explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2211: Hours Before Departure

2019-10-04T19:50:44Z

162.158.182.154: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2211
| date = October 4, 2019
| title = Hours Before Departure
| image = hours_before_departure.png
| titletext = They could afford to cut it close because they all had Global Entry.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LATE UP-GOER 5. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Catching transportation from one place to another requires being there and being prepared before the vehicle leaves. Some transportation, such as public city buses and personal cars require very little in preparation, and one can leave as soon as the vehicle is there and ready. Others have more complications involved, whether it be in payment, security, slower boarding, etc.

To board a Greyhound bus, for example, one would normally need to be there 10-15 minutes before it is scheduled to leave, because it takes time to get everyone on board as the same time, stow luggage, and present a boarding pass or proof of payment.

Boarding an airline flight is even more complicated (security checkpoints, long terminal walks, more bags, etc.) making the delays longer, and so conventional advise is to arrive two hours early for a domestic (same country) flight and three hours for an international flight. Seasoned travelers can often cut these times shorter, but to be ready for unexpectedly long delays the less experienced traveler would want to leave themselves plenty of time.

Based on that, the exceedingly complicated business of travel to space would instinctively require you to be ready much longer than the three hours they recommend for international flights, however three hours is about how long it took for the astronauts traveling to the moon for the first time to prepare to take off.

The comic doesn't represent the preparations for the Apollo launch entirely accurately, however. Prior to their "departure" to the launch pad, the Apollo 11 astronauts had woken up at 4:15 AM, and after a 25 minute breakfast had spent at least an hour and a half getting into their spacesuits. For regular travel on an airplane or other modes usually no more than a few minutes preparation is needed, for instance to load luggage in a car or wait for a cab. What's more, because all activity took place at Cape Canaveral, the "trip" to the launch site took only 8 minutes, and the crew began to take their seats in the Saturn V rocket only a few minutes later, at 6:45 AM. Thus they were locked in the capsule for about two-and-a-half hours prior to launch. For normal travel, people will only be in their seats for a few minutes before departure, or for large aircraft maybe a half an hour while it loads. Thus the total time from beginning to get ready to liftoff was about five hours, which in fact is longer than less complicated activities like air travel, though still significantly shorter than you would think preparation for a journey over four times longer than the longest of current modern airline flights and in significantly more dangerous conditions would take.

The title text is a pun on the words "global entry". Global Entry is a United States Customs and Border Protection program that allows US citizens to quickly proceed through customs checks when arriving from overseas, instead of waiting in a long line to present a passport. In the case of the Apollo astronauts, their return to the earth involved re-entry into the atmosphere (technically called {{w|Atmospheric entry}}), and of course global is another word for things relating to the earth. So the Apollo astronauts could be said to have undergone "global entry" on their return. As such, the joke actually doesn't make sense, since both the Global Entry program and re-entry from space relate to returning from a trip, while the rest of the comic relates to how early you arrive to depart on a trip.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
First panel shows a time of 6:27 A.M. and "Crew departs for launch site"
Pictured are three astronauts with helmets getting into a NASA van.

Second panel shows a time of 9:32 A.M. and "Liftoff"
Depicted is a rocket, in the process of a space launch.

The text under the panels reads, "I know I tend to arrive too early at the airport, but it still weirds me out that Neil Armstrong left for the launch site just three hours before departure.

The hover text reads, "They could afford to cut it close because they all had Global Entry."

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1904: Research Risks

2017-10-21T17:50:29Z

162.158.182.154:

Entymology? Misspelled "entomology" or (more confusingly) "etymology"?
Psychology lower risk than micology? Absolutely hogwash!
:The comic has been updated, so it was just a typo. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.35|141.101.99.35]] 16:05, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
:How do I update picture. Last update always matches first upload for whatever reason --[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 17:24, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

Molasses storage is misplaced -- should be in the quadrant to its right. See [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Molasses_Flood]. 21 dead and 150 injured. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.52|108.162.219.52]] 14:12, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

Agreed that it did get out and kill people. But only once in something like 200 years and only a few. (Is this where the phrase slower than molasses in January comes from?)
I would not expect that this would be a common danger. (unsigned)

