explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3195: International Station

2026-01-19T19:38:29Z

163.116.254.45:

Sometimes I wonder if some of these comics aren't just for the sake of seeing whatever explain xkcd users come up with [[Special:Contributions/2A01:CB19:FAB:3100:D027:1047:976:8EE2|2A01:CB19:FAB:3100:D027:1047:976:8EE2]] 22:25, 18 January 2026 (UTC)

Holy refresh pull exclamation mark! tilde tilde tilde tilde --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]]''''' 14:55, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

Should the "not-earth" "space" be changed to something like "the void between astronomical bodies"? I'm not sure if, say, the surface of the Moon or Mars or {{w|A Taste of Armageddon|Eminiar VII}} count as being "in space". [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 15:27, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
: I think "space" gets used pretty frequently for "not-Earth". Consider that NASA is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and launches probes to other astronomical bodies. People talk about the Moon landing as being part of the "space program". "Spacemen from Mars" is a reasonably common phrase. [[Special:Contributions/163.116.254.45|163.116.254.45]] 19:38, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

I initially interpreted the cartoon as showing the people and objects floating within something gloopy, and the wrench as a bone, and that the joke was about an "internal space station". Here we are, inside a gelatinous cube, or possibly a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Immunity_Syndrome_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series) gigantic space amoeba]... [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 15:43, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

'''New Category: Weightless''' There are a few strips that take place demonstrating micro-gravity, right? Is that worthy of a category? The 'space' tag could be used for comics ''about'' space or comics ''in'' space (or, I guess, comics on planets?). [[Special:Contributions/191.101.157.82|191.101.157.82]] 17:08, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

I think the ISS was originally called start quote Alpha end quote period tilde tilde tilde tilde [[Special:Contributions/134.173.108.120|134.173.108.120]] 18:23, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

I'm early! [[Special:Contributions/2603:7083:8700:E02:FE51:837E:B6F:327|2603:7083:8700:E02:FE51:837E:B6F:327]] 18:24, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

It took me a moment to get it, but when I did this xkcd made me capitals LOL which doesn't happen often [[Special:Contributions/2401:D005:D402:7A00:7FE1:F042:B839:91B8|2401:D005:D402:7A00:7FE1:F042:B839:91B8]] 21:23, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
:You forgot tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]]''''' 21:31, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

At least it's not the International Ampersand En Bee Ess Pee Semicolon Station ellipsis tilde tilde tilde tilde [[Special:Contributions/174.142.148.226|174.142.148.226]] 21:42, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
:Speaking of Ampersand Aa Em Pee Semicolon, that's a real life example of this effect actually happening. It was at the end of the alphabet where they would say "X, Y, Z, and, per sé, 'and'". Tilde tilde tilde tilde. Not sure if that is relevant enough to the comic though. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 02:26, 17 January 2026 (UTC)

Dear Bot, don't get this Irishperson started on apostrophes. [[Special:Contributions/205.175.118.102|205.175.118.102]] 22:57, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

From John Littlewood's "A Mathematician's Miscellany": A minute I wrote (about 1917) for the Ballistic Office ended with the sentence 'Thus a should be made as small as possible'. This did not appear in the printed minute. But P. J. Grigg said, 'what is that?' A speck in a blank space at the end proved to be the tiniest a I have ever seen (the printers must have scoured London for it).[[User:Lordpishky|Lord Pishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 03:59, 17 January 2026 (UTC)

International Space Space Space Station? [[User:Inexplicable|Inexplicable]] ([[User talk:Inexplicable|talk]]) 07:17, 17 January 2026 (UTC)
:International Space Space Space Space Space Space Space Station? [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 17:22, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

These comments make me want to see if you could have "tildetildetildetilde"(the actual characters) as your account name. [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 02:18, 18 January 2026 (UTC)
:Nope, typing ~~<nowiki />~~ gives an invalid username error. [[Special:Contributions/2A04:4E41:6405:35F:0:0:EB9C:B35F|2A04:4E41:6405:35F:0:0:EB9C:B35F]] 05:49, 18 January 2026 (UTC)

This one reminds me of 3143 a bit too much. [[User:Explainyourself|Explainyourself]] ([[User talk:Explainyourself|talk]]) 03:45, 18 January 2026 (UTC)

Am I the only one that interpreted it as "originally it was not supposed to be a space station but rather a 'regular' (ie. terrestrial) station, but because of a transcribing mistake they put it in space, hence the random floating stuff" {{unsigned|Baruch|10:04, 19 January 2026 (UTC)}}
:That is a good insight! I think the wording is open to this kind of interpretation. (Interestingly, the "random floating stuff" does not include a sketch of the station interior itself, or any structure, ''per se''.) [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 18:50, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

