explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2632: Greatest Scientist

2022-06-14T18:23:57Z

162.158.22.175: reply both

If anyone knows how to get this to work with the bar at the top, please do it! [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:32, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
:[[User:SqueakSquawk4]] for everything to display correctly I think you need to follow the steps here: [[User:DgbrtBOT#When_the_BOT_fails...]] [[User:Ahiijny|Ahiijny]] ([[User talk:Ahiijny|talk]]) 18:43, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
::A) Following them now. B) Bookmarked. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:45, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
:::Should be fixed now. [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 18:49, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

Saying Viviani already proved that the acceleration due to gravity on an object is independent of mass runs into a snag: Viviani suggest that it was Galileo who showed him that. So whether Galileo actually dropped any balls from the Tower of Pisa or was even the first to assert the principle in writing, he seems to be the driving force behind Vivian's proofs of it. Dismissing Galileo here is wrong. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.159|172.69.70.159]] 21:53, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening me. Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Figaro.... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.41|162.158.159.41]] 23:22, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

He did this before in 1531, where he combines several principles into a single comic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.31|108.162.245.31]] 23:39, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

So many missed opportunities to include Focault's pendulum, cannonball mine drops, the Magnus and Coriolis effects, electromagnatism, etc, ad nauseam, ad astra [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.193|108.162.221.193]] 13:57, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

;Pavlov was inhumane
Pavlov did a lot more than just ring some bells. For example (Trigger warning for dog lovers), he drained them of stomach acid until they were dead for profit alone, and sewed dogs heads onto each other. I think this should be acknowledges. I have put this in the main article, but it has been removes. I've tried re-phrasing, and want to know how well that will stick.
:What do you think should happen. I think it is important to acknowledge, but at the same time it is not directly relevant to the comic. Please discuss. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 23:16, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
::It was I who removed the first phrasing, and as it is written now I think it's good. Perhaps a trivia section would be appropriate for it, as someone else mentioned, and I saw no problem with having a link in the previous version. [[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|speak]]) 09:19, 14 June 2022 (UTC)
:Seems most appropriate for a Trivia section and not the main article. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.52|172.70.211.52]]

;Two Petri dishes
The title text says that "''One'' of the petri dishes" fell (emphasis added). Is that an obscure reference to the {{w|Twin paradox}}?
:Proposed new text:
{| class="wikitable"
| (Title text) One of the petri dishes fell and one did not || The {{w|Twin paradox}} thought experiment: ... || See {{1432}} || {{w|Albert Einstein}}
|}
::No I think that is very far fetched. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:21, 14 June 2022 (UTC)
::: I have added it, with a "Possible" note next to it. (Or will have in a min)
::: Also, I assume you meant [[1584: Moments of Inspiration]], not [[1432: The Sake of Argument]].
::: Also Also, two Square brackets [ ] around an internal link, not two fancy/curly brackets {} [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 11:23, 14 June 2022 (UTC)
::::I will remove it. There is not sign of twin paradox in that title text! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:24, 14 June 2022 (UTC)
::::: Sorry. I'm such an imbecil for adding it. So so sorry. Is there something I can do to make up for it? I don't want to delete my account, but I would if you wanted. Edit: How about a compromise, where the Einstein theory is mentioned in brief under the table as far-fetched but possible? [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 14:27, 14 June 2022 (UTC)
::::::The link to the twin paradox is that there are two Petri dishes and only one of them falls (rather than all of them) and that being bonked on the head "gives an idea". I think this should be included, and wouldn't mind a "possible" or "unlikely" or "far-fetched" qualifier. For that matter I wouldn't mind if the table literally said "This is absolutely definitely positively with a cherry on top not a reference to the {{w|Twin paradox}}" :) -OP
::::Thanks SS4. I meant the title text of 1432, which explains thought experiments (they also came up in [[1233]] but aren't explained there).
::::I used {} because I assumed that'd link to that comic with ''both'' its number and its title. -OP
;Height shadow
I'm not sure which scientist (or probably ancient philosophy) it might be referencing, but I get the direct impression that the ''first'' shadow in the spiel (which KarlMann just removed the row for, and I agree that that it was redundant to the latter shadow, insofar as it was written) is directly referencing the principle of using a [https://geometryhelp.net/similar-triangles-calculating-height-tall-objects-using-shadow/ shadow to calculate height], as indicated by the illustration, as opposed to the 'shadow to calculate radius' of the latter one. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.227|172.70.90.227]] 10:19, 14 June 2022 (UTC)
: I think you're right, and I may have been a bit hasty. But also, I don't know of any association of that shadow measurement with Eratosthenes. I'd guess that it well pre-dates him (pun not intended). But I have no idea who might have done it first, or whether their name may have been lost to the mists of history, much less any citation to back myself up on this. -- [[User:KarMann|KarMann]] ([[User talk:KarMann|talk]]) 10:23, 14 June 2022 (UTC)
:: No, not hasty, as Erato's involvement was clearly less useful in that bit (and I take it that the ''h2'' local-horizontal to the dog is a typical Randall-joke comparison to the ''h1'' local-height to the tower-top), and it would just invite reversion to have merely cleared out the existing 'explanation' without something convincing to replace it. And I've nothing convincing (or based upon a definite named historic figure, or even an alleged/fabled one) in my mind, because I imagine the principle is Older Than The Pyramids, possibly back to Babylon/Ur/whatever if not even a hunter-gatherer rule-of-thumb.
::(Literally? Making an L with thumb and fingers and touching the thumb onto the end of your nose and sighting the tips of the upheld tips of fingers to a tree you're cutting down is also a pretty decent indicator (a couple of extra strides backwards might be reasonable!) of how far back is a safe distance when felling it. If you don't have that stick often mentioned in the arms'-length method. For some reason... despite being tolerably near at least one tree and having a handy axe available to you... ;) ) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 13:23, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2632: Greatest Scientist

2022-06-14T08:14:24Z

162.158.22.175: /* Two Petri dishes */

If anyone knows how to get this to work with the bar at the top, please do it! [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:32, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
:[[User:SqueakSquawk4]] for everything to display correctly I think you need to follow the steps here: [[User:DgbrtBOT#When_the_BOT_fails...]] [[User:Ahiijny|Ahiijny]] ([[User talk:Ahiijny|talk]]) 18:43, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
::A) Following them now. B) Bookmarked. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:45, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
:::Should be fixed now. [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 18:49, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

Saying Viviani already proved that the acceleration due to gravity on an object is independent of mass runs into a snag: Viviani suggest that it was Galileo who showed him that. So whether Galileo actually dropped any balls from the Tower of Pisa or was even the first to assert the principle in writing, he seems to be the driving force behind Vivian's proofs of it. Dismissing Galileo here is wrong. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.159|172.69.70.159]] 21:53, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening me. Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Figaro.... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.41|162.158.159.41]] 23:22, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

He did this before in 1531, where he combines several principles into a single comic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.31|108.162.245.31]] 23:39, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

== Pavlov was inhumane ==

Pavlov did a lot more than just ring some bells. For example (Trigger warning for dog lovers), he drained them of stomach acid until they were dead for profit alone, and sewed dogs heads onto each other. I think this should be acknowledges. I have put this in the main article, but it has been removes. I've tried re-phrasing, and want to know how well that will stick.

