explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2665: America Songs

2022-08-30T02:37:20Z

162.158.62.159:

{{comic
| number = 2665
| date = August 29, 2022
| title = America Songs
| image = america_songs.png
| titletext = Juraaaassic Park, Juraaaassic Park, God shed his grace on theeeee
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a JURASSIC PARK SONGWRITER. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Many songs, particularly those written by Americans, contain the word "America."{{citation needed}} These songs usually either praise America for its perceived virtues or mock it for its perceived flaws. Regardless of the content of the song, you could (in principle) sing any such song while replacing each usage of the word "America" or "American" with another four-syllable word or phrase with emphasis on the second syllable, without disrupting the meter of the song. Words and phrases like this are said to "scan to" the word "America," which means to conform to its previously stated metrical pattern.

The comic provides a list of said names (most of which are locations). While some of these share virtues or flaws with America, whatever may be meant by that term, most would fit songs about America poorly, and few are prominent enough to justify writing a song praising or mocking them. Hence, the substitution is, in many cases, humorous.

Note that the adjective form of many of the places listed either does not exist or does not fit the same rhythmic structure as "American". (For instance, while "Antarctican Idiot" scans to "American Idiot," "St. Petersburgian Idiot" does not.) In these cases, it would be necessary to use the noun form of the name to preserve the song's meter.

The title text provides an example: substituting "{{w|Jurassic Park}}" for "America" in the song "{{w|America the Beautiful}}".

Also note that "Sasketchewan", denoting the Canadian province, is spelt incorrectly; the correct spelling is "Saskatchewan".

A similar comparison in "scanning" was made in [[1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]].

===Table of places/things===
{| class="wikitable"
! Name || Description
|-
! colspan="2" | Above the map
|-
| Sasketchewan || Spelled incorrectly, should be ''{{w|Saskatchewan}}''. A province in Canada, whose capital is {{w|Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina}} and largest city is {{w|Saskatoon}}.
|-
| {{w|Ontario}} || The largest Canadian province by population and 2nd largest by total area. Includes the capital of Canada, {{w|Ottawa}}, and its largest city, {{w|Toronto}}.
|-
! colspan="2" | Map
|-
| {{w|Olympia, Washington|Olympia}} || Capital of the state of {{w|Washington}}.
|-
| {{w|Yosemite}} || National park in the state of {{w|California}}. Pronounced "yoh-SEM-ih-tee".
|-
| {{w|Los Angeles}} || Largest city in the state of California, and 2nd largest city in the United States.
|-
| {{w|Lake Michigan}} || One of the five {{w|Great Lakes}} in the United States. Borders the states of {{w|Wisconsin}}, {{w|Illinois}}, {{w|Indiana}}, and {{w|Michigan}}.
|-
| {{w|Peoria, Illinois|Peoria}} || The county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, and the largest city on the Illinois River. The oldest permanent European settlement in Illinois, according to the Illinois State Archaeological Survey.
|-
| {{w|Columbia, Missouri|Columbia}} (MO) || Fourth largest city in the state of {{w|Missouri}}. One of {{w|Columbia#United_States|many cities}} in the US named after {{w|Columbia (personification)|Columbia}}.
|-
| {{w|Montpelier, Vermont|Montpelier}} || The capital of the state of {{w|Vermont}}.
|-
| {{w|Schenectady, New York|Schenectady}} || City in Schenectady County, {{w|New York}}. In the 19th century, nationally influential companies and industries developed in Schenectady, including {{w|General Electric}} and American Locomotive Company (ALCO).
|-
| {{w|Centralia, Pennsylvania|Centralia}} || Near-ghost town in central {{w|Pennsylvania}} due to a {{w|Centralia mine fire|long running mine fire}} burning beneath the town.
|-
| {{w|Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis}} || Capital city of the state of {{w|Maryland}} and home to the {{w|United States Naval Academy}}.
|-
| {{w|Columbia, South Carolina|Columbia}} (SC) || Capital of the state of {{w|South Carolina}}. One of {{w|Columbia#United_States|many cities}} in the US named after {{w|Columbia (personification)|Columbia}}.
|-
| {{w|Vidalia, Georgia|Vidalia}} || City in the state of {{w|Georgia}}, known for their {{w|Vidalia onion}}s. Vidalia may not actually scan to "America", as it is pronounced "vy-DALE-yuh", not "vy-DALE-ee-ah" or "vee-DAHL-ee-ah".
|-
| {{w|Acadia National Park|Acadia}} || National park in the state of {{w|Maine}}.
|-
| {{w|Connecticut}} || US State, whose capital is {{w|Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford}} and largest city is {{w|Bridgeport, Connecticut|Bridgeport}}.
|-
| {{w|LaGuardia Airport|LaGuardia}} || One of the three major airports in {{w|New York City}} metropolitan area, named after former mayor {{w|Fiorello La Guardia}}. Described by then-Vice President Joe Biden as being like a "third-world country."
|-
| {{w|Virginia Beach}} || Most populous city in the state of {{w|Virginia}}.
|-
| {{w|The Villages, Florida|The Villages}} || An unincorporated senior living community in the state of {{w|Florida}}. Notable for its local newspaper, {{w|The Villages Daily Sun}}, which was the only top 25 American newspaper (by circulation) to show growth in 2022.<ref>https://pressgazette.co.uk/us-newspaper-circulations-2022/</ref>
|-
| {{w|St. Petersburg, Florida|St. Petersburg}} || The fifth largest city in the state of Florida. Part of the {{w|Tampa Bay area|Tampa Bay metropolitan area}}.
|-
| {{w|Miami Beach, Florida|Miami Beach}} || A coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, across the bay from the city of {{w|Miami}}.
|-
! colspan="2" | Below the map
|-
| {{w|Algeria}} || A country in North Africa. The 9th largest country on the continent of Africa. Bordered to the northeast by Tunisia; to the east by Libya; to the southeast by Niger; to the southwest by Mali, Mauritania, and Western Sahara; to the west by Morocco; and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea.
|-
| {{w|Armenia}} || A landlocked country located in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region.
|-
| {{w|Monrovia}} || The capital city of the West African country of {{w|Liberia}}.
|-
| {{w|Brasília|Brasilia}} || The federal capital of the country of {{w|Brazil}} and Brazil's 3rd populous city. Actually spelled ''Brasília''.
|-
| {{w|Australia}} || A country which comprises the mainland of the continent of Australia. The world's sixth largest country by area.
|-
| {{w|Valencia}} || The 3rd most populous city in the country of {{w|Spain}}.
|-
| {{w|Byzantium}} || An ancient Greek city and capital of the {{w|Byzantine Empire}}. Its name was changed to New Rome in 324, Constantinople in 330, and finally Istanbul in 1930.
|-
| {{w|Assyria}} || An major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state and then a territorial state and eventually an empire. The Assyrian Empire fell to the Babylonians and Medes in the late 7th century BC.
|-
| {{w|Beringia}} || A prehistoric land mass and region in the {{w|Bering Sea}} region. It is the most popular site of the hypothesized "land bridge" that early humans used to migrate to the Americas.
|-
| {{w|Antarctica}} || The earth's southernmost and least-populated continent, mostly covered by ice.
|-
| {{w|Sokovia}} || A fictional country in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Described to be in eastern Europe between Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Its capital city is destroyed during a battle between Ultron and the Avengers in the film ''{{w|Avengers: Age of Ultron}}'', leading to the ratification of the Sokovia Accords.
|-
| {{w|Andromeda}} || Several things: a {{w|Andromeda (constellation)|constellation in space}}, a {{w|Andromeda Galaxy|galaxy}} within that constellation, or the {{w|Andromeda (mythology)|Greek mythological character}} whom the constellation and galaxy are named after.
|-
| {{w|Lothlórien|Lothlorien}} || A realm of the elves in {{w|Middle-earth}} in the {{w|Tolkien's legendarium|works of J. R. R. Tolkien}}. Ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn. Actually spelled ''Lothlórien'' in the books.
|-
| {{w|Subnautica}} || Not a place, but an open-world survival action-adventure video game developed and published by Unknown Worlds Entertainment released in 2018.
|-
| {{w|Econo Lodge|EconoLodge}} || Actually spelled ''Econo Lodge'', though their wordmark doesn't help. An economy motel chain in the US and Canada.
|-
| {{w|Jurassic Park}} (title text) || Jurassic Park is a franchise of films centered on the creation of theme parks of cloned dinosaurs. Inevitably, the dinosaurs escape and attack humans.
|}

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

:[A header is written above a map of the US mainland:]
:<big>Places whose names scan to "America," so they can be substituted into songs such as:</big>
:''America the Beautiful''
:''God Bless America''
:Neil Diamond – ''America''
:West Side Story – ''America''
:The Guess Who – ''American Woman''
:Green Day – ''American Idiot''
:[Above the map, towards the left:]
:Sasketchewan
:[Towards the right:]
:Ontario
:[A number of places are marked on the map. From top to bottom, left to right:]
:Olympia
:Yosemite
:Los Angeles

:Lake Michigan
:Peoria
:Columbia (in Missouri)

:Acadia
:Montpelier
:Schenectady
:Connecticut
:LaGuardia
:Centralia
:Annapolis
:Virginia Beach
:Columbia (in South Carolina)
:Vidalia
:The Villages
:St. Petersburg
:Miami Beach
:[Below the map, in columns:]
:Australia
:Armenia
:Monrovia
:Brasilia
:Australia
:Valencia

:Byzantium
:Assyria
:Beringia
:Antarctica

:Sokovia
:Andromenda

:Lothlorien
:Subnautica

:The Metaverse
:EconoLodge

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Songs]]

2205: Types of Approximation

2019-09-22T14:41:58Z

162.158.62.159:

{{comic
| number = 2205
| date = September 20, 2019
| title = Types of Approximation
| image = types_of_approximation.png
| titletext = It's not my fault I haven't had a chance to measure the curvature of this particular universe.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an APPROXIMATOR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In physics and engineering, problem solving typically requires {{w|approximation}}s, as physical properties of the universe can be difficult to model. For example, in introductory physics classes, theories are introduced in frictionless environments. The level of precision required in a calculation or approximation varies depending on the context.

