explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2966: Exam Numbers

2024-07-31T19:05:46Z

141.101.98.170: /* Explanation */ The comic needed an intro to the explain. And I think a wikitable might work well here. Maybe do that, later? Aha! i edit-conflicted with one! Great!

{{comic
| number = 2966
| date = July 31, 2024
| title = Exam Numbers
| image = exam_numbers_2x.png
| imagesize = 553x400px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Calligraphy exam: Write down the number 37, spelled out, nicely.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MATH TEACHER - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic depicts various similarly formatted examination questions that might appear on test papers at various points in a student's potential academic careeer. While they all share a similar feel, they are asking for different things, some of which might be considered more serious and examinable proofs of study than others.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Exam numbers
! Exam level !! Question !! Answer
|-
| Kindergarten math || Write down the biggest number you can think of || At a kindergarden-level education, it is assumed that an individual might write down a relatively small number like 300.
|-
| Pre-algebra || Write down the value of x if x=3x-8 || 4
|-
| Calculus || Write down the value of ∫_0^π x sin^2 x dx || The integral of the expression is (−2x sin(2x)+cos(2x)−2x)/28 + C. Plugging in values for x gives the result as π^2/4, or approximately 2.4674.
|-
| PhD Cosmology || Write down the Hubble constant to within 1% || The exact value of the Hubble constant is not known to this level of accuracy; it is about 2.3 * 10^-18 Hz.
|-
| Game Theory || Write down 10 more than the average of the class's answers || There appears at first glance to be no Nash equilibrium, since no matter what, there will be someone who is incentivised to change their answer to a higher number. However, since the box is of finite size, only finitely many numbers can be written - if everyone writes down a number ten less than a value that cannot be written, everyone scores nothing. There are some very large numbers that can be written succinctly, such as TREE(3), but there are only finitely many.
|-
| Postgraduate Math || Write down the biggest number you can think of || Postgraduate math students can probably think of very large numbers. However, the best answer is probably "infinity", since depending on your definition of the word "number", infinity may be the largest possible number.
|}

== Pre-Algebra Final Exam ==
x = 3x - 8

3x refers to the multiplication of 3 and x. 3x is a convenient shorthand.

By subtracting 3x from both sides, -2x = -8. Divide both sides by -2 to find x=4.

Verify by plugging x=4 into the original equation. 4 = 3*4 - 8 -> 4 = 12 - 8 -> 4 = 4.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
6 Different math test questions. The first one says: Kindergarten math:Write down the biggest number you can think of
{{comic discussion}}

At a kindergarden-level education, it is assumed that an individual might write down a relatively small number{{cn}} like 300, or maybe even 5000. But when people get more education or simply absorb information from pop culture, they get more intuition on how big numbers get, so it is a very complicated problem for a postgraduate student to write a big number. Some example responses to the very last question may include TREE(3), Graham's number, or 3^^^3.

However, it is another problem to write down the number in notation, because mathematical notation is inherently abstract. For example, what is stopping somebody from just writing down "the biggest number + 1"? Is it valid to write a Python program? Some<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzgw6zMtipQ : Quest To Find The Largest Number
- CodeParade</ref> may argue that the only valid solution is to write down a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambda_calculus Lambda calculus] computation which results in a very big number.

===Pre-Algebra Final Exam===
x = 3x - 8

''3x'' refers to the multiplication of 3 and the 'unknown number' ''x''.

Of the many ways to solve this, you might start by making ''x'' relevent upon only one side of the equation. Subtracting ''x'' from both sides gives ''0 = 2x -8''. As ''2x'' becomes zero if you take away the value 8, a single ''x'' would be half of that, i.e. 4.

This is easily verified by plugging ''x=4'' into the original equation. '''4''' = 3*'''4''' - 8 -> 4 = 12 - 8 -> 4 = 4.

===Calculus Final Exam===
Integrate[x Sin[x]^2, {x, 0, Pi}]

Answer: Pi^2/4 or approx 2.4674

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[6 different math test questions.]

:[The first panel:]
:Kindergarten math final exam
:Q. Write down the biggest number you can think of
:A. [empty box]

:[The second panel:]
:Pre-algebra final exam
:Q. Write down the value of x if x=3x-8
:A. [empty box]

:[The third panel:]
:Calculus final exam
:Q. Write down the value of [integral sign, from 0 to pi] x sin^2 x dx
:A. [empty box]

:[The fourth panel:]
:PhD final exam
:Q. Write down the Hubble Constant to within 1%
:A. [empty box]

:[The fifth panel:]
:Game theory final exam
:Q. Write down 10 more than the average of the class's answers
:A. [empty box]

:[The sixth panel:]
:Postgraduate math final exam
:Q. Write down the biggest number you can think of
:A. [empty box]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Math]]

==References==
<references />

2963: House Inputs and Outputs

2024-07-26T16:28:49Z

141.101.98.170: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2963
| date = July 24, 2024
| title = House Inputs and Outputs
| image = house_inputs_and_outputs_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x684px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = People think power over ethernet is so great, and yet when I try to do water over ethernet everyone yells at me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a possible reference to [[1037: Umwelt]] in panel 16 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is another comic in a series depicting {{w|confusion matrix|confusion matrices}}, similar to [[2813: What To Do]], [[2420: Appliances]], and [[1890: What to Bring]]. It is arranged as a table of five columns of conduits to and from a house, by five rows of resources and people, each of which typically enter, exit or both enter ''and'' exit the house via at least one of the identified conduits. The table cells have a green background for compatible methods of transit; a red tint is used for the more problematic pairings. Each panel can be read as "[row label] [entering and/or exiting] the house via the [column label]", for example, "Fresh water entering the house via the well".

