explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

596: Latitude

2016-10-05T05:47:37Z

108.162.249.156: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 596
| date = June 12, 2009
| title = Latitude
| image = latitude.png
| titletext = The G1, especially with the new Android upgrade, is way better than I originally thought.
}}

==Explanation==

[[Black Hat]] shows his friend [[Cueball]] that he has made a mobile phone application to log and find addresses and business names for the locations of his "friends" using data from {{w|Google Latitude}} which was a location-aware feature of Google Maps that allowed a mobile phone user to allow certain people to view their current location.

The reason it is worth doing so for him, is that most of those that use Google Latitude, haven't learned the habit to turn it off when engaging in "discreet" activities. And then Black Hat can access their whereabout which he then uses in his app.

The second panel shows the screen of Black Hat's smartphone with the logs for his two friend in table form showing activity for [[Megan]] and Robert, the latter log is partially cut off. (Regarding the use of these names see the [[#Trivia|trivia section]]).

Robert's log is fairly innocuous: home at 12:30 PM, school at 2:00 PM and in a {{w|Subway (restaurant)|Subway restaurant}} at 3:30 PM. This log shows that Robert did nothing interesting for Black Hat. There are also several holes in the table compared to the other column. This could either indicate that he stayed this long time those three places, but it could also indicate that Robert has already learned to switch of Latitude when he is not actively using it. This would fit with Black Hat's comment about a narrow window in which people haven't learned this. His friend Robert (which could be the Cueball shown here, see the [[#Trivia|trivia section]]), may already have thought of this himself, or maybe Black Hat has mentioned it to him before getting the idea for the app thus warning him about the problem (without meaning to).

The reason Black Hat states that there only is a ''narrow window of time that people forget to turn Google Latitude off'', is because people like him will make other people, who forgets this, miserable. And then everyone will soon learn to turn the feature off making Black Hat's app useless.

Megan's log appears to prove Black Hat's point: She was home at 11:00 AM, at a {{w|sex toy}} store at 12:30 PM, home again at 1:30 PM, at another sex toy store at 2:00 PM, home again at 2:30 PM, then at {{w|Fry's Electronics}} at 3:00 PM, and directly at a {{w|power tool}} store at 3:30 PM, finally home again at 4:00 PM only to be at the hospital burn ward at 4:10 PM. The last entry is the only one where the interval is not half an hour indicating how fast Megan had to get to the hospital after getting home with her new power tools and electronics (note that Fry is a name, as in Charles Fry, so this was not why she was fried...)

This suggests that Megan first tried the sex toy(s) from the first store, found them insufficiently satisfying, purchased additional sex toys from another store, was still unsatisfied, and then purchased some electronic devices and power tools (either to improve the performance of her sex toys or to apply directly for additional stimulation). The results were apparently more painful than pleasurable, necessitating a quick visit to the hospital burn ward. Overall, Megan has had an at first unsatisfying day and then finally a rather bad day, considering where the burn is most likely to be... She would almost certainly not be pleased to learn that Black Hat has been tracking her whereabouts and sharing this with their mutual friend Cueball.

The title text shows that [[Randall]] liked the T-Mobile G1, also known as the {{w|HTC Dream}}, especially with the new Android upgrade, more than he previously thought because it allows for more capabilities and the interface is clean and easy-to-use when compared to other "smartphones" of that time period (because the G1 was the first phone to introduce {{w|Android}}) and it allows for special Google networking, allowing for apps like Maps to run better (making it easier to run apps like Latitude). From what able to be gathered in the comic, it is [[Black Hat]] who says this, because he is the one who uses the app and shows it off to [[Randall]]. He would be the most likely one to benefit from this kind of phone running this kind of OS/app.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is holding a phone up to Cueball.]
:Black Hat: We're in a narrow window in which people are using Google Latitude, but haven't learned the habit of turning it off when they're doing something discreetly.
:Black Hat: I wrote an app to log friends' locations and work out addresses and business names.

:[A timetable is visible. The first column gives the time and splits the day in the half hour intervals starting at 11:00 AM, except for the last entry at 4:10 PM, where the time only jumps 10 minutes. The next two columns represents two persons activities during this time period. In the second column the last letter shown in the comic is partly cut off more or less. This last partly shown letter is written in the transcript, but no guess is made here. See the explanation. Above the table, over the two names, there is a caption:]
:::::<big>Locations</big>
:{| class="wikitable"
|-
|Time ||Megan ||Rober
|-
|11:00 AM || Home ||
|-
|12:30 PM || Eastview Adult Toy Store || Home
|-
|1:30 PM || Home ||
|-
|2:00 PM || Laketown Sex Toy Shop || Schoo
|-
|2:30 PM ||Home ||
|-
|3:00 PM || Fry's Electronics ||
|-
|3:30 PM || Ed's Power Tool Emporium || Subwa
|-
|4:00 PM || Home ||
|-
|4:10 PM || Hospital Burn Ward ||
|}

==Trivia==
*This is one of the handful of times that the name ''Megan'' has been used in xkcd, in this case without actually showing Megan, so there is actually no indication in this comic how she looks. But that has been shown in several others.
**Despite her not being shown, the comic should be listed as featuring Megan, as her name is used.
*Given that Black Hat has sometimes interacted with the Cueball called [[Rob]], it seems likely that the Cueball in this comic is actually Rob (for Robert), and it turns out that he has either forgotten to turn of his Google Latitude, or only has it turned on when he actually uses it. He has in either case only used it in inconspicuous places, and would not be alarmed at seeing the table of his own activities.
**Maybe this is why Black Hat shows it to him, so he can share Megan's event log which is much more interesting.
**That Rob has been at a school could mean he was a teacher or for some other reason needed to go there. It is such a short time span in the afternoon that it does not seem like something a school kid would do.
***Some has, using the school as argument, suggested that this Robert is actually [[Little Bobby Tables]].
***But Black Hat has never interacted with the [[Mrs. Roberts|Roberts family]] so this seems unlikely, and he has never been called Robert, but he has been drawn like a kid looking like Cueball.
**Given that it is unclear if it is either Rob or Bobby neither should be credited as part of this comic.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Sex]]

Talk:1734: Reductionism

2016-09-17T00:40:41Z

108.162.249.156:

Well, this is probably the first time I've been on here and the Wednesday comic is up on Thursday, but the Friday comic is still on schedule. Weird. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 15:11, 16 September 2016 (UTC)
:It was also the first time Randall delayed a comic to keep another comic on the front page. So since it was a planned delay of the previous comic this one was not supposed to be delayed. That would have been weird ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:07, 16 September 2016 (UTC)

Just like defining recursion by: "'''recursion''' ''n'': see recursion" :-) --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 15:05, 16 September 2016 (UTC)

"D" is a development from an Egyptian hieroglyph symbolizing a door. "U" is [[User:Capncanuck|Capncanuck]] ([[User talk:Capncanuck|talk]])

I feel like part of the meta-joke is the fact that the box cuts off the definition, literally reducing it. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.90|162.158.69.90]] 20:04, 16 September 2016 (UTC)
Yes, reductionism reducted, reductionised, and reduced... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.156|108.162.249.156]] 00:40, 17 September 2016 (UTC)

1732: Earth Temperature Timeline

2016-09-15T21:21:02Z

108.162.249.156: /* Table of all elements */

{{comic
| number = 1732
| date = September 12, 2016
| title = Earth Temperature Timeline
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = earth_temperature_timeline.png
| titletext = [After setting your car on fire] Listen, your car's temperature has changed before.
}}

==Explanation==
{{TOC}}
{{incomplete|[[#Table of all elements|Table for explanations]] now ready to be filled out. Please remove this tag only when everything is explained.}}
In the past 100 years, human action produced lots of {{w|CO₂ emissions}}, which have caused a rise in average global temperature through the {{w|greenhouse effect}}. This is called {{w|global warming}} and is part of a {{w|climate change}}, a subject that has become a [[:Category:Climate change|recurrent subject]] on xkcd. There are still many people who claim that this is not happening, or at least that it is not caused by any human actions, called "climate change deniers". One argument of theirs is that global warming is happening for natural causes, summarized with the phrase "temperature has changed before". This comic is a direct, but much more thorough, follow up on the previous global warming comic: [[1379: 4.5 Degrees]].

This comic shows that while temperature changes have indeed occurred before, the speed of the current temperature rise is much, much faster than those seen (actually: estimated) in the previous thousands of years. It seemed to touch on something in peoples consciousness, because it became so popular that [[Randall]] [[#Popularity_of_comic|postponed the release]] of his next comic to keep this one on the front page one day longer.

This comic is a [[:Category:Timelines|timeline]] on how the temperature has changed since 20,000 BCE (Before {{w|Common Era}}) to the present day and extrapolated 84 years on from present day of the release of the comic (2016) to 2100 {{w|Common Era|CE}} depending on the choice of actions to stop CO₂ emission that is taken now or never. It is meant to contrast the slow-paced natural changes with the rapid temperature rise in the recent years. The effect is achieved by forcing the reader to scroll endlessly through slow, building-up changes and then face them with an almost instantaneous, quick rise towards the end. The temperature curve is a dotted line most of the time, but from about 1850 to present day (2016) the measurement data is good enough to let the curve become a solid line indicating that this is not an estimate. Before 1850 the temperature is an estimate based on the [[#Sources|sources]] given. And likewise into the future the curve is also dotted as this is predictions. And here there are even three possible outcomes depending on how seriously politicians and other influential people (and the population of Earth) take knowledge (and comics) like this.

Below in the [[#Table of all elements|table]] each entry will be noted and explained (in time). This is one of the comics where Randall cites his [[#Sources|sources]] like he did for one of his other very large comics [[980: Money]].

