explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2818: Circuit Symbols

2023-08-23T01:56:54Z

162.158.166.43:

{{comic
| number = 2818
| date = August 21, 2023
| title = Circuit Symbols
| image = circuit_symbols_2x.png
| imagesize = 438x362px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = A circle with an A in it means that the circuit has committed a sin and has been marked as punishment.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LOT of trolley problems in between overpasses built on top of pogo sticks, experiencing a couple of earthquakes. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic contains several symbols used in circuit diagrams. Each is labeled with a larger object that the symbol looks like a drawing of, rather than the electrical component it actually represents. Randall has previously depicted distorted uses, depictions, and labelling of the standard US-form {{w|electronic symbol}}s in comics such as [[730: Circuit Diagram]].

{| class="wikitable"
! Symbol !! Randall's Description !! Explanation
|-
| {{w|Switch}}
| {{w|Drawbridge}}
| The symbol represents a physical on/off {{w|switch}} in a circuit, but also resembles a {{w|drawbridge}}. A switch functions the exact same as a drawbridge, impeding electrons' flow when it is open.
|-
| {{w|Capacitor}}
| {{w|Overpass}}
| A {{w|capacitor}} is a component that can be used to hold electric charge, but also looks a bit like a map depiction for a highway {{w|overpass}} of a main road passing over a more minor track. This may actually be refered to more as an {{w|Tunnel#Underpass|underpass}}, from the perspective of the lesser route, being not usually as obvious a feature when using the upper highway.
|-
| {{w|Ground (electricity)|Ground}}
| {{w|Pogo Stick}}
| This symbol represents a connection to "{{w|Ground (electricity)|ground}}" or "earth", the common baseline voltage ''or'' safe current sink for various circuits (e.g. against which an aerial signal can be compared). If the horizontal lines are taken as motion/impactinds it might looks like a stylised {{w|pogo stick}}.
|-
| {{w|Resistor}} (ANSI)
| {{w|Earthquake}}
| A {{w|resistor}} is a component that reduces current flow in a circuit. There are two main symbols used: an IEC-style 'box' or, like here, the ANSI zig-zagged line. In this case, it also looks somewhat like the marks an earthquake makes on a seismograph and/or the 'rucks' of the ground (especially asphalt roads) that might result from underlying tectonic movements.
|-
| {{w|Inductor}}
| {{w|Sheep}}
| {{w|Inductor}}s create a magnetic field when current passes through them, and generally consist of a coil of wire, which the symbol reflects. The symbol seems in this case to be interpreted like the fluffy wool of a sheep.
|-
| {{w|Transformer}}
| Two sheep in love, trapped on opposite side of a fence.
| A {{w|transformer}} consists of two (or more) induction coils, for input and output(s), and a common core to mediate the transfer of power across the gap. The curly loop symbols of the symbol have already been claimed to resemble sheep, and the straight line (which is the core) now represents a fence separating two sheep who nonetheless wish to be together.
|-
| {{w|Battery}}
| Battery
| Not a joke, this is a typical symbol for a {{w|Electric battery|battery}}, or other form of {{w|voltaic pile}}.
|-
| Battery (sorted)
| Baertty
| Randall may have mapped the characters "tt" to the first short line and "er" to the following long line in the original symbol, having had "ba" and "y" assigned to the long and short "T" shapes that form the connections to the rest of the circuit. Rearranging the symbolic verticals as long-long-short-short, as he has done in this (fictional) symbol, thus puts "er" in front of "tt".
|-
| Battery, with far too many short lines
| Battttttttttttery
| The only other fictional symbol. Which, by the same established naming rules, means that the name is spelled with six "tt"s instead of just the single pair.
|-
| {{w|Photodiode}}
| Check out this really cool diode
| A {{w|photodiode}} generates, or allows to pass, a current in response to light. The symbol is related to the standard {{w|diode}} with the arrows pointing at it representing the light which activates its behaviour. In this case, Randall instead pretends that the arrows are pointing at it to draw attention to it because it's "really cool".
|-
| {{w|Electronic oscillator|Oscillator}}
| {{w|Wave Pool}}
| An {{w|Electronic oscillator|oscillator}} generates signals that oscillate at a given frequencies, for use in other circuitry, and one symbol used for one (in reality, built from a number of components in their own right) is this symbol. Waves in water are a type of oscillation that may be more familiar to most people than waves of electricity. A {{w|wave pool}} is in fact the ''result'' of a type of (mechanical) oscillator, and rarely has electricity running through it.{{Citation needed}}[Citation needed joke was needed.]{{actual citation needed}}
|-
| {{w|Transistor}}
| Trolley Problem
| A {{w|transistor}} will switch on current flow across one pair of connections, depending upon the input from an input one. Thus, it switches electricity in the same way that the {{w|trolley problem}} switches the trolley track. The symbol also somewhat resembles the usual pictorial depiction of the problem.
|-
| {{w|Ammeter|A circle with an A}} [In the title text]
| The circuit has committed a sin and has been marked as punishment
| Circles with letters are usually some special components, as also with the oscillator's glyph. In this case the "A" stands for ammeter, a device used to measure {{w|electric current}} (an "{{w|ampere}} meter"). This is conflated with the practice of branding the 'guilty', or requiring them to display their crime for a period of pennance. For example: in ''{{w|The Scarlet Letter}}'', a historical novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the heroine must wear an ''A'' to mark her as an adulteress.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A chart of various circuit symbols and their (mostly) fictitious meanings based off of their drawings, captioned:] Circuit Symbols
:[Symbol for a switch, labelled:] Drawbridge
:[Symbol for a capacitor, labelled:] Overpass
:[Symbol for a connection to ground, labelled:] Pogo Stick
:[Symbol for a resistor, labelled:] Earthquake
:[Symbol for an inductor, labelled:] Sheep
:[Symbol for a transformer, labelled:] Two Sheep in Love, Trapped on Opposite Sides of a Fence
:[Symbol for a battery, labelled:] Battery
:[Symbol for a battery, sorted, labelled:] Baertty
:[Symbol for a battery, with far too many short lines, labelled:] Battttttttttttery
:[Symbol for a photodiode, labelled:] Check Out This Really Cool Diode
:[Symbol for an oscillator, labelled:] Wave Pool
:[Symbol for a transistor, labelled:] Trolley Problem