{| class="wikitable" style="background-color: lightpink;"
|+ Explanations of the "House Inputs and Outputs" table cell drawings
! !! Well !! Garage !! Power lines !! Front door !! Septic tank
|-
! Fresh water (Input)
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| The purpose of a well is usually to supply fresh water into the home, primarily for drinking or washing. It may be unnecessary in many places if a reliable {{w|water supply network}} is available. || Long gone are the days of {{w|Labours_of_Hercules#Fifth:_Augean_stables|having to clean up after your primary mode of transportation}}, for most people. A source of water may be useful to clean a vehicle itself, although this would perhaps be more commonly done outside. || Power lines conduct electricity, not water. The two functions are inherently dangerous if carelessly combined. Water can be used to cool high-energy lines, such as fast battery charger cables[https://www.connectortips.com/where-liquid-cooled-connectors-and-connectors-for-liquid-cooling-used-in-evs-faq/] and cables supplying electric arc furnaces, but not overhead residential power lines. || Many people prefer to control the amount of water they get, and the water may damage things inside the house. || Pumping water into a septic tank could cause it to back up, resulting in the unpleasant contents being forced back in to the house. Also, if this were the only supply of water, most people would prefer anything they drink not to contain (or go through pipes that have contained) sewage.
|-
! Cars (Input/Output)
| Most cars can't fit inside most wells. Storing them in a well is also likely to be inconvenient when you come to need to use them again.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| Garages are in fact built for the storage of cars and other similarly-sized vehicles. Placing a car in one will both help protect it from the elements and make it easier to access from inside your own home. || As of yet, cars cannot be transferred through power lines and require roads to travel on. This could significantly reduce travel costs. However, the illustration here has the car actually balancing upon the strained wire, indicating a more mundane (but still not easy!) method of transit. || Most cars can’t fit through a typical front door, and are likely to cause damage if forced. || Comedian {{w|Garrison Keillor}}'s 2008 ''More News from Lake Wobegon'' includes a story where an old septic tank is discovered to actually be a buried car.[https://theseriouscomedysite.com/comedy-cd-or-download/garrison-keillor-more-news-from-lake-wobegon/]
|-
! Electricity (Input)
| Wells are not a source of electric power, and attempting to obtain electricity from a well would likely contaminate its water supply. || In the United States, lightning is responsible for causing around 24,600 structure fires annually, resulting in $8 to $10 billion in losses. It is possible, though, for the house's junction box (where the main utility line terminates in order to supply the house's own wiring) to be located in or on the outside wall of the garage, so, in a sense, this may be workable.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| Power lines are designed to facilitate the connection of individual homes to the broader local power network. [[Randall]] omits the fact that electricity can also be an output; e.g. houses with solar panels regularly export electricity too. || {{w|Benjamin Franklin}} invented the {{w|lightning rod}} to prevent lightning strike damage to structures. || As Knit Cap observes, septic tanks are not a source of electric power.
|-
! People (Input/Output)
|style="background-color: lightpink"| This depicts a view from inside a well, a very dangerous place for most people.{{Citation needed}} As a [[:Category:Comics with inverted brightness|dark scene]], it is drawn red-on-black. The motif resembles poster art for the 2002 horror movie remake ''{{w|The Ring (2002 film)|The Ring}}'', which involves a girl left to die in a well who becomes a vengeful ghost (see also [[396: The Ring]]).
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| A person can enter and exit their home through a garage door, provided the garage has an internal door to the rest of the home. Not the best way to welcome unfamiliar guests though. || Overhead power lines to homes are generally not strong enough to climb, and attempting to do so incurs a very serious risk of electrocution.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| The front door of a home is designed for entry and exit of humans and similarly sized items. || In general, people find crawling through waste unpleasant. Also, the septic tank is not connected to the street.
|-
! Sewage (Output)
| Sewage in drinking water can cause disease. It is/was the main cause for most {{w|cholera}} epidemics.
|colspan=3| Sewage spills are smelly, disgusting and hard to clean. They can destroy carpets, floors, drywall and property value.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| A {{w|septic tank}} is an underground chamber through which wastewater flows for basic {{w|sewage treatment}}.
|}

The title text references {{w|Power over Ethernet|power over ethernet (PoE)}}, first implemented in the early 2000s, to provide electric power along with data on twisted-pair Ethernet cabling. A welcome development, it removed the need for many separate power supplies. While networked water delivery ("running water") is also a welcome development, doing so over ethernet cables would be extremely problematic, risking the several top points of failure, while providing limited amounts of water. However, again, electric vehicle fast charging cables and arc furnace power inputs are sometimes water-cooled.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A 5x5 grid of squares. The columns are labeled: Well, Garage, Power lines, Front door, Septic tank. Each row's label has an arrow and a basic house icon next to it. The rows are: Fresh water (horizontal arrow towards house), Cars (two-directional horizontal arrow and house), Electricity (horizontal arrow into house), People (two-directional horizontal arrow and house), Sewage (vertical arrow out of bottom of house).]

