explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1745: Record Scratch

2016-10-12T08:58:12Z

141.101.70.20: /* Misleading title text */

== Misleading title text ==

Note: this is a ridiculous pedantic rant. Tl;dr: the xkcd alt text for today is misleading, and I read a lot about the history of music storage to back up that claim.

http://xkcd.com/1745/

So, this alt text is actually pretty misleading, because he's misusing the "whoa! Event A was closer to Event B than to today" meme by implying that 78s were vinyl, when in fact they were largely shellac -- and also I would argue that he's just got the facts wrong about when the 78-rpmera ended. The 78-rpm era arguably began as early as 1898, and arguably ended as late as the 1950s. In became the standard in 1925. So, ok, we could say, "Yeah, 78-rpm era should be considered to mean some time before 1940. That's reasonable, because the 1940s is really when the age of the 33 1/3 begins. So, OK, Randall, the 78-rpm era was closer to the Civil War than to today. But here's the thing. You implied that the 78-rpm era was a vinyl thing. That's not really true. Vinyl is what ushered in the 33 1/3 days. So while it's maybe a cool piece of trivia to say "we first started using 33 1/3 rpm vinyl records in earnest only slightly closer to today than to the Civil War," it's not really a "wow, compare these well known events! Look how old this record scratch reference is!" Because tapes didn't start to seriously compete with vinyl until the late 1970s, and didn't overtake it until about 1985. So it would be fair to say, "the vinyl era ended closer to the start of the Vietnam War than to today," assuming we treat the Vietnam War as beginning in 1954 or later.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.66|108.162.219.66]] 05:04, 12 October 2016 (UTC)
: Agreed. Half way between the end of the US civil war and today was 1940. Vinyl LPs didn't overtake 78's until around 1952 according to Wikipedia (and 78's were being sold until 1960). So I guess what Randall means is that the time between the end of the era, and now is less than the time between the end of the civil war and the start of the 78 era. Might add something to this effect (if nobody else beats me to it) since this does require some clarification. [[User:Luckykaa|Luckykaa]] ([[User talk:Luckykaa|talk]]) 08:06, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Why is the explanation even mentioning "gramophones" or "phonographs"? Never mind making them sound important to this comic? (I'm not sure of the spelling, but think "gramophone" is wrong). As someone whose childhood was still during the record era, I've never seen either, but have played many records, and heard said scratch sound many times when I was sloppy or unlucky. It seems likely that 78-rpm records are from the grammophone era, but as the above commentor points out, those weren't vinyl. I would suspect vinyl records are all well past the time of grammophones. The device in question was "commonly" known simply as a record player. The current explanation is making the reference sound a LOT older than it is (and Randall already went there in the title text). - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.227|162.158.126.227]] 05:53, 12 October 2016 (UTC)
:He did not write that the 78-rpm area was a vinyl thing. The vinyl thing is about the scratching of modern records... Gramophone is the Wikipedia name for record player. So chill man ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 06:40, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Somebody said it "stores music on a disc with very small bumps". I had to correct that. I feel old. I was born closer to World War 1 than to the present day.

I think Randall chose the exact perfect moment for this comic since vinyls are getting more and more popular, again: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_revival#Sales I doubt they will get as widely spread as in past times, but at least here in my town here in Germany even the bigger electronic retailers have fairly large vinyl supplies again. Enough to consider them back in popular culture? I don't know, because I don't know how the situation applies in the US which would be the relevnat part for the understanding of the comic. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 07:24, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

To me, the 'record scratch' sound in movies is not the sound made by a scratch ON a record, which is normally just a pop, but rather the sound of either the stylus being dragged ''across'' the grooves, more of a "ZZREEEIIP" sound, or of spinning the turntable in reverse. I have not changed the explanation as I may be the only person who feels this way. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 08:35, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

* What was the first movie to do the "*Record Scratch* *Freeze Frame* Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering..." --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.20|141.101.70.20]] 08:58, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

1711: Snapchat

2016-07-25T16:29:18Z

141.101.70.20: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1711
| date = July 25, 2016
| title = Snapchat
| image = snapchat.png
| titletext = For obvious reasons, the prize is awarded at a different time of year from the others, while it's still fresh in the committee's memory.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Maybe theres more to it. Title text explanation missing.}}
The {{w|Pulitzer Prize}} is awarded for spectacular writing (there are many categories; see {{w|Pulitzer Prize#Categories|here}}). {{w|Snapchat}} is a photo-sending app that allows the receiving user to only view the photo (known as a "snap") for a few seconds before it is deleted.

