explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2164: Glacier

2019-06-17T21:02:29Z

162.158.34.160:

Sssssssdedsdesedsdsdddd

2162: Literary Opinions

2019-06-15T14:12:30Z

162.158.34.160: /* Explanation */ My edit was somewhat wordy, so I streamlined it a bit.

{{comic
| number = 2162
| date = June 12, 2019
| title = Literary Opinions
| image = literary_opinions.png
| titletext = If I really focus, I can distinguish between John Steinbeck and John Updike, or between Gore Vidal and Vidal Sassoon, but not both at once.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Hunter S Thompson was high while writing it. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Megan]] is telling [[Cueball]] about some of her literary opinions: She believes that {{w|William S. Burroughs}}, {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}, {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}, and {{w|David Foster Wallace}} are different names for the same person. Many authors write under {{w|pen name|pen names}} for some of their works, or even several different pen names. Sometimes people come to believe that different people are actually a same person, which is known as the {{w|Fregoli delusion}}; the person is usually believed to change appearance.

She then says that ''{{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}'' (by Thompson) and ''{{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}}'' (by {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}) are the same book with different covers, probably because the title and promotional images for both hint at fighting taking place in a big city (i.e., she is literally {{w|Don't judge a book by its cover|judging the books by their covers}}), when in reality the books are vastly different. Books sometimes have [https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/170553 different covers and titles in different regions].

Cueball realizes anyone who has so much as looked at the first page would know this to be false, and so offers Megan the chance to check. She refuses and just moves on to the next opinion she wants to share.

Cueball realizes all her "literary opinions" are probably about books she has not read, and tries to interrupt her, humorously proposing she should start a {{w|Book discussion club|book club}} to discuss them. This may be to congregate all people who criticize books without reading them, or in hopes that it will be attended by people who have read the book and can prove to Megan her opinions are baseless.

Megan finishes telling him her opinion anyway, which is that {{w|E.B. White}} and {{w|T.H. White}} are the same person. This is apparently an opinion that Cueball can agree with, as he tells her that he believes it. This is likely a joke that the two names are hard to distinguish due to the having the same last name with only initials instead of a first name. In reality, the books they authored are very different, with E.B. White writing children's books (''{{w|Charlotte's Web}}'', ''{{w|Stuart Little}}'', etc.) and T.H. White writing adult books about King Arthur (''{{w|The Sword in the Stone}}'' and its sequels), although his works ''were'' adapted into a {{w|The Sword in the Stone (1963 film)|Disney movie}} so they could, to some degree, be considered children's books.

The title text continues with this, with Megan saying that she can distinguish between {{w|John Steinbeck}} and {{w|John Updike}}, or between {{w|Gore Vidal}} and {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}, but she can't do so simultaneously. Again this is likely due to the similarities in their names. However, John Steinbeck and John Updike are also easy to confuse because they are both giants of 20th century American literature, whereas Gore Vidal has almost nothing in common with Vidal Sassoon (see chart below).

Additionally, the mention of simultaneity could be a nod to the {{w|Heisenberg uncertainty principle}}, which states that there is a trade-off in precision when simultaneously measuring position and momentum. It could also be a nod to how the brain cannot simultaneously interpret two different things at once, similar to looking at the {{w|Rabbit-duck illusion}}; at any moment, one can only see a duck or a rabbit in the image, but not both at exactly the same time.

===Explanation of people===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Description
|-
| {{w|William S. Burroughs}}
| (1914–1997), American writer and visual artist. Wrote many semi-autobiographical works, best known for ''{{w|Naked Lunch}}'' and ''{{w|Junkie (novel)|Junkie}}''.
|-
| {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}
| (1937–2005), American journalist and author. Founder of the {{w|Gonzo journalism}} movement. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}''.
|-
| {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}
| Born 1962, American novelist and freelance journalist from Pasco, Washington. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}}''.
|-
| {{w|David Foster Wallace}}
| (1962–2008), American writer and university professor for English and creative writing. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Infinite Jest}}''.
|-
| {{w|E.B. White}}
| (1899–1985), American writer. Co-author of the English language style guide ''{{w|The Elements of Style}}''. Also known for his children's books, including ''{{w|Stuart Little}}'', ''{{w|Charlotte's Web}}'', and ''{{w|The Trumpet of the Swan}}''.
|-
| {{w|T.H. White}}
| (1906–1964), English author. Known for his Arthurian novel series, ''{{w|The Once and Future King}}''.
|-
| {{w|John Steinbeck}}
| (1902–1968), American novelist. Known for his novels set in Central California, including ''{{w|Tortilla Flat}}'', ''{{w|Cannery Row (novel)|Cannery Row}}'', ''{{w|East of Eden (novel)|East of Eden}}'', ''{{w|Of Mice and Men}}'', and ''{{w|The Grapes of Wrath}}''.
|-
| {{w|John Updike}}
| (1932–2009), American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. Known for his prolific career and for his "Rabbit" series, chronicling the life of {{w|Rabbit Angstrom}}.
|-
| {{w|Gore Vidal}}
| (1925–2012), American writer and public intellectual. A political commentator and essayist, as well as a novelist.
|-
| {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}
| (1928–2012), British-American hairstylist, businessman, and fashion icon. Founded a worldwide chain of hairstyling salons as well as a line of hair treatment products. A philanthropist later in life.
|}

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

:[Megan is walking with a finger raised toward Cueball, who is seated in a chair with a book.]
:Megan: Literary opinion:
:Megan: I firmly believe that William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Foster Wallace are different names for the same person.
:Cueball: ...I see.

:[Megan puts down her hand.]
:Megan: ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' and ''Fight Club''? Same book with different covers, I bet.
:Cueball: I have both. Want to open them and check?
:Megan: I do not.

:[Cueball turns back to his book.]
:Megan: Moving on: my next opinion--
:Cueball: You should start a book club for discussing the books you refuse to read.
:Megan: --is that E.B. White and T.H. White are the same person.
:Cueball: Ok, ''that'' I believe.

==Trivia==
The much earlier comic [[923: Strunk and White]] from 2011 also mentions E.B. White and ''The Elements of Style'' writing style guide.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2162: Literary Opinions

2019-06-15T14:10:15Z

162.158.34.160: Added another interpretation to simultaneity: The Rabbit/Duck illusion.

{{comic
| number = 2162
| date = June 12, 2019
| title = Literary Opinions
| image = literary_opinions.png
| titletext = If I really focus, I can distinguish between John Steinbeck and John Updike, or between Gore Vidal and Vidal Sassoon, but not both at once.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Hunter S Thompson was high while writing it. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Megan]] is telling [[Cueball]] about some of her literary opinions: She believes that {{w|William S. Burroughs}}, {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}, {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}, and {{w|David Foster Wallace}} are different names for the same person. Many authors write under {{w|pen name|pen names}} for some of their works, or even several different pen names. Sometimes people come to believe that different people are actually a same person, which is known as the {{w|Fregoli delusion}}; the person is usually believed to change appearance.

She then says that ''{{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}'' (by Thompson) and ''{{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}}'' (by {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}) are the same book with different covers, probably because the title and promotional images for both hint at fighting taking place in a big city (i.e., she is literally {{w|Don't judge a book by its cover|judging the books by their covers}}), when in reality the books are vastly different. Books sometimes have [https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/170553 different covers and titles in different regions].

Cueball realizes anyone who has so much as looked at the first page would know this to be false, and so offers Megan the chance to check. She refuses and just moves on to the next opinion she wants to share.

Cueball realizes all her "literary opinions" are probably about books she has not read, and tries to interrupt her, humorously proposing she should start a {{w|Book discussion club|book club}} to discuss them. This may be to congregate all people who criticize books without reading them, or in hopes that it will be attended by people who have read the book and can prove to Megan her opinions are baseless.

Megan finishes telling him her opinion anyway, which is that {{w|E.B. White}} and {{w|T.H. White}} are the same person. This is apparently an opinion that Cueball can agree with, as he tells her that he believes it. This is likely a joke that the two names are hard to distinguish due to the having the same last name with only initials instead of a first name. In reality, the books they authored are very different, with E.B. White writing children's books (''{{w|Charlotte's Web}}'', ''{{w|Stuart Little}}'', etc.) and T.H. White writing adult books about King Arthur (''{{w|The Sword in the Stone}}'' and its sequels), although his works ''were'' adapted into a {{w|The Sword in the Stone (1963 film)|Disney movie}} so they could, to some degree, be considered children's books.

