explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2966: Exam Numbers

2024-07-31T18:44:21Z

141.101.98.224:

pre-algebra: 4, calculus: pi^2 / 4 (about 2.467), physics: cosmological constant: depends on how you measure it [[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.48|162.158.167.48]] 18:11, 31 July 2024 (UTC)

Game theory: -5x10⁶ (maybe helpful, maybe not... just be thankful I didn't include an ''i'' factor in there somewhere...) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.185|172.70.162.185]] 18:20, 31 July 2024 (UTC)

Could somebody reformat all the math here in whatever LaTeX plugin this wiki uses? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.102|162.158.222.102]] 18:35, 31 July 2024 (UTC)
:Probably not, because the MathML here is broken. But, also, nothing I see requires anything particularly complicated, it can all stay in fairly straightforward (standardly formatted) text. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.224|141.101.98.224]] 18:44, 31 July 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-18T10:10:07Z

141.101.98.224: Touchscreen keyboard error.

how is thymus formed [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.102|172.70.85.102]] 07:00, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

You think Randall might have made this one as a ploy to have explain xkcd educate him on the organs and metaphors mentioned? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.33|162.158.146.33]] 07:59, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Why is 'Liver' so high up on the metaphor scale? The only one I can think of is 'lily-livered', which doesn't appear to make much sense at all. On the other hand, I'd have 'Spleen' nearer the top, and 'Tongue' fairly high up as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.185|172.70.162.185]] 08:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:Agreed; personally I’d have liver and tongue switch places, and I’d guess the one who added silver-tongued and biting one’s tongue would probably agree also. But that might be because I understand the biological function of a liver better than the average person does. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.5|172.70.210.5]] 08:21, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:: Are those really metaphors, though? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.40.152|162.158.40.152]] 09:24, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
::: They aren't, or at least not metaphors to the tongue. Just done an edit, before having read this, to remove the visibility of "silver tongue" (a tongue that is metaphorically as silver... or maybe even quicksilver) and a "bitten tongue" (the tongue as if restrained by biting). Though there are other forms, the metaphor to biological function must be of the general "it is the tongue of the <something else>" type, maybe such as a tongue of lava or the tongue of an oil-can (one being an extending appendage, the other additionally being a contact depositor of liquid - though not always consistent in application).
::: Something can more easily be understood as the metaphorical heart/nerves/spine/etc of something, and we also have a good understanding of what the originals do. A sewage treatment plant can be considered the kidneys of a town (arguably more understood than a liver of one, for example, so I'd have personally switched the two), but it gets more complex with some of them. In the case of the appendix, we pretty much ''only'' know (in lay-use) that it's a spare fleshy bit that might or might not have any use, so the metaphorical 'equivalent biological function' of a "town's 'appendix'" is probably more understood than a body's ''actual'' appendix, for most people, the opposite of the situation with metaphorical/actual tongues. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.64|172.70.91.64]] 10:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

419: Forks and Spoons

2024-06-02T16:45:26Z

141.101.98.224: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 419
| date = May 5, 2008
| title = Forks and Spoons
| image = forks and spoons.png
| titletext = Their biggest mistake was bringing Rachael Ray and Emeril to tour the lab and sign off on the project. That's when Spielberg caught wind of it.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic shows scientists testing a new technology to blend species.

They show that their new technology allows them to cross a {{w|spork}} (an even mix between a spoon and a fork) with a spoon to make a new implement that is three-quarters spoon and one-quarter fork. By blending these new fork-spork hybrids and their results together, the scientists could create any mix between a spoon and a fork. (Obviously, regular genetics cannot apply to non-living items such as metal cutlery.){{Citation needed}}

In the second panel, the amounts of spoon and fork are shown with fractions: the number on the left representing the amount of fork, and the right the amount of spoon. The numbers for the cross product below are arrived at by summing each side and dividing by two: (0+1/2)/2 = 1/4 and (1+1/2)/2 = 3/4.

The breeding scheme between the second and the third panel shows at the top how to create a spork from a spoon and a fork, then how this spork could both be bred with either a spoon (as in panel two) or a fork (as shown in the lower right part).

