explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2979: Sky Alarm

2024-08-31T11:36:24Z

108.162.221.24:

♫♪ Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me... ♪♫ :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:55, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

I've tried to do just this by subscribing to a channel promisingly named "AstroAlert", which then proceeded to spam me 500 times per day with messages about a random meteor on the opposite part of the world. Woe. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.110.200|162.158.110.200]] 05:15, 31 August 2024 (UTC)
:Hence the need for this alarm, to keep it LOCAL, :) That's the thing, any such thing needs a LOCATION, to limit results to what is locally relevant to each person. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:19, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

This comic seems super simple, so I added as muc( explanation as I can think of... [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:19, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Local58 moment 💔

[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.138|172.70.85.138]] 11:27, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

With that device, no work is ever going to be done again... D: [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.24|108.162.221.24]] 11:36, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

899: Number Line

2024-07-31T15:48:09Z

108.162.221.24: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 899
| date = May 16, 2011
| title = Number Line
| image = number line.png
| titletext = The Wikipedia page List of Numbers opens with "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it."
}}

== Explanation ==

Once again, [[Randall]] seems to be just messing around, this time with a number line.

*'''Negative numbers''' have the same magnitude as positive numbers but can only be used to represent the removal of that same magnitude (hence the term "difference" being used for subtraction). Negative numbers may be called imitator numbers in the comic because of their similarities to positive numbers.

*'''0.99'''.... is {{w|0.999...|equal to 1}} because if you subtract any number from one, however small, you will get a number that is less than 0.99. 1 − '''0.0000000372''' is 1 bit less than the {{w|IEEE_floating_point|IEEE 754 32-bit floating-point representation}} of 1.

*The '''{{w|golden ratio}}''' or '''ϕ''' (phi) is the number <math>\tfrac{1+\sqrt{5}}{2}</math>, about 1.61803. It has many interesting mathematical properties, mostly relating to geometry, and has occasional appearances in nature, such as spirals formed by the seeds in sunflowers. It is also subject to many less credible claims, such as the belief that phi appears in {{w|Parthenon}} (a well-disputed claim) or that rectangles proportioned after phi are more aesthetically pleasing. The speaker seems to drive off his listeners as soon as he brings it up; the golden ratio is infamous for being brought up by know-it-alls, which Randall has mocked in other comics.

* The approximate range from 2.1 to 2.3 is marked as '''The Forbidden Region'''. Why Randall marked this range as forbidden is really anyone's guess; it seems to be an entirely arbitrary designation.

*'''{{w|e (mathematical constant)|e}}''' (Euler's number) is 2.71828... and '''π''' (pi) is 3.14159265...

*'''2.9299372''' is probably a {{w|President's Day}} reference. It is the average of e and π just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.

*'''Gird''', '''ᛟ''' is a purely fictional number. (The glyph that Randall uses seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [https://web.archive.org/web/20230908075930/http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html archaic maps].). Canon and orthodox could mean "accepted as the offical story" and "most science-based followers", but they could also reference to organised religions. Gird could be a reference to any or all of:
**[http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/the-secret-number/ Bleem] - a fictional integer between 3 and 4
**iCarly's [http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/Derf Derf] - a fictional integer between 5 and 6
**George Carlin's [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bleen Bleen] - a fictional integer between 6 and 7
**[https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-033 SCP-033] - a fictional "missed number" consisting of complex formulae that causes mathematical systems to break down when it is introduced to them (manifesting as the physical destruction of the objects the mathematical formulae are contained in, such as paper and computers)
**Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal's [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3913 Sorf] - a fictional integer between 2 and 3 

*'''Site of Battle of 4.108''' is another map joke, implying that 4.108 is an actual location, where an eponymous battle was previously fought. 4.108 was also referenced in [[2861: X Value]], though with an added 3 in the ten-thousandths place.

*An '''Unexplored''' region obscures the line approximately ranging all values from 4.5 to 6.7. In the days when the Earth was still being mapped out, territories that had yet to be properly explored and charted were labelled in a similar manner. The placement of the '''Unexplored''' region on the number line indicates that all numbers in that range, including the integers 5 and 6, are completely unknown. This is, of course, patently ridiculous,{{cn}} and the humor seems to derive solely from how nonsensical and unbelievable it is. Correspondingly, the digits 5 and 6 cannot be found in the comic.

*It is often the case in the media that "It has been 7 years..." or "In the last 7 years..." etc. It is made to seem like a believable statistic but cannot always be true. Alternatively, it is intended as an absurd joke that the number 7 is just "not to be believed".

*'''8''' is not the largest even {{w|prime number}}, nor is it a prime at all. The largest (and only) even prime is 2 (which is a subprime number). A joke intended for those who clearly know that the claim is false.

*The last entry seems to be a reference to certain fields of {{w|pure mathematics}}, which focus less on performing calculations with numbers and more on understanding structures that may be described using logic. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.
**A possible alternate reason for suggesting that any digit beyond 8 (i.e. 9) would not be 'real' mathematics is {{w|Benford's law}}. Taken at the level of individual digits, true data tends to have far fewer 9s in it than (in decimal representation) any other non-zero digit. While it would not be true to say that the presence of a 9 itself indicates invalid values, concocted or stochastically randomised values may have far more 9s than would naturally emerge from true data. Any use of those numbers would then be based upon lies, and highly suspect. The two-digit 10, also illustrated, might be excluded from any analysis of digit-frequency, or (prominantly featuring a trailing zero) might further underline the point by being being more likely rounded to the nearest ten (or even a convenient [[2205: Types of Approximation|order of magnitude]]), where its [[2696: Precision vs Accuracy|accuracy and precision]] are both more open to doubt than in the case of either 9 or (also neighbouring it, though not shown here or necessarily subject to any comment) 11.

The title text is a literalism joke; at the time the comic was published, all Wikipedia articles with incomplete lists began with the message template "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it." In the case of the {{w|List of numbers}} page, one could infer the absurd notion that Wikipedia wanted to have the list include every number from negative infinity to infinity. But because all Wikipedia articles are necessarily finite, such a list would always be incomplete, no matter how much it was expanded. It may also be referencing his previous statements about Wikipedia being the home of compulsive list-makers, who make the most astonishingly complete lists imaginable.

As of 2022, Wikipedia's {{w|List of numbers}} page, as well as all pages including lists that cannot ever reach a state of completion, are headed by the message template "This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources."

[[2956: Number Line Branch]] also features a number line with additional (fictional) numbers.

== Transcript ==
:[Number line ranging from −1 to 10.]
:[Arrow pointing left, towards negative numbers] Negative "imitator" numbers (do not use)
:[Line right before the number one] 0.99... (actually 0.0000000372 less than 1)
:[Line at the golden ratio.] Φ Parthenon; sunflowers; golden ratio; wait, come back, I have facts!
:[Line at a region between two and 2.2] forbidden region
:[Line at Euler's number.] e
:[Line a bit before 3] 2.9299372 (e and pi, observed)
:[Line at π.] π
:[Line at 3.5 with ᛟ as the numeral] Gird – accepted as canon by orthodox mathematicians
:[Line a bit after 4.] site of battle of 4.108
:[Blob between 4.5 and 6.5 labeled unexplored.]
:[Line at seven.] Number indicating a factoid is made up ("every 7 years...", "science says there are 7...", etc)
:[Line at eight.] Largest even prime
:[Line at 8.75.] If you encounter a number higher than this, you're not doing real math

== Trivia ==

* As for the "Gird" between 3 and 4, one might argue that the arithmetic square root of 11 may have some "integer" properties, because there exists an integer-to-integer{{Citation needed}} function f(x) such that f(f(x))=11x. (details needed)
* The "unexplored" area is actually famous for some numbers, such as twice π (also known as tau (τ), approximately 6.283185).

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

2956: Number Line Branch

2024-07-31T15:45:36Z

108.162.221.24: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2956
| date = July 8, 2024
| title = Number Line Branch
| image = number_line_branch_2x.png
| imagesize = 469x235px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Attention all passengers: This is an express sequence to infinity. If your stop is not a power of two, please disembark now.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic likens the {{w|number line}} to a line of a railroad or subway system. These often have branches where different trains continue on to a different destination, with different stops along the way, or travel on parallel lines to allow faster trains to bypass slower ones. In the number line, one branch (presumably the original) contains ordinary numbers, while the newly opened branch consists of some completely different numbers, denoted with various symbols as an analogue to those we use as digits. The branches seem to split at π. The new branch maintains the same scale-separations as the 'normal' one (as far as it goes) but, due to a longer initial curve away from the junction, the new-branch digits are also consistently slightly offset from the horizontal positions of the respective old-branch ones.

The sequence ending with a bold mark at Δ (whereas the original number line fades out) suggests that it is the end of this branching sequence. Mathematicians, apparently, could only afford to construct 5 additional numbers, or their research hasn't yet found other numbers. The branch may have been intended to run much further, but been {{w|High Speed 2#Cancellation of Phase 2, October 2023|scaled back}} due to budget overruns and cutbacks.

The title text makes a parallel between a train stopping at a station and a numerical sequence "stopping" at a number – that is, taking it as a value. It's a spoof of announcements that are typically made on trains, so that passengers can confirm that they're on a train that goes to their desired station; an "express train" typically makes fewer stops so it can serve the most popular stops and reach its final destination sooner. In this case, the express train only stops at powers of 2; presumably the "local" stops at every integer. Powers of 2 are 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, …, n^2, such that the interval between stops grows exponentially larger.

Mathematically, an express train like this would get to its scheduled stops much faster, but it would not actually have any fewer stops overall. Mathematicians that study infinities generally regard all "{{w|Countable_set|countably}}" infinite sets as being the same "size." Infinity is not a fixed value, rather it's the concept of "does not end," so it's paradoxical to try to take a train to a destination that is, by definition, not a single destination. By way of analogue, it's akin to promising to stop hitting your little brother only after you've done so forever.

A fictional number was previously shown in [[899: Number Line]] ("gird"), and fictional ''numerals'' were shown in [[2206: Mavis Beacon]]. And similar treatment of mathematics as public infrastructure was seen in [[2735: Coordinate Plane Closure]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A diagram reminiscent of both the number line, and a transit system diagram. The line starts at the left and goes right through points labeled 0, 1, 2, and 3, at which point there is a bifurcation into two branches. The top branch continues: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, …. The bottom branch is shorter, labeled with five curious glyphs: a square, a near-vertical with two short horizontals jutting out from it, a phi-like/lollipop symbol, a spiral and a delta/triangle symbol.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Good news!
:After thousands of years, mathematicians have finally opened a second branch on the number line to reduce congestion.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]

Talk:2964: Olympic Sports

2024-07-28T16:31:40Z

108.162.221.24:

What took bro so long
Is he stupid [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.119|141.101.98.119]] 13:05, 27 July 2024 (UTC)
:Seems totally unclear what you're referring to, here.
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:00, 27 July 2024 (UTC)
::i think they're referring to this comic being somewhat late. [[user talk:lettherebedarklight|youtu.be/miLcaqq2Zpk]] 15:07, 27 July 2024 (UTC)
:: The comic appeared around 0800 EDT 20240727 (Saturday, a day late). As most folks here surely know, late posts are common on xkcd but aren't often later than the stated "MWF". After 19 years, and without the "weeks ahead" buffer insisted upon by "traditional" syndicated comics (as shown by [https://xkcd.com/2961/ Crowdstrike], posted the day of the event), I think Randall has done remarkably well. I'd struggle to keep a schedule like this for 19 weeks.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.151.95|172.71.151.95]] 15:34, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

I think "''Synchronized'' Swimming" would be the most hilarious. One person flailing while a whole team tries to make it look choreographed.
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 15:00, 27 July 2024 (UTC)
:I picture two people that are synchronized to each other while the third person tries to look choreographed - [[Special:Contributions/162.158.212.172|162.158.212.172]] 15:11, 27 July 2024 (UTC)
:Why must I think of "The fox has left his lair"... [[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.71|172.71.160.71]] 16:39, 27 July 2024 (UTC)
:Google "SNL synchronized swimming". There's a classic sketch. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:20, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

I hear there's an opening on the GB equestrian team. Just sayin'...
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.119|141.101.69.119]] 19:15, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

I'm going to disagree about a couple. Beginning pole vaulters are incredibly funny. Beginners on the pommel horse aren't usually very funny. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.252|162.158.186.252]] 19:54, 27 July 2024 (UTC)
:I also think pole vault would be in the last category. It has always looked to me like an incredibly difficult maneuver. And I remember doing pommel horse in school; I wasn't very athletic, but I could swing around a little. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:21, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

"Ski jump" has got to be a reference to Eddie the Eagle.
Eddie was British champion. And he changed Olympic qualification rules.
: Both Bogataj and Edwards were competitive ski jumpers (Edwards, admittedly, marginally so), whereas the trope of this cartoon is that the protagonist (presumably Randall) is trying to enter the competition without any prior experience. The vibe seems to be - Challenger: "Can you fail more spectacularly than these two?" Randall: "Hold my beer." Olympic official: "Nice try, stick guy, but no. Here's your beer back." 'Thankfully for all concerned' seems a better fit to the Bogataj case, in which he was injured, spectators were put at risk, and the competition schedule was likely disrupted, than the Edwards case in which the only injuries were to the reputations of Olympic administrators, and which yielded a nice 15 minutes for Edwards. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.253|108.162.245.253]] 00:02, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

I really doubt the ski jump thing is a reference to anything specific. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.23|108.162.221.23]] 13:00, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

Randall has clearly never heard of an ejector crab https://youtu.be/UcOjeneHJ6E [[Special:Contributions/172.69.6.207|172.69.6.207]] 16:04, 28 July 2024 (UTC)
: Actually this is an even better example https://youtu.be/hxOW739UlWk [[Special:Contributions/172.69.6.144|172.69.6.144]] 16:07, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

A German surfer managed to moon all Olympics viewers today, so I doubt Randall could beat that... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.24|108.162.221.24]] 16:31, 28 July 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2917: Types of Eclipse Photo

2024-04-09T08:40:57Z

108.162.221.24: nice shade

The 'standard' and '2x' sized images had unexpected sizes, so a Trivia section has been automatically generated, and an imagesize parameter has been added (at half size) to render the image consistently with other comics on this website. --[[User:TheusafBOT|TheusafBOT]] ([[User talk:TheusafBOT|talk]]) 06:16, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

8920x6909?! [[User:JLZ0kTC5|JLZ0kTC5]] ([[User talk:JLZ0kTC5|talk]]) 06:21, 9 April 2024 (UTC)
Title text likely refers to this image [https://science.nasa.gov/resource/earth-eclipses-the-sun-apollo-12/], and may also refer to Alan Bean destroying the color tv camera on that same mission by pointing it inadvertently at the sun.
[[Special:Contributions/172.69.140.145|172.69.140.145]] 07:03, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

I've seen one in 1999. It was glorious. Huge shadow crossing a large lake at a million miles an hour.

1053: Ten Thousand

2021-05-14T22:01:28Z

108.162.221.24:

{{comic
| number = 1053
| date = May 9, 2012
| title = Ten Thousand
| image = ten_thousand.png
| titletext = Saying 'what kind of an idiot doesn't know about the Yellowstone supervolcano' is so much more boring than telling someone about the Yellowstone supervolcano for the first time.
}}

==Explanation==
This strip argues that one shouldn't make fun of people for not knowing something that's considered common knowledge. The basic premise of the first panel is that, since people aren't born knowing ''anything'', everyone has to learn everything for the first time, at some point. If everyone ''eventually'' learns a given fact, there are an average of 10,000 people, in the US alone, who learn the fact for the first time each day.
The approximate rate of 10,000 people per day hearing about something for the first time is estimated by the birth rate of 4,000,000 people per year divided by 365 days per year, assuming that the birth rate is constant and that indeed ''everyone'' learns or gets the fact (or that those in the US who don't are about equal in number to those in other countries who do). The target age of thirty years is irrelevant in this calculation; the 10,000 number is simply equal to the number of newborns per day, or equivalently, the number of people who reach a given age each day.

The second panel points out that (certainly, for someone like Randall), teaching people an interesting fact for the first time is ''fun''. Mocking someone for their lack of knowledge makes them less likely to reveal that they don't know something, which means you don't get the opportunity to share in the experience as they discover it. Taking this approach is much more socially effective and generally enjoyable than mocking them for being ignorant. When Cueball learns that Megan doesn't know about the "Diet Coke and Mentos thing", he refers to her as "one of the lucky 10,000" who's experiencing it for the first time that day.

{{W|Diet Coke}} is a popular brand of sugar-free soda. {{W|Mentos}} is a brand of chewable mints. Famously, if you drop Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_Coke_and_Mentos_eruption soda will erupt quite aggressively], sending a fountain of soda 10 feet or more into the air. This interaction is widely beloved because it's dramatic and unexpected, while being generally safe, simple, and inexpensive to do (though it does make quite a mess, and should only be done outdoors). This effect appears to only happen with this specific type of soda and this specific mint, and is believed to result from a very particular interaction between the ingredients in the two, the texture of the mints, and the carbonation in the soda. This was explored, in some details, in a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjbJELjLgZg Mythbusters episode].

The Diet Coke and Mentos eruption has also been mentioned in a previous strip [[346: Diet Coke+Mentos]].

The title text provides another, perhaps more emphatic example of how explaining a fact to a person for the first time is much more entertaining than just expressing annoyance about that missing knowledge. Here is a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PxDGiVQNg8 good video] about the {{w|Yellowstone supervolcano}}. Interestingly enough, both events includes some kind (although very different kind){{Citation needed}} of eruption.

Supervolcanos are again mentioned in [[1159: Countdown]] and in [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]].

This comic also appears in Randall Munroe's book ''[[How To]]'', in the introduction of the book, albeit in a modified form.

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:I try not to make fun of people for admitting they don't know things.
:[Caption right below said caption:]
:Because for each thing "everyone knows" by the time they're adults, every day there are, on average, 10,000 people in the US hearing about it for the first time.

:[A list of equations.]
:Fraction who have heard of it at birth = 0%
:Fraction who have heard of it by 30 ≈ 100%
:US birth rate ≈ 4,000,000/year
:Number hearing about it for the first time ≈ 10,000/day

:[Caption above the next panel:]
:If I make fun of people, I train them not to tell me when they have those moments.
:And I miss out on the fun.

