explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2792: Summer Solstice

2023-06-23T08:39:37Z

141.101.98.20:

Related to [[1878: Earth Orbital Diagram]]? [[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 00:32, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
:Great minds think alike*. Hadn't read down here when I leapt in and added that link (and made some other very minor tweaks). Or at least leapt in once I'd found it myself (not rembering its title or enough of its keywords), having had to trawl through [[:Category:Astronomy]] and visit almost all likely titles and several unlikely ones. Which was enjoyable, so not a problem. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.92|172.70.85.92]] 00:58, 22 June 2023 (UTC) ''* - fools never differ... :P''

I think there's a 3rd option for what the "fix" entails: eliminating Earth's axial tilt so it's always equinox (12 hour days almost everywhere, perpetual dawn at the poles). The title text specifies "on the equator", not "near" the equator. The only way for eclipses always "on" the equator is if the equator is always aligned with the ecliptic. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 02:06, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

:Wouldn’t that cause a lot of trouble with stuff like crop growth patterns? —[[User:Purah126|Purah126]] ([[User talk:Purah126|talk]]) 16:58, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

I think that to make the solstices match the earliest sunrise/sunset might require straightening out the Earth's tilt as well. Making it a circular orbit I think actually makes the summer solstice even further from the latest sunset (but the winter solstice closer to latest sunrise). [https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/equation-of-time.html]. Oh but straightening the tilt would mean no more solstices at all, hm. Maybe what's required is an elliptical orbit but with the sun at the center rather than a focus. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.153|172.70.111.153]] 14:27, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

:I think elliptical orbit with the Sun at the center is not stable. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:05, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

While we're at it, can we please make the year, lunar phase period, and day neat ratios of one another? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.247.44|172.69.247.44]] 13:52, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

:I'll email someone at NASA about it, don't worry. [[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Help_with_Creating_a_User_Page|Trogdor147]] ([[explain_xkcd:Community_portal/Miscellaneous#Help_with_Creating_a_User_Page|talk]]) 20:54, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
:Should we make it 360 days/year (360 is a highly composite number) or should we go with 400, for easy multiples? Either then means we have to redefine the length of the week. I'm OK with 50 eight-day weeks. I propose the new day to be called Randallday. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 21:51, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
::Definitely 360, it would nicely match there being 3600 seconds in hour. Also, the bigger change you would do the worse effect would it have on biosphere. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:07, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
:::Why? There would only be a small lengthening of the day (~1.5%), presuming the actual time length of the year is the same. BTW, do flatearthers call it a biodisc? [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 01:00, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

: Will we get a vote on whether the moon orbit is 'fixed' to give us total eclipses, annular, or a mix of both?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.20|141.101.98.20]] 08:39, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

Anyone have any What If? type insights about any unintended consequences of the proposed changes? Thinking more of the physical and natural rather than societal, but anything might be an interesting addition to the article. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.28|172.68.35.28]] 14:58, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
:Tides, possibly ocean currents. Need a physicist for details (I'm a marine biologist; tides are on my radar, tide modeling isn't), but regularization of Earth and Moon orbits would remove many of the gravitational drivers of things like "spring" and "neap" tides, leading (it sez here) to permanent changes to littoral zones and their biotas, and (ditto) impacting coastal zone management strategies, especially if the "new normal" (and consistent) tides were much higher or lower than previous means. Arguably, an ocean biosphere already under stress from global warming would resent having to put up with yet another anthropogenic set of challenges. Hm? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.169|162.158.186.169]] 16:41, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

Great Randal[l]s think alike... I had just posted [https://www.facebook.com/merlyn/posts/pfbid027XNEX93Yud8iU8LYbmvtw6B7QwSBfYJhkmMpaza3DXM6HENxTmuz623FhyzL5aQAl this to Facebook] a day before seeing Randall's work. [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 04:45, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

1608: Hoverboard/Images coins

2020-12-04T16:58:15Z

141.101.98.20: spelling correction

*Here are images of where the coins are located in the dynamic comic [[1608: Hoverboard]].