The {{w|binary}} "fork-spoon spectrum" in between the third and fourth panels shows the complete spectrum of sporks from fork to spoon with some of the intermediate steps labeled, the numbers representing how much fork each contains. Since it is a binary spectrum, only fractions with a denominator that is a power of 2 will be possible, i.e. 2^n with n any integer. So in the middle is a spork with 1/2 fork, in between the spork and the spoon there is only 1/4 fork, and in between that and the spoon only 1/8 fork, and so on. Also 3/4 fork is marked, whereas 3/8, 5/8, and 7/8 fork is only indicated on the ruler by small marks. For instance, they could breed a 3/8 fork-spork by mixing a 1/4 fork-spork with a spork (or, if they already have them, a 1/8th version with a 5/8th version, or a 3/16th with a 9/16th; it can be shown that ''any'' two values of the form ''n/2<sup>m</sup>'', where are integers, will have a midpoint also of that form, and there are an arbitrary number of ways to reach the latter, although you could constrain yourself to only crossing pairs that produce a result which must be expressed with values of ''m'' greater than either of the 'parents' require).

The comic begins like standard sci-fi fare, where amoral scientists request funding from mysterious benefactors. The dialogue of "You're toying with powerful forces here" and "We know what we're doing" is a {{tvtropes|TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow|classic trope}}, foreshadowing that things will soon {{tvtropes|GoneHorriblyWrong|go horribly wrong}}. It inevitably leads to the humorous incongruity of a sentient spoon-fork-hybrid on a murderous rampage, which is impossible in real life.{{Citation needed}}

{{w|Rachael Ray}} and {{w|Emeril}}, mentioned in the title text, are celebrity chefs, and {{w|Steven Spielberg}} is a famous movie director. The joke seems to be that if the laboratory hadn't hired the two renowned chefs, Spielberg wouldn't have heard about the project and would not have made a movie about it - in which the two scientists are killed off horribly (it is probably the scientist from the first panel, [[Megan]], and her friend, [[Cueball]], or the actors hired to portray them in the film). The plot in the comic is very similar to the story in Spielberg's ''{{W|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}''.

==Transcript==
:Megan: A spoon crossed with a fork is a spork.
:Off-panel Megan's voice: Our lab has successfully crossed a <u>spork</u> with a spoon. [Diagram showing the fractions of fork and spoon in each item.]
:[Chart showing possible combinations of spoons a forks.]
:Megan, facing audience: With your funding, we could create hybrids in proportions corresponding to ''any binary fraction''.
:[Fork-Spoon Spectrum.]
:Audience member: You're toying with powerful forces here.
:Megan: We know what we're doing.
:Two weeks later:
:[Picture of a destroyed lab, with a scientific poster and lab equipment. Two dead bodies, blood everywhere, and a spoon-fork hybrid hopping away can be seen.]
:''Hop hop hop''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics with blood]]

2932: Driving PSA

2024-05-15T16:26:50Z

141.101.98.224: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2932
| date = May 13, 2024
| title = Driving PSA
| image = driving_psa_2x.png
| imagesize = 414x538px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = This PSA brought to you by several would-be assassins who tried to wave me in front of speeding cars in the last month and who will have to try harder next time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CLUELESS BOT DRIVING AT 72.42048 km/h (20.1168 m/s) (outpaced by raptor) - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A PSA is a {{w|Public Service Announcement}}. Some drivers, when having {{w|Traffic#Passage_priority_(right_of_way)|priority}} by the rules of the road (termed "right of way" in US legal statutes), will let others take it before them. At a 4-way stop, giving another driver the right of way is usually safe and courteous, but in other cases it can be dangerous. This comic is saying that people who exhibit this behavior dangerously can be assumed to be {{w|The_Terminator|Terminator}}-style assassins, sent to kill you by sending you into contention with other traffic to make it look like an accident.

