explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1772: Startup Opportunity

2016-12-14T15:48:57Z

108.162.216.127: format transcript

{{comic
| number = 1772
| date = December 14, 2016
| title = Startup Opportunity
| image = startup_opportunity.png
| titletext = While there's no formal regulation, it turns out their industry group is NOT one you want mad at you.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==
[Beret Guy is sitting in a board meeting]
:White Hat: We've discovered that your company doesn't do anything.
:Beret Guy: How is that possible?! We have so many chairs!

:White Hat: You need to find an industry to disrupt.
:Beret Guy: An...industry?
:Beret Guy: Oh, yeah!
:Beret Guy: The zoning thing from SimCity!

:White Hat: No, like, a kind of business.
:Beret Guy: How do I find those?
:White Hat: I don't know. What's something you spend a lot of money on?

[Beret Guy says nothing]

:Beret Guy: You know those mysterious shops that sell you magical items, and then it turns out they're cursed, but when you go back later there's no sign the shop was ever there?
:Beret Guy: I get most of my stuff from those.
:Beret Guy: Like groceries.

:Hairy: We should go.
:Hairbun: Wait. High-value sales, no regulation, and when customers try to complain, they can't find you...
:Cueball: Maybe this ''is'' the perfect startup.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

1762: Moving Boxes

2016-11-21T21:17:53Z

108.162.216.127: field lines, triangles

{{comic
| number = 1762
| date = November 21, 2016
| title = Moving Boxes
| image = moving_boxes.png
| titletext = Later, when I remember that I'm calling movers, I frantically scribble over the labels and write 'NORMAL HOUSE STUFF' on all of them, which actually makes things worse.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Fill table}}
[[Randall]] talks about moving boxes and not labeling them until he forgets what's in them. Since he doesn't know what's in them, he writes silly things on the boxes as a joke. Some things are unusual/unlikely (e.g. sand, hydrants, peat) and some are abstract/impossible (e.g. elves, taupe, dark matter). Several of the categories overlap confusingly; for instance, "sand" and "silt" and "dark matter" are all generally considered as "particles"; "membranes", "edges", and "shawls" are all kinds of "manifolds"; "hooves" are part of "bison"; "fog" contains "water"; and "triangles" consist of three "edges". Another way to interpret this comic is that Randall actually has these items (or at least some of them) in the boxes and has simply forgotten which boxes contain what.

===Explanation of boxes===
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
!Label
!Explanation
|-
!Box 1
|-
|Grids|| [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grid Grids] are mathematical drawings; they would be constructed by drawing them, not stored in a box (though {{w|graph paper}} might be). May refer to a classic {{w|snipe hunt}} where a hazing victim is tasked with finding "a box of grid squares".
|-
|Bison||{{w|Bison}}, sometimes mistakenly called buffalo, are large animals{{Citation needed}} that would probably not fit in the box{{Citation needed}}.
|-
|Checkerboards||A tabletop gaming board on which one plays {{w|English draughts|Checkers}}.
|-
|Fog||{{w|Fog}} is essentially low-lying clouds which, being gaseous, are hard to box using only cardboard.
|-
!Box 2
|-
|Beacons||A device designed to draw attention to itself, for various reasons. From the generic term "beacon" this could mean anything from electronic GPS locator beacons to miniature replicas of naval lighthouses.
|-
|Elves||A fictional race (or rather, [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OurElvesAreBetter many, many fictional races]) of human-like magical creatures.
|-
|Sand||Fine particles of rock. While it's not unheard of for people to need to store sand, it's usually not stored along with your personal belongings on moving day.
|-
!Box 3
|-
|Hemoglobin||{w|Hemoglobin} is the protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body. This may be a solution of hemoglobin protein, but one human generally would not need a full box of it{{Citation needed}}.
|-
!Box 4
|-
|Water||As with sand, it's not unheard of for, say, a laboratory to store water samples for testing. But again, these wouldn't be stored along with your personal belongings on moving day. And if this is meant to be drinking water, it would be a waste of effort; it's taken as red that any house you're moving into has its own plumbing.
|-
|Hooves|| This could also be read as a compound word, Water-Hooves akin to water-wings.
|-
!Box 5
|-
|Shorebirds||
|-
!Box 6
|-
|Oil||
|-
|Vectors||{{w|Vector}}s are not physical objects, so they cannot be put in boxes.
|-
|Silt||
|-
!Box 7
|-
|Membranes||Delicate thin pliable sheet or skin of various kinds. Usually fragile or cut easily. Not something you would expect to be packed with something sharp, which shards are likely to be.
|-
|Shards||Broken pieces of smooth and hard objects, e.g. ceramic, glass, crystal. Something you would normally expect to be thrown out, rather than packed up for moving house.
|-
!Box 8
|-
|Shawls||Simple item of clothing, worn loosly over shoulders. Of rectangular shape, and is supposed to be worn in colder weather, winter.
|-
|Glucose||{{w|Glucose}} is possibly best-known as the sugar plants produce for energy, but can be manufactured.
|-
|Kits||A kit is any set of tools, supplies, and/or instructions for a specific purpose. These could be first aid kits, software development kits, bomb-making kits, sewing kits... Alternatively, this may be a compound word "Glucose Kits", diabetic assay tools to help the patient regulate their blood sugar.
|-
!Box 9
|-
|Hydrants||{{w|Fire hydrant}}s, which are likely too big to fit in boxes, and are also simply odd objects to be packing into a box.
|-
|Particles||As almost all matter is composed of {{w|particles}}, it is hard to find exceptions. Thus, this is very vague.
|-
|Knots||
|-
!Box 10
|-
|Graphite||
|-
|Taupe|| {{w|Taupe}}, a dark tan color in between brown and gray.
|-
!Box 11
|-
|Field Lines||This could refer to {{w|field line}}s as used to depict electromagnetic force fields, or possibly to the lines painted on an athletic field to mark the boundaries of play. The former are a visualization tool rather than physical objects; the latter consist of streaks of paint on grass or artificial turf, and thus neither kind of field line is the kind of physical object that could be packed into a box.
|-
!Box 12
|-
|Traps||May be a reference to 'My house is full of traps from [https://what-if.xkcd.com/34// What-If #34]
|-
!Box 13
|-
|Edges||
|-
|Tribes||
|-
|Dough||
|-
!Box 14
|-
|Dark Matter||{{w|Dark matter}}
|-
!Box 15
|-
|Manifolds||Akin to topological universes.
|-
!Box 16
|-
|Triangles||Within the context of this comic, the reference is likely to the shape. On the other hand, it would not be unusual to pack one or more {{w|Triangle (musical instrument)}}s into a box.
|-
|Peat|| {{w|Peat}}, an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation that forms in wetland bogs, moors, mires, and swamps.
|-
|Crowns||
|-
!Box 17
|-
|Scrolls|| {{w|Scroll}}, a roll of papyrus, paper, or parchment that contains writing
|}

According to the title text, when Randall remembers that he is calling movers, he frantically scribbles "Normal House Stuff" on all the boxes. He says this makes the situation worse because the movers see the scribble and become suspicious.

==Transcript==
[A bunch of cardboard boxes stacked up, each labeled]
{| class="wikitable"
| style="visibility:hidden" |
| colspan="2" height="80px" width="80px" |
Grids 
Bison 
Checkerboards 
Fog
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px"|
Beacons 
Elves 
Sand
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Hemoglobin
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Water 
Hooves
| style="visibility:hidden" |
|-|
| style="visibility:hidden" |
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Shorebirds
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Oil 
Vectors 
Silt
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Membranes 
Shards
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Shawls 
Glucose 
Kits
| style="visibility:hidden" |
|-|
| style="visibility:hidden" |
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Hydrants 
Particles 
Knots
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Graphite 
Taupe
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Field Lines
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Traps
| style="visibility:hidden" |
|-|
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Edges 
Tribes 
Dough
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Dark Matter
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Manifolds
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Triangles 
Peat 
Crowns
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" |
Scrolls
|}
[A caption:]
I always forget to label my moving boxes until they're sealed up and I've forgotten what's in them.
{{comic discussion}}

1761: Blame

2016-11-18T17:27:01Z

108.162.216.127: separate transcript into panels

{{comic
| number = 1761
| date = November 18, 2016
| title = Blame
| image = blame.png
| titletext = I bet if I yell at my scared friends I will feel better.
}}

==Explanation==

[[Cueball]] states that he feels sad and links it with his observation that bad things are happening. Sadness is a normal human reaction to perceived bad events<ref>http://www.clinical-depression.co.uk/dlp/depression-information/causes-of-depression/</ref>. (Other emotions that might be felt at such times include anger and guilt.)

He then reasons that it must be someone's fault. If the "bad things" in question are not natural calamities or accidents, it is usually logical to surmise that someone is responsible for them taking place.

After some thinking, he has an idea. Ideas are usually the result of thinking (unless they are a result of {{w|computers}}), although it might not always be conscious thinking like Cueball is doing.

He then blames his "friends on {{w|Facebook}}", an online website that helps people communicate with other people through their computers and handheld electronic devices. While they could be possible reasons for bad events (for example if the bad event was nobody wishing him a happy birthday or someone posting compromising pictures,) his friends would not be a likely source for bad events extending beyond a personal or local scope. Most people have a few hundred (or thousand) "friends" on Facebook, most of whom do not have enough influence to cause bad events on a national or global level.{{Citation needed}}

This is a reference to people ranting on {{w|social media}} sites (like Facebook) about various things which are blamed on certain people (or sometimes everyone), but the person doing the ranting never thinks that the problem might be with themselves.

It could possibly also be a reference to how an individual's Facebook news feed has probably been inundated by political posts due to the results of the recent 2016 {{w|United States presidential election}}. One read on this is that, many people, including [http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/07/24/486941582/the-reason-your-feed-became-an-echo-chamber-and-what-to-do-about-it| some news sources], have pointed out that social media forms an "echo chamber", and some sources have claimed that this is responsible both for political polarization (see [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc&t=2s| this video]) and even for [http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-president-social-media-echo-chamber-hypernormalisation-adam-curtis-protests-blame-a7409481.html| the recent victory] of {{w|Donald Trump}}. Notably, [[Randall]] supported {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, the {{w|Democratic}} nominee in [[1756|a recent comic]]. Therefore, blaming social media for the election can be read as blaming his friends echoing his ideas back to him as causing (partially) Clinton's loss; thus they are (partially) at fault for his presumed sadness over her loss in the election. A second read on this would be that constant reminders of Clinton's loss only serve to make Randall sadder: again the proximal cause being his friends' posts. A third read would be that friends with whom Cueball/Randall disagrees are posting things that he finds unpleasant to read, either ideas that he finds offensive or posts "rubbing in" the victory of the candidate Randall opposed.

The title text refers to people venting. The (humorous) assumption here is that one will feel better after doing so. While some amount of venting might help to relieve stress caused by bad events, alienating people you know by blaming them for bad events usually causes more stress in the long run. Additionally, "yelling" on social media would likely only increase the influx of:
* Political posts reminding Cueball of his sadness
* Angry messages back at him
* Reminders of the reason he's sad, including possibly "rubbing in" the sad feelings
* Posts design to offend Cueball, including posts design to offend his political sensibilities; all of these would make him feel worse, potentially in relatively short order.

==Transcript==
:Cueball (thinking): I feel sad.
:Bad things are happening.

