explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:681: Gravity Wells

2019-10-31T21:39:35Z

108.162.219.4: Added a question

Why is Earth's well's depth listed as 5478km but as 6379km in the inset?
Compare with Mars which has 1286 in both places.
[[Special:Contributions/87.174.225.131|87.174.225.131]] 07:21, 12 April 2013 (UTC)
:Best guess is either a goof, or that the lower number is just for Earth itself, while the greater number is for the Earth/Moon system as a whole. Proportionally speaking, we have the largest moon in the solar system, so maybe it wouldn't nicely fit in the Earth well as easily as Mars's and Jupiter's moons do.--[[User:Druid816|Druid816]] ([[User talk:Druid816|talk]]) 08:28, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

: It ''may'' be the height needed to go from one gravity well to another. You don't have to get all the way up to escape speed for that.

: Randall wasn't kidding about the Sun being "very very far down"; its well is 100 times deeper than Jupiter's!
:[[User:Wwoods|Wwoods]] ([[User talk:Wwoods|talk]]) 19:47, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

:: OTOH, from the table above i'm thinking that the 5.4 might be the Venus figure, and it was wrongly placed besides Earth...
:: Secondly, what i found interesting was that the Earth's 6.4 looks so much like its radius! I wonder if it's merely a coincidence, or there's a connection between the two... -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.233|141.101.99.233]] 21:25, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
:::The table is great, it must be included in the article; layout and time is just my problem right now. PRO TIP: Do not care about the x-axis.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:18, 30 October 2013 (UTC)
: The fact that the density of the Earth is 5478 kilograms per cubic kilometer makes me pretty sure it is a typo. [[User:Fewmet|Fewmet]] ([[User talk:Fewmet|talk]]) 03:04, 4 July 2014 (UTC)
:: Hehe, you might be right. That's the best explanation. It would be a strange coincidence otherwise. But your units are wrong: a cubic kilometer of water, ice-cream or Natalie Portmans would be already something like a billion kilograms. Or a trillion, if you are American. Oh, you might be American. In this case: happy 4th of July! -[[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.35|188.114.102.35]] 12:39, 4 July 2014 (UTC)
:::Thanks for catching that (and for the July 4 wishes). It should be kilograms per cubic meter. Looking into that, though, leaves me less sure that is the origin of the problem. I thought I had multiple sources for Earth having a density of 5478 kg/m3, but can find only [//atharvatutorials.com/doc/physics_paper.docx one] (and not a very compelling one at that). I have sounder sources for [//www.universetoday.com/26771/density-of-the-earth/ 5513 kg/m3]. [//nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html 5514 kg/m3], [//www.wolframalpha.com 5515 kg/m3], [//www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Venus_Express/Venus_compared_to_Earth 5520 kg/m3] and [//principles.ou.edu/earth_planet/ 5540 kg/m3]. It may be trivial in that all round to 5500 kg/m3.
::It was corrected on the poster version. Earth's well in the main graphic is marked as 6379km, just like the inset.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.86|108.162.216.86]] 00:19, 21 August 2014 (UTC)

:::I solved for the wells on Earth, Moon and Mars using the equation Randall gave and masses and equatorial radii from NASA, getting 6371 km, 287 km and 1286 km, respectively. [[User:Fewmet|Fewmet]] ([[User talk:Fewmet|talk]]) 23:07, 5 July 2014 (UTC)
The Oberth Effect mentioned in the title text is [//www.askamathematician.com/2013/01/q-how-does-the-oberth-effect-work-and-where-does-the-extra-energy-come-from-why-is-it-better-for-a-rocket-to-fire-at-the-lowest-point-in-its-orbit/ well-explained here] (assuming you are not intimidated by the algebra in squaring a binomial). The gist of it is that using a bit of fuel in a rocket thrust will increase the rocket’s kinetic energy . The higher the kinetic energy at the time of the thrust, the greater the increase in kinetic energy. It works because the energy of the fuel goes into increasing the kinetic energy of the ship and the kinetic energy of the spent fuel. The faster you go, the greater the portion of the energy the ship gets.

The “gravity assist” is also known as the slingshot effect. The [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_assist#Explanation Wikipedia explanation] is good, especially with its diagram. In it a spaceship (or other body) accelerates toward a planet (or moon, star, etc.) in the same direction that body was going. The ship picks up a little of the body’s momentum and so goes faster, although only according to an external reference frame. An observer at rest with respect to that other body would actually see the ship approach and depart with the same speed.

The title text reference to orbital speed is unclear to me. I suppose it just means that the given gravity wells assume you are at rest on the surface of the planet. Then being in orbit (and necessarily having an orbital speed) would mean you are part way out of the well already. [[User:Fewmet|Fewmet]] ([[User talk:Fewmet|talk]]) 02:57, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

If the first stage of a rocket is still supplying lift for a while after its fuel is used up and the stage is cut adrift, would there be any saving in waiting for the next phase to cut in when forward motion is almost ended rather than continuing the burn immediately from the second stage?

The higher the vehicle gets the more productive the fuel becomes.Or is it preferable to continue the journey as fast as possible? {{unsigned|Weatherlawyer}}

My first instinct would be to say burn as continuously as possible. If you wait until your speed is almost zero, you have to use a whole load of energy (fuel) to get back to the speed you were going in the first place. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 17:12, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

:Hence the need to use ultra light containers in the first stage?{{unsigned|Weatherlawyer}}

Maybe the typo is based on Randall's days at NASA? It might already incorporate gravity assists and the Oberth effect. That number might even be what NASA was using as the minimum potential with known cost-effective techniques. [[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 21:22, 8 January 2016 (UTC)

== Earth's Geosynchronous Orbital Altitude ==

In the XKCD strip, the artist states above Earth in the lower right popout that the geosynchronous altitude is well below top of Earth's gravity well. While the rest of his strip is a wonderful representation of the science behind gravity wells, this one bit is not accurate. A geosynchronous altitude for Earth is nearly 36,000 km, not under 6000 km. Kudos for the rest of the strip, though.
: The strip scales the heights of the corresponding wells based on the assumption of constant Earth surface gravity; in other words, it takes the same amount of energy to climb such a well as it does to escape the real gravity well. By contrast, as one ascends from the Earth's surface, gravity decreases, so it requires less energy to climb to an orbital altitude than it does to reach the same height in the hypothetical well. The amount of energy required to put a geostationary satellite in orbit, for example, is equivalent to that used in raising it 5413 km in Earth surface gravity, and thus it is located 5413 km from the bottom of the well. [[User:Arcorann|Arcorann]] ([[User talk:Arcorann|talk]]) 03:42, 8 February 2019 (UTC)
I have a question relating to this topic. I've learnt how to calculate well depth, but how did Randall Munroe calculate the position of things inside the gravity well (moons of planets, for example, or Saturn's rings)?

== How much of the gravity well can be overcome by launching from a high mountain? ==

If we constructed a spaceport on a mountaintop that was, say, 14,505 ft (Mt. Whitney, CA), or even 20,310 ft (Denali, Alaska), or slightly less after clearing a flat surface, would it significantly reduce the amount of the gravity well a rocket had to climb, and hence the amount of fuel needed to reach LEO? Would thinner air reduce drag and increase efficiency significantly as well?
This would be tough to build and maintain, but would it be worth delivering spaceships to mountaintops by truck to reduce the need for fuel to escape Earth's Gravity well?
:I am not an expert, but to my knowledge, the effect of latitude on gravity is much stronger than those of a mountain. Especially one as far north as Denali. That is why Nasa uses Florida and Texas, Russia uses {{w|Baikonur_Cosmodrome}} in Southern Kazakhstan , Europe uses {{w|Guiana_Space_Centre}} in south america (French Guiana, so technically Europe...). --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:52, 29 May 2019 (UTC)

:FWIW in the early stages of planning the Space Shuttle, the Air Force was looking at launching from the top of the Rockies, maybe in Colorado or such. The reason being exactly the savings in propellant and consequent gain in payload. I was made to believe the savings was quite significant.

:What killed it was the issue of what happens when one malfunctions or crashes on launch. You've got Space Shuttle & parts raining down on the Denver metro area; not good.

:Source: My dad worked on the project for the Air Force back in the 70s or thereabouts. [[User:Flug|Flug]] ([[User talk:Flug|talk]]) 21:52, 22 September 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2216: Percent Milkfat

2019-10-18T06:47:09Z

108.162.219.4:

I've always called 2% milk "98% water".
Also, these comics have been arriving ''really'' late this week; I hope Randall is doing alright.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 00:19, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

Is the fact that the comic arrived later in the day responsible for the bottom of the page brokenly saying this is a "Thursday" comic? That doesn't seem editable in the normal wiki manner.
: I don't know the cause, or if they are related, but I was able to manually fix all that--even adding the appropriate categories that got left off. [[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 04:17, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
::Randall was presenting his new book at a speech he gave in Berlin on the 15th of October. However being in Europe would make his comics more early, unless he has made an error with the cript doing the upload (mmoving time zone in the wrong direction) or he is uploading very early morning the next day. Alternatively he is just jet-lagged and his schedule is messed up. [https://www.fu-berlin.de/presse/informationen/fup/2019/fup_19_281-randall-munroe-tu/index.html See the German Press release of the university he is visiting.] He also advertised it on the header of the page, if the OS/Browser is set to German language. [[Talk:xkcd Header text|I wanted to put this on the wiki, but got no replies for it and hadn't had the time to do it on my own.]] --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:26, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
:::Lupo, can you post an image of how it looks in the German version if there is a current version with different header? Also will it be possible that this is saved in a web archive? I would like to add it to the explanation, but without any kind of visual to show that it is indeed the case, it would be a bit thin as part of an explanation. I think it is an interesting information, but this page is about a US comic, so it should only be for the informational value, not something that needed to be fully included in the [[xkcd Header text|header text explanation]]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:47, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
::::The announcement of his speech in Berlin has been replaced by a image of the German bookcover and the simple text (which is a link to the publishers shop), roughly translated as "In stores now". I am currently at work, but will look into getting a screenshot in the evening. Apperantly some IP-User has found a way to view the different localized versions at the talk page of the header, as I just noticed. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:08, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
:::: There is also an anouncement of this, and of a tour across the UK last week at [https://xkcd.com/how-to/ xkcd.com/how-to] --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:11, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

2% milk is called half-full in the Netherlands. As a child I once asked my mother why anybody would want to buy a milk carton that was only half full :-).

The amount of milkfat in milk varies by the breed of cattle that produced it, along with individual variation. Holsteins are most often used for milk production because they can produce the greatest volume of milk, but other breeds, such as Jersey, produce less milk, but with higher milk fat, often up to 6% milkfat. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 11:14, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

I am not entirely comfortable referring to dark energy as matter. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.19|172.68.189.19]] 12:40, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
:Per Einstein, energy and matter are interchangeable. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:23, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
::Energy and matter are NOT interchangeable! Energy and mass are interchangeable—- not the same thing at all. Matter is stuff that obeys the Pauli Exclusion Principle. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.101|108.162.221.101]] 21:38, 17 October 2019 (UTC)
:::So most helium and lead are not matter? (Even mass number nuclei atomic are boson and does not obey the Pauli Exclusion Principle)[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.4|108.162.219.4]] 06:47, 18 October 2019 (UTC)
::It's not the fungibility, it's the commission. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.136|162.158.255.136]] 15:27, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

I think we may need to start a list of things that are made up of dark matter: 1. Squirrels, 2. Milk [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.155|172.69.68.155]] 14:21, 17 October 2019 (UTC) Sam

If cosmologists and food scientists are working together, could we be getting close to a Grand Unified Theory? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:23, 17 October 2019 (UTC)

2132: Percentage Styles

2019-04-06T13:21:50Z

108.162.219.4: Fixed spelling of 'caesar'

{{comic
| number = 2132
| date = April 3, 2019
| title = Percentage Styles
| image = percentage_styles.png
| titletext = In a tribute to classical Latin, I started pronouncing it 'per-kent.' Eventually my friends had to resort to spritzing me with a water bottle like a cat to train me out of it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Classicist and a Mathematician. A table based on the graph needs to be added, giving a percentage approval rating to the different styles of writing. This may pick up an item at 65% which would be neat. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

On March 29, 2019, The {{w|AP Stylebook}} changed a long-standing rule that forbade press writers from using the percent sign (%) when writing percentages. This had long been a controversial rule, leading to much debate over the preferable way to write percentages, before the Associated Press finally conceded the point.

The comic lists the best to worst ways in which you can write out phrases that are phonetically the same as "65%". They go from the common "65%" and "65 percent" to "65 per cent," which is not common in Randall's area and time, to the odd "sixty-five%" and "65 per¢" (using the cent currency symbol) which are not used and look quite odd. A small gap between the ends of the bar and the best and worst options may suggest the existence of even better and worse options not listed in this comic, such as "65/¢". The middle option, "65 per cent", was common in older literature, along with "65 per cent.", using "cent." as an abbreviation for "centum", which is Latin for "hundred". ("per" in Latin translates to "through", "for", and several other English prepositions.) The entire string would translate to "65 for every hundred." "Per cent" is more widely used in British English than in American English today.
The title text references the ambiguity of {{w|hard and soft C}} in English. In Classical Latin, "C" is always pronounced like "K". However, in English, most "C"s before E, I and Y (including "percent") are soft, and pronounced like "S". In academia, [http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/mc/latinpro.pdf Latin students are taught the Classical Latin pronunciations of words], rather than the pronunciation used by the Catholic church. Some students of Latin may adopt the Latin pronunciation of English words derived from Latin. Such people may tend more to pronounce, even when not the correct choice, "celtic" like "keltic" (this ''is'' the correct choice, except for the {{w|Boston Celtics|basketball team}}), "caesar" like "keezer", or "cent" like "kent" (although since this involves obviously saying something others aren't going to understand unless they took the same classes, it might as well be "per kentum").
Other abbreviations not mentioned in the comic include "pct.", "pct" or "pc". See {{w|Percentage}}.

