explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3064: Lungfish

2025-03-18T10:20:42Z

141.101.98.122: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3064
| date = March 17, 2025
| title = Lungfish
| image = lungfish_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x403px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = I know having so many base pairs makes rebasing complicated, but you're in Bilateria, so shouldn't you at LEAST be better at using git head?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a COPY OF COPY OF COPY OF COPY OF LUNGFISH - more information on lungfish if necessary, less information if not. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Lungfish}} (the class ''Dipnoi'') have the largest known {{w|genome}} among the {{w|vertebrate}}s (155 billion {{w|base pair}}s), and the third-largest known genome of all species. The comic relates this to a common issue when editing documents or coding, where the author accidentally makes changes to {{w|Fork (software development)|two separately created versions of documents}}, when they meant to only edit one, which can result in changes to both (or all) resulting documents functionally essential parts of the completed project, or at least present as development artefacts in the 'final' product. This may happen if documents are sent for review (or updating) to different editors, or at different times, and the changes from the earlier one(s) aren't properly integrated with the later one(s). The comic posits that Lungfish has a habit of doing this with its own genome, making both genes essential and increasing the amount of base pairs.

When Cueball confronts Lungfish about this bad habit of mismanaging files, Lungfish dismisses him by saying he'll just "buy more storage". This is likely alluding to when people are faced with an increasing number of files on their storage media, they just buy more storage, either by adding another media drive or paying additional monthly fees for online storage (ex: [https://www.apple.com/ca/icloud/ iCloud] or [https://one.google.com/about/plans Google Drive]). Because of the relatively low cost of storage, this often seems like any easy 'solution', but doesn't actually address the problems of information fragmentation and management. As well as being an issue in their own right, a failure to deal with these can lead to a repeating pattern that ratchets up storage cost over time.

For anyone curious about the science, it's important to note that [https://www.science.org/content/article/odd-fish-has-30-times-much-dna-humans-new-record-animals this is absolutely not why lungfish have a large genome]; while some organisms do contain many copies of genes as a diversification strategy, this mostly occurs only in some plants and single-celled eukaryotes. Lungfish have roughly the same number of genes as a human (and likely slightly fewer), and the large size of the lungfish genome is likely due to poor transposon control causing their chromosomes to fill up with junk.

The names of the "files" reference several things about computer files:
* Older versions of Windows, when copy-and-pasting a file within the same folder, would automatically append "Copy of" to the start of the filename, resulting in a file named "Copy of ''x''". (This was previously referenced in the title text of [[1459: Documents]].) If ''that'' file was then copied, it would be likewise appended, thus producing "Copy of Copy of ''x''". (Newer versions of Windows instead add "- Copy" to the end of the filename, which produces the same effect but keeps things in roughly the same order when sorted by name.) Google Docs automatically adds "Copy of ''x''" to documents when copied.
* Numbered labels in brackets can be produced by a couple different actions:
** If multiple files are highlighted and a Rename action is performed, all of the files will be given the same name with a number label, starting with the one clicked on for the Rename action and then proceeding from the top of the list down as originally sorted. For example, if three files named "Alpha", "Beta", and "Gamma" are highlighted, and the user right-clicks on "Gamma" and renames it to "Alphabet", then "Gamma" will be renamed to "Alphabet (1)", followed by "Alphabet (2)" [formerly Alpha] and "Alphabet (3)" [formerly Beta].
** If a copied file is pasted multiple times in the same folder, it will also receive number labels in the same format. This includes copies that are also appended as such in the above points, so a newly-pasted file might end up with a "Copy of" tag AND a "(2)" tag.
** If a file is downloaded from webmail and a file with same name already exists in the download folder, browsers append a number such as "(1)".
* Some users will keep older drafts of a file in case of a need to revert back to an older version; this can be done with a number label (i.e. "v1", "v2", etc.) or a proper word (i.e. "draft", "edited", etc.) at the user's discretion. This can be useful if it's discovered an edit breaks something important, or in the event that a mistaken save action loses data, but it can also lead to file hoarding. It is also far from foolproof, especially if words are used rather than numbers as a "(Newest)"-named file can't itself know when it is superseded (perhaps by a "(Final)" file) and even a "(Final)" one cannot be sure that the project hasn't been revisited (perhaps with an update to "(Newest)"; such a manual method of attempting to keep sequential versions in line can easily be open to misuse and ambiguity of status. Especially when any changes apparently have not so obviously major that the "version number" has not been updated - or else ''both'' were (separate!) refinements of some "v2" revision(s), or earlier.

The file names "Copy of Copy of Gene v3 (Newest) (2)" and "Copy of Copy of Gene v3 (Final) (2)" suggest a very poorly-organized filesystem - and a tendency to copy-paste unnecessarily - on the part of the lungfish, which certainly explains why it keeps editing multiple documents instead of a single one.

The title text further compares the biology of lungfish to managing versions of files in a popular version control system called {{w|Git}}, which includes a facility called [https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/git-head/ "head"] that assists in keeping track of the latest available version of a particular project resource, across all updating and forking. Rebasing, in Git, is the act of moving changes from one file branch to another, which Cueball says is complicated due to the large number of 'base pairs' - a pun since base pairs are elements of chromosomes. {{w|Bilateria}} is a clade of animals characterized by embryonic bilateral symmetry, giving their bodies distinguishable "head" and "tail" ends. Since this applies to lungfish, Cueball says, in another pun, that the lungfish should at least know how to use the "head" branch with Git.

==Transcript==
:[A lungfish is sticking its head out of the water close to a wooden dock. It is looking up at Cueball, standing on the dock looking down, and they are talking.]
:Lungfish: It turns out I've been editing both '''''Copy of Copy of Gene v3 (Newest) (2)''''' and '''''Copy of Copy of Gene v3 (Final) (2)''''' so now I can't delete either one.
:Cueball: You have '''''got''''' to stop doing this.
:Lungfish: It's fine, I'll just buy more storage.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Why lungfish have such enormous genomes

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Version Control]]

699: Trimester

2024-02-27T13:47:54Z

141.101.98.122:

{{comic
| number =699
| date =February 8, 2010
| title =Trimester
| image =trimester.png
| titletext =Also, it's not like anyone actually calls up the Nobel committee to double-check things.
}}

==Explanation==
While some pregnancies are different than others, a universal truth is that a naturally-born baby will always exit a woman's body through the vagina. However, in this comic, [[Cueball]] (wearing a white lab coat and holding a clipboard) tells a surprised{{Citation needed}} [[Megan]] that until the second trimester (3-6 months into pregnancy), the baby has not yet decided on its method of egress and may choose any orifice through which to be born, including the mouth, anus, nose, etc. This does not normally happen in real life.{{Citation needed}} The only case where a baby is not born through the vagina is during a {{w|Caesarean section|Cesarean section}} procedure, in which a surgical incision is made in the mother's abdomen to remove the baby.

The caption reveals the truth: in fact, Cueball simply bought the lab coat, and is not a medical professional at all - he's likely just an average guy, and may well know less about medicine than Megan does. The moral is that you cannot trust someone simply because they outwardly present themselves as an authority.{{actual citation needed}}

Impersonating medical professionals, or other authorities such as police, does happen in real life, and is typically illegal. In the US and other countries, it is also against the law to practice medicine without a license, so Cueball is likely committing a crime.

The expectation that a person in a white coat is a medical expert, or at least a scientist, can be seen in the studies of the placebo effect: people who receive a "sugar pill" from a person who has the authority implied by wearing a lab coat will experience a greater placebo effect than those who receive identical pills from a person in ordinary clothes. This leads to more doctors wearing a white coat while working, and due to that a reinhorsement of the expectation of white coats belonging to doctors. In some medical schools students receive a white coat as part of their graduation and qualification ceremony.

The title text implies also that in addition to faking being a doctor, he has also faked being a {{w|Nobel Prize|Nobel laureate}}, on the logic that most people will not bother to verify this claim. This is likely harder to get away with, as the Nobel Prize is an extremely prestigious distinction, and it would be unlikely for it to be awarded to someone with no recognized skill or experience in a given field.{{citation needed}}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is wearing a lab coat, and talking to Megan, who is sitting on a desk. He also has a clipboard.]
:Cueball: Well, until the second trimester, the baby hasn't decided which opening it will exit through.
:Megan: ''What?''
:Cueball: We'll hope for one of the lower ones, so it won't be fighting gravity.
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Did you know you can just ''BUY'' lab coats?

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

Talk:2491: Immune Factory

2021-07-20T10:37:14Z

141.101.98.122:

I don't feel qualified to start this description, but this page has relevant info to explain the pun in the last panel: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikebreaker Strikebreaker - Wikipedia] - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 03:36, 20 July 2021 (UTC)
:I've yet to visit your link, but I suspect I would have explained that self-same thing. Plus the "IMMUNION" thing being a parody of something I know happened in the UK (don't know about the US, but why not?) where the Bottle Washers And Associated Kitchen Trades Union stops being known by its proud old acronym of BWAAKTU and 'rebrands' as something that sounds like a team name from The Apprentice, becoming "Sinceriton" or "Dynamotion" or something that looks like it ''should'' be an aptonym with a valid backronym like "SINKU". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.48|162.158.159.48]] 04:58, 20 July 2021 (UTC)

When I read the comic, I inferred that this was his ''second'' dose - the first dose made his body build up defenses, in contrast with ''now'', when it's ramping up production and making him feel really bad. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.248|108.162.245.248]] 05:40, 20 July 2021 (UTC)
:I agree, I think the comic displays Hairy suffering the reactions to his second shot rather than the first. [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 07:00, 20 July 2021 (UTC)
::Personally, my first dose (of AZ/Oxford, for reference) crept up on me and, after several hours, gave me a totally unanticipated (the way one thinks one is immortal, clearly going to be taking such stuff in one's stride, right?) whole-body set of muscular aches and pains and day or two of general dreadfulness, the depths of which seem to be reflected in Hairy's depiction almost to a tee.
::The second dose (when I was more prepared for the reaction/repurcussions, and now knew where I'd find an almost-expired pack of flu-tablets that I wish I remembered I'd had the first time when I didn't even want to crawl out of bed much, but had never even opened) was therefore pessimistically anticipated to be just as bad but actually only ''half'' my body seemed to ache for the duration (still worse than any winter cold/flu I could quantify from recent memory) and I bounced back much quicker. (This time having ''deliberately'' resisted taking the newly rediscovered standard medicine-aisle anti-inflammatories, painkillers and/or whatever that I only ever bought in 'just in case' long before Covid or its vaccines were ever an immediate issue.)
::Anecdotal, I know. And I post my inability to/restraint from self-medication just to frame the relative degree of effects felt (I ''would'' have popped the pills the first time round, if I knew I could have, and that's something I just don't like doing on principle, as I (over?)trust my body to get through most circumstances, short of those important enough to require such a vaccination). I'm not a masochist, just a bit more inclined to wait and see.
::Plus given it's assumed to be in the US it's probably going to be Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna (not the same mechanism as AZ's primer). Or ''maybe'' Janssen (which is more so). That greatly adds uncertainty to the usual mix of everyone having their own individual response to nominally identical treatment. But this is my own personal datum point, lacking any others. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.122|141.101.98.122]] 10:37, 20 July 2021 (UTC)

