explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1555: Exoplanet Names 2

2015-08-03T03:24:49Z

108.162.237.183: Added mention to 'Dropping a Mountain'

{{comic
| number = 1555
| date = July 24, 2015
| title = Exoplanet Names 2
| image = exoplanet_names_2.png
| titletext = I'm going to drive this Netherlands joke so far into the ground they'll have to build levees around it to keep the sea out.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Complete table entries, check all table text (some black entries have changed), add wiki links, add explanations, red text to match comic?}}

This comic is a continuation of [[1253: Exoplanet Names]], and was published the day after NASA announced the discovery of a number of planets, including a planet called a cousin to Earth, {{w|Kepler-452b}}. [[Black Hat]] proposes naming it {{w|Pluto}}, to commemorate the flyby of the {{w|dwarf planet}} of that name by NASA's {{w|New Horizons}} earlier the same month. He admits this alternative to end the discussion about the status of Pluto whether it should be considered a planet, a dwarf planet, or something else. This means that the answer to the question "is Pluto a planet?" will always be "yes" regardless of the status of the Pluto in our Solar System. But, according to the [http://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau0603/ IAU official definition] a 'planet' has to orbit our sun, so it won't help. Similar agglomerations of matter orbiting other stars are technically recognised by the IAU only as {{w|exoplanets}} and not as planets.

The {{w|International Astronomical Union}} (IAU) is the widely accepted organization responsible for naming celestial bodies like planets, stars, and much more.

The title text is referring to the planet name entry ''Netherlands VI'' for the star ''EPIC201912552''. Randall thus continues his references to the Dutch people taking over the world and then the universe after the earth's oceans has been drained and transported to Mars. This happens in two consecutive [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/what_if%3F What if?]'s, [http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/53/ Drain the Oceans] and [http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/54/ Drain the Oceans: Part II], was referenced in [http://www.what-if.xkcd.com/57/ Dropping a Mountain], and was referenced again the week before this comic in [[1551: Pluto]]. Due to a drain in the Earth's ocean the Netherlands does not have to worry about getting flooded anymore and since it now does not have to use all its resources preventing floods, it can use these to conquer the world (including Antarctica becoming South Netherlands). Then it takes on Mars (which becomes New Netherlands), and then a section of Pluto (again calling it New Netherlands). There is also a possible reference to [[1519: Venus]], but that comic has no direct relation to the conquests of the Dutch people like in the other three references. It should be mentioned, that {{w|New Netherland}} was actually a Dutch colony with {{w|New York City}}, formally known as {{w|New Amsterdam}}, as its capital. So the name "New Netherlands" is "historically correct", while "Netherlands VI" isn't.

In the title text Randall mentioned that he will continue with ''this Netherlands joke'' driving it so far into the ground, (i.e. way beyond the point where it stops being funny), that they (the Dutch people) will have to build {{w|Levee|levees}} (or dykes) around it to keep the sea out - thus making it funny again... By forcing the Dutchmen to build new levees for this reason, the whole issue with their conquest of the world will be over before it happens.

===Table===
This table explains each entry in the comic table.
The "Status" column refers to the comic [[1253: Exoplanet Names]], and indicates if the entry was already in that version (Old), if it is an addition since then (New) or if the entry has been updated (Update).