In this comic, the deferential driver is holding up a queue of vehicles (including a large tractor-trailer truck) that is obscuring the immediate view of oncoming traffic. But instead of simply turning left and reducing the queue, the deferential driver is waving Randall's car into traffic, perhaps because they forgot that the other lanes have priority over the crossing driver. The effect could be to wave them through right into the path of another car traveling at full speed, a clever way for a time-traveling assassin to take down one's target without arousing suspicion.

Not pulling into traffic when your view is obstructed is good advice, and Randall's comical exaggeration may make the advice more memorable. Always check for yourself that your way is clear, and if your view is blocked, sit tight.

However, Randall seems to be assuming that the waving gesture can only ever mean one thing: Pull all the way into traffic. It may be that a "waving out" gesture is intended to give the waiting car a chance to turn into the median strip (see details below). Viewing courteous behavior as conclusive evidence of a temporal assassination conspiracy is humorously ego-centric and improbable.

The title text explains that Randall made this PSA because he has experienced this multiple times in the last month, and that the assassins should try harder next time.

===Alternate interpretation of the waving gesture===

Note that in this comic, as illustrated above, there appears to be sufficient room in the median strip for the waiting car to pass the first set of lanes and stop in the median strip, protected from passing traffic on both sides, to legally wait for the second stream of traffic to safely subside. Waiting in this median turning area is a normal maneuver in rural US areas where these types of non-signaled intersections are common. There's no reason to assume that the supposed would-be assassin is not simply waving the waiting car to the safety of the median strip. Randall's message of caution is still sound, but he accidentally illustrated an intersection diagram that fails to optimally support his case.

[[File:2932 Alt.png|frameless|Illustration showing room to safely turn left halfway, stopping in the median strip]]

'''Legality'''

Median strips are typically used to allow vehicles to safely make left turns without impeding the flow of traffic. When emerging from a side road, vehicles can cross the first lane(s) of traffic and wait in the median strip until it is safe to merge into the opposite lane(s).
* In Texas, using the median strip to wait for a gap in traffic is generally acceptable. The Texas Department of Public Safety suggests that drivers use the median strip when appropriate. Source: [https://www.texashighwayman.com/laws.shtml Texas laws]
* [https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title41/Chapter6A/41-6a-S801.html?v=C41-6a-S801_2015051220150512 Utah also allows it]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:Driving PSA:
:Random drivers can’t grant you the right of way as a gift.
:[A T-intersection with a major road separated by a concrete median going from top to bottom, and a minor road coming from the left]
:[A car is stopped at the end of the minor road]
:First car [arrow pointing to car]: You, waiting to turn left
:[A second car is stopped in the dedicated left turn lane of the right major road, with a third car, a truck hauling cargo, and a fourth car lined up behind it]
:Second car [in a speech bubble]: You go ahead! I’m feeling generous.
:Second car [arrow pointing to car]: Time traveler pretending to be polite
:[In the second lane is a black arrow pointing upwards, with text below it reading 45 MPH, and a fifth car below the text]
:Fifth car [arrow pointing to car]: Car that they are waving you into the path of
:If someone waves you out, assume that they are an assassin sent from the future to kill you and make it look like an accident.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Time travel]]

Talk:2363: Message Boards

2020-09-26T00:26:21Z

141.101.98.224:

Randall stimulates people doing this to their parents? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.234|108.162.219.234]] 01:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:He doesn't necessarily think it's likely. But as the caption says, he's amused by the fact that it's possible because the Internet and message boards have been around long enough. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