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Engineering]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:2372: Dialect Quiz

2020-10-17T02:10:09Z

162.158.166.43: use of 'citation needed' with reference to pronunciation of 'Google'

Fun fact: shallots, scallops, and scallions ran against each other in [[1529: Bracket]]. (This will probably end up in the Trivia tab when one is created.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.10.135|172.69.10.135]] 20:50, 14 October 2020 (UTC)
:Apparently "scallops" is used in the UK for 'potato fritters', but in ''my'' youth in family camping trips the term was used for (fried) potato slices - like 'chips' (UK type) in thickness, but cut only in one dimension, not two. Often in the same pan, at the same time, as the sausages for the first night's meal, so with the distinct taste of lard and sausage-fat. I assume there's other names for this (greasy, possibly slightly charred/sausage-char-coated in places) delicacy. Similar slices (from boiled tatties, which might have been the preprepared state of the slices fried as above) were also ate un(re)heated in a salad/generic packed-lunch context. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.247|162.158.158.247]] 18:23, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

Cosmetology both sounds like "Cosmology" but it's also the fancy word for people who study cosmetics. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.92|172.68.174.92]] 21:22, 14 October 2020 (UTC)
: Aren't stars the people we took cosmetics advice from before there were influencers? Or are they the same thing? Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@excite.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.102|162.158.155.102]] 00:55, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

I mean the water fountains might as well be gutter pipes
21:49, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

@kswoll: Pretty sure this is a direct parody of the NYTimes quiz here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/dialect-quiz-map.html

* I agree, this was also tweeted about 3 days earlier by Nate Silver [https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1315348221565206530] - based on [[2371: Election Screen Time]], it's likely that Randall saw that tweet [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.27|162.158.62.27]] 03:29, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

The Google pronunciation question might be a reference to a reference to [https://youtu.be/epj8OzP6z-M?t=177 a scene] from the second-to-last episode of Halt and Catch Fire. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.165|162.158.79.165]] 23:35, 14 October 2020 (UTC)

My guess is it is a reference to Yahoo another search engine that had commercials with high pitched yelp and some might put emphasis on either the "Ya" or the "hoo"

While I agree that most people know what a hammer is, this is not hammer - or rather, may not be considered "standard" hammer. Personally I would call it "Hammer with that thing for pulling nails out", but I could be easily convinced that it has some other name which doesn't include the word "hammer", instead of (presumably correct) {{w|claw hammer}}. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:55, 14 October 2020 (UTC)
:My feeling is that claw hammers are the type of hammer that most people are familiar with, and would consider the archetype of hammer. If you go to {{w|hammer}} the first picture is a claw hammer. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]]
:: Objection, your honor! In German, this would be called a "Zimmermannshammer" (carpenter's hammer, which IS a claw hammer). But the Plato hammer has a simple wedge on the other side. Maybe a German almost never has the need to pull out nails again, /schweinhund/! :-) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.103|162.158.158.103]] 08:08, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 06:02, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
::: Well, this quiz is about English dialects, so German words aren't very relevant, and that term includes "hammer" as part of it anyway, as with most terms an English speaker would call this type of hammer, as people would indeed recognize it as a type of hammer and understand anyone referring to it as just "hammer" even if they might have a more specific name for the variety of hammer it is. People would not normally use the terms listed here for it.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.109|162.158.74.109]] 08:49, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
* Yeah, I was thinking it was a claw hammer, also. I do have a friend that pronounces the word jen-er-uh, even though I have specifically said the word correctly around him after he has used it. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 00:40, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
:: "genera" is a word. I typed it into Google, marvelled at the incomprehensible phonetic version, and tapped a speaker button. My computer said "Genera" and a box popped up that reads "Learn to pronounce", which I consider to be rude. But after all, I pressed the button. Robert Carnegie rja.carnegie@excite.com [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.225|162.158.158.225]] 00:51, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
::Russian probe sent to Venus? And I'm so confident about that, that I shall not even check before posting. (No idea how it's said in Russian, but the Anglophone versios doesn't differ between anglophonic countries as much as "Moscow" does.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.72|162.158.155.72]] 01:34, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
::Yeah, yeah, so I now know I merged two different Russian space-thingies. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.140|162.158.159.140]] 01:40, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Ok, who’s the joker that put “Citation needed” at the end of “ "Google" is not generally pronounced with a high-pitched yelp on either syllable.[citation needed]”
:I was about to do the same myself (i.e., put "Citation needed" about pronunciation of 'Google') until I read the note about Yahoo. But isn't 'Citation needed' used as a bit of a running joke in Explain xkcd, placed after bold claims that nobody would actually challenge because they're obviously correct?{{Citation needed}}[[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.43|162.158.166.43]] 02:10, 17 October 2020 (UTC)