The title text compares the saying that "the temperature has changed before" comparing temperature changes over thousands of years to the rapid global warming over the last century with saying that the "small" changes to the temperature a car experiences over the years of normal usage should not make you worried over the rapid temperature increase that happens when someone sets your car on fire. A related joke was used recently in [[1693: Oxidation]].

===Table of all elements===
*Here is table (to be filled out) of all elements with explanations including reading of temperature and year for each event from the curve.
*Table ready for use:
**The year group is just an easy way to find the section.
**The actual year of an event should be read off more precisely on the chart.
***Suggestion for doing this:
***Top part of element
***Central part of element
***Other?
**Element is a description mainly taken from the transcript. Feel free to remove redundant information, but the guess was that getting the table ready was the most important feature for getting the explanation started.
**T (°C) is the number of degrees above or below the 1961-1990 average, which on this graph is set to zero.. (i.e. not the number of physical degrees above or below 0°C).
**Explanation explains itself.
{| class="wikitable"
!Year group
!Element
!Year
!T (°C)
!Explanation
|-
| rowspan="2"| 20000 BCE
| [An arrow goes from the dotted line to the central line at 0°C (representing the 1961-1990 average). In the middle of the line there is a temperature label:] 4.3°C At the start of our timeline, 22,000 years ago, Earth is 4°C colder than during the late 20th century. || 20000 BCE || -4.3 || The temperature at the beginning of the chart compared to the average from 1961-1990 that in general are used to compare temperatures with today as well as in the rest of this chart.
|-

| {{w|Boston}} is buried under almost a mile of ice, and the {{w|glaciers}} reach as far south as {{w|New York City}}. [The Statue of Liberty is shown in front of a glacier front. A guy with a white {{w|knit cap}} is seen walking in a snowy landscape. The skyline of Boston is shown under a half a mile of ice.] || 19700 BCE || -4.3 || The Boston image is directly taken from [[1225: Ice Sheets]] about the ice age glacier coverage and the guy with the white knit cap could be the guy from [[1321: Cold]] also about global warming. It shows what a difference 4 degree in global temperature means (massive effect), as opposed to what four degree means on a daily weather wise scale (nothing!). [[Randall]] lives in Boston. It was also shown buried in ice in [[1379: 4.5 Degrees]]. Knit caps have only been used a few times in xkcd, most prominently on [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|Knit Cap Girl]] in [[1350: Lorenz]], see her section for more details.

|-
| rowspan="3"| 19500 BCE
| But the world is about to warm up. || || || The warming process actually takes thousands of years, which this comic will portray down thousands of pixels to come.
|-
| By this time, humans have already spread across Africa, Eurasia, and Australia. || || || Homo Sapiens started migrating out of Africa circa 100000 BCE.
|-
| They’ve created painting, pottery, rope, and bows and arrows, but haven’t developed writing or farming. || || ||

|-
| rowspan="2"| 19000 BCE
| Changes in the Earth’s orbit mean that more sunlight reaches the polar ice… || || ||{{w|Milankovitch cycles}} are repeated climate variations on a timescale of tens of millennia.
|-
| [A line chart with a labeled Y-axis "Summer sun W/m2 at 60°N" with three labeled ticks ranging from 450-550. The curve starts up and then goes down five times and up four times ending down. There is one plateau towards the end compared to the rest of the curve where the ups and downs are quite alike.] || || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 18500 BCE
| [A map of the world. At the top is a light gray area covering North America, Greenland and northern Europe and most of the northern part of Russia. A similar gray area covers Antarctica. The gray areas are labeled as ice.] || || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 18000 BCE
| …And the ice sheets start to melt. || || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 17500 BCE
| Temperatures have been creeping upward, but around this point, CO2 levels start to climb…|| || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 17000 BCE
| …And then the warming speeds up. || || || Sarcasm about the rate of natural climate change compared to modern anthropogenic warming.

|-
| rowspan="1"| 16500 BCE
| [Cueball is standing with a spear just the right of the graph talking to a rabbit.] Cueball: Still pretty cold. || || || True.

|-
| rowspan="2"| 16000 BCE
| [Megan points to the graph to the right of her and between her and Ponytail standing on the other side. Mean is the first drawing on the left side of the dotted curve, which has hardly moved since the beginning, only to just on the other side of 4°C below the 1961-1990 average.] || || ||
|-
| [In the right part of the chart is an explanation of the data. Below the first two lines there are four drawings each showing possible temperature swings in reality compared to the smoothed data that represents the dotted curve of the entire chart. The dotted curve is shown in all four drawings and a thin line is shown running along it but with much more fluctuation left and right on the first two, a large spike right on the third and a large bump way right on the fourth. Above these there are two labels. The first labels is inside a bracket that covers the first three, and the last label is for the last drawing. Below is a list of sources.] Limits of this data: Short warming or cooling spikes might be “smoothed out” by these reconstructions but only if they’re small or brief enough. Possible Unlikely Reconstructions are from Shakun (2012) and Marcott (2013), scaled to Annan + Hargreaves (2013) estimate for the last glacial period. || || || This is Randall's pre-emptive response to skepticism about the accuracy of prehistoric data. Ice cores and similar records might miss individual year-to-year variation, but should catch sustained changes lasting many decades, which is the time scale that matters for climate.

|-
| rowspan="1"| 15500 BCE
| In what is now France, humans paint murals on the walls of the Lascaux caves [Hairy paints three animals, two with horns, and two humans, Cueball holding hand with Hairy who has a spear. On the other side of the central line Megan writes three letters, the last of which is reversed:] NIИ || || || A reference to the industrial techno band {{w|Nine Inch Nails}}.

|-
| rowspan="1"| 15000 BCE
| Ice sheets around Alaska shrink, exposing a land bridge between Asia and North America [From around the bottom if this section and down to 11500 BCE the dotted curve moved steadily to the right towards warmed temperature peaking close to 1.5°C below the 1961-1990 average. Before this the temperature had not moved much away from that at the start.] || || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 14500 BCE
| [Cueball walks right looking back at the graph behind him. Megan walks in front of him pointing further right.] | Cueball: Cool. Humans reach North America. || || || This is approximately when the ancestors of the Inuit crossed the land bridge from what is now Russia to what is now Alaska. However, evidence of humans in North America over 20,000 years ago suggests that humans reached North America by boat prior to the formation of the land bridge.

|-
| rowspan="2"| 14000 BCE
| The edge of the ice withdraws from New York City and retreats North. || || ||
|-
| [A large glacier front speaks in a speech bubble with an arrow pointing at it. Behind is there are four peaks in the horizon and in front of it three small melting pools and some rocks on the ground.] Glacier: ''That’s it! I’m moving to Canada!'' || || || When US citizens are unhappy with changes in their country, they sometimes say they will move to Canada in protest.

|-
| rowspan="2"| 13500 BCE
| Humans domesticate dogs (Date uncertain, may be much earlier) || || ||
|-
|| [Megan and Cueball is watching a wolf looking at them.] Megan: Okay, you can live in our homes and we’ll feed you, but we’ll still get mad if you poop on the floor. Wolf: Deal. Cueball: And we get to breed you to be tiny and dress you in little costumes. Wolf: …Wait. || || || See {{w|Origin of the domestic dog}}. They are often bred for size and occasionally made to wear clothing.

|-
| rowspan="2"| 13000 BCE
| {{w|Woolly Rhino}} goes extinct || || || Actually only true for mainland woolly rhinos. Some survived on a small island until around 8000BC. See {{w|Woolly_rhinoceros}}
|-
| Oregon is scoured by huge floods as glacial dams burst and lakes of meltwater flow to the sea || || || See {{w|Missoula Floods}}

|-
| rowspan="1"| 12500 BCE
| Ice sheets withdraw from Chicago || || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 12000 BCE
| Humans settle {{w|Abu Hureyra}} in Syria || || || A well-preserved prehistoric village that lasted over 4000 years, allowing archaeologists to study how their culture developed.

|-
| rowspan="1"| 11500 BCE
| [An arrow on the left side of the dotted curve is pointing down along the dotted curve and to the left indicate temperature is declining again, meaning the dotted curve now moves left to colder temperatures. This only continues until 10500 BCE. It is only the second time something is noted on the left side after Megan at 16000 BCE] Temperatures start to decline, mainly in the Northern hemisphere This may be caused by changes in ocean circulation due to the floods of cold fresh meltwater flowing into the Atlantic as the North American ice sheet melts. This cooler period is called the {{w|Younger Dryas}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 11000 BCE
| [This is the first text to the left of the dotted curve:] Humans reach Argentina || || ||

|-
| rowspan="2"| 10500 BCE
| [An arrow pointing down along the right side of the dotted curve and to the right indicate temperature is increasing again, meaning the dotted curve now moves right to hotter temperatures. This continues until 8000 BCE where it levels out just above the 1961-1990 average.] Warming resumes || || ||
|-
| Human settlements at {{w|Jericho}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 10000 BCE
| First development of farming || || || See {{w|History of agriculture}}

|-
| rowspan="2"| 9500 BCE
| {{w|Saber-toothed cat}} goes extinct || || || They were not tigers.
|-
| Horses disappear from North America || || || The {{w|evolution of the horse}} began millions of years ago in North America; early species migrated across {{w|Beringia}} into Eurasia.