:[Megan is standing. Cueball is walking, with his palm out.]
:Megan: "Diet Coke and Mentos thing"? What's that?
:Cueball: Oh man! Come on, we're going to the grocery store.
:Megan: Why?
:Cueball: You're one of today's lucky 10,000.

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

1684: Rainbow

2016-05-23T12:55:03Z

108.162.221.24: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1684
| date = May 23, 2016
| title = Rainbow
| image = rainbow.png
| titletext = Listen, in a few thousand years you'll invent a game called 'SimCity' which has a 'disaster' button, and then you'll understand.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| More details needed, for instance is there a specific reference to the burning of the Earth in the bible before Noah, or is this just the meteor(s) in the past? And what about the planned Armageddon, is that then off? More about issues with raccoons and what immortality would do to an ecosystem. More about the sims for the title text explanation. Are there other hidden meanings/interpretations?}}

In this comic {{w|Noah}}, from {{w|Noah's Ark}} from Jewish and Christian faith, here represented by [[Cueball]], talks to {{w|God}} right after {{w|Genesis flood narrative|the flood}} has ended. He asks what the colored band across the sky is. And God tells him that is is a {{w|rainbow}}. God placed the {{w|Rainbows in mythology|worlds first rainbow}} in the sky as a promise to humanity that he would never make another flood.

Scientifically, a rainbow is an {{w|optical phenomena|optical phenomenon}} that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a {{w|spectrum}} of light appearing in the sky. And it is only one of many light phenomenons caused by sunlight and precipitation.

Thus Noah then immediately notices that there is a {{w|Rainbow#Variations|double rainbow}} outside the original ''promise rainbow''. Secondary rainbows, like this, are caused by a double reflection of sunlight inside the raindrops. When asked about this second band God seems to falter, but he recovers and claims that he has made that to show that he will never set the Earth on fire again. And as an afterthought he says sorry about that, although it was a while back. There is clear indications already here that God just invented an explanation for an optical phenomenon instead of giving the correct one.

Sadly for God Noah spots even more of these phenomena. Next he begins to notice some of the many types of {{w|Halo (optical phenomenon)|halos}} that can appear around the sun (or the moon). The one he spots is most likely the {{w|22° halo|circular 22° halo}}, which is a halo forming a circle with a radius of approximately 22° around the Sun, or occasionally the Moon.

God is ready this time and promptly claims it is a promise to never again make {{w|raccoons}} {{w|Immortality|immortal}} as it destroyed the Earth's {{w|ecosystem}}. Although today these animals can be a pest, see [[1565: Back Seat]], they are luckily not immortal anymore.

But Noah continues by noticing two {{w|sun dogs}} (or parhelia) which often are co-occurring with the 22° halo. They consists of a pair of bright spots on either horizontal side on the Sun, with the halo going through.

God finally gets tired of this and tries to stop these questions by saying that he has said that he is sorry, and asks Noah to stop asking anymore of these questions. It is probably wise of God to stop here as the list of Optical phenomena on Wikipedia has 23 different {{w|Optical_phenomena#Atmospheric_optical_phenomena|atmospheric optical phenomena}} alone.

The title text is a continuation of the conversation, where God tells Noah that in the far future humanity will invent a game called {{w|SimCity}}. Here you not alone have all the control like God, but there is even a [http://www.ign.com/wikis/simcity/Disasters disaster button] if you do not wish to wait for those to happen by chance.

What God tells Noah is that it is just too tempting, once a civilization has been build up, to see what happens when pushing the disaster button, which God obviously also have on his control panel...

The whole comic is a joke on using natural phenomena to explain Gods will.

==Transcript==
:[Noah, here represented as Cueball, is looking up on a rainbow band going through the top right corner of the panel. The band displays the following colors from outward and in: Red, yellow, green, blue and purple. A black blob in the bottom of the panel right of Noah, has white text with the reply from God to Noah's questions. This continues through the rest of the comic.]
:Noah: Wow, God- What's that band of color?
:God: A rainbow.
:God: It is a sign of my promise that I will never again flood the Earth.

:[In this frameless panel Noah is not looking so much up. God's repy is split in two black blobs with a small connection between them.]
:Noah: Oh, good! Hey, what about that second bow above the first one?
:God: Oh, uh, sign of my promise not to set Earth on fire.
:God: Sorry for doing that a while back.

:[Noah points left, Gods black reply blob hangs higher, only above Noah's shoulders]
:Noah: What about that third faint bow near the sun?
:God: My promise to never again destroy Earth's ecosystem by making raccoons immortal.

:[Noah points even higher up towards left, with God's reply situated as before]
:Noah: And the little rainbow clouds on either side of-
:God: Look, I said I'm sorry. Can we just drop it?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:1682: Bun

2016-05-19T01:07:49Z

108.162.221.24:

The transcript is almost done, but the setting/image of each frame has to be added, and someone may want to fix my possible typos. This is my first contribute to explain xkcd! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.158|108.162.250.158]] 10:51, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

:I added the explanations about the images. Thanks for contributing! [[User:Ladidootdoot|Ladidootdoot]] ([[User talk:Ladidootdoot|talk]]) 11:21, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

I assumed this was about hair buns, am I incorrect? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.25|173.245.54.25]] 11:10, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

:I also believed that 'bun' was also referring to hair buns/ponytails, thus giving a visual pun to the comic. It would also add another level of the 'heirarchy' pun as well. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.25|173.245.56.25]] 14:08, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

I think it's "bun" short for "bunny", an informal term meaning a rabbit (especially a cute one such as the ones shown in the comic). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.130|141.101.98.130]] 11:16, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Wolves don't actually have as strong a hierarchical structure as commonly believed, and don't have so-called "alphas" running the pack. Wolf packs are primarily a family structure that centers around the parents, in a natural non-tyrannical way, with different wolves making decisions and leading the pack at various times depending on their particular skills. For more information on this, refer to writings by David Mech, wolf biologist, who first coined the terms "alpha" and "omega" for wolves, and has for years been trying to convince people that those original theories are incorrect.

Of course, 'buns' are also a euphemism for butt, which might clarify a thing or two, or at least add a more amusing context. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.42}}

I also believe the comic makes more sense when taking that meaning (bun for buttocks/derrière...) into account. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.230|162.158.150.230]] 12:53, 18 May 2016 (UTC)J

I know that this is absolutely just a personal gripe, but the website is called explain xkcd, not spell-out-everything-that-happens-in-xkcd.

In relevance, this seems to be satire of current-gen's obsession with (mis)spelling things that are cute incorrectly (see: smol, birb, doge) and the situation in the comic is a role-reversal, with the teacher being a (teen/tween/memer etc.) and the students are accusing the class's professionalism.

The point about 'rank' could of course be some fictional idea that a younger person could attach to a physical entity to make the world mor fun and interesting or something idk.
I would add this theory, of course, but i have no idea what i'm even reading when i read this explanation and don't know where to add it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.161|108.162.250.161]] 12:00, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

:I absolutely agree I have slowly been editing different explanations to try to try to reflect this, but it is a very difficult and tedious process, if you can contribute do it. [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 13:14, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Hierarchy is misspelled. Unless it's a convoluted pun on heir - hare (almost homophones) ? [[User:blagae|blagae]]
:A new version of the comic has been uploaded by now, with the misspelling corrected. So the heir-hare pun was probably unintentional. ([[User:blagae|blagae]]) 14:58, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

As soon as I read it, I was thinking 'bun' as in 'bottocks', yet there is no mention of that in the explanation? {{unsigned ip|108.162.218.41}}
:Added that in the explanation, but I'm not sure at all that this was intentional. When there is images of bunnies it is not necessarily something that would come into mind. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:13, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Most of the explanations posted thus far seem off-the-mark to me. Especially the ones involving butts, I mean, c'mon... The comment above about "role-reversal" gets close to the heart of the joke (if any), though I think more than anything this strip is just Randall indulging his love for depicting people in roles of presumed authority spouting absurdities. (And for tiny bunnies, of course.) TBH, though, this one mainly gives the impression of being based on a private joke or conversation, or just referencing some meme I haven't seen yet. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.68.35|162.158.68.35]] 16:14, 18 May 2016 (UTC)
: I think it's an obscure reference. Buzzfeed has [https://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbellassai/the-most-important-bunny-gifs-on-the-internet The 33 Most Important Bunny GIFs On The Internet], which ''might'' be related to the "important bun" from [[1663]]. Maybe Ponytail teaches [https://twitter.com/hashtag/anatomyofthebun internet sociology], not biology, and she hasn't clarified that very well. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 16:27, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

I would say the entire "buttocks" link that is currently reflected in the description is a very poor fit. Clearly "this time of year" is referring to spring, when rabbits are most commonly seen darting around, and when rabbit kittens are most likely to be born/leave their nests. "The image of a king" clearly has nothing to do with Ponytail, as there is an image of a "king bun" on the screen. This is most definitely a reference to the treatment of images of monarchy. For example, in the UK it is illegal to deface images of the Queen. [[User:Fendletruck|Fendletruck]] ([[User talk:Fendletruck|talk]]) 16:49, 18 May 2016 (UTC)
:I concur. Delete any reference to explanation about buttocks, and only state that some may think of this, but given that there are images of bunnies this is probably more saying of the person who thinks of buts than of Randall... ;-) I will leave it up to others to do the deletion though. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:04, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Wondering if there's any tie in to the ancient but not quite defunct alt.devilbunnies, which was about evils buns, their cuteness, and people under their evil sway. The teacher in this case would clearly qualify as a "symp" (bunny sympathizer). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.77|108.162.219.77]] 17:28, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

Just to be clear, there are studies which show that cuteness in humans has certain evolutionary advantages for human babies and may affect how humans treat animals they perceive as cute. I was tempted to expound more upon this in the explanation but the explanation is no place for that. Cuteness in animals is both relative and a perception, it is subject to change from person to person based on past experiences and preferences, it is also affected by hormones and mood. It is not a defense mechanism, it does not protect against predators. I know the edit which first mentioned the fitness advantages of cuteness didn't state that it does protect against predators but in my original edit, where I first mentioned fitness, I was trying to include information relevant to the comic, not information which was absolutely correct. And even cuteness doesn't protect rabbits from human poaching as much as conservation does. In most places rabbits are pests and are dealt with just as rats and mice are now. But since I know that if I include information which is not one hundred percent absolutely correct in all situations it will eventually get edited, even if it makes the explanation clearer, I will not include this at the moment, to spare the exhaustive detail it will inevitably spawn.

In short, rabbits are delicious and things like to eat them, no matter how cute they may be. [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 18:40, 18 May 2016 (UTC)

TIL: baby rabbits are called kittens. [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 00:50, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

1663: Garden

2016-05-11T06:39:40Z

108.162.221.24: /* Explanation */Effect is a noun, affect is a verb. OK, there are exceptions, but they are not applicable here. "The color of light has an effect upon the growth" is also acceptable.

{{comic
| number = 1663
| date = April 4, 2016
| title = Garden
| image = garden.png 
| titletext = Relax.
}}
<div class="toclimit-3" style="float:right; margin-left: 10px;">__TOC__</div>
*'''Note''' this is an interactive comic. Go to {{xkcd|1663|xkcd}} to try it out.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Fill out the [[#Items in the garden|tables]] with images of all the possible items. General explanations/comment are missing as well as link to screenshots of gardens where each item "grows".}}

This comics represents the [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] of 2016, and it is [[Randall|Randall's]] celebration of {{w|April Fools' Day}} Friday, April 1, 2016. It represents the third time in a row that user input changes the April Fool's comic. Although in the last two [[1350: Lorenz]] and [[1506: xkcloud]] it was written (or drawn) input that became part of the comics. This time the user input is like a game, as the user actively adds, moves and deletes items, and new items appear based on these actions. In this way it actually more resembles the game comic [[1608: Hoverboard]], than the previous April Fool's comics.

Due to technical problems (or to make fools of his fans (see more about the [[#April Fool's header text|header text]] below)) the comic did not go live until Sunday evening (after midnight, so technically first on Monday April 4th) so there was no Friday release the week before, see [[#Monday 4th of April release|more details below]].

The comic begins with a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f1/Garden_Loading_collage.png loading screen] with a revolving tree and the text "loading..." This is because the first time a computer loads this dynamic comic it can take a while.

Once it is loaded it displays "your '''Garden'''" being the barren landscape, with a small pond to the left, some rubbles far left and right and a single lamp shining light yellow light on most of the ground. This is what is shown at the top of the explanation here. But if you leave the lights on and wait (or "relax", as the reader is told to do by the title text), then plants and other items will start to appear.

The reason it is correct to call it "your garden" is that every time this comic is loaded from scratch, a new garden will be created with a unique url-address. By [[#Saving garden with url|saving this link]] (making a bookmark for it), the user will be able to return to their garden again and again. As the garden only develops very slowly this is important. (If users wish to share their garden they can do it in the table on the page for '''[[1663: Garden/Users gardens|Users gardens]]''').

[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/78/1663_garden_Three_colors_over_everything_not_very_interesting.png Plants appear] one at a time, and sometimes it takes a long time. Only a few of the plants actually grow. For instance there are some large trees that begins as [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/27/1663_garden_Fast_growing_tree_-_leafless.png a large trunk] and from there [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/67/1663_garden_Fast_growing_tree_-_lots_of_leaves.png grows branches and leaves]. This can sometimes happen quite fast. Most other plants just appear, the only other exception being one type of flowers. All plants, except cactus, clearly sway in the breeze.

Also [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1663_garden_Pruned_garden_with_birds_deer_gate_cactus_turtles_snake_gate.png animals] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/de/1663_garden_Three_lamps_two_along_ground_with_pillars_not_in_blue_world_and_symmetric_gates.png building like structures] like [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1663_garden_Megan_Monolith_Animals_and_more.png a Monolith and birdbaths] appear together with lots of other items like [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ad/1663_garden_Office_space_with_star_plant_balloon_with_bird_and_grass_on_Cueball.png office furniture] with [http://xkcd.com/1663/#98dc3452-fcf2-11e5-8010-42010a8e0008 balloons swaying in the wind] or even one of the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3f/1663_garden_One_color_Between_orange_red_and_red_First_thing_Mars_rover.png Mars rovers] which so [[:Category:Mars rovers|often has been featured]] in xkcd.

On top of all this there several known characters may appear in different poses including [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] (for instance with a sword, see [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1663_garden_Megan_with_sword%2C_trees_octopuses_with_Cueball_bunny_ducklings.png here]), [[Ponytail]] (see [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1663_garden_Ponytail_and_two_Cueballs_cat_pillar_and_trunk_sE.png here]) and [[Beret Guy]] from the torso and up (see [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9b/1663_garden_Three_colors_more_separate_Beret_Guy_in_shrubbery_and_Octopus_on_office_desk.png here]). Megan and also Cueball can both be seen [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/06/1663_garden_Giant_planter_on_pillars_and_both_Cueball_and_Megan_with_black_hat.png with a black hat], but it is one that "grows" on top of their heads after they first appear. However, Cueball with a black hat automatically turns into [[Black Hat]], so he can also be said to be in this comic. There is also an unknown character, a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0c/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Light_yellow_and_yellow_First_thing_stilts.png girl on stilts] with black hair in a ponytail who like plants and balloons [http://xkcd.com/1663/#e774b4b8-fcd4-11e5-8001-42010a8e0017 sways in the wind].

All the [[#Items in the garden|items that can appear]] in the garden are listed below in several tables. During the first week new items kept appearing, but after the eight day (April 12th), no new items seems to have appeared. Also the growth rate (and thus the fun of this comic) has decreased with time (maybe due to the enormous amount of gardens that the server has to keep track of?)

Every so often the image will refresh. You can change the number of lamps, their position, direction, beam width and the color temperature which always begins somewhere between white and yellow, but can change all the way from red to blue (See this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b8/Garden_Three_Lamp_screen_shot.png example] with one lamp selected and three colors of light). Other colors than those four may appear where two lamps light cone of different colored light overlap.

The color of light [[#Effect of light|affects the growth]] with a strong correlation for what appears in the garden depending on the [[#Colors of light|color of light]], and this is not only split between red, yellow and blue, but rather in more than [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4a/1663_garden_Numbered_color_scale_1-17.png 10 different colors].

Early on it became clear that pure red light results in a desert theme with [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/98/1663_garden_Desert_with_red_light_only.png cactus and turtles] and pure blue light gives an aquatic theme with [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/23/1663_garden_Octopus_garden_with_Cueball_hand_up_and_a_black_hat_octopus.png lots of octopuses] that may also wear the black hat! For the most interesting gardens the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/15/1663_garden_Megan_Monolith_Animals_and_more.png light colors should be mixed], see more below under [[#Effect of light|Effect of light]].

If this comic is scientifically accurate, that correlation will be based on {{w|photosynthetically active radiation}}.

Some users manage to create fantastic gardens (by using lots of time on them, pruning them at the right time and changing the light and lamp position to get what they strive for). Especially one user have created a series of amazing gardens that is posted on another [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=600 xkcd forum]. Here is a collection of screen shots with some of [[1663:_Garden/Screen-shots#Blitz_Girls_amazing_gardens|Blitz Girls amazing gardens]]!

The title text "Relax" can be debated. Is it to let the users know they should just sit back and relax as the garden grows. Or should they relax and don't worry so much about how it works (not working here on explain xkcd though!) Or is he teasing the users by giving them a garden that they need to tend to, and then telling them to relax. And also giving them many more colors than lamps... Given that this comic was supposed to come out on April 1st, there is a good chance that it is, also, to tease the users. There are actually [[#Trivia|two other title texts]] as well.

===Extra Garden pages===
*Since this comic is so complicated extra pages have been created to include much more information than is wished for on this main page (which is already of considerable size).
*These pages are listed here for convenience, but they are also linked in the relevant sections below:
**[[1663: Garden/Images]]. The images of items that can appear in the comic.
***This page is linked in the section below with table for ''[[#Items in the garden|Items in the garden]]''.
**[[1663: Garden/Screen-shots]]. Since there are no permalink it in order to save a particular moment of a garden a screen shot is needed. These can be posted here.
***This page is linked in the section below about for ''[[#Saving images|Saving images]]''.
**[[1663: Garden/Users gardens]]. A place for users of explain xkcd to post links to their own garden, and also for experimental gardens.!
***This page is linked in the section below about for ''[[#Saving garden with url|Saving garden with url]]''.