People sometimes train a cat out of a bad behavior, such as scratching upholstery, by spritzing the cat with water when the cat does the undesired behavior. In this case, Randall's friends found him so annoying they trained him out saying "per kent" by spraying him with water every time he pronounced it that way. Training people this way was previously a punchline in [[220: Philosophy]], while training a cat this way was previously a punchline in [[1786: Trash]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Percentage styles in order of acceptability
:[A long vertical line is shown with five dots on it.]
:[Label at the top:]
:Best
:[Dot labels from top to bottom:]

:65%
:[short distance]
:65 percent
:[a much longer distance]
:65 per cent
:[a distance roughly twice the previous]
:Sixty-five%
:[an exceedingly long distance]
:65 per¢

[[Category:Charts]]

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2132: Percentage Styles

2019-04-03T16:44:17Z

108.162.219.4:

The only proper style for Britain and the US is ‘%65’. [[User:Aasasd|Aasasd]] ([[User talk:Aasasd|talk]]) 16:20, 3 April 2019 (UTC)
:O RLY? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.52|108.162.241.52]] 16:37, 3 April 2019 (UTC)

----
There's also 65/100, 65:100, <math>\textstyle\frac{65}{100}</math>, sixtyfive-hundreth, 0.65, and point sixty-five. Benny. 16:41, 3 April 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2132: Percentage Styles

2019-04-03T16:41:24Z

108.162.219.4:

The only proper style for Britain and the US is ‘%65’. [[User:Aasasd|Aasasd]] ([[User talk:Aasasd|talk]]) 16:20, 3 April 2019 (UTC)
O RLY? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.52|108.162.241.52]] 16:37, 3 April 2019 (UTC)

----
There's also 65/100, 65:100, <math>\textstyle\frac{65}{100}</math>, sixtyfive-hundreth, and 0.65. Benny. 16:41, 3 April 2019 (UTC)

2131: Emojidome

2019-04-01T18:53:06Z

108.162.219.4: "60 seconds" is simply incorrect. You can just watch a single round and tell that "1 minute" is displayed for AT LEAST ten seconds before it displays 59 seconds.

{{comic
| number = 2131
| date = April 1, 2019
| title = Emojidome
| image = emojidome.png
| titletext = 🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼
}}
*To experience the interactivity, visit the {{xkcd|2131|original comic}}.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 😇. Needs more elaboration on font influencing emoji..}}

This is an interactive [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] that began at noon ET (16:00 UTC) on April 1, 2019, in which users are shown two emoji, and vote for their favorite. The voting period for each matchup lasted roughly 40 seconds during the first round, and increased to 60 seconds for the second round. The competing candidates are periodically overlaid with heart emojis that float up from the vote button oscillating in a sinusoidal pattern before disappearing above the candidate, and may represent real-time votes for each emoji. Supposedly, the emoji will be eliminated one-by-one until there are a final two emoji facing off, with the one most voted-for being crowned the best emoji. This is likely a parody of March Madness.

As of 17:30 UTC, we are still in the first round of voting brackets, according to the match-up schedule in the link. At the current rate, the entire tournament will take just under five and a half hours.

The second round started at 18:39 UTC. The time allotted for voting also increased to something over 1 minute.

Note that the schedule might show different emoji pictures then the main voting screen, presumably because of fonts. The image is pre-rendered.

The competing candidates are chosen in order of unicode value at first, resulting in similar emojis being compared. Examples include:

😜 squaring off against 😛 - two emoji playfully sticking their tongues out

🤩 squaring off against 😍 - two smiling emojis with symbols for eyes

😂 squaring off with 🤣 - two emojis that are crying in laughter/joy.

The title text may appear to be nonsense. If so, your browser may not be parsing the title text correctly. It consists of the wrestlers emoji (🤼) eight times over.

A robot face announcer-emoji (🤖) and a link to the full bracket was added at 38 minutes in.
https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket.png shows 512 emojis in a single-elimination tournament.

Real live data with results (clicks) can be seen as JSON-websocket at https://emojidome.xkcd.com/2131/socket

* The second round of eliminations started at around 14:40 EST. The time limit per match approximately doubled in round 2, although when there is more than 1 minute remaining, seconds are not displayed.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]

Talk:2060: Hygrometer

2018-10-19T00:37:32Z

108.162.219.4: Idea for combining meters

Interestingly, Google search for ometerometer returns porn results. If there is an xkcd comic about rule 34 (if it exists, there is porn about it), it could be linked here.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 15:48, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:Yeah, and now xkcd is prominently displayed. Good for you! - Who? {{unsigned ip|162.158.165.238}}
:Should have taken a screenshot: The link provided under Trivia returns no porn results whatsoever now (yes I have SafeSearch turned off). I'm pretty sure almost any search for a seldom used word or phrase returns a high number of porn results, but '''I seriously doubt''' any of the porn was actually ''about'' ometerometers, or even featured that word on the page. I think you just got unrelated results. I'm gonna have to say "citation needed" on that one, because the citation given yields no such results. [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:19, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
::[https://i.imgur.com/5VOBPMJ.png Here's your citation.] Needless to say, the term doesn't appear anywhere on those pages outside the search box, but ''something'' must've put it in that box in the first place—"ameterometer" and "emeterometer" and various other misspellings don't return any search results like this. [[User:Trambelus|Trambelus]] ([[User talk:Trambelus|talk]]) 21:57, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:::We can just do a search for '"ometerometer" -xkcd' (without single quotes). This search yields 13 results, 4 of which are not porn, and 3 of which genuinely contain "ometerometer" in their content and not as part of SEO. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.220|108.162.241.220]] 12:40, 18 October 2018 (UTC)

Which meters do you enjoy?
I'm a particular fan of the Crookes radiometer [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.116|141.101.77.116]] 16:33, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
: Based almost solely on the exotic name, I'm a particular fan of the {{w|sphygmomanometer}} (blood pressure cuff), and I'm disappointed that Randall didn't take the opportunity to mention it anywhere. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.41|172.68.46.41]] 16:44, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:: My laser power meter is pretty bad-assed - but the measurement tool I'm most impressed by isn't a "ometer", it's a "mechanics level" - which is basically just an incredibly accurate spirit level - it can measure a tilt angle equal to the thickness of a single sheet of paper over a distance of two meters - which is pretty astounding considering how crude it is. You can tell that you have a cool -ometer if it comes in a nice wooden box - and a seriously cool one if the box has brass hinges and is lined with velvet...it's kindof a rule for us ometerometrists. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.227|172.69.70.227]] 18:27, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

Here's the Rule 34 comic: https://xkcd.com/305/ {{unsigned ip|172.68.65.6}}
:Thank you. I added it to the description.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 16:52, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

But no mention of an alethiometer. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.113|172.68.58.113]] 16:59, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

Let's all remember that there are some measurement devices that do not end in -ometer but rather simply in -meter, for example "multimeter", "ohmmeter", "ammeter", etc. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.77}}
: So does a micrometer end in ometer? Tough call! [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.227|172.69.70.227]] 18:29, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:: Micro-meter, not micr-ometer. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.12|172.68.59.12]] 20:05, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:::You're absolutely right, the ''O'' always belongs to the first term. I will change the explanation accordingly. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:49, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
::::Oh - so Cueball wants an o-metero-meter? OK now I'm confused! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.77|108.162.221.77]] 21:59, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

I'm certainly not an expert on Google and how search results are generated, but I think it's at least highly likely that search results can be impacted by a user's previous searches and/or clicked results. While it might be interesting or even amusing, I don't think it's appropriate to include anything in the explanation of this comic about Rule 34 because it has absolutely nothing to do with the content of the comic itself! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 18:12, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

There's also metrometer (measures the size of the womb), and a kilometerometer (this is what some Americans call odometers in foreign cars). --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.136|172.68.54.136]] 22:19, 17 October 2018 (UTC)

I prefer ohmmeter since I am in an electronics course in my local college and I use it quite often. (^o^)Boeing-787lover 09:13, 18 October 2018 (UTC)

I still think the title text means that he's trying to make something out of all those measurement devices for a cohesive purpose. The only thing I could think of was a device that monitored the baking of bread at all stages, using the various devices to determine how "ready" it is. Any other ideas? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.4|108.162.219.4]] 00:37, 19 October 2018 (UTC)

'''Trivia was nonsense'''

At this link [https://www.google.es/search?rlz=1C1NHXL_caES708ES708&ei=EEHHW-DWBJ2vgAbZyrSQAw&q=ometerometer&oq=ometerometer&gs_l=psy-ab.3...1876.4215.0.4448.12.10.0.0.0.0.376.1163.0j3j1j1.5.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..7.4.786...0j0i131k1j0i67k1j0i131i67k1j0i10k1j0i19k1j0i10i19k1.0.iW8nv_ipPpQ Google search for ometerometer] I can't see any porn. AND only 9 results at Google! The Rule 34 doesn't apply right now and so I've removed it completely. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:17, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
:If the ometerometer search term is in double-quotes, you'll get the porn. (Apologies if I did something wrong with this comment... Is my first here.) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.88|162.158.63.88]] 04:47, 18 October 2018 (UTC)
::The interest of the fact in relation to the comic may be debatable, but even now four out of the first ten Google results linked to pornhub, and yesterday when the comic appeared and it still didn't show on Google, pornhub results made the whole first page.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 19:47, 18 October 2018 (UTC)

This comic came out on Randall's birthday [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.90|162.158.186.90]] 11:28, 18 October 2018 (UTC)

How does Randall get his ometerometer to show him the rate at which he's getting more ometers? I can only get my ometerometer to show me how many ometers I have, but I think that only works by integration. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.209|141.101.104.209]] 21:40, 18 October 2018 (UTC)

2056: Horror Movies

2018-10-10T01:59:05Z

108.162.219.4: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2056
| date = October 8, 2018
| title = Horror Movies
| image = horror_movies.png
| titletext = "Isn't the original Jurassic Park your favorite movie of all time?" "Yes, but that's because I like dinosaurs and I WANT there to be an island full of them. If John Hammond's lab had been breeding serial killers in creepy masks, I wouldn't have watched!" "Wait, are you sure? That could actually be good." "Ok, I WOULD watch the scenes where Jeff Goldblum tries to convince a bunch of executives that the park is a bad idea."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Horror_film|Horror movies}} are a {{w|Film_genre|genre}} of {{w|movie|movie or film}} which attempts to elicit the emotional response of {{w|fear}} in the viewer. Some enjoy that type of movie because it allows them to experience and release that emotion, perhaps as a form of {{w|catharsis}} or release. Others take a more detached view and enjoy watching bad things happen to other people, perhaps deriving humor or enjoyment out of a situation that they are glad not to be in themselves.

[[Randall]], represented by [[Cueball]], states that he simply does not understand why people would want to watch a movie whose themes and intended emotions are steeped in such negativity. While he fully admits he is criticizing from a position of ignorance (and tries his best not to think less of horror movie fans) he still cannot wrap his head around them.

The title text refers to the ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park film}}'', which could be considered a "horror" film as there are elements of fear and terror, especially when the dinosaurs Randall loves so much are chasing and eating humans. However, it is usually placed in the adventure or science fiction genre. Randall, instead of claiming that ''Jurassic Park'' isn't a horror film, replies by saying that he likes dinosaurs and wants there to be an island full of them. He gives an example of an alternative premise for Jurassic Park which maintains the horror aspect of the film but removes the dinosaurs as a type of movie that wouldn't appeal to him. An amusement park about "Serial killers in creepy masks" refers to a horror movie trope from the ''{{w|Halloween (franchise)|Halloween}}'' and the ''{{w|Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th}}'' series of films, among others. Randall's final comment in the title text indicates that though he does not like horror films, he does like {{w|Jeff Goldblum}} (who portrays {{w|Ian Malcolm (Jurassic Park character)|Ian Malcolm}} in the film), and would watch his attempts to prevent the "brilliant" idea of breeding serial killers as an amusement park attractions from coming to fruition.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat and Cueball are standing together and talking. White Hat points at Cueball who has raised his arms.]
:White Hat: Wanna see a horror movie?
:Cueball: Sure! I love watching terrible things happen to people and feeling afraid!

:[Caption below the frame:]
:I know everyone's into what they're into, but I have never understood horror movies.

== Trivia ==
In early issues, [[Randall]] frequently referenced his fear of [[:Category:Velociraptors|velociraptors]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]

2012: Thorough Analysis

2018-06-28T02:02:45Z

108.162.219.4:

{{comic
| number = 2012
| date = June 27, 2018
| title = Thorough Analysis
| image = thorough_analysis.png
| titletext = The likely shape of the bells was determined through consultation with several bellringing experts at the Tower of London. Transcripts of those interviews are available in Appendix VII.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by Genetically Tested Timber Wolves- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic remarks on how obsessively some scientific papers investigate some insignificant, obscure things. It gives the example of an investigation into whether an {{w|1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes|earthquake in 1811}} caused church bells 600 miles away in Charleston, South Carolina to ring, which, although mildly interesting, is of minimal scientific importance. The earthquake itself is of enormous scientific interest, as an earthquake of the same magnitude in the same area today could cause enormous damage, but Charleston is not in the area considered at significant risk.

An explicit comparison is made to the {{w|9/11 Commission Report}}, a study that was undertaken to, broadly, answer the question of how the 9/11 attacks were able to occur. (and by extension, what errors in security and communication needed to be addressed to improve detection of and response to other terrorist acts).

This paper describes the researchers going as far as to genetically test local trees, likely to find those most closely related to the trees used for construction, so as to measure their structural properties and extrapolate to likely structural properties of the original building. Such extrapolation might require its own study to back its validity. It is likely in real life that the small differences such research would reveal would end up being too unsubstantial to have actually warranted any searching.

The title text is a continuation of this paper, which researches into the bells' shapes, and then goes on to note that the entire interview is provided in Appendix VII, indicating that this paper has a substantial amount of additional information considered distracting from the main body.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
: [The comic mainly consists of a research paper:]
: 1. Introduction
: The December 1811 earthquake near New Madrid, Missouri reportedly caused church bells to ring in Charleston, South Carolina.
: But did it?
: The original bell tower has been lost, but a computer model of the church building was created from archival plans and forensic masonry analysis. Genetic testing of the timber from local trees related to those used in the bell tower shows a weakness in the
: [Caption below the panel:]
: My favorite genre of scientific papers are exhaustive 100-page treatises that answer some minor question with the obsessive thoroughness of the 9/11 commission report.