|-
| rowspan="4"| 9000 BCE
| | Last North American Pokémon go extinct [Cueball with a spear and Megan is looking up at this last “fact”.] Megan: That is not a real fact. || || || As prehistoric [[Megan]] states, this is not a real fact. Pokémon are still thriving throughout the entire world (see [[1705: Pokémon Go]]), and are most commonly found near [http://time.com/4443225/pokemon-go-affluent-white-neighborhoods-report/ affluent first world neighborhoods].
|-
| Temperatures reach modern levels || || ||
|-
| Rising seas cut off the {{w|land bridge}} between North America and Asia || || ||
|-
| {{w|Cattle}} domesticated || || ||

|-
| rowspan="2"| 8500 BCE
| Ice sheets retreat across the Canadian border || || ||
|-
| Temperatures start to level out slightly above 1961-1990 levels || || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 8000 BCE
| [The above sentence breaks over the 8000 BCE line. From here a maximum in temperature on the chart is reached at 0.5°C above the 1961-1990 average, which will not be overtaken until 2000 CE. It stays almost constant here until 5000 BCE where a slight cooling begins.] || || ||

|-
| rowspan="2"| 7500 BCE
| This warm, stable period is called the {{w|Holocene Climate Optimum}} || || || Some skeptics like to say "[http://www.skepticalscience.com/10000-years-warmer.htm it was warmer in the Holocene]." This is no longer true. Global temperature began encroaching Holocene levels in 1998, and has equalled or possibly exceeded them since 2014.
|-
| {{w|Jiahu}} settled in China || || ||

|-
| rowspan="2"| 7000 BCE
| Final collapse of the North American ice sheet leads to rapid 2-4m sea level rise… || || ||
|-
| [A small arrow points down and left to the right of the dotted curve. There is a small decrease in temperature but it is very small and would have been missed without the arrow and label.] …And a period of cooling in the Northern hemisphere || || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 6500 BCE
| As seas rise to near their modern levels, Britain is cut off from mainland Europe || || ||

|-
| rowspan="1"| 6000 BCE
| Humans develop copper metalworking || || || The {{w|copper age}} was relatively brief before humans discovered how to make {{w|bronze}}.

|-
| rowspan="2"| 5500 BCE
| Massive volcanic eruption in Oregon creates crater lake || || ||
|-
| {{w|Gold}} metalworking || || || Ooh, shiny!

|-
| rowspan="2"| 5000 BCE
| {{w|Invention of the wheel}} || || ||
|-
| [To the right of the dotted curve is an arrow pointing down and slightly left. From here temperature decreases very slowly but steadily from 0.5°C above the 1961-1990 average until 1000 BCE where a stable plateau is reached around the 1961-1990 average.] Earth begins to cool slowly mainly due to regular cycles in its orbit || || ||

|-
| rowspan="3"| 4500 BCE
| {{w|Proto-Indo-European language}} develops || || ||
|-
| [To the right of the curve Ponytail holds up a hand towards Cueball.] Ponytail: Let’s make out language heavily inflected, so future students have to memorize a zillion verb endings! Cueball: Okay! || || ||[[Ponytail]] refers to [[1709: Inflection]].
|-
| Permanent settlements in the {{w|fertile crescent}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="2"| 4000 BCE
| Horses domesticated || || ||
|-
| {{w|Minoan culture}} arises on Crete || || ||

|-
| rowspan="4"| 3500 BCE
| {{w|Egyptian mummification}} || || ||
|-
| Rise of the {{w|Indus Valley civilization}} || || ||
|-
| Invention of writing in Sumer “prehistory” ends, “history” begins || || || Kids these days with their new-fangled stone tablets, instead of using their memory...
|-
| Earliest human whose name we know (Pharaoh {{w|Iry-Hor}} in Egypt) || || ||

|-
| rowspan="5"| 3000 BCE
| {{w|Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors}} period in China || || ||
|-
| {{w|Gilgamesh}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Imhotep}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Maya civilization|Mayan}} culture emerges || || ||
|-
| {{w|Great Pyramid}} constructed || || ||

|-
| rowspan="3"| 2500 BCE
| {{w|Corded Ware culture}} in Europe || || ||
|-
| [To the left of the curve two rock musicians with long hair and electrical guitars are standing on either side of a small gate made of three slabs of stone, one on top of the other two standing stones.] Stonehenge completed || 2250 || || The drawing is a reference to the 1984 movie "This is Spinal Tap" (A documentary/parody featuring the fake metal band "Spinal Tap", http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/), the musicians order a Stone Henge prop for the stage, which turns out to be too small (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAXzzHM8zLw)
|-
| {{w|Chariots}} developed || || ||

|-
| rowspan="3"| 2000 BCE
| {{w|Alphabetic writing}} developed in Egypt || || ||
|-
| Last mammoths on a tiny Siberian island go extinct || || ||
|-
| {{w|Minoan eruption}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="5"| 1500 BCE
| {{w|Iron smelting}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Olmec}} civilization develops in Central America || || ||
|-
| [A Trojan horse with two Cueball-like guys in front and a third standing on its back. Its back is at three Cueball’s height and its head rises to the level of the Cueball on its back. It stands on a platform with four wheel on the visible side. There is text on the horse] Setting of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'' Text on horse: Not a trap || || || The {{w|Trojan War}}
|-
| Invasion of the {{w|Sea peoples}}* * A real thing || || ||
|-
| {{w|Polynesians}} explore the Pacific Ocean || || ||

|-
| rowspan="8"| 1000 BCE
| [From 1000 BBC to 1000 CE the temperature is stable and very close to the 1961-1990 average.] || || ||
|-
| {{w|Solomon}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Iliad}} and {{w|Odyssey}} composed || || ||
|-
| Rise of Greek city-states || || ||
|-
| {{w|Neo-Assyrian}} empire || || ||
|-
| First Olympics || || ||
|-
| {{w|Zapotec civilization|Zapotec}} writing in modern Mexico || || ||
|-
| {{w|Confucius}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="10"| 500 BCE
| The stuff in the 300 (film)|movie ''300'', but regular speed and with more clothing || || ||
|-
| {{w|Buddha}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Nazca Lines}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Alexander the Great}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Mayan hieroglyphics}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Ashoka the Great}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Paper}} invented || || ||
|-
| {{w|Asterix}} || || ||
|-
| {{w| Teotihuacan|Teotihuacán}} metropolis || || ||
|-
| {{w|Julius Caesar}} || || ||
|-

|-
| rowspan="8"|1 BCE 1 CE
| [At the year 0, there is instead two numbers for each of the two scales before (1 BCE) and after Christ (1 CE)] || || ||
|-
| {{w|Roman Empire}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Jesus}} || || ||
|-
| [To the left and erupting volcano.] {{w|Pompeii}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Three Kingdoms}} period || || ||
|-
| {{w|Gupta empire}} || || ||
|-
| Various groups take turns sacking Rome || || ||
|-
| {{w|Attila the Hun}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="4"| 500 CE
| {{w|Muhammad}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Tang Dynasty}} || || ||
|-
| [An arrow to the right of the dotted curve pointing down, takes a swing far out from the curve and then bends back again. The text label next to it breaks into the next 500 period. The dotted curve stays stable at the 1961-1990 average along this arrow.] Medieval warm period in Europe and some northern regions (too regional to affect the global average much) || || ||
|-
| {{w|Leif Eriksson}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="7"| 1000 CE
| [The dotted curve moves to the left towards lower temperature reaching a minimum around 1650 of about 0.6°C below the 1961-1990 average at the Little Ice Age.] || || ||
|-
| [To the left a drawing of a compass with needle pointing the black end towards north west. There are labels for the four main directions (N, S, E, W) and a label next to it:] Magnetic compass navigation || || ||
|-
| {{w|Ghengis Khan}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Zheng He}}’s fleet explores Asia and Africa || || ||
|-
| {{w|Aztec Empire|Aztec Alliance}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Printing press}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Christopher Columbus|Columbus}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="2"| 1500 CE
| {{w|European Renaissance}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Shakespeare}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="2"| 1600
| {{w|Isaac Newton|Newton}} || || ||
|-
| [To the right of the dotted curve there is an arrow pointing down that makes a swing in towards the curve and then back out again. At 0.6°C below the 1961-1990 average, this is the coldest it has been since 9500 BCE. It is labeled:] ”{{w|Little Ice Age}}” || || || This was not a true geologic Ice Age, just a slightly chilly period.

|-
| rowspan="2"| 1700
| {{w|Steam engines}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|United States Declaration of Independence|Unites States Independence}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="3"| 1800
| {{w|Industrial Revolution}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|Electrical telegraph|Telegraphs}} || || ||
|-
| [After this the dotted curve becomes solid.] || || || In the late 1800s, weather records became sufficiently accurate and widespread to greatly improve the precision of climate measurements.

|-
| rowspan="6"| 1900
| {{w|Airplanes}} || || ||
|-
| {{w|World Wars}} || || ||
|-
| [The solid line takes a step to the right close to the 1961-1990 average. Over the rest of the 1900s it moves closer to the 1961-1990 average, crossing it before 2000 where it almost reaches the maximum temperature of 0.5 °C above the 1961-1990 average from earlier in 8000 BCE.] || || || This is what the previous 14000 pixels of comic has been leading up to. After a laborious 20 millennia of gradual and meandering climate change, it should be clear that a full degree of warming in a single century is unprecedented in human history, and very unlikely to be natural variation.
|-
| {{w|Fossil fuel}} CO2 emissions start rapidly increasing || || ||
|-
| {{w|Nuclear weapons}} || || || The Working Group on the 'Anthropocene' suggests dating the {{w|Anthropocene}} epoch from ~1950.
|-
| {{w|Internet}} || || ||

|-
| rowspan="2"| 2000
| {{w|Northwest Passage}} opens || || ||
|-
|[From here to present day the solid line increases rapidly and in 2016 present day is almost reaches 1°C above the 1961-1990 average, with about 0.8°C above the 1961-1990 average.] || || || [http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php?a=11&p=2 No, warming did not stop in 1998].

