explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

370: Redwall

2016-08-19T14:39:31Z

108.162.237.188: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 370
| date = January 14, 2008
| title = Redwall
| image = Redwall.png
| titletext = My Redwall/Jurassic Park crossover fanfic is almost complete!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references {{w|Brian Jacques|Brian Jacques'}} series of books, ''{{w|Redwall}}'', which star sapient woodland animals in various high fantasy adventures.

The first panel shows the similarity between the story of Martin the Warrior (from the book ''{{w|Mossflower}}'') and {{w|Aragorn}} from ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'' by {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}. The joke is that while Martin and Aragorn introduce themselves separately, they then go on to describe their particular story, which turns out to be exactly the same for both of them. Subsequently Martin jinxes Aragorn. {{w|Jinx (children's game)|Jinx}} is a common children's game, which is initiated by shouting "Jinx" after somebody speaks the same word or sentence at the same time as you. That person is then jinxed, with the usual rules dictating that they are then not permitted to speak until unjinxed by some specific action (usually somebody saying their name). Martin and his sword was referenced again in [[1722: Debugging]].

The second panel deals with the fact that ''Redwall'' mentions the name of {{w|Satan}} or {{w|The Devil}} 4 times while it never mentions {{w|God}} or {{w|Jesus}}. [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] then points out that people who protest against {{w|Harry Potter}} because of the series witchcraft, should take note that Redwall explicitly mentions Satan although it has had little to no negative feedback from more conservative readers.

In the third panel, Randall comments on ''Redwall'''s often-used theme of critical messages being left in riddles throughout the Abbey for the occupants to find when they are in need. Randall suggests that he would use {{w|Public-key cryptography|public-key cryptography}} to encode the messages, instead of the elaborate riddles used in the books (some of which are ridiculously easy, which doesn't exactly make for good security when dealing with sensitive information).

In the title text Randall jokes that he is making a crossover {{w|Fan fiction|fan-fiction}} with ''Redwall'' and ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}''.

Redwall was also referenced in [[1688: Map Age Guide]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|No description}}
:Notes from reading Redwall books for the first time since childhood.

:Some of this feels familiar.
:Aragorn: Hi, I'm Aragorn.
:Martin: I'm Martin.
:Aragorn and Martin: I'm here to reforge my broken sword so I can lead an army against the tyrant threatening my people. I live in a world of moral absolutes and racist undertones.
:Martin: Jinx!

:It startled me when characters mentioned Satan.
:Redwall: "By Satan's whiskers..."
:Redwall mentions God, Jesus 0 times.
:Redwall mentions Satan, The Devil 4 times.
:(Harry Potter protesters, take note.)

:Even as a kid this bothered me: Why does everyone leave critical secret messages as simple riddles? It's silly to assume the intended recipient will be the only one to find and solve them. I would do things differently.
:Matthias: The inscription is a message from Martin!
:Brother Methuselah: What does it say?
:Matthias: Hang on, it's encrypted with my public key.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Bar chart]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

1673: Timeline of Bicycle Design

2016-04-27T14:06:40Z

108.162.237.188: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1673
| date = 27 April, 2016
| title = Timeline of Bicycle Design
| image = timeline of bicycle design.png
| titletext = I'll be honest--the 1950s were a rough time for cycling.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Still only scratching the surface of possible explanation}}
[[Randall]] created a 200 year history for bicycles with 13 bike designs ranging from 1810 until today 2016.

But the only model that both looks like a real model and fits the year is the 1875 model, which seem to be a depiction of a {{w|Penny-farthing}}, which was popular in the 1870's up until the 1880's when the {{w|Safety bicycle}} took over. (It may be drawn without handlebars, but these where really small on that model, and might be too small for the drawing). The 1860 model looks like the {{w|American Star Bicycle}}, but that was first invented in the 1880s.

Some of the other examples of "bikes" could, however, look like those in the image at the top of the {{w|Velocipede}} Wikipedia page.

Interestingly enough only some of the bikes have drivers like [[Ponytail]] pole vaulting bike, and [[Cueball]] appears four times with [[Megan]] three times. Only in the 1900 design is Cueball drawn in a clearly different scale to indicate how huge that bike is, making it even bigger than the 1880 which continued the trend from 1860. This still leaves five designs without humans to compare the scale with.

Only two of the bikes have pedals (1875 and 2016) and only one have a sprocket with a chain (1980). Just above half have saddle (7), if the 1980 Megan holder is not counted as a saddle.

The 1925 model is reminiscent of a {{w|fractal}}; {{w|Benoit Mandelbrot}} was born just before 1925, in October 1924.

This comic (especially the 2016 bicycle) is possibly also a reference to [https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/~rlawson/cycleweb.html The Science of Cycology], a cognitive psychology project run by Rebecca Lawson at the University of Liverpool that asked study participants to draw a bicycle from memory. The error rate was high, supporting a hypothesis that humans over-estimate their ability to explain how things work.
Gianluca Gimini made a similar project, [http://www.gianlucagimini.it/prototypes/velocipedia.html Velocipedia]. Gimini asked people to draw free hand sketches of bicycles and rendered the results as real bikes.

Also, the designs given for the years from 1825 to 1925 distinctly resemble designs that tend to evolve in the various challenge environments in the genetic evoluation game [http://boxcar2d.com/ BoxCar2D].

==Transcript==
:[13 drawings 8 in the top and 5 in the bottom row of different and weird "bicycle" designs. Above them there is a heading, and below each bike a year is given. On the very last cycle there is a drinking bottle with a label.]
:'''Timeline of Bicycle Design'''

:[Ponytail hanging on to a bending rod that goes down to a single normal sized bike wheel. It looks like a unicycle with no seat. The rod is bending quite a lot so she looks like she is about to use the contraption as a pole vault]
:1810

:[Cueball is running after a device holding on to a rod bend in several places before reaching the ground at a very small wheel that then is connected with a shorter rod to a normal sized bike wheel.]
:1825

:[Two normal sized bike wheels connected with a single rod between them.]
:1840

:[Megan sits on a large saddle on top of a double sized bike wheel, she has some kind of handle bars to hold on to (or it could just be the saddle) and then a small rod goes down to a half size front wheel.]
:1860

:[A regular drawing of a Penny-farthing with very small back wheel (half the size of the front wheel on the 1860 bike) and very large front wheel (larger than the 1860 bike) and pedals in the middle of the front wheel. The handle bars on such a bike is so small that it is likely they cannot be seen in this drawing.]
:1875

:[A huge wheel twice the size of the one on the Penny-farthing, and then a small wheel (like the small one on the Penny-farthing) hangs in a rod from the center of the giant wheel. The small wheel has a saddle attached, but it is not straight up.]
:1880

:[This is the largest bike. Not the largest drawings, but where the other have the characters in roughly the same size, this one has a small drawing of Cueball standing on top of the wheel holding on to some kind of handle bar. The wheel is about three time his height.]
:1900

:[Cueball sits in the "saddle" of a bike design the is similar to the Penny-farthing, but the saddle is more a rod, and the back wheel is on a rod going straight down from where the saddle ends. Also there are no pedals, and Cueball seems to hang on to the saddle reaching forward rather than having any control of the bike.]
:1915

:[A symmetrical saddle sits on top of a normal sized bike wheel, but then there are (at least) four progressively smaller wheels symmetrically on each side, each new wheel approximately half the size of the one before. The possible fifth wheel can no longer be discerned from the rod that goes through the center of the larger wheels.]
:1925

:[Megan stands on top of a saddle with a oar that looks like the single-oar sculling used for gondolas in Venice. She holds this to the ground behind her, while trying to move her bike forward. The bike consists of four small wheels, one straight under her, one behind, one equally in front of her and the last even further in front. They are all connected to the saddle with individual rods.]
:1940

:[Three normal sized bike wheel are rolling down a hill after Cueball who runs away from them with his arms up.]
:1955

:[Megan sits on a bike contraption that seems to have a holder around her mid section rather than her sitting on a saddle. This holder goes to the back wheel below her, and there is actually a sprocket with a chain, although no clear pedals beneath her feet. She holds on to a very long handle bar, which connects with two long rods coming from the sprocket at the front end of the bike far ahead of Megan, below which is a wheel, to where the chain is actually going. Both wheels seems to be normal size.]
:1980

:[Another weird contraption of a bike with pedals on both normal sized wheels which have wheel guards on the side pointing down towards the front. The saddle hangs in a swing that connect to a rod above it which goes to the front of the bike and splits in two rods that connects to the center frame of the bike. In front of these there is a contraption that reminds of a handle bar, which sits just above the front wheel. The two wheels are connected with a long rod between the center of the wheels and in the middle of this is the center part of the frame going up toward the handle. On the middle of this is a bottle with a label. Towards the back wheel there are two rods sticking out, with no clear meaning.]
:2016
:Bottle: Milk

