explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:437: SUV

2015-07-01T17:43:45Z

108.162.250.187:

Im not sure this strip even needs an explanation [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 21:46, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

Hey what's M, P and D stand for? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.187|108.162.250.187]] 17:43, 1 July 2015 (UTC)

296: Tony Hawk

2015-07-01T17:30:00Z

108.162.250.187: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 296
| date = July 30, 2007
| title = Tony Hawk
| image = tony_hawk.png
| titletext = Bad idea #271: Dropping into the half-pipe on a Segway.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is seen using a {{w|PlayStation_Portable|PSP}}, a hand-held game system, while on a skateboard. He is playing one of the many {{w|Tony Hawk's (series)|Tony Hawk}} titles in which you control a skater and perform tricks to gain points and achievements. While playing the game on his PSP, he wants to simultaneously perform the trick in real life both because it is exceptionally difficult to do both and because the game will give him praise when he does a trick successfully.

The title text implies that this could be bad idea #270 as the title text adds the next item to the bad idea list: #271 Dropping into the {{W|half-pipe}} on a {{w|Segway PT|Segway}}. Since a Segway uses a gyroscope to keep you balanced, trying to "drop into a half-pipe" while using one will likely violently fling the rider back into the upright position probably hurting them against the side of the half pipe as well as possibly damaging the Segway itself. Since it's being added to the list, it's also likely that Cueball tried this at some point in time (along with his Tony Hawk hobby and 269 other bad ideas).

==Transcript==
:My Hobby:
:Doing skateboard tricks in ''Tony Hawk'' while also doing them in real life.
:[Cueball moves towards a quarter pipe on his skateboard while manipulating his PSP.]
:''Beep''
:''Click''
:''Beep''

:[Cueball is in mid air having performed a Frontside 360°, both literally and on the PSP.]
:''♪ Frontside 360°! ♫''
:''Frontside 360°!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

Talk:1512: Horoscopes

2015-04-15T08:36:30Z

108.162.250.187: Oops, forgot something.

So funny - especially the title text made me laugh :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:05, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The "coriolis effect" in the title text refers to the spin direction of vortices (rotating currents such as cyclones, whirlpools, and water draining from a basin), which is counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. The title text is a joke extending the reversal to the flow of time.
: The spin direction of whirlpools and basins is 'not' determined by the coriolis effect, on this scale its impact is way too small to make a difference. The title text refers to how the coriolis effect is often used to explain phenomena (especially with relation to the hemispheres), even when its wrong. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.5|198.41.242.5]] 08:23, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The events described during which the conception of a person with a given birth month occurred assumes that the parents were in the United States at that time. The seasons would be shifted by six months in the southern hemisphere, and the holidays of the 4th of July (Independence Day -- Aries), Thanksgiving (Leo, birth in November), might either not be celebrated or celebrated on a different day. [[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 08:11, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

"Today, horoscopes are admitted to be pseudoscience." Citation needed. But what rubbish. Horoscopes are not even pseudoscience, so who is it "admitting" they are? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.187|108.162.250.187]] 08:36, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1512: Horoscopes

2015-04-15T08:35:47Z

108.162.250.187: Optimistic, don't you think?

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-14T23:36:00Z

108.162.250.187: Panel 3 has two of them.

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Anyone who can pinpoint a specific work with this scene in it?}}

This is a complex and challenging comic to understand, depending on the reader's familiarity with the {{w|Spice Girls}}, with quizzes about the Spice Girls, and with {{w|Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|postapocalyptic}} {{w|dystopia|dystopian}} fiction.

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or"Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with, what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

As can be seen, from the nicknames above, there is no Merciful Spice, and although Scary Spice may be the one you might at first associate with starting a war, that is not necessarily a reference to her.
''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble. This song is very slow and easy compared to ''Wannabe''.

===Two interpretations===
There are two ways of interpreting this comic, as it is not initially fully clear whether the "speech line" in the comic is coming from [[Cueball]] or through the wall adjacent to him. It leads to two very different interpretations!

====Speech lines in xkcd====
There is no discussion about the thumping on the door though. Everybody agrees that there is someone outside the door who thumps on it. The small lines on the door around the "speech line" for the Thump radiate in all directions.

However, the small radiating lines on the wall around the "speech line" for the shouting are less spread. This has led to some disagreement as to whether the "Which are you" line is coming from outside the room (through the wall) or from Cueball.