When Cueball replies "common side effect" to Hairy remarking that his immune cells have "unionized", what side effect is that referring to exactly? The current text of this explanation page says "It is not clear whether [Hairy's statement of immune-cell unionization] corresponds to any actual part of the immune response", but Cueball's reply seems to imply that there ''is'' a correspondence. - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 09:34, 20 July 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2486: Board Game Party Schedule

2021-07-09T23:46:19Z

141.101.98.122:

I've done the best I can starting this out. Since it's been years since I did gatherings like this, if someone can suggest more modern examples of complicated tabletop simulation games than the ones I suggested (Squad Leader and SFB started in the late 1970s, for heaven's sake), please do so. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.236|108.162.245.236]] 00:27, 8 July 2021 (UTC)

Diplomacy? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.121|108.162.246.121]] 21:17, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

How about Seven Wonders? [[User:Gvanrossum|Gvanrossum]] ([[User talk:Gvanrossum|talk]]) 04:59, 8 July 2021 (UTC)

This is why we always decide the game before inviting people. Then people can already head home before 11pm. To be more serious, the most complicated game that we played with novices was Eclipse with several expansions in a 9 player setup. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.160|162.158.88.160]] 07:15, 8 July 2021 (UTC)

The classics for my home group with this are Kingmaker and Twilight Imperium. In fact to even suggest those we now have to plan a week or month ahead of time. [[User:Thaledison|Erin Anne]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 13:51, 8 July 2021 (UTC)

A "simpler" game, like Catan or Dominion...?
Um. More like Scattergories, Scrabble, Sorry, Yahtzee, Apples to Apples, Uno, even Go Fish. Catan and Dominion might be relatively well known, but they are NOT simple. My experience is that the strategically-minded people who love immersive resource-allocation based games like Catan and Dominion are frequently open to learning new games, while the crowd that opts for "simpler" games typically just want to have fun without having to think too hard about stuff. (I say this as someone who loves immersive resource-allocation games, with a girlfriend who typically prefers the simpler stuff.)
Also, feels like Scythe deserves a mention, as a game that might be pulled out of a cupboard for game night but ends up taking hours to set up and explain. Whereas Warhammer players typically seek out their own, rather than casually springing their hobby on the general public. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.84|108.162.221.84]] 17:05, 8 July 2021 (UTC) mezimm
: Fair, although with my group what usually ends up happening is side games of Magic: the Gathering, and that's not simple, but it's quick to setup and doesn't take super long to complete. [[User:Thaledison|Erin Anne]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 13:22, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

Yeah, a not-a-COVID-19 comic. That said, just curious, why don't we include the title text as part of the transcript? Was a decision made some time ago to not include these, or have we just not been doing it for so long and no one questioned this until just now. [[Special:Contributions/127.0.0.1|127.0.0.1]] 19:00, 8 July 2021 (UTC)
:(Nice IP. *cough*) The transcript describes in text that which cannot already be read as text (without OCR, etc). The title-text is already in text form, reiteration would be redundantly repetitive. - Or so I've seen it explained several times before, and it makes perfect sense to me. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.105|162.158.158.105]] 03:10, 9 July 2021 (UTC)
::Thanks for the explanation. Also, why are you talking to yourself? [[Special:Contributions/127.0.0.1|127.0.0.1]] 17:12, 9 July 2021 (UTC)
:::Because I'm the last human alive? [[Special:Contributions/10.0.0.1|10.0.0.1]] 23:60, 31 Dec 10,000,034 (UTC)
:Yes, I also believe that the title text should be part of the transcript. I have heard the explanation many times and the explanation makes NO sense to me. First, a transcript should be a full transcript, not just a transcript of what is in the picture. Second, Even if I was using a text reader, I would want to hear the title text after the elements in the picture are described, the same way that I experience the comic when I am reading it. First I process the comic then I hover over and look for the title text. Without the title text, it's like hearing the build up of a multipart joke without hearing the final punch line. So if a vote is ever taken, I would vote to start including the title text in the transcript. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 20:05, 9 July 2021 (UTC)
::If a vote is forced I (not that I would be taken seriously, as an IP) would suggest (and only in this option vote as more preferential than the status quo, if it's a nice sensible a preferential multi-vote voting system) "<IMAGE=autoimported> <TRANSCRIPT=manual> <TITLETEXT=autoimported> <EXPLANATION=manual> <etcs=...>". The problem with <IMAGE> <TITLETEXT> ... <TRANSCRIPT_INCLUDING_TITLETEXT> is that it'll be so easy to make two TITLETEXTs different, either through failure of importing (currently needs correcting or explaining away via hand-edit) or at some time inevitably messing up the repeat-write (if not the straight copypasta) of what is already there in a perfectly accurate version.
::Or just persuade Dgbrt to change DgbrtBOT (or persuade DgbrtBOT directly, if you can and don't have Dgbrt revert whatever it is that you do to do that) to dual-autopopulate. If you have success there, I suppose you don't need to win a vote, just go straight to the "half of the users are mad at the result" stage...
::Prob. not the forum for discussing all this. In fact I'm sure it'll be better somewhere in the Community Portal. I really must catch up on my reading in there. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.122|141.101.98.122]] 23:46, 9 July 2021 (UTC)

I think the explanation is wrong. If you've played table-top games, a semi-complicated game like Catan or Ticket to Ride may seem simple. But the title says "Board Game" so I don't think explanation examples should be table-top games. In terms of "complicatedness", this comic is referring to the middle of the road: e.g. Checkers<Catan<Car Wars.

== that was fast ==

this was my first time looking up the most recent comic on here (though it wasn't 'cause [I'm] dumb'... for once), and can I just say you all work really fast at getting a basic explanation written out. Your work is much appreciated by this student software dev :-)--[[User:Twisted Code|Twisted Code]] ([[User talk:Twisted Code|talk]]) 18:56, 8 July 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2483: Linked List Interview Problem

2021-07-06T19:22:54Z

141.101.98.122:

Assuming not everyone understands O notation: O(1) means that it always takes the same time, no matter how much data is stored. O(n) means the time is proportional to the amount of data stored - if you have 10 times the data, it takes 10 times as long to find the one you want. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.84}}

This code won't mail the linked list to a museum - it will mail the memory location of the head of the list to a museum.{{unsigned ip|172.70.130.192}}
:I think part of the joke might be that the high-level language being used will actually spit out a representation of the entire list when using the str function. So it actually does all the traversing and abstracts it away, again making the interview question seem redundant! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.48|162.158.159.48]] 10:40, 1 July 2021 (UTC)
::The language looks almost like Python -- the only difference being the keyword ''define'' instead of ''def''. Lisp is the only family of languages I can think of that automatically converts linked lists to a representation of all the elements, since the linked list is its fundamental data structure. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:06, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

just to make sure I get this right.
If I want to save the numbers "1", "2", "3", "4" in an array it could (depending on the programming language) just be "[1,2,3,4]", while a linked list could be "1 (jump to 3rd entry), 4, 2 (jump to 4th entry), 3 (jump to 2nd entry)"?
Then entering 2.5 between 2 and 3 would be complicated in the array as you have to move the 3 and 4 to new places, while in the linked list you just change the direction after to to jump to 5th entry, and add 2.5 and the instruction to jump to 4th entry? While it is of course harder to find a specific entry in the linked list. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:01, 1 July 2021 (UTC)
:At the lowest level of access, such an array would be like the sequence "1234" (analogising to a simple string/char-array), asking for the nth-element quickly gets the nth-character by offset plus suitably multiplied memory reference). Inserting ("12a34") or deleting ("124") needs at least partial shuffling and resizing, while switching ("1324") or other internal re-ordering has widely variable overheads.
:A linked-list could be thought of as defining as "¹" with ¹="1²", ²="2³", ³="3⁴" and ⁴="4∅", taking up more initial memory, and effort to discover the nth item. But, done right and for the right reasons, additions (²="2⁵", ⁵="a³"), removals (²="2⁴", dump/reuse ³) and switches (either ²="3³", ³="2⁴" or ¹="1³", ³="3²", ²="2⁴") can be as efficient as possible once the splice-and-switch process knows which points to work with.
:(A linked-list sorter/editor will probably traverse the list, not worrying what 'offset' it is at, but holding an ⁿ pointer address for at least two adjacent items, ready to alter their ⁿs-as-reference to fulfil the change required, without worrying ''which'' ⁿs they were, and when created in whatever the next memory slot is.)
:Doubly-linked might be list header "¹" where ¹="∅1²", ²="¹2³", ³="²3⁴" and ⁴="³4∅" and is heavier in storage (though often balanced by the "1234" being much more complex as actual data (e.g. multi-word, possibly variable-length records) than the simple ⁿs, that in an array-accessed form would include far too much padding and wasting storage (or too little, requiring optionally-defined ⁿs at the end of each fixed-length record to direct to an 'overflow' memory location, effectively LLing) thus justifying the potential LL packing overheads.
:For further hybrid fun, nothing stops you having a fixed array "¹²³⁴∅∅∅" and define ¹="1", etc, then change the array-of-references accordingly ("¹²⁵³⁴∅∅", "¹²⁴∅∅∅∅", "¹³²⁴∅∅∅" or - if it's sensible - "¹²³⁴³²¹" which actually does something the LL would be hard-pressed to achieve for you without further structural overheads specifically designed for beyond-linear traversal).
:That it potentially becomes spaghetti-data should not concern you so long as you don't have spaghetti-code as well which causes some oversight of data-mangling to mess things up. And you'll probably want to maintain a custom data-dumper/collator/formatter capability to keep an eye on things as you're debugging the inevitably miswritten shuffle-function, and/or do battle with the compiler's garbage-handling insertions when you confuse it beyond reasonable limits. (No, wait, did you do full low-level garbage-handling yourself? Did you do it ''properly''? ;) )
:...but I must say I'm not overly keen to abandon modern inbuilt splice-functions (for arrays/otherwise) doing all this hard work for me. Only if I'm looking at something of more of a net-/tree-like relationship (esp. non-Euclidean), or something with complicated multi-layered disparity of pointed-at data might I design up from such basic foundations. But I can also be nostalgic about when it was far more necessary! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.48|162.158.159.48]] 10:18, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

Does anyone know when the last comic was that used colors? Is this something worth mentioning? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.42|162.158.88.42]] 06:11, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

: I found the category: [[:Category:Comics with color]]. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.153|162.158.93.153]] 06:17, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

I added some words regarding the title text. Feel free to expand/clarify/correct as necessary. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.209|172.69.35.209]] 06:57, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

The comic could also be a reference to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museum_Algorithm British Museum Algorithm]. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.110|162.158.88.110]] 09:09, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

