explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2910: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

2024-03-22T12:44:36Z

141.101.99.118: /* Explanation */ There are many ways to potentially 'e courage' a ship to sink, short of actual hull damage...

{{comic
| number = 2910
| date = March 22, 2024
| title = The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
| image = the_wreck_of_the_edmund_fitzgerald_2x.png
| imagesize = 463x672px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = You know that asteroid that almost destroyed Earth in the 90s? Turns out the whole thing was secretly created by Michael Bay, who then PAID Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck to look heroic while blowing it up!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ONE OF THE FBI'S MOST WANTED, FOR CRIMES AGAINST SHIPPING - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic features a character identifiable as a {{w|minstrel}}, {{w|bard}} or {{w|Folk music|folk singer}}, performing a {{w|narrative song}} on a jetty. The words appear to recount the fate of the {{w|SS Edmund Fitzgerald}}, a famously wrecked vessel and thus seemingly an ideal subject for a musical retelling in a traditional way that is often found in the form of a {{w|sea shanty}} and tells of events familiar to those who associate with ships.

The words of the song start off very much in the manner of such a nostalgic recounting, but soon becomes a direct reference to the art of songwriting itself. Rather than describing in song how a disaster occured, it turns out to be a description of how a disaster occured for ''the sake of'' a song.

The reason for sinking is still unknown, but it's speculated that her hull broke up in the rough waters of the Great Lakes. This xkcd is implying that the ''real'' reason for her sinking is that {{w|Gordon Lightfoot|a songwriter}} bribed a mechanic to intentionally engineer her sinking and give him sufficient material for {{w|The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald|a new song}}.

As a punchline, the verse goes on to reveal that another even greater {{w|Sinking of the Titanic|maritime disaster}} had already occured for the sake of a {{w|Titanic (1997 film)|film}}. The title text continues this particular cycle by suggesting that an even bigger potential disaster was orchestrated {{tvtropes|RecycledInSpace|in space}}, as the 'real life' basis for {{w|Armageddon (1998 film)|yet another film}}.

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

{{comic discussion}}

2897: Light Leap Years

2024-02-22T15:02:41Z

141.101.99.118: /* Explanation */ what->was, and distinguish the reason/consequences for the shift.

{{comic
| number = 2897
| date = February 21, 2024
| title = Light Leap Years
| image = light_leap_years_2x.png
| imagesize = 288x389px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = When Pope Gregory XIII briefly shortened the light-year in 1582, it led to navigational chaos and the loss of several Papal starships.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A FLEET OF PAPAL STARSHIPS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic portrays [[Cueball]] and [[Ponytail]] updating astronomical distances in some sort of database, noting how long and unpleasant the process is; the caption reveals that the reason is that {{w|leap year}}s "make light-years 0.27% longer" (366/365 = 1.0027397...). This makes the distance to Alpha Centauri "0.27% shorter". 2024 is a leap year in the Gregorian calendar, and leap day (February 29) was just over one week away when this comic was released.

The joke of this strip is based on the fact that "one year" isn't a precise unit of measurement: there have been different definitions, evolving over time, of what constitutes a year. The {{w|Gregorian calendar}} (the one most commonly used in modern times) includes a system of leap years in which an additional day is added every fourth year (with some exceptions) to make up for incompatibilities between day and year cycles. This temporarily changes the length of a year from 365 to 366 days.

A {{w|light year}} is a unit of distance, commonly used in astronomy, equal to the distance light travels in a vacuum in one year; the year used is the {{w|Julian year (astronomy)|Julian year}}, or 365.25 days. This results in a light year which is standardized at 9,460,730,472,580.8 km, no matter how long the calendar year may be. However, in this comic, a light year has been defined based on the length of the ''current'' year, and consequently becomes longer during leap years, meaning databases with astronomical distances have to be adjusted. Thankfully, most systems of measurement do not change continually, and even those those that do (eg. DST) usually are setup to automatically update when necessary.

The title text jokes that {{w|Pope Gregory XIII}}, the originator of the Gregorian calendar, "briefly shortened the light-year in 1582." What really occurred in 1582 was that the Pope decided to advance the previously Julian calendar by 10 days to make up for an accumulated excess of past leap days and bring the subsequent Gregorian one more into line with astronomical measurements. Not all places went with the change, at that time. Some of the later adopters had to skip yet other days once they did, while others continue to use a calendar with an offset factor. In the world of the comic, this change led to "navigational chaos and the loss of several Papal starships". This is of course ludicrous since there were no starships in the 16th century, there has never been a "Papal starship",{{Citation Needed}} and the light-year wasn't developed as a unit of measurement until 1838. Indeed, it wasn't known that the speed of light is finite until {{w|Rømer's determination of the speed of light}} in 1676. The joke is that the evolving and somewhat loose and changing definitions of early calendars had significant impacts on the units of measurement we still use today. Such changes did serve to catalyse political and religious conflicts in some instances, and raised temporary issues around matters such as taxes, rents, etc., but as technology has advanced and become increasingly reliant on precise and consistent measurements, they could be significantly more disastrous.

The values given for Proxima Centauri's distance from the Sun, 4.2377 light-leap-years and 4.2493 light-nonleap-years, are consistent with a distance of 4.2464 actual light-years as described by the {{w|International Astronomical Union}}, which is only minutely different from 4.2465 light-years, the value given by {{w|Gaia catalogues|Gaia Data Release 3}} in 2020. Though tiny on an interstellar scale, the difference between 4.2377 and 4.2493 light-years, 0.0116 light years, equals 109.7 billion km (68.2 billion miles), about 730 times the average distance between the Earth and the sun (150 million km or 93 million miles).

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

:[Cueball is sitting at his laptop and leaning to the back of his office chair, while having his other hand on the laptop. He is looking at Ponytail standing behind him. The text from the laptop screen is shown above it, indicated with a zigzag line.]
:Cueball: It took until February, but I finally got all the distances updated!
:Ponytail: I really wish we didn't have to do this.
:[Laptop screen:]
:Proxima Centauri
:Distance: [in red, crossed out] <s>4.2493 ly</s>
:[in green] 4.2377 ly

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Astronomers hate leap years because they make light-years 0.27% longer.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Time]]
[[Category:Calendar]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2895: Treasure Chests

2024-02-19T09:44:24Z

141.101.99.118: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2895
| date = February 16, 2024
| title = Treasure Chests
| image = treasure_chests_2x.png
| imagesize = 287x488px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = [earlier] "Your vintage-style handmade chest business is struggling. But I have a plan."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a- YOU KIDS GET OFF MY LAWN! - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic features [[Black Hat]] proposing a way to create significant business for a "lawn care company", for which the comic narrator has an attachment (perhaps owner or employee), albeit in an extremely unethical and possibly illegal manner which is very much congruent with Black Hat's character of being a '[[classhole]]'.

His plan is to create the conditions for a large number of lawns all over a certain town to be dug out by random members of the public, via the motivation of a large potential reward for digging up a lawn (in this case, a chest with $1,000 in the form of silver and gold coins). Masking the effort, by waiting a year to let time obscure any obvious signs of disturbed earth and digging, introduces a large element of chance when everyone is finally informed of the concept. The subsequent digging up of many lawns, almost all unrelated to the original three with actual chests in, entices significant participation in Black Hat's scheme by everyone with firm-to-vague ideas of which lawns they might be, and whereabouts to dig within them, having filmed the burials in such a way that the subsequently posted videos are tantalizingly open to many interpretations as to where they actually were.

It is also possible that it leaves time for one or more chests to have been discovered prior to the 'start' of the deliberate competition to find them. So long as all three weren't (publicly) discovered, it leaves open the possibility that those competing to find the 'unfound' chests will continue with their efforts to find what is now unfindable, prolonging the exercise beyond the point at which all chests could be known to be discovered and that there are no more chances to gain their riches. Indeed, there is nothing to stop Black Hat from simply digging the chests back up once the videos have been filmed, so that he is not out $3000 and there is nothing to find, prolonging the search indefinitely.

However it pans out, this will create a demand for the services of "our lawn care company" as treasure-hunters feverishly work to gain wealth and/or fame, in the process damaging lawns all over town; their own or (with or without permission) those of others. It may create the craze for children to randomly attack neighbors' lawns (before or after their parents' ones), at least until they're effectively curfewed for the trouble, but is a large enough prize to attract teenagers and adults into such (possibly night-time) forays, all with the hope and expectation of a significant cash reward.

The many homeowners who soon find themselves with ruined lawns would then proceed to contact the lawn care company in order to fix the broken lawns, thus making the business lots of money. For the initial expenditure of $3000 (plus the cost of the containers, and other trivial overheads), a need for significant remediation work will be generated. According to the caption below the panel, the proposal set out by Black Hat turns out to be VERY profitable and EXTREMELY effective. It would be cheaper than most other forms of effective advertisement, such as {{w|Flyer (pamphlet)#Distribution and use|mass-flyering the catchment area}} or buying advertising time/space in traditional media, whilst being much more penetrating and focused than any but the most sophisticated (and expensive) forms of online advertising. As long as the 'competition' isn't actually linked to the lawn-care businesss, it also has the advantage that it can create a near maximum potential demand for the service without risking {{w|media fatigue}} and perhaps aversion to the product being advertised. There is no indication that this will be ever be promoted as the company's very own competition, which would probably actively drive the numerous victims of the scheme to find (or found!) rival businesses, not to mention risk the instigation of claims for recompense through civil liability.

The title text shows how Black Hat, before sharing his proposal in this comic, saw a struggling business that made vintage-style handmade chests and cooked up the lawn care plan as a way to boost their sales by generating demand for chests from the lawn company. Sales of three chests doesn't seem a significant uplift for the chest company, which potentially implies that Black Hat has pushed his treasure hunt scheme to multiple lawn care companies, each buying three chests. One can only speculate about what other companies he may have enticed to take part in this {{tvtropes|ChainOfDeals|chain of deals}}, at each point being paid for the pleasure (and keeping the accumulated proceeds), leaving arbitrary amounts of disruption in his wake.

As of the time of posting, [https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/silver-price/ silver prices] were roughly $23 per ounce / $8 per cm^3, and [https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/gold-price/ gold prices] were roughly $2000 per ounce / $1250 per cm^3, which means that any chest holding pure gold or silver coins would either be fairly small or very empty. Accounting for space between coins, a $1000 chest entirely containing silver coins would be only be filled between 1/8-1/4 liter / 1/2-1 cup, whereas $1000 would only constitute a single medium/large gold coin or a few small ones. However, 'gold' and 'silver' coins may simply refer to higher value coins made either partially from gold and silver, or from some other alloys that give gold and silver colourings.