:Well, Fresh water: [green]
::[A many-featured house front and cross-sectional subsurface infrastructure, with various aspects that recur throughout most further grid-squares in one or other form. This particular one is distinguished by an arrow indicating movement up through a pipe leading inwards from an adjacent external borehole]
::Voice from house: Mmm! Refreshing!

:Garage, Fresh water: [red]
::[An obliquely off-frontal view of the house, featuring a set of Cueball-like figures directing a hosepipe's stream of water into the open garage-port doorway]
::''Fwoosh''

:Power lines, Fresh water: [red]
::[A different oblique angle concentrated upon the edge of the house upon which the overhead powerlines connect to, from a pole with transformer box and other wire coming from off-frame; the house wire appears to be dripping liquid]

:Front door, Fresh water: [red]
::[Normal frontal view of the house, featuring the hosepipe cueballs directing water into the front door]
::Voice from house: Stop it!
::''Fwoosh!''

:Septic tank, Fresh water: [red]
::[Normal frontal view; The subsurface septic tank feature has an arrow leading up from it through the diagonal pipe that connects to the house itself]
::Voice from house: Eww.

:Well, Cars: [red]
::[A view only of a ground pipe/borehole-head; A car seemingly upended and balanced atop on a front corner, being manhandled by Cueball and Megan figures]

:Garage, Cars: [green]
::[Normal frontal view; Garage door open, car seen parked inside]

:Power lines, Cars: [red]
::[Two power-line poles, the rightmost with transformer, having cables from off-left, between the poles and off-right; Two cueballs stand on the ground below, looking at a car heavily balanced mid-way along the central stretch of wire]

:Front door, Cars: [red]
::[Frontal view of house; Front doorway has surrounding damage and a car tightly wedged into it with two figures (Beret Guy and a Cueball) visible through the windows]
::Beret Guy, from car: Do you think I scratched the paint?

:Septic tank, Cars: [red]
::[Frontal view of the house; Within the underground sceptic tank, displacing some of the shallow dark liquid, is a car with two occupants]

:Well, Electricity: [red]
::[Borehole pipe-head; Cueball holds a laptop with a power lead trailing down into the pipe]
::Cueball's laptop: ⚠Low battery

:Garage, Electricity: [red]
::[Frontal view of house, with lightning strike explosively hitting the area of the garage door]
::''BOOM''

:Power lines, Electricity: [green]
::[Frontal view of house, arrow leading down the power-cable and several 'electricity' symbols scattered around]

:Front door, Electricity: [red]
::[Frontal view of house, with lightning strike explosively hitting the area of the front door]
::''BOOM''

:Septic tank, Electricity: [red]
::[Toilet and cistern, seat raised, with Knit Cap looking at a computer system, set up nearby on the floor, with a power lead draped into the toilet-bowl and (sic) a single 'electricity' symbol indicating power flow]
::Knit Cap: Why won't my console turn on?

:Well, People: [red (though overwhelmingly black)]
::[A mostly black tile with a rough circular outline of sketchy red lines]

:Garage, People: [green]
::[Frontal view of house; A Cueball exits the open (darkened) garage doorway, waving]
::Cueball: Bye!

:Power lines, People: [red]
::[Oblique side view of house; A Cueball is climbing up the power-line towards the top of the pole]
::Cueball: Bye!

:Front door, People: [green]
::[Frontal view of house; A cueball exits the open front doorway, waving]
::Cueball: Bye!

:Septic tank, People: [red]
::[Frontal view of house; A Cueball crawls into the elbow-deep dark liquid of the subsurface septic tank, emerging from the house-draining pipes]
::Cueball: Bye!

:Well, Sewage: [red]
::[Frontal view of house; Speech-line emerges from the house]
::Voice from house: ''Why do I keep getting sick???

:Garage, Sewage: [red]
::[Frontal view of house; Garage door is open, revealing Cueball knee-deep in dark liquid]
::Cueball: Oh no.

:Power lines, Sewage: [red]
::[Oblique side view of house; Wide pipe-end emerges from the roof, disgorging a stream of dark liquid out onto the rising power-cable]
::Cueball: Eww.

:Front door, Sewage: [red]
::[Frontal view of house; Front door is open, revealing Cueball knee-deep in dark liquid]
::Cueball: Oh ''no''.

:Septic tank, Sewage: [green]
::[Frontal view of house; Dark liquid drains down drain-pipes into sceptic tank, with an arrow indicating the direction of flow]
::''Flush''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Confusion matrices]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Charts]]

2951: Bad Map Projection: Exterior Kansas

2024-06-28T21:15:48Z

141.101.98.170: /* Explanation */ I think this may be a better layout. But would need to be checked on various screen-widths/etc. And I should have edited the 'whole page'. as Preview doesn't help show if the transclusion (overlap of Discussion) works better now

{{comic
| number = 2951
| date = June 26, 2024
| title = Bad Map Projection: Exterior Kansas
| image = bad_map_projection_exterior_kansas_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x706px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Although Kansas is widely thought to contain the geographic center of the contiguous 48 states, topologists now believe that it's actually their outer edge.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TOPOLOGICAL CORNFIELD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is the seventh comic in the series of [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]] displaying Bad Map Projection #45: Exterior Kansas.