{{comic discussion}}



[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Charts]]

Talk:1079: United Shapes

2016-04-25T22:19:09Z

108.162.237.188:

Hooray, another comic that only Americans will get. Randall, some of us live in *other* parts of the world. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:47, 8 January 2013 (UTC)

Wait, so an American addict with a mostly-American audience is supposed to limit himself to cartoons that everyone can understand? And people say AMERICANS are the arrogant ones. [[Special:Contributions/71.229.88.206|71.229.88.206]] 07:59, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

Could someone please explain the stereotypes? I'm American and I don't really see any jokes. As far as I can tell, he just picked images that fit in each state. {{unsigned|71.229.88.206|07:59, 24 March 2013}}

We still have to fix this thumbnail issue. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:47, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

For the most part I don't think the shapes have anything to do with the states other than what happens to fit. The Louisiana "boot" and Michigan "glove" are commonly used to describe those states shapes.{{unsigned ip|65.117.250.78}}

People in Michigan actually say things like "I live in the thumb"
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.199|108.162.219.199]] 05:18, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

I'm not sure how this really constitutes an explanation. The current text seems to amount to "Yeah this comic is all perfectly clear and logical everyone gets all the references alright I gotta go have fun now!" I think this needs an incomplete flag, but I don't know if someone who isn't a moderator can do that? --[[User:Mynotoar|Mynotoar]] ([[User talk:Mynotoar|talk]]) 22:32, 26 December 2013 (UTC)

Could the signature in Wyoming be Randalls own one? Compare it to [[1005: SOPA]]. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.160|108.162.254.160]] 09:06, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

He does lotsa comics the rest of us can undrestand, too. After all, though, he IS American. Texas: that's a cat? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.160|108.162.225.160]] 16:26, 9 March 2014 (UTC)

<rant> The bear in the state of Alaska is NOT Winnie the Pooh. The most recognizable version is yellow with a red shirt. The original illustrations didn't have a shirt, but were still yellow. Further more, there ARE other cartoon bears to choose from, or it could just be a non-affiliated one that Randall created for the sake of fitting in the state of Alaska. Add to that the fact that Winnie the Pooh never had a jetpack OR a raygun and there is a pretty solid case for that bear NOT being Winnie the Pooh. </rant> Anonymous 04:51, 18 March 2014 (UTC)
:I did correct a former typo done by [[Randall]] himself, but Winnie the Pooh is just what he was thinking about. Please start a discussion on such an edit first, maybe we can say Randall's painting is bad, but that's what is on his official transcript. And SO this does only belong to the explain, the transcript is just only a transcript of the ORIGINAL comic. I'm sorry, but please don't change this until you know what you are doing, please ask for help first. You will get kind answers by many people here. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:29, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

;Undoing edits

I expanded a bunch of descriptions, especially with an eye for people who may not be able to see the comic. This was the "incomplete explanation of the day" comic the day I started adding to the wiki. For example, Utah was described as "An oven." I changed this to "A white stove" because the entire appliance is called a stove (an oven plus drawer below, cooktop above, and upright piece with controls at the back of the cooktop).

Dgbrt undid all my changes without explanation. Would someone please explain what, if anything, I did wrong? I know I'm new here, but I did look around before making any changes. Is there an "o

Corollary question: Someone also removed the actual text that appears in the various images.

Is there an official-from-Randall transcript somewhere?

Thanks. [[User:Karenb|Karenb]] ([[User talk:Karenb|talk]]) 21:48, 20 March 2014 (UTC)
:Dgbrt replaced the transcript that was present with the transcript that can be found [http://xkcd.com/1079/info.0.json here], or in the page source of the original comic. It's not always perfectly accurate, but I usually just trust in it since Randall probably knows what he drew. If you feel that there's a typo/stuff-up somewhere, feel free to change it. Accuracy trumps the original transcript. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:48, 21 March 2014 (UTC)
::Thanks, David! That makes a lot of sense. [[User:Karenb|Karenb]] ([[User talk:Karenb|talk]]) 01:37, 21 March 2014 (UTC)
::I disagree. The transcript here should explain what is in the comic. Randall's transcript (if there even is one) is often not very complete, and he doesn't use the names we have here. If he has drawn something that is clearly not what he writes it is, then it should be corrected in this transcript. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:14, 11 February 2016 (UTC)

Is this ready for the incomplete flag to be removed? Explain section has been updated to explain the shapes that can be explained.[[User:Tornadowrangler|Tornadowrangler]] ([[User talk:Tornadowrangler|talk]]) 03:35, 3 April 2014 (UTC)Tornadowrangler

A note about Maryland -- the transcript description is incomplete, because the wolf (main part of the state) appears to be howling at a full moon (across the Chesapeake Bay). That bit of land is referred to as the Delmarva peninsula, because it includes nearly all of Delaware, the eastern part of Maryland and (not indicated on this map) the southern tip belongs to Virginia. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.13|108.162.219.13]] 04:13, 13 May 2014 (UTC)

I always thought NC & SC look like a bird beak & VA looked like a bird in flight [[User:Beastachu|Beastachu]] ([[User talk:Beastachu|talk]]) 19:35, 8 November 2015 (UTC)

I halfway fixed the issue addressed by the incomplete box. I have nothing to contribute to the current spotlighted explanation, so I am working here. I will finish the job later if I have time. I also added some more possible explanations to the chart, such as Washington D.C. being a star because that's how capitals are shown and the somewhat weak explanation of Maine's camp sunshine holding an event to appear in a Star Trek film.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.140|108.162.237.140]] 16:04, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

I believe the transcript is now complete.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.140|108.162.237.140]] 15:08, 22 April 2016 (UTC)

After some more additions to the transcript I removed the incomplete box. The only thing left is the comic explanation, and finding possible explanations for all of the shapes. Despite what the current description says, Randall just picking shapes based on shape is very unlike him.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.188|108.162.237.188]] 22:19, 25 April 2016 (UTC)

1079: United Shapes

2016-04-25T22:17:08Z

108.162.237.188: /* Transcript */ removed the incomplete box from the transcript. I'm doind this as a separate edit from my previous one so that they can be undone separately.

{{comic
| number = 1079
| date = July 9, 2012
| title = United Shapes
| image = united_shapes.png
| imagesize = 800px
| titletext = That eggplant is in something of a flaccid state.
}}
The large version is here: [http://xkcd.com/1079/large/ http://xkcd.com/1079/large/]
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The transcript should only mention what the picture looks like and the text in the pictures. All comments, should be in a separate part of the explanation with this table. Also the transcript should follow a realistic order of "reading" not alphabetical, that will be fine for the table with the explanation.}}
In this comic, each state of the United States of America has been filled-in with an object of similar shape. Due to the size range of the states, some states are too small to clearly make-out in the normal size image. Click [http://xkcd.com/1079/large/ here] to see the large version, which makes every state perfectly clear. Several years later Randall made a new map of the US mainland [[1653: United States Map]], where he shuffled the positions of the states but filled out the outline. Also in this map Michigan has been split into two separate parts. (Here it is the glove and the eagle).

Very few, if any, of the shapes used are stereotypes of the state; they are merely objects that look like the state. Some of the objects are those which the states are widely known to resemble. For example, Michigan is represented by a glove and an Eagle, and a pot with handle takes the place of Oklahoma (with the panhandle region of the state filled with a literal handle). Others, however, are more creative. Few would have likely pictured Texas as a dog or Alaska as a bear with a jet pack and laser gun. There are several incredibly simple objects filling some states. Kentucky is filled by a cloud, which conceivably could have been used for any state, and Wyoming, one of the nearly rectangular states, is simply an envelope. There are three pairs of states that are related. Georgia and Missouri each contain an image of the other, drawing attention to their similar shapes, North and South Dakota are the top and bottom halves of an amp, and Alabama and Mississippi are {{w|moai}} facing in opposite directions.)