:Cueball (thinking): They must be someone's fault.
:But whose?

:[Cueball makes several thinking poses before a light bulb appears, indicating he has an idea]

:Cueball (thinking): ''My friends on Facebook.''

==Citations==
<references/>

{{comic discussion}}

1760: TV Problems

2016-11-16T15:43:16Z

108.162.216.127: formatting

{{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==
{{incomplete|Some links to previous comics where things go unexpectedly wrong could probably be added.}}
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}}. 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, and because most people wouldn't get as far as trying, the same applies to computer scientists, which are less likely to make mistakes on a given tasks, but will attempt complicated operations far more often.

This may also be a joke on how many millennials believe that they need to use their phone as a remote control for a TV and are not aware that the remote control that came with their TV is simpler and easier to use. 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==
: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.

{{comic discussion}}

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

1760: TV Problems

2016-11-16T15:41:57Z

108.162.216.127: /* Transcript */

{{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==
{{incomplete|Some links to previous comics where things go unexpectedly wrong could probably be added.}}
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}}. 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, and because most people wouldn't get as far as trying, the same applies to computer scientists, which are less likely to make mistakes on a given tasks, but will attempt complicated operations far more often.

This may also be a joke on how many millennials believe that they need to use their phone as a remote control for a TV and are not aware that the remote control that came with their TV is simpler and easier to use. 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==
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.

{{comic discussion}}

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

1760: TV Problems

2016-11-16T15:41:32Z

108.162.216.127: cleanup

{{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==
{{incomplete|Some links to previous comics where things go unexpectedly wrong could probably be added.}}
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}}. 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, and because most people wouldn't get as far as trying, the same applies to computer scientists, which are less likely to make mistakes on a given tasks, but will attempt complicated operations far more often.

This may also be a joke on how many millennials believe that they need to use their phone as a remote control for a TV and are not aware that the remote control that came with their TV is simpler and easier to use. 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==
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.

{{comic discussion}}

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

1712: Politifact

2016-11-11T23:21:40Z

108.162.216.127: fix broken URL

{{comic
| number = 1712
| date = July 27, 2016
| title = Politifact
| image = politifact.png
| titletext = "Ok, I lit the smoke bomb and rolled it under the bed. Let's see if it--" ::FWOOOSH:: "Politifact says: PANTS ON FIRE!"
}}

==Explanation==
The website {{w|PolitiFact.com}} rates political claims based on how true they are. The rulings from the Truth-O-Meter™ at PolitiFact are:
*True
*Mostly True
*Half-True
*Mostly False
*False
*Pants on Fire!

This comic presents a woman wearing a white hat with a {{w|press pass}} in the hat's belt. She is calling herself "PolitiFact" -- either pretending to come from PolitiFact.com or she is representing a personification of the website itself. She is obviously annoying [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] by rating everything they say on the Truth-O-Meter. (She is using the official logo of PolitiFact as her name, and since they write their name PolitiFact her name should also be written like this, even though [[Randall]] has named the comic Politifact with all lower case letters and also uses it like this in the title text.)

When Megan, apparently just having gotten out of bed, says she had trouble sleeping, the PolitiFact.com woman (henceforth simply PolitiFact) appears at an open window and observes that Megan is telling the truth with the rating of "''Mostly True!''" (So according to PolitiFact she did not sleep well most of the night, but may have slept OK for some parts of the night...)

Megan appears distressed, which is not improved when PolitiFact enters their house through the window. Megan give chase to PolitiFact, passing by Cueball, whose comment ''Not again'' makes it clear that this is not the first time PolitiFact has annoyed them in this way. Megan swears that she had locked the window, which if true would mean that PolitiFact had illegally opened a locked window. PolitiFact gives that claim the rating of "''False!''", indicating that the window was unlocked. Entering someone's house against their wishes is illegal the state of their windows non-withstanding, and Cueball clearly asks her to leave, apart from the fact that Megan chases her through their house.

After the chase, PolitiFact ends up hiding under the couple's bed; Cueball's claim that PolitiFact "can't stay under there forever" is promptly rated "''False''". Megan's remark, however, that no one likes PolitiFact, is rated "''Mostly True!''" This exchange is likely metaphorical just as much as it is literal -- Randall's PolitiFact acknowledges that what she does annoys people, but she keeps on doing it anyway.

As for metaphors, Megan is likely commenting on the popularity of the website, which Randall's PolitiFact is no less correct about. People become very defensive when claims they make in political discussions are debunked by PolitiFact.com. There is a phenomenon where the people most influenced by an erroneous claim are the least likely to believe a fact checker. For example, The Washington Post [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/12/18/what-was-fake-on-the-internet-this-week-why-this-is-the-final-column/ shut down their internet rumor fact checker] because, "institutional distrust is so high right now, and cognitive bias so strong always, that the people who fall for hoax news stories are frequently only interested in consuming information that conforms with their views — even when it's demonstrably fake." Simply put, people like the idea of a fact checker until they disagree with it.

PolitiFact.com has been accused of being both [http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2015/03/14/mostly-true-ted-cruz-attack-proves-politifact-is-run-by-gigantic-assholes/ liberally biased] and [http://www.rifuture.org/politifact-ri-once-again-shows-right-wing-bias/ conservatively biased] at various times and has angered politicians on both sides of the aisle. The summary statistic "rulings" are especially troublesome; often the critics will agree that the information presented by the fact check is correct, and may agree that all relevant information has been included, but will disagree as to the importance of context omitted by the original speaker or the interpretation of ambiguous language.

The title text makes a play on PolitiFact.com's most untrue rating, "Pants on Fire!" - a reference to the childhood accusation "{{w|Pants on Fire|Liar, liar, pants on fire!}}"

In the title text either Cueball or Megan says to the other that they have lit the {{w|smoke bomb}} and rolled it under the bed near PolitiFact (seems they have discussed this first). When it goes off it apparently manages to ignite PolitiFact's pants - thus, PolitiFact's pants are ''literally'' on fire and she yells "PANTS ON FIRE!". Cueball has thrown smoke bombs before while in a relation with Megan, see [[486: I am Not a Ninja]], so it would be likely he had a smoke bomb on his person for immediate use.

Alternatively, either Cueball or Megan just says this as a threat (they could even roll a non-bomb object under the bed and maybe they have talked out loud about the idea of using such a bomb before) and they could try to make the loud ''fwooosh'' sound themselves to simulate that the bomb going off. Then they would be telling an outright lie that would be rated as "Pants on Fire!". The fact that the ''fwooosh'' is located outside of the "quotation marks", is no indication as the sound is not part of the quote. Also the fact that "PANTS ON FIRE" is yelled, rather than calmly delivered in the fashion of her other judgments, is not necessarily any indication that this is not the case, since a threat that is so blatantly a lie as to warrant such a rating should be proclaimed out loud.

It may be a coincidence, but PolitiFact.com was {{w|PolitiFact.com#Reception|awarded}} the {{w|Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting}} in 2009 for work done in their first full year of work (after it was started in August 2007), and this comic was released right after [[1711: Snapchat]], which hinges on the existence of little-known {{w|Pulitzer Prize}} categories.

==Transcript==
:[Megan with messy morning hair is walking right and rubs her eyes.]
:Megan: I did ''not'' sleep well last night.

:[A woman with hair like Megan (but a bit longer) wearing a white hat with brim and a small white card attached to the hat's belt (like a press pass) crawls up on the pane of an open window. She begins all her sentences with the word PolitiFact. When she says this it is written in the color and style of the PolitiFact.com logo with blue ''Politi'' and red ''Fact''. Megan has just walked past the window and has turned to look at the woman. She is still holding one hand up and her hair is still messy.]
:PolitiFact: PolitiFact says ''mostly true!''
:Megan: Oh no...

:[In a frame-less panel Cueball is walking right, while Megan, arms stretched out and hair flowing out behind her, runs by him chasing PolitiFact who is running with a hand up to hold her hat in place, hair also flowing out behind her.]
:Cueball: Not again. Get out of here, PolitiFact!
:Megan: I '''''swear''''' I locked that window.
:PolitiFact: PolitiFact says: ''False!''

:[Cueball and Megan, looking downwards, are standing at the foot of a well made bed with two pillows, and the bedsheets drawn tight. PolitiFact's voice emanates from a starburst at the edge of the shadow under the bed.]
:Cueball: You can't stay under there forever.
:PolitiFact (voice from under bed): PolitiFact says: ''False!''
:Megan: Nobody likes you, Politifact.
:PolitiFact (voice from under bed): PolitiFact says: ''Mostly true!''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Characters with Hats]]
[[Category:Politics]]

1720: Horses

2016-11-11T23:07:44Z

108.162.216.127: cleanup

{{comic
| number = 1720
| date = August 15, 2016
| title = Horses
| image = horses.png
| titletext = This car has 240% of a horse's decision-making ability and produces only 30% as much poop.
}}

==Explanation==
[https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/10/are-consumers-automakers-and-insurers-really-ready-for-self-driving-cars/ The programming] of {{w|self-driving cars}} has been in the news lately, as engineers and philosophers debate what rules the cars should follow in dangerous situations (for instance, what to do when forced to choose between hitting a pedestrian or swerving into oncoming traffic). [[Randall]], in the form of [[Ponytail]], suggests one approach for solving this problem: to think of the car as behaving like a horse, using its own intelligence and ignoring dangerous commands in the interests of self-preservation.

The comic begins with Ponytail claiming that in the old days, riding a horse or driving a horse drawn vehicle while drunk was less dangerous than {{w|drunk driving}} today. Given the higher speed and the denser traffic today this might seem plausible. On the other hand, modern cars have seat belts, airbags, and other features designed to save lives when crashes do occur; horses and horse-drawn vehicles lacked these safety features. But if you do fall asleep the horse will not suddenly walk into another oncoming horse, and may actually just stop walking while you sleep.

Ponytail expands the argument by stating the horse itself will be acting in the interest of its own self-preservation. She finally states that in a comparison of the ability of self-driving cars, we should forget humans, and instead it should be the ability of horses that should be the benchmark that the self-driving cars should be judged against.

This segues into a scene with [[White Hat]], bragging to Cueball and Megan about the features of a car (in order to sell the car to them, appealing to the "horse" explanation that Ponytail gave to Randall in order to get them to buy the car) by comparing the features to those of horses. Car engines are traditionally measured in {{w|horsepower}}, which (roughly) compares the power output of the engine to that of a horse. White Hat goes a step further, claiming he can measure the car's onboard computer's driving abilities in the equivalent number of "horses", comparing the car's ability to mitigate for a drunk driver and/or avoid obstacles to that of a horse. (White Hat has been [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9f/lorenz_-_sale_2.png depicted as a salesman] before in [[1350: Lorenz]] and similarly earlier in [[260: The Glass Necklace]]).

The title text features more comparisons of the car to horses. Apparently the car has 240% of a horse's decision-making ability while producing only 30% as much poop. So even with 3.5 horse-intelligence it may only have 2.4 times the decision-making ability (assuming it's the same car). A car's "poop" would be its exhaust, which is usually not found on the road in the form of solid waste but could still nonetheless be measured, as it contains mass. While no source is stated for the 30% ratio, the point that cars are less polluting than horses is surprisingly valid when regarding waste left in the street. Before the invention of the automobile, city streets were commonly filled with horse manure. Of course the amount of pollution created by the cars of the world makes them much more toxic both for humans breathing the exhaust fumes and on the larger scale with the climate. (Then again, if there were a horse for each horsepower in all the cars, then that would also be a problem with the release of methane gas, etc.)