I second a previous comment, the code *does not* send the list to the museum, only the string representation of the head pointer. So the examiner may be rightully pissed off because both can be true: the candidate is trying to make fun of list algorithms '''and''' he doesn't know how to deal with a list.
(Unsure of what follows: given that the code looks like python, this may also be sarcasm about the style of (not only) python programming that always resorts to some external code module instead of defining new data structures and coding related methods. In this case, the external module is a museum :-) ). [[User:Xkcdmax|Xkcdmax]] ([[User talk:Xkcdmax|talk]])

Those wondering why linked lists are considered obsolete: insertion and deletion performance is rarely the issue these days. It's the cost of enumerating over all elements in the list. Both arrays and linked lists have O(n) complexity there, but arrays have the lower cost. And that's before we get into stuff like caches liking predictable access patterns (pointer chasing is not predictable) and all those pointers costing precious cache memory space.--[[User:Henke37|Henke37]] ([[User talk:Henke37|talk]]) 09:45, 1 July 2021 (UTC)
:If the elements are simpler and relatively constant in individual storage demands (regardless of total numbers to store), arrays and bulk-caching work well. If they're more convoluted records (e.g. up to 64 characters as element name, 256 characters for a description, version 'number' that's another string, a notes field that is a pointer to an arbitrary chain of formatted/markupped punctuated character-storing freetext variable slots, any number of other object properties you find useful) then most of the advantages of indexable layout for lookahead loading are lost. If you're writing at significantly low-level of code, already, then you could still possibly see an advantage to implementing linked-list structures and not lose out enough to the advantages you'd get for an array implementation.
:Though these days you're not encouraged to tunnel past the abstractions the higher-level compiler/interpreter will present to you. You could be hard pressed to do anything efficient yourself (like an array-of-pointers approach, or using XOR packing to cut down on memory requirements in a doubly-linked list) and must blindly trust that the original authors of the intermediate builder gave it the wisdom to not be too bad trying to match what you input to a suitably workable pre-anticipated family of data-series methodologies by the time it gets to runtime.
:And there's so much power in a modern computer core that, even with a resource-hogging OS, you're probably not going to break it by manually forcing the worst option, unless you're already in danger of stressing the system even with the truly best one. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.93|141.101.99.93]] 23:44, 1 July 2021 (UTC)
Anyone else think the chosen color might be relevant? We're talking about **link**ed lists and the text is written in blue, the traditional color of hyper**link**s. In any other comic, I might think it a coincidence, but this is a comic that rarely uses color, and never without a purpose. [[User:Trlkly|Trlkly]] ([[User talk:Trlkly|talk]]) 07:15, 3 July 2021 (UTC)
:Blue whiteboard pens are probably the more used 'not black' (because easier on the eye?) but not specifically hued (red for important/'do not do' information, green for softer suggestions or else with comparative 'do do' positive stuff). From personal experience. Not sure if this is relevent, maybe it's just that blue-on-white is what Randall overwhelmingly experiences when he casually wanders in to NASA, JPL, Cern, NIF, Alphabet Inc, Apple Park, Redmond Campus, etc, and looks for casual inspiration on their various walls. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.206|141.101.98.206]] 18:33, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

I think you're all missing the point of the joke: it's not the ''linked list'' itself but the ''interview question about linked lists'' that should be donated to the museum. A typical interview question is "how do you reverse a linked list?", with the interviewer expecting you to write down the algorithm where you walk down the list while creating a new linked list in the process, wiring up its "next" pointer to the previously visited element. For the first element you traverse, you set the "next" pointer of that element in the reversed list to nil, because it will be the last element in the reversed list. The final result is a pointer to the last visited element, which becomes the head of the reversed list. These kind of questions are stereotypical for programmer interviews (just like "how do you swap to numbers without using a temporary variable?") and therefore Cueball makes a snarky remark that this question is now so archaic that it should be in a historical museum of sorts.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.88|162.158.88.88]] 14:22, 5 July 2021 (UTC)
:The text below the comment ("... donate their linked list ...") suggests the reading others have taken...

Talk:2483: Linked List Interview Problem

2021-07-06T19:22:23Z

141.101.98.122:

Talk:2482: Indoor Socializing

2021-07-01T00:34:43Z

141.101.98.122:

I think he's not afraid of getting COVID, he's just now aware he's inhaling the respiratory particles that everyone else is exhaling, which pre-COVID he never thought about. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.142.162|162.158.142.162]] 05:38, 29 June 2021 (UTC)
:Mitigated that in my own edit. (And wait 'til he learns how many water molecules may have been through dinosaur guts, etc!) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.79|141.101.99.79]] 06:23, 29 June 2021 (UTC)
::Just for context for others, this comment I think is based on [https://what-if.xkcd.com/74/ this what if]. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 12:37, 29 June 2021 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.205|141.101.69.205]] 20:20, 29 June 2021 (UTC) exec
Check this http://www.vendian.org/envelope/dir2/breath.html

Earlier on, the explanation suggested that this might not be ''at'' an Indoor Sociali[s|z]ing moment, which I found quite convincing, but has been edited out. White Hat (already a known close contact who has been shown as a being in the presence of Cueball in an obvious inside situation) could be trying to psyche up Cueball to go indoors to meet people. Or the question isn't a bland social-nicety (over-reacted to) but an actual question of concern when Cueball has had to flee/avoid an indoors situation. If the latter, Cueball is actually giving a correctly ''contextual'' response to the far-from-rhetoric question, but then consciously toning it down to the non-commital response that over-sensitive people might retreat to if they're in denial about their internal strifes. - Randall should have helped by adding a little extra detail, like internal furniture, the porch/doorway to a house (either side) trees and plants to establish this as a public green-space setting. Without that, I'm unable to tell which interpretation to actually apply to the words in use - which words to stress in the question ("How ''are'' you?", "How are ''you''?", maybe "''How'' are you?") included... But maybe that's just me? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.79|141.101.99.79]] 21:37, 29 June 2021 (UTC)
:You know, whether you write 'socializing' or 'socialising' is up to personal preference (or rather, which country you grew up/are growing up in). You don't need to do both. [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] [[User talk:Beanie|talk]] 10:19, 30 June 2021 (UTC)
::sounds like some people argue about it. I sometimes write it both ways by accident, but it looks like it was intentional here. I think Randall was more interested in the specific joke environment here, and was leaving it up to the reader to interpret the context as they chose, but only Randall knows. In my opinion "how are you" is pretty much always a social nicety when no context is provided, for now. I really like how you're able to describe sharing one's feelings as normal. It's really easy to fall into copying what one thinks everyone else is doing. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.170|172.70.110.170]] 10:40, 30 June 2021 (UTC)
:::I don't like writing the Americanized version of such words (sorry, Randall and the other colonials out there, though obviously if I'm quoting I'd ''try'' to quote correctly if my fingers don't go auto-pilot) but I also feel self-conscious about the alternate Anglicised spelling that I was taught as correct (if I notice I've done it) where the Leftpondian preference is presumed. See also "colour", etc. I would normally try to reword to avoid this ("I can't remember when it was I last had an Indoor Social round at Dave's, but I think the curtains had a red hue"..!) and avoid comment but it seems someone has gone worst of both worlds by making their ambivalence obvious.
:::As the author of the "Mitigated" comment above, from 141.101.99.79 (whatever IP Cloudfare, or maybe my ISP, funnels me through this time) I note that the "[s|z]" author was ''also'' 141.101.99.79, so while I know for certain that this faux pas was not tapped in on this device, it's likely (not going to do the reverse lookup to be sure) that they're a fellow Brit, and have a similarly torn self-awareness about the whole Johnson vs Webster root of being 'separated by a common language'.
:::Also, they're verbose, as this chatter proves I can also be. I think therefore I may rightfully feel sympathy to their plight.
:::(Also, I stand by my original "White Hat might ''not'' be a non-householder being met indoors" tone of edit, which I also noted had been redacted. I'm more sanguine about that erasure, though, as it was the most verbose bit at the time... if no longer. But that's Wikiing for ya! Everyone's a critic...)
:::None of this adds to this comic page, but (rewrites aside) I'm not sure there's much more directly relevent info to add (ready to be proven wrong!) so I doubt it'll get in the way. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.103|141.101.99.103]] 12:01, 30 June 2021 (UTC)

OMG, Another COVID comic. Who else is disappointed?
:OMG, Another unsigned contribution. Who else is disappointed?
:(Srsly, if he has something to say then he'll say it. I don't think it's all he's thinking about, and we've seen non-Covid subjects, but you can't blame him for harvesting a current and rich vein of dark-absurdity if that's what he feels needs saying. Especially if putting them into a potential 'save for later, pull up other stuff for now' pile risks no longer being understandably topical and loses the intended impact. Feel frustrated, if you want, but it'll not change anything to moan here about it.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.122|141.101.98.122]] 00:34, 1 July 2021 (UTC)

2480: No, The Other One

2021-06-26T20:48:53Z

141.101.98.122: /* Transcript */ Missing item?

{{comic
| number = 2480
| date = June 23, 2021
| title = No, The Other One
| image = no_the_other_one.png
| titletext = Key West, Virginia is not to be confused with Key, West Virginia.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SPRINGFIELD. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is a map of the United States, showing cities or towns with the same name as other more famous places. For example, the map has a dot for a place called Los Angeles in Texas, not to be confused with Los Angeles, California.

Few place names are unique, and there may be {{w|List of the most common U.S. place names|many places with the same name}}. Multiple American towns have been named after the same British town, famous person, or geographic feature.

However, names can become associated with specific places on a national level, where the best-known example is usually the biggest or otherwise the most significant. The name of this comic indicates the contextualization required to specify one of the less-famous exemplars of a given name. Someone might say they are from "Los Angeles" and would have to say "no, the other one" since the listener would assume they are from Los Angeles, California.