|-
| rowspan="3"| 2016
| | Present day || || ||
|-
| [From here the curve once again becomes dotted as this is the future. After one dot it splits in two and after the first two dots another split between them occurs forming three possible future dotted curves.] || || ||
|-
|The first curve bending down before the others, and thus to the right of the other two reaches about 1.2°C above the 1961-1990 average and then goes straight down and stops at the 2100 line. An arrow points to it from the left and a label is written partly before and the rest after the 2100 line to the left of the curve:] Best-case scenario assuming immediate massive action to limit emissions || || ||

|-
| rowspan="2"| 2100
| [The middle curve bends a little down after reaching 1.3°C above the 1961-1990 average, and then continues this path reaching 2°C above the 1961-1990 average in 2100. An arrow point from below to it and a label is written below the curve and below 2100 line:] Optimistic scenario|| || ||
|-
| [The last line continues along the path from the last 16 years of the solid line reaching 4.2°C above the 1961-1990 average at 2100, almost as far on the other side of the 1961-1990 average in 150 years as it took 14,000 years to move from the other side from the start of the chart. Another arrow point to this from below with a label below the curve and below 2100 line:] Current Path || || || Randall has warned about the hazards of [[Extrapolating]], but this line is in fact [http://www.skepticalscience.com/climate-best-to-worst-case-scenarios.html below the worst case prediction].
|}

===Sources===
The image attributes climate data sources as "Shakun et al. (2012), Marcott et al. (2013), Annan and Hargreaves (2013), HadCRUT4, IPCC":
* Shakun et al. (2012) - [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v484/n7392/full/nature10915.html Nature], [http://www.atm.damtp.cam.ac.uk/mcintyre/shakun-co2-temp-lag-nat12.pdf (pdf)]
* Marcott et al. (2013) - [http://science.sciencemag.org/content/339/6124/1198 Science], [http://www.atm.damtp.cam.ac.uk/mcintyre/shakun-co2-temp-lag-nat12.pdf (pdf)]
* Annan and Hargreaves (2013) - [http://www.clim-past.net/9/367/2013/cp-9-367-2013.html Climate of the Past] [http://www.jamstec.go.jp/frsgc/research/d5/jdannan/LGM_temp.pdf (pdf)]
* {{w|HadCRUT#HadCRUT4 wikipedia|HadCRUT4}} - [http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcrut4/ Official site]
* {{w|Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change|IPCC}} -[http://www.ipcc.ch/ Official site]

==Transcript==
'''Note''' there are several spelling errors in the comic, so please do only correct spelling errors that are not part of the comic! See more in the [[#Trivia|trivia section]].
:[A large heading, followed by a sub-caption. Below that two lines with a statement in between:]
:<big>A timeline of Earth’s average temperature</big>
:since the last ice age glaciation
:When people say “The climate has changed before,” these are the kinds of changes they’re talking about.

:[A very long chart below the headings above is headed with a label for the scale of the X-axis above the chart. Below that a sub-caption. To the left an arrow down to the top of the chart pointing to the dotted curves starting point (at -4.3°C below the 1961-1990 average) with a label above the arrow. And arrow pointing left to the left of the center and another pointing right to the right of the center has labels. Below these is the temperature scale of the X-axis, with 9 ticks between the borders each with a label ranging from -4 to +4°C compared to the 1961-1990 average, but with another step in each direction not labeled towards to axis so the chart covers -5 to +5°C compared to the 1961-1990 average.]
:'''Temperature'''
: Compared to the 1961-1990 average
:Start
:Colder
:Warmer
:-4°C -3°C -2°C -1°C 0°C +1°C +2°C +3°C +4°C

:[To the right of the chart is a gray text standing on the side down along the outer boarder of the chart with the sources for the chart:]
: Source: Shakun et. al. (2012) , Marcott et. al. (2013), Annan and Hargreaves (2013) , HadCRUT4, IPCC 

:[The chart is split in 10 columns by the temperature scale and the borders. The two central columns are white, and then from there to the left the background becomes a faded color that changes from light blue to blue at the edge in four steps. Similarly to the right the color changes from light red to red. To the left there is a time scale taking 500 years leaps from 20,000 BCE all the way to year 1, where there are two years, one for BBC and one for CE. The 500 year leaps continue until 1500 CE and from there the steps are down to 100 years until 2100 with also present day 2016 labeled. After 1500 the CE is omitted. The labels stop there, but there is space below covering down to 2200 CE. There is clearly visible division line across the chart on the level of each of the 500 step, and fainter lines for each of the 100 steps all the way even though only the last 5 of these 100 steps are labeled. There is a similar clear line at 2016. Below each step on the Y-axis is noted, and then any text starting before the next step is noted below indented. If there are extra image belonging to text this is indented once more. The graph that the whole chart is about is a dotted line that begins at the “start” point mentioned above at -4.3°C and then begins to go straight down. It will change left and right all the way down. To being with all text and most drawings are to right of the dotted curve. Whenever something is to the left it will be noted. When it says to the left above something, and then nothing over the next, then the next will be to the right. Only at the very bottom are there more entries to the left than right. ]
:20000 BCE
::[An arrow goes from the dotted line to the central line at 0°C. In the middle of the line there is a temperature label:]
::4.3°C
::At the start of our timeline, 22,000 years ago, Earth is 4°C colder than during the late 20th century.
::Boston is buried under almost a mile of ice, and the glaciers reach as far south as New York City.
:::[The Statue of Liberty is shown in front of a glacier front. A very tiny Cueball is on top of the glacier. The drawing is labeled and so is also the glacier.]
:::New York
:::Ice
:::[A guy with a white knit cap is seen walking in a snowy landscape leaving black footprints behind him. He walks through the white central part of the chart.]
:::[The skyline of Boston is shown with two clear buildings among all the other. Above it is a line and in between this area has been filled with thin lines. The drawing is labeled and so is this area. Also the skyline has an arrow pointing at it with a label:]
:::Boston
:::Ice
:::Modern skyline

:19500 BCE
::But the world is about to warm up.
::By this time, humans have already spread across Africa, Eurasia, and Australia.
::They’ve created painting, pottery, rope, and bows and arrows, but haven’t developed writing or farming.

:19000 BCE
::Changes in the Earth’s orbit mean that more sunlight reaches the polar ice…
:::[A line chart with a labeled Y-axis with three labeled ticks. The curve starts up and then goes down five times and up four times ending down. There is one plateau towards the end compared to the rest of the curve where the ups and downs are quite alike.]
:::Summer sun W/m2 at 60°N
:::550
:::500
:::450

:18500 BCE
::[A map of the world. At the top is a light gray area covering North America, Greenland and northern Europe and most of the northern part of Russia. A similar gray area covers Antarctica. There are two labels in the gray area above and one in the gray area below:]
::Ice Ice
::Ice

:18000 BCE
::…And the ice sheets start to melt.

:17500 BCE
::Temperatures have been creeping upward, but around this point, CO2 levels start to climb…

:17000 BCE
::…And then the warming speeds up.

:16500 BCE
::[Cueball is standing with a spear just the right of the graph talking to a rabbit.]
::Cueball: Still pretty cold.

:16000 BCE
::[Megan points to the graph to the right of her and between her and Ponytail standing on the other side. Mean is the first drawing on the left side of the dotted curve, which has hardly moved since the beginning, only to just on the other side of 4°C.]
::[In the right part of the chart is an explanation of the data. Below the first two lines there are four drawings each showing possible temperature swings in reality compared to the smoothed data that represents the dotted curve of the entire chart. The dotted curve is shown in all four drawings and a thin line is shown running along it but with much more fluctuation left and right on the first two, a large spike right on the third and a large bump way right on the fourth. Above these there are two labels. The first labels is inside a bracket that covers the first three, and the last label is for the last drawing. Below is a list of sources.]
::Limits of this data:
::Short warming or cooling spikes might be “smoothed out” by these reconstructions but only if they’re small or brief enough.
:::Possible Unlikely
::Reconstructions are from Shakun (2012) and Marcott (2013), scaled to Annan + Hargreaves (2013) estimate for the last glacial period.

:15500 BCE
::In what is now France, humans paint murals on the walls of the Lascaux caves
::[Hairy paints three animals, two with horns, and two humans, Cueball holding hand with Hairy who has a spear. On the other side of the central line Megan writes three letters, the last of which is reversed.]
:::NIИ

:15000 BCE
::Ice sheets around Alaska shrink, exposing a land bridge between Asia and North America
::[From around the bottom if this section and down to 11500 BCE the dotted curve moved steadily to the right towards warmed temperature peaking close to -1.5°C. Before this the temperature had not moved much away from that at the start.]

:14500 BCE
::[Cueball walks right looking back at the graph behind him. Megan walks in front of him pointing further right.]
::Cueball: Cool.
::Humans reach North America.

:14000 BCE
::The edge of the ice withdraws from New York City and retreats North.
::[A large glacier front speaks in a speech bubble with an arrow pointing at it. Behind is there are four peaks in the horizon and in front of it three small melting pools and some rocks on the ground.]
::Glacier: ''That’s it! I’m moving to Canada!''

:13500 BCE
::Humans domesticate dogs
::(Date uncertain, may be much earlier)
::[Megan and Cueball is watching a wolf looking at them.]
::Megan: Okay, you can live in our homes and we’ll feed you, but we’ll still get mad f you poop on the floor.
::Wolf: Deal.
::Cueball: And we get to breed you to be tiny and dress you in little costumes.
::Wolf: …Wait.