==Full map with coins==
*Here is the whole image with the location of the coins shown. The coins are too large, but except where there are several coins in one place (like that starting points and at each end left and right) there is no doubt where the coins are located:
[[File:1608 full_with_coins.png]]

==Coin details==
*Here are zoom-in on different areas to show the location of the coins:
*The play area where you begin has a secret passage through the floor beneath the two inverted brackets at the top:
[[File:1608 Coins_play_area.png]]
*Overview of the entire destroyer:
[[File:1608 Coins_Destroyer.png]]
*The ground below the Destroyer to the pyramid to the right end:
[[File:1608 Right_from_Pyramid_to_the_end.png]]
*Below the Destroyer from the play area and to the right until the wedeing, including the Rebel Blockade Runner and the torpedoes in the sky:
[[File:1608 Coins_Center_to_wedding_with_Runner_and_torpedoes.png]]
*The two coins on the rock floating high in the sky to the left over the Washington monument:
[[File:1608 Coins_on_floating_rock_in_the_sky.png]]
*Coins along the ground to the left before the volcano:
[[File:1608 Coins_left_from_center_to_before_the_volcano.png]]
*Coins on and in the volcano:
[[File:1608 Coins_on_and_in_the_volcano.png]]

Talk:2356: Constellation Monstrosity

2020-09-09T09:51:09Z

141.101.98.20: (Just replacing the incorrect ß with the correct β in my own spiel. Because *someone* would notice I'd been lazy.)

This is some human centipede sh*t. Constellation centipede? 22:53, 7 September 2020 (UTC)
:I was sorely tempted to add this in myself, as a reference, but I thought I'd do the 'wholesome' stuff first, and only just decided to stop adding/changing my submissions for a while in case I'm causing other people some edit-conflicts. (Someone may also want to wikilink the named constellations, perhaps say something about the greek-letter 'numbering' of constituent stars of a constellation that would run out of subsidiary names in this meta-constellation, etc, which are other things I was thinking about.) So, if you really feel like it needs mentioning, you are of course at liberty to fill your boots accordingly. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.176|162.158.158.176]] 23:44, 7 September 2020 (UTC)

This could be referencing how NASA recently mentioned a 13th start sign Ophiuchus, https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/starfinder2/en/ especially because it is placed prior to Scorpio/Libra/Virgo/Leo

The International Astronomical Union calls the constellation "Scorpius" (https://www.iau.org/public/themes/constellations/#sco).
:But they probably don't officially recognise the actual picture of a scorpion, so perhaps it's at least as valid to reference the not-quite-identical astrological grouping by name. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.197|162.158.158.197]] 12:27, 8 September 2020 (UTC)

He'd already been kicked out of the IAU in
[[541: TED Talk]]. How did he regain admission?
:There's a starman waiting in the sky, he'd like to come and meet us but he thinks he'd blow our minds. There's a starman waiting in the sky. He's told us not to blow it 'cause he knows it's all worthwhile... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.197|162.158.158.197]] 12:27, 8 September 2020 (UTC)

This is probably in part a reference to the fact that Zubenelgenubi, Zubeneschamali, and Zubenelhakrabi, while astronomically in Libra, are artistically and linguistically in the constellation Scorpio ("zuben" means "claw") [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.30|108.162.245.30]] 20:14, 8 September 2020 (UTC)
:Ah, you beat me to it! As a teenager (sometime in the last century), I volunteered at a planetarium in New York City (no, not ''that'' one), where I learned the names of the stars in the claws of Scorpius that were cut off by the IAU and "given" to Libra. [[User:Mr. I|Mr. I]] ([[User talk:Mr. I|talk]]) 22:54, 8 September 2020 (UTC)

Does someone want to explain the title text? I've been awake to 04:00 every night doing homework and I don't really feel up to it today.