Colorado contains what looks like a Wikipedia article. A close-up of the fake article is provided [http://xkcd.com/1079/colorado/]. The following references are made in the Colorado article:

*The pronunciation is not that for Colorado, but for {{w|Eyjafjallajökull}}, a volcano in Iceland that erupted in April 2010.
*The way it has a demilitarized zone towards Wyoming resembles {{W|North Korea}} and {{W|South Korea}}.
*Eleven dimensions refers to {{w|string theory}}.
*A {{w|wormhole}} is a theoretical relative of the {{w|black hole}}. This is a reference to the television series {{w|Stargate SG-1}} where a device capable of creating wormholes is located in the {{w|Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker}} in Colorado.
*A {{w|Horcrux}} is a type of magical object in the world of {{W|Harry Potter}}.
*The radiation zones around Longmont are caused by {{w|Radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.
*The fake motto ''Si parare possis, vivere septem'' can be roughly translated as "With preparation, survival is possible for over a week."

New Mexico according to Randall's transcript is "A liquid container labeled for something of unusual and silly danger". The labeling is upside down and it refers to the nuclear testing facility White Sands Missile Range located in New Mexico for the nuclear bomb.
:This end up
:Property of White Sands Missile Range
:??? [Followed by a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFPA_704 NFPA 704] Diamond with all divisions at severe risk, and a radiation symbol in the special notice division]
:Contains White Sand
:FLAMMABLE
:Warning:
:This product contains chemicals known
:only to the state of Nevada.
:Contents under pressure from parents
:If swallowed, induce labor
:56 fluid ounces
:and 14 other ounces

The title text makes fun of Florida which is sometimes called "The penis of America". Obviously, this penis is somewhat flaccid (not erect). The use of the word "state" is a pun, as it means some particular condition (flaccid state) as well as a political entity (The State of Florida).

==Chart==
{|class=wikitable
!State!!Contained Picture!!Comments
|-
|Alabama ||A moai head facing east.||{{w|Moai}} are Easter Island stone statues
|-
|Alaska ||A teddy bear with a jetpack and a ray gun||The ray gun and jetpack are fixtures of science fiction during the Cold War era, and the Russian Bear is an often-used personification of the country Russia in political cartoonage; the "teddy bear" image may be related to Alaska's former Russian heritage. The USA acquired Alaska from Russia in the Alaska Purchase of 1867 and it became a state in 1959, during the Cold War. The Cold War often featured worries of a potential Russian invasion of Alaska due to their geographical proximity across the Bering Sea and Bering Strait, which persisted through the 1980s; Alaska was the location of a large number of interceptor missiles as part of Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars Defense Initiative" intended to shoot down missiles that might be launched from the USSR. The ray gun is pointed across the Bering Strait at Russia, consistent with Alaska's often being described as the "first line of defense" against Russian aggression.||
|-
|Arizona ||A refrigerated shelf containing milk, bread, and pastries.||
|-
|Arkansas ||A measuring cup.||
|-
|California ||A vacuum.||An old-fashioned upright vacuum cleaner (lying down to the right), green with a yellow bag.
|-
|Colorado ||The wikipedia article on Colorado.||A fake Wikipedia article on Colorado. Below the text as seen in the provided close up:
:[web address:]
::en.wikipedia.org/wiki/colorado
:[Headers]
::Wikipedia
::Article Talk
::Colorado
:[Main article {note that Randall forgot the closing parentheses ')' after the pronunciation}]
::Colorado (Pronounced [ˈeːijaˌfjatlaˌjœːkʏtl̥] is a US State encompassing portions of the Rocky
::Mountains and the Great Plains. The region has been inhabited since at least 11,000 BCE, and
::some archaeological evidence suggest the state – with roughly its current borders – has literally
::always existed. Colorado is separated from Wyoming by a 28-mile demilitarized zone, and
::has at times exercised substantial regional
::power via the installation of puppet governments
::in neighboring states
::Geographically, Colorado is eleven-dimensional,
::though seven of those dimensions are tightly
::compacted and difficult to detect in most areas
::of the state. Colorado is home to the nation's
::oldest continually-operated wormhole and two
::of President Lincoln's horcruxes.
::The wildlife in Colorado is commonly characterized
::as "erratic", particularly in the radiation zones
::around Longmont. The State's timber wolf
::population is largely bipedal; the Park Service
::has expressed "concern" at their attempts to enroll in
:[Fact box with correct State flag and emblem and fake motto:]
::State of Colorado
::Motto:
::"Si parare possis, vivere septem."
::(With preparation, survival is
::possible for over a week.)
|-
|Connecticut ||A train conductor's hat.||
|-
|Delaware ||A meerkat.||
|-
|Florida ||An eggplant.||
|-
|Georgia ||Missouri.||The outline of the state of Missouri, with the {{w|Gateway Arch}} in St. Louis.
|-
|Hawaii ||A snowball.||
|-
|Idaho ||A garden gnome, sitting down.||
|-
|Illinois ||A gangster with a guitar case, upside down.||
|-
|Indiana ||The brush of a paintbrush.||
|-
|Iowa ||A tomato, lettuce, cold cut and cheese sandwich.||
|-
|Kansas ||A stand-up piano.||
|-
|Kentucky ||A cloud.||
|-
|Louisiana ||A boot with some gum stuck to the bottom of it.||
|-
|Maine ||A Vulcan salute.||Maine's camp sunshine has had Star Trek related events in the past, including the opportunity to appear in a film.
|-
|Maryland ||A wolf howling to the moon, upside down.||
|-
|Massachusetts ||An elephant, being ridden by a man, carrying tea.||Might be a reference to the Boston Tea Party, which occurred in Massachusetts, and the Republican political party. The man seems to be wearing a tricorn hat.
|-
|Michigan ||A mitten for the lower portion, an eagle for the {{w|Upper Peninsula of Michigan}}.||
|-
|Minnesota ||$160 in $20 USD bills.||
|-
|Mississippi ||A moai head facing west.||
|-
|Missouri ||Georgia.||The outline of the state of Georgia, with a pair of {{w|Georgia Peach|Georgia peaches}}.
|-
|Montana ||One half of a muffin.||
|-
|Nebraska ||A blue VW type 2 with mattresses sticking out the back.||
|-
|Nevada ||A clothes iron.||
|-
|New Hampshire ||A tall brick factory building.||
|-
|New Jersey ||A bent-over old person.||
|-
|New Mexico ||A liquid container labeled for something of unusual and silly danger.||A yellow liquid container with upside-down labeling.
::This end up!!
::Property of White Sands Missile Range
::Contains White Sand
:[Written inside a hazardous-materials diamond with the ? very large, and the three '4' in the three top part of a diamond shape divided in four these three sections being blue, red, yellow. The lower part has a radioactive sign on the same grey background as the large rectangle.]
::??? 4 4 4
::Flammable
::Warning
::This product contains chemicals known
::Only to the Sate of Nevada.
::Contents under pressure from rich parents
::If swallowed, induce labor
::56 fluid ounces
::and 14 other ounces
|-
|New York ||A hybrid transmission with standard manual-style gears and a torque converter sliced in half.||
|-
|North Carolina ||A bouquet of flowers.||
|-
|North Dakota ||The top half of an amp.||
|-
|Ohio ||Underwear (Briefs).||
|-
|Oklahoma ||A covered pot, dripping with boil-over.||
|-
|Oregon ||A locomotive.||
|-
|Pennsylvania ||A very thick book with a bookmark.||
|-
|Rhode Island ||The bow half of a boat's hull.||
|-
|South Carolina ||A slice of pizza.||
|-
|South Dakota ||The bottom half of an amp.||
|-
|Tennessee ||A number of children's books, placed in a slightly askew pile.||
|-
|Texas ||A dog sitting in a bowl.||
|-
|Utah ||An oven.||
|-
|Vermont ||A microscope, upside down.||
|-
|Virginia ||A {{w|stegosaurus}}.||
|-
|Washington ||A whale.||
|-
|Washington DC ||A star.||On most maps, capitals are shown as stars. Washington DC is the capital of the United States.
|-
|West Virginia ||A {{w|frog}}.||
|-
|Wisconsin ||A skull.||
|-
|Wyoming ||An envelope.||The back side of a white envelope, sealed with red wax, with a black heart next to a signature (lower left corner).
|}

==Transcript==
:The '''United Shapes'''
:A map of things states are shaped like
:[Each state has some item wedged to stay inside its borders]

