explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2260: Reaction Maps

2020-01-29T17:13:18Z

172.68.189.163: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2260
| date = January 27, 2020
| title = Reaction Maps
| image = reaction_maps.png
| titletext = If Google Maps stops letting you navigate to (Clay County District) A in West Virginia, you can try Jump, OH -> Ina, IL -> Big Hole, TX.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an EMOJI OR GIF. Why is Ponytail's pun so bad for Cueball that he wishes to end the friendship over it. It is not just a joke. Any explanation for this would be great. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is another one of [[Randall|Randall's]] [[:Category:Tips|Tips]], this time a Texting Tip. Randall suggests that readers send a set of driving directions as an intense / extremely annoyed response (a "Reaction Map", named after the "[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/computer-reaction-faces Reaction Face]", "Reaction Gif", and other memes). The words "Reaction Map" in Chemistry refer to a diagram that shows how compounds react to form different compounds; an example can be found [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid_cycle here].

In this comic, [[Ponytail]] texts the following car pun/joke:
:You should name your new Honda Civic ''The Treaty of Edinburgh''
:Because it's a Tudor compact ["Tudor" pronounced "two-door" in some USA accents, "tyudor" elsewhere.]

The {{w|Treaty of Edinburgh}} was a treaty drawn up in 1560, which falls during the {{w|Tudor period}} of the history of {{w|England}}, while a compact is another word for a treaty -- hence a Tudor compact. A {{w|Honda Civic}} is a {{w|compact car}}, which has a {{w|coupé}} body model with only two doors (there are also hatchback and 4-door sedan versions) -- hence a two-door compact. The joke is thus a double pun on the similarity of the words "Tudor" and "two-door", as well as a pun on the words "treaty" and "compact."

Pronouncing "Tudor" as "Tyoo-dor" (i.e. without American-style [[wikipedia:Yod-dropping|yod-dropping]]) rather than "Too-" may hinder comprehension of this pun.

Puns rise and fall in popularity, and some people dislike them at all times. Recipients [https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/07/why-do-puns-make-people-groan/398252/ often groan], sometimes even while laughing or smiling. Because of this pun, [[Cueball]] gets so mad at Ponytail that he replies twice, first that their friendship is over and second that he hopes she falls in a lake. Both times he uses driving directions to do so because he wishes to show how mad he is by spending time finding cities with relevant names just to do it.

The [https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Truly,+MT+59421/Saari,+L'Anse+Township,+MI+49946/Toulouse,+Kentucky/A,+Clay+County,+WV/Friendship,+South+Carolina/This+Way,+Lake+Jackson,+TX+77566/@37.9396464,-104.4176717,5z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m38!4m37!1m5!1m1!1s0x53424d6552eab029:0xb7fcd8937da3ec25!2m2!1d-111.4413578!2d47.3557881!1m5!1m1!1s0x4d50e1468af1ce9b:0xb02e7ce99f9e641a!2m2!1d-88.3092692!2d46.8784933!1m5!1m1!1s0x8844b40da22762bf:0xee4cd8dba67a2afa!2m2!1d-83.3269444!2d37.1766667!1m5!1m1!1s0x884943786da899b1:0x5eb17b45f77f3480!2m2!1d-81.0533854!2d38.5410076!1m5!1m1!1s0x88ffff04df8a3dc1:0x2e50cd1fdf10df52!2m2!1d-79.4353317!2d34.0168293!1m5!1m1!1s0x864043e6372e0009:0x1372621459655543!2m2!1d-95.4597276!2d29.0382495!3e0 list of map destinations], Truly, Saari, Toulouse, A, {{w|Friendship,_South_Carolina|Friendship}}, This Way is a way of saying, "Truly sorry to lose a friendship this way".
The [https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hope,+NY+12134/Yoe,+PA/Fallin+Lake,+Magnolia+Township,+AR/@38.214792,-88.0772473,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m20!4m19!1m5!1m1!1s0x89df00206dc519a7:0x8c095186fc80dee1!2m2!1d-74.2431907!2d43.3036812!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c8886da851113b:0x96fa3e47edbd1953!2m2!1d-76.6369116!2d39.9089887!1m5!1m1!1s0x8633c43fa49e5997:0x864650e233fea97b!2m2!1d-93.3167015!2d33.2840166!3e0 list of map destinations], {{w|Hope, New York|Hope}}, {{w|Yoe, Pennsylvania|Yoe}}, Fallin Lake is a way of saying, "Hope you fall in [a] lake".