What do you think should happen. I think it is important to acknowledge, but at the same time it is not directly relevant to the comic.

Please discuss. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 23:16, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

Seems most appropriate for a Trivia section and not the main article. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.52|172.70.211.52]]

== Two Petri dishes ==

The title text says that "''One'' of the petri dishes" fell (emphasis added). Is that an obscure reference to the {{w|Twin paradox}}? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.212|141.101.69.212]] 08:05, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

:Proposed new text:

{| class="wikitable"
| (Title text) One of the petri dishes fell and one did not || The {{w|Twin paradox}} thought experiment: ... || See {{1432}} || {{w|Albert Einstein}}
|}

:[[Special:Contributions/162.158.22.175|162.158.22.175]] 08:13, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2632: Greatest Scientist

2022-06-14T08:13:28Z

162.158.22.175: /* Two Petri dishes */

If anyone knows how to get this to work with the bar at the top, please do it! [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:32, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
:[[User:SqueakSquawk4]] for everything to display correctly I think you need to follow the steps here: [[User:DgbrtBOT#When_the_BOT_fails...]] [[User:Ahiijny|Ahiijny]] ([[User talk:Ahiijny|talk]]) 18:43, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
::A) Following them now. B) Bookmarked. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 18:45, 13 June 2022 (UTC)
:::Should be fixed now. [[User:Natg19|Natg19]] ([[User talk:Natg19|talk]]) 18:49, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

Saying Viviani already proved that the acceleration due to gravity on an object is independent of mass runs into a snag: Viviani suggest that it was Galileo who showed him that. So whether Galileo actually dropped any balls from the Tower of Pisa or was even the first to assert the principle in writing, he seems to be the driving force behind Vivian's proofs of it. Dismissing Galileo here is wrong. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.159|172.69.70.159]] 21:53, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening me. Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Figaro.... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.41|162.158.159.41]] 23:22, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

He did this before in 1531, where he combines several principles into a single comic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.31|108.162.245.31]] 23:39, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

== Pavlov was inhumane ==

Pavlov did a lot more than just ring some bells. For example (Trigger warning for dog lovers), he drained them of stomach acid until they were dead for profit alone, and sewed dogs heads onto each other. I think this should be acknowledges. I have put this in the main article, but it has been removes. I've tried re-phrasing, and want to know how well that will stick.

What do you think should happen. I think it is important to acknowledge, but at the same time it is not directly relevant to the comic.

Please discuss. [[User:SqueakSquawk4|SqueakSquawk4]] ([[User talk:SqueakSquawk4|talk]]) 23:16, 13 June 2022 (UTC)

Seems most appropriate for a Trivia section and not the main article. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.52|172.70.211.52]]

== Two Petri dishes ==

The title text says that "''One'' of the petri dishes" fell. Is that an obscure reference to the {{w|Twin paradox}}? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.212|141.101.69.212]] 08:05, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

:Proposed new text:

{| class="wikitable"
| (Title text) One of the petri dishes fell and one did not || The {{w|Twin paradox}} thought experiment: ... || See {{1432}} || {{w|Albert Einstein}}
|}

:[[Special:Contributions/162.158.22.175|162.158.22.175]] 08:13, 14 June 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2593: Deviled Eggs

2022-06-08T12:32:48Z

162.158.22.175:

First commit was accidentally wiped off because an edit conflict with somebody who changed "created by a bot" to "created by an EGG" :( Am sad now. [[User:Mumingpo|Mumingpo]] ([[User talk:Mumingpo|talk]]) 02:45, 15 March 2022 (UTC)
:Shouldn't that be "created by a CHICKEN", anyway? Although I suppose the chicken was created by an egg...[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.223|172.69.79.223]] 12:24, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

The blue flash mentioned in the title text represents Cherenkov Radiation. In the case of the Demon Core accidents, those who saw the blue flashes saw it because of gamma radiation being slowed by the fluid inside of their eyeballs. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.137|172.69.42.137]] 02:46, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

:Not according to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionized-air_glow Wikipedia]]. There it says that the blue glow in criticality incidents such as those with the demon core is not from Cherenkov radiation.

:[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 09:15, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

Pretty sure the blue flash relates to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash#Blue_flashes sunset phenomenon] (usually a green flash as mentioned in [[766: Green Flash]], but can be blue). [[User:Clam|Clam]] ([[User talk:Clam|talk]]) 02:47, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

Whenever the explanation is added, it needs to reference [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1242:_Scary_Names 1242: Scary Names], which talks about the Demon Core. [[User:Trimeta|Trimeta]] ([[User talk:Trimeta|talk]]) 02:49, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

Summary would likely be better formatted in table to match spatial arrangement of original comic labels[[User:Abstreudel|Abstreudel]] ([[User talk:Abstreudel|talk]]) 02:53, 15 March 2022 (UTC)
:Not really. It's four examples that happen to be two-by-two, no reason to need to keep/restore the row-neighbours and column-neighbours. It'd just potentially look messy.
:(If you're suggesting table of "Name | Description | ... ", with four rows within, then it would be consistent with other explanations, but unnecessarily white-space heavy compared to the current minor-header and explanatory paragraph(s) format.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 07:36, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

A comment was misplaced below this discussion form. I tried to delete it but ended up deleting the whole discussion section for a moment. Would someone take care of that? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.209|172.70.110.209]] 03:24, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

If anyone is curious about what the demon core event looked like, the movie "Fat Man and Little Boy" (1989) while (hilariously) bad, has a fairly accurate scene depicting the second experiment, which can be found on YouTube. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.91|172.70.130.91]] 14:23, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

I think something could be added about why the Demon Core is so famous at the moment. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.193|141.101.76.193]] 16:24, 15 March 2022 (UTC)
: Is this referencing recent events that have brought the Cherynobyl nuclear complex (and its {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}/criticality incident) into the headlines? [[User:Mwarren|Mwarren]] ([[User talk:Mwarren|talk]]) 17:16, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

Kyle Hill created a documentary on the Demon Core. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFlromB6SnU [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.63|172.70.230.63]] 18:57, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

Is demon egg a pun on demon and devil being synonymous? [[2a02:1810:2f04:1d00:5dfb:d515:b384:91a3]] 11:33, 08 Jun 2022 (UTC)
:Well, yes and no. And they're loosely synonymous, at best, with classically ''the'' Devil may have ''many'' demons doing his bidding (you may have many devils, as subordinate mischief-makers, but there is rarely but one Demon in existence within a mythology, except insofar as a Demon King, overload of the various demonic substrata by whatever names) but enough for it to be an easy (or understandable) switch in terminology. Clearly a relationship, but too broad to be a full-on pun, IMO. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.22.175|162.158.22.175]] 12:32, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

2625: Field Topology

2022-05-28T18:39:38Z

162.158.22.175: /* Explanation */ Clarified meaning: The holes are zones forbidden to the players, & as written did not convey that.