:13000 BCE
::[Randall did not use the normal spelling for Woolly Rhino, but this is an accepted alternative spelling:]
::Wooly Rhino goes extinct
::Oregon is scoured by huge floods as glacial dams burst and lakes of meltwater flow to the sea

:12500 BCE
::Ice sheets withdraw from Chicago

:12000 BCE
::Humans settle Abu Hureyra in Syria

:11500 BCE
::[An arrow on the left side of the dotted curve is pointing down along the dotted curve and to the left indicate temperature is declining again, meaning the dotted curve now moves left to colder temperatures. This only continues until 10500 BCE. It is only the second time something is noted on the left side after Megan at 16000 BCE]
::Temperatures start to decline, mainly in the Northern hemisphere
::This may be caused by changes in ocean circulation due to the floods of cold fresh meltwater flowing into the Atlantic as the North American ice sheet melts.
::This cooler period is called the Younger Dryas

:11000 BCE
::[This is the first text to the left of the dotted curve:]
::Humans reach Argentina

:10500 BCE
::[An arrow pointing down along the right side of the dotted curve and to the right indicate temperature is increasing again, meaning the dotted curve now moves right to hotter temperatures. This continues until 8000 BCE where it levels out just above 0°C.]
::Warming resumes
::Human settlements at Jericho

:10000 BCE
::First development of farming

:9500 BCE
::Saber-toothed cat goes extinct
::[To the left:]
::Horses disappear from North America

:9000 BCE
::[To the left, Randall spelled Pokémon wrong:]
:::Last North American Pokemon go extinct
:::[Cueball with a speak and Megan is looking up at this last “fact”.]
:::Megan: That is not a real fact.
::Temperatures reach modern levels
::Rising seas cut off the land bridge between North America and Asia
::Cattle domesticated

:8500 BCE
::Ice sheets retreat across the Canadian border
::Temperatures start to level out slightly above 1961-1990 levels

:8000 BCE
::[The above sentence breaks over the 8000 BCE line. From here a maximum in temperature on the chart is reached at 0.5°C which will not be overtaken until 2000 CE. It stays almost constant here until 5000 BCE where a slight cooling begins.]

:7500 BCE
::[To the left:]
::This warm, stable period is called the Holocene Climate Optimum
::[To the left:]
::Jiahu settled in China

:7000 BCE
::Final collapse of the North American ice sheet leads to rapid 2-4m sea level rise…
::[A small arrow points down and left to the right of the dotted curve. There is a small decrease in temperature but it is very small and would have been missed without the arrow and label.]
::…And a period of cooling in the Northern hemisphere

:6500 BCE
::[To the left:]
::As seas rise to near their modern levels, Britain is cut off from mainland Europe

:6000 BCE
::Humans develop copper metalworking

:5500 BCE
::[To the left:]
::Massive volcanic eruption in Oregon creates crater lake
::Gold metalworking

:5000 BCE
::[To the left:]
::Invention of the wheel
::[To the left. To the right of the dotted curve is an arrow pointing down and slightly left. From here temperature decreases very slowly but steadily from 0.5°C until 1000 BCE where a stable plateau is reached around 0°C.]
::Earth begins to cool slowly mainly due to regular cycles in its orbit

:4500 BCE
::[To the left:]
:: Proto-Indo-European language develops
:::[To the right of the curve Ponytail holds up a hand towards Cueball.]
:::Ponytail: Let’s make out language heavily inflected, so future students have to memorize a zillion verb endings!
:::Cueball: Okay!
::[To the left:]
::Permanent settlements in the fertile crescent

:4000 BCE
::Horses domesticated
::[To the left:]
::Minoan culture arises on Crete

:3500 BCE
::Egyptian mummification
::Rise of the Indus Valley civilization
::[To the left:]
::Invention of writing in Sumer “prehistory” ends, “history” begins
::Earliest human whose name we know
::(Pharaoh Iry-Hor in Egypt)

:3000 BCE
::''Three Sovereigns and five emperors'' period in China
::Gilgamesh
::[To the left:]
::Imhotep
::Mayan culture emerges
::[To the left:]
::Great Pyramid constructed

:2500 BCE
::Corded Ware culture in Europe
::[To the left of the curve two rock musicians with long hair and electrical guitars are standing on either side of a small gate made of three slabs of stone, one on top of the other two standing stones.]
::Stonehenge completed
::Chariots developed

:2000 BCE
::[To the left:]
::Alphabetic writing developed in Egypt
::Last mammoths on a tiny Siberian island go extinct
::[To the left:]
::Minoan eruption

:1500 BCE
::[To the left:]
::Iron smelting
::Olmec civilization develops in Central America
::[A Trojan horse with two Cueball-like guys in front and a third standing on its back. Its back is at three Cueball’s height and its head rises to the level of the Cueball on its back. It stands on a platform with four wheel on the visible side. There is text on the horse]
:::Setting of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey''
:::Text on horse: Not a trap
::[To the left:]
::Invasion of the Sea peoples*
::* A real thing
::Polynesians explore the Pacific Ocean

:1000 BCE
::[From 1000 BBC to 1000 CE the temperature is stable and very close to 0°C.]
::[To the left:]
::Solomon
::[Randall spelled Iliad wrongly this time:]
::Illiad and Odyssey composed
::[To the left:]
::Rise of Greek city-states
::Neo-Assyrian empire
::[To the left:]
::First Olympics
::Zapotec writing in modern Mexico
::[To the left:]
::Confucius

:500 BCE
::[To the left:]
::The stuff in the 300 (film)|movie ''300'', but regular speed and with more clothing
::Buddha
::Nazca Lines
::[To the left:]
::Alexander the Great
::[To the left:]
::Mayan hieroglyphics
::Ashoka the Great
::[To the left:]
::Paper invented
::[To the left:]
::Asterix
::Teotihuacán metropolis
::[To the left:]
::Julius Caesar

:[At the year 0, there is instead two numbers for each of the two scales before and after Christ:]
:1 BCE
:1 CE
::[To the left:]
::Roman Empire
::Jesus
::[To the left and erupting volcano.]
::Pompeii
::Three Kingdoms period
::[To the left:]
::Gupta empire
::[To the left:]
::Various groups take turns sacking Rome
::[Randall spelled Attila wrong:]
::Atilla the Hun

:500 CE
::Muhammad
::[To the left:]
::Tang Dynasty
::[An arrow to the right of the dotted curve pointing down, takes a swing far out from the curve and then bends back again. The text label next to it breaks into the next 500 period. The dotted curve stays stable at 0°C along this arrow.]
::Medieval warm period in Europe and some northern regions (too regional to affect the global average much)
::[To the left:]
::Leif Eriksson

:1000 CE
::[The dotted curve moves to the left towards lower temperature reaching a minimum around 1650 of about -0.6°C at the Little Ice Age.]
::[To the left a drawing of a compass with needle pointing the black end towards north west. There are labels for the four main directions and a label next to it:]
:::N
:::E W
:::S
:::Magnetic compass navigation
::[To the left:]
::Ghengis Khan
::Zheng He’s fleet explores Asia and Africa
::[To the left:]
::Aztec Alliance
::[To the left:]
::Printing press
::[To the left:]
::Columbus

:1500 CE
::European Renaissance
::[To the left:]
::Shakespeare

:1600
::[To the left:]
::Newton
::[To the right of the dotted curve there is an arrow pointing down that makes a swing in towards the curve and then back out again. At -0.6°C this is the coldest it has been since 9500 BCE. It is labeled:]
::”Little Ice Age”

:1700
::Steam engines
::[To the left:]
::Unites States Independence

:1800
::Industrial Revolution
::[To the left:]
::Telegraphs
::[After this the dotted curve becomes solid.]

:1900
::[To the left, and on the line for 1900:]
::Airplanes
::[To the left:]
::World Wars
::[The solid line takes a step to the right close to 0°C. Over the rest of the 1900s it moves closer to 0°C crossing it before 2000 where it almost reaches the maximum temperature of 0.5 °C from earlier in 8000 BCE.]
::Fossil fuel CO2 emissions start rapidly increasing
::[To the left:]
::Nuclear weapons
::[To the left:]
::Internet

:2000
::Northwest Passage opens
::[From here to present day the solid line increases rapidly and in 2016 present day is almost reaches 1°C, with about 0.8°C.]

:2016
::[To the left on the line for 2016:]
::Present day
::[From here the curve once again becomes dotted as this is the future. After one dot it splits in two and after the first two dots another split between them occurs forming three possible future dotted curves. The first curve bending down before the others, and thus to the right of the other two reaches about 1.2°C and then goes straight down and stops at the 2100 line. An arrow points to it from the left and a label is written patly before and the rest after the 2100 line to the left of the curve:]
::Best-case scenario assuming immediate massive action to limit emissions

:2100
::[The middle curve bends a little down after reaching 1.3°C and then continues this path reaching 2°C in 2100. An arrow point from below to it and a label is written below the curve and below 2100 line:]
::Optimistic scenario
::[The last line continues along the path from the last 16 years of the solid line reaching 4.2°C at 2100, almost as far on the other side of 0°C in 150 years as it took 14000 years to move from the other side from the start of the chart. Another arrow point to this from below with a label below the curve and below 2100 line:]
::Current Path

==Trivia==
*There have been several ''[[:Category:Large drawings|large drawings]]'' in the history of xkcd, and also some that are bigger than this one (for instance [[1110: Click and Drag]]).
**But among those that can be viewed in one go, without downloading a larger file or moving around, this is by far the longest.
**The next longest is probably [[482: Height]].
*The timeline starts at 20,000 BCE (22,000 years ago) and ends at 2100 CE, thus covering 22,100 years.
*There are several spelling mistakes.
**Most obvious is the second time Randall wrote the word "Iliad," because he just spelled it correctly at 1500 BCE and then spelled it ''Illiad'' at 1000 BCE with two "L"s.
**Attila the Hun becomes ''Atilla the Hun'' with ''one'' T and ''two'' L's.
**Pokémon is spelled ''Pokemon'', but then again that is not so strange for Randall (see [[1647: Diacritics]]).
**Note that the fact that Woolly rhinoceros becomes ''Wooly rhino'' with only one l is not a spelling mistake but an alternative spelling of the word.
*Notably absent are the following dates/times:
**1850: methodical temperature record begins
**the entire swing period between 20 and 200 thousand years prior to now, which would depict temperature swings with increasing frequency and amplitude (ref geological record).
**the 300 million years prior to that, during which the earth was significantly warmer than now, underwent much more extreme temperature changes, and during which time it is presumed that life was present on the earth (but that cars were not).