Also, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA [[User:Bubblegum|bubblegum]]-[[User_talk:Bubblegum|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Bubblegum|contribs]] 06:19, 9 September 2020 (UTC)
:(You break proper page rendering, for me, with your unbroken lines of text. You considerately put in BRs, but that's still twice as wide as the usual frame for me - and I'm not even using a portrait view...)
:a) Astronomers have loads of stars like Denebola that are catagorically listed as things like "β-Leonis" (for the most visible, and Flamstead/Gould numbers for others), which now need reindexing under this new grouping name (F/G numbers can stay the same, but the greek-index would be necessarily be shuffled, as you can't suddenly have four separate βs, even if you're happy differentiating a single letter when it actually turns out to be an N-ary system or coincidental in-line occultation). It'd not be inconceivable to add a "Munroe Id" field to every electronic database and treat the 'old' β-Leonis as non-classification name like Denebola, but it's a fuss that has no real advantages compared to the effort of the undertaking.
:b) Astrologers have a similar issue. "You're a typical Leo!", they may say currently, perhaps even "...on the cusp with Virgo", in establishing someone's link to the progression and precession of the heavens. A "fire" sign. With such'n'such 'planets' (includes Moon and Sun) passing into and out of it to establish subtle elements of Destiny. So if you merge them, this new sign (built up of air, earth fire ''and'' water signs, what is it now... a ventilation brick?) now has to encompass ~25% of people (rather than ~8.3% of everybody, as now) and, at least at the upper levels of astrological 'calculation', has the same planets influencing all of them equally, meaning far more people finding it simultaneously profitable to look for a new job/love, take care of their money/health, share/retain an unspecified secret, etc. And they'd have to pad out the columns in the paper with nine (or four?) star-signs in the space they once had twelve. Probably have to tack on some totally nonsensical cold-reading generic bullshit, or something!
:But how to say this neatly in the Explanation, that which aint already there, I wouldn't know. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.110|162.158.159.110]] 08:52, 9 September 2020 (UTC)

2356: Constellation Monstrosity

2020-09-07T23:49:07Z

141.101.98.20: /* Explanation */ One character misplaced. Right, stopping now.

{{comic
| number = 2356
| date = September 8, 2020
| title = Constellation Monstrosity
| image = constellation_monstrosity.png
| titletext = It's rare to get both astronomers and astrologers equally mad at you, but apparently I've messed up both a bunch of star location databases AND the will of the fates.
}}

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

{{w|Constellation}}s in the night sky are formed by pattern-forming various {{w|Asterism (astronomy)|asterisms}} and other 'obvious' stellar relationships in the night sky.

Being rather subjective, {{w|Chinese constellations|different cultures}} have inculcated differences in their interpretations, some subtle and others less so, for the exact same objective views of the night sky. Even where the same groupings are recognised, different cultures can 'see' different forms behind that group of stars. However, observers in the southern hemisphere will see entirely new constellations not visible to those in the northern one, and vice-versa, whilst observing those patterns fully visible to both (on the {{w|ecliptic}}) as inverted and therefore may inspire vastly different conceptualised images or even connectivities.

Randall has taken one particular {{w|zodiac}} (or at least part of the one associated with western astrology and used historically as the organisational references that modern astronomy uses for its cataloguing nomenclature) and imagined further 'lines' connecting stars to link up four separate constellations, to create a portmanteau constellation with a {{w|portmanteau}} name.

The four constellations used here are Scorpio (the scorpion), Libra (the scales), Virgo (the virgin/maiden) and Leo (the lion), sequentially spread across the sky in positions relating to a span of astrological dates running 'backwards' from late November through to late July. The name Randall gave this meta-constellation, however, uses a different order to combine as "Virg(o, l)ibra(, )scorp(io & )leo". Possibly "Scorlibirgoleo", or a similar mash-up with the same source order, did not roll together nicely enough for his liking.

In reality, apparent proximity upon the 'night-time sphere' does not guarantee actual proximity radially. Naming issues should not change any scientific understanding, but it could have a knock-on effect to the cataloguing if that is rearranged to obey the new 'object' grouping.

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

{{comic discussion}}

2356: Constellation Monstrosity

2020-09-07T23:10:53Z

141.101.98.20: /* Explanation */ Corrections and wikilinks

2352: Synonym Date

2020-09-01T13:25:59Z

141.101.98.20: named the incompletion

{{comic
| number = 2352
| date = August 28, 2020
| title = Synonym Date
| image = synonym_date.png
| titletext = We need some grub to munch--I'll go slouch over to the kitchen.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TEA GUZZLER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Ponytail]] asks [[Hairy]] about [[Megan]], his date. Hairy mentions that she's a talented writer and seems cool, but when prompted by Ponytail, says Megan is into synonyms. Megan apparently enjoys unsettling Hairy with words. Ponytail thinks word games aren't too bad, and she would be right if it weren't for Megan's unsettling use of them.