{{comic
| number = 2625
| date = May 27, 2022
| title = Field Topology
| image = field_topology.png
| titletext = The combination croquet set/10-lane pool can also be used for some varieties of foosball and Skee-Ball.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SOMEBODY TOPOLOGICALLY EQUIVALENT TO YOU - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic strip depicts a logical extreme of multi-use athletic facilities, in which sports are grouped by the {{w|topology|topological}} equivalence of their fields (not to be confused with {{w|Field (mathematics)|mathematical fields}}, or the {{w|Fields Medal}} prize -- although successfully {{w|Straightedge and compass construction|constructing}} these fields might lead to medals of one kind or another being granted).

In topology, shapes which can be smoothly deformed into one another, without making or closing cuts or holes, are equivalent. {{w|Baseball}}, {{w|soccer}}, and {{w|tetherball}} are played on fields without any holes that the ball or players cannot completely pass through, so they are grouped ({{w|Group (mathematics)|heh!}}) into one continuous field without holes. The goals on a soccer field do not create holes; because the goalposts are connected to the field with a net, the goals and field are topologically equivalent to a plane. The same is true of ice hockey, as well.

{{w|Volleyball}} and {{w|badminton}} are played on a field split in two by a net, and the {{w|high jump}} has a bar that contestants jump over. The space bounded by the bottom of the net (or bar), the supporting poles, and the ground can be considered to be a hole, so their fields all have one "hole".

A basketball court has two holes, the nets. Parallel bars can be thought of as two rectangles and thus as two topographical "holes". A football field is a special case. Commonly, an American football field uses a "Y" shaped upright, making the field topologically equivalent to a plane. However, at lower levels of play (primary and secondary schools), sometimes an "H" shaped upright is used, which creates a topological hole under the crossbar at both ends of the field. The comic might instead refer to Gaelic football or Rugby, both of which use "H" shaped goals and are called "football" in certain contexts.

The lane dividers in swimming create bounded holes on the 'playing surface' equivalent to the number of lanes minus one. Randall's construction would be used as a pool with nine completely separate troughs for lanes. And each hoop in croquet is a hole with one edge bounded by the playing surface. Similarly, as mentioned in the title text, this configuration is also {{w|homeomorphism|homeomorphic}} to a {{w|foosball}} table (with each rod sustaining the player figures above the table defining a hole) or a {{w|Skee-Ball}} lane (which is even more straightforward, as it is just a plane with several holes in which to throw balls).

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

Four indistinct shapes with various numbers of holes in, with signs next to them

zero holes: "Baseball. Soccer. Tetherball."

one hole: "Volleyball. Badminton. High jump."

two holes: Basketball. Football. Parallel bars."

nine holes: "Olympic swimming. Croquet."

Image caption: "No one ever wants to use the topology department's athletic fields."

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Sport]]

2624: Voyager Wires

2022-05-25T21:43:41Z

162.158.22.175: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2624
| date = May 25, 2022
| title = Voyager Wires
| image = voyager_wires.png
| titletext = Also, they're getting increasingly worried that someone will accidentally hit the 'retract' button, and that the end of the cable thrashing around as it winds up could devastate the Earth's surface.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WIRE CUT BECAUSE OF BUDG- are you there houston? it's me v----ger, you'll never guess what I found! Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic claims that the Voyager probes communicate with NASA though ridiculously long copper wires, when in reality they use radio waves.{{citation needed}} These wires would have to be continuously lengthened as the probes travel away from Earth. Supposedly, because of "high copper prices and budget constraints," they may not be able to afford to lengthen the wires much longer. If this occurred, they would have to either cut the wires or let them break, which would prevent any further communication with the probes. As mentioned earlier, however, they actually use radio waves, not long copper wires, so this will not actually happen.

If copper wires were dragged by the Voyager probes, 550 tons of copper would be needed per hour if the cable was 1mm² thick and it would add 1 million Ohm per hour to the cable resistance.

The resulting wire would slow down the probes by drag, but be perfect space elevators for lightweight spacecraft.
Of course, since the Earth spins, the wires would also spool around the Earth, slowing the probes down even further. Clearly, this is not a good idea.{{citation needed}}

This doesn't even factor in how the Earth, in its rotation around the sun, will drag these copper wires in a circular orbit leading the wires through the sun at least once per year. The difference between the melting point of copper and the average core temperature of the sun has not yet been established by reproducible experiment, but is believed to be incompatible with the high quality required for signal transmission.

The consequence of a cable between a craft in space and a planetary location being suddenly retracted was recently demonstrated in the first episode of the Apple TV series {{w|Foundation}}. It didn't end well for anyone.

When this comic was releaseed, few days ago NASA had [https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/news/details.php?article_id=124 reported] to have received corrupted position data from Voyager probe.

====Alternate Explanation====
When Randall Munroe states that Voyager 1 and 2 are cabled to the Earth by copper wires, his assertion deserves serious consideration.{{citation needed}}

The primary explanation, above, takes the position that this comic is ridiculously wrong.{{citation needed}} But the insertion of several "citation needed" links suggests that the explanation's position is weak.{{citation needed}}

The comic's author, Randall Munroe,{{citation needed}} is well attested as a competent scientist,{{citation needed}} for example see the citations in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randall_Munroe Wikipedia Randall Munroe page]. His books, cited in that same Wikipedia article,{{citation needed}} offer well-researched easy to understand discussions of science and of everyday phenomena.{{citation needed}} Trust him.{{citation needed}}

(For completeness, see another Wikipedia article, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinformation Disinformation]. In its subsection ''Strategies for spreading disinformation'', strategy number 4 is "Directly Sharing Disinformation".{{citation needed}} That is mentioned here only because the top header at the xkcd web site states it is a webcomic of romance, '''sarcasm,''' math, and language.){{citation needed}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[There is an image of a space probe, presumably one of NASA's Voyager probes, with a long wire connecting it to a ball, presumably earth. To the left, there is a second wire, which goes offscreen. Below, there is a caption.]

Caption: "Sad news: Due to high copper prices and budget constraints, NASA may finally have to cut the wires that they've been spooling out to communicate with Voyager 1 and 2."
{{comic discussion}}

2623: Goofs

2022-05-24T08:15:19Z

162.158.22.175: /* Goofs */ It would be "an Agent Glennifer" if it's a job-title and/or honorific, but we can't be sure about that so "an agent called Glennifer" allows it to be 'merely' a functional description of their perceived role without an official title of such.

{{comic
| number = 2623
| date = May 23, 2022
| title = Goofs
| image = goofs.png
| titletext = The film is set in 2018, but when Commander Bremberly chases the hologram through Times Square, there's a billboard for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Depending on the date, that billboard would have been advertising either Infinity War or this movie.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a ALL FICTION IS SUPPOSED TO TAKE PLACE IN ALTERNATE UNIVERSES- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
IMDb is the {{w|Internet Movie Database}}, a website that contains detailed information about movies and TV shows. One of the sections in many entries is "Goofs". This may list bloopers, inconsistencies, implausible actions, anachronisms, etc. in the movie. The comic makes fun of this with several goofs that simply point out differences between something in the movie and reality; but since the movie is fiction (in this case, a science fiction film that includes a space detective, a cybernetic dog, blimp drones, and a hologram kissing scene), it's not expected to exactly mirror reality. Randall is pointing out that IMDb is ignoring the main foundation of fiction: Not being real (sometimes referred to as being set in a slightly different world). Some prefer to express this as "it's just a movie dude".