"A" is [https://goo.gl/maps/sUm6MtwEvpsBbfLX8 one] of the three districts in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_County,_West_Virginia#Geography Clay County WV]. The others are "B" and "C".

In the title text, [[Randall]] offers a different option if "A" is removed from Google Maps, {{w|Ina, Illinois|Ina (IL)}}, to make [https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Jump,+McDonald+Township,+Ohio,+USA/Ina,+IL,+USA/Big+Hole,+Texas,+USA/@35.8263797,-93.8102845,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m20!4m19!1m5!1m1!1s0x883edadb5282cd7d:0xbd26e9e97ce76762!2m2!1d-83.79438!2d40.6158849!1m5!1m1!1s0x8876cfd2b9f24b79:0xa00498b7be5e90c4!2m2!1d-88.9039554!2d38.1511606!1m5!1m1!1s0x863813224a969417:0x61e1c3c664eadc63!2m2!1d-94.8453391!2d31.1918015!3e0 this response]: Jump, {{w|Ina, Illinois|Ina}}, Big Hole ("Jump in a big hole".)

In [[2245: Edible Arrangements]], Cueball was irritated by a pun from [[Megan]] which was also themed on English history ("Vore of the Roses"), but in that strip, he evidently didn't get angry enough to send a map expressing that he would "[https://www.google.com/maps/dir/29688+Cancelada,+M%C3%A1laga,+Spain/Arrangements+Brown+Sea,+Calle+de+Francisco+Silvela,+Madrid,+Spain/@38.609612,-5.2412907,7.5z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0xd732ad66c172565:0x65fb5ee2794f4f9d!2m2!1d-5.0540138!2d36.4614784!1m5!1m1!1s0xd4228b822e25179:0xf8f412a49085dc85!2m2!1d-3.6730066!2d40.4327046!3e0 Cancellada Arrangements]" he had bought for her -- he simply told her so in person and then walked away when she kept punning.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Caption to the left of the comic:]

:Texting Tip

:Is your reaction too intense to be expressed in an emoji or gif?
:Try using driving directions!
:The extra research it requires shows how strongly you feel.

:[A split panel, showing Ponytail texting Cueball with her text messages shown above in gray and Cueball reading the texts angrily below]

:Ponytail: You should name your new Honda Civic ''The Treaty of Edinburgh''
:Ponytail: Because it's a Tudor compact
:Ponytail: Get it

:[Cueball replies to Ponytail, with his text messages shown above him. Ponytail's last text ("Get it") is shown. Cueball sends Ponytail a screenshot of driving directions that go through Truly, Saari, Toulouse, A, Friendship, and This Way]

:[Cueball continues to text Ponytail, with his text messages shown above him. He sends Ponytail a screenshot of driving directions that go through Hope, Yoe, and Fallin Lake]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Tips]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]
[[Category:Puns]]

Talk:2258: Solar System Changes

2020-01-28T06:07:51Z

172.68.189.163: /* Anton 'What Da Math' Petrov tribute video */ new section

'''Support''' except keep Uranus. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.181|172.68.189.181]] 19:16, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

Wait ... WHAT??? Why isn't Niburu in this???? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.229|162.158.154.229]] 19:22, 22 January 2020 (UTC)
Its similar to https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1902:_State_Borders [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.102|172.68.47.102]] 19:37, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

What Venus has been through
:For "what Venus has been through" see [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/giant-planetary-smashup-may-have-turned-venus-hot-and-hellish-180958377/] [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.97|173.245.52.97]] 19:44, 22 January 2020 (UTC)