It would be interesting to know how many online message boards have actually been in continuous operation for 20 years. The original Usenet newsgroups are actually twice that old, but what about Internet boards? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reddit is starting to get there, being 15 years old now. I also do know some forums that started in 2003~2004 and are still active (mostly ones tied to still-updating webcomics). So not quite 20 years, but close. --[[User:Elifia|Elifia]] ([[User talk:Elifia|talk]]) 03:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::There'll be BBSes (one I once used is still going, last I checked, well over 30 years old, pre-Web, not sure how many old-guard are there, as I've not for 25 years) and that would rival even pre-split Usenet. A MUD I know (all my characters long timed-out) is still going strong since pre-Web times, too. IRC isn't exactly persistent (and has changed a lot) but still exists. Even if the likes of anon.penet.fi have been closed, there'll be mailer-gateways/request-by-mail things (I used to ask one for Freeware!) on obscure servers. Perhaps Wollongong University still has a Gopher server (one memorable 'place' I visited on a link-to-link round the world trip, back just before I heard of the Berners-Lee thing). I have a habit of forgetting webforums (earliest currently used one was signed into only back in 2008) and a late-'90s one I recall fondly got so spammed (despite whatever passed for CAPTCHA in those days) that the webmaster Read-Onlied it, and domain is now expired. If I was a better person at staying in touch, I'm sure I could have been continuously active for sufficient time on a single platform (I fell off a Usenet group when I lost a newsfeed and refused to use the then-new-fangled Google Groups interface, just the latest insult since WebTV, the push from AOL and the whole Eternal September thing). So, anecdotally, I know there's a good chance. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.34|162.158.159.34]] 03:42, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:I have been an active member at GameFAQs.com for longer than 20 years. The message boards there opened in 1999.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.169|173.245.52.169]] 04:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

With a name like NIN85, I bet Mom is a Nine Inch Nails fan. ❤️ [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.61|172.69.35.61]]

== Too dumb for this one ==

Is it just me or was the detail the whole joke hinged on a bit more subtle than usual here? Sure, sometimes it's arcane, but I feel like you don't usually need to read between the lines so much to even get the backstory for the joke.

On first read, obviously the two characters know each other, and the fact that a real life acquaintance would reply to a 20yo thread was clearly part of the joke. But essentially I read this as two people complaining about the same thing, as one often does on message boards. By the time I put it together that "NIN85 must be older now" + "new user from context is a teenager" + "most adults don't know many teenagers" + "except they do know their kids" = "she's talking to her kid", it was far too late for me to get the laugh. In retrospect "we talked about this" is a classic parenting line, but given that one tends to talk to many people about many things, it didn't really point me in that direction the way it was probably intended.

Maybe, not being a parent myself, my instincts also led me to assume that an older person would still sympathize and support a young person in search of totally rad transportation, rather than shooting them down like her mother before her :P So the assumption that "we talked about this" = "I, Vespa fan, have already denied you the same privilege" seemed like an especially great leap!