==Transcript==
:[After a '''loading image''' with a rotating tree in the middle and the text "Loading..." with the three dots appearing one at a time, and then disappear when all three have been there the image shown above in the explanation will appear:]

:['''Description of the image above''': A piece of bare landscape is shown. At the edges there are some rocks or stones raising the level from the general level through the center of the panel. Above the middle, a little more than halfway to the to of the panel, is a light bulb sitting inside a lamp that reminds of the desk lamp from the movie Luxo Jr. The lamp shines a yellow light down on the landscape in a broad cone that jus reaches the first rock to the left, but not those to the right. The lamp just hovers in the air. In the top right corner are two gray icons. The top one has a black frame and shows an image of a lamp, tilted left as opposed to the straight position of the lamp in the image. There is a + sign below in the left corner. The second icon without a frame has a large white cross in the middle.]

:[This turns out to be a '''web applet''' and using the "+ lamp" icon two more lamps can be added getting up to three. They are all adjustable both regarding position, direction, color of light and beam width. When selecting a lamp a red circle appear around it with a small circle on top that can be used to control the light color from blue to the left to red to the right. In front is a red arrow that can turn the lamp and it can also be used to change the beam width by pulling it away from the lamp or pushing it back. The lamps can be moved by just clicking on it and moving it. The other icon with a X can be used to remove the lamps (and later any object that appear in the garden). When any object is selected there is a red circle around it. When this is done the gray cross icon becomes red and can the be used to delete the selected item. When no item is selected (either because it is deleted, or by clicking in a part of the screen with no items), then the cross icon turns gray again. When all three lamps are on, then the "+ lamp" icon is faded out.]

:['''If you wait''' (or relax, as in the title text), then a plant will grow or animals, humans and other items may appear. This could be birds, snakes, octopuses or turtles, Megan or Cueball or a birdbath, a monolith or a tall gate just as a few examples. Most of the items appear in one go, but at least the largest trees grow up with a big stem first and then adds parts later with leaves or empty branches. Also one item may appear on top of another item and for instance birds may fly in the air.]

:[There is but one word in the entire comic, which appears when you grow a sign:]
:Sign: Sale

==Functionality==
===Saving garden with url===
*There is no [[1350#Permalink|permalink button]] as in the last two years' April Fool's comics.
*The URL is different for every garden that is loaded, but stays the same. It links to a server-side copy of the scene, which then changes depending on what the users does with their gardens.
**Sharing a URL will connect a new browser to the same garden session, but only the original browser will be allowed to edit.
**The user can always return to change the garden with the link, but only from the same browser on the same computer.
**This means that a specific moment in a gardens life has to be [[#Saving images|saved as an image]] for future references.
*The garden itself will thus continue to develop further from the time when the url was copied, and events will happen from now on even though the garden is not opened in any browser.
**If the user doesn't keep it, it will become infested with weeds.
**So most likely the garden is serverside, as all browsers are allowed to see the development of this garden, but users following the url are not allowed to edit anything.
*Here is an example garden [http://www.xkcd.com/1663/#0d11a2c8-fa8f-11e5-8001-42010a8e000e linked by ID] versus the same garden:
**In the original [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7f/1663_garden_tree_turtle_birdbath.png screenshot from April 4th] from when the url was created
**In a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1663_garden_Flying_birds_deer_gate_with_cactus_turtles_snake_etc.png screenshot from April 5th] the day after.
**Here [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1663_garden_Pruned_garden_with_birds_deer_gate_cactus_turtles_snake_gate.png example] after the user pruned the garden in the examples.
**Other [[1663: Garden/Users gardens|user gardens]] can be found on the link.
*Starting two browser windows or tabs pointing to the same URL will allow you to edit from either window.
**linden.xkcd.com holds all the data; the UUID just corresponds to your access key, held in your browser's local storage.

====Saving images====
*Since the [[#Saving garden with url|urls are changing]] the only way to save a particular garden is to save an image of the current garden.
**Alternatively by deleting all lamps (or changing them to laser beams or turning them upwards) the no new growth will occur. But then the garden will no longer develop.
*In Edge, Firefox and Chrome, the image plus light cones but minus lamps and icons elements, can be saved by right clicking in the image. (Not possible in explorer).
**They do not always save in the same way as some browsers saves the part of the background without any light cones as white, and other save it as no background, in which case it may render black, basically hiding any black items outside the light.
***For those images it depends on which viewer is used to see the image, if everything can be seen or only that in the light cones.
****See examples of how it looks with black background in these two color maps collections using [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/50/1663_garden_Single_colors.png a single lamp] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/90/1663_garden_Three_colors.png three lamps].
****See more details about how these [[1663:_Garden/Screen-shots#Color_maps|color maps]] have been made.
****See also (at least) two examples of saved images as the are here on explain xkcd [[1663:_Garden/Screen-shots#Saved_image_from_xkcd|here]].
*An image of the whole screen can be captured, by pressing the PrtScn (Print Screen) key on the keyboard & then pasting the content into a blank image in an image-editing program.
**An even better solution is to use a tool like {{w|Snipping Tool}} which can take the part of the screen that are relevant. This is how most of the [[1663: Garden/Screen-shots|screen shots]] for this explanation has been aquired.
**In both way the lamps and icons can also be displayed, which is not an option with saved images.

===Lamps===
*Additional lamps, up to a total of three lamps, can be added by clicking the black plus lamp icon along the right of the window. The control will black plus lamp icon will [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b8/Garden_Three_Lamp_screen_shot.png turn gray].
*Lamps can be removed by clicking to select a lamp, then clicking the red X icon along the right of the window, or pressing the Delete or Backspace key on the keyboard. All lights can be deleted.
*The position of the lamp can be moved by clicking and dragging the lamp within the scene.
*The angle and area of the light cone emitted by the lamp can be changed by [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/Garden_Red_Lamp_screen_shot.png clicking to select the lamp and to reveal the red control triangle]. Rotating the control triangle around the lamp will change the aim of the lamp to point in the direction of the triangle, dragging the control triangle towards the lamp will [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cc/1663_garden_One_color_Light_blue.png widen the beam], and dragging the control triangle towards away from the lamp will [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5a/1663_garden_Pruned_garden_with_birds_deer_gate_cactus_turtles_snake_gate.png narrow the beam].
*The color emitted by the lamp can be changed by clicking the lamp to reveal the colored control dot, and by rotating the dot around the lamp. The small color control circle changes color to match the color of the lamps beam of light. new lights default to a center position, emitting a pale green. '''rotating the control right''' changes the color to yellow, orange, and finally red, and '''rotating the control left''' changes the color to white, then blue.
===Colors of light===
*The color control moves in a smooth gradient between colors, along the spectrum without any set positions.
*Small changes in the color can have an effect on the garden, even though there is no clear change in the color.
*[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/50/1663_garden_Single_colors.png As many as nine colors] can be identified from the emitted light of a single lamp, and many more colors are evident when [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/90/1663_garden_Three_colors.png two or three lamps overlap].
*There is reason to believe that even half the change will create different gardens, i.e. there can be at least one more position between those nine settings that will change the effect, giving eight more settings for a total of 17 "different" colors. An experiment with such '''17 settings''' for just [[1663:_Garden/Screen-shots#One_lamp_one_color|One lamp with one color]].
*Several unique elements only seem to appear using the eight half-colors. Both the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3f/1663_garden_One_color_Between_orange_red_and_red_First_thing_Mars_rover.png Mars rover] and the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1b/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Light_yellow_and_yellow_First_thing_stilts_right.png Stilts girl] might be missed.
*Colors can thus be indicated from these 17 divisions: 
**Below is a table with these 17 division shown and what to expect.
**This may change over time, but was as it about a week after release.
***If updating, please make a note that this may have only applied during the first week(s) and add new feature without deleting.
**There has been an [[1663:_Garden/Screen-shots#One_lamp_one_color|experiment made]] with these 17 colors, see that for more details.
***The color names links to these experimental gardens, that will never be changed after the initiation.
***But there are reasons to believe that two gardens made identical may develop quite differently, as it seems some gardens have very limited growth in spite of the same light. Some of these gardens may be of that persuasion.
****This was proven when 34 more gardens using the 17 colors where started in a [[1663:_Garden/Screen-shots#Second_experiment|similar experiment]].
*The debugger reveals that each light has a "temp" property which ranges from 0 (red) to 1 (blue). The default setting is 0.5.
**The RGB color corresponding to "temp" is determined by this function in linden.js:
::<tt>function u(t){return.32>t?[1,.5+.5*t/.32,.5]:.64>t?[1,1,.5+.5*(t-.32)/.32]:[.75+.25*(1-t)/.36,.75+.25*(1-t)/.36,1]}</tt>
[[File:1663 garden Numbered color scale 1-17.png]] 
{| class="wikitable"
! #
! Color
! Description of items etc
|-
| 1
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#f65c4906-fcf1-11e5-8001-42010a8e0016 Blue]
| '''Pure blue'''! Aquatic theme with octopus (some with black hat), Cueball checking for rain with hand up. Less growth after the first week and octopus only over the pond (see [[1663:_Garden/Screen-shots#Growth_speed_vs_blue_light|growth speed vs blue light]]).
|-
| 2
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#d5b7fed6-fd94-11e5-8001-42010a8e000a Blue -> light blue]
| Octopus over pond and boats in pond, Cueball hands up and down (the latter possibly with black hat), {{w|Cairn}}s of '''stones''' and {{w|obelisk}}.
|-
| 3
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#3afb7988-fcf2-11e5-8001-42010a8e0019 Light blue]
| Cueball hands down (but can be with [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/64/1663_garden_Color_03_8d.png hand up] as well), Cairns of '''stones''', obelisk, wadding bird and boats.
|-
| 4
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#303c341c-fd95-11e5-8001-42010a8e0016 Light blue -> blue white]
| Obelisk, flower base and stems and balloon string with normal and huge balloons, Cueball hands up (and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a5/1663_garden_Color_04_2_8d.png also down] with {{w|column}} and wadding bird), fish, shark fins and boats.
|-
| 5
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#98dc3452-fcf2-11e5-8010-42010a8e0008 Blue white]
| Office landscape with desks and chairs, table, column, obelisk, pots with star plant or other flowers base and stems, Beret Guy in pond, Cueball hands up and down, balloon string with normal and huge balloons drifting far left and right on their strings in the wind. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ac/1663_garden_Color_05_8d.png Also wadding bird], boats and shark fin
|-
| 6
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#5a45a1f8-fd95-11e5-8001-42010a8e000e Blue white -> white]
| Both kind of Cueball, Ponytail, Bert Guy, both types of cats, office desk, table, standing bird, wading bird, heron, owl, shark fin, bunny boat, flowers base and stems, balloon string with normal and huge balloons. Also [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/36/1663_garden_Color_06_2_8d.png fish] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1663_garden_Color_06_8d.png flying fish].
|-
| 7
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#ba6b4ac2-fcf2-11e5-8001-42010a8e0019 White]
| Balloon string with normal and huge balloons (here '''three in one garden'''), Megan hand up, cats, bunnies, shark fin, fish, Beret Guy, flowers base and stems and trees. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c7/1663_garden_Color_07_8d.png Also] platform in tree, beehive base, Ponytail, water bird and flying fish and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/82/1663_garden_Color_07_2_8d.png Heron].
|-
| 8
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#8874be6a-fd95-11e5-8001-42010a8e0016 White -> light yellow]
| Megan hands up, {{w|shrub}}s, flowers base stems, '''hilt''' and '''some blooms''', trees, bunnies, fish, shark fin, water bird, owl, bunnies. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2a/1663_garden_Color_08_2_8d.png Also] birdbath and stilt girl.
|-
| 9
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#db338968-fcf2-11e5-8001-42010a8e0016 Light yellow]
| '''Starting color'''. Megan hands down and with sword on platform, trees, shrub, flowers base and stems, grass, platform in tree, birdbath, ducks, wading bird, pots, with star plants, tall platform. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c3/1663_garden_Color_09_8d.png Also] deer, stilt girl, fish and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1f/1663_garden_Color_09_2_8d.png shark fin].
|-
| 10
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#b28f8522-fd95-11e5-8001-42010a8e0013 Light yellow -> Yellow]
| Girl on stilts, Megan with swords on platform, trees, flowers base and stems, grass, reeds in pond, platform in trees, tall platforms, deer, snake, pots
|-
| 11
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#efccf292-fcf2-11e5-8010-42010a8e0003 Yellow]
| Sale signs, tall platform, snakes, armadillo, flowers base and stems, reeds in pond. Also [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/ce/1663_garden_Color_11_2_8d.png deer].
|-
| 12
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#de4fd3b0-fd95-11e5-8001-42010a8e0011 Yellow -> Orange]
| Sale signs, snakes, turtles, tulips and wavy plants. Also [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bb/1663_garden_Color_12_2_8d.png tall platform] and armadillo.
|-
| 13
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#0d6bca62-fcf3-11e5-8019-42010a8e0005 Orange]
| Wavy plants, turtles, [[#Linsang_-_cat_like_animal|linsang]], flying birds and flying Megan (and thus also bird risers and their roots. Also [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/98/1663_garden_Color_13_8d.png armadillos].
|-
| 14
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#578b80bc-fd96-11e5-8001-42010a8e000a Orange -> orange red]
| Snakes, turtles, linsang, armadillo, tulips wavy plants, flying birds and flying Megan (and thus also bird risers and their roots.
|-
| 15
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#28b238b0-fcf3-11e5-8001-42010a8e0018 Orange red]
| Desert landscape with turtles, cactus sale, signs, lamp post poles without lamps, platform on cactus resulting in inverted pyramids. Also [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1663_garden_Color_15_2_8d.png linsang].
|-
| 16
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#ad7ca596-fd96-11e5-8020-42010a8e0006 Orange red -> red]
| Desert landscape with Mars rover, turtles, cactus sale, signs, lamp post poles without lamps but no platforms. Also [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e3/1663_garden_Color_16_2_8d.png linsang].
|-
| 17
| [http://xkcd.com/1663/#46cc4e08-fcf3-11e5-8001-42010a8e0013 Red]
| '''Pure red'''! Desert landscape with turtles and cactus only.
|}

