explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2412: 1/100,000th Scale World

2021-01-16T13:03:54Z

162.158.155.84:

Sprites?

[[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.44|172.68.174.44]] 17:01, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

Looks like there is a form of electrical discharge that can occur above thunderstorms called a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(lightning) Sprite]

It actually took me a second to realise this was a new comic, I thought Randal just added different jokes to Wednesday's for some reason. Given the title text, I wonder what projection Randall would use for this scale model... I imagine a projection similar to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Build_the_Earth#Map_projection Build the Earth's modified Airocean] would work for something like this.--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.85|172.69.35.85]] 17:12, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

Just for reference and to be checked, I paste here the maths to compute that the panel spans 9 degrees of a great circle:
<pre>
> 10/1e3*1e5/6371*180/pi
[1] 8.993216
</pre>
--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 19:21, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

The ISS game seems very contradictory to the other rules in this and the previous comic. Given that the ISS would be only about 1 mm wide, hitting it with a nerf dart would almost certainly destroy it. [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 19:59, 15 January 2021 (UTC)
:The world is at scale, but people and the artifacts they create don't seem to be. In particular, the wine glasses are normal size relative to the people. So the ISS may be life size, and hitting it with a dart should be trivial. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 06:23, 16 January 2021 (UTC)
:: At least in the previous comic, the artifacts created by mankind are very much to scale, see weather balloons and skyscrapers. So it stands to reason the ISS is as well. Also, hitting a life size ISS from about 2 meters away hardly seems like a challenging game. Especially since the return time of 90 minutes indicates its speed is also to scale. The wine glasses you mentioned aren't to scale because their not part of the scale model but rather part of the "real world". [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 10:26, 16 January 2021 (UTC)
:Th rules in the other comic along with this one seem entirely for visitor safety rather than preserving anything in the model. There's warnings about standing on cities with "pointy towers" or digging near Yellowstone, implying you're allowed to stand in other cities and dig elsewhere, which would obviously have huge effects on the model.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.60|108.162.215.60]] 23:32, 15 January 2021 (UTC)
::While you're right about most rules, you're not entirely correct. At least the rules regarding breaking off ice chips and refilling lake Tahoe seem to be solely for preserving the model, since they don't offer any obvious benefit or protection to the visitors. [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 09:52, 16 January 2021 (UTC)
::: At the end of the day the reasons behind the rules don't matter, whoever made the scale world can decide on whichever rules they want! --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 11:22, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

Is this a duplicate? Looks the same as [[2411: 1/10,000th Scale World]]. [[User:PvOberstein|PvOberstein]] ([[User talk:PvOberstein|talk]]) 20:24, 15 January 2021 (UTC)
:Look better, the scale is different. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.245.47|172.68.245.47]] 20:40, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

<span id="run-fast-enough-go-into-orbit">Correct me if im wrong but if you ran fast enough, could you go into orbit around earth? [[User:Donthaveusername|Donthaveusername]] ([[User talk:Donthaveusername|talk]]) 20:56, 15 January 2\021 (UTC) </span>
:This "What If" might help: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/68/ Little Planet] ''(also, I closed your /span tag (not sure why it's there, just following etiquette/not editing your post, while trying to fix a superfluous code-block /div that the wiki was inserting)'' [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 22:40, 15 January 2021 (UTC)

1:1,000,000 scale next? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.39|162.158.74.39]] 23:24, 15 January 2021 (UTC)
:Kind of like the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0 Powers of Ten] short film. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 06:23, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

If visitors in the previous comic get hypoxia unless they crouch regularly, then shouldn't visitors in this comic get hypoxia unless they lie down regularly? However hypoxia would likely negate the need for an intoxicating gas (although the visitors wouldn't be able to enjoy the apparent curvature for long before going unconscious).[[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.220|162.158.186.220]] 00:02, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

The iss nerf point winning seems to be a reference to the [https://spaceinvaders.fandom.com/wiki/UFO space invaders UFO]

I can't get my head around 5oz as a volume, with wine glasses ranging from petite flutes to huge volumes for 'tasting' and/or 'binging' (depending on how much you fill it, and how much air you (don't) leave for it to 'breathe' into). Fluid ounces, I presume, but they mean little to me as everyday practical alternatives to the litre/millilitre and the US often doesn't even use the same measure amounts even when they nominally share a name with imperial so going to look at my own measuring jug probably would mislead me by a significant fraction. Yes, I could look it up, but it's annoying me that I would have to.
(Also, that glass she's putting icecaps in looks wine-glassy. Either you're icing wine, or using the wrong kind of glass for whisky/whatever.)[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.122|141.101.105.122]] 04:50, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

The area from the previous comic is visible near mount Everest. It appears to be an exact copy, with the anvil could and ocean matching perfectly.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.82|108.162.245.82]] 09:20, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