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

:[Black Hat is holding a treasure chest in one hand and pointing with a stick to a poster that features a shovel at the top, three circled X's below it, and five question marks around them.]
:Black Hat: First, I'll fill three of these chests with $1,000 each in small silver and gold coins, and take videos of them being buried in unidentified lawns around town.
:Black Hat: Next year, I post the videos.
:Black Hat: Then we sit back and let the local kids do the rest.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The proposal for creating business for our lawn care company was unorthodox but ''extremely'' effective.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]

1350: Lorenz

2015-04-26T18:35:09Z

141.101.99.118: /* Trivia */

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1350
| date = April 1, 2014
| title = Lorenz
| image = lorenz.png
| titletext = Every choice, no matter how small, begins a new story
}}
<div class="toclimit-3" style="float:right; margin-left: 10px;">__TOC__</div>
'''NOTE: The above is the first panel of an interactive comic.''' 
To actually experience the interactive content you need to go to this comic on xkcd (click on the date above the comic, which, as always, takes you to the xkcd comic) 
For a collection of images that appear in this comic, see [[1350: Lorenz/Images]]. These will also be described below under [[#Themes|themes]]. 
Also note that the order of the options are random. And by adding that there is a fifth option - and only four can be shown - this means there are 5*4*3*2 = '''120 different permutations''' of the way the options can be arranged only in this first image. So the above image will only appear with these four options in this order in less than 1% of the cases! Of course when you choose an option it is indifferent what the order of the other options was.

==Explanation==
This is an interactive and dynamic comic with the first picture shown on top of this page, with a possible combination of text options to choose from (see above). The picture is always the same but the order of the four sentences is chosen randomly. The result of all the interactions by the readers led to the generation of {{w|Crowdsourcing|crowd-sourced content}}. In honor of {{w|April Fools' Day}}, the comic was posted a day earlier than normal (on Tuesday instead of Wednesday).

The title 'Lorenz' is referring to {{w|Edward Norton Lorenz}} who, among other subjects, was famous for {{w|Chaos theory}} and the {{w|Butterfly effect}}.

The title text is a reference to how the story line of this comic will be chaotic by nature, since it includes all of the user submitted dialogue and updates over time based on statistics of user clicks. In this manner, it is a reference to the butterfly effect, a phrase coined by Edward Lorenz to describe how a small initial change can lead to wide variations in outcome in a chaotic system.

This comic is an example of a {{w|Choose Your Own Adventure}} story as mentioned in the title text.

Some of the idea of this comic is used again in the next year's April Fools' comic [[1506: xkcloud]] where user input also generated a very complex comic and the concept of "[[#Permalink|permalink]]" was used again.

==Functionality and bugs==
The reader is initially presented with only one panel where Knit Cap Girl is sitting in front of her computer. The reader is given multiple choices concerning what exactly Knit Cap Girl is thinking. Upon choosing any option - the chosen text will appear where her gray speech bubble was (and this will then disappear), and then a second panel appears to the right, to give continuity to the story. Each new panel may have a new set of options or just the button "Continue" to see the next panel without making any choice in particular. Eventually, one may reach a dead end in which the story is interrupted and reader is presented with a text box to suggest how it should continue. Some of the suggestions given should eventually become available as new options.

===Knit Cap Girl===
Knit Cap Girl is a completely new character wearing a knit cap. Since Knit Cap Girl seems to be together with [[Hairy]] in this comic it would be strange if she should be representing Megan. (Hairy has some bad reputation in trying to fool girls to fall for him. Perhaps he has finally found out how to be with a woman; although they seem to fight in this comic some times.)

===Number of options===
Normally, there is a total of 4 options to make: a/b/c/d. Their order changes constantly. Sometimes, there are 3 or fewer options, with the text box to suggest an alternative option. Sometimes, a given panel actually has 5 or more available options, although even in this case only 4 options appear at a time. Refreshing the comic changes randomly which of the available options are visible and which are hidden. As of late April 2014, the existence of 5 options seems to occur only in a few rare cases, including the first panel itself. There are no longer any panels that seem to have six options.

===Easy navigation===
Instead of clicking with the mouse you can move more quickly through the panels using the keyboard:
*Up/Down - navigate options
*Enter/Right/Spacebar - choose option after navigating with Up/Down
*Left - go back one panel
*a/b/c/d - choose any option directly

===New panels===
It appears that new panels may be generated by Randall in near real time as user suggestions to dialog are submitted. The dialog options could be based on click-through rates and hence will change over time based on which choices are clicked most using {{w|A/B testing|A/B measurement techniques}}. This will mean that the most popular choices for dialog lines will prevail as the statistics build up. In some cases, dialog line options do not depend on the continuity of the storyline followed, suggesting that some parts of the story are planned. For example, several of the story lines involve one of the two main characters waking up and for instance telling the other character, "I had the strangest dream…" or even reliving the dream. This may be due to common submissions across story lines. Of course there is the other option that Randall has used the first week of April to look though some input and choose himself. These possibilities are not mutually exclusive. Some of the options that were there very early were in quite poor English. Later the same idea was still there but in a more refined sentence. However, after the first week or two, no new panels seemed to appear, which suggests that some were drawn to match the story's progression.

===Permalink===
A "{{w|permalink}}" is a portmanteau, of "permanent-link". Each panel has a "permalink" button which generates a unique URL for all the choices made by the reader — so a reader can save the chosen choices to compare them to other ways going through the selections. The permalink do only save the chosen options, not the order or the visible options in the image where the permalink is recorded. So it is not possible to save a copy where the options are in the same order as they are in the 1/120 version shown at the top. Also if you go back in the story from a permalink, you can risk, when passing back through a panel with five options, that the option you just got back from, is no longer available, as it is the option randomly not shown this time.

===Suggest a line===
Some times it is possible to add your own suggestions in a panel where there are still other choices. But if not before, then the story will always reach a "final" panel (dead-end) where the reader only has the option left to "suggest a line..." By doing so and pressing enter this text is then shown in the speech bubble. But these suggestions can't be saved as there are no permalink button after this. The reader has to do a screen shot by himself - if he wishes to save his own witty remark. As a few weeks had progressed there were probably so few new suggestions that Randall stopped changing the comic. There has been no reason to believe that new options or panels appeared after the first few weeks of April.

===Bugs===
Since this interactive comic relies on many servers in the background to provide the response to the reader's actions, there are some problems reported here:
*{{w|HTTP cookie|Cookies}} and {{w|Javascript}} are required to see this page properly. Without cookies, the next panel will not render; attempting to load the page in the UNIXKCD terminal or loading the page without Javascript will just get you the [[1349|previous comic]].
*When selecting a sentence A/B/C/D the server does not respond on that selection.
*The servers responsible to provide the pictures are down.
*In the first week after the comic was released, if a response led to a panel where two characters speak at the same time, it was impossible to proceed past the first speech bubble. This was subsequently fixed.
As a consequence of these bugs many readers had trouble understanding how this interactive comic worked.

==Themes==
===Computer===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! The beginning [[Image:lorenz - computer.png]]
| Knit Cap Girl sits at her laptop saying/thinking something. You choose what from four options and thus starts the interactive and dynamic comic. Originally on April the 1st there where only four choices, but this has increased since. But you always have four to choose from when you begin.
|-
! Computer problems [[Image:lorenz - laptop 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 6.png]]
| Knit Cap Girl's laptop has an unspecified problem. Hairy walks in and they attempt to fix it by connecting his laptop with hers. There are two outcomes possible:
*He fails so badly that they end up randomly floating in the ocean (with or without circling sharks - a reference to [[349: Success]] see below.)
*It doesn't work so now Knit Cap Girl tries to write something on Hairy's laptop from a paper (a manual?) she holds in her hand. This also fails and the story continues with a blowtorch scene - see below:
|-
! Blowtorch [[Image:lorenz - laptop 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 9.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 10.png]] [[Image:lorenz - laptop 11.png]]
| Knit Cap Girl becomes so upset with her laptop that she decides to melt it using a blowtorch - a clear reference to the comic from the day before this one: [[1349: Shouldn't Be Hard]]. After this they walk out of the building.
|}

===Political debate===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Debate [[image:lorenz - debate laptop.png]] [[image:lorenz - debate 1.png]] [[image:lorenz - debate 2.png]] [[image:lorenz - debate 5.png]] [[image:lorenz - debate 4.png]] [[image:lorenz - debate 3.png]] [[image:lorenz - visit.png]]
| Knit Cap Girl uses har laptop to watch a debate online between the Politician 1 (on the left) and the Politician 2 ([[Cueball]], on the right), the subject and the actual conversation of which varies according to the storyline. Eventually one of two things can happen:
*They fight each other, the Politician 2 using a lightsaber (or something that looks like a holy sword, but isn't) and the Politician 1 using his bare fists
*Politician 1 is going down on one knee - either to pray or as in a suggestion to ask the other to marry him...
Subjects debated could be user suggestions but below are one of those from April the 1st:
*Politician 1 accuses Politician 2 of having never liked Firefly.
*Politician 1 vows to end the "war on Christmas" if elected.
*Politician 1 praises his adversary and supports his economic plan.
*Politician 1 questions Politician 2's project of tying multiple birds to a car as fuel replacement, which would require some method to make the birds take off in unison. The solutions mentioned for this topic are given here as an example:
**Opening and closing an umbrella near them (a reference to {{W|Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade}}).
**Using a predatory bird to the car to scare them
**Putting resources in the hands of bird educators for the purpose of training them
**Employing fiscal hawks.
If the Politician 1 points out some problem with the reasoning, often the solution proposed by the Politician 2 would be doing the same in a larger scale or saying he completely agrees with everything the other says...
In the end, Hairy walks in to Knit Cap Girl and points out something happening near which may or may not involve birds (or what ever was the subject) which could be a direct result of Politician 2's project. Again all this could be user input!
The last image where Hairy walks in have been used also in other story lines
|}

===Ocean===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Wrong move [[image:lorenz - laptop 6.png]]
| Knit Cap Girl tries to write something on Hairy's laptop from a note she has in her hand. Hairy watches. This image is also used in the computer problem theme above. But this time it goes really wrong and the Ocean scene appears right after this:
|-
! Sharks [[image:lorenz - shark zero.png]] [[image:lorenz - shark one.png]] [[image:lorenz - sharks.png]] [[image:lorenz - squids.png]] [[image:lorenz - blood.png]]
| Knit Cap Girl and Hairy are floating in the ocean, with or without sharks. A clear reference to [[349: Success]]. Sharks have been the subject of several other comics.
Three giant squids appear and a lone shark seems disturbed. Maybe the squids killed the sharks leaving the blood in the last of these images?