Note that riding a horse while drunk is in fact still dangerous and illegal in many places (for example, {{w|Licensing Act 1872|the UK and Ireland}}). A badly-driven horse can throw off its owner, trample passersby, fall on bad surfaces, and destroy any wagon or carriage it's pulling. A self-driving car should be able to understand road rules, which a horse will not - which is presumably why the cars in the comic and the title text are both specified as being more intelligent than a horse.

In [[887: Future Timeline]] dogs driving cars are mentioned. Self-driving cars is a [[:Category:Self-driving cars|recurring topic]] on xkcd. In [[1461: Payloads]] spacecraft mass is measured in horses.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail walks right with Cueball.]
:Ponytail: Drunk driving was less of a problem before cars. If you got on your horse drunk and fell asleep, it could just walk home.

:[Zoom in on Ponytail's torso; she holds up a palm to proffer an idea.]
:Ponytail: And if you tried to ride into a tree, the horse could be like "No."
:Ponytail: Forget human drivers – ''that's'' the benchmark we should be judging self-driving cars against.

:[The front end of a car, with the bottom of the windshield and the right side mirror just inside the panel is parked before White Hat. He is holding his hand, palm up, out to the left towards the car as he brags about it to Megan and Cueball standing in front of him admiring the car. At the top left of the panel a small frame with a caption is placed over the panels frame:]
:Soon:
:White Hat: This baby has 200 horses under the hood and 3.5 in the computer.
:Megan and Cueball: Ooooh!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Self-driving cars]]

Talk:1756: I'm With Her

2016-11-09T17:44:16Z

108.162.216.127: comments

The "I'm with her" and H with an arrow are CLEARLY the respective campaign slogan and campaign logo for Hillary Clinton, not some vagueness having to do with bringing a significant other. {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.78}}
:I see it more as him endorsing voting regardless of who you vote for (as evidenced by half the comic is about "Here's how you vote" without any mention of candidates or issues) and the endorsing Clinton part is an add-on as if to say "This is how I'm voting; vote for her if you agree with me." [[User:Jeudi Violist|Jeudi Violist]] ([[User talk:Jeudi Violist|talk]]) 18:39, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:If you're so insecure about your political beliefs that you abandon a comic you've followed for years just because they have a different opinion to you then maybe you should stop using the internet because you're just going to lose all your hobbies. {{unsigned ip|148.197.114.136}}
:I am not insecure about my political beliefs. I am just upset at the continued and active support of our two party system and the suppression of anyone not in those parties.. It ought to make everyone here very angry (even if you support Hillary). Most Americans would rather have Bernie than Hillary. Most Americans would rather have Kasich than Trump. Insult me all you want, I will not put up with this complacency any more.--[[User:Dayfall|Dayfall]] ([[User talk:Dayfall|talk]]) 21:02, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:Blocking it from their router? Have they ever heard of the concept of... you know, just not visiting websites they dislike? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.253|141.101.98.253.-730².♫.venus.🍅.Cthulu.♣️]] 19:33, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Has Randall endorsed a presidential candidate before? --[[User:Dfeuer|Dfeuer]] ([[User talk:Dfeuer|talk]]) 17:14, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:He supported Obama on his blog in '08, not in the comic though. {{unsigned ip|162.158.214.230}}

He could have said any number of clever things about the election, and all he did was put up a campaign sign. Disappointing. [[User:Gmcgath|Gmcgath]] ([[User talk:Gmcgath|talk]]) 17:37, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:I'm hoping Wednesday will be a newspaper saying "American immigration continues north" and below, "40% of the population move to Canada", but only if Trump wins.{{unsigned|Jacky720}}

what a cuck --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.63|172.68.51.63]] 17:45, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:: leaving aside the most ridiculous slur of the past few years, I don't know what else did you expect from Randall. I guess you must have stumbled upon this wiki by chance and have never heard of xkcd before.--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 17:59, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:: AHAHAHAHA. *Ahem.* Hooray for pejorative misappropriation of a kink. /s [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.55|108.162.246.55]] 19:07, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

This is the first time I still don't get the joke even after reading the explainxkcd page [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.123|108.162.219.123]] 18:09, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:It isn't a joke. [[Randall]] is simply encouraging people to vote. [[User:GizmoDude|GizmoDude]] ([[User talk:GizmoDude|talk]]) 20:55, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

:¬I Ummmmmmmmm..... It's Randall's comic strip. He can endorse whomever he wants without getting anyone's permission first. To those who disagree with this endorsement - sowhat? Grow up. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.42}}

;Bit disappointing...

I was hoping for a comic today. oh well. Interesting to see how he's planning to vote, though - it's a shame that there are no candidates this year in favor of strong encryption. {{unsigned ip|172.68.55.80}}

Funny how females outdo males in this 'comic' but in terms of frequency and of elevation. Oh well. xkcd has long been overrepresenting females, it was to be expected. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>{{unsigned ip|162.158.201.90}}
:Seriously? You're whinging 'what about the men?' in a geek web comic?! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.212|108.162.215.212]] 18:21, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::And there are 11 characters and they are split 5 to 6, and if Blondie represents Clinton then there are 5 to 5 M vs W supporters. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:58, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:"Overrepresenting"?! If there were too many guys you wouldn't bat an eye because it's 'accurate' to whatever demographic you think xkcd is supposed to represent, but as soon as Randall draws 'too many women' you whinge about the oppression of men. First off, even if the readership is male-dominated, that doesn't have any impact on who the comic can portray. Second, there is nothing oppressive about seeing women portrayed in equal numbers or -heaven forbid- in positions of power.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.118.191|172.68.118.191]] 00:28, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:: >If there were too many guys you wouldn't bat an eye because it's 'accurate' to whatever demographic you think
:: You are literally a priori accusing me of bias regarding what I would have done in a comparable situation.
:: >you think xkcd is supposed to represent
:: xkcd's focus is exceedingly well-defined. It is often narrowed down to a particular academic field. It is not subjective.
:: >you whinge about the oppression of men
:: Please refrain from putting such words in my mouth. Overrepresentation is a numerical fact -- 'oppression' is a charged term which I doubt has a valid definition.
:: >even if the readership is male-dominated, that doesn't have any impact on who the comic can portray
:: You seem to be implying that my mention of overrepresentation pertains to overrepresentation with respect to viewership rather than with respect of gender balance in scientific fields Randall depicts.
:: >there is nothing oppressive about seeing women portrayed in equal numbers or -heaven forbid- in positions of power
:: Again, you are seeing claims of 'oppression' that are not there. I do not use this word -- I am talking strictly about gender quantity. In other words, I don't object to 'oppression', but to distortion of truth. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.203.152}}
:::Oh shit, you're not joking. I don't think Randall cared in the slightest how many of each gender there were, or where they were placed. You are creating a problem which isn't there, and missing what the comic is actually trying to say. It appears that whatever Randall puts in a comic, you'll find a problem with it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.60|162.158.2.60]] 09:27, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:::: Almost every comic depicting a scientific (academic, laboratory, engineering) context contains a female. As a matter of fact, I looked up the last 20 or so comics in the Science category. Where applicable, the gender proportion is:
:::::f = 4, m = 0
:::::f = 1, m = 1
:::::f = 2, m = 0
:::::f = 0, m = 2
:::::f = 1, m = 1
:::::f = 2, m = 1
:::::f = 1, m = 1
:::::f = 1, m = 1
:::::f = 2, m = 1
:::::f = 0, m = 1
:::::f = 3, m = 1
:::::total: f = 17, = 10
:::: It is even more glaring that I had thought.
::::>It appears that whatever Randall puts in a comic, you'll find a problem with it.
::::You are making it hard not to conclude that you are not quite able to speak otherwise than in irrelevant falsehoods. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.203.152}}
:::::Like I said, Randall doesn't seem to concentrate on how gender is represented, and more on what the comic is about. Randall uses whatever fits best in each comic. Also, please refrian from using nowiki on "<nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>" as your signature. It is against the rules, because technically your comment ends in "</nowiki>". It is also pointless, because your IP is recorded in edit history anyway. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.60|162.158.2.60]] 12:19, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:::::: 'Randall doesn't seem to concentrate on how gender is represented' -- it is quite remarkable for you to say so when the balance is significantly more than 1.5 : 1. As for my signature, 'my comment ending in </nowiki>' is literally false and, again, my choice of it is not intended to obscure my identity, but to signify irrelevance of it in discussion. <nowiki>~~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.203.152 }}
:::::::Your trolling is out of hand. It doesn't matter about relevance of your signature in discussion, you have to sign your comments. If you feel so strongly about it, just stop reading Randall's comics. I don't think he'll care if you stop. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.62|162.158.2.62]] 23:21, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:::::::: So this is your reaction to the hypocrisy of a comic majorly about science distorting truth (literally -- the female overrepresentation is not, contrary to how another poster presented it, in service to humour/plot, it is just there): 'just don't read it if you don't like it'. This is not tenable. You could 'justify' any wrongdoing this way: 'just don't react, what does it concern you'. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.201.78}}
:::::::::You cannot justify anything with that, only things that don't actually affect anyone in any significant way. Randall is using his right to freedom of speech, and you have no right trying to stop that. And before you argue that I am trying to stop you, realise that I am only giving my opinion in the hopes yours will change. Also, you ''still'' haven't adressed why you don't sign your comments properly. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.60|162.158.2.60]] 11:00, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
: As for my signature, I have addressed it -- you just ignored my explanation, beside implying that it was I who brought its subject in the first place rather than you ('It doesn't matter about relevance of your signature in discussion').
: >things that don't actually affect anyone in any significant way
: 'Not any significant' is a subjective claim rather than objective quantification such as the one I made to point out Randall's gender bias. xkcd has vast readership. In fact, it is *the first result* for the keyword >webcomic in Google.
: >Randall is using his right to freedom of speech.
: This is completely bizarre. You are appealing to free speech to justify *telling falsehoods*.
: >and you have no right trying to stop that
: This is completely bizarre as well. What kind of 'right' are you talking about that I lack? Are you saying that people have no right to point out, condemn, and demand rectification of falsehoods? This is surreal. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>{{unsigned ip|162.158.201.84}}
::The guy was clearly referring to your earlier statement that you were, quote, "signifying irrelevance it in discussion." Also, as the admin who's been having to clean up after your refusal to write a signature without nowiki tags, I'm getting really sick of this. The signature tag is not there for you to disregard it to make an artistic statement about metadata in forums, it's there to mark time, ownership and the boundaries between comments. You're making extra work for me for a trivial excuse. Sign your comments properly. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:31, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
::: 'Time' and 'ownership' are never relevant. All they can ever conceivably serve for is pointing out misattributions of contributions from one poster to another, which holds precisely zero weight for the argument. If your point stands, it stands. If it doesn't, it doesn't. This -- validity of the point -- is the only consideration in discussion, the purpose of which is conveying knowledge. I'm sorry to hear that you feel that it is the form of the argument (such as who made which comment) that matters rather than its substance. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.201.84}}
::::I'm not going to be able to convince you that the metadata is meaningful, so let's put this a different way. I didn't put up three different signs around the talk page box so that someone could try to be clever and make me do the work anyway by signing off slightly wrong. You and I both know why the messages tell you to sign off with four tildes. Typing the four tildes without the nowiki tags takes strictly less time than adding the nowiki tags. There is no discussion being suppressed because of the metadata. I've wasted five minutes of my life typing out the unsigned comment template multiple times when it was clear to me that you knew how to sign and wilfully weren't. Sign your comments properly. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:59, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