{|class=wikitable
!State!!Official Transcript!!Text
|-
|Alabama ||A moai head facing east.||
|-
|Alaska ||A teddy bear with a jetpack and a ray gun||
|-
|Arizona ||A refrigerated shelf containing milk, bread, and pastries.||
|-
|Arkansas ||A measuring cup.||
|-
|California ||A vacuum.||
|-
|Colorado ||The wikipedia article on Colorado.||See Link Above
|-
|Connecticut ||A train conductor's hat.||
|-
|Delaware ||A meerkat.||
|-
|Florida ||An eggplant.||
|-
|Georgia ||Missouri.||Missouri
|-
|Hawaii ||A snowball.||
|-
|Idaho ||A garden gnome, sitting down.||
|-
|Illinois ||A gangster with a guitar case, upside down.||
|-
|Indiana ||The brush of a paintbrush.||
|-
|Iowa ||A tomato, lettuce, cold cut and cheese sandwich.||
|-
|Kansas ||A stand-up piano.||
|-
|Kentucky ||A cloud.||
|-
|Louisiana ||A boot with some gum stuck to the bottom of it.||
|-
|Maine ||A Vulcan salute.||
|-
|Maryland ||A wolf howling to the moon, upside down.||
|-
|Massachusetts ||An elephant, being ridden by a man, carrying tea.||
|-
|Michigan ||A mitten for the lower portion, an eagle for the {{w|Upper Peninsula of Michigan}}.||
|-
|Minnesota ||$160 in $20 USD bills.||
|-
|Mississippi ||A moai head facing west.||
|-
|Missouri ||Georgia.||Georgia
|-
|Montana ||One half of a muffin.||
|-
|Nebraska ||A blue VW type 2 with mattresses sticking out the back.||
|-
|Nevada ||A clothes iron.||
|-
|New Hampshire ||A tall brick factory building.||
|-
|New Jersey ||A bent-over old person.||
|-
|New Mexico ||A liquid container labeled for something of unusual and silly danger.||
:This end up!!
:
:Property of White Sands Missile Range
:Contains White Sand
:
:???
:
:FLAMMABLE
:
:Warning: This product contains chemicals known
:Only to the state of Nevada.
:Contents under pressure from parents.
:If swallowed, induce labor.
:
:56 Fluid Ounces
:and 14 other ounces.
|-
|New York ||A hybrid transmission with standard manual-style gears and a torque converter sliced in half.||
|-
|North Carolina ||A bouquet of flowers.||
|-
|North Dakota ||The top half of an amp.||
|-
|Ohio ||Underwear (Briefs).||
|-
|Oklahoma ||A covered pot, dripping with boil-over.||
|-
|Oregon ||A locomotive.||
|-
|Pennsylvania ||A very thick book with a bookmark.||
|-
|Rhode Island ||The bow half of a boat's hull.||
|-
|South Carolina ||A slice of pizza.||
|-
|South Dakota ||The bottom half of an amp.||
|-
|Tennessee ||A number of children's books, placed in a slightly askew pile.||
:Handford / WHERE'S WALDO / or wally
:The Wreck of the Zephyr / Chris Van Allsburg
:The Way Things Work / DAVID MACAULRY
:Weisner / FREE FALL
:PADDLE-TO-THE-SEA / HCH(?)
:WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE A BUILDING / Wilson
:TINTIN / The Crab with the Golden Claws / Hergé
|-
|Texas ||A dog sitting in a bowl.||
|-
|Utah ||An oven.||
|-
|Vermont ||A microscope, upside down.||
|-
|Virginia ||A {{w|stegosaurus}}.||
|-
|Washington ||A whale.||
|-
|Washington DC ||A star.||
|-
|West Virginia ||A {{w|frog}}.||
|-
|Wisconsin ||A skull.||
|-
|Wyoming ||An envelope.||The envelope is marked with a signature, possibly Randal's
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

1079: United Shapes

2016-04-25T22:15:10Z

108.162.237.188: /* Transcript */ Added all of the text in the picture to the transcript, so it's an actual transcript now instead of just another chart.

{{comic
| number = 1079
| date = July 9, 2012
| title = United Shapes
| image = united_shapes.png
| imagesize = 800px
| titletext = That eggplant is in something of a flaccid state.
}}
The large version is here: [http://xkcd.com/1079/large/ http://xkcd.com/1079/large/]
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The transcript should only mention what the picture looks like and the text in the pictures. All comments, should be in a separate part of the explanation with this table. Also the transcript should follow a realistic order of "reading" not alphabetical, that will be fine for the table with the explanation.}}
In this comic, each state of the United States of America has been filled-in with an object of similar shape. Due to the size range of the states, some states are too small to clearly make-out in the normal size image. Click [http://xkcd.com/1079/large/ here] to see the large version, which makes every state perfectly clear. Several years later Randall made a new map of the US mainland [[1653: United States Map]], where he shuffled the positions of the states but filled out the outline. Also in this map Michigan has been split into two separate parts. (Here it is the glove and the eagle).

Very few, if any, of the shapes used are stereotypes of the state; they are merely objects that look like the state. Some of the objects are those which the states are widely known to resemble. For example, Michigan is represented by a glove and an Eagle, and a pot with handle takes the place of Oklahoma (with the panhandle region of the state filled with a literal handle). Others, however, are more creative. Few would have likely pictured Texas as a dog or Alaska as a bear with a jet pack and laser gun. There are several incredibly simple objects filling some states. Kentucky is filled by a cloud, which conceivably could have been used for any state, and Wyoming, one of the nearly rectangular states, is simply an envelope. There are three pairs of states that are related. Georgia and Missouri each contain an image of the other, drawing attention to their similar shapes, North and South Dakota are the top and bottom halves of an amp, and Alabama and Mississippi are {{w|moai}} facing in opposite directions.)

Colorado contains what looks like a Wikipedia article. A close-up of the fake article is provided [http://xkcd.com/1079/colorado/]. The following references are made in the Colorado article:

*The pronunciation is not that for Colorado, but for {{w|Eyjafjallajökull}}, a volcano in Iceland that erupted in April 2010.
*The way it has a demilitarized zone towards Wyoming resembles {{W|North Korea}} and {{W|South Korea}}.
*Eleven dimensions refers to {{w|string theory}}.
*A {{w|wormhole}} is a theoretical relative of the {{w|black hole}}. This is a reference to the television series {{w|Stargate SG-1}} where a device capable of creating wormholes is located in the {{w|Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker}} in Colorado.
*A {{w|Horcrux}} is a type of magical object in the world of {{W|Harry Potter}}.
*The radiation zones around Longmont are caused by {{w|Radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant|radioactive contamination from the Rocky Flats Plant}}.
*The fake motto ''Si parare possis, vivere septem'' can be roughly translated as "With preparation, survival is possible for over a week."

New Mexico according to Randall's transcript is "A liquid container labeled for something of unusual and silly danger". The labeling is upside down and it refers to the nuclear testing facility White Sands Missile Range located in New Mexico for the nuclear bomb.
:This end up
:Property of White Sands Missile Range
:??? [Followed by a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFPA_704 NFPA 704] Diamond with all divisions at severe risk, and a radiation symbol in the special notice division]
:Contains White Sand
:FLAMMABLE
:Warning:
:This product contains chemicals known
:only to the state of Nevada.
:Contents under pressure from parents
:If swallowed, induce labor
:56 fluid ounces
:and 14 other ounces

The title text makes fun of Florida which is sometimes called "The penis of America". Obviously, this penis is somewhat flaccid (not erect). The use of the word "state" is a pun, as it means some particular condition (flaccid state) as well as a political entity (The State of Florida).