In the comic, [[Cueball]], the physicist, generally dealing with theoretical constructs can use straight math, is introducing a problem with the assumption that the particular curve is a (perfectly) circular arc with a radius represented by R. Engineers have to deal with real things, which deviate from ideal shapes. Dimensions may be known to a certain tolerance. [[Megan]], the engineer, also assumes that the curve is similar to a circle, with a deviation factor of 1/1000.

The joke arises when [[Ponytail]], the cosmologist, uses the much less precise approximation of {{w|pi}} (π) equal to 1.

Ponytail offering to use 10 instead of 1 alludes to [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermi_problem Fermi approximations], as shown in [https://what-if.xkcd.com/84/ Paint the Earth]. Numbers are rounded to the nearest order of magnitude (1, 10, 100, etc.) using a base 10 logarithmic scale. On this scale, "halfway" between 1 and 10 would be √10 ≈ 3.16. Thus, numbers between about 0.316 and 3.16 are rounded to 1, between 3.16 and 31.6 are rounded to 10, and so on. Pi is an irrational number, usually truncated to 3.14, so it is very close to this cutoff point. The closest order of magnitude to pi is 10 to the 0 power, or 1. But using this form of estimation it doesn't really matter to Ponytail whether pi is approximated to 1 or 10.

This comic is a parody of the tendency of {{w|cosmology}} to use much rougher approximations in their work that would horrify engineers. In general, astronomers deal with masses and distances that are so vast that approximations that would be ridiculous elsewhere still yield reasonable answers in astronomy. When dealing with large numbers, small multiplicative factors vanish into the rounding error: there isn't a useful difference between 10^100 and 10^100.5

Pi is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle divided by its diameter. This number is an irrational starting with 3.14 when the geometry is flat. But in curved spaces, the ratios are different. The title text makes use of the fact that almost every number can be pi depending on the curvature of the place the circle is residing. The cosmologist doesn't know the curvature of the universe, and so traditional values of Pi may not be more accurate.

Approximating Pi as 1 may also refer to the habit astronomers have of changing the units of measure such that important constants of the universe (such as the speed of light or the gravitational constant) are equal to 1, which highly simplifies the formulas without compromising the math. The number pi, however, is a dimensionless ratio, which doesn't depend on the unit of measure.

==Transcript==
:[Three panels show the same setup with three different characters. In the upper-right corner of each panel is the lower-left portion of a wheel and hub diagram, showing two spokes going out to a curved rail. The two spokes connect to the rail with a small raised potiopn on the inside of the rail. There are both readable and unreadable text/symbols both outside and inside the curve and an equation below the curved rail. There are two small squares with readable labels. The three different characters are all holding a pointer up to the diagram while explaining an assumption. In the last panel an off-panel voice interrupts the speaker. This means the text from the reply to this comment goes further down over the diagram, so the top is hidden by text, compared to the first two. Above each panel is a label with the character's profession. As the text on the diagram is the same on all three panel, this text is shown here:]
:r1
:r2
:d=2π(r1+r2)/2

:[Panel 1 - Cueball. Caption above:]
:Physicist Approximations
:Cueball: We'll assume the curve of this rail is a circular arc with radius ''R''.

:[Panel 2 - Megan. Caption above:]
:Engineer Approximations
:Megan: Let's assume this curve deviates from a circle by no more than 1 part in 1,000.

:[Panel 3 - Ponytail. Caption above:]
:Cosmologist Approximations
:Ponytail: Assume pi is one.
:Off-panel voice: Pretty sure it's bigger than that.
:Ponytail: OK, we can make it ten. Whatever.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

Talk:2002: LeBron James and Stephen Curry

2018-06-06T05:27:13Z

162.158.62.159:

I have no idea what this is about, but wondered if Stephen Curry was related to the Curry twins Tom and Ben, who are both over 6' - or to Tim, who isn't except in heels.
[[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 07:53, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
: Both LeBron James and Stephen Curry are famous NBA players. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.190.4|172.69.190.4]] 08:46, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
::How would you not know that? And even if you don't know who they are, you must have at least heard about them before, right? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 09:21, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
::: Not everyone is from USA. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.190.4|172.69.190.4]] 09:41, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
:::: That excuse could work, except your IP address is based in the USA :) [[User:Zachweix|Zachweix]] ([[User talk:Zachweix|talk]]) 12:01, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
::::: So is mine right now, but that doesn't mean I'm '''from''' here, and they didn't make us memorise every NBA player on the plane. (Hey cool, this IP has edited here before too) -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.186.60|162.158.186.60]] 15:36, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
:::: Basketball is the second most popular sport in the world [Citation needed], so it is safe to assume a large portion of the internet people know LeBron and Curry even if it is only by memes. {{unsigned ip|172.68.26.173}}
::: I like Curry. You know, the dish. And the actor. Tim, that is. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 11:58, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
Not everyone in the USA follows sports. I've heard of LeBron James, but only in passing. The only Curry I know of is a fictional one from some old movie. {{unsigned ip|162.158.74.147}}
;Nate Silver

Nate Silver is famous for his numerical approach and extensive use of statistics and simulations.
He foresaw a probability of 28.6% for Donald to win the electoral college just before the election. That is a greater chance than most political commentators would have granted Donald. Typical betting sites saw Hillary 5:1 ahead at the evening of the election.
So I would not at all say that he got everything wrong in 2016. He predicted that Hillary would be a formidable number of votes ahead as most probable outcome, but also that many states would be very tight.
[[https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-election-forecast/]]. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.106|172.68.110.106]] 09:21, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

;Definitions needed
Hi! Could definitions be added for some of the terms used, such as "bleachers"? Thanks! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.200|162.158.155.200]] 11:30, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
: really?[[https://www.google.com/search?q=bleachers&client=firefox-b-1-ab&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjPv-v82LzbAhWLzlkKHUPVByAQ_AUICigB&biw=794&bih=941|really?]][[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.232|108.162.219.232]] 14:07, 5 June 2018 (UTC)
:: Glad someone said it before I did. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.203|172.68.58.203]] 20:43, 5 June 2018 (UTC)
::: IDK, "bleachers" is a pretty basic word from the English language... Okay, somewhat sports-centric - it means the array of seats around a sporting event, where the audience sits (and as such would be out of bounds in this case, outside of the valid playing area) - but still. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 02:34, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

;Magnetic North
I would have liked the "magnetic north" thing to be due to the geographical orientation of the teams home courts (if the Cavaliers are the only team to have a court that happens to be roughly north-south oriented, it would explain the higher points value). Looking at the Stupid Name Arena, however, it appears that the court inside is probably about NW-SE. Too bad. [[User:Chrullrich|Chrullrich]] ([[User talk:Chrullrich|talk]]) 14:15, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
: It is probably referencing how Lebron-led teams always make quick work of the perennially promising Toronto Raptors teams that call themselves "the North".

I was thinking that might be a reference to the Cleveland Cavaliers playing their home games at a slightly high latitude than the (San Fransico-based) Golden State Warriors. (However, they are nearly at the same latitude, and neither is anywhere near 75 degrees North) [[User:JamesCurran|JamesCurran]] ([[User talk:JamesCurran|talk]]) 19:24, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

:when I read “when net is within 15° of magnetic north” I assumed it meat games played where the arena was inside the circle with a radius of 15° latitude centered on magnetic north, which I’m guessing would include a few (or at least 1) arenas, perhaps in Canada (since magnetic north is somewhere in north eastern Canada). Do American basketball teams play Canadian teams in Canada like they do ice hockey and baseball teams?

;SSN to Free Throw%
Would it be too much of a stretch to add in the fact that Stephen Curry's point is highlighted on the chart, as a nod to the fact that (the majority of) one's SSN can actually be determined if one knows details about personal information such as where one was born? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.130|108.162.219.130]] 16:08, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
:Not anymore. My three kids were all born in the same hospital -- same wing; rooms only meters apart -- but have TOTALLY different SSN's. (No, I'm not sharing them as proof!) We even asked the local SS office what happened and they said they're starting to reuse numbers at random. I think it's not "reuse" as much as "reallocate", but either way the strict geographical basis is no longer valid. --'''BigMal''' // [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.209|172.69.70.209]] 16:31, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
:Originally, the first three digits indicated the office where the person requested an SSN. It didn't really signify anything. It was just that each office was given on a block of numbers to assign, and that block all started with the same three digits. Since in the early days of Social Security, a person got theirs, not at birth, but when they first got a job, it was more of an indication of where they happened to be living then, rather than where they were born. By the 60s, SSN assignment had been centralized, but they still tried to maintain the regional number, based on the zip code of the person requesting an SSN. Apparently, they have more recently realized that's just a waste of time and just started issuing them sequentially. [[User:JamesCurran|JamesCurran]] ([[User talk:JamesCurran|talk]]) 19:17, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
::New method started in 2011, so until around 2029 we'll be able to use the "SSN to FT% in NBA" metric, and have it tie to location at time of SSN generation.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.165|162.158.74.165]] 21:37, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

Does anyone know what the "sandwiches" graph is a reference to? I don't believe I have heard anything about the Warriors and a love for sandwiches. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.46.101|172.68.46.101]] 17:03, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
:Maybe this? [[https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2015/04/10/warriors-stephen-curry-45-point-game-sandwich]] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.39|162.158.62.39]] 17:23, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

;More on SSN to Free Throw%
I did a quick digitization of the SSN /FT% graph, and the Steph Curry point is at about FT% = 92.5% and SSN ~ 300-XX-XXXX, which corresponds to his 2018 ft% of 92.1% (from wikipedia) and his birthplace of Ohio having a SSN in the range of 268-302 https://www.ssofficelocation.com/social-security-number-prefix . Even if SSN prefixes are random now, they probably weren't when he was born 30 years ago, so it is probably safe to conclude that the location of the point is deliberate. [[User:Acflip|Acflip]] ([[User talk:Acflip|talk]]) 19:01, 4 June 2018 (UTC)
:They changed in 2011 to random generation. I doubt there's any 7 year old NBA players, so until 2029 we'll be able to use this -ahem- metric.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.165|162.158.74.165]] 21:34, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