{{comic discussion}}

1991: Research Areas by Size and Countedness

2018-06-25T12:20:29Z

108.162.219.4: /* Upper left quadrant */

{{comic
| number = 1991
| date = May 9, 2018
| title = Research Areas by Size and Countedness
| image = research_areas_by_size_and_countedness.png
| titletext = Mathematicians give a third answer on the vertical axis, "That question is poorly defined, but we have a sub-field devoted to every plausible version of it."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The tables needs to be filled in. And I think the title text has been explained already... Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a [[:Category:Scatter plots|scatter plot]] that ranks different research fields according to the precision of the knowledge of the number of the studied object (vertical axis) vs. how large (the size of) the studied object is on the horizontal axis.

For instance the number of United States presidents is well known, so the study of their history is at the top of the Y-axis. This study is placed close to the Y-axis as the size of a president is about midway in size between the two extremes of the X-axis, elementary particles to the left (small) and the entire cosmos (cosmology) to the right (big).

On the X-axis Presidents are close to the middle. Both presidents and other larger life forms (as a research area) including extinct animals (paleontology) and exobiology are all close to the the same central position just right of the Y-axis, with smaller animals like birds and insects just to the left of the Y-axis. But where the number of presidents is well known, then the number of exoplanet life forms (exobiology) is completely unknown and thus it will be found at the very bottom of the Y-axis, since we have no idea if there are life elsewhere and if so how many places will it be and how varied.

The 19 research areas are listed and explained in the [[#Tables of research areas|tables]] below.

In the title text mathematicians may give a third answer that the concept of counting the things being studied is not reasonable, because the things are abstract or otherwise not discrete. There are many different types of math that blend into each other, and many have turned into separate sub-disciplines based on different interpretations of fundamental rules. As a specific example in geometry, different interpretations of how many lines you may draw parallel to another line through a given point has lead to hyperbolic (infinite parallel lines) and spherical (0 parallel lines) geometric systems that are just as valid (and valuable, in some contexts) as the more commonly known Cartesian (1 parallel line) geometry. As a specific example of the blending, number theory and set theory and topology all interrelate and it is difficult to concretely say whether many theorems belong to one branch of math or another.

==Tables of research areas==
For a table with the coordinates given in percentage for each research field, see the table in the [[#Trivia|trivia]] section

===Upper left quadrant===
This is the section with the small items with count known.

{| class = "wikitable"
! Research field
! Size of the thing
! Knowledge of #
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Elementary particle physics}}
| The smallest subjects that we have actually detected are the {{w|elementary particles}}. In the {{w|Standard Model}} of particle physics, they are considered point masses (i.e. to have zero width). They may be made of smaller {{w|String theory|strings}} but if so these have still not been detected.
| We think we have a fairly good estimate of how many elementary particles that are known. There could be some uncertainty though, so it is not at the very top.
|Elementary particle physics is concerned with the study of subatomic particles (the smallest things that we know of), of which there are 17. Most notably, until recently it was uncertain whether the {{w|Higgs boson}} was one of the elementary particles, but scientists have a "pretty good estimate" because the mathematical models don't predict the existence of many other particles
|-
|{{w|Dentistry}}
|Several mm to several centimeters
|Most teeth are visible to the naked eye, and dentists have x-ray technology to see what's not visible, so counting them is pretty straightforward.
|Dentistry is the study of teeth (pretty small, both in size as well as in quantity). Humans adults grow 32 teeth, which is a "pretty good estimate" since it is very rare for {{w|Hyperdontia|more than 32 teeth to grow}} and it is rather common for {{w|wisdom teeth}} to be surgically extracted or in some cases never to develop. Children may only have 20 teeth before they start falling out, but each tooth that falls out is because another tooth is growing underneath, so a child might have as many as 52 teeth, counting the child teeth that haven't fallen out yet plus the adult teeth that are starting to form. So while a dentist will usually have a good idea how many teeth will be in a patient's mouth, they won't know for sure until they look or consult dental records.
|-
|{{w|Shakespeare}} studies
|Most are the size of typical book. In printed form, they would be in the range of tens of centimeters in height and width and ~1 centimeter in depth. Although, if stored in digial form, they could be much smaller than a tooth, so it seems to refer to print or handwritten originals.
|Generally, 36 plays are attributed to him, but between 1 and 3 additional plays are considered "lost" (i.e. at some point between being first published or performed and scholars seriously studying Shakespeare, all known copies, references, and fragments were destroyed, making it impossible to determine whether Shakespeare actually wrote them or whether they actually existed as separate plays), and {{w|Shakespeare apocrypha|some 20 more}} are believed to have been written by him, but not signed. To make matters worse, some plays that ''were'' published or performed under Shakespeare's name are believed to have been written as collaborations (not fully by him) or mis-attributed (we don't know who wrote them but everyone says it was him).
|Shakespeare studies is concerned with the works of William Shakespeare.
|-
|{{w|Ornithology}}
|Birds tend to be small, with most species able to be held comfortably in hand; even the largest known flying bird, the {{w|Condor}}, stands smaller than the average human, with a handful of non-flying avians such as the {{w|ostrich}} being larger, but still weighing less than 2-3 humans.
|The number of known bird species is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird#Diversification_of_modern_birds estimated at about 10,000], though [https://www.amnh.org/about-the-museum/press-center/new-study-doubles-the-estimate-of-bird-species-in-the-world a 2016 research result] suggested a near-doubling of this figure. As for the number of individual birds, a paper aptly titled [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1018341530497 "How many birds are there?"] examines a number of ways of counting them; the results are "surprisingly consistent", with counts of approximately 200-400 billion individual birds.
|We do have a "pretty good estimate", to within perhaps a factor of two.
|-
|Ancient {{w|literature}}
|As above, with Shakespeare plays, original or print reproductions would be the size of a book, typically. Although ancient {{w|scrolls}} may have different dimensions with similar total volume.
|Because of the high number of {{w|lost work}}, it is hard to have a solid estimate of the number, although rough lists have been made (e.g. {{w|Ancient literature#List of ancient texts}}).
|While it is fairly straightforward to look up how many books [http://www.proquest.com/products-services/Books-in-Print.html are currently in print], or how many books [https://mashable.com/2010/08/05/number-of-books-in-the-world/ all currently printed information would fit into if bound into equal-length volumes], and then limiting those estimates to those that date before a specific year, counting how many books from the period of interest haven't survived to the present day (books that were "{{w|lost work|lost}}" either by deliberate discontinuation, or accidental destruction such as in the {{w|Destruction of the Library of Alexandria|Library of Alexandria}}) is a bit more difficult. However, because we know the work existed (it is mentioned by name in some other text), we have "pretty good estimate" that the number of lost works is "only" in the tens of thousands, as is the number of surviving works.
|}

===Upper right quadrant===
This is the section with the big items with count known.

{| class = "wikitable"
! Research field
! Size
! Knowledge of #
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Marine mammal|Marine}} {{w|Mammalogy|Mammology}}
|They range in size from {{w|Marine Otter|about a meter}} to {{w|Blue Whale|up to 30 meters}}
|
|Marine mammals are the largest extant animals. The US Government [http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/ recognizes] 119 marine mammals. However, what constitutes each species is [https://www.marinemammalscience.org/species-information/list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies/ constantly being revised], with new studies indicating either that what used to be considered a subspecies is actually a separate species, or that what used to be considered a separate species is actually a subspecies. As the depths of the ocean are further explored, species that were outright unknown are spotted and need to be classified. However, since marine mammals breathe air, they have to come to the surface where we can see them, so we're pretty sure that we've spotted all species. Note that Randall has misspelled Mammalogy with o instead of a in the middle.
|-
|{{w|List_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States|Presidential History}}
|All presidents are {{w|Heights of presidents and presidential candidates of the United States|human-sized}}, with the tallest being {{w|Abraham Lincoln}} at 6 ft 4 in and the shortest being {{w|James Madison}} at 5 ft 4 in.
|As of 2018, 45 people have served or are serving as President of the United States.
|Presidents are generally considered "big" men in history. Therefore, each one is fairly well known and documented. There is, however, some discussion on how many presidents there have been in the history of the United States, since prior to the {{w|Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|25th amendment}}, it was unspecified whether vice presidents counted as presidents during the President's absence. Most notably, this ambiguity is the reason {{w|David Rice Atchison}}'s tombstone is inscribed with the words "President of the United States for one day" (he was not eligible and did not accept the duties even if he was).
|-
|{{w|Railway engineering}}
|
|
|A railway can span anywhere from a few hundred feet, to thousands of miles, so they're pretty big. The type of a railway is generally given by its {{w|track gauge}}, which is defined as "standard" (the usual gauge for a region or country), "narrow" (rails closer together than that standard) and "broad" (rails farther apart than that standard). Since what is standard varies from country to country, and indeed from line to line, how many kinds of "narrow" gauge and "broad" gauge exist depend on who you ask. However, whereas every region has ''a'' standard gauge, "{{w|standard-gauge railway}}" has a specific meaning used by rail technicians and enthusiasts worldwide, of a track with rails 1435 mm (4 ft 8.5 in) apart. Anything narrower than that is often described as a narrow-gauge line, even if it is the standard gauge for a particular rail network.
|-
|{{w|Geology}}
|The {{w|Earth}} is larger, by far, than everything else on the chart except the universe (Cosmology), Black Holes, and God (at least under some conceptions, see "Theology" below).
|There is only one Earth (at least if you set aside the possibility of multiverses, see below in Cosmology).
|Geology is generally considered the study of rocks (small rocks being considered fragments of mountain layers, so what counts as a "rock" for a geologist can be pretty big). There is no universally agreed upon number to how many {{w|List of rock types|types of rock}} there are, but all geologists agree they can be grouped into igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rock. Alternatively, geology can be construed as the study of the planet Earth's composition ( *geo*- meaning "Earth" ), and geologists are confident that the planet Earth is big and there is only one of it.
|-
|{{w|Cosmology}}
| As this encompasses (at least) all of the visible parts of the {{w|universe}} we live in, there can be no other "items" to study that would be larger.
| There is only one visible universe, but there could be multiverses/parallel universes, and also an infinite universe beyond the borders of our own part of this universe's event horizon. So it depends on who you ask if they say there is one of and infinite number of universes to study, thus it is placed close to the middle of the two extremes,
|Cosmology is the study of the universe. There is an asterisk with the note "Depends on who you ask", relating to the estimate of how many universes there are. While it might seem obvious that there is only one universe, some branches of physics believe that our universe is part of a {{w|multiverse}}, and this remains an open and contested subject in the field.
|}

===Lower left quadrant===
This is the section with the small items with count unknown.

{| class = "wikitable"
! Research field
! Size
! Knowledge of #
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Mycology}}
| microscopic to a few miles
|
|Mycology is the study of fungi (since fungi tend to grow flat -- excepting for mushrooms, which are their sexual organs, and do not exceed a foot in height (see [http://www.isciencetimes.com/articles/5740/20130729/giant-fungus-china-mushroom-world-s-largest-size.htm World's Largest mushrooms] -- mushrooms are generally considered small). Many fungi are microscopic, but some get to be a few miles in diameter.[http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/nature/the-worlds-largest-living-organism.aspx The World's largest living organism.] It is a lot harder to discern which species a fungus is, and therefore classify it, so we "have no idea" how many kinds of fungi there are. Studies [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21613136 vary wildly] between about 70,000 to over 5,000,000. There is a comic named after this study: [[1664: Mycology]].
|-
|[[1012: Wrong Superhero|Entymology]]
|
|
|It is unclear whether [[Randall]] means {{w|entomology}} or {{w|etymology}} (probably neither; it's likely that this wasn't a mistake and it is possibly a direct reference to [[1012: Wrong Superhero]]). In either case, [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28938083 estimates for insects] (entomology) vary from less than 1,000,000 to 30,000,000; and [https://www.quora.com/How-many-root-words-are-there-in-the-English-language estimates for root words] (etymology) reaching hundreds of thousands. Entomology was mentioned in the title text of [[1610: Fire Ants]].
|-
|-
|{{w|Microbiology}}
|
|
|Microbiology studies microscopic (too small to see) organisms, of which some 1,400 are known and "estimates for the total number of microbial species vary wildly, from as low as 120,000 to tens of millions and higher", according to [https://www.quora.com/How-many-root-words-are-there-in-the-English-language Nature magazine].
|-
|{{w|Pharmacology}}
|{{w|Drugs}}, including {{w|medications}} and {{w|recreational drug use|illegal and recreational drugs}} are molecules which are sub-microscopic (in the range of nanometers).
|Although it is possible to tally all the known drugs, this is at the extreme low end of the pile because the number of possible organic compounds is nearly infinite and the fraction of those are bioactive is completely unknown.
|The number of drugs (pharmaceuticals) discovered and synthesized is not tallied, according to [https://www.raps.org/regulatory-focus%E2%84%A2/news-articles/2014/10/how-many-drugs-has-fda-approved-in-its-entire-history-new-paper-explains recent studies], but an estimate can be obtained by seeing how many have passed through the {{w|Food and Drug Administration|U.S. FDA}} (1,453). Many home remedies, which might technically qualify as drugs, have not been approved because {{w|Novelty (patent)|"everybody knows that"}}, as well as many solely recreational drugs since regulation might result in outlawing. Because of this, "we have no idea" how many drugs truly exist. Since drugs are extremely powerful molecules that are only administered in choice amounts, they are generally perceived as small.
|}

===Lower right quadrant===
This is the section with the big items with count unknown.

