_Area|1608#Messages in the Play Area]] of [[1608: Hoverboard]].
| >20.5
| N/A
|}

==Transcript==

The November 2016
Guide to making people
feel old

[In rectangle]
If they're [age], you say:
"Did you know [thing] has been around for the majority of your life?"

{| class = "wikitable"
! Age
! Thing
|-
| 16
| Grand Theft Auto IV
|-
| 17
| Rickrolling
|-
| 18
| Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
|-
| 19
| The Nintendo Wii
|-
| 20
| Twitter
|-
| 21
| The Xbox 360, xkcd
|-
| 22
| Chuck Norris Facts
|-
| 23
| Opportunity's Mars Exploration
|-
| 24
| Facebook
|-
| 25
| Gmail, Pirates of the Caribbean
|-
| 26
| In da Club
|-
| 27
| Firefly
|-
| 28
| The War in Afghanistan
|-
| 29
| The iPod
|-
| 30
| Shrek, Wikipedia
|-
| 31
| Those X-Men movies
|-
| 32
| The Sims
|-
| 33
| Autotuned hit songs
|-
| 34
| The Star Wars Prequels
|-
| 35
| The Matrix
|-
| 36
| Pokémon Red & Blue
|-
| 37
| Netflix, Harry Potter, Google
|-
| 38
| Deep Blue's Victory
|-
| 39
| Tupac's Death
|-
| 40
| The last Calvin and Hobbes strip
|-
| 41
| Toy Story
|-
| >41
| [Don't worry, they've got this covered]
|}
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

1756: I'm With Her

2016-11-07T21:53:20Z

108.162.215.119: /* Explanation */ this is actually an app

{{comic
| number = 1756
| date = November 7, 2016
| title = I'm With Her
| image = im_with_her.png
| titletext = We can do this.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|What's the "App Store: VoteWithMe" comment about? More details in general. Title text - is that also a Hillary slogan?}}

In this serious comic, [[Randall]] urges his American viewership to vote, and states that he will vote for {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, the {{w|US Democratic Party|Democratic}} nominee in the {{w|2016 United States presidential election}}. (And the rest of his viewers from abroad can spread the word by sharing this comic online.)

The "H" with an arrow is Clinton's campaign logo, and "I'm with her" is a slogan widely used by her supporters. He then lists tips to help you cast your vote. This suggests he is invested in the election.

All the information on the bottom half of the comic includes sites, numbers, info, etc that will help US voters to vote, regardless of for whom they will vote for. Including this information helps voters because every election many voters don't vote because they feel they don't know how or that it isn't worth it. It seems like Randall doesn't want the US election to have some of the same problems that the {{w|Brexit}} vote had (where many voters opposed to exiting the EU didn't vote for one reason or another).

The websites are:
* [https://iwillvote.com/ iwillvote.com] (for looking up polling location, ID requirements, etc.)
* [http://www.drive2vote.org/ drive2vote.org] (for voters in Douglas or Sarpy County, Nebraska, who need a ride to the polls from {{w|Warren Buffett}} or his friends)
* [http://www.civicinnovation.com/ civicinnovation.com] (an app which "gives you a list of the top 10 highest-impact potential voters in your address book to get in touch with -- based on the likelihood that they support progressive candidates, and that they live in states with the most competitive races". This app is for Android and iOS, with the App Store ID as "VoteWithMe".)

The comic show a gallery of 11 xkcd characters including all the main characters from xkcd (except [[Hairy]]), which stand united behind Randall and Clinton despite their lack of agreement in many other comics. From left to right on the left side of the H are [[Ponytail]] with a ray gun for melting computers, (the one she also wielded in [[322: Pix Plz]], a comic where she was named Joanna), [[Black Hat]] (who was the one introducing Joanna/Ponytail in the mentioned comic), [[Danish]] (Black Hat's girlfriend setting up a kite for him, although it could be Megan, but she is also shown later with her regular shorter hair) and [[White Hat]] looking at the kite. Sitting on top of the H are [[Blondie]], [[Megan]] with [[Cueball]] (the standard couple in xkcd) and [[Hairbun]] with glasses (so specifically not the one from the previous comic [[1755: Old Days]], but rather like in [[1637: Salt Mine]]). On the right side of the H are the adult version of [[Science Girl]] holding her hand out towards the squirrel that [[Beret Guy]] is holding and finally another Cueball on an office chair wielding a sword as he was shown in [[303: Compiling]]. Note that those two at either side of the comic wields weapons pointing out defending the other nine. Those next to the characters with weapons are doing recreational things like kiting and admiring adorable squirrels, both are recurring subjects in xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[Eleven characters are drawn left, right and on top of a huge H with an arrow as the horizontal bar connecting the two vertical towers. The arrow breaks the right part of the H. It represents the logo from Hillary Clintons presidential campaign for 2016. From left to right on the left side of the H are Ponytail with an exotic looking futuristic ray gun like weapon looking to the left away from the H and the others. Behind her is Black Hat who looks at a girl that might be Danish or Megan (but with longer hair than Megan typically has). She is setting up a kite that flows above the first two characters. Behind her and looking up at the kite is White Hat. The H is right behind him, and on top of the left tower of the H sits Blondie looking straight out at the reader with her legs dangling over the edge and her arms resting on her knees. On the arrow between the two H towers sits Megan leaning against the left H towers, also dangling her legs over the edge and arms resting on her knees. Cueball is standing to her right, just left of the right H tower. On top of the right H towers sits Hairbun with glasses looking straight right with her legs dangling over the edge one arm resting on a knee and leaning back on the other arm. On the right side of the H is an adult version of Science Girl holding a hand out towards the squirrel which Beret Guy is holding out in both arms towards her. Behind them is another Cueball standing in an office chair holding a sword high up in front of him to the right away from the others. He keeps his balance by holding his other arm out behind him. Below the H there is a large caption.]
:<big><big><big>H</big></big></big>
: <big><big>I'm with her.</big></big>

