explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1516: Win by Induction

2015-04-24T19:12:57Z

108.162.221.153:

Is the alt text a reference to double-yolkers (eggs with two yolks)? [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16118149 They're only about 1 in every 1000] but it seems like an obvious reference. --[[User:Fenn|Fenn]] ([[User talk:Fenn|talk]]) 08:32, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:Makes sense to me. I didn't even think of double yolks until you mentioned it here. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.89|173.245.50.89]] 09:04, 24 April 2015 (UTC)BK201
::Seconded. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.52|188.114.110.52]] 14:34, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:::I'd think it's a reference to the rate of twins, which is currently almost exactly 1/30 (and on the rise) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin#Statistics] [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.186|173.245.56.186]] 17:45, 24 April 2015 (UTC)Merkky[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.186|173.245.56.186]] 17:45, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

The explanation currently says that doubling makes it uncountably infinite. I'm pretty sure that doubling at each step (or every few steps) is still a countable infinite set. Proof here: http://practicaltypography.com/the-infinite-pixel-screen.html (see section "The internet demands a recount", because the first attempt is wrong). We can also prove it using the same argument as when proving that N x N is countable infinite (making zig-zag), but in this case making a breadth-first search of the tree of Pikachus: map 1 to the first Pikachu, map 2 and 3 to the two Pikachus at the second level, map 4, 5, 6, 7 to the four Pikachus at the third level, map (2^(n-1))…((2^n) - 1) to the 2^(n-1) Pikachus at level n. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.177}}
:Saw this too late. Yes, I agree, and I have fixed it accordingly. --[[User:Stephan Schulz|Stephan Schulz]] ([[User talk:Stephan Schulz|talk]]) 09:28, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:The problem being that we don't have an exact number for how many steps include double Pikachus. Granted, this is just a problem of practice, not theory. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.88|173.245.50.88]] 12:37, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

"infinite, but countable" {Cough.} Someone doesn't understand infinity. Perhaps they meant "enumerable". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 09:29, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:Someone doesn't understand countability. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.217|141.101.89.217]] 09:46, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
::enumeration is counting, in the simplest sense. "To name one by one; specify, as if in a list". That said, the whole of infinite whole numbers CAN be counted, just not by a human and not within a reasonable amount of time. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.52|188.114.110.52]] 14:34, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

"The front most Pikachu speaks." Hey, look, it has those little lines to show it's speaking, not the blank white space behind it. Duh. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 09:32, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Looks like Megan is looking at her watch as well. Mention in transcript/explanation? [[User:Fenn|Fenn]] ([[User talk:Fenn|talk]]) 09:34, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:Are Megan and Cueball supposed to fight each other? It seems like Cueball still has his closed Pokéball in his hands. Is it then Megan's Pokéball that has evolved into all these Pikachu? And is it because she waits for her Pokémon to be ready to fight Cueball, that she checks her watch? I do not know anything about the Pokémon game/world. But it seems to me that some part of this setup is unexplained by the above... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:23, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Friendly reminder: Grammatically speaking, Pokémon are like sheep or deer. Singular and plural are both written the same. One Pikachu, many Pikachu, all the Pikachu. You'd be surprised at how much rage forgetting this causes in certain corners of the Internet. {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.42}}

What doesn't make sense to me is how this could continue indefinitely – after all, each of those Pikachu must have caught its own Pikachu beforehand. I don't see any infinite loop here, just a bunch of Pikachu that already had one another caught itselves. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.217|141.101.96.217]] 10:13, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

The word "induction" could also be intended to have a double meaning, referring also to electromagnetic induction. Pikachu is, after all, and electric pokémon. {{unsigned ip|141.101.105.194}}
:Yes, I think this is right. Something about Maxwell's equations and induction. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.203}}
::From an engineering standpoint, in my opinion, Pikachu act more like biological capacitors (stored electric charge at potentially high voltage able to deliver large discharge currents) than inductors ("storing" magnetic energy via constant current, able to deliver high voltage when interrupted, like the ignition coil for an older automotive engine). I'm not too familiar with the Pokémon in-game/in-show universe, but I would imagine the Nurse Jenny corps could use electric Pokémon such as Pikachu (or Raichu) like defibrillators for cardiac events! --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.177|173.245.50.177]] 11:42, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:::There are certain moves, including some that Pikachu can learn, that appear to be based on induction (Thunder Wave and Shock Wave). Besides, they build up charge in their bodies from somewhere; I'd suspect induction from the surrounding environment is what charges them up. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.52|188.114.110.52]] 14:34, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