{| class="wikitable"
! Star !! Planet !! Status !! Suggested Name !! Explanation
|-
| rowspan=7 | {{w|Gliese 667}} || {{w|Gliese 667 Cb|b}} || Old || Space Planet || A very unimaginative name; every planet is in space.
|-
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cc|c}} || Old || PILF || Pun of {{w|MILF pornography|MILF}}, i.e. ''Planet I'd Like to Fuck''. Planet c is a relatively hot planet, within the habitable zone.
|-
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cd|d}} || Old || A Star || "A {{w|Star}}" is obviously a bad name for a planet. A* (pronounced "A star") is already used in astronomy, for example the Milky Way's black hole core is {{w|Sagittarius A*}}. "A star" is also the name for the character {{w|asterisk}} and the name of the popular {{w|A* search algorithm}} in computer science.
|-
|{{w|Gliese 667 Ce|e}} || Old || e'); DROP TABLE PLANETS;-- || [[Mrs. Roberts]] is probably trying to use {{w|SQL injection}} like in [[327|Exploits of a Mom]], in which her son [[Robert'); DROP TABLE students;--]] caused the school a lot of trouble when his name was put in. The idea here is that the {{w|IAU}} would enter the name into their system and promptly lose all of their data pertaining to planets. Note that Planet e is located in the habitable zone of the star system.
|-
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cf|f}} || Old || Blogosphere || rowspan = 2 | Weird ''{{w|blog}}''-related terms are a recurring theme in xkcd. See, for instance, [[181|comic 181]].
|-
|{{w|Gliese 667 Cg|g}} || Old || Blogodrome
|-
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_667c_h/ h] || Old || Earth || Planet candidate h is about the mass of the Earth, and described as "tantalizing": [http://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/abs/2013/08/aa21331-13/aa21331-13.html A dynamically-packed planetary system around GJ with three super-Earths in its habitable zone]. See also ([[1231: Habitable Zone]]). Like several other names below, naming a second planet Earth would be highly confusing.
|-
| rowspan=5 | {{w|Tau Ceti}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_b/ b] || Old || Sid Meier's Tau Ceti B || This refers to the game {{w|Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri}}.
|-
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_c/ c] || Old || Giant Dog Planet || {{w|VY Canis Majoris}} is one of the largest known stars at our galaxy and belongs to the constellation {{w|Canis Major}}, Latin for "greater dog". The constellation further contains {{w|Sirius}}, the brightest star in the night sky, also called "Dog Star".
|-
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/tau_cet_d/ d] || Old || Tiny Dog Planet || cf. {{w|Canis Minor}}, Latin for "lesser dog", another constellation.
|-
|{{w|Tau Ceti e|e}} || Old || Phil Plainet || A reference to {{w|Phil Plait}}, a.k.a. The Bad Astronomer.
|-
|{{w|Tau Ceti f|f}} || Old || Unicode Snowman || The Unicode character [http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2603/index.htm ☃] may be a reference to the planet's estimated surface temperature of -40 °C (-40 °F). However, this name would be pronounced differently (being a symbol, not a word or name) in different languages. Planets in our solar system are assigned to {{w|Astronomical symbols|astronomical symbols}} like ♁ for Earth or ♂ for Mars.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 832}} || {{w|Gliese 832 b|b}} || Old || Asshole Jupiter || This massive planet orbits a {{w|red dwarf}} star at the longest known period of 3416 days at this category. Many exoplanets are described as "Hot Jupiters" because they are high-temperature gas giants; if one were to read "hot" as a description of attractiveness rather than temperature, one might generate names like this one.
|-
| {{w|Gliese 832 c|c}} || New || Waterworld starring Kevin Costner || [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114898/ Waterworld] is a 1995 film starring Kevin Costner about Earth almost completely covered in water. The surname was previously spelled incorrectly with a 'K'.
|-
| rowspan=6 | {{w|Gliese 581}} || {{w|Gliese 581 b|b}} || Old || Waist-deep Cats || {{w|Waist Deep}} is an action film from 2006, and the {{w|Lolcat}} meme does not need explaining. The name may also simply be a reference to being "waist-deep" in (i.e. surrounded by many) cats.
|-
| {{w|Gliese|c}} || Old || Planet #14 || About 200th discovered exoplanet (in 2007); reported to be the first potentially Earth-like planet in the habitable zone of its star, though that is in doubt now. The joke might be that like "Space Planet", "Planet #14" is a generic and unoriginal name. Also note that this is the 15th entry in the original table so the numbering is {{w|Zero-based numbering|zero-based}}.
An interesting (?) coincidence is that the 14th and 15th {{w|Definition of planet#Minor planets|Minor planets}} (then called asteroids) were discovered in 1851; see see {{w|List of minor planets: 1–1000}}. If they were to be counted among the planets of the {{w|Solar System}}, as was sometimes done then, the 14th known planetary body would be {{w| 7 Iris|Iris}} (discovered in 1847, a year before {{w|Neptune}}).
|-
|{{w|Gliese 581 d|d}} || Old || Ballderaan || A {{w|wikt:balls|crude pun}} on the planet {{w|Alderaan}} from the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' universe.
|-
|{{w|Gliese 581 e|e}} || Old || Eternia Prime || {{w|Eternia}} is a fictional planet, venue of the ''{{w|Masters of the Universe}}'' animated series and toy collection.
|-
| {{w|Gliese 581 f|f}} || Old || Taupe Mars || {{w|Kim Stanley Robinson}}'s award-winning {{w|Mars trilogy}} (''Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars'' after various stages of {{w|terraformation}}). {{w|Taupe}} is a brownish-grey colour.
|-
|{{w|Gliese|g}} || Old || Jelly-Filled Planet || Possibly a reference to the conjecture that this tidally locked planet has an isolated habitable zone under the substellar point, akin to the pocket of jelly in a jelly doughnut.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Epsilon Eridani}} || {{w|Epsilon Eridani b|b}} || Old || Skydot || [http://skydot.lanl.gov SkyDOT] is the Sky Database for Objects in Time-Domain run by {{w|LANL}} for the {{w|U.S. Dept. of Energy}} and includes data for [http://skydot.lanl.gov/nsvs/star.php?num=14831575&mask=32004 Epsilon Eridani] that can be used to constrain the orbital parameters of ε Eri b. It may also refer to how objects in space may appear as bland, bright dots in the night sky.
|-
| {{w|Epsilon Eridani c#Planet c|c}} || Old || Laser Noises || A {{w|Laser}} does not produce {{w|Noise (electronics)|noise}} in the signal sense; it only works at a well defined frequency. In science fiction films, however, laser weapon discharges are usually accompanied by sound. Sun-like Epsilon Eridani became a popular setting for science fiction after its publicity as a target of the {{w|Project Ozma}} experiment.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 176}} || {{w|Gliese 176 b|b}} || Old || Pandora || The mythological name {{w|Pandora}} fulfills most of IAU's guidelines and has been popular for planets in science fiction; most recently and famously is {{w|Pandora (Avatar)|the venue}} of James Cameron's ''{{w|Avatar (film)|Avatar}}'' (although actually it is not a planet but just a moon of a gas giant in Alpha Centauri A). It is also a hellish planet from {{w|Frank Herbert}}'s {{w|Frank Herbert bibliography#WorShip novels|WorShip}} series of novels, a jungle planet in Brothers Strugatsky's {{w|Noon Universe}} and the planet used in {{w|Borderlands (video game)|Borderlands Games}}.
|-
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_176_c/ c] || Old || Pantera || A near homophone of Pandora, possibly named for the {{w|Pantera|heavy metal band}}, which was named for the {{w|De Tomaso Pantera|Italian sports car}}, which was named for the panther.
|-