"Many-legged scaly creature" makes me think of silverfish, centipedes or millipedes, though they have exoskeletons rather than scales, and ''certainly'' don't eat light bulbs. It seems to me that a segmented exoskeleton is reminiscent of scales, though. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.167|162.158.154.167]] 07:37, 15 October 2020 (UTC)
:Question 8 sounds like a hybrid, to me, with another part coming from a glow worm / firefly question. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.12|141.101.68.12]] 10:19, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

13 seems to be referring to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholcidae these] to me. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.169|173.245.52.169]] 12:30, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Please feel free to edit/condense my rambly explanation of shallots/scallions. Debating removing the second and third detailed paragraphs entirely. I'm from NSW and have seen confusion on recipes posted online so not exactly impartial. [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.134|103.22.201.134]] 16:40, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

I'm half remembering in the original Thunderbirds series, an old NASA colleague of Geoff Tracey who 'poses' as an generic ¿Deep South? country-bumpkin/local-yokel (grown up in the area, though obviously smart enough to get into NASA and then later 'retire' to become a trusted International Rescue local agent... or so I may extrapolate) calling Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, with whom he was clearly familiar, "Penn elope" (to "rhyme with antelope"). I shall have to dig up my complete VHS tapes to confirm... and probably spend a couple of days just watching them all, for old times' sake ...but clearly the script called for an uneducated (mis)pronunciation of her name - maybe feigned as part of his act/through habit. So if it aint an actual misconception/affectation by ''someone'', that the scriptwriters (or voice-actor) used, then it needs far more explanation. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.72|162.158.155.72]] 02:43, 16 October 2020 (UTC)
:When I was very very young, I did believe that Penelope rhymed with antelope. But ''The Perilous Perils of Penelope Pitstop'' soon put paid to that. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.52|141.101.98.52]] 10:27, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

Re: "genre" - what about the Alex Trebek pronunciation? [[User:QoopyQoopy|QoopyQoopy]] ([[User talk:QoopyQoopy|talk]]) 03:52, 16 October 2020 (UTC)
:Anecdotal, I know, but I've never heard someone pronounce "genre" the same way they pronounce "Alex Trebek".
Also it was only a few months ago I figured out that Scallions weren't Scallops, so they can indeed easily be confused (in discussion, not when actually present, hopefully!) [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 06:56, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

In Question 9, "Devil's Marks" may also be a reference to the question about rain on a sunny day in the Harvard study and NYT quiz. One of the answers is "The Devil is beating his wife" [[User:Thaledison|Thaledison]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 17:58, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

In slightly expanding the "animated video file" entry I left out the following (related, but possibly slightly too unrelated) information. In Louis Carol's Jabberwocky, the phrase "Gyre and Gymble" (in its initial version, with "y"s in there where all "i"s would later be, but also "ye" for "the", or rather the y-like character it would take too long to conveniently copy into here) was undoubtedly doubly a hard-G. "Gimbling" was apparently derived from the action of punching holes for "gimlets" (possibly a feeding behaviour, the slithy toves (slimy+lithe creatures that are part badger, part lizard and part corkscrew) presumably poking their noses into the ground). "Gyring" is spinning like a "gyroscope" (to further send their helical snouts deeper). Both are authoritatively intended to be hard-Gs as even "gyroscope" was, at that time, so mouthed. Though I've heard many a "jire and gimble" in modern recitation (the reader missing the likely opportunity for aliteration), as well as the double-hard-G approaches. Interestingly also the occasional "jire and jimble" version, presumably the reader doubling-down on their soft-G choice for the former ''and'' respecting the repetition intuitively intended. Me, I'm probably inclined to doubling the hard version, but it's been so long since ever I had to recite it that I can't even remember what I might have initially cold-read it as. ;)

Additionally additionally, the product "Jif" (bathroom cleaning cream) which was supposed to be the homophonic inspiration for the "gif" file's soft-G, was changed (in the UK market) maybe two decades ago to "Cif" - apparently to match the mainland Europe marketing name ("J" varies from soft-G to a 'hard-Y' over there, possibly even to other sounds). But there was much derision at the time by those who pointed out the new issue of whether it was a hard-C ("kif") or soft-C ("sif"), whatever the TV ads announcing the change said (soft!). ((Not sure when exactly that happened, especially in relation to the Opal Fruits->Starburst and Marathon->Snickers renamings, etc, but I think there was also eye-rolling at the changing of a long-recognised major (localised) brand-name for perhaps rather crass 'business' reasons.)) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.154|141.101.98.154]] 19:44, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

Mad props to Randall for running the survey questions on @xkcd twitter. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.14|172.68.141.14]] 23:24, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

2372: Dialect Quiz

2020-10-15T16:03:23Z

162.158.166.43: /* Explanation */ Expanded on 'shallot/scallion/eschalot' confusion and joke substitution of 'scallop'. With wiki links.

