explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1176: Those Not Present

2016-10-15T22:21:25Z

108.162.215.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1176
| date = February 20, 2013
| title = Those Not Present
| image = those not present.png
| titletext = 'Yeah, that squid's a total asshole.' [scoot scoot]
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] (likely representing [[Randall]]), has decided to leave conversations deemed toxic, by scooting a little bit away any time somebody badmouths someone not present. In each panel, he scoots progressively further away until he reaches an area with children and [[Beret Guy]], discussing [https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Giant_squid giant squids]. He decides to join them, as this conversation is far more interesting to him than one criticizing people behind their backs.

The title text jokes that the children and Beret Guy, are, in fact, dissing the giant squid rather than discussing how cool it is. As the squid is not present {{Citation Needed}} , Cueball scoots back.

==Trivia==
In the first panel originally the word "friends" was misspelled as "frends".

==Transcript==
:Every time someone says something negative about a person who's not in the room, I scoot my chair back a few inches.
:[Cueball, Ponytail and two other people are sitting at a table drinking.]
:Person: ''He's'' not so bad, but his ''friends''...
:[Cueball scoots away from table.]
:''Scoot scoot''

:Ponytail: His band is never gonna take off if...
:[Cueball scoots further away.]
:''Scoot scoot''

:[Megan, Beret Guy, and Harry come into view.]
:Off-screen: Yeah, his sister is even ''weirder''.
:Off-screen: Did you see she had...
:''Scoot scoot''
:Beret Guy: ...and there's a video, but it's blurry...

:[Cueball turns around and leans his arm on his chair.]
:Cueball: What're you talking about?
:Hairy: Giant squid!
:Cueball: Mind if I join you?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

1176: Those Not Present

2016-10-15T22:20:43Z

108.162.215.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1176
| date = February 20, 2013
| title = Those Not Present
| image = those not present.png
| titletext = 'Yeah, that squid's a total asshole.' [scoot scoot]
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] (likely representing [[Randall]]), has decided to leave conversations deemed toxic, by scooting a little bit away any time somebody badmouths someone not present. In each panel, he scoots progressively further away until he reaches an area with children and [[Beret Guy]], discussing [https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Giant_squid giant squids]. He decides to join them, as this conversation is far more interesting to him than one criticizing people behind their backs.

The title text jokes that the children and Beret Guy, are, in fact, dissing the giant squid rather than discussing how cool it is. As the squid is not present{{Citation Needed}}, Cueball scoots back.

==Trivia==
In the first panel originally the word "friends" was misspelled as "frends".

==Transcript==
:Every time someone says something negative about a person who's not in the room, I scoot my chair back a few inches.
:[Cueball, Ponytail and two other people are sitting at a table drinking.]
:Person: ''He's'' not so bad, but his ''friends''...
:[Cueball scoots away from table.]
:''Scoot scoot''

:Ponytail: His band is never gonna take off if...
:[Cueball scoots further away.]
:''Scoot scoot''

:[Megan, Beret Guy, and Harry come into view.]
:Off-screen: Yeah, his sister is even ''weirder''.
:Off-screen: Did you see she had...
:''Scoot scoot''
:Beret Guy: ...and there's a video, but it's blurry...

:[Cueball turns around and leans his arm on his chair.]
:Cueball: What're you talking about?
:Hairy: Giant squid!
:Cueball: Mind if I join you?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

1167: Star Trek into Darkness

2016-10-13T19:55:15Z

108.162.215.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1167
| date = January 30, 2013
| title = Star Trek into Darkness
| image = star_trek_into_darkness.png
| titletext = Of course, factions immediately sprang up in favor of '~*~sTaR tReK iNtO dArKnEsS~*~', 'xX_StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNess_Xx', and 'Star Trek lnto Darkness' (that's a lowercase 'L').
}}

==Explanation==

The talk page of a Wikipedia article is used to discuss changes to the article. An {{w|Wikipedia:Edit warring|edit war}} is a dispute about a specific edit to an article, manifesting as a series of edits alternating between making and reverting the change, and usually accompanied by a more-or-less heated debate on the talk page.