:[Below the panel there is several lines of text. The first header line refers to the next four lines with solutions to problems, title/problem on one side then a long dash and the web-link or other information on the right side of that. Below those there is a reminder.]
:<big>How to help</big>
:Vote - iwillvote.com
:Get a ride to the polls - drive2vote.org
:If you're having problems voting - 866-OUR-VOTE
:Experimental social turnout project - civicinnovation.com App Store: VoteWithMe

:<big>Reminder:</big>
:If you're in line when the polls close, they have to let you vote.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

1756: I'm With Her

2016-11-07T21:51:37Z

108.162.215.119: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 1756
| date = November 7, 2016
| title = I'm With Her
| image = im_with_her.png
| titletext = We can do this.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|What's the "App Store: VoteWithMe" comment about? More details in general. Title text - is that also a Hillary slogan?}}

In this serious comic, [[Randall]] urges his American viewership to vote, and states that he will vote for {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, the {{w|US Democratic Party|Democratic}} nominee in the {{w|2016 United States presidential election}}. (And the rest of his viewers from abroad can spread the word by sharing this comic online.)

The "H" with an arrow is Clinton's campaign logo, and "I'm with her" is a slogan widely used by her supporters. He then lists tips to help you cast your vote. This suggests he is invested in the election.

All the information on the bottom half of the comic includes sites, numbers, info, etc that will help US voters to vote, regardless of for whom they will vote for. Including this information helps voters because every election many voters don't vote because they feel they don't know how or that it isn't worth it. It seems like Randall doesn't want the US election to have some of the same problems that the {{w|Brexit}} vote had (where many voters opposed to exiting the EU didn't vote for one reason or another).

The websites are:
* [https://iwillvote.com/ iwillvote.com] (for looking up polling location, ID requirements, etc.)
* [http://www.drive2vote.org/ drive2vote.org] (for voters in Douglas or Sarpy County, Nebraska, who need a ride to the polls from {{w|Warren Buffett}} or his friends)
* [http://www.civicinnovation.com/ civicinnovation.com] (a website which "gives you a list of the top 10 highest-impact potential voters in your address book to get in touch with -- based on the likelihood that they support progressive candidates, and that they live in states with the most competitive races". This website also has an app for Android and iOS, with the App Store ID as "VoteWithMe".)

The comic show a gallery of 11 xkcd characters including all the main characters from xkcd (except [[Hairy]]), which stand united behind Randall and Clinton despite their lack of agreement in many other comics. From left to right on the left side of the H are [[Ponytail]] with a ray gun for melting computers, (the one she also wielded in [[322: Pix Plz]], a comic where she was named Joanna), [[Black Hat]] (who was the one introducing Joanna/Ponytail in the mentioned comic), [[Danish]] (Black Hat's girlfriend setting up a kite for him, although it could be Megan, but she is also shown later with her regular shorter hair) and [[White Hat]] looking at the kite. Sitting on top of the H are [[Blondie]], [[Megan]] with [[Cueball]] (the standard couple in xkcd) and [[Hairbun]] with glasses (so specifically not the one from the previous comic [[1755: Old Days]], but rather like in [[1637: Salt Mine]]). On the right side of the H are the adult version of [[Science Girl]] holding her hand out towards the squirrel that [[Beret Guy]] is holding and finally another Cueball on an office chair wielding a sword as he was shown in [[303: Compiling]]. Note that those two at either side of the comic wields weapons pointing out defending the other nine. Those next to the characters with weapons are doing recreational things like kiting and admiring adorable squirrels, both are recurring subjects in xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[Eleven characters are drawn left, right and on top of a huge H with an arrow as the horizontal bar connecting the two vertical towers. The arrow breaks the right part of the H. It represents the logo from Hillary Clintons presidential campaign for 2016. From left to right on the left side of the H are Ponytail with an exotic looking futuristic ray gun like weapon looking to the left away from the H and the others. Behind her is Black Hat who looks at a girl that might be Danish or Megan (but with longer hair than Megan typically has). She is setting up a kite that flows above the first two characters. Behind her and looking up at the kite is White Hat. The H is right behind him, and on top of the left tower of the H sits Blondie looking straight out at the reader with her legs dangling over the edge and her arms resting on her knees. On the arrow between the two H towers sits Megan leaning against the left H towers, also dangling her legs over the edge and arms resting on her knees. Cueball is standing to her right, just left of the right H tower. On top of the right H towers sits Hairbun with glasses looking straight right with her legs dangling over the edge one arm resting on a knee and leaning back on the other arm. On the right side of the H is an adult version of Science Girl holding a hand out towards the squirrel which Beret Guy is holding out in both arms towards her. Behind them is another Cueball standing in an office chair holding a sword high up in front of him to the right away from the others. He keeps his balance by holding his other arm out behind him. Below the H there is a large caption.]
:<big><big><big>H</big></big></big>
: <big><big>I'm with her.</big></big>

:[Below the panel there is several lines of text. The first header line refers to the next four lines with solutions to problems, title/problem on one side then a long dash and the web-link or other information on the right side of that. Below those there is a reminder.]
:<big>How to help</big>
:Vote - iwillvote.com
:Get a ride to the polls - drive2vote.org
:If you're having problems voting - 866-OUR-VOTE
:Experimental social turnout project - civicinnovation.com App Store: VoteWithMe

:<big>Reminder:</big>
:If you're in line when the polls close, they have to let you vote.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

1756: I'm With Her

2016-11-07T21:51:02Z

108.162.215.119: /* Explanation */ note on app store id

{{comic
| number = 1756
| date = November 7, 2016
| title = I'm With Her
| image = im_with_her.png
| titletext = We can do this.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|What's the "App Store: VoteWithMe" comment about? More details in general. Title text - is that also a Hillary slogan?}}

In this serious comic, [[Randall]] urges his American viewership to vote, and states that he will vote for {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, the {{w|US Democratic Party|Democratic}} nominee in the {{w|2016 United States presidential election}}. (And the rest of his viewers from abroad can spread the word by sharing this comic online.)