==Chart==
{|class=wikitable
!State!!Contained Picture!!Comments
|-
|Alabama ||A moai head facing east.||{{w|Moai}} are Easter Island stone statues
|-
|Alaska ||A teddy bear with a jetpack and a ray gun||The ray gun and jetpack are fixtures of science fiction during the Cold War era, and the Russian Bear is an often-used personification of the country Russia in political cartoonage; the "teddy bear" image may be related to Alaska's former Russian heritage. The USA acquired Alaska from Russia in the Alaska Purchase of 1867 and it became a state in 1959, during the Cold War. The Cold War often featured worries of a potential Russian invasion of Alaska due to their geographical proximity across the Bering Sea and Bering Strait, which persisted through the 1980s; Alaska was the location of a large number of interceptor missiles as part of Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars Defense Initiative" intended to shoot down missiles that might be launched from the USSR. The ray gun is pointed across the Bering Strait at Russia, consistent with Alaska's often being described as the "first line of defense" against Russian aggression.||
|-
|Arizona ||A refrigerated shelf containing milk, bread, and pastries.||
|-
|Arkansas ||A measuring cup.||
|-
|California ||A vacuum.||An old-fashioned upright vacuum cleaner (lying down to the right), green with a yellow bag.
|-
|Colorado ||The wikipedia article on Colorado.||A fake Wikipedia article on Colorado. Below the text as seen in the provided close up:
:[web address:]
::en.wikipedia.org/wiki/colorado
:[Headers]
::Wikipedia
::Article Talk
::Colorado
:[Main article {note that Randall forgot the closing parentheses ')' after the pronunciation}]
::Colorado (Pronounced [ˈeːijaˌfjatlaˌjœːkʏtl̥] is a US State encompassing portions of the Rocky
::Mountains and the Great Plains. The region has been inhabited since at least 11,000 BCE, and
::some archaeological evidence suggest the state – with roughly its current borders – has literally
::always existed. Colorado is separated from Wyoming by a 28-mile demilitarized zone, and
::has at times exercised substantial regional
::power via the installation of puppet governments
::in neighboring states
::Geographically, Colorado is eleven-dimensional,
::though seven of those dimensions are tightly
::compacted and difficult to detect in most areas
::of the state. Colorado is home to the nation's
::oldest continually-operated wormhole and two
::of President Lincoln's horcruxes.
::The wildlife in Colorado is commonly characterized
::as "erratic", particularly in the radiation zones
::around Longmont. The State's timber wolf
::population is largely bipedal; the Park Service
::has expressed "concern" at their attempts to enroll in
:[Fact box with correct State flag and emblem and fake motto:]
::State of Colorado
::Motto:
::"Si parare possis, vivere septem."
::(With preparation, survival is
::possible for over a week.)
|-
|Connecticut ||A train conductor's hat.||
|-
|Delaware ||A meerkat.||
|-
|Florida ||An eggplant.||
|-
|Georgia ||Missouri.||The outline of the state of Missouri, with the {{w|Gateway Arch}} in St. Louis.
|-
|Hawaii ||A snowball.||
|-
|Idaho ||A garden gnome, sitting down.||
|-
|Illinois ||A gangster with a guitar case, upside down.||
|-
|Indiana ||The brush of a paintbrush.||
|-
|Iowa ||A tomato, lettuce, cold cut and cheese sandwich.||
|-
|Kansas ||A stand-up piano.||
|-
|Kentucky ||A cloud.||
|-
|Louisiana ||A boot with some gum stuck to the bottom of it.||
|-
|Maine ||A Vulcan salute.||Maine's camp sunshine has had Star Trek related events in the past, including the opportunity to appear in a film.
|-
|Maryland ||A wolf howling to the moon, upside down.||
|-
|Massachusetts ||An elephant, being ridden by a man, carrying tea.||Might be a reference to the Boston Tea Party, which occurred in Massachusetts, and the Republican political party. The man seems to be wearing a tricorn hat.
|-
|Michigan ||A mitten for the lower portion, an eagle for the {{w|Upper Peninsula of Michigan}}.||
|-
|Minnesota ||$160 in $20 USD bills.||
|-
|Mississippi ||A moai head facing west.||
|-
|Missouri ||Georgia.||The outline of the state of Georgia, with a pair of {{w|Georgia Peach|Georgia peaches}}.
|-
|Montana ||One half of a muffin.||
|-
|Nebraska ||A blue VW type 2 with mattresses sticking out the back.||
|-
|Nevada ||A clothes iron.||
|-
|New Hampshire ||A tall brick factory building.||
|-
|New Jersey ||A bent-over old person.||
|-
|New Mexico ||A liquid container labeled for something of unusual and silly danger.||A yellow liquid container with upside-down labeling.
::This end up!!
::Property of White Sands Missile Range
::Contains White Sand
:[Written inside a hazardous-materials diamond with the ? very large, and the three '4' in the three top part of a diamond shape divided in four these three sections being blue, red, yellow. The lower part has a radioactive sign on the same grey background as the large rectangle.]
::??? 4 4 4
::Flammable
::Warning
::This product contains chemicals known
::Only to the Sate of Nevada.
::Contents under pressure from rich parents
::If swallowed, induce labor
::56 fluid ounces
::and 14 other ounces
|-
|New York ||A hybrid transmission with standard manual-style gears and a torque converter sliced in half.||
|-
|North Carolina ||A bouquet of flowers.||
|-
|North Dakota ||The top half of an amp.||
|-
|Ohio ||Underwear (Briefs).||
|-
|Oklahoma ||A covered pot, dripping with boil-over.||
|-
|Oregon ||A locomotive.||
|-
|Pennsylvania ||A very thick book with a bookmark.||
|-
|Rhode Island ||The bow half of a boat's hull.||
|-
|South Carolina ||A slice of pizza.||
|-
|South Dakota ||The bottom half of an amp.||
|-
|Tennessee ||A number of children's books, placed in a slightly askew pile.||
|-
|Texas ||A dog sitting in a bowl.||
|-
|Utah ||An oven.||
|-
|Vermont ||A microscope, upside down.||
|-
|Virginia ||A {{w|stegosaurus}}.||
|-
|Washington ||A whale.||
|-
|Washington DC ||A star.||On most maps, capitals are shown as stars. Washington DC is the capital of the United States.
|-
|West Virginia ||A {{w|frog}}.||
|-
|Wisconsin ||A skull.||
|-
|Wyoming ||An envelope.||The back side of a white envelope, sealed with red wax, with a black heart next to a signature (lower left corner).
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|The transcript should only mention what the picture looks like and the text in the pictures. All comments, should be in a separate part of the explanation with this table}}
:The '''United Shapes'''
:A map of things states are shaped like
:[Each state has some item wedged to stay inside its borders]

{|class=wikitable
!State!!Official Transcript!!Text
|-
|Alabama ||A moai head facing east.||
|-
|Alaska ||A teddy bear with a jetpack and a ray gun||
|-
|Arizona ||A refrigerated shelf containing milk, bread, and pastries.||
|-
|Arkansas ||A measuring cup.||
|-
|California ||A vacuum.||
|-
|Colorado ||The wikipedia article on Colorado.||See Link Above
|-
|Connecticut ||A train conductor's hat.||
|-
|Delaware ||A meerkat.||
|-
|Florida ||An eggplant.||
|-
|Georgia ||Missouri.||Missouri
|-
|Hawaii ||A snowball.||
|-
|Idaho ||A garden gnome, sitting down.||
|-
|Illinois ||A gangster with a guitar case, upside down.||
|-
|Indiana ||The brush of a paintbrush.||
|-
|Iowa ||A tomato, lettuce, cold cut and cheese sandwich.||
|-
|Kansas ||A stand-up piano.||
|-
|Kentucky ||A cloud.||
|-
|Louisiana ||A boot with some gum stuck to the bottom of it.||
|-
|Maine ||A Vulcan salute.||
|-
|Maryland ||A wolf howling to the moon, upside down.||
|-
|Massachusetts ||An elephant, being ridden by a man, carrying tea.||
|-
|Michigan ||A mitten for the lower portion, an eagle for the {{w|Upper Peninsula of Michigan}}.||
|-
|Minnesota ||$160 in $20 USD bills.||
|-
|Mississippi ||A moai head facing west.||
|-
|Missouri ||Georgia.||Georgia
|-
|Montana ||One half of a muffin.||
|-
|Nebraska ||A blue VW type 2 with mattresses sticking out the back.||
|-
|Nevada ||A clothes iron.||
|-
|New Hampshire ||A tall brick factory building.||
|-
|New Jersey ||A bent-over old person.||
|-
|New Mexico ||A liquid container labeled for something of unusual and silly danger.||
:This end up!!
:
:Property of White Sands Missile Range
:Contains White Sand
:
:???
:
:FLAMMABLE
:
:Warning: This product contains chemicals known
:Only to the state of Nevada.
:Contents under pressure from parents.
:If swallowed, induce labor.
:
:56 Fluid Ounces
:and 14 other ounces.
|-
|New York ||A hybrid transmission with standard manual-style gears and a torque converter sliced in half.||
|-
|North Carolina ||A bouquet of flowers.||
|-
|North Dakota ||The top half of an amp.||
|-
|Ohio ||Underwear (Briefs).||
|-
|Oklahoma ||A covered pot, dripping with boil-over.||
|-
|Oregon ||A locomotive.||
|-
|Pennsylvania ||A very thick book with a bookmark.||
|-
|Rhode Island ||The bow half of a boat's hull.||
|-
|South Carolina ||A slice of pizza.||
|-
|South Dakota ||The bottom half of an amp.||
|-
|Tennessee ||A number of children's books, placed in a slightly askew pile.||
:Handford / WHERE'S WALDO / or wally
:The Wreck of the Zephyr / Chris Van Allsburg
:The Way Things Work / DAVID MACAULRY
:Weisner / FREE FALL
:PADDLE-TO-THE-SEA / HCH(?)
:WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE A BUILDING / Wilson
:TINTIN / The Crab with the Golden Claws / Hergé
|-
|Texas ||A dog sitting in a bowl.||
|-
|Utah ||An oven.||
|-
|Vermont ||A microscope, upside down.||
|-
|Virginia ||A {{w|stegosaurus}}.||
|-
|Washington ||A whale.||
|-
|Washington DC ||A star.||
|-
|West Virginia ||A {{w|frog}}.||
|-
|Wisconsin ||A skull.||
|-
|Wyoming ||An envelope.||The envelope is marked with a signature, possibly Randal's
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