I feel like the transcript is unnecessary because it's wholly redundant with the table here. Anyone object to merging the two sections? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.164|172.69.22.164]] 20:45, 22 January 2020 (UTC)
:See the transcript for [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1902:_State_Borders State Borders]. I think we still need to have a transcript, since the locations of the arrows and other marks aren't made clear in the table. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.27|162.158.74.27]] 20:57, 22 January 2020 (UTC)
::We always need the transcript. There should be no explanations in the transcript. It is both for people who need it to "read" the comic, and to be able to search for text from comic. Also the description of the image is relevant, in case there could be misunderstandings of what is on the image. If the transcript gets that wrong, then it can be debated and corrected. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

Note that in future, we may be actually able to implement some of those changes ... however, at that point the consolidation of missions to Moon and Mars wouldn't be relevant :-). Also, I would be against: most of those changes would be likely to make our solar system considerably less stable. Except Venus would really deserve some moon. Just small one, it doesn't need to be as big as ours. Also, we should light up Jupiter, to warm it's moons (this is one of {{w|Arthur C. Clarke|Clarke}}'s ideas). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:37, 23 January 2020 (UTC)
:If Venus god a Moon it would most likely quickly be ejected by the interactions of the Sun, it is too close to the Sun not to see it as a three body problem, and that will always be chaotic. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)
::"Quickly ejected" is probably an overstatement; even Venus has a significant Hill sphere, and any significant moon would first spiral inward due to losing tidal energy "spinning up" the rotational velocity of Venus (a huge benefit!). the Sun would probably act to make the moon's orbit eccentric & it could either crash into Venus or get ripped away, but I give it half a billion years or more. (but with a bit of curation the moon could give Venus a nice 24 hour day, and with that a magnetic field, who knows!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.119|162.158.62.119]] 15:40, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Wow - I only just noticed that "Jaturn" has Saturn's hexagon at the top. Should this be highlighted in the table? After all, it is cool science: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2010-07-06 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.155|162.158.74.155]] 02:04, 23 January 2020 (UTC)
:Yes, has already been done. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

I don't think the title text has anything to do with anthropomorphism. Rather, there is a person near R. just then who knows stuff about Jupiter. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.82|162.158.214.82]] 03:44, 23 January 2020 (UTC)
: The title text is Randall relaying a quote spoken by someone other than himself, with that person's identity "signed" after the two dashes (kind of like how we usually sign posts with <nowiki>--~~~~</nowiki>). Therefore, it is properly read as "someone (who knows Jupiter is within earshot)", not "(someone who knows Jupiter) is within earshot". If Randall had meant the latter, he would more likely have written something like "To the Jupiter fans: of course Jupiter already has a very impressive ring system!" --[[User:NotaBene|NotaBene]] ([[User talk:NotaBene|talk]]) 04:44, 23 January 2020 (UTC)
:: You are correct. The two dashes are indicative of signing a comment. Had Randall intended to comment that someone who knows Jupiter is close by, he would have put the comment in parentheses. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.163|162.158.107.163]] 18:59, 23 January 2020 (UTC)
:: He may also refer to the God Jupiter, who is the God of sky and thunder, and may easily smite anyone offending him. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.118|141.101.98.118]] 07:42, 23 January 2020 (UTC)
:::I agree with the first commenter: This is not about anthropomorphism. This is someone who states that Jupiter already has rings, and Randall comes those in advance by mentioning it in the title text. Annoying people who cannot see the difference between Saturn's Rings and other ring systems! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)
::::Honestly, I originally read the title text, got confused due to its wording, and went with the second interpretation ("a Jupiter fan is within earshot and knows about its rings"). However it didn't quite feel right, and reading it again, the first interpretation ("a person knows that an anthropomorphized Jupiter is within earshot and wishes to placate him") makes just as much sense - in fact, grammatically, it makes ''more'' sense, since otherwise you have to suppose that Randall intended this weird combination of speech attribution and stage direction. However, it makes less sense ''in context'', since the comic is talking about real planets and didn't mention gods or anthropomorphized planets at all. Randall simply seems to have been clumsy with his wording. [[User:Hawthorn|Hawthorn]] ([[User talk:Hawthorn|talk]]) 09:58, 24 January 2020 (UTC)
:::::The joke is that ''nobody'' actually thinks Jupiter's ring system is all that impressive, and the only person who would say that it ''is'' impressive is literally concerned that Jupiter itself can hear them. If Randall had meant someone who knows ''about'' Jupiter, he would not have left out the word "about" (not to mention he would have formatted the title text differently). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.82|172.69.69.82]] 18:35, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Someone needs to make a Kopernicus mod in KSP and load it with Principia to see how long it lasts. Assume scales are close to the real one. {{unsigned ip|172.69.63.47}}