{{comic
| number = 2372
| date = October 14, 2020
| title = Dialect Quiz
| image = dialect_quiz.png
| titletext = Do you make a distinction between shallots, scallops, and scallions? If you use all three words, do they all have different meanings, all the same, or are two the same and one different?
}}

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

This comic is a parody of online quizzes that offer to compare the user's dialect of American English with others around the country. These quizzes generally contain questions about word usage, names for certain objects, and pronunciations that vary between different regions of the US. There are also quizzes about broader English dialects, but this comic focuses on commonly cited differences between American dialects.

The earliest quiz of this type to be widely disseminated online was the [http://dialect.redlog.net/ Harvard Dialect Survey], conducted in the early 2000s by Bert Vaux and Scott Golder. The survey created maps of the distribution of various word usage (such as pop/soda/Coke for a fizzy drink) and was a relatively early example of widely shared Internet "viral" content. In 2013, Josh Katz of the New York Times created [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/dialect-quiz-map.html a new version] based on the Harvard survey, which became the Times' [https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/-em-the-new-york-times-em-most-popular-story-of-2013-was-not-an-article/283167/ most popular content of 2013] and spread the idea to many more people. Many of the questions in this comic directly derive from entries in those surveys.

Randall's previous two comics have been about election predictions, leading up to the 2020 US General Presidential Election. A prominent predictor of the election results is Nate Silver, who runs the FiveThirtyEight website. [https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1315348221565206530 @NateSilver538 posted his results] of taking the New York Times version of the survey on October 11, 2020... just three days before this comic was posted. [[2371: Election Screen Time]] specifically suggests that Randall may be spending too much time obsessing over new posts and content from the election predictors. It's coincidental, but likely, that Nate Silver's tweet inspired Randall's post: he was reminded of the 2013 feature from the Times.

{| border =1 width=100% cellpadding=5 class="wikitable"
! # !! Question !! Answers !! Explanation
|-
! 1
| How do you address a group of two or more people?
|
* A) You
* B) Y'all
* C) I have not been around two or more people for so long that I can't remember
| Reference to the first question of the Times quiz: "How would you address {{w|You#Informal_plural_forms|a group of two or more people}}?" (with options including "you all", "you guys", "y'all", etc.). Option C may reference the significant decrease in human interaction and social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic.
|-
! 2
| How do you pronounce "Penelope"?
|
* A) Rhymes with "Antelope"
* B) Rhymes with "Develop"
| Both the options for this are wrong, making it the first of many quiz questions it is impossible to answer correctly.

Neither Option A's "PEN-e-lohp" and Option B's "pe-NELL-up" are a typical pronunciation of this name (beyond mispronunciations). In English, the only correct way to pronounce this name is "pe-NELL-o-pee," which is not listed.
|-
! 3
| What do you call the scientific field that studies the stars?
|
* A) Astrology
* B) Agronomy
* C) Cosmetology
| The actual answer is {{w|Astronomy}}, which is not listed. {{w|Astrology}} is the pseudo-scientific "study" of the influence of the stars and planets on our lives, including horoscopes (often confused with Astronomy due to its similar name), {{w|Agronomy}} ''is'' scientific but instead studies agriculture, and {{w|Cosmetology}} is the study of cosmetics and makeup (with a name close to {{w|Cosmology}}, a branch of Astronomy). The last may also be referring to the (occasionally heavily made-up) faces of movie and television "stars".
|-
! 4
| How do you pronounce "genre"?
|
* A) Gone-ra
* B) Juh-neer
* C) Jen-er-uh
| Reference to a question found on some quizzes: "How do you pronounce ''genre''? ZHAHN-ruh, or JAHN-ruh?"