There's a point floating about how infinity doesn't imply completion. For instance, the number of all even integers is infinite, yet any given integer "only has a 50% chance of being even", so the series is quite obviously incomplete. This article seems to tend towards the idea (in diction) that an infinite number of pikachu would result in a win based on a 'logical' premise, without referring specificially to the terms of it's assumption. [[User:Xerxesbeat|Xerxesbeat]] ([[User talk:Xerxesbeat|talk]]) 11:38, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

What happens if the Pikachu in the ball is recursing - picking himself? That doesn't fit the 30-40 double yolk thing, but would explain an infinite series. Food for thought. Megan is bored, waiting for the fight to start. I thought the game was supposed to begin when the players choose, though, so I don't understand why the wait is happening at all. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.151}}

I doubt this is an intentional part of the joke, but the strongest Ground-type moves (Earthquake, Precipice Blades, etc.) are multi-target, hitting all foes in a 1v5 situation such as Horde Battles. In theory, a strong enough super effective move from Cueball's lead would still end the battle in one turn. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.176|173.245.56.176]] 12:04, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
:Not Land's Wrath, Dig, or Earth Power, which are strong ground-type moves.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.126|173.245.48.126]] 13:05, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
::Actually, Land's Wrath is multi-target. (The ones you named are also weaker than Earthquake and Precipice Blades, so the original comment stands regardless. Although a lucky Magnitude is more powerful than any of those.) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.98|108.162.221.98]]

I normally get a hearty chuckle out of Randall's graphical musings, but this one had me scratching my head. Fortunately, ExplainXKCD always comes to the rescue! After reading this page, my first thought was: Pokéception! 13:17, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

;Induction

Two other possibilities: one, in a bit of googling, it would appear that there is a type of Pokémon evolution called induced evolution, which involves stones of some kind? Alternately, we can use the term induction in the sense of soneone being ''inducted'' into a group. In this case, Megan has trained her Pikachu to be a Pokémaster. (Perhaps by arranging for it to be inducted into a rarified "gym"? I confess, I know nothing about the show.) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.196|173.245.56.196]] 13:11, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

I'm surprised no one mentioned that Pokémon is a game a long time before becoming a show. Although it was because of the animated series that Pikachu became "special" among the hundreds of other cute critters.

Also, no mention to the russian matryoshka dolls? Come on...
Closest other xkcd I recall is https://xkcd.com/878/ {{unsigned ip|198.41.230.68}}

;Axiom of choice

Could this be to do with the {{w|axiom of choice}} from set theory? From my understanding, it's a fundamental axiom of set theory that says 'given a set of sets, it's possible to choose one element from each of those sets'. "Choosing" is in this case a specific operation that can be performed on an element.

One specific detail about the axiom is that all sets under consideration must be nonempty; that is, they must contain at least one element. So I think this is analogous to the situation of a Pokemon trainer owning multiple (full) Pokeballs: his Pokeballs are a collection of non-empty sets from which he is now trying to choose a single element ("Pikachu, I choose you!").

Under ''normal'' circumstances, he can do this without invoking the axiom of choice because he knows the names of all his Pokemon and so can select one from each set. In this case, he could prove his ability to make the choice simply by releasing all of his Pokemon from their balls one at a time. (The Pokemon's name is actually irrelevant, because simply releasing the Pokemon counts as a choice).

However, the situation becomes more complex if it turns out that his Pokemon also possess Pokeballs, because now his ability to make the choice is uncertain. In this situation, there could be ''infinitely many'' Pikachus, and so he can't definitely select a Pikachu from all the Pokeballs under his control. In a situation like this, a mathematician would invoke the axiom of choice.