Here are some examples with these images
*[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:9b96fda0-bb48-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd Zero and one shark]
*[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:9b6e3082-bb48-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd Three shark]
*[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:9b96fda0-bb48-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd Squids and blood].

|-
! Beach [[image:lorenz - hairy swims away.png]] [[image:lorenz - beach.png]]
|Knit Cap Girl and Hairy starts to swim out of the shark free ocean and finally reaches a beach - see [[349: Success]].
*Here are an example where they reach the [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:310127b6-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd beach].
|}

===Leaving the building===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Leaving [[Image:lorenz - going.png]]
| In some storylines the two characters leaves the building. Either with the laptop intact (like after the politic debate) or with a fused laptop (see computer problems theme). In either case they encounter one of the following scenarios when they come out the door:
|-
! Empty lawn [[Image:lorenz - away.png]]
| Sometimes nothing is outside the building except the pavement they walk upon there is just an empty lawn. See [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b69f6096-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd this example] for both of the first two pictures here. From this point they can move on to walk past stuff - see below.
|-
! Huge hole on the lawn [[image:lorenz - hole.png]]
| There is a huge hole in the ground just outside of the building. The two characters always end up falling into it and one of them awakes from a night mare - see [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd this example]. See below about dreams.
|-
! Rocket on the lawn [[Image:lorenz - rocket 1.png]]
| There is a space rocket on the lawn outside the building - see [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 this example]. See below about dreams and space travel.
|}

===Walking===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
! To see/hide images click here:
! Description of images
|-
! Starting the walk [[Image:lorenz - away.png]]
| When there is nothing outside the building the walk begins. It can though begin in other ways, but that is usually longer into a complicated story. The walk begins with Knit Cap Girl and Hairy walking together, but they also often walks alone as will be shown below.
|-
!Walking past [[Image:lorenz - tree.png]] [[Image:lorenz - gap.png]]
|Knit Cap Girl and Hairy walks together past the following items:
*A tree
*A gap in the ground - which Knit Cap Girl jumps over, much like in a pit from Mario brothers.
|-
!Walking together [[Image:lorenz - dark.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walking.png]]
|The two characters are seen walking together from different perspectives.
|-
!Arguing [[Image:lorenz - discuss.png]] [[Image:lorenz - hairy leaves.png]] [[Image:lorenz - knit cap leaves.png]]
|Knit Cap Girl and Hairy stops their walk to have an argument. Then either she or he leaves the other by walking back the way they came.
|-
!Alone - Girl [[Image:lorenz - walk 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 6.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 9.png]] [[Image:lorenz - thinking.png]] [[Image:lorenz - bird gift.png]] [[Image:lorenz - bird money.png]]
|Knit Cap Girl walks alone. This is not necessarily because of the argument! She is seen walking alone in many different poses and perspectives. At one point she is thinking - this does not have to be while alone! At some point a bird passes over her carrying a gift. It then returns - now with a money note in its beak.
|-
!Alone - Guy [[Image:lorenz - meanwhile.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - walk 10.png]] [[Image:lorenz - thinking 2.png]]
|Hairy is seen walking alone. This is not necessarily because of the argument! He is seen walking alone in two poses. At one point he is thinking - this does not have to be while alone! In one story line the ''meanwhile'' image appears before this walk like in [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:aee5abf0-bb29-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd this example].
|}

===Rocket launch===
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" |
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! Description of images
|-
!Into the rocket [[Image:lorenz - rocket 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 4.png]]
| Leaving the bulding the characters find the rocket on the lawn, and climbs into it.
|-
!Out of the rocket [[Image:lorenz - rocket 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 6.png]]
| In some storylines the rocket does not launch (it fails or they do not wish to go into space). So the two characters climb out again.
|-
!Rocket launch [[Image:lorenz - rocket 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 11.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 9.png]]
| If they do not climb out again, the rocket will launch into space. Sometimes an image from the flight simulator program {{W|Kerbal Space Program}} will appear - see [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd this example] where the launch wakes a character up from a dream. If the characters do not wake up here, see dream theme, then the rocket will go into space - see Space theme. Before reacing space a dark image will turn up as shown [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 here].(This picture is also used in the dream sequence with the hole).
|}

===Space===
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! Description of images
|-
!Rocket launch [[Image:lorenz - rocket 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 11.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 9.png]]
| When the rocket is launch into space sometimes an image from the flight simulator program {{W|Kerbal Space Program}} will appear - see [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd this example]. The characthers do not always wake up if this image is shown as in the example, see dream theme. If they do not then the rocket will go into space and often a black image will turn up as shown [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 here].(This picture is also used in the dream sequence with the hole). See other examples for these pictures in the last two entries.
|-
!Flying over earth [[Image:lorenz - rocket 10.png]]
| After entering space, the rocket is in an orbit over earth.
|-
!In space [[Image:lorenz - rocket 13.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 14.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 19.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 20.png]]
| From earth the rocket flies into deep space. At one point it may come close to the sun - which could explain the white color in one image.
|-
!Asteroids [[Image:lorenz - rocket 24.png]]
| Passing the {{W|Asteroid belt}}
|-
!Saturn [[Image:lorenz - rocket 12.png]]
| Passing {{W|Saturn}} with it's majestic rings
|-
!Fly by [[Image:lorenz - rocket 15.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 16.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 17.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 18.png]]
| The space rocket encounters another space ship that asks a question about relativity, the same one that appeared in [[265: Choices: Part 2]]. The other space rocket will shoot and destroy the main rocket if the question isn't answered satisfactory see below. Otherwise the two rockets fly past each other.
|-
!Little Prince [[Image:lorenz - rocket 21.png]]
| Eventually the space rocket meets a guy on a very tiny planet which most likely is a reference to {{w|The Little Prince}}. This could also be a reference to the asteroid [http://blog.xkcd.com/2013/09/30/asteroid-4942-munroe/ 4942 Munroe], then it could be [[Randall]] on the rock... The story never seem to move past this point. Here is an [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6490cc4a-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd example].
|-
!Attack [[Image:lorenz - rocket 15.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 16.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 17.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 22.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 23.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
| If the answer to the space ship is not acceptable it will turn around after passing, and shoot down the rocket. This will turn off the rockets in the Kerbal Space Program simulator, and in turn one of the characthers (Hairy?) will awake from a dream, see dream theme. Most of the images above as well as this attack is included in [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 this example]
|}

===Kerbal Space Program===
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! Description of images
|-
!Engines on [[Image:lorenz - rocket 11.png]]
|These pictures are from the flight simulator program {{W|Kerbal Space Program}} (KSP). An example of the image in the comic can be seen [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd here]. In this case the liftoff with the engine on turns out to be just a dream. But the image can also precede a space travel going into deep space - as the travel shown below. See more on the this under the space theme.
|-
!Engines off [[Image:lorenz - rocket 23.png]]
|Here we see an image with the engines off. See this [http://i.imgur.com/UofvQ.png image] from KSP where the rocket engines are not on. This image is usually shown after the spaceship is shut down and it turns out it was just a dream - see [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 this example]. See more on the this under the space theme.
|}

===Dinosaur===
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! Description of images
|-
! Dinosaur Comics [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]]
| The green T-rex from {{w|Dinosaur Comics}} (a clip-art-based webcomic that uses the same artwork with different captions for every strip.) interrupts the story and proceeds to talk about his tiny arms or other subjects. The first three pictures are taken directly from the webcomic, except that the third picture is larger in the real comic (see [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2420 this particular example] where the title text actually refer to Randall and xkcd). In the end, the dinosaur stamps on the house the main characters are in (this is thus Randall's own picture). If it gets this far one of the characters will wake up from a dream - It may be only Knit Cap Girl as she is the one seen fully in the fourth image. Examples where this is the second dream can be seen [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:5e94d028-bb7d-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd here] and [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 here]. See more under the dream theme.

Characters from ''Dinosaur Comics'' has aslso appeared in [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]] and [[1452: Jurassic World]].
|}

===Boomerang===
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! Description of images
|-
! Finding Boomerang [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 2.png]]
| Knit Cap Girl finds a boomerang on the ground and may express her feelings about it. The other images listed below, may come more or less in any order and any number of times. She may comment on it again after catching it. She may also put it down. See below also for examples of story lines.
Boomerangs are also featured in: [[445: I Am Not Good with Boomerangs]], [[475: Further Boomerang Difficulties]], [[939: Arrow]]
|-
! Throwing Boomerang [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 6.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 9.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 10.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang 11.png]]
| Knit Cap Girl throws the boomerang, and it flies back (and forth). This can go on for a while, and she may even [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:08896f1c-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 lay it down and walk away]. However, more often than not she will end up with an accident:
|-
! Accidents [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 6.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang rocket 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang rocket 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang boom.png]] [[Image:lorenz - surprise.png]] [[Image:lorenz - run.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - boomerang accident 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - meanwhile.png]]
| These accidents are:
*Getting hit in the face - The two options here below are both featured in [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ee6b910c-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example].
**Knit Cap Girl getting hit in the face with the boomerang rebound (i.e. [[445: I Am Not Good with Boomerangs]])
**Knit Cap Girl fails to catch the boomerang and the rebound hit Hairy in the face off screen and he then enters the frame in the next image.
*Hitting the space rocket from another story branch - see [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example].
*The boomerang crashing into something off panel - someone may shout back - see [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:fc34f46a-ba98-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd this example]. (i.e. [[475: Further Boomerang Difficulties]])
**In some cases the meanwhile image appears like in [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:aee5abf0-bb29-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd this example].
|}

===Pokémon===
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! Description of images
|-
! A wild Pikachu appeared [[Image:lorenz - pikachu appeared.png]]
| Some of the storylines involve Pokémon battles featuring Pikachu, a very popular Pokémon. The battles are drawn in the style of the video games. (A trainer in the left-bottom corner facing the foe in the right-top corner, with a narration box below the scene and the trainer's Pokéballs visible, although some elements are missing, such as the level, gender and HP bar.) In this first image Pikachu the wild pokémon appears. Then the fight begins. Pikachu is the reason no fight begins in [[1516: Win by Induction]].

|-
! Pikachu's moves [[Image:lorenz - pikachu abandonment.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu anguish.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu ant.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu extrude.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu faceless.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu friendship.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu granite.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu graph.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu ink cloud.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu radicality.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu theft.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu uplift.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu ethylene.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu blank.png]]
| Pikachu uses a number of different moves, though these are mostly made up and are not from the Pokémon games. Pikachu's moves are almost invariably remarked by the narrator as "It's not very effective...", but "It's super effective!" is also possible to appear. (see below)
In the video games, a move is "not very effective" when the opponent's type resists the attacking move's type and "super effective" when the opponent's type is weak to the attacking move's type.

Pikachu's moves (see below for examples - those appearing in the examples are marked with ¤$£ etc):
* Abandonment ^ - Pikachu disappears completely.
* Anguish ¤% - Pikachu is sad.
* Ant Colony - Pikachu is covered in ants.
* Extrude - Pikachu's head moves away from his body as his neck becomes long and malleable.
* Faceless $ - Pikachu's face disappears.
* Friendship £ - Pikachu is on Knit Cap Girl's head, signifying they are now friends. Friendship, though not a move, is a game mechanic in the video games.
* Granite % - Pikachu is atop a block of granite.
* Graph Theory ¤ - The theory can be seen behind Pikachu
* Ink Cloud % - Pikachu is covered in ink. In the storyline Pikachu uses it, there is the option to "gather" the ink.
* Radicality £ - Pikachu is on a skateboard.
* Theft & - Pikachu wears Knit Cap Girl's hat. Pikachu seems to be using "Thief", a similarly-named actual move from the games, that is used to steal the foe's item and use it as its own.
* Uplift - Pikachu's head goes upward, separated from its body, showing a long, thick cable still connecting the head and the body.
* Ethylene Dichloride ¤ - Pikachu holds a glass with Ethylene Dichloride - Nothing seems to happen, although Ethylene Dichloride is a toxic chemical, therefore there may be future consequences for the characters.
** After using it, ("not very effective") Pikachu may make remarks about the move using the blank version of the image from below (the following text are users suggestion):
*** I used to be better at chemistry.
*** This is still better than all the lightning crap.
* Blank text box ¤£% - for user input
**The below items are (probably) not with a certain picture but text that users have suggested appear in the blank picture at the bottom of this section:
** Struggle
***In one storyline, after Pikachu uses a number of moves, it says: "Now I only have Struggle left. Tie?" In the Pokémon games, when a Pokémon runs out of PP (Power Points, the energy required to use each of its moves) for all its moves, it may only use Struggle, a weak move, indefinitely reusable, that harms not only the opponent but the user as well.
** Cuteness %
** Yet %
** Crowdsource
** The Discrete Metric