This comic may alternatively be about climate change - something about satire, metaphors, acid rain, super-Earths, current-events, the nature of rings surrounding planets & extinction level events. I don't know. Don't listen to me. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.160}}
:We won't. Sure Randall makes those comics, but this is clearly not one of them. (oh and please sign you comments ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:54, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

Oh please won't someone calculate the extent of low and high tides if we replace the Moon with Mars? [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 15:15, 23 January 2020 (UTC)

You know, for all my complaints about the Solar System, I always thought Jupiter and Saturn were well-balanced. Each of them has something interesting about it, and we don’t get too much of an overload of features from either one. In order to maintain variety while keeping the number of gas giants to a minimum, I think Neptune should get the rings. Jupiter can keep the moons, though, and otherwise I support this revision. —[[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.137|172.69.33.137]] 19:53, 23 January 2020 (UTC)
:Actually, Neptune already has a very impressive ring system![[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.233|162.158.158.233]] 10:28, 24 January 2020 (UTC)
::It's gone now, you can be honest. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.142.209|172.68.142.209]] 22:07, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Can anyone make an educated guess about which of the changes, if implemented individually, would have the largest impact on the solar system as a whole? I'm guessing the largest impact on humans would be the mars-moon thing.[[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 11:20, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

== Anton 'What Da Math' Petrov tribute video ==

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zVznheFthY <-- please see. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.163|172.68.189.163]] 06:07, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

2260: Reaction Maps

2020-01-27T19:35:46Z

172.68.189.163:

2259: Networking Problems

2020-01-24T22:32:26Z

172.68.189.163: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2259
| date = January 24, 2020
| title = Networking Problems
| image = networking_problems.png
| titletext = LOOK, THE LATENCY FALLS EVERY TIME YOU CLAP YOUR HANDS AND SAY YOU BELIEVE
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an ODD-NUMBERED PACKET CLAPPING ITS HANDS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Computer problems are frequent and can be difficult to solve. Networking problems in particular can puzzle even seasoned people and sometimes seem to have arbitrary issues causing them. {{w|Network packet|Packets}} are units of data transfer used in computer networking, and one measure of network performance is ''lag'', the amount of time it takes for data to travel from one point to another (and perhaps back); saying a packet's transmission is 'laggy' means it is unacceptably slow.

Lag in packet transmission and other network performance measures can appear quite random. Just to start with, your ISP may be engaged in traffic shaping, which can do very weird things indeed to your packets--making the first megabyte of a transfer faster than any other, for example; now imagine that your ISP's ISP is engaged in something similar, and you begin to see the scale of the problem. Because humans are wired to perceive patterns, they will {{w|Apophenia|find them even in random data}}, a fallacy that Cueball is (probably) suffering from here. He variously attributes the network behavior he sees to the packet number being even vs. odd, packet arrival time being before vs. after noon, and packet arrival day being today vs. yesterday (such a pattern would make sense if it were merely "every other packet" regardless of odd or eveness, but that leaves the other "patterns" Cueball is seeing).

These non-existent patterns that Cueball is 'finding' are driving him mad, so much so that he says he believes in ghosts now. The statement of belief in ghosts may be a reference to the intermittent or fluctuating nature of the network issues being caused by mischievous spirits or malevolent poltergeists. Ghosts generally are not concerned with expressions of belief, but there are some religious traditions that include group clapping and chanting. Many works of fiction depict a future or alternate history where {{tvtropes|MachineWorship|machines are worshiped as gods or spirits}}, such as the Adeptus Mechanicus of ''{{w|Warhammer 40,000}}''. Some of this terminology can be found in present-day IT and other support personnel, including references to "{{w|Daemon (computing)|daemons}}" and "[http://catb.org/jargon/html/B/black-magic.html black magic]".