Here, [[Randall]] is referring to a dispute on the Wikipedia article about ''{{w|Star Trek Into Darkness|Star Trek lnto Darkness}}'' (an upcoming {{w|Star Trek}} film at the time of the comic's posting). On the day before the comic was published, the article name had a lowercase "into", and the talk page looked [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Star_Trek_Into_Darkness&oldid=535542349 like this] (rounded off in a friendly way, with the posting of {{w|User:Frungi/Star Trek Into Darkness capitalization|a summary of the arguments}}, and an exchange of virtual hugs).

[[Cueball]] changes the title so that every other letter is capitalized, and adds framing tildes and asterisks (a common, childish way of emphasizing titles online). This will probably not go over well.

[[Megan|Megan's]] line of "They should have sent a poet." is a quote from the film ''{{w|Contact (film)|Contact}}''. The quote is also featured in [[482: Height]]. In the movie, the line was meant to convey that only a poet could adequately capture the beauty seen; here, it indicates that prose is insufficient to capture the ironic beauty of the edit war.

The title text indicates Randall's belief that such arguments are perpetual and will always arise. He suggests that the edit to the Wikipedia page will result in a dispute over variants of Cueballs "compromise". Because the lowercase "L" and the capital "I" appear similar in many fonts, he also puts forth the potential argument that the character in the movie's title is a lowercase "L".

The old "favorite edit war" might be the one referenced in the title text of [[878: Model Rail]] or the one resulting from the addition of the [[739: Malamanteau]] article to Wikipedia

==Transcript==
:[Cueball staring at computer screen.]
:Cueball: Oh, wow. Look at Wikipedia's Talk page for Star Trek into Darkness. I have a new favorite edit war.
:Megan (off-panel): Oh?

:Cueball: Forty ''thousand'' words of debate over whether to capitalize "into" in the movie's title. Still no consensus.
:Megan: That's ''magnificent''.
:Cueball: It's breathtaking.
:Megan: They should have sent a poet.

:Cueball: Well, I'm making an executive decision. I hope both sides accept this as a fair compromise.

:[A Wikipedia page titled "~*~ StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNeSs ~*~"]

==Trivia==
After the publication of the comic, the debate continued with full force, complete with {{w|Talk:Star Trek Into Darkness/Archive 5#xkcd Mention|a section of xkcd-inspired suggestions}}. The article itself was soon protected, so that only administrators could edit it. A day later, the title was changed to one including a capital "Into" by the administrator {{w|User:Mackensen|Mackensen}}. (The debate continued on {{w|User talk:Mackensen/Archive20#Star Trek into Darkness move|his talk page}}.) Currently https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/~*~_StAr_TrEk_InTo_DaRkNeSs_~*~ is a valid link and it redirects to the correct page, but this redirect was {{w|Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2015 January 25#~*~ StAr TrEk InTo DaRkNeSs ~*~|nominated for deletion}} and kept in 2015.

{{w|The Independent}} published an article about the "[http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/trekkies-take-on-wikis-in-a-grammatical-tizzy-over-star-trek-into-darkness-8475705.html grammatical tizzy]", and the affair as a whole was added to Wikipedia's humorous list of the {{w|WP:Lamest edit wars|lamest edit wars}}.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Star Trek]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]
[[Category:Compromise]]

Talk:1139: Rubber and Glue

2016-10-13T14:40:53Z

108.162.215.215:

I am not a native speaker, but after some research, I found that rubber/glue refers to the rhyme "I am rubber, you are glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you." If that's true, the current explanation that the topos is meant "to imply that insults of another person are an indication of their own insecurity and weakness" is just plain wrong. [[User:BKA|BKA]] ([[User talk:BKA|talk]]) 15:51, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
*It's really not wrong, it's just a clarification. [[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 19:43, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
:"Which bounces off me and sticks to you" is not meant in the literal sense. The sticks to you portion typically means that the recipient of the insult is implying that the sender is calling out other people by names that apply to themselves. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 00:22, 27 November 2012 (UTC)
::It's basically "I know you are, but what am I?" with different words. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.53|173.245.54.53]] 05:38, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

The in-joke here is presumably that CRC stands (or stood?) for the Chemical Rubber Company, and the handbook - found in many a physics and chemistry lab - is often referred to as the "Rubber Bible".
[[Special:Contributions/131.251.254.81|131.251.254.81]] 16:07, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

Of note is probably that the book young black hat is reading is known as the "Rubber Bible". From wikipedia: The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics is in its 93rd edition. It is sometimes nicknamed the 'Rubber Bible' or the 'Rubber Book', as CRC originally stood for "Chemical Rubber Company". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRC_Handbook_of_Chemistry_and_Physics