[[File:Exterior_Kansas_Azimuthal_Projection.png|thumb|left|Projection of the world from the same perspective as the comic. This uses an azimuthal equidistant projection, so distances from the center point (39°50′S 98°35′E) are correct but areas are distorted.]]

This comic portrays an unusual projection of a map of the contiguous United States based loosely on an {{w|azimuthal projection}}. Maps of individual countries are common, especially in academic settings. It is typical for such maps, which only display a limited area of the globe, to use a projection that does not severely distort the shape of the country or its internal borders, but a country that is large enough (as with the United States) will always noticeably suffer from certain distortions of at least one element chosen from distances, areas or angles. This usually occurs at its extremities (though some projections can be made more faithful to its extremities at the expense of distorting its interior).

Here, however, Randall has opted for a much different projection. Rather than placing the geographical center of the country in the middle and the borders on the outside, this map has gone the opposite direction, with the border of the US toward the center, and the geographical center of the contiguous US (Kansas) and surrounding states distorted to surround the entire map. This, understandably, results in the shape of both the national and state borders being largely unrecognizable as it effectively puts ''every'' bit of the chosen map features out towards the distorted extremities. Much of the internal area of Kansas itself (should one wish to display further internal features) may be located far beyond the comic's edges, perhaps even to infinitely far away on the projected plane.

[[File:Azimuthal_equidistant_projection_SW.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Polar {{w|azimuthal equidistant projection}}, as on the {{w|flag of the United Nations}}, but with an "exterior Antarctica"]]

If Alaska and Hawaii were present in this map and represented in geographically accurate locations (as opposed to inset, as is common in many maps of the United States), Alaska would in the upper right of the empty space, between Minnesota and Washington, while Hawaii would be in the center to the right, off the coast of California. Both would be rather small, with Hawaii particularly compressed (to an extent dictated by the exact projection method used). Additionally, if all 50 states were included, the geographical center would be further to the northwest, resulting in an "Exterior South Dakota" projection.

[[File:now.gif|325px|thumb|left|The map in [[1335: Now]] shows an exterior {{w|Arctic Ocean}} and Antarctica in the center]]
{{Clear}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Map description could be improved? Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A distorted map of the contiguous United States with the states labeled, where the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the Canadian and Mexican borders are located closest to the center, with there being a gray void in the middle of the map, while the central U.S. states are distributed in the edges of the panel, with Kansas being in all of the four corners of the map.]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Bad Map Projection #45:
:Exterior Kansas

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Bad Map Projections]]
[[Category:US maps]]

Talk:2639: Periodic Table Changes

2024-06-21T13:18:04Z

141.101.98.170: /* New Category: Changes? */

The format of this comic appears most similar to https://xkcd.com/1902/. Is it worth noting that, in some representations of the periodic table (see https://ptable.com/#Electrons), Helium is indeed placed in the second column next to Hydrogen? [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 21:54, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

Nice. I'm doing the old "what elements have been obscured/overwritten" thing, after far too long since actually memorising the Periodic Table that was on my school's lab wall... But, hey! Where has Hahnium got to? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.77|172.70.162.77]] 22:25, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

I wonder why he kept the Latinate abbreviations for Antimony and Mercury. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:17, 29 June 2022 (UTC)

The changes by Asdf seem like they mostly belong in the Transcript, not Explanation.
:I moved some of my lengthy descriptions from Explanation to Transcript, hopefully this helps. Sorry if I caused inconvenience. -[[User:Asdf|Asdf]] ([[User talk:Asdf|talk]]) 00:00, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

Laaaaame! Not revolutionary enough! Why not simply get rid of all these historical accidents and indicate any element by its nuclear charge? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.102.117|172.71.102.117]] 07:05, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

Anyone else find it ironic that the new kinds of carbon are indexed with Roman numerals on the same comic where it says "this isn't Ancient Rome"? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.27|162.158.38.27]] 07:18, 30 June 2022 (UTC)
:to be fair, this isnt 6th or 7th century india either....

For the language nerds among us, "I" for iron wouldn't work at all well in Dutch. Although the element is typewritten "ijzer", the first two characters are treated as a single letter and are capitalised together (IJzer). It's pronounced EI and is listed in the Dutch alphabet alongside (or sometimes even instead of) Y.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.233.55|162.158.233.55]] 08:37, 30 June 2022 (UTC)
:Clearly there isn't much consideration given to any other language than English. The "annoying W" is for Wolfram or something close in many languages, "Na" is Natrium, "K" is Kalium - frankly, Mr. Munroe just uses the wrong language. Then again, "Fe" really is annoying, of course it should be "Ei" for Eisen ... [[User:627235|627235]] ([[User talk:627235|talk]]) 11:32, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

This feels more like a parallel to corporate reorganisations that are based on idealised concepts of how an organisation 'should' work than on the practicalities of what people actually do, than it does to economic plans. Particularly with the reference to training elements to adapt to their new positions. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.173|172.70.90.173]] 10:47, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

For the language bit he somehow missed Mercury (Hg: Hydrargyrum). [[User:Thaledison|Erin Anne]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 15:21, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