The "H" with an arrow is Clinton's campaign logo, and "I'm with her" is a slogan widely used by her supporters. He then lists tips to help you cast your vote. This suggests he is invested in the election.

All the information on the bottom half of the comic includes sites, numbers, info, etc that will help US voters to vote, regardless of for whom they will vote for. Including this information helps voters because every election many voters don't vote because they feel they don't know how or that it isn't worth it. It seems like Randall doesn't want the US election to have some of the same problems that the {{w|Brexit}} vote had (where many voters opposed to exiting the EU didn't vote for one reason or another).

The websites are:
* [https://iwillvote.com/ iwillvote.com] (for looking up polling location, ID requirements, etc.)
* [http://www.drive2vote.org/ drive2vote.org] (for voters in Douglas or Sarpy County, Nebraska, who need a ride to the polls from {{w|Warren Buffett}} or his friends)
* [http://www.civicinnovation.com/ civicinnovation.com] (a website which "gives you a list of the top 10 highest-impact potential voters in your address book to get in touch with -- based on the likelihood that they support progressive candidates, and that they live in states with the most competitive races". This website also has an app for Android and iOS, with the App Store ID as "Votewithme".)

The comic show a gallery of 11 xkcd characters including all the main characters from xkcd (except [[Hairy]]), which stand united behind Randall and Clinton despite their lack of agreement in many other comics. From left to right on the left side of the H are [[Ponytail]] with a ray gun for melting computers, (the one she also wielded in [[322: Pix Plz]], a comic where she was named Joanna), [[Black Hat]] (who was the one introducing Joanna/Ponytail in the mentioned comic), [[Danish]] (Black Hat's girlfriend setting up a kite for him, although it could be Megan, but she is also shown later with her regular shorter hair) and [[White Hat]] looking at the kite. Sitting on top of the H are [[Blondie]], [[Megan]] with [[Cueball]] (the standard couple in xkcd) and [[Hairbun]] with glasses (so specifically not the one from the previous comic [[1755: Old Days]], but rather like in [[1637: Salt Mine]]). On the right side of the H are the adult version of [[Science Girl]] holding her hand out towards the squirrel that [[Beret Guy]] is holding and finally another Cueball on an office chair wielding a sword as he was shown in [[303: Compiling]]. Note that those two at either side of the comic wields weapons pointing out defending the other nine. Those next to the characters with weapons are doing recreational things like kiting and admiring adorable squirrels, both are recurring subjects in xkcd.

==Transcript==
:[Eleven characters are drawn left, right and on top of a huge H with an arrow as the horizontal bar connecting the two vertical towers. The arrow breaks the right part of the H. It represents the logo from Hillary Clintons presidential campaign for 2016. From left to right on the left side of the H are Ponytail with an exotic looking futuristic ray gun like weapon looking to the left away from the H and the others. Behind her is Black Hat who looks at a girl that might be Danish or Megan (but with longer hair than Megan typically has). She is setting up a kite that flows above the first two characters. Behind her and looking up at the kite is White Hat. The H is right behind him, and on top of the left tower of the H sits Blondie looking straight out at the reader with her legs dangling over the edge and her arms resting on her knees. On the arrow between the two H towers sits Megan leaning against the left H towers, also dangling her legs over the edge and arms resting on her knees. Cueball is standing to her right, just left of the right H tower. On top of the right H towers sits Hairbun with glasses looking straight right with her legs dangling over the edge one arm resting on a knee and leaning back on the other arm. On the right side of the H is an adult version of Science Girl holding a hand out towards the squirrel which Beret Guy is holding out in both arms towards her. Behind them is another Cueball standing in an office chair holding a sword high up in front of him to the right away from the others. He keeps his balance by holding his other arm out behind him. Below the H there is a large caption.]
:<big><big><big>H</big></big></big>
: <big><big>I'm with her.</big></big>

:[Below the panel there is several lines of text. The first header line refers to the next four lines with solutions to problems, title/problem on one side then a long dash and the web-link or other information on the right side of that. Below those there is a reminder.]
:<big>How to help</big>
:Vote - iwillvote.com
:Get a ride to the polls - drive2vote.org
:If you're having problems voting - 866-OUR-VOTE
:Experimental social turnout project - civicinnovation.com App Store: VoteWithMe

:<big>Reminder:</big>
:If you're in line when the polls close, they have to let you vote.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Blondie]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

1743: Coffee

2016-10-07T17:54:04Z

108.162.215.119: ce

{{comic
| number = 1743
| date = October 7, 2016
| title = Coffee
| image = coffee.png
| titletext = Remind me to order another pack of coffee filters from Dyson. Man, these things are EXPENSIVE.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Very brief summary, please update}}

This strip follows the frequently used theme of people growing up but finding themselves unable or unwilling to accept traditional adult roles (see [[441: Babies]], [[616: Lease]], [[905: Homeownership]] and [[1674: Adult]]). In many cultures, drinking coffee is considered an adult activity; most children aren't served coffee and likely wouldn't like the taste if they were, however there are cultures where coffee is served to children, as in many Hispanic countries with "{{w|Café con leche}}" (coffee with milk) which is at least 50% milk with plenty of sugar.