1670: Laws of Physics

2016-04-20T17:03:50Z

108.162.237.188: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1670
| date = April 20, 2016
| title = Laws of Physics
| image = laws_of_physics.png
| titletext = The laws of physics are fun to try to understand, but as an organism with incredibly delicate eyes who evolved in a world full of sharp objects, I have an awful lot of trust in biology's calibration of my flinch reflex.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Black Hat]], being [[Black Hat]], is deliberately perverting a classic physics demonstration. In the normal version of the demonstration, the heavy ball is pulled to one side until it is almost, but not quite, touching the volunteer's nose or chin -- in this comic, Black Hat is the only one in the right position for the experiment. When the ball is released, it swings down and away, then back to (almost) where it started -- but ''never'' (by the laws of physics) farther than where it started. So, as long as the volunteer doesn't flinch, the heavy ball will never hit them in the nose. (Sample videos: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXXF2C-vrQE], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2GdY1OlDpA],[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVSYA1RnSMQ].)

In this comic, since Cueball is not standing at the edge of the ball's movement, but rather at the base of its swing, he is about to get a rude surprise.

The title text refers to the fact when someone flinches during the pendulum experiment, they are commonly accused of not having faith in the laws of physics. Randall is rebutting this argument by stating that, rather than not having faith in science, he is actually in tune with it, specifically the biological processes that led to the flinch reflex. His eyes and his flinch reflex have been calibrated through millions of years of evolution. To instantly dismiss your body's natural reaction when a heavy object comes quickly towards your face does not give enough credit to these mechanisms that successfully kept you (and every one of your ancestors) alive. In other words, while flinching may indicate doubt of the laws of physics, it may equally well indicate trust in the laws of biology.

==Transcript==

:[Black Hat is standing on a ladder, holding a heavy ball attached to a line from above. Cueball stands beneath, where if the ball swings it will smack him right in the face.]
:Black Hat: Okay, hold still.
:Black Hat: And remember, if you ''really'' believe in the laws of physics, you won't flinch.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:1582: Picture a Grassy Field

2015-09-27T20:53:01Z

108.162.237.188:

Yikes! It's like an sql-injection for your imagination. [[User:Nique|Nique]] ([[User talk:Nique|talk]]) 05:28, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

Maybe someone should send DiCaprio to hunt for these creatures... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 05:50, 25 September 2015 (UTC)
: I'll see your Leo and raise you one Neo... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.246|162.158.114.246]] 08:00, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

Reminds me of [[248|#248]]. --[[User:Someone Else 37|Someone Else 37]] ([[User talk:Someone Else 37|talk]]) 07:39, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

Maybe consider SCP-Wiki's Cognitohazards, things that are dangerous once you know of them. The creature described here would be a very mild version of those (Sorry, no idea about the identification methods for non-account holders) {{unsigned ip|162.158.90.165}}
: It actually comes off pretty similarly to a specific item, [http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-637 SCP-637]. They're classified memetic objects. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.91|173.245.55.91]] 13:56, 25 September 2015 (UTC)
: The title text reminded me about how the Foundation tried to kill SCP-682 with SCP-826.

The Onthological argument?
What does this have to do woth the Cartesian Onthological argument? I suggest the deletion of that part.[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.145|188.114.111.145]]
: Agree [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 13:08, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

: I think it should be left in (or put back). When I read the comic initially, I immediately thought Randal was poking fun at the ontological argument. For anyone not familiar, the core of the ontological argument is that you can induce god into existence using just words and definitions. Here, Megan essentially creates a mind-attacking being by defining it to exist. Actually, you could go so far as to argue that her mind invader is just the idea of god in and of itself - i.e. a mind invading meme that only exists because you think it exists. Obviously, not everyone here agrees with this view, but I think it should at least be mentioned in the explanation as a possibility. [[User:ActuallySerious650|ActuallySerious650]] ([[User talk:ActuallySerious650|talk]]) 14:16, 25 September 2015 (UTC)
::I have put it back in. It makes sense to me, and others, and it does say may be a reference. So people can decide for them selves, and if they do not see it, then it is still a very short explanation. So just leave it be in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:34, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

Is there a name for thought experiments (relaxation techniques?) that start with "Picture a grassy field"? I feel like this is an established thing being referenced that should be included in the explanation. [[User:Smperron|Smperron]] ([[User talk:Smperron|talk]]) 14:24, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

Reminds me of Doctor Who weeping angels [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 16:24, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

Now imagine a grassy field with a creature on it that can get all these other creatures and itself out of your imagination in under 5 seconds - [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.196|141.101.104.196]] 17:10, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

Reminds me of the Tribbles from Star Trek. [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 19:05, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

I think this creature revealed itself to me over two decades ago in the form of a white talking rabbit in the back of a restaurant. It was sorting pieces of paper with my memories on them, possibly as an analogy for [[wikipedia:memory consolidation|memory consolidation]]. --[[User:Tepples|Tepples]] ([[User talk:Tepples|talk]]) 19:37, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

I think that this is a parody of Roko's Basilisk: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/bitwise/2014/07/roko_s_basilisk_the_most_terrifying_thought_experiment_of_all_time.html {{unsigned ip|108.162.215.51}}

Why should the second creature be dangerous? Or the first, actually? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 19:11, 26 September 2015 (UTC)

Randall has his good days and his bad days. Today (or whenever the comic was posted) is not his good day. :( -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.55|162.158.255.55]] 00:22, 27 September 2015 (UTC)

813: One-Liners

2015-06-01T14:44:50Z

108.162.237.188: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 813
| date = November 1, 2010
| title = One-Liners
| image = one liners.png
| titletext = "Upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Flash player to view THIS content, bitch." ::triggers detonator::
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, Randall presents a series of phrases, ordered by how likely they are to be used as a {{w|One-line joke|one-liner}} by a character in an {{w|action movie}}. One-liners are short, punchy phrases, typically witty or funny, and are routinely used in films by the antagonist to taunt the protagonist (or vice versa). The perfect one-liner leaves the recipient at a loss for a comeback, and should make sense immediately. If the phrase doesn't make sense or has to be explained, the effect is lost.

While the phrases shown start off adhering to the witty and punchy stereotype of the one-liner, they quickly become absurb and non-sensical.

{| class="wikitable"
! Panel No.
! Phrase
! Explanation
|-
| 1
| You're going down the memory hole now, asshole.
|The {{w|Memory hole}} is a mechanism for redacting documents, photographs, etc., and a reference to {{w|George Orwell}}'s novel {{w|Nineteen Eighty-Four}}. In this instance it implies that the character on the floor is about to be 'erased' from existence.
|-
| 2
| Hey! You forgot to carry the two.
|[[Cueball]], who appears to be at an advantage since he has a gun and his opponent only has a knife, is pointing out an arithmetic error in his opponent's calculations. This may simply be Cueball adding insult to injury "I'm about to shoot you, but first I'm going to point out that you suck at maths". Alternatively, it could be a ruse to distract the knife wielding opponent, or a case of well-timed nerd-sniping.
|-
| 3
| Looks like the Fed just lowered the interest rate.
| The {{w|Federal Reserve System}}, usually referred to as The Fed, is the central banking system in the United States. While interest rates are usually lowered during a recession or a crisis, this phrase appears to be completely out of context, and lacks any humor.
|-
| 4
| Guess you should've scrolled all the way to the bottom before clicking "Agree."
| A common feature encountered when registering for user accounts or installing software is a very lengthy {{w|Terms of service}} document, describing the things you agree to abide by. The vast majority of people simply click Agree without reading the document, essentially agreeing to anything and everything that the author decided to include. In the context of this panel, perhaps the user agreed to be executed at random.
|-
| 5
| Bangarang, motherfucker.
| This phrase is very similar to the line "Yippee-Ki-Yay motherfucker" used by {{w|John McClane}} in the {{w|Die Hard (film series)|Die Hard}} series. {{w|Bangarang}} is, among other things, the Jamaican word for "uproar." It was popularized (without the addition of 'motherfucker') as the cheer of the {{w|Lost Boys (Peter Pan)|lost boys}} in the film ''{{w|Hook (film)|Hook}}.
|}

The title text is another suggested one-liner phrase, referring to an update reminder that frequently pops up when one attempts to view {{w|Adobe Flash}} content on a webpage. After delivering the line, the character triggers a detonator (Double colons are sometimes used in text to denote an action), presumably setting of an explosive of some kind.