;On the pog collection

Is it possible that the "pog collection" also refers to the player's collection of Player of the Game awards? Lebron James would surely have a staggering amount of it, and Steph Curry would have considerably less, since Steph Curry has a lot of other good teammates.
[[User:Skybreak|Skybreak]] ([[User talk:Skybreak|talk]]) 07:58, 5 June 2018 (UTC)Skybreak

;Best Sport

Lets be real here. The odds of them being better at a sport then basketball are basically nill. Unless you use an unusual definition of "sport" or "better".
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.232|108.162.219.232]] 14:07, 5 June 2018 (UTC)

;Shot Map

It may be a reference to the tunnel shot, but it's more likely just a joke about Steph Curry's unusual range for field goals. He's well known for making 3-point shots from much farther out than the average the NBA player. [[User:Hasown|Hasown]] ([[User talk:Hasown|talk]]) 14:57, 5 June 2018 (UTC)
:Thinking about it further, the map doesn't even show any shots from the tunnel, and the tunnel's placement is inaccurate as well. The tunnels to the locker rooms are in the corners of the court, not directly behind the hoop. There are always bleachers behind the hoop for fans to sit. [[User:Hasown|Hasown]] ([[User talk:Hasown|talk]]) 15:03, 5 June 2018 (UTC)
Jimmy Kimmel made a similar joke on TV last night, saying that Curry made a 3-pointer from the parking lot. Should Randall sue?
[[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:11, 5 June 2018 (UTC)

"correctly predicting for whom 49 of 50 of the 2008 and every US state would vote for in the 2012", this line is rather mangled, but I'm not sure how to fix it (dunno this guy, dunno if his predictions were thus accurate for 2008, 2012, or both, etc). Also, I must thoroughly agree with Randall about people hearing of them. As a non-sports fan from North America, I've heard LeBron referenced elsewhere (like TV shows) many, many times, but I feel like I've never heard of the other guy. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 02:45, 6 June 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1892: USB Cables

2017-09-21T13:01:16Z

162.158.62.159:

> Carries data but not power - Not typically done, but it could happen if the wires or pins get damaged.

> Charges phone slowly - More likely a problem with the charger than the cable, but may happen if the wires are damaged.

Some manufactures limits charging / fast charging to approved devices only, and this can also be done by some non-standard trick within cable connectors, so non-OEM cable do no charge or charge slower

>Plug doesn't fit through case - There's no standard for what the plastic housing around the USB connector should look like, and sometimes these are moulded so they don't quite fit in the phone socket or through the charging port of an external case.

There is standard defining clearances for plastic housing of connectors, but not all manufactures care

/mhcmega
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.10|162.158.202.10]] 15:52, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

I think Weird shape has to do with mould doing a 90 degree turn.
[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 15:55, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

:Agreed. You can see the 90 degree turn in the silhouette. The plug isn't big enough to be Type B. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 13:01, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

I honestly think this entire comic is a protracted anatomy joke. [[User:Elvenivle|Elvenivle]] ([[User talk:Elvenivle|talk]]) 00:54, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

And then there are all those cables I've saved in case I get a new device with that particular connector on the other end.

Talk:1154: Resolution

2017-09-12T14:51:37Z

162.158.62.159:

It's good! But self-explanatory? -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 16:06, 31 December 2012 (UTC)

The reference to a single data point may reference a common problem in "long-term" or "one-off" observations - that statistical significance can probably never be achieved because of the labour involved in creating individual data points. In this case Cueball essentially makes one data point per year (or many depending on whether you consider individual observations to happen throughout the year...), and thusly one year is insufficient to determine if there is a large "yearly" loop with nested daily/weekly loops.

Humans seem to have a biological mechanism to bypass this conundrum wherein we make linear extrapolations or use weak induction for situations where there is insufficient data.[[Special:Contributions/208.98.237.225|208.98.237.225]] 22:19, 31 December 2012 (UTC)

I took this to be a reference to infinite loops because of "being stuck" "thinking I'm fixing things about myself", "break out of loops", and "not making progress". Also, the title "Resolution" could be said to refer to the test statement in a loop to determine whether or not to continue the loop, ''resolving'' the loop. --[[Special:Contributions/68.75.178.240|68.75.178.240]] 00:28, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

******

If at first you don’t succeed
…try, try again! (a mother’s advice)
…that’s one data point. (scientific version)
…click “undo.” (IT version)
…read the directions. (engineering version)
…keep a separate ledger. (business version)
…call in an air strike. (military version)
…file an appeal. (legal version)
…try bribery. (diplomatic version)
…redefine success. (political version)

Any good scientific experiment needs a control and that was just what the prior year was to compare the actual changes of the upcoming year. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 14:51, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1152: Communion

2017-09-12T14:43:39Z

162.158.62.159:

This was one of the reasons early Christians were persecuted by the Romans. They thought the Christians were cannibals. [[Special:Contributions/76.20.159.250|76.20.159.250]] 00:53, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

:Did they actually though that or did they only used it as pretext for persecution? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:20, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Isn't he making fun of that doctrine?[[User:Guru-45|Guru-45]] ([[User talk:Guru-45|talk]]) 07:16, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Transubstantiation isn't about bread literally turning into flesh. I don't know how to explain it properly, but it is based on Middle Age Christian philosophy (scholastic, St. Thomas, I think) that differentiates the accidents (appearance, taste etc.) of a thing from its true substance. Transubstantiation means that the bread becomes flesh (acquires the substance of Jesus' flesh) even though it retains the appearance and all qualities of bread.
This doctrine is of course highly outdated and I can't think of why the Catholics haven't dropped it yet. It also causes a lot of confusion. --[[User:Artod|Artod]] ([[User talk:Artod|talk]]) 09:07, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

:If it's middle age Christian, what was the explanation before that? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:20, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

::I would think that the original interpretation is symbolism. Jesus and his diciples were eating the {{w|passover}} meal, and the central piece was a {{w|Korban Pesach|sacrifical lamb}}. I think that it's a way for Jesus to say that the purpouse of the lamb is becoming dated, cause I'm about to be murdered, and that is what will save you in the end, not sacrifices. From start christians have called him the {{w|Lamb of God}}. Hope you had a merry Christmas! -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:14, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

:::The "lamb of God" is thought to be a malpropism from one ancient language to another. I don't have my source material to hand, but it seems likely that the original was "word of God", and "lamb" had a similar sound and so became entangled in the confusion

::::As a New Testament student, I would be interested in seeing a source for that. There are two Greek words translated as "Lamb" in the New Testament. Are you saying that one or both of them sound like an Aramaic word for "word", for instance? Both are used in contexts where "Lamb" makes sense and "Word" does not (i.e. referring to Jesus as a sin-bearing sacrifice). Also, John's Gospel has called Jesus "the Word" several times just before quoting John the Baptist as referring to Jesus as "the Lamb of God" twice. Seems strange that a mistake would be made twice on one page (for instance) when it was avoided five times on the previous page.[[Special:Contributions/75.157.92.41|75.157.92.41]] 08:53, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

::Thomism (the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas) is built on Aristotle's thought and thus this understanding has always been applied to the Eucharist, albeit possibly not as explicitly as through Thomism.

:::In fact, Wikipedia does have a pretty good article about transubstantiation.--[[User:Artod|Artod]] ([[User talk:Artod|talk]]) 11:53, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

::::It does seem quite good. Were you thinking about anything in particular? -- [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 19:25, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

:[http://www.wftv.com/news/news/body-of-christ-snatched-from-church-held-hostage-b/nD9rH/ Are you sure?] Note the "kidnapping" line about halfway down. The literalness of the belief seems a bit vague to me in practice. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.117|108.162.238.117]] 03:42, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

The 'punchline' and title text are two of the most macabre things I've ever seen Randall write in this comic - and the hilarity still comes across!--[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 16:22, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

Has anybody figured out what the '1970s murder victim' reference in the hovertext is referring to? Lot of people died then - I have no idea how to even start narrowing it down [[Special:Contributions/76.116.83.55|76.116.83.55]] 16:39, 27 December 2012 (UTC)
:Will it referring to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_in_the_Box_(Philadelphia) [[User:Ykliu|Ykliu]] ([[User talk:Ykliu|talk]]) 06:58, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Just remind me of a film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baby_of_Mâcon

Speaking as a Catholic, my first reaction was "Oy, I've never heard ''that one'' before (eye roll)". It is a pretty old gag, but Randall definitely has a gift for putting comedic timing into 2-dimensional comic panels; I still laughed. [[User:Tractarian|Tractarian]] ([[User talk:Tractarian|talk]]) 16:06, 28 December 2012 (UTC)

Randall misspelled "parishioner". [[Special:Contributions/87.189.145.75|87.189.145.75]] 12:00, 29 December 2012 (UTC)

The last sentence of the explanation is is really awkward to me. I want to rewrite it but I'm not too smart on theology so I'm not sure if this is the right way. What do you think?

: ''Protestant denominations (e.g., Baptists, Mennonites, Anabaptists, Pentecostals) reject the doctrine of Transubstantiation, with some taking the words as wholly symbolic of Jesus' sacrificial death. Others (e.g, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Methodist) believe Christ is actually present in the bread and wine although the bread and wine are not changed in any physical way .'' --[[User:Smartin|Smartin]] ([[User talk:Smartin|talk]]) 03:35, 2 January 2013 (UTC)

Hold on a minute. The church in the title text is evidently ritually sacrificing/apotheosizing persons and then transubstantiating their flesh and blood for consumption in order to redeem their sins. (Presumably ritual sacrifice is kosher.) Now the police have a blood sample from a 1970 murder victim as a result of confiscating the transubstantiated materials. How did they get the blood from the victim for comparison if he was killed by the church and they disposed of the remains? I hope Dexter isn't involved on this one. [[Special:Contributions/98.225.182.131|98.225.182.131]] 09:15, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

note that some presbyterian churches share the opinion that the Lords Supper is only "sign and seal of the covenant of grace". So they don't believe that Jezus is spiritual in the bread and wine.