Ah, but there was another [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honolulu_molasses_spill|spill in 2013 in Honolulu]. (I just learned of it from the "See Also" section of the Wikipedia page on the Great Molasses Flood.) That one didn't kill any people (though it was an ecological disaster) but it speaks to risk. Anyway, the item ''is'' in the right quadrant. Arguably is should be further to the right, but also arguably not, since conducting experiments in the area could lead to more accidents.[[User:Jqavins|Jqavins]] ([[User talk:Jqavins|talk]]) 16:08, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
:Only, even assuming there's such a thing as molasses storage research, it's unlikely that your lab is going to contain life-threatening quantities of molasses. It's not as if a few liters escaping could reproduce and turn into thousands of tons. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.35|141.101.99.35]] 16:27, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
:: Personally, I'd be very surprised if there wasn't research into the optimum large-scale storage of foodstuffs, given the potential high-value losses that could occur. Perhaps there might be something [https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-stored-products-research here] on it?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 16:30, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

Plus how many times have robots escaped from a lab in real life? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.70|172.68.78.70]] 12:11, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

I think entymology is a reference to [https://xkcd.com/1012 1012]
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.95|162.158.91.95]] 14:50, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

I think the title text may have a somewhat humorous naming scheme derived from the Great Molasses Flood Wikipedia discussion page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Great_Molasses_Flood
There's a lengthy discussion about changing the name from "Boston Molasses Disaster" to "Great Molasses Flood". I noticed that Randall used both approaches to describing the events in the title text, but maybe that was a coincidence.

I am not impressed. Movie supervillains often use paleontology (dinosaurs), geology (volcano/earthquake) and astronomy (comets). Also, there is a tendency to pair marine biology with laser-optics. And, to actually dominate the world, a real-life villain will probably need to use cunning linguistics at some level or the other. --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]]
:I had the same initial reaction, but note how Randall didn't write "movie supervillain", but just "supervillain", so you should only take into account what is currently feasible in technology state-of-the-art, or what we can reasonably foresee for the next decade or so. I don't see any madman being able to revive (and control!) dinosaurs, capture a comet or trigger an earthquake in the next 10-20 years. As for shark-mounted lasers, they are cool to show off and inspire fear, but hardly useful to achieve world domination by themselves. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.35|141.101.99.35]] 16:18, 18 October 2017 (UTC)
::When we get into the realm of supervillainy - especially given XKCD's history - we're almost certainly talking fiction. And if we're talking fiction, Randall's forgotten about ''Moonraker'', where astronomy and dentistry both play a significant role in the supervillain's plot, and should thus rate higher on the vertical scale. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.16|172.68.78.16]] 02:42, 19 October 2017 (UTC)
::Comets? What about black holes at relativistic speeds? Although those tend to be hard to see ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:39, 19 October 2017 (UTC)
::I think it's safe to assume that most supervillains have read [[1883]] are not going to use geology in that way. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.10|172.68.54.10]] 07:30, 21 October 2017 (UTC)

Looks like the "Research Risk" column is just a comment field open for speculation -- can we merge Comments and Research Risk into one column? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebob]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 03:34, 19 October 2017 (UTC)
: I'd suggest it'd be better to have one column for the supervillain risk factors, and one for the escaped research risk factors.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 08:47, 19 October 2017 (UTC)
:: I'd suggest that it would be interesting to have a few examples (movies/TV/real) listed beneath a sentence or two in each of those columns. --[[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 13:38, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

Interestingly, I referenced the Great Molasses Flood in a tangential comment to comic 1900 - is Randall now browsing this site to find inspiration for new comics? ;o) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 08:53, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

I feel like the linguistics section is missing an opportunity for a Snow Crash joke...[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.29|141.101.99.29]] 10:38, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

Surely the risk of escape from Linguistics should be high - language is inherently hard to contain and control, and often ends up infecting the world with dangerous rubbish like 'solutioning synergistic opportunities going forward'.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 11:34, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

"Fungi cannot move..." - tell that to {{w|Toad_(Nintendo)|this guy}}.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 11:43, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

If ''Marathon Man'' is anything to judge by, dentistry can be used by a superillain in his bid to take over the world... just not to actually conquer the world. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.56|162.158.155.56]] 14:57, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

What about prosthetic robotic dentistry? I refer you to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattery_Teeth_(short_story)
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.87|162.158.69.87]] 15:05, 19 October 2017 (UTC)
: What about prosthetic robotic dentistry on insects? That would be truly terrifying.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 16:26, 19 October 2017 (UTC)

I found my Ph.D. work about lanthanide organometallics to be rather unyieldy for supervillainry...and that's why I'm studying computer science now :-) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.178|141.101.76.178]] 16:19, 21 October 2017 (UTC)

Geology rates low for risk of studied object to break free and threaten local population!? Did Randall miss the high tension around Norways [https://www.thelocal.no/20171018/norways-mannen-landslide-postponed-until-next-year 'the man']? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.182.154|162.158.182.154]] 17:50, 21 October 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1886: Typing Notifications