In the first goof, the street doesn't actually exist in the city in which the movie is set. Unless the address is important to the plot (Manhattan has a number of streets with well-known characters, e.g. the main theatre district is on Broadway, Fifth Avenue is a major shopping district, and Wall Street is known for large financial institutions), screenwriters often just make up street names and it might actually be expedient to 'rename' a setting in many cases, to avoid the actual collision of fictional and actual setting such as having {{w|A_Nightmare_on_Elm_Street|"A Nightmare On <Your Streetname>"}}.

In the second example, they point out that there's no real harpoon store at the location where the characters obtain a harpoon in the movie, and the nearest actual harpoon store doesn't have a display window like the one in the movie. Movies usually take liberties with details like this for plot expediency, it's not considered a goof. Manhattan does not appear to have ''any'' notable harpoon stores,{{Citation needed}} with or without the kind of frontage described. 

In the third example, the background of a scene is of an apartment in Downtown Vancouver (a cheap and popular filming location that frequently stands in for other cities). The goof points out that the real-life apartment does not belong to the character who supposedly lives in it. Most movie characters do not exist in reality{{citation needed}}, and many scenes are set in fictional locations that are completely separate from their real-life filming locations. As such, this is only a "goof" if the scene is taken entirely literally.

The title text describes an actual anachronism. The film is set in 2018, but there's a billboard for the movie ''{{w|Avengers: Age of Ultron}}''. That movie came out in 2015, while the next Avengers film, ''{{w|Avengers: Infinity War}}'', came out in 2018. Assuming the movie was filmed before 2018, the filmmakers wouldn't have known what films would be current at the time it would be released, and certainly not the artwork they'd be using to promote them. They could have chosen to set it 3 years earlier, but again, unless the specific date is significant to the plot, it's common to set a film at about the same time it's released but with a bare minimum of fakery by trying not to show ''unimportant'' newspaper dates, etc, so that set-dressing and props-department budgets aren't excessive. Generic advertisements for fictional (or {{w|Last Action Hero|parody}}) films might be put over egregiously obvious existing material, physically or in post-production editing, as might references to major brands – perhaps replaced by those agreed with from {{w|product placement}} partners.

The title text also mentions the possibility of a self-reference – the billboard could be for this film itself since it's being released at the same time it's set. This assertion that {{w|Blazing Saddles|in-universe self-reference}} is plausible for a movie production is likely another example of the goof's writer failing to understand the basic "premise of fiction". Most movies do not exist within the fictional world they portray, and many audiences would find self-reference to be a far greater obstacle to suspending disbelief than an ad for the wrong Avengers movie.

===Goofs===
* There is no entry for a film featuring an agent called Glennifer on IMDB. Randall is clearly failing to do basic research.
* On the real IMDb, each item in the Goofs section would be listed under a category such as "Errors in geography" (which might apply to the three goofs listed in the main cartoon) or "Anachronisms" (which might apply to the goof in the title text). However, no such category is displayed here.
* On real Goofs pages, the information below each entry includes a public feedback listing (X of Y found this interesting) and a link entitled "Share this". In the comic, only unintelligible squiggles are included in their place, which really breaks the immersion of the purported "webpage". Of course, on a real IMDb page, all of the text would also be in the Verdana font, not Randall's handwriting.
* The comic features two entries with a yellow background, which is impossible. On IMDb, entries alternate between having white and gray backgrounds and only turn yellow when the mouse hovers over them.
* On IMDb, the number of goofs is located in a navigation box between the header and the goofs list. In the comic, the number is placed in the header, and there is no navigation box at all.
* A similar Goofs section exists in the [[explain xkcd]] wiki's page for this comic, [[2623: Goofs]], but it fails even more evidently to recreate the look of IMDb's Goofs page. Additionally, the last entry is recursive, which is clearly unprofessional.

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

:[An excerpt from an Internet Movie Database web page showing a list of goofs from a film. Each item has some small illegible text below it, which on the real IMDb would say something like "7 of 72 found this interesting | Share this". The first and third items have a faint yellow-tinted background. The third item is only partially visible at the bottom of the "screen".]
:[Heading:]
:'''Goofs (78)'''
:[List:]
:The space detective's office is on Chestnut Ave, but Lower Manhattan has no street by that name. Agent Glennifer pursues the cybernetic dog onto what is clearly Ludlow Street.
:The agents destroy the blimp drones in Union Square with harpoons from a store display rack. The nearest harpoon store is several blocks away and has no outdoor displays.
:The apartment in the background of the hologram kissing scene actually exists in downtown Vancouver. We called the owners, who confirmed they had no residents named [...]

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Sometimes the IMDB "Goofs" section really seems to struggle with the whole premise of fiction.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]

398: Tap That Ass

2022-05-04T12:31:43Z

162.158.22.175:

{{comic
| number = 398
| date = March 19, 2008
| title = Tap That Ass
| image = tap_that_ass.png
| titletext = Hey, when you're done draining the syrup, just leave the hole, okay?
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, Cueball either accidentally or purposefully exploits the double meanings of "tap." The phrase "tap that ass" is a colloquialism for "to have intercourse with that person" and is most likely how the reader expects the phrase to be used. However, throughout the comic, Cueball uses the phrase ambiguously.

In the first panel, it is possible that [[Cueball]] is using "tap that ass" sexually. However, it is more likely that he is using "tap" to mean "pick" or "choose," in which case he would be the one choosing the next committee chair. "That ass" refers to one of the individuals in the meeting room to be picked for the position.

In the second panel, "tap" is referring to wiretapping. The Cueball character with the headphones on has just unplugged his headphone. This suggests that he and his colleague at the phone were just done with the wiretapping. In this scenario, it is strange that the colleague is still on the phone instead of hanging up. However, it would be much stranger to wiretap someone in plain eyesight, unless that person is blind. "Ass" likely refers to the person they have just wiretapped. Cueball says he'd tap that ass "without a warrant," suggesting that they had one in this situation.

In the third panel, "tap" is referring to extracting sap from trees. A sexual connotation would make no sense in this context. "That ass" refers to the maple tree.

The final panel reveals that Cueball was purposefully implying the sexual meaning of "tap that ass" all along, even though he framed it in a non-sexual context. He reaffirms his previous statement from the third panel by turning toward the direction of the third panel (thus implicitly breaking the fourth wall) and asserting "I'd have sex with that tree." "That tree" refers to the tree from the previous panel.
Alternatively, Cueball may have finally realized that he indeed wanted to have sex, but instead of using the euphemism "tap that ass," he says it literally.