[[Cueball]] reads about the prize but then when [[Megan]] states the she heard the picture was really good Cueball becomes disappointed because he has missed out on the chance to see the prize winning photo due to the temporary nature of Snapchat.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan standing together. He holds a smartphone in his left hand and looks at it.]
:Cueball: Oh, the Pulitzer Prize for Snapchat was just awarded.
:Megan: Yeah.
:Megan: I hear the photo was really good.
:Cueball: Aw, ''maaaan''...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Social networking]]

Talk:1645: Toasts

2016-02-21T23:50:54Z

141.101.70.20:

:That's what I thought as well. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 11:19, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
::Yes it is not a typo as Single-payer refers to Single-payer healthcare as now explained above. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

: It seems correct. It is rather abstract, but I guess single-payer here is considered a good thing and RealPlayer a bad thing. Added to rime that a a different type of "player" might be what his single friends need.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.165|162.158.90.165]] 22:38, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

I'm fairly certain this comic is in reference to the "Fall Out Boy" song, entitled "Champagne For My Real Friends And Real Pain For My Sham Friends", from their 2005 album "From Under The Cork Tree"; though he could also be referencing Francis Bacon, Tom Waits, the television show Happy Days, the show One Tree Hill, or Spike Lee's "25th Hour". If you do a Google search for the phrase, it requires some exclusions (like -"fall out boy") to prevent that song from dominating the first page of results. It's one of their most famous titles.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.48|108.162.216.48]] 12:00, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
:Please just include links to these relevant songs etc. in the explanation. And thanks for the comment. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
::Turns out it was an old quote so not to this song but both are now mentioned in the explanation.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:51, 21 February 2016 (UTC)


Quote from early explantion: White Hat thus wish that his real friends have access to free health care, and all his single friends will get RealPlayer. Maybe he wishes to impress these singles with a present and hope he gets lucky. (If it has been Hairy this would have seemed very likely… see 1178: Pickup Artists. White Hat has not previously displayed thse tendencies to clearly).
I doubt this. RealPlayer was a terrible piece of software nobody wanted and was often bundled with spyware (see wikipedia) {{unsigned ip|141.101.70.121}}
:Well I wrote it and disagree. Since it has been on the market for 10 years, and has just been updated, then it cannot be that terrible, and I cannot find what you say should be on Wikipedia to show that it should be bad still at present. But of course if it has just been upgraded to a new name, then giving the old app is not so hot. Has addressed this in the explanation. Aqlso please feel free to update something you find in error yourself ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:27, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
:: You wrote the source code for RealPlayer or the explantation here? If first you should know why it has such a bad reputation, if second: RealPlayer was some time ago bundled with spyware that sent unique ID's with other userdata to a server, also it had several other problems and is considered by several tech magazines as one of the worst software programs. It might not mention that in the english wikipedia but the german has a section for it. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/RealPlayer#Kritik To stay on topic: Maybe he wishes his single friends RealPlayer so they need his help to get the malware off their computers and he can impress them? Is way more probable from my experience. [[User:Bobylein|Bobylein]] ([[User talk:Bobylein|talk]]) 12:43, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
:::I wrote the explanation! And to stay in English for those who are not native Germans... we can also take the English wiki link to the {{w|RealPlayer#Reviews_and_critiques|critique}}! ;-) As I can read from that it was in 1999 and 2007 that it was bad, and as this is now 9 years ago at least, and they keep updating it, the errors may have been improved out? Why would anyone else continue to make it better or using it? But again feel free to update the explanation even more with these kinds of info. I still think it is not so bad to get a free app, unless it is the spy ware version. I expect this doesn't exist anymore, and it is not explicitly stated that he would give them that.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:53, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
::::None of these negative interpretations of RealPlayer fit with White Hat's personality.--[[User:Nekoninda|Nekoninda]] 13:34, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
:::::There's more to realplayer than adware. Realaudio/realvideo were among the first streaming media formats on the internet. As such, it was used at that time by many adult-oriented sites offering streaming video. It is very possible that the single friends of White Hat might be interested by such media. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.25|173.245.49.25]] 13:04, 21 February 2016 (UTC)

This is the first comic with [[Hair Bun Girl]] since [[User:Jkshapiro|Jkshapiro]] proposed a name change to for instance Hairbun. I take this chance to get more comments on this subject by posting his note, that is now posted on her site: Should [[Hair Bun Girl]] be renamed to Hairbun? [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Proposals#Rename_Hair_Bun_Girl See here]
--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:04, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

As a non-native speaker, when I first read it, I though "petty friends" could mean "pet animals" and "real coats" would then refer to them having real fur as coats - which is often an aspect animal friends don't like on certain rich people (wearing real fur coats), but completely normal for the animals itself.
Also "Realplayer", aside from its repuration as not-so-useable software, is used for video streaming, including on porn sites. So (male?) "single friends", being single, might have to resort using Realplayer/porn to satisfy their needs.
[[User:Zefiro|Zefiro]] ([[User talk:Zefiro|talk]]) 13:16, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

In regard to the second tile, I read it at first to mean that the girl's real friends are pseudopods and that all her human acquaintances are "pseudo-friends". This would be like a stereotypical "lab nerd". Doesn't track with any other slide, but I thought it might add to the conversation... {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.15}}