So, probably just having a slow brain day, but is there anything else to it I'm missing? Also, does Randall have kids? [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 04:55, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Not just you. It took me a while before I noticed the dates on the posts, but then I put it all together. Maybe a better title for the comic would have helped, something including "necro". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:54, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reconstructing my own first reading of this (before I slept last night so imperfect) it seems I read the post-text first, worked out it was a mom/son relationship, 'confirmed' by finally reading the posting dates (the point at which I probably belly-laughed for 'getting it'), spotted the "New User" subtly there in the side-profile and then (after noting the forum name, subtitlr, title-text, etc) wondered about the Profile Pic.
:Mom seems to have kept (or deliberately retroed) an image from her youth, even if not the original (if there was any, for the v1.0 forum layout to show) pic uploaded in 2000. This was pre smart-phone/selfies, to any reasonable degree. Is this a scan of of an old emulsion photo? (It also has possible photoshopping artefacts of portrait over new background, by one reading of it.) Would a more worldwise 25yo scan in and upload a pic of her 15yo self? Maybe in a "see, I ''was'' there at Woodstock" way (though not actual Woodstock, unless that's the photoshopped background - or something like that - but maybe still not with a 15yo 'selfie' shot, but something from a later age). It's at this point I'm thinking I'm overthinking this (especially given how much 'exposure' many people still give in the profiles and avatars, even 35yo moms), especially given I've never used a selfie-avatar at all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 12:14, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::If you change your profile picture it will change for any post made. That's at least true for all fora I'm member of. Why would each individual post contain the information of which profile picture was active at the time the post was made (plus the actual picture data)? So there's no indication if the picture shown here is "teen mom" or "adult mom" (or "mom" at all). [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:31, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::I know that, and it was on this basis that I presumed its likely a later (though who knows how recent) scan of an earlier physical photo. (Because that clearly looks more like a Randall-girl than a Randall-mom, in Cueball-People style, notwithstanding how in RL™ younger people often attempt to look older and vice-versa.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 15:06, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::: In that case, how do you come to the conclusion that the profile picture shown there is a "young" person? By the hairstyle or what? I don't get it. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 15:18, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::::Yes. Young hair (as opposed to young-adult hair, then eventually the tied-up bun look that can also mean 'serious' but with ornamentation). It's just my impression. Also note that Julz seems to favour the 'studio background' look (maybe filter-cropped down to just the head and shoulders) while NIN85 favours the more passive "visit to a place" photo that is ''not'' obviously a selfie, a height-shot, a posed sunrise/set one, which (the possibilities of photoshopping apart, due to the hint-of-border actually probably only there to maintain contrast between hair and the darker bit of the background) puts it in an early age of photography tropes. In my mind, but obviously not yours.
:::::But on the basis that every drawn feature is deliberately put there (rather than various accidents of setting in actual images of real life) [[1401|I like to think]] it's deliberately setting up the trope of a historic photo of young-millenial (''meant'' to be from roughly the time of the opening post, but probably uploaded much later) vs a more current pose by a young-post-millenial. YMMV.
:::::And none of this is a complaint, just a recollection of what I was originally pondering, as I appreciated the comic. Probably taking up no more than a minute of my time, last night, and now I'm surprised it's taking up this much more of it for both of us... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.98|141.101.98.98]] 16:09, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:::::: Ah, I see. I get your point, now. Thanks! :) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:17, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
:::::I had the same impression of photos. If nothing else, assuming that if she was doing a one-off reply to a very old thread on a forum she hasn't really used for 20 years, she probably wouldn't bother updating her profile pic in the forum settings :) But it did contribute to me not putting together that it was a parent talking to her kid, since she "looked" like a young person! [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 08:32, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
:::::Digital Cameras were available before 2005, so it's possible the original profile photo was digital to start. We also had cell phones prior to that, but I went cheap, so I know I didn't have a phone camera myself.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.53|162.158.74.53]] 18:42, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
::::::Don't know about you, but with dial-up (which I was definitely using in 2000, when not at work at the end of an always-on ISDN connection to somewhere) I'd have been a bit miffed to be forced to (possibly, depending on how good the caching worked) download a small image alongside every single post (and potentially every time a new post is added, redownload all the last few posts again in the same page). I'm fairly sure webfora as they now exist weren't really as popular until widespread unmetered Internet. Though it might well look like that after numerous upgrades and migrations of whatever the original appearance actually was, which at some point would make it attractive option to dig up an old photo, digitise it (if necessary) and upload. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.224|141.101.98.224]] 00:26, 26 September 2020 (UTC)

She’s would be a closer to a gen-xer [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.134|108.162.219.134]] 18:21, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Another in-joke is that Vespa is a scooter and there is an electric model [https://elettrica.vespa.com/en/index.php] that require either a moped license or a full motorcycle license, depending on the engine power, that is a premium model, Peugeot electric scooter cost 40% less, for instance.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.200|162.158.94.200]] 07:13, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Fortunately most forums I was active on in the 90s and early 2000s are all long dead. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.38|141.101.98.38]] 08:06, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
:I have USENET posts still out there from 1984. I discovered that in November 2019 someone retweeted a bunch of Star Wars comments from USENET after Return of the Jedi came out, including one of mine.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.53|162.158.74.53]] 18:42, 25 September 2020 (UTC)

2360: Common Star Types

2020-09-17T09:23:03Z

141.101.98.224: /* Explanation */ Added info; wikilinking; clarification; distinguishing "our sun" ('our star', like "our planet") and "the Sun" ('Sol', like "the Earth"))

{{comic
| number = 2360
| date = September 16, 2020
| title = Common Star Types
| image = common_star_types.png
| titletext = This article is about Eta Carinae, a luminous blue hypergiant with anomalous Fe[ii] emission spectra. For the 1998 Brad Bird film, see The Iron Giant (film).
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an INDIGO BANSHEE. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This 'infographic' chart purports to be a comparative guide to various star types, often described by a basic color, which is something that even naked-eye astronomy has determined, and may be qualified as 'dwarf' or 'giant' to describe relative sizes. An idea of the true size of a star has only really been possible since the development of modern instrumental astronomy, which can also determine the different conditions that make a red dwarf or a red giant 'red'.