The title text continues with this, with Megan saying that she can distinguish between {{w|John Steinbeck}} and {{w|John Updike}}, or between {{w|Gore Vidal}} and {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}, but she can't do so simultaneously. Again this is likely due to the similarities in their names. However, John Steinbeck and John Updike are also easy to confuse because they are both giants of 20th century American literature, whereas Gore Vidal has almost nothing in common with Vidal Sassoon (see chart below).

Additionally, the mention of simultaneity could be a nod to the {{w|Heisenberg uncertainty principle}}, which states that there is a trade-off in precision when simultaneously measuring position and momentum. It could also be a nod to how the brain cannot simultaneously interpret two different things at once, similar to how one cannot interpret both the duck and the rabbit at the same time with the {{w|Rabbit-duck illusion}}, but can only "see" either one or the other.

===Explanation of people===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Description
|-
| {{w|William S. Burroughs}}
| (1914–1997), American writer and visual artist. Wrote many semi-autobiographical works, best known for ''{{w|Naked Lunch}}'' and ''{{w|Junkie (novel)|Junkie}}''.
|-
| {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}
| (1937–2005), American journalist and author. Founder of the {{w|Gonzo journalism}} movement. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}}''.
|-
| {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}
| Born 1962, American novelist and freelance journalist from Pasco, Washington. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}}''.
|-
| {{w|David Foster Wallace}}
| (1962–2008), American writer and university professor for English and creative writing. Best known for his novel ''{{w|Infinite Jest}}''.
|-
| {{w|E.B. White}}
| (1899–1985), American writer. Co-author of the English language style guide ''{{w|The Elements of Style}}''. Also known for his children's books, including ''{{w|Stuart Little}}'', ''{{w|Charlotte's Web}}'', and ''{{w|The Trumpet of the Swan}}''.
|-
| {{w|T.H. White}}
| (1906–1964), English author. Known for his Arthurian novel series, ''{{w|The Once and Future King}}''.
|-
| {{w|John Steinbeck}}
| (1902–1968), American novelist. Known for his novels set in Central California, including ''{{w|Tortilla Flat}}'', ''{{w|Cannery Row (novel)|Cannery Row}}'', ''{{w|East of Eden (novel)|East of Eden}}'', ''{{w|Of Mice and Men}}'', and ''{{w|The Grapes of Wrath}}''.
|-
| {{w|John Updike}}
| (1932–2009), American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. Known for his prolific career and for his "Rabbit" series, chronicling the life of {{w|Rabbit Angstrom}}.
|-
| {{w|Gore Vidal}}
| (1925–2012), American writer and public intellectual. A political commentator and essayist, as well as a novelist.
|-
| {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}
| (1928–2012), British-American hairstylist, businessman, and fashion icon. Founded a worldwide chain of hairstyling salons as well as a line of hair treatment products. A philanthropist later in life.
|}

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

:[Megan is walking with a finger raised toward Cueball, who is seated in a chair with a book.]
:Megan: Literary opinion:
:Megan: I firmly believe that William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Foster Wallace are different names for the same person.
:Cueball: ...I see.

:[Megan puts down her hand.]
:Megan: ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' and ''Fight Club''? Same book with different covers, I bet.
:Cueball: I have both. Want to open them and check?
:Megan: I do not.

:[Cueball turns back to his book.]
:Megan: Moving on: my next opinion--
:Cueball: You should start a book club for discussing the books you refuse to read.
:Megan: --is that E.B. White and T.H. White are the same person.
:Cueball: Ok, ''that'' I believe.

==Trivia==
The much earlier comic [[923: Strunk and White]] from 2011 also mentions E.B. White and ''The Elements of Style'' writing style guide.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2157: Diploma Legal Notes

2019-06-01T13:15:18Z

162.158.34.160: /* Explanation */ improve security dogs section

{{comic
| number = 2157
| date = May 31, 2019
| title = Diploma Legal Notes
| image = diploma_legal_notes.png
| titletext = If you're planning to challenge the royal family, you should probably wait 6-8 weeks, since a number of the younger ones have diplomas and Kate was actually on the varsity lightsaber team at St Andrews.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHALLENGER TO THE BRITISH THRONE with a working light-sabre, who thinks the layout is very ugly of this explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A class of 2019 graduate, presumably for some college or university, is given some rather unusual privileges for graduating.

A common line in degree granting ceremonies is "the degree of X is conferred with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto." This dates from the Roman Empire and continued through the rise of the university as an institution in medieval times. In the Roman era, the rights and privileges accorded to physicians and scholars included exemption from certain civic duties and military services, immunity from certain levies and from being summoned to court unduly, and even granting a state salary. In the medieval era, rights generally mirrored those of ecclesiastical figures and included immunity from civil law (instead scholars were subject to canon, or church law), as well as safe conduct on their travels between jurisdictions.

While true that some degrees do grant professional privileges today, generally additional accreditation beyond the degree is required (passing the bar, medical certification, etc.) to gain anything most people would consider a privilege or right or incur any obligation. (The obligation to pay your student loans back exists regardless of completing your degree).

; You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
: Depending on the jurisdiction, these may or may not be privileges that one already has by virtue of being in a particular jurisdiction or being part of a particular culture.

: In some cultures, a couple might be recognized as married if they meet certain conditions (as opposed to being legally recognized by a religious or civil authority), such as being recognized by the community or after the {{w|Inuit_women#Family_structure_and_marriage|birth of their first child}}. Because states often provide benefits (tax reductions, social services, etc) for being married, they often require that, in order to receive the benefits, that a marriage have a registered person recognize the marriage, which is likely the privilege that this graduating class' diploma is supposedly granting.

: In common law jurisdictions, {{w|Citizen's arrest|citizen's arrest}} is legal without a warrant in some situations, although in many cases, it is better to let a police officer arrest criminals due to potential legal and safety issues that might arise. The privilege granted by graduating might grant or extend this privilege, depending on where the graduating class is located.

; If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
: It has become common for a small number of checkout lanes of a larger store to be explicitly reserved as "express" lanes for the use of those with, for example, fewer than 10 items. This lets someone with a few items (handheld, in a basket, or possibly in a low-capacity cart) who will pass through quickly avoid being held up by people purchasing larger numbers of items who will take longer.

: In some cases, shoppers may try to argue the true meaning of "fewer than N items" in their favor, for example by arguing that "3 for the price of 2" promotions should only count as two items. The prevailing interpretation of "express" may be driven by the opinion of the surrounding shoppers who are also queuing for an express checkout lane and who may express displeasure at the taking of such liberties.

: Whether or not it is genuinely more beneficial to have the privilege of using the express lane with any number of items is [http://theintrepid.blogspot.com/2009/09/choosing-fastest-checkout-counter.html arguable] due to various complex factors, but the new holder of the diploma (who is, ironically, now possibly capable of defining the number of items more rigorously depending upon the academic subject just mastered) need not concern themselves with counting the number of items in their basket or ever needing to wait behind slow shoppers ever again (provided they always carry their diploma with them when they do their shopping).

; All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
: The {{w|Oxford English Dictionary}} (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press. It is unclear what benefit deleting a word from the OED would provide, and doing so would prevent anyone else from looking up the word which would typically be seen as a disadvantage. As the OED is often used as an authority on which words are valid words in the English language (for example for word games such as {{w|Countdown (game show)|Countdown}}), perhaps the intention is that such "deleted" words are in fact removed from the English language itself.

; The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
: Doctoral degree recipients wear various forms of dress or other items. For example, in Finland a [https://www.jyu.fi/en/academic-events/degrees-ceremony/instructions/doctoral-hat-and-sword doctoral sword] is traditional. A {{w|lightsaber}} is a fictional weapon from the {{w|Star Wars}} universe which is used in a manner similar to a sword but which would likely be highly-regulated if it did exist in the real world due to its extreme power (in Star Wars, lightsabers are capable of cutting or burning through most materials and is only stopped by another lightsaber).

: "6-8 weeks" is a [https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/19514/184432 meme made popular on Stack Overflow] meaning that the person making the estimate has no idea how long something is actually going to take or whether it's even going to happen at all.

; You can send mail without stamps.
: The {{w|Franking#Franking_privilege|franking privilege}} allows sending mail without stamps and is often granted to legislators conducting "official business." A group of legislators elected at the same time may sometimes be referred to as the "class of ''year''" (such as [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/28/us/politics/congress-freshman-class.html "the congressional freshman class of 2019..."]), which may be seen as a parallel to a year of graduates from a university.

; You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to {{w|trial by combat}}. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
: "Trial by combat" or "ritual combat" was a manner to settle disputes where two individuals would engage in a duel, with the winner being declared right. This type of ritual combat was depicted in the film ''{{w|Black Panther (film)|Black Panther}}'', with the winner of the combat declared the king of Wakanda. T'Challa, the Black Panther, was victorious in a fight against M'Baku, but was defeated by Erik Killmonger.