As an aside, this is the first time Black Hat has ever been referred to by a name of any kind. Should we consider calling him "Hatman" now? --[[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 19:43, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
:The transcript calls him Black Hat. Hatboy is only what the bullies were calling him in an effort to make fun of him. [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 20:22, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
:: Is it just me or does this appear to be a flashback to Black Hat's youth? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 23:03, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
:::The size of their heads would make it appear to be so. We could probably approximate his age in the comic from the proportional size of his head to the rest of his body. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 03:48, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

::::And also the hat is way too big for him! :) --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 16:23, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

There ought to be a name for the mind games that children use to abuse each other. The "rubber /glue" phrase, for instance, makes no sense ate all, but among children acts as a real restriction on discourse, a kind of bard curse that ties up the recipient in confusion. I was delighted to see the phrase turned around like this. Yay black hat![[Special:Contributions/64.254.188.208|64.254.188.208]] 14:22, 27 November 2012 (UTC) Noni Mausa, (away from home and don't have my log-in, sorry)

Just as an entertaining comment, Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory uses a form of this insult as such: "I'm polymerized tree sap and you're an inorganic adhesive, so whatever verbal projectile you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns on its original trajectory and adheres to you." --[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 14:47, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

I can't help but wonder whether this is a reference to cuil theory. His phrasing is very similar to some of the higher-cuil paragraphs in the original explanation, with the mention of being unable to scream and whatnot. --nobody important

The translator of the spanish version of the Monkey Island video game did not know this expression and translated it as 'Yo soy cola, tú pegamento', which doesn't have any comprehensible meaning. It's considered a geek cult mistranslation, kind of a spanish version of what "All your base are belong to us" is in English. {{unsigned|81.34.231.6}}

:[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodBadTranslation Link] for those of you that need more information, open up "Adventure Game". [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 18:09, 28 November 2012 (UTC)

The words black hat uses to terrorize the bullies reminded me of Harlan Ellison's famous horror sci-fi short story "I have no mouth and I must scream":
:I will describe myself as I see myself: I am a great soft jelly thing. Smoothly rounded, with no mouth, with pulsing white holes filled by fog where my eyes used to be. Rubbery appendages that were once my arms; bulks rounding down into legless humps of soft slippery matter. I leave a moist trail when I move. Blotches of diseased, evil gray come and go on my surface, as though light is being beamed from within. Outwardly: dumbly, I shamble about, a thing that could never have been known as human, a thing whose shape is so alien a travesty that humanity becomes more obscene for the vague resemblance. Inwardly: alone. Here. [..snip..] I have no mouth. And I must scream. --unsigned
:Which is also a pretty awesome [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth,_and_I_Must_Scream_(video_game) adventure game]

"frighten the children bullying him, into calling for their mothers" Hmm. It seems to me that 'moooom!' is the kind of incoherent noise that one would make if your mouth were actually full of glue. Seriously, try it. Fill your mouth with - say - banana - then hold your lips together and try to say something. Has Baby Blackhat found a way to literally fill his tormentor's mouth with glue? Maybe? {{unsigned ip|108.162.222.35}}
: No. Calling for parent makes considerably more sense. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 05:30, 12 April 2016 (UTC)

I see it as proof there is a god.
After insulting the scientists on uk.sci.weather for not realising that their branch and all such branches of science are totally subjective in their nature (think Einstein) then calling me out and insisting my work is subjective and for teaching each other to ignore me as a fantasist; I ended up last night regretting calling them a bunch of dildoes just because they are all, without exception -and completely inexcusably, dildoes, I ended up making a complete hash of my forecasts. An unforgivably stupid error showing my lack of objectivity and ability to check my stuff.

This morning,still feeling foolish, I was thinking how the prophet Daniel would have handled things in the days before he became Chief Magic Practitioner for all of the Babylonian and then Persian Empires:
Daniel 4:25 and
Daniel 2:14
It's the "wisdom and tact" bit I need to work on.