"Real bugs" for my "Lady Friends" - I took that as having sexual undertones. But maybe that was just me. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.106.47|188.114.106.47]] 19:14, 19 February 2016 (UTC)

The last panel with Beret Guy might be a reference to any French expression using "faucon" ("hawk", sounds like "false cunt") and "vrai con" ("real cunt"). Sorry about the language by the way, but that's exactly what "con" mean, both literally and figuratively. A French equivalent to "Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends" would likely use those—although I can't think about a perfect one. It's usually along the lines "Quelle différence entre toi et un oiseau? Le faucon est un oiseau, toi t'es un vrai con." meaning "What's the difference between a bird and you? The hawk is a bird, you're a real cunt." Also, the current explanation seems really far-fetched to me. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.159|141.101.104.159]] 20:26, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
: Made the edit. Feel free to argue. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.159|141.101.104.159]] 03:47, 20 February 2016 (UTC)
::Firstly, I must disagree about "Fauxhawk", that "This '''IS'''" a reference to "faucon"/the french version of this phrase. I might go along with "might be". "Fauxhawk" is a word that really is used in the English language, for the described hairstyle. This connection seems only to be a mild coincidence, something better suited to a Trivia section (it DOES make for an interesting tidbit, but too obscure to be on purpose). Seems like a happy accident.

::Secondly, I remain unconvinced about "Single-Payer" not being a typo. Seems like a weird term, uncommon. Maybe this is just because I'm Canadian, maybe this term is very wide-spread to Americans, but due to American TV and content we DO hear a lot of American terms. If the intent was indeed to be "single-player", this could be a reference to how more and more video games these days focus on multiplayer/online play, many of which neglect the single-player content, to the point where it seems like the game makers are assuming nobody is interested. As such, this would mean wishing quality single-player gameplay for their real friends.

::Thirdly, about "pods". I understood it to mean "human container", like a stasis pod or escape pod (a common term for the spaceship equivalent of a lifeboat) Examples of such pods would include where Ripley "stored" herself at the end of Aliens, into the beginning of the next movie, or how baby Superman was transported to Earth. So, this person would be wishing these friends go into stasis, that their fake friends simply go away.

::And YAY! As of this comic I'm caught up, I've now read every xkcd starting from #1! :) - NiceGuy1[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.215|198.41.235.215]] 07:36, 20 February 2016 (UTC)
:::The cunt reference is far-fetched. Have removed it. It off course remains here. Also: Yes it is not a typo as Single-payer refers to Single-payer healthcare as now explained above. (And also noted at the top of this discussion page)--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:51, 21 February 2016 (UTC)

Is it just me, or does the fact that several of the words also are the names of cocktails (Ladybug, Tumbleweed) have any significance? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.146|162.158.203.146]] 09:23, 20 February 2016 (UTC)
: My initial reaction to this thought was "no", seeing as those drinks aren't that widespread, for example I feel like I might have heard those cocktail names, but if so rarely and I've no idea as to their contents (i.e. as opposed to drinks like a Screwdriver, a Mimosa or a Black Russian, drinks which are rather universal, such that most adults probably know what's in them). However, on reflection, the original toast names a drink, toasts involve drinking, and both of those items - Ladybugs and Tumbleweeds - make for unpleasant gifts. So now I think this might be a genuine possibility. Does anybody know of any drinks sharing a name with any of the others? ("Single-payer" seems unlikely, but "Pseudopod" for example?) - NiceGuy1[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.160|108.162.218.160]] 10:00, 20 February 2016 (UTC)
::I think that for some of the more strange thing to hand out to friends it makes sense that they refeer to the drinks as mentioned - there is even a beer called fauxhawks... I will add this to the explanation for those where there is a drink with that name. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:05, 21 February 2016 (UTC)

If a wiki mod/admin comes by there was a user who replaced the comments with spam. [[User:Codingale|Codingale]] ([[User talk:Codingale|talk]]) 13:43, 20 February 2016 (UTC)
Are we sure "single-payer" is not a typo, making it "single-player" to fit with "RealPlayer"? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.144|162.158.202.144]] 11:18, 19 February 2016 (UTC)
:Noted and blocked. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 18:27, 20 February 2016 (UTC)
::I have found one other situation same user, who deleted entire [[1613]]. Have reverted the change.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:55, 20 February 2016 (UTC)
:Yes it is not a typo as Single-payer refers to Single-payer healthcare as now explained above. (And also noted at the top of this discussion page) Randall often corrects comic with errors,and if it had been an error he would probably also have spotted it by now, and it has not changed on xkcd. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:55, 20 February 2016 (UTC)

Shampoo for my real friends; real poo for my sham friends. {{unsigned ip|108.162.236.37}}

Are we sure that the title text isn't a reference to Plato's idealised metaphysical forms (which would include the Platonic solids), which stand in contrast to their imperfect instantiations in the real world?