| {{w|Kepler-61}} || {{w|Kepler-61b|b}} || Old || GoldenPalace.com || A gambling website, known for {{w|GoldenPalace.com|paying to have their name in unusual places}} (like forehead tattoos, species names...).
|-
| {{w|Groombridge 34|Groombridge 34A}} || b || New || Hot Mess || This is a reference to the phrase [http://arresteddevelopment.wikia.com/wiki/Hot_mess Hot mess] from the popular television show Arrested Development.
|-
| Kepler-442 || {{w|Kepler-442b|b}} || New || Seas of Toothpaste ||
|-
| Gliese-442 || b || New || This one weird planet || Most likely a reference to {{w|clickbait}} articles found on the internet.
|-
| rowspan=3 | EPIC-201367065 || b || New || Sulawesi || {{w|Sulawesi|An island }} in the Indonesian archipelago.
|-
| c || New || Huge Soccer Ball ||
|-
| d || New || Geodude || [http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Geodude_%28Pok%C3%A9mon%29 Geodude] is a Pokemon characterised by its ball-like shape. It resembles a clump of rocks.
|-
| rowspan=5 | Kepler-296 || b || New || Kerbal Space Planet || {{w|Kerbal Space Program}} is a game where model rockets are launched on a scale version of the Earth. It has been referenced in xkcd a number of times (in the title text of [[1106: ADD]], in [[1244: Six Words]], as a part of [[1350: Lorenz]] and in [[1356: Orbital Mechanics]]). Note, though, that the actual planet corresponding to the Earth in the game is called "Kerbin".
|-
| c || New || A$aplanet || Most probably a pun on the rap group {{w|A$AP Mob}} and their most prominent member {{w|A$AP Rocky}}. May also be a pun on {{w|Kesha}}, also written as Ke$ha. In that case the c of the planet's designation would belong to the name.
|-
| d || New || {{w|Jurassic World}} || Jurassic world is the most recent movie in the Jurassic park series.
|-
| {{w|Kepler-296e|e}} || New || This Land || Reference to Wash's dialogue in the pilot episode of {{w|Firefly (TV Series)|Firefly}}. Or perhaps the folk song "This Land is Your Land", written and made famous by Woody Guthrie.
|-
| {{w|Kepler-296f|f}} || New || Springfield || The name of {{w|Springfield (The Simpsons)|the town}} in which animated sitcom {{w|The Simpsons}} is set; possibly a reference to the running joke that the state in which Springfield is located has never been named.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|HR 7722}} || {{w|HR 7722 b|b}} || New || Betelgeuse || rowspan=2 | {{w|Betelgeuse}} is a star in the constellation Orion. It is commonly (at least by speakers of English) pronounced as "beetlejuice". {{w|Beetlejuice}}, however is a film directed by {{w|Tim Burton}} from 1988. Similarly to Dune/Arrakis (see Gliese 180) and the two Uranuses (see Kepler-283), naming two planets with names that are generally regarded to be identical would cause severe confusion in astronomical discussions.
|-
| {{w|HR 7722 c|c}} || New || Beetlejuice
|-
| EPIC201912552 || b || New || Netherlands VI || The title text references this entry. See the explanation of the title text above the table entry.
|-
| rowspan=3 | Gliese 3293 || b || New || Antispit || In the comic [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/ Homestuck] there is a luminous moon named [http://mspaintadventures.wikia.com/wiki/Prospit Prospit]
|-
| c || New || Google Earth || {{w|Google Earth}} is a service, similar to Google Maps, which projects satellite data on a 3D globe that can be zoomed in on. Other features, such as models of buildings, can also appear.
|-
| d || New || Planet of the Apes (Disambiguation) || The way a Wikipedia article would be titled, for example, to distinguish from the {{w|Planet of the Apes (novel)|the original novel}}, {{w|Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|the first film}}, {{w|Planet of the Apes (2001 film)|the Tim Burton remake}} and {{w|Rise of the Planet of the Apes|the reboot series}}. In each adaptation, a group of astronauts lands on what is believed to be a "Planet of the Apes", which turns out to be a post-apocalyptic Earth. A Wikipedia page for this planet would itself conflict with an existing disambiguation page, possibly requiring a second-level disambiguation page to be created.
|-
| rowspan=2 | Kepler-283 || b || New || ˈjʊərənəs || rowspan = 2 | Two alternative pronunciations (written in {{w|International Phonetic Alphabet}}) for the planet name Uranus; the first one translates as "YU-ri-nus" ("urine-us"), while the second translates as "yu-RAIN-us" ("your anus"). The first pronunciation (being the same as how the {{w|Uranus (mythology)|Greek god}} is pronounced in English) is preferred by astronomers, but both are commonly heard. Similarly to Dune/Arrakis (see Gliese 180) and Betelgeuse/Beetlejuice (see HR 7722), naming two planets with names that are generally regarded to be identical would cause severe confusion in astronomical discussions.
|-
| c || New || jʊˈreɪnəs
|-
! colspan=5 | (right column)
|-
| rowspan=4 | {{w|Upsilon Andromedae}} || b || New || Fourthmeal || {{w|Taco Bell}} has an ad campaign adding a meal after dinner. Possibly also a reference to {{w|Hobbit}}s and [http://askmiddlearth.tumblr.com/post/41765286488/the-seven-daily-hobbit-meals seven daily meals]. This entry was misspelled Andromidae in the first comic (and also in the first released version of this one, see [[#Trivia|trivia]].) Although the star was mentioned in the previous chart, this entry "b" was not. In that comic the chart was shown as a part of a list. And the b entry was above the cut-off line. So the next object was also called "c" in the previous chart.
|-
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae c|c}} || Old || Stampy || The name of the elephant from the {{w|Simpsons}} episode {{w|Bart Gets an Elephant}}.
|-
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae d|d}} || Old || Moonchild || The name Bastian gives the Childlike Empress in {{w|The Neverending Story}}.
|-
|{{w|Upsilon Andromedae e|e}} || Old || Ham Sphere || [http://www.hamsphere.com HamSphere] is a {{w|Amateur radio|Ham Radio}} simulator program. Ham radio uses designated radio frequencies for non-commercial exchange of messages and more. A pun of Hemisphere.
|-
| rowspan=3 | {{w|. Eridani|HD 20794}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_b/ b] || Old || Cosmic Sands || style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS', 'Comic Sans'" | A {{w|pun}} on the name of the font {{w|Comic Sans}}. (See also: [[590|590: Papyrus]].)
|-
| [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_c/ c] || Old || Legoland || {{w|Legoland}} is a chain of {{w|theme park}}s owned by the {{w|Lego Group}}. Potentially a reference to the movie {{w|The World's End (film)|The World's End}}, in which the protagonist Gary King tells the alien invaders to "get in your rocket and fuck off back to Legoland".
|-
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/hd_20794_d/ d] || Old || Planet with Arms || A reference to the [http://www.thecolorsofmysoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/The-Hitchhikers-Guide-to-the-Galaxy.jpg early covers] of {{w|Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}?
|-
| {{w|HD 85512}} || {{w|HD 85512 b|b}} || Old || Lax Morality || Possibly a parody of science fiction in which certain planets are suggested to be uniformly lax in morals (i.e. full of sex, drugs, etc.). See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Planetville and related. Or, possibly a reference to {{w|GCU Grey Area}}.
|-
| rowspan=6 | {{w|HD 40307}} || {{w|HD 40307 b|b}} || Old || Good Planet || Similar to the above, except with good planets. May also be yet another non-descriptive name, like "Space Planet" and "Planet #14".
|-
|{{w|HD|c}} || Old || Problemland || See above. Also may be a reference to Iceland/Greenland naming scheme[http://anitasnotebook.com/travelstories/how-iceland-and-greenland-ended-up-with-such-messed-up-names/], where Problemland may actually be a better place to visit than "Good Planet."
|-