:I will tell my children and grandchildren that in the election of 2016, there was a guy so afraid of women that he complained that a webcomic about the election had "females outdo males...in terms of...of elevation". This is some 18th century stuff. It is the consummate combination of unawareness of self and of others. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.47|108.162.246.47]]
04:36, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:: >there was a guy so afraid of women
:: I regret to see you rely on such tactics.
:: >This is some 18th century stuff.
:: This is not relevant. It is possible for a society to err away from its prior true notions. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.203.152}}

The only disappointing this are comments like those two above. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 18:11, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
: Females being overrepresented in comics like xkcd (but also other ones) with respect to their controlled interest in science in reality is a fact. Therefore, you are calling facts disappointing. How geeky of you. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>{{unsigned ip|162.158.201.90}}
:: So, your real problem is that Randall likes using female stick figures, yes? Also, why are you afraid to "un-nowiki" your signature...? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 19:15, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::: No. Allow me to repeat my point as you had apparently misunderstood: 'females being overrepresented'. This is something else than 'females being represented'. The more you know, the less chance there is for you to accidentally twist another person's words as misogyny/sexism. Also, identity is not relevant to discussion. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>{{unsigned ip|162.158.201.90}}
:::: I understood you perfectly fine. My point still stands: You don't like Randall's preference for female stick figures. I never said you're being misogynic/sexist, so please don't imply I did. Thing with your "hidden" identity is that it's plain visible in the history of this page, so there's really no need to nowiki the signature, that's all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 20:42, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::::: You are extremely skilled at saying things that are false and asserting that they're true. First you confused objecting to female overrepresentation (over-presence) with objecting to female representation (presence) ('your real problem is that Randall likes using female stick figures'). Then you moved to confusing objecting to female overrepresentation with objecting to *Randall's* female overrepresentation. My objection does not pertain to who is doing overrepresenting, but to the mere fact of it. I would have objected identically to any other writer. Also, your attributing of opposition to female presence in comics (after doing which which you proceeded to asserting my being personally hostile to Randall) is accusing of sexism/misogyny by definition. Also, I am obviously aware of edit history; my use my signature constitutes a reminder that identity is, as I said, irrelevant in discussion. It does not serve to obscure anything. You have a remarkable record of falsehoods. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>{{unsigned ip|162.158.201.90}}
::::::This is the most persistent troll I have seen in a long while. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.185|108.162.215.185]] 14:44, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
::::::: I regret that this is your reaction to my pointing out your false claims. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.203.152}}
::::::::I didn't make any false claims for you to point out. My comment about your trolling was the first comment I made. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.185|108.162.215.185]] 15:41, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:I'm confused. Are you merely making an observation about the number of female stick figures vs male stick figures in these comics or are you saying that there is a problem that needs to be solved? If so, what is the problem and potential solution? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.229|108.162.215.229]] 21:12, 8 November 2016 (UTC)What?
:: The problem is giving a false impression regarding female academic capacity. The solution is Randall ceasing to overrepresent females. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.201.78}}
:::First, you say that giving a false impression regarding female academic capacity is a problem, but have given nothing to show why it is a problem. I don't think it's fair to say that this comic strives in all points to represent the world exactly as it is, and as an artistic endeavor, I don't believe it necessarily should. Art allows the artist to express a world view different than reality in a safe place. Second, where is the harm being done? Lastly, I reject the premise of your argument. I have studied these comics very hard and can find no discernible genitalia in which to classify the stick figures in question as either anatomically male or female. If we are going based on gender, you would need each character presented to give declarative statements self-identifying as a certain gender in order to affirm them as female or male or other. If those are not available, then you are simply applying your heteronormative bias and assumptions onto these stick figures unfairly. Until you address these claims, this discussion is over as its very basis is proven unknowable. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.229|108.162.215.229]] 16:12, 9 November 2016 (UTC)What?
:Randall is in the unique and incredible position to portray the world not as it is, but as it we hope it one day will be. Imagine how many women and girls can encounter these comics in their classrooms or read them online, and have the chance to see all sorts of female rolemodels in the heavily underrepresented STEM fields. The only limit on "female academic capacity"is girls being shown and told that they have no place in science. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Randall is playing an important role in remedying this phenomenon. For scientific progress, for the unique views, backgrounds, and ways of thinking that a diversity of people can bring to STEM, it is amazing that Randall presents - without fanfare, without emphasis, and, most importantly, without implication of a degradation of men - a world in which women play a significant role in science. It is depictions like these that may inspire the next generation of talented and diverse young scientists.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.125|173.245.52.125]] 03:00, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
:: Your sentimental prose is rendered irrelevant by a simple brief fact: motivation must never rely on distortion of truth.
:: >The only limit on "female academic capacity"is girls being shown and told that they have no place in science.
:: This is literally false.
:: >female rolemodels in the heavily underrepresented STEM fields
:: Women are not underrepresented in STEM. The amount of their presence corresponds to their innate inclinations.
:: >the unique views, backgrounds, and ways of thinking that a diversity of people can bring to STEM
:: Desirability of diversity assumes that all members of the diversity are equally capable and focused on the subject in the first place.
:: >Randall is playing an important role in remedying this phenomenon.
:: There is nothing to 'remedy', because there is nothing wrong in the first place. Gender equality is not some sort of inherent state that has been deviated from. There is nothing wrong with wanting female membership in anything to equal males, or even exceed them -- but it is wrong to imply that the reason for failures of such attempts is 'bias'.
:: >unique and incredible position to portray the world not as it is
:: Reread this sentence until you appreciate what you just wrote.
:: >It is depictions like these that may inspire the next generation of talented and diverse young scientists.
:: Motivation must never happen at the expense of truth. By all means say 'I want more women in science' -- it's fine. But saying 'women's absence from science results from environmental prejudice' is false. <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>{{unsigned ip|162.158.201.84}}
:: Also, regarding 'most importantly [!], without implication of a degradation of men' -- this is literally false as well. In most comics containing discussion between a woman and a man, it is the man that asks a question/listens and the woman that elaborates / gives facts / corrects him. Men in xkcd literally are presented as the less educated gender. Quantifying that is necessarily somewhat imprecise, but I browsed comics 1423-1483 (the numbers are arbitrary) and the proportion of comics depicting the man as having less clue than the woman is 11 : 3. (See comics 1430, 1513, 1586, 1605 for example of what I mean.) <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> {{unsigned ip|162.158.201.84}}

A little disappointing to have a normally lighthearted comic dive seriously into politics, if even for one strip. Not really a fan of either candidate, but would like to see stuff like this stay above the fray. {{unsigned ip|162.158.69.100}}
:Completely agreed. [[User:SeanAhern|SeanAhern]] ([[User talk:SeanAhern|talk]]) 18:27, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Completely agreed 2. At first I though it's some kind of a romance statement ("be with her"). And from explainxkcd I have learnt that it's an US campaign ad. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.150|162.158.202.150]] 22:19, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::Lighthearted? Try to read the comics in the [[:Category:Politics]] and [[:Category:Climate change]]. Also there are many other comics that are not at all light hearted. You must have mistaken this with some other web comic? :) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:33, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:::Yes, lighthearted. Even the earlier political and climate change strips had a bit of humor in them (the only ones that really didn't have at least an attempt at humor were the cancer strips, understandably), this is just a straight up political ad. And while it's Randall's strip and he can do whatever he wants with it, it's just a little disappointing that he dove straight in to political ads. If nothing else, something like Black Hat trolling by voting for himself.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.100|162.158.69.100]] 12:34, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
::::Well at least the I'm with her, could be interpreted like the "I'm with stupid"... :-) She is just less stupid than the alternative. Guess he seriously hopes this comic could make a difference and that he is afraid to do nothing. He reaches many people so who knows if this comic might swing an important state. You never know in a tight race. And although {{w|Nate Silver}} ([[:Category:Comics featuring Nate Silver|often referred to]] by Randall in the past) says that it's a [http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/election-update-clinton-gains-and-the-polls-magically-converge/ 70% chance Hillary wins] then he is also not certain it will be her. So Randall does his best to avoid Trump as the big chief... He is even willing to loose some fans, although I think the majority of his readers prefers a world without a President Trump! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:51, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

This is a first... comics 500 and 1130 (possibly 1131 too) were related to the election, but didn't endorse a candidate. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.89|108.162.219.89]] 18:41, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:I think Randall is pretty much just saying '''OH GOD PLEASE DONT VOTE FOR TRUMP''' [[User:GizmoDude|GizmoDude]] ([[User talk:GizmoDude|talk]]) 20:59, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:: If Randall was saying that, he'd also be bringing up third party candidates (honestly surprised he didn't endorse Jill Stein considering she's more pro-science than Hillary. And before anyone says "anti-vax", check snopes. Jill Stein is so pro-vax [she's volunteered time vaccinated children and is on record saying she wants to increase vaccination rates], pro-addressing-climate[she's green party who has that as a primary platform], and wants to replace the people with business degrees on the panels of the FDA with people with science degrees. Jill is so pro-science and that it makes Hillary look like a flat-earther.) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.42|108.162.246.42]] 21:30, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:::Jill Stein's stance on nuclear energy is an unscientific as it gets. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.196|108.162.210.196]] 23:28, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::::Hillary Clinton's ideas on encryption are in denial of science. Clinton's stance on coal is unscientific, she's pretty abysmal on fracking and natural gas too. Stein could be a lot better, but if Stein is tofu sarah palin, clinton is just palin with a college degree [[User:Cockhorse|Cockhorse]] ([[User talk:Cockhorse|talk]]) 03:32, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
:::: Likewise her position on GMOs. {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.57}}
::::No no no. If Randal just wish that Trump should not become president there is only one way to achieve this and that is by making Hillary win. This is not even saying that he likes her, he just dislikes the alternative more. Voting for anyone else might just help Trump. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:33, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Also, it looks like minutephysics has done a similar thing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDeL4LGuBx4 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.89|108.162.219.89]] 00:44, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

I came here to see what the tone of the comments were going to be. I was half expecting to find an all-out flamewar in progress. I was happy to see that the comments have not devolved into the kind of attacks that one would expect to find pretty much anywhere else on the Internet. Geeks are the best people. :) [[User:Mwburden|mwburden]] ([[User talk:Mwburden|talk]]) 18:47, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