Speech that comes from on-screen characters is nearly always indicated without any radiating lines. In [[1489: Fundamental Forces]] radiating lines are shown coming from someone on-screen speaking normally, but it only occurs once out of five though (vs. four out of four for those from off-screen characters in that comic) so this may be an unintentional inconsistency by Randall.

Speech that comes from off-screen is always(?) indicated with these radiating lines as can be seen in the aforementioned comic as well as in the last frame of [[1507: Metaball]] and twice in [[1493: Meeting]].

The problem in this comic is that the speech line stops near the wall (it does not go off-screen), it points to Cueball's head and it stops close to it. Its distance from his face is similar to what Randall typically uses to indicate what a character is saying. They are often drawn a little closer than that, but it is not uncommon that there are some distance. So, absent the radiating lines, it would for sure look like Cueball was the one speaking.

Since the radiating lines are there, one interpretation is that '''the shout is coming out of the wall''', just as the thumps are coming from the door. This would resemble when someone is speaking inside something. And in these cases radiating lines are used to indicate from where the speech comes, as can be seen in [[1463: Altitude]] and in [[1458: Small Moon]].

However, it is common for Randall to indicate shouting (and all agree that this line is shouted) with the same type of radiating lines, which for instance can bee seen when Megan shouts in [[1374: Urn]] and in [[1360: Old Files]]. So another equally valid interpretation is that it is '''Cueball who is shouting'''.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line going to Cueball's indicate that he is shouting.

Cueball is shouting the question '''through a door''' at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war, in order to make sure the one he lets in is not some evil person but a merciful one. In this comic, Megan is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun, while a, possibly dangerous, Spice Girl is knocking on their door. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the spice girl outside.

====The shout comes from outside====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line are only stopping near Cueball's, but is actually comming from (through) the wall to indicate that the question is shouted from outside.

This would then indicate that Megan is the Spice Girl (remember that Megan is not the same character from comic to comic so this is not a problem for this interpretation).

The quiz questions is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd outside the door at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war. Cueball tries to protect "Megan Spice", who the crowd would be after. In case that she is The Merciful One there is not problem. But if she is the one that started this war they would like to apprehend her.

In this case it looks like Megan does not have any intention of answering, and she is preparing for when the people outside break down the door by loading her shotgun to defend herself. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the Megan Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the then less well known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see interpretations above): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice: The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot, ''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];'' Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

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

Talk:1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-13T23:06:05Z

108.162.250.187: OK, got that sorted.