{| class = "wikitable"
! Research field
! Size
! Knowledge of #
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Botany}}
|
|
|Botany studies plants, which can reach {{w|List of superlative trees|hundreds of feet by any measure}}. Some {{w|Pando (tree)|clonal colonies of trees}} spread for miles. However, plant tend to clump together in forests and jungles, which makes it hard to get to them and document them. Every year, thousands of new plants are discovered, with the best estimate being that there are [https://news.mongabay.com/2016/05/many-plants-world-scientists-may-now-answer/ nearly 400,000 vascular plants] and an additional [https://www.britannica.com/topic-browse/Plants/Nonvascular-Plants 12,000 non-vascular plants]. However, the rate of discovery doesn't appear to be slowing down significantly, so we truly "have no idea."
|-
|{{w|Paleontology}}
|Paleontologists study fossils, which range in size from very small to very large. When most people think of paleontologists though, they tend to think of them as studying large animals such as dinosaurs.
|
|Paleontology studies fossils, particularly those of extinct animals, which can reach {{w|Largest prehistoric animals|huge sizes}}. However, since fossils form under very special circumstances, if the animal did not die under those special circumstances, there will be no record of their existence. Therefore, the number of extinct animals can never truly be known, but we've found [http://scienceblogs.com/authority/2010/01/12/how-do-we-know-that-most-of-th/ around 250,000]
|-
|{{w|Black Hole}} {{w|Astronomy}}
|Compared to most astronomical objects, black holes are fairly small. However, most of them (that we are able to detect) are still larger than the Earth, so they would still fall on the "big" end of this chart. Alternatively, Randall may be referring to their mass, which is on the scale of stars.
|It has been estimated that the number of black holes in the {{w|Milky Way}} is around 100 million ([http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/black_holes/encyc_mod3_q7.html]), although there is uncertainty in that estimate and the total number in the universe depends on the size of the universe (see "cosmology", above).
|"Most stellar black holes [...] are impossible to detect. Judging from the number of stars large enough to produce such black holes, however, scientists estimate that there are as many as ten million to a billion such black holes in the Milky Way alone." ([https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/black-holes NASA Black Hole information page])
|-
|{{w|Exobiology}}
|The comic puts this in the size range of paleontology, which can include many sizes (see above), and also marine mammalogy, which tends to have individuals that are in the range of tens of centimeters to several tens of meters. However, {{w|life|life as we know it}} is dominated in numbers by {{w|microbes}}, and {{w|Evolutionary history of life|life on Earth}} began {{w|Abiogenesis|microscopic}}, leading most {{w|Astrobiology|Astrobiologists}} to hypothesize that life on other planets would necessarily include microbes and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_paradox#No_other_intelligent_species_have_arisen only possibly include macroscopic life].
|The estimate of {{w|List of potentially habitable exoplanets|how many planets with life there are}} varies from 16 to 40,000,000,000; additionally, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitability_of_natural_satellites#In_the_Solar_System multiple moons] are believed to be potentially habitable for some forms of life in our own solar system. However, the number of bodies apart from Earth confirmed to have life is currently zero. Even more uncertain than the number of potentially habitable exoplanets is the {{w|Rare Earth Hypothesis|huge uncertainty}} in the likelihood of life arising on a habitable planet.
|Exobiology refers to the study of life outside Earth, which requires {{w|SETI|scanning the entire universe for life}}. Currently, exobiology seeks to find a planet or similar body with life (and, {{w|definition of planet|to qualify as a planet}}, bodies capable of sustaining life are big). The uncertainty about how many planets have life in the Milky Way relates to the {{w|Fermi Paradox}}. For life, of the type we know, to exist outside of the Solar system there need to be planets around other stars. Such planets are called Exoplanets, and they have been a [[:Category:Exoplanets|recurrent subject]] on xkcd.
|-
|{{w|Theology}}
|It is placed at a scale as large as the universe (cosmology) as it should encompass the entire creation. For those not believing in gods it could also be seen as studying something as small as the human brain that has created all the gods. But Randall has chosen to place it in the big section.
|Some religions have one (or {{w|athiesm|zero}}) god. Other religions have hundreds of gods. It is also conceivable to have a religion with an infinite number of gods. Thus, the possible number is completely unknown (ranging from 0 to infinity).
|Theology is concerned with the study of God(s), which, by some definitions, is a hypothetical being greater than the universe itself. In particular, theologists study the question of whether {{w|theism|a god could exist}} (there is ≥1 god), {{w|astheism|or not}} (there are 0 gods) and, in the former case, whether there could be {{w|polytheism|multiple gods}} (there are ''n''>1 gods) or {{w|monotheism|just one}} (there is exactly 1 god) or indeed whether there is {{w|animism|one god for each living thing}} (''n''≫1 gods). In other words, the very definition of the field is the fact that "we have no idea" how many there are. This quantitative uncertainty is also mentioned in [[900: Religions]].
|}

==Transcript==
:[An X-Y scatter plot of research areas, written in gray font, where both axes have arrows in both ends. At the end of each arrow is a label. Above the left part of the X-axis there is a line which goes to a text about the meaning of the X-axis. Similarly there is a line to from the top of the Y-axis to a questions “asked” to those that study the given subject, their answers being somewhere between the two labels on the Y axis.]

:[The X-axis from left to right, text first and then labels:]
:Size of the thing you study
:Small
:Big

:[The Y-axis from top to bottom, question first and then labels:]
:"That thing you study - how many of them are there?"
:"We have a pretty good estimate."
:"We have no idea"

:[The research areas names are listed here below by sorting them into the four quadrants from top left to bottom right. In each quadrant the areas are listed after most left first, and then top to bottom for those at the same x position.]

:[Upper left quadrant (Small & count known):]
:Elementary particle physics
:Dentistry
:Shakespeare studies
:Ornithology
:Ancient Literature

:[Upper right quadrant (Big & count known):]
:Presidential History
:Marine Mammology
:Railway Engineering
:Geology
:Cosmology*
:(*Depends who you ask)

:[Lower left quadrant (Small & count unknown):]
:Pharmacology
:Microbiology
:Entymology
:Mycology

:[Upper right quadrant (Big & count unknown):]
:Botany
:Paleontology
:Exobiology
:Black Hole Astronomy
:Theology

==Trivia==
Sortable table with the coordinates in percent:
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Research area
! Size (%)
! Estimate (%)
|-
|Elementary Particle Physics ||7 ||72
|-
|Pharmacology ||12 ||6
|-
|Microbiology ||15 ||13
|-
|Dentistry ||21 ||84
|-
|Entymology ||24 ||25
|-
|Mycology ||29 ||38
|-
|Ornithology ||34 ||62
|-
|Shakespeare Studies ||37 ||88
|-
|Ancient Literature ||38 ||53
|-
|Botany ||60 ||40
|-
|Presidential History ||62 ||89
|-
|Marine Mammology ||66 ||68
|-
|Paleontology ||68 ||31
|-
|Exobiology ||68 ||5
|-
|Railway Engineering ||79 ||81
|-
|Geology ||90 ||90
|-
|Theology ||91 ||5
|-
|Black Hole Astronomy ||92 ||26
|-
|Cosmology ||94 ||62
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Rankings]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Math]] 
[[Category:Fiction]] 
[[Category:Religion]] 
[[Category:Animals]] 
[[Category:Exoplanets]] 
[[Category:Politics]]

760: Moria

2018-06-22T23:57:04Z

108.162.219.4: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 760
| date = June 30, 2010
| title = Moria
| image = moria.png
| titletext = Someone should really bring them a ladder and remind them to build the Endless Stair *first* next time.
}}

==Explanation==
This is [[Randall]]'s take on the story of {{w|Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria}} in the fantasy story {{w|Lord of the Rings}}. In the original the dwarves, hunting for the precious metal mithril dug so deep that they awoke a {{w|balrog}} — {{w|Maiar}} corrupted by {{w|Morgoth}}. Gandalf is telling about the story to four hobbits standing next to him. One of the hobbits has apparently read Lord of the Rings, because he asks "awoke a terror of shadow and flame" but then Gandalf says that they were trapped in their hole and couldn't get out.

However, Gandalf's final line may be a hint that the comic's version is closer to the original than it appears — in the story, the adventuring party discovers a journal of the last dwarves to occupy Moria. The last page starts ominously: "We cannot get out. We cannot get out." That memorable sentence is used again near the end of the page as the impending final orcish attack is described by the now-dead dwarves, and repeated by Gimli as they reflect on the terrible news, lending a much darker tone to the comic's punchline.

The title text suggests a mundane solution to their problem — a long ladder. The Endless stair was a very long staircase from the lowest dungeon up to the top of the mountain above Moria.

==Transcript==
:[A far shot of Gandalf the Grey and the four hobbits standing in a dark, underground city.]
:Gandalf: Behold, Khazad-Dûm; the Dwarrowdelf; the mines of Moria -- once the greatest and mightiest city of the dwarves.

:[Full body shot of Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: But the dwarves delved too greedily.

:[Close-up on Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: And too deep.

:[Full shot of the hobbits and Gandalf.]
:Hobbit: ...and awoke a terror of shadow and flame?
:Gandalf: No. They couldn't get out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]

760: Moria

2018-06-22T23:56:00Z

108.162.219.4: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 760
| date = June 30, 2010
| title = Moria
| image = moria.png
| titletext = Someone should really bring them a ladder and remind them to build the Endless Stair *first* next time.
}}

==Explanation==
This is [[Randall]]'s take on the story of {{w|Moria_(Middle-Earth)|Moria}} in the fantasy story {{w|Lord of the Rings}}. In the original the dwarves, hunting for the precious metal mithril dug so deep that they awoke a {{w|balrog}} — {{w|Maiar}} corrupted by {{w|Morgoth}}. Gandalf is telling about the story to four hobbits standing next to him. One of the hobbits has apparently read Lord of the Rings, because he asks "awoke a terror of shadow and flame" but then Gandalf says that they were trapped in their hole and couldn't get out.

However, Gandalf's final line may be a hint that the comic's version is closer to the original than it appears — in the story, the adventuring party discovers a journal of the last dwarves to occupy Moria. The last page starts ominously: "We cannot get out. We cannot get out." That memorable sentence is used again near the end of the page as the impending final orcish attack is described by the now-dead dwarves, and repeated by Gimli as they reflect on the terrible news, lending a much darker tone to the comic's punchline.

The title text suggests a mundane solution to their problem — a long ladder. The Endless stair was a very long staircase from the lowest dungeon up to the top of the mountain above Moria.

==Transcript==
:[A far shot of Gandalf the Grey and the four hobbits standing in a dark, underground city.]
:Gandalf: Behold, Khazad-Dûm; the Dwarrowdelf; the mines of Moria -- once the greatest and mightiest city of the dwarves.

:[Full body shot of Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: But the dwarves delved too greedily.

:[Close-up on Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: And too deep.

:[Full shot of the hobbits and Gandalf.]
:Hobbit: ...and awoke a terror of shadow and flame?
:Gandalf: No. They couldn't get out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]

760: Moria

2018-06-22T23:55:14Z

108.162.219.4: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 760
| date = June 30, 2010
| title = Moria
| image = moria.png
| titletext = Someone should really bring them a ladder and remind them to build the Endless Stair *first* next time.
}}

==Explanation==
This is [[Randall]]'s take on the story of {{w|Moria (Middle-Earth)|Moria}} in the fantasy story {{w|Lord of the Rings}}. In the original the dwarves, hunting for the precious metal mithril dug so deep that they awoke a {{w|balrog}} — {{w|Maiar}} corrupted by {{w|Morgoth}}. Gandalf is telling about the story to four hobbits standing next to him. One of the hobbits has apparently read Lord of the Rings, because he asks "awoke a terror of shadow and flame" but then Gandalf says that they were trapped in their hole and couldn't get out.

However, Gandalf's final line may be a hint that the comic's version is closer to the original than it appears — in the story, the adventuring party discovers a journal of the last dwarves to occupy Moria. The last page starts ominously: "We cannot get out. We cannot get out." That memorable sentence is used again near the end of the page as the impending final orcish attack is described by the now-dead dwarves, and repeated by Gimli as they reflect on the terrible news, lending a much darker tone to the comic's punchline.

The title text suggests a mundane solution to their problem — a long ladder. The Endless stair was a very long staircase from the lowest dungeon up to the top of the mountain above Moria.

==Transcript==
:[A far shot of Gandalf the Grey and the four hobbits standing in a dark, underground city.]
:Gandalf: Behold, Khazad-Dûm; the Dwarrowdelf; the mines of Moria -- once the greatest and mightiest city of the dwarves.

:[Full body shot of Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: But the dwarves delved too greedily.

:[Close-up on Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: And too deep.

:[Full shot of the hobbits and Gandalf.]
:Hobbit: ...and awoke a terror of shadow and flame?
:Gandalf: No. They couldn't get out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]

760: Moria

2018-06-22T23:54:34Z

108.162.219.4: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 760
| date = June 30, 2010
| title = Moria
| image = moria.png
| titletext = Someone should really bring them a ladder and remind them to build the Endless Stair *first* next time.
}}

==Explanation==
This is [[Randall]]'s take on the story of {{w|Moria (Middle Earth)|Moria}} in the fantasy story {{w|Lord of the Rings}}. In the original the dwarves, hunting for the precious metal mithril dug so deep that they awoke a {{w|balrog}} — {{w|Maiar}} corrupted by {{w|Morgoth}}. Gandalf is telling about the story to four hobbits standing next to him. One of the hobbits has apparently read Lord of the Rings, because he asks "awoke a terror of shadow and flame" but then Gandalf says that they were trapped in their hole and couldn't get out.

However, Gandalf's final line may be a hint that the comic's version is closer to the original than it appears — in the story, the adventuring party discovers a journal of the last dwarves to occupy Moria. The last page starts ominously: "We cannot get out. We cannot get out." That memorable sentence is used again near the end of the page as the impending final orcish attack is described by the now-dead dwarves, and repeated by Gimli as they reflect on the terrible news, lending a much darker tone to the comic's punchline.

The title text suggests a mundane solution to their problem — a long ladder. The Endless stair was a very long staircase from the lowest dungeon up to the top of the mountain above Moria.

==Transcript==
:[A far shot of Gandalf the Grey and the four hobbits standing in a dark, underground city.]
:Gandalf: Behold, Khazad-Dûm; the Dwarrowdelf; the mines of Moria -- once the greatest and mightiest city of the dwarves.

:[Full body shot of Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: But the dwarves delved too greedily.

:[Close-up on Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: And too deep.

:[Full shot of the hobbits and Gandalf.]
:Hobbit: ...and awoke a terror of shadow and flame?
:Gandalf: No. They couldn't get out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]

760: Moria

2018-06-22T23:50:56Z

108.162.219.4: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 760
| date = June 30, 2010
| title = Moria
| image = moria.png
| titletext = Someone should really bring them a ladder and remind them to build the Endless Stair *first* next time.
}}

==Explanation==
This is [[Randall]]'s take on the story of {{w|Moria|Moria (Middle Earth)}} in the fantasy story {{w|Lord of the Rings}}. In the original the dwarves, hunting for the precious metal mithril dug so deep that they awoke a {{w|balrog}} — {{w|Maiar}} corrupted by {{w|Morgoth}}. Gandalf is telling about the story to four hobbits standing next to him. One of the hobbits has apparently read Lord of the Rings, because he asks "awoke a terror of shadow and flame" but then Gandalf says that they were trapped in their hole and couldn't get out.