A majority of (American) English speakers pronounce "genre" as either "'''ZH'''AHN-ruh" (beginning with the "zh" sound found in "trea'''s'''ure") or "'''J'''AHN-ruh" (beginning with the "j" sound in "justice"). Neither of these are listed, and none of the quiz's pronunciation options are common. However, they are close to other words: ''Gone-ra'' sounds like {{w|gonorrhea}}, ''Juh-neer'' is the way the second and third syllables of ''engineer'' are are pronounced, and ''Jen-er-uh'' is a word (genera), the plural of {{w|genus}}.
|-
! 5
| You pronounce "Google" with a high-pitched yelp on the...
|
* A) First syllable
* B) Second syllable
| Reference to general questions regarding differences in pronunciation of words. "Google" is not generally pronounced with a high-pitched yelp on either syllable.{{Citation needed}} {{w|Yahoo!}}, on the other hand, has advertised its services with a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm5FE0x9eY0 high-pitched yodeling jingle], with the high-pitched yelp on the second syllable (as opposed to {{w|Goofy}}'s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-70mtXw35c iconic holler], with the high yelp on the first syllable).
|-
! 6
| What do you call the thing on the wall at school that you drink water from?
|
* A) Gutter pipe
* B) Drainpipe
| Reference to a quiz question in the Harvard and Times quizzes, "What do you call the thing from which you might drink water in a school?" Answers included "drinking fountain", "water fountain", and "bubbler". However, the question in this comic implies that school children (or at least the quiz maker) drink out of {{w|Rain gutter|gutter pipes}} or drain pipes, which are used to collect rainwater and {{w|sewage|should absolutely not be drunk from.}}
|-
! 7
| How do you pronounce the name for a short silent video file?
|
* A) Animated give
* B) Animated gift
| Reference to the "{{w|Gif}}" pronunciation debate, with people split between pronouncing it "gif" (with the hard G sound in "graphics") or "jif" (with the soft G sound in "giraffe"). Both options presented in this quiz use the hard G sound, but neither option uses the commonly-agreed on pronunciation for the ending of the word, “if”.
|-
! 8
| What do you call the baseball-sized garden bugs that, when poked, glow brightly and emit a warbling scream?
|
* A) What?
* B) Lawn buddies
| Reference to a question in the Harvard and Times quizzes: "What do you call the {{w|Armadillidiidae|small gray bug}} that curls up into a ball when it’s touched?" (options include "roly-poly," "pill-bug", "potato bug", "doodle bug", etc.). Another question common to these sorts of quizzes regards the {{w|Firefly|Lampyridae}} family of bioluminescent insects, variously called "fireflies," "glowworms," or "lightning bugs" (although these insects emit their light spontaneously, as a mating signal, and not in response to external stimuli such as being poked). However, there are no common "baseball-sized garden bugs," let alone bioluminescent ones that emit a warbling scream.{{Citation needed}} May also be a reference to what "potato bug" means to people in the eastern part of the United States and {{w|Jerusalem cricket|what it means}} to people in the western part of the United States.
|-
! 9
| What do you call the misleading lines painted by disgruntled highway workers to trick cars into driving off the road?
|
* A) Prank lines
* B) Devil's Marks
* C) Fool-me lines
* D) Fauxguides
* E) Delaware lines
| Reference to the fact that some quiz questions ask about road features, such as "verge/berm/parking strip/curb strip" and "roundabout/traffic circle". However, these particular road lines, if they have ever been made, aren't common enough to warrant different names. The Delaware Line was a formation within the Continental Army. May also just be a dig at Delaware.

Misleading lines on the road were also mentioned in [[1958: Self-Driving Issues]].
|-
! 10
| What do you call the blue-green planet in the outer Solar System?
|
* A) Uranus
* B) Neptune
| This question references the two common pronunciations of Uranus: "YURR-ə-nəss" and "yoo-RAY-nəss" (which sounds like the phrase "{{tvtropes|UranusIsShowing|Your anus}}", a favorite joke of little kids). The original pronunciation is "oo-ra-noos", both u's pronounced the same way, but this is not a common pronunciation among the general public. It also references the fact that Uranus and Neptune are both blue-ish colored planets in the outer solar system and are often confused by people who don't know much about them. Uranus is closer to being the correct answer - it could plausibly be described as cyan, a color intermediate between blue and green - while Neptune is a deep, unambiguous blue.
|-
! 11
| What do you call this tool?
[[File:CloveHammer.png|150px]] (image of a claw hammer)
|
* A) Banger
* B) Nail axe
* C) Wood mage wand
* D) I'm familiar with this tool but have no specific word for it
* E) I have never seen it before
| The only name most people would ever call this tool is a "hammer".

The last two options reference options in many quiz questions along the lines of "I'm familiar with this but have no specific word for it" and "I am not familiar with this" (such as on the pill-bug/roly-poly question on the real quiz). These may appear as options to questions that ask about something that might not exist everywhere, or something which many may not have a word for (for example, some areas of the United States have a name for "sunshowers," while most don't). However, it's a bit absurd for these options to be present for this question (and this question alone), as most users would be expected to know what a hammer is.
|-
! 12
| What do you call a long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff?
|
* A) A long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff
* B) A longwich
* C) A salad hot dog
| Reference to a common dialect quiz question: "What do you call a {{w|Submarine sandwich|long sandwich}}?" with options typically including "sub", "hoagie", "hero", etc.

The hot dog answer could refer to the common online discussion: "Is a hot dog a sandwich?"
|-
! 13
| What do you call the scaly many-legged animal often found in attics?
|
* A) Lightbulb eater
* B) I have no special name for them
* C) I've never looked in my attic
| Another reference to the frequent appearance of quiz questions asking what users call various creepy crawlies.