The main page has been vandalized with a floating picture of Osama Bin Laden. {{unsigned ip|65.35.147.191|15:39, 19 January 2026}}
:I just dealt with that. If I have to deal with it again, then I will. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.8|82.132.244.8]] 16:01, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3195: International Station

2026-01-19T19:37:50Z

163.116.254.45:

Sometimes I wonder if some of these comics aren't just for the sake of seeing whatever explain xkcd users come up with [[Special:Contributions/2A01:CB19:FAB:3100:D027:1047:976:8EE2|2A01:CB19:FAB:3100:D027:1047:976:8EE2]] 22:25, 18 January 2026 (UTC)

Holy refresh pull exclamation mark! tilde tilde tilde tilde --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]]''''' 14:55, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

Should the "not-earth" "space" be changed to something like "the void between astronomical bodies"? I'm not sure if, say, the surface of the Moon or Mars or {{w|A Taste of Armageddon|Eminiar VII}} count as being "in space". [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 15:27, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
: I think "space" gets used pretty frequently for "not-Earth". Consider that NASA is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and launches probes to other astronomical bodies. People talk about the Moon landing as being part of the "space program". "Spacemen from Mars" is a reasonably common phrase.

I initially interpreted the cartoon as showing the people and objects floating within something gloopy, and the wrench as a bone, and that the joke was about an "internal space station". Here we are, inside a gelatinous cube, or possibly a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Immunity_Syndrome_(Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series) gigantic space amoeba]... [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 15:43, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

'''New Category: Weightless''' There are a few strips that take place demonstrating micro-gravity, right? Is that worthy of a category? The 'space' tag could be used for comics ''about'' space or comics ''in'' space (or, I guess, comics on planets?). [[Special:Contributions/191.101.157.82|191.101.157.82]] 17:08, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

I think the ISS was originally called start quote Alpha end quote period tilde tilde tilde tilde [[Special:Contributions/134.173.108.120|134.173.108.120]] 18:23, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

I'm early! [[Special:Contributions/2603:7083:8700:E02:FE51:837E:B6F:327|2603:7083:8700:E02:FE51:837E:B6F:327]] 18:24, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

It took me a moment to get it, but when I did this xkcd made me capitals LOL which doesn't happen often [[Special:Contributions/2401:D005:D402:7A00:7FE1:F042:B839:91B8|2401:D005:D402:7A00:7FE1:F042:B839:91B8]] 21:23, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
:You forgot tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde tilde --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]]''''' 21:31, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

At least it's not the International Ampersand En Bee Ess Pee Semicolon Station ellipsis tilde tilde tilde tilde [[Special:Contributions/174.142.148.226|174.142.148.226]] 21:42, 16 January 2026 (UTC)
:Speaking of Ampersand Aa Em Pee Semicolon, that's a real life example of this effect actually happening. It was at the end of the alphabet where they would say "X, Y, Z, and, per sé, 'and'". Tilde tilde tilde tilde. Not sure if that is relevant enough to the comic though. [[User:Tharkon|Tharkon]] ([[User talk:Tharkon|talk]]) 02:26, 17 January 2026 (UTC)

Dear Bot, don't get this Irishperson started on apostrophes. [[Special:Contributions/205.175.118.102|205.175.118.102]] 22:57, 16 January 2026 (UTC)

From John Littlewood's "A Mathematician's Miscellany": A minute I wrote (about 1917) for the Ballistic Office ended with the sentence 'Thus a should be made as small as possible'. This did not appear in the printed minute. But P. J. Grigg said, 'what is that?' A speck in a blank space at the end proved to be the tiniest a I have ever seen (the printers must have scoured London for it).[[User:Lordpishky|Lord Pishky]] ([[User talk:Lordpishky|talk]]) 03:59, 17 January 2026 (UTC)

International Space Space Space Station? [[User:Inexplicable|Inexplicable]] ([[User talk:Inexplicable|talk]]) 07:17, 17 January 2026 (UTC)
:International Space Space Space Space Space Space Space Station? [[User:Logalex8369|Logalex8369]] ([[User talk:Logalex8369|talk]]) 17:22, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