However, Gandalf's final line may be a hint that the comic's version is closer to the original than it appears — in the story, the adventuring party discovers a journal of the last dwarves to occupy Moria. The last page starts ominously: "We cannot get out. We cannot get out." That memorable sentence is used again near the end of the page as the impending final orcish attack is described by the now-dead dwarves, and repeated by Gimli as they reflect on the terrible news, lending a much darker tone to the comic's punchline.

The title text suggests a mundane solution to their problem — a long ladder. The Endless stair was a very long staircase from the lowest dungeon up to the top of the mountain above Moria.

==Transcript==
:[A far shot of Gandalf the Grey and the four hobbits standing in a dark, underground city.]
:Gandalf: Behold, Khazad-Dûm; the Dwarrowdelf; the mines of Moria -- once the greatest and mightiest city of the dwarves.

:[Full body shot of Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: But the dwarves delved too greedily.

:[Close-up on Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: And too deep.

:[Full shot of the hobbits and Gandalf.]
:Hobbit: ...and awoke a terror of shadow and flame?
:Gandalf: No. They couldn't get out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]

1549: xkcd Phone 3

2018-05-18T20:10:58Z

108.162.219.4: wired discharging

{{comic
| number = 1549
| date = July 10, 2015
| title = XKCD Phone 3
| image = xkcd_phone_3.png
| titletext = If you're not completely satisfied with the phone after 30 days, we will return you to your home at no cost.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the third entry in the ongoing [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]] which parodies common smartphone specs by attributing absurd or useless features to a fictional phone that sounds impressive but would actually be very impractical. The previous comic in the series [[1465: xkcd Phone 2]] was released over half a year before this one and the next [[1707: xkcd Phone 4]] was released almost a year later. This is so far the only phone comic where xkcd is written in caps as XKCD.

In the table the features are explained in order from the top left going clockwise.
{| class="wikitable"
!Feature
!Explanation
|-
|'''2 AA batteries (not included)'''
| A phrase usually shown on small, low-powered, electronic devices like remote controllers, and not on cellphones; which use lithium-ion batteries and need to be periodically recharged for continuous use.
The apparently thin phone (according to the scale as judged by the wristband) would also preclude inserting AA batteries, unless a protruding battery compartment is hidden out of view on the back of the phone.
Alternatively could mean two Anti-Aircraft (artillery) "batteries" which would be groups of light or medium artillery pieces or missiles (2 to 9 weapons per battery, depending on country, weapon system and organisation). In any case, they would badly hamper the portability of the phone.
|-
|'''Boneless'''
| Reference to meat or fish products being boneless, i.e. having all the bones removed, making it convenient to cook or eat. Phones do not typically have bones{{Citation needed}}, so this is wholly unremarkable. A possible reference to the iPhone 6's reported problems with its chassis, where it {{w|IPhone 6#Chassis bending|could bend under pressure}}.

Likely a reference to "Bone Conduction Microphones" implying that needing bones to work is a disadvantage and this phone has the feature of being "Boneless".

[[xkcd Phone 4]] was instead "seedless".
|-
|'''Ear screen'''
| An overcomplicated term for a speaker, connecting a screen which emits light to send visual information and the portion of a speaker which vibrates to send auditory information. Comparing the two makes a speaker a screen for the ear.
|-
|'''Heartbeat accelerator'''
| A mashup of heartbeat sensor and accelerometer. May be some sort of external pacemaker. If that's the case, it's worrying that it only accelerates, potentially causing a positive feedback (heart attack). It may also be the result of the phone being so exciting or frustrating that it increases its user's heart rate.
|-
|'''MobilePay money clip'''
| While mobile pay is a form of payment involving electronic transfers via cellphone, this model includes a money clip; a way of holding physical bills together, which defeats the purpose of electronic payment. Whether this is a clip that transfers money digitally or the phrase mobile pay is just a marketing tag is unknown.
|-
|'''Siri, or whoever it was we put in here'''
| A joke on intelligent personal assistants. It also hints that Siri and the like are actual people, trapped inside of phones, which is not the case{{Citation needed}}.
|-
|'''Instead of being on surface only, screen goes all the way through'''
| A reference to surface screens. Possible reference to smartphones with screen display wrapping one or more edges, like Samsung Galaxy Note Edge or Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, or dual-screen smartphones with screen on the back (usually e-ink) like YotaPhone 2, or smartphones with minimal bezel like e.g. Sharp AQUOS Crystal.

Screen going ''all the way through'' would leave no place for innards of smartphone: processor, battery etc., and unless each layer is designed to be semi-transparent to see the inner {{w|voxel}}s the inner displays would be unseeable anyway.
|-
|'''theknot.com partnership: Phone licensed to perform wedding ceremonies and does so at random'''
| [https://www.theknot.com/ theknot.com] is a website that assists in all stages of wedding planning. Due to this partnering, the phone has apparently obtained legal status as a {{w|Justice of the peace}} capable of performing legally valid marriages. It exerts this capability randomly, however, so the phone's owner (or potentially any other unsuspecting bystander) could suddenly find themselves with a new spouse without their knowledge, generally an undesired effect{{Citation needed}}. Whether this would result in unintentional {{w|bigamy}} or if the phone restricts itself to pairing up singles, or even enacts divorce first if necessary, is left unclear. May be a reference to how same-sex marriage was fully [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obergefell_v._Hodges legalized] in the United States just two weeks prior to the release of this comic.
|-
|'''Fingerprint randomizer'''
| Presumably randomises the user's fingerprint, which may or may not be inconvenient depending on the intent of the user. It is not clear whether the device will change the person's fingerprint into a human-like fingerprint that is randomly selected from all possibilities, or if it completely mangles the fingerprint of the user. Either way, physically altering the user's finger to this degree will likely involve a painful process. Likely a cynical reference to fingerprint scanners, which are touted as password replacements.
|-
|'''USB E (hotswappable)'''
| A USB port that makes fun of the three current systems, A, B, and recently C, by skipping D completely and jumping to E. The port presumably charges the phone and allows to transfer files like normal, but this kind lets you perform {{w|Hot swapping}} (replacing computer system components without turning the system off) with it, which has always been a feature of USB, so mentioning it is redundant at best.
May be a reference to the eSATAp (Power over eSATA) hybrid port that is functioning as a USB and eSATA port at the same time. The Serial ATA bus interface has standardized hot swapping support.
|-
|'''Waterproof, but can drown'''
| Perhaps a reference to Siri or the person trapped in the phone drowning, but the phone itself staying functional. This is another human-like function, which the first 2 XKCD Phone comics had.
|-
|'''Foretold by prophecy'''
| Likely mocking people on the internet who attempt to predict when Apple will release their next device. Might also be a joke on many videogames or fantasy novels, in which the main character is 'the chosen one', because 'the prophecy' foretold it.
|-
|'''Runs Natively'''
| Usually a description given to ported software, as this statement doesn't make any sense when referring to hardware (notable {{w|Transmeta Crusoe|exceptions}} to the norm are few and far between). When software writers would like to run their apps on multiple platforms, they usually have three choices: re-compile the source code into each platform's codebase (often requiring tweaking to handle practical differences in resources between the systems); use a specially 'pre-portable' code that you can {{w|write once, run anywhere}}, such as Java, but requires a suitable interpreter to be written for each platform (and may still require code tweaks to absorb differences in implementations); create a specific emulator/virtual machine to allow existing code to 'see' the platform it was written for, despite the underlying system.
Only the first option is 'running natively', often the most optimised and thus best-performing option, and is usually qualified such as "Runs <Software Name> natively", for particular packages full compiled upon that platform. It would also make little sense for the OS ''itself'' to be non-native, except when intentionally emulating another system (ideally on a more powerful system that can power past the inefficiencies of conversion and translation).
Or, in this case, it may be that the phone has legs and can literally run.
|-
|'''Wristband'''
| Probably mocking trending smart watches, this feature would not be very useful on a full-sized smart phone, as it would be uncomfortable to wear due to its size. Also possibly a follow-up to xkcd Phone 2 being described as a 'phone for your other hand', as the wristband would make it possible to have all three phones accessible at once.
|-
|'''Wireless discharging'''
| Some modern smartphones use a system called "wireless charging," in which power is delivered to the phone without a wire. This phone, however, uses wireless technology to discharge the phone, which would be useless given that the phone needs power and removing power from its battery doesn't seem to help... May also refer to the standard behavior of the phone's antenna, which communicates wirelessly via EM radio waves, but discharges the battery in doing so. It could also be simply and literally describing the nature of all cell phones, and indeed all battery-powered electronic devices, to gradually use the battery (discharging) when there are no wires attached (wireless), since wireless also means no power cord is plugged in (and assuming the absence or non-use of the aforementioned wireless charging function, which this phone may not even have). Depending on the avenue of discharge, this may also be related to the heartbeat accelerator, accelerating the user's heartbeat by shocking them. Notably, some devices, when connected by a double-ended USB C cable, can charge the other device; this is wired discharging, so perhaps the xkcd Phone 3 can do this without the wire also.
|-
|'''Magnetic stripe'''
| Likely a dig at the NFC (near-field communication) wireless radio modules in many modern phones. NFC allows, among others functions, mobile payment. This magnetic stripe could be a cheap way to imitate payment functionality, but "compatible" with classic credit cards.
Magnetic stripes are a data storage method used by devices such as credit cards and key cards to hold and transfer small amounts of information like key codes. Usually cellphones don't have them as they utilize more robust and protected ways to store and transmit data (such as NFC). The magnetic stripe shown would likely be unusable with current magnetic stripe readers due to the phone's thickness, in contrast to that of regular cards, thus breaking all imagined 'compatibility' arguments.
It would also be very annoying as it seems to block part of the screen.
|}

The phrase "We made another one®©™" is a reference to how phone companies release new phones very often, and the trademarks that surround the phone itself.

The title text is a joke on guarantees and customer service. Usually the advertisement says that if the customer is not satisfied with the product, they'll refund the money and take the product back at no additional cost. In this case they guarantee the customer they'll send him/her home without charge; implying they won't fix or refund anything. Or that due to anticipated but unspecified faults of some kind, the phone's owner will ''need'' help to get back home when things go wrong, and probably be thankful for such assistance, in yet another example of a worryingly non-specific 'reassurance'.

==Transcript==
:[An image of a smartphone lying down, with many labels pointing to it. There is a black stripe across the top left corner of the phone. At the top right something is protruding from the side, like a volume control. There is a wrist band (only partly shown) attached to the middle of each side of the phone. Above the screen are several small features, below only a central square and on the bottom a socket. Clockwise from the top left the labels read:]
:2 AA batteries
:(not included)
:Boneless
:Ear screen
:Heartbeat accelerator
:MobilePay money clip
:Siri, or whoever it was we put in here
:Instead of being on surface only, screen goes all the way through
:theknot.com partnership: Phone licensed to perform wedding ceremonies and does so at random
:Fingerprint randomizer
:USB E
:(hotswappable)
:Waterproof, but can drown
:Foretold by prophecy
:Runs natively
:Wristband
:Wireless discharging
:Magnetic stripe

:[Below the phone:]
:Introducing
:<big><big>The XKCD Phone 3</big></big>
:We made another one®©™

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Virtual Assistants

1950: Chicken Pox and Name Statistics

2018-02-02T15:53:19Z

108.162.219.4: chicken pox, not smallpox

{{comic
| number = 1950
| date = February 2, 2018
| title = Chicken Pox and Name Statistics
| image = chicken_pox_and_name_statistics.png
| titletext = People with all six of those names agree that it's weird that we have teeth, when you think about it for too long. Just about everyone agrees on that, except—in a still-unexplained statistical anomaly—people named "Trevor."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TREVOR WITH NO TEETH - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic jokes that, due to the overlay of frequency of name choices with chicken pox occurrence, people with some names are more likely to think that chicken pox is normal while others don't. It relies on the same falacy as [[1138: Heatmap]] which is thinking that [[552: Correlation]] implies causation (here both the proportion of kids with chicken pox and the proportion of names depend of the date of birth, but have no direct causal link from one to the other). The claim is dubious, but humorous. This comic is a [[:Category:Fun fact|Fun Fact]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Fun fact]]

Talk:1902: State Borders

2017-10-14T01:45:34Z

108.162.219.4: 2016 election speculation

Let's be honest- it should ''all'' be Canada. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.123|162.158.74.123]] 12:24, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

Could Arizona, New Mexico be a reference to Trump? Like, make the border straighter so it's easier to build a wall? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 12:35, 13 October 2017 (UTC)
:More likely the joke is that conceding territory to Mexico is about the last thing Trump would do [[User:AnotherAnonymous|AnotherAnonymous]] ([[User talk:AnotherAnonymous|talk]]) 13:04, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

My first thought is to wonder if it would be possible to arrange the map such that all internal borders are "straight lines" that span the entire country, to satisfy as many criteria as possible:
* The number of states remains unchanged
** …and they all get to keep their capitals (probably quite difficult)
*** …or (and?) each state manages to keep either its current population, land area, or coastline length
* Or all internal borders are parallels or meridians
* Or all states have the same land area
** …or population; or population density
* Or if you're allowing more (or fewer) states than the present layout, what's the greatest number of states possible such that they all contain at least one complete city?