: The {{w|British royal family}} consists of the descendants and relatives of the current Queen, Queen Elizabeth II. However, {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne|the line of succession}} to the throne consists of potentially over 4,000 individuals. The British royal family was also referenced in [[2003: Presidential Succession]].

; You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.
: Security dogs are typically kept at airports for the purpose of identifying explosives, drugs, or other prohibited items both within baggage intended for loading onto an aircraft or, especially in the case of explosives, within bags while they are in the airport buildings themselves. The dogs are trained to identify the prohibited items by smell, and will display a visible reaction when the unique smell of such items is identified through a sealed bag. This provides an efficient and discrete method for checking the contents of bags, in addition to x-ray scanners.

: Although the dogs often work in private areas of the airport, they may sometimes be seen in public areas such as to inspect the bags of people waiting in check-in queues and in such cases petting the dogs is prohibited for multiple reasons. Petting the dog will likely prevent it from carrying out its job, and in some cases the dogs may be aggressive to unsolicited contact. Petting the dog may also be used as a distraction in an attempt to slip poisoned food into the dogs mouth, or to distract the dog from a bag that the person petting the dog knows to be suspect. As such, the dogs typically carry a warning to not pet them and someone who ignores the warning will likely be held up for questioning. However, according to this comic, the holder of the diploma is supposedly permitted to pet such dogs with no consequences despite the warnings.

The title text builds on the items about lightsabers and the British royal family and advises that, because several of the younger royals also have diplomas, they have received their lightsaber already. Thus you should wait at least the 6-8 weeks until your lightsaber arrives to have a fair chance, given that lightsabers is a very lethal weapon. Also some of them may even be proficient with the weapon. Special mention goes to {{w|Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge}}, aka Kate Middleton, who was supposedly on the {{w|Varsity_team#Varsity_in_the_United_Kingdom|varsity}} lightsaber team at {{w|St Andrew's School, Pangbourne|St Andrews}}.

==Transcript==
:[An official document with a title at the top between two images of graduation hats on either side:]

:<big>Congratulations, Class of 2019!</big>

:Your diploma grants you many new powers and privileges. These include:
:* You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
:* If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
:* All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
:* The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
:* You can send mail without stamps.
:* You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to trial by combat. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
:* You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2157: Diploma Legal Notes

2019-06-01T13:02:21Z

162.158.34.160: /* Explanation */ various improvements

{{comic
| number = 2157
| date = May 31, 2019
| title = Diploma Legal Notes
| image = diploma_legal_notes.png
| titletext = If you're planning to challenge the royal family, you should probably wait 6-8 weeks, since a number of the younger ones have diplomas and Kate was actually on the varsity lightsaber team at St Andrews.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHALLENGER TO THE BRITISH THRONE with a working light-sabre, who thinks the layout is very ugly of this explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A class of 2019 graduate, presumably for some college or university, is given some rather unusual privileges for graduating.

A common line in degree granting ceremonies is "the degree of X is conferred with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto." This dates from the Roman Empire and continued through the rise of the university as an institution in medieval times. In the Roman era, the rights and privileges accorded to physicians and scholars included exemption from certain civic duties and military services, immunity from certain levies and from being summoned to court unduly, and even granting a state salary. In the medieval era, rights generally mirrored those of ecclesiastical figures and included immunity from civil law (instead scholars were subject to canon, or church law), as well as safe conduct on their travels between jurisdictions.

While true that some degrees do grant professional privileges today, generally additional accreditation beyond the degree is required (passing the bar, medical certification, etc.) to gain anything most people would consider a privilege or right or incur any obligation. (The obligation to pay your student loans back exists regardless of completing your degree).

; You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
: Depending on the jurisdiction, these may or may not be privileges that one already has by virtue of being in a particular jurisdiction or being part of a particular culture.

: In some cultures, a couple might be recognized as married if they meet certain conditions (as opposed to being legally recognized by a religious or civil authority), such as being recognized by the community or after the {{w|Inuit_women#Family_structure_and_marriage|birth of their first child}}. Because states often provide benefits (tax reductions, social services, etc) for being married, they often require that, in order to receive the benefits, that a marriage have a registered person recognize the marriage, which is likely the privilege that this graduating class' diploma is supposedly granting.

: In common law jurisdictions, {{w|Citizen's arrest|citizen's arrest}} is legal without a warrant in some situations, although in many cases, it is better to let a police officer arrest criminals due to potential legal and safety issues that might arise. The privilege granted by graduating might grant or extend this privilege, depending on where the graduating class is located.

; If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
: It has become common for a small number of checkout lanes of a larger store to be explicitly reserved as "express" lanes for the use of those with, for example, fewer than 10 items. This lets someone with a few items (handheld, in a basket, or possibly in a low-capacity cart) who will pass through quickly avoid being held up by people purchasing larger numbers of items who will take longer.

: In some cases, shoppers may try to argue the true meaning of "fewer than N items" in their favor, for example by arguing that "3 for the price of 2" promotions should only count as two items. The prevailing interpretation of "express" may be driven by the opinion of the surrounding shoppers who are also queuing for an express checkout lane and who may express displeasure at the taking of such liberties.

: Whether or not it is genuinely more beneficial to have the privilege of using the express lane with any number of items is [http://theintrepid.blogspot.com/2009/09/choosing-fastest-checkout-counter.html arguable] due to various complex factors, but the new holder of the diploma (who is, ironically, now possibly capable of defining the number of items more rigorously depending upon the academic subject just mastered) need not concern themselves with counting the number of items in their basket or ever needing to wait behind slow shoppers ever again (provided they always carry their diploma with them when they do their shopping).

; All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
: The {{w|Oxford English Dictionary}} (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press. It is unclear what benefit deleting a word from the OED would provide, and doing so would prevent anyone else from looking up the word which would typically be seen as a disadvantage. As the OED is often used as an authority on which words are valid words in the English language (for example for word games such as {{w|Countdown (game show)|Countdown}}), perhaps the intention is that such "deleted" words are in fact removed from the English language itself.

; The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
: Doctoral degree recipients wear various forms of dress or other items. For example, in Finland a [https://www.jyu.fi/en/academic-events/degrees-ceremony/instructions/doctoral-hat-and-sword doctoral sword] is traditional. A {{w|lightsaber}} is a fictional weapon from the {{w|Star Wars}} universe which is used in a manner similar to a sword but which would likely be highly-regulated if it did exist in the real world due to its extreme power (in Star Wars, lightsabers are capable of cutting or burning through most materials and is only stopped by another lightsaber).

: "6-8 weeks" is a [https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/19514/184432 meme made popular on Stack Overflow] meaning that the person making the estimate has no idea how long something is actually going to take or whether it's even going to happen at all.

; You can send mail without stamps.
: The {{w|Franking#Franking_privilege|franking privilege}} allows sending mail without stamps and is often granted to legislators conducting "official business." A group of legislators elected at the same time may sometimes be referred to as the "class of ''year''" (such as [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/28/us/politics/congress-freshman-class.html "the congressional freshman class of 2019..."]), which may be seen as a parallel to a year of graduates from a university.

; You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to {{w|trial by combat}}. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
: "Trial by combat" or "ritual combat" was a manner to settle disputes where two individuals would engage in a duel, with the winner being declared right. This type of ritual combat was depicted in the film ''{{w|Black Panther (film)|Black Panther}}'', with the winner of the combat declared the king of Wakanda. T'Challa, the Black Panther, was victorious in a fight against M'Baku, but was defeated by Erik Killmonger.

: The {{w|British royal family}} consists of the descendants and relatives of the current Queen, Queen Elizabeth II. However, {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne|the line of succession}} to the throne consists of potentially over 4,000 individuals. The British royal family was also referenced in [[2003: Presidential Succession]].

; You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.
: You are now able to just go and pet the security dogs at airports. Given that these dogs are not meant for petting they could be aggressive. Also the security guards holding on to the dog may become aggressive if they feel you are impeding the dogs work. This is why it is usually best not to try petting these dogs. But with this degree it is supposedly no problem.

The title text builds on the items about lightsabers and the British royal family and advises that, because several of the younger royals also have diplomas, they have received their lightsaber already. Thus you should wait at least the 6-8 weeks until your lightsaber arrives to have a fair chance, given that lightsabers is a very lethal weapon. Also some of them may even be proficient with the weapon. Special mention goes to {{w|Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge}}, aka Kate Middleton, who was supposedly on the {{w|Varsity_team#Varsity_in_the_United_Kingdom|varsity}} lightsaber team at {{w|St Andrew's School, Pangbourne|St Andrews}}.