In this case, Cueball and Megan are anticipating guests. Offering coffee to houseguests is a commonly-accepted courtesy in the United States. However, they seem to be unaware of the basics of {{w|Coffee_preparation|coffee making}}. Cueball is concerned that this lack of knowledge is an indication of their mutual immaturity (thinking of himself as a "fake adult"), but Megan is confident that the necessary steps can be determined.

They attempt to make coffee by pouring the ingredients on the ground (misinterpreting the meaning of "ground coffee"), sucking it up with a Dyson vacuum-cleaner (misinterpreting the meaning of "vacuum brewing"), then boiling the mixture by placing the vacuum-cleaner's removable (plastic) canister over a hot stove, and serving the resulting sludge without separating the grounds from the liquid.

Megan says she is a regular "Starbuck" after serving the batch of coffee, believing the name of the cafe chain {{w|Starbucks}} to be synonymous with the actual job title "barrista", further indicating a general lack of knowledge regarding the subject of coffee.

This method of making coffee would be very expensive as it would most likely destroy the (previously functional) vacuum cleaner. It would probably not be very hygienic either. Furthermore, the removable canisters on bagless vacuums (such as the Dyson shown) are made of plastic and would melt or ignite if placed over direct heat from a stove. Furthermore, failing to remove the grounds before serving would produce a slurry, rather than the smooth golden-brown liquid that is customary in the western world.

The joke here is that Megan misunderstands the words "coffee grounds", attempts to pour coffee grounds on the "ground", tries to vacuum brew the coffee using a vacuum cleaner, and uses the wrong kind of filter (a vacuum cleaner filter instead of a coffee filter) in order to make a proper coffee. It demonstrates her total lack of knowledge of coffee making.

The title-text refers to the extreme expense of replacing the "filter", as vacuum-cleaner filters are considerably more costly than single-use coffee filters. It also suggests that they genuinely believe that a key function of the Dyson is to make coffee, implying that vacuuming is another 'adult' responsibility with which Cueball and Megan are unfamiliar.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

:[Cueball and Megan are standing.]
:Cueball: We should make coffee for our guests.
:Megan: Crap. I know nothing about coffee.
:Cueball: We're basically fake adults.
:Megan: Don't panic. We can figure this out.

:[Megan shaking can of coffee grounds out on floor as Cueball watches.]
:Megan: We just pour the coffee grounds...

:[Megan pouring pail of water over grounds on floor.]
:Megan: ...Add water...

:[Cueball watching Megan vacuum up mixture with bagless vaccum cleaner.]
:vacuum: vrrrr

:[Megan holding vacuum cleaner dirt canister over stove, Cueball watching. Vacuum cleaner in background.]
:Megan: Now we just hold it over the burners...
:oven: hissss

:[Megan pouring contents of vacuum cleaner dirt canister into mug, while Cueball watches]
:Megan: Annnd...Serve.
:Cueball: Nice!
:Megan: I'm a regular starbuck!
{{comic discussion}}

518: Flow Charts

2016-08-22T16:38:23Z

108.162.215.119: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 518
| date = December 17, 2008
| title = Flow Charts
| image = flow_charts.png
| titletext = At 8 drinks, you switch the torrent from FreeBSD to Microsoft Bob. C'mon, it'll be fun!
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Flowchart|Flowcharts}} are diagrams that represent processes in a graphical form. While predominantly used in {{w|computer programming}} to visualize the structure of source code, flowcharts can in theory be used to depict any real or virtual procedure. In this comic, this idea is subverted by employing a flowchart to explain how flowcharts work. Flowcharts are a recurring theme on xkcd, and a list of flowchart comics can be found [[:Category:Flowcharts|here]].

This seems like a faulty basis for explaining anything, but the basic functionality of flowcharts is quite intuitive, and the attempted self-description is almost unnecessary. In fact, the comic does not actually explain how to use the flowchart: it just uses an example of a very simple flowchart to demonstrate to the reader that they can easily work out how to follow it. If the reader attempts to "game" the system by either giving contradictory answers, or refusing to acknowledge that they can see the "Yes" and "No" labels, the flowchart gets confused or becomes abusive. Just like a real computer.

If you confirm or demonstrate that you can follow the flowchart, it inevitably leads to the "Let's go drink" box, which gives rise to the assumption that the whole chart was only a pretence for drinking.

{{w|FreeBSD}} is a {{w|unixoid}} operating system for computers which is generally considered to require advanced skills. The question whether {{w|Linux}} or (Free)BSD is the preferable operating system is a question of almost religious belief to some. The comic takes a shot against FreeBSD by implying that one would only decide to install it when under the influence of alcohol. This may also be a reference to [[349: Success]].

The title text mentions {{w|Microsoft Bob}}, a software package published in 1995 by {{w|Microsoft}}. The product was targeted towards beginners, and Microsoft decided to use a cartoon-style interface instead of a more 'professional' environment. It was a commercial failure, and still serves as an inside joke among IT professionals.

[[Randall]] has made use of [[:Category:Flowcharts|flowcharts]] before and later he released another comic name [[1195: Flowchart]].

==Transcript==
:[A flow chart is shown beneath a caption. There are 14 boxes five diamond shaped and the rest rectangular. From all the diamond boxes there are one arrow entering and two arrows leaving (with yes/no labels on them). One of the other boxes is the start with only one arrow leaving, and three of these boxes are endings with only one arrow entering. Three has two arrows entering and one leaving. And two have one in and one out. Caption:]
:A guide to
:<big>understanding flow charts</big>
:presented in flow chart form.