Not being shouted (from without, at either cueball or his female companion) by a post-apocalyptic crowd, surely, but by Cueball (from within, at the post-apocalyptic person of whom he is currently trying to deny entry whilst possibly necessary weaponry is being loaded)... Or so I read it. If that makes sense. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 05:43, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:It does look like that, but the caption states "through a door". -- microslayer
::The little lines around the origin point of the speech "bubble" is usually used in XKCD to indicate that the sound is coming through the surface or offscreen (see Writers Strike (360) and Time Vulture (926)). -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] 06:52, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::Except that I read the ''caption'' as meaning "through a door" by our Cueball, i.e. what someone like him would be shouting ''out'', plosively. (It's "through the wall", anyway, if that's a 'through something' speech-bubble-originator-indicator (like the "THUMP"s are) rather than 'rather loudly' emphasis that I'd expect to be associated with Cueball. They are shown differently, with the non-THUMP indicator not really having the same appearance as all the other ones otherwise mentioned. Even in the very same panel.) Anyway, just my POV. Needs an Official Transcript to be sure, I suppose. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 07:12, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::The speak line clearly shows it is Cueball who shouts this quiz title through a door. No question is it like this, so I have corrected the transcript accordingly.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:54, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::::I disagree. It's not that clear. The marks around the end of the speech line indicate the question is being shouted from the other side of the wall, and I think - but can't be certain - that the line terminates near Cue Ball's head looks like to me like ambiguous drawing by the cartoonist. That, and the "through the door" make me think that Cue Ball is just silently holding the door shut against the rampaging hoards, who are doing all the shouting. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.123}}
::::::I agree that it is unclear. See comic [[1493]]. Randall has used those little "blast" lines USUALLY to denote off-screen speech, but in that comic (the first example I found going backwards), he uses it directly on Cueball. That said, most uses are for sound effects or off-screen/through wall speech. I expected to find it used for "shouting", but Cueball isn't even shouting in that comic. Not sure why Randall used it. Another example is [[1393]]. I initially read this comic as Cueball speaking, otherwise Randally would have drawn the line over Cueball's head to the door, but I don't think the other interpretation is necessarily wrong. I do think the third one had to go though. Cueball shouting to Megan doesn't line up with the caption of "through the door". [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:28, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:::::::I also find it to be confusing. I first thought it was Cueball that was doing the shouting but after reading this page I now see that the little marks around the speech line are usually used when the speaker is off panel or inside of something (car or coming from PC, etc). I went looking through back comics to see if any yelling was indicated differently and found one where the character was not yelling but the speech line has the same little marks (First panel of Fundamental Forces http://xkcd.com/1489/). In that case it looks like a small mistake, but in this comic it just leaves me unsure who is speaking. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.171|108.162.221.171]] 14:39, 13 April 2015 (UTC)Agent0013
::::::: I am satisfied with the two different explanations currently being shown, given the controversy. However, to continue to support 'my' interpretation, do note the difference between the *THUMP* origins (unidirectionally starred lines, definitely on the door) and the question's origins (splayed lines, and an origin on the surface of a wall... ''coincidentally'' in the right place to be confused with originating from Cueball's mouth?). I'd accept that there's argument (before anyone else gives it) that because of Cueball's head being where it is one might not see the leftward-sloping asterism lines, but I don't think it's close enough to have obscured this (and could have been easily drawn to ''avoid'' such an illustration problem, as might a way to have drawn it to be unconfusingly not associated with Cueball's head at all). Tell you what, let's see if we can get it via the 3d.xkcd.com interface... ''Then'' we might know... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.4|141.101.99.4]] 15:26, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::: I agree that it is clear it is Cueball shouting. The caption says through a door, not through a wall. The lines (different from the "through-door" lines) indicate he is shouting it with stress in his voice, through the door at a Spice Girl on the other side. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.187|108.162.250.187]] 23:06, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

:: [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.155|108.162.250.155]] and [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.123|108.162.229.123]] are correct, the shouting is coming from outside the room. Randall/Cueball imagines he is hearing quiz titles "being shouted," he is not imagining shouting them himself. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 11:56, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::: Furthermore, ''"in order to make sure the one you '''let in''' is not some scary person but a merciful one"'' makes no sense because the Spice Girl in question is clearly meant to be the girl loading the gun behind the box. She's already in the room. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.123}}
:::: Hmm, or maybe not. I thought the hair was too different from Megan's usual style, but it could be her. So now I'm about 50/50 on this one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.123|108.162.229.123]] 12:28, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::::There is no such character as Megan. Please see [[Megan]]. I quote ""Megan" does not necessarily always represent the same character from comic to comic. She is essentially the female equivalent of Cueball, representing the every-woman to his everyman.". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:08, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
I don't know much about the Spice Girls, but the comic seems to be referring to two; Is there a "merciful" Spice Girl? Is there one likely to "start a war"? And is there a "war" that is specifically to do with the Spice Girls? -[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.95|141.101.106.95]] 08:01, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
What about Camp Spice?? {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.103}}

The comic is clearly inventing new Spice Girls: the original Spice Girls didn't have a merciful one, or an evil one. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 13:10, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
:Disagree. In real life, there has not been a war started by ANY spice girl. This is clearly fantasy. It is just as likely that Randall is imagining the Spice Girls rise to power and in their newfound power, become associated with new traits (e.g. one is a merciful and one starts a war - in Cueball's fantasy scenario, there are only two spice girls left, or two who could possibly be at the door). There is no basis to assume this is a reference to invented new spice girls.

: I also think that if Randall intended to have the quiz's answers make sense, it would have to be the latter, since the quiz won't have an "evil" or "merciful" spice. That said, given Randall's comment about needing to make the link titles less irritating, it's unlikely he would actually do the quiz. He just wants to be less annoyed while skimming his, Facebook feed (for example) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:33, 13 April 2015 (UTC)
::You are wrong when you say 'the quiz won't have an "evil" or "merciful" spice'. [http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ Here] you can see Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy, and also Old Mummy, Oracle Mummy, Supercalifragalistic Mummy, Drop and Run Mummy, Hover Mummy, Boring Mummy, Disaster Zone Mummy, and Baby Factory Mummy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 17:15, 13 April 2015 (UTC)