The [[title text]] references {{w|Key, West Virginia}} and {{w|Key West, Virginia}}, two places that, when spoken aloud, are only distinguishable by the pause (comma) location. Neither are to be confused with {{w|Key West|Key West, Florida}}, which is a location well-known nationally.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Place name in comic
! Well-known place
! Notes
|-
| {{w|Albany, Georgia|Albany, GA}}
| rowspan="3" | {{w|Albany,_New_York|Albany, NY}}
| rowspan="3" | Albany, NY is the capital of New York state.
|-
| {{w|Albany, Minnesota|Albany, MN}}


|-
| {{w|Albany, Wyoming|Albany, WY}}

|-
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Alexandria,_Louisiana|Alexandria, LA}}
| {{w|Alexandria,_Virginia|Alexandria, VA}}
| Alexandria, VA is known for being George Washington's hometown.
|-
| {{w|Alexandria|Alexandria, Egypt}}
| Major economic and cultural center on the Mediterranean.
|-
| {{w|Anchorage, Kentucky|Anchorage, KY}}
| {{w|Anchorage,_Alaska|Anchorage, AK}}
| Anchorage, AK is Alaska's most populous city.
|-
| Atlanta, CO
| rowspan="7" | {{w|Atlanta|Atlanta, GA}}
| rowspan="7" | Atlanta, GA is the capital of Georgia, a center of the civil rights movement in the 1950's and 60's, and a major air transportation hub. The comic has a single "Atlanta" next to dots for both Atlanta, CO and Atlanta, NE.
|-
| {{w|Atlanta,_Delaware|Atlanta, DE}}

|-
| {{w|Atlanta,_Idaho|Atlanta, ID}}

|-
| {{w|Atlanta,_Michigan|Atlanta, MI}}

|-
| {{w|Atlanta,_Nebraska|Atlanta, NE}}

|-
| {{w|Atlanta, Texas|Atlanta, TX}}
|-
| {{w|Atlanta, Wisconsin|Atlanta, WI}}
|-
| {{w|Atlantic City, Wyoming|Atlantic City, WY}}
| {{w|Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City, NJ}}
| Atlantic City, NJ is a famous coastal resort town in New Jersey known for its casinos, boardwalk and beaches.
|-
| {{w|Austin, Minnesota|Austin, MN}}
| {{w|Austin, Texas|Austin, TX}}
| Austin, TX is the capital of the state of Texas, and the 11th most populous city in the US.
|-
| {{w|Baton Rouge, South Carolina|Baton Rouge, SC}}
| {{w|Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge, LA}}
| Baton Rouge, LA is the capital of the state of Louisiana.
|-
| {{w|Beaumont, California|Beaumont, CA}}
| {{w|Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont, TX}}
| Beaumont, TX is known for the oil discovery that sparked the Texas oil boom of the early 1900s.
|-
| {{w|Beverly Hills, Illinois|Beverly Hills, IL}}
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills, CA}}
| rowspan="2" | Beverly Hills, CA is a city in Los Angeles County, CA and is home to many celebrities, luxury hotels, and the Rodeo Drive shopping district.
|-
| {{w|Beverly Hills, Texas|Beverly Hills, TX}}

|-
| {{w|Bloomington, Minnesota | Bloomington, MN}}
| {{w|Bloomington, Indiana | Bloomington, IN}}
| Bloomington, IN is the location of Indiana University.
|-
| {{w|Boston, MO}}
| {{w|Boston|Boston, MA}}
| Boston, MA is the capital of Massachusetts and the site of several key events of the American Revolution.
|-
| {{w|Bowling Green, FL}}
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Bowling Green, Kentucky|Bowling Green, KY}}
| rowspan="2" | Bowling Green, KY is the largest city of this name, and the 3rd most populous city in Kentucky. Home of the auto plant that makes the Chevy Corvette.
|-
| {{w|Bowling Green, OH}}
|-
| {{w|Bridgeport, WV}}
| {{w|Bridgeport, Connecticut|Bridgeport, CT}}
| Bridgeport, CT is the most populous city in Connecticut and fifth most populous in {{w|New England}}.
|-
| {{w|Buffalo, TX}}
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Buffalo, New York|Buffalo, NY}}
| rowspan="2" | Buffalo, NY is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City.
|-
| {{w|Buffalo, WY}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Cambridge, OH}}
| {{w|Cambridge|Cambridge, England, UK}}
| A city in Cambridgeshire, known as the home of {{w|University of Cambridge|Cambridge}} and Anglia Ruskin Universities. There is also a village of Cambridge in Gloucestershire.
|-
| {{w|Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge, MA}}
| Cambridge, MA is a city in the Boston metropolitan area, known as the home of {{w|Harvard University}} and {{w|Massachusetts Institute of Technology}} among others. Cambridge, Massachusetts is in turn named after Cambridge, England.
|-
| {{w|Cedar Rapids, NE}}
| {{w|Cedar Rapids, Iowa|Cedar Rapids, IA}}
| Cedar Rapids is the 2nd most populous city in the state of Iowa.
|-
| Charlestown, Unknown State
| {{w|Charlestown, Massachusetts|Charlestown, MA}}
| Charlestown, MA is an area of Boston and home to Bunker Hill, the site of a key American Revolutionary War battle. Originally a separate town, it was the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. [In the original comic, the Charlestown label was located over Long Island but there was no dot for the label, and an update later removed the Charlestown label entirely.]
|-
| {{w|Cleveland, UT}}
| {{w|Cleveland|Cleveland, OH}}
| Cleveland, OH, named after its founder, General Moses Cleaveland, is one of the 3 largest cities in the state of Ohio.
|-
| {{w|Columbus, GA}}
| {{w|Columbus, Ohio|Columbus, OH}}
| Columbus, OH is the most populous city in Ohio, as well as its state capital. It is named after {{w|Christopher Columbus}} and {{w|Columbus#United_States|many other locations}} throughout the United States bear that name.
|-
| Dallas, GA
| rowspan="4" | {{w|Dallas|Dallas, TX}}
| rowspan="4" | Dallas, TX is the 3rd most populous city in Texas and the 9th most populous city in the United States.
|-
| Dallas, NC
|-
| Dallas, OR
|-
| Dallas, SD
|-
| Dayton, NV
| {{w|Dayton, Ohio|Dayton, OH}}
| Dayton, OH was a prominent city in the industrial growth of the Midwest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but is best known as the home of the Wright Brothers, where they constructed the first airplane.
|-
| Des Moines, NM
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines, IA}}
| rowspan="2" | Des Moines, IA is the capital of the state of Iowa, and its largest city by population.
|-
| Des Moines, WA
|-
| {{w|Detroit,_Alabama|Detroit, AL}}
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Detroit|Detroit, MI}}
| rowspan="2" | Detroit, MI is well known as the center of the U.S. automobile industry.
|-
| Detroit, KS
|-
| Disney, OK
| {{w|Disneyland}} {{w|Walt Disney World|Disney World}}
| Disney, OK is a small town in Mayes County, Oklahoma, but has no relation to either {{w|Walt Disney}} himself or to the Disney Corporation. There are no other towns or cities with this name, but references to being at "Disney" could include {{w|Disneyland}} in California, {{w|Walt Disney World}} in Florida, or other Disney amusement parks around the world.
|-
| Fayetteville, TN
| {{w|Fayetteville, Arkansas|Fayetteville, AR}}
| Fayetteville, AR is the 3rd most populous city in Arkansas and the home of the {{w|University of Arkansas}}. There are {{w|Fayetteville|many other places}} with this name.
|-
| Gettysburg, OH
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Gettysburg, Pennsylvania|Gettysburg, PA}}
| rowspan="2" | Gettyburg, PA is well known for being the site of the {{w|Battle of Gettysburg}}, the deadliest battle in the US Civil War, and the site of Abraham Lincoln's {{w|Gettysburg Address}}.
|-
| Gettysburg, SD
|-
| Grand Rapids, MN
| {{w|Grand Rapids|Grand Rapids, MI}}
| Grand Rapids, MI is the second most populous city in the state of Michigan.
|-
| {{w|Houston,_Alaska|Houston, AK}}
| rowspan="6" | {{w|Houston|Houston, TX}}
| rowspan="6" | Houston, TX is the most populous city in Texas and the 4th most populous city in the United States.
|-
| {{w|Houston,_Alabama|Houston, AL}}
|-
| Houston, FL
|-
| Houston, IN
|-
| Houston, MO
|-
| Houston, OH
|-
| Indianapolis, IA
| {{w|Indianapolis|Indianapolis, IN}}
| Indianapolis, IN is the capital of Indiana and the most populous city in the state.
|-
| {{w|Jackson,_Alabama|Jackson, AL}}
| {{w|Jackson,_Mississippi|Jackson, MS}}
| Jackson, MS is the capital of Mississippi, but there are {{w|Jackson|many other}} states with Jacksons. This one is likely particularly notable due to its proximity to Jackson, MS.
|-
| {{w|Jamestown,_California|Jamestown, CA}}
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Jamestown,_Virginia|Jamestown, VA}}
| rowspan="2" | Jamestown, VA was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.
|-
| Jamestown, ND
|-
| Jersey Shore, PA
| {{w|Jersey_Shore|Jersey Shore}} region, NJ
| The {{w|Jersey_Shore|Jersey Shore}} is a coastal region of New Jersey. It is also the namesake of a {{w|Jersey_Shore_(TV_series)|reality TV show}}.
|-
| Key West, VA
| {{w|Key_West|Key West, FL}}
| Key West, FL is an island city off the tip of Florida that is popular with tourists and contains the southernmost point of the continental states.
|-
| Knoxville, IA
| {{w|Knoxville,_Tennessee|Knoxville, TN}}
| Knoxville, TN is the 3rd most populous city in Tennessee and the home of the {{w|University of Tennessee}}.
|-
| Las Vegas, NM
| {{w|Las_Vegas|Las Vegas, NV}}
| Las Vegas, NV is the most populous city in the state of Nevada and is well known for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife.
|-
| {{w|Lincoln,_California|Lincoln, CA}}
| rowspan="4" | {{w|Lincoln,_Nebraska|Lincoln, NE}}
| rowspan="4" | Lincoln, NE is the capital of Nebraska.
|-
| Lincoln, IL
|-
| Lincoln, MT
|-
| Lincoln, RI
|-
| Lisbon, ME
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Lisbon,_Portugal|Lisbon, Portugal}}
| rowspan="2" | Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, in Europe.
|-
| Lisbon, NH
|-
| {{w|Long_Beach Township, New_Jersey|Long Beach, NJ}}
| {{w|Long Beach, California|Long Beach, CA}}
| Long Beach, CA is the 7th most populous city in California. The location in New Jersey is typically referred to by its full name, Long Beach Township, or the more generalized location of {{w|Long Beach Island}}.
|-
| Los Angeles, TX
| {{w|Los_Angeles|Los Angeles, CA}}
| Los Angeles, CA is the 2nd most populous city in the United States, behind New York City.
|-
| {{w|Louisville, Colorado|Louisville, CO}}
| {{w|Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville, KY}}
| Louisville, KY is the largest city in Kentucky.
|-
| Manhattan, KS
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Manhattan|Manhattan, NYC, NY}}
| rowspan="2" | Manhattan, NYC, NY is one of the {{w|Boroughs of New York City|five boroughs of New York City}}, corresponds to the {{w|New York County}}.
|-
| Manhattan, MT
|-
| Memphis, NE
| {{w|Memphis,_Tennessee|Memphis, TN}}
| Memphis, TN is the 2nd most populous city in Tennessee and had a prominent role in the US Civil Rights movement.
|-
| {{w|Mesa,_California|Mesa, CA}}
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Mesa,_Arizona|Mesa, AZ}}
| rowspan="2" | Mesa, AZ is a suburb of Phoenix, and the largest suburban city by population in the United States.
|-
| Mesa, CO
|-
| {{w|Miami,_Arizona|Miami, AZ}}
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Miami|Miami, FL}}
| rowspan="2" | Miami, FL is the seventh largest city in the United States and a major tourism hub.
|-
| Miami, TX
|-
| Mountain View, HI
| {{w|Mountain_View,_California|Mountain View, CA}}
| Mountain View, CA is the "birthplace" of Silicon Valley, and is the location of many high technology companies, such as Google.
|-
| {{w|Nashville,_Arkansas|Nashville, AR}}
| {{w|Nashville,_Tennessee|Nashville, TN}}
| Nashville, TN is the capital of Tennessee and a major center for the country music industry.
|-
| New England, ND
| {{w|New England}}, Northeast
| The New England region consists of 6 states in the northeast United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
|-
| New Haven, KY
| {{w|New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven, CT}}
| New Haven, CT is the second largest city in Connecticut, and is known for its distinctive {{w|New Haven-style pizza|pizza}}. It also home to {{w|Yale University}}
|-
| {{w|New York, Texas|New York, TX}}
| {{w|New_York_City|New York, NY}}
| New York City, NY is the largest city in the United States.
|-
| {{w|Newark,_Delaware|Newark, DE}}
| {{w|Newark,_New_Jersey|Newark, NJ}}
| Newark, NJ is the largest city in the state of New Jersey, and part of the greater New York metropolitan area. It hosts one of the New York metro area's three major airports.
|-
| rowspan="2" |North Pole, NY
| {{w|North_Pole,_Alaska|North Pole, AK}}
| North Pole, AK is a small city in Alaska known as a tourist attraction and the recipient of letters addressed to Santa Claus.
|-
| {{w|North Pole}}
| Northernmost point on Earth's surface.
|-
| Oakland, OR
| {{w|Oakland,_California|Oakland, CA}}
| Oakland, CA is currently the home to three professional sports teams including the {{w|Oakland_Athletics|Oakland Athletics}} and is the former home of several more, including the {{w|History_of_the_Oakland_Raiders|Oakland Raiders}}, now in Las Vegas.
|-
| Orlando, OK
| {{w|Orlando,_Florida|Orlando, FL}}
| Orlando is the 4th most populous city in Florida and home to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando.
|-
| Ottawa, KS
| {{w|Ottawa|Ottawa, ON}}
| Ottawa, ON, Canada is the capital of Canada.
|-
| Pasadena, MD
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Pasadena, CA}}
| rowspan="2" | Pasadena, CA is the home to the {{w|California Institute of Technology}} and the NASA {{w|Jet Propulsion Laboratory}}. It is also the home of the New Year's Day {{w|Tournament of Roses Parade}} and hosts the college football {{w|Rose Bowl Game}} played on New Year's Day afternoon.
|-
| Pasadena, TX
|-
| {{w|Peoria,_Arizona|Peoria, AZ}}
| {{w|Peoria, Illinois|Peoria, IL}}
| Peoria, IL is known for being considered an "Average American Town", in the phrase {{w|Will_it_play_in_Peoria%3F|"Will it play in Peoria?"}} It is actually smaller than Peoria, AZ.
|-
| Philadelphia, MS
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Philadelphia|Philadelphia, PA}}
| rowspan="2" | Philadelphia, PA is the most populous city in Pennsylvania and was an important meeting place during the American Revolution.
|-
| Philadelphia, NY
|-
| Phoenix, MD
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Phoenix,_Arizona|Phoenix, AZ}}
| rowspan="2" | Phoenix, AZ is the capital of Arizona and the 5th most populous city in the United States.
|-
| Phoenix, OR
|-
| {{w|Plano,_Illinois|Plano, IL}}
| {{w|Plano,_Texas|Plano, TX}}
| Plano, TX is part of the {{w|Dallas–Fort_Worth_metroplex|Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex}}, and the home of many corporate headquarters.
|-
| {{w|Plymouth,_California|Plymouth, CA}}
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Plymouth,_Massachusetts|Plymouth, MA}}
| rowspan="2" | Plymouth, MA was the site of the colony founded in 1620 by the Mayflower Pilgrims. Named after the {{w|Pymouth|city in the Southwest of England}} which was the final port of departure.
|-
| Plymouth, IN
|-
| {{w|Portland,_Maine|Portland, ME}}
| {{w|Portland,_Oregon|Portland, OR}}
| Portland, OR is the largest city in the state of Oregon and was {{w|Portland,_Oregon#Establishment|named after}} Portland, ME
|-
| Princeton, ID
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton, NJ}}
| rowspan="2" | Princeton, NJ is famous for being the home of the eponymous {{w|Princeton University}} and the {{w|Institute for Advanced Study}}
|-
| Princeton, MA
|-
| {{w|Richmond, Vermont|Richmond, VT}}
| {{w|Richmond, Virginia|Richmond, VA}}
| Richmond, VA is the capital of Virginia. It was named after {{w|Richmond,_London|the suburb of London, UK}} due to an observed similarity of the river. London's Richmond was named for the palace built there by Henry VII, itself named after the {{w|Richmond,_North_Yorkshire|market town}} and castle in the north of England that was a childhood home. That was in turn named for the {{w|Richemont,_Seine-Maritime|Normandy}} area from which the noble family came who were gifted this land for their part of the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century. There are more than fifty settlements called Richmond across the world, directly or indirectly taking their names from one or other of the English 'originals'.
|-
| Roswell, GA
| {{w|Roswell, New Mexico|Roswell, NM}}
| Roswell, NM is the site of one of the most famous “alien coverups” in American history, and is well known for its alien-themed tourism.
|-
| Saint Louis, MI
| rowspan="2" | {{w|St._Louis|St. Louis, MO}}
| rowspan="2" | St. Louis, MO is the 2nd most populous city in the state of Missouri and has the iconic {{w|Gateway Arch}}.
|-
| Saint Louis, OK
|-
| rowspan="2" | Salem, CT
| {{w|Salem,_Oregon|Salem, OR}}
| Salem, OR is the capital of Oregon.
|-
| {{w|Salem,_Massachusetts|Salem, MA}}
| Salem, MA was the location of the {{w|Salem_witch_trials|Salem witch trials}}.
|-
| {{w|San Diego, Texas|San Diego, TX}}
| {{w|San_Diego|San Diego, CA}}
| San Diego, CA is the 8th most populous city in the US and the 2nd most populous in California.
|-
| {{w|Santa Fe, Texas|Santa Fe, TX}}
| {{w|Santa_Fe,_New_Mexico|Santa Fe, NM}}
| Santa Fe, NM is the capital of the state of New Mexico.
|-
| {{w|Savannah, Missouri|Savannah, MO}}
| {{w|Savannah, Georgia|Savannah, GA}}
| Savannah, GA is the oldest city in the state of Georgia and its fifth most populous.
|-
| {{w|South_Bend,_Texas|South Bend, TX}}
| {{w|South_Bend|South Bend, IN}}
| South Bend, IN is the location of {{w|University_of_Notre_Dame|the University of Notre Dame}}.
|-
| {{w|Texas, New York|Texas, NY}}
| {{w|Texas|State of Texas}}
| Texas, NY is a hamlet in Oswego County, NY, near the southeastern corner of Lake Ontario. It is officially part of the town of {{w|Mexico, New York|Mexico, NY}}. No plans for a wall {{fact}}. Not to be confused with {{w|New York, Texas|New York, TX}}.
|-
| {{w|Vienna,_Maine|Vienna, ME}}
| {{w|Vienna, Austria}}
| Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria.
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{w|Washington, North Carolina|Washington, NC}}
| {{w|Washington, DC}}
| Washington, DC is the capital of the United States. The city of Washington, NC is actually older than Washington, DC, having been founded in 1776.
|-
| {{w|Washington (state)|State of Washington}}
|
|-
| {{w|White House, Tennessee|White House, TN}}
| {{w|White House|White House, DC}}
| The White House is the home of the U.S. President in Washington, DC.
|}