Also my reading skills concerning interpretation could use some glasses; I thought the name of the book Blackhat was reading was the "Orc handbook of chemistry and physics". Doh! (But it works like that though, too.)[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 07:37, 14 January 2015 (UTC)
:What the cherry flavoured hell are you talking about? -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 05:30, 12 April 2016 (UTC)

Can we rename Black Hat "Hatboy"? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.215|108.162.215.215]] 14:40, 13 October 2016 (UTC)

1117: My Sky

2016-10-11T17:17:24Z

108.162.215.215: Removed irrelevant information

{{comic
| number = 1117
| date = October 5, 2012
| title = My Sky
| image = my_sky.png
| titletext = According to my mom, my first word was (looking up at the sky) 'Wow!'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic seems to be a follow up to [[1115: Sky]].

Last panel refers to {{w|cloud computing}} and specifically {{w|cloud storage}}, and looks like a follow up to [[1032: Networking]]. The obvious joke is that, instead of cloud-''like'' storage, [[Beret Guy]]'s business is storage ''of'' clouds.

The title text is a statement from [[Randall]], that his first words came while looking up at the sky. Randall has a good grasp on what in this universe is awe-inspiring.

There are some connections with both [[908: The Cloud]] and the title text of [[1444: Cloud]].

==Transcript==
:[The panel is upside-down. Beret Guy is holding onto the "ceiling", there is an upside-down cloud at the bottom of the panel.]
:Beret guy [to the solitary cumulus cloud.]: Oh—Hello down there! Welcome to My Sky!

:[The panel is now oriented in the conventional sense with the ground at the bottom. Beret Guy is standing on his feet too, and the sky now shows a second cloud.]
:Beret guy: It's pretty good. I like it. It's not the same color as ''anything''.

:[The sky is now blanketed by alto-cirrus clouds.]
:Beret guy: "Wow! There are a ''lot'' of you! Good thing it's so big.

:[The scene now depicts a party, where Beret Guy is talking to Ponytail.]
:Ponytail: "And what do ''you'' do?"
:Beret Guy: "I'm in the cloud storage business."

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]

Rob

2016-10-11T15:49:16Z

108.162.215.215: /* Relationships */

{{Infobox character
| image = Rob.png
| caption = A close-up of Rob from [[782: Desecration]]
| first_appearance = [[276: Fixed Width]]
}}
'''Rob''' is a stick figure in xkcd. Rob has no identifying features and appears as a generic [[stick figure]], visually indistinguishable from [[Cueball]]. He is one of the few of [[Randall]]'s characters to be given a name. Rob is specifically named in [[276: Fixed Width]], [[632: Suspicion]], [[647: Scary]], [[716: Time Machine]], [[723: Seismic Waves]], [[782: Desecration]], [[838: Incident]], [[1102: Fastest-Growing]] and [[1168: tar]]. In [[276: Fixed Width]] his screen name appears as "rob", and in [[723: Seismic Waves]] he is posting on the internet as "robm163". In [[838: Incident]] his username appears as "robm".

==Relationships==
Rob had a relationship with a "woman" known as <emily> on IM. This ended tragically in [[276: Fixed Width]] when he told her the relationship was only for sex while he wasn't really paying attention to what he was writing; he just wanted their chat responses to line up nicely on the screen. Two years later, in 2009, he had a relationship of a few months with what ended up to be a spam bot. He discovered this when he asked the bot to pass a {{w|Turing test}}. This happened in [[632: Suspicion]].

In [[647: Scary]] we find that he has a nephew born after September 11, 2001, but by 2009 he was old enough to have discussions with Rob about it.

In [[1102: Fastest-Growing]] it seems that Rob is [[Black Hat|Black Hat's]] room mate. In fact, it's possible that within the xkcd continuity, every time we see Black Hat's roommate, it's Rob. But with no name mentioned it is not enough to list these comics as comics featuring Rob.

==See also==
*[[:Category:Comics featuring Rob]]
*[[:Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
*It was at some point suggested that Cueball and Rob should be merged. But nothing came of the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Merge_Cueball_.26_Rob discussion.]

{{navbox-characters}}

1050: Forgot Algebra

2016-10-10T12:57:13Z

108.162.215.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1050
| date = May 2, 2012
| title = Forgot Algebra
| image = forgot_algebra.png
| titletext = The only things you HAVE to know are how to make enough of a living to stay alive and how to get your taxes done. All the fun parts of life are optional.
}}
==Explanation==
[[Megan]], standing with [[Hairy]], is an ext student of [[Miss Lenhart]] and she taunts her old algebra teacher, because she hasn't used algebra since she left school. This is a reflection of a common gripe among students: that they have no need to learn math because they assume they'll never use it after they graduate. [[Randall|Randall's]] argument is that you have the option to use what you learned in school or not. Lots of people use math after they graduate, lots of people use their music lessons, and others don't use anything they learned in school at all. However, Randall doesn't understand why someone would be proud of their own ignorance, especially since people do brag about things like being able to cook and speak other languages, which are also technically non-essential.