==Transcript==
:[An official document with a title at the top between two images of graduation hats on either side:]

:<big>Congratulations, Class of 2019!</big>

:Your diploma grants you many new powers and privileges. These include:
:* You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
:* If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
:* All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
:* The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
:* You can send mail without stamps.
:* You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to trial by combat. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
:* You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2157: Diploma Legal Notes

2019-06-01T13:00:26Z

162.158.34.160: /* Explanation */ improve lightsaber section

{{comic
| number = 2157
| date = May 31, 2019
| title = Diploma Legal Notes
| image = diploma_legal_notes.png
| titletext = If you're planning to challenge the royal family, you should probably wait 6-8 weeks, since a number of the younger ones have diplomas and Kate was actually on the varsity lightsaber team at St Andrews.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHALLENGER TO THE BRITISH THRONE with a working light-sabre, who thinks the layout is very ugly of this explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A class of 2019 graduate, presumably for some college or university, is given some rather unusual privileges for graduating.

A common line in degree granting ceremonies is "the degree of X is conferred with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto." This dates from the Roman Empire and continued through the rise of the university as an institution in medieval times. In the Roman era, the rights and privileges accorded to physicians and scholars included exemption from certain civic duties and military services, immunity from certain levies and from being summoned to court unduly, and even granting a state salary. In the medieval era, rights generally mirrored those of ecclesiastical figures and included immunity from civil law (instead scholars were subject to canon, or church law), as well as safe conduct on their travels between jurisdictions.

While true that some degrees do grant professional privileges today, generally additional accreditation beyond the degree is required (passing the bar, medical certification, etc.) to gain anything most people would consider a privilege or right or incur any obligation. (The obligation to pay your student loans back exists regardless of completing your degree).

; You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
: Depending on the jurisdiction, these may or may not be privileges that one already has by virtue of being in a particular jurisdiction or being part of a particular culture.

: In some cultures, a couple might be recognized as married if they meet certain conditions (as opposed to being legally recognized by a religious or civil authority), such as being recognized by the community or after the {{w|Inuit_women#Family_structure_and_marriage|birth of their first child}}. Because states often provide benefits (tax reductions, social services, etc) for being married, they often require that, in order to receive the benefits, that a marriage have a registered person recognize the marriage, which is likely the privilege that this graduating class' diploma is supposedly granting.

: In common law jurisdictions, {{w|Citizen's arrest|citizen's arrest}} is legal without a warrant in some situations, although in many cases, it is better to let a police officer arrest criminals due to potential legal and safety issues that might arise. The privilege granted by graduating might grant or extend this privilege, depending on where the graduating class is located.

; If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
: It has become common for a small number of checkout lanes of a larger store to be explicitly reserved as "express" lanes for the use of those with, for example, fewer than 10 items. This lets someone with a few items (handheld, in a basket, or possibly in a low-capacity cart) who will pass through quickly avoid being held up by people purchasing larger numbers of items who will take longer.

: In some cases, shoppers may try to argue the true meaning of "fewer than N items" in their favor, for example by arguing that "3 for the price of 2" promotions should only count as two items. The prevailing interpretation of "express" may be driven by the opinion of the surrounding shoppers who are also queuing for an express checkout lane and who may express displeasure at the taking of such liberties.

: Whether or not it is genuinely more beneficial to have the privilege of using the express lane with any number of items is [http://theintrepid.blogspot.com/2009/09/choosing-fastest-checkout-counter.html arguable] due to various complex factors, but the new holder of the diploma (who is, ironically, now possibly capable of defining the number of items more rigorously depending upon the academic subject just mastered) need not concern themselves with counting the number of items in their basket or ever needing to wait behind slow shoppers ever again (provided they always carry their diploma with them when they do their shopping).

; All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
: The {{w|Oxford English Dictionary}} (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press. It is unclear what benefit deleting a word from the OED would provide, and doing so would prevent anyone else from looking up the word which would typically be seen as a disadvantage. As the OED is often used as an authority on which words are valid words in the English language (for example for word games such as {{w|Countdown (game show)|Countdown}}), perhaps the intention is that such "deleted" words are in fact removed from the English language itself.

; The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
: Doctoral degree recipients wear various forms of dress or other items. For example, in Finland a [https://www.jyu.fi/en/academic-events/degrees-ceremony/instructions/doctoral-hat-and-sword doctoral sword] is traditional. A {{w|lightsaber}} is a fictional weapon from the {{w|Star Wars}} universe which is used in a manner similar to a sword but which would likely be highly-regulated if it did exist in the real world due to its extreme power (in Star Wars, lightsabers are capable of cutting or burning through most materials and is only stopped by another lightsaber).

: "6-8 weeks" is a [https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/19514/184432 meme made popular on Stack Overflow] meaning that the person making the estimate has no idea how long something is actually going to take or whether it's even going to happen at all.

; You can send mail without stamps.
: The {{w|Franking#Franking_privilege|franking privilege}} allows sending mail without stamps and is often granted to legislators conducting "official business." A group of legislators elected at the same time may sometimes be referred to as the "class of ''year''" such as [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/28/us/politics/congress-freshman-class.html "the congressional freshman class of 2019..."]

; You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to {{w|trial by combat}}. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
: "Trial by combat" or "ritual combat" was a manner to settle disputes where two individuals would engage in a duel, with the winner being declared right. This type of ritual combat was depicted in the film ''{{w|Black Panther (film)|Black Panther}}'', with the winner of the combat declared the king of Wakanda. T'Challa, the Black Panther, was victorious in a fight against M'Baku, but was defeated by Erik Killmonger.

: The {{w|British royal family}} consists of the descendants and relatives of the current Queen, Queen Elizabeth II. However, {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne|the line of succession}} to the throne consists of potentially over 4,000 individuals. The British royal family was also referenced in [[2003: Presidential Succession]].

; You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.
: You are now able to just go and pet the security dogs at airports. Given that these dogs are not meant for petting they could be aggressive. Also the security guards holding on to the dog may become aggressive if they feel you are impeding the dogs work. This is why it is usually best not to try petting these dogs. But with this degree it is supposedly no problem.

The title text builds on the items about lightsabers and the British royal family and advises that, because several of the younger royals also have diplomas, they have received their lightsaber already. Thus you should wait at least the 6-8 weeks until your lightsaber arrives to have a fair chance, given that lightsabers is a very lethal weapon. Also some of them may even be proficient with the weapon. Special mention goes to {{w|Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge}}, aka Kate Middleton, who was supposedly on the {{w|Varsity_team#Varsity_in_the_United_Kingdom|varsity}} lightsaber team at {{w|St Andrew's School, Pangbourne|St Andrews}}.

==Transcript==
:[An official document with a title at the top between two images of graduation hats on either side:]

:<big>Congratulations, Class of 2019!</big>

:Your diploma grants you many new powers and privileges. These include:
:* You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
:* If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
:* All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
:* The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
:* You can send mail without stamps.
:* You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to trial by combat. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
:* You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2157: Diploma Legal Notes

2019-06-01T12:53:18Z

162.158.34.160: /* Explanation */ extended explanation of Oxford English Dictionary section

{{comic
| number = 2157
| date = May 31, 2019
| title = Diploma Legal Notes
| image = diploma_legal_notes.png
| titletext = If you're planning to challenge the royal family, you should probably wait 6-8 weeks, since a number of the younger ones have diplomas and Kate was actually on the varsity lightsaber team at St Andrews.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHALLENGER TO THE BRITISH THRONE with a working light-sabre, who thinks the layout is very ugly of this explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A class of 2019 graduate, presumably for some college or university, is given some rather unusual privileges for graduating.

A common line in degree granting ceremonies is "the degree of X is conferred with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto." This dates from the Roman Empire and continued through the rise of the university as an institution in medieval times. In the Roman era, the rights and privileges accorded to physicians and scholars included exemption from certain civic duties and military services, immunity from certain levies and from being summoned to court unduly, and even granting a state salary. In the medieval era, rights generally mirrored those of ecclesiastical figures and included immunity from civil law (instead scholars were subject to canon, or church law), as well as safe conduct on their travels between jurisdictions.

While true that some degrees do grant professional privileges today, generally additional accreditation beyond the degree is required (passing the bar, medical certification, etc.) to gain anything most people would consider a privilege or right or incur any obligation. (The obligation to pay your student loans back exists regardless of completing your degree).

; You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
: Depending on the jurisdiction, these may or may not be privileges that one already has by virtue of being in a particular jurisdiction or being part of a particular culture.