===Popularity of comic===
*This comic became so popular with a broader audience that Randall decided to push the release of the next comic [[1733: Solar Spectrum]] one day back for a rare [[:Category:Thursday comics|Thursday release]] instead of the scheduled [[:Category:Wednesday comics|Wednesday release]].
**He noted this above [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/a/a6/1732_Earth_Temperature_Timeline_header_text_changed_for_all_comics.png all the comics] in the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/6d/1732_Earth_Temperature_Timeline_header_text_changed.png header text on xkcd]:
::Note: Since a lot of new people are here looking for this chart today,
::I'll be posting Wednesday's comic on Thursday instead.
*Before that the [http://web.archive.org/web/20160912181546/https://xkcd.com/ normal heading] with the release day of xkcd was shown.
**This was (of course) still there Tuesday the [http://web.archive.org/web/20160913231501/http://xkcd.com/ day after] the release, because it was first on Wednesday there were reason to note the delay.
**It stayed in place even [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/6/62/1732_Earth_Temperature_Timeline_header_text_changed_also_when_next_comic_was_released.png for some time after] the "Wednesday" comic was released on Thursday, but was [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ee/1732_Earth_Temperature_Timeline_header_text_back_to_normal_shortly_after_next_comic_was_released.png then removed] before noon (EST) on Thursday.
***Randall did thus not post a link to this comic in the header text for new visitors to use, only giving them that one extra day.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] 
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Climate change]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Music]] 
[[Category:Fiction]] 
[[Category:Sport]] 
[[Category:Religion]] 
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]

Talk:1701: Speed and Danger

2016-07-02T03:25:32Z

108.162.249.156:

;Worst Comic
I think this might be a strong contender for worst comic on xkcd. Although [[1384: Krypton]] definitely makes for stiff competition. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.102|108.162.216.102]] 14:28, 1 July 2016 (UTC)
:Perhaps "in worst taste" might be a better term than simply "worst". Certainly the fatality '''rate''' (in fatalities/crash) for rocket crashes is higher, but placing motor sports crashes to the extreme end of the safety-danger axis is a bit suspect in light of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_deaths_in_motorsport . [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.242|108.162.237.242]] 02:25, 2 July 2016 (UTC)

; Referencing Something?
Is there something this is referencing? [[User:Saklad5|Saklad5]] ([[User talk:Saklad5|talk]]) 14:41, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

I believe this is in response to the recent crash of a Tesla car while running on autopilot - possibly the first recorded fatality of an autonomous car.

The worst? Have you looked at the first few hundred? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.119|108.162.246.119]] 15:09, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

I think this comic is actually enlightening on a certain (albeit narrow level). People frequently lack a proper sense of perspective, and this comic illustrates this fact. While we might say "Wow, that Indy car is really moving fast!", it pales in comparison to other vehicles that some fortunate few travel in. {{unsigned|BobTheMad}}
:And I totally wanted to learn that from a '''comic''' that's supposed to be humorous... --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.7|108.162.219.7]] 16:50, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

[[1699]] and [[1680]] would like to have a word with you. Also [[1675]].
Actually, all of the last 25 or so comics would. I really don't know how the xkcd forums put up with being 500x smarter than all the comics they praise every day. [[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 17:18, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

;Sarcasm
Is sarcasm to be encouraged in explanations? “Here, Randall makes the '''truly astounding''' observation that the danger of a crash is directly proportional to its speed….” [Emphasis mine.] ''— [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 15:29, 1 July 2016 (UTC)''
:In this case it's definitely warranted...Jesus Randall, this wouldn't exactly have been hard to make funny/interesting. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.7|108.162.219.7]] 15:51, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

Well a rocket to achieve orbit hits about 18,000 MPH http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/basics/launch.html
Where as NASCAR is only ~200 MPH https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_car_racing
Formula 1 is only ~257 MPH https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_car#Top_speeds
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.68.71|162.158.68.71]] 16:51, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

I'm kinda shocked Randall didn't reference Star Trek for this comic, considering the number. - Michael C. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.85|141.101.98.85]] 17:00, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

;Why only 4 examples?

Why not put things like biking, driving a regular car, WWI planes, WW2 planes, supersonic jets, satellites, Apollo, New Horizons... {{unsigned ip|108.162.244.67}}

;Sports or Sports Cars?
I don't think the comic intended to say "Normal Sports CARS," as the explanation currently says, I think it means what it says, "Normal SPORTS" like foot ball, or hockey. On the linear scale of 0-to-rocket, running or walking is close to race car speed, compared to how fast a rocket is, and the graph illustrates that. Also, crashing a normal sports CAR is far more dangerous than crashing a professional race car because of all the safety equipment, so a sports car would be more toward the dangerous side. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.81}}
:Agreed. I was assuming the reference was to various contact sports such as football, hockey, and quidditch where collisions between players regularly happen. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.132|108.162.237.132]] 20:52, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

;What is the point of this comic and where is the fun

I don't know, I feel like people is missing the point of the comic, where is the funny on it.

I think finding Formula one on the slow an secure quadrant of the chart is surprising, so near to regular sports, until you understand that it is only compared to a rocket launch. People sure think of F1 as fast and dangerous, so this comic plays with our expectations.

Not exactly hilarious, but neither the worst XKCD comic.

[[User:Inconexo|Inconexo]] ([[User talk:Inconexo|talk]]) 20:19, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

<hr>
One thing I think it might be interesting to indicate is how this is the first one of these plots where everything is in only two quadrants. There is no slow but dangerous crash nor fast but safe crash. Usually at least one these quadrants would have an entry, and probably a facetious one.

I also think the part about scale could be expanded to more than just the "relative to the speed of light." Something like "While we tend to speak of race cars as going fast, they are slow compared to rockets." --[[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 22:27, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

Fatality rate is not 100% as shown by [[wikipedia:List_of_spaceflight-related_accidents_and_incidents#Non-fatal_incidents_during_spaceflight|Non-fatal incidents during spaceflight]] [[User:Wyrme|Wyrme]] ([[User talk:Wyrme|talk]]) 03:22, 2 July 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1682: Bun

2016-05-26T00:37:53Z

108.162.249.156: Added potential interpretation (non buttocks related)

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

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

:I'm pretty sure that student #1 is megan, someone may wanna check that out[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.139|162.158.2.139]] 01:44, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

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

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

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

Wolves don't actually have as strong a hierarchical structure as commonly believed, and don't have so-called "alphas" running the pack. Wolf packs are primarily a family structure that centers around the parents, in a natural non-tyrannical way, with different wolves making decisions and leading the pack at various times depending on their particular skills. For more information on this, refer to writings by David Mech, wolf biologist, who first coined the terms "alpha" and "omega" for wolves, and has for years been trying to convince people that those original theories are incorrect. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.24}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

:In the fictional rabbit-world of "Watership Down", larger rabbits are usually superior. However the story is about an unusual group in which a small rabbit, Fiver, is the "king." There is a telling scene of mistaken identity near the end in which attackers are scared off. {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.60}}

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

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

Smaller "buns" being higher valued -- confirms to me the reference to (male) buttocks -- but what no one else seems to have noticed is that "mammalogy" is a short distance from the non-word "mammology" (cf. mammogram) would be the study of breasts, another viewable body part. So the presumed confusion could be confused with mammalogy / mammology.... [[User:Asimong|Asimong]] ([[User talk:Asimong|talk]]) 06:29, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

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

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

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

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

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

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

I think everyone has missed the big joke here: They aren't attending introductory mammalogy, they're attending introductory MOMmalogy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.254|108.162.237.254]] 12:04, 19 May 2016 (UTC)
: Please explain? [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] ([[User talk:Jkshapiro|talk]]) 12:39, 19 May 2016 (UTC)
:: It's a mother getting excited about a cute thing and gushing about it. (And pestering her friends about it on social media.) Smaller buns 'rank' higher because their smallness makes them cuter in the eyes of the beholder (regardless of what the actual rabbits think about it). Meanwhile the students seem to have misread the course name. If it's not actually Introductory Mammalogy, what else would it be but Mommalogy? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.254|108.162.237.254]] 00:04, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

seriously, are you people trolling? I'm 100% sure this comic is about buttocks! ;)--[[Special:Contributions/188.114.103.163|188.114.103.163]] 14:23, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

It feels like the comic is intentionally reversing several concepts rather than simply giving nonsense (higher rank is normally larger and level formality is reversed) {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.92}}

I, too, immediately picked up an undertone about butts. "This time of year" being spring, ladies often start wearing skirts and shorts after mostly longer clothes in the winter (especially in Mass. where Randall lives), and the occasional "bun" sighting is in fact a recognized annual recurrence. I think it has a place in the explanation as at least a wink-and-nod double entendre. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 17:09, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

This comic just doesn't make sense. Randall had some half-ideas, none of them worked, and he just drew it anyway. I thought I was missing the joke so I came here and nobody here has an explanation that is a) internally consistent and b) funny. -[[User:Foobarbecue|Foobarbecue]] ([[User talk:Foobarbecue|talk]]) 23:04, 19 May 2016 (UTC)
:Not all of his comics are done for humor, some are simply absurd. I think this is one of those ones which is simply absurd. Unfortunately within the first few days of a comic coming out it is unlikely that the explanation here will be complete or have any form of consistent tone or style. It will be debated and edited back and forth. Some will be over analyzed to the point that any humor or consistency will be strained out of them. It is better to wait a week or so for the buzz around a new comic to die down. In fact, I usually avoid the newest comics but, I happen to like rabbits. [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 23:53, 19 May 2016 (UTC)