Here are some examples of battle (please help include links to all moves):
* ¤ [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd 4 different moves]
* % [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:f203d1c6-ba22-11e3-801a-002590d77bdd 5 different moves]
* £ [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd 3 different moves]
* $ [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:feaa5d4e-bbd2-11e3-802c-002590d77bdd Faceless move]
* & [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:b8fe0a3c-bb52-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd Theft move]
* ^ [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:2f0612e0-bbd7-11e3-8030-002590d77bdd Abandonment move]

Below are some transcript of lines from user input and their references:
*One narration line is "Where's Twitch when I need help?", a reference to {{w|Twitch Plays Pokémon}} which was also covered by comic [[1333: First Date]].
*Another narration line is: "Google Maps didn't warn me of this.", a reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YMD6xELI_k Google Maps: Pokémon Challenge].
*Other remarks from Pikachu or about Pikachu can be seen in [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:e8cf1df0-bbd4-11e3-802e-002590d77bdd this example]
** Pikachu: Aren't you going to catch me? It's not difficult, I promise... Please? [Knit Cap Girl and Hairy ignore him and go away]
*** Please! Jigglypuff keeps on drawing on my face!
*** You were walking in tall grass! You asked for it!
*** Please... Tame me! I want to party on days other than Thursday.
**** [Hairy remarks] Y'know, if we catch a Pikachu, we would never [sic] to pay our electric bills again.
*Pokémon mentioned other than Pikachu:
** Charizard (In one storyline, "Go Charizard" is one usable move in battle)
** Jigglypuff
|-
! Not effective [[Image:lorenz - pikachu not very effective.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu end 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu end 2.png]]
|Normally after a few failed attempts - where the result is given as ''It's not very effective'', there is an uncomfortable silence as the Pikachu says "Um..." Then it talks to Knit Cap Girl and Hairy and as they then walk away past the Pókemon, Pikachu is left in the tall grass and has time to make a final remark. See [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9a86363c-bb53-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example] where they walk away only to meet another wild Pikachu.
|-
! Super effective [[Image:lorenz - pikachu super effective.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu fainted.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - pikachu dead 5.png]]
|Rarely, a suggested move knocks Pikachu out. This is stated as ''It's super effective'' (sometimes this image comes right after the one with ''It's not very effective''). The result is that Pikachu faints. Knit Cap Girl and Hairy looks at the fainted (not dead) Pikachu who lies facedown in the grass. Then Knit Cap Girl ''pokes'' the pókemon and they walk past him out of the tall grass like in [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:feaa5d4e-bbd2-11e3-802c-002590d77bdd this example].
|}

===Dreams===
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! Description of images
|-
! Walking up [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
| Sometimes, Knit Cap Girl or Hairy find themselves waking from a dream, suggesting that all prior events were just them dreaming. Below are several situations where a dream will or may occur described (and shown with the full sequence leading up to the dream displayed).
Often a dream loops upon itself, as a character wakes up multiple times in the same storyline, either from the same dream or from different dreams.
Sometimes it even turns out that each character has a dream in the same storyline, meaning that the last to wake up, has dreamt that they were the other character waking up before... See examples of all this below.
The dream scenarios (together with the ''meanwhile'' image) would make it possible to connect all images into one long sequence!
Some situations will always result in a character waking up, others will only in some story lines lead to an awakening.
As can be seen in these two images Knit Cap Girl wakes up with her head to the left and the cap lying on the end of the bed. Hairy wakes up with his head to the right.
|-
! Falling [[Image:lorenz - hole.png]] [[Image:lorenz - falling.png]] [[Image:lorenz - aaa.png]] [[Image:lorenz - aaa 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 9.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
| One of the most obvious dreams is the one about falling as in this case where both characters falls into a big hole outside the building they are leaving - as shown here in [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd this example] where first one then the other characters awake from the same falling dream.
In the case - with the hole - one (or either as shown above) of the characters wakes up from the nightmare after falling into the hole. But they can wake up after any of the three black pictures shown here. The other two pictures (which were not included in the first example) can be seen in [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ba285dea-baa3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd this example].(The total black picture is also sometimes used in the space theme). The hole situation will always turn out to be a dream.
|-
! Dinosaur [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 3.png]] [[Image:lorenz - dinosaur 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]]
| A Dinosaur enters the comic (see more about these same images under the Dinosaur theme). If the comic goes on long enough these four images will appear and after the last the character awakes from the nightmare. It may be only Knit Cap Girl as she is the one seen fully in the fourth image. Examples where this is the second dream can be seen [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:5e94d028-bb7d-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd here] and [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 here]. If the dinosaur steps on the building the story will always turn out to be a dream.
|-
! Evil spaceship [[Image:lorenz - rocket 15.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 16.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 17.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 18.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 22.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 23.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
| During a space travel the rocket passes another space ship. If a failed communication occurs the space ship turns around and shoots down the rocket. At this point it turns out it was just a nightmare and one of the characters wake up (maybe only Hairy?). See [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 this example]. In the last picture before waking we see an image from the flight simulator program Kerbal Space Program (KSP) with the rockets off - see the KSP theme. This situation will always turn out to be a dream.
|-
! Rocket launch [[Image:lorenz - rocket 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - rocket 11.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]]
| This dream is not really a nightmare, as opposed to the three above, where the characters always wake up. This is not necessarily the case for the rocket launch. But in this case described here Knit Cap Girl (maybe also Hairy) wakes up during the rocket launch - see [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd this example]. In the last picture before waking we see an image from the flight simulator program Kerbal Space Program (KSP) with the rockets on - see the KSP theme.
|-
! Politic debate [[Image:lorenz - debate 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - debate 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - debate 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]]
| In this dream, that is not so much a nightmare that it will always be a dream (like the first three) Knit Cap Girl (maybe also Hairy) wakes up after a silly political debate - see [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd this example].
|}

===Waking up===
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! Description of images
|-
! Walking up [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]]
| Sometimes, Knit Cap Girl or Hairy find themselves waking from a dream, suggesting that all prior events were just them dreaming. After they awake they stay in bed for a while and then go out in to the world. These scenes will be shown here below.
As can be seen in these two images Knit Cap Girl wakes up with her head to the left and the cap lying on the end of the bed. Hairy wakes up with his head to the right.
|-
! In bed - Girl [[Image:lorenz - wake up 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 11.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 10.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 3.png]]
|Knit Cap Girl wakes up with a ''Gasp''. She sits for a while - may then begin to sing ''I woke up like this'' (This could be a reference to {{W|Flawless (Beyoncé song)}}). After this she may lie down again before finally getting out of bed.
|-
!Yawning - Girl [[Image:lorenz - wake up 4.png]] [[Image:lorenz - computer.png]]
|Yawning Knit Cap Girl gets back to her laptop and we are back to the first image as can be seen in [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd this example].
|-
! In bed - Guy [[Image:lorenz - wake up 5.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 6.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 13.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 7.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 12.png]]
|Hairy wakes up with a ''Gasp''. He sits for a while - may then begin to sing ''I woke up like this'' (This could be a reference to {{W|Flawless (Beyoncé song)}}). After this he may lie down again before finally getting out of bed. Notice that [[Randall]] forgot to draw Hairy's hairy hair as he lay down again. If it was a wig, it should have hung over the bed like Knit Cap Girls Knit Cap does.
|-
!Yawning - Guy [[Image:lorenz - wake up 8.png]] [[Image:lorenz - wake up 9.png]]
|Yawning Hairy walks in where Knit Cap Girl sits at her laptop and tells her about his dream(?) as can be seen in [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd this example], where both yawning pictures appear.
|-
! Salesman [[Image:lorenz - sale 1.png]] [[Image:lorenz - sale 2.png]] [[Image:lorenz - sale 3.png]]
| Instead of going to Knit Cap Girl after walking up Hairy can take an alternative route where he meets [[White Hat]], a salesman with a small stand. White Hat tries to sell something to Hairy. Will he succeed.
|}

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only transcribes what can be seen in the picture shown at the top of the explanation here.]

:[The comic starts with two panels. In the top panel we see Knit Cap Girl sitting at a desk in front of her laptop typing. There is a speech line up to a gray but empty speech bubble.]
:[The second panel below has the same gray background as the empty speech bubble above. Here is presented four options to what Knit Cap Girl could be saying. They are marked a, b, c and d written in small white rectangles next to the text. There is a small arrow at the top pointing to the first panel:]

:a Let's see if BSD is any easier to install nowadays.
:b Oh. Hey. There's some kind of political thing going on.
:c Hurry! We're in talks with Facebook.
:d Refresh... No new email... Refresh... No new tweets... Refresh...

:[Once the reader chooses one of the options the text will appear in the speech bubble where the gray area is replaced with the usual white background. The lower gray panel disappears. Now the comic really begins.]
:[A new panel is shown after the selection, again with one to four options to choose from in the new gray panel below. This will continue until it comes to an end where the reader finally only has the choice to suggest the next line.]

:[The order of the up to four options are random, and changes every time you begin again (or even go back to a previous frame). This means that the a-d in the transcript is not the same next time. In some few panels there are even more than four options. To see the fifth you have to reload, then you may find this fifth option next time. The first panel is one of those with five options.]
:[The fifth not shown above is: '''These stupid tiles... I'll just play one more game.''']

:[In the first days of the comic when it developed quickly, new options appeared only to later disappear. '''Gravity. Lots of it.''' is one of those lost options from the first panel. At one time there was also by mistake two versions of one of the other five mentioned above. But this was later deleted. Maybe there could still be a permalink to these lost stories out there...? (Wish granted: see [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:87adb65e-baa2-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd here] for the part just after "Gravity. Lots of it.")]

:[Although it may be impossible to finish? ... it has been tried to make a complete '''[[1350: Lorenz/Transcript|interactive transcript]]'''.]

