explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

354: Startling

2014-12-07T22:45:09Z

108.162.230.119: /* Explanation */ minor: missing plural 's'

{{comic
| number = 354
| date = December 7, 2007
| title = Startling
| image = startling.png
| titletext = We actually reached the future about three years ago.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is startled every few months when he, again, realizes that he now lives in the 21. century. When he grew up as a child the 2000s seemed very far away — it was the future, but he now exists in that timeframe with the rest of society.

The title text states that "the future" was reached in 2004 — three years before the comic was published. This is possibly a joke on how time works, as "the future" is always, was always, and will always be ahead of the time you're at. There may, however, be a reference to some movie set in the future year 2004...

The 20th century, even the year 2004 was futuristic for people growing up in, for instance, the eighties. This view just belongs to the perspective of people — for people growing up in the 70s the novel {{w|Nineteen Eighty-Four|1984}} was even futuristic.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits silently front of his computer.]
:I <u>still</u> do this every few months.

:[He continues to sit for two more panels.]

:Cueball: Holy crap, it's the 21st century.

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

Talk:1452: Jurassic World

2014-11-30T12:31:23Z

108.162.230.119:

Uh ... maybe, just maybe, is Megan referring to the ACTUAL tyrannosaurus, the animal which lived several millions years ago? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:47, 26 November 2014 (UTC)

Any reason why "white hat" is not wearing his hat in the final panel? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.194|173.245.54.194]] 12:20, 26 November 2014 (UTC)
: Good catch. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:31, 26 November 2014 (UTC)
: none that I feel confident about - perhaps the T-Rex ate it or blew it off swinging his tail around? -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:35, 26 November 2014 (UTC)
: Logical reason: Randall forgot.
: Fun reason: the surprise blew away the hat! [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 16:07, 26 November 2014 (UTC)

Is it just me, or does this particular episode of xkcd just not come off as funny? [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:31, 26 November 2014 (UTC)
: I suppose not particularly, but that happens regularly - it's not always supposed to be funny... -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 14:35, 26 November 2014 (UTC)
::I really enjoyed this comic. It's probably because I did not see the punchline coming on my small smartphone screen. [[User:RecentlyChanged|RecentlyChanged]] ([[User talk:RecentlyChanged|talk]])
:::It's funny if you've read Dinosaur Comics [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 16:20, 26 November 2014 (UTC)

I believe that Rex from ''We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story'' would be even more 'improved'! [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 16:07, 26 November 2014 (UTC)
: Barney would have been more logical as it (he?) already appears on a TV in JP III :-) {{unsigned ip|108.162.254.100}}

I'd think that Dinosaur Comic's T-Rex is actually quite intelligent for a dinosaur. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.169|108.162.221.169]] 18:26, 26 November 2014 (UTC)

"But Megan objects to this notion that the T.rex is only 20 years old, staying with the line of thought that White Hat started with."
This phrase is very confusing for a non-native english speaker... I nearly edited it as a mistake from the author before understanding its actual meaning.
Maybe it should be rephrased in a simpler way?[[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.47|188.114.110.47]] 08:55, 27 November 2014 (UTC)

Note: There is also movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1204340/ Tyrannosaurus]. I though they may refer to that, with the world being in italics, but that one is not 20 years old. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:52, 28 November 2014 (UTC)

I think the explanation should mention the double meaning (figurative vs. literal) of "what's eating you?", as I think most non-native speakers won't be aware of the figurative one. (For example, I only caught it the third time reading.) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.230.119|108.162.230.119]] 12:31, 30 November 2014 (UTC)

467: X Girls Y Cups

2014-10-29T16:00:29Z

108.162.230.119: /* Explanation */ 65535 is the largest unsigned short. 65536, one bigger, doesn't fit.

{{comic
| number = 467
| date = August 25, 2008
| title = X Girls Y Cups
| image = x girls y cups.png
| titletext = Also no results: 1girl10000cups, 2girls(5+3i)cups, 65536girls65536cups, or 3frenchhens2turtledoves1cup.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic refers to "{{w|Hungry Bitches}}", a 2007 scat-fetish pornographic film. The one-minute preview, unofficially nicknamed "2 Girls 1 Cup", is a {{w|viral video}} that became a well-known {{w|internet meme}}. It is therefore not surprising that only the input combination of x=2 and y=1 generates a significant number of search results, being 257 times as frequent as the runner-up "1 Girl 1 Cup".

The cells in the table with zero hits are white. From 1 to 9 they are yellow and above that they are orange - except the maximum which is red. As the second largest count is below 10.000 (7503) and the maximum almost two millions it is impossible to say if the red color is reserved for the maximum or for any number above a given value say from ten thousand or up to above a million hits.