However, Megan is also wrong in that she likely does use basic mathematical calculations in everyday life, even if they're not in orderly lists of parameters ending with "solve for x." For example, to turn one's apartment into a ball pit like in [[150: Grownups]], one must calculate or at least estimate (another skill learned in math class) the floor space of the room, the desired depth for the balls to cover, the space occupied by one crate of balls, and the cost of such a crate. While the operations are basic arithmetic, the ability to recognize unknowns and sort them into a meaningful statement comes from algebra.

The title text states that technically you don't "need" to do anything but survive and {{w|Death & Taxes|pay your taxes}} (although, ironically, doing one's taxes can require quite a bit of algebra), and implies that math is one of the optional and fun parts of life.

This is one of the two comics where Miss Lenhart is both drawn and named, the first being [[499: Scantron]].

==Transcript==
:[Hairy is looking on as Megan takes her hands to her mouth and yells after Miss Lenhart who is walking away while looking back at her over her shoulder.]
:Megan: Hey, Miss Lenhart! I forgot everything about algebra the moment I graduated, and in 20 years no one has needed me to solve ''anything'' for x.
:Megan: I ''told you'' I'd never use it!
:Megan: In your ''face''!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:It's weird how proud people are of not learning math when the same arguments apply to learning to play music, cook, or speak a foreign language.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Math]]

968: Everything

2016-10-06T19:55:07Z

108.162.215.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 968
| date = October 24, 2011
| title = Everything
| image = everything.png
| titletext = I wanna hold your hand so I don't fall out of your gyrocopter.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is gathering a lot of different sorts of random things, including a {{w|parasol}}, a miniature {{w|Eiffel Tower}}, what appears to be a small round bomb with a short fuse and the bust of a {{w|mannequin}}. He adds these to an already immense pile of weird things including balloons and a cage with a bird.

While this happens Cueball narrates in short sentences. The first three are statements that at first seems similar to what you would find on a birthday or anniversary card from one person in a relationship to another, but in this case, all the statements ends up being negative, or at least neutral.
*Normal sentence: You are the light of my life.
*Cueballs sentence: You are '''not''' the light of my life.
*Normal sentence: Making you happy is my greatest dream.
*Cueballs sentence: Making you happy is'''n't''' my greatest dream.
*Normal sentence: Your smile is all I live for.
*Cueballs sentence: Your smile is '''not''' all I live for.

The negative continues in the fourth statement, but then it turns around and ends up kind of positive
*Negative fourth sentence: I've got my own stuff going on.
*Positive fifth sentence: But you're strange and fascinating and I've never met anyone like you.

It turns out to be [[Megan]] he is talking about who is shown applying a hammer to the front of a large and strange vehicle while standing one of it's huge wheels. She seems to have build this giant super tank/machine from anything Cueball supplies her with. With several huge pigged wheels a mounted gun, satellite dish, a crane and smoke coming out of an exhaust pipe at the top, implying it is already running it seems quite a disturbing tank she is creating. But Cueball is very fascinated by her strangeness.

Cueball's final statement is also positive: ''I want to give you everything'' (hence the title), which could have been on a card as it is. But the reason is unusual (and written at the bottom right at the very end as his final statement). The reason he wishes to give her '''everything''' is because what she does is so ''strange and fascinating'' so he does this ''Just to see what you would do with it'', referring to whatever it is [[Megan]] is building now (or later).

Some of the objects in the piles in the second panel can easily be determined, like the two balloons. But most others are more difficult to recognize. To the left there is what appears to be a cage with an animal inside, could be a bird. To the right there appears to be the hilt of a sword (maybe stuck in a stone, see [[1521: Sword in the Stone]]). Finally the tall thin thing sticking out of the top left of the right pile could be the stuffed giraffe from [[604: Qwertial Aphasia]]. There are other distinct things, like the tall "cylinder" and the three "cannonballs" in a pyramid pile to the left, and something with a peculiar shape between the "giraffe" and the sword hilt. But it seems impossible to determine what they are.