The title text features a request from Cueball from the last panel to Cueball from the third panel. He asks Cueball not to plug up the hole left behind from tapping the tree, so he can have sex with it.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball in a hallway looking in on a board meeting.]
:Cueball: I'd tap that ass to be the new committee chair.
:[Cueball wearing headphones with a briefcase and a laptop. Another man on a telephone.]
:Cueball: I'd tap that ass without a warrant.
:[Cueball with his hand on his chin, looking at a tree.]
:Cueball: I'd tap that ass and extract delicious maple syrup.
:[Cueball standing in a blank frame.]
:Cueball: I'd have sex with that tree.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Sex]]

399: Travelling Salesman Problem

2022-05-04T12:31:30Z

162.158.22.175:

{{comic
| number = 399
| date = March 21, 2008
| title = Travelling Salesman Problem
| image = travelling_salesman_problem.png
| titletext = What's the complexity class of the best linear programming cutting-plane techniques? I couldn't find it anywhere. Man, the Garfield guy doesn't have these problems...
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|Travelling salesman problem|travelling salesman problem}} is a classic problem in computer science. An intuitive way of stating this problem is that given a list of cities and the distances between pairs of them, the task is to find the shortest possible route that visits each city exactly once and then returns to the origin city. A naïve solution solves the problem in {{w|Factorial|O(n!) time}} (where n is the size of the list), simply by checking all possible routes, and selecting the shortest one. However, this approach will take a long time as the number of possible routes increases exponentially as more nodes are included.

A more efficient {{w|Dynamic programming|dynamic programming}} approach yields a solution in O(n22n) time. These times are given using {{w|Big O notation}}, which is commonly used in computer science to show the efficiency or complexity of a solution or algorithm.

The joke is that the salesman selling online (say on {{w|eBay}}, {{w|Amazon Marketplace}}, or other virtual marketplace) does not have to worry about this problem, since he does not need to travel (which makes the time to find the best solution O(1)), to which the travelling salesman angrily responds, "Shut the hell up."

The title text wonders about the time complexity of the {{w|Cutting-plane method|cutting-plane method}}, which is sometimes used to solve optimization problems.

The last sentence suggests the downside for Randall of drawing comics about computer science; he sometimes encounters problems to which he cannot find the answer, whereas authors of simpler comics such as {{w|Garfield}} do not have this problem. This is also likely a reference to [[78: Garfield]], which parodies Garfield's simplicity.

The map almost certainly depicts the United States, with the locations highlighted suspected to be (from left to right): Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Chicago (cut off), Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and Boston.

This is so far the only comic featuring the Brown Hat character.

Also see earlier strip [[287: NP-Complete]].

==Transcript==
:[There is a linked black web, with a path in red; it appears to be a map of the United States.]
:Brute-force solution:O(n!)
:[The web continues in this one. A man with a brown hat and a case is drawing it.]
:Dynamic programming algorithms: O(n22n)
:[Another man, with a brown hat too, is at a computer, looking back over the chair.]
:Selling on eBay: O(1)
:eBay salesman: Still working on your route?
:Drawing salesman: Shut the hell up.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Programming]]

401: Large Hadron Collider

2022-05-04T12:31:13Z

162.158.22.175:

{{comic
| number = 401
| date = March 26, 2008
| title = Large Hadron Collider
| image = large_hadron_collider.png
| titletext = When charged particles of more than 5 TeV pass through a bubble chamber, they leave a trail of candy.
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|Large Hadron Collider}} (LHC) is the world's largest particle accelerator, used in physics research, and particularly for finding the {{w|Higgs Boson}}. The Higgs Boson is one quantum excitation of the Higgs Field, in the same way as the photon is a quantum of the electromagnetic field. Interaction between particles and the Higgs field can explain why other particles have mass. The Higgs Boson was first detected in 2012, and confirmed to exist in March 2013. It was the last particle of the {{w|Standard Model}} of Physics to be experimentally confirmed.

At the time of this comic's writing, the LHC was nearing completion, and the comic imagines experimental physicists starting up the LHC for the first time. It has taken many years to complete, and its intended purpose was to be able to measure the Higgs Boson. In the comic, the experiment fails to observe the Higgs Boson. The researchers can only wait for the theorists to determine what may have happened, if something went wrong, or if they can come up with a testable hypothesis. In 2012, and after many years of experimentation and observation, the Higgs Boson was observed at CERN's LHC. This comic imagines what the researchers may have done with the LHC in between tests.

After the experiment failed, the bored physicists try frying pigeons with the proton stream and instead end up giving a helicopter cancer, both of which are impossible. This is because the stream is contained within the LHC, and non-organic entities can't get cancer{{Citation needed}}. However, the proton stream could cause considerable damage to pigeons or humans, as the U-70 synchrotron did to {{w|Anatoli Bugorski}} in 1978.

At that time there was also a big concern by some people that the LHC could produce {{w|Micro black hole|microscopic black holes}}. However, {{w|Cosmic ray|cosmic rays}} regularly strike Earth's atmosphere with particles at higher energies; thus, if the proposed doomsday scenario were possible, it should have already happened. Many jokes were published like this video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INodNZY5ytE "LHC End of The World Black Hole"].

The title text makes another joke about the effects of highly energetic particles, claiming that when they pass through a {{w|bubble chamber}} (an older particle detection device), they leave a trail of candy. TeV means {{w|Tera-|tera}}{{w|Electronvolt|electronvolt}} and equals 1012 eV. 5 TeV is {{w|Electronvolt#Energy comparisons|about the energy}} of the LHC. It is of the order of the energy of a flying mosquito and would never be able to convert a liquid to candy or anything macroscopic.

==Transcript==
:The Large Hadron Collider, CERN...
:Megan: Okay, moment of truth. "click"
:Large Hadron Collider: "VVVVVRRMMMMMM"
:Cueball: Do you see the Higgs Boson?
:Megan: Nope.
:Cueball: Huh.
:Megan: Well, then.
:Cueball: Until the theorists get back to us, wanna try hitting pigeons with the proton stream?
:Megan: Already on it. Cool! I just gave a helicopter cancer.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Physics]]

402: 1,000 Miles North

2022-05-04T12:30:55Z

162.158.22.175:

{{comic
| number = 402
| date = March 28, 2008
| title = 1,000 Miles North
| image = 1000_miles_north.png
| titletext = Twister would've been a much better movie if they'd cut out the bad-guy storm chaser and all the emotional romance crap. All you need for a good movie are tornados and scientists. Actually, that's all you need for anything.
}}

==Explanation==
Spoofing off of {{w|tornado chasers}} are these permafrost chasers, who are just like tornado chasers, but they are chasing very boring[[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]] permafrost. {{w|Permafrost}} is a layer of ground that never thaws, unlike ground closer to the equator, where the ground freezes in winter and thaws in the spring.

The title text references the 1996 movie ''{{w|Twister (1996 film)|Twister}}'' about a crazy group of tornado chasers trying to drop a probe-releasing device named Dorothy (based on the real-life project {{w|TOtable Tornado Observatory|TOTO}}) into the heart of a tornado. However, much of the story was about Bill and his ex, both chasers, falling back in love, another chaser who is fighting Bill for research grants and fame, and a tornado that likes to chase people. [[Randall]] comments that the movie would have been better if they had lost all of the above except the tornadoes and the scientist, which is basically all you need for a good movie. And then he continues his musings by saying that tornadoes and scientists "are all you need for anything."