These comments make me want to see if you could have "tildetildetildetilde"(the actual characters) as your account name. [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 02:18, 18 January 2026 (UTC)
:Nope, typing ~~<nowiki />~~ gives an invalid username error. [[Special:Contributions/2A04:4E41:6405:35F:0:0:EB9C:B35F|2A04:4E41:6405:35F:0:0:EB9C:B35F]] 05:49, 18 January 2026 (UTC)

This one reminds me of 3143 a bit too much. [[User:Explainyourself|Explainyourself]] ([[User talk:Explainyourself|talk]]) 03:45, 18 January 2026 (UTC)

Am I the only one that interpreted it as "originally it was not supposed to be a space station but rather a 'regular' (ie. terrestrial) station, but because of a transcribing mistake they put it in space, hence the random floating stuff" {{unsigned|Baruch|10:04, 19 January 2026 (UTC)}}
:That is a good insight! I think the wording is open to this kind of interpretation. (Interestingly, the "random floating stuff" does not include a sketch of the station interior itself, or any structure, ''per se''.) [[User:Elizium23|Elizium23]] ([[User talk:Elizium23|talk]]) 18:50, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

The main page has been vandalized with a floating picture of Osama Bin Laden. {{unsigned ip|65.35.147.191|15:39, 19 January 2026}}
:I just dealt with that. If I have to deal with it again, then I will. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.8|82.132.244.8]] 16:01, 19 January 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3139: Chess Variant

2025-09-09T14:43:30Z

163.116.254.45:

I should add support for playing this to my WIP chess library.
[[Special:Contributions/73.164.32.149|73.164.32.149]] 21:43, 8 September 2025 (UTC)

I feel nerdsniped by this one, and I'm not even into chess. Should you either slide a tile or move a piece in your turn, or should you do both, or should you move a piece on your turn and slide a tile on your opponent's turn? Also, should it disallow sliding the board back to its immediately previous state, to avoid the back-and-forth situation on the title text (but would still allow moving in circles)? Which would be more fair, and reduce the chance of draws? So many questions... [[Special:Contributions/185.81.126.164|185.81.126.164]] 22:00, 8 September 2025 (UTC)
:I have another, but related, question about the sliding, on the assumption of it being "move or slide", each turn: Do you ''have'' to fully move a tile, or may you half-move it? It would give the opponent only the chance to either complete or reverse the 'slide', if they found it tactically more advantageous to do either (would depend upon which pieces, of either side, were 'loaded' on the 2x2 as it moved; and/or perhaps which through-paths were enabled/disconnected for each slider-position; and a half-move completed by the opposing player is effectively a 'free slide'-then-move for the original player, if not accountsd for in other ways). But, if the opposing player chooses (or is forced; perhaps from 3-repeat/5-repeat consequences, or even due to potential "discovered check" exposures?) not to complete/reverse the half-slide, then does the loading/unloading any bishop upon the half-moved 2x2 (with the black/white chequerboard temporarily misaligned in the vicinity) give it an opportunity to change which shade of diagonals are its 'home'?
::Yes, it'd be simpler (relatively!) to just require it to be whole-tile (2x2-square) sliding, but it'd be more ''interesting'' to consider the (otherwise valid) half-disjointed positions. Especially insofar as it works for the combined bishopry on the board! [[Special:Contributions/82.132.238.63|82.132.238.63]] 08:29, 9 September 2025 (UTC)
:::If the opponent is allowed any way to make the bishop leave its designated color then I am allowed to blast them with holy water for their sins[[Special:Contributions/46.144.8.194|46.144.8.194]] 11:18, 9 September 2025 (UTC)
: Hooooookay. If 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 , it's Black's move in canonical chess. For the position shown in this variant, White would have to be allowed to move a piece and a sliding section: 3. d4 & ef34>gh34, Black to move. Why White would use the extra move to double down on surrendering the center of the board, sacrificing the gambit pawn for no apparent benefit, is beyond me. At best, this is taking hypermodernism to incomprehensible extreFOOOOOOOOM. Ow ... [[Special:Contributions/2605:59C8:160:DB08:816E:805:44F1:B553|2605:59C8:160:DB08:816E:805:44F1:B553]] 00:45, 9 September 2025 (UTC)
: A clarification on moving in circles. The draw by repetition rule causes a draw when a position on the board is repeated 3 times at ''any point'' during the game. Thus, moving tiles in circles would cause a draw. [[User:BobcatInABox|BobcatInABox]] ([[User talk:BobcatInABox|talk]]) 12:49, 9 September 2025 (UTC)