|{{w|HD 40307 d|d}} || Old || Slickle || This is a reference to "[http://zdarsky.tumblr.com/post/2837139960 The Petals Fall Twice]" (trigger warning: sex), which was made as a humorous example of bad fan-fiction. The word itself is a portmanteau of "slowly", "licked", and "tickled".
|-
|{{w|HD 40307 e|e}} || Old || Spare Parts || This suggests that the planet is "worthless" or "junk". This is false, of course. May be a reference to the fact it is a planet with nothing much different from the other planets.
|-
|{{w|HD 40307 f|f}} || Old || New Jersey VI || Refers to the state of {{w|New Jersey}}; may be an insult to either.
|-
|{{w|HD|g}} || Old || How Do I Join the IAU || This implies that the user "got lost" on the IAU website and thought that the "planet name suggestion" input was for general queries.
|-
| rowspan=3 | {{w|Gliese 163}} || [http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_163_b/ b] || Old || Neil Tyson's Mustache || {{w|Neil deGrasse Tyson}} is a famous American astrophysicist and science communicator who does maintain a distinguished mustache.
|-
|{{w|Gliese|c}} || Old || help@gmail.com || Similar to "How Do I Join the IAU", this implies that the user confused the "planet suggestion" text box for a new email they are trying to send
|-
|[http://exoplanet.eu/catalog/gj_163_d/ d] || Old || Hair-Covered Planet || Refers to the well-known {{w|Hairy ball theorem}} of topology.
|-
| {{w|Pi Mensae}} || {{w|Pi Mensae b|b}} || Old || Moon Holder || {{w|Jupiter}} has more than 60 discovered moons, and still counting... A planet ten times more massive ''must'' also be a Moon Holder.
|-
| {{w|HD 189733}} || {{w|HD 189733 b|b}} || Old || Permadeath || A well-characterized "{{w|Hot Jupiter}}" at a temperature range of 973 ± 33 K to 1,212 ± 11 K. The name refers to the feature of {{w|Permanent death}} common in many RPGs and roguelikes. Or may reference permafrost, which has also been discussed in the comic.
|-
| {{w|Kepler-22}} || {{w|Kepler-22 b|b}} || Old || Blue Ivy || Blue Ivy Carter is the daughter of musicians {{w|Beyoncé}} and {{w|Jay-Z}}.
|-
| KOI-2474 || b || New || Store-Brand Earth || A {{w|Store brand}} is a line of products branded by a retailer. They have a reputation for being lower quality than other brands, and are often marketed similarly to other brands. This is implying that this is a cheaper version of Earth. (This entry replaced the completely different entry Kepler-3284b Blainsley from the previous chart).
|-
| Kepler-437 || b || Update || Unicorn Thresher || As far as we can tell, Kepler-437b is in the vicinity of the constellation Monoceros, aka the Unicorn. (This was labeled Kepler-3255b in the previous chart)
|-
| KOI-2418 || b || Old || Spherical Discworld || {{w|The Discworld}} is the fictional setting for British author {{w|Terry Pratchett}}'s {{w|Discworld}} series of humorous fantasy novels; it consists of a large disc supported by four elephants themselves standing on top of a turtle flying through space. The joke being that the planet could not be spherical and disc-shaped at the same time. (Was listed as Kepler-2418 in the previous chart).
|-
| {{w|Kepler-438}} || {{w|Kepler-438b|b}} || Update || Emergency Backup Earth || This candidate planet has an {{w|Earth Similarity Index}} of 0.89, making it one of the most habitable {{w|Kepler object of interest}}. The name suggests that it could be used as a backup in case something happened to our current planet. (Was listed as Kepler-1686 in the previous chart; Kepler-1686 b was proven to be a false positive by NASA in 2015).
|-
| KOI-3010 || b || Old || Feeeoooooooop || Possibly the onomatopoeia for something getting sucked into a black hole.
|-
| Kepler-442 || b || Old || Liz || Just a regular name (for a person, not a planet). Maybe a reference to the Magic School Bus.
|-
| rowspan=3 | 82 Eridani || b || New || Horsemeat Surface|| A reference to the {{w|2013 meat adulteration scandal}}, where horsemeat was found in burgers alleging to contain beef. This planet's name suggests that the surface of the entire planet would also contain improperly declared horsemeat.
|-
| c || New || The Moon || This name would cause confusion with the Earth's moon, which in English is called The Moon. It is also a poor name choice as 82 Eridani c is not a moon, but a planet.
|-
| d || New || Constant Saxophones ||
|-
| HD 102365 || b || New || Little Big Planet || This refers to the videogame {{w|LittleBigPlanet}}.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 180}} || b || New || Dune || rowspan=2 | Both references to Frank Herbert's {{w|Dune (novel)|Dune}} book series. The planet Arrakis (informally referred to as 'Dune') is the central planet in the mythology, where the mind-enhancing substance 'spice' comes from. Use of spice enables, among others, supercomputing-like mental computation as well as hyperspace navigation. Having two neighbouring planets with names that are historically used to refer to a single planet would sow further confusion in the already extensive catalog of planet names. This is similarly to Betelgeuse/Beetlejuice (see HR 7722) and the two Uranuses (see Kepler-283).
|-
| c || New || Arrakis
|-
| {{w|Fomalhaut}} || b || New || Swarm of Bees ||From Wikipedia: Fomalhaut b could be a conglomeration of rubble from a recent collision between comet-to-asteroid-sized bodies and not actually identify a planet.
|-
| rowspan=5 | {{w|Kepler-62}} || {{w|Kepler-62b|b}} || New || Sporty || rowspan=5 | A reference to the {{w|Spice Girls}}. See also [[1554: Spice Girls]], where [[Megan]] was unable to list the members of this pop group. In this case the names are correct, and would give Megan a new and interesting reason to remember them. {{w|Kepler-62f}} is a [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/multimedia/images/kepler-62e.html super-Earth-size planet], that may be potentially habitable. {{w|Kepler-62e}} is a possible [https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/multimedia/images/kepler-62e.html water world].
|-
| {{w|Kepler-62c|c}} || New || Baby
|-
| {{w|Kepler-62d|d}} || New || Scary
|-
| {{w|Kepler-62e|e}} || New || Ginger
|-
| {{w|Kepler-62f|f}} || New || Posh
|-
| rowspan=3 | HD 69830 || b || New || Planet.xxx || {{w|.xxx}} is a controversial top level domain (like to .com and .net) that is intended to distinguish porn sites from other types of website.
|-
| c || New || Novella || A {{w|novella}} is a form of prose with length between a {{w|short story}} and a {{w|novel}}. Common examples of novellas are romance literature centering around intense lustful encounters in cheap paperback books, though also 'serious' literature may be in novella form.
|-
| d || New || Sexoplanet || Like the other two planets orbiting this star, the "69" in the stars designation has lead to a sex joke: All planets in this comic are "exo-planets", planets not orbiting our sun. Adding a single "s" in front results in immature humor.
|-
| rowspan=2 | {{w|Gliese 682}} || {{w|Gliese 682 b|b}} || New || Verdant Hellscape || A contradictory name. "[[wikt:verdant|Verdant]]" usually signifies to be lush with green plantlife, while "[[wikt:hellscape|hellscape]]" describes a desolate landscape destroyed by heat and cataclysm.
|-
| {{w|Gliese 682 c|c}} || New || Unsubscribe || On YouTube, "subscribers" (people who get updates on a person's channel) are highly valued, and to "unsubscribe" from anyone is deemed to be offensive. "Unsubscribe" is also the command one sends to {{w|Electronic mailing list}}s to stop receiving said mailing list. In this sense it may imply a desire to no longer be bothered with these silly discussions around planet-names. Like "help@gmail.com" and "How do I join the IAU", "unsubscribe" is a frequently seen accidental message on the Internet in contexts where it is not going to work as a command.
|-
| {{w|Kepler-452}} || {{w|Kepler-452b|b}} || New || Pluto || This is the planet Black Hat is referring to at the top of the table.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat points with a stick at a slide showing an image of a planet with unknown features marked by questions marks.]
:Kepler-452b