2017-09-08T15:11:32Z

162.158.182.154:

Sorry for the double explanation, if there was any notification that someone else had added an explanation before I was done editing (I saw an empty explanation when I started editing) I missed it. I went (mostly) back to the first explanation. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.172|141.101.88.172]] 17:19, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

I believe that in some instant messaging systems just by clicking in the text box or just by changing focus to the text box causes a notification to the other person that you are typing. So, if I click into the text box and then go to another application and come back and resume focus, multiple notifications are sent, and there is an expectation that a message is coming that never comes. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 17:23, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

'''Hey, WhatsUp???''' --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:24, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

I miss ytalk {{unsigned ip|162.158.182.22}}

[[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.47|172.68.58.47]] 02:03, 7 September 2017 (UTC) Wouldn't this comic make more sense if Randall were the person REPLYING to the chat message, not the person who originally sent it? although that would probably mean that we were seeing the chat window from the perspective of the anonymous second user...

"''In the title text, Randall expresses that he likes to watch when the recipient reacts but he's also happy not to receive that attempt as an empty reply.''" It's not what I understood. I understood that the recipient could open a blank note on another application, type a reply taking all the time he needs, then copy-paste it on the messaging system. This is exactly what I do when I don't want to trigger typing notifications, and Randall writes that he prefers not to know that. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.148|108.162.229.148]] 07:55, 7 September 2017 (UTC)
: "Typing notifications" means NOT Randall is typing notifications. He is watching a notification showing someone is typing/working on an answer to a message Randall has sent. And there is no "another application" in the comic at all. And your idea even doesn't match the rest of the explanation. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:16, 7 September 2017 (UTC)
::Well it says open a note - which might be an application, especially for mobile systems there are applications with names like that. And a new document in a writing application was my first interpretation too... I found the interpretation that 108.162.229.148 quoted quite unlikely too, as Randall (if this is about Randall at all) said he likes having it on. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.5|198.41.242.5]]
:::Cmon, that extra app is sending notifications through the messenger app?
:::This "typing awareness indicator" is typical for messenger applications, not only on smartphones. When the reader of the message presses something like the reply-button a ''note'' is opened and this action is visualized to the sender. But anything what the reader is typing is not visible until the send-button is pressed. The point is, you can see that the recipient is working on a reply, how often they start again from the beginning, and even when you got no reply you can be sure your text was read and your partner has tried to send an answer. And besides of that, why using an extra app for typing when features like autocomplete belong to the keyboard app?--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:51, 7 September 2017 (UTC)
::::Actually, I agree with ol' 108 162 here. I interpreted that it's not RANDALL'S show, but that it's Randall who is having trouble composing a reply, but this notification has revealed this trouble. He's been discovered! Otherwise this person would have no idea of Randall's struggle, this way he/she still gets some of the hurt that Randall was trying to save them from with "It was great!". "Opening a blank note" is unquestionably another app on the same device, the words "open" and "blank" indicates this must be digital. It's not an "extra" app per se, every iDevice I've seen has an app called Notes, and my Android phone has a similar app for typing up notes, both part of the device's OS. I do such things all the time (the only ExplainXKCD explanation I've written is still sitting in an electronic note, where I composed it in the first place in order not to keep a browser window open that long and to avoit edit conflicts). Randall is saying that he uses a Note application to avoid the situation depicted in the comic, to avoid showing a typing notification when he wants to give his reply some serious consideration before comitting to it, so he dreads the day that devices add to the typing notification with a Typing In The Note App Notification (which would be a joke, since this IS a comic, and that's impossible). Randall might be inclined to think typing notifications should be discontinued, to go back to hiding what he's doing until he's ready, but for what he says in the title text as to why he wants it to stick around and why he keeps it on. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:43, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
:::::Again: "Typing notifications" means NOT Randall is typing notifications, he gets notified that someone else is typing. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 11:50, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

With some of these (Atleast with Skype) the indicator only shows from a keypress for 5 seconds then stops it it could be that the person was very disinterested in the conversation and simply was not typing for a bit [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.66|141.101.107.66]] 12:17, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

»''In the caption below the screens Randall reveals that the three-dotted(-animation) is his preferred version to get be informed that someone else is working on a reply to him.''« Huh? Surely, the comic doesn't say that? It says that Randall prefers to having a typing notification over not having it. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.182.154|162.158.182.154]] 15:11, 8 September 2017 (UTC)