This seems to be the first comic mentioning tornadoes, but since then they have become a [[:Category:Tornadoes|recurring subject]] on xkcd, and in the next two tornado comics, [[640: Tornado Hunter]] and [[752: Phobia]], tornadoes and tornado chasers are actually featured.

==Transcript==
:[A van (almost exiting the frame to the right) and a pickup truck behind the van are driving on a road where dust blows up behind the tires. There are three mountain peaks in the background. In the rear of the truck is a cylindrical-shaped object. Above the truck there are two frames with yellow background and text. The top frame is at the height of the mountains, the other just above the truck.]
:1,000 miles north of tornado alley
:A new breed of scientists has emerged.

:[At the base of a mountain (or glacier front) to the right, Cueball runs towards Ponytail (as shown with a curling line behind his raised leg). He is carrying a laptop in his arms, and he has a headset with antenna and microphone on. Ponytail is holding a probe in both hands, maybe drilling it into the ground. Grass and small rocks are drawn around them. At the top is another frame with yellow background and text.]
:Half researchers, half adrenaline junkies
:Ponytail: What's the reading?
:Cueball: 3.9 meters down, gradient's off the charts!

:[The pickup truck is shown in a zoom in from the side. Cueball is driving very fast, while holding a Walkie-talkie up to his head. The cylinder in the rear, from the first frame, now clearly turns out to be some kind of instrument with a small parabolic disc and a smaller antenna, and there are some labels and a text is written across it, although it is difficult to read. At the top is another frame with yellow background and text.]
:Risking everything for the thrill of the hunt
:Cueball: The freeze line is shifting! We've never seen anything like it!
:Cylinder: Riwan

:[Ponytail is holding a large video camera down towards a tiny spot of grass on the ground. He is standing in a barren field with one small mountain to the left and three small mountain peaks to the right in background. Behind him is a large box connected to a small radio with a long antenna. Cueball speaks to him over his walkie-talkie, his voice coming from the radio via a zigzag line. At the top is a final frame with yellow background and text.]
:Permafrost chasers
:Ponytail: I'm getting some great footage here!
:Cueball: Dammit, Harding, it's not worth your neck! Get the hell out of there!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Tornadoes]]

404: Not Found

2022-05-04T12:30:42Z

162.158.22.175:

{{comic
| number = 404
| date = April 1, 2008
| title = Not Found
| image = not found.png
}}

==Explanation==
There is no image for xkcd comic numbered 404. [[Randall]] did, however, not skip a day!

The previous comic [[403: Convincing Pickup Line]] was released Monday March 31st 2008, and he put the next comic, [[405: Journal 3]], up as scheduled on Wednesday April 2nd 2008, which leads some to see the 404 as an {{w|April Fools' Day}} joke released in between, as comic [[404: Not Found]] released on Tuesday April 1st 2008.

This was thus the first [[:Category:April fools' comics|April Fools' comic]] released by Randall (not counting the unnumbered [[Syndication]] released the previous year). The next (and first real) April Fools' Day comic was not released until [[880: Headache]] on Friday April 1st 2011, although Randall did make other jokes in the years in between{{citation needed}}.

"404" is the HTTP Response Code for "{{w|HTTP 404|Not Found}}." Randall deliberately skipped comic number 404 in xkcd. Therefore, when people go to {{xkcd|404}}, they get a "404 Not Found" error page. (This does not work in all browsers. In newer versions of Internet Explorer, a message about the link being broken occurs without the 404 code.)

Randall has stated that he considers 404 [https://web.archive.org/web/20190311150907/https://plus.google.com/111588569124648292310/posts/j6w9DkYApya an official, actual comic, albeit a rather avant-garde one], and that for a time he made it possible to find it using the "random" button on xkcd.com. He once again displays this in the 2018 April Fools' joke, [[1975: Right Click]], where you can access all of his comics up to Right Click from the right click menu, and the menu includes this one specifically due to the strange "title"!

It may seem like a random coincidence that {{xkcd|403}} came out the day before April 1st 2008. And for sure it must have been by chance that it would come out close to that date when Randall began posting on xkcd. But when Randall noticed this fact, at some point prior to that date, he would, however, have had a chance to influence the release date. In November 2007, less than half a year before this April 1st, he released the [[:Category:1337|1337 series]] over five consecutive days. That would have moved the release date of 403 from Friday the 4th of April to the Monday it was actually released - making it possible to skip comic 404 as if it came out on April 1st without skipping a comic on a normal release day. There was at least one other series in 2007 to use all five days of a week ([[:Category:Choices|Choices]]), so maybe he had this planned for a long time?

It is perhaps an interesting point that the very next comic, [[405: Journal 3]], includes the line "So, you found me after all."

In [[1969: Not Available]], the error message 404 is referenced in the caption.

This is featured in a few comics to come, including [[1975: Right Click]] (in File > Open > C:\ > Bookmarks/ > Comics > comic num 404).

==Transcript==
:[Instead of the regular xkcd site layout, just a white page that states on top center:]
:404 Not Found

:[Page-wide divider line]

:[Below that in a smaller font:]
:nginx

==Trivia==
*The web comic Comic JK made this spoof of this missing comic in total xkcd style:
**The [https://web.archive.org/web/20100925103935/http://comicjk.com/comic.php/404 comic 404] that could have been.
*The "image of this comic," displayed at the top, is what appears when going to https://www.xkcd.com/404/
**But only in some browsers...
**In Chrome and Firefox this works, but in Explorer the page revealed is a standard page with a message from explorer:
***"The webpage was not found"
[[File: not found ie.png]]
***It thus leaves the xkcd page.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:No title text]]
[[Category:No Image URL]]
[[Category:Comics with lowercase text]]

406: Venting

2022-05-04T12:30:21Z

162.158.22.175:

{{comic
| number = 406
| date = April 4, 2008
| title = Venting
| image = venting.png
| titletext = P.P.S. I can kill you with my brain.
}}

==Explanation==
This is yet another xkcd comic referencing ''{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}'', but it's not so much about ''Firefly'' itself as about {{w|Summer Glau}}. Summer Glau is an American actress best known for playing {{w|River Tam}} in ''Firefly'' and ''{{w|Serenity (film)|Serenity}}'', as well as Cameron in the ''{{w|Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles}}'' series.

[[Cueball]] says that he gives a long and seemingly well-researched reply to a stupid comment on a blog when he feels angry as a way to vent. What we see of his comment begins with Cueball describing the original comment's incoherent and inconsistent spelling and grammar. Then, he proceeds to rip apart the commentator by citing their historical and political ignorance. He signs his comment as 'Summer Glau', after which he reminds the blogger to watch the next season of ''Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles series''.

One likely reason that he uses 'Summer Glau' is that she is worshiped by geeks the world over, even those incapable of writing coherent blog posts or comments. CrackMonkey74 would not risk responding negatively to the post, just in case it was actually written by Summer Glau, as they don't want everyone to hate them for attempting to argue with her. In this way, Cueball is assured of the last word in this argument, which makes for a most satisfying vent.

Another possible explanation is that River Tam has a genius-level intellect and is also mentally disturbed. Given xkcd's trend of comparing ''Firefly'' characters to their respective actors (especially in [[The Race]]), Cueball is probably using Summer Glau's name simply because an exhaustively researched blog comment seems like something River Tam -- and thus possibly Summer Glau -- would do.