In the next panel (labeled "Earlier..."), it's raining, and Hairy comes back in. Megan comments, "Ugh, it's so watery out. You must be clammy! Want to guzzle some tea?" replacing ''wet'', ''cold'', and ''drink'' with some questionable-sounding words ("guzzle" in particular suggests a very rapid consumption, which is not a safe way of drinking hot tea, and is also considered rude when enjoying a meal with friends). Continuing, she says, "Let me slough off this dress, and slither into something more comfortable," replacing ''take'' and ''slip''. This last sentence of course strongly suggests snakes shedding their skin. Serpentine ''movements'' are sometimes {{tvtropes|SnakesAreSexy|regarded as alluring and attractive}}, but people usually don't favorably compare their clothing to snakes' skin care.

She further elaborates on this in the title text, saying "We need some grub to munch--I'll go slouch over to the kitchen." By using the word "grub," she presumably means the slang term for basic food like the type served in pubs (which is often greasy fast-food, served in a dirty -- one might even say ''grubby'' -- environment), though this may invoke the image of white insect larvae, like pale lumps of flesh squirming in a dark hole, while "slouching" has connotations of laziness or suspicious activity, rather than romance.

{{tvtropes|SesquipedalianLoquaciousness|Excessive use of uncommon words}} (warning! TVTropes link!) is a common trope in fiction, and also seen in real life. Usually, the speaker is trying to demonstrate their superior intelligence or knowledge. Megan, on the other hand, seeks to use a similar tactic to make listeners uncomfortable. The words she's using aren't especially complex or uncommon, and they're technically correct, but they've been selected to evoke disgust in the listener.

Strange synonyms were also the focus in [[1322: Winter]], and a similar concept was the joke in [[919: Tween Bromance]] (although in that strip, Cueball was making Megan uncomfortable). Megan has previously shown off her love of uncomfortable puns ("Vore of the Roses") in [[2245: Edible Arrangements]].

Randall has written many comic strips before about [[:Category:My Hobby|his (comical, fictional) hobbies]], but this is the first time he's written about someone else's hobby.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail and Hairy talking.]
:Ponytail: So, how is she?
:Hairy: Well...she's a talented writer. Seems very cool.
:Ponytail: ...but?
:Hairy: She's really into...synonyms.

:Ponytail: I don't understand.
:Hairy: Her hobby is finding the most unsettling possible words for any sentence.
:Ponytail: Word games? That doesn't sound too bad.
:Hairy: Well...

:[Caption above reads "Earlier..."]
:[Megan is wearing a dress and talking to Hairy, who is dripping wet.]
:Megan: Ugh, it's so watery out.
:Megan: You must be clammy! Want to guzzle some tea?

:[Hairy is now less wet and holding a cup of warm tea.]
:Megan: Let me slough off this dress,
:Megan: and slither into something more comfortable.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]

1726: Unicode

2016-08-29T13:56:03Z

141.101.98.20: initial revision

{{comic
| number = 1726
| date = August 29, 2016
| title = Unicode
| image = unicode.png
| titletext = I'm excited about the proposal to add a "brontosaurus" emoji codepoint because it has the potential to bring together a half-dozen different groups of pedantic people into a single glorious internet argument.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|first time making page. Needs much more work including links, sources and the Brontosaurus reference.}}
[http://unicode.org/L2/L2016/16072-jurassic-emoji.pdf Jurassic Emoji proposal]
Cueball, along with two other figures, is placing traffic signs in a river. As rivers flow according to the landscape, this plan will not work and the river will continue on its course. Cueball is very frustrated by this and is still trying to make the river obey traffic laws. The caption compares this useless approach with attempting to define the diverse and ever-changing human language with strict technical standards, much like Cueball is attempting to divert a flowing, moving river with fixed signs that do nothing.
[[636: Brontosaurus]]

==Transcript==
[Single panel scene: [[Cueball]] is standing waist-deep in a river. With one arm he is holding on to a traffic sign that says "Detour" with an arrow pointing to the right. The other arm is pointing horizontally. Further up the river is another street sign apparently in around 0.5 metres of water; this sign has an exclamation mark inside a triangle. In the distance on one bank of the river, two people are standing and making gestures, with a sign lying on the ground next to them. Behind them is a parked car on a road that crosses a bridge over the river.]