==Trivia==
*In one [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:lorenz_-_wake_up_7.png panel] Hairy is drawn in bed ''without'' his hair - see the [[#Waking up|Waking up]] pictures.
*The most common pictures are [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/vS9UO5cGsw1hoDrrNLMSRg.png "Not very effective"], [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/VegCGBEOFJCsFxJpbmvziQ.png Throwing], [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/zHPHozjDXmCUy66bYVSRoQ.png Waiting], [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/ZNBJOG1e-vCfzdqKFHQ21A.png Leaving the House].
*The rarest pictures are [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/VgSdMz8OAHQ8w5Ee432f5Q.png The Little Prince], [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/0RW46RaD8RJDfTyBOTqlpw.png The beach], [http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/OZZtCeXrnU0UskVTCUQf1Q.png An exponential chart]. (As of late April there are several pictures from the complete list, that no longer seem to be available - so they are not only rare, but extinct in the comic if no one has a permalink to a comic where they appear).
*'''The all time longest comics by panel - top three'''.
**Please only include '''clearly different''' storylines:
*# [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] - Space/dinosaur double dream, boomerang, and exploding rocket.
*# [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b94d8be4-bb47-11e3-804b-002590d77bdd 49 panels] - Tiles, double hole dream, boomerang
*# [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:718ad9a6-bc6e-11e3-800f-002590d77bdd 41 panels] - Politics, hole dream, boomerang.
**There may be no upper boundary!
**But this is then the list of the longest comics with most panels as found so far.
**If you beat a record please post the '''permalink''' here.
**Please note themes included in comic.
**Please move beaten records down and delete the fourth.
*'''Longest by themes''' - click to expand:
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
Include only more than one if the story is clearly different from from the record.
#Multiple dreams:
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] - Two dreams one by each charachter, after space and dinosaur attack.
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2ed958de-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 36 panels] - Hole dream, blowtorch laptop, rocket take-off dream.
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:452c03fc-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 35 panels] - Two times the same dream with big hole by the same charachter (shovel/blowtorch and then boomerang).
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ba285dea-baa3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd 28 panels] - One dream with hole that returns to starting point - does the dream continue?
##[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 26 panels] - Two different dreams by the same character after hole and rocket.
##[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:5e94d028-bb7d-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd 22 panels] - Two different dreams by the same character after hole and dinosaur attack.
##[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd 21 panels] - Two times the same dream with big hole - once be each character
##? - More than two dreams
#Boomerang:
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] - double dream etc.
##[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 39 panels] - Starting with politic debate in a dream.
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ee6b910c-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 34 panels] - As the 39 panel, but here both the girl and the Hairy gets the boomerang in the face!
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:a1776988-ba41-11e3-8035-002590d77bdd 30 panels] - Rocket, dream, Boomerang hits her in the face. She then puts it down and then picks it up again
#Space:
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] - double dream etc.
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6490cc4a-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd 30 panels] - reaching the Little Prince:
#Dinosaur:
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels] - double dream etc.
#Political debate:
##[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 39 panels] - but also dream and boomerang.
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:aee5abf0-bb29-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 31 panels] - politicians fighing and explosive bananas - including the ''meanwhile'' image
#Blowtorch:
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2ed958de-badf-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 36 panels] - Hole dream, blowtorch laptop, rocket take-off dream.
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9a86363c-bb53-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 26 panels] - blowtorch and moving past Pokémon twice
##[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:97cbd552-bb01-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd 25 panels] - dream of hole and then blowtorch
#Pokémon:
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9a86363c-bb53-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 26 panels] - blowtorch and moving past Pokémon twice
##[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd 24 panels] - really long fight
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:8737f5b4-ba92-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd 22 panels] - moving past Pokémon.
##[http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd 24 panels] - long fight, Pokemon uses 3 moves and Megan pokes it.
#Sharks
##[http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:30f53d98-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd 13 panels] - reaching beach
</div>
 
*'''Longest by starting point''' - click to expand:
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
Only the longest:
#These stupid tiles... I'll just play one more game: [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ffa26ce0-bade-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 77 panels]
#Oh. Hey. There's some kind of political thing going on: [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea25460c-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 39 panels]
#Let's see if BSD is any easier to install nowadays: [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ba285dea-baa3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd 28 panels]
#Refresh... No new email... Refresh... No new tweets... Refresh...: [http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd 24 panels]
#Hurry! We're in talks with Facebook: [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:441ba2fe-bc03-11e3-8034-002590d77bdd 13 panels]
#Gravity. Lots of it: [http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:cbde2d30-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd 10 panels]
</div>
 

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Boomerangs]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Pokémon]]
[[Category:Dreams]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Sharks]]
[[Category:BSD]]
[[Category:April fools' comics]]

Talk:1350: Lorenz

2015-04-26T18:06:45Z

141.101.99.118:

During the first few weeks there were so much talk on this page, that it became too long. The solution was to remove the page from the explanation. But now almost no one makes any comment anymore. To help with this I will try to collapse all the original talk - lat entry (mine) is already a month old. It will always be possible to see all the old comments by pressing the expand button to the far right. So feel free to comment below again - then someone might notice that there has been written something new again! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:32, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

'''Click to expand:'''
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">

I've had the story loop back to the first frame, so it wouldn't surprise me if this could go on infinitely if it had the available dialogue options.

This is going to be a hell of a thing. Good luck... [[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 15:39, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:I think this is one of those times when the custom field might come in handy. Duplicating Randall's code seems like it might be difficult, and it might just be easier to link to the original page. Probably. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:47, 1 April 2014 (UTC)b
::I think it should just show a screenshot of the initial image and options [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.61|173.245.50.61]] 02:49, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
There's always new story lines, even when you think you've read them all, new ones appear to replace them. I don't think it'll ever be possible to record them all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.192|108.162.212.192]] 15:55, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:The text changes, but there are recurring themes with the panels. The rocket, the big hole, the little hole, Dinosaurcomics, pokemon, waking up, stranded swimming.........[[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 18:03, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

When I go to XKCD, all I see is the comic from Monday... weird. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 16:45, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:Same here... and a lot of space below it. [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 17:43, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:: I think that happens when you have refreshed the page too many time -- kind of an anti spam for user submissions. I simply create an anonymous browser window and I got back to the real page once xkcd was not able to track me as a returning user. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:59, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Currently there appears to be a bug. Instead of the evolving, crowd-sourced comic, I just see an off-center copy of the previous comic, 1349: Shouldn't Be Hard. [http://i.imgur.com/pw2OfOL.png Screenshot here].
UPDATE: it appears to be a bug in the XSRF-blocking code. Chrome console shows me the error "XMLHttpRequest cannot load http://c1.xkcd.com/graph/1/. The 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header has a value 'http://xkcd.com' that is not equal to the supplied origin. Origin 'http://www.xkcd.com' is therefore not allowed access."
FURTHER UPDATE: you can work around this bug by going to http://xkcd.com instead of http://www.xkcd.com!
It also doesn't work if you have HTTPS Everywhere enabled.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 16:46, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

** I can confirm this bug in Firefox. Weirdly, the work-around functioned one time for me, but now going to "xkcd.com" rather than "www.xkcd.com" just gives me a copy of 1349 as well. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.180|199.27.130.180]] 17:40, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:The workaround didn't work for me, I still got monday's comic on either URL. (Chromium 36.0.1919.0 (260611), Mac OS 10.9.2) [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 17:45, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:Same here. Used IE and Firefox. Removed the "www." and haven't. (Never used https:// at all.) Tried InPrivate (and FF equivalent) browsers. Gone into the code and can't even fudge it manually from ''<nowiki><div id="comic"><img src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/shouldnt_be_hard.png" title="Every choice, no matter how small, begins a new story." alt="Lorenz" /> <script type="text/javascript">Bernardo.comic({el: $('#comic')})
</script></div></nowiki>'', and the rest, manually. (Indeed, that shows why I get 1349's "shouldn't be hard" image, by default.) Pity. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.224|141.101.89.224]] 02:25, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

** I only get a blank page with on the bottom a link to the comic 1349. Both on 2 firefoxes (different systems) and a chromium. so however wonderfull it might be, the delivery is less then stellar. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.145|173.245.53.145]] 15:54, 10 April 2014 (UTC)

This comic introduced(?) a font of its own of Randalls comic type. I don't know if it has been sitting there for long, but I just noticed it: http://xkcd.com/fonts/xkcd-Regular.eot -- phiarc [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.12|108.162.219.12]] 17:20, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:Is it the same as was used in Externalities? [[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 18:00, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Does everyone have these options in some order for the first tile?
*Refresh... No New Email... Refresh .. No New Tweets... Refresh...
*These Stupid Tiles... I'll Just Play One More Game
*Oh. Hey. There's Some Kind Of Politicial Thing Going On.
*Let's See If BSD Is Any Easier to Install Nowadays
--[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:54, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:0cd52ed0-bb15-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd There's a frame with Chinese in it! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.118|141.101.99.118]] 18:06, 26 April 2015 (UTC)
:If so, we can begin to build a map of at least the first set of options before the crowd-sourced ones. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:56, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
::Yes, though the second-tier options have changed [[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 18:00, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:::The first level options may be constant (Im seeing the same as Jeff), but I suspect that the following options is based on some sort of ckick though statitics / machine learning -- which means that the will continue to change until Randall closes off the 'voting' -- if [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1193:_Externalities 1193: Externalities] is anything to go by that should be within the next 24-48 hours, at which point automating the collection of story lines may be possible. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 18:11, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:::: I'm going to transcript some of what I get at least through the first few levels and then we can start with a list of options for those who don't want to go through them all. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:37, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
::::: I have no idea how one would do this, but it would be cool to render the transcript as a tree of some sort; having one vertical list will be hard to follow for more than a few decisions. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.180|199.27.130.180]] 00:14, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
::::::New initial option! I just got "Hurry! We're in talks with Facebook." In place of the "refresh" option. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2b330d48-bb01-11e3-8003-002590d77bdd --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.8|108.162.242.8]] 23:15, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Ohh, this comic is buggy and the link here at the top gives just the page from Monday, showing errors on debuggers. But removing the WWW from URL helps. Further more I can't see that the result of the choices is dynamic. So let's prove this. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:33, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
: Have a look at http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/2/2b/lorenz_combination1.png and http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/9/9a/lorenz_combination2.png and you can see the option orders are changing -- this is a typical artifact of A/B testing where randomization of options is needed to avoid selection bias. I have futher observed "your car is on fire" instead of the "dinosaur" option, hence not only the orders are channging but the content as well -- maybe somebody else can capture this. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:08, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

How are new dialogue suggestions approved? Are they random, by popular vote (unlikely, not very many people would suggest the same thing), or is Randall approving them one by one? [[User:Z|Z]] ([[User talk:Z|talk]]) 20:26, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
: They may not need to be explicitly approved at all -- one of the beutiful things about click though measures is that the public '''votes''' for what is good by clicking -- this is also a factor in search ranking by your favorite search engine where statistics are driving the entire show -- in a search engine some input to the statistical process comes from the web pages, but other comes from what people are actually clicking [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:14, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

What is this a screenshot of? It's zoomed out so far. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:5b5bd04e-b9d6-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd [[User:Haithere|Haithere]] ([[User talk:Haithere|talk]]) 20:39, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
: you mean this : http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/a1-2014/Rl92nFEWd9huvXABNkHKHg.png ? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:20, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:: It appears to be a screen shot from a flight simulator program of some sort, however im not able to tell which, and since it is most likely an 'in-game' screen short we will never find out unless somebody else is playing this precises flight simulator program [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:37, 1 April 2014 (UTC)
:: I am not certain, but I strongly suspect that is Kerbal Space Program {{unsigned ip|108.162.242.111}}
::: it really is Kerbal Space Program, or KSP for short {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.65}}
:::: found this image from KSP http://i.imgur.com/UofvQ.png [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 09:07, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

A transcript is going to be futile. It appears as though the comic may go on indefinitely (I've definitely had some branches continue extending until I've seen frames that were present in other branches). I suspect what's happening here is that... options are "suggested", and those suggestions are displayed at random to people. The ones with the most clickthroughs begin to appear more often, until eventually the top 4 are "locked in" and no more suggestions can be made. Very creative! But I'm not convinced that Randall is making frames in near-real-time, nor am I even convinced he's part of the approval process at all. I suspect it's all automated. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.28|108.162.215.28]] 00:29, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