I'm very dissappointed. Randall never took sides before and - be it as it may - this comic is not a comic but plain out political campaign. Up until now I held xkcd in EXTREMELY high esteem - this comic put a serious dent in that opinion..
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.60|162.158.91.60]] 18:56, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
: I'm really torn about this one. On the one hand I feel that you HAVE to take sides in this one, if your only other option is Donald Trump... on the other hand, I never liked when web comics express political opinions. It will always end in a flame war and almost never have anything to do with the web comic itself. Randall should've just put up a "go vote becaues it's important" sign without taking sides. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 19:17, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
: Don't let the door hit you on the way out. I'm sure there are other comics out there that would agree with your ideology. [[User:Sturmovik|Sturmovik]] ([[User talk:Sturmovik|talk]]) 19:25, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Randall should do whatever Randall thinks he should do. Should he put up "go read about global warming" comics instead of take the side of AGW? If you think this example is an inappropriate one to use in contrasting this comic with the current political election cycle then you've completely ignored the stances of the two popular candidates. But back to the original point: if you don't like XKCD anymore because of this one comic then go find another comic or start your own. All of art is an expression of the person. Randall knew not everyone would like his beliefs when he pushed this out to the world and is obviously prepared to deal with any consequences of taking a stand on his website. I, for one, applaud him for doing so {{unsigned ip|162.158.69.19}}
:: Randall did a comic about global warming a while back, which was very interesting. Because I heard the "earth has warmed up before" argument before and even used it myself at least once. The difference about the global warming comic is that he backed it up with scientific facts, which is well within the scope of this comic. Political opinions aren't (or did the slogan change to ''A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language and politics''?). Yes, of course he can do with his web comic whatever he wants to. But readers can express their opinions about what he does with it. It's called "freedom of speech", you know?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.201.96|162.158.201.96]] 20:47, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:::[[1357|There's a comic for that.]] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.230|162.158.214.230]] 21:19, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
::::Randall has endorsee Obama in 2008 and it is his comic and he can use it to endorse anyone he likes. I'm pretty sure he believes that he will only loose a few real fans of xkcd over this comic, because those who really enjoys all his comics in spite of for instance climate comics would really not like to see Trump as president. And would thus be happy if this comic helped in any way to avoid that. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:34, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Can you help list all the characters in the transcript? From left to right; they're Joanna (ponytail with EMP cannon) from [[322]]; Black Hat; unknown with kite; White Hat; possibly Miss Lenhart (but his hair is somewhat different from [[1519]]); unknown possibly Megan; cueball; unknown woman with glasses; Hairbun; Beret Guy; Cueball with toy sword from [[303]]. [[User:B jonas|B jonas]] ([[User talk:B jonas|talk]]) 19:10, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Not Miss Lenhart. Blondie. They are listed now. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:34, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Good for Randal. I had been noticing how many Hillary leaning artists had been pulling their punches this election, likely out of fear of trolling or loss of revenue. You want to know what courage looks like? This is is. [[User:Sturmovik|Sturmovik]] ([[User talk:Sturmovik|talk]]) 19:25, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Title text hasn't been explained yet. Is it a reference to the German chancellor Angela Merkel's phrase "Wir schaffen das!'? Don't know if Clinton has a slogan like Obama's "Yes, we can!". {{unsigned ip|162.158.91.36}}
: That's the same I thought. But I'm not sure how well known this phrase is outside of Germany. However "Wir schaffen das!" always had a bitter taste - even considered ironic or sarcastic by some - (which e.g. "Yes, we can!" didn't), so I interpreted "We can do this!" as voting for Clinton is simply the lesser evil. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:15, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

I find (linking to )this civicinnovation website rather questionable. They want to audit peoples address books based on who the names in there might vote for? That sounds like Erich Mielkes wildest dreams come true. Even German newspapers (where i'm from), which are 100% anti-Trump, have in the last days noted concern about the methods of Clintons supporters bullying the other side, and this is a disquieting new piece in that picture. I'll hope this is just a ploy to step up with Trump on the ''bad manners'' side. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.160|162.158.91.160]] 19:37, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

;Not all comics have to be humorous

From [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics#Etymology]
:The English term ''comics'' derives from the humorous (or "[[wikt:comic|comic]]") work which predominated in early American newspaper comic strips; usage of the term has become standard for non-humorous works as well. {{unsigned ip|162.158.69.57}}

:The problem is that this isn't a comic, this is a campaign ad. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.38|162.158.238.38]] 20:32, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

;Could we please just NOT get politics involved in the comments, guys?

Just... please? [[User:Papayaman1000|Papayaman1000]] ([[User talk:Papayaman1000|talk]]) 20:34, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Are you serious. What had you expected :-) This is the most loaded comic of all time. It will even take down [[388: Fuck Grapefruit]], even though [[388:_Fuck_Grapefruit#Controversy|it beat his blog]] about his Obama endorsement. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:58, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Randall has taken a side in a political Argument before: Not counting the near-invisible easter egg, comic 1005 consists solely of Randall taking a stance on something political and providing links to show how you can help. That wasn't too long ago, but no one freaked out about a serious, political strip back then.
[[User:CJB42|CJB42]] ([[User talk:CJB42|talk]]) 20:39, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Policy to candidates is not an apples to apples comparison. People get much more up in arms when the topic is either a candidate or policy that goes against religious text or teachings. SOPA and PIPA were neither (well, unless you count GNU as some kind of internet religion). [[User:Zernin|Zernin]] ([[User talk:Zernin|talk]]) 21:22, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

It's sad to see a guy who is so smart in some areas, yet can not see Hillary Clinton for the terrible president she would be. (Granted, part of the reason we only have a few other choices is because of our messed up voting system.) {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.177}}
:I agree with you that Hillary may be worse than almost any one else from the Democrats. But Trump is sooo much further out on a limp, and I'm sure this might be the only reason Randall makes this comic. He is seriously afraid of what woudl happen to the US and the rest of the world if Trump wins --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:38, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Instead of comic, post contained a political statement. I am not amused. I want a refund. I don't vote, and I don't even live anywhere near USA. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.102|141.101.96.102]] 18:40, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:A refund? For what? You pay to read this comic? [[User:Zorlax the Mighty|Zorlax the Mighty'); DROP TABLE users;--]] ([[User talk:Zorlax the Mighty|talk]]) 21:53, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Darn right you better be with her. If you say anything else, you will "commit suicide". Just ask Vince Foster or Seth Rich if you think I'm crazy.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.77|173.245.48.77]] 21:46, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

What, Randy does not say "Bernie or Bust"? I feel cheated now. :P --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.228|162.158.150.228]] 22:54, 7 November 2016 (UTC)
:Poor Bernie. Poor America. Poor world. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 23:07, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

Just good luck America (and the rest of the world where I belong), whatever happens tomorrow. But I'm hoping Randall can help his candidate win! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:58, 7 November 2016 (UTC)

I'm with her... unfortunately : (. I just didn't think it made sense to donate to a billionaire. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.106|162.158.74.106]] 00:56, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Don't get political in the comments? The fucking "comic" is a fucking political ad. We're going to call this fucker out on his cuckery. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.27|162.158.74.27]] 01:02, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Honestly, I don't give a damn. Sure, I might not agree with his political leanings (hell, I don't want either of them in the WH), but it's just 1 comic. On Wednesday, he'll probably go back to the same stuff he's been doing for 1755 other strips. This will be nothing special. Just one comic. Sure, it might be politically fueled, but just because a person lets their leanings known doesn't mean you should be allowed to call them a "cuck" or cause a talk page for a popular comic, or a Reddit for a popular comic, devolve into the equivalent of monkeys flinging crap at walls. So just please deal with it and move on.
Yours truly, [[User:GranadalandDreamer|GranadalandDreamer]] ([[User talk:GranadalandDreamer|talk]]) 01:14, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Randall's with *her*? good to know that randall considers arab life worthless/supports financiers over single African-american mothers/refuses to understand encryption/would rather spend public money on coal than retrain miners/loves trade deals that will hurt the poorest, increase inequality, damage the environment, homogenize culture, allow private corporations to sue elected governments/can't make his mind up over the Dakota Access pipeline/changes his accent depending on which state he is stumping in/was late to supporting gay marriage/lied repeatedly about coming under sniper fire in bosnia/has had to repeatedly plead incompetence or rely on bureaucratic politics to evade formal breach of contract or charges of criminality. Iowa, Utah and Wisconsin may have Gloria la Riva of the Party for Socialism and Liberation on the ballot, if you want a candidate who isn't an elitist. And if you didn't want splitters, you should have voted for Bernie. [[User:Cockhorse|Cockhorse]] ([[User talk:Cockhorse|talk]]) 02:12, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

I mean it's not like Trump is going to be a whole lot better for Arab people, Black people, gay people, or pretty much anyone who's not a straight white dude. It's quite possible he voted for Bernie, but at this point it's a little late for him to be asking others to support Sanders. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.71}}

:No, but that doesn't mean we should settle for clinton. It is not late to be asking for people to support Sanders, if anyone was doing that, because if the senate swings to the democrats he ends up in charge of the budget committee. Oh and I forgot one: randall is apparently also planning to disappoint all of us, even those who loathe him, within 100 days. [[User:Cockhorse|Cockhorse]] ([[User talk:Cockhorse|talk]]) 05:29, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

: Trump would be a whole lot better for all Americans, not just "straight white dudes". He won't be better for people in other countries looking to illegally enter the United States, but why shouldn't an American President be like this? You're just throwing demographic categories around thinking you're making an argument against Trump. Only those who buy into the leftist narrative will believe you. {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.57}}

Looks like the Trumpettes are getting rather triggered over a web comic. Wasn't there a candidate in this election that was preaching against this whole getting easily offended by words thing? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.43|108.162.238.43]] 03:25, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

This just makes me... sad... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.117|108.162.215.117]] 03:52, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Why is a webcomic about "romance, sarcasm, language, and math" taking a political stance and telling me who to vote for? Randall can have his own opinion, but this isn't okay. I've read this comic since ... gosh, since the low 200s-300s, so probably over 5 or 6 years and... I think I'm done. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.55|108.162.241.55]] 04:29, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:''Of course'' it's okay. It's his comic, which he gives us for free. He can use it to entertain us, to draw random pictures of extradimensional red spiders, or to advocate for a political candidate and inform people how to vote, especially people who may have a more difficult time doing so (like the disabled and elderly). However, I really ''must'' thank you... you claiming that this "isn't okay", and all the others here with ruffled feathers over it, makes a previously boring comic one of the most hilarious xkcds in a good long while. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.253|141.101.98.253.-730².♫.venus.🍅.Cthulu.♣️]] 10:38, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

I'm surprised this wiki doesn't have a category for 'serious'/'no joke' comics, and least not that I spotted. There should be, and this should be in it. [[User:Teleksterling|Teleksterling]] ([[User talk:Teleksterling|talk]]) 04:31, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Am I the only one who sees Guy Fawkes in the logo? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.48|108.162.245.48]] 04:33, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

I think the only other time Randall generated that much controversy here in comments was when suggested that all beer tastes bad. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.93|141.101.80.93]] 06:43, 8 November 2016 (UTC)rw

* The title text ''may'' be quoting - directly or indirectly - Angela Merkel's slogan ("We can do this", or in German "Wir schaffen das"), but I don't know why unless it's just an appropriate slogan. [[User:Schroduck|Schroduck]] ([[User talk:Schroduck|talk]]) 08:43, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Hej. I think it was the right thing to do, and if you read some of the older XKCDs (just think about the one about free speech - they just show you the door, and some others) you could have expected that this is his position. even through i would take the vote for stein on my part. I'm sorry for the situation of the citizens of the USA right now. Greetings from Oversea - and good luck today! --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.174|162.158.89.174]] 10:24, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Way to alienate half of your readership, Randall. Well, now we know that Randall is a socialist communist who hates America. {{unsigned ip|162.158.79.235}}
* If you are so repulsed by seeing someone post something that you disagree with that you have to regress to early-teen insults, then I suggest you turn off all your electronic devices and start living in a cave. Engaging with people that we disagree with makes us smarter and better-informed. That said, it's Randall's comic that he provides to us at no charge - and if you stop reading today, you're automatically eligible for a full refund! [[User:Paddles|Paddles]] ([[User talk:Paddles|talk]]) 12:28, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Given that a big chunk of his readers must be non-US, and we don't really give a rat's arse which arse you elect, it is a bit disappointing there wasn't even something a little witty here. Other web-comic authors have often put things like this as an extra one between the others - and given that he missed a comic today, I don't see why he didn't do that. Anyway, have fun you lot and please try not to start any more wars.{{unsigned ip|141.101.98.217}}