:Box 0: Start
::[Arrow to Box 1.]
:Box 1: Do you understand flow charts?
::[Arrow to Box 2.] Yes
::[Arrow to Box 4.] No
:Box 2: Good
::[Arrow to Box 3.] Yes
:Box 3: Let's go drink.
::[Arrow to Final Box.] 6 Drinks
:Box 4: Okay. You see the line labeled "Yes"?
::[Arrow to Box 6.] Yes
::[Arrow to Box 5.] No
:Box 5: But you see the ones labeled "No".
::[Arrow to End-Box 1.] Yes
::[Arrow to End-Box 2a.] No
:End-Box 1: Wait, what?
::[No Arrows.]
:End-Box 2a: Listen.
::[Arrow to End-Box 2b.]
:End-Box 2b: I hate you.
::[No Arrows.]
:Box 6: ...and you can see the ones labeled "No"?
::[Arrow to Box 3.] Yes
::[Arrow to Box 7.] No
:Box 7: But you just followed them twice!
::[Arrow to Box 8a.] Yes
::[Arrow to Box 8a.] No
:Box 8a: (That wasn't a question.)
::[Arrow to Box 8b.]
:Box 8b: Screw it.
::[Arrow to Box 3.]
:Final Box: Hey I should try installing FreeBSD!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics sharing name|Flowcharts01]]
[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:BSD]]

1723: Meteorite Identification

2016-08-22T16:35:24Z

108.162.215.119: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 1723
| date = August 22, 2016
| title = Meteorite Identification
| image = meteorite_identification.png
| titletext = Click for an actual flowchart for identifying a meteorite. My favorite part is how 'Did someone see it fall? -> Yes' points to 'NOT A METEORITE.' This is not a mistake.
}}

'''Note:''' Clicking on the image on xkcd (click the date above the comic to go to the comic on xkcd) takes you to the ''[http://meteorites.wustl.edu/check-list.htm Meteorite or meteorwrong? Self-Test Check list]'' flow chart at the [http://eps.wustl.edu/ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences] at {{w|Washington University in St. Louis}}.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs brush up and spell checking etc. Are there else more to it?}}

{{w|Meteorite|Meteorites}} form when a {{w|meteoroid}} survives entrance through the Earth's atmosphere as a {{w|Meteoroid#Meteors|meteor}}. Thus, they are very rare rocks that come from space, and can stem from broken {{w|asteroids}}, the {{w|Moon}}, and sometimes (very rarely) even from {{w|Mars}}.

The {{w|flowchart}}, though facetious, would actually work the vast majority of the time a person picks up a rock and believes it to be a meteorite, since, given any single rock one finds on the surface of the earth, it is almost definitely not a meteorite.

Flowcharts are often used ([[:Category:Flowcharts|in xkcd]]) to give the inexperienced a step-by-step process to follow (see a guide to flowcharts here: [[518: Flow Charts]]). Meteorite identification, however, is very difficult, so the brevity of this flowchart in a way pokes fun at the need for a flowchart to identify meteorites, since laypeople are not experienced enough to confirm that a rock is indeed a meteorite. A similar short flowchart as this has been used recently in [[1691: Optimization]], and another only two box chart was used in [[1195: Flowchart]].

In the title text [[Randall]] mentions that the comic image is a link to the more detailed ''[http://meteorites.wustl.edu/check-list.htm Meteorite or meteorwrong? Self-Test Check list]'' flowchart at the [http://eps.wustl.edu/ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences] at {{w|Washington University in St. Louis}}. (Note that, likely due to this comic pointing to it, that server may be overloaded and the page may not come up for you right away. Since it has no ads, here is a [http://imgur.com/a/RNYQ7 mirror] you can use if it won't load.)

The authors of those resources notes that they have received many rock samples and photos (or even personal visits) from people claiming to have discovered meteorites and thus they would likely benefit from just providing people the shortcut flowchart from Randall, as a way of saying, "leave meteorite identification to the professionals."

Randall also mentions in the title text that his favorite part of this real flowchart, which is the part where if anyone saw the "meteor" fall then it is 'NOT A METEORITE.' What he most likes about it it, that this is not a mistake.

First of all the chance of actually being near a falling meteorite is exceedingly small. From the flowchart is a link to a [http://meteorites.wustl.edu/realities.htm 64 point long checklist], which basically all ends in "..., then it's not a meteorite." In point 3 is noted the following:
:Since 1900, the numbers of recognized meteorite "falls" is about 690 for the whole Earth. That's 6.3 per year. Only 98 of those occurred in the US. That's less than 1 per year. Even when a meteorite is observed to fall, experienced meteorite hunters may find only a few stones when hunting dawn to dusk for a week.

Second, if you did see a meteor, then if you find a rock it is not the meteorite formed by that meteor. Because, except for meteors large enough to form a big crater then the speed of the meteor will be reduced to below glowing point long before it reached the ground, and then it will stop glowing. At this point it is very small and too high up for a human to see it when it's not glowing (also in daylight) and thus there are no chance of following it with the naked eyes. Once it reaches this point it will fall with terminal velocity to the ground, and not make any deep mark when it lands. If close by it may be possible to hear a swish and a thunk. This is what happened with the 690 events mentioned above. All this is described on [http://www.meteoritemarket.com/metid2.htm How to Identify a Meteorite] from [http://www.meteoritemarket.com/ The Meteorite Market] which is linked in point 48 in the table from Washington University.

What Randall finds so funny about this part of the flowchart is that there are three arrows leading to the question "Did someone see it fall?", but from there only a "Yes" option is possible, and then this gives the result "Not a meteorite." This indicates that if you have found a rock that has no dark crust or [http://meteorites.wustl.edu/id/regmaglypts.htm regmaglypts] (the options that by saying no takes the user to the question about seeing it fall), then it is not a meteorite, and then the only reason people might still believe it to be a meteorite must be because someone saw it fall. Since seeing it fall rules out that it could be a meteorite there only need to be this single option left.