{{w|Millipedes}} best fit the description. They have many legs, though rarely if ever a thousand of them, as their name (from the Greek for "thousand feet") suggests. The hard rings that separate an individual's body into segments give the animal a scaly appearance. And of the thousands of species, only a few have common names, hence "no special name for them". The reference to "lightbulb eater" is obscure, but may refer to the tendency of millipedes to congregate in large numbers in dark crevices. Perhaps Randall found some in empty (no bulb) light fixtures in his attic.
|-
! 14
| What do you say when someone around you sneezes?
|
* A) "What was that?"
* B) "Oh, wow."
* C) [Quietly] "Yikes."
| Reference to a question on some quizzes about which of several words/phrases you say in response to a sneeze, with usual answers including "bless you", "God bless you", and "{{w|Gesundheit}}" (from the German word for 'health').

This question may also be referencing the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}} in answer C (and possibly answer B). Sneezing isn't a primary symptom of COVID-19, but most people are hyper-aware of possibly contracting the disease from the people around them so sneezes are treated with suspicion and it's seen as rude to sneeze openly.

It is also possible that a person who has been able to catch a sneeze-producing condition has also caught COVID-19 and, while the sneeze itself isn't ''caused'' by it, the air and various airway fluids so forcefully projected are a possible infective vector with that little extra frisson of concern, given the current situation.
|-
! Title Text
| colspan=2 | Do you make a distinction between shallots, scallops, and scallions? If you use all three words, do they all have different meanings, all the same, or are two the same and one different?
| Phrased similarly to questions like, on the Times quiz, "How do you pronounce the words Mary, merry, and marry?" Options included "all three are pronounced the same", "all three are pronounced differently," or all three combinations of two being the same and one different. Refers to the naming confusion around {{w|scallions}} and {{w|shallots}} - also known as 'eschalots' - but with the unrelated but similar-sounding {{w|scallops}} substituted in the middle.

'Shallots', 'scallions' and 'eschalots' are names used in different dialects, for various species and cultivars of onion used in cooking, either as a small bulb (especially [[wikipedia:shallot|Allium cepa var. Aggregatum]]) or as a green leaf (especially [[wikipedia:Allium_fistulosum|Allium fistulosum]]). In many dialects, the green leaf type is called a 'scallion' and the bulb a 'shallot'. In at least one dialect (NSW Australia) the green leaf type is called a 'shallot' and the bulb an 'eschalot'. This causes confusion in recipes posted online. The word 'shallot' is also pronounced with emphasis on either the first or second syllable, as refered to in question 5. Despite the answer options offered, there is no evidence of dialects which use all three terms, or where 'shallot' and 'scallion' are interchangeable.

{{w|Scallops}} are invertebrate marine animals similar to oysters and clams, frequently harvested for food. In some regions of the UK and Australia potato {{w|fritters}} are also called 'scallops'. The word 'scallop' itself can be pronounced either as /ˈskɒləp/ or /ˈskæləp/, and its spelling has varied over time in a similar way to that of 'shallot'. However, these are difficult to confuse with shallots or scallions.
|}

==Transcript==

[Box with title at the top]
:<big>Dialect Quiz</big>
[Smaller subtitle underneath]
:Compare answers with your friends!

[Quiz is divided into two columns. Answers to questions are indicated by a letter followed by a closed parentheses, such as A). These letters are greyed out]

[Column 1:]
 
How do you address a group of two or more people?
:A) You
:B) Y'all
:C) I have not been around two or more people for so long that I can't remember

How do you pronounce "Penelope"?
:A) Rhymes with "Antelope"
:B) Rhymes with "Develop"

What do you call the scientific field that studies the stars?
:A) Astrology
:B) Agronomy
:C) Cosmetology

How do you pronounce "genre"?
:A) Gone-ra
:B) Juh-neer
:C) Jen-er-uh

You pronounce "Google" with a high-pitched yelp on the...
:A) First syllable
:B) Second syllable

What do you call the thing on the wall at school that you drink water from?
:A) Gutter pipe
:B) Drainpipe

How do you pronounce the name for a short silent video file?
:A) Animated give
:B) Animated gift

What do you call the baseball-sized garden bugs that, when poked, glow brightly and emit a warbling scream?
:A) What?
:B) Lawn buddies

[Column 2:]
 
What do you call the misleading lines painted by disgruntled highway workers to trick cars into driving off the road?
:A) Prank lines
:B) Devil's Marks
:C) Fool-me lines
:D) Fauxguides
:E) Delaware lines

What do you call the blue-green planet in the outer Solar System?
:A) Uranus
:B) Neptune

What do you call this tool?
 
[Image of a claw hammer]
:A) Banger
:B) Nail axe
:C) Wood mage wand
:D) I'm familiar with this tool but have no specific word for it
:E) I have never seen it before

What do you call a long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff?
:A) A long sandwich with meats and lettuce and stuff
:B) A longwich
:C) A salad hot dog

What do you call the scaly many-legged animal often found in attics?
:A) Lightbulb eater
:B) I have no special name for them
:C) I've never looked in my attic

What do you say when someone around you sneezes?
:A) "What was that?"
:B) "Oh, wow."
:C) [Quietly] "Yikes."