: In some cultures, a couple might be recognized as married if they meet certain conditions (as opposed to being legally recognized by a religious or civil authority), such as being recognized by the community or after the {{w|Inuit_women#Family_structure_and_marriage|birth of their first child}}. Because states often provide benefits (tax reductions, social services, etc) for being married, they often require that, in order to receive the benefits, that a marriage have a registered person recognize the marriage, which is likely the privilege that this graduating class' diploma is supposedly granting.

: In common law jurisdictions, {{w|Citizen's arrest|citizen's arrest}} is legal without a warrant in some situations, although in many cases, it is better to let a police officer arrest criminals due to potential legal and safety issues that might arise. The privilege granted by graduating might grant or extend this privilege, depending on where the graduating class is located.

; If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
: It has become common for a small number of checkout lanes of a larger store to be explicitly reserved as "express" lanes for the use of those with, for example, fewer than 10 items. This lets someone with a few items (handheld, in a basket, or possibly in a low-capacity cart) who will pass through quickly avoid being held up by people purchasing larger numbers of items who will take longer.

: In some cases, shoppers may try to argue the true meaning of "fewer than N items" in their favor, for example by arguing that "3 for the price of 2" promotions should only count as two items. The prevailing interpretation of "express" may be driven by the opinion of the surrounding shoppers who are also queuing for an express checkout lane and who may express displeasure at the taking of such liberties.

: Whether or not it is genuinely more beneficial to have the privilege of using the express lane with any number of items is [http://theintrepid.blogspot.com/2009/09/choosing-fastest-checkout-counter.html arguable] due to various complex factors, but the new holder of the diploma (who is, ironically, now possibly capable of defining the number of items more rigorously depending upon the academic subject just mastered) need not concern themselves with counting the number of items in their basket or ever needing to wait behind slow shoppers ever again (provided they always carry their diploma with them when they do their shopping).

; All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
: The {{w|Oxford English Dictionary}} (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press. It is unclear what benefit deleting a word from the OED would provide, and doing so would prevent anyone else from looking up the word which would typically be seen as a disadvantage. As the OED is often used as an authority on which words are valid words in the English language (for example for word games such as {{w|Countdown (game show)|Countdown}}), perhaps the intention is that such "deleted" words are in fact removed from the English language itself.

; The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
: Doctoral degree recipients wear various forms of dress or other items. In Finland, a doctoral sword is traditional.[https://www.jyu.fi/en/academic-events/degrees-ceremony/instructions/doctoral-hat-and-sword Doctoral hat and sword, university of Jyväskylä] A {{w|lightsaber}} is a fictional weapon from the {{w|Star Wars}} universe. "6-8 weeks" is a [https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/19514/184432 meme made popular on Stack Overflow] meaning the person making the estimate has no idea how long it's going to actually take or whether it's actually even going to happen.

; You can send mail without stamps.
: The {{w|Franking#Franking_privilege|franking privilege}} allows sending mail without stamps and is often granted to legislators conducting "official business." A group of legislators elected at the same time may sometimes be referred to as the "class of ''year''" such as [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/28/us/politics/congress-freshman-class.html "the congressional freshman class of 2019..."]

; You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to {{w|trial by combat}}. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
: "Trial by combat" or "ritual combat" was a manner to settle disputes where two individuals would engage in a duel, with the winner being declared right. This type of ritual combat was depicted in the film ''{{w|Black Panther (film)|Black Panther}}'', with the winner of the combat declared the king of Wakanda. T'Challa, the Black Panther, was victorious in a fight against M'Baku, but was defeated by Erik Killmonger.

: The {{w|British royal family}} consists of the descendants and relatives of the current Queen, Queen Elizabeth II. However, {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne|the line of succession}} to the throne consists of potentially over 4,000 individuals. The British royal family was also referenced in [[2003: Presidential Succession]].

; You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.
: You are now able to just go and pet the security dogs at airports. Given that these dogs are not meant for petting they could be aggressive. Also the security guards holding on to the dog may become aggressive if they feel you are impeding the dogs work. This is why it is usually best not to try petting these dogs. But with this degree it is supposedly no problem.

The title text builds on the items about lightsabers and the British royal family and advises that, because several of the younger royals also have diplomas, they have received their lightsaber already. Thus you should wait at least the 6-8 weeks until your lightsaber arrives to have a fair chance, given that lightsabers is a very lethal weapon. Also some of them may even be proficient with the weapon. Special mention goes to {{w|Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge}}, aka Kate Middleton, who was supposedly on the {{w|Varsity_team#Varsity_in_the_United_Kingdom|varsity}} lightsaber team at {{w|St Andrew's School, Pangbourne|St Andrews}}.

==Transcript==
:[An official document with a title at the top between two images of graduation hats on either side:]

:<big>Congratulations, Class of 2019!</big>

:Your diploma grants you many new powers and privileges. These include:
:* You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
:* If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
:* All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
:* The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
:* You can send mail without stamps.
:* You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to trial by combat. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
:* You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2157: Diploma Legal Notes

2019-06-01T12:44:41Z

162.158.34.160: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2157
| date = May 31, 2019
| title = Diploma Legal Notes
| image = diploma_legal_notes.png
| titletext = If you're planning to challenge the royal family, you should probably wait 6-8 weeks, since a number of the younger ones have diplomas and Kate was actually on the varsity lightsaber team at St Andrews.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHALLENGER TO THE BRITISH THRONE with a working light-sabre, who thinks the layout is very ugly of this explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A class of 2019 graduate, presumably for some college or university, is given some rather unusual privileges for graduating.

A common line in degree granting ceremonies is "the degree of X is conferred with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto." This dates from the Roman Empire and continued through the rise of the university as an institution in medieval times. In the Roman era, the rights and privileges accorded to physicians and scholars included exemption from certain civic duties and military services, immunity from certain levies and from being summoned to court unduly, and even granting a state salary. In the medieval era, rights generally mirrored those of ecclesiastical figures and included immunity from civil law (instead scholars were subject to canon, or church law), as well as safe conduct on their travels between jurisdictions.

While true that some degrees do grant professional privileges today, generally additional accreditation beyond the degree is required (passing the bar, medical certification, etc.) to gain anything most people would consider a privilege or right or incur any obligation. (The obligation to pay your student loans back exists regardless of completing your degree).

; You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
: Depending on the jurisdiction, these may or may not be privileges that one already has by virtue of being in a particular jurisdiction or being part of a particular culture.

: In some cultures, a couple might be recognized as married if they meet certain conditions (as opposed to being legally recognized by a religious or civil authority), such as being recognized by the community or after the {{w|Inuit_women#Family_structure_and_marriage|birth of their first child}}. Because states often provide benefits (tax reductions, social services, etc) for being married, they often require that, in order to receive the benefits, that a marriage have a registered person recognize the marriage, which is likely the privilege that this graduating class' diploma is supposedly granting.

: In common law jurisdictions, {{w|Citizen's arrest|citizen's arrest}} is legal without a warrant in some situations, although in many cases, it is better to let a police officer arrest criminals due to potential legal and safety issues that might arise. The privilege granted by graduating might grant or extend this privilege, depending on where the graduating class is located.

; If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
: It has become common for a small number of checkout lanes of a larger store to be explicitly reserved as "express" lanes for the use of those with, for example, fewer than 10 items. This lets someone with a few items (handheld, in a basket, or possibly in a low-capacity cart) who will pass through quickly avoid being held up by people purchasing larger numbers of items who will take longer.

: In some cases, shoppers may try to argue the true meaning of "fewer than N items" in their favor, for example by arguing that "3 for the price of 2" promotions should only count as two items. The prevailing interpretation of "express" may be driven by the opinion of the surrounding shoppers who are also queuing for an express checkout lane and who may express displeasure at the taking of such liberties.

: Whether or not it is genuinely more beneficial to have the privilege of using the express lane with any number of items is [http://theintrepid.blogspot.com/2009/09/choosing-fastest-checkout-counter.html arguable] due to various complex factors, but the new holder of the diploma (who is, ironically, now possibly capable of defining the number of items more rigorously depending upon the academic subject just mastered) need not concern themselves with counting the number of items in their basket or ever needing to wait behind slow shoppers ever again (provided they always carry their diploma with them when they do their shopping).

; All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
: The {{w|Oxford English Dictionary}} (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press. It is unclear why anyone would be interested in deleting a word from the OED.