If the rock actually has those thumbprint like impressions on the surface (that scientists call {{w|Glossary_of_meteoritics#Regmaglypts|regmaglypts}}) then the creator of the flowchart actually asks to see the rock (photo or sample). The other features that are interesting is if it has a dark thin crust (from the melting during entry), but only if it also has either regmaglypts or if it has a lighter color inside than the outer crust.

See also [[1405: Meteor]] about how people mistake the words meteorite with meteor. The many misspellings of meteorite is mentioned in point 63 in the table.

==Transcript==
:[A caption is above a flowchart with only two boxes. The first box is a diamond shaped box with an arrow down to the next rectangular box below. Each box has a text.]
:How to identify a possible meteorite:
:Start
:No, it's not a meteorite.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Astronmy]]

1723: Meteorite Identification

2016-08-22T16:34:26Z

108.162.215.119: copyedit

{{comic
| number = 1723
| date = August 22, 2016
| title = Meteorite Identification
| image = meteorite_identification.png
| titletext = Click for an actual flowchart for identifying a meteorite. My favorite part is how 'Did someone see it fall? -> Yes' points to 'NOT A METEORITE.' This is not a mistake.
}}

'''Note:''' Clicking on the image on xkcd (click the date above the comic to go to the comic on xkcd) takes you to the ''[http://meteorites.wustl.edu/check-list.htm Meteorite or meteorwrong? Self-Test Check list]'' flow chart at the [http://eps.wustl.edu/ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences] at {{w|Washington University in St. Louis}}.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs brush up and spell checking etc. Are there else more to it?}}

{{w|Meteorite|Meteorites}} form when a {{w|meteoroid}} survives entrance through the Earth's atmosphere as a {{w|Meteoroid#Meteors|meteor}}. Thus, they are very rare rocks that come from space, and can stem from broken {{w|asteroids}}, the {{w|Moon}}, and sometimes (very rarely) even from {{w|Mars}}.

The {{w|flowchart}}, though facetious, would actually work the vast majority of the time a person picks up a rock and believes it to be a meteorite, since, given any single rock one finds on the surface of the earth, it is almost definitely not a meteorite.

Flowcharts are often used ([[:Category:Flowcharts|in xkcd]]) to give the inexperienced a step-by-step process to follow (see a guide to flowcharts here: [[518: Flow Charts]]). Meteorite identification, however, is very difficult, so the brevity of this flowchart in a way pokes fun at the need for a flowchart to identify meteorites, since laypeople are not experienced enough to confirm that a rock is indeed a meteorite. A similar short flowchart as this has been used recently in [[1691: Optimization]], and another only two box chart was used in [[1195: Flowchart]].

In the title text [[Randall]] mentions that the comic image is a link to the more detailed ''[http://meteorites.wustl.edu/check-list.htm Meteorite or meteorwrong? Self-Test Check list]'' flowchart at the [http://eps.wustl.edu/ Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences] at {{w|Washington University in St. Louis}}. (Note that, likely due to this comic pointing to it, that server may be overloaded and the page may not come up for you right away. Since it has no ads, here is a [http://imgur.com/a/RNYQ7 mirror] you can use if it won't load.)

The authors of those resources notes that they have received many rock samples and photos (or even personal visits) from people claiming to have discovered meteorites and thus they would likely benefit from just providing people the shortcut flowchart from Randall, as a way of saying, "leave meteorite identification to the professionals."

Randall also mentions in the title text that his favorite part of this real flowchart, which is the part where if anyone saw the "meteor" fall then it is 'NOT A METEORITE.' What he most likes about it it, that this is not a mistake.

First of all the chance of actually being near a falling meteorite is exceedingly small. From the flowchart is a link to a [http://meteorites.wustl.edu/realities.htm 64 point long checklist], which basically all ends in "..., then it's not a meteorite." In point 3 is noted the following:
:Since 1900, the numbers of recognized meteorite "falls" is about 690 for the whole Earth. That's 6.3 per year. Only 98 of those occurred in the US. That's less than 1 per year. Even when a meteorite is observed to fall, experienced meteorite hunters may find only a few stones when hunting dawn to dusk for a week.

Second, if you did see a meteor, then if you find a rock it is not the meteorite formed by that meteor. Because, except for meteors large enough to form a big crater then the speed of the meteor will be reduced to below glowing point long before it reached the ground, and then it will stop glowing. At this point it is very small and too high up for a human to see it when it's not glowing (also in daylight) and thus there are no chance of following it with the naked eyes. Once it reaches this point it will fall with terminal velocity to the ground, and not make any deep mark when it lands. If close by it may be possible to hear a swish and a thunk. This is what happened with the 690 events mentioned above. All this is described on [http://www.meteoritemarket.com/metid2.htm How to Identify a Meteorite] from [http://www.meteoritemarket.com/ The Meteorite Market] which is linked in point 48 in the table from Washington University.

What Randall finds so funny about this part of the flowchart is that there are three arrows leading to the question "Did someone see it fall?", but from there only a "Yes" option is possible, and then this gives the result "Not a meteorite." This indicates that if you have found a rock, that has no dark crust or [http://meteorites.wustl.edu/id/regmaglypts.htm regmaglypts] (the options that by saying no takes the user to the question about seeing it fall), then it is not a meteorite, and then the only reason people might still believe it to be a meteorite must be because someone saw it fall. Since seeing it fall rules out that it could be a meteorite there only need to be this single option left.

If the rock actually has those thumbprint like impressions on the surface (that scientists call {{w|Glossary_of_meteoritics#Regmaglypts|regmaglypts}}) then the creator of the flowchart actually asks to see the rock (photo or sample). The other features that are interesting is if it has a dark thin crust (from the melting during entry), but only if it also has either regmaglypts or if it has a lighter color inside than the outer crust.