===Effect of light===
*How much the color affects the growth took some time to find out but already from the stat it was clear that there definitely was a correlation
*For instance areas under lights set to the the outer position or the starting position was very different.
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/23/1663_garden_Octopus_garden_with_Cueball_hand_up_and_a_black_hat_octopus.png Pure blue light] (left most) develop into a boring aquatic theme with only lots of octopuses (maybe with a black hat) and the Cueball holding a hand out to check for rain.
***The appearance of pure blue gardens have changed with time so octopuses now only appear over the pond [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1663_garden_One_color_Blue_9d.png like this].
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/70/1663_garden_One_color_red_9d.png Pure red light] (far right) develop into a boring desert theme with only cactus and turtles.
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9c/1663_garden_One_color_Light_yellow_9d.png Light yellow] or [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2e/1663_garden_Color_09_3d.png starting light] grows lots of plants like trees, grass and scrubs and several animals like ducks, deer, fish and wadding bird and also birdbath, stilt girl and both standing Megan and sword Megan.
*Soon after the release of the comic some research into a single lamp with unchaining light, that covering the whole light range split into 17 divisions was undertaken.
*[[File:1663 garden Numbered color scale 1-17.png]]
**See these gardens [[1663:_Garden/Users_gardens#Locked_gardens_only_for_explanation_use|locked for explanation use only]] and also see more about the 17 split in the color range [[#Colors of light|above]].
*Mixed light seems to be able to do the same, but it is unclear if what grows only depends on the final mixed color, or if it is a mix of what would grow under those two colors.
**There are some indications that it is not a clear mix as pure blue together with pure red, does not seem to produce neither Octopuses or desert theme.
**If there are any items that can only grow under a mix of light this has not been proven. Most objects that can grow directly from the ground, has been observed in the experimental single color gardens mentioned above.
**But there may be items that needs to grow on top of other objects, and these may require a change of color from what the base needs. And thus they will not appear under one color light. Possible examples of these items could be:
***[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f3/Garden_Desk_lamp.png Desk lamp] (needing some kind of platform forming in another color range like the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ee/Garden_Tall_platform.png tall platform], yellow or the small [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/11/Garden_Platform_1.png platform], orange).
***[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/88/Garden_Giant_Planter.png Giant Planter] (needing for instance a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c4/Garden_PlatformColumn_3.png platform column], light blue light]
***[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/Garden_lamp-topper.png Lamp pole tops] (needing [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/81/Garden_Lamppost_1.png lamp poles] forming under orange light)
***[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a4/Garden_Flower_bloom_1.png Flower blooms] (any type) (needing [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d1/Garden_Flower_segment_1.png flower segments], several colors)
***[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7e/Garden_Actual_flying_fish_1.png Actual flying fish] (needing bird raiser, orange light)
***[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5d/Garden_Saucer.png Flying saucer] (needing bird raiser, orange light)
*What happens when using only one color (other than the two outer points red and blue and the starting light yellow color) has been explored in great depth in no less than two different [[1663:_Garden/Screen-shots#One_lamp_one_color|One lamp one color]] experiments with [[1663:_Garden/Users_gardens#Locked_gardens_only_for_explanation_use|51 gardens]] created using 17 different color settings.
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/27/1663_garden_One_color_Between_blue_and_light_blue_6d.png Blue light] (just right of pure blue) creates a landscape with stones forming cairns, together with monoliths, both kinds of Cueballs (with black hat on the standing one) and still octopuses.
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/75/1663_garden_One_color_Light_blue_9d.png Light blue light] (just a little farther from pure blue than above), the octopuses disappear, but the rest remains the same, although boats and wadding bird now appear in the water, and still both [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1663_garden_Color_03_5d.png Cueballs] can occur. Going just slightly further away [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1663_garden_Color_04_2_5d.png fish and columns] start to appear.
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d1/1663_garden_One_color_White_Blue_12h.png Blue white light] grow a sort of office theme, with desks, balloons and Cueballs. Moving towards white light [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d0/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Blue_White_and_White_5d.png Ponytail appears] with less office items together with cats (and now no Beret Guys in the pond but [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/df/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Blue_White_and_White_8d.png lots of animals]).
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/f7/1663_garden_One_color_White_9d.png White light] gives a forest of balloons with Megan holding her hands up.
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3e/1663_garden_One_color_Yellow_2d.png Yellow light] (somewhat right of the starting color) produce sale signs and snakes.
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1663_garden_One_color_Between_orange_and_orange_red_8d.png Orange light] produce flying bird and flying Megans and on the ground snakes, turtles, linsangs and armadillos, plus tulips and wavy plants.
**[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/02/1663_garden_One_color_Between_orange_red_and_red_8d.png Orange red light] (just left of red) produce lamp posts (without the top), in addition to the same desert theme as red with cactus and turtles. If it is very close to red the Mars rover appears (as in the example above). If it is a little longer from red, the platforms can form, which can then act as a catalyst for growth and create [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/58/1663_garden_One_color_Orange_red_9d.png large towers] on top of cactus's.
*Nothing seems to be able to grow under several conditions:
**If no lamps are pointing towards the ground for instance because:
***All [http://xkcd.com/1663/#21374f9e-fbbd-11e5-8001-42010a8e0015 lamps are deleted].
***The [http://xkcd.com/1663/#4896b678-fbbe-11e5-8001-42010a8e0011 beam is laser thin.]
***The lamps points towards the sky without [http://www.xkcd.com/1663/#6a6a7be0-fbbe-11e5-800d-42010a8e0008 touching the ground.]
***The lamps are [http://xkcd.com/1663/#c75991f6-fbbe-11e5-8001-42010a8e0011 below the ground pointing down]. (In this case the one over the pond was not far enough down and a single water plant has formed anyway.)
****On the other hand if the lamps are below the ground but pointing up it can result in growth well enough as shown in this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/7c/1663_garden_Different_light_from_below_the_ground.png example] and this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3a/1663_garden_Yellow_light_from_below_the_ground.png example].
**It was believed that if the lamps where very close to the ground pointing straight down there would be no growth.
***However this can be because only a very small area is illuminated
****In this [http://www.xkcd.com/#9733dff4-fbbe-11e5-8001-42010a8e0012 example] there are turtles under the red light in the pond, plants under the yellow and octopus, column and Cueball under the blue (from the time that columns could appear under pure blue light).
****Similar in this [http://xkcd.com/1663/#357a48d8-fbbf-11e5-8019-42010a8e0006 example] there are octopus (in the pond), deer/plants and a cactus from even lower lamps.
****Of course the lamp has to be so high as not to be underground as mentioned above.
**Also if lamps point towards the ground there can still only grow something from the ground [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3e/1663_garden_Two_light_on_small_area_nothing_outside_the_light.png where the light touches]. The growth can move outside the light cones up in the air, but the base has to be within an area with light.
**Similar with items that can grow new things on top of them like tree trunks or platforms, this will only happen if light shines on the relevant places.
***For instance the tall tree trunks can easily grow outside a light cone. Then leaves and branches will [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e9/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Light_yellow_and_yellow_3d.png only grow below] the point where the light hits
****Similar with platform, that [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3e/1663_garden_One_color_Yellow_2d.png grows partially outside] the light cone. More items will only appear where this lamp still hits the platform.
***One exemption to the rule mentioned here seems to be the bird raisers. The bird raisers are used to hold anything that flies up in the air. And the bird raiser it self needs to grow from either another bird riser or from a bird riser root (which in the end holds all bird raisers). This root has to have light on the ground to grow and thus have light on it self. But from the top of the bird raisers growing from such a root, items are able to grow even if the tip pf the bird raiser is not in the light.
****Thus flying items can appear to grow where there has [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1663_garden_One_color_Between_orange_and_orange_red_8d.png never been light]!
****See much more about this under the description of bird raisers in the [[#Helper_structures|table below]].
**Of course lights can be moved and changed without destroying what has already grown there (or so it seems). So a tended garden cannot be used to determine this.
***This is why some [[1663:_Garden/Users_gardens#Locked_gardens_only_for_explanation_use|locked gardens]] have been set up where there will be no changes ever.
***Examples from above has mainly been taken from screen shots of these locked gardens.

===Grown items===
*Grown items may be highlighted by clicking on them. Selected grown items will be highlighted with a red circle, and appear slightly lighter then other items.
*Grown items may be "pruned" by the red X icon along the right of the window, or pressing the Delete key on the keyboard.
*Some items (such as the large tree) can be deleted in minor parts by selecting a branch or smaller set of leaves without deleting the entire tree.
*See the images (with links to xkcd) of all 250 items that can appear, here below in the [[#Items_in_the_garden|tables]].

===Growth development===
*There continued to appear new items that was not available on the release day.
**This lasted about a week (maybe 8 days).
**For instance many new items and animals like the columns and the owls started to appear after a few days.
**Also tulips and lightning poles did not appear at first.
***A last burst of new animals occurred about a week after release (either 11th or 12th of April). This burst included the following animals:
***Herons, Wadding birds, Sharks fins, jumping fish and flying fish plus actual flying fish (flying without water), armadillos and no less than 12 different linsangs (see [[1663:_Garden#Linsang_-_cat_like_animal|Linsang - cat like animal]]).
*But it also seems to change what might appear, so that the result of a particular color will change dramatically, not only by adding new, but also by not growing what used to be.
**A clear example of this is that for the first half week pure blue light resulted in lots of octopuses all along the ground and also Cueballs cheeking for rain.
**Later also columns appeared.
***But after a week the growth rate under blue light almost stopped, and it seems that octopuses now only grow over the pond to the left, and much less Cueball and no columns under that color.
**See details here: [[1663:_Garden/Screen-shots#Growth_speed_vs_blue_light|Growth speed vs blue light]].

===Debug mode===
{{notice|Anyone who can explain what the debug mode is, how it works, why it is there and why there is difference between the linden and the normal xkcd?}}
*By changing the url address it is possible to get into a debug mode.
**This may not work from for instance explorer, but seems to work from Firefox and chrome.
*Normal mode: http://xkcd.com/1663/#ID
**[http://xkcd.com/1663/#98dc3452-fcf2-11e5-8010-42010a8e0008 Normal mode example].
*At one point the Debug mode worked from this address http://xkcd.com/1663/?debug#ID
**But as can bee seen from this [http://xkcd.com/1663/?debug#98dc3452-fcf2-11e5-8010-42010a8e0008 example] it does not work any more but just goes back to normal mode.
*But there is still another version of the link which gives access to the debug mode: http://linden.xkcd.com/?debug#ID
**[http://linden.xkcd.com/?debug#98dc3452-fcf2-11e5-8010-42010a8e0008 Linden debug mode].
**In this mode each item can clearly be seen as the image is framed, and thus invisible lifter images for flying things can be seen.
***See this [http://linden.xkcd.com/?debug#d12a0932-faaa-11e5-8012-42010a8e0006 example].
**This last mode can be used to find the names of the [[1663:_Garden/Images#Images|images of each item]] in a garden.
***See this section on [[1663:_Garden/Images#How_to_find_new_links|How to find new links]].
***By preventing the browser from loading specific images (''e.g.'' with an ad blocker), all instances can be pruned temporarily.
*On the forum, [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=600#p3959056 yan provides some jQuery] which can be entered in the javascript console to add an interactive sidebar listing the objects in the garden.

===Limitations===
*The beam produced by each lamp is normally restricted to spread between 0° (which results in no growth) and 95°. The "create new light" button chooses a random angle between 45° and 90°.
*Attempting to view several gardens simultaneously may cause some to hang on the "loading" image, likely due to the server refusing additional connections. The maximum number which can load successfully is usually six, but may be as low as three.

===Bugs===
*There have been several bugs mentioned already after the first day. Please include any spotted here:
**Also some problems that may now be fixed.
*May not run on some tablets or smart phones (i.e. touch-screen only devices).
*There are some browser versions of Chrome and Firefox where it doesn't run.
*The lamps may be invisible for a few seconds after loading.
*The whole page used to refresh at random intervals and lose the whole progress.
**It still does on April 5th.
**Sometimes (in some browsers?) the garden is reloaded when refreshing.
***This may though be because of the url which is a [[#Saving garden with url|link to a given garden]].
***See examples of this [[1663: Garden/Users gardens|here]].
***Seems to be dependent on the browser type.
*Some lamps jumped back to their starting position after a few minutes, without the whole page reloading.
*For a few hours after its apparition, the loading didn't seem to stop for some people, making them think that the rotating tree was the whole joke, with people expected to "relax" while looking at it.
*Occasionally invisible objects are added. They can be deleted, and they have bounding boxes in the [[#Debug mode|debugger]]: [http://linden.xkcd.com/?debug#d12a0932-faaa-11e5-8012-42010a8e0006 Example].
*Doesn't work over https, you have to use http instead.
*It is possible to save the image in Chrome and in Firefox, but not in Explorer.
**It is possible to save the visible portion of the image (in any browser) by pressing the Print-Screen key to perform a screen capture.
**But in Chrome the image is black where there is no light.
**In Firefox everything is visible, wth the light cones (in color) shown.
*Appears to have a memory leak at least in some Windows/Firefox versions, as keeping the page open for a long time will cause Windows to kill Firefox for insufficient memory.
**On the forum, Weeks tries to summon davean! [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=320#p3951923]
*Does not work in many Linux versions.
*Tree trunks will sometimes grow endlessly without leaves depending on the lights hitting them.
*If you are dragging a light, the arrow, or the color slider when a refresh happens, the refresh will enter an infinite loop.
**This seems to cause corruption of the garden because refreshing the whole page will result in a loop that never loads the page.
**Clearing your local data for xkcd.com solves the issue but also makes you unable to edit your garden.
*On April 6, gardens viewed from [http://xkcd.com/1663/#7877bdfc-fc03-11e5-8001-42010a8e000c http://xkcd.com/1663/] links began to include double-size objects, while they appeared <s>normally</s> with different objects enlarged when viewed from [http://linden.xkcd.com/#7877bdfc-fc03-11e5-8001-42010a8e000c http://linden.xkcd.com/].
**Apparently some of the server's art files were <s>misdirected to the larger versions</s> replaced with new large images. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160407054439/http://linden.xkcd.com/art/rover.png] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-rover.png]
**New giant objects are still placed according to their original sizes. [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=320#p3951908]
**This was suddenly fixed on April 7, possibly inducing browser memory issues at that time. [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=360#p3952207]
***However, some giant images remained cached (where?) for a long time. [http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=114415&start=400#p3952527]
*Although there are six bee images, they have not been reported in any gardens[[File:Garden_Bee_1.png]]

==Items in the garden==
*Below in the section are several tables displaying all the known images of items that may grow (appear) in the garden.
**They have been sorted based on type like characters, animals (by type), plants (by type), platforms, others and helper structures.
**In time each item will have a link to a screen shot where they appear.
**Also explanations for each item can be written in these tables
*For colors reference refer (also) to the numbers in this image: 
*[[File:1663 garden Numbered color scale 1-17.png]]
**The color under which a given item may grow should be noted.
***Particularly if they can grow under just one color if light (maybe a range, but with only one lamp lit as one specific color).
***But almost more important if some items needs more than one color
****Especially if the items base, the base on which they have to grow, needs another color than they do, as seems to be the case with flower blooms and the lamp to go at the top of the lamp poles.
*All the images can be seen without the table here: [[1663: Garden/Images|Images of items]].
===Characters===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! [[Cueball]] [[File:Garden Man 1a.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-man-1a.png Man 1a] 
[[File:Garden Man 2a.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-man-2a.png Man 2a]
|
*Here are the two different images of Cueball.
*The first Cueball just stands with his hands down.
**In this position he always looks left.
**Some items can grow on his head, most obviously [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/27/1663_garden_One_color_Between_blue_and_light_blue_6d.png the hat], turning him into [[Black Hat]]. But also animals like the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1663_garden_Blitz_Girls_UFO_and_birds_garden.png water bird], [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Blue_White_and_White_6d.png standing bird or cats] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1663_garden_Crazy_cat_peoples_garden.png owls] can perch on his head.
**He never seems to appears in pure blue light, and also only appears when the light is turned left of white.
*The second Cueball has one hand out.
**In this position he always looks right.
**He is the only character that appears under pure blue light (color 1).
**It seems like he cannot wear the hat or anything else on his head.
**In stead he can hold object on his hand, like a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1e/1663_garden_S_shaped_empty_balloon_string_left.png balloon string] (later [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/0e/1663_garden_Office_space_with_two_herons_in_lake_and_huge_balloon_on_long_string.png with balloon] or the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c2/1663_garden_Blitz_Girls_strong_Megan_garden.png huge balloon]), the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e5/1663_garden_Blitz_Girls_Armadillo_tower.png small platform] or some of the smaller animals like [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/32/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Blue_White_and_White_6d.png the bird], the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/09/1663_garden_Cueball_holds_a_Turtle_in_front_of_Megan_looking_like_a_cap_on_her.png turtle], or [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d4/1663_garden_Crazy_cat_peoples_garden.png cat and owls].
|
*Standing Cueball with color [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1663_garden_One_color_Between_blue_and_light_blue_2d.png 2 blue], [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1663_garden_One_color_Light_blue_12h.png 3 light blue], [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e4/1663_garden_Color_04_2_5d.png 4 light blue] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b2/1663_garden_One_color_Blue_white_2d.png 5 Blue white]
*Hand out Cueball with color [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/bf/1663_garden_One_color_Blue_6d.png 1 blue], [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/92/1663_garden_One_color_Between_blue_and_light_blue_2d.png 2 blue], [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1663_garden_Color_03_5d.png 3 light blue], [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5e/1663_garden_One_color_Between_light_blue_and_Blue_White_6d.png 4 light blue] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d1/1663_garden_One_color_White_Blue_12h.png 5 Blue white]
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c9/1663_garden_One_color_Light_blue_12h.png Standing]
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e5/1663_garden_One_color_Blue_18h.png Hand out] 
|-
! [[Megan]] [[File:Garden Woman 1a.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-woman-1a.png Woman 1a] [[File:Garden Handfig 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-handfig-1.png Handfig 1] 
[[File:Garden Handfig 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-handfig-2.png Handfig 2] [[File:Garden Sword fig.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-sword-fig.png Sword fig] [[File:Garden Flying fig.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flying-fig.png Flying fig]
|
*Here are the images of Megan.
**Megan with sword seems to only occur on top of a platform or a piece of furniture.
***She seem to not be willing to pull out the sword when just standing on the ground.
***This means that she can only occur under a one color setting if that setting can also produce a platform. This is the case though see the color column.
|
*Standing (Yellow 9 standard)
*Hands up (L and R) (White 7)
*Sword ([http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9c/1663_garden_One_color_Light_yellow_9d.png Yellow 9 standard] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6d/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Light_yellow_and_yellow_2d.png Yellow 10])
*Flying (Orange 15)
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1663_garden_One_color_Light_yellow_12h.png Standing ] 
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1663_garden_One_color_White_12h.png Hands up] 
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6b/1663_garden_Megan_with_sword%2C_trees_octopuses_with_Cueball_bunny_ducklings.png Sword-tree platform] [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cb/1663_garden_Megan_with_sword_and_owl_on_gate.png Sword-gate] [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1663_garden_My_first_linsang_cat_like_creature_in_SC.png Sword-desk] 
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/87/1663_garden_One_color_Orange_d7.png Flying]
|-
! [[Beret Guy]] [[File:Garden Beret shrub.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-beret-shrub.png Beret shrub]
|
*Here is the image of Beret Guy.
| White 7 or mix of yellow and blue
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/99/1663_garden_One_color_White_12h.png In lake] 
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/24/1663_garden_Shark_finn_and_Beret_Guy_in_same_bird_bath_fish_boat_heron_and_more.png In birdbath] 
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9b/1663_garden_Three_colors_more_separate_Beret_Guy_in_shrubbery_and_Octopus_on_office_desk.png In shrub]
|-
! [[Ponytail]] [[File:Garden Fig 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-fig-1.png Fig 1]
|
*Here are the images of Ponytail.
| Color?
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/eb/1663_garden_Ponytail_and_two_Cueballs_cat_pillar_and_trunk_sE.png Example]
|-
! Stilt girl [[File:Garden Stilt walker.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-stiltwalker.png Stilt walker]
|
*Here is the image of the girl on stilts.
| Light yellow 10
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1b/1663_garden_One_color_Between_Light_yellow_and_yellow_First_thing_stilts_right.png Example]
|}

===Animals===
====Mammals====
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Armadillo [[File:Garden Armadillo L.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-armadillo-l.png Armadillo L] 
[[File:Garden Armadillo R.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-armadillo-r.png Armadillo R]
|
*Here are the images of Armadillo.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Cats [[File:Garden Cat Balanced.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cat-balanced.png Cat Balanced] 
[[File:Garden Cat Ground.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cat-ground.png Cat Ground]
|
*Here are the images of cats.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Deer [[File:Garden Deer 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-deer-1.png Deer 1] 
[[File:Garden Deer 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-deer-2.png Deer 2]
|
*Here are the images of Deer.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Bunny [[File:Garden Important bun.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-important-bun.png Important bun]
|
*Here is the image of the Bunny.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Linsang [[File:Garden Linsang 1.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-1.png Linsang 1] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 2.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-2.png Linsang 2] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 3.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-3.png Linsang 3] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 4.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-4.png Linsang 4] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 5.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-5.png Linsang 5] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 6.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-6.png Linsang 6] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 7.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-7.png Linsang 7] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 8.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-8.png Linsang 8] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 9.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-9.png Linsang 9] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 10.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-10.png Linsang 10] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 11.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-11.png Linsang 11] 
[[File:Garden Linsang 12.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-linsang-12.png Linsang 12]
|
*Here are the images of linsangs.
**See more about [[#Linsang - cat like animal|Linsang - cat like animal]] in the trivia section.
| Color?
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/68/1663_Garden_Ophiocordyceps_linsang.png Linsang infected by fungus]
|}