Cueball: No, go ''this'' way, not —

Are you even ''listening''!?

… ''Hey! That's not what this area is for!''

[Caption]

Watching the Unicode people try to govern the infinite chaos of human language with consistent technical standards is like watching highway engineers try to steer a river using traffic signs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1719: Superzoom

2016-08-12T16:05:00Z

141.101.98.20:

{{comic
| number = 1719
| date = August 12, 2016
| title = Superzoom
| image = superzoom.png
| titletext = *click* Let him know he's got a stain on his shirt, though.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] is showing off his new Super zoom camera to [[White Hat]]. These are cameras with large zoom lenses, often up to 25x or higher magnification. He is very excited and takes a ridiculous number of photos. He starts by exclaiming how they can take detailed photos of the moon, and (on better models) relatively large photos of Jupiter. He then shows it use for bird watching, which is a popular use for these cameras. He also is able to photograph an airplane, and make out the airline, both possible on these cameras, though it is unlikely he would be able to make out the registration number.

Finally, White Hat decides to buy a superzoom camera like Cueball's, and [[Cueball]] tells his a shop in town that sells them. This is where it takes a turn for the impossible, as [[Cueball]] points the camera in the direction of this store, and is able to make out the worker inside, and (in the title text) the stain on his shirt. Even with the ability of these cameras, it would be impossible to make out something that detailed from far away. Of course, it's not clear how far from Union Road the characters are actually standing!

It could also be implied by him knowing the cashier in the store, as well as him mentioning the price, that he is in fact advertising for this store, and his overenthusiasm is an attempt to convince White Hat to buy a camera. This tactic is reminiscent of many commercials and advertisements on television, but is not common in real life.

==Transcript==
[White Hat and Cueball are walking. Cueball is playing with a camera]

Cueball: I love these superzoom cameras. For a few hundred dollars you can take pictures of moon craters and Jupiter's clouds.

Cueball: And birds! See that speck up there?

[Camera clicking]

Cueball: Peregrine falcon!

[*click*]

Cueball: It's banded, too. Want the number?

Cueball: And see that plane?

[*click*]

Cueball: 787 Dreamliner

[*click*]

Cueball: Japan Airlines.

[*click*]

Cueball: Registration is-

White Hat: OK, I'm sold- I want one.

[*click*]

Cueball: They're in stock at the place on Union Road.

[*click*]

Cueball: Hey, Kevin's working today! He's great.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1712: Politifact

2016-07-28T12:00:47Z

141.101.98.20:

The title text can be interpreted in two ways: Either that the pants are actually on fire or that rolling the smoke-bomb was a blatant lie. I'm not sure what to make of the "::FWOOOSH::" in the latter case...
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.83.66|162.158.83.66]] 16:46, 27 July 2016 (UTC)

I think there is also an aspect of excessive literalism here. For example when Meagan says "I swear I locked that window" Politifact says "false". While it is literally true that this statement was false this is only tangentially related to the conversation. What is important is the home break in going on.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.70|173.245.56.70]] 17:59, 27 July 2016 (UTC)

I think that the title text has two equally true meanings. It was NOT a smoke bomb (it was some other type of bomb, so calling it "smoke bomb" is false) and also Politifact's pants were literally on fire. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.147|162.158.214.147]] 21:32, 27 July 2016 (UTC)
: Smoke Bombs are not as obviously incendiary as (say) Incendiary Bombs, but they are actually burning, beneath the deliberate smoke, and perfectly capable of igniting materials. Depending upon their (mis)use. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.20|141.101.98.20]] 12:00, 28 July 2016 (UTC)