See also [[1405: Meteor]] about how people mistake the words meteorite with meteor. The many misspellings of meteorite is mentioned in point 63 in the table.

==Transcript==
:[A caption is above a flowchart with only two boxes. The first box is a diamond shaped box with an arrow down to the next rectangular box below. Each box has a text.]
:How to identify a possible meteorite:
:Start
:No, it's not a meteorite.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Flowcharts]]
[[Category:Astronmy]]

1719: Superzoom

2016-08-12T16:12:38Z

108.162.215.119: copyedit

{{comic
| number = 1719
| date = August 12, 2016
| title = Superzoom
| image = superzoom.png
| titletext = *click* Let him know he's got a stain on his shirt, though.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is showing off his new Super zoom camera to [[White Hat]]. These are cameras with large zoom lenses, often up to 25x or higher magnification. He is very excited and takes a ridiculous number of photos. He starts by exclaiming how they can take detailed photos of the moon, and (on better models) relatively large photos of Jupiter. He then shows it use for bird watching, which is a popular use for these cameras. He also is able to photograph an airplane, and make out the airline, both possible on these cameras, though it is unlikely he would be able to make out the registration number.

Finally, White Hat decides to buy a superzoom camera like Cueball's, and [[Cueball]] tells him a shop in town that sells them. This is where it takes a turn for the impossible, as [[Cueball]] points the camera in the direction of this store, and is able to make out the worker inside, and (in the title text) the stain on his shirt. Even with the ability of these cameras, it would be impossible to make out something that detailed from far away. Of course, it's not clear how far from Union Road the characters are actually standing!

It could also be implied by him knowing the cashier in the store, as well as him mentioning the price, that he is in fact advertising for this store, and his overenthusiasm is an attempt to convince White Hat to buy a camera. This tactic is reminiscent of many commercials and advertisements on television, but is not common in real life.

==Transcript==
[White Hat and Cueball are walking. Cueball is playing with a camera]

Cueball: I love these superzoom cameras. For a few hundred dollars you can take pictures of moon craters and Jupiter's clouds.

Cueball: And birds! See that speck up there?

[Camera clicking]

Cueball: Peregrine falcon!

[*click*]

Cueball: It's banded, too. Want the number?

Cueball: And see that plane?

[*click*]

Cueball: 787 Dreamliner

[*click*]

Cueball: Japan Airlines.

[*click*]

Cueball: Registration is-

White Hat: OK, I'm sold- I want one.

[*click*]

Cueball: They're in stock at the place on Union Road.

[*click*]

Cueball: Hey, Kevin's working today! He's great.

{{comic discussion}}

809: Los Alamos

2015-06-03T09:50:25Z

108.162.215.119:

{{comic
| number = 809
| date = October 22, 2010
| title = Los Alamos
| image = los_alamos.png
| titletext = The test didn't (spoiler alert) destroy the world, but the fact that they were even doing those calculations makes theirs the coolest jobs ever.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the {{w|Manhattan Project}} at {{w|Los Alamos, New Mexico}}, where in 1945 their development of the first nuclear weapon had progressed to the point that they were going explode "The Gadget" at {{w|Trinity Site}}. There was genuine concern that some unexpected result was possible, including the scenario about the atmosphere igniting. The scientists were almost certain that it would either work as expected, or just be a dud, but were unable to rule out several other scenarios. The test proceeded, and it worked as expected.

The joke part at the end is a reference to a common {{w|mnemonic}} device for basic {{w|trigonometric}} functions, namely identifying the relationships of ''sine'', ''cosine'', and ''tangent'' with respect to the lengths of a right triangle's edges: '''s'''ine = '''o'''pposite over '''h'''ypotenuse, '''c'''osine = '''a'''djacent over '''h'''ypotenuse, and '''t'''angent = '''o'''pposite over '''a'''djacent (in other words, SOH CAH TOA.) "Steve" becomes concerned by the seriousness of the situation, and wants to make sure that he has not made a mistake on stuff that should be ''very'' elementary to a scientist in his position. (To our knowledge, "Steve" is not a reference to any specific scientist in the real life Manhattan Project)

"Now I am become Death, destroyer of worlds." – {{w|Robert Oppenheimer}}, Lead scientist on bomb project, quoting Hindu scripture after the successful test. There are very few jobs where one can say that with seriousness, as pointed out in the title text.

Steve is referred to in comic [[1532]], where his miscalculations screw up the trajectory of the {{w|New Horizons}} space probe, sending it to Earth instead of Pluto.

==Transcript==
:[Three stick figures stand in front of a few graphs and scientific looking pictures. One of them has hair.]
:Los Alamos, 1945...
:Cueball: We have a decision. If we've done our math right, this test will unleash heaven's fire and make us as gods.

:Cueball: But it's possible we made a mistake, and the heat will ignite the atmosphere, destroying the planet in a cleansing conflagration.

:Steve: Wow. Um. Question: Just to double-check— although I'm 99% sure—

:Steve: Is it "SOH CAH TOA" or "COH SAH TOA"?
:Cueball: ''Oh, for the love of...'' can someone redo Steve's work?
:Hairy: I don't want to do the test anymore.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]

Talk:406: Venting

2015-05-13T22:39:50Z

108.162.215.119:

With the psychology of XKCD readers in mind, I thought I'd look around for real-life applications of this self-same snippet. To quote the meme: "I was not dissapoint!", although to wildly varying effectiveness and with grossly variable style.
From among ''many'', I present a meagre and random selection, thus: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/messageboards/F2322274?thread=5276607&skip=40] [http://www.venganza.org/2008/08/wtf-is-wrong-with-you-ppl/comment-page-11/] [http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090408064430AA6kC66]
:Ugh. None of those actually have sections containing the documentations that they are citing. I've been wanting to do one of those kinds of posts myself as I'm actually prone to typing out several paragraphs and including citations when I get dragged into an Internet argument. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.117|108.162.238.117]] 07:14, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

