explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2839: Language Acquisition

2023-10-09T23:14:24Z

162.158.2.39: refuting the example in the rules

It is probably obvious to say it, but: If the person in the title text is the same person speaking in the pane, there's a contradiction here, since if your first words were the seven unique words in "these were my first words what were yours" ("were" is duplicated) then "I learned another word today bringing my total up to twelve " adds another ten (duplicating "my"), for a total of seventeen. Or nineteen if you count "vocabulary" and "update." I'm not sure what to make of this, since Randall is surely aware of it. Perhaps I miss a subtlety. Or maybe the title text is spoken by a different character. [[User:JohnHawkinson|JohnHawkinson]] ([[User talk:JohnHawkinson|talk]]) 21:43, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

A friend of mine said that his child's first words were "isi, äiti, kondesaattori" (dad, mom, capacitor). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.41|162.158.238.41]] 22:07, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Is the leftmost block schwa or upside down? The world may never know. [[User:Certified_nqh|Me]]<sup>[[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]][[Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template]]</sup> 22:14, 9 October 2023 (UTC)
: Looks like it could be an upside down "e" ? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.207.89|172.70.207.89]] 23:07, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Re the rules (barring the contradiction said above): If Day 1 was "Another", Day 2 can't be "I learned" or "vocabulary word" unless the child skips some days and isn't learning at a rate of one word per day. If it's A Word A Day, your options must be just one other word - so in the example case, "word" could work to make "another word" work. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.39|162.158.2.39]] 23:14, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2833: Lying

2023-09-26T06:35:29Z

162.158.2.39:

== Image ==

Why the heck is the image so biiiiig?

well, looks like he accidentally published the source file for the comic... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.100.205|141.101.100.205]] 04:06, 26 September 2023 (UTC)

I'm the same. Can't stand these games. I have a hard enough time with jokes that people refuse to explain; if I have to _intentionally_ mislead people, who know my tics to start, where's the line? What's real, what's fake, what's important, what's just another joke?

I need to lighten up? No, the world needs to be comprehensible. I can't just choose to know what's real and what isn't. Other people can very easily make it clear to me, if they so desire.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.39|162.158.2.39]] 06:35, 26 September 2023 (UTC)

Talk:499: Scantron

2023-09-23T07:14:21Z

162.158.2.39:

I used a 2B pencil for the SAT. Hope I didn't kill anyone. --[[User:Troy0|Troy0]] ([[User talk:Troy0|talk]]) 09:30, 25 September 2014 (UTC)
:I see your dilemma. The test starts and you only have a 2B pencil. Take the risk or fail the test? 2B or not 2B?--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.71|162.158.86.71]] 12:20, 6 October 2016 (UTC)
::2B. Glory to mankind. [[User:SilverMagpie|SilverMagpie]] ([[User talk:SilverMagpie|talk]]) 16:16, 23 May 2019 (UTC)

It always bugged me how strictly my teachers would enforce this--[[User:Potato Gunman3|Potato Gunman3]] ([[User talk:Potato Gunman3|talk]]) 02:01, 1 May 2015 (UTC)

I find it weird that they point out how an imperfect mark will not register, but they warn against any stray marks or an incompletely erased bubble will. Which is it, one or the other? [[User:RedHatGuy68|RedHatGuy68]] ([[User talk:RedHatGuy68|talk]]) 01:48, 29 October 2015 (UTC)
:Probably because it might register sometimes but not other times? [[User:Beanie|Beanie]] ([[User talk:Beanie|talk]]) 09:45, 30 March 2021 (UTC)

I always thought it strange they always told you to use a #2 pencil even though anything but a #2 pencil is pretty rare for a student to even find.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.10|108.162.221.10]] 22:41, 2 March 2016 (UTC)

"that most modern students have heard" Not true. First of all, I've never even heard of this "Scantron" thing, and second of all, I've never had tests with only multiple choice things. In fact, multiple choice things are very rare, I think I could count all the times I've had a test involving them with only one hand. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.166|162.158.238.166]] 14:35, 21 February 2017 (UTC)

:Same here. Although I am in England: maybe this is an American thing (i.e. should be "most modern US students")? Particularly considering the use of #2 vs #3 (which I've never encountered) as opposed to HB vs H. -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.179|141.101.99.179]] 20:47, 30 March 2017 (UTC)

My country uses 2B pencils/mechanical pencils for shading, if we used a different shade, for example, 3B, the machine will not be able to detect the darker/lighter shade. Boeing-787lover 13:45, 22 November 2017 (UTC)

Ever since I saw kerning, I can’t help but notice the “me ss” is panel two.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.40|172.68.174.40]] 18:55, 16 February 2018 (UTC)

all the machine scanned tests I've done either ask for 2B or HB (the most common type), or a blue or black pen

1743: Coffee

2016-10-07T09:57:30Z

162.158.2.39: /* Transcript */ Fixing miscellaneous spelling mistakes (pourring -> pouring), adding letters and editing order slightly in panel sections.

{{comic
| number = 1743
| date = October 7, 2016
| title = Coffee
| image = coffee.png
| titletext = Remind me to order another pack of coffee filters from Dyson. Man, these things are EXPENSIVE.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Very brief summary, please update}}
Cueball and Megan appear to be entertaining guests. However, they seem to be unaware of the basics of {{w|Coffee_preparation|coffee making}}, which is a very common adult skill (in the United States, where the author, Randall Munroe, lives).

They attempt to make coffee by pouring the ingredients on the ground, vacuuming it up with a Dyson vacuum cleaner, then boiling the cleaner on a stove before serving.
Megan says she is a regular "Starbuck" (likely meaning a Starbucks' barista) after serving the batch of coffee.

This method of making coffee would be very expensive as it would presumably destroy a perfectly good vacuum cleaner. And, it would probably not be very hygienic. Also, without grinding, the coffee would be quite weak.

The joke here is that Megan misunderstands the words "coffee grounds", and attempts to pour coffee grounds on the "ground", and that she uses the wrong kind of filter (a vacuum cleaner filter instead of a coffee filter) in order to make a proper coffee. It demonstrates her total lack of knowledge of coffee making.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Cueball facing Megan, blank background.]
:Cueball: We should make coffee for our guests.
:Megan: Crap. I know nothing about coffee.
:Cueball: We're basically fake adults.
:Megan: Don't panic. We can figure this out.

:[Megan shaking can of coffee grounds out on floor as Cueball watches.]
:Megan: We just pour the coffee grounds...

:[Megan pouring pail of water over grounds on floor.]
:Megan: ...Add Water...

:[Cueball watching Megan vacuum up mixture with bagless vaccum cleaner.]
:vacuum: vrrrr

:[Megan holding vacuum cleaner dirt canister over stove, Cueball watching. Vacuum cleaner in background.]
:Megan: Now we just hold it over the burners...
:oven: hissss

:[Megan pouring contents of vacuum cleaner dirt canister into mug, while Cueball watches]
:Megan: Annnd...Serve.
:Cueball: Nice
:Megan: I'm a regular starbuck!

panel 1:
[A Huge panel over half the textwidht. Cueball on the left is facing Megan on the right]

panel 2:
[A small panel over a quarter textwidth. Cueball on the left is watching Megan pouring coffee on the ground out of a can.]

panel 3:
[A small panel over a quarter textwidth. Megan pouring water out of a can on the coffee on the ground.]

panel 4:
[Cueball facing Megan sucking the coffee with a vacuum cleaner in.]

panel 5:
[Cueball facing Megan boiling the coffee over the oven.]

panel 6:
[Megan pourring the coffee in a mug. Cueball watching her.]

{{comic discussion}}