==Trivia==

*The xkcd Twitter account posted a [https://twitter.com/xkcd/status/1316484953480323072 series of Twitter polls] asking the questions in this comic.
*Shallots, scallops, and scallions ran against each other in [[1529: Bracket]]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

Talk:1479: Troubleshooting

2016-09-23T23:09:56Z

162.158.166.43:

You could also move the off-screen window back in view by Alt+Space, M to initiate window move, then press any arrow key and your mouse will then be able to move the window back into view. {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.223}}
:That's a solution that also relies on obscure knowledge (that modal dialogs have a Move command and the hotkey necessary to access it), so it isn't any better than the solution provided in the strip. '''AND''' it requires that the user know where offscreen the dialog is located. Mistakenly believing it is, for example, to the right of the visible screen and therefore moving it left will only make the problem worse it the unseen window is in actuality to the left already. Given the 75% or better odds that the user will guess wrong where the dialog lies, using the Move command would be a notably worse choice then changing screen resolution.- Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 16:25, 28 January 2015 (UTC)
::Actually this does work for all Windows machines and something I've done repeatedly (it's a lot faster than waiting for your video card to repeatedly reconfigure the screen). Once you hit Alt-Space M followed by ANY arrow key, the window will actually be stuck to your mouse pointer; you click it to "drop" the window back onto the page. And yes, the idea that a keyboard arrow key will cause it to be mouse-driven makes no sense [[User:Odysseus654|Odysseus654]] ([[User talk:Odysseus654|talk]]) 17:50, 28 January 2015 (UTC)
::: Exactly. Anyone with windows can test this. Still works in 8, it's been around since XP at least. {{unsigned ip|108.162.242.7}}
:::: Since at least 3.0 (and possibly earlier), when using a desktop computer with only a keyboard was a very real possibility. (Also, the window decorations in 3.0 and 3.1 suggested the keyboard shortcuts: Alt-Space activated the window menu represented by the long bar, Alt-Minus activated the window menu represented by the short bar in multiple document interface applications.) --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.101|199.27.133.101]] 07:46, 29 January 2015 (UTC)
::::: And, once again, as Equinox noted up above, ALL THIS DISCUSSION is dependent on uncommon/obscure knowledge. We can argue until we're blue in the face about which is "quickest", but none of them are more than marginally better than the other, just different workarounds for the same problem that shouldn't be there anyway, which is the whole joke. At the end of the day, the technique you use depends on which bit of obscure knowledge you've randomly come across, not on which is the best method. {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.155}}
:I actually just use windowsbutton+Left or Right. Helps when a non responsive fullscreen game covers up the task manager. I can just move it to my other monitor. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.157|108.162.238.157]] 20:46, 5 July 2015 (UTC)

As a matter of fact this is a common problem if you often use a dual screen setup with a laptop when you use it on the move without the second screen. If you just want to close the windows, a Esc on a alert windows or alt+F4 (or your system equivalent)will usually solve this problem. For resizeable windows, Windows offers the Win+left/right combination to move a window to specific parts of the screen. I don7t think you really need to change the resolution for this all the time, it's clearly overkill. [[User:Meneldal|Meneldal]] ([[User talk:Meneldal|talk]]) 06:40, 28 January 2015 (UTC)meneldal

:On a dual screen setup you can use 'Win key + Shift + Left/Right key' to shift the window left or right between monitors. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:37, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

::Note that the Win-left/right and Win-Shift-left/right key combinations are only supported in Windows 7 or later versions. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.27|173.245.55.27]] 13:17, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I'm also familiar with this kind of thing (the strip, I mean, not specifically the last comment). The general form is that a casual (or even expert!) user expects something from the interface but some historic programmer (of UI or application) has caused the 'obvious' continuity to fail, either by ommission (e.g. checking the placement bounds of a popover window) or by being ''too'' clever in some manner. The 'stupid knowledge expert' has encountered the problem enough times to: a) find a common root to the issues, and b) stumble upon a solution. (Like the "unstick the Windows-key flag" solution to suddenly getting Run dialogues, Explorer windows and sudden minimising-all to Desktop, seemingly randomly.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.120|141.101.99.120]] 08:29, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

It amazes me how many people assume Microsoft Windows. If you aren't using MS-Windows, the key combinations suggested in the discussion so far are useless. If you are using the X Window System, you might also be seeing a system modal dialog instead of an application modal dialog, in which case, you won't be able anything but talk to that window. (System modal dialogs are usually used for very transient things like popup menus.) Using X, the "cleanup" behavior also depends on the window manager, and neither X or the window manager are part of the operating system (that abomination is now pretty much just an MS-Windows thing). --[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 10:39, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

: People tend to assume Windows because in the majority of cases that assumption is correct. In the minority of cases where the user isn't on Windows, those asking the question nearly always mention the fact in their question, or direct their question at an OS-specific topic/forum/website. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 11:21, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