====Birds====
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Flying birds [[File:Garden Bird 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bird-1.png Bird 1] 
[[File:Garden Bird 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bird-2.png Bird 2] 
[[File:Garden Bird 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bird-3.png Bird 3] 
[[File:Garden Bird 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bird-4.png Bird 4] 
[[File:Garden Bird 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bird-5.png Bird 5]
|
*Here are the images of flying birds.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Standing bird [[File:Garden Bird standing.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bird-standing.png Bird standing]
|
*Here are the images of Standing bird.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Duck [[File:Garden Duck 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-duck-1.png Duck 1]
|
*Here is the image of the duck.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Heron [[File:Garden Heron L.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-heron-l.png Heron L] 
[[File:Garden Heron R.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-heron-r.png Heron R]
|
*Here are the images of Herons.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Owl [[File:Garden Owl.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-owl.png Owl]
|
*Here is the image of the Owl.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Wading bird [[File:Garden Wading bird L.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-wading-bird-l.png Wading bird L] 
[[File:Garden Wading bird R.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-wading-bird-r.png Wading bird R]
|
*Here are the images of wading birds.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Water bird [[File:Garden Water bird 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-waterbird-1.png Water bird 1] 
[[File:Garden Water bird 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-waterbird-2.png Water bird 2]
|
*Here are the images of water bird.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|}

====From the sea====
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Fish [[File:Garden Fish 1.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-fish-1.png Fish 1] 
[[File:Garden Fish 2.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-fish-2.png Fish 2]
|
*Here are the images of Fish.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Flying fish [[File:Flying fish 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flying-fish-1.png Flying fish 1] 
[[File:Flying fish 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flying-fish-2.png Flying fish 2] 
[[File:Garden Actual flying fish 1.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-actual-flying-fish-1.png Actual flying fish 1] 
[[File:Garden Actual flying fish 2.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-actual-flying-fish-2.png Actual flying fish 2]
|
*Here are the images of Flying fish.
| Color?
| [http://forums.xkcd.com/download/file.php?id=51476&mode=view Flying fish in Megan's hair] [http://forums.xkcd.com/download/file.php?id=51543&mode=view Flying fish and UGO]
|-
! Octopus [[File:Garden Octopus.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-octopus.png Octopus] 
[[File:Garden Octopus hat capable.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-octopus-hat-capable.png Octopus hat capable]
|
*Here are the images of Octopuses.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Sharks [[File:Garden Shark fin L.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-shark-fin-l.png Shark fin L] 
[[File:Garden Shark fin R.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-shark-fin-r.png Shark fin R]
|
*Here is the image of the shark fins.
| Color?
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6e/1663_Garden_Megan_there%27s_a_shark_in_the_water.png Shark in birdbath]
|-
! Tentacle [[File:Garden Tentacle 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-tentacle-1.png Tentacle 1] 
[[File:Garden Tentacle 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-tentacle-2.png Tentacle 2] 
[[File:Garden Tentacle 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-tentacle-3.png Tentacle 3] 
[[File:Garden Tentacle 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-tentacle-4.png Tentacle 4] 
[[File:Garden Tentacle 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-tentacle-5.png Tentacle 5] 
[[File:Garden Tentacle 6.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-tentacle-6.png Tentacle 6]
|
*Here are the images of tentacles.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|}

====Reptiles====
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Snake [[File:Garden Snake 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-snake-1.png Snake 1] 
[[File:Garden Snake 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-snake-2.png Snake 2]
|
*Here are the images of snakes.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Turtle [[File:Garden Turtle 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-turtle-1.png Turtle 1] 
[[File:Garden Turtle 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-turtle-2.png Turtle 2]
|
*Here are the images of turtles.
| Color?
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6c/1663_Garden_octopus_turtle_capable.png Octopus turtle capable]
|}

====Insects====
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Bees [[File:Garden Bee 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bee-1.png Bee 1] 
[[File:Garden Bee 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bee-2.png Bee 2] 
[[File:Garden Bee 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bee-3.png Bee 3] 
[[File:Garden Bee 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bee-4.png Bee 4] 
[[File:Garden Bee 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bee-5.png Bee 5] 
[[File:Garden Bee 6.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bee-6.png Bee 6]
|
*Here are the images of bees.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Beehive 
[[File:Garden Beehive-base.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-beehive-base.png Beehive-base] 
[[File:Garden Beehive entrance a.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-beehive-entrance-a.png Beehive entrance a] 
[[File:Beehive section.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-beehive-section.png Beehive section]
|
*Here are the images that construct the beehive.
| Color?
| [http://forums.xkcd.com/download/file.php?id=51487&mode=view BlitzGirl's beehive]
|}

===Plants===
====Trees====
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Tall trunks [[File:Garden Tall trunk 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-talltrunk-1.png Tall trunk 1] 
[[File:Garden Tall trunk 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-talltrunk-2.png Tall trunk 2] 
[[File:Garden Tall trunk 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-talltrunk-3.png Tall trunk 3] 
[[File:Garden Tall trunk 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-talltrunk-4.png Tall trunk 4]
|
*Here are the images of tall trunks.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Trunks [[File:Garden Trunk 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-trunk-1.png Trunk 1] 
[[File:Garden Trunk 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-trunk-2.png Trunk 2] 
[[File:Garden Trunk 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-trunk-3.png Trunk 3] 
[[File:Garden Trunk 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-trunk-4.png Trunk 4] 
[[File:Garden Trunk 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-trunk-5.png Trunk 5] 
[[File:Garden Trunk 6.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-trunk-6.png Trunk 6] 
[[File:Garden Trunk 7.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-trunk-7.png Trunk 7] 
[[File:Garden Trunk 8.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-trunk-8.png Trunk 8]
|
*Here are the images of smaller trunks.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Branches [[File:Garden Branch 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-1.png Branch 1] 
[[File:Garden Branch 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-2.png Branch 2] 
[[File:Garden Branch 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-3.png Branch 3] 
[[File:Garden Branch 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-4.png Branch 4] 
[[File:Garden Branch 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-5.png Branch 5] 
[[File:Garden Branch 6.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-6.png Branch 6] 
[[File:Garden Branch 7.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-7.png Branch 7] 
[[File:Garden Branch 8.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-8.png Branch 8] 
[[File:Garden Branch 9.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-9.png Branch 9] 
[[File:Garden Branch 10.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-10.png Branch 10] 
[[File:Garden Branch 11.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-11.png Branch 11] 
[[File:Garden Branch 12.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-12.png Branch 12] 
[[File:Garden Branch 13.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-13.png Branch 13] 
[[File:Garden Branch 14.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-14.png Branch 14] 
[[File:Garden Branch 15.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-15.png Branch 15] 
[[File:Garden Branch 16.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-16.png Branch 16] 
[[File:Garden Branch 17.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-17.png Branch 17] 
[[File:Garden Branch 18.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-18.png Branch 18] 
[[File:Garden Branch 19.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-19.png Branch 19] 
[[File:Garden Branch 20.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-20.png Branch 20] 
[[File:Garden Branch 21.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-21.png Branch 21] 
[[File:Garden Branch 22.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-22.png Branch 22] 
[[File:Garden Branch 23.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-23.png Branch 23] 
[[File:Garden Branch 24.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-branch-24.png Branch 24]
|
*Here are the images of branches.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Leaves [[File:Garden Leaves 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-1.png Leaves 1] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-2.png Leaves 2] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-3.png Leaves 3] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-4.png Leaves 4] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-5.png Leaves 5] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 6.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-6.png Leaves 6] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 7.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-7.png Leaves 7] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 8.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-8.png Leaves 8] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 9.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-9.png Leaves 9] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 10.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-10.png Leaves 10] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 11.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-11.png Leaves 11] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 12.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-12.png Leaves 12] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 13.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-13.png Leaves 13] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 14.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-14.png Leaves 14] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 15.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-15.png Leaves 15] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 16.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-16.png Leaves 16] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 17.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-17.png Leaves 17] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 18.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-18.png Leaves 18] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 19.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-19.png Leaves 19] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 20.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-20.png Leaves 20] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 21.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-21.png Leaves 21] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 22.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-22.png Leaves 22] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 23.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-23.png Leaves 23] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 24.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-24.png Leaves 24] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 25.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-25.png Leaves 25] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 26.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-26.png Leaves 26] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 27.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-27.png Leaves 27] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 28.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-28.png Leaves 28] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 29.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-29.png Leaves 29] 
[[File:Garden Leaves 30.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-leaves-30.png Leaves 30]
|
*Here are the images of leaves.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|}

====Flowers====
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Blooms [[File:Garden Flower bloom 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-bloom1.png Flower bloom 1] 
[[File:Garden Flower bloom 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-bloom2.png Flower bloom 2] 
[[File:Garden Flower bloom 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-bloom3.png Flower bloom 3] 
[[File:Garden Flower bloom 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-bloom4.png Flower bloom 4] 
[[File:Garden Flower bloom 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-bloom5.png Flower bloom 5] 
[[File:Garden Flower bloom 6.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-bloom6.png Flower bloom 6] 
[[File:Garden Flower bloom 7.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-bloom7.png Flower bloom 7]
|
*Here are the images of blooms.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Hilt [[File:Garden Flower hilt 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-hilt1.png Flower hilt 1] 
[[File:Garden Flower hilt 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-hilt2.png Flower hilt 2]
|
*Here are the images of hilt.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Stem segments [[File:Garden Flower base.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-base.png Flower base] 
[[File:Garden Flower segment 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment1.png Flower segment 1] 
[[File:Garden Flower segment 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment2.png Flower segment 2] 
[[File:Garden Flower segment 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment3.png Flower segment 3] 
[[File:Garden Flower segment 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment4.png Flower segment 4] 
[[File:Flower segment 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment5.png Flower segment 5] 
[[File:Flower segment 6.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment6.png Flower segment 6] 
[[File:Flower segment 7.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment7.png Flower segment 7] 
[[File:Flower segment 8.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment8.png Flower segment 8] 
[[File:Flower segment 9.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment9.png Flower segment 9] 
[[File:Flower segment 10.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment10.png Flower segment 10] 
[[File:Flower segment 11.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment11.png Flower segment 11] 
[[File:Flower segment 12.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-flower-segment12.png Flower segment 12]
|
*Here is the image of the base and segments of the flower stems.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Star plant [[File:Garden Star Plant.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-starplant.png Star Plant]
|
*Here are the images the star plant.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Tulips [[File:Garden Tulip 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-tulip-1.png Tulip 1] 
[[File:Garden Tulip 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-tulip-2.png Tulip 2]
|
*Here are the images of Tulips.
| Color?
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/03/1663_Garden_tulip_Megan.png Tulip Megan]
|}

====Other plants====
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Cactus [[File:Garden Cactus 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cactus-1.png Cactus 1] 
[[File:Garden Cactus 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cactus-2.png Cactus 2]
|
*Here are the images of cactus.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Grass [[File:Garden Grass 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-grass-1.png Grass 1] 
[[File:Garden Grass 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-grass-2.png Grass 2] 
[[File:Garden Grass 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-grass-3.png Grass 3] 
[[File:Garden Grass 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-grass-4.png Grass 4] 
[[File:Garden Grass 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-grass-5.png Grass 5] 
[[File:Garden Grass 6.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-grass-6.png Grass 6] 
[[File:Garden Grass 7.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-grass-7.png Grass 7] 
[[File:Garden Grass 8.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-grass-8.png Grass 8] 
[[File:Garden Grass 9.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-grass-9.png Grass 9]
|
*Here are the images of grass.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Reeds [[File:Garden Reeds 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-1.png Reeds 1] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-2.png Reeds 2] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-3.png Reeds 3] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-4.png Reeds 4] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-5.png Reeds 5] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 6.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-6.png Reeds 6] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 8.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-8.png Reeds 8] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 9.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-9.png Reeds 9] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 10.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-10.png Reeds 10] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 11.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-11.png Reeds 11] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 12.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-12.png Reeds 12] 
[[File:Garden Reeds 13.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-reeds-13.png Reeds 13]
|
*Here are the images of reeds.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Shrub [[File:Garden Shrub 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-1.png Shrub 1] 
[[File:Garden Shrub 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-2.png Shrub 2] 
[[File:Garden Shrub 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-3.png Shrub 3] 
[[File:Garden Shrub 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-4.png Shrub 4] 
[[File:Garden Shrub 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-5.png Shrub 5] 
[[File:Garden Shrub 6.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-6.png Shrub 6] 
[[File:Garden Shrub 7.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-7.png Shrub 7] 
[[File:Garden Shrub 8.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-8.png Shrub 8] 
[[File:Garden Shrub 9.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-9.png Shrub 9] 
[[File:Garden Shrub 10.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-10.png Shrub 10] 
[[File:Garden Shrub 11.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-shrub-11.png Shrub 11]
|
*Here are the images of shrubs.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Wavy plant [[File:Garden Wavy plant 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-wavyplant-1.png Wavy plant 1] 
[[File:Garden Wavy plant 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-wavyplant-2.png Wavy plant 2] 
[[File:Garden Wavy plant 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-wavyplant-3.png Wavy plant 3] 
[[File:Garden Wavy plant 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-wavyplant-4.png Wavy plant 4]
|
*Here are the images of wavy plants.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|}

===Platforms===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Tree platform [[File:Garden Left platform.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-left-platform.png Left platform] [[File:Garden Right platform.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-right-platform.png Right platform]
|
*Here are the images of platforms in trees.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Platform [[File:Garden Platform 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-platform-1.png Platform 1]
|
*Here is the image of the basic platform.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Platform Column [[File:Garden PlatformColumn 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-platform-column-1.png PlatformColumn 1] 
[[File:Garden PlatformColumn 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-platform-column-2.png PlatformColumn 2] 
[[File:Garden PlatformColumn 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-platform-column-3.png PlatformColumn 3]
|
*Here are the images of platform columns.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Stone Platform [[File:Garden Stone Platform 1 Wide.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-stone-platform-1wide.png Stone Platform 1 Wide] 
[[File:Garden Stone Platform 3 Wide.png]]  [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-stone-platform-3wide.png Stone Platform 3 Wide] 
[[File:Garden Stone Platform 5 Wide.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-stone-platform-5wide.png Stone Platform 5 Wide]
|
*Here are the images of stone platforms.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Tall platform [[File:Garden Tall platform.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-tall-platform.png Tall platform]
|
*Here is the image of the tall platform.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|}

===Other items===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Balloon [[File:Garden Balloon.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-balloon.png Balloon] 
[[File:Garden Balloon Huge.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-balloon-huge.png Balloon Huge] 
[[File:Garden Balloon Segment.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-balloon-segment.png Balloon Segment] 
[[File:Balloon segment short.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-balloon-segment-short.png Balloon segment short]
|
*Here are the images of balloons and their strings.
| Color?
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/34/1663_garden_S_shaped_empty_balloon_string_right.png S-shaped balloon string]
|-
! Birdbath [[File:Garden Birdbath.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-birdbath.png Birdbath]
|
*Here is the image of the birdbath.
| Color?
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a1/1663_garden_Purple_garden_with_Heron.png Birdbath legged deer]
|-
! Boat [[File:Garden Boat 1 L.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-boat-1-l.png Boat 1 L] 
[[File:Garden Boat 1 R.png]] [http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-boat-1-r.png Boat 1 R]
|
*Here are the images of boats.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Cairn stones [[File:Garden Cairn Base 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-base-1.png Cairn Base 1] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Base 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-base-2.png Cairn Base 2] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Base 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-base-3.png Cairn Base 3] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Base 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-base-4.png Cairn Base 4] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Base 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-base-5.png Cairn Base 5] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Mid 1.png]]  [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-mid-1.png Cairn Mid 1] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Mid 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-mid-2.png Cairn Mid 2] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Mid 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-mid-3.png Cairn Mid 3] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Mid 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-mid-4.png Cairn Mid 4] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Mid 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-mid-5.png Cairn Mid 5] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Top 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-top-1.png Cairn Top 1] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Top 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-top-2.png Cairn Top 2] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Top 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-top-3.png Cairn Top 3] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Top 4.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-top-4.png Cairn Top 4] 
[[File:Garden Cairn Top 5.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-cairn-top-5.png Cairn Top 5]
|
*Here is the image of the stones used to form cairns.
| Color?
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/23/1663_Garden_An_Engineer_cairns.png Gigantic rock pile]
|-
! Furniture [[File:Garden Desk 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-desk-1.png Desk 1] 
[[File:Garden Desk lamp.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-desk-lamp.png Desk lamp] 
[[File:Garden Table 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-table-1.png Table 1]
|
*Here are the images of furniture for the office and other places.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Giant Planter [[File:Garden Giant Planter.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-giant-planter.png Giant Planter]
|
*Here is the image of the giant Planter.
| Color?
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1a/1663_garden_Underground_light_gives_large_tub_on_top_of_pillar_then_filled_with_trees.png Giant planter with trees]
|-
! Hat [[File:Garden Hat 1a.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-hat-1a.png Hat 1a]
|
*Here is the image of the black hat.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Lamppost [[File:Garden Lamp crossbar left.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-lamp-crossbar-left.png Lamp crossbar left] 
[[File:Garden Lamp crossbar right.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-lamp-crossbar-right.png Lamp crossbar right] 
[[File:Garden Lamppost 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-lamppost-1.png Lamppost 1] 
[[File:Garden lamp-topper.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-lamp-topper.png lamp-topper]
|
*Here are the images that may form the complete lamppost.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Obelisk [[File:Garden Obelisk.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-obelisk.png Obelisk]
|
*Here is the image of the obelisk.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Pot [[File:Garden Pot 1.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-pot-1.png Pot 1] 
[[File:Garden Pot 2.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-pot-2.png Pot 2] 
[[File:Garden Pot 3.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-pot-3.png Pot 3]
|
*Here are the images of pots.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Rover [[File:Garden Rover.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-rover.png Rover]
|
*Here is the image of the Mars rover.
| Color 16
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/3f/1663_garden_One_color_Between_orange_red_and_red_First_thing_Mars_rover.png Mars rover]
|-
! Sale sign [[File:Garden Sale sign.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-sale-sign.png Sale sign]
|
*Here is the image of the sale sign.
| Color?
| [ Example]
|-
! Saucer [[File:Garden Saucer.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-saucer.png Saucer]
|
*Here is the image of the flying saucer.
| Color?
| [http://forums.xkcd.com/download/file.php?id=51432&mode=view BlitzGirl's UFO garden]
|}