It seems it is possible to have the same option appear twice in the first panel. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:be7a3304-b685-11e3-8001-94de80a03a29 --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.48|173.245.54.48]] 10:27, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
: They are not the same options -- the text differes where one option has "I'll" with a captal I and the other option is 'i'll' with a lowercase I -- I guess some prankster submitted a very similar text and somehow that got included. The branching also differs for the two options. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:12, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Is it still supposed to work or was it turned off? All I see is Monday comics ... and no errors in firebug console. Oh, wait, there is javascript error:
Timestamp: 04/02/14 12:56:21
Error: TypeError: this.$lastPanel is null
Source File: http://xkcd.com/1350/bernardo.min.js
Line: 2 -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:03, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
: It still works for me -- try to clear your cookies or use an anonymous window or go to xkcd.com (no www no https) or some of the other helpful suggestions on this page to overcome some of the buggy nature of this page. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 17:12, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

tl;dr, but I applaud Randall's creativity. Added to the Colossal time sinks category. ''– [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 13:15, 2 April 2014 (UTC)''

Has it restarted? It used to work just fine on my browser but now only the first panel is available, after clicking an option it said my suggestion has been submitted. Great when it works though, thanks Randal. Jet_proppeled_elephant[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.35|108.162.219.35]] 14:53, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

It feels like there are a bunch of "dead-end panels", that we never really get past. One example the "bright background" strip, in which we only see the shadows of the two characters. Nobody seems to care what happens after those. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.8|108.162.245.8]] 18:59, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

I found a Dinosaur Comics reference, permalink: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:3d243960-b9b6-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd
Has this been found before?
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.73|173.245.55.73]] 20:08, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

I don't have time to do it myself, but most of the space images from this path are not in the images page. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6490cc4a-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd
[[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 23:33, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
:Ok, I'm gonna add those. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 23:38, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
Great! And now I found another: Pikachu uses Ethylene Dichloride. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:6f59d766-ba95-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd
I'll add it to the but about pikachu in the comic, but the pictures are up to someone else.[[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 23:47, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Slightly different space path, in which the rocket expodes: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:dd99ea0e-ba04-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd [[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 23:59, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

:Good. I've finished adding all images that you mentioned. Also, the two last images of the slightly different space path were not in the images page, now I added them too. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 00:14, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Pikachu died! Radicality failed -> Pikachu in shock! http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:5c565bf2-ba05-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd --eternia 7:33, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
:Pikachu uses Graph Theory. How is that not effective?! http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:52f2389c-baaf-11e3-801f-002590d77bdd --eternia 7:47, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
::Pikachu uses Ant Colony. Uwah... http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:2b707ed6-ba97-11e3-8006-002590d77bdd --eternia 8:02, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
:::1 shark instead of 3. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9ba111ee-ba96-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd --eternia 8:14, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
::::0 sharks. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:e0e4d984-baaf-11e3-8026-002590d77bdd --eternia 8:17, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
:::::I'm gonna add those too. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 12:41, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Are there any panels that have two speech bubbles that are not dead ends? It seems that there are never any options for the second bubble, and sometimes the first bubble has options that would fit in the second bubble after the other options for the first bubble. Maybe submissions for the second bubble accidentally end up in the first instead? Another bug? [[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 23:56, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

There's a change for us still-bugged people (well, me at least). The "show previous comic" part is gone. It shows a blank area (instead of Comic 1349 and a blank area of the same size) and the page-source shows that the ''<nowiki><img src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/shouldnt_be_hard.png" title="Every choice, no matter how small, begins a new story." alt="Lorenz" /></nowiki>'' part has now been excised from the page. That's on Javascript-enabled, cookie-enabled Firefox ''and'' IE browsers, and every valid URL configuration one can think of (including shift-refreshing to force redownloading, just in case it was page-cache issues as well). I'll update the Bugs section of the explanation page with a summary of that, if you don't mind. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.211|141.101.88.211]] 01:48, 4 April 2014 (UTC)

We need some place to discuss certain issues. I give it a shot below [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:10, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
;Transcipt discussion
;Design
*What about four transcripts - one for each of the four first original choices?
*Should these transcripts be on a separate page? It becomes tedious to scroll to the discussion page...[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:13, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
*Could we use the hide option so you only see the options from the first panel. Then you unhide to see the next panel etc. This would be a little like the comic and would make it much easier to read and it would not be such a long page! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:35, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
*:I'm working on the hide option. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 15:14, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
*::I now implemented the hide option. It looks good! in my opinion. It should be easy to edit. It would be too much work to convert the whole thing to the collapsible version so, sorry but I just removed the whole thing and started from the very beginning. This[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1350:_Lorenz&oldid=64245] is the link to the old version, in case anyone wants to help converting it to the collapsible version. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 16:46, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
:I did the same for trivia with a separate page for the old version that can be expanded if anyone wishes. And all the work is not lost. I have linked to it from trivia but it is here: [[1350: Lorenz/Transcript]]. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:19, 4 April 2014 (UTC)
*How will the transcript work for when two characters speak? Those cases do exist; they're not all bugged. For example, in the "OpenBSD Branch", "Why not haiku?" and "Let's go exploring!" have further responses. --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.63|199.27.128.63]] 06:31, 5 April 2014 (UTC)
;Characters
*Where does the name Dave come from for the hairy guy who comes in after the first panel? I can see it once in the transcript - but it is said by White hat the sales guy. I'm not sure it is his name and the chatagory for hairy is assigned to the comic! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:16, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
** Also he is called Dave here: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:3b1a226e-b9c6-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 21:37, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
*Hat guy? Is it a hat? Is there not a better English word for the type of "hat" worn by the main character from the first panel? It is not a hat like white or black hat! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:18, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
** I named him Hat Guy originally to make things easier. Feel free to change the name, I guess :) Knit Cap Guy, maybe? If a change is warranted, a simple search-and-replace should do it. Also, I'm not sure it's a guy or a girl... But the previous text was also treating him as male to begin with, anyway. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 21:36, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
*Is the right politician = Cueball?
*Who is the left? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:23, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Isn't is likely that the characters only have names given to them by us readers in our suggestions? They don't necessarily have constant names. [[User:Zweisteine|Zweisteine]] ([[User talk:Zweisteine|talk]]) 23:33, 2 April 2014 (UTC)

Exactly my point. I think we should stick with hairy guy and maybe Knit Cap Guy! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:28, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

:I see you already changed Hat Guy to Knit Cap Guy and Dave to Hairy. Knit Cap Guy is a nice name. Originally, I would disagree with you and insist we should stick to Dave because that's what the character is called in one storyline of the strip itself, but I see he is also called Frank in other timeline. Since he has multiple names, using just Hairy is better in my opinion, too. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 12:40, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

Knit Cap Guy is probably a Girl. Just sayin'. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.28|173.245.52.28]] 12:22, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

:Probably! Originally I thought it was Megan with a knit cap on. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 12:40, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

:It IS a girl! http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:1e4325a2-baaf-11e3-801f-002590d77bdd [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.66|173.245.48.66]] 21:44, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

::Well I think you are correct - that it is a girl. However you can NEVER use text in the comic to decide - because it is user created - I could have written the same line with guy instead of girl! Anyway - could someone change Knit Cap Guy to Knit Cap Girl? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:04, 4 April 2014 (UTC)
:::Can see it has been done - great [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:32, 6 April 2014 (UTC)
::::I've found a story where he/she is male! Thus contradicting the story above, where he/she is female, and proving that we really can't use text to determine the sex. Here we have "Beanie Man". http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b6fcd098-ba98-11e3-8008-002590d77bdd
::::(But... She looks female-ish enough to me, so I personally feel inclined to keep Knit Cap Girl in the article. Also, for laziness if nothing else. Feel free to disagree with me on that.) [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 11:07, 8 April 2014 (UTC)
:::::Also, sometimes she is called Lorenz. http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:bcc77a5c-ba23-11e3-801b-002590d77bdd [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 11:40, 8 April 2014 (UTC)
:I always mentally called the guy 'Hikaru' because the guy's hat reminded me of the Nice Hat that Hikaru Azuma wore a lot in {{w|With the Light}}. [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 03:55, 5 April 2014 (UTC)

;Other
*Seems like the permalink at the top of the transcript does not work for me anymore - then they will be useless! Else they are the best way to quote different lines of the comic. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:31, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
Oh, now they work again. ;) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:31, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
:The permalinks has stopped working for me [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 20:45, 5 April 2014 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that the initial four options presented to the reader are now fixed and do not change. "These stupid tiles..." and "Gravity. Lots of it." are no longer available options. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've played the comic many times over the past couple of days and I've never received those two options). Should the transcript be edited to reflect that? [[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 21:53, 6 April 2014 (UTC)

;Chategories not yet included
Should they be?
*I have seen the word Raptor mentioned - so should velociraptor be a chategory? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:21, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
*Cueball? I.e. the politician on the right? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:28, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
*I understand that many categories has been deleted as all text references can be user generated. But when there is a drawing with a dinosaur then this categories should be included etc. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:14, 4 April 2014 (UTC)
*I would like to discuss the number of categories. If anything is in thks comics pictures then it should be included as a category. So dinos and Pokémon for sure as well as character's and collor. So I include some again - please do not delete. If you need to find where Pokémon has been referenced this commic should come in the list! [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:03, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

;Images
I created [[1350: Lorenz/Images]] with all the images I could find in the comic. I'm not sure if I should have left them in the main page [[1350: Lorenz]], but feel free to decide what to do with them. Also, I tried using the tag <nowiki><gallery></nowiki>, but I couldn't make it work, so I used a lot of divs. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 23:23, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
:Great idea - just what I hoped someone would and could do. Thanks ;) Is it easy to add new images to the page if they show up? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:32, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
::You're welcome! :) It's pretty easy... I explained in the images page how exactly you would save a new image if they show up. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 13:52, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
:Can see there keep appearing new images from the text above. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:39, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
:New shark images here: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:30f53d98-bbb3-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.65}}
:I have updated the page and made a talk page there to add comments like the above. Have already found d 3 new images cannot add them with this tablet [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:19, 4 April 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for this work, but nobody knows if this is complete. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:49, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

;Many-worlds interpretation

The title text "Every choice, no matter how small, begins a new story" might as well be a hint to Hugh Everett III 's "Many-worlds interpretation"
of quantum theory. {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.74}}
:Except that the title is Lorenz a direct reference to the guy with the butterfly effect... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:37, 3 April 2014 (UTC)
::Can't it be both? The Butterfly Effect can be seen as one consequence of the Many-Worlds interpretation. A choice as simple as whether (or where) a butterfly flaps its wings can send our entire universe down a different timeline, in which a hurricane occurs. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.49|108.162.216.49]] 19:46, 3 April 2014 (UTC)

;Most, maybe all pictures do correspond to an existing comic here
I'm calling on you to not destroy a first simple explain, even the transcript. But nearly every picture belongs to a former comic — this has to be explained at the ''Themes'' section. We have some dinosaurs, but there is much more. Please help on this issue. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:56, 4 April 2014 (UTC)
::After I understood what you mean I agree. All pictures collected should be explained in the themes section and preferably with a line to a story that includes the picture. There are so many I can't find. Some may never be available again... ? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:59, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

:What are you referring to? Has anyone deleted something important? Hope it wasn't me? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:19, 4 April 2014 (UTC)

::Well I can see it was me. We obviously disagree with what could be a trivia item and with which categories should be included even obvious ones. There has before been mention of missing pieces of hats etc and when there is one in hundreds of images with an error then it could make a fun trivia item in my opinion! I will stop editing and let you decide what to do with this comic? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:30, 4 April 2014 (UTC)