Folks, I updated the theological explanation a bit to make it more accurate without hopefully getting too theologically geeky, but given the wonderfully geeky nature of this site (and comic), I'll go deeper in the comments. Full disclosure that I am Protestant but studied this stuff a lot in Divinity School (and love this new Pope). The Catholic belief in transubstantiation was developed within a world-view based on Plato & Aristotle, which is how the thinkers of the time understood reality and the world. Thomas Aquinas, probably the most influential of Catholic theologians, was a big fan of Aristotle, and that philosophical understanding of the nature of things fit well into an explanation of the Eucharist that makes a little more sense than how it is commonly understood. The change in the elements (bread/wine) happens when the priest consecrates them, not when they enter the mouth or stomach, and it was pretty obvious to everyone that they don't taste or look like flesh and blood. But Aristotle argued that the true nature--what something really was--could be and often was different from its simple outward appearance. Good example is that most anyone would say that each of us is more than simply our biological mechanisms. When someone dies, they look exactly the same as when they are sleeping, but there is obviously something fundamentally different about who/what they are. I don't say that to start a debate about the soul or anything but just for some context. What the Catholics argued was that there was an actual change in the substance--what the bread and wine REALLY were--when the priest blessed them, and that change gave them special salvific and "soul-cleansing" abilities. I had a theology prof who described it as the scrubbing bubbles of the spiritual world...they don't return your toilet back to its pristine condition, but they run all over cleaning it up. So enter the Reformation, and Luther (a Catholic priest) did not want to give up the significance of the Eucharist but was more focused on interpretation of the Bible (where most would think it seems pretty clear that Jesus isn't speaking literally). Perhaps more importantly though, he felt the centrality of the Catholic-ordained clergy in the process of salvation and access to God created abuses and stumbling blocks for the faithful. So he argued basically that there was still a scrubbing bubbles-type affect from the Eucharist, but that was not because the substance of the bread and wine changed when blessed but because the ritual, prayer, and remembrance created a special and unique spiritual connection to Christ. Calvin took it a step further and made a more symbolic claim, but as with Luther, didn't want to veer too far from the universal ideal that there was a real spiritual impact. The Anabaptists said it was purely symbolic. Modern Protestants pretty much all believe that it is symbolic, if special, and a reminder of our covenant with God and Christ's sacrifice...and few Christians know or bother with the more detailed theological reasoning behind this whole debate. As noted by someone above, Presbyterians use "sign and seal," and as someone who went through the rather rigorous ordination exams for the Presbyterian Church, I know we would not have been passed without providing that framing of symbol and promise. Most Catholics don't understand what it is they are supposed to believe about Transubstantiation, but the Church fathers worked very hard to make the details of their theology actually make sense and fit the world they knew and saw around them. The Bible does the same, and it is a shame that many Christians come to believe that faith calls on them to accept things they know not to be true as a test. As an aside, it has always struck me as ironic and tragic that there is such a fight over the creation narrative when the progression laid out in Gen 1 matches up so perfectly with what science now believes, and is how one might try to describe what we know about the history of the earth to a young child--or to people thousands of years ago who knew nothing of science, dinosaurs, etc. It is also frustrating how hard some fight to deny science when Genesis 1 is unique among the ancient creation myths in saying life started in the water and that plants and then birds came before animals, and people came last. As Randall is so fond of pointing out, "birds" did come first and ruled the earth for millions of years. Anyway, the more detailed explanation on the Eucharist and this little mini-rant against some of my fellow evangelicals on creationism stems from my strong agreement with St. Augustine's quote I'll conclude this comment with. I wish more Christians paid as much attention to Augustine's teachings like this as they do to the sex parts. “Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge is held to as being certain from reason and experience. It is therefore a disgraceful and dangerous thing for a non-believer to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics. If non-believers finds a Christian mistaken and maintaining foolish positions supposedly because of Scripture in a field which they themselves know well, how are they going to believe Scripture in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when it appears the pages of Scripture are full of falsehoods and on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of Holy Scripture will try to call upon Holy Scripture for proof and even recite from memory many passages which they think support their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, and will bring untold trouble and sorrow on the faithful.”--St. Augustine of Hippo, around 400 AD.
[[User:Sapper14|Sapper14]] ([[User talk:Sapper14|talk]]) 14:59, 18 December 2013 (UTC)Eric
:tl;dr or tl;nwr! (nobody will read!). My 2 cents. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:11, 18 December 2013 (UTC)
:Paragraphs, please. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.117|108.162.238.117]] 03:33, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

Isn't the title text's date (1970) an epoch pun ? They would have killed a baby on year 0, but not on the right calendar... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.238|141.101.98.238]] 03:19, 9 August 2014 (UTC)
: I like this interpretation, but it does say 1970s, not 1970. {{unsigned ip|108.162.246.213}}

Should the page include a section on the {{w|Blood libel}}? I think he's riffing off that too.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.105|162.158.74.105]] 02:35, 6 December 2016 (UTC)

I am surprised no one mentioned the glaring error in the comic, well the title text at least, DNA testing did not become used until the Mid 1980s looks like 1986 in Europe and 1987 in the US by a quick Google. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 14:43, 12 September 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1887: Two Down, One to Go

2017-09-09T00:27:52Z

162.158.62.159:

Worth noting that the Orionids are the last major shower of the year: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/orionid.html {{unsigned ip|108.162.246.215}}

Venus is sometimes visible during the day. A daylight supernova need not be the second brightest object in the night sky.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 13:30, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
:The Moon is also sometimes visible during the day. SN 1006 and SN 1054 were brighter than Venus at maximum brightness but still dimmer than the Moon. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:02, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Randall is likely talking about the expected replenishment of the Leonids http://www.imo.net/50-years-ago-the-1966-leonid-meteor-storm/ [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.18|172.68.65.18]] 14:55, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Aurora viewing in "perhaps parts of Maine"? Maine's northern limit is ~47.5 degrees. Most of the US/Canada border is at 49 degrees, which is still too far south for good aurora views, but being in Seattle gets you closer to the pole than Maine. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.160|108.162.216.160]] 18:59, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
: Auroras are centered on the Earth's geomagnetic poles, not the geographic poles. The geomagnetic pole is currently on Ellesmere Island and is closer to Portland, MA than Seattle, WA. The closest spot in the contiguous US to the geomagnetic north pole might be in northern Maine, Isle Royale, MI or the Northwest angle, depending on exactly which epoch is used for the location of the pole.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 00:22, 9 September 2017 (UTC)

Could Randal's mention of a supernova be interpreted to mean that our sun goes supernova and since that's the last thing he sees, he jsut closes off his bucket list? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.58|108.162.221.58]] 22:55, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1887: Two Down, One to Go

2017-09-09T00:22:52Z

162.158.62.159:

Worth noting that the Orionids are the last major shower of the year: https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/meteor-shower/orionid.html {{unsigned ip|108.162.246.215}}

Venus is sometimes visible during the day. A daylight supernova need not be the second brightest object in the night sky.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 13:30, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
:The Moon is also sometimes visible during the day. SN 1006 and SN 1054 were brighter than Venus at maximum brightness but still dimmer than the Moon. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:02, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Randall is likely talking about the expected replenishment of the Leonids http://www.imo.net/50-years-ago-the-1966-leonid-meteor-storm/ [[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.18|172.68.65.18]] 14:55, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Aurora viewing in "perhaps parts of Maine"? Maine's northern limit is ~47.5 degrees. Most of the US/Canada border is at 49 degrees, which is still too far south for good aurora views, but being in Seattle gets you closer to the pole than Maine. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.160|108.162.216.160]] 18:59, 8 September 2017 (UTC)
: Auroras are centered on the Earth's geomagnetic poles, not the geographic poles. The geomagnetic pole is currently on Ellesmere Island and is closer to Portland, MA than Seattle, WA. The closest spot in the contiguous US to the geomagnetic north pole is either in northern Maine or near the Northwest angle, depending on exactly which epoch is used for the location of the pole.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 00:22, 9 September 2017 (UTC)

Could Randal's mention of a supernova be interpreted to mean that our sun goes supernova and since that's the last thing he sees, he jsut closes off his bucket list? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.58|108.162.221.58]] 22:55, 8 September 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1887: Two Down, One to Go

2017-09-08T13:30:07Z

162.158.62.159:

Talk:1116: Traffic Lights

2017-09-07T11:59:59Z

162.158.62.159:

I doubt that this comic carries any deeper meaning. [[Special:Contributions/108.233.253.211|108.233.253.211]] 16:29, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

Traffic signals really are one of the most inscrutable inventions to ever be made. I mean, red means stop, yellow means caution, green means go. Unless you're in a turn lane, which means you have to watch for the green arrow, if there is one, or wait for an opening. Unless you're turning right, which is permitted to turn at any time providing there aren't any cars. Unless there's a sign that says "No Right Turn On Red". There's also the crazy cities that have special right turn lights. Then there's the intersections that have a sign for each lane telling what can and cannot be done. Or, if you're really lucky one of those intersections that has the LED screen that dynamically changes what the lane can and cannot do. And to top it all off, the Colorado Department of Transportation (as well as a few other states I'm sure) are testing out a 4-stage left turn light to increase the safety of drivers. [https://www.auroragov.org/cs/groups/public/documents/document/003604.pdf] Yes, you read that pamphlet correctly. There is a special 4th light, just to blink yellow, because you couldn't just make the yellow light blink, like it does anyway after 9pm. No. There has to be a whole special light that indicates when a left-turn-er must use special caution to turn.