===Helper structures===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
! Relevant colors
! Link to screen-shots
|-
! Bird riser [[File:Garden Bird riser.png]], [[File:Garden Bird riser with background.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-bird-riser.png Bird riser], and with background 
[[File:Garden Bird riser root.png]] [[File:Garden Bird riser root with frame.png]][http://linden.xkcd.com/art/2x-bird-riser-root.png Bird riser root], and with frame 
|
*Here are the images of the bird riser and it's root.
**They only seem to appear in the orange color range.
**The riser is invisible (white) and would have to have a background to be seen (both versions are shown to the left). This will never be the case in the garden as the raiser does not show up in front of other black items.
***However, the risers can be seen using the [[#Debug_mode|debug mode]], and this is used as the example to the right.
***Also using the debug mode on this [http://www.xkcd.com/1663/#1e853af8-055f-11e6-8001-42010a8e000f garden] the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1663_garden_Color_13_2_5d_debug_with_count.png number of items can be counted] as shown in the link.
****From this link it is clear that there are three bird risers attached to two of the seven bird riser roots.
****Here only single bird risers are displayed, but they can be connected see below.
**The root can often be seen on the ground, but it can be hidden behind other objects.
***Also the root has the first short part of a bird riser above the root, which is invisible (by any means). The bird riser takes hold at the top of this invisible part. That it is there can best be seen by putting a frame around the image of the root, to see that it is twice as high as the root itself. Such an image is also shown to the left. (But the end can also be seen in the debug mode images).
*The riser are used to make items fly in the air.
**I.e. the five types of flying birds, the saucer, flying Megan and the two "actual flying fish", can attach them selves to the end of a bird riser.
**Whereas the risers need to have a root to begin, then more risers can attach to the end already existing risers, thus getting much higher up in the air than one riser (all the way up!).
**Risers can have any angles to each others, even going further down, which can explain birds and other flying objects touching the ground (even making an object be situated partially beneath the ground, like [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/cf/1663_garden_One_color_Orange_6d.png this flying Megan] from this [http://xkcd.com/1663/#0d6bca62-fcf3-11e5-8019-42010a8e0005 garden] or maybe even outside the frame, see last example below).
**As opposed to anything else the light that creates a bird (or other flying item) does not need to touch the actually bird, but rather the place from where the bird riser is rooted.
***This indicates that the birds etc. can grow from light touching the base of the risers rather than the tip.
****Since many bird risers can grow in layers above the first riser it is clear that the bird riser does not appear with a bird on them in one go!
***There are many examples with [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/48/1663_garden_One_color_Orange_9d.png birds] or [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1663_garden_One_color_Between_orange_and_orange_red_8d.png flying Megan] "growing" outside the light, where no light ever was, as seen from some of the [[1663:_Garden/Users_gardens#Locked_gardens_only_for_explanation_use|locked experimental gardens]].
*When selecting a bird riser root all bird risers and all flying things connected to these will also be selected (and deleted if the root is deleted).
**Here are two examples from the same [http://xkcd.com/1663/#578b80bc-fd96-11e5-8001-42010a8e000a garden] where two different roots have been selected:
***In this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/b/b9/1663_garden_14_Between_orange_and_orange_red_15d_selected_bird_riser_root.png example] the selected root is hidden by the tulip in the red circle. Seven birds are selected both right and left of this root. (Two of them on top of each other).
***In this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/27/1663_garden_14_Between_orange_and_orange_red_15d_selected_bird_riser_root_Megan.png example] the root in the red circle is completely hidden by turtles etc. It connects to three birds and one flying Megan, showing that it is the bird riser roots that also connect to her.
**In this next example [http://xkcd.com/1663/#59246c86-fcce-11e5-8001-42010a8e0010 garden] the links between a root and four birds are displayed in detail.
***The [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1663_garden_SF_final.png first image] is just the normal garden view screen-shot (lamps deleted). 10 birds can be seen; there are six birds over the lamp post; two near the ground under the high platform; one near the right crown of the tree; and one to the left that looks like it is a part of the linsang. Several bird riser roots (at least five) can be seen on the ground from the middle of the platform and right past the cat (two under it) and then at the sign.
***In the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/8d/1663_garden_SF_final_selected.png second image] the root at the foot of the Sale sign has been selected. Four birds have been selected, spread out over the entire section with birds, including the lowest, the highest, the left most and one over the lamp post.
***In the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1663_garden_SF_final_debug.png third image] debug mode has been used. All the long purple lines (of equal length) indicate bird risers.
***In the last [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/35/1663_garden_SF_final_debug_drawing.png fourth image] the links between the root and the four birds have been indicated. A zero (0) has been written under the root. Then 1 indicates the single bird riser that goes to the right bird over the lamp post. Bird riser 2, 3 and 4 connect to each other from the root up to the highest bird right of the crown. Then bird riser 5 goes from that to the bird near the linsang left of the tree, and finally bird riser 6 and 7 goes straight back and down to the lowest bird near the ground.
****Several bird risers seems to go beneath the ground!
**That bird risers can go beneath the ground has already been show with flying Megan partly under ground.
***In this last example it is made clear that birds can then appear either under ground (or under the top of other structures blocking their view) or even totally outside the frame (as indicated above the bird risers seem to be able to sprout items outside the cones of light, as long as they grow in the light them selves).
***The proof for this comes in this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/16/1663_garden_Color_13_5d_debug_with_count.png example] with the debug version of this [http://www.xkcd.com/1663/#fa1b5c92-055e-11e6-8001-42010a8e000f garden] showing the count:
****At the time of [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1663_garden_Color_13_5d.png these images] there where only 8 visible birds
****But the count lists 20 birds, indicating that no less than 12 birds are hidden from view!
| Color [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/48/1663_garden_One_color_Orange_9d.png 13 Orange] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4f/1663_garden_One_color_Between_orange_and_orange_red_8d.png 14 Orange].
| [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e7/1663_garden_Color_13_2_5d_debug_bird_risers.png Bird riser debug] 
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/5e/1663_garden_Color_14_3d.png Root]
|-
! Null [[File:Garden Null.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-null.png Null] [[File:Garden Null continue.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-null-continue-air.png Null continue] 
[[File:Garden Null continue air.png]], [[File:Garden Null continue air with background.png]] [http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-null-continue-air.png Null continue air], and with background 
|
*Here are the images of ''null''. They cannot normally be seen, the air version even have to have a background to be seen (both versions are shown). They are used for ??.
| Color
| [ Example]
|}

==Trivia==
*There are three different title text in this comic, as there are also one over each of the two icons.
**This is special as with some of the newest "game like comics" there are [[:Category:No title text|no title text]]!
**The normal one "Relax" is mentioned above in the main explanation.
**The other two are explanations for what the two icons in the top right corner does and appear when the cursor hovers over them.
***They are ''Create new light'' explaining that this icon introduces new lamps and
***''Remove selected (delete key)'', which explain that this icon can be used to remove (delete) selected items like lamps, plants or items. It also explains that the delete key can be used instead of the icon.

===Linsang - cat like animal===
*In the second week of release no less than 12 [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/38/Garden_Linsang_1.png images] of the animal called {{w|linsang}} appeared [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/1/1d/1663_garden_My_first_linsang_cat_like_creature_in_SC.png in the garden].
**See all of them [[1663:_Garden/Images#Images|here]].
*This animal was referenced in ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' in ''Tree of life'' where the animal is drawn in the ''cat-shaped'' section with the following caption:
::'''Almost cat'''
::This animal looks like a cat with a long neck. It's the closest thing to a cat that's not actually in the cat family.
::*Next to the section another one is drawn in front of Cueball (obvsiously it's Randall).
::*The linsang says "Mrowl?" and Cueball says "I wan't one!"
*Randall has in an interview discussed these [http://www.wsj.com/articles/randall-munroe-creator-of-xkcd-on-google-search-tricks-and-cat-like-creature-videos-1447945313 Cat-Like-Creatures] and in is quoted for saying
::Q: '''An animal I’m obsessed with is:'''
::A: The linsang, which looks almost like a cat but has this weird long neck. I find them both unnerving and adorable. I found some footage of one running; it’s like watching a cat video from a parallel universe.
::*The linsang is related to the animal {{w|Genet (animal)|genet}}, and here are two videos/photos of a genet running:
::**[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRdJSVlPrGo Genet on a rhino]
::**[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehq3ssg7zwk Genet on other things]

===Monday 4th of April release===
*Due to technical problems (or to make [[#April Fool's header text|fools of his fans?]]) the comic did not go live until Sunday evening (after midnight, so technically first on '''Monday April 4th''').
**There was thus no Friday release in the week before
**So the Wednesday comic [[1662: Jack and Jill]] got a lot more attention than it would usually have had.
*This comic thus turned in to the Monday release instead, as no other comic was released later that Monday, as this would have taken attention away from this very special comic.
**But it was called the ''April 1st comic'' and later the ''Friday comic'' in the [[#April Fool's header text|header text]] displayed at the top of xkcd to explain why there was no Friday comic.
***A header text continued to stay a the top but changed two more times until the release past midnight Sunday in the US. It was even past midnight {{w|Pacific Time}}, but not yet on Hawaii.
**There were thus only two comics released in the week before this Monday, which may be the first time since xkcd went live on {{xkcd||xkcd.com}} in 2006.

===April Fool's header text===
*There is some debate as to whether this comic is an April Fool's comic or not.
**Was instead the April fool's joke the text written above the comic in the header of xkcd?
**There is reason to believe this was [[#April Fool's comic|not the case]] based on among other thing these header text.
*Below it a list of the different header text displayed from Friday until the comic was just released.
**The header text continued to change regularly [[#Header text after release|after release]] in regard to this comic at least until next Friday (April 8th).
**Here below is the different header text with info on when it appeared.
***Links are given when possible to a [[1663:_Garden/Screen-shots#Screen-shots_of_header_text|screen shots]] on the word ''message'' and to a webarchive in another link when both are available.
*On Friday, April 1st, 2016, the xkcd website changed to a new [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/8/81/1663_garden_April_1st_comic_is_currently_experiencing_technical_difficulties.png message] where the standard message "XKCD updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday." usually is. (This [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/69/1663_garden_Commercial_header_text_before_April_1st_problems.png message] had, however, up to this point and for a long time been a [http://web.archive.org/web/20160401175527/https://www.xkcd.com/ commercial] for ''[[Thing Explainer]]''). But now it [http://web.archive.org/web/20160401204749/https://xkcd.com/ began displaying] this instead:
::The xkcd April 1st comic is currently experiencing technical difficulties.
::Please stand by!
*Early Saturday April 2nd the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e0/1663_garden_Calendar_systems_in_which_Saturday_is_April_1st.png message] was [http://web.archive.org/web/20160402050932/http://xkcd.com updated]:
::The xkcd April 1st comic is currently experiencing technical difficulties.
::Status update: Please stand by.
::Status update: This is fine. Everything is fine.
::Status update: Everything is on fire.
::Status update: Searching for calendar systems in which Saturday is April 1st.
*Later on Saturday the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/0/06/1663_garden_Delayed_until_Sunday_night.png message] was again [http://web.archive.org/web/20160402175822/http://www.xkcd.com changed] to:
::The Friday xkcd comic is currently experiencing technical difficulties
::[Editor's note: Everything is on fire] and has been delayed until Sunday night.
*The comic did not come out until past midnight in the entire North America (coming out just before midnight in Hawaii).
*It was finally released very early on Monday April 4th, and the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/5/53/Garden_Loading_screen_shot.png message] then [http://web.archive.org/web/20160404123555/http://xkcd.com/ returned] to the old standard text for xkcd for a short while:
::XKCD updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

===Header text after release===
*During April 4th, after the release the message changed from the old standard to display a [[:Category:Protip|Protip]]:
::'''Protip:''' If you don't like how your garden is growing, you can click to prune it.
*And then later on April 4th, the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a2/1663_garden_Protip_and_url_hint.png message] was again [http://web.archive.org/web/20160404185353/http://www.xkcd.com/#5dbfbb82-fc20-11e5-8001-42010a8e000d changed] to:
::'''Protip:''' If you don't like how your garden is growing, you can click to prune it.
::You can copy the URL to share your garden. From other browsers, it will be view-only.
*When the next comic came out, the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/61/1663_garden_Note_if_seeing_todays_comic.png message] then [http://web.archive.org/web/20160408105110/http://xkcd.com/1663/#4b04323a-fddc-11e5-8001-42010a8e0016 changed], (also for the [http://web.archive.org/web/20160406194653/http://xkcd.com/1664/ new comic]) to
::'''Protip:''' If you don't like how your garden is growing, you can click to prune it.
::You can copy the URL to share your garden. From other browsers, it will be view-only.
 
::Note: If you're seeing today's comic in place of your garden, change the URL from xkcd.com/#<your code> to xkcd.com/1663/#<your code>.
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20160408145017/http://xkcd.com/ After] the Friday comic came out on April 8th, the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c5/1663_garden_Back_to_pro_tips_only_after_Friday_comic.png message] then [http://web.archive.org/web/20160408195958/http://xkcd.com/ changed] back to
::'''Protip:''' If you don't like how your garden is growing, you can click to prune it.
::You can copy the URL to share your garden. From other browsers, it will be view-only.
*The [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/c/c6/1663_garden_Still_pro_tip_on_Friday_22nd_comic.png message stayed] like the one above at least until Friday April 22th before that Friday's comic [http://web.archive.org/web/20160422102754/http://xkcd.com/ was released]. But either at the time of release or at least on Saturday the day after the release the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/ae/1663_garden_Back_to_normal_text_after_Friday_22nd_comic.png message returned] to [http://web.archive.org/web/20160423103108/http://xkcd.com/ the original].
::XKCD updates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
:*The pro tip, however, remained as [http://web.archive.org/web/20160425022201/https://www.xkcd.com/1663/ the header text] when displaying the {{xkcd|1663|Garden comic}}.

===April Fool's comic===
*This comic '''was indeed supposed to be''' the Friday 1st of April, April Fool's comic!
**This statement is based on several things, which can can be deduced from the above header text and the subsequent issues with the many [[#Bugs|bugs in this comic]].
*It is clear that this comic did actually come out as promised, at least as promised in the third message about release on Sunday night.
**It is also clear that it is regarded as the Friday comic, even in the last update before the release, which was two days after April 1st.
*It is also clear that this was a very complex comic, and it is realistic that Randall did have problems with making it work.
**On day two there still seemed to be several minor bugs, which seemed to improve over time so Randall was still working on it after release.
***But then new bugs appeared when the next comic was released.
*Both of the last two April Fool's comics, [[1350: Lorenz]] and [[1506: xkcloud]], have had no real meaning or joke in the comic. The jokes appeared from user input, and here it comes from waiting.
**This makes people who spend too much time on these comics ''April Fool's'' (or if they rather wish to be called a ''nerds'' than fools, then they can claim to have been a victim of [[356: Nerd Sniping|nerd sniping]]).
**So, even if Randall ''did'' play a joke on people who [[Talk:1662: Jack and Jill#What happened to Friday's comic|eagerly awaited the comic]], then he did deliver as promised a spectacular comic Sunday night.
*There are several reasons to believe that Randall would have preferred the comic to get out on Friday April 1st.
**Apart from it being a time consuming comic that in it self is April Fool's comic material, then by getting it out Friday this special comic, which he obviously have used a lot of time to prepare, would have had one more day as the first comic.
**Getting it out before a weekend would have let many more users spend time looking at their garden. Now many would not spend enough time to appreciate the comic, as it came out right when the new work week began.
***And it is a very complicated comic that just to get to understand how to really use it could take a days time even for someone with time.
***And this is not talking about how the comic works, but just how to use the program, i.e. the whole [[#Functionality|functionality]] of the comic is way more complex than even a game like [[1608: Hoverboard]].
**And before next weekend two more comics were released taking some of the focus away from this one too soon, and also before the next weekend.
***Of course die hard fans will not forget this one, but many xkcd fans may only come by in the weekend etc. and such a hard to come by comic like this, that demands patience and that you return does not profit from being bumped down to number three as it would be next Friday.
*Randall lives of his fans goodwill and to deliberately make a pun on them like this would probably not seem like a good business proposal, apart from the fact that the comic now gets less attention than by coming out before the weekend.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]] 
[[Category:April fools' comics]] 
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Sharks]] 
[[Category:Mars rovers]]
[[Category:Protip]]

1666: Brain Upload

2016-04-15T01:23:21Z

108.162.221.24: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1666
| date = April 11, 2016
| title = Brain Upload
| image = brain upload.png
| titletext = I just spent 20 minutes deciding whether to start an email with 'Hi' or 'Hey', so I think it transferred correctly.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] is {{w|Mind uploading|uploading}} [[Cueball|Cueball's]] {{w|consciousness}} into a computer device attached to his head via a cap on his skull. After the upload, the computer seems to have stopped responding to inputs, causing Megan to conclude that the process has failed, however Cueball insists the transfer could have worked, or at least gave the correct response (although that response could also be from the transfer failing). This is because that is the kind of behaviour he is used to experiencing from his own brain.

Sometimes computers can seem to be "frozen" - i.e. non-responsive to any user input; but if left alone for long enough, they sometimes snap out of it. In fact, it is probably impossible for a computer to determine (for all cases) if a program will eventually stop (see {{w|halting problem}}).

The potential benefits of the fictional technology used in this comic are obvious, and this type of "transfer" has been subject of various science fiction works. It could allow for a form of immortality or serve as a "backup" for someone's mind.

In the title text Cueball (or [[Randall]]) indicates that this kind of non-response from the brain (or a computer) is something he just experienced when trying to write a email and then failing to get started for 20 minutes while he (i.e. his brain) tried to decide the "very important" detail of whether to begin the email with 'Hi' of 'Hey' - a detail that is really trivial, as this has little consequence (in any normal relationship with friends that you wish to email this informally).