Oh we non-USers do care!! I guess Randall just thinks today is too important to not make his position clear. Which is an admirable decision. I'm also shocked and surprised to find there may be Trumpers lurking on xkcd. Glad to hear so many of you are leaving, folks. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.134|172.68.34.134]] 16:46, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:: If you don't know any Trump supporters amongst your personal circle, you're part of the problem. Expand your worldview. {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.57}}

;Hairbun with glasses
I wonder if she is meant to represent [[wikipedia:Susan B. Anthony|Susan B. Anthony]]. SBA did have a bun (most photos) and glasses (later in life), and she is the most obvious person to be placed at the same prominent level as HRC.[[User:Sysin|Sysin]] ([[User talk:Sysin|talk]]) 14:42, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:Well maybe, but Randall has drwan [[Hairbun]] with glasses like this several times before as also mentioned in the gallery. So I do not think any of the characters represents real persons except maybe the only one looking out at us, [[Blondie]] which would be how to draw Hillary in xkcd. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:45, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Is that final reminder, about being in line before the polls close true in all 50 states? I believe that Indiana nominally has a different law, that you must be inside the polling building when the polls close in order to vote, which is not quite the same thing. although in practice, it's usually enforced as "be in line" instead [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.45|162.158.75.45]] 15:30, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Frankly, The Hillary Logo isn't particularly egregious. He has two elements suggesting to vote for Hillary (the logo, and the "her"), and 5 elements about increasing general voter turnout. I don't like Clinton, but the comic is mostly about voting, nor voting for Clinton. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.47|108.162.238.47]] 17:41, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Randall's fiance/wife has been diagnosed with cancer, hasn't she (per xkcd 1141: "Two Years")? So if/when President Trump repeals ObamaCare --- and in particular repeals the provisions in regard to "pre-existing conditions" --- then his wife loses her healthcare coverage, doesn't she? This is ample reason for Randall (and his wife, and all cancer patients and their families) to oppose Trump, isn't it? [[User:PNWoldguy|PNWoldguy]] ([[User talk:PNWoldguy|talk]]) 18:07, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

An ad for Hillary? Well, I just removed Thing Explainer and What If from my whistlist. I gave Thing Explainer as a gift last year. I now regret that. Oh, and a coworker's husband blacklisted XKCD from their router. Great idea. {{unsigned|Dayfall}}

Hmmmm...given how this election polarizes (look e.g. in the "Scientific American" for a clear anti-Trump statement which is rather unprecedented for them; dunno about "Science") this is a rather mildly pro-Clinton comic. So what? Other celebs took their stance too. (Eagerly still awaiting NSFWComix's comment :-) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.152|162.158.203.152]] 23:16, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Definitely not a Trump supporter here... But on the topic of political propaganda on a nerd comic... And the "free speech" comic about free speech "not existing on discussion forums"... The purpose of discussions is to have your beliefs challenged, so you can distinguish good and bad reasoning, refine your beliefs, and alter them due to evidence. Unpopular opinions should be refuted (if faulty premises), or discussed so everyone can decide for themselves. Banning members for unpopular opinions is not a debate, it's an echo chamber. And I mean this for both sides of a discussion, not just supporting one ideology in particular. [[User:Jimbo1qaz|Jimbo1qaz]] ([[User talk:Jimbo1qaz|talk]]) 23:29, 8 November 2016 (UTC)
:Also, I'm a bit disappointed that this comic is a Clinton campaign sign (although nowhere near as much as I would be if this comic was a Trump sign). [[User:Jimbo1qaz|Jimbo1qaz]] ([[User talk:Jimbo1qaz|talk]]) 23:31, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Explanation needs, somewhere on it, the interesting fact that citizens don't receive fines or criminal charges for not voting. I didn't realise that this was so in the U.S., and many other non-U.S. readers might not realise that it's legal to not vote in the U.S. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.121|108.162.249.121]] 01:27, 9 November 2016 (UTC)
*Most of the world doesn't have compulsory voting. I'm guessing you may be in Australia which does have compulsory voting, but New Zealand doesn't, nor do Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Japan, China, Nigeria, Finland, Pakistan, Denmark ... --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.127|108.162.216.127]] 17:44, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

Seriously,don't get heated about it. I agree that:

*This is just expressing Randall's opinion.
*Even if it wasn't, he deserves a comic off from jokes.
*The campaign is going o end before I wake up at 6 tomorrow.

Also, could you fucking watch your language? Jacky720 (talk) 03:27, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

I saw the two forward facing figures as Clinton and Kaine. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 03:49, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

Encouraging people to vote, and helping to know how, great. But I was disappointed that he stooped to campaigning for a specific candidate right in his comic, as opposed to his blag. This is a sad day for XKCD. {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.43}}

*I wonder if Randall realized that his "get a ride to the polls" link would only work for residents in one district of Nebraska -- less than 0.25% of his U.S. readership. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.127|108.162.216.127]] 17:44, 9 November 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1551: Pluto

2016-09-01T02:05:32Z

108.162.216.127:

Pluto is a planet. Period. Dwarf planets are a special kind of planets - small ones. Also Pluto is a full planet because it's not like a piece of a planet. OK?

I knew it! So my BOT was also running today. And don't miss the updates at WhatIf. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:28, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Yeah, it's pretty amazing! What is it with XKCD and Pluto these days by the way? [[User:Nk22|The Twenty-second. The Not So Only. The Nathan/Nk22]] ([[User talk:Nk22|talk]]) 19:36, 14 July 2015 (UTC)
:New Horizons space probe flyby of the Pluto system! I can't imagine that a space probe finally reaching a hitherto unmapped planetoid like Pluto wouldn't be exciting to certain people, especially an ex NASA guy like Randall. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 06:27, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Pluto is moving away from the Sun - and we've learned that as it does so, it enters the snowy part of its 248-year cycle. Hmm ... didn't Ned Stark say something about this? [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 22:11, 14 July 2015 (UTC)

Alright, the only one that's still got me stumped is "moon buds." The phrase has no stock meaning (Googling it turned up pictures of weed, naturally), but my best guess is this suggests moons reproduce through {{w|budding}}. Any thoughts? [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 00:38, 15 July 2015 (UTC)
:I have added something. {{User:17jiangz1/signature|03:21, 15 July 2015}}

"Border of pride lands" might also be an indirect reference to the "dark region" on Mars in 1504:opportunity, last panel, which is itself a reference to the Hyena Country of "Lion King." [[User:Taibhse|Taibhse]] ([[User talk:Taibhse|talk]]) 09:56, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

A couple of other possibilities for the reference to hatching: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/82353/giant-bird-in-space
--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.9|141.101.104.9]] 10:26, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

So Megaman needs no further explanation? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.109|141.101.99.109]] 11:04, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Where is the north pole? I like to play geohashing there. --[[User:GeorgDerReisende|GeorgDerReisende]] ([[User talk:GeorgDerReisende|talk]]) 12:12, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

The comment for Plug(inflating/deflating) is missing [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 13:30, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Those aren't bullet holes... they're speed holes! --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.97|108.162.216.97]] 13:46, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

The current explanation has that Randall has drawn "humorous pareidolia on top of it". I may be wrong, but isn't pareidolia the psychological process of seeing faces/objects etc in patterns, rather than those objects themselves. E.g. "I saw a mans face on the moon because of a psychological process called pareidolia" rather than "I saw a pareidolia on the moon, which looked like a face". --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 14:20, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

::I agree, so I changed the word "drawn" to outlined." [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 15:12, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

The heart reference may be related to this popular animated gif that showed up on Reddit: http://imgur.com/7C2GfIF 15:42, 15 July 2015 (UTC) turbotong

:Not originally - I believe NASA were the originator of the "heart" label, though I could be wrong. {{unsigned|Cosmogoblin}}

.jpeg compression only produces those artifacts on digital images. It was designed for professional photographers and did not take into account the effects of hard edges in the image since film images have no hard edges! It just got adopted by everybody else early on so we're stuck with it even though it can work very poorly on digital images. [[User:ExternalMonolog|ExternalMonolog]] ([[User talk:ExternalMonolog|talk]]) 17:30, 15 July 2015 (UTC)
:That's... interestingly not-quite-correct. The JPEG/JFIF method is a good-but-lossy version of digital image compression that outperforms (on compression terms) non-lossy methods of defining a digital image but doesn't work well with hard-edges. Photographs taken in digital format, or converted into digital format from a 'analogue' original, are often put through lossy compression because (for a wise amount of 'loss') the artefacts are easily lost in the already noisy and flowing 'real life' image details, just like the compression of MP3 (MPEG3 Audio Layer, or whichever related standard) applied to audio loses some detail but is generally drowned out by what 'remains', to the casual listener. (Images like graphs and diagrams are ''replete'' with hard edges, and have far fewer needs for subtleties of shade, so using the non-lossless PNG or even GIF (now that it's out of copyright, if that was ever your concern) would be better... Depends on whether you want need more than 256 different colours or a humorous animation. If you want both, there are also solutions, but that's the usual decision I'd be making.)
:I doubt that NASA uses .JPG images (at least between spacecraft and ground, although maybe for later web publication). There would probably be a (non-lossy) compression scheme (either inherently in the format of the image, or of the 'raw' image consisting of original arrays of bitplains, just to cut down on transmission time), so that as much exact science as possible could be extracted from the original pixels without 'smearing' and such artefacts. Professional (terrestrial!) photographers will often take RAW images (instead of/alongside the quick-and-dirty JPEG ones), for better quality (and no-artefact) images that might end up being blown up to poster-sized images, or from which a small segment will be blown up (e.g. ground-based amateur astronomical photography), that would otherwise so easily reveal the flaws.
:Also, IIRC, recent Pluto pictures had notably been created by NASA based upon high-resolution monochrome and lower-resolution colour images from two cameras (usefully analysed seperately, in their own right, and doubtless also needing different exposure times to create) combined together to create the headline pictures we've been seeing.
:Incidentally, noticable JPEG artefacts tend to be 8x8 pixel regions (most often seen when a small photographic region is digitally 'zoomed'). For those that need them, there are "artefact removal" tools in most decent image editing programmes that (with practice) can 'reverse' (or, rather, 'blend') the more obvious artefacts, after the fact. I suspect Randall's image's 'artefacts' are a selectively edited 'artefact addition' (easily done, with the likes of Photoshop and GIMP, and related to 'pixelating' method used to selectively obscure detail) on the original image. NASA never had to 'clean' the image, although some of its released images may have been 'dirtied' after down-conversion. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.166|141.101.98.166]] 20:51, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

One of a number of pareidolic features Randall has outlined. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.4|108.162.212.4]] 20:56, 15 July 2015 (UTC)

Is there anyone else here who (like me) thought that because of the flaring at the bottom the "heart" area looks more like a Heartless emblem? -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 00:15, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

I thought the "whale tail" is to the left of the heart (http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/find-heart-whale-new-horizons-picture-pluto-n388816), what Randall has labeled "chocolate frosting", not "pride lands". If there's some image reversal I don't know about, revert my edit. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 01:42, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

The "candy shell" may refer to commercials for M&M chocolates which were described as "milk chocolate wrapped in a colorful thin candy shell". [[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 04:10, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

To me, Snake Pit evokes politics, not topography ... [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 08:59, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

I wonder if the text on the surface updates every time the Pareidolia article is edited. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 15:49, 16 July 2015 (UTC)

I wonder if "the good part" is referencing "JavaScript: The Good Parts" [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.166|173.245.50.166]] 06:24, 15 August 2015 (UTC)

I wonder if Randall's putting the "complete text of the Wikipedia article on pareidolia" is also a reference to there always being someone who posts a link to the Wikipedia article on pareidolia when there is a discussion of seeing images within images.