==Transcript==
:[A typical line-drawn map projection of the United States, with discontiguous Alaska and Hawaii moved into a convenient corner.]
:[Coastlines and national borders are in a firm half-tone.]
:[Non-coastal state boundaries are shown in a lighter tone and feature the standard two-letter abbreviations.]
:[Location dots and labels of the settlements they represent are overlaid in solid black.]

:[Within each of the states, expanded here for readability, are the following placenames...]
:AK [Alaska]
::Houston
:AL [Alabama]
::Detroit
::Houston
::Jackson
:AR [Arkansas]
::Nashville
:AZ [Arizona]
::Miami
::Peoria
:CA [California]
::Beaumont
::Jamestown
::Lincoln
::Mesa
::Plymouth
:CO [Colorado]
:: [An unlabelled dot, between text for Loisville, CO and Atlanta, NE.]
::Louisville
::Mesa
:CT [Connecticut]
::Salem
:DE [Delaware]
::Atlanta
::Newark
:FL [Florida]
::Bowling Green
::Houston
:GA [Georgia]
::Albany
::Columbus
::Dallas
::Roswell
:HI [Hawaii]
::Mountain View
:IA [Iowa]
::Indianapolis
::Knoxville
:ID [Idaho]
::Atlanta
::Princeton
:IL [Ilinois]
::Beverly Hills
::Lincoln
::Plano
:IN [Indiana]
::Houston
::Plymouth
:KS [Kansas]
::Detroit
::Manhattan
::Ottawa
:KY [Kentucky]
::Anchorage
::New Haven
:LA [Louisiana]
::Alexandria
:MA [Massachusetts]
::Princeton
:MD [Maryland]
::Pasadena
::Phoenix
:ME [Maine]
::Lisbon
::Portland
::Vienna
:MI [Michigan]
::Atlanta
::Saint Louis
:MN [Minnesota]
::Albany
::Austin
::Bloomington
::Grand Rapids
:MO [Missouri]
::Boston
::Houston
::Savannah
:MS [Mississippi]
::Philadelphia
:MT [Montana]
::Lincoln
::Manhattan
:NC [North Carolina]
::Dallas
::Washington
:ND [North Dakota]
::Jamestown
::New England
:NE [Nebraska]
::Atlanta
::Cedar Rapids
::Memphis
:NH [New Hampshire]
::Lisbon
:NJ [New Jersey]
::Long Beach
:NM [New Mexico]
::Des Moines
::Las Vegas
:NV [Nevada]
::Dayton
:NY [New York]
::North Pole
::Philadelphia
::Texas
:::[Further subtitled as...]
:::(Texas, Mexico)
:OH [Ohio]
::Bowling Green
::Cambridge
::Gettysburg
::Houston
:OK [Oklahoma]
::Disney
::Orlando
::Saint Louis
:OR [Oregon]
::Dallas
::Oakland
::Phoenix
:PA [Pennsylvania]
::Jersey Shore
:RI [Rhode Island]
::Lincoln
:SC [South Carolina]
::Baton Rouge
:SD [South Dakota]
::Dallas
::Gettysburg
:TN [Tennessee]
::Fayetteville
::White House
:TX [Texas]
::Atlanta
::Beverly Hills
::Buffalo
::Los Angeles
::Miami
::New York
::Pasadena
::San Diego
::Santa Fe
::South Bend
:UT [Utah]
::Cleveland
:VA [Virginia]
::Key West
:VT [Vermont]
::Richmond
:WA [Washington]
::Des Moines
:WI [Wisconsin]
::Atlanta
:WV [West Virginia]
::Bridgeport
:WY [Wyoming]
::Albany
::Atlantic City
::Buffalo

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:US maps]]

2480: No, The Other One

2021-06-24T00:11:09Z

141.101.98.122: /* Explanation */

2477: Alien Visitors

2021-06-17T10:26:06Z

141.101.98.122:

{{comic
| number = 2477
| date = June 16, 2021
| title = Alien Visitors
| image = alien_visitors.png
| titletext = Stay right there, we'll be back in a minute. We've just gotta brainstorm some new wonders. Have you all figured out gears yet? Yes? Crap.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an Alien Visitor. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is a reference to the idea (which [[Randall]] satirizes) that {{w|Extraterrestrial life|aliens}} built (or helped humans build) the {{w|pyramids}} and the {{w|Stonehenge}}. If new aliens came to us today and tried to help us build these things, they would be met with general incredulity.