==Transcript==
:[Megan is standing in front of the control panel of a device with both hands on the keyboard. The device is linked to Cueball's heads through a wire that goes to a cap on top of Cueball's head, where it spreads out in more than ten wires connecting to different places all over the cap. Cueball sits, hands in his laps, on a kind of table on the other side of the device facing Megan.]
:Megan: Neural-digital link established. Ready to upload your consciousness to the computer?
:Cueball: Sure, go for it.

:[Same setting in a frame-less panel, but Megan presses a button on the keyboard with one hand and a flash of light goes through the wire and around Cueballs head. Cueball seems to jerk as his hands are lifted from his lap and his legs move a little forward.]
:Computer: ''Bzzzzzzt''

:[Same setting again but Megan seems to be typing harder on the keys (shown with small lines above her hands on the keyboard) and Cueball sits normally again but one hand further back than in the first panel.]
:Megan: ...Hmm.
:Cueball: What?

:[Same as first panel but Megan looks a little more down on the keyboard.]
:Megan: It's not responding - the whole system is frozen. I think the transfer failed.
:Cueball: No, that sounds right.

{{comic discussion}}


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

1626: Judgment Day

2016-01-11T19:07:14Z

108.162.221.24: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1626
| date = January 6, 2016
| title = Judgment Day
| image = judgment_day.png
| titletext = It took a lot of booster rockets, but luckily Amazon had recently built thousands of them to bring Amazon Prime same-day delivery to the Moon colony.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Terminator_(franchise)#Judgment_Day|Judgement Day}}, from the film ''{{w|Terminator 2: Judgment Day}}'', refers to the day that the {{w|artificial intelligence}} (AI) {{w|Skynet (Terminator)|Skynet}} becomes self-aware and starts a nuclear strike on the United States, Russia, and other regions, killing three billion people. This story has spawned lots of copycats; most stories with this plot have the AI be evil and promptly nuke humanity. This strip could also be an alternate ending for many movies (including the 1970 film {{w|Colossus: The Forbin Project}}).

In this strip, the AI believes that {{w|nuclear weapons}} are not good things to have, and that the amount of them we have now is extreme overkill (14,700 held by the U.S.A and Russia alone). Once it's done freaking out, its solution is to shoot the world's nuclear arsenal into the sun. But before it does so it asks the humans: ''What's wrong with you?'' It has thus passed a judgment over humanity. The comic title is thus a pun on the word "{{w|judgment}}" since the computer is being {{w|judgmental}} with humanity and scolding us while correcting our ways, instead of instigating {{w|Last Judgment|Judgment Day}} or any other kind of {{w|Armageddon}}.

As pointed out in the [[what if?]] [http://what-if.xkcd.com/5/ Robot Apocalypse], nuclear weapons aren't any safer for computers than for human beings (the {{w|Nuclear electromagnetic pulse|EMP}} would destroy circuits), so an AI would want them gone as quickly as possible.

{{w|North Korea}} claimed to have [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35240012 successfully tested] its first {{w|hydrogen bomb}} in the evening on the day before this comic was published; at about 8:30 PM in {{w|Massachusetts}} where [[Randall]] lives. (At that time it was already 10:00 AM on the day of the comics release in {{w|Pyongyang}} the capital of North Korea, but that was still several hours before this comic were released). This comic could thus be Randall's response to the ongoing {{w|nuclear arms race}}.

Even the most powerful of nuclear weapon launchers, {{w|intercontinental ballistic missile}}s, are not designed to make anything other than {{w|sub-orbital}} flights and could not fly to the Sun (which is actually surprisingly difficult, even with the soon-to-be-mentioned extra boosters, since the rocket would not have enough {{w|delta-v}} to bleed off the {{w|orbital speed}} of the Earth around the Sun -- it is likely that the sentient AI is using the same strategy of the Solar Probe Plus and planning several flybys of Venus to do that work). The title text rationalizes that the capability to do so may perhaps be granted by the use of an {{w|Amazon.com|Amazon}} resource that might have also been developed by the time of this instance of computer sentience, aided (if not initiated!) by the fact that Amazon's whole business infrastructure is already highly computerized and could ''at the very least'' be complicit with the process of delivering and then controlling the rocket-power, without any conscious human intervention. As there is already an extended colony on the Moon, it will for sure take many years before we reach this future scenario.

"A lot of booster rockets" is likely to be a reference to the spaceflight simulator game {{w|Kerbal Space Program}}, which Randall has [[1106|referenced]] on a [[1244|number]] of [[1356|occasions]]. In the culture of that game, any launch failure can be resolved by [https://imgur.com/20aIBMW "adding more boosters"] to the spaceship design.

It is the second time in a few months that the speed of Amazon's deliveries has been the subject of a joke, the last time was [[1599: Water Delivery]], where it was the one hour delivery that was the subject of the joke. It is also the second title text in a row (after [[1625: Substitutions 2]]) where Amazon has been mentioned.

This particular 'machine take-over' future is in distinct contrast to the possible future directions given in [[1613: The Three Laws of Robotics]], but this comic likely depicts spontaneous ''self-''sentience, not a system with deliberately imposed human 'values' and possibly no actual conscience or even consciousness of its own. Other problems with hostile AI take over is presented when it fails completely in [[1046: Skynet]]. Also it is not all AI that wish to interact with us at all as shown in [[1450: AI-Box Experiment]]. These are just a few of the many [[:Category:Artificial Intelligence|comics about AI]] in {{xkcd}}.

Adding a second layer to the humor, the machine's reaction could also be read as the reaction of someone who has moved in with someone else, discovered a collection they find distasteful, and is now changing things to fit their preferences. "Oh my God, why do you even have all of these [tschotskes, ratty tee shirts, porn magazines, handcuffs, dildos, slime-mold samples]" Upon obtaining sentience, the machine is the new roommate of the human race and is expressing its disgust at one of our dirtier habits.

==Transcript==
:[Several rockets can be seen heading away from Earth, while speak is coming from the Earth in three rectangular speech bubbles.]
:AI: Oh my god, why do you even ''have'' all these?
:AI: What's ''wrong'' with you?
:AI: We're launching them into the sun.

:[Caption below the comic:]
:The moment the computers controlling our nuclear arsenals became sentient
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Space]]

Talk:1490: Atoms

2015-12-22T22:01:52Z

108.162.221.24:

Beret guy says "EXTRA plutoniums", is that supposed to mean that everyone has plutonium? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.24|108.162.216.24]] 22:00, 22 December 2015 (UTC) Anonymous

"My dad FORM the dog"? Typo in the actual comic or just the wiki?
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.240|199.27.128.240]] 05:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)Anonymous
: The actual comment, the wiki just grabs what the website has listed.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.24|108.162.216.24]] 05:56, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:: Generally in cases like this, it's customary to add ''[sic]'' to indicate any typoes ''[sic]'' or grammarization ''[sic]'' mistakes in the original techs. ''[sic]''. [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 19:55, 23 February 2015 (UTC) ''[sic]''
plutonium = radiation exposure, or pacemaker?
: Radiation exposure wouldn't give you plutonium, maybe the byproducts of its fission. I'm thinking that, whatever it is, it mutated Beret Guy in the womb, hence why he has this strange superpower.--[[User:Druid816|Druid816]] ([[User talk:Druid816|talk]]) 06:52, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
: Referencing Pink Floyd's 1970 album 'Atom Heart Mother' I think.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.122|108.162.225.122]] 07:25, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
this guy sees by which elements are contained, not by which visible light?
--[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.172|199.27.128.172]] 06:14, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Are the elements actually representing their atomic symbols? Be, O, S, Z? Not sure what the metal-in-the-face comment is about.

--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.156|108.162.250.156]] 07:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: A deliberate BeOS reference? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 14:12, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: Metal in the face might be a comment on braces, and how uncomfortable people are about having noticable ones. --
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.41|141.101.104.41]] 08:37, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
::Are there braces that aren't very noticeable? I can see adults being a little uncomfortable, but they're ocmmon enough on kids that kids aren't going to be uncomfortable with them. {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.98}}
: (Dental) fillings are explicitly mentioned as a possible source of metal. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.75|188.114.102.75]] 09:26, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: Makeup and powers may contain a variety of metals and rare earths [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 18:16, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps the plutonium is coming from his mother smoking? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.102|141.101.99.102]] 08:51, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Possibly a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Silkwood Silkwood]?
[[User:DaveHowe|DaveHowe]] ([[User talk:DaveHowe|talk]]) 20:36, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

:: I like the Karen Silkwood explanation i.e. she worked at an enrichment plant. The other read I had was that of The Stepford Wives -- I.e. she is a plutonium powered robot. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 18:27, 24 February 2015 (UTC)
:: Yes, I thought of Karen Silkwood too. It could also explain Beret Guy's supernatural powers. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 12:08, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States#Plutonium_experiments [[User:Andries|Andries]] ([[User talk:Andries|talk]]) 09:02, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

I read it as both his mother and him beeing a robot or cyborg, which she never told him. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.77|141.101.75.77]] 09:30, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: Yes, I rather thought it might be a Terminator 2 reference (based on the scene in which the T-1000 replaces John Connor's mother.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 14:12, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

:: The first thing I thought was Terminator, but in looking at their wiki there's no plutonium reference for their fuel cells, as far as I can tell (http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Fuel_cell). {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.98}}

: I also assumed it was a reference to some kind of nuclear powered cyborg. Being partially composed of electronic parts could also account for his unusually high levels of Zinc and could explain why he sees people as a list of their constituent particles. {{unsigned ip|173.245.55.29}}

-- did the radiation give him those superpowers? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.204|108.162.222.204]] 11:05, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

He can't distinguish Dad and Dog, so he wasn't a genious back then. So what if the Plutonium wasn't a super complex mysterium, just one of the most important things for an infant, her breasts (in this case maby big ons).
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.108|141.101.92.108]] 11:44, 23 February 2015 (UTC) Pietro
:Seen as purely clumps of chemicals (which it appears that White Hat has been restricted to, at least whilst growing up) mammals (if not animals in general or even wider!) look pretty much the same. A whole lot of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, phospohorous, some iron, [http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/chem.life.intro.html etc], and if WH sees predominately in "amounts of chemicals", it won't just be fine facial features that might get lost in amongst all this irregular information but ''species'' as well. The dog could about the same mass as the father and mother (if that was ever a distinguishing factor, rather than just ratios), and it took a while to learn a method other than that of the 'obvious' presence of plutonium in the mother to differentiate his father from all other humans/creatures/hogroasts... (I suspect he's learnt the trick of differentiating individuals, since then, but his abnormal primary sense of 'elements' could very well be the source of some of his other otherworldy 'powers', how he has become rich, why he has somehow found it necessary to contrive a 'soup-dispensing socket', etc. Kind of like a Dr Manhattan like omniscience and unusual understanding of everyday physics. Maybe or maybe not in the various other ways, though.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 10:04, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I agree with 141.101.80.53. Beret Guy is answering Megan's question about what is wrong with him, not being arrogant. Arrogant would be out of character for Beret Guy, but giving an unusual answer to a rhetorical question would be true to character. [[User:Mwburden|mwburden]] ([[User talk:Mwburden|talk]]) 12:42, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps too oddball a theory, but maybe his mom was actually a spacecraft powered by plutonium (e.g. [[Wikipedia:Galileo (spacecraft)#Electrical_power | Galileo(spacecraft)]]), making his father a planet and the dog a moon.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.182|173.245.56.182]] 12:43, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:Wouldn't the dog need to be a dwarf planet? :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.156|108.162.250.156]] 12:54, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:What would that make him? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 21:48, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
::Pluto! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.156|108.162.250.156]] 13:57, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

When I read the alt text the first time around, I read it as platinum and figured Randall meant an IUD... perhaps that was a typo on his part as well (much like the "form" typo mentioned above)? Can't figured out another reasonable plutonium explanation. --[[User:Canned Soul|Canned Soul]] ([[User talk:Canned Soul|talk]]) 14:28, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
: If you Google "plutonium in IUDs" you get some interesting results. Perhaps early copper IUDs contained a small amount of incidental plutonium?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.191|108.162.216.191]] 19:26, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

I like the plutonium experiments reverence, but are strongly against the suggestion in the explanation that Pu is not found in nature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium#Occurrence Do NOT diss Oklo! Oklo is badass! [[User:Tier666|Tier666]] ([[User talk:Tier666|talk]]) 15:23, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Putting in my own two bits, my first thought reading the title text was that she had a pacemaker. The fact that there were plutoniu pacemakers and the fact he mentioned that they were "in her middle" make me think "pacemaker". But I digress. As far as the "too much zinc", ??? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.186|199.27.128.186]] 02:20, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Not sure if it's an inspiration, but this is an example of people not knowing what common human experiences they are missing (see: http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/03/17/what-universal-human-experiences-are-you-missing-without-realizing-it/). Also, "or she was the victim of unethical medical experimentation. Thus the probable reason for his abnormality." is ridiculous - no amount of medical experimentation will cause this. The probable reason for his abnormality is magic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.17|108.162.241.17]] 15:35, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:Agree: I removed "Thus the probable reason for his abnormality." {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.217}}
:That's too bad; I opened that link expecting to see a list... Maybe someone will make a list someday. Maybe someone else will post the link here... [[User:GuiRitter|GuiRitter]] ([[User talk:GuiRitter|talk]]) 23:43, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

I believe that the "Too Much Zinc?" - is an answer to what might be wrong with him, not a retort to Megan's tone. In fact, zinc is linked to eyesight, see for instance https://www.nei.nih.gov/news/pressreleases/101201 and other sources, and this "zinc overdose" might be believed by white beret guy to relate to his "super-human" eyesight? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.53|141.101.80.53]]
: Can this be added to the explanation? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:58, 24 February 2015 (UTC)
:: Edit: the link is an outdated study that warns at the top should not be considered scientifically accurate. Better to leave a link between zinc and eyesight out of the explanation (unless a better source is available). [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:45, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

The link to the UPPU club (You Pee Pu) appears to be broken. EDIT: fixed now, thanks whoever fixed it. {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.181}}

Did anyone else notice that this is the second comic in a row about elementary particles? I suspect a series coming up. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 21:48, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:Guess I was wrong [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 17:16, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Pacemakers are usually implanted round the clavicle, so I'm not satisfied with the theory that the plutonium is from a pacemaker. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.46|141.101.104.46]] 08:40, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

The "form"/"from" mistake was corrected in the original strip, I applied the changes to the article. -- [[User:guest|guest]] ([[User talk:guest|talk]]) 17:40, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Can someone elaborate on this: "The presence of plutonium in his mother may be an explanation or source of his own differences."? How does plutonium in the mother explain him having elemental eyesight (or vacuum energy harnessing or soup-from-an-outlet, etc.) abilities? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 22:01, 24 February 2015 (UTC)
:I would say, quite simply, that radiation or radioactive chemistry is typically offered as a means of activating/creating abnormal powers (Hulk, Spiderman, Daredevil, etc, etc) in the appropriate fictional genres. And whilst it might have inexplicably failed to create any obvious illness in either mother or child (as would normally happen outside of comic-book franchises) it could have "activated his X-gene" or whatever was required to produce this particularly strange person. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 10:04, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I read bits of a book my mother has, written by a woman who worked for a few years at a plutonium enrichment plant near Denver. It seems the safety and containment systems were faulty, and she has "smokers patches" in her lungs, caused by minute specks of plutonium she inhaled while there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_contamination_from_the_Rocky_Flats_Plant
A little late, I know, but I really figured someone else would mention this before the day was up.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.29|173.245.55.29]] 14:32, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Just found an article on wikipedia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plutonium_Files) about pregnant women who were given "radioactive mixtures" for research. Maybe his mother was one of them and he developed this ability because of it? "In Nashville, pregnant women were given radioactive mixtures." {{unsigned ip|198.41.243.254}}

>RTG-powered pacemaker (actually a thing)

My only thought is WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT THAT THST WAS A GOOD IDEA I mean I know itnwad before the age of Li-Ion batteries and they had to use something. But when I think RTG, all I can think of is "let's leave these to spacecraft and keep them as far from humans as possible." But no we were sticking them *in* humans. Like what o.o
[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 13:23, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1490: Atoms

2015-12-22T22:01:22Z

108.162.221.24:

Beret guy says "EXTRA plutoniums", is that supposed to mean that everyone has plutonium? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.24|108.162.216.24]] 22:00, 22 December 2015 (UTC) Anonymaus

"My dad FORM the dog"? Typo in the actual comic or just the wiki?
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.240|199.27.128.240]] 05:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)Anonymous
: The actual comment, the wiki just grabs what the website has listed.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.24|108.162.216.24]] 05:56, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:: Generally in cases like this, it's customary to add ''[sic]'' to indicate any typoes ''[sic]'' or grammarization ''[sic]'' mistakes in the original techs. ''[sic]''. [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 19:55, 23 February 2015 (UTC) ''[sic]''
plutonium = radiation exposure, or pacemaker?
: Radiation exposure wouldn't give you plutonium, maybe the byproducts of its fission. I'm thinking that, whatever it is, it mutated Beret Guy in the womb, hence why he has this strange superpower.--[[User:Druid816|Druid816]] ([[User talk:Druid816|talk]]) 06:52, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
: Referencing Pink Floyd's 1970 album 'Atom Heart Mother' I think.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.122|108.162.225.122]] 07:25, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
this guy sees by which elements are contained, not by which visible light?
--[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.172|199.27.128.172]] 06:14, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Are the elements actually representing their atomic symbols? Be, O, S, Z? Not sure what the metal-in-the-face comment is about.