:Black Hat: NASA has announced the discovery of a (super-)Earth-sized planet in the habitable zone of a sun-like star.
:Black Hat: I suggest we name this planet "Pluto", both to celebrate the great work by the ''New Horizons'' team, and to make the stupid "Is Pluto a planet" debate a little more confusing

:While we wait to hear from the IAU,
:here's a revised and updated list of
:planet name suggestions (see xkcd.com/1253)
:New or updated entries in red

:[The table is in three separate columns. There is a small arrow pointing at the second column, named "Planet", indicating the planet's name corresponding to the star at the first row. The third column shows the planet name suggestions.]

:{| class="wikitable"
! Star !! Planet !! Suggested Name
|-
| rowspan=7 |Gliese 667||b||Space Planet
|-
|c||PILF
|-
|d||A Star
|-
|e||e'); DROP TABLE PLANETS;--
|-
|f||Blogosphere
|-
|g||Blogodrome
|-
|h||Earth
|-
| rowspan=5 |Tau Ceti||b||Sid Meier's Tau Ceti B
|-
|c||Giant Dog Planet
|-
|d||Tiny Dog Planet
|-
|e||Phil Plainet
|-
|f||Unicode Snowman
|-
| rowspan=2|Gliese 832||b||Asshole Jupiter
|-
|c||Waterworld starring Kevin Costner
|-
| rowspan= 6|Gliese 581||b||Waist-deep Cats
|-
|c||Planet #14
|-
|d||Ballderaan
|-
|e||Eternia Prime
|-
|f||Taupe Mars
|-
|g||Jelly-Filled Planet
|-
| rowspan= 2|Epsilon Eridani||b||Skydot
|-
|c||Laser Noises
|-
| rowspan= 2|Gliese 176||b||Pandora
|-
|c||Pantera
|-
|Kepler-61||b||GoldenPalace.com
|-
|Groombridge 34A||b||Hot Mess
|-
|Kepler-442||b||Seas of Toothpaste
|-
|Gliese-442||b||This one weird planet
|-
| rowspan= 3|EPIC-201367065||b||Sulawesi
|-
|c||Huge Soccer Ball
|-
|d||Geodude
|-
| rowspan= 5|Kepler-296||b||Kerbal Space Planet
|-
|c||A$aplanet
|-
|d||Jurassic World
|-
|e||This Land
|-
|f||Springfield
|-
| rowspan= 2|HR 7722||b||Betelgeuse
|-
|c||Beetlejuice
|-
|EPIC201912552||b||Netherlands VI
|-
| rowspan= 3|Gliese 3293||b||Antispit
|-
|c||Google Earth
|-
|d||Planet of the Apes (Disambiguation)
|-
| rowspan= 2|Kepler-283||b||ˈjʊərənəs
|-
|c||jʊˈreɪnəs
|-
| rowspan= 4|Upsilon Andromedae||b||Fourthmeal
|-
|c||Stampy
|-
|d||Moonchild
|-
|e||Ham Sphere
|-
| rowspan= 3|HD 20794||b||Cosmic Sands
|-
|c||Legoland
|-
|d||Planet with Arms
|-
|HD 85512||b||Lax Morality
|-
| rowspan= 6|HD 40307||b||Good Planet
|-
|c||Problemland
|-
|d||Slickle
|-
|e||Spare Parts
|-
|f||New Jersey VI
|-
|g||How Do I Join the IAU
|-
| rowspan= 3|Gliese 163||b||Neil Tyson's Mustache
|-
|c||help@gmail.com
|-
|d||Hair-Covered Planet
|-
|Pi Mensae||b||Moon Holder
|-
|HD 189733||b||Permadeath
|-
|Kepler-22||b||Blue Ivy
|-
|KOI-2474||b||Store-Brand Earth
|-
|Kepler-437||b||Unicorn Thresher
|-
|KOI-2418||b||Spherical Discworld
|-
|Kepler-438||b||Emergency Backup Earth
|-
|KOI-3010||b||Feeeoooooooop
|-
|Kepler-442||b||Liz
|-
|rowspan = 3|82 Eridani ||b ||Horsemeat Surface 
|-
|c ||The Moon 
|-
|d ||Constant Saxophones 
|-
|HD 102365 ||b ||Little Big Planet 
|-
|rowspan = 2|Gliese 180 ||b ||Dune 
|-
|c ||Arrakis 
|-
|Fomalhaut ||b ||Swarm of Bees 
|-
|rowspan = 5|Kepler-62 ||b ||Sporty 
|-
|c ||Baby 
|-
|d ||Scary 
|-
|e ||Ginger 
|-
|f ||Posh 
|-
|rowspan = 3|HD 69830 ||b ||Planet.xxx 
|-
|c ||Novella 
|-
|d ||Sexoplanet 
|-
|rowspan = 2|Gliese 682 ||b ||Verdant Hellscape 
|-
|c ||Unsubscribe 
|-
|Kepler-452 ||b ||Pluto 
|}

==Trivia==
*The IPA character for stress is a vertical line ˈ. Randall uses a slanted line similar to acute accent ´ or prime ′.
*There were three errors in the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/f/fd/20150725002854!exoplanet_names_2.png original version] of this comic. These were corrected later the same day.
**The three errors were:
*#Waterworld starring Kevin '''Kostner''' (Kostner instead of Costner)
*#Upsilon '''Andromidae''' (Andromidae instead of Andromedae)
*#'''Formalhaut''' (Formalhaut instead of Fomalhaut)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Exoplanets]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Firefly]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Spice Girls]]

Talk:1527: Humans

2015-05-20T13:36:46Z

108.162.237.183:

Yes! Preach it, Randall! [[Special:Contributions/188.114.106.23|188.114.106.23]] 08:23, 20 May 2015 (UTC)
:Everyone knows they're more akin to big cows, anyway. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.143|141.101.106.143]] 09:33, 20 May 2015 (UTC)
::Big ''spherical'' cows. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 10:22, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