The title text similarly starts with the conventional Beatles love song "{{w|I Want to Hold Your Hand}}" but for an unconventional reason to not fall out of a gyrocopter. A {{w|gyrocopter}} is a flying machine that has a rotor like a {{w|helicopter}}, but the rotor is not powered by a motor. Rather, the motor of the gyrocopter drives a propeller that accelerates the machine forward, while the air rushing past the rotor drives the rotor like a helicopter during {{w|autorotation}}.

==Transcript==
:[Above Cueball drawing there are two boxes with black frames in which Cueball is narrating. Cueball is walking right while carrying a huge bag, full to the brim, over his shoulder and he is also dragging a small wagon behind him. On top of the wagon are six visible items: The bust of a mannequin with a foot to stand on which stands on the next object, a square white box , a miniature Eiffel Tower is partly hidden behind the first two objects and the next, a deck umbrella which is leaning on the next item, a box wrapped like a present and on top of this box is what appears to be a small round bomb with a short fuse.]
:Cueball (narrating): You are not the light of my life.
:Cueball (narrating): Making you happy isn't my greatest dream.

:[The next two panels only shows silhouettes and are both zoomed far out making Cueball small (but the same size in both panels). Above the drawing there are three more boxes with black frames in which Cueball is continuing his narrating. In the middle of this panel sits the wagon with the items still in place and as visible as they can be in silhouette. The lever that Cueball held on to has been lifted up so it rests near the present. Cueball stands to the right of the wagon and lifts the the bag up on top of a large pile of items taking up the rest of the right part of this panel. Only a few items in this pile is visible as they stick out of the top. There is a stick with a head to the left of the middle, then several three things protruding from the middle and finally to the right what may appear as the hilt of a sword (like stuck in a stone). To the left of the wagon is a smaller pile with many other objects, but here some of them can be recognized. To the far left a the foot of the pile is what appears to be a cage which may contain an animal, could be a bird. Above the cage to the right is a tall structure, like a pipe, with a wider section at the top. The central part of the pile looks like the tip of a pyramid, and two helium balloons are tied to strings at this tip, so they float above the pile. At the base of the pyramid tip there is a ledge on which lies three round objects in their own 1, 2 pyramid shape. Below this ledge the pile falls straight down to a low layer going from there to just where the wagon stands.]
:Cueball (narrating): Your smile is not all I live for.
:Cueball (narrating): I've got my own stuff going on.
:Cueball (narrating): But you're strange and fascinating and I've never met anyone like you.

:[Above the silhouettes drawing there is one more boxes with black frame and there is another box in the bottom right corner covering over the black part of the image in which Cueball finishes his narrating. Cueball stands to the left leaning back and looking up at Megan and the giant vehicle/tank she is assembling. Megan is standing on the left most of the three visible huge pigged wheels (almost two times higher than Cueball). She seems to be hammering something on to the top of the front of the tank. She obviously used the items Cueball delivers to build some sort of super tank with huge wheels, a mounted gun (above her head), satellite dish at the rear and a crane in the middle. It appears to be running as there is smoke coming out of the top exhaust pipe of the tank and there is also a smaller pipe with a rounded top next to this high exhaust.]
:Cueball (narrating): I want to give you everything
:Cueball (narrating): Just to see what you would ''do'' with it.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

823: Guest Week: David Troupes (Buttercup Festival)

2016-10-04T19:48:05Z

108.162.215.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 823
| date = November 23, 2010
| title = Guest Week: David Troupes (Buttercup Festival)
| image = guest_week_david_troupes_buttercup_festival.png
| titletext = Guest comic by David Troupes of Buttercup Festival, who is living in that lovely tree outside your window.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a commentary on relationships. The woman [[Megan]] is perfectly happy sitting on the moon (which is impossible {{Citation needed}} ) with [[Cueball]], the person she loves. Cueball, however, is not completely happy until he pegs a former bully with a rock that he shoots from the moon with his {{w|slingshot}}.

[http://www.buttercupfestival.com/ David Troupes] is the author of the webcomic {{w|Buttercup Festival}}.

''Guest Week'' was a series of five comics written by five other comic authors. They were released over five consecutive days (Monday-Friday); not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule. 
The five comics are:
*[[822: Guest Week: Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content)]]
*[[823: Guest Week: David Troupes (Buttercup Festival)]]
*[[824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)]]
*[[825: Guest Week: Jeffrey Rowland (Overcompensating)]]
*[[826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)]]

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are leaning against each other, sitting on top of a giant moon in a black star dotted sky. Trees are visible towards the bottom of the panel.]