Why are there Icecaps on the flat ground so close to mt everest? is it the arctic or am I missing something? didn't think himalaya is THAT far north... --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 10:43, 16 January 2021 (UTC)
:I had that concern about Seattle and Dubai (presumed, at least) in the last comic. ''Might'' just be the peculiar perspective/cross-sectional nature, but otherwise it's going to be a highly accurate but ''jumbled'' model of Earth. (Or a real decimilli-/centimilli-scale planet of its own layout but with its own features named for the Earthly equivalents.) Model villages that cram in the intricately designed working alpine cablecars well within a scale-mile of the busy sea-port, etc, have this problem/solution too. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.84|162.158.155.84]] 13:03, 16 January 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2408: Egg Strategies

2021-01-07T18:55:46Z

162.158.155.84:

I'm not going to get into it because it's not related to these egg cartons, but it is ''really weird'' sitting here explaining a joke while I listen to breaking news on the radio. [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 22:24, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

I really thought it was just me who cared about center of gravity for eggs. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.49|162.158.79.49]] 23:43, 6 January 2021 (UTC)

We keep the hard boiled ones at one end and the fr4esh ones at the other end.

Bring True Neutral (egg carton sits lengthwise in fridge, most convenient egg is removed until carton is empty), I am ''baffled'' by the existence of other "strategies". Do people really do this? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.70|108.162.241.70]] 00:57, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
: True Neutral here, and also putting the carton in the fridge eggless side out (which is consistent with "most convenient egg removed"). The current explanation says that this is "a disaster waiting to happen". Why?<br/>As a side-note, as I understand it, the alternate strategies can be convenient if you ''don't'' put the carton lengthwise in the fridge (particularly if you don't put it in the fridge ''at all''). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.117|162.158.183.117]] 11:26, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
:: I am also True Neutral - when putting the carton into the fridge end-first it allows me to extract it with the majority of the weight in my hand. It's a disaster if it is inserted the heavy side in first because when I grab the empty end the weight of the eggs can tip them out the other side. As an aside, I was a little insulted to find out that I am not the only person in the world who actually has an "egg carton strategy". I thought I was unique! ;-) [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 13:40, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
::: Ha, no, far from it! Nothing new under the sun, I guess. Here's some documentation of prior art by John McIntosh from 2006, under the title [http://www.urticator.net/essay/6/649.html "Egg Carton Theory"]. [[User:Dvgrn|Dvgrn]] ([[User talk:Dvgrn|talk]]) 17:27, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
: Chiming in on True Neutral strategy, which I also use, with some added thoughts: I also put the heavy end in first, but primarily because I usually have two cartons stacked, where inserting the heavy end on top of the full carton in the fridge makes it easier to push the carton the rest of the way in on top of the bottom carton. Putting it in the other way around, the heavy end is hanging off the bottom carton, resulting in less stability before it's pushed all the way in. If you can't tell, I'm an engineer! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:41, 7 January 2021 (UTC)
:::: Chaotic Neutral here. Doing it that way means I have the benefit of a seemingly random egg without thinking too much about which egg to actually pick. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.220|108.162.229.220]] 17:35, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

Being Lawful Good and married to someone who is Chaotic Good, we might sometimes argue over this. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.29|162.158.62.29]] 03:23, 7 January 2021 (UTC) MSS

In Germany, there are two sizes of egg cartons, containing 6 or 10 eggs, respectively. Most refrigerators I’ve seen (in stores or households) contain an egg-holder with six dents, though I also have occasionally seen 10-dent egg holders.
Since I usually buy 20 eggs at the weekly market, my strategy is to transfer the eggs from a package to the egg holder once there are less than 9 left in the package (for the purpose of knowing how many are still left without having to open a package). If there are more than six eggs, the one or two additional eggs are placed lying besides the egg holder.
I think that counts as chaotic neutral. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.28|141.101.68.28]] 01:42, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

I've got a niggling feeling that Chaotic Neutral (at least) is wrongly depicted. Too orderly. I'd have put Chaotic Good's pattern there (not necessarily vice-versa, as the current incumbent looks more Lawful or Variation-of-neutrality as well as Good) as attempting to maintain balance but with an element of chance. We don't know what sequence of removal ''led'' to each of these states, of course. That might make much of the difference in how we reach the illustrated states. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.253|162.158.158.253]] 03:03, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

I'd go a little further and swap CG and CN (the current CG being a marginally more ordered and balanced CN) but otherwise agree. CN is the strategy I use when the carton is at risk of being centrally supported while in humid conditions (don't ask), making NG risk bending of the whole carton. LG is actually worse then NG in some circumstances, due to a drastically reduced moment of inertia contributing to the chance of dropping. On the other hand, NG increases the probability of end-shattering if the carton is actually dropped. Overall, different strategies are probably a result of experience, circumstance, relative clumsiness, and hat colour. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.75|162.158.166.75]] 05:43, 7 January 2021 (UTC)

I feel like the chaotic good isn't random. It seems like it could be Braille or something like that, maybe? I don't know, I might looking for patterns where there are none.

Is it bother anyone that there are different numbers of eggs in each carton? At least there should have been two boxes for each alignment, one with an even number of eggs and one with odd.
:: I was thinking precisely this. Can lead to a sense of "apples and oranges" otherwise. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.49|108.162.216.49]] 15:51, 7 January 2021 (UTC)MeZimm

Learned something today: Americans refrigerate eggs
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.84|162.158.155.84]] 18:55, 7 January 2021 (UTC)