In the comic, aliens arrive with the intention of building such monuments with their highly advanced technology, including some sort of tractor beam to lift the heavy stones and another beam that can depict a pyramid. They are shocked to hear from [[Cueball]] that humans accomplished the same thing thousands of years earlier with such simple tools as ramps, and even in more than one location on Earth (Pyramids in0{{w|Egyptian pyramids|Egypt}} and {{w|Mesoamerican pyramids|Mexico}}). Thus they proceed to suggest a stone circle to predict the solstice, but before they can finish this sentence [[Megan]] says this is like Stonehenge.

The aliens' reaction is frustration as they cannot teach us anything new. So in the title text they have regrouped and would now present another wonder - {{w|gears}}. But oh crap, humans has already invented those as well. But it can be inferred that Randall thinks gears are a pretty neat idea, as the aliens present them as a wonder on the line with the pyramids.

==Transcript==
:[A flying saucer is hovering high above Cueball and Megan, drawn very small standing on the ground beneath it. The aliens inside speak to them from inside their space craft, indicated with zigzag lines between it and the text.]
:Aliens: Greetings, humans!
:Megan: Whoa, aliens!
:Aliens: We bring you technological wonders!

:[Zoom in on the flying saucer which has two beams below it, the left showing an outline of a pyramid and the right is shown lifting a large stone. Cueball replies off-panel.]
:Aliens: We will help you lift great stones and build towering monuments.
:Cueball (off-panel): Oh, pyramids?

:[Zoom in on Cueball and Megan looking up, the Aliens reply from above the panel.]
:Aliens (off-panel): ...Yes.
:Cueball: Yeah, we have those. In Egypt.
:Megan: And Mexico.
:Cueball: I think they used ramps?

:[Zoom back out, as in first panel]
:Aliens: Then we shall build a ring of stones aligned with the stars, so at the solstice-
:Megan: Oh, like Stonehenge?
:Aliens: '''''Dammit, humans.'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Space]]

Talk:2476: Base Rate

2021-06-15T21:30:04Z

141.101.98.122:

"''Aaaand we're back!''" [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 17:01, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

I missed you! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.244|141.101.98.244]] 19:18, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

I can't tell if cueball is holding the pointer in his left or right hand [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.122|141.101.98.122]] 21:30, 15 June 2021 (UTC)

2475: Health Drink

2021-06-15T17:43:43Z

141.101.98.122: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2475
| date = June 11, 2021
| title = Health Drink
| image = health_drink.png
| titletext = You'd need to keep track of so many people! Would you use, like, Excel or something? Far too fancy for a simple country nanoenzyme developer like me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NANOENZYME. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic pokes fun at health fads, alternative medicine and the like. It points out that many such products will go out of their way to market themselves as legitimate and cutting-edge by using impressive-sounding scientific terms, yet fail to perform even the most basic part of actual science: running a randomized controlled trial to find out if the drink actually helps fight infections. When [[Cueball]] points this out, [[White Hat]] reacts as though this process is highly advanced and unreasonable, which clearly demonstrates that his product is either nonsensical or an active scam (or both).

Enzymes are proteins that aid digestion by breaking down large molecules. Usually, the human body produces a plentiful amount of enzymes; the suggestion that people may be lacking them is frequently used as a basis to peddle pseudoscientific products. Nanoenzymes are synthetic materials that perform similar functions to ordinary enzymes; although they may be useful for treating specific diseases and conditions, the average person will probably not find them beneficial. Amino acids are the chemicals that make up proteins; since all organic enzymes are made from proteins anyway, White Hat's claim use of the term is not particularly impressive and is likely used to impress and bewilder his audience, so that they are more likely to buy the product.

The title text further showcases White Hat's incompetence. First, he suggests keeping track of large numbers of people in a clinical trial by storing their data in Microsoft Excel, a popular spreadsheet application. Despite the insistence of many companies and government agencies throughout the years, Excel [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/excel-database-sonal-kanabar|Excel is not a database], and it should not be used to store other people's personal and medical information. He then complains that Excel is too "fancy", and then calls himself a "country nanoenzyme developer". Nanomaterials are developed using specialised equipment in laboratories by people who are extremely well-versed in science; the notion of comparing one of these scientists to a 'simple country farmer' is ludicrous, and the idea that they would find Excel daunting and overcomplicated is equally so. It's ironic that the person with the seemingly very complicated work and production would be unable to perform the simple procedures which Cueball has suggested in order to make his claims rigorous and supported with evidence. In this, White Hat is demonstrating his complete incompetence and lack of knowledge into what his product actually is.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[White Hat holding a bottle and standing next to Cueball]
:White Hat: My new health drink is packed with amino acid nanoenzymes that I designed to train your immune system to fight infections!
:Cueball: Can you give it to some people and see if they get sick less often?
:White Hat: Whoa, that sounds '''''way''''' too complicated.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

2475: Health Drink

2021-06-15T17:43:11Z

141.101.98.122: /* Explanation */ minor formatting fixes and template box

{{comic
| number = 2475
| date = June 11, 2021
| title = Health Drink
| image = health_drink.png
| titletext = You'd need to keep track of so many people! Would you use, like, Excel or something? Far too fancy for a simple country nanoenzyme developer like me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NANOENZYME. Explanation written by a guy who spent ten minutes reading Wikipedia and trying to remember high school biology class. Needs review by someone vaguely qualified. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic pokes fun at health fads, alternative medicine and the like. It points out that many such products will go out of their way to market themselves as legitimate and cutting-edge by using impressive-sounding scientific terms, yet fail to perform even the most basic part of actual science: running a randomized controlled trial to find out if the drink actually helps fight infections. When [[Cueball]] points this out, [[White Hat]] reacts as though this process is highly advanced and unreasonable, which clearly demonstrates that his product is either nonsensical or an active scam (or both).

Enzymes are proteins that aid digestion by breaking down large molecules. Usually, the human body produces a plentiful amount of enzymes; the suggestion that people may be lacking them is frequently used as a basis to peddle pseudoscientific products. Nanoenzymes are synthetic materials that perform similar functions to ordinary enzymes; although they may be useful for treating specific diseases and conditions, the average person will probably not find them beneficial. Amino acids are the chemicals that make up proteins; since all organic enzymes are made from proteins anyway, White Hat's claim use of the term is not particularly impressive and is likely used to impress and bewilder his audience, so that they are more likely to buy the product.

The title text further showcases White Hat's incompetence. First, he suggests keeping track of large numbers of people in a clinical trial by storing their data in Microsoft Excel, a popular spreadsheet application. Despite the insistence of many companies and government agencies throughout the years, Excel [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/excel-database-sonal-kanabar|Excel is not a database], and it should not be used to store other people's personal and medical information. He then complains that Excel is too "fancy", and then calls himself a "country nanoenzyme developer". Nanomaterials are developed using specialised equipment in laboratories by people who are extremely well-versed in science; the notion of comparing one of these scientists to a 'simple country farmer' is ludicrous, and the idea that they would find Excel daunting and overcomplicated is equally so. It's ironic that the person with the seemingly very complicated work and production would be unable to perform the simple procedures which Cueball has suggested in order to make his claims rigorous and supported with evidence. In this, White Hat is demonstrating his complete incompetence and lack of knowledge into what his product actually is.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[White Hat holding a bottle and standing next to Cueball]
:White Hat: My new health drink is packed with amino acid nanoenzymes that I designed to train your immune system to fight infections!
:Cueball: Can you give it to some people and see if they get sick less often?
:White Hat: Whoa, that sounds '''''way''''' too complicated.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]

2412: 1/100,000th Scale World

2021-01-18T12:39:06Z

141.101.98.122: added speed of ISS

{{comic
| number = 2412
| date = January 15, 2021
| title = 1/100,000th Scale World
| image = 1_100000th_scale_world.png
| titletext = The floor should be slightly curved, but we haven't figured out artificial gravity yet, so for now we just added a trace intoxicating gas to the air that messes with your inner ear and gives you a sense that the ground is tilting away from you.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TOXIC AURORA. The table needs to be filled out, and the explanation needs more work as well. More on the title text with the gas mentioned. Also Cueball's remark not mentioned yet. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a sequel to the previous one, [[2411: 1/10,000th Scale World]], with a 10 times larger scale (thus, a 10 times smaller world). As in the previous comic, [[Randall]] has another seemingly complete copy of Earth, this time at a 1:100,000 scale, with various features and warnings labeled. Again, real-world phenomena are replicated at scale.

Details on the various remarks are in the [[#Table|table]] below.

The title text states that the floor should be slightly curved. In fact, given that the model in the comic is about 10 meters long, it represents about 1000 km of Earth, which spans about 9 degrees of a great circle. Therefore, if the model wasn't larger than the part shown in the panel, its edges would have a very noticeable slope of 4.5 degrees. What's more, the note that they haven't invented artificial gravity reveals that the scale worlds are nothing more than a mundane model, rather than some supernatural phenomenon that allows giants to roam about the surface of the Earth.