Which of those criteria would be the most interesting challenge? And which could you construct an algorithm to solve?
I really should refrain from trying to build those algorithms, because I'm supposed to be working --[[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 13:28, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

There are some great videos on YouTube about weird State boundaries. There are some REALLY weird oddities out there. Take for instance the "Give to Canada" piece - that's the Northwest Angle in Minnesota. It's really an accident that it ever ended up in the USA at all, and doesn't make any sense! [[User:Martini|Martini]] ([[User talk:Martini|talk]]) 13:40, 13 October 2017 (UTC)Martini
:I wouldn't call the NW Angle an accident as much as a slightly illogical solution in order to maintain the terms of the original border agreement in the face of the Mississippi River's inconveniently located headwaters. My recollection is that it said roughly: the border goes west of <this> point until reaching the Mississippi river [which all parties assumed continued that far north]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.40|108.162.216.40]] 14:13, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

I believe Randall's overall point is that though a large part of the individual United States have straight boundaries, especially in the West, or other features that are aesthetically pleasing, as in the S Carolina/Georgia/Florida coastline, there are a good number of internal inconsistencies. Many of these (most of the untagged "fixes") can be attributed to the concept that "Rivers make good logical boundaries", but even then, if you look closer, there are some really puzzling bits:
* The "Give To Canada" bit of Minnesota is almost all Indian Reservation land, so that kind of makes sense...
* The "Fix this thing" in Missouri is even stranger than it initially looks - while the notch in Arkansas is caused by the Mississippi River, there is a large bight of land in the middle of the Missouri-owned bit that is actually Kentucky (yes, there's an island of Kentucky that is separate from the main Kentucky state and entirely surrounded by Missouri)
* Not edited, but equally odd is the dip Florida cuts into Georgia near the east coast - there's no apparent town or natural features there to cause that irregularity

I don't happen to think the Arizona/New Mexico bits are political commentary, just "the entire rest of the state is a box, make this a straight line, too." cleanup. I mean yes, it would make wall-building easier, theoretically, but the Chinese showed the world centuries ago that straight lines are not needed to build a big fricking wall. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.131|108.162.238.131]] 14:23, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

- While I agree it probably isn't conscious political commentary, its interesting that there are not places the border increases; always concessions, never gains. May take into account its easier to give than take territory? --[[User:Jgt|Jgt]] ([[User talk:Jgt|talk]]) 19:32, 13 October 2017 (UTC)--[[User:Jgt|Jgt]] ([[User talk:Jgt|talk]]) 19:33, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

I'm surprised Randall didn't suggest cleaning up Point Roberts as well [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Roberts,_Washington]. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.174|141.101.107.174]] 14:33, 13 October 2017 (UTC)
: Presumably the graphic designers are okay with that, since it maintains the 49th Parallel as a nice, tidy border. [[User:Wwoods|Wwoods]] ([[User talk:Wwoods|talk]]) 20:18, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

I'm shocked he didn't support fixing the Idaho/Wisconsin/Montana/Oregon border. That top part should be either given to Montana, or split between Washington and Oregon... I wonder if he left out certain things in order to avoid offending certain groups of people. Like suggesting that Rhode Island and Connecticut should probably be one state, or that Vermont and New Hampshire should be as well. [[User:Kashim|Kashim]] ([[User talk:Kashim|talk]]) 17:03, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

Some of the suggestions are ironic, for example Michigan's upper peninsula actually used to be part of the Wisconsin territory, but it was ceded to Michigan in exchange for the port of Toledo being ceded to Ohio. "why does Florida get Alabama's coastline" is actually because Alabama got part of Florida's coastline so it wouldn't be landlocked. The bit of Nevada that he wants to fix it so Nevada has territory along the Colorado River [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.250|162.158.75.250]] 17:18, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

Nobody seems to have noticed that Delaware's curved northern border has been flattened (removing Wilmington). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.83|108.162.238.83]] 21:31, 13 October 2017 (UTC)

One significant thing about this map is that, under this map, Hillary Clinton may have won the 2016 election. Citations needed, but I've seen it said that if the Upper Peninsula were moved from Michigan to Wisconsin and the Florida Panhandle were moved to Alabama, Clinton would have won Michigan and Florida, giving her an Electoral College majority. I don't think the Upper Peninsula has enough population to cost Michigan an electoral vote, and I think Florida would lose two electoral votes, putting Clinton exactly at the 270 needed to win. Perhaps the changes around Colorado and Nevada would make a difference, although there were also five faithless Clinton electors who might have voted for her if it would have made a difference. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.4|108.162.219.4]] 01:45, 14 October 2017 (UTC)

1725: Linear Regression

2016-08-30T02:31:18Z

108.162.219.4: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1725
| date = August 26, 2016
| title = Linear Regression
| image = linear_regression.png
| titletext = The 95% confidence interval suggests Rexthor's dog could also be a cat, or possibly a teapot.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Linear regression}} is a method for modeling the relationship between multiple variables. In the simplest case, it can be used for two variables wherein the model determines a "{{w|least squares|best-fit}}" line through a {{w|scatter plot}} of the datasets, together with a {{w|coefficient of determination}}, usually denoted ''r''2 or ''R''2. When only two variables are included in the regression, ''R''2 is merely the square of the correlation between the two variables. ''R''2 is a number between 0 and 1 that indicates how well one variable can be used to predict the value of another. A value of 1 means perfect correlation, while a value close to 0 indicates a weak relationship between the variables.

{{w|Asterism_(astronomy)|Asterism}}s are patterns created by linking the apparent positions of stars as seen in the sky from Earth. Strictly, "Rexthor" is an asterism, as a {{w|constellation}} is the region of sky containing the asterism, although "constellation" is used informally in place of "asterism" by even seasoned astronomers. Different civilizations have recognized different constellations (the modern IAU, for example, lists 88 "official" constellations), and one could create their own constellations by connecting assorted points.

In this comic, a set of data has had linear regression and some form of statistical analysis applied to it, indicating that there is low correlation between the two. The data points are so widely scattered that (as noted in the comic) it is easier to connect the data points in a constellation-like pattern than it is to determine whether the correlation is negative or positive (without looking at the trendline, of course). Because of this, [[Randall]] suggests we should be suspicious of any conclusions drawn from this data.

"Rexthor the Dog bearer" seems to be a spoof on Thor, a Norse god who wields a hammer.
By replacing his hammer with a dog and adding "Rex" (an archetypal dog name), Randall creates a comical, dog-bearing version of Thor.

The 95% {{w|confidence interval}} in statistics is such a range of an estimate, that the probability of the real value (the estimated population parameter) to lie inside the range is at least 95%. The confidence interval is a standard method to provide evaluation of the estimation error in statistics. On the right panel the resulting estimate seems to be a drawing, so the 95% confidence interval would be a set of all drawings derived from the sample such that the probability of the right drawing to be among them is at least 95%. According to the title text among these drawings you can find a cat and a teapot as well, so we can't be 95% confident that a dog exists in the data.

The teapot may be a reference to {{w|Russell's_teapot|Russell's teapot}}, or possibly to the {{w|Sagittarius_(constellation)#Visualizations|"teapot" asterism in the constellation Sagittarius.}}

==Transcript==
:[Two square panels show identical sets of scattered black dots, with only the red additions being different.]

:[The left panel shows a slightly rising red line drawn through the middle of the panel, passing near a few dots but not obviously related to most of them. A red text is below the dots:]
:R2=0.06

:[The right panel shows many of the dots connected by red lines to form a stick figure of a man resembling the constellation Orion, with the hand on the reader's right raised and holding an object. A red text is below the dots:]
:Rexthor, the Dog-Bearer

:[A caption is below and spanning both panels:]
:I don't trust linear regressions when it's harder to guess the direction of the correlation from the scatter plot than to find new constellations on it.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1725: Linear Regression

2016-08-27T13:57:48Z

108.162.219.4:

{{comic
| number = 1725
| date = August 26, 2016
| title = Linear Regression
| image = linear_regression.png
| titletext = The 95% confidence interval suggests Rexthor's dog could also be a cat, or possibly a teapot.
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|Linear regression}} is a method for modeling the relationship between multiple variables. In the simplest case, it can be used for two variables wherein the model determines a "{{w|least squares|best-fit}}" line through a {{w|scatter plot}} of the datasets, together with a {{w|coefficient of determination}}, usually denoted ''r''2 or ''R''2. When only two variables are included in the regression, ''R''2 is merely the square of the correlation between the two variables. ''R''2 is a number between 0 and 1 that indicates how well one variable can be used to predict the value of another. A value of 1 means perfect correlation, while a value close to 0 indicates a weak relationship between the variables.

{{w|Constellation}}s are patterns created by linking the apparent positions of stars. Different civilizations have recognized different constellations (the modern IAU, for example, lists 88 "official" constellations), and one could create their own constellations by connecting assorted points.

In this comic, a set of data has had linear regression and some form of statistical analysis applied to it, indicating that there is low correlation between the two. The data points are so widely scattered that (as noted in the comic) it is easier to connect the data points in a constellation-like pattern than it is to determine whether the correlation is negative or positive (without looking at the trendline, of course). Because of this, [[Randall]] suggests we should be suspicious of any conclusions drawn from this data.

"Rexthor the Dog bearer" seems to be a spoof on Thor, a Norse god who wields a hammer.
By replacing his hammer with a dog and adding "Rex" (an archetypal dog name), Randall creates a comical, dog-bearing version of Thor.

The mention of a teapot may be a reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_teapot Russell's teapot], or possibly to the "teapot" asterism in the constellation Sagittarius.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[A two-panel comic with a caption underneath drawn in a combination of black and red. The two panels show an identical square of scattered black dots, with only the red additions being different. A black caption is written below, spanning both panels.]

[The left panel shows a slightly rising red line drawn through the middle of the panel, passing near a few dots but not obviously related to most of them]
:R2=0.06

[The right panel shows many of the dots connected by red lines to form a stick figure of a man resembling the constellation Orion, with the hand on the reader's right raised and holding an object.]
:Rexthor, the Dog-Bearer

[The caption below is black and applies to both panels.]
:I don't trust linear regressions when it's harder to guess the direction of the correlation from the scatter plot than to find new constellations on it.

{{comic discussion}}

1717: Pyramid Honey

2016-08-10T01:14:46Z

108.162.219.4: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1717
| date = August 8, 2016
| title = Pyramid Honey
| image = pyramid_honey.png
| titletext = They CLAIM honey was found in the chambers under the pyramids, but this conspiracy goes all the way to the TOP, where the GIANT EYE is!
}}

==Explanation==
Bee {{w|honey}} is a food item with natural antimicrobial properties. It can remain unspoiled for a person's entire lifetime, making it practically nonperishable for ordinary consumers. It is frequently claimed that archaeologists have found jars of honey that have been well-preserved for thousands of years in ancient tombs. The claims are generally assertions which may point to other similar assertions as supporting evidence but do not provide specific details, such as the identity of the actual tombs where such jars have been found, nor the names of the archaeologists who have affirmed finding such jars. The commonality of the assertion, however, leads some people to claim that honey's shelf life is "infinite", which is a much stronger claim which would not be supported by the assertion even if it is shown to be factual.

In the comic, [[Cueball]] tells [[Megan]] about an article in ''{{w|Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian Magazine}}'' (presumably [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-science-behind-honeys-eternal-shelf-life-1218690/ this one]) that claims honey has an infinite shelf life. The article links to a book which makes the assertion of such findings but does not provide factual support of the findings. Megan thinks the sources of the article are wrong and wants to refute it. [[Black Hat]] upon hearing Megan's claim that the ''Smithsonian'''s source is wrong, immediately decides to spread it on the Internet without giving Megan a chance explain any further.

Black Hat's actions are clearly premature, since he has not heard any evidence to back up the claim and does not understand the nuances of Megan's position. Presumably, the best he can do would be to parrot what he has heard from Megan, without any understanding or critical thinking on his part. Due to his lack of understanding, he may even interject his own ideas (ones Megan never believed nor stated) into his posts. These are all consistent with him calling himself "pyramid honey truther". The word ''truther'' refers to people who reject established facts and instead choose to believe in conspiracies, like {{w|Moon landing conspiracy theories|people who claim the moon landings never happened}}, or {{w|9/11 Truth movement|people who believe the US government is behind the 9/11 attacks}}. While some conspiracy theories turn out to be true, most, like the two mentioned here, are fake. This turns Megan, who likely has a reasonable and well-justified position, unwillingly into the source of conspiracy theories.

The alt-text refers to the {{w|Eye of Providence}} and the {{w|Illuminati}}, a symbol of an eye at the top of a pyramid, found on US currency and often associated with conspiracy theories of secret societies.

This comic is likely a satire of the stereotypical internet mindset, and plays up the frequent confusion between legitimate scientific scepticism, where unsupported claims are rejected, and conspiracy-theory faux-scepticism, where legitimate evidence is rejected because it does not support a specific viewpoint.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are talking]
:Cueball: Apparently honey has an infinite shelf life. They just found jars of it in the pyramids, still good.
:Megan: You know, I've heard that, and I don't think its true.

:[Black hat enters]
:Cueball: Really? Smithsonian magazine confirmed it.
:Megan: Believe it or not, I think their source is wrong.
:Black Hat: '''''I believe you.'''''

:Megan: See I read about the archeologists who-
:Black Hat: I'm convinced. Gonna go to tell the internet.

:Megan: Wait, are you sure? Let me explain why I-
:Black Hat: Don't need it. I've heard enough.

[Zoom-in on Black Hat's head.]
:Black Hat: I've been looking for a weird hill to die on, and all the real ones are too far from my house. So this is mine. I'm now a pyramid honey truther.

[Zoom back out. Black Hat starts walking out, waving his hand.]
:Black Hat: Time to start a Facebook group and post a bunch of all-caps comments everywhere.
:Cueball: This could have gone better.
:Megan: Oh well.

:Alt-text: They CLAIM honey was found in the chambers under the pyramids, but this conspiracy goes all the way to the TOP, where the GIANT EYE is!

{{comic discussion}}

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

1681: Laser Products

2016-05-17T12:30:22Z

108.162.219.4:

{{comic
| number = 1681
| date = May 16, 2016
| title = Laser Products
| image = laser_products.png
| titletext = ERRORS: HAIR JAM. COLOR-SAFE CONDITIONER CARTRIDGE RUNNING LOW. LEGAL-SIZE HAIR TRAY EMPTY, USING LETTER-SIZE HAIR ONLY.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Initial draft outline. Please explain each technology, and elaborate on each combination. Maybe make a table similar to his but instead of reviews include explanations. Include wiki links. This comic is really good and deserves more explaining.}}
This comic takes three laser-based technologies - laser eye surgery, laserjet printers, and laser hair removal - and conflates them, with humourous results. These are illustrated through reviews by users of the resulting combinations. For the original combinations, the reviews are highly positive. For the new combinations, most are negative, because most of these new "technologies" are ill-conceived and possibly harmful.