The title text refers to the famous dialogue delivered by River Tam in ''Firefly'' Episode 11: "{{w|Trash (Firefly)|Trash}}".

==Transcript==
:When I need to blow off steam, I find a particularly stupid blog comment and reply with an exhaustively researched word-by-word rebuttal, which I sign 'Summer Glau'.
:Cueball (typing): In conclusion, on examining the above post by CrackMonkey74, after carefully working my way through the haze of spelling errors (documented in section 3), abuse of capitalization (section 4), and general crimes against grammar and syntax (sections 7-8), I have demonstrated that, beneath it all, the work betrays the author's staggering ignorance of the history and the workings of our electoral system. While the author's wildly swerving train of thought did at one point flirt with coherence, this brief encounter was more likely a chance event (see statistical analysis in table 5) than a result of even rudimentary lucidity.
::-Summer Glau
:P.S. Don't forget to check out the next season of the ''Sarah Connor Chronicles'' this fall on Fox!

==Trivia==
*Cueball's statement has been widely reused by many bloggers after the release of this comic.
*The name ''CrackMonkey74'' also appears in [[202: YouTube]] as one of the clueless YouTube commentators, and later appears in [[574: Swine Flu]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Summer Glau]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Terminator]]

407: Cheap GPS

2022-05-04T12:30:06Z

162.158.22.175:

{{comic
| number = 407
| date = April 7, 2008
| title = Cheap GPS
| image = cheap gps.png
| titletext = In lieu of mapping software, I once wrote a Perl program which, given a USB GPS receiver and a destination, printed 'LEFT' 'RIGHT' OR 'STRAIGHT' based on my heading.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|GPS}} is a system allowing people to find their location and from that, speed on Earth. It was first developed for the U.S. military, but now it sees international usage for everyday navigation. Many motorists today have GPS devices (sometimes just called GPS's) that can give driving directions electronically.

{{w|Hunt the Thimble|Hot and Cold}} is a children's activity/game where one person searches for an unknown object, and the rest must respond "Hot" or "Cold." Other words, such as "warm" and "cool" can be used to describe their distance more accurately. The closer the player is to the mystery object, the "hotter" they are.

This GPS would be extremely difficult to use, as it gives no directions, only telling you how close you are to reaching your destination. The series of instructions spoken ("cold," "warm," "hot," then "cold" again) suggests that Cueball either missed a turn, or that he just passed his destination.

Randall describes a past engineering project of his that can only describe turns "as the crow flies." So, for example, if he was driving north with the destination to the northeast, the GPS would tell him to turn right even if no such turn was legally possible. Perhaps not very functional, but it ''is'' a pretty cool thing to build.
While cars go fast and are only allowed to, or able to, use a very limited number of all roads and trails in the world, this is less so for pedestrians. As a consequence, for hikers, an app that just shows the direction you should be walking in 'as the crow flies' is actually quite a common and useful tool, since a lot of small roads suitable for pedestrians do not show up on maps. Of course, just printing 'left' or 'right' is much more primitive than showing an arrow in the correct direction (compass-like), and often less helpful since on one cross section there can be multiple trails to the right.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball driving down the road, with a GPS reading "COLD."]
:GPS: COLD... WARM... HOT! COLD...

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Programming]]

2325: Endorheic Basin

2022-05-04T12:29:36Z

162.158.22.175: Removing the up arrow because I'm dumb

{{comic
| number = 2325
| date = June 26, 2020
| title = Endorheic Basin
| image = endorheic_basin.png
| titletext = My biggest fear is that colonial engineers will try to flood me to generate electricity. My biggest hope is that I'll develop sailing stones.
}}

==Explanation==
Yet another comic with one of [[Beret Guy|Beret Guy's]] [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]]. This time he attracts water so it flows to him rather than running out towards the nearby oceans. He thus claims he is an {{w|endorheic basin}}, hence the title.

An endorheic basin is a limited drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but converges instead into lakes or swamps, permanent or seasonal, that equilibrate through evaporation. The {{w|Caspian Sea}} in Asia is the largest such basin. It is debated if it is a lake or a sea (it is salty, but not connected to the oceans). If it is a lake then it is the world's largest lake.

Real-life endorheic basins do not attract water in any unusual ways. Rather, they form when low-lying, inland areas receive water from rivers and streams, but not enough to flood them completely and allow the water to overflow into an ocean. As the surface of the lake grows, so do the rate of evaporation and seepage into the ground, until they're equivalent to the inflow of water (at least, on a yearly average). Obviously, Beret Guy's inexplicable effect on water is distinct from the way actual endorheic basins function.

The panel showing Beret Guy after a shower looks similar to what could happen in a space station if you have liquid water in zero gravity. The water in this environment sticks to any surface it encounters.{{Citation needed}} See for instance the start of this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeDJABZpVlI Water in zero gravity] and this one [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8TssbmY-GM Wringing out Water on the ISS - for Science!] to see how water reacts to human skin in zero gravity. It is thus almost impossible for him to dry off after a shower. It seems like the water that is attracted to him is still somewhat subject to gravity, as it pools downwards upon him; presumably he knows to finish showering before it floods over his face.

In fact he needs someone to come with a {{w|siphon}} to get rid of the water. A siphon is a hose or u-shaped pipe, where the downward pipe is longer than the upward section. Thus the water falling in the downward section creates a pull lifting the water in the upward section up to the highest point, from which it will flow down pulling more water up. As the endorheic basin caused by Beret Guy seems to have a limited reach, placing one end of the pipe sufficiently far outside creates a similar effect: The water outside Beret Guy's area of effect flows down under the influence of gravity, creating a pull lifting the water near him "up" out of the endorheic basin. Randall made a [[what if?]] about siphons in #143: [https://what-if.xkcd.com/143/ Europa Water Siphon].

As with real endorheic basins, if the water is allowed to sit, it will eventually evaporate, but he notes that he'll "develop salt flats". Water from rivers carry salts, typically in low concentrations, and if a lake lacks outflows, the salts build up over time, as the water evaporates. If a salt lake evaporates completely, it can create {{w|Salt pan (geology)|salt flats}} (or salt pans), like those near {{w|Salt Lake City}} in {{w|Utah}}, e.g. the {{w|Bonneville Salt Flats}}. These salts come in a variety of forms, including minerals. Sometimes, endorheic basins have high enough concentrations of dissolved minerals to be worth extracting, which is presumably what he means by "let me know if you need any minerals".

There may also be a contrived pun here, in that "flats" is a description of various types of footwear (among them: women's shoes that are not high-heeled and ballet shoes not specifically reinforced for advanced 'pointe' dancing), and the water would clearly leave the 'flats' on his feet.

In the title text, Beret Guy mentions his "biggest fear" due to his water attracting abilities is being flooded to by "colonial engineers" in order for them to use him and the water to generate electricity. This may be a reference to the {{w|Qattara Depression Project}}. The Qattara depression is a low-lying region near the Egyptian coast. For nearly a century, there have been proposals to dig a canal from the sea to flood this depression, deliberately creating a huge endorheic basin. By placing {{w|hydroelectric dam}}s along the canal, the proposals hoped to generation huge amounts of electricity. At least one proposal included the use of nuclear explosions to create the canal, which may help to explain why he considers this his biggest fear.