===Table===
{| class="wikitable"
!Rule
!Reason
!Notes
|-
|Our aurora are probably non-toxic but please stop trying to taste them
| The aurora in the image is now temptingly at head height, and presumably look a lot like cotton candy or other inviting foodstuffs.
| The plural of "{{w|aurora}}" should actually be "auroras" or "aurorae".
|-
|No breaking off pieces of the ice caps to put in your drink
|An ice cap is a mass of ice that covers less than 50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi) of land area.
|Breaking off pieces of ice caps would affect the climate of the scale world. In addition, breaking off pieces of somebody's models is ''very'' rude.
|-
|Warning: Limited cell network coverage above the ionosphere, crouch down to get more bars
| The ionosphere reflects radio signals, in this case keeping terrestrial cellular phone signals from reaching phones higher up.
|The ionosphere would be at around 48-965 centimeters in the scale world, so visitors would need to place their phones below it to receive cellphone signals.
|-
|Do not step on Mt. Everest
| Mt. Everest, the highest peak on Earth, is several inches tall at 1:100,000 scale.
|Mt. Everest would probably be extremely sharp and puncture your foot.
|-
|Caution! Ocean floor slippery when wet
| Due to the smaller scale, the ocean depths would only be a few inches deep at most; this amount of liquid would cause more of a 'slippery surface' than a 'water region'.
|
|-
|Wear sunscreen; the ozone layer only protects you below the knees.
|The ozone layer is a layer of the Earth's stratosphere that shields the Earth from the Sun's ultraviolet rays.
|The ozone layer is approximately 15-35 kilometers above Earth, or 15-35 centimeters in this scaled world, below knee height. Visitors would need sunscreen to protect them from UV rays. In the real world, most humans live with their bodies entirely below the ozone layer but wear sunscreen anyway, so visitors should probably also wear sunscreen below their knees as well as above if they're going to be visiting around midday.
|-
|Beware of chest-level meteors
|Meteors typically occur (i.e. become more visible than in space) in the mesosphere at altitudes from 76 to 100 km (250,000 to 330,000 ft).
|In the scale world, meteors would occur at 76 to 100 centimeters, around chest height. You'd expect head-level asteroids too, as precursors, but this may be (mutually) covered by the eye-protection against satellite re-entry, below. (I'd personally also suggest a hard-hat.)
|-
| -100° mesopause vest recommended
|The mesopause is the boundary in the earth's atmosphere between the mesosphere and the thermosphere. Due to the lack of solar heating and very strong radiative cooling from carbon dioxide, it is the coldest region on Earth with temperatures as low as -100 °C (-148 °F).
|Without protection, visitors would succumb to hypothermia due to the extremely low temperatures.
|-
|If Lake Tahoe or the Dead Sea dries up, refill them with this 5oz wine glass
|Five ounces, times 100,0003 (because this is volume, so the linear scale factor applies to each of three dimensions), would be about 150 cubic kilometers, which is the approximate volume of {{w|Lake Tahoe}}; the {{w|Dead Sea}} is recently about 115 cubic kilometers, though it used to be somewhat larger.
|Five fluid ounces (US customary) is a tad below 148 cubic centimetres, or millilitres. (Elsewhere, if used, it is actually nearer 142cc.) Modern wine glasses may actually hold 450ml (filled to the brim), but 150ml is typical of a late 19thC antique glass or a modern 'serving' level that is more tasteful/economic than an overgenerous 'drown your sorrows' one.
|-
|Safety glasses required for protection from reentering spacecraft
|It is at approximately head height in this model that de-orbiting spacecraft are at their fastest, depending upon where their decayed or departed original was. At scale, they'd probably equate to a metalworking fragment, perhaps more dangerous in quantity than individually.
|We also tend to know about satellites and fairings returning to Earth and most (unless intended to) won't significantly survive. Meteors (see above) are hard to spot in space unless particularly big, may only be detected when spotted burning up, may be significantly denser/less fragile, and could be traveling five times faster. General head protection may be advised, just in case.
|-
|Do not anger the sprites
| {{w|Sprite (lightning)|Sprites}} are poorly understood electrical phenomena in the upper atmosphere. They are enormous but very short-lived.
| Sprites are also a name given to a form of forest spirit known for mischievous and sometimes harmful behavior. In some fairy tales, a warning would be given to not anger the spirits in case of grave repercussions.
|-
|Please stop digging through the Moho. Staff are tired of cleaning up large igneous provinces.
|Short for the {{w|Mohorovičić discontinuity}}, the Moho is the boundary surface separating the Earth's crust from the mantle. It can be found at a depth of 6-7 miles under the ocean bed, and about 24-30 miles under the continents.
|Using Randall's 1/100,000th scale world, 6-7 miles would be approximately 4 inches, while 24-30 miles would be about 16 inches, making the Moho easily accessible via digging. It would indeed create large igneous provinces, and make a big mess of lava that the staff would have to clean up, which would not be fun {{Citation needed}}. The lava has a decent chance to burn through a mop or something, so it would be pretty tricky to clean up as well since your cleaning items would light on fire unless soaked in water or something.
|-
|ISS (14 feet up) Returns every 90 minutes - Hit it with a nerf dart, win a prize!
| The {{w|International Space Station}} is the largest human-made object in space and orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes.
| This idea of treating modern research as a toy is in the same general panel area as the weather balloon smacking from the previous comic, except instead of a rule preventing people from doing so, this time the visitor is being ''dared'' to attempt it, similarly to a {{w|carnival game}}. Hitting the ISS with a nerf dart in this scaled world would have a potentially devastating effect on the ISS; however, at this scale the ISS would be about a millimeter across, so that hitting it so far above your head as it goes by would be very difficult. Although at 3 inch/second (7.7 cm/s), it wouldn't be travelling as fast as the real ISS (17,100 mph; 27,600 km/h), so you can have several attempts.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:RULES:
:For visitors to my 1/100,000th scale world
:1 meter = 100 km, 1 ft=100,000ft≈20 miles

:ISS (14 feet up)
:Returns every 90 minutes
:Hit it with a Nerf dart to win a prize!

:Our aurora are probably non-toxic, but please stop trying to taste them

:[one cell bar] Warning: Limited cell network coverage above the ionosphere. Crouch down to get more bars

:Safety glasses required for protection from reentering spacecraft
:Cueball: OW!
:(off-screen): What?
:Cueball: I got a Soyuz in my eye

:Beware of chest level meteors

:-100°C Mesopause vest recommended

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Scale World]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|1/10]]
[[Category:Illustrations of scale]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

1037: Umwelt

2013-12-11T22:49:30Z

141.101.98.122: /* Germany */ Russia was part of the allied forces in WWII

{{comic
| number = 1037
| date = April 1, 2012
| title = Umwelt
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = umwelt.png
| titletext = Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit--from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your web browser.
}}
==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Many of the strips are not explained}}
An {{w|umwelt|Umwelt}}, as the title text explains, is the idea that ones entire way of thinking is dependent on their surroundings. Thus, this {{w|April Fools}} comic changes based on the browser, location, or referrer. Thus, what the viewer is viewing the comic on, where they live, or where they came from determines which comic they actually see. As a result, there are actually multiple comics that went up on April Fools' Day (although only one is seen).

===Featureless Swirl===
If the device or browser you are using does not support Javascript, you will simply see a static image of a white swirl on a dark background.

===Aurora===
The joke here is either that Canadians, where the comic was shown, would regard the {{w|Aurora (astronomy)|Aurora Borealis}} as normal and thus, would not've seen the sight as particularly amazing, or that XKCD characters see in black and white and would not notice the colors.

===Snake===
The joke here is the extreme length of snakes. The world's longest snake is the python, the longest ever being 33 feet or approx. 10 meters. The red and blue circles refer to the hit game {{w|Portal}}.
There is also a reference to the book "The Little Prince" in the second panel.

===Black Hat===
An analyst attempts to psychoanalyze [[Black Hat|Black Hat's]] [[72: Classhole|classhole]] tendencies. The joke here is that the turtle has actually been turned over and neither sees helping it as a priority.
It's a reference to the Voight-Kampff test used in the movie Blade Runner (1982) to identify replicants.

===Too Quiet===
A reference to {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} which has been [[87: Velociraptors|constantly]] [[135: Substitute|referred]] [[1110: Click and Drag|to]] [[155: Search History|before]] [[758: Raptor Fences|in]] this comic.

Also referencing the film {{w|2 Fast 2 Furious|2 Fast 2 Furious}}, an entertaining, yet intellectually unprovoking sequel in a popular film franchise, which is aimed at teenagers and young adults, prompting the blunt response from the stickman. The fact that Steve would use such a cliché {{w|2000s (decade)|noughties}} movie term in such an intense moment, and the subsequent curse, is the joke in this comic.

===Galaxies===
This is a joke on [[Megan|Megan's]] normally existentialist attitude. Whereas normally, she might be freaked out by the vastness of space, in this case, she can actually see the galaxies in question, and is furthermore weirded out by the fact that they seem to have a grudge against [[Cueball]].

===xkcd Gold===
This is probably a reference to the 4chan Gold Account, an implementation on 4chan that does not actually exist, and is usually used to trick newcomers into revealing their credit card numbers. The joke is that "Gold Account" users can supposedly block other users from viewing images they have posted. The fifth panel is probably a reference to Beecock, a notorious set of shocker images. 4chan's moderators have been known to give out "beecock bans" to particularly annoying users, which redirect the user to a page containing beecock and the text "OH NO THE BOARD IS GONE".

===Germany===
This comic references the {{w|Berlin airlift#The start of the Berlin Airlift|Berlin Airlift}}, a relief measure for citizens in West Berlin (surrounded by East Germany) instituted by the Western Allies after World War II. In reality, the Western Allies flew a grand total of 500,000 tons of food over the Soviet blockade in planes. Randall puts a twist on this event by making it more fun: dropping supplies from a grand chairlift. The play on words is that "chairlift" rhymes with "airlift" and thus makes an easy substitution. The chair force is also a name that other service branches use to make fun of the air force.

==Transcript==
[Two people...]
{Note to courageous readers- The transcript has been reordered in the order in which the comics appear in the picture and appropriate names have been given}

===The void===
[An epic void with a bright light shining right on you.]

===Aurora===
[Person heading out past another person comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]

Person 1: Apparently there's a solar flare that's causing some Great Aurorae. CBC says they may even be visible here! Wanna drive out to see?

Person 2: Hockey's on.

Person 1: Ok. Later.

[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

Person 2: See anything?

Person 1: No, just clouds.

Person 2: Not surprised.

===Snake===
[Two people standing next to each other. One is holding the head end of a snake. Depending on the width of your browser, the snake is: three frames, the third of which has a little bit of a bump; the first frame has a human-size bump, the second has a third person looking at the snake, and the third has the snake going though two Portals; a squirrel and the human-size bump in the first frame, a ring next to the third person in the second frame, and Beret Guy riding the snake in front of the portal; or The squirrel, a fourth person within the snake being coiled, and the human bump in the first frame, the ring, a fifth person in love, and the third person in the second frame, Beret Guy and the portal in the third frame, and the same two people in the fourth frame.]

Person holding snake head: I found a snake, but then I forgot to stop.

===Black hat===
[Two people sitting at a desk. One is Black Hat Guy. The other is an analyst. Black Hat Guy has a number of terminals attached to his head.]

Analyst: You come across a tortoise in the desert. You flip it over. It struggles to right itself. You watch. You're not helping. Why is that?

Black Hat Guy: It *knows* what it did.

[View of the entire scene, with said turtle off in the distance on its back and trying to right itself.]

===Too quiet===
[A group of four scale down a wall into a field in the middle of the night. They walk off single-file.]

Person 1: It's quiet.

Person 3: Yeah - *Too* quiet.

[A Velociraptor is off in the distance, following the group.]

Person 4: Yeah - too *too* quiet.

Person 2: Yeah - 2quiet2furious.

Person 1: Fuck off, Steve.