1720: Horses

2016-08-15T14:35:25Z

108.162.216.127: Remove dubious claim about floppy disks

{{comic
| number = 1720
| date = August 15, 2016
| title = Horses
| image = horses.png
| titletext = This car has 240% of a horse's decision-making ability and produces only 30% as much poop.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Very rough}}

[https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/10/are-consumers-automakers-and-insurers-really-ready-for-self-driving-cars/ The programming] of {{w|self-driving cars}} has been in the news lately, as engineers and philosophers debate what rules the cars should follow in dangerous situations (for instance, what to do when forced to choose between hitting a pedestrian or swerving into oncoming traffic). [[Randall]], in the form of [[Ponytail]], suggests one approach for solving this problem: to think of the car as behaving like a horse, using its own intelligence and ignoring dangerous commands in the interests of self-preservation. Ponytail claims that in the old days, riding a horse, or driving a horse drawn vehicle, was less dangerous than {{w|drunk driving}} today. Given the higher speed and the denser traffic today this is likely true.

Car engines are traditionally measured in {{w|horsepower}}, which (roughly) compares the power output of the engine to that of a horse. Randall suggests that an equivalent should be done for the computers in self-driving cars, comparing the car's ability to mitigate for a drunk driver and/or avoid obstacles to that of a horse. [[White Hat]] is either a salesman (as he has [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9f/lorenz_-_sale_2.png been before] in [[1350: Lorenz]] or [[260: The Glass Necklace]]) or has just bought the car himself, bragging about its abilities to either his customers of friends, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]], in the final panel. He tells that the car has 200 horsepower (on the higher-end of average for a family vehicle) and 3.5 horse-intelligences in the computer. The latter statement is harder to compare to that of a human, drunk or not, or to that of a self driving car.

Note that riding a horse while drunk is in fact still dangerous and illegal in many places (for example, {{w|Licensing Act 1872|the UK and Ireland}}). A badly-driven horse can toss-off its owner, trample passersby, fall on bad surfaces, and destroy any wagon or carriage it's pulling. A self-driving car should be able to understand road rules, which a horse will not - which is presumably why the cars in the comic and the title text are both specified as being more intelligent than a horse.

The same car, if it's White Hat's own car, or the same or another car, if he is a sales man, is mentioned in the title text. The car has 240% of a horse's decision-making ability while producing only 30% as much poop. So even with 3.5 horse-intelligences it may only have 2.4 times the decision-making ability (assuming it's the same car). A cars "poop" would be it's exhaust, which is usually not found on the road in the form of apples... But it's weight could be measured and compared to that of the poop from a horse.

In [[887: Future Timeline]] dogs driving cars are mentioned...

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail walks right with Cueball.]
:Ponytail: Drunk driving was less of a problem before cars. If you got on your horse drunk and fell asleep, it could just walk home.

:[Zoom in on Ponytail's torso; she holds up a palm to proffer an idea.]
:Ponytail: And if you tried to ride into a tree, the horse could be like "No."
:Ponytail: Forget human drivers – ''that's'' the benchmark we should be judging self-driving cars against.

:[The front end of a car, with the bottom of the windshield and the right side mirror just inside the panel is parked before White Hat. He is holding his hand, palm up, out to the left to indicate his car as he brags about it to Megan and Cueball standing in front of him admiring the car. At the top left of the panel a small frame with a caption is placed over the panels frame:]
:Soon:
:White Hat: This baby has 200 horses under the hood and 3.5 in the computer.
:Megan and Cueball: Ooooh!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1221: Nomenclature

2015-10-13T17:53:08Z

108.162.216.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1221
| date = June 5, 2013
| title = Nomenclature
| image = nomenclature.png
| titletext = [shouted, from the field] 'Aunt Beast hit a pop fly to second! Dive for it, Mrs Whatsit!'
}}

==Explanation==
Nomenclature can be defined as the devising or choosing of names for things. Here [[Randall]] connects three pop culture references that each contain one or more instances of ambiguous nomenclature based on pronouns: the "{{w|Who's on First?}}" skit, the "{{w|Doctor Who}}" television series, and the novel "{{w|A Wrinkle in Time}}" by Madeleine L'Engle.

The comic references the famous "{{w|Who's on First?}}" skit by the American comedy duo {{w|Abbott and Costello}} in the 1930s. This [http://youtu.be/airT-m9LcoY video] is one of the original performances. Costello is the shorter character, with a round brimmed hat and baseball bat, while Abbott is taller and wearing a baseball cap. This reflects the [http://www.ramsheadgroup.com/files/2013/04/abbott-and-costello-whos-on-first.jpg most common image] associated with the skit. In the routine, Costello is confused by the nicknames the {{w|Baseball|ball}} players go by. The man playing first base goes by the name "Who", the man on second base goes by "What", and the one on third calls himself "I Don't Know". Costello asks "Who's on first?", inquiring the name of the first-baseman, and Abbott replies "that's right", affirming that the first-baseman's name is Who. Both parties become confused within a matter of seconds.

{{w|Doctor (Doctor Who)|The Doctor}} from the long-running British television series ''{{w|Doctor Who}}'' is often referred to as "Doctor Who" by people who [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IAmNotShazam think the series' name and his name are the same] (although it should be noted that the name "Doctor Who" is not entirely incorrect, the character [https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSipAqHqoHH-Ma04kMV_d0rmCVD7p6co_iItlcmSXfOqt6BiCmGDQ was referred to as such in the end credits for several seasons]). In-universe, he often introduces himself as "The Doctor" which elicits the response "[http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_%22Doctor_Who%3F%22_running_joke Doctor who?]". His response to this question is "Just 'The Doctor'". [[Megan]] (or according to the transcript inside the comic, Mrs. Whatsit) appears to have interrupted the "Who's on First?" skit to make this point: The Doctor is on first.

The title text references the Madeleine L'Engle novel ''{{w|A Wrinkle in Time}}'', which has characters with similarly ambiguous names. The book's {{w|A Wrinkle in Time#Mrs Whatsit|Mrs. Whatsit}} appears to be on second base. "Aunt Beast" is a minor character in the novel from the planet of Ixchel.
And they are playing a real baseball game. "Aunt Beast" is the batter and hits the ball in the air towards second base while "Mrs. Whatsit" (presumably playing second base, in place of What) is being encouraged to dive to catch the ball before it hits the ground, to get the batter out.

==Transcript==
:[Mrs. Whatsit is talking to Abbott and Costello.]
:Mrs. Whatsit: You're both confused.
:Mrs. Whatsit: He's just "The Doctor".

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]
[[Category:Baseball]]

1221: Nomenclature

2015-10-13T17:52:04Z

108.162.216.127: /* Explanation */ End parenthesis

{{comic
| number = 1221
| date = June 5, 2013
| title = Nomenclature
| image = nomenclature.png
| titletext = [shouted, from the field] 'Aunt Beast hit a pop fly to second! Dive for it, Mrs Whatsit!'
}}

==Explanation==
Nomenclature can be defined as the devising or choosing of names for things. Here [[Randall]] connects three pop culture references that each contain one or more instances of ambiguous nomenclature based on pronouns: the "{{w|Who's on First?}}" skit, the "{{w|Doctor Who}}" television series, and the novel "{{w|A Wrinkle in Time}}" by Madeleine L'Engle.

The comic references the famous "{{w|Who's on First?}}" skit by the American comedy duo {{w|Abbott and Costello}} in the 1930s. This [http://youtu.be/airT-m9LcoY video] is one of the original performances. Costello is the shorter character, with a round brimmed hat and baseball bat, while Abbott is taller and wearing a baseball cap. This reflects the [http://www.ramsheadgroup.com/files/2013/04/abbott-and-costello-whos-on-first.jpg most common image] associated with the skit. In the routine, Costello is confused by the nicknames the {{w|Baseball|ball}} players go by. The man playing first base goes by the name "Who", the man on second base goes by "What", and the one on third calls himself "I Don't Know". Costello asks "Who's on first?", inquiring the name of the first-baseman, and Abbott replies "that's right", affirming that the first-baseman's name is Who. Both parties become confused within a matter of seconds.

{{w|Doctor (Doctor Who)|The Doctor}} from the long-running British television series ''{{w|Doctor Who}}'' is often referred to as "Doctor Who" by people who [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IAmNotShazam think the series' name and his name are the same] (although it should be noted that the name "Doctor Who" is not entirely incorrect, the character [https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSipAqHqoHH-Ma04kMV_d0rmCVD7p6co_iItlcmSXfOqt6BiCmGDQ was referred to as such in the end credits for several seasons]). In-universe, he often introduces himself as "The Doctor" which elicits the response "[http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_%22Doctor_Who%3F%22_running_joke Doctor who?]". His response to this question is "Just 'The Doctor'". [[Megan]] (or according to the transcript inside the comic, Mrs. Whatsit), appears to have interrupted the "Who's on First?" skit to make this point: The Doctor is on first.

The title text references the Madeleine L'Engle novel ''{{w|A Wrinkle in Time}}'', which has characters with similarly ambiguous names. The book's {{w|A Wrinkle in Time#Mrs Whatsit|Mrs. Whatsit}} appears to be on second base. "Aunt Beast" is a minor character in the novel from the planet of Ixchel.
And they are playing a real baseball game. "Aunt Beast" is the batter and hits the ball in the air towards second base while "Mrs. Whatsit" (presumably playing second base, in place of What) is being encouraged to dive to catch the ball before it hits the ground, to get the batter out.

==Transcript==
:[Mrs. Whatsit is talking to Abbott and Costello.]
:Mrs. Whatsit: You're both confused.
:Mrs. Whatsit: He's just "The Doctor".

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]
[[Category:Baseball]]

1584: Moments of Inspiration

2015-10-07T12:07:00Z

108.162.216.127: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1584
| date = September 30, 2015
| title = Moments of Inspiration
| image = moments_of_inspiration.png
| titletext = Charles, I just talked to John and Mildred, who run that company selling seeds and nuts, and their kids with MOUTHS are starving!
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Isaac Newton}}'s original examples describing the {{w|Newton's law of universal gravitation|force of gravity}} show an apple falling from a tree in order to explain why the apple falls toward the Earth, instead of the Earth falling toward the apple. He was indeed inspired by a {{w|Isaac_Newton#Apple_incident|falling apple}} but over time this developed into the legend that he was originally inspired from being actually struck by an apple. The first part of this comic retells that famous legend. The later panels depict similar (but more implausible) legends that could emerge if we were to assume that other scientists' most famous examples and discoveries were based on actually observing some mundane everyday event taking place.