However, it seems that Cueball is actually having a go at it using an inductive method of choice: first by choosing a Pikachu, then having each Pikachu choose a Pikachu. If the number of Pikachus carrying Pokeballs is finite, then eventually, this will demonstrate that the choice can be made and so the axiom of choice is unnecessary. However, if it's ''infinite'', then this will generate a neverending stream of Pikachus. In the latter case, the game never begins, because you can't begin a Pokemon battle until all participants have chosen Pokemon. Most likely, the other players would simply abandon the game, which Cueball could claim as a victory. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 13:52, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

This sentence is nonsensical: ''When Trainers do battle, the anime's dub has immersed the phrase "<Pokémon's name>, I choose you!" into popular culture memory, which is accompanied by throwing the ball containing the selected Pokémon to the ground, which releases the Pokémon at full size.'' [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.161|108.162.219.161]] 17:51, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Should it be noted that the Pikachu is drawn without its tail? It would normally a have lightning bolt shaped tail that appears to the side or from behind its head. (Trivia or other note?) [[User:Azule|Azule]] ([[User talk:Azule|talk]]) 15:22, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

In Pokemon games from Gold and up, pokemon are able to hold items, including pokeballs. While in the game, once a pokeball is filled it is no longer available to select as an item, this comic would seem to imply the possible 'inception' scenario of having a pokemon hold an active pokeball (as the games have already shown that a pokeball can go into a pokeball). --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.193|173.245.54.193]] 14:13, 24 April 2015 (UTC)
: ahem... "pokeception" short for "pocket inception" - I can't be the first one to coin this (?) - [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 16:33, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

With Megan looking at her watch and Cueball holding the ball, I think we're meant to understand that Megan IS the Pokémon Cueball intends to use against Pikachu.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.153|108.162.221.153]] 19:12, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

1516: Win by Induction

2015-04-24T19:11:40Z

108.162.221.153:

{{comic
| number = 1516
| date = April 24, 2015
| title = Win by Induction
| image = win by induction.png
| titletext = This would be bad enough, but every 30th or 40th pokéball has TWO of them inside.
}}

==Explanation==
In the {{w|Pokémon}} franchise, human characters called Trainers capture fantastical creatures from the wild, the titular Pokémon (a shortened form of "Pocket Monsters"), and train them to battle one another. Pokémon are captured and stored in devices called Poké Balls, which shrink the creatures down to pocket size (hence "Pocket Monsters"). When Trainers do battle, the anime's dub has immersed the phrase "''<Pokémon's name>'', I choose you!" into popular culture memory, which is accompanied by throwing the ball containing the selected Pokémon to the ground, which releases the Pokémon at full size.

In this comic, a Pokémon chosen at some point was a {{w|Pikachu}}, which does not intend to engage in the battle himself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for him. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.

Nearby stands Cueball, holding a closed Pokéball, and Megan, looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting for the battle to actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan (who may have chosen the original Pikachu) is growing impatient with the delay. Given that Cueball is holding the ball, Randall may be implying that Megan is herself a Pokémon.

The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof with a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps. Each step leads to the next, thus proving something for all cases. This title seems to suggest that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will not end, effectively postponing the battle indefinitely. (The name "induction" comes from logic and discrete mathematics, and is thus unrelated to physical phenomenon; but the fact that Pikachu are "Electric-type" Pokémon is most likely a word play connecting the two ideas).

If there were a single Pikachu in each ball, this would spawn an unlimited number of Pikachu forming a single line. Since, as title text notes, there's occasionally two of them in a Pokéball, this would lead to exponential rather than linear growth.

==Transcript==
:[There's a long queue of Pikachu extending out of the frame to the left. They are all just out from their ball, at least the last eight Pikachu's open balls lie in two parts on the ground at their feet. They are standing in front of Megan and Cueball. Cueball is holding a closed pokéball while Megan checks the time on her watch. The front most Pikachu, holding a closed pokéball, speaks.]

:Pikachu at the front: Pikachu, I choose ''you!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Pokémon‏‎]]

1499: Arbitrage

2015-03-16T19:35:40Z

108.162.221.153: He could also just be eating chips!

{{comic
| number = 1499
| date = March 16, 2015
| title = Arbitrage
| image = arbitrage.png
| titletext = The invisible hand of the market never texts me back.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Very long and tedious explanation. Can anyone with knowledge of Arbitrage make it more compact and easier to read for the lay man. For instance what does "even if reactionary server slow down, and a minimum paid order per unit time rule were ignored" even mean? At least some wiki links would be in order. I have added several. Also the part of the title text about not getting text back is not mentioned. Is it clear what he means?}}

In {{w|economics}} and {{w|finance}}, {{w|arbitrage}} is the practice of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets to make risk-free profit by buying in the market with a lower price and simultaneously selling in the market with the higher price.

In real-world {{w|Market liquidity|liquid financial markets}}, the possibility of arbitrage ensures that there is only a single price for a given product, since if a product is available for a low price in one market and a high price in another, the buying and selling by arbitrageurs will bid the price up in the low-price market and down in the high-price market until the prices are equal.