"Laser eye surgery" gets a positive review, since it has successfully corrected the reviewer's vision, no longer requiring them to use glasses. However, "laser eye removal" would be very painful, and thus the review is negative, stating that the review had read the description incorrectly, likely believing it to be one of the real combinations on the chart. "Laser eye printer" refers to printing on (or possibly ''of'') an eyeball, which gets an "eww" response.

"Laser jet surgery" makes the reviewer nervous, as performing maintenance on a jet with lasers is potentially dangerous and could easily be done incorrectly. {{Citation needed}} Alternatively, "laser jet surgery" could mean laser surgery done on a human from a jet aircraft with a laser mounted to it (unspecified whether the human being operated on is aboard that aircraft as well, another aircraft, or on land: in any case, not a safe idea). The ambiguity of the phrase may contribute to the person's concern. "Laser jet removal" implies the destruction of jets with lasers, which works, but angers the Federal Aviation Administration, and probably resulted in legal consequences for the reviewer. "Laserjet printing" gets a positive review, as it is legitimate printing technology that works well for the reviewer.

"Laser hair surgery" is rated neutrally, with the reviewer pointing out that they consider the phrase to be bizarre and they note that the using a laser to cut hair results in a smell of burning hair. "Laser hair removal" is reviewed well, as it is a real process that effectively removes unwanted hair. "Laser hair printer" is negatively reviewed for being disgusting, the printer jamming, and the machine being unable to stop printing the hair. The title text expands on this, displaying a standard printer error message, replacing "paper" with "hair". It also replaces "ink" with "color-safe conditioner".

===Laser eye surgery===

LASIK, one of the more common laser eye surgeries, works by cutting open the cornea and ablating a small amount of the lens. Lasers are used for both steps. This, or equivalent, is the referenced surgery. There are other laser eye surgeries for various other conditions besides near- and far-sightedness.

===Laserjet printing===

LaserJet is a brand name used by Hewlett Packard (HP) for its line of laser printers.

Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process. It produces high-quality text and graphics (and moderate-quality photographs) by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a negatively charged cylinder called a "drum" to define a differentially-charged image. The drum then selectively collects electrically charged powdered ink (toner), and transfers the image to paper, which is then heated in order to permanently fuse the text and/or imagery. As with digital photocopiers and multifunction/all-in-one inkjet printers, laser printers employ a xerographic printing process. However, laser printing differs from analog photocopiers in that the image is produced by the direct scanning of the medium across the printer's photoreceptor. This enables laser printing to copy images more quickly than most photocopiers.

===Laser hair removal===

Laser hair removal is the process of removing unwanted hair by means of exposure to pulses of laser light that destroy the hair follicle. It had been performed experimentally for about twenty years before becoming commercially available in the mid-1990s. One of the first published articles describing laser hair removal was authored by the group at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1998.The efficacy of laser hair removal is now generally accepted in the dermatology community,[citation needed] and laser hair removal is widely practiced in clinics, and even in homes using devices designed and priced for consumer self-treatment. Many reviews of laser hair removal methods, safety, and efficacy have been published in the dermatology literature.

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Weapon_System Laser Jet Removal]] (Although it's primarily meant to be used against jet ''missiles'' not jet planes (as the FAA quip suggests)

This is not the [[1619|first time]] Laser Eye Removal has been mentioned.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Combinations
! Second word
! Surgery
! Removal
! Printer
|-
! Eye
| (4 1/2 stars) "I don't need glasses anymore!" || (1/2 star) "Aaaaaaa! Misread the description! Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" || (1 star) "Eww."
|-
! Jet
| (1 1/2 stars) "Too nervous to try it." || (2 1/2 stars) "Effective, but the FAA got ''really mad''." || (4 stars) "Prints great!"
|-
! Hair
| (2 1/2 stars) "Confusing word for haircut. Burning smell." || (4 stars) "Great results!" || (1/2 star) "Disgusting, won't turn off, jams constantly."
|-
|}

{{comic discussion}}

1681: Laser Products

2016-05-16T20:05:18Z

108.162.219.4:

{{comic
| number = 1681
| date = May 16, 2016
| title = Laser Products
| image = laser_products.png
| titletext = ERRORS: HAIR JAM. COLOR-SAFE CONDITIONER CARTRIDGE RUNNING LOW. LEGAL-SIZE HAIR TRAY EMPTY, USING LETTER-SIZE HAIR ONLY.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Initial draft outline. Please explain each technology, and elaborate on each combination. Include wiki links}}
This comic takes three laser-based technologies - laser eye surgery, laserjet printers, and laser hair removal - and conflates them, with humourous results. These are illustrated through reviews by users of the resulting combinations. For the original combinations, the reviews are highly positive. For the new combinations, most are negative, because most of these new "technologies" are ill-conceived and possibly harmful.

"Laser eye surgery" gets a positive review, since it has successfully corrected the reviewer's vision, no longer requiring them to use glasses. However, "laser eye removal" would be very painful, and thus the review is negative, stating that the review had read the description incorrectly, likely believing it to be one of the real combinations on the chart. "Laser eye printer" refers to printing on (or possibly ''of'') an eyeball, which gets an "eww" response.

"Laser jet surgery" makes the reviewer nervous, as performing maintenance on a jet with lasers is potentially dangerous and could easily be done incorrectly. {{Citation needed}} Alternatively, "laser jet surgery" could mean laser surgery done on a human from a laser-mounted jet aircraft (unspecified whether the human being operated on is aboard that aircraft as well, another aircraft, or on land: in any case, not a safe idea. "Laser jet removal" implies the destruction of jets with lasers, which works, but angers the Federal Aviation Administration, and probably resulted in legal consequences for the reviewer. "Laserjet printing" gets a positive review, as it is legitimate printing technology that works well for the reviewer.

"Laser hair surgery" is rated negatively, noting how bizarre the phrase is and claiming that it was a very unpleasant haircut with the aftermath being the smell of burning hair. "Laser hair removal" is reviewed well, as it is a real process that effectively removes unwanted hair. "Laser hair printer" is negatively reviewed for being disgusting, the printer jamming, and the machine being unable to stop printing the hair. The title text expands on this, displaying a standard printer error message, replacing "paper" with "hair". It also replaces "ink" with "color-safe conditioner".

===Laser eye surgery===

[Explanation of how laser eye surgery works]

===Laserjet printing===

Laserjet printing, or more commonly known as laser printing, is an electrostatic digital printing process. It produces high-quality text and graphics (and moderate-quality photographs) by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a negatively charged cylinder called a "drum" to define a differentially-charged image. The drum then selectively collects electrically charged powdered ink (toner), and transfers the image to paper, which is then heated in order to permanently fuse the text and/or imagery. As with digital photocopiers and multifunction/all-in-one inkjet printers, laser printers employ a xerographic printing process. However, laser printing differs from analog photocopiers in that the image is produced by the direct scanning of the medium across the printer's photoreceptor. This enables laser printing to copy images more quickly than most photocopiers.

===Laser hair removal===

Laser hair removal is the process of removing unwanted hair by means of exposure to pulses of laser light that destroy the hair follicle. It had been performed experimentally for about twenty years before becoming commercially available in the mid-1990s. One of the first published articles describing laser hair removal was authored by the group at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1998.The efficacy of laser hair removal is now generally accepted in the dermatology community,[citation needed] and laser hair removal is widely practiced in clinics, and even in homes using devices designed and priced for consumer self-treatment. Many reviews of laser hair removal methods, safety, and efficacy have been published in the dermatology literature.

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Weapon_System Laser Jet Removal]] (Although it's primarily meant to be used against jet ''missiles'' not jet planes (as the FAA quip suggests)

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Combinations
! Second word
! Surgery
! Removal
! Printer
|-
! Eye
| (4 1/2 stars) "I don't need glasses anymore!" || (1/2 star) "Aaaaaaa! Misread the description! Aaaaaaaaaaaa!" || (1 star) "Eww."
|-
! Jet
| (1 1/2 stars) "Too nervous to try it." || (2 1/2 stars) "Effective, but the FAA got ''really mad''." || (4 stars) "Prints great!"
|-
! Hair
| (2 1/2 stars) "Confusing word for haircut. Burning smell." || (4 stars) "Great results!" || (1/2 star) "Disgusting, won't turn off, jams constantly."
|-
|}

{{comic discussion}}

1681: Laser Products

2016-05-16T14:25:23Z

108.162.219.4:

1681: Laser Products

2016-05-16T14:11:28Z

108.162.219.4:

Talk:1663: Garden

2016-04-07T01:59:08Z

108.162.219.4: /* Requires light on ground? */ rises

Some of the posts in [[#Finally Garden is up on xkcd|Finally Garden is up on xkcd]] where originally posted on the [[Talk:1662:_Jack_and_Jill#What_happened_to_Friday.27s_comic|Talk page for Jack and Jill]], below the section about why this comic was not already up on April 1st. The ''Finally Garden is up on xkcd'' section was moved here, because this was made after the comic was up, but before this page was created... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:11, 5 April 2016 (UTC)
== Finally Garden is up on xkcd ==
:It is here the comic we have been waiting for, and it seems it is a April fool comic although it first came out past midnight in all of the US except Hawaii...
:I do not know when it will be on this page but for those impatient...
:[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/Garden_Loading_screen_shot.png Loading screen shot]
:It says to Relax, while it loads, but it will eventually get to a barren land with a growth lamp that can be moved:
:[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c8/Garden_Lamp_screen_shot.png Starting point screen shot]
:The lamp can be moved and change color.
:[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/Garden_Red_Lamp_screen_shot.png Red Lamp selected screen shot]
:It may be there will be something growing if we wait long enough?
:And there will be more lamps and new items:
:[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b8/Garden_Three_Lamp_screen_shot.png Three Lamps and birdbath screen shot.png]]
:Yes he is messing with us for sure but at least not by not making a comic :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:46, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
::I succeeded to get a small plant, but I'm not sure how. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.167|162.158.86.167]] 10:16, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
:::Try not to cover everything with every light wavelength. I'm sure you get different plants with different wavelengths:
:::[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/aprilfool-2016-xorg.png Lots of growth].
::::'''Moved the picture links''' to the image page, and inserted direct links to the images instad. It took up too much space. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:04, 5 April 2016 (UTC)
:::Also, I've noticed a constant cpu usage, indicating some kind of number crunching. The script's name "linden" reminded me of linden dollars and crowdsourcing bitcoin mining with javascript, but afair linden dollars were never mined nor based on cryptography. -- [[User:Xorg|Xorg]] ([[User talk:Xorg|talk]]) 10:30, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
::::"Linden" is probably a reference to the Linden trees, a genus (Latin name Tilia). It would make more sense than a reference to dollars, at least. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.135.57|162.158.135.57]] 12:14, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
:::::My first thought were {{w|Lindenmayer system}}s --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.240|198.41.242.240]] 16:29, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
:::Ok, it's *moving*. The leaves wobble in the wind. That explains the cpu usage. So far I have seen the following images: <code>asdfx2=""; for (asdfx in garden.linden.imgCache.imgs) { asdfx2 += asdfx+" "; } asdfx2

"http://xkcd.com/1663/art/background.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/talltrunk-2.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-8.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/wavyplant-3.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/turtle-1.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-6.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/birdbath.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/cactus-2.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-6.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-11.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-18.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/woman-1a.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-21.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/rover.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-7.png http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-6.png "
</code> -- [[User:Xorg|Xorg]] ([[User talk:Xorg|talk]]) 12:10, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

For those who are in https (with firefox for example) and don't see the "comic", there is mixed content. Click on the padlock on the up-left corner, then on the arrow, then "disable the protection against not secure elements" (or something like that). [[User:Seipas|Seipas]] ([[User talk:Seipas|talk]]) 11:32, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

The comic is finally here! ... but it won't load on my computer. Does anybody know what the problem might be or how I can fix it? [[User:Soad Kraken|Soad Kraken]] ([[User talk:Soad Kraken|talk]]) 12:45, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

Does not load (continually Loading...) on IE/FF/Chrome for me (in UK, non-https, ad-blockers turned off) any ideas? {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.114}}

Loads for me in Chrome, but then every time it refreshes, it resets the lamps to the default (one lamp in center). Removes the ones I added. Does this happen to anyone else? [[User:Vixy|Vixy]] ([[User talk:Vixy|talk]]) 16:51, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

Did someone try the debugmode?
:http://xkcd.com/1663/?debug#YourCode

It also logs data in the console
[[User:Magno|Magno]] ([[User talk:Magno|talk]]) 12:51, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

Doesn't work even in HTTP at all. Both Chrome and Firefox fail to load the content due to CORS: "EventSource cannot load http://linden.xkcd.com/run. No 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header is present on the requested resource. Origin 'http://xkcd.com' is therefore not allowed access. The response had HTTP status code 500." [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.31|141.101.80.31]] 16:37, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

Post new images here: [[1663: Garden/Screen-shots]]. Anyone know what happens to the site, it looks really weird and it is difficult to use the site now. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:52, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
:Ah I can see there is a [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Technical#mw-head|community post about this]] already. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:22, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

== April Fools? ==

What's the evidence that this is an April Fools comic? I think that the April Fools joke this year was the absence of a comic, and all the silly excuses about it when it was never coming. [[User:JoDu987|JoDu987]] ([[User talk:JoDu987|talk]]) 15:48, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
:It's interactive. April Fools comics are always interactive. Normal comics rarely are. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 16:52, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
::I would rather say that it is also an april fool's comic because it came late. But first of all it has the pointless but time consuming concept of user input resulting in a comic that has no joke in it self, or at least only user made. Second the comic is rather complex and doesn't seem to work on all browsers. I cannot make it work on my explorer at home, but it did work at my office. It seems likely that he has worked very hard t make this work. When he then had problems with it Friday, he may have taken the chance of using April 1st to make excuses that people could read as being an April fool's joke. But neither way, he tells in the status updates that we are awaiting a complex comic, and in the end he said that the Friday comic (from April 1st) would come Sunday evening, and it did, so this is Fridays comic and thus also April the 1st's comic. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:52, 4 April 2016 (UTC)
:The April Fool's Joke is lost on everyone here so far. Let me explain. You have 3 lamps you are allowed to use max and 3 different colors you can use max. That means there are a total of 7 possible colors you can use to grow things in your garden (red only, yellow only, blue only, red+yellow, red+blue, yellow+blue, and red+yellow+blue). If you are OCD, like me, you will work to position the lamps in such a way that all possible combinations are available at different positions on the ground. However, it cannot be done or if it can I have yet to find a way! I believe that is why the title text says "Relax". Because he knows the challenge will drive people crazy trying to find the solution. Maybe there is one but I think the April Fool's joke is that there isn't a possible solution but people will spend lots of time trying anyway.[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 16:33, 5 April 2016 (UTC)
::I updated the explanation with this information but apparently someone didn't like that and just removed the entire paragraph without any alternate explanation. Oh well...[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 17:23, 5 April 2016 (UTC)
::This doesn't sound likely to me. It is impossible to do what you describe, and I would think "Relax" refers to the slow growth rate of the gardens. [[User:KangaroOS|Kangaro]][[User talk:KangaroOS|OS]] 18:18, 5 April 2016 (UTC)
:::And also it is possible over time because you can move the lamps. By the way there are more than three colors. There are also white and other hues in between red and yellow and red and blue. So there are many more combos. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:30, 5 April 2016 (UTC)
:::I agree that "Relax" can have multiple meanings but the fact that you are limited to 3 lamps and 3 primary colors bears significance to me. Or why not let you spawn in 4 or 5 or 6? I also think the April Fool's joke can refer to the fact that gardens are meant to be relaxing but instead you will be left tending your garden and working to achieve all possible combinations. The opposite of relaxing.[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 03:43, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

== Mobile ==

Like many of the dynamic comics, Garden doesn't interact well with mobile devices, but I have found a workaround for this one. On my Android tablet, going to m.xkcd.com/1663 gives me a page where I can manipulate the lights - tap once on a light to reveal the handles, tap in whitespace to hide them - but the landscape and growth are not rendered.