In the first situation we not only see the apple fall on Newton's head, we also see the Moon. This was one of the first astronomical objects on which he used his theory of gravity. He calculated its orbit around the Earth and found that it fit with the theory.

In the second situation Cueball throws a baseball towards {{w|Lise Meitner}}, but when she fails to catch the ball it hits one of her porcelain model-atoms. In this way Meitner discovered a way to split the atom. Cueball may represent {{w|Otto Hahn}}, since they were part of the Hahn-Meitner-Strassmann team that worked on this problem. Hahn was later awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, where Meitner was overlooked. Throwing something at someone and asking them to [http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/think-fast-throwing-something.1984437/ think fast] is a common "joke", where the receiver rarely has a chance to actually catch the object. But in this case it could also be a reference to the fact that she then thought fast then made a major discovery. Or if it is Hahn, then he thought faster and got the award instead of her. The porcelain models might also be a reference to {{w|Meissen porcelain}}, in German called "Meißner Porzellan", where "Meißner" is phonetically very similar to "Meitner". (Meitner has previously been mentioned in the comic [[896: Marie Curie]], which more or less explains why [[Randall]] did not choose the more famous {{w|Marie Curie}} as the female example in this comic. Meitner is not very well known in the public, compared to the three men or Curie, but this may exactly be the point for choosing her. She should have been just as famous considering what splitting the atoms has been {{w|Nuclear power|leading}} {{w|Nuclear weapon|to}}!) Also, there's not much in Marie's story that could be put down to fanciful anecdote. "All" she did was extract a few chemicals and study their properties.

In the third situation it is indicated that half of {{w|Charles Darwin}}'s children had {{w|beaks}}, a property not normally found in human children. This would make it very difficult for them to drink soda from a glass or through a straw, compared to his normal children with mouths. Based on this assumption he developed his ideas about natural selection and {{w|evolution}}. The comic is unclear on whether this makes them more or less fit to survive and reproduce. This is a reference to Darwin's initial findings on the {{w|HMS Beagle}} on how {{w|Galapagos}} {{w|finches}} with differently shaped beaks are better suited for specific types of food, and therefore are better selected for environments where those foods are available. The title text furthers this, see below. After having learned about genes from Mendel's works, Darwin later in life regretted having married his cousin, as consanguinity would increase the chances that his children would be born with birth defects, as it ultimately happened. The difficulty caused by beaks when drinking liquids could be a reference to this Aesop's fable {{w|The Fox and the Stork}}.

In the fourth situation {{w|Albert Einstein}} remarks to a man that it's annoying that the man's twin brother keeps flashing a light from a train when Einstein is trying to check his clock. He then comes to a sudden revelation. This references several of Einstein's (separate—it makes little sense together in this manner) thought experiments on {{w|special relativity}}, such as the {{w|twin paradox}} (the twin on the train should be younger after decelerating to a stop), the time between separate flashes of light, and the {{w|time dilation}} experienced by the observer in the moving {{w|frame of reference}}.

In the title text there is a description of how beaks rather than mouths are more useful when the foods have shells that need to be cracked open like nuts and seeds. Here it is clear that in the John and Mildred family you starve if you cannot eat the bird food, and thus it would be an advantage to have a beak for survival instead of a normal mouth. "John" and "Mildred" may be Mildred and {{w|John T. Scopes}} of the famous 1925 "{{w|Scopes Trial|monkey trial}}" in which John was fined $100 for teaching evolution in a Tennessee school.

==Transcript==
:[Isaac Newton, with curly long hair, sits under a tree. A waning crescent moon can be seen. An apple falls and hits him on the head. There is a caption in a frame that breaks the top border of the main frame:]
:Isaac Newton
:Apple falling: Bonk
:Isaac Newton: ''Ow!''

:[Isaac Newton rubs his sore head.]
:Isaac Newton: Aha!

:[Cueball throws a baseball towards Lise Meitner with short dark hair. (The ball can be seen in the next frame). She turns towards him too late to react and completely fails to even try catching the ball. There is a caption in a frame that breaks the top border of the main frame:]
:Lise Meitner
:Cueball: Hey Lise! Think fast!
:Ball hitting something (off-screen): Crash

:[Lise takes her hands to her mouth and she watches the broken porcelain atom lying in two pieces on the floor where it has fallen of a desk. On the desk three other intact atoms can be seen. The baseball lies behind her.]
:Lise Meitner: Oh no! My collection of porcelain atoms!
:Lise Meitner:...Hmm.

:[Four kids are standing in front of Megan and Charles Darwin (with a big beard and hair behind the ears). All the kids are trying to drink a glass of soda with a straw in them. The first kid is a boy with dark flat hair and sips soda through the straw with his mouth. The next kid is a boy with standing black hair, he tries in wain to drink with his beak open on each side of the glass. The third kid is a girl with her hair in a bun. She tries to get her beak into the glass which she has put on the floor. The last kid is a boy version of Cueball who slurps his soda through the straw. There is a caption in a frame that breaks the top border of the main frame:]
:Charles Darwin
:Megan: I gave our kids soda, but the ones with beaks always have trouble drinking it.
:Charles Darwin: I've noticed that...
:Boy with flat dark hair: Sip sip
:Boy with standing black hair and a beak: Crunch
:Girl with her hair in a bun and a beak: Peck peck
:Cueball like kid: Sluurp

:[A hairy guy is standing in front of Albert Einstein (with wild hair and a moustache), who is holding one hand to his head and has a clock in his other hand. Behind them is a train, with a locomotive at the front and a wagon behind that stretches beyond the frame. Another hairy guy has his head out of the front window of the wagon and is flashing a light towards the other two. In the next three windows can be seen passengers, two with Cueball like heads and one with hair. There is a caption in a frame that breaks the top border of the main frame:]
:Albert Einstein
:Albert Einstein: I wish your twin brother would stop shining lights at us from that train. I can barely see my clock!
:Albert Einstein: ...Wait!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]

1472: Geography

2015-05-02T21:41:49Z

108.162.216.127: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1472
| date = January 12, 2015
| title = Geography
| image = geography.png
| titletext = The place I'd least like to live is the farm in the background of those diagrams showing how tornadoes form.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic is a map showing examples of {{w|geographical feature}}s as they would be presented in a {{w|geography}} textbook. May be based on the first page of the book [http://nicksharratt.com/books/other_authors/you_choose.html You Choose] which displays a map of locations similar in style to the one used in the comic and asks the reader "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?".

[[Randall]] notes that he would like to live in the middle of this region. These maps include an unusual density of different land forms, leading to an interesting environment in which to live. In the real world, these geographical features might take up far more space, and the geologic forces that shape them might create far different patterns than those shown. This kind of {{w|Neverland}} of geographical feature would offer a range of outdoor activities and landscapes that would make it a very nice place to live, as long as the volcano does not erupt.

Some of the geographic features do have a (very) loose similarity to the area around {{w|Boston}}, where Randall lives. Also near Boston is one geographical feature that Randall has included in this map but has refrained from labeling, the {{w|isthmus}} between the peninsula and the forest.

On the other hand, the map actually looks quite a bit like the area around southwestern {{w|Washington (State)|Washington}} and northwestern {{w|Oregon}}, with the reader facing south so the {{w|High Desert (Oregon)|high desert}} is on the upper left. The volcano could be {{w|Mount Rainier|Rainier}} or {{w|Mount St. Helens|St. Helens}}. Real-world outdoor enthusiasts do indeed appreciate the Neverlandish landscape. Having little Spanish influence, locals would refer to a "mesa" as a {{w|butte}}.

The title text discusses a different type of diagram usually found in geography textbooks, the one [http://scied.ucar.edu/sites/default/files/images/large_image_for_image_content/tornado_fmn_lg_0.gif showing the mechanism of tornado formation]. Randall notes that he would least like to live in the farm typically depicted in the background of such diagrams. This is likely because the farm is depicted as being on a vast, featureless stretch of flat prairie, the opposite of the rich landscape in the comic. The monotonous landscape would reflect that of {{w|Tornado Alley}}, an area of the central United States where a large number of tornadoes form, and which makes up a large portion of the {{w|Great Plains}}. His dislike for this type of area may also simply be due to the damage created when a tornado hits. That said, chances of a ''direct'' tornado hit on any given house are slim compared to simply the risk of property damage. Living near an active volcano may be much more dangerous than living in Tornado Alley.

==Transcript==
:[A map shows the various land forms listed, from top and clockwise:]
:{{w|Mountains}}
:{{w|Sea}}
:{{w|Plain}}
:{{w|Island}}
:{{w|River delta|Delta}}
:{{w|Strait}}
:{{w|River}}
:{{w|Bay}}
:{{w|Lagoon}}
:{{w|Peninsula}}
:{{w|Forest}}
:{{w|Mesa}}
:{{w|Hills}}
:{{w|Volcano}}
:{{w|Lake}}
:{{w|Glacier}}
:{{w|Desert}}

:[In the middle of these, between the lake and the lagoon there is a dot with an arrow pointing it out. The arrow is labeled:]
:My house

:If I could live anywhere, I would choose the example map from geography books that explains what everything is called.

==Trivia==
*Randall has misspelled ''peninsula'' with an extra "n" as pe'''nn'''insula.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Maps]]

Talk:1428: Move Fast and Break Things

2014-10-01T17:06:14Z

108.162.216.127:

catch me if I'm wrong here, but driving the hearse recklessly would probably be more likely to injure pedestrians on the way to the funeral - not the attendees, who are often behind the hearse (?) -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 11:05, 1 October 2014 (UTC)
:That really depends on how recklessly you're driving.--[[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]]) 13:32, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

Forgive me, but "removing wrong body parts" in the explanation made me grin. "Woops, that's not an appendix! Why are we in the brain, anyway?" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.165|108.162.219.165]] 13:53, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

:The scary thing is that it does happen with suprising frequency. Incorrect diagnosis of symptoms, left leg amputated instead of the right, Mr Jones' operation accidentally carried out on Mr James, surgical instruments left inside the patient, incorrect drugs prescribed, etc etc. There is an interesting [http://www.ted.com/talks/brian_goldman_doctors_make_mistakes_can_we_talk_about_that?language=en TED talk] on the subject by Brian Goldman. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 14:07, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

:Reminds me of [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=580#comic this SMBC comic] —[[User:Artyer|Artyer]] <big>([[User Talk:Artyer|talk]]<big>'''|'''</big>[[Special:Contributions/Artyer|ctb]])</big> 15:50, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

Quick question: If cueball almost got fired from his job at the funeral home, and still works there, how is this a job interview? —[[User:Artyer|Artyer]] <big>([[User Talk:Artyer|talk]]<big>'''|'''</big>[[Special:Contributions/Artyer|ctb]])</big> 15:50, 1 October 2014 (UTC)
:You can go to a job interview while you still have a job; in fact in some places you're more likely to get an offer this way. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 16:26, 1 October 2014 (UTC)

For the violin, he must have [http://www.laboiteverte.fr/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Faerie__s_Aire_and_Death_Waltz.jpg bowed real fast and slippage occurred.] --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.127|108.162.216.127]] 17:06, 1 October 2014 (UTC)