:: Couldn't this be black beginning their turn by moving a tile? [[Special:Contributions/2603:8001:0:46DC:117A:208A:40D2:9A5F|2603:8001:0:46DC:117A:208A:40D2:9A5F]] 06:54, 9 September 2025 (UTC)
: What is the starting position of the tiles? Can ranged pieces pass over the “gap”? Can you slide a row of tiles at once or only one? [[Special:Contributions/2A02:AB88:7815:7E80:E212:8D1:BCBB:7DD8|2A02:AB88:7815:7E80:E212:8D1:BCBB:7DD8]] 01:03, 9 September 2025 (UTC)
:: Can that black pawn advance straight to the tile in front of the king or is it stuck until the gap is filled? [[Special:Contributions/2603:8001:0:46DC:117A:208A:40D2:9A5F|2603:8001:0:46DC:117A:208A:40D2:9A5F]] 06:54, 9 September 2025 (UTC)
:: If the sliding number puzzle idea was taken to its logical(!) conclusion, you would set up the board first and then randomise the tiles, which would result in some... interesting starting positions. If you did this, would it be possible for either, or both, of the players to be in checkmate at the start of the game? [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:51, 9 September 2025 (UTC)
: Perhaps the most balanced starting position would be a complete board, with removing an unoccupied tile (once only) being one possible move.[[Special:Contributions/196.245.54.177|196.245.54.177]] 05:32, 9 September 2025 (UTC)

How long do you think it will be until someone actually implements this? [[Special:Contributions/206.193.5.5|206.193.5.5]] 23:04, 8 September 2025 (UTC)
: Buddy I am working on it [[Special:Contributions/73.164.32.149|73.164.32.149]] 03:28, 9 September 2025 (UTC)
:: Hope you make a version that allows En Passant with a pawn that had the tile slide --[[Special:Contributions/2604:3D09:84:4000:9CC4:9BCE:BD01:C811|2604:3D09:84:4000:9CC4:9BCE:BD01:C811]] 05:28, 9 September 2025 (UTC)

Do we specify positions for the transcript or do we just say "scotch opening"[[User:Mathmaster|Mathmaster]] ([[User talk:Mathmaster|talk]])

Could you just slide yourself out of ladder checks then? {{unsigned ip|108.211.178.78|03:06, 9 September 2025 (UTC)}}

This reminds me of the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUVVpB7QdbQ Twist and slide cube]. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 04:12, 9 September 2025 (UTC)

For anyone interested, a pretty awesome board game somewhat similar to this concept already exists called '''The Amazing Labyrinth'''. '''[https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1219/labyrinth Listing on BoardGameGeek] / [https://www.ravensburger.us/en-US/products/games/family-games/labyrinth-26448 Listing on Ravensburger website] / [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinth_(board_game) Wikipedia page].''' — [[User:Lheydon|Lheydon]] ([[User talk:Lheydon|talk]]) 05:08, 9 September 2025 (UTC)

This seems highly reminiscent of something that Ralph Betza of Chess Variants Dot Org would have created. I can basically outline the rule set that he would have used for games like this:
# A move that undoes what the other player just did is not allowed.
# A move of that does not alter anything other than the position of the hole is not allowed.
# Riders (R, B, Q) cannot cross the gap. Leapers (N) may jump across the gap. A piece moving diagonally may cross a vertex if there are three or more actually present squares touching that vertex.
# Pawns are simply stuck if they are not on rank 8 and there is no square in front of them.
# Moving the hole does not move the piece, so castling rights of a Rook is not affected by moving.
# Moving the hole counts as a move, so if you had en passant rights beforehand you lose it.
# Notation would be to pretend the hole is a piece, perhaps using the fake piece H and taking the square closest to a8 as its nominal square, so for the move depicted you'd write, e.g. 1. Hg4.

I cannot find something '''exactly''' identical to this idea, but I certainly recall a "Subway chess" of some sort (not written by Betza) where there is a blob of squares in the middle of the board and you can move the train left and right in lieu of moving a piece. And Betza did write [https://www.chessvariants.org/d.betza/chessvar/earthquake.html Earthquake Chess], which is this game but with a different thing to slide. [[User:Isoraqathedh|Isoraqathedh]] ([[User talk:Isoraqathedh|talk]]) 13:39, 9 September 2025 (UTC)

How would one handle the board gap and pieces jumping into it/moving through it? Which side has advantage based on gap location? I think slide and move (order to be determined). Move/slide as a combined step would be interesting for rook/bishop/queen/horse calculaitons. [[Special:Contributions/163.116.254.45|163.116.254.45]] 14:43, 9 September 2025 (UTC) psyllix