In true xkcd tradition, this is taken beyond reality. The pantheon of stars illustrated extend the use of 'dwarf' and 'giant' as if describing mythical or fictional beings, drawing upon others from the fantasy ilk with hues and shades that may not be typically described, or even encountered, by astronomers.

{| class="wikitable"
!Star !! Description
|-
| {{w|Yellow dwarf star|Yellow Dwarf}} || A real star type. This is the type of star that {{w|Sun|our sun}} is, with a lifespan measured in billions of years. The title "dwarf" is a misnomer, as the Sun is larger than most stars, but was once thought to be smaller due to larger stars tending to be more visible than smaller stars over a given distance.
|-
| {{w|Red giant|Red Giant}} || A real star type. When stars at about the Sun's size begin to run out of fusion fuel, they expand to become red giants, and the outer shells expand and cool. When our sun enters this phase in a few billion years, it will consume the Earth.
|-
| {{w|White dwarf|White Dwarf}} || Not a true star, but a remnant of one. These are formed when stars at about the Sun's size finally die. They are extremely dense and no longer undergo nuclear fusion. They are responsible for type 1A supernovae, a {{w|Cosmic Distance Ladder|standard candle}} of astronomy.
|-
| {{w|Red dwarf|Red Dwarf}} || A real star type. The most common, smallest, and coolest type of true star in the universe. (Brown dwarfs are smaller and cooler, but do not undergo hydrogen-hydrogen fusion.) These can live for trillions of years; the first red dwarfs to form in the universe are still alive today and will be alive long after the Sun reaches its end.
|-
| Green Elf || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to the elves of {{w|Tolkien's legendarium}}. Tolkien's elves are immortal but slowly diminish over time, and leave Middle Earth (where ''The Lord of the Rings'' is set) as magic fades to the West.
|-
| {{w|Blue giant|Blue Giant}} || A real star type. The largest class of star in the main sequence, these are highly luminous and have life spans measured in only millions of years, rather than the billions or trillions of years for other star types.
|-
| Teal Sphynx || An invention of Randall's; likely a form of the Greek {{w|Sphinx#Riddle_of_the_Sphinx|sphinx}}, which presents riddles to hapless travelers. One can only imagine what stellar riddles would be like. {{Original research}}
|-
| Gray Wizard || An invention of Randall's, and also a Reference to ''Lord of the Rings''. {{w|Gandalf the Grey}}, a wizard, is a protagonist and the main mentor figure in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'', guiding and assisting the journeys within the books, often in mysterious ways.
|-
| Indigo Banshee || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|banshees}}, a type of Irish spirit or ghost which wails loudly at a person's death. {{w|Indigo}} may also be considered a particularly {{wiktionary|loud#Adjective|loud colour}}.
|-
| Beige Gorgon || An invention of Randall's, and a reference to {{w|Gorgons}} in {{w|Greek Mythology}}. "Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths" refers to the property of a Gorgon in which anyone who gazes upon her face will turn to stone. However, seeing a Gorgon's reflection is safe, so [[1791: Telescopes: Refractor vs Reflector|most astronomers should be fine.]]
|}

The title text is in the style of a Wikipedia page's hatnote / reference note. A page might have a title that is too easily landed upon by a search term that might also be expected to lead to one under a quite different subject, such as the {{w|Red Dwarf|case-sensitive example}} of "This article is about the British comedy franchise. For the type of star, see {{w|Red dwarf}}." In this case, it was written as if the page {{w|Iron Giant}} redirected to {{w|Eta Carinae}}, a large {{w|luminous blue variable}} star which has a relatively high level of {{w|Iron(II)|ferrous ions}}. In reality, this does immediately redirect to ''{{w|The Iron Giant}}'', the first movie directed by Brad Bird. This note [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eta_Carinae&oldid=978789727 was added] to Wikipedia, but quickly removed.