He also missed Cu. Since copper is more familiar than cobalt, except for certain classes of scientist, it gets Co and cobalt gets Cb. Which will never get confused with niobium, will it? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.175.30|172.70.175.30]] 21:28, 30 June 2022 (UTC)

The title may also mean "Periodic" tables changes, i.e. the table changes every few months. That's what I understood at first glance. [[User:Lamty101|Lamty101]] ([[User talk:Lamty101|talk]]) 15:01, 1 July 2022 (UTC)

=== Table galore ===
Can we please get back to a less table-ceneterd style? Tables are a neat tool to order various data. "Text" and "Explanation" are not in that category. That's what (section)headlines are for. Or do you write your articles/homework/thesis/whatever in Excel (or equivalent)? I know people who LOVE to use excel for text work, so that's not that unheared of, but there's a general rule: Use the right tool for the right job. Tables are not the right tool for "Text" and "Explanation". /edit: And such wide tables are generally bad to view/handle in mobile [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:22, 1 July 2022 (UTC)

:I do not edit the Wiki frequently, though I noticed that the style of the comic matched that of https://xkcd.com/1902/ so I changed the style of the explanation to match that as well. I will note that in my personal opinion, I prefer a table for explanations which cover multiple individual parts of a comic, though someone who is much more experienced than me can feel free to revert the edit, I apologize if I missed a convention rule on the wiki page. A side note: While you may be correct that a table is the wrong way to contain data, the purpose of the wiki in my opinion is not to organize and collect information, it is to present it to readers. I believe that the table accurately breaks down the comic into each comment from Randall. However, I have edited very few wikis, and I could be 100% wrong. I just thought I would explain the reasoning behind adding a table, such that any other user could understand its purpose. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.32|108.162.246.32]] 17:19, 1 July 2022 (UTC)
:: Don't worry, it's fine - there is no written or unwritten rule (that I am aware of) that you might have broken. I just think that tables are the wrong tool for that specific task (i.e. as you said it: Present information to readers) in this specific case, which by the way would in my opinion also apply to 1902. There are cases where a table is absolutely fine and desirable. This is just not such a case :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 09:41, 4 July 2022 (UTC)
:::I see where you're coming from, but many of the annotations here are just far too much text for a section header, or even a dictionary list. The table is the only way to go here, even if I might prefer a dictionary list (line prefixes ';' and ':' in wikitext) for [[1902]]. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.81|172.70.214.81]] 12:15, 11 July 2022 (UTC)

As long as we can all agree on the spellings. I propose that we all use the spelling "aluminum" but as a compromise adopt "platinium" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.75|108.162.237.75]] 14:34, 1 July 2022 (UTC)

For "Ty, Dh and Jk", I wonder if it's no coincidence that the first and last are common online abbreviations ("Thank you" and "Joke", the former last used by Randall in the result of the Turtle Instructions, from memory)... Not sure about Dh (I'm not a cool hip cat that's down with all the rad kids, daddyo, etc, etc...) but if someone else knows that's something then might be worth an official mention? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.62|172.70.91.62]] 12:12, 5 July 2022 (UTC)
:Just to nitpick the above comment of 5 July, JK is an initialism of Just Kidding, that said joking and kidding are synonyms so it works out the same
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.195|162.158.62.195]] 15:35, 16 August 2022 (UTC)
::As that 5/Jul editor, I thank you. Probably worked it out (wrongly, but equivalently) purely from context a long time ago, and then read it as that automatically ever since, having no reason to overturn it.
::(And I'll have used it myself... Hmmm, I wonder if I've tried to say "Joke!" but actually said "Just Kidding!" in a context where the difference is vital. I mean, it's not so much like you hear about people misunderstanding LOL as "Lots Of Love" and then texting something like "Your grandpa passed peacefully last night, we'll let you know more about the funeral arrangements when we know. LOL" - but there's always a chance..!)
::Anyhoo, consider me corrected. ;) If you're not wrong yourself... (Lots Of Love!) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.34|172.70.86.34]] 19:38, 16 August 2022 (UTC)

'''Abortion spam'''

Is there any way to stop the abortion spam? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.47|172.70.178.47]] 18:03, 1 July 2022 (UTC)
:I had a look, and see nothing (in the last few hours) that is this... But the answer is that a lot of spam is being prevented from happening (see the User Creation Log for all the accounts created that then don't do anything) and those that do happen get quickly reverted by us, the editors. There's not much more that can be done (and still have a workable wiki), But I know the current admins aren't idle, either, so maybe of there's a tweak or two that could be done, it may yet be. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.71|162.158.34.71]] 19:35, 1 July 2022 (UTC)

Randall calling Bismuth a "bland post-transition metal" is undeniable proof that he has no taste and that we should not take anything he does seriously. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.198|172.68.51.198]] 09:24, 24 October 2023 (UTC)