The place where [[Cueball]] and [[Hairy]] are eating is giving away unlimited free {{w|tortilla chip}}s, effectively a market selling chips for $0. Hairy is taking advantage of this fact to turn a profit for himself by collecting the chips and attempting to resell them elsewhere. Any price higher than $0 would make him a profit. This is obviously much to the consternation of Cueball, who is (depending on how you interpret the simple art-style) holding his hands up in front of his mouth in shock, covering the lower half of his face in shame, covering his eyes out of denial, cradling his forehead in his hands to soothe the oncoming headache, sliding his palms down the front of his face in disgust, or eating chips. Possibly all six in sequence.

In the real world an attempt to employ this strategy would fail for several reasons: One wouldn't be allowed to carry large bags full of chips out of the restaurant, not many people would buy chips taken from a restaurant in this manner, the servers would not continue to deliver arbitrarily large amounts of chips to the table, and the restaurant would require some minimum purchase to be allowed to sit at the table which would eat into any potential profits from chip-reselling. In financial terms, the extremely poor {{w|liquidity}} of the chip market is what allows the obvious arbitrage opportunity to persist indefinitely.

Another related issue is the poor {{w|fungibility}} of chips. Chips that are factory-sealed in a bag or served in a restaurant are served in a context where cleanliness and {{w|food safety}} practices can be assumed to have been followed. Chips sold from an open bag by some random person do not have that expectation associated with them and would not command as high a price as they do in a restaurant transaction.

In the caption below the comic, [[Randall]] suggests that society only functions because we don't take people like Hairy "out to dinner", i.e., we generally have an aversion to dealing with people with such extreme self-interest, bordering on {{w|Psychopathy#Sociopathy|sociopathic}} behavior. Apart from the fact that he intends to sell the chips, we also see from Cueball's reaction, how appalled he is by what Hairy is doing right in front of the waiters in the restaurant.

A distinguishing feature of {{w|social animals}}, rather than animals simply sharing a {{w|habitat}}, is that they perform tasks that benefit their group. All such societies rely on some situations where the individual is not working purely on short term self interest. The payoff for this is generally that co-operation makes things better for the group as a whole. Most people would find Hairy's behavior embarrassing and shameful, and thus would not socialize with people who behave like that. By rejecting such individuals, society protects itself from such people.

The title text mentions the ''{{w|invisible hand}}''. In economics this is a metaphor used by {{w|Adam Smith}} to describe unintended social benefits resulting from the individual actions of self-interested parties. In the context of arbitrage, the "invisible hand" compels all of a given fungible substance to be sold for the same price, as a result of the actions of individuals like Hairy who are only seeking personal profit.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Hairy are sitting at a table with a bowl of chips in the middle. Hairy is taking chips from the bowl on the table with one hand, and his other hand is dropping chips into a large bag behind him. Cueball is double facepalming.]
:Hairy: ''They're'' the ones giving chips away!
:Hairy: If they don't see the arbitrage potential, sucks for them.
:On the bag is written: Chips

:[Below the main frame]: In a deep sense, society functions only because we generally avoid taking these people out to dinner.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

1499: Arbitrage

2015-03-16T16:57:07Z

108.162.221.153: /* Transcript */ clarify harry's actions

{{comic
| number = 1499
| date = March 16, 2015
| title = Arbitrage
| image = arbitrage.png
| titletext = The invisible hand of the market never texts me back.
}}

==Explanation==
In economics and finance, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a price difference between two or more markets to make risk-free profit by buying in the market with a lower price and simultaneously selling in the market with the higher price. In real-world {{w|Market liquidity|liquid financial markets}}, the possibility of arbitrage ensures that there is only a single price for a given product, since if a product is available for a low price in one market and a high price in another, the buying and selling by arbitrageurs will bid the price up in the low-price market and down in the high-price market until the prices are equal.

The place where [[Cueball]] and [[Hairy]] are eating is giving away unlimited free chips, effectively a market selling chips for $0. Hairy is taking advantage of this fact to turn a profit for himself by collecting the chips and attempting to resell them elsewhere. Any price higher than $0 would make him a profit. In the real world, one wouldn't be allowed to carry large bags full of chips out of the restaurant, nor would there be many buyers for chips taken from a restaurant in this manner, so this is not expected to work even if reactionary server slow down, and a minimum paid order per unit time rule were ignored. In financial terms, the extreme illiquidity of the chip market is what allows the obvious arbitrage opportunity to persist indefinitely. Another related issue is the poor {{w|fungibility}} of chips. Chips that are factory-sealed in a bag or served in a restaurant are served in a context where cleanliness and food safety practices can be assumed to have been followed. Chips sold from an open bag by some random person do not have that expectation associated with them and would not be expected to command as high a price as they do in a restaurant transaction.