The title text suggests other combinations like 1 girl to 10,000 cups (very large number of cups to one girl), 2 girls to (5+3i) cups (a {{w|complex number}}), 65536 girls to 65536 cups (2<sup>16</sup>, the first {{w|Integer (computer science)|integer}} than can't be represented as a two-byte unsigned integer) and finally 3 french hens and 2 turtle doves to 1 cup. All phrases with apparently no search results.

The last phrase is a reference to the song ''{{w|The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The Twelve Days of Christmas}}''. After the publication of this comic, the phrase has been cross-posted at various sites in order to generate search results and prove the statement in the title text wrong. The same has happened to other entries as often happens shortly after [[Randall]] post something regarding Google searches.

==Transcript==
:Google results for "<x> cups <y> girls"
:[There is a table with eight columns and eight rows. The cells are colored depending on the value in the cell]
:[Above the tabel is the label for the columns:]
:Cups
:[To the left the label for the rows:]
:Girls
:[The number of cups and girls are not part of the cells in the table, but they have been included here below - also the [Girls] are written only for clarity]
{| class="wikitable" style="width: auto; text-align: center; font-size: 95%; table-layout: fixed; line-height:1.25"
|-
! [Girls]
! 0
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
|-
|0 ||3 ||375 ||9 ||0 ||0 ||0 ||0 ||0
|-
|1 ||7 ||7503 ||2007 ||10 ||5 ||3 ||6 ||2
|-
|2 ||9 ||1,929,000 ||247 ||7 ||14 ||13 ||2 ||1
|-
|3 ||7 ||6335 ||394 ||34 ||3 ||2 ||6 ||0
|-
|4 ||3 ||3513 ||34 ||0 ||63 ||0 ||0 ||0
|-
|5 ||1 ||9 ||5 ||3 ||0 ||0 ||3 ||0
|-
|6 ||3 ||1461 ||1 ||1 ||1 ||0 ||0 ||0
|-
|7 ||2 ||19 ||4 ||2 ||0 ||0 ||0 ||0
|}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Google Search]]

1068: Swiftkey

2014-10-19T10:59:49Z

108.162.230.119: /* Explanation */ Typo

{{comic
| number = 1068
| date = June 13, 2012
| title = Swiftkey
| image = Swiftkey.png
| titletext = Although the Markov chain-style text model is still rudimentary; it recently gave me "Massachusetts Institute of America". Although I have to admit it sounds prestigious.
}}

==Explanation==
Swiftkey is a product that is installable on iOS/Android-based phones and tablets. Swiftkey have noticed their inclusion in xkcd and have created a blog post for other users to comment with their default phrase when they hit the "central prediction key". The results are pretty funny.[http://www.swiftkey.net/swiftkey-on-xkcd]

The statement "I am so sorry - that's never happened before" appears to be a sexual reference, something that a guy might say after a particularly unsatisfying sexual encounter in an attempt to convince his sexual partner to give sleeping with him another try some time, even though they didn't like it that time. Since this is apparently Cueball's typical sentence, he presumably has texted that phrase many times before.

In the title text, a {{w|Markov chain}} refers to a system that transitions between a countable number of states, based only on the current state and none of the previous ones that led up to it. Swiftkey follows this property since it provides outputs based only on the most recently entered word or words, not the whole sentence.

"Massachusetts Institute of America" is a nonexistent organization. The name appears to have formed by combining "Massachusetts Institute of Technology" and either "[Field] Institute of America" (e.g. Mining) or "United States of America". This illustrates the memoryless property of a Markov chain; after generating "Massachusetts Institute of", Swiftkey may have attempted to predict the next word using only the last "of" or "Institute of". Since it was not considering the word "Masschusetts" at all, the word "America" was viewed as the most likely follow-up.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball shows off phone to Megan.]
:Cueball: Have you tried SwiftKey? It's got the first decent language model I've seen. It learns from your SMS/Email archives what words you use together most often.

:Cueball: Spacebar inserts its best guess. So if I type "The Empi" and hit space three times, it types "The Empire Strikes Back".
:Megan: What if you mash space in a blank message?

:Cueball: I guess it fills in your most likely first word, then the word that usually follows it...
:Megan: So it builds up your "typical" sentence. Cool! Let's see yours!
:Cueball: Uh—

:SwiftKey: I
:SwiftKey: Am
:SwiftKey: So
:SwiftKey: Sorry—
:SwiftKey: That's
:SwiftKey: Never
:SwiftKey: Happened
:SwiftKey: Before.