The title text continues Cueball's maniacal attempts at self-assurance, with him alluding to J.M. Barrie's play ''{{w|Peter Pan}}'' by saying that latency falls every time you "CLAP YOUR HANDS AND SAY YOU BELIEVE". In the play, Peter Pan says "If you believe in fairies, wave your handkerchiefs and clap your hands." A more mundane explanation of the network behavior Cueball is experiencing might be that it is random but he's seeing a pattern anyway, or that there is a loose connection or trace and the vibration of clapping and speaking in the vicinity of the equipment in question closes the connection.

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

[Title: Types of Computer Problems]

[Subtitle: By how much debugging them makes your brain stop working]

[A number line reads "None", "Some", "A Lot", with an arrow continuing to the right.]

[A cloud labeled "Normal Problems" encompasses the region of "None" to "Some".]

[A cloud labeled "Networking Problems" in the region of "A Lot" and beyond.]

[Cueball is kneeling before a rack of servers. One of the server blades is extended and connected by a cable to a laptop sitting on a box, which Cueball is using. Behind Cueball, there is a wireless router sitting on a stool, which is connected by a cable to another wireless router sitting on the floor, which is connected to another laptop.]

:Cueball: '''''Before''''' noon, '''''odd'''''-numbered packets were laggy, but ''after'' noon, '''''even'''''-numbered ones are! It's the '''''opposite''''' of yesterday!
:Off-panel voice: Are you sure you're okay?
:Cueball: '''''I'm fine and I believe in ghosts now!'''''

{{comic discussion}}

1133: Up Goer Five

2018-11-06T18:34:01Z

172.68.189.163:

{{comic
| number = 1133
| date = November 12, 2012
| title = Up Goer Five
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = up goer five.png
| titletext = Another thing that is a bad problem is if you're flying up to space and the parts start to fall off your space car in the wrong order. If that happens, it means you won't go to space today, or maybe ever.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is an illustration (albeit to a comical degree) of the principle that given the appropriate vocabulary, any technical concept should be understandable to a lay audience. Since most of the jargon used in rocket science is not among the most commonly used words in everyday life, [[Randall]] has challenged himself to "translate" the blueprints for the Saturn Five rocket using only the one thousand most commonly-used words in the English language.

This comic is a diagram of the {{w|Saturn V}} rocket, "Saturn" isn't a very common word apparently, and neither is rocket, so Randall decided to use "Up Goer" which is a fair approximation of a craft designed to lift a payload from the earth to space. The Saturn V vehicle, which was in use by {{w|NASA}} from 1967 to 1972, is the vehicle as a whole. The engines of the Saturn V (the part that makes it go up) were divided into three stages. The first stage ({{w|S-IC}}) had five {{w|F-1 (rocket engine)|F-1}} engines which burned {{w|RP-1|refined kerosene}} mixed with oxygen as its fuel. That stage burned for 2 minutes 48 seconds and pushed the whole thing up about 61 kilometers (~38 miles) into the sky. After it fell away the {{w|S-II}} stage was activated. It used 5 {{w|J-2 (rocket engine)|J-2}} engines in the same configuration as the F-1s, and burned {{w|liquid hydrogen}} mixed with {{w|liquid oxygen}} for 6 minutes 35 seconds pushing the astronauts up to 184 kilometers (114.5 miles). The third stage ({{w|S-IVB}}) was a single J-2 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. This stage was used in two parts, the first was to put the spacecraft into a stable orbit around Earth to perform a systems check and make sure the craft will be safe for going to the moon. This would usually take three orbits around Earth. As they came around the Earth they would burn the second part of the fuel, which is called a {{w|trans-lunar injection}} which put them on course for the moon. The first burn took 2 minutes 45 seconds, which put them in orbit 185 kilometers (115 miles) high.