:::You totally misunderstand me. I'm asking for an explain to every picture because it should belong to a former comic.
:::Further more I'm just trying to keep the explain as simple as possible; individual error experiences should not be posted at the explain. I did remove that content in order to keep it simple as possible to an ordinary reader.
:::Please improve the picture explains, but also please keep that explain simple as possible to readers are not interested on all that crap done by Randall.
:::--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:38, 4 April 2014 (UTC)
::::Great and thanks for this explain and sorry I was grumpy in my reply before. Do you mean there should be an explanation for every single picture? Maybe this should be moved to a separate page like the list of images - they take up lots of space in the explain page - or they could be hided like the new transcript? [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:32, 6 April 2014 (UTC)
::::Have begun the full image explanation...[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:03, 6 April 2014 (UTC)

;Visual tree / map?
How hard would it be to come up with a tree graphing out the different choices? The nodes could be panels and the lines could represent text choices. Has anyone tried it?
--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.34|108.162.221.34]] 23:40, 4 April 2014 (UTC)
:I added hide/show functionality to the transcript. It's easier to read and navigate now. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 15:59, 5 April 2014 (UTC)
::Great - this was also what I had in mind :-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:32, 6 April 2014 (UTC)
:::Not so great it has been deleted... Again! I have inserted a link to the last page before Dgbrt deleted all 25000 signs. Considering the enormous work done to create this transcript I think we should let it be at least awailable as a trivia link. I cannot create the page from my tablet, but would rather have a lorenz transcript page than an old version like now. Maybe on this page again? [[1350: Lorenz/Transcript]]. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 23:03, 6 April 2014 (UTC)
::::I restored the old version in [[1350: Lorenz/Transcript]]. (Also, I used divs this time rather than templates.) [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 05:00, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

;I got my suggestion as part of the main story!
I noticed in the "references to video games" section that "Actually it's the final castle - grab your fire flower!" was one of the options. I suggested that! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.27|108.162.212.27]] 17:07, 5 April 2014 (UTC)

;Are we sure the title is not related to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenz_gauge_condition ?
For example, in Italy, the Lorenz Gauge Condition is dubbed "The Lorenz's choice". {{unsigned ip|108.162.212.218}}

;Should there be an interactive comic category?
It is kind of covered by the dynamic category, but between click and drag and this, as well as possible future comics, might it need to be its own seperate new category? [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 23:00, 5 April 2014 (UTC)

The "stupid tiles" option has vanished from panel 1. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.222|199.27.130.222]] 00:14, 6 April 2014 (UTC)
:Is that for good or just for you? How many times did you reload and did you try different browsers? It should always be awailable via a saved permalink, like you findin the transcript. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:32, 6 April 2014 (UTC)
::This probably happens at the same time for all users, considering that I read 199.27.130.222's message immediately after he/she sent it and at that point the "stupid tiles" option had vanished for me as well, but this was clearly temporary since it's back now.
::I only tested on Firefox. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 04:08, 7 April 2014 (UTC)
::I still get this option?? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 22:38, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

;Records in most panels
I have started a collection of records. I just entered what I could find to give an example. I was sure that my pheble attempts soon would be helped sore by someone who had saved the good ones... And already this is happening. Please continue to improve the records and also add more themes if I left them out [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:00, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

;Gravity lots of it?
I have never seen this option. Could someone post a permalink to such a story - could be as a record. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:58, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

;Some cool stuff i found, don't know if anyone wants to add these to the main page

Pikachu: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:80858d8c-ba22-11e3-801a-002590d77bdd

Giant pit: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:ea9342a0-bc02-11e3-8034-002590d77bdd

Goodbye, BSD: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:bae4c63c-ba31-11e3-8034-002590d77bdd

Reddit and rockets: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:602c39a8-ba92-11e3-8006-002590d77bdd

More BSD Pikachu: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:f5760770-baae-11e3-801f-002590d77bdd

Bird-powered car: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:cc4467b2-baf3-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd

This happens a lot: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b69f6096-b9f0-11e3-8009-002590d77bdd

Dinos: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:679012b0-bb4f-11e3-805b-002590d77bdd

These stupid lines: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:360411c2-baa2-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd

Pretty long: http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:7d40621c-bae7-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd

[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 22:37, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

:Thanks for your findings. This has to be added to the explain, your titles on this are GREAT! Maybe you — or someone else — does have a nice idea how to publish all this permalinks in a proper way.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:39, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

::More (mostly dream recursion):

Lord of the rings: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:40a1ac80-ba06-11e3-8017-002590d77bdd

Another moat: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:eee0d4c6-baea-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd

Looping back: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:d7970042-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd

Looping back 2: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:3f654048-badd-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd

Never seen it loop this many times: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd

Even more looping: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:75e8f03e-baaf-11e3-801f-002590d77bdd

Looping to a rocket: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:3aa7da8e-bae7-11e3-8002-002590d77bdd

Dream recursion: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:5e94d028-bb7d-11e3-8012-002590d77bdd

Where did the Pikachu come from?: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:97c42da2-bb01-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd

Ethylene dichloride: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:93312202-ba4f-11e3-8037-002590d77bdd

More rockets: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:34f7f602-ba3b-11e3-8035-002590d77bdd

Even more rockets: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:8440e346-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd

More recursion: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:20698602-bbb1-11e3-801c-002590d77bdd

Blowtorch: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:c40db5fc-baf9-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd

Another blowtorch: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:97cbd552-bb01-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd

Most different stories i've seen in one: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:60d11a70-bb16-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd

[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 21:33, 9 April 2014 (UTC)

More:

More pikachu: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:feaa5d4e-bbd2-11e3-802c-002590d77bdd

Long pikachu fight: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:d87d8344-bafb-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd

Plantains: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:22d57484-bb28-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd

Many pikachus: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:d04aabf0-b9fe-11e3-8016-002590d77bdd

Much pikachu: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:f203d1c6-ba22-11e3-801a-002590d77bdd

Such pikachu: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:a5485722-ba26-11e3-8020-002590d77bdd

Very pikachu: http://www.xkcd.com/1350/#p:81c9e8c8-ba1d-11e3-8018-002590d77bdd
[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.216|199.27.130.216]] 22:49, 9 April 2014 (UTC)

:I haven't seen them all - but have you checked the records at the bottom of the explain page - those you call pretty long does not seem to get close to the 77 picture record... Are there any new pictures not featured in the picture page linked to from the top of the explain? Else this does not seem so interesting to me... ;-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:55, 10 April 2014 (UTC)
::Ah so there were interesting stuff around. And I can see that at least one of them has already been added as a Pokémon record. Great - cool if you wrote how many panels - or if there where new pictures - it would be easier to look through them. The double dream I had been looking for, thanks I will add it to the record page under dreams [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:59, 10 April 2014 (UTC)
::Seen them all and added several to the record for themes trivia. Thanks - but please more info~(length, themes) if you still care to share [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:36, 10 April 2014 (UTC)

;Finishing the explanation
I have just done a huge job putting all the images from the list in under the themes sections. I hope others can take over and find permalinks that include all the images that are not yet on references in the links I have inserted. Also there are some of the first options that seeem to not exist anymore (Gravity lots of it) and also there was the error with the same line twice. I found it one day, but then there where no new images if you chose it. I did not save the permalink and now it seems like it is all gone.
Good work guys and girls - I have a holiday comming up with no much computer time... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 02:51, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

;Greasemonkey Script
I've just mad a script to visit random stories, and record the corresponding transcripts. It's available here: https://github.com/edfel/Lorenz/ . I hope someone can find it useful! Edfel. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.163|108.162.254.163]] 14:24, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

;Dump
One idea: Maybe someone could create a script to automatically navigate Lorenz and create a dump of all the results, to fill [[1350: Lorenz/Transcript]].
I know more-or-less how that would work in "pseudocode" so I could help but I'm not going to do it (writing actual code, testing, debugging, accounting for each individual frame, etc) any time soon. [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 07:47, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

;Go home, Saturn, you're drunk.

Quintuple Saturn POWER!
http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:9adca534-b9b0-11e3-8004-002590d77bdd [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.10|173.245.54.10]] 01:44, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

;What-If XKCD

http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:b1210692-bae5-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd
Recognize this one? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.10|173.245.54.10]] 02:09, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

;Why are the punctuation marks clipping?

I don't know what's going on, but a comma looks just like a period in the comic. The letters E, F, and I also display strangely. What's going on?[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.96|199.27.128.96]] 01:58, 6 May 2014 (UTC)

; Lorenz down time
Today there was no access to Lorenz. Tried both Firefox, Chrome and internet explorer. Just mentioning it here, if this is a permanent problem - so people can see how long it has been down. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 18:43, 15 May 2014 (UTC)
:Well it was already up again now. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:42, 16 May 2014 (UTC)
</div>
 
After inserting the collapsing talk page - the old can be seen just by clicking the expand button. But if you wish to write anything new, then do it here below at the very bottom of the talk page so it may be seen. I have this comment - after a few weeks I believe nothing new happened in this comic. I think it is now fixed. Of course this is very hard to prove. But I have completed some branches of the interactive transcript. So let me know if you can find any new options I have missed (I could have missed if there were more than four options in a panel - but not at the dead-ends! I have also just made major revisions of the explanation and it's layout - based on my observations. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:48, 19 June 2014 (UTC)

I just found a panel where it gets past the person on the comet, only one panel though... http://xkcd.com/1350/#p:25743f70-baee-11e3-8001-002590d77bdd [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.69|108.162.254.69]] 19:24, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

It's interesting the chess player in 1112 ("Think logically") resembles the knit cap girl. It's weird that Megan (or Randall's wife) after chemotherapy also wears a cap (1141, "Two years"). Is there any possible connections between them (or simply a coincidence)?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.108|108.162.215.108]] 04:24, 29 July 2014 (UTC)

I noticed that the image url noted on xkcd.com is the same as the one for #1349 - Shouldn't Be Hard. Not sure if it is caused by the interactivity disallowing an image upload, or an error on Randall's part (I'd imagine working through this comic's issues was pretty distracting). 15:37, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1470: Kix

2015-01-07T20:27:04Z

141.101.99.118:

Is there a category:comics with strong language? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.71|108.162.225.71]] 11:36, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

From now on I don't think I'll ever see a box of Kix in the store without thinking, "Kid Tested, Mother Fucker!"[[User:Bmmarti3|Bmmarti3]] ([[User talk:Bmmarti3|talk]]) 13:16, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Is it just me or does the last item in the list seem a little out of place for something Randall would write/post? It doesn't seem to me that he normally takes to swearing (at all) in any of his strips. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:34, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

What's wrong with swearing, you guys? This is XKCD; we're supposedly a mature audience who doesn't shy away from using words simply because they're about sex and sex is bad. XKCD has dealt with sexual subject matter before, I don't think Randall ever tried to market it as a 'family-oriented' webcomic. If your kid gets XKCD jokes, I think they're mature enough to learn about sex! :P [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.171|173.245.56.171]] 14:14, 7 January 2015 (UTC)
: Actually this is xkcd, and I'm not saying there's a problem - just that Randall doesn't usually directly swear in his comics. It's just an observation. BTW, where'd the sex thing come from? [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:39, 7 January 2015 (UTC)
:: I'm not entirely sure which webcomic you're thinking of... (?) because it couldn't be xkcd... I would agree that xkcd is about romance, sarcasm, math and language, and not ''about'' swearing... but by searching for your chosen epithet using the search box at the top of this page (I chose and found 27 examples of "fuck"), you can find such words used whenever he needed them (and occasionally even when they weren't ''needed'' per se) used in the titles, dialogue, labels, and title text. Please, take a couple moments and confirm for yourself. Without thorough analysis, I'd guess there was a "swear word" of one sort or another in nearly 10% of xkcd comics -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 15:11, 7 January 2015 (UTC)
: The word 'fucker' is traditionally considered obscene because of it refers to sexual intercourse, which is considered a taboo subject that should be approached with care and sensitivity in Western Culture. So what I meant was that unless you consider that approach to the word warranted, it's not entirely logical to proscribe saying the word either. But since you don't seem to have an issue with that, I do agree: Randall doesn't swear in excess, but he does it when the occasion calls for it (like here), and that's completely fine. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.171|173.245.56.171]] 15:59, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