In the title text, Randall suggests that society only functions because we don't take people like Hairy out "to dinner", i.e., we generally have an aversion to dealing with people with such extreme self-interest, bordering on sociopathic behavior. A distinguishing feature of social animals, rather than animals simply sharing a habitat, is that they perform tasks that benefit their group. All such societies rely on some situations where the individual is not working purely on short term self interest. The payoff for this is generally that co-operation makes things better for the group as a whole. Most people would find Hairy's behavior embarrassing and shameful, and thus would not socialize with people who behave like that. By rejecting such individuals, society protects itself from such people.

In economics, the invisible hand is a metaphor used by Adam Smith to describe unintended social benefits resulting from the individual actions of self-interested parties. In the context of arbitrage, the "invisible hand" compels all of a given fungible substance to be sold for the same price, as a result of the actions of individuals like Hairy who are only seeking personal profit.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Hairy are sitting at a table with a bowl of chips in the middle. Hairy is taking chips from bowl on the table with one hand, and his other hand is dropping chips into a large bag behind him marked "Chips".]
:Hairy: ''They're'' the ones giving chips away!
:Hairy: If they don't see the arbitrage potential, sucks for them.

:[Below the main frame]: In a deep sense, society functions only because we generally avoid taking these people out to dinner.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

Talk:632: Suspicion

2015-03-11T15:57:33Z

108.162.221.153:

"I'm more than a spambot! Our love was real!" might suggest that the spambot has actually more self-awareness/feelings than you might expect. -- [[Special:Contributions/145.7.91.126|Arjen]] 10:35, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

:Or an extremely well designed spambot. ;) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.67|173.245.55.67]] 20:43, 18 April 2014 (UTC)BK201

Couples wanting to check themselves can try an implementation of this test at http://vk-couples-testing.appspot.com/ :-) --[[User:Mormegil|Mormegil]] ([[User talk:Mormegil|talk]]) 15:10, 1 February 2013 (UTC)

Should we consider the name "Lisa" to be important? One of the very first chat-bots was called Eliza. [[Special:Contributions/91.183.95.109|91.183.95.109]] 15:13, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

::Don't forget that Apple's first GUI was the Lisa system.{{unsigned ip|24.207.62.236}}

I would be happy to see a reference to Philip K. Dick's Voigt-Kampff from his book 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' Since it was written in 1968 and Scott used it as an inspiration to write Blade Runner. Original source and stuff. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.55|108.162.231.55]] 22:31, 31 October 2013 (UTC)

Considering what's on panel #2 and #3, I thought that "getting tested" meant those ads that asks to insert your name and your partner's name to check if it's a good relationship. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.196|108.162.212.196]] 14:00, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

I thought VK stood for the Russian social network. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.153|108.162.221.153]] 15:57, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

1476: Ceres

2015-01-22T13:24:31Z

108.162.221.153:

{{comic
| number = 1476
| date = January 21, 2015
| title = Ceres
| image = ceres.png
| titletext = Earth clearly hasn't been inspected, since it's definitely contaminated with salmonella.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}} is the largest known {{w|asteroid}} and the smallest known {{w|dwarf planet}}. [[Megan]] sits at her computer and tells [[Cueball]] how exciting it will be when Dawn will discover what is the cause of the "stupid white dot" on Ceres.

{{w|Dawn (spacecraft)|Dawn}} is a probe sent by {{w|NASA}} in 2007 to examine the {{w|asteroid belt}}. Having already visited the {{w|protoplanet}} {{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}} in 2012, Dawn is now scheduled to arrive at Ceres on March 6, 2015. Dawn's initial images of Ceres were released two days before this comic, quickly inspiring [http://www.universetoday.com/118358/first-hubble-and-now-dawn-have-seen-this-white-spot-on-ceres-what-is-it/ questions about the white spot]. The spot was first noticed in photographs taken by the {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}}.