'''Better Comparison'''

As discussed above (and as currently indicated in the discussion) wolves are not a good contrast to rabbit social behavior. Can we think of a better one? I know many bugs, like termites, ants, and bees are all hierarchical, but I think we should choose some sort of vertebrate at least. Some suggestions of my own; Lions, Lemurs, Horses, can anyone else think of anything? Or should we find a way to reword the sentence altogether? [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 00:12, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

Question: has this got anything to do with the iOS game currently the free game of the week in the app store, King Rabbit? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.219|162.158.34.219]] 09:18, 20 May 2016 (UTC)

"King Bun" sounds like a World War 2-era euphemism for a Kaiser roll. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.68}}

As for Slavic word for rabbit meaning "Little King". I'm Czech myself, so I looked around for the etymology; found something on Czech wikipedia (https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kr%C3%A1l%C3%ADk_dom%C3%A1c%C3%AD#Etymologie), posting translated for your consideration:
(King - "král"; Rabbit - "králík", "-ík" can be used as a diminutive suffix, for example with "kůň" - horse, "koník" - little horse)
What does a rabbit to do with a king? Nothing, actually, but the words are still related. As rabbits were not native animals in Bohemia, our ancestors didn't have a name for them. When first rabbits were brought to Bohemia from Germany 13th-14th century, we also got their German name "das Kaninchen", a corruption of the Latin word "cuniculus". Because of phonetic similarity, the word "Kaninchen" was mixed with "Königchen", the diminutive form of "der König" - king, and the Czech word "králík" was born. {{unsigned ip|141.101.95.43}}

Czech and Russian are quite alike indeed. But in Russian there is no way a word for rabbit (кролик) be read as 'Little King', these aren't omonims either. For 'King' there's a word "Король" [kɐ.ˈro.lʲ] if you will use appropriate diminutive suffix, which is "-ёк" [ʲɵk] , you will end up with "Королёк" [kərɐˈlʲɵk] - 'kinglet' (a bird of Regulidae family) that is not a bunny, although it's really small too. Same as male horse - "Конь" [ˈkonʲ] belittles to word "Конёк" [kɐˈnʲɵk] and has a second meaning - 'roof skate'.
Well, one may combine russian word "Кроль" [kro.'lʲ] meaning either 'male rabbit' (depricated) or 'crawl' swimming style (modern), with diminutive "-ик" [ˈʲɪk] suffix and result will be "Кролик" [ˈkrolʲɪk] - 'Bunny' but in case of second meaning that's simply a pun.
So no, not in Russian, as source word was Polish "królik" which was formed same as Czech "králík". {{unsigned ip|141.101.80.35}}

At the risk of adding to the noise, I assumed the joke was in the course name: confusing the study of "mammals" with the study of "memes". Everything being taught is a memetic concept (in the modern sense of the word, at least). It seems the path of least resistance in terms of making the smallest change to turn an understandable scene into an absurd one. Randall uses this format a lot (i.e: the entire scene & meaning being changed simply by changing one key word). He's very punny. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.156|108.162.249.156]] 00:37, 26 May 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1676: Full-Width Justification

2016-05-04T09:11:30Z

108.162.249.156:

I added the emoji snake. Is emoji snake the same as a Unicode snake would be? [[User:Azule|Azule]] ([[User talk:Azule|talk]]) 05:46, 4 May 2016 (UTC)
:I assumed Unicode snakes would use three different characters: a head, a body segment, and a tail. Your solution is good, but objectively not perfect compared to what's shown in the comic.
:So what ''would'' be the optimal snake transcription method here? A parenthetical aside saying "''A drawing of a snake stretches to the right end of the line.''"? Or should we just blackmail the Unicode consortium again? [[User talk:AgentMuffin|~AgentMuffin]]
::The correct solution is obviously to include a 16 Mpixel image of a snake.[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 07:41, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Could the title text also be a reference to the snake in umwelt? [[User:Azule|Azule]] ([[User talk:Azule|talk]]) 05:46, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Amazon is notorious for being bad at this. Here's a somewhat related [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzdugwr4Fgk Computerphile video]. [[User:Eno|Eno]] ([[User talk:Eno|talk]]) 06:32, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

Also, funnily enough, the filler text and the snakes were used in medieval (hand-written) manuscripts. Although it's not a snake but usually a nondescript wriggle that could only pass as a snake when you're squinting really hard. For filler text it's usually low-content words like "truly", "verily", "indeed", "without fail", "in truth" or stuff like that. So it's really an old problem with no satisfactory solution developed in hundreds of years... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.93|162.158.85.93]] 08:19, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

In practice you reformulate. Not necessarily insert filler words, but just reorder the sentence enough that justification works. That is assuming the automated justification doesn't work, which will try a combination of multiple methods like word-spacing, letter-spacing and hyphenation. Imagine hyphenating at "de-" instead, but adding a little bit extra letter space in "between", and almost double normal word space between "between" and "de-".[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.222|162.158.114.222]] 08:20, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

While the arabic part is interesting, I don't feel it to be very relevant here. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.156|108.162.249.156]] 09:11, 4 May 2016 (UTC)

1648: Famous Duos

2016-02-26T07:17:32Z

108.162.249.156: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1648
| date = February 26, 2016
| title = Famous Duos
| image = famous_duos.png
| titletext = The Romeo and Butt-Head film actually got two thumbs up from Siskel and Oates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs to be expanded}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Actual pairings
|-
! Name
! pairing
! Partner
! From
|-
| Thelma
| and
| Louise
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_%26_Louise road trip film]]
|-
| When Harry
| Met
| Sally
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Harry_Met_Sally... romantic comedy film]]
|-
| Batman
| and
| Robin
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman comic book characters]]
|-
| Antony
| and
| Cleopatra
| historical figures
|-
| Romeo
| and
| Juliet
| Shakespeare characters
|-
| Bonnie
| and
| Clyde
| historical figures
|-
| Pinky
| and
| the Brain
| TV show
|-
| Simon
| and
| Garfunkel
| musical duo
|-
| Beauty
| and
| the Beast
| fairy tale characters
|-
| Beavis
| and
| Butthead
| TV show
|-
| Rocky
| and
| Bullwinkle
| TV show
|-
| Abbott
| and
| Costello
| comedy duo
|-
| Dr. Jekyll
| and
| Mr. Hyde
| book
|-
| Samson
| and
| Delilah
| Biblical characters
|-
| Butch Cassidy
| and
| the Sundance Kid
| historical characters and famous movie
|-
| Bill
| and
| Ted’s Excellent Adventure
| movie series
|-
| David
| and
| Goliath
| Biblical characters
|-
| Sherlock Holmes
| and
| Dr. Watson
| Arthur Conan Doyle characters
|-
| Jay
| and
| Silent Bob
| View Askewniverse characters (Clerks movies)
|-
| Anna
| and
| the King
| movie, based on Anna and the King of Siam
|-
| Calvin
| and
| Hobbes
| comic series
|-
| Timon
| and
| Pumbaa
| characters from the Lion King
|-
| Mary Kate
| and
| Ashley Olsen
| twin actresse
|-
| Mario
| and
| Luigi
| video game characters
|-
| Siskel
| and
| Ebert
| movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert
|-
| Hall
| and
| Oates
| musical duo
|}

==Transcript==
Famous Duos

Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe

Thelma and Hobbes

when Harry met Bullwinkle

Batman and Louise

Antony and Robin

Romeo and Butthead

bonnie and Ted's ecellent adventure

Pinky and Clyde

Simon and Goliath

Beauty and Luigi

Beavis and The Beast

Rocky and Delilah

Abbot and Cleopatra

Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen

Samson and Pumbaa

Butch Cassidy and Mr. Hyde

Bill and Sally's Bogus Journey

David and Costello

Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob

Jay and Dr. Watson

Anna and The Brain

Calvin and The King

Timon and Garfunkel

Mary-Kate and The Sundance Kid

Mario and Juliet

1648: Famous Duos

2016-02-26T07:16:18Z

108.162.249.156: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1648
| date = February 26, 2016
| title = Famous Duos
| image = famous_duos.png
| titletext = The Romeo and Butt-Head film actually got two thumbs up from Siskel and Oates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs to be expanded}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Actual pairings
|-
! Name
! pairing
! Partner
! From
|-
| Thelma
| and
| Louise
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_%26_Louise road trip film]]
|-
| When Harry
| Met
| Sally
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Harry_Met_Sally... romantic comedy film]]
|-
| Batman
| and
| Robin
| comic book characters
|-
| Antony
| and
| Cleopatra
| historical figures
|-
| Romeo
| and
| Juliet
| Shakespeare characters
|-
| Bonnie
| and
| Clyde
| historical figures
|-
| Pinky
| and
| the Brain
| TV show
|-
| Simon
| and
| Garfunkel
| musical duo
|-
| Beauty
| and
| the Beast
| fairy tale characters
|-
| Beavis
| and
| Butthead
| TV show
|-
| Rocky
| and
| Bullwinkle
| TV show
|-
| Abbott
| and
| Costello
| comedy duo
|-
| Dr. Jekyll
| and
| Mr. Hyde
| book
|-
| Samson
| and
| Delilah
| Biblical characters
|-
| Butch Cassidy
| and
| the Sundance Kid
| historical characters and famous movie
|-
| Bill
| and
| Ted’s Excellent Adventure
| movie series
|-
| David
| and
| Goliath
| Biblical characters
|-
| Sherlock Holmes
| and
| Dr. Watson
| Arthur Conan Doyle characters
|-
| Jay
| and
| Silent Bob
| View Askewniverse characters (Clerks movies)
|-
| Anna
| and
| the King
| movie, based on Anna and the King of Siam
|-
| Calvin
| and
| Hobbes
| comic series
|-
| Timon
| and
| Pumbaa
| characters from the Lion King
|-
| Mary Kate
| and
| Ashley Olsen
| twin actresse
|-
| Mario
| and
| Luigi
| video game characters
|-
| Siskel
| and
| Ebert
| movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert
|-
| Hall
| and
| Oates
| musical duo
|}