:[The scene broadens.]
:Megan: I've never been so happy. I—
:Cueball: Hold on—that guy used to dump my notebooks in high school. Give me a moment. Try to keep the moon steady.

:[A rock hits a Cueball-like guy on the ground on the back of the head.]

:[The guy clutches the back of his head.]

:[Back to the moon again, where Cueball is leaning his head against Megan while holding a slingshot]
:Cueball: I've never been so happy.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Guest Week]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Romance]]

823: Guest Week: David Troupes (Buttercup Festival)

2016-10-04T19:46:35Z

108.162.215.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 823
| date = November 23, 2010
| title = Guest Week: David Troupes (Buttercup Festival)
| image = guest_week_david_troupes_buttercup_festival.png
| titletext = Guest comic by David Troupes of Buttercup Festival, who is living in that lovely tree outside your window.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a commentary on relationships. The woman [[Megan]] is perfectly happy sitting on the moon (which is impossible{{Citation Needed}}) with [[Cueball]], the person she loves. Cueball, however, is not completely happy until he pegs a former bully with a rock that he shoots from the moon with his {{w|slingshot}}.

[http://www.buttercupfestival.com/ David Troupes] is the author of the webcomic {{w|Buttercup Festival}}.

''Guest Week'' was a series of five comics written by five other comic authors. They were released over five consecutive days (Monday-Friday); not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule. 
The five comics are:
*[[822: Guest Week: Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content)]]
*[[823: Guest Week: David Troupes (Buttercup Festival)]]
*[[824: Guest Week: Bill Amend (FoxTrot)]]
*[[825: Guest Week: Jeffrey Rowland (Overcompensating)]]
*[[826: Guest Week: Zach Weiner (SMBC)]]

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are leaning against each other, sitting on top of a giant moon in a black star dotted sky. Trees are visible towards the bottom of the panel.]

:[The scene broadens.]
:Megan: I've never been so happy. I—
:Cueball: Hold on—that guy used to dump my notebooks in high school. Give me a moment. Try to keep the moon steady.

:[A rock hits a Cueball-like guy on the ground on the back of the head.]

:[The guy clutches the back of his head.]

:[Back to the moon again, where Cueball is leaning his head against Megan while holding a slingshot]
:Cueball: I've never been so happy.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Guest Week]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Romance]]

562: Parking

2016-09-26T19:29:10Z

108.162.215.215: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 562
| date = March 30, 2009
| title = Parking
| image = parking.png
| titletext = Police reported three dozen cheerful bystanders, yet no one claims to have seen who did it.
}}

==Explanation==
There are few things so annoying as finding, when a parking lot is full, that someone has parked so carelessly as to take up two spaces. Even worse, it may have been intentional; they decided to exchange the risk of someone accidentally scratching their car for the risk of someone doing it on purpose, see [[1030: Keyed]]. However, there are also non-violent ways to tackle the problem; [http://www.threadless.com/product/187/I_Park_Like_an_Idiot politely leave a note], or (if possible) just move their car (whether to its proper alignment or to an impound lot).

Of course, [[Black Hat]] takes the less-traveled path, apparently involving a {{w|cutting torch}} and what looks to be a {{w|circular saw}}. The offending portion of the parked car is sliced off (entirely without surgical precision) and neatly slotted into the remainder of the space. It is now legally parked, but will never become a functional car again.{{Citation needed}} But at least Black Hat finally has space for his own car!

Admittedly, he's done this kind of thing before - see [[496: Secretary: Part 3]]

The title text indicates that a large crowd watched Black Hat at work but refused to identify him, presumably because they feel that the car owner got what he deserved, and possibly because they didn't want to incur Black Hat's wrath.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is in a car driving around a parking lot.]

:[Black Hat's car pulls up next to a red car, that's parked over a line at an angle that block two spaces.]

:[Black Hat gets out of his car.]
:''SLAM''

:[Black Hat is now holding a blow torch and a rotary saw, He's also wearing goggles and fuel tanks on his back. The blow torch is lit.]
:''Fwoosh''

:[The badly parked car has been cut in half along a diagonal, and the half of the car that was in the second slot has been moved into the same slot as the rest of the car. Black Hat's car occupies the newly freed space.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]