"[http://www.cafepress.com/inspector6 Inspected By No. 6]" refers to a series of quality assurance stickers used by US clothing manufacturers. Individual inspectors, each assigned a number, randomly sample products for workmanship. Accepted items are marked with that inspector's sticker. A particular "Inspector No. 6" named [http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-18/business/fi-6997_1_quality-assurance-manager Debbie Slade] got a few minutes of fame in the early 1990s. The presumed joke is that she has inspected Ceres and the white spot is a large sticker indicating that Ceres has passed inspection.

[http://www.ceres-cert.com/ CERES] (Certification of Environmental Standards) is also the name of a food inspection company based in Germany. Both the food inspection company and the dwarf planet are named for {{w|Ceres (mythology)|Ceres}}, the ancient Roman harvest goddess from whom English derives the word "{{w|Frosted Flakes|cereal}}."

The title text extends the joke to the planet Earth, where {{w|Salmonella|salmonella}} can be found. Salmonella are harmful microorganisms that are sometimes found in food products subject to improper handling or overlong storage. Mixing the realms of astronomical objects and food once more, the title text concludes that the planet Earth clearly hasn't been tested by CERES since salmonella can be found on it.

==Transcript==
:[Megan talks to Cueball]
:Megan: Dawn has almost reached Ceres. I'm excited that we'll finally learn what that stupid white dot is.
:[Zoom on Ceres, white dot resolves to a badge]
:Inspected by No. 6

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

Talk:253: Highway Engineer Pranks

2014-12-14T05:38:40Z

108.162.221.153: Created page with "The US-67 @ IH-20 interchange in Dallas has sort of a zero-choice interchange: If you're not already on the highway, attempting to get on the highway will take you beyond the ..."

The US-67 @ IH-20 interchange in Dallas has sort of a zero-choice interchange: If you're not already on the highway, attempting to get on the highway will take you beyond the interchange. It's a mess. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.153|108.162.221.153]] 05:38, 14 December 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1435: Presidential Alert

2014-10-20T05:18:33Z

108.162.221.153:

Do you think this has to do with the Floss joke on Reddit at all? [[User:Kllrshrk|Kllrshrk]] ([[User talk:Kllrshrk|talk]]) 04:11, 17 October 2014 (UTC) Kllrshrk
:I don't know about floss joke on reddit, tell me more [[Special:Contributions/103.31.5.112|103.31.5.112]] 04:32, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

::http://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/2j6pxs/whats_the_joke_with_then_floss/ [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 04:38, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

:Randall knows reddit; this is most likely a reference.[[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 04:34, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

:I was thinking that it had something to do with the broadcast he did yesterday (Thursday Oct 16) on the subject of Ebola -- where he really said nothing, other than pamper a bit to the Fox News people, promising an Ebola-czar if he felt it would help [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 08:01, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

I'm going to suggest that the hover text is based on a faked misunderstanding of First Amendment law... the President, as part of the government, can't suggest a preference for one religion over others, including when he's talking to his own children. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.119}}

: Disagree: Mentioning "God" does not signal any preference of any particular religion -- there is (at least one) god in them all, albeit in religions with more than one god they have individual names where in religions with only one god they may not have a name at all [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 08:01, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

:: First off, I said it was a FAKED misunderstanding. Second, no, not all religions have a god in them, capitalized or not. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.119}}
::: For a religion to exist there must be a belief in a superior being outside of the normal perception -- whether they are spirits or other forms of non-directly-observable the naming should entities should remain irrelevant as to whether they are gods or not -- it would help if you could mention one religion who has not gods or supernatural-god-like beings in it :-) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:05, 18 October 2014 (UTC)
::::Tell that to the Buddhists. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.221|108.162.246.221]] 14:04, 19 October 2014 (UTC)
::::And the Shinto. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 15:06, 19 October 2014 (UTC)
:::::Ummm.... Shinto literally means "way of the gods". Followers of Shinto have lots of gods. We would just normally think of them as guardian spirits or something like that. Also, buddhas are essentially gods in the Shinto sense. That said, there are a lot of very different schools of Buddhism, and I am most familiar with the ones that were influenced by Shinto in Japan. ETA: Oh, the comment that you responded to is about supernatural beings, not necessarily gods. In that case, Shinto definitely applies with no disclaimer, and every branch of Buddhism that I am familiar with applies as well.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.153|108.162.221.153]] 04:43, 20 October 2014 (UTC)
::::Don't forget the atheists. Despite all their peceived superiority and claimed belief exclusively in science, atheism is a religion. [[User:Mulan15262|Mulan15262]] ([[User talk:Mulan15262|talk]]) 15:12, 19 October 2014 (UTC)Mulan15262
:::::Atheism to religion as bald to a hair style. Valid, but flawed reasoning. Taking the hair out of hairstyling doesn't constitute a new hairstyle. Atheists form something close to a cult, but not a blind one. We see organized religion, but not organized atheism. Science is provable and logically sound. It has repeatability. It doesn't condemn you to hell if you don't believe. It is the same whether or not you believe or care about it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.113|108.162.217.113]] 22:36, 19 October 2014 (UTC)BK