The last one sounds like something Donald Draper would come up with if he was an increasingly cynical ad exec in the 70's or 80's when this came out. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.170|108.162.216.170]] 14:15, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

I don't believe the use of Mother Fucker is sexual in this context, just an epithet. And Randall has used swearwords throughout the lifetime of xkcd, albeit not liberally. [[User:Mattdevney|Mattdevney]] ([[User talk:Mattdevney|talk]]) 14:28, 7 January 2015 (UTC)
:Maybe he has never used the mother F word - and it does only appear here if you think it through... But the F word is used several time in the comics as can be seen by a [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=fuck&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch simple search]. See for instance: [[388:_Fuck_Grapefruit]]. [[114: Computational Linguists]], [[874: Time Management]], [[566: Matrix Revisited]], [[714: Porn For Women]], [[931: Lanes]] and especially the title text of [[110: Clark Gable]] [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:03, 7 January 2015 (UTC)
: I agree, it's more in the spirit of Die Hard's "Yippie ki yay, motherfucker" or the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDfZ5HmA6fs Usual Suspects]'s "Hand me the fucking keys, you fucking cocksucker". It's an additional expletive to show disrespect and contempt of the person you're talking to and about to get medieval on. [[User:Kev|Kev]] ([[User talk:Kev|talk]]) 20:03, 7 January 2015 (UTC)
''From the xkcd website:'' '''Warning: this comic ''occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children)'', unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)'''... I do think we need a category for these occasions of strong language. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.71|108.162.225.71]] 16:36, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

In the interest of science, I have created a category for comics with strong language. [[User:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]] ([[User talk:ImVeryAngryItsNotButter|talk]]) 18:35, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

I just noticed that if you read downward (acrosticly) from the last letter in "SELECTED" you get "DEFEC" - which implies a different rhyming response.--[[User:Schnitz|Schnitz]] ([[User talk:Schnitz|talk]]) 19:18, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

When I read "Kid tested, mother not notified" I thought more of "Kid tested for substance abuse, mother not notified of the (positive) test result".

I had a sometimes different take on the explanation:
:For "Mother Selected", my first thoughts were that the mother was ''herself'' selected (for unknown purposes) despite/because of the kid being the one assessed for suitability.
:"Mother Perfected" seemed to suggest that after checking the child that she created, she was tweaked (genetically?) so that future kids wouldn't perhaps have some fault discovered in the first one.
:"Mother Not Notified", as already given in this Talk section, was "not told of the result of the test".
:"Mother Watching Helplessly" - per concensus.
:"Mother Infected", someone checked the kid for some disease or other, but it was actually the mother that was ill.
:"Mother Consumed", Mommy entered the food-chain (either as too old to bother testing the same as her child, or as part of the assessment process ''by'' the child).
:And the last assessment I agree with (although was half expecting a "MILF" reference... but there's not one there that I can see).
...but I can't argue with what's already been given. Consider the above as supplementary only. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.118|141.101.99.118]] 20:27, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1435: Presidential Alert

2014-10-17T10:19:39Z

141.101.99.118:

Do you think this has to do with the Floss joke on Reddit at all? [[User:Kllrshrk|Kllrshrk]] ([[User talk:Kllrshrk|talk]]) 04:11, 17 October 2014 (UTC) Kllrshrk
:I don't know about floss joke on reddit, tell me more [[Special:Contributions/103.31.5.112|103.31.5.112]] 04:32, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

::http://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/2j6pxs/whats_the_joke_with_then_floss/ [[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 04:38, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

:Randall knows reddit; this is most likely a reference.[[User:Cheeselover724|Cheeselover724]] ([[User talk:Cheeselover724|talk]]) 04:34, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

:I was thinking that it had something to do with the broadcast he did yesterday (Thursday Oct 16) on the subject of Ebola -- where he really said nothing, other than pamper a bit to the Fox News people, promising an Ebola-czar if he felt it would help [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 08:01, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

I'm going to suggest that the hover text is based on a faked misunderstanding of First Amendment law... the President, as part of the government, can't suggest a preference for one religion over others, including when he's talking to his own children. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.119}}

: Disagree: Mentioning "God" does not signal any preference of any particular religion -- there is (at least one) god in them all, albeit in religions with more than one god they have individual names where in religions with only one god they may not have a name at all [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 08:01, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

:: There are arguments regarding talking about your capital-G God ((one) proper name of the generic christian god) as opposed to talking about your small-g god (who might have a specific name, whether Jehova, Allah, Osiris, Odin, Quetzovercoatl or, indeed, God). But that's for etymologists to discuss, probably. Or entomologists, when they're fed up talking about whether Bugs are bugs and are trying to relax by not talking shop. HTH, HAND. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.118|141.101.99.118]] 10:19, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

I read the comic a bit differently: supposing the President accidentally pressed "The Button" (started nuclear war), he would appear on television to tell the country about the impending catastrophe. However, once on TV he can't bring himself to tell everyone that he started a nuclear war by mistake, so he opts for something rather lame and exits -- it will all be over soon anyway.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.191|141.101.104.191]] 07:53, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
: Feeling a bit down today? --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 08:05, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Where does the "President Cueball" come from? I assumed it was Obama. --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 08:07, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

The alt-text seems like an unnecessary swipe at President Obama. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.80|108.162.216.80]] 09:03, 17 October 2014 (UTC)
: Everything that occurs here is necessary. [[User:Robert|Robert]] ([[User talk:Robert|talk]]) 09:35, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

An phone app called Pushbullet recently began pushing xkcds to my phone, and Dashclock places the titles of pushes to my lock screen. Where I'm going with this, if you haven't guessed, is that I found my phone in my bed after 3 AM and blearily woke it to be greeted with a red lock screen reading '''Presidential Alert'''

A big thank-you to everyone to made my 4 AM wakefulness possible. – [[User:Robert|Robert]] ([[User talk:Robert|talk]]) 09:35, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1433: Lightsaber

2014-10-15T12:56:25Z

141.101.99.118:

I seem to remember seeing somewhere that lightsabers are actually not lasers but rather plasma held in that shape by some sort of force field. I think it should be in the explanation if it is true. [[User:Athang|Athang]] ([[User talk:Athang|talk]]) 06:11, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
:I'd just like to know what "real laser"s have to do with lightsabers. (Other than little kids using the wrong name.) [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.120|103.22.201.120]] 11:55, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

Most of "scientific" explanations of lightsaber (and blaster bolts) says about plasma contained in magnetic field. For example check this SE http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/6478.
Endless "laser sword" pun was also used in http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6704463/troopers-laser-sword, without Luke but with massive hull breach. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.214|108.162.231.214]] 06:38, 13 October 2014 (UTC)PTwr

One joking "explanation" of the light sabre conjured long ago on a newsgroup I was on had used the Fourier analysis. It proposed that the "handle" emits multiple beams of light with very well defined frequencies and amplitudes, corresponding to a Fourier series for a pulse wave with a low duty cycle - so the waveforms emitted cancel themselves after a short distance. The joke went on, saying that since the sum of the Fourier series is periodic, someone practicing the sabre on the Earth can accidentally chop off the head of someone walking on the Moon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.29|108.162.254.29]] 07:26, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

I don't think this has anything to do with the Hull Breach card game. The sentence "Hull breach all along sector five" does however sound like something from Star Trek and not like Star Wars.[[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 12:07, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

There is a XKCD What If discussion on infinite lasers at http://what-if.xkcd.com/109/ [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.113|141.101.99.113]] 12:17, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

"'''Because Vader slightly tilts the active lightsaber, the beam ends up slicing straight through the hull of a large section of the Death Star. '''" Wouldn't it would cause a breach the moment he turned it on, not waiting until he tilts it? [[User:Lomky|Lomky]] ([[User talk:Lomky|talk]]) 15:07, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
:Yes, but the breach would be highly localized (the same diameter as the blade) until he tilts it. If he does so in the center of the sphere, leverage means that a slight angle change in the emitter means a huge change at the other end of the beam.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 15:34, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
::Darth Vader may be more machine than man, but don't you think you're overestimating his ability to hold his hand steady? You seem to be suggesting his hand wouldn't tremor enough to cause even the tiniest perturbations in the angle.[[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 19:29, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
:::How far are they from the hull? The original breach would still be relatively localized (on the order of 1-2% of their distance from the hull), so if they're within a few hundred meters from the boundary it shouldn't be particularly large. (That's even assuming they're on the Death Star in the first place, as the IP below me helpfully points out; could be that the original vector simply didn't intersect the Death Star at all.) Or of course it could be the original - it's only been several seconds or so, maybe they only noticed it that moment anyway. A cool calculation I don't have time to do right now: assuming the blade covered a plane sector of, say, 15 degrees (I'm ignoring the twitches for a moment, though it's easy to see that they don't change the answer much), and assuming it didn't hit any nearby planets such as Endor, approximately how many planets it would've hit on its way from the galaxy? Same question for stars (though I suppose a lightsaber blade won't do much to a star). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.64.23|141.101.64.23]] 06:51, 14 October 2014 (UTC)
::::They're on Endor (in the movie, at least). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDnoczxzQyg If the beam intersects the Death Star, it would be many hundreds of KM away. Any perturbations would be HUGE at that distance. Also, the XKCD What If book actually addresses the question of the likelihood that a beam hits anything. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 12:03, 15 October 2014 (UTC)

The scene referred to in Return of the Jedi, actually takes place on the surface of Endors moon. There are trees in the background: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDnoczxzQyg [[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.222|141.101.81.222]] 15:20, 13 October 2014 (UTC)

Actually, the title text says "A long time in the future, in a galaxy...", not "ago". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 12:25, 13 October 2014 (UTC)
: Who said otherwise? "'''The Star Wars opening crawl''' starts with the text "A long time ago..." {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.117}}

When I first read this, I took it as a game of one-up-manship. I build something, you build something better, I build something even better, you build something cooler, etc in an ever escalating spiral of coolness. So, here, Luke has built a long sabre as a way of one-upping his father, who then asks "where does [this competition] end?" Luke's response is taht the competition, like his laser sword, never ends. That also seems to fit in neatly with Randall's penchant for puns. OTOH, I could just be making up stuff inside my head :D JonS

<GASP> We now have one of the two variables needed to find the Death Star! We have direction, now all we need is distance! {{unsigned ip|108.162.217.137}}

"'''an unusual gamma ray burst in 2008, visible to the human eye'''" - I know what is ''meant'', but perhaps a rewording? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.118|141.101.99.118]] 12:56, 15 October 2014 (UTC)