(...and remember to check out... what is there currently worth watching right now..? Well, check it out, whatever it is.) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.31.27|178.98.31.27]] 12:43, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

I'm not saying that the explanation is wrong (well, part of it [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almost_surely almost definitely] is), but I'm not sure that the use of Summer Glau's name is to get the last word. The kind of person that you would use this type of critical analysis on would be unlikely to be a nerd (re: grammar/syntax/spelling/capitalization errors and lack of understanding of the subject involved), but an Internet troll or general idiot. So what would be the point of using that name? My initial impression was that it was giving the appearance of hidden depths to a celebrity (who may or may not be seen as capable of it), and would thus illicit an amusing reaction from the reader. Imagine if you saw a word-by-word rebuttal attributed to Paris Hilton or Justin Beiber. An alternate interpretation is that it would make a favored celebrity look even better, much like the "memetic badass" status that Chuck Norris[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Norris#Internet_meme] has.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.117|Barack Obama]] 7:14, 19 January 2014 (UTC) P.S. Don't forget to vote!

I edited the almost surely wrong part, but this explanation still needs some work by a native English-speaker. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.97.215|141.101.97.215]] 07:05, 23 April 2014 (UTC)

I'm not sure if this is so much about people losing the chance to sleep with Summer Glau. Could it be more about the character of River in Firefly, who would presumably be the kind of person to write a blog comment like this? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.87|199.27.128.87]] 03:53, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:Yeah, that's what I got from it, too. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.119|108.162.215.119]] 22:39, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:899: Number Line

2015-01-01T01:59:11Z

108.162.215.119: The what?

Where does sqrt(-1) go? [[Special:Contributions/67.78.183.206|67.78.183.206]] 19:07, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

:It goes up (literally above 0). A number line can be extended to a complex plane with sqrt(-1) as the unit of measurement in the vertical direction. Or at least, that's where it actually goes. I don't know where Randall would put it. [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 01:04, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

I'm sorry...are you indicating the ACTUAL location for an IMAGINARY number? {{unsigned|‎74.213.186.41}}

Yes, that's exactly where it is (up to switching clockwise for counterclockwise). There is nothing strange about providing a location for imaginary or complex numbers, the location described is logical, and the adjective 'imaginary' is an artifact of nomenclature and nothing more.[[Special:Contributions/173.48.140.216|173.48.140.216]] 20:40, 30 March 2013 (UTC)

In fact, complex numbers are nearly more real than real ones! Complex analysis really opened my eyes to how much "stepping out" can help in solving problems. The complex notion of analyticity yields fruit in real analysis. Extensions to hypercomplex numbers are weirder, however. --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 20:27, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

Analyticity must be an imaginary word, and therefore would be found one unit directly above any dictionary. [[Special:Contributions/50.203.89.169|50.203.89.169]] 14:19, 9 October 2013 (UTC)
:Oh my god, I can't believe how hard I laughed at that. Would an imaginary friend actually be above you then? I'm going to use that sometime. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.61|108.162.219.61]] 21:25, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

Is unexplored a map reference? [[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 17:53, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

Note that the digits 5 and 6 do not show up on any of the numbers in the comic, reinforcing the fact that the integers 5 and 6 are unexplored. [[User:Blitzer|Blitzer]] ([[User talk:Blitzer|talk]]) 02:34, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
:So the 5th digit of pi can not be known either? [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 03:56, 12 July 2014 (UTC)
:: The ''wha''th digit of pi? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.119|108.162.215.119]] 01:59, 1 January 2015 (UTC)
Thank God (or someone else, I'm not choosy) that the SCP link here still works. The rest of the site's gone private. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.223}}

It appears that Wikipedia had noticed the implications of the title text here. The message now says that it might never be complete, but can be expanded with reliably sourced articles. I'm not 100% sure it's due to Randall's involvement, but I like to think so. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.17|141.101.104.17]] 22:01, 9 December 2014 (UTC)

527: Keynote

2014-11-22T23:29:53Z

108.162.215.119: /* Explanation */ Steve Jobs will always be the founder of the Apple company.

{{comic
| number = 527
| date = January 7, 2009
| title = Keynote
| image = keynote.png
| titletext = He should be better soon -- now that the Apple Store is getting rid of DRM, Cory Doctorow will get rid of his Steve Jobs voodoo doll.
}}

==Explanation==
According to this comic, {{w|Steve Jobs}}, the founder of the Apple company, lost a lot of weight due to a hormonal problem. Weight loss is usually a good thing, though such is due to its context being a deliberate action in order to remove obesity, which does not seem to be the case here. [[Black Hat]] then mentions that Apple was probably excited to announce its thinnest and lightest CEO in the industry. This comment is a parody of Apple's tendency to release thinner and lighter iterations of its products. Steve Jobs' weight loss would certainly make him a thinner and lighter CEO.

The title text refers to {{w|Cory Doctorow}}, a blogger, journalist and science-fiction author. Doctorow is opposed to the technology called {{w|Digital rights management}} (DRM for short). DRM is designed to protect copyright owner, but often has negative consequenses for consumers. Randall (jokingly) proposes that Steve Jobs is only sick because Doctorow was torturing him with {{w|Voodoo doll}}s for Apple's use of DRM.

Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat talking to Cueball sitting at computer.]
:Cueball: Huh - Steve Jobs isn't doing a keynote this year, citing massive weight loss due to some hormonal problem.
:Black Hat: Too bad. I bet Apple was excited about unveiling the thinnest and lightest CEO in the industry.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Steve Jobs]]
[[Category:Sarcasm]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]