===Pond===
[A landscape showing a pond, some reeds, and a set of mountains off in the distance.]

===Galaxies===
[A trio of galaxies.]

Galaxy 1: He's not looking!

Galaxy 3: Let's get him!

[Lines draw in illustrating the eye-line of one of a pair of people.]

Person 1: So he said he didn't get the text, but c'mon, he *never* misses texts. Right? ..hello?

Person 2: I'm just staring at your head freaked out by th efact that there are millions of galaxies *directly behind it*.

===xkcd Gold/Beehive part 1===

[Person holding bat.]

Person: Sorry, but this comic

[Person starts to wind up.]

requires

[Person prepares to strike with bat.]

XKCD

[Person swings at a beehive.]

GOLD

===Beehive part 2===
[Penis Bees fly out of the beehive.]

===Yo mamma===
[Person yells at another person.]

Person 1;Oh yeah? Well you mama's so *cynical*, her only dog ballast is a *leash*!

(This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid dogs can hover, so it requires them to wear weights at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop buying dog weights)

===Reddit===
Five seconds ago:

[You sitting in front of a desk, reading a reddit thread]

You: Oh, hey, reddit has a link to some XKCD april fools comic.

Now: [An image of this very page]

Five seconds from now:

You: ..hey

30 seconds from now:

[DANCE PARTY!]

===Buns and Hotdogs===

Person: What I wanna know is why do hot dogs come in packages of six while buns come in these huge sacks of ash and blood from which "Ave Maria" is faintly audible?

[Chanting sacks of gore in the background.]

===Twitter===
[A Twitter account page with the following: Many tweets, fewer following, even fewer followers, A bunch of assholes in the suggested follow box, trending topics partitioned into: Word Games, Misogyny, and Bieber, stuff your eyes automatically ignore, A really pleasant blue. and the timeline: Something about a podcast, Someone confused because the description doesn't match the link, The link you clicked on to get to this comic, Rob Delaney, Passive Aggression, and horse_ebooks.]

===Wikipedia===
[There's no comic here because instead of drawing one, I spent the last hour reading every news story cited in the Wikipedia article on "The Mile High Club"]

===Google Chrome===
[A Chrome plugin error page]

Chrome: This plugin requires Sergey Brin's permission to run. Please wait while he is woken.

===Chrome/Firefox===
[Two people; one is sitting at a desk in front of a laptop.]

Person 1: Man, chrome's hardware acceleration really sucks.

Person 2: Oh - Theres' a great add-on that fixes it.

Person 1: Oh? What's it called?

Person 2: "Firefox".

===Google Chrome-2===
[A Chrome plugin error page with the characteristic jigsaw piece.]

Chrome: Chrome is looking for this piece. Have you seen it? Chrome thinks it links up with a corner.

===Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing===
[Firefox error page.]

Firefox: Well, this is embarrassing. You know how I'm not supposed to peek at your browsing in private mode? Firefox.. is sorry. Firefox will not blame you if you

[button with text]

click here to report this incident.

===Internet Explorer===
[IE error page]

IE: Error: Internet Explorer has given up.

===Maxthon===
Person: Maxthon? Hey, 2005 called. Didn't say anything. All I could hear was sobbing. This is getting harder. Anyway, yeah, Maxthon's still cool! Didn't know it was still around!

===Netscape Navigator===
[Person with tentacle arms.]

Person: Netscape Navigator? Hey, the nineties called - drunk as usual. I hung up without saying anything. This is getting harder. Anyway - it's cool that you'e got netscape running.

===Rockmelt===
[Person running to laptop.]

I ran to Rockmelt to hide my face

[Person sitting at laptop.]

But Rockmelt cried out -

[Laptop shouting]

NO HIDING PLACE

[zoom out]

NO HIDING PLACE DOWN HERE

===Google Chrome-4===
[A chrome plugin error page.]

Chrome: There does not exist --nor could there *ever* exist-- a plugin capable of displaying this content.

===Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google - Chrome===
[Chrome error page.]

Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google is a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.

===Military===
[Person looking at two browser windows.]

I know y'all know what you're doing. But if you're on a military machine and you're supposed to be watching for missiles or something, I hope you're keeping an eye on that in the background while you're reading comics. Also: Thanks.

===T-Mobile===
[Error page]

Data Error: T-Mobile was unable to establish a connection

===AT&T/Verizon===
[Error page] Error; You have exceeded your AT&T/Verizon monthly bandwidth cap. Mobile web browsing has been disabled.

===France===
[Two people; one of which is browsing using a laptop.]

Person 1: Hey, you're French, right? Ever see what happens when you type "French Military Victories" into Google?

French person: Does it take you to an article on Napoleon?

French person: ..no? Strange, given how he kicked everyone's asses up and down europe for over a decade.

[beat]

Person 1: Touche.

French person: You know, that'd sound smarter if you didn't pronounce it like it rhymes with "douche".

===Germany===
[A person dropping food from an unorthodox high perch.]

June 1948: In response to the Soviet blockade of East Germany, the western allies construct the Berlin Chairlift.

Person on chairlift: Food!

===Israel===
[Person on phone]

(Translation from Hebrew)

Person: Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ... Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

===Carnot Cycle===
[Person on a motorcycle with a heat-entropy graph on the side.]

Person 1: Check out my new Carnot Cycle!

Person 2: Neat -- how fast does it go?

Person 1: Depends how cold it is outside.

===Great Britain===
[Illustration of the atlantic ocean.]

American person: Sorry I don't have a comic poking fun at the UK here. I only had time to get to the most *important* US states.

British person: Hey -- At least we have free health care and real ale.

===Earthquake-Blizzard===
[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]

Person 1: Stop jiggling your leg.

Person 2: I'm not ji-.. oh!

Person 1: What!

Person 2: You'll get it..

[EVERYTHING RUMBLES]

Person 1: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!

Person 2: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

Person 1: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Boston", "Chicago", "Dallas", "Georgia", "Halifax", "Illinois", "Michigan", "Minnesota", "Missouri", "the Northeast", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", 'Pennsylvania", "Philadelphia", "Texas", "Toronto", "Tennessee", "New York", "Wisconsin"}! That was huge!

Person 2: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.

Person 1: Oh *really*... Six Months Later..

[Both people are trudging through a massive blizzard.]

Person 2: In pictures, snow always looked so nice and sof -- AAAA! MY NECK! How do people live here?!

Person 1: Come on - it's only three more miles.

===Earthquake-Tornado===
[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]

Person 1: Stop jiggling your leg.

Person 2: I'm not ji-.. oh!

Person 1: What! Person 2: You'll get it..

[EVERYTHING RUMBLES]

Person 1: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!

Person 2: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

Person 1: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Dallas", "Illinois", "The Midwest", "Missouri", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", "Tennessee", "Texas"}!

That was huge!

Person 2: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.

Person 1: Oh *really*...

Six Months Later..

[Both people are in a shelter in a prairie with a rapidly-approaching tornado.]

Person 2: AAAA CLOSE THE SHELTER DOOR!

Person 1: Say the magic words...

Person 2: THIS PLACE IS THE WORST!

Person 1: Thank you.

===Lake Diver Killer===
[TV Field Reporter in front of a cordoned-off lake.]

Police divers searching the bay say they have recovered thebody of another victim of the "Lake Diver Killer" During the search, three more divers were reported missing.

===Washington===
[The statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.]

In this Marble Prison As in the nightmares of the nation they tried to devour The nanobots that constituted Abraham Lincoln Are entombed forever.

===Alaska===
[A snowy Alaskan field.]

Person: Some people hunt wolves from helicopters. I hunt helicopters from a wolf.

===Life in lab===
[Newspaper headline.]

Scientists/UMass Amherst students/RIT students create life in lab

[caption under picture of scientists.]

"The trick was fuckin'"

===American Revolution===
Robot Paul Revere: Remember: Zero if by land, One if by sea.

===MIT===
[Two people in front of a group of students.]

Person 1: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.

Person 2: We'll be rich!

[Person 2 deals some cards while the students watch.]

[The gears turn..]

Student: Five. There are five cards.

Person 1: I see their admission standards have been slipping.

Person 2: Yeah - there are actually four.

===MIT Course 15c===
[Two people in front of a group of students.]

Person 1: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.

Person 2: We'll be rich!

[Person 2 deals some cards while the students watch.]

[The gears turn..]

Student: Five. There are five cards.

Person 1: I *knew* we shouldn't have picked course 15s.

Person 2: Yeah - there are actually four.

===Smith/Wellesley===
[Two people in front of a group of students.]

Person 1: I've hired a team of Smith/Wellesley students to count cards for us.

Person 2: We'll be rich!

[Person 2 deals some cards while the students watch.]

[The gears turn..]

Student: Five. There are five cards.

Person 1: We should've gone with Wellesley/Smith.

Person 2: Yeah - there are actually four.

===CNU===
[Person unsuspectingly strolls under a giant box trap controlled by a Trible.]

I worry that CNU only invited me back as a ruse because they realized I never turned in my final paper and want my diploma back. But if it turns out it's for real, I'll see you Wednesday at the Ferguson!

===Dana Farber===
[Cueball, pointing towards head.]

Cueball: Check it out - In support of people going through chemo, i shaved my head.

Lots of love to everyone reading this at Dana Farber. Cancer sucks. If you are new to DCFI, there's a great little garden on the third floor of the yawkey if you need somewhere quiet to just sit for a little bit and breathe.

===Earthquake-Hurricane===
[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]

Person 1: Stop jiggling your leg.

Person 2: I'm not ji-.. oh!

Person 1: What! Person 2: You'll get it..

[EVERYTHING RUMBLES]

Person 1: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!

Person 2: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

Person 1: But this is {Options: "D.C", "Florida", "Houston", "Miami", "New Jersey", "North Carolina", "South Carolina", "Virgina"}! That was huge!

Person 2: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.

Person 1: Oh *really*...

Six Months Later..

[Both are in the middle of a hurricane. Person 2 is grabbing onto a signpost to avoid being swept away.]

Person 2: AAAAA WHAT THE SHIIIIT!

Person 1: Calm down - this is barely a category 2.

===Corporate===
[Error page]

Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, we work as a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.

===Microsoft/Amazon - Firefox===
[Firefox error page]

Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon is a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.

===Microsoft/The Times===
[Error page]

Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/The Times is a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.

===Aurora-US===
[Person heading out past another person comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]

Person 1: Apparently there's a solar storm causing northern lights over Canada. CNN say they might even be visible {Options: "As Far South As Us", "Here in Boston", "Maine", "Ohio", "Oregon", "New York"}! Wanna drive out to see?
Person 2: It's cold out.
Person 1: Ok. Later.

[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

Person 2: See anything?

Person 1: No, just clouds.

Person 2: Not surprised.

==Trivia==
*Reddit user [http://www.reddit.com/user/SomePostMan SomePostMan] created a [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/t6wmh/all_umwelt_1037_comics_in_two_imgur_albums/ post] that collected all of the Umwelt comics and added explanations.

{{comic discussion}}
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