Robots complaining about science is like humans complaining about evolution. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.60|108.162.231.60]] 09:49, 20 May 2015 (UTC)
:Great line :) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.118|108.162.215.118]] 10:51, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

Given the title text, the reference to movie humans makes this cartoon likely an oblique commentary on the upcoming film ''Jurassic World'' where the dinosaurs remain featherless. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.162|108.162.237.162]] 10:54, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

I don't really want to see a sequal criticized for maintaining continuity. Think of what it would be like if someone made a 2001 movie where instead of traveling to Jupiter, Hal orchistrated the invasion of Iraq. Wait a second, that would make for an awesome movie.--Dave[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 13:36, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

Personally, I wouldn't like being chased with Aepyornis either, and noone ever doubted Aepyornis had feathers. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:45, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

I wonder which movie Robot #2 is referring to. Something with a crowned monarch and lots of (almost) naked warriors. ''300'' perhaps? [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 12:47, 20 May 2015 (UTC)
:I'm pretty sure their talking about future films, we make films about prehistoric dinosaurs, so the robots make films about prehistoric humans(pre robot history) --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.24|141.101.99.24]] 13:36, 20 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1524: Dimensions

2015-05-13T11:32:16Z

108.162.237.183:

This almost seems to be making fun of the frivolity with which people discuss the existence of multiple dimensions without realizing what that actually means. Anyone else get that feeling?

Reminds me of http://xkcd.com/417/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patema_Inverted which make fun of dimensions too.
:Great - I will add 417. please sign you comment with <nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki> ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:57, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

My first thought about Title Text was that moving sideways (standard x or y axis) would be bad, but not as bad as moving upwards (standard z axis). Z direction would be my least favourite! --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.57|141.101.104.57]] 08:20, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

The explanation looks more and more like a discussion. Four dimensions or eleven? I see that string theory "predicts 10 or 26 dimensions" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacetime). I think someone (but not me) should rewrite the discussion in a more comprehensive way.[[User:Jkrstrt|Jkrstrt]] ([[User talk:Jkrstrt|talk]]) 08:35, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

We might had a link to the 2 what-if related to move steadlily in one direction : http://what-if.xkcd.com/135/ and http://what-if.xkcd.com/64/

Isn't the alt text a reference to the fact that a cartoon only has two physical dimensions? That's how time can be in his top three. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.113|141.101.99.113]] 09:09, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

"Being pushed in one of the other directions could be lethal, if you where pushed hard enough against a rock, over a cliff or in front of a truck..."
Being pushed in the dimension of time is also ultimately fatal though. Push someone through time for long enough and they'll certainly die. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.8|141.101.92.8]] 09:20, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

Why the hang up on fixed coordinate systems even though there isn't even a practical way to establish one. (To the best of my knowledge distance can only be measured relative to some object.) it's more likely that the top three dimensions would be along the lines of North/South, East/West and time which is a much more practical point of view.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 11:32, 13 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1522: Astronomy

2015-05-08T11:50:53Z

108.162.237.183: Comment

For a telescope you can be far away, for a magnifying glass or microscope you need a ladder to be nearer to the stars. Microscopes are for biology, telescopes for astronomy.
They have got a similar purpose, but look and are applied differently. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.122|108.162.254.122]] 07:09, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

Seemed like another example of Beret guy contradicting how things work, like how he blows into the power cord and inflated a computer, or how he plugged a cord into a power outlet labeled "COFFEE" and coffee came out. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.168|108.162.238.168]] 07:19, 8 May 2015 (UTC)
:Yes obviously this approach works for Berret Guy because this is what he does. Explanation lacks this fact. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:44, 8 May 2015 (UTC)
:Soup, wasn't it? But yes, for some reason he can actually use a stepladder to get a closer look (and a better one, thanks t the magnifying glass) on the "curtain of the night", which for him ''is'' actually within reach. As if it is just like a stage back-cloth with some form of star-effect (holes and backlight or sewn-in LEDs) as far as he is concerned.
:But what I was actually coming here to say was regarding Astrobiology being a portmanteu (as currently in the explanation). I'm not sure I'd call it that. It's really a perfectly normal compound description of a study area, like many others in science, used to clarify what ''subset'' of biology it is (e.g. paleobiology being the biology of historic organisms, more or less, coming roughly from the greek for "old life study"). Although it does rather hint at it's "the biology of stars themselves", as opposed to the perhaps more accurate exobiology ("outside life study") when it comes to off-Earth life not in (or being) actual stars; or xenobiology ("strange life study"), although that does tend to include oddments of obscure Earth biology and artificial life as well and really doesn't mean the study of extra-terrestrial organisms... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.186|141.101.98.186]] 08:00, 8 May 2015 (UTC)
:: Astrobiology is a perfectly normal word. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrobiology. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.151|173.245.54.151]] 08:49, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

A minor comment on the incorrect use of the word ''portmanteau'' in the explanation so far: it is defined as [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/portmanteau a word formed by merging the sounds and meanings of two different words], [[wikipedia:portmanteau]]; however, [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/astro- astro-] is a combining form of the the greek word ''aster'' meaning ''star'', used to form compound words, such as ''astro-bio-logy'' (aster-bios-logos: star-life-word). See [[1485]] for an example of the correct use of ''portmanteau''. (someone beat me to it while i was editing this ;-))
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.161|141.101.104.161]] 08:07, 8 May 2015 (UTC)
:Thank you. --{{User:17jiangz1/signature|09:14, 08 May 2015}}

You could view the comic as a theatrical production, Megan's telescope as a prop, and Beret guy is just inspecting the backdrop. The ladder is for comic and aesthetic effect {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.53}}

Aaaaa. Astronomers do not touch telescopes while observing. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.185|173.245.52.185]] 09:23, 8 May 2015 (UTC) Cameron

My first association was the Hubble Space Telescope: Even though there are huge telescopes on earth, most (all?) of them are inferior to the relatively small telescope a few km above earth's surface. Beret Guy could have tried to achive the same effect by climbing a ladder. [[User:Epaminaidos|Epaminaidos]] ([[User talk:Epaminaidos|talk]]) 09:58, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

I'm with 141.101.99.53 - I'm not sure that those white dots are stars. My first thought was that they were flecks of dirt or something on the wall or on the inside of a dome. What Megan is doing there with that huge telescope I don't know, but a telescope of that size is not usually used outdoors where stars can be seen down to the horizon. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 10:35, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

That seems to be the reason why the Good Telescopes are always on mountains – nearer to the stars and no ladder needed ;-). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 11:32, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