== New Category: Changes? ==

I've noticed that a recurring subject in xkcd is "Changes I would make to ________". Examples are [[2639: Periodic Table Changes]], [[2258: Solar System Changes]], and maybe [[2750: Flatten the Planets]]. Should we make this a category? [[User:PDesbeginner|PDesbeginner]] ([[User talk:PDesbeginner|talk]]) 03:24, 21 June 2024 (UTC)
:Many of these (and most of those you give here) are covered by [[:Category:Comics with red annotations]], which may at least be a significant sub-category of what you're suggesting. Definitely worth discussing.
:This (and some other suggestions you have) might be worth presenting in the appropriate bit of the Community Portal pages, as less likely to get lost in the comic-discussions than here (at the expense of being more likely to get lost in the mass of accumulated Portal submissions... though people who read that are more likely to care and have appropriate suggestions). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.170|141.101.98.170]] 13:18, 21 June 2024 (UTC)

2937: Room Code

2024-05-30T18:45:02Z

141.101.98.170: Undo revision 343285 by Ullallulloo (talk) Would not normally undo an undo, but could see no reason why the original edit (not mine) was deemed wrong. Quite a nice back-reference, in fact.

{{comic
| number = 2937
| date = May 24, 2024
| title = Room Code
| image = room_code_2x.png
| imagesize = 650x290px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Sorry to make you memorize this random string of digits. If it helps, it can also double as a mnemonic for remembering your young relatives' birthdays, if they happened to have been born on February 5th, 2018.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SIX-DIGIT HOTEL ROOM CODE - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

Cueball and Megan are on vacation or otherwise traveling, and receive a code for their hotel room. Megan gives a seemingly nonsensical and unhelpful {{w|mnemonic}} by which Cueball can remember it... which, inexplicably, actually ''helps'' Cueball to remember the code. Cueball becomes VERY angry on realizing this.

The first three {{w|prime numbers}} are actually 2, 3, and 5. So this technique easily identifies the first two digits "02". "05" is slightly wrong because it's not the second prime number; it's the third. And "18" is even more wrong because it's not actually a prime number; it's 2 × 3 × 3.

So the mnemonic itself doesn't really provide the method for remembering the code. Instead, figuring out how to apply the bogus mnemonic will reinforce your memory of the code. Unless you actually happen to be really bad at prime numbers and panicked while remembering them, in which case the bad mnemonic actually... helps?! Why is your memory like this?!

The title text points out that the code is also similar to a date in the [[ISO 8601|discouraged]] MMDDYY format, so if you happen to have a relative who was born on February 5th 2018, the memorized code will help you remember this date if using said date format. It is also a valid date in the DDMMYY format but in that case it would be the 2nd of May 2018, or in YYMMDD format, in which case it refers to 18th of May 2002.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is standing next to Cueball, who is holding a phone or a note in his hand. Each one has a suitcase on the out-facing side of them.]
:Cueball: Okay, I need to remember that the room code is 020518.

:[Closeup on Megan who has her palm raised.]
:Megan: Easy -- just memorize it as "the first three prime numbers, if you realized you couldn't remember what came after 2 and started to panic and get them increasingly wrong."

:[Beat panel of Megan and Cueball standing with no border.]

:[Megan and Cueball still standing.]
:Megan: ...Are you mad because that actually works?
:Cueball: '''''Why is memory like this?'''''

{{comic discussion}}

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

662: iPhone or Droid

2023-09-16T20:25:56Z

141.101.98.170: /* Explanation */ link

{{comic
| number = 662
| date = November 13, 2009
| title = iPhone or Droid
| image = iphone_or_droid.png
| titletext = It may be a fundamentally empty experience, but holy crap the Droid's 265 ppi screen is amazing.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic starts to set up a joke about the "phone wars" between the {{w|iPhone}} and phones that run the {{w|Android (operating system)|Android}} system (in this case the {{w|Motorola Droid}}), but instead just brings up a serious point criticizing the {{w|consumerism}} this "war" stems from. In the last line of panel 2, [[Cueball]] refers to the slogan "There's an app for that" from Apple's iPhone marketing.

Then the third panel makes a joke anyway, at Apple's expense: apparently, this "enlightenment app" was rejected from Apple's app store, which is the only supported way to put third-party software on an iPhone. Apple has become infamous for rejecting apps from their app store without adequately explaining why. (Users of iPhones can sideload third party software using {{w|iOS jailbreaking|jailbreaking}} or {{w|iOS SDK|developer tools}}, but both are quite complicated.)

In the title text Cueball succumbs to the consumerism and marvels at the Motorola Droid's high (at the time) {{w|Pixel density|pixel density}}. Apple responded 9 months later by releasing the {{w|iPhone 4}} with a 326 ppi {{w|Retina Display}}. (Higher pixel densities are now standard for smartphones.)

This comic was written at the start of the modern smartphone era, when first the iPhone and then Google's Android platform had popularized user-installable third-party apps for smartphones. Previously third-party smartphone apps had been much rarer as they were hard to [https://www.theregister.com/2010/10/22/nokia_explains_symbian_strategy_we_translate/ develop] and [https://www.theregister.com/2009/05/28/ovi_review/ install], and smartphones themselves had been considered quite hard to use. iOS and Android, running on touchscreen smartphones with considerably more hardware resources than earlier smartphones, had [https://arstechnica.com/staff/2008/03/cant-help-falling-in-love/ encouraged] the development of third-party apps and their sale on app stores, with Apple advertising [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szrsfeyLzyg "there's an app for that"] to showcase the range of apps available for its phones.