; The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
: Doctoral degree recipients wear various forms of dress or other items. In Finland, a doctoral sword is traditional.[https://www.jyu.fi/en/academic-events/degrees-ceremony/instructions/doctoral-hat-and-sword Doctoral hat and sword, university of Jyväskylä] A {{w|lightsaber}} is a fictional weapon from the {{w|Star Wars}} universe. "6-8 weeks" is a [https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/19514/184432 meme made popular on Stack Overflow] meaning the person making the estimate has no idea how long it's going to actually take or whether it's actually even going to happen.

; You can send mail without stamps.
: The {{w|Franking#Franking_privilege|franking privilege}} allows sending mail without stamps and is often granted to legislators conducting "official business." A group of legislators elected at the same time may sometimes be referred to as the "class of ''year''" such as [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/28/us/politics/congress-freshman-class.html "the congressional freshman class of 2019..."]

; You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to {{w|trial by combat}}. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
: "Trial by combat" or "ritual combat" was a manner to settle disputes where two individuals would engage in a duel, with the winner being declared right. This type of ritual combat was depicted in the film ''{{w|Black Panther (film)|Black Panther}}'', with the winner of the combat declared the king of Wakanda. T'Challa, the Black Panther, was victorious in a fight against M'Baku, but was defeated by Erik Killmonger.

: The {{w|British royal family}} consists of the descendants and relatives of the current Queen, Queen Elizabeth II. However, {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne|the line of succession}} to the throne consists of potentially over 4,000 individuals. The British royal family was also referenced in [[2003: Presidential Succession]].

; You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.
: You are now able to just go and pet the security dogs at airports. Given that these dogs are not meant for petting they could be aggressive. Also the security guards holding on to the dog may become aggressive if they feel you are impeding the dogs work. This is why it is usually best not to try petting these dogs. But with this degree it is supposedly no problem.

The title text builds on the items about lightsabers and the British royal family and advises that, because several of the younger royals also have diplomas, they have received their lightsaber already. Thus you should wait at least the 6-8 weeks until your lightsaber arrives to have a fair chance, given that lightsabers is a very lethal weapon. Also some of them may even be proficient with the weapon. Special mention goes to {{w|Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge}}, aka Kate Middleton, who was supposedly on the {{w|Varsity_team#Varsity_in_the_United_Kingdom|varsity}} lightsaber team at {{w|St Andrew's School, Pangbourne|St Andrews}}.

==Transcript==
:[An official document with a title at the top between two images of graduation hats on either side:]

:<big>Congratulations, Class of 2019!</big>

:Your diploma grants you many new powers and privileges. These include:
:* You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
:* If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
:* All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
:* The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
:* You can send mail without stamps.
:* You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to trial by combat. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
:* You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2157: Diploma Legal Notes

2019-06-01T12:43:09Z

162.158.34.160: /* Explanation */ improve wording of express lane section

{{comic
| number = 2157
| date = May 31, 2019
| title = Diploma Legal Notes
| image = diploma_legal_notes.png
| titletext = If you're planning to challenge the royal family, you should probably wait 6-8 weeks, since a number of the younger ones have diplomas and Kate was actually on the varsity lightsaber team at St Andrews.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHALLENGER TO THE BRITISH THRONE with a working light-sabre, who thinks the layout is very ugly of this explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A class of 2019 graduate, presumably for some college or university, is given some rather unusual privileges for graduating.

A common line in degree granting ceremonies is "the degree of X is conferred with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto." This dates from the Roman Empire and continued through the rise of the university as an institution in medieval times. In the Roman era, the rights and privileges accorded to physicians and scholars included exemption from certain civic duties and military services, immunity from certain levies and from being summoned to court unduly, and even granting a state salary. In the medieval era, rights generally mirrored those of ecclesiastical figures and included immunity from civil law (instead scholars were subject to canon, or church law), as well as safe conduct on their travels between jurisdictions.

While true that some degrees do grant professional privileges today, generally additional accreditation beyond the degree is required (passing the bar, medical certification, etc.) to gain anything most people would consider a privilege or right or incur any obligation. (The obligation to pay your student loans back exists regardless of completing your degree).

; You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
: Depending on the jurisdiction, these may or may not be privileges that one already has by virtue of being in a particular jurisdiction or being part of a particular culture.

: In some cultures, a couple might be recognized as married if they meet certain conditions (as opposed to being legally recognized by a religious or civil authority), such as being recognized by the community or after the {{w|Inuit_women#Family_structure_and_marriage|birth of their first child}}. Because states often provide benefits (tax reductions, social services, etc) for being married, they often require that, in order to receive the benefits, that a marriage have a registered person recognize the marriage, which is likely the privilege that this graduating class' diploma is supposedly granting.

: In common law jurisdictions, {{w|Citizen's arrest|citizen's arrest}} is legal without a warrant in some situations, although in many cases, it is better to let a police officer arrest criminals due to potential legal and safety issues that might arise. The privilege granted by graduating might grant or extend this privilege, depending on where the graduating class is located.

; If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
: It has become common for a small number of checkout lanes of a larger store to be explicitly reserved as "express" lanes for the use of those with, for example, fewer than 10 items. This lets someone with a few items (handheld, in a basket, or possibly in a low-capacity cart) who will pass through quickly avoid being held up by people purchasing larger numbers of items who will take longer.

: In some cases, shoppers may try to argue the true meaning of "fewer than N items" in their favor, for example by arguing that "3 for the price of 2" promotions should only count as two items. The prevailing interpretation of "express" may be driven by the opinion of the surrounding shoppers who are also queuing for an express checkout lane and who may express displeasure at the taking of such liberties.

: Whether or not it is genuinely more beneficial to have the privilege of using the express lane with any number of items is [http://theintrepid.blogspot.com/2009/09/choosing-fastest-checkout-counter.html arguable] due to various complex factors, but the new holder of the diploma (who is, ironically, now possibly capable of defining the number of items more rigorously depending upon the academic subject just mastered) need not concern themselves with counting the number of items in their basket or ever needing to wait behind slow shoppers ever again.

; All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
: The {{w|Oxford English Dictionary}} (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press. It is unclear why anyone would be interested in deleting a word from the OED.

; The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
: Doctoral degree recipients wear various forms of dress or other items. In Finland, a doctoral sword is traditional.[https://www.jyu.fi/en/academic-events/degrees-ceremony/instructions/doctoral-hat-and-sword Doctoral hat and sword, university of Jyväskylä] A {{w|lightsaber}} is a fictional weapon from the {{w|Star Wars}} universe. "6-8 weeks" is a [https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/19514/184432 meme made popular on Stack Overflow] meaning the person making the estimate has no idea how long it's going to actually take or whether it's actually even going to happen.

; You can send mail without stamps.
: The {{w|Franking#Franking_privilege|franking privilege}} allows sending mail without stamps and is often granted to legislators conducting "official business." A group of legislators elected at the same time may sometimes be referred to as the "class of ''year''" such as [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/28/us/politics/congress-freshman-class.html "the congressional freshman class of 2019..."]

; You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to {{w|trial by combat}}. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
: "Trial by combat" or "ritual combat" was a manner to settle disputes where two individuals would engage in a duel, with the winner being declared right. This type of ritual combat was depicted in the film ''{{w|Black Panther (film)|Black Panther}}'', with the winner of the combat declared the king of Wakanda. T'Challa, the Black Panther, was victorious in a fight against M'Baku, but was defeated by Erik Killmonger.

: The {{w|British royal family}} consists of the descendants and relatives of the current Queen, Queen Elizabeth II. However, {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne|the line of succession}} to the throne consists of potentially over 4,000 individuals. The British royal family was also referenced in [[2003: Presidential Succession]].

; You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.
: You are now able to just go and pet the security dogs at airports. Given that these dogs are not meant for petting they could be aggressive. Also the security guards holding on to the dog may become aggressive if they feel you are impeding the dogs work. This is why it is usually best not to try petting these dogs. But with this degree it is supposedly no problem.

The title text builds on the items about lightsabers and the British royal family and advises that, because several of the younger royals also have diplomas, they have received their lightsaber already. Thus you should wait at least the 6-8 weeks until your lightsaber arrives to have a fair chance, given that lightsabers is a very lethal weapon. Also some of them may even be proficient with the weapon. Special mention goes to {{w|Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge}}, aka Kate Middleton, who was supposedly on the {{w|Varsity_team#Varsity_in_the_United_Kingdom|varsity}} lightsaber team at {{w|St Andrew's School, Pangbourne|St Andrews}}.