I believe the good telescopes are high so they get less atmospheric disturbances. The height of a mountain will still be insignificant compared to distances measured in light years.--The man they call Jayne[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 11:50, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1514: PermaCal

2015-04-20T13:00:12Z

108.162.237.183: Add comment

In Megan's response, the "h" in "19th" is backwards.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.214.239|108.162.214.239]] 05:47, 20 April 2015 (UTC)
:I'm pretty sure that's a mistake since lowercase letters normally aren't used. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 05:49, 20 April 2015 (UTC)
:Looks like he forgot the line on the upper left. He used the capital 19TH for Cueball. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.60|173.245.48.60]] 07:24, 20 April 2015 (UTC)
:I think it's intentional. All the H's after a T have shortened upperleft lines. Probably for nice http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/kerning [[User:ToaVin|ToaVin]] ([[User talk:ToaVin|talk]]) 10:12, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Leap seconds have nothing to do with the length of the year: corrected. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.162|108.162.249.162]] 07:49, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

"Leap seconds normally account for the differences in the length of our 24 hour day and the time taken for the world to rotate 360 degrees on its axis" - this sentence mixes two unrelated concepts. First, a day is not a rotation of 360 degrees. Because the Earth also orbit the sun, the rotation from noon one day to noon the following day is a bit more than 360 degrees (360.9856 or so) (rotation measured relative to the stars) - this is why constellations appear to move throughout the year. Second, leap seconds are required because the leap day corrections of the Gregorian calendar are good, but not perfect, at matching the difference between Earth orbits (years) and Earth rotations (days). Every so often, a small correction is required. The corrections are not regular because the causes of the drift are numerous: tidal effects, orbital eccentricity, the underlying (small) flaws in the calendar, etc. I have not made any changes in the explanation. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.66|141.101.104.66]] 08:41, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Not unrelated concept. Just not fully understood. Rotate 360 degrees is a simple way of putting things that ignores the diffrence between solar days and sidereal days. Incorrect not because someone doesn't understand the topic being discussed but because someone hasn't studied astronomy or seriously thought about how the movement of the Earth effects the length of the day--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 13:00, 20 April 2015 (UTC).

While you are true on one part, that Earth doesn't take 24 hours to rotate 360 degrees (it takes around 23 hours and 56 minutes if I recall correctly), leap seconds are used to account for differences between 24 hours and a solar day. If it was used to adjust the length of the year the time of day would drift, it would also be fairly pointless as the leap days take us out by 1/4 of a day.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.175|108.162.250.175]] 10:41, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Do we know for sure that this comic was released on a Sunday - the 19th instead of the 20th? The first entry in this page is from the 20th. Of course there are some references to the 19th, but then again it is obvious that it is on the 20th that Megan asks. Anyone who can find out if this is the correct date, or just a mistake by someone who misunderstood something based on the dates in the comic? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:19, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Apropos a "permanent calendar", Isaac Asimov proposed just such a calendar. http://calendars.wikia.com/wiki/World_Season_Calendar This web page unfortunately doesn't go into details, but there were several advantages. The same calendar is used for all years, your birthday is always on the same day of the week, no need to remember "30 days hath Sept. ...", and several other advantages I can't remember right now. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 12:45, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

1510: Napoleon

2015-04-10T06:26:07Z

108.162.237.183:

{{comic
| number = 1510
| date = April 10, 2015
| title = Napoleon
| image = napoleon.png
| titletext = "Mr. President, what if the unthinkable happens? What if the launch goes wrong, and Napoleon is not stranded on the moon?" "Have Safire write up a speech."
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|First draft.}}

{{w|Napoleon Bonaparte}} was one of the greatest military leaders in history, conquering most of Europe in the space of a decade. In 1814, after being forced to abdicate as Emperor of the French, he was exiled to the island of {{w|Elba}}. However, in February of 1815 Napoleon escaped back to France, quickly raised an army, and overthrew the {{w|Bourbon Restoration}} monarchy for a period known as {{w|Hundred Days|The Hundred Days}}. At the end of this period (actually lasting 111 days), Napoleon was defeated by British and Prussian forces at the {{w|Battle of Waterloo}}, and surrendered a month later. This time he was exiled to {{w|Saint Helena}}, an island much more remote than Elba—in fact, one of the most remote places on Earth.

In reality, Napoleon made no serious attempts to escape Saint Helena, and died there six years after his surrender. However, this comic imagines a world in which Napoleon escaped once again, swimming back to Europe. Saint Helena is 1,200 miles (2,000 km) from the Afro-Eurasian landmass, making such a swim rather implausible, especially considering the ball and chain around his ankle. And Napoleon is depicted fresh out of the water, suggesting that he did not simply swim to Africa and make his way back to Europe, but rather swam straight to Europe, a journey of roughly 3,800 miles (6,100 km).

The comic implies that Napoleon proves impossible to confine. In addition to being able to swim impossible distances, he seems to also somehow escape imprisonment in the ice of Antarctica. He also seems to be immortal (or well-preserved by the ice of Antartica), remaining alive and apparently in great physical condition while nearly 200 years old. The final panel shows U.S. President {{w|John F. Kennedy}}'s {{w|"We choose to go to the Moon"}} speech, but implies an alternate ending to the line "not because it is easy, but because it is hard." Rather, it appears that we choose to go to the Moon not because it is easy, but because there's no other way to get rid of Napoleon.

The title text is an apparent conversation between President {{w|Richard Nixon}} and an aide. Nixon is asked what we will do if we fail to maroon Napoleon on the moon, and replies "Have Safire write up a speech." This is a reference to Nixon speechwriter {{w|William Safire}}, who wrote the draft speech {{w|s:In Event of Moon Disaster|"In Event of Moon Disaster"}}, to have been delivered by Nixon should the Apollo 11 astronauts be stranded on the moon. This comic thus proposes an inversion of the actual scenario—instead of Nixon delivering Safire's speech because someone's been stranded on the moon, in this comic he'd be delivering it if someone ''weren't'' stranded on the moon. "In Event of Moon Disaster" was also the topic of [[1484: Apollo Speeches]], published two months before this comic.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:Soldiers: "This is Napoleon. He tried to take over the world."
:Officer: "Exile him to Elba!"

:Soldiers: "It's us again. Napoleon escaped from Elba and tried to conquer the world. Again."
:Officer: "Send him someplace truly remote, like Saint Helena."
:Officer: "Yes, sir."

:Several Years Later...
:Soldiers: "Well, he swam back."
:Officer: "We must mount an expedition to the south pole, where we will encase Napoleon in the Antarctic ice!"

:A century later...
:President: "{{w|We choose to go to the Moon}}, not because it is easy..."