Although the concept of an app that delivers "something more than the pale facsimile of fulfillment brought by a parade of ever-fancier toys" sounds ridiculous, [https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-meditation-apps/ mindfulness apps] have since become reasonably popular.

==Transcript==
:[Megan sitting at her computer is talking to Cueball standing behind her.]
:Megan: Well, it depends what you want. The iPhone wins on speed and polish, but the Droid has that gorgeous screen and physical keyboard.

:Cueball: What if I want something more than the pale facsimile of fulfillment brought by a parade of ever-fancier toys? To spend my life restlessly producing instead of sedately consuming?
:Cueball: Is there an app for ''that''?

:Megan: Yeah, on both.
:Megan: Wait, no, looks like it was rejected from the iPhone store.
:Cueball: Droid it is, then.

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

1762: Moving Boxes

2016-11-21T14:57:46Z

141.101.98.170: /* List of boxes */ Edited to match comic formatting.

{{comic
| number = 1762
| date = November 21, 2016
| title = Moving Boxes
| image = moving_boxes.png
| titletext = Later, when I remember that I'm calling movers, I frantically scribble over the labels and write 'NORMAL HOUSE STUFF' on all of them, which actually makes things worse.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Stub}}
[[Randall]] talks about moving boxes and not labeling them until he forgets what's in them. The boxes in the comic are labelled with some weird things for a house.

== List of boxes ==

{| class="wikitable"
| style="visibility:hidden" |
| colspan="2" |
Grids 
Bison 
Checkerboards 
Fog
| colspan="2" |
Beacons 
Elves 
Sand
| colspan="2" |
Hemoglobin
| colspan="2" |
Water 
Hooves
| style="visibility:hidden" |
|-|
| style="visibility:hidden" |
| colspan="2" |
Shorebirds
| colspan="2" |
Oil 
Vectors 
Silt
| colspan="2" |
Membranes 
Shards
| colspan="2" |
Shawls 
Glucose 
Kits
| style="visibility:hidden" |
|-|
| style="visibility:hidden" |
| colspan="2" |
Hydrants 
Particles 
Knots
| colspan="2" |
Graphite 
Taupe
| colspan="2" |
Field Lines
| colspan="2" |
Traps
| style="visibility:hidden" |
|-|
| colspan="2" |
Edges 
Tribes 
Dough
| colspan="2" |
Dark Matter
| colspan="2" |
Manifolds
| colspan="2" |
Triangles 
Peat 
Crowns
| colspan="2" |
Scrolls
|}

According to the title text, when Randall remembers that he is calling movers, he frantically scribbles "Normal House Stuff" on all the boxes. He says this makes the situation worse because the movers see the scribble and become suspicious.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:993: Brand Identity

2015-05-01T16:00:53Z

141.101.98.170:

Notice that the sugar is inverted? Weird.
--Classhole 23:22, 24 January 2013 (UTC)
:Weird, the hot sauce is also inverted [[User:BlueRoll18|BlueRoll18]] ([[User talk:BlueRoll18|talk]]) 02:38, 7 February 2013 (UTC)
:::While the sugar and hot sauce are unusual in that you can easily read the packaging, I don't think they are supposed to be in the same product range. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 16:25, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

NONAME in Canada uses yellow boxes with black text but basically the same idea.
--Pundawg 18:56, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

I didn't get this joke because I grew up eating "Slim Price" food branded exactly this way. -lolo {{unsigned ip|99.120.200.86}}

There's a brand called "Ja!" from the Rewe group in Germany that uses this exact concept somewhat, but nowadays, the packages contain pictures and illustrations of all kinds, and aren't as white, simple and plain as they used to be in the past. See: http://www.rewe.de/besser-einkaufen/ja/produkte-und-infos.html
--Rolfhub 23:25, 14 September 2013

:Here is some old image of the designs: [https://web.archive.org/web/20040503194438im_/http://www.rewe-ja.de/nxMODULES/nxCONTENTER/content/1_425Bild1.jpg]. It's not as simple as in the comic, but it's certainly the same idea. -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.39|108.162.219.39]] 20:25, 24 April 2014 (UTC)

:Ah, dear old "Ja!"... it saved my life back when I was a broke student. Anyway, also the M-Budget line from Swiss Migros recently started adding pictures to its product, but before that it was all green packaging with black writing. Wonerful --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.31|108.162.229.31]] 13:36, 26 May 2014 (UTC)
::"Ja!" is a very successful brand sold in Germany (and more countries) offered by {{w|REWE}}. The products are presented in a white cover, just showing the word "Ja!" ("Yes!" in English) and much smaller the content of the product. Maybe this could also be mentioned at the trivia section. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:55, 26 May 2014 (UTC)

I think the lack of URL is just to troll the consumers. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.180|173.245.63.180]] 00:33, 13 November 2013 (UTC)

Actually several brands in the Netherlands did this before the comic was posted. They switched to a red/white two-colour scheme with the product in large letters in English. The problem was, that multiple brands did this, which made them look very similar. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.95|141.101.75.95]] 16:09, 8 December 2014 (UTC)
Hey, something seems wrong with the IP logging. The logged IP is not mine. -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.95|141.101.75.95]] 16:11, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

For a couple of decades this exact thing existed: http://www.google.com/search?q=black+on+white+generic+brand+products In fact I'm certain that that is the joke.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.156|108.162.215.156]] 07:38, 11 March 2015 (UTC)

I believe this may be a reference to the film Repo Man.