346: Diet Coke+Mentos

2014-03-04T20:38:17Z

141.101.98.20: /* incorrect way to use the word "portion" */

{{comic
| number = 346
| date = November 19, 2007
| title = Diet Coke+Mentos
| image = diet_coke_mentos.png
| titletext = The cola+Mentos trick is up there with corn starch+water (vibrating platter optional) in scientific coolness out of common kitchen supplies.
}}

==Explanation==

This is an irony using the popular meme of mixing [[wikipedia:Diet Coke and Mentos eruption|Mentos into a bottle of soda]]. There was a period of time in 2007 when a large number of videos depicting this phenomenon floated around the Internet.

[[Cueball]] wants to show an incredible phenomenon to his friend, because it's "the coolest thing", but it turns out instead of fizzling Diet Coke everywhere, the friend's father magically shows up (presumably from the dead or from abandonment).

The title text shows that Randall considers (or at least then considered) this trick to be one of the two coolest tricks you can perform with normal kitchen supplies. The other is using corn starch and water to make a non-Newtonian fluid that reacts wildly with vibrations and impact.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and his friend are sitting on the ground, with a bottle of Diet Coke between them, and Cueball appears to be putting mentos into the bottle.]
:Cueball: This is the coolest thing. You just drop the mentos in the Diet Coke...
:Friend: Uh huh.

:[Diet Coke starts to fizzle.]
:Cueball: Give it a moment...

:[Someone teleports into frame in a magic puff.]
:''POOF''

:Friend: D-Dad?
:Dad: I'm back, son. We can be a family again.

==Trivia==
*An alternate take appears in [[1053|1053: Ten Thousand]].
*The "corn starch+water" trick from the title text is illustrated here at [http://what-if.xkcd.com/36/ what-if].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]

512: Alternate Currency

2014-02-12T21:23:57Z

141.101.98.20: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 512
| date = December 3, 2008
| title = Alternate Currency
| image = alternate_currency.png
| titletext = For the first time ever, the phrase 'I'd like to thank everyone at 4chan for making me successful and happy' is uttered.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is shown watching television, where it is announced that the US dollar has collapsed and been replaced by an 'alternative currency' of humorous pictures commonly shared on the internet. The title text pokes fun at users of [http://www.4chan.org 4Chan] who are notoriously known for their habit of hoarding image macros, a practice he suggests is almost useless except in the instance jokingly suggested by the comic. Randall also pokes fun at himself in saying "I have been preparing for this moment my whole life", indirectly implying he is also guilty of this practice.

Although not quite in the way this comic suggests, an internet meme-based currency became reality in late 2013 with the creation of [http://dogecoin.com/ Dogecoin] cryptocurrency.

==Transcript==
:Television: With the collapse of the dollar, the government has endorsed an alternative currency. Your monetary worth is now determined by the number of funny pictures saved to your hard drive.

:I have been preparing for this moment my whole life.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1329: Standing

2014-02-12T14:15:53Z

141.101.98.20: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1329
| date = February 12, 2014
| title = Standing
| image = standing.png
| titletext = At first I was making fun of them, but joke's on me--the deer is surprisingly ergonomic, except for the kicks.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Start made on explanation. Please expand.}}

{{w|Standing desk}}s are a current fad in modern tech companies. Supposedly more ergonomic and comfortable than sitting all day, they can be combined with treadmills or stationary bicycles to enable exercise to be taken while working. In the comic, Cueball tells Megan that standing desks are still not the apex of innovation, and straps a computer to a deer to provide constant exercise while working. Additionally, by mentioning the common line of "humans weren't meant to sit all day", he is saying that his deer-based solution is much more similar to the task that humans evolved to do, namely {{w|Hunter-gatherer|hunting and gathering}}.

The title text takes this a step further, saying that the deer was surprisingly ergonomic, apart from the kicks (which would, presumably, be quite debilitating).

==Transcript==

[Cueball is running after a deer with a laptop strapped to its back, while Megan looks on.]
: Cueball: Humans aren't built to sit all day. This is much healthier.
Caption: My Hobby: One-upping the standing desk people

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