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-08T09:32:01Z

108.162.237.183:

One objection: although ''What About Bob?'' was set at Lake Winnipesaukee, NH, it was actually filmed at Smith Mountain Lake, VA. {{unsigned|‎Jstech}}

The Napoleon Dynamite Idaho square doesn't cover Preston, where it was filmed.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.121|199.27.133.121]] 06:00, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

The ''Twilight/50 Shades'' area really shouldn't cover eastern Washington and Oregon either. East of the Cascade Mountains is much more like Boise than Seattle. [[User:Tribble314|Tribble314]] ([[User talk:Tribble314|talk]]) 07:12, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Tribble314 is completely correct

It gets Forest Gump wrong, that is set in Alabama, including the Alabama gulf coast and not easter Georgia, The Tombstone section is on the wrong side of Arizona and Zorro is set, and filmed, in California. Anything By Mark Twain is too far south, and since Road Runner cartoons all have Saguaro and organ pipe cactus, it is amazing how the map outlines the exact part of Arizona where they don't exist

It's not about where it's set. It's where it's filmed. And I object to the 'Anything by Mark Twain' on the grounds that it's basically just Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn without say Innocents Abroad or for that matter most of what was written by a guy who did a good bit of traveling in his lifetime.--Dude[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 09:28, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-08T09:28:54Z

108.162.237.183:

One objection: although ''What About Bob?'' was set at Lake Winnipesaukee, NH, it was actually filmed at Smith Mountain Lake, VA. {{unsigned|‎Jstech}}

The Napoleon Dynamite Idaho square doesn't cover Preston, where it was filmed.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.121|199.27.133.121]] 06:00, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

The ''Twilight/50 Shades'' area really shouldn't cover eastern Washington and Oregon either. East of the Cascade Mountains is much more like Boise than Seattle. [[User:Tribble314|Tribble314]] ([[User talk:Tribble314|talk]]) 07:12, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Tribble314 is completely correct

It gets Forest Gump wrong, that is set in Alabama, including the Alabama gulf coast and not easter Georgia, The Tombstone section is on the wrong side of Arizona and Zorro is set, and filmed, in California. Anything By Mark Twain is too far south, and since Road Runner cartoons all have Saguaro and organ pipe cactus, it is amazing how the map outlines the exact part of Arizona where they don't exist

It's not about where it's set. It's where it's filmed. And I object to the 'Anything by Mark Twain' on the grounds that it's basically just Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn without say Idiots Abroad or for that matter most of what was written by a guy who did a good bit of traveling in his lifetime.--Dude[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 09:28, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Talk:955: Neutrinos

2015-02-11T03:39:29Z

108.162.237.183:

When the news about the neutrino speed thing first came out, all these people I knew were asking if everything they knew was wrong because of the new discovery, and panning me for not believing the word of god that is the scientific journal. I don't know how these people get through life blindly believing everything that they're told. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|purple|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]]

: It actually isn't too hard to live like that. Fortunately for me, though, I didn't have all these people I know asking if everything they knew was wrong. Inversion? --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 18:34, 17 August 2013 (UTC)

"...arguing with people and preaching caution is futile. Cueball realizes that it is more satisfying and profitable to place bets with them instead." Does anyone else notice the similarity between this sentiment and mortgage security? Instead of preaching caution in lending and trying to convince people that they shouldn't be taking on loans, hedge funds were created - much more satisfying and profitable. Sorry if this has nothing to do with the comic, it was just an observation that struck me. -naginalf[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.40|108.162.216.40]] 19:58, 11 March 2014 (UTC) {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.40}}

The discussion on this page is incorrect. Relativity does not say that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, it says that objects with mass cannot travel at the speed of light. Massive objects can either travel below or above the speed of light.

Talk:1458: Small Moon

2014-12-10T12:44:52Z

108.162.237.183:

Probably another dig at the Pluto "dwarf planet" controversy?[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.109|199.27.133.109]] 06:38, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

This is too good. I laughed for about 2 straight minutes.. :D [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.89|199.27.128.89]] 06:50, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

Added a short placeholder explanation for the comic itself, using [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.109|199.27.133.109]]'s suggestion. Needs refining and explaining of the alt text. Cheers. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.207|173.245.54.207]] 07:04, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

In the movie, they didn't have 3 hours to argue over the thing. Not sure if that's relevant... [[User:Haelbarde|Haelbarde]] ([[User talk:Haelbarde|talk]]) 07:11, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

The reason it couldn't be a space station would be that something so large would wind up collapsing in on its own gravity. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.204|173.245.54.204]] 08:38, 10 December 2014 (UTC)
:It's not solid, it's a comapritively low density on the whole (on the order of ten thousand million''th''s that of Earth's sea-level atmospheric pressure, if I've not thrown a rogue zero or two in to the calculation by accident, so is doubtless mostly vacuum outside of the functional/habitable/structural areas), there are obviously various gravitational compensators for the inhabited sections (hence "looking sideways out of the equator ring" and along the beam-channel, yet "up from the surface" from the trench system defence turrets and other internal shafts are also vertiginously 'up-down' in nature) and doubtless its structural stength is composed of various Unotanium (i.e. "durasteel") alloys and the like, way beyond what we could currently build with Earthly technology. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.245|141.101.98.245]] 10:37, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

I would note that a Death '''Star''' can not be a moon. [[User:Briff|Briff]] ([[User talk:Briff|talk]]) 10:10, 10 December 2014 (UTC)
:Note that it is canon that the "Star Destroyer"s are neither (if taken literally) capable of destroying stars nor (in the sense of "star ship" in general) are they technically destroyer-class ships. You've got to put it down to The Empire just having no sense of relevence when it comes to naming its vessels. Probably too much influence from clone-thinking... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.245|141.101.98.245]] 10:37, 10 December 2014 (UTC)
:I will argue that by my understanding of the term, it actually is a moon whenever it is orbiting a planet but it would probably be better to come up with new terminology given the interstellar capabilities. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 12:44, 10 December 2014 (UTC)Band of Traveling Accountants

Talk:226: Swingset

2014-09-01T14:22:42Z

108.162.237.183: Added comment

A glass with water can be momentarily inverted at this moment and the water will not leave the glass!--DrMath 08:56, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

Isn't the point about illustrating that you do in fact have weight even in instences that are written off as weightless? In space you just happen to be falling at the same velocity of your surroundings, maintaining orbit simply by moving fast enough to miss the Earth. On top of which, in a low enough orbit g is still close to 9.8 m/s^2 if only because altitude is insignificant compared to the radius of the Earth.--Passing Stranger 14:10 August 2014 (UTC)