: Mac OS X also uses a baked-in window manager. There are a bunch of apps on OS X that brand themselves as `alternative WMs', but they're usually just a contrived way of tiling windows across the screen somehow (using the built-in WM). Wanting to use a proper tiling WM was what originally drove me to GNU/Linux, long live i3wm! Anyway, this comic could possibly be construed as being related to xkcd.com/934/, which complains about browsers implementing internal WMs in the alt-text. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.103|141.101.99.103]] 11:45, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

: An OS-X modal dialog is always a sheet attached to the relevant window, so it cannot run astray. If a window does somehow go astray, then the Mission Control zoomout of all windows will still bring it back within reach. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.149|173.245.52.149]] 06:38, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

:I think the first option (ALT-SPACE to access the window menu, M for the move option, arrow key, mouse movement) has a near-equivalent in pretty much any OS. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.27|173.245.55.27]] 13:21, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

: True, I have a vague feeling Ms Windows would prevent this in normal situation, whereas in X Window System this would be quite expected. Also, still problems with multimonitor in 2015: full screen programs want to open in the main monitor regardless the monitor their window is in and some programs open their dialogs in the left most monitor no matter what, which is a pain if that said monitor is a CRT projector that takes several minutes to warm up... {{unsigned ip|141.101.80.5}}

Someone competent in web programming, please write an explanation of the title text [[User:Nyq|Nyq]] ([[User talk:Nyq|talk]]) 13:58, 28 January 2015 (UTC)
:If I'm not mistaken (and I'm not an expert), a Chrome App is some sort of program (eg Flash based) that runs in the normal "browser space" - the area where you normally see web pages, and which can use Chrome features and controls. A Chrome Extension is a a program which runs in the background and can act on the browser space or the browser itself (eg open your downloads folder in a new tab with one click of a button). Extensions can also use Chrome features and controls. Sound about right? [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:34, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Most likely he is on a laptop with an NVidia gpu which in recent driver versions often believe something is connected to the VGA port when this is not the case. The desktop will then think this area is valid, and allow windows to be opened there, in fact it is likely to be opened there because that part of the desktop is clean for windows and looks optimal for placing a new one. At least that is what has been happening to me for the last few months until I forced the VGA port off rather than wait for NVidia to fix their drivers or rolling them back to versions that would misrender recent games (both Windows and Linux drivers did this).[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.98|108.162.254.98]] 15:41, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Goddamned this sort of thing happens on my dual monitor setup all the time. The external will be at 1366x768, and stuff will be cut off. I change it to something else, and then revert the changes and it's perfect. I keep a shortcut to the Display settings on my desktop just because of this now. And in other, similarly stupid Windows-issue related news, it's 2009+6 and [http://superuser.com/questions/61833/windows-7-taskbar-icon-highlight-sticks this crap] still isn't fixed. [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 16:22, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

The Chrome developer site [https://developer.chrome.com/webstore/apps_vs_extensions] gives a breakdown on how Chrome apps and extensions are different. Apparently, you can have a Chrome app and a Chrome extension that do similar things, but the extension lacks the user interface, etc., and some of the more interactive features of the app. [[User:Aquarello7|Aquarello7]] ([[User talk:Aquarello7|talk]]) 16:54, 28 January 2015 (UTC)
:yeah, I'm not sure what the comparison is - I wonder what an example of a product that is both an app and an extension (that aren't COMPLETELY different, that is) - something like a url shortener or twitter assistant come to mind as possibilities, but even a novice user would likely not have trouble distinguishing between an extension (something embedded in the page, a context menu option, or a shortcut through the omnibox) and an app (full page, possibly even separate window type thing) once the differences were described - though I think you can accomplish window creation in an extension, it's not designed for it, so for a developer to make an extension that can "create" a window and ALSO make an app to do the same thing seems strange and exceptional - not common enough for there to be a joke about it. I'm slightly confused. -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 18:35, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Of course, their are legitimate reasons why an application may want to display itself fully or partially off screen. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.92|173.245.50.92]] 21:29, 28 January 2015 (UTC)
:This is even the basis for the best pranks (works even better if you disable some shortcuts to make it harder to close). But unless you get the keyboard interrupts, windows+D will solve the modal issue anyway[[User:Meneldal|Meneldal]] ([[User talk:Meneldal|talk]]) 02:32, 29 January 2015 (UTC)meneldal

A long time ago, when the interweb was young (think Win95/98+Napster era), this sort of 'new window creation' was common for ad popups. Create a window with the title just outside the scrren border and giggle as the user tried to delete it. I wrote a small utility back then that actually found and killed these. I used to get a lot of them. I can't seem to remember why.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.176|199.27.128.176]] 05:18, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

This is one of the best comic explanations I've ever read on this wiki. Very nice job. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 15:45, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

FYI: Window creation on Windows OS is perfectly fine when it comes to positioning the window. If I say width=320 and left=-640 that's what I expect to happen! It's bad software and not bad OS when windows appear on strange coordinates. {{unsigned ip|162.158.87.23}}

I just submitted a change[https://crbug.com/643123] to Chrome that works around a dialog bug in macOS 10.12 Sierra. I was reminded of this.