==Transcript==
:[An official document with a title at the top between two images of graduation hats on either side:]

:<big>Congratulations, Class of 2019!</big>

:Your diploma grants you many new powers and privileges. These include:
:* You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
:* If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
:* All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
:* The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
:* You can send mail without stamps.
:* You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to trial by combat. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
:* You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

2157: Diploma Legal Notes

2019-06-01T12:27:13Z

162.158.34.160: /* Explanation */ improved layout

{{comic
| number = 2157
| date = May 31, 2019
| title = Diploma Legal Notes
| image = diploma_legal_notes.png
| titletext = If you're planning to challenge the royal family, you should probably wait 6-8 weeks, since a number of the younger ones have diplomas and Kate was actually on the varsity lightsaber team at St Andrews.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CHALLENGER TO THE BRITISH THRONE with a working light-sabre, who thinks the layout is very ugly of this explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A class of 2019 graduate, presumably for some college or university, is given some rather unusual privileges for graduating.

A common line in degree granting ceremonies is "the degree of X is conferred with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto." This dates from the Roman Empire and continued through the rise of the university as an institution in medieval times. In the Roman era, the rights and privileges accorded to physicians and scholars included exemption from certain civic duties and military services, immunity from certain levies and from being summoned to court unduly, and even granting a state salary. In the medieval era, rights generally mirrored those of ecclesiastical figures and included immunity from civil law (instead scholars were subject to canon, or church law), as well as safe conduct on their travels between jurisdictions.

While true that some degrees do grant professional privileges today, generally additional accreditation beyond the degree is required (passing the bar, medical certification, etc.) to gain anything most people would consider a privilege or right or incur any obligation. (The obligation to pay your student loans back exists regardless of completing your degree).

; You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
: Depending on the jurisdiction, these may or may not be privileges that one already has by virtue of being in a particular jurisdiction or being part of a particular culture.

: In some cultures, a couple might be recognized as married if they meet certain conditions (as opposed to being legally recognized by a religious or civil authority), such as being recognized by the community or after the {{w|Inuit_women#Family_structure_and_marriage|birth of their first child}}. Because states often provide benefits (tax reductions, social services, etc) for being married, they often require that, in order to receive the benefits, that a marriage have a registered person recognize the marriage, which is likely the privilege that this graduating class' diploma is granting.

: In common law jurisdictions, {{w|Citizen's arrest|citizen's arrest}} is legal without a warrant in some situations, although in many cases, it is better to let a police officer arrest criminals due to potential legal and safety issues that might arise. The privilege granted by graduating might grant or extend this privilege, depending on where the graduating class is located.

; If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
: It has become common for one, or maybe a [[1070|couple]], of checkout lanes of a larger store to be explicitly reserved for the use of those with "N items or fewer" in their combined purchase. Theoretically, this lets someone with a single item, a few handheld geegaws or a light basket of produce to avoid being held behind the "Family Weekly Shop" couples at the undifferentiated exit aisles with overflowing shopping trolleys/carts. A sufficiently under-filled or intrinsically low-capacity cart/trolley load may also qualify for the 'express' teller's services, depending upon the "N" specified, though it highly depends upon the general bulk and volume of goods involved and whether the various "three for the price of two" packs of boxed juice are ''each'' argued to quantify as three, two or just one item by company policy or (more seriously) the general muttered groundswell of fellow following "express" shoppers' opinions as to whether liberties may be being taken as you impede them in their own attempts to express themselves.

: Whether that's better for you if you qualify is [http://theintrepid.blogspot.com/2009/09/choosing-fastest-checkout-counter.html arguable] due to various complex factors, but at least the personal enumeration of shopping need not bother the new holder of the diploma (who is, ironically, now possibly fully capable of exerting authority on the "How many items are there, ''really'', in your allotted load?", depending upon the academic subject just mastered) because the diploma obviously now nullifies ''that'' potential interdiction. If you're a bulk-shopper during a period that happens to be particularly lacking sufficient small-fry purchasers to jam up the express-lane, you can now by-pass the backlogs of baseline buyers ponderously purchasing their plethora's of produce among the any-quantity aisles.

; All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
: The {{w|Oxford English Dictionary}} (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press. It is unclear why anyone would be interested in deleting a word from the OED.

; The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
: Doctoral degree recipients wear various forms of dress or other items. In Finland, a doctoral sword is traditional.[https://www.jyu.fi/en/academic-events/degrees-ceremony/instructions/doctoral-hat-and-sword Doctoral hat and sword, university of Jyväskylä] A {{w|lightsaber}} is a fictional weapon from the {{w|Star Wars}} universe. "6-8 weeks" is a [https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/19514/184432 meme made popular on Stack Overflow] meaning the person making the estimate has no idea how long it's going to actually take or whether it's actually even going to happen.

; You can send mail without stamps.
: The {{w|Franking#Franking_privilege|franking privilege}} allows sending mail without stamps and is often granted to legislators conducting "official business." A group of legislators elected at the same time may sometimes be referred to as the "class of ''year''" such as [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/28/us/politics/congress-freshman-class.html "the congressional freshman class of 2019..."]

; You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to {{w|trial by combat}}. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
: "Trial by combat" or "ritual combat" was a manner to settle disputes where two individuals would engage in a duel, with the winner being declared right. This type of ritual combat was depicted in the film ''{{w|Black Panther (film)|Black Panther}}'', with the winner of the combat declared the king of Wakanda. T'Challa, the Black Panther, was victorious in a fight against M'Baku, but was defeated by Erik Killmonger.

: The {{w|British royal family}} consists of the descendants and relatives of the current Queen, Queen Elizabeth II. However, {{w|Succession_to_the_British_throne|the line of succession}} to the throne consists of potentially over 4,000 individuals. The British royal family was also referenced in [[2003: Presidential Succession]].

; You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.
: You are now able to just go and pet the security dogs at airports. Given that these dogs are not meant for petting they could be aggressive. Also the security guards holding on to the dog may become aggressive if they feel you are impeding the dogs work. This is why it is usually best not to try petting these dogs. But with this degree it is supposedly no problem.

The title text builds on the items about lightsabers and the British royal family and advises that, because several of the younger royals also have diplomas, they have received their lightsaber already. Thus you should wait at least the 6-8 weeks until your lightsaber arrives to have a fair chance, given that lightsabers is a very lethal weapon. Also some of them may even be proficient with the weapon. Special mention goes to {{w|Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge}}, aka Kate Middleton, who was supposedly on the {{w|Varsity_team#Varsity_in_the_United_Kingdom|varsity}} lightsaber team at {{w|St Andrew's School, Pangbourne|St Andrews}}.

==Transcript==
:[An official document with a title at the top between two images of graduation hats on either side:]

:<big>Congratulations, Class of 2019!</big>

:Your diploma grants you many new powers and privileges. These include:
:* You may now legally perform marriages and arrest people.
:* If you have your diploma with you, you can use grocery store express lanes with any number of items.
:* All graduates are entitled to delete one word of their choice from the Oxford English Dictionary.
:* The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks.
:* You can send mail without stamps.
:* You have earned the right to challenge the British royal family to trial by combat. If you defeat them all, the throne is yours.
:* You may now ignore "Do Not Pet" warnings on airport security dogs.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

Talk:2157: Diploma Legal Notes

2019-06-01T12:10:22Z

162.158.34.160:

Can I please live on this universe? {{unsigned ip|172.69.69.250}}
*in {{unsigned ip|172.69.68.143}}

Why would waiting 6-8 weeks help with challenging the British royal family for the throne? Surely that just gives them more time to prepare... [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 12:41, 31 May 2019 (UTC)
:But it takes 6-8 weeks for you to receive your lightsaber. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 12:51, 31 May 2019 (UTC)
::Thanks, I had not made the connection. But I still don't understand the "since a number of the younger ones have diplomas"?[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.205|162.158.154.205]] 15:16, 31 May 2019 (UTC)
::Oh duh, it says right in the comic. I'm an idiot. :) [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 15:28, 31 May 2019 (UTC)

I'd rather they sent me my lightsab(re|er) in a powered-down state. Much less fuss, damage to postal sorting/conveying/containing equipment, injury to the various employees involved, etc. Probably also saves on postage costs for the package. (And, as just pointed out, we might just get by the sorting office spies from the palace if the packaging isn't humming and glowing.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.7|162.158.154.7]] 12:45, 31 May 2019 (UTC)
:Er, I think "working" means ready to use, not turned on! However, I think shipping regulations would require the unit to be shipped without the nuclear power pack installed, and the user would just need to insert the power unit in the handle before use. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 13:01, 31 May 2019 (UTC)
::You read it your way, I'll read it my way. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.7|162.158.154.7]] 13:12, 31 May 2019 (UTC)
To me "working lightsaber" means it's not a toy or model. YMMV [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 17:53, 31 May 2019 (UTC)