The sentence doesn't make much sense, and is too convoluted and wordy for an effective one-liner, which suggests that this is a continuation of the scale towards 'Less Likely'. This phrase also proves that simply adding Bitch, Asshole, Motherfucker or similar to the end of a phrase does not necessarily turn it into a great one-liner.

==Transcript==
:Probability of phrases becoming action movie one liners:
:[Panels are arranged from More Likely on the left to Less likely on the right.]

:[A woman points a gun down at a man who is on the floor, his gun just out of reach.]
:Woman: ''You're'' going down the memory hole now, asshole.

:[Man on ground points gun up at blade-armed man standing next to a board with science on it.]
:Man with gun: ''Hey!'' You forgot to carry the two.

:[Woman on desk points sword at man standing on floor.]
:Woman: Looks like the Fed just lowered the interest rate.

:[Man with gun looks down at woman slumped on floor.]
:Man: Guess you should've scrolled ''all'' the way to the bottom before clicking "Agree."

:[Woman holds pistol to the back of the head of another woman holding a rifle.]
:Woman with pistol: Bangarang, motherfucker.

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

271: Powers of One

2015-05-30T22:43:22Z

108.162.237.188: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 271
| date = June 6, 2007
| title = Powers of One
| image = powers_of_one.png
| titletext = It's kinda Zen when you think about it, if you don't think too hard.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a parody of the short documentary {{w|Powers of Ten (film)|"Powers of 10"}}, which can be found [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0 here].

As in the documentary, the comic features a man and a woman having a picnic on a blanket. In the documentary, the apparent distance from the scene, and thus the zoom level, gradually changes by a factor of ten every ten seconds (hence the name "Powers of 10": 1, 10, 100, ...). In the comic, powers of one are used. Since all powers of 1 are 1, the image doesn't change at all, showing a series of identical images.

The title text notes that this idea may seem profound (or "{{w|Zen}}", which is commonly used in American slang to mean "profound"), but is not upon scrutiny.

==Transcript==
:[A sequence, presumably continuing endlessly in both directions, of identical images of a couple lying on a chequered blanket, with a picnic basket, on grass. Each image has a rule at the bottom giving measurements in meters, with the scale in terms of 1 to a particular power. The powers visible are the -1th (part), 0th-2nd, and 3rd (part).]

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

271: Powers of One

2015-05-30T22:40:59Z

108.162.237.188: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 271
| date = June 6, 2007
| title = Powers of One
| image = powers_of_one.png
| titletext = It's kinda Zen when you think about it, if you don't think too hard.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a parody of the short documentary {{w|Powers of Ten (film)|"Powers of 10"}}, which can be found [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0 here].

As in the documentary, the comic features a man and a woman having a picnic on a blanket. In the documentary, the apparent distance from the scene, and thus the zoom level, changes by a factor of ten at regular intervals (hence the name "Powers of 10": 1, 10, 100, ...). In the comic, powers of one are used. Since all powers of 1 are 1, the image doesn't change at all, showing a series of identical images.

The title text notes that this idea may seem profound (or "{{w|Zen}}", which is commonly used in American slang to mean "profound"), but is not upon scrutiny.

==Transcript==
:[A sequence, presumably continuing endlessly in both directions, of identical images of a couple lying on a chequered blanket, with a picnic basket, on grass. Each image has a rule at the bottom giving measurements in meters, with the scale in terms of 1 to a particular power. The powers visible are the -1th (part), 0th-2nd, and 3rd (part).]

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

271: Powers of One

2015-05-30T22:23:54Z

108.162.237.188: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 271
| date = June 6, 2007
| title = Powers of One
| image = powers_of_one.png
| titletext = It's kinda Zen when you think about it, if you don't think too hard.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a parody of the short documentary {{w|Powers of Ten (film)|"Powers of 10"}}, which can be found [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0 here].

As in the documentary, the comic features a man and a woman on a blanket, during a picnic. In the documentary, the zoom level of the image changes by 10 times at regular intervals (hence the name "Powers of 10": 1x, 10x, 100x ...). In the comic, powers of 1 are used. Since every power of 1 is 1, the image doesn't change at all, showing a series of identical images.

The title text says that this idea may seem profound (or "{{w|Zen}}", which is commonly used in American slang to mean "profound"), but quickly loses any pretensions to actually being profound when you take a second look.

==Transcript==
:[A sequence, presumably continuing endlessly in both directions, of identical images of a couple lying on a chequered blanket, with a picnic basket, on grass. Each image has a rule at the bottom giving measurements in meters, with the scale in terms of 1 to a particular power. The powers visible are the -1th (part), 0th-2nd, and 3rd (part).]

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

271: Powers of One

2015-05-30T22:20:44Z

108.162.237.188: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 271
| date = June 6, 2007
| title = Powers of One
| image = powers_of_one.png
| titletext = It's kinda Zen when you think about it, if you don't think too hard.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a parody of the short documentary {{w|Powers of Ten (film)|"Powers of 10"}}: the original one can be found [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0 here].

As in the documentary, the comic features a man and a woman on a blanket, during a picnic. In the documentary, the zoom level of the image changes by 10 times at regular intervals (hence the name "Powers of 10": 1x, 10x, 100x ...). In the comic, though, powers of 1 are used. Since every power of 1 is 1, the image doesn't change at all, showing a series of identical images.

The title text says that this idea may seem profound, (or "{{w|Zen}}", which is commonly used in American slang to mean "profound") but quickly loses any pretensions to actually being profound when you take a second look.

==Transcript==
:[A sequence, presumably continuing endlessly in both directions, of identical images of a couple lying on a chequered blanket, with a picnic basket, on grass. Each image has a rule at the bottom giving measurements in meters, with the scale in terms of 1 to a particular power. The powers visible are the -1th (part), 0th-2nd, and 3rd (part).]

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

271: Powers of One

2015-05-30T22:18:40Z

108.162.237.188: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 271
| date = June 6, 2007
| title = Powers of One
| image = powers_of_one.png
| titletext = It's kinda Zen when you think about it, if you don't think too hard.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a parody of the short documentary {{w|Powers of Ten (film)|"Powers of 10"}}: the original one can be found {{http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0|here.}}

As in the documentary, the comic features a man and a woman on a blanket, during a picnic. In the documentary, the zoom level of the image changes by 10 times at regular intervals (hence the name "Powers of 10": 1x, 10x, 100x ...). In the comic, though, powers of 1 are used. Since every power of 1 is 1, the image doesn't change at all, showing a series of identical images.

The title text says that this idea may seem profound, (or "{{w|Zen}}", which is commonly used in American slang to mean "profound") but quickly loses any pretensions to actually being profound when you take a second look.

==Transcript==
:[A sequence, presumably continuing endlessly in both directions, of identical images of a couple lying on a chequered blanket, with a picnic basket, on grass. Each image has a rule at the bottom giving measurements in meters, with the scale in terms of 1 to a particular power. The powers visible are the -1th (part), 0th-2nd, and 3rd (part).]

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

271: Powers of One

2015-05-30T22:11:50Z

108.162.237.188: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 271
| date = June 6, 2007
| title = Powers of One
| image = powers_of_one.png
| titletext = It's kinda Zen when you think about it, if you don't think too hard.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a parody of the short documentary {{w|Powers of Ten (film)|"Powers of 10"}}: the original one can be found here.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0]

Like in the documentary, the comic features a man and a woman on a blanket, during a picnic. Then, the zoom level of the image should change... but, while in the documentary it changes by 10 times at regular intervals (hence the name "Powers of 10": 1x, 10x, 100x ...), in the comic powers of 1 are used: since every power of 1 is 1, the image doesn't change at all.

So, a series of identical images is shown.

The title text says that this idea may seem profound, (or "{{w|Zen}}", which is commonly used in American slang to mean "profound") but quickly loses any pretensions to actually being profound when you take a second look.

==Transcript==
:[A sequence, presumably continuing endlessly in both directions, of identical images of a couple lying on a chequered blanket, with a picnic basket, on grass. Each image has a rule at the bottom giving measurements in meters, with the scale in terms of 1 to a particular power. The powers visible are the -1th (part), 0th-2nd, and 3rd (part).]