He then mentions that his "biggest hope", due to his ability, is that he will generate {{w|sailing stones}}. Sailing stones (also known as sliding rocks, walking rocks, rolling stones, and moving rocks), are a geological phenomenon where rocks move and inscribe long tracks along a smooth valley floor without human or animal intervention. The movement of the rocks occurs when large ice sheets a few millimeters thick and floating in an ephemeral winter pond start to break up during sunny days. Frozen during cold winter nights, these thin floating ice panels are driven by wind and shove rocks at speeds up to 5 meters per minute. The {{w|Racetrack Playa}}, an endorheic basin in Death Valley, is one of the most famous locations for sailing stones.

This comic came out just a bit more than a month after the previous comic with one of Beret Guy's strange powers, [[2310: Great Attractor]], in which strange forces exerted a pull on Beret Guy. It does not appear that he himself is drawn to water, and we cannot determine if the Great Attractor is drawn to him, so Newton's Third Law may be constantly being broken, along with the more obvious scientific impossibilities that surround Beret Guy.

==Transcript==
:[Megan, holding a glass of water up in one hand, is talking to Beret Guy, who has water surrounding his feet, with small droplets falling off the two small water triangles that cover his feet. The water in her glass is leaning towards Beret Guy.]
:Megan: Why are your feet wet?
:Beret Guy: I'm an endorheic basin!

:[Megan looks down at her glass as the water in it is flying out towards Beret Guy's arm, which he has stretched out towards the glass.]
:Megan: Huh?
:Beret Guy: Nearby water flows toward me, not the ocean.
:Beret Guy: See?
:Megan: Oh, cool.

:[At the top of this panel is a box with text being said by Beret Guy to Megan. Beneath it is a depiction of what he is explaining to Megan. Beret Guy is shown standing in a bathroom, with a towel around his waist. Almost his entire body is covered completely in water, except most of his head above mouth level, and both his feet are beneath the water bubble. He yells to someone outside the bathroom. A shower-tray or partially sunken bathtub can be seen to the left with a closed shower curtain across it. To the right of him is the sink with mirror above it. Further right is the door. The floor is tiled.]
:Beret Guy - narrating: The most annoying part is drying off after a shower.
:Beret Guy: Can someone bring me the siphon?

:[Back to the situation from the first panel, although Megan has lowered her glass a bit. The glass seems to be as full as in the first panel though, even though Beret Guy now also has water on his arm where it was pulled out off Megan's glass in panel 2.]
:Beret Guy: But I have to get rid of it or I'll develop salt flats.
:Beret Guy: Anyway, let me know if you need any minerals!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Geography]]

2609: Entwives

2022-04-20T16:09:35Z

162.158.22.175: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2609
| date = April 20, 2022
| title = Entwives
| image = entwives.png
| titletext = No, we actually do have a woman who's basically part of our fellowship. She lives in Rivendell, you wouldn't know her.
}}

==Explanation==
In {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}, the {{w|Ent|Ents}} are a species of tree-like humanoids, such as the one depicted in this comic. Part of the backstory of the Ents is that all of the women of their species (the Entwives that this comic is named for) left many years ago over a dispute with the male Ents, who have since been searching for them in an attempt to make amends and preserve the future of their species. The loneliness of the Ents' all-male society is considered a great tragedy in their culture.

This comic uses that plot point to satirically comment on the extreme gender imbalance of the cast of Lord of the Rings; when presented with the all-male Fellowship of the Ring, the Ent assumes that they must come from a culture afflicted by a similar tragedy. In reality, of course, the dwarves (to an extent), elves, hobbits, and men all have a roughly even gender ratio, and the lack of women in the Fellowship is due not to cultural tragedy, but to strict gender roles excluding women from an adventuring party. Or the author simply neglected to include any female characters.

The clickable link leads to a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt2qCjL6-n4 video showing the singular scene where two women interact], which is there to emphasize how few women there are in the franchise. The inclusion of this clip may be a reference to the {{w|Bechdel test}}, a metric for judging the representation of women in a piece of media that requires to women to have a conversation about something other than a man. Whether this two-and-a-half-word exchange is sufficient to pass the test is debatable.

The title-text most likely refers to the character of Arwen; while somewhat important to the story, she is nowhere near on the level of the Fellowship, and even if she were, a single important woman wouldn't counterbalance the heavily male-centric storytelling. The way that the title text is phrased is a reference to the proverbial (and implicitly imaginary) "{{tvtropes|GirlfriendInCanada|Girlfriend in Canada}}," a trope in which a single character claims to have a girlfriend that their friends wouldn't know "because she lives in Canada" (or some other sufficient separation such as "goes to another school"), when in reality the reason that nobody else has met her is because she doesn't exist. {{w|Canada}} is one of the United States' two neighboring countries, making it a potentially plausible place for some American's long-distance girlfriend to live, and presumably the Fellowship consider the Elf kingdom to be sufficiently distant to allow the Ent to accept the plausibility of the statement without any further delving into potentially awkward details.

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

[Ent Man stands to the left, facing right. Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and three hobbits stand to the right of Ent Man, facing him.]

Ent Man: Alas, there are no Ent women. The Entwives all vanished in the second age, during Sauron's war.

Aragorn: I'm so sorry.

Ent Man: And what about you all? Same story, I assume?

Aragorn: Huh? No, what do you mean?

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2596: Galaxies

2022-03-22T10:19:37Z

162.158.22.175:

I bet this was inspired by the image from the James Webb Space Telescope after fine alignment was complete: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/telescope_alignment_evaluation_image_labeled.png. That image shows the one star that JWST was focused on, along with a bunch of galaxies in the far background demonstrating that there are a lot of galaxies. [[User:Orion205|Orion205]] ([[User talk:Orion205|talk]]) 04:52, 22 March 2022 (UTC).

My thoughts exactly - definitely a JWST thing.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.218.75|172.70.218.75]] 07:09, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

Speaking of JWST, isn't the "''only a few stars, and probably no planets.''" just a nod to the fact that one of the missions of its infrared astronomy is to [[wikipedia:James_Webb_Space_Telescope#Infrared_astronomy|"see back in time to '''the first galaxies forming''' just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang."]]? i.e.: given the conical shape of the sector of universe covered by the pin-hole, most of the galaxies in it will be the furthest back, thus those of which we see the "oldest" picture and thus which much earlier in their process of forming stars and planets? [[User:DrYak|DrYak]] ([[User talk:DrYak|talk]]) 09:17, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

While space contains contains a vast number of things, it's still mostly empty. Like, on average, few atoms in whole square meter. Atoms of hydrogen, usually. Imagining so much of practically empty space is even harder than imagining all the stuff in it. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 05:50, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

It took me half a minute to understand it: not galaxies within the circle, but within the region of the sky with the same apparent size from your position as the circle. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.22.175|162.158.22.175]] 10:19, 22 March 2022 (UTC)