I did not believe Kate Middleton did anything as genteel as light sabre, I thought she was a hockey player. While she and William graduated from St Andrews, I would have thought they got certificates not diplomas. Charles and Eddie have certificates from Cambridge. Northwestern may have issued a diploma to Meghan. Anyway they are more likely to use real Sabres or polo mallets. {{unsigned|Arachrah}}
:: Hmmm...
:: http://oi66.tinypic.com/vxdw5j.jpg
:: http://oi64.tinypic.com/99fapu.jpg
:: http://oi68.tinypic.com/359fnlf.jpg
:: http://oi64.tinypic.com/24xjexv.jpg
:: ... Enjoy! :P [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.155|141.101.99.155]] 15:11, 31 May 2019 (UTC)
:I looked up William and Kate's info - it appears they both graduated from University of St Andrews with a Scottish Master of Arts degree, which is equivalent to a Bachelor of Arts degree in the United States. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:43, 31 May 2019 (UTC)

I think I'd delete the word "gullible", if only to put a bizarre spin on the classic "Did you know 'gullible' isn't in the dictionary?" joke. --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 14:56, 31 May 2019 (UTC)

''"The university will mail you your working lightsaber within 6-8 weeks."'' – Isn't it that PhD's are awarded with a sword in Finland?
--[[User:Phcc|Phcc]] ([[User talk:Phcc|talk]]) 16:34, 31 May 2019 (UTC)

"6-8 weeks" could be a reference to StackOverflow/StackExchange: https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/19514/353011 [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:03, 31 May 2019 (UTC)
:Ok, this link took me on a weird circular journey, where that page included a link to another page that actually contained a link back to xkcd #[[1381: Margin]]. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 00:02, 1 June 2019 (UTC)

The following bibliographical text from the end of the first paragraph seemed unnecessary for the explanation, but I'm pasting it here in case anyone might be interested in further reading:
:: (See Scholarly Privileges, Their Roman Origins and Medieval Expression, Pearl Kibre, in the American Historical Review, Vol 59 No. 3 (April, 1954) at https://www.jstor.org/stable/1844716.
:: [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 05:31, 1 June 2019 (UTC)

Personally I think this comic is making reference to how some people with degrees tend to act in a self-entitled manner either in the workplace or generally in public places. For example interrupting other people's conversations because "I'm qualified and you're not". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.160|162.158.34.160]] 12:10, 1 June 2019 (UTC)

2149: Alternate Histories

2019-05-14T11:56:13Z

162.158.34.160: Grammar correction in the last para above the transcript

{{comic
| number = 2149
| date = May 13, 2019
| title = Alternate Histories
| image = alternate_histories.png
| titletext = "So their universe wouldn't have the iconic photo of a screaming Truman being hoisted aloft by the newspaper-printing machinery..."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CYBERNETIC HORSE-EMPEROR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Alternate histories are a common device in speculative fiction. One of the most common (even cliche) uses of alternate history is to posit a world in which the {{w|Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II|Axis Powers achieved victory in World War Two}}. This is presumably so compelling because it was a relatively recent event in which a series of relatively minor changes could have altered world history in major ways. One of the standard literary works along this line is Philip K. Dick's ''{{W|The Man in the High Castle}}'', where the world is split into spheres of influence controlled by the {{W|Empire of Japan}} and {{W|Nazi Germany}}. This novel has been developed into a {{w|The Man in the High Castle (TV series)|popular TV series}} of the same name on Amazon Prime.

At one point, ''The Man in the High Castle'' discusses the fiction of their own world, which includes their own alternate histories in which the Allies had won the war instead. ''The Grasshopper Lies Heavy'' is one such novel. Because these stories are speculative, they don't entirely match the 'real' history of our world, differing in key ways. This results in an "alternate-alternate" history where the Allies won World War 2, but the details still differ rather significantly than the history of World War 2 in our reality -- most notably, ''The Grasshopper Lies Heavy'' depicts a post-World War 2 world defined by a {{w|Cold War}} between the United States and the British Empire, rather than one between the United States and Soviet Union. In one sense, this functions as a meta-critique of the very concept of alternate histories, highlighting the reality that we can never know the details of what would have happened if history had gone differently.

In this comic, Megan and Cueball discuss this fictional device. Then in typical xkcd fashion, things start to get exaggerated to ridiculous proportions: Megan points out that, if characters in our stories have their own fiction, then the characters in their stories presumably have their own body of fiction, and so on, creating a recursive loop. If each alternate history contains its own alternate history, presumably each iteration would deviate more and more from our own reality, because each would be speculation based on increasing layers of speculation. Eventually (by the 500th iteration) the history would differ so wildly from our own as to be completely absurd to us, with very few elements being even recognizable.

The 500th iteration timeline apparently includes hovercraft, and cybernetic horses. {{w|Hovercraft}} are a real technology which does have military applications as landing craft, but their use in actual warfare has been limited. Cybernetic horses do not exist in our timeline{{Citation needed}}. In our timeline, Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, and would likely not develop military technology independently. New Jersey is a state in the United States and Madagascar was controlled by France during World War 2; neither of these would normally be able to pursue an independent foreign policy that would have allowed them to join alliances and fight wars unless their parent governments also did. Belgium was occupied by the Axis Powers early in the war. These three regions developing a alliance and fighting against Canada (which was also an Allied power) would require a highly unlikely combination of events. How this war would be affected by the lack of Scottish hovercraft is unclear. This scenario also apparently contains a theocracy of some variety in Missouri, which remarkably is vaguely plausible.

Interestingly, even within the bounds of the exceedingly meta-fiction, it is bordering on impossible for the scenario to come into existence; the reason for this is that while the ending would become evermore bizarre, the actual events will only be able to vary so much, as they are based on predetermined scenarios that occur before the changes take place. Unless at least two wars are being modified, or the events are based on a later occurrence, (basically the two are discussing something different entirely, albeit still a historical scenario) the idea of so many implausible things occuring is unlikely no matter what the circumstances, unless they all happened over the course of the war. Of course, it's possible several of those 500 iterations involve BAD alternate histories fiction. Or possibly fiction based on history which was deliberately falsified.

It's unlikely, but it's worth noting that "cybernetic horses" could be a reference to {{w|cyber forces}}, since in [[1418: Horse]] that substitution is suggested.

{{W|Laura Ingalls Wilder}} was an American author, best known for her ''{{W|Little House on the Prairie}}'' series. In the 500th iteration timeline, she apparently became "God-Emperor of Missouri", despite not being known as a political figure in our timeline. {{W|Harry S Truman}}, in our timeline, became 33rd President of the United States, following the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the 500th iteration timeline, Truman apparently died in an accident involving pajamas and a printing press while still a senator (presumably a U.S. senator, since in our reality he was serving in the United States Senate prior to being nominated as Roosevelt's vice president in 1944). He apparently remained a significant enough figure for 500th-iteration Megan to speculate that he would have become God-Emperor of Missouri if he'd survived.

The title text continues the discussion about Truman, mentioning a photograph of Truman screaming in horror as he is hoisted by newspaper-printing machinery. This plays off {{w|Dewey Defeats Truman|a famous photograph from our world}} where Truman is the one hoisting up a copy of the ''Chicago Tribune'' in triumph, as said newspaper erroneously claimed he was defeated in the {{w|1948 United States presidential election}} by {{w|Thomas Dewey}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Megan and Cueball are walking together]
:Megan: In alternate history stories where the allies lost WWII, sometimes they have their own fiction with the premise "what if the allies had ''won''?" which differs from our world since they'd be speculating and wouldn't predict everything.
:Cueball: Yeah, I think they do that in ''Man in the High Castle''.

:[Megan and Cueball continue walking together]
:Megan: But within ''those'' stories, they should have "what if the allies had ''lost''?" fiction which is even ''more'' removed from our world.
:Cueball: Uh oh.
:Megan: So how deep does it go?

:[Cueball and Megan, wearing tall black ball-topped hats and large bracelets and presumably from some alternate history, are walking together. There is a caption in a frame over the top of the panel:]
:500 levels in:
:Megan: In my alternate history, Scotland never develops hovercraft, so Canada's cybernetic horses ''defeat'' the Belgium-Madagascar-New Jersey alliance.
:Cueball: Wow!

:[Alternate history Cueball and Megan continue walking together]
:Cueball: Then who becomes God-Emperor of Missouri, if not Laura Ingalls Wilder?
:Megan: Senator Truman!
:Cueball: He survives the accident?!
:Megan: Yeah, the pajama craze never catches on, so he's wearing normal clothes when he walks by the printing press...

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Characters with Hats]]

{{comic discussion}}