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

Talk:1409: Query

2014-08-18T10:49:13Z

108.162.230.119: Add comment: why SQL-esque?

----
I assume the Cueball sitting on the box is being accused of being Hairy. I'd say no. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 07:26, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Is there any particular point Randall would be making where 2 females and only one male, out of 5 each, have watch porn in the last half day? [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 07:26, 18 August 2014 (UTC)
:I wasn't sure about one of those 'females', because of the various visual cues.
:What do we know/can assume about the figures? From Left to Right...
:Dark-haired ponytail and mobile phone, on own: *above 30*, not high-earning, flies easily, not a recent porn viewer. (Possibly she's a professional woman, but not smashed through the glass ceiling.)
:Assumed Megan with the 'device', standing apart: less than 30yo, not high-earning, *fears flying* (hence her inspiration), not a recent porn viewer. (Could this be the archetypal Megan, or just ''a'' Megan?)
:Taller cueball, in 1-to-1 conversation: *above 30*, not high-earning, flies easily, not a recent porn viewer. (Grown up, doubtless socially comfortable.)
:Shorter, buzzcut cueball, in 1-to-1 conversation: *above 30*, *high earner*, flies easily, not a recent porn viewer. (Probably an pre-middle-aged Exec "going places", perhaps his success and choice of 'young' haircut are as a result of a mild case of Napoleon syndrome, but if people will talk to him he's probably not being a dick about his success.)
:Sitting ponytail, in conference: less than 30yo, not high-earning, flies easily, *recent viewed porn*. (From the companions and the position, probably high 20s recent graduate relaxing with a long-term social group.)
:Sitting cueball, in conference: *above 30*, not high-earning, flies easily, not a recent porn viewer. (Another graduate, early 30s, probably exercises in order to find that sitting position relaxing. Part of the same social group.)
:Sitting flowinghair, in conference: *above 30*, not high-earning, *fears flying*, *recent viewed porn*. (''Sex indeterminate'' as that hair could indicate a metrosexual male. By 30 the look is probably starting to wearing thin, but still not overly embaressing. It certainly doesn't look like (s)he has settled down in a familial relationship yet, but has quite obviously flown the parental nest and is now with friends from college/university. Might have been met on that round-the-world backpacking holiday and discovered they were from his own home city, except for the fear of flying (unless worked passage on ships). Probably knows all the cool scenes in this city, though, so well worth socialising in the park with.)
:Perched cueball, with icecream, hanging out: less than 30yo, not high-earning, flies easily, not a recent porn viewer. (Probably a teenager, with a close-cropped haircut. Might or might not know the other two behind him, but hard to tell what he thinks except perhaps "I've got an ice-cream! Yay!" Perhaps after a busy day of not-watching-porn.)
:Leaning ponytail, with device, hanging out: less than 30yo, not high-earning, *fears flying*, not a recent porn viewer. (Teenage girl. Big on social networking. Probably not so big on face-to-face-talking.)
:Smallest cueball, with device, hanging out: less than 30yo, not high-earning, *fears flying*, *recent viewed porn*. (Teenage boy. Typical teenage boy. As girl, but probably in-between Tweeting with the girl next to him he's serrupticiously viewing a video someone sent him (see his furtive look?), and maybe of the girl next to him. Or something 'sexted' ''from'' her, if that wouldn't count for her SELECTion on that criteria. One way or another, ''probably'' with the sound off.)
:...what's more, presumably none of those fiogures were Terminator Units, Alien Shapeshifting Lizards or ''already'' ghosts of some kind (or whatever class of individual would not belong in TABLE PEOPLE). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.7|141.101.99.7]] 09:34, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

::Thats racism! I mean speciesm. Alien Shapeshifting Lizards are people too! -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:15, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Sounds a lot like watch_dogs. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.201|108.162.229.201]] 07:42, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Is this Zuckerberg's phone? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.34|108.162.254.34]] 09:33, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Is there any particular reason this comic isn't appearing on the homepage at the moment? For some reason xkcd.com is displaying 1408 "March of the Penguins". No actual navigation on the site will take me to this comic, I have to manually type /1409 into the URL bar. --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 10:20, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

I'm under the impression that Megan is using the device to look for potential mates. The age and income queries point to this, the other two are less common but still make sense in the context of a relationship. Finding no one who matches all of her criteria, she then deletes the list.
[[User:Dromaeosaur|Dromaeosaur]] ([[User talk:Dromaeosaur|talk]]) 10:41, 18 August 2014 (UTC)

Why does the explanation call it "SQL-esque"? That looks like fully valid SQL to me. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.230.119|108.162.230.119]] 10:49, 18 August 2014 (UTC)