:: There are arguments regarding talking about your capital-G God ((one) proper name of the generic christian god) as opposed to talking about your small-g god (who might have a specific name, whether Jehova, Allah, Osiris, Odin, Quetzovercoatl or, indeed, God). But that's for etymologists to discuss, probably. Or entomologists, when they're fed up talking about whether Bugs are bugs and are trying to relax by not talking shop. HTH, HAND. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.118|141.101.99.118]] 10:19, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
::: While continuing talking shop -- I beleive that both all christian religions as well as Jews are referring to God with a capital 'G' -- and Muslims are referring to Allah as "the one God", and hence capital G-God is not necessarily the christian God -- however if you ask ''"which God is he referring to"'' you may be mistaken for an atheist [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:05, 18 October 2014 (UTC)

I read the comic a bit differently: supposing the President accidentally pressed "The Button" (started nuclear war), he would appear on television to tell the country about the impending catastrophe. However, once on TV he can't bring himself to tell everyone that he started a nuclear war by mistake, so he opts for something rather lame and exits -- it will all be over soon anyway.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.191|141.101.104.191]] 07:53, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
: Feeling a bit down today? --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 08:05, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
:: I had the exact same idea - that he meant to tell them: "you're all gonna die soon" or something similar but decided not to and was desperately trying to find something else to say. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.98|108.162.254.98]] 18:33, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Where does the "President Cueball" come from? I assumed it was Obama. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 08:07, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
: Also the fact that the title text is definitely about Obama implies that the comic features Obama. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 12:03, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

The alt-text seems like an unnecessary swipe at President Obama. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.80|108.162.216.80]] 09:03, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
: Everything that occurs here is necessary. [[User:Robert|Robert]] ([[User talk:Robert|talk]]) 09:35, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

An phone app called Pushbullet recently began pushing xkcds to my phone, and Dashclock places the titles of pushes to my lock screen. Where I'm going with this, if you haven't guessed, is that I found my phone in my bed after 3 AM and blearily woke it to be greeted with a red lock screen reading '''Presidential Alert'''

A big thank-you to everyone to made my 4 AM wakefulness possible. – [[User:Robert|Robert]] ([[User talk:Robert|talk]]) 09:35, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Anybody else old enough to remember this Spitting Image/Genesis video (http://youtu.be/1pkVLqSaahk)? [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:09, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Regarding the title text, I don't think the joke is that the president would confuse "good night" and "God bless America." It is very common for the United States President to conclude evening speeches with something like "Good night. May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America." For a similar example, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMzidfyxrI (which I just found as a random example). [[User:S|S]] ([[User talk:S|talk]]) 22:25, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1435: Presidential Alert

2014-10-20T04:43:35Z

108.162.221.153:

Do you think this has to do with the Floss joke on Reddit at all? [[User:Kllrshrk|Kllrshrk]] ([[User talk:Kllrshrk|talk]]) 04:11, 17 October 2014 (UTC) Kllrshrk
:I don't know about floss joke on reddit, tell me more [[Special:Contributions/103.31.5.112|103.31.5.112]] 04:32, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

::http://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/2j6pxs/whats_the_joke_with_then_floss/ [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 04:38, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

:Randall knows reddit; this is most likely a reference.[[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 04:34, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

:I was thinking that it had something to do with the broadcast he did yesterday (Thursday Oct 16) on the subject of Ebola -- where he really said nothing, other than pamper a bit to the Fox News people, promising an Ebola-czar if he felt it would help [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 08:01, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

I'm going to suggest that the hover text is based on a faked misunderstanding of First Amendment law... the President, as part of the government, can't suggest a preference for one religion over others, including when he's talking to his own children. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.119}}

: Disagree: Mentioning "God" does not signal any preference of any particular religion -- there is (at least one) god in them all, albeit in religions with more than one god they have individual names where in religions with only one god they may not have a name at all [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 08:01, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