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

1268: Alternate Universe

2015-05-27T20:14:11Z

108.162.237.188: Category:Spiders

{{comic
| number = 1268
| date = September 23, 2013
| title = Alternate Universe
| image = alternate_universe.png
| titletext = As best as I can tell, I was transported here from Earth Prime sometime in the late 1990s. Your universe is identical in every way, except for the lobster thing and the thing where some of you occasionally change your clocks for some reason.
}}
[[File:Lobster_meal.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5| Lobster meal. (from Wikimedia Commons)]]
==Explanation==
Randall is trying to make the point that eating {{w|Lobster|lobsters}} is as weird as eating spiders. {{w|Crustacean|Crustaceans}} and {{w|Arachnid|arachnids}} are both {{w|Arthropod|arthropods}}, members of the same phylum, so his comparison isn't too far off (then again, humans are in the same phylum ({{w|Chordate|chordates}}) as {{w|Ascidiacea|sea squirts}}, so any perceived similarities are not exactly rooted in a close biological relationship). In addition, lobsters were once considered the "cockroaches of the sea", and a captain trying to feed his crew with lobster would often be seen as cruel. On the other side, {{w|Spider#Benefits_to_humans|cooked tarantula spiders are considered a delicacy in Cambodia}}.

"{{w|Earth Prime}}" means the original Earth in a {{w|multiverse}}, a multitude of universes. Earth Prime is typically the Earth on which the narrative begins, simply out of convenience. The title text also references changing clocks to and from {{w|Daylight Saving Time}}, which Randall has [[1061: EST|made clear]] he is not a fan of.

==Transcript==
:Imagine you were transported to an alternate universe just like your own, except people occasionally ate spiders.
:You can't convince anyone this is weird.

:[Megan is holding a spider, with another on the ground, and Cueball is standing behind her, shocked.]
:Megan: Mmm...
:Cueball: ''No!'' What are you ''doing!?''

:This is how I feel about lobster.

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

Talk:1517: Spectroscopy

2015-04-29T03:36:20Z

108.162.237.188: Acceptable alternate pronunciation of "centrifugal."

Thanks, Kynde, for the nice explanation. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:29, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
:Your welcome, and Thanks. I think I was still working on it when you wrote this comment ;-).--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:42, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

I was wondering how many people go to watch these two songs on YouTube today (and the next few days) solely because of Randall's comic. I have long time wondered about this. Now maybe a time to find out. Of course we never know in advance how many new hits the song he chooses received the days before. But now we have a chance of following it over the next few days. Of course the comic has been up several hours but it is still early across most of the US... Here are the counters for the two videos linked above in the comic as of right before this post was made: Breathe: 9.493.222 and This Kiss 4.079.410. Please feel free to add new counts a few times over the next week or so. :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:42, 27 April 2015 (UTC)

Links for your convenience: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCmsZUN4r_s "Breathe"], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dls_cBmUt7Q "This Kiss"] and as control [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcGntdbDB5Q "Cry"].

"Breathe" 9,493,334,
"This Kiss" 4,079,458,
"Cry" 3,182,592
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:54, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
:Thanks. Here goes after 1 day and 2 hours:
:9.500.026 (+6692/+,07%)
:4.083.297 (+3839/+,09%)
:3.184.334 (+1742/+,05%)
:I'm nut sure we can learn anything from this yet...?--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:55, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

Actually, if the star or region of space is anything similar to our own, O2 is definitively a sign of life. Not animal life, but at least plant life, to crack the O2 out of the CO2 with photosynthesis.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 14:00, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
:The explanation currently covers links that show that not all oxygen will be created because of life, and not all life (even 'as we know it') will necessarily require/produce a significant oxygen signal. But there seems to be a missing middle-bit in that oxygen initially seems to have been a smothering 'industrial pollutant' by early (oxygen splitting) life-forms until other life-forms developed the machinary to use this oxygen as part of their own energy mechanisms (creating the eventual two-way dynamic of CO2 and O2 production/usage between the ''major'' groups of life) and thus making the unstable free oxygen both an indicator of life and an indicator of the ''capability'' of life (by mainstream terrestrial standards of biology, of course). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.186|141.101.98.186]] 18:06, 27 April 2015 (UTC)
:That is not necessarily true. There is now a theory that oxygen could be have been created without life involved here on Earth based on the snow ball earth scenario. In the ice H2O2 formed and when the ice melted this was released into the water where it then would release oxygen. See for instance here: [http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10662-did-snowball-earths-melting-let-oxygen-fuel-life.html#.VT-QbRTU-i4 Did snowball Earth's melting let oxygen fuel life?]. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:09, 28 April 2015 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure the original lyric for "This Kiss" is "it's centripetal motion" (see: http://www.sweetslyrics.com/59372.Faith%20Hill%20-%20This%20Kiss.html). I assumed the joke Randall was making was that centrifugal really is a force, Mr. Bond, even if Faith Hill doesn't know about it. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 00:25, 28 April 2015 (UTC)
:I agree: I only recall hearing "centripetal motion", but Google tells me there are actually more hits for "centrifugal", and that there are some lyrics sites putting ''both'' phrases in the song. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 01:41, 28 April 2015 (UTC)
::I think the song says "centrifical" which is not even a word, let alone a force, ficticious or not. Nonetheless, it seems to be a common misspelling since it has its own wiktionary entry (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/centrifical). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.180|108.162.249.180]] 08:54, 28 April 2015 (UTC)
:::I agree that she doesn't sing centrifugal. I have changed the explain to say it is centripetal (I'm sure she is supposed to at least, maybe she doesn't know the word either ;-) But left in a comment on the fact that there are different versions on-line. But I'm sure that that is because people do not know the word centripetal and also that people who make lyrics pages cut and paste from each other. I have often seen the same mistake on several lyrics pages. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:50, 28 April 2015 (UTC)
:::Its not centripetal, she sings "centrifugal" but with pronounced wrong. Its a pop song, and centrifugal with a long u wouldn't fit, so the i is short but stressed, and the u is reduced to a schwa. Rightly or wrongly, "centrifugal" is the common word.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.43|141.101.70.43]] 18:37, 28 April 2015 (UTC)
::::How is it pronounced wrongly? There's two pronunciations for the word "centrifugal," and one of them is without a long-U sound. /sɛnˈtrɪf yə gəl, -ə gəl/ (see: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/centrifugal?s=t) Maybe she's a bit harder on the G than might be proper, but most people I know pronounce it as she does, or close enough anyway. -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.188|108.162.237.188]] 03:20, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

Talk:288: Elevator

2015-03-06T04:59:10Z

108.162.237.188:

That certainly is a distinctive landscape. Does anybody know of any literary (or otherwise) allusion? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 02:24, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
:I can't help but think of the Wood Between the Worlds from The Chronicles of Narnia. It's probably not it, though. Those look more like lakes than pools of water. Also, there's that larger body of water. {{unsigned ip|108.162.222.47}}
:Looks a bit like the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota. Not sure why it would be that, however. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.194|173.245.54.194]] 14:44, 7 November 2014 (UTC)
:The location might be the Lena Delta in northern Russia. This is also referenced in xkcd [https://xkcd.com/1169/ 1169] "Expedition" by clicking on the comic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.188|108.162.237.188]] 04:59, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Why are the floors labeled backwards from the reality, with the lowest floor at the top? Is this common in the U.S.?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.220|141.101.81.220]] 13:21, 19 May 2014 (UTC)
:No, most, if not all, buildings in the US have the highest floor on top and the lowest floor on bottom, with everything else in descending order as you look from top to bottom. [[User:Mulan15262|Mulan15262]] ([[User talk:Mulan15262|talk]]) 03:33, 10 June 2014 (UTC)Mulan15262
:Floors appear with the highest on top and the lowest on the bottom. However, the number one is assigned to the ground floor or the floor above it. Normally, basements are not assigned a number, and are simply marked with the letter "B". However, in buildings with more than one floor below ground, they may be numbered. In other words, the numbering might not be backwards, if 1 is 1 floor below ground, 2 is 2 floors below ground, etc. In the television show Stargate SG-1, there are elevators that stop at "sub-levels" (floors below ground) inside Cheyenne Mountain. In real life, elevators that go multiple floors below ground are found in underground parking garages, subway stations, etc.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.97|173.245.48.97]] 02:49, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

With the landscape, i cant help but think of the dead marshes from LOTR [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.218|108.162.250.218]] 02:33, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

I've just noticed that the image, with the heavy blues and greens, seems to move when you read the explanation below. It seems to be some sort of motion illusion, though I don't know the exact name of it. [[User:Kirdneh|Kirdneh]] ([[User talk:Kirdneh|talk]]) 02:25, 15 December 2014 (UTC)