But, as I manipulate the lights, a string is appended to the URL; if I replace the initial '''m''' with '''www''' while preserving this string, I get a page where the landscape and growth are displayed. But from this page, I cannot manipulate the lights. But it does appear that the string includes enough information to prevent "losing progress", as several iterations of swapping between the mobile and desktop URLs retained all existing growth. Therefore, some level of timestamp information may also be included in the composition of this string. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.73|108.162.216.73]] 14:18, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

:Actually, it doesn't look like the URL changes when I move the lights after all. So now instead I'm guessing it's more of a unique identifier or something. If two people both use the same string, will one person's act of moving a light be reflected by the other user refreshing their browser? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.73|108.162.216.73]] 14:33, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

== Resets ==

Resets occur sporadically, because they are actually happenning when there was a connection_error event in the WebWorker. The "game" is continually contacting the server (linden.xkcd.com) and is resetting the page on the connection errors. The fact that this resets the progress is probably a bug. --[[User:DukeBG|DukeBG]] ([[User talk:DukeBG|talk]]) 16:52, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

It seems to reset the light placement and settings too, not just the plants in the garden [[Special:Contributions/162.158.210.238|162.158.210.238]] 07:06, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

== Linux ==

Anyone else NOT able to get it to work on Linux. Tried Chrome, and FF, both with all extensions disabled. Linux Mint (like Ubuntu). Constantly says "Loading..."
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.217|162.158.214.217]] 17:23, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

You're not the only one. Running Unbuntu 12.04. Opera displays "Loading ..." for over 30 minutes. Firefox finishes loading and I can add and tweak lamps, but nothing grows.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.59|108.162.218.59]] 19:32, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

Works fine with chromium on gentoo. {{unsigned ip|162.158.83.156}}

I had the same problem with Firefox on Ubuntu 15.04. However, reloading the page fixed it. Maybe it's got something to do with caching, or maybe it just only works with some chance. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.92|141.101.104.92]] 11:02, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

== Available "plants" ==

<strike>I've got a Megan so far. Are we going to try to compile a list of what things will grow in the garden? --[[User:KingStarscream|KingStarscream]] ([[User talk:KingStarscream|talk]]) 19:06, 4 April 2016 (UTC)</strike>
: Oversight on my part. Apologies. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.64|173.245.52.64]] 19:18, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

== Suggestions for the explanation ==
What is missing and what would be interesting. And how can you help... Add it here below, maybe even with subheadings. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:18, 5 April 2016 (UTC)
===Possible items===
*Someone has made a list of [[1663:_Garden/Images|images of items]] that can be found on xkcd and seems to be complete.
**Can anyone say for certain if it is complete now?
***And can we be certain no new items appear? Anyone who can check this?
**Can someone easily download all the images?
***And if so either post them here as a zip file, or even better upload them to xkcd so we can have a page like this [[1350: Lorenz/Images]] for these items
****And later tables similar to those in the [[1350: Lorenz#Themes|themes section]] of [[1350: Lorenz]]!
*[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:27, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

===Urls===
*'''[[1663: Garden/Users gardens|Post urls here]]'''.
*Seems like the urls are not quite understood.
**What I have found so far is that the urls do not change after you load a garden. Even if something grows or if the lights are moved.
**If you save the url to begin with it will stay the same.
**But if you load the url later then it is a view only image.
***The questions are if the garden that an url refer to can be manipulated by the original user, to change what others see later even though they have the url.
***My gardens reload to often to really have a chance to test this. But the url I posted yesterday (now used as [[1663:_Garden#Permanent_link|example]]) under explanation of permalinks kept developing after I copied it and closed the garden down.
*[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:27, 5 April 2016 (UTC)
::I have understood it much better now, and the explanation has been changed to the way it work. Urls are still interesting to see how peoples gardens develop, but they are not permalinks, so only screen shots will be useful to guide the explanation.I have taken lots already of peoples posted interesting gardens, before they became overgrown or the interesting part might get deleted by the owner of the garden. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:42, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned before, but Cueball can look like he's holding items if they grow on his outstretched hand.
http://xkcd.com/#8d526e44-fb49-11e5-8001-42010a8e000c
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.207|162.158.38.207]] 10:03, 6 April 2016 (UTC)
:It has not directly. More that it can grow on other things. Nice garden. I'll put it in the url section and post a screen shot with the twig on Cueballs hand. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:31, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

== Title text ==

The "Create new light" and "Remove selected (delete key)" icons have their own title text. I don't think anything else does though. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.74}}
:Great thanks. Had not noticed. Added this to the explanation now. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:26, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

== Colour mapping ==
* Yellow light grows plants and birdbaths, but so does a combination of Magenta and Cyan light.
* Magenta light grows cacti and turtles. Yellow light does not seem to affect this.
* Cyan light grows octopuses.
* Yellow light plus Cyan light grows office furniture.
{{unsigned ip|141.101.98.74}}
:Great it would be nice to see some garden urls or screen shots, especially of the furniture, which I haven't seen yet. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:29, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

:I've noticed that blue + yellow sometimes yields really tall tress. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.103|162.158.255.103]] 17:00, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

:I made a garden with GUID f31fe17a-fb3f-11e5-8001-42010a8e000d to show the effects of mixing Magenta with either Cyan or Yellow. Interestingly on the left there are no cacti, only wavy plants and turtles, and I see a couple of birds have recently arrived. Meanwhile on the right you see something much like a regular Yellow garden, with trees, shrubs and bird baths with ducks. My second garden has GUID 6ebc8e04-fb50-11e5-8002-42010a8e0014 where I wanted to see the effect of mixing Cyan with Yellow. The pure Yellow section has a regular garden, the pure Cyan section an octopus farm, while in the middle we have what I can only describe as a white section, where I have a couple of desks (but sadly no lamp), balloons, bunnies, cats, a plant pot, and even an obelisk. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.74|141.101.98.74]] 19:15, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

== [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bird-5.png Bird 5] ==

What's in the beak of [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bird-5.png Bird 5]? It reminds me of [[614: Woodpecker]], but it's something different. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.167|162.158.86.167]] 07:29, 6 April 2016 (UTC)
:It looks to me like a mobile phone with charger cable attached {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.174}}
::Yes that might be it, I had thought a mouse with a USB cable... By the way great spotted with the woodpecker. Beret Guy is also in this comic. This is why we need a table of items to make such observations. But who will do it ;-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:29, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

== Lost gardens after new comic ==
Have others lost access to changing their garden after Wednesdays comic came out? Even though I can find it via the new link (as described in the trivia section) then it seems I can no longer change anything and just has to see my gardens develop on their own. That would be a shame. If everyone experience this, then it may be fixed? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:51, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

:Same here. New gardens are editable, however. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.103|162.158.255.103]] 17:16, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

::I hope this gets fixed cause my garden needs some pruning... [[User:Palmerito0|Palmerito0]] ([[User talk:Palmerito0|talk]]) 17:32, 6 April 2016 (UTC)

== Requires light on ground? ==
I created a garden (GUID 5fad7434-fba3-11e5-8001-42010a8e0009) in which the lights are directed upward, but nothing has grown. This would seem to indicate that even the "flying" objects are "grown" from a particular piece of ground. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.191|108.162.217.191]] 22:28, 6 April 2016 (UTC)mathuaerknedam

:Flying objects have invisible riser elements that grow first, such as http://linden.xkcd.com/art/bird-riser.png -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.4|108.162.219.4]] 01:59, 7 April 2016 (UTC)

1663: Garden/Images

2016-04-04T20:22:05Z

108.162.219.4: /* Images of items */

*Here images for the interactive comic [[1663: Garden]] can be posted.
*Try to keep the naming scheme so to always include the following:
**''1663 garden description.png''

==Images==
===Screen shots===
[[File:1663 garden Megan Monolith Animals and more.png]] 
[[File:1663 garden Fast growing tree - leafless.png]] 
[[File:1663 garden Fast growing tree - lots of leaves.png]] 
*Does this link display this image below to anyone else?
**http://www.xkcd.com/#0d11a2c8-fa8f-11e5-8001-42010a8e000e:
**[[File:1663 garden tree turtle birdbath.png]] 

===Saved image from xkcd===
[[File:1663 garden Deer and tall gate.png]] 

===Images of items===
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/background.png Background]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/balloon-segment.png Balloon segment]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/beehive-base.png Beehive-base]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/beehive-entrance-a.png Beehive entrance a]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/beret-shrub.png Beret shrub]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/bird-riser.png Bird riser]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/bird-standing.png Bird standing]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/birdbath.png Birdbath]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-1.png Branch 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-10.png Branch 10]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-11.png Branch 11]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-12.png Branch 12]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-13.png Branch 13]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-14.png Branch 14]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-15.png Branch 15]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-16.png Branch 16]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-17.png Branch 17]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-18.png Branch 18]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-19.png Branch 19]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-20.png Branch 20]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-21.png Branch 21]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-22.png Branch 22]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-23.png Branch 23]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-24.png Branch 24]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-4.png Branch 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-5.png Branch 5]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-6.png Branch 6]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-7.png Branch 7]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-8.png Branch 8]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-9.png Branch 9]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/cactus-1.png Cactus 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/cactus-2.png Cactus 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/cat-balanced.png Cat Balanced]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/cat-ground.png Cat Ground]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/deer-1.png Deer 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/deer-2.png Deer 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/desk-1.png Desk 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/duck-1.png Duck 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/fig-1.png Fig 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/flower-base.png Flower base]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/flower-segment1.png Flower segment 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/flower-segment2.png Flower segment 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/flower-segment3.png Flower segment 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/flower-segment4.png Flower segment 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-1.png Grass 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-2.png Grass 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-3.png Grass 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-4.png Grass 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-5.png Grass 5]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-6.png Grass 6]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-7.png Grass 7]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-8.png Grass 8]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-9.png Grass 9]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/handfig-1.png Handfig 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/handfig-2.png Handfig 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/important-bun.png Important bun]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/lamppost-1.png Lamppost 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-1.png Leaves 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-10.png Leaves 10]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-11.png Leaves 11]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-12.png Leaves 12]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-13.png Leaves 13]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-14.png Leaves 14]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-15.png Leaves 15]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-16.png Leaves 16]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-17.png Leaves 17]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-18.png Leaves 18]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-19.png Leaves 19]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-2.png Leaves 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-20.png Leaves 20]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-21.png Leaves 21]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-22.png Leaves 22]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-23.png Leaves 23]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-24.png Leaves 24]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-25.png Leaves 25]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-26.png Leaves 26]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-27.png Leaves 27]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-28.png Leaves 28]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-29.png Leaves 29]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-3.png Leaves 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-30.png Leaves 30]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-4.png Leaves 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-5.png Leaves 5]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-6.png Leaves 6]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-7.png Leaves 7]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-8.png Leaves 8]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-9.png Leaves 9]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/man-1a.png Man 1a]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/man-2a.png Man 2a]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/null.png Null]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/null-continue-air.png Null continue air]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/obelisk.png Obelisk]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/octopus.png Octopus]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/octopus-hat-capable.png Octopus hat capable]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/platform-1.png Platform 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/pot-1.png pot 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/pot-2.png pot 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/pot-3.png pot 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/right-platform.png Right platform]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/rover.png Rover]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-1.png Shrub 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-2.png Shrub 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-3.png Shrub 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-4.png Shrub 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-5.png Shrub 5]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-6.png Shrub 6]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-7.png Shrub 7]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-8.png Shrub 8]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-9.png Shrub 9]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-10.png Shrub 10]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-11.png Shrub 11]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/snake-1.png Snake 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/snake-2.png Snake 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/sword-fig.png Sword fig]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/tall-platform.png Tall platform]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/talltrunk-1.png Tall trunk 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/talltrunk-2.png Tall trunk 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-1.png Trunk 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-2.png Trunk 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-3.png Trunk 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-4.png Trunk 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-5.png Trunk 5]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-6.png Trunk 6]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-7.png Trunk 7]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-8.png Trunk 8]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/turtle-1.png Turtle 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/turtle-2.png Turtle 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/waterbird-1.png Water bird 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/waterbird-2.png Water bird 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/wavyplant-1.png Wavy plant 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/wavyplant-2.png Wavy plant 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/wavyplant-3.png Wavy plant 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/wavyplant-4.png Wavy plant 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/woman-1a.png Woman 1a]

Note: larger versions of all this pictures can be had by appending 2x- to the filename such as [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-woman-1a.png 2x Woman 1a]