==Transcript==
[A chart, with circles representing stars of different colors and sizes. At the top:]
:Common star types

[A small yellow star.]
:Yellow dwarf
:Warm, stable, slowly-growing

[An even smaller white star.]
:White dwarf
:Small, hot, dim

[A very large red-orange star squishing the previous two stars into the corners of the chart.]
:Red giant
:Huge, cool, luminous

[A small red star.]
:Red dwarf
:Small, cool, ancient, dim

[An olive green, medium-sized star.]
:Green elf
:Old, diminishes into the west

[A fairly large pale blue star.]
:Blue giant
:Large, hot, short-lived

[A blue-green, medium-sized star.]
:Teal sphynx
:Cryptic, eternal

[A small silver-colored star.]
:Gray wizard
:Wise, powerful, mercurial

[A tiny blue star.]
:Indigo banshee
:Bright, portentous, extremely loud

[A beige, medium-sized star.]
:Beige gorgon
:Dangerous to observe at optical wavelengths.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:1763: Catcalling

2016-11-23T15:16:09Z

141.101.98.224:

Is it just me or wouldn't this fail if the misogynists also were cat-lovers? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.224|141.101.98.224]] 15:16, 23 November 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1761: Blame

2016-11-18T06:42:13Z

141.101.98.224:

By focusing on blame he has cleverly shifted thinking to Q:"are your friends on Facebook to blame?" A:"probably not as they are almost all likely to have similar views to you" Q:"So why vent anger on Facebook to people who aren't to blame and you don't want to change?" A:"errrrrr...."

It seems like he's talking about all of the bad things that have happened in 2016 so far making fun of Facebook posts that blame everyone for the things that are happening
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.119|173.245.52.119]] 05:21, 18 November 2016 (UTC)

828: Positive Attitude

2013-11-30T11:58:10Z

141.101.98.224: /* Explanation */ rewording

{{comic
| number = 828
| date = December 1, 2010
| title = Positive Attitude
| image = positive attitude.png
| titletext = Having a positive attitude is almost tautologically good for your mental health, and extreme stress can hurt your immune system, but that doesn't mean you should feel like shit for feeling like shit.
}}

==Explanation==
Cueball is disagreeing with his friend's assertion that maintaining a positive mental attitude is the most important factor in fighting disease. What's important is that he's treating it, so even if there are days when he feels like crap, it won't matter because he'll get better anyway.

But in the last frame Cueball realizes he can't help being optimistic, and his final line proves his friend's diagnosis; he sucks at pessimism.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits hunched with his knees drawn up to him on a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. A friend stands by.]
:Cueball: I'm sick and I'm scared.
:Friend: Well, remember - having a good attitude is the most important thing. Think positively and you'll get better.

:[Darkness surrounds Cueball on the bed. The friend is off-screen.]
:Cueball: So if I'm sad or afraid or feel like crap sometimes, then...
:Friend: ...then if you don't recover, it will be ''your fault.''

:[Cueball clutches his hands to his face and leans back.]
:Cueball: Well that makes me feel even worse.
:Friend: See? You're doing this to yourself.
:Cueball: No!
:Friend: Stop it!
:Cueball: Argh!

:[Close up on Cueball, holding up his hand, pointing to himself.]
:Cueball: Okay, you know what? Screw this. My attitude isn't my problem. -- My ''disease'' is my problem, and I'm treating it. -- I'm going to be glum and depressed and pessimistic some days, and I'm going to '''''get better anyway.'''''

:[Cueball sits on the edge of the bed, his friend still standing in front of him.]
:Cueball: Wait, that ended up sounding optimistic.
:Friend: I guess you suck at pessimism.
:Cueball: Maybe I'll be better at it tomorrow.

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