: Note that New York City doesn't allow right turns on red, unless a sign is posted that says otherwise. I suppose this helps reduce the incidence of pedestrians being run into/over. You might also think it helps keep vehicles out of crosswalks, but it doesn't. [[User:CityZen|CityZen]] ([[User talk:CityZen|talk]]) 01:13, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

: What about turning left on red from a one way street onto another one way street? I don't know how prevalent that is but it's fairly common in downtown Columbus Ohio (my locale) and to a lesser extent some smaller towns around here. [[Special:Contributions/74.218.18.210|74.218.18.210]] 12:30, 9 August 2013 (UTC)
::First time commenting. Not sure about the reply syntax. But @ Ohio person: Up here in Michigan, we have supposedly special U-turns on divided highways (not to be confused with expressways; I'm just referring to the main business roads.) If there is a light, you can treat it like turning right, even though it is an apparent left-turn and an actual u-turn. "So long as you don't cross a lane of traffic, it is legal to turn if the lane is clear unless posted otherwise." From my driver's ed instructor. This does not apply to the second turn lane. I cannot tell you how many times I've been honked at for obeying the law and not turning right from the left lane. Sorry for any terrible typing or messups. I'm doing this on my phone. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.31|108.162.216.31]] 08:42, 20 November 2013 (UTC)Dartania

Nope. I'm done driving. Bring on the self-driving cars, people are officially idiots. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:52, 4 October 2012 (UTC)
: There is a problem with a blinking yellow arrow. Blinking yellow is already used. It means you have the right of way, but the other direction may proceed as well. What is wanted here is blinking red, which means that you stop, but may proceed, as someone else has the right of way. As for adding a fourth light, this just confuses things even more, particularly with respect to color blind individuals. Having said that, Virginia's variant is to have lights with both left arrows and solid greens. If it is green arrow, you have the right of way, while solid green means the other direction also has a green. There is almost always a sign reading "left turn yield on <solid-green-circle>" [[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 18:19, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

::so the blinking yellow left arrow generally means the same as a round green light - you can go when it's clear, but the opposite traffic has a green light too. I love this idea because a lot of the time where there is a separate left-turn signal, there are advanced lefts for both ways, and then left turners get a red left arrow and have to stop while people going straight get a green - so even where there's no oncoming traffic, you can't turn. this way, you just lose your "advance" status and go back to the regular rule of "turn if you can, otherwise you end up turning as the lights go yellow"

::I think what Lcarsos is pointing out if you check the PDF link, is that the new left-turn lane has 4 lights, all of which are left-arrow shaped. Thus, his point is why couldn't they make the 2nd light (yellow left arrow) blink, instead of installing a third light which is also a yellow left arrow whose job is to blink?

::I can think of a few possible reasons - first, perhaps an all-blinking light has different bulbs which are more efficient for blinking and won't burn out as much; second, because they want to distinguish between the two lights more strongly (i.e. if you glance over between blinks, you don't have to wait a moment to see if it will blink - if you see the 3rd light up, you know it's going to blink without waiting for it to actually blink); similarly, I suppose there could be colour blindness issues where they want to make it clear which light is which.

::PS: Right on Red is more common in north america than other places, but even here there are a few exceptions that do not allow right turns on red lights. New York City is one. Montreal is another. Most of Mexio is a third. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 21:19, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

::You can also white a white 'cigar' light that is inteded for busses only.

:From the first traffic light in London 1868 until standardization in the 1920s people tried out many crazy lights (see http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/T-VT.1970.23426) including---literally---bells and whistles to announce changes. It seems this phase is still not really over.[[Special:Contributions/134.169.34.172|134.169.34.172]] 10:33, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

Hmm... not one to do the actual analysis, I still wonder whether there could be some message encoded in the pattern of lights -- in binary ASCII, baudot, Morse, or something. Hmm... [[Special:Contributions/208.54.40.227|208.54.40.227]] 19:12, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

This explanation mentions a lot of hands where no hands exist. "The right-hand lane," for example. This is a pet peeve of mine. People just adding the word, "hand" randomly into a sentence. It's superfluous and it's annoying. It should be removed before someone slaps whoever did it with their right-hand hand.[[Special:Contributions/173.25.252.230|173.25.252.230]] 14:35, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

:I believe "right-hand" is used to differentiate "the opposite from the left" from "the opposite of wrong". If I say "get in the right lane", there is a chance for confusion and/or a cliche joke. If I say "get in the right-hand lane", my meaning is clearer.{{unsigned|Tryc}}

;Red and yellow

In Poland you can sometimes stumble upon '''red and yellow''' -- while yellow alone means that there shortly would be a red, and you can proceed if you are at or almost at crossing, but stop otherwise, red and yellow is to mean that there shortly would be green (go), and to prepare oneself. But it is quite rare. [[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 06:45, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

:In Germany all traffic lights behave this way. [[User:Joha.ma|Joha.ma]] ([[User talk:Joha.ma|talk]]) 07:45, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

::At least some lights in Czech behave this way too. -- [[Special:Contributions/89.177.52.2|89.177.52.2]] 08:04, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

This is the way ALL UK lights behave.

Some lights in the US use '''red and yellow''' to mean that a pedestrian is crossing, although I've only seen this when the light is blinking red/yellow to start with (yes, I've seen full 3-bulb traffic lights that are only used to flash red/yellow). [[User:Zer0keefie|Zer0keefie]] ([[User talk:Zer0keefie|talk]]) 11:42, 27 March 2013 (UTC)

OK, here is the difference between the US and Europe:

Originally I believe all the traffic lights went through the sequence (1) green in one direction, red in another, (2) yellow in both directions, meaning "clear off the intersection" for the first direction and "get your car into gear" in the second direction, (3) red in one direction, green in another.

There are two problems though: first, when the green changes to yellow, people try to squeeze through (and it may even be difficult to stop if you're traveling at speed), second, when the red changes to yellow, people who are not stopped but carrying speed are trying to squeeze through earlier while the light is still yellow (this gets worse if the yellow is long and the incoming drivers don't know if it's after red or after green), and collisions ensue.

The solutions for these problems taken in US and Europe are different. In Europe the yellow-after-red is shown together with the red still on, strongly suggesting "no, you may not enter", and in the other direction the green often blinks once 10 seconds before it switches to yellow. In US there is no yellow-after-red, the red changes directly to green, and yellow always goes only after green (the automatic transmissions being prevalent, there is no need to shift into gear). The yellow is often long, to let the traffic on the fast roads to clear off, Also, there is usually a period of red in all directions which lets the stragglers clear off the intersection for sure before the other side goes green. This is why slipping on red just after yellow had ended is considered no big deal in US and a major no-no in Europe. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.111|108.162.245.111]] 23:15, 23 January 2014 (UTC)

:Where I live, in Santa Cruz do Sul - Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil, we have no yellow before green, but very few traffic lights blink red once right before green. Here, slipping on red is also common, but it's also common to stretch it a bit more and confusion ensues. Continuing from what has been said below, some traffic lights in Porto Alegre even have a numeric countdown.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.220|108.162.212.220]] 20:06, 9 February 2014 (UTC)

In Brazil some cities have greens and red in a row, and they decrease to indicate how long the green or red will last. something like http://www.guiasjp.com/fotos_noticias/foto_1165344648.8822.jpg [[Special:Contributions/189.125.162.182|189.125.162.182]] 20:22, 5 October 2012 (UTC)
In BRazil too, in Goiânia there's a nice one here for pedestrians, with leds, that show an animated pedestrian walking and when the time is running out HE RUNS FASTER! Like, it's about to go green for the cars, but feel free to cross... IF YOU'RE FAST!

In Tianjin China they have a traffic signal that is a single bar of light. If it is green it starts subtracting bar length segments. When there is about a quarter left it turns yellow and then red. It then start subtracting bar length segments from the other end until it gets to about a quarter length and then turns green again. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bob406/3428844012

;Obvious

It's how traffic engineers troll you when you are going the wrong way on a one-way. Learn to read signs!

;Reference to previous comic

This comic has some tongue in cheek self reference to [[277: Long Light]]. #Meta And definite trolling, by [[Randall]]

:What about [[781: Ahead Stop]]?

:Turing Machine?

Any chance it is one?

;Etc

I was almost expected to see the Konami code in the left light, though I'm not sure how "B A Start" would have been shown. [[User:CityZen|CityZen]] ([[User talk:CityZen|talk]]) 01:13, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

;Music

I am no musician, but I can't help but wonder if there could be a hidden music chart in there somehow.
Also, if you want confusing, try understanding parking signs in Montreal.

:Might be, but depending on what pitches or sounds you assign to the lights, you could get pretty much every degree of harmony or cacophony you want. - Another possible music reference: Anybody reminded of Hendrix' "The Wind Cries Mary"? "The traffic lights, they turn, uh, blue tomorrow." [[Special:Contributions/89.0.230.165|89.0.230.165]] 08:14, 10 September 2013 (UTC)

;And You thought 4 stage was bad enough

Here In BC, in older installations, and I'm not sure whether any still exist, there used to be lights with 5 stages. It wasn't really any different than the standard red-yellow-green-turn combo you generally see where the turning light may come on, it just had the yellow arrow shown when the turning arrow is about to expire in it's own lamp. It behaves pretty expectantly, but it looks very imposing.

;Race cars

The second light has quite a resemblance to the "christmas tree" that governs the start of a drag race, where the lights change colors according to a pattern <nowiki>http://www</nowiki> dot nhra dot com/nhra101/basics.aspx [[Special:Contributions/69.121.10.82|69.121.10.82]] 04:32, 27 December 2012 (UTC)

I sat and watched this increasingly surreal show for about three minutes, then I broke down laughing when one of the lights turned purple. [[Special:Contributions/174.239.196.155|174.239.196.155]] 06:09, 11 September 2013 (UTC)

In UK, ALL lights go Red -> red AND yellow -> green -> yellow on it's own -> red again. Red and yellow means it's about to go green and yellow on it's own means it's about to go red. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.246|141.101.98.246]] 21:43, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

;Bird

What is the bird doing? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.65|108.162.218.65]] 19:12, 18 August 2015 (UTC)

;Left lane

The page says "In normal course, right turns would be permitted from the right lane and left turns from the left lanes.". In Melbourne there are intersections where traffic turning right is required to use the ''left'' lane. {{unsigned ip|141.101.70.169}}

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.111|108.162.216.111]] 03:15, 5 October 2016 (UTC) You should try driving in utah

I do not know how to add the incomplete tag but no where do I see any mention of the sign under the left most light, the one showing at least where I live no forward travel in any direction is allowed. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 11:59, 7 September 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1885: Ensemble Model

2017-09-06T17:06:01Z

162.158.62.159:

Where's the guy who knows how to make tables? A table would be good for this article, so we could explain each joke scenario. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.5|172.68.26.5]] 15:41, 4 September 2017 (UTC)
:I don't like tables when the text in the data cells is more than only a few words. That's bad layout. I have entered all the text from the list into separate headers for the appropriate floating text layout.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:39, 4 September 2017 (UTC)
Might be worth mentioning the context for this comic; viz. the approach of hurricane Irma, with a wide range of predictions as to where it might end up (and which areas it would hit), making weather modeling (and hurricane modeling in particular) – and the uncertainties involved – topical. It's clear to us now, but won't be clear to readers a few years from now. [[User:Pelosujamo|Pelosujamo]] ([[User talk:Pelosujamo|talk]]) 01:37, 5 September 2017 (UTC)
:Wait - you mean it's not related to Harvey? (In other words, I'm not part of the "us" you speak about.) -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:17, 5 September 2017 (UTC)global warming https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1885:_Ensemble_Model
::I'm pretty sure this was inspired by Irma, not Harvey, because it's about uncertainty in weather modeling; which has received more attention with Irma than it did with Harvey. By the time America started paying real attention to Harvey the National Hurricane Center already had a very good (and accurate) idea about its future path. By contrast, the uncertainties in the Irma models [http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/31/us/hurricane-irma-forecast-weather/index.html made CNN's front page] long before Irma was anywhere near populated areas. Also, it would be a bit late for Randall to do a Harvey comic; Harvey was last week's news. (Of course, Harvey did make hurricanes cool again.) [[User:Pelosujamo|Pelosujamo]] ([[User talk:Pelosujamo|talk]]) 13:24, 5 September 2017 (UTC)

I would say that one the idea of randall is related to point the change climate denier invalid reasoning that despite all scenario of global warning show increase of temperature, the fact that none of each is very likely to be wrong then all are wrong. (The fallacy is in the last then: the reunion of little probability can lead to high confidence or a the reunion of sum of various probable things can lead to absolutely certain ) [[User:Xavier Combelle|Xavier Combelle]] ([[User talk:Xavier Combelle|talk]]) 02:35, 5 September 2017 (UTC)

I have to disagree with ''"there is no reason to have the locomotion speed of dogs as a parameter"''. Dogs are known to chase cats, cats kill a large number of birds, birds eat insects including butterflies. If dogs would run slightly faster there could be a significant variation in the amplitude of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect Butterfly effect]. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.147|141.101.69.147]] 12:13, 5 September 2017 (UTC)
:Besides, the running speed of dogs would presumably impact how often, and where, one would experience raining cats and dogs.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 15:30, 6 September 2017 (UTC)
"[one extra cloud in the Bahamas] is most likely too specific and subtle a difference to be useful to the model." - Doesn't that depend on the size and disposition of said cloud? I'd say the problem here is vagueness, rather than insignificance.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 15:35, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

The upper graph looks like one plotting global temperatures with time using different scenarios, like this one: https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/figure-spm-5.html". I do not think this is an appropriate example of an ensemble model. The several trajectories for global temperature are for different policy decisions. In an ensemble model various trajectories reflect uncertainty about are a result of uncertainty about initial conditions or the physical rules that control the evolution of the system. TLDR: A map is not an ensemble model.
The uncertainty (shaded area) for each track may or may not be the result of an ensemble, but if it is an ensemble for one of the scenarios would be a better example.
Also ensembles are typically used for non-linear, chaotic systems and this should probably be somewhere in the explanation.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 17:06, 6 September 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1104: Feathers

2017-09-05T12:22:16Z

162.158.62.159:

Okay, this is seriously messing with my world. T-Rex covered in downy goodness? I mean it explains a lot, like how they were able to survive in Northern Climes, but, I don't know...--[[User:Grate314|grate314]] ([[User talk:Grate314|talk]]) 12:38, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
:Lets put it this way, would it be any less intimidating if it were chasing you? -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 04:08, 25 January 2016 (UTC)

If anyone wanted to look at it, here's a link to the article mentioned

<strike>http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0007999</strike>

I think the linked article is the wrong one. First, it was published in 2009, not 2012. And second, it's talking about raptors (eagles), not (veloci)raptors (dinosaurs).
<strike>Oddly, it ''is'' talking about raptors (eagles) restraining prey, so maybe Randal made the mistake?</strike> No, the picture's caption clearly references another article. I'm having a hard time tracking it down. [[Special:Contributions/96.43.65.242|96.43.65.242]] 21:01, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

"Correct" article is: http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0028964 - "Full" citation is: Citation: Fowler DW, Freedman EA, Scannella JB, Kambic RE (2011) The Predatory Ecology of Deinonychus and the Origin of Flapping in Birds. PLoS ONE 6(12): e28964. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028964 --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 21:35, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

That citation I do not think is the correct, article it goes to is not matching up fully, this link was published in December 2011 though the rest of the citation appears to be correct.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 12:22, 5 September 2017 (UTC)

''Jurassic Park'' was not incorrect in the size of the raptors; it was incorrect in the *name* of them! The so-called ''velociraptors'' in the movie were actually Deinonychus, which did grow to about that size and had the same shape and form as the smaller velociraptor. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.87}}
:There is no mention of velociraptors at this comic or explain. I have changed the category to dinosaurs. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:33, 28 April 2014 (UTC)

The video link seems to be DEAD. If anyone has the video or knows where it can be found, please... {{unsigned ip|141.101.79.139}}

1833: Code Quality 3

2017-05-05T12:43:45Z

162.158.62.159:

{{comic
| number = 1833
| date = May 5, 2017
| title = Code Quality 3
| image = code_quality_3.png
| titletext = It's like a half-solved cryptogram where the solution is a piece of FORTH code written by someone who doesn't know FORTH.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a direct continuation of [[1513: Code Quality]] and [[1695: Code Quality 2]] in the [[:Category:Code Quality|Code Quality]] series

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail sitting in front of a computer screen typing. Cueball speaks only off-panel, but since this is a direct continuation of comic 1513 and 1695: Code Quality and Code Quality 2 where Cueball is shown, there can be no doubt it is him.]
:Ponytail: Your code looks like song lyrics written using only the stuff that comes after the question mark in a URL.
:Cueball (off-panel): Sorry.
:[Zoom in on Ponytail.]
:Ponytail: It's like a JSON table of model numbers for flashlights with "tactical" in their names
:[Zoom back out again]
:Ponytail: Like you read Turing's 1936 paper on computing and a page of JavaScript example code and guessed at everything in between.
:[Zoom in again on Ponytail's face]
:Ponytail: It's like a leet-speak translation of a manifesto by a survivalist cult leader who's for some reason obsessed with memory allocation.
:Cueball (off-panel): I can get someone else to review my code
:Ponytail: Not more than once, I bet.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Code Quality]]

1833: Code Quality 3

2017-05-05T12:42:51Z

162.158.62.159: Added transcript

{{comic
| number = 1833
| date = May 5, 2017
| title = Code Quality 3
| image = code_quality_3.png
| titletext = It's like a half-solved cryptogram where the solution is a piece of FORTH code written by someone who doesn't know FORTH.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a direct continuation of [[1513: Code Quality]] and [[1695: Code Quality 2]] in the [[:Category:Code Quality|Code Quality]] series

==Transcript==
[Ponytail sitting in front of a computer screen typing. Cueball speaks only off-panel, but since this is a direct continuation of comic 1513 and 1695: Code Quality and Code Quality 2 where Cueball is shown, there can be no doubt it is him.]
Ponytail: Your code looks like song lyrics written using only the stuff that comes after the question mark in a URL.
Cueball (off-panel): Sorry.
[Zoom in on Ponytail.]
Ponytail: It's like a JSON table of model numbers for flashlights with "tactical" in their names
[Zoom back out again]
Ponytail: Like you read Turing's 1936 paper on computing and a page of JavaScript example code and guessed at everything in between.
[Zoom in again on Ponytail's face]
Ponytail: It's like a leet-speak translation of a manifesto by a survivalist cult leader who's for some reason obsessed with memory allocation.
Cueball (off-panel): I can get someone else to review my code
Ponytail: Not more than once, I bet.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Code Quality]]

1817: Incognito Mode

2017-03-29T14:16:40Z

162.158.62.159: I tried to add a very basic explanation until someone writes a better one

{{comic
| number = 1817
| date = March 29, 2017
| title = Incognito Mode
| image = incognito_mode.png
| titletext = They're really the worst tech support team. And their solutions are always the same. "This OS X update broke something." "LET'S INFILTRATE APPLE BY MORPHING APPLES!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Animorphs can get stuck if they stay in another form for too long, and this comics seems to poke fun at this idea. The joke is that Animorph would then think that spending too much time in any "other form" would get you stuck in it, in this situation the "other form" is the incognito mode of a web browser. This would be terrible tech support since the information is not only false, but also disruptive to the user and very vague.

...But Remember-If you browse in incognito mode for more than two hours, you'll be trapped there ''forever!''

Below: Animorphs Tech Tips

Title Text: They're really the worst tech support team. And their solutions are always the same. "This OS X update broke something." "LET'S INFILTRATE APPLE BY MORPHING APPLES!"

