https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=108.162.222.28 2026-04-16T06:08:28Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1402:_Harpoons&diff=72690 2014-08-01T13:31:06Z

<p>108.162.222.28: /* Explanation */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 1402<br /> | date = August 1, 2014<br /> | title = Harpoons<br /> | image = harpoons.png<br /> | titletext = To motivate it to fire its harpoons hard enough, Rosetta's Philae lander has been programmed to believe it is trying to kill the comet.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> The latter peak on this graph refers to the {{w|Rosetta_(spacecraft)|Rosetta}} unmanned spacecraft. As part of its mission, it's carrying two tethers to anchor itself to the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.<br /> <br /> The first peak is probably a joke. Officially, Apollo 12 carried neither harpoons nor rum. However, Randall may have heard many insider-stories while working at NASA. He may know more about space-shenanigans than the general public. This is also a pun based off of the Harpoon brand of Jamaican Rum.<br /> <br /> The caption implies that the spacecraft is sentient, and believes that its mission is to kill the comet. This is obviously a parody of Moby Dick, where Captain Ahab hunts a sperm whale named Moby Dick on his ship, named Pequod. Also, it is impossible to create sentient spacecraft with today's technology and no point in doing so.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :'''Number of harpoons in space'''<br /> :by year<br /> :[A chart with a red graph is drawn below]<br /> :[The y-axis]<br /> :0 1 2 3<br /> :[The x-axis]<br /> :1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020<br /> :[The graph is at zero until a sharp peak to 1 in 1970. The peak is labeled]<br /> :Apollo 12 rum incident<br /> :[The graph then stays at 0 until 2004. Then it rises to 2 and stays there until today, continuing as a dotted line after 2014. The rise is labeled]<br /> :Rosetta comet mission launched carrying lander with harpoon tethers<br /> <br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}</div>

108.162.222.28 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:462:_Freemanic_Paracusia&diff=65939 2014-04-23T17:38:48Z

<p>108.162.222.28: </p> <hr /> <div>Hi there! This is my first xkcd explanation attempt. Hope it's good enough. <br /> <br /> - TED N E<br /> <br /> PS<br /> <br /> One other thing - I can't seem to be able to redirect right from the list of all comics. {{unsigned|TED N E}}<br /> : Go here [[Help:How to add a new comic explanation]] and read the instructions.--[[Special:Contributions/145.253.244.103|145.253.244.103]] 10:11, 13 June 2013 (UTC)<br /> <br /> Morgan Freeman's voice has a profound impact in one of the all time favourite movies &quot;Shawshank Redemption&quot;,</div>

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