==Transcript==
Famous Duos

Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe

Thelma and Hobbes

when Harry met Bullwinkle

Batman and Louise

Antony and Robin

Romeo and Butthead

bonnie and Ted's ecellent adventure

Pinky and Clyde

Simon and Goliath

Beauty and Luigi

Beavis and The Beast

Rocky and Delilah

Abbot and Cleopatra

Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen

Samson and Pumbaa

Butch Cassidy and Mr. Hyde

Bill and Sally's Bogus Journey

David and Costello

Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob

Jay and Dr. Watson

Anna and The Brain

Calvin and The King

Timon and Garfunkel

Mary-Kate and The Sundance Kid

Mario and Juliet

1648: Famous Duos

2016-02-26T07:15:29Z

108.162.249.156: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1648
| date = February 26, 2016
| title = Famous Duos
| image = famous_duos.png
| titletext = The Romeo and Butt-Head film actually got two thumbs up from Siskel and Oates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs to be expanded}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Actual pairings
|-
! Name
! pairing
! Partner
! From
|-
| Thelma
| and
| Louise
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelma_%26_Louise| road trip film]]
|-
| When Harry
| Met
| Sally
| [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Harry_Met_Sally... | romantic comedy film]]
|-
| Batman
| and
| Robin
| comic book characters
|-
| Antony
| and
| Cleopatra
| historical figures
|-
| Romeo
| and
| Juliet
| Shakespeare characters
|-
| Bonnie
| and
| Clyde
| historical figures
|-
| Pinky
| and
| the Brain
| TV show
|-
| Simon
| and
| Garfunkel
| musical duo
|-
| Beauty
| and
| the Beast
| fairy tale characters
|-
| Beavis
| and
| Butthead
| TV show
|-
| Rocky
| and
| Bullwinkle
| TV show
|-
| Abbott
| and
| Costello
| comedy duo
|-
| Dr. Jekyll
| and
| Mr. Hyde
| book
|-
| Samson
| and
| Delilah
| Biblical characters
|-
| Butch Cassidy
| and
| the Sundance Kid
| historical characters and famous movie
|-
| Bill
| and
| Ted’s Excellent Adventure
| movie series
|-
| David
| and
| Goliath
| Biblical characters
|-
| Sherlock Holmes
| and
| Dr. Watson
| Arthur Conan Doyle characters
|-
| Jay
| and
| Silent Bob
| View Askewniverse characters (Clerks movies)
|-
| Anna
| and
| the King
| movie, based on Anna and the King of Siam
|-
| Calvin
| and
| Hobbes
| comic series
|-
| Timon
| and
| Pumbaa
| characters from the Lion King
|-
| Mary Kate
| and
| Ashley Olsen
| twin actresse
|-
| Mario
| and
| Luigi
| video game characters
|-
| Siskel
| and
| Ebert
| movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert
|-
| Hall
| and
| Oates
| musical duo
|}

==Transcript==
Famous Duos

Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe

Thelma and Hobbes

when Harry met Bullwinkle

Batman and Louise

Antony and Robin

Romeo and Butthead

bonnie and Ted's ecellent adventure

Pinky and Clyde

Simon and Goliath

Beauty and Luigi

Beavis and The Beast

Rocky and Delilah

Abbot and Cleopatra

Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen

Samson and Pumbaa

Butch Cassidy and Mr. Hyde

Bill and Sally's Bogus Journey

David and Costello

Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob

Jay and Dr. Watson

Anna and The Brain

Calvin and The King

Timon and Garfunkel

Mary-Kate and The Sundance Kid

Mario and Juliet

1648: Famous Duos

2016-02-26T06:52:14Z

108.162.249.156: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1648
| date = February 26, 2016
| title = Famous Duos
| image = famous_duos.png
| titletext = The Romeo and Butt-Head film actually got two thumbs up from Siskel and Oates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs to be expanded}}

Actual pairings:

Thelma and Louise - road trip film

Calvin and Hobbes - comic series

When Harry Met Sally - romantic comedy film

Rocky and Bullwinkle - TV show

Antony and Cleopatra - historical figures

Batman and Robin - comic book characters

Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare characters

Beavis and Butthead - TV show

Bonnie and Clyde - historical figures

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure / Bogus Journey - movie series

Pinky and the Brain - TV show

Simon and Garfunkel - musical duo

David and Goliath - Biblical characters

Beauty and the Beast - fairy tale characters

Mario and Luigi - video game characters

Samson and Delilah - Biblical characters

Abbott and Costello - comedy duo

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - book

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen - twin actresses

Timon and Pumbaa - characters from the Lion King

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - historical characters and famous movie

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson - Arthur Conan Doyle characters

Jay and Silent Bob - View Askewniverse characters (Clerks movies)

Anna and the King - movie, based on Anna and the King of Siam

Siskel and Ebert - movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert

Hall and Oates - musical duo

==Transcript==
Famous Duos

Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe

Thelma and Hobbes

when Harry met Bullwinkle

Batman and Louise

Antony and Robin

Romeo and Butthead

bonnie and Ted's ecellent adventure

Pinky and Clyde

Simon and Goliath

Beauty and Luigi

Beavis and The Beast

Rocky and Delilah

Abbot and Cleopatra

Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen

Samson and Pumbaa

Butch Cassidy and Mr. Hyde

Bill and Sally's Bogus Journey

David and Costello

Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob

Jay and Dr. Watson

Anna and The Brain

Calvin and The King

Timon and Garfunkel

Mary-Kate and The Sundance Kid

Mario and Juliet

1648: Famous Duos

2016-02-26T06:49:58Z

108.162.249.156: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1648
| date = February 26, 2016
| title = Famous Duos
| image = famous_duos.png
| titletext = The Romeo and Butt-Head film actually got two thumbs up from Siskel and Oates.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs to be expanded}}

Actual pairings:

Thelma and Louise - road trip film

Calvin and Hobbes - comic series

When Harry Met Sally - romantic comedy film

Rocky and Bullwinkle - TV show

Antony and Cleopatra - historical figures

Batman and Robin - comic book characters

Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare characters

Beavis and Butthead - TV show

Bonnie and Clyde - historical figures

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure / Bogus Journey - movie series

Pinky and the Brain - TV show

Simon and Garfunkel - musical duo

David and Goliath - Biblical characters

Beauty and the Beast - fairy tale characters

Mario and Luigi - video game characters

Samson and Delilah - Biblical characters

Abbott and Costello - comedy duo

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - book

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen - twin actresses

Timon and Pumbaa - characters from the Lion King

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - historical characters and famous movie

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson - Arthur Conan Doyle characters

Jay and Silent Bob - View Askewniverse characters (Clerks movies)

Anna and the King - movie, based on Anna and the King of Siam

Siskel and Ebert - movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert

Hall and Oates - musical duo

==Transcript==
Famous Duos

Famous Duos in a nearby parallel universe
Thelma and Hobbes
when Harry met Bullwinkle
Batman and Louise
Antony and Robin
Romeo and Butthead
bonnie and Ted's ecellent adventure
Pinky and Clyde
Simon and Goliath
Beauty and Luigi
Beavis and The Beast
Rocky and Delilah
Abbot and Cleopatra
Dr. Jekyll and Ashley Olsen
Samson and Pumbaa
Butch Cassidy and Mr. Hyde
Bill and Sally's Bogus Journey
David and Costello
Sherlock Holmes and Silent Bob
Jay and Dr. Watson
Anna and The Brain
Calvin and The King
Timon and Garfunkel
Mary-Kate and The Sundance Kid
Mario and Juliet

1561: Water Phase Diagram

2015-08-07T07:24:18Z

108.162.249.156: /* Explanation */ small image

{{comic
| number = 1561
| date = August 7, 2015
| title = Water Phase Diagram
| image = water_phase_diagram.png
| titletext = Vanilla Ice was produced in small quantities for years, but it wasn't until the 90s that experimenters collaborated to produce a sample that could survive at room temperature for several months.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete| Ethion of scientific detail required.}}

This is an amended {{w|phase diagram}} for water - a real one looks more like this [http://ergodic.ugr.es/termo/lecciones/water1.html] (though note the y-axis is the other way up). Randall has made some changes for the higher pressures, and seems to have omitted very low temperatures.

Below the words "water vapour" there appears to be a photo or scan of a correct water phase diagram, drawn on lined paper. Possibly this is a copy of Randall's university notes?

From bottom up, David Bowie and Queen are {{w|Under Pressure}}. This song, released as a single in 1981 was later, controversially sampled and released in 1990 by Vanilla Ice in his hit song {{w|Ice Ice Baby}}, quite why Randall has used these songs I am unsure however it may simply be due to the convenient connection between the names of the songs and the remainder of the comic. The rest, as the title suggests does indeed resemble a simple water phase diagram, designed to show the properties the molecular H2O will have at various combinations of temperature and pressure.

The title text makes clear the connection between "Ice Ice Baby" and "Under Pressure" with reference to the line "All right stop, '''Collaborate and listen'''. Ice is back with my brand new invention.", from Ice Ice Baby, and small quantities of Ice Ice Baby can be found in Under Pressure which was released several years earlier.

No mention of {{w|Ice-nine}}, of either the real or the fictional variety.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}