Talk:1806: Borrow Your Laptop

2017-03-03T13:59:47Z

162.158.62.159: Ww

I can only imagine the mouse wheel. I use a free spinner, so it sounds fun... And something to get my machine to hate me
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 13:59, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

One assumes this is a software development environment or similar

{|
!Statement
!Explanation
|-
|Oh, just hit both shift keys to change over to QWERTY.
| Likely has keyboard in DVORAK
|-
|Caps lock is control. And spacebar is capslock.
| Changing Caps Lock to a "more useful" key is common. However to change an even larger key to be capslock (Space) is odd
|-
|And two-finger scroll moves through time instead of space.
|Two finger scrolling is often used to move through a document or application on a mousepad or touchscreen device - this could be seen as moving through space (despite the cursor not actually being real). Randall is presumerably making a comment re: Space Time continuum or similar?
|-
|Once I've used a computer for a while no one else will ever use it again.
|It is unlikely that any user who tries using a computer configured like this would be expecting it and would find the workflow very hard - they are unlikely to ask again to use Cueball's computer
|}
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.197|141.101.99.197]] 07:55, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

Just a minor point QWERTY is not the standard "Roman" keyboard but "English" as "French" is AZERTY and German is something else. The other thing is that just the change from US to UK can really mess things up, $>£ is trivial as @ not only moves, but the symbol keys all seem to do different things. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 08:58, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
:Yeah, in the UK I often have to use a Windows box misconfigured as US, where @ is in the wrong place. At work, one had a postit note explaining how to get the @ symbol, until I spent all of 5 seconds fixing it. Worse though is Apple, who insist on using US keyboard layout even in the UK. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 09:24, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
::Have tried to change this. I have a keyboard that has qwerty at the top, but it is not English as we have letters not used in the English language (ÆØÅ) which moved all kinds of other keys around. So we can type on an English qwerty keyboard, but not find all the special keys. The layout is though still called qwerty, albeit the Danish version. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:40, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

I'm surprised that no one has pointed out the impossibility of changing from DVORAK to QWERTY by pressing both shift keys, seeing as most laptops have hardware keyboards.
unless he has somehow rigged a voltronesque keyboard or he has a touchscreen keyboard or an onscreen one.
[[User:Dudeonyx|Dudeonyx]] ([[User talk:Dudeonyx|talk]]) 09:20, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
: Dvorak users typically just change the keymap. Since it's designed for touch typing,there's no real point to lettering on the keys [[User:Luckykaa|Luckykaa]] ([[User talk:Luckykaa|talk]]) 09:36, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
::(Wrote this before Luckykaa posted but had an edit conflict with him so only replies to the first comment here:)
::The keyboard is probably QWERTY but the keys assigned to these are in the dvorak layout. If Cueball can type ten fingered dvorak blindly then it is no concern for him that the keys would give a different letter than what is on the keys! See other dvorak comics as referenced in the explanation. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:40, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

The part "The next point on the list makes little sense" is not exactly true. Swapping caps lock with ctrl is actually quite common (if extravagant), google it. Some do it because they are used to some old layout (probably either pre-PC era or from the Unix world, see some Sun keyboards from the 90s). Most do it because ctrl is useful but small (especially on laptops), while caps lock is a large, rarely used key. Opinions on the ergonomy of this vary, trending towards negative, although there certainly are avid supporters.

So, the line actually starts like something you may actually hear in real life (I know I have). And then you get to... SPACE?!? Why would you turn space into a caps lock?! That's where the joke hits. It's not that the whole point of the list makes little sense, it's that it takes an existing, somewhat justified but controversial idea and turns it on its head midway through. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.102.76|162.158.102.76]] 09:29, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
:Is that not also what is made clear in the explanation now? It is not the only joke with the last being the scroll time travel. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:40, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

Apple has a feature actually called time machine to go back to old file versions. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.88.62|162.158.88.62]] 12:00, 3 March 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1801: Decision Paralysis

2017-02-20T05:59:04Z

162.158.62.159: Basic explanation

First explanation. There's serious problems with it, I know. Be gentle. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 05:59, 20 February 2017 (UTC)

1801: Decision Paralysis

2017-02-20T05:57:56Z

162.158.62.159: Basic explanation

{{comic
| number = 1801
| date = February 20, 2017
| title = Decision Paralysis
| image = decision_paralysis.png
| titletext = Good point--making no decision is itself a decision. So that's a THIRD option I have to research!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic illustrates a common problem in the internet era, where, with the wealth of knowledge available to us at all times, one puts undue weight on otherwise arbitrary decisions. This is taken to a comedic extreme by showing how cueball is unable to make a critical, time sensitive choice without putting hours of research in to justify it, at which point any benefit to researching his immanent decision of "which car will get me to my destination fastest" will both be offset by the time it takes to make that decision, and wholly worthless, as the bomb mentioned by Megan will likely have detonated. The title text continues this absurdity by bringing a third option to the table, the choice of inaction, a choice here that seems unacceptable, but the time spent mentioning (and researching it) simply adds to that already spent researching the two cars.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1793: Soda Sugar Comparisons

2017-02-03T04:08:47Z

162.158.62.159: Correcting mistakes

'''Attention:''' There came a '''new [[what if?]]''', ''{{what if|153|Hide the Atmosphere}}'' out two days ago (after almost 15 weeks since the last). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:50, 1 February 2017 (UTC)


And that's why I don't really drink soda. [[User:Cardboardmech|Cardboardmech]] ([[User talk:Cardboardmech|talk]]) 06:30, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:...sadly, coke zero costs as much as normal coke, despite one having 0% sugar, and thus, give the body zero energy. No financial incentive to switch. :D --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.76|162.158.150.76]] 10:52, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:The problem is that juice (like orange-juice) has not that much less sugar – and if you drink not pure juice, it can has more. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 15:16, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:: That's why I drink diet coke. You stay slim and can find your children in the dark ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 1 February 2017 (UTC)

Stellar work from [[User:Schroduck|Schroduck]] but can we get a better idea of the calories in a candy counter. We're looking at approx 3000 candy bars (a catering box holds 48 bars, is designed to be usable for display and about 2 bars wide) ballpark figures though so not adding the edit yet, but 3 tiers of boxes would be about right [[User:Luckykaa|Luckykaa]] ([[User talk:Luckykaa|talk]]) 09:26, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks! I did a bit of digging, and updated the data. It looks like it significantly overestimates the sugar (''if'' the display only holds chocolate/candy and not, say, sugar-free gum). [[User:Schroduck|Schroduck]] ([[User talk:Schroduck|talk]]) 11:56, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:: Maybe this is an English term? But I would have thought that a candy counter was for regular candy to fill in bags for instance and not only Mars bar type of candy if any such chocolate bars would be there at all?--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
::: Seeing as Randall refers to it as a "Convenience Store Counter", I understand it to mean a standard convenience store counter, LOL! Which would usually have one or two registers, depending on the size of the store. Which is to say, from the counter holding the registers down to the floor are boxes of every kind of chocolate bar they care to stock, plus gum and at times even said Creme Eggs. Bars such as Snickers, Mounds, Coffee Crisp, O Henry, Mr. Big, etc. etc. A counter this size would have to have every candy bar sold in North America, and some multiple times, in order to fill it. That said, it seems wrong to assume Mars bars. Not only do they have a more compact size - meaning more can fit - the only bar mentioned is Snickers, if any one bar is chosen it should be Snickers. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:02, 3 February 2017 (UTC)
::: This thing (though this one seems filled with gum): http://www.discountshelving.com/images/storetype/convenience/Gondola-Check-Out-Slanted-Shelves.jpg - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:06, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

One issue I have personally with these comparison are that it is easy to get huge numbers just by adding time. However, in this case, if you translate this into body fat it does make sense. Another tangent: Eating an orange is 9 grams of sugar according to google sources. 7 oranges per day is a lot of fruit. Throwing this out there for anyone to play with. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.214|141.101.80.214]] 11:07, 1 February 2017 (UTC)

The page mentions "Crème eggs." While this is a common autocorrect, Cadbury don't use this on their packaging. Confusingly, this appears to be the case in the USA as well, even though Hershey on its website uses it. Can someone find a citation to confirm or deny that this this is ever the correct spelling? Also, don't drink soda. Really. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.18|141.101.107.18]] 13:21, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
: You're referring to the accent, right? Even if Cadbury doesn't use the accent on the packaging (they don't, you're right), "Crème" is the correct spelling. This is a french word - the English would be "Cream", of course - and the french spelling includes the accent. Which is what makes it a frequent autocorrect, people will often skip the accent due to the difficulty of entering it, having the autocorrect provide it can be actually useful. (LOTS of french where I live, I see stuff like this a lot, LOL!). - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:02, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

I don't like how he compares the consumption of soda at a constant rate over a period of time to a grand total of candy. This could be reversed, e.g. eating 100ml of skittles a day for six months is the same as drinking 180 bottles of soda, to make it seem as though candy contains a lot of sugar in comparison to soda rather than vice versa. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.239|141.101.99.239]] 14:10, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:Yes, it's a real problem that these comparisons don't dig at the core of the problem - that carbohydrate-rich food is often junk food. You can store lots of fat for a long time, but not carbohydrates (the human stores are maxed out at +/- 1200 g for an adult male). So, apart from athletes, nobody manages to deplete these stores in the liver and the muscles. Nobody, apart from athletes, has therefore a genuine need for carbohydrate-rich food. Our consumption of carbohydrates is like refilling a car's gasoline tank even if it is 90% full.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.76|162.158.150.76]] 14:36, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
::You forgot that the human body can convert sugar to fat quite easily. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 15:16, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:::...which is not a reason for sugar consumption. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.76|162.158.150.76]] 16:07, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
::::"Reason for sugar consumption" is like needing a motive for a sexually-based crime. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.219|162.158.74.219]] 18:21, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:::::So you are saying that you do not need a motive before committing a sex crime! ;-p --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:04, 1 February 2017 (UTC)

I never would have thought of it like that. xD --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]][[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]] 18:50, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

I know they don't sell Skittles in gallon-sized containers (as far as I know, anyway), but seeing that picture makes me want to try the gallon-Skittle challenge. I bet it would take about five minutes... Who's with me? [[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 19:09, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

That box at the right end of the candy counter probably contains waxed paper or bags for loose candy.
[[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 21:05, 2 February 2017 (UTC)
: I have NEVER seen a convenience store provide wax paper or candy bags, partially because I've never seen one sell loose candy, LOL! Only pre-packaged / wrapped chocolate bars, like the named Snickers or Mars bars. i've only seen such things in the rare candy store I've been in. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:02, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1793: Soda Sugar Comparisons

2017-02-03T04:06:40Z

162.158.62.159:

'''Attention:''' There came a '''new [[what if?]]''', ''{{what if|153|Hide the Atmosphere}}'' out two days ago (after almost 15 weeks since the last). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:50, 1 February 2017 (UTC)


And that's why I don't really drink soda. [[User:Cardboardmech|Cardboardmech]] ([[User talk:Cardboardmech|talk]]) 06:30, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:...sadly, coke zero costs as much as normal coke, despite one having 0% sugar, and thus, give the body zero energy. No financial incentive to switch. :D --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.76|162.158.150.76]] 10:52, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:The problem is that juice (like orange-juice) has not that much less sugar – and if you drink not pure juice, it can has more. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 15:16, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:: That's why I drink diet coke. You stay slim and can find your children in the dark ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 1 February 2017 (UTC)