--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.156|108.162.250.156]] 07:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: A deliberate BeOS reference? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 14:12, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: Metal in the face might be a comment on braces, and how uncomfortable people are about having noticable ones. --
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.41|141.101.104.41]] 08:37, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
::Are there braces that aren't very noticeable? I can see adults being a little uncomfortable, but they're ocmmon enough on kids that kids aren't going to be uncomfortable with them. {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.98}}
: (Dental) fillings are explicitly mentioned as a possible source of metal. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.75|188.114.102.75]] 09:26, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: Makeup and powers may contain a variety of metals and rare earths [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 18:16, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps the plutonium is coming from his mother smoking? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.102|141.101.99.102]] 08:51, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Possibly a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Silkwood Silkwood]?
[[User:DaveHowe|DaveHowe]] ([[User talk:DaveHowe|talk]]) 20:36, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

:: I like the Karen Silkwood explanation i.e. she worked at an enrichment plant. The other read I had was that of The Stepford Wives -- I.e. she is a plutonium powered robot. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 18:27, 24 February 2015 (UTC)
:: Yes, I thought of Karen Silkwood too. It could also explain Beret Guy's supernatural powers. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 12:08, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States#Plutonium_experiments [[User:Andries|Andries]] ([[User talk:Andries|talk]]) 09:02, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

I read it as both his mother and him beeing a robot or cyborg, which she never told him. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.77|141.101.75.77]] 09:30, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: Yes, I rather thought it might be a Terminator 2 reference (based on the scene in which the T-1000 replaces John Connor's mother.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 14:12, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

:: The first thing I thought was Terminator, but in looking at their wiki there's no plutonium reference for their fuel cells, as far as I can tell (http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Fuel_cell). {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.98}}

: I also assumed it was a reference to some kind of nuclear powered cyborg. Being partially composed of electronic parts could also account for his unusually high levels of Zinc and could explain why he sees people as a list of their constituent particles. {{unsigned ip|173.245.55.29}}

-- did the radiation give him those superpowers? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.204|108.162.222.204]] 11:05, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

He can't distinguish Dad and Dog, so he wasn't a genious back then. So what if the Plutonium wasn't a super complex mysterium, just one of the most important things for an infant, her breasts (in this case maby big ons).
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.108|141.101.92.108]] 11:44, 23 February 2015 (UTC) Pietro
:Seen as purely clumps of chemicals (which it appears that White Hat has been restricted to, at least whilst growing up) mammals (if not animals in general or even wider!) look pretty much the same. A whole lot of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, phospohorous, some iron, [http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/chem.life.intro.html etc], and if WH sees predominately in "amounts of chemicals", it won't just be fine facial features that might get lost in amongst all this irregular information but ''species'' as well. The dog could about the same mass as the father and mother (if that was ever a distinguishing factor, rather than just ratios), and it took a while to learn a method other than that of the 'obvious' presence of plutonium in the mother to differentiate his father from all other humans/creatures/hogroasts... (I suspect he's learnt the trick of differentiating individuals, since then, but his abnormal primary sense of 'elements' could very well be the source of some of his other otherworldy 'powers', how he has become rich, why he has somehow found it necessary to contrive a 'soup-dispensing socket', etc. Kind of like a Dr Manhattan like omniscience and unusual understanding of everyday physics. Maybe or maybe not in the various other ways, though.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 10:04, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I agree with 141.101.80.53. Beret Guy is answering Megan's question about what is wrong with him, not being arrogant. Arrogant would be out of character for Beret Guy, but giving an unusual answer to a rhetorical question would be true to character. [[User:Mwburden|mwburden]] ([[User talk:Mwburden|talk]]) 12:42, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps too oddball a theory, but maybe his mom was actually a spacecraft powered by plutonium (e.g. [[Wikipedia:Galileo (spacecraft)#Electrical_power | Galileo(spacecraft)]]), making his father a planet and the dog a moon.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.182|173.245.56.182]] 12:43, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:Wouldn't the dog need to be a dwarf planet? :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.156|108.162.250.156]] 12:54, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:What would that make him? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 21:48, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
::Pluto! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.156|108.162.250.156]] 13:57, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

When I read the alt text the first time around, I read it as platinum and figured Randall meant an IUD... perhaps that was a typo on his part as well (much like the "form" typo mentioned above)? Can't figured out another reasonable plutonium explanation. --[[User:Canned Soul|Canned Soul]] ([[User talk:Canned Soul|talk]]) 14:28, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
: If you Google "plutonium in IUDs" you get some interesting results. Perhaps early copper IUDs contained a small amount of incidental plutonium?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.191|108.162.216.191]] 19:26, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

I like the plutonium experiments reverence, but are strongly against the suggestion in the explanation that Pu is not found in nature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium#Occurrence Do NOT diss Oklo! Oklo is badass! [[User:Tier666|Tier666]] ([[User talk:Tier666|talk]]) 15:23, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Putting in my own two bits, my first thought reading the title text was that she had a pacemaker. The fact that there were plutoniu pacemakers and the fact he mentioned that they were "in her middle" make me think "pacemaker". But I digress. As far as the "too much zinc", ??? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.186|199.27.128.186]] 02:20, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Not sure if it's an inspiration, but this is an example of people not knowing what common human experiences they are missing (see: http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/03/17/what-universal-human-experiences-are-you-missing-without-realizing-it/). Also, "or she was the victim of unethical medical experimentation. Thus the probable reason for his abnormality." is ridiculous - no amount of medical experimentation will cause this. The probable reason for his abnormality is magic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.17|108.162.241.17]] 15:35, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:Agree: I removed "Thus the probable reason for his abnormality." {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.217}}
:That's too bad; I opened that link expecting to see a list... Maybe someone will make a list someday. Maybe someone else will post the link here... [[User:GuiRitter|GuiRitter]] ([[User talk:GuiRitter|talk]]) 23:43, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

I believe that the "Too Much Zinc?" - is an answer to what might be wrong with him, not a retort to Megan's tone. In fact, zinc is linked to eyesight, see for instance https://www.nei.nih.gov/news/pressreleases/101201 and other sources, and this "zinc overdose" might be believed by white beret guy to relate to his "super-human" eyesight? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.53|141.101.80.53]]
: Can this be added to the explanation? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:58, 24 February 2015 (UTC)
:: Edit: the link is an outdated study that warns at the top should not be considered scientifically accurate. Better to leave a link between zinc and eyesight out of the explanation (unless a better source is available). [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:45, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

The link to the UPPU club (You Pee Pu) appears to be broken. EDIT: fixed now, thanks whoever fixed it. {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.181}}

Did anyone else notice that this is the second comic in a row about elementary particles? I suspect a series coming up. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 21:48, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:Guess I was wrong [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 17:16, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Pacemakers are usually implanted round the clavicle, so I'm not satisfied with the theory that the plutonium is from a pacemaker. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.46|141.101.104.46]] 08:40, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

The "form"/"from" mistake was corrected in the original strip, I applied the changes to the article. -- [[User:guest|guest]] ([[User talk:guest|talk]]) 17:40, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Can someone elaborate on this: "The presence of plutonium in his mother may be an explanation or source of his own differences."? How does plutonium in the mother explain him having elemental eyesight (or vacuum energy harnessing or soup-from-an-outlet, etc.) abilities? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 22:01, 24 February 2015 (UTC)
:I would say, quite simply, that radiation or radioactive chemistry is typically offered as a means of activating/creating abnormal powers (Hulk, Spiderman, Daredevil, etc, etc) in the appropriate fictional genres. And whilst it might have inexplicably failed to create any obvious illness in either mother or child (as would normally happen outside of comic-book franchises) it could have "activated his X-gene" or whatever was required to produce this particularly strange person. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 10:04, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I read bits of a book my mother has, written by a woman who worked for a few years at a plutonium enrichment plant near Denver. It seems the safety and containment systems were faulty, and she has "smokers patches" in her lungs, caused by minute specks of plutonium she inhaled while there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_contamination_from_the_Rocky_Flats_Plant
A little late, I know, but I really figured someone else would mention this before the day was up.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.29|173.245.55.29]] 14:32, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Just found an article on wikipedia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plutonium_Files) about pregnant women who were given "radioactive mixtures" for research. Maybe his mother was one of them and he developed this ability because of it? "In Nashville, pregnant women were given radioactive mixtures." {{unsigned ip|198.41.243.254}}

>RTG-powered pacemaker (actually a thing)

My only thought is WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT THAT THST WAS A GOOD IDEA I mean I know itnwad before the age of Li-Ion batteries and they had to use something. But when I think RTG, all I can think of is "let's leave these to spacecraft and keep them as far from humans as possible." But no we were sticking them *in* humans. Like what o.o
[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 13:23, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1490: Atoms

2015-12-22T22:00:15Z

108.162.221.24:

Beret guy says "EXTRA plutoniums", is that supposed to mean that everyone has plutonium? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.24|108.162.221.24]] 22:00, 22 December 2015 (UTC) Anonymaus

"My dad FORM the dog"? Typo in the actual comic or just the wiki?
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.240|199.27.128.240]] 05:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)Anonymous
: The actual comment, the wiki just grabs what the website has listed.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.24|108.162.216.24]] 05:56, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:: Generally in cases like this, it's customary to add ''[sic]'' to indicate any typoes ''[sic]'' or grammarization ''[sic]'' mistakes in the original techs. ''[sic]''. [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 19:55, 23 February 2015 (UTC) ''[sic]''
plutonium = radiation exposure, or pacemaker?
: Radiation exposure wouldn't give you plutonium, maybe the byproducts of its fission. I'm thinking that, whatever it is, it mutated Beret Guy in the womb, hence why he has this strange superpower.--[[User:Druid816|Druid816]] ([[User talk:Druid816|talk]]) 06:52, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
: Referencing Pink Floyd's 1970 album 'Atom Heart Mother' I think.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.122|108.162.225.122]] 07:25, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
this guy sees by which elements are contained, not by which visible light?
--[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.172|199.27.128.172]] 06:14, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Are the elements actually representing their atomic symbols? Be, O, S, Z? Not sure what the metal-in-the-face comment is about.

--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.156|108.162.250.156]] 07:47, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: A deliberate BeOS reference? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 14:12, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: Metal in the face might be a comment on braces, and how uncomfortable people are about having noticable ones. --
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.41|141.101.104.41]] 08:37, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
::Are there braces that aren't very noticeable? I can see adults being a little uncomfortable, but they're ocmmon enough on kids that kids aren't going to be uncomfortable with them. {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.98}}
: (Dental) fillings are explicitly mentioned as a possible source of metal. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.75|188.114.102.75]] 09:26, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: Makeup and powers may contain a variety of metals and rare earths [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 18:16, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps the plutonium is coming from his mother smoking? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.102|141.101.99.102]] 08:51, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Possibly a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Silkwood Silkwood]?
[[User:DaveHowe|DaveHowe]] ([[User talk:DaveHowe|talk]]) 20:36, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

:: I like the Karen Silkwood explanation i.e. she worked at an enrichment plant. The other read I had was that of The Stepford Wives -- I.e. she is a plutonium powered robot. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 18:27, 24 February 2015 (UTC)
:: Yes, I thought of Karen Silkwood too. It could also explain Beret Guy's supernatural powers. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 12:08, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unethical_human_experimentation_in_the_United_States#Plutonium_experiments [[User:Andries|Andries]] ([[User talk:Andries|talk]]) 09:02, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

I read it as both his mother and him beeing a robot or cyborg, which she never told him. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.77|141.101.75.77]] 09:30, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

: Yes, I rather thought it might be a Terminator 2 reference (based on the scene in which the T-1000 replaces John Connor's mother.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 14:12, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

:: The first thing I thought was Terminator, but in looking at their wiki there's no plutonium reference for their fuel cells, as far as I can tell (http://terminator.wikia.com/wiki/Fuel_cell). {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.98}}

: I also assumed it was a reference to some kind of nuclear powered cyborg. Being partially composed of electronic parts could also account for his unusually high levels of Zinc and could explain why he sees people as a list of their constituent particles. {{unsigned ip|173.245.55.29}}

-- did the radiation give him those superpowers? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.204|108.162.222.204]] 11:05, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

He can't distinguish Dad and Dog, so he wasn't a genious back then. So what if the Plutonium wasn't a super complex mysterium, just one of the most important things for an infant, her breasts (in this case maby big ons).
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.108|141.101.92.108]] 11:44, 23 February 2015 (UTC) Pietro
:Seen as purely clumps of chemicals (which it appears that White Hat has been restricted to, at least whilst growing up) mammals (if not animals in general or even wider!) look pretty much the same. A whole lot of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, calcium, phospohorous, some iron, [http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/chem.life.intro.html etc], and if WH sees predominately in "amounts of chemicals", it won't just be fine facial features that might get lost in amongst all this irregular information but ''species'' as well. The dog could about the same mass as the father and mother (if that was ever a distinguishing factor, rather than just ratios), and it took a while to learn a method other than that of the 'obvious' presence of plutonium in the mother to differentiate his father from all other humans/creatures/hogroasts... (I suspect he's learnt the trick of differentiating individuals, since then, but his abnormal primary sense of 'elements' could very well be the source of some of his other otherworldy 'powers', how he has become rich, why he has somehow found it necessary to contrive a 'soup-dispensing socket', etc. Kind of like a Dr Manhattan like omniscience and unusual understanding of everyday physics. Maybe or maybe not in the various other ways, though.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 10:04, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I agree with 141.101.80.53. Beret Guy is answering Megan's question about what is wrong with him, not being arrogant. Arrogant would be out of character for Beret Guy, but giving an unusual answer to a rhetorical question would be true to character. [[User:Mwburden|mwburden]] ([[User talk:Mwburden|talk]]) 12:42, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps too oddball a theory, but maybe his mom was actually a spacecraft powered by plutonium (e.g. [[Wikipedia:Galileo (spacecraft)#Electrical_power | Galileo(spacecraft)]]), making his father a planet and the dog a moon.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.182|173.245.56.182]] 12:43, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:Wouldn't the dog need to be a dwarf planet? :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.156|108.162.250.156]] 12:54, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:What would that make him? [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 21:48, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
::Pluto! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.156|108.162.250.156]] 13:57, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

When I read the alt text the first time around, I read it as platinum and figured Randall meant an IUD... perhaps that was a typo on his part as well (much like the "form" typo mentioned above)? Can't figured out another reasonable plutonium explanation. --[[User:Canned Soul|Canned Soul]] ([[User talk:Canned Soul|talk]]) 14:28, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
: If you Google "plutonium in IUDs" you get some interesting results. Perhaps early copper IUDs contained a small amount of incidental plutonium?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.191|108.162.216.191]] 19:26, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

I like the plutonium experiments reverence, but are strongly against the suggestion in the explanation that Pu is not found in nature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutonium#Occurrence Do NOT diss Oklo! Oklo is badass! [[User:Tier666|Tier666]] ([[User talk:Tier666|talk]]) 15:23, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Putting in my own two bits, my first thought reading the title text was that she had a pacemaker. The fact that there were plutoniu pacemakers and the fact he mentioned that they were "in her middle" make me think "pacemaker". But I digress. As far as the "too much zinc", ??? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.186|199.27.128.186]] 02:20, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Not sure if it's an inspiration, but this is an example of people not knowing what common human experiences they are missing (see: http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/03/17/what-universal-human-experiences-are-you-missing-without-realizing-it/). Also, "or she was the victim of unethical medical experimentation. Thus the probable reason for his abnormality." is ridiculous - no amount of medical experimentation will cause this. The probable reason for his abnormality is magic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.17|108.162.241.17]] 15:35, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:Agree: I removed "Thus the probable reason for his abnormality." {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.217}}
:That's too bad; I opened that link expecting to see a list... Maybe someone will make a list someday. Maybe someone else will post the link here... [[User:GuiRitter|GuiRitter]] ([[User talk:GuiRitter|talk]]) 23:43, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

I believe that the "Too Much Zinc?" - is an answer to what might be wrong with him, not a retort to Megan's tone. In fact, zinc is linked to eyesight, see for instance https://www.nei.nih.gov/news/pressreleases/101201 and other sources, and this "zinc overdose" might be believed by white beret guy to relate to his "super-human" eyesight? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.53|141.101.80.53]]
: Can this be added to the explanation? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 21:58, 24 February 2015 (UTC)
:: Edit: the link is an outdated study that warns at the top should not be considered scientifically accurate. Better to leave a link between zinc and eyesight out of the explanation (unless a better source is available). [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:45, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

The link to the UPPU club (You Pee Pu) appears to be broken. EDIT: fixed now, thanks whoever fixed it. {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.181}}

Did anyone else notice that this is the second comic in a row about elementary particles? I suspect a series coming up. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 21:48, 23 February 2015 (UTC)
:Guess I was wrong [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 17:16, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Pacemakers are usually implanted round the clavicle, so I'm not satisfied with the theory that the plutonium is from a pacemaker. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.46|141.101.104.46]] 08:40, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

The "form"/"from" mistake was corrected in the original strip, I applied the changes to the article. -- [[User:guest|guest]] ([[User talk:guest|talk]]) 17:40, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Can someone elaborate on this: "The presence of plutonium in his mother may be an explanation or source of his own differences."? How does plutonium in the mother explain him having elemental eyesight (or vacuum energy harnessing or soup-from-an-outlet, etc.) abilities? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 22:01, 24 February 2015 (UTC)
:I would say, quite simply, that radiation or radioactive chemistry is typically offered as a means of activating/creating abnormal powers (Hulk, Spiderman, Daredevil, etc, etc) in the appropriate fictional genres. And whilst it might have inexplicably failed to create any obvious illness in either mother or child (as would normally happen outside of comic-book franchises) it could have "activated his X-gene" or whatever was required to produce this particularly strange person. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 10:04, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

I read bits of a book my mother has, written by a woman who worked for a few years at a plutonium enrichment plant near Denver. It seems the safety and containment systems were faulty, and she has "smokers patches" in her lungs, caused by minute specks of plutonium she inhaled while there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_contamination_from_the_Rocky_Flats_Plant
A little late, I know, but I really figured someone else would mention this before the day was up.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.29|173.245.55.29]] 14:32, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Just found an article on wikipedia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plutonium_Files) about pregnant women who were given "radioactive mixtures" for research. Maybe his mother was one of them and he developed this ability because of it? "In Nashville, pregnant women were given radioactive mixtures." {{unsigned ip|198.41.243.254}}

>RTG-powered pacemaker (actually a thing)

My only thought is WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT THAT THST WAS A GOOD IDEA I mean I know itnwad before the age of Li-Ion batteries and they had to use something. But when I think RTG, all I can think of is "let's leave these to spacecraft and keep them as far from humans as possible." But no we were sticking them *in* humans. Like what o.o
[[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 13:23, 24 November 2015 (UTC)