:: First off, I said it was a FAKED misunderstanding. Second, no, not all religions have a god in them, capitalized or not. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.119}}
::: For a religion to exist there must be a belief in a superior being outside of the normal perception -- whether they are spirits or other forms of non-directly-observable the naming should entities should remain irrelevant as to whether they are gods or not -- it would help if you could mention one religion who has not gods or supernatural-god-like beings in it :-) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:05, 18 October 2014 (UTC)
::::Tell that to the Buddhists. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.221|108.162.246.221]] 14:04, 19 October 2014 (UTC)
::::And the Shinto. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 15:06, 19 October 2014 (UTC)
:::::Ummm.... Shinto literally means "way of the gods". Followers of Shinto have lots of gods. We would just normally think of them as guardian spirits or something like that. Also, buddhas are essentially gods in the Shinto sense. That said, there are a lot of very different schools of Buddhism, and I am most familiar with the ones that were influenced by Shinto in Japan. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.153|108.162.221.153]] 04:43, 20 October 2014 (UTC)
::::Don't forget the atheists. Despite all their peceived superiority and claimed belief exclusively in science, atheism is a religion. [[User:Mulan15262|Mulan15262]] ([[User talk:Mulan15262|talk]]) 15:12, 19 October 2014 (UTC)Mulan15262
:::::Atheism to religion as bald to a hair style. Valid, but flawed reasoning. Taking the hair out of hairstyling doesn't constitute a new hairstyle. Atheists form something close to a cult, but not a blind one. We see organized religion, but not organized atheism. Science is provable and logically sound. It has repeatability. It doesn't condemn you to hell if you don't believe. It is the same whether or not you believe or care about it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.113|108.162.217.113]] 22:36, 19 October 2014 (UTC)BK

:: There are arguments regarding talking about your capital-G God ((one) proper name of the generic christian god) as opposed to talking about your small-g god (who might have a specific name, whether Jehova, Allah, Osiris, Odin, Quetzovercoatl or, indeed, God). But that's for etymologists to discuss, probably. Or entomologists, when they're fed up talking about whether Bugs are bugs and are trying to relax by not talking shop. HTH, HAND. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.118|141.101.99.118]] 10:19, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
::: While continuing talking shop -- I beleive that both all christian religions as well as Jews are referring to God with a capital 'G' -- and Muslims are referring to Allah as "the one God", and hence capital G-God is not necessarily the christian God -- however if you ask ''"which God is he referring to"'' you may be mistaken for an atheist [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:05, 18 October 2014 (UTC)

I read the comic a bit differently: supposing the President accidentally pressed "The Button" (started nuclear war), he would appear on television to tell the country about the impending catastrophe. However, once on TV he can't bring himself to tell everyone that he started a nuclear war by mistake, so he opts for something rather lame and exits -- it will all be over soon anyway.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.191|141.101.104.191]] 07:53, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
: Feeling a bit down today? --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 08:05, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
:: I had the exact same idea - that he meant to tell them: "you're all gonna die soon" or something similar but decided not to and was desperately trying to find something else to say. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.98|108.162.254.98]] 18:33, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Where does the "President Cueball" come from? I assumed it was Obama. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 08:07, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
: Also the fact that the title text is definitely about Obama implies that the comic features Obama. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 12:03, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

The alt-text seems like an unnecessary swipe at President Obama. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.80|108.162.216.80]] 09:03, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
: Everything that occurs here is necessary. [[User:Robert|Robert]] ([[User talk:Robert|talk]]) 09:35, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

An phone app called Pushbullet recently began pushing xkcds to my phone, and Dashclock places the titles of pushes to my lock screen. Where I'm going with this, if you haven't guessed, is that I found my phone in my bed after 3 AM and blearily woke it to be greeted with a red lock screen reading '''Presidential Alert'''

A big thank-you to everyone to made my 4 AM wakefulness possible. – [[User:Robert|Robert]] ([[User talk:Robert|talk]]) 09:35, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Anybody else old enough to remember this Spitting Image/Genesis video (http://youtu.be/1pkVLqSaahk)? [[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:09, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Regarding the title text, I don't think the joke is that the president would confuse "good night" and "God bless America." It is very common for the United States President to conclude evening speeches with something like "Good night. May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America." For a similar example, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqMzidfyxrI (which I just found as a random example). [[User:S|S]] ([[User talk:S|talk]]) 22:25, 17 October 2014 (UTC)