Stellar work from [[User:Schroduck|Schroduck]] but can we get a better idea of the calories in a candy counter. We're looking at approx 3000 candy bars (a catering box holds 48 bars, is designed to be usable for display and about 2 bars wide) ballpark figures though so not adding the edit yet, but 3 tiers of boxes would be about right [[User:Luckykaa|Luckykaa]] ([[User talk:Luckykaa|talk]]) 09:26, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks! I did a bit of digging, and updated the data. It looks like it significantly overestimates the sugar (''if'' the display only holds chocolate/candy and not, say, sugar-free gum). [[User:Schroduck|Schroduck]] ([[User talk:Schroduck|talk]]) 11:56, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:: Maybe this is an English term? But I would have thought that a candy counter was for regular candy to fill in bags for instance and not only Mars bar type of candy if any such chocolate bars would be there at all?--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
::: Seeing as Randall refers to it as a "Convenience Store Counter", I understand it to mean a standard convenience store counter, LOL! Which would usually have one or two registers, depending on the size of the store. Which is to say, from the counter holding the registers down to the floor are boxes of every kind of chocolate bar they care to stock, plus gum and at times even said Creme Eggs. Bars such as Snickers, Mounds, Coffee Crisp, O Henry, Mr. Big, etc. etc. A counter this size would have to have every candy bar sold in North America, and some multiple times, in order to fill it. That said, it seems wrong to assume Mars bars. Not only do they have a more compact size - meaning more can fit - the only bar mentioned is Snickers, if any one bar is chosen it should be Snickers. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:02, 3 February 2017 (UTC)
::: This ing (thouhg this one seems filled with gum): http://www.discountshelving.com/images/storetype/convenience/Gondola-Check-Out-Slanted-Shelves.jpg - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:06, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

One issue I have personally with these comparison are that it is easy to get huge numbers just by adding time. However, in this case, if you translate this into body fat it does make sense. Another tangent: Eating an orange is 9 grams of sugar according to google sources. 7 oranges per day is a lot of fruit. Throwing this out there for anyone to play with. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.214|141.101.80.214]] 11:07, 1 February 2017 (UTC)

The page mentions "Crème eggs." While this is a common autocorrect, Cadbury don't use this on their packaging. Confusingly, this appears to be the case in the USA as well, even though Hershey on its website uses it. Can someone find a citation to confirm or deny that this this is ever the correct spelling? Also, don't drink soda. Really. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.18|141.101.107.18]] 13:21, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
: You're referring to the accent, right? Even if Cadbury doesn't use the accent on the packaging (they don't, you're right), "Crème" is the correct spelling. This is a french word - the English would be "Cream", of course - and the french spelling includes the accent. Which is what makes it a frequent autocorrect, people will often skip the accent due to the difficulty of entering it, having the autocorrect provide it can be actually useful. (LOTS of french where I live, I see stuff like this a lot, LOL!). - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:02, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

I don't like how he compares the consumption of soda at a constant rate over a period of time to a grand total of candy. This could be reversed, e.g. eating 100ml of skittles a day for six months is the same as drinking 180 bottles of soda, to make it seem as though candy contains a lot of sugar in comparison to soda rather than vice versa. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.239|141.101.99.239]] 14:10, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:Yes, it's a real problem that these comparisons don't dig at the core of the problem - that carbohydrate-rich food is often junk food. You can store lots of fat for a long time, but not carbohydrates (the human stores are maxed out at +/- 1200 g for an adult male). So, apart from athletes, nobody manages to deplete these stores in the liver and the muscles. Nobody, apart from athletes, has therefore a genuine need for carbohydrate-rich food. Our consumption of carbohydrates is like refilling a car's gasoline tank even if it is 90% full.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.76|162.158.150.76]] 14:36, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
::You forgot that the human body can convert sugar to fat quite easily. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 15:16, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:::...which is not a reason for sugar consumption. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.76|162.158.150.76]] 16:07, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
::::"Reason for sugar consumption" is like needing a motive for a sexually-based crime. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.219|162.158.74.219]] 18:21, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:::::So you are saying that you do not need a motive before committing a sex crime! ;-p --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:04, 1 February 2017 (UTC)

I never would have thought of it like that. xD --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]][[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]] 18:50, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

I know they don't sell Skittles in gallon-sized containers (as far as I know, anyway), but seeing that picture makes me want to try the gallon-Skittle challenge. I bet it would take about five minutes... Who's with me? [[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 19:09, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

That box at the right end of the candy counter probably contains waxed paper or bags for loose candy.
[[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 21:05, 2 February 2017 (UTC)
: I have NEVER seen a convenience store provide wax paper or candy bags, partially because I've never seen one sell loose candy, LOL! Only pre-packaged / wrapped chocolate bars, like the named Snickers or Mars bars. i've only seen such things in the rare candy store I've been in. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:02, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1793: Soda Sugar Comparisons

2017-02-03T04:02:46Z

162.158.62.159:

'''Attention:''' There came a '''new [[what if?]]''', ''{{what if|153|Hide the Atmosphere}}'' out two days ago (after almost 15 weeks since the last). --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:50, 1 February 2017 (UTC)


And that's why I don't really drink soda. [[User:Cardboardmech|Cardboardmech]] ([[User talk:Cardboardmech|talk]]) 06:30, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:...sadly, coke zero costs as much as normal coke, despite one having 0% sugar, and thus, give the body zero energy. No financial incentive to switch. :D --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.76|162.158.150.76]] 10:52, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:The problem is that juice (like orange-juice) has not that much less sugar – and if you drink not pure juice, it can has more. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 15:16, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:: That's why I drink diet coke. You stay slim and can find your children in the dark ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 1 February 2017 (UTC)

Stellar work from [[User:Schroduck|Schroduck]] but can we get a better idea of the calories in a candy counter. We're looking at approx 3000 candy bars (a catering box holds 48 bars, is designed to be usable for display and about 2 bars wide) ballpark figures though so not adding the edit yet, but 3 tiers of boxes would be about right [[User:Luckykaa|Luckykaa]] ([[User talk:Luckykaa|talk]]) 09:26, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:Thanks! I did a bit of digging, and updated the data. It looks like it significantly overestimates the sugar (''if'' the display only holds chocolate/candy and not, say, sugar-free gum). [[User:Schroduck|Schroduck]] ([[User talk:Schroduck|talk]]) 11:56, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:: Maybe this is an English term? But I would have thought that a candy counter was for regular candy to fill in bags for instance and not only Mars bar type of candy if any such chocolate bars would be there at all?--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:10, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
::: Seeing as Randall refers to it as a "Convenience Store Counter", I understand it to mean a standard convenience store counter, LOL! Which would usually have one or two registers, depending on the size of the store. Which is to say, from the counter holding the registers down to the floor are boxes of every kind of chocolate bar they care to stock, plus gum and at times even said Creme Eggs. Bars such as Snickers, Mounds, Coffee Crisp, O Henry, Mr. Big, etc. etc. A counter this size would have to have every candy bar sold in North America, and some multiple times, in order to fill it. That said, it seems wrong to assume Mars bars. Not only do they have a more compact size - meaning more can fit - the only bar mentioned is Snickers, if any one bar is chosen it should be Snickers. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:02, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

One issue I have personally with these comparison are that it is easy to get huge numbers just by adding time. However, in this case, if you translate this into body fat it does make sense. Another tangent: Eating an orange is 9 grams of sugar according to google sources. 7 oranges per day is a lot of fruit. Throwing this out there for anyone to play with. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.214|141.101.80.214]] 11:07, 1 February 2017 (UTC)

The page mentions "Crème eggs." While this is a common autocorrect, Cadbury don't use this on their packaging. Confusingly, this appears to be the case in the USA as well, even though Hershey on its website uses it. Can someone find a citation to confirm or deny that this this is ever the correct spelling? Also, don't drink soda. Really. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.18|141.101.107.18]] 13:21, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
: You're referring to the accent, right? Even if Cadbury doesn't use the accent on the packaging (they don't, you're right), "Crème" is the correct spelling. This is a french word - the English would be "Cream", of course - and the french spelling includes the accent. Which is what makes it a frequent autocorrect, people will often skip the accent due to the difficulty of entering it, having the autocorrect provide it can be actually useful. (LOTS of french where I live, I see stuff like this a lot, LOL!). - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:02, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

I don't like how he compares the consumption of soda at a constant rate over a period of time to a grand total of candy. This could be reversed, e.g. eating 100ml of skittles a day for six months is the same as drinking 180 bottles of soda, to make it seem as though candy contains a lot of sugar in comparison to soda rather than vice versa. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.239|141.101.99.239]] 14:10, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:Yes, it's a real problem that these comparisons don't dig at the core of the problem - that carbohydrate-rich food is often junk food. You can store lots of fat for a long time, but not carbohydrates (the human stores are maxed out at +/- 1200 g for an adult male). So, apart from athletes, nobody manages to deplete these stores in the liver and the muscles. Nobody, apart from athletes, has therefore a genuine need for carbohydrate-rich food. Our consumption of carbohydrates is like refilling a car's gasoline tank even if it is 90% full.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.76|162.158.150.76]] 14:36, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
::You forgot that the human body can convert sugar to fat quite easily. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 15:16, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:::...which is not a reason for sugar consumption. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.76|162.158.150.76]] 16:07, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
::::"Reason for sugar consumption" is like needing a motive for a sexually-based crime. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.219|162.158.74.219]] 18:21, 1 February 2017 (UTC)
:::::So you are saying that you do not need a motive before committing a sex crime! ;-p --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:04, 1 February 2017 (UTC)

I never would have thought of it like that. xD --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]][[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]] 18:50, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

I know they don't sell Skittles in gallon-sized containers (as far as I know, anyway), but seeing that picture makes me want to try the gallon-Skittle challenge. I bet it would take about five minutes... Who's with me? [[User:Mathmannix|Mathmannix]] ([[User talk:Mathmannix|talk]]) 19:09, 2 February 2017 (UTC)

That box at the right end of the candy counter probably contains waxed paper or bags for loose candy.
[[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 21:05, 2 February 2017 (UTC)
: I have NEVER seen a convenience store provide wax paper or candy bags, partially because I've never seen one sell loose candy, LOL! Only pre-packaged / wrapped chocolate bars, like the named Snickers or Mars bars. i've only seen such things in the rare candy store I've been in. - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.159|162.158.62.159]] 04:02, 3 February 2017 (UTC)