Talk:1086: Eyelash Wish Log

2014-07-07T19:24:16Z

141.101.98.170:

* This is one of my favorite xkcd comics ever. I can't stop laughing. #TEBOWTIME 17:14, 17 August 2012 (UTC)

i know right?? feb. 27th is by far the best...

[[User:Douglasadams472|Douglasadams472]] ([[User talk:Douglasadams472|talk]]) 03:12, 16 December 2012 (UTC)

It seems to me that February 6th's wish implies that, as a result of the previous day's wish, he now has an absurdly large number of eyelashes. Opinions? [[User:Bobidou23|Bobidou23]] ([[User talk:Bobidou23|talk]]) 02:58, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

I feel that each wish should be thoroughly explained, or at least briefly mentioned. {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.193}}

March 15 may reference a painting of M.C. Escher so named "House of Stairs" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.79|199.27.128.79]] 08:19, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

What did "zero wishes" mean? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.86|173.245.48.86]] 18:16, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
* Often when configuring software (especially regarding limits) 0 is taken to mean infinite, for example in a mail server's config file there may be an entry that looks like "Max number of connections: (enter 0 for unlimited)" [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.170|141.101.98.170]] 19:24, 7 July 2014 (UTC)

1380: Manual for Civilization

2014-06-15T14:20:57Z

141.101.98.170: /* Explanation */ this is a stretch. There's nothing to suggest a connection to the article aside from slight thematic similarities.

{{comic
| number = 1380
| date = June 11, 2014
| title = Manual for Civilization
| image = manual_for_civilization.png
| titletext = We will have an entire wing of the library devoted to copies of book #26, because ohmygod it's the one where Jake and Cassie finally KISS!!!
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Brian Eno}} is a musician and a co-founder of the {{w|Long Now Foundation}}. He is explaining to an audience that one of the missions of the Long Now is a [http://blog.longnow.org/02010/04/06/manual-for-civilization/ Manual for Civilization] - a collection of reference materials that can help rebuild society in case it collapses. But in Randall's version, the experts have made a list composed of many books from the {{w|Animorphs}} series.

Animorphs is a series of books written by {{w|K.A. Applegate}}. It follows a group of five children (later, an alien joins as the sixth member), that try to stop the parasitic aliens, the Yeerks, by transforming into animals. A Yeerk that enters a human has complete control over their host, and can read their memories. Because the Yeerks can imitate their host almost perfectly, humanity is slowly being taken over without knowing it, and for this reason the children cannot contact the authorities and are on their own in the battle against the Yeerks.

When asked if all the books on the experts list are from the Animorph series, Eno misses the point of the question by saying ''No!'', only to mention the {{W|List_of_Animorphs_books#Companion_books|Megamorphs}} books and {{W|The Andalite Chronicles}}, both of which are side stories to the Animorph universe.

There are other books like these which aren't mentioned here — but it is clear from the last two panels that it is a quite long list — and it seems to be written in two columns, so maybe all {{w|List_of_Animorphs_books#Animorphs_main_series|54 Animorphs books}} and all {{W|List_of_Animorphs_books#Companion_books|ten side stories}} could be included on the list.

In suggesting that a series of children's novels make up the blueprint for rebuilding civilization, [[Randall]] is spoofing the idea of such libraries (since such books would be largely useless in terms of providing the detailed instructions that would be necessary).

The title text makes it completely ludicrous by saying an entire wing of the library will be devoted to the {{w|The Attack (Animorphs)|book (#26)}} where {{w|Animorphs#Animorphs|two main characters who have been attracted to each other since the beginning of the series}} finally kiss. While this is a momentous event for fans of the book series, the information is of no consequence for the rebuilding of civilization.

This comic may also be inspired by {{w|Isaac Asimov}}'s {{w|The_Foundation_Series|Foundation series}}, where Hari Seldon claimed that the Galactic Empire is going to collapse in three hundred years, there is no way to stop it but his group of scientists are writing Encyclopedia Galactica to help people rebuild civilization.

*The Long Now Foundation was mentioned recently in [[1340: Unique Date]].
*Animorphs was referenced before in the title text of [[1187: Aspect Ratio]] and [[1360: Old Files]].

==Transcript==
:[Brian Eno is talking to an unseen audience.]
:Brian Eno: Hi. I'm music's Brian Eno, co-founder of the Long Now Foundation.

:[Panel 2 shows he is standing on a stage.]
:Brian Eno: As part of our mission to promote long-term thinking, we've asked experts to help us assemble a collection of books from which civilization can be rebuilt if it ever collapses.

:[Panel 3 shows he is holding a manuscript with a long list of book titles.]
:Brian Eno: Today we're sharing the results — the first ever ''Manual for Civilization''.

:[Panel 4 shows him reading from the manuscript.]
:Brian Eno: *Ahem*
::''Animorphs #1: The Invasion''
::''Animorphs #2: The Visitor''
::''Animorphs #3: The Encounter''
:Unseen Audience member: ...are they ''all'' Animorphs Books?
:Brian Eno: No! There's also ''Megamorphs'' and ''The Andalite Chronicles''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Animorphs]]