It was first used as the launch vehicle for the {{w|Apollo 4}} mission, and it was used as the launch vehicle for most of the subsequent {{w|Apollo mission}}s (the exceptions being Apollo 7, Skylab 2-4, and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project missions, which were launched using the smaller {{w|Saturn IB}} launch vehicle). One of the last missions of this design was the unmanned launch of {{w|Skylab}}, the U.S.'s first space station; for this payloader configuration, the Saturn V launch vehicle was officially designated the {{w|Saturn INT-21}}.

The Service Module (SM) Oxygen tanks have a note that states "This part had a ''VERY'' big problem once". This is a reference to the {{w|Apollo 13}} mission. 55 hours after launch, mission control requested the oxygen tanks contents be stirred to get an accurate reading of its contents. There was {{w|Apollo 13#Oxygen tank explosion|a large bang}}, and power fluctuated throughout the craft. NASA had to scramble to ensure the safe return of the astronauts. Needless to say, the moon landing for that mission was canceled.

The {{w|Hindenburg disaster}} is referenced in the text "The kind of air that once burned a big sky bag and people died and someone said "oh, the [humans]!". The term "big sky bag" is used as the closest approximation of {{w|zeppelin}} which is a big bag filled with a lighter-than-air gas which makes the whole contraption float. The phrase "oh, the [humans]" is a workaround the simple-words rule, technically containing only the word humans, while being read "concentration of humans" or "humanity". The {{w|LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg}} on the day of the disaster was filled with {{w|hydrogen}}, despite being initially designed for use with {{w|helium}}. Helium cannot catch fire as it is a {{w|noble gas}} and thus completely inert, but helium was unavailable due to a US export ban on the element. The risks seemed acceptable at the time because the Germans had a history of flying hydrogen-based passenger airships. The original quote is "Oh, the humanity!" (See this video about the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F54rqDh2mWA Hindenburg disaster] - the quote appears at 0:47). In the book ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' in the explanation for ''The pieces everything is made of'' (i.e. the {{w|Periodic table}}) hydrogen is again "named" by using a picture of the burning Hindenburg and also this quote is said by [[Cueball]] standing next to the square with the element with his hands over his mouth. See more below regarding the book.

The bottom tank, which Randall describes as "...full of that stuff they burned in lights before houses had power" is highly refined kerosene, called {{w|RP-1}}, it is similar to jet fuel, burns well and is not likely to explode; unlike {{w|liquid hydrogen}}, which is much more likely to explode.

Earlier flirts with simple words can be found in [[547: Simple]] and [[722: Computer Problems]]. The use of simple words was revisited again in [[1436: Orb Hammer]].

The comic is based on NASA-MSFC 10M04574 produced at Marshal Space Flight Center. Randal omitted the "F". The image was for sale as a poster from [http://up-ship.com up-ship.com] which Randal mentioned. A different scan is downloadable from [http://heroicrelics.org/info/saturn-v/as-503-inboard-profile.html Heroic Relics].

The phrase "You will not go to space today" has become something of a catchphrase for xkcd — variants of it recur in the title text of images in four What If? articles:
*Building a jetpack out of AK-47s and converting the potential energy. [http://what-if.xkcd.com/21/ Machine Gun Jetpack]
*The one about flying on other planets (the pilot does not want to go to space today.) [http://what-if.xkcd.com/30/ Interplanetary Cessna]
*Launching into Earth orbit (if your rocket cannot hit the right "horizontal" speed, you will go to space today, and then you will quickly come back.) [http://what-if.xkcd.com/58/ Orbital Speed]
*The Pyramid of Giza (the energy that made it is not nearly enough to launch a rocket into space; the title text has another reference to the comic, noting that the tip of the pyramid should point towards space.) [http://what-if.xkcd.com/95/ Pyramid Energy]

Randall has in 2015 written an entire book with this type of simplified language blue prints. ''[[Thing Explainer]]'' was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on November 24, 2015 and actually had a copy of this comic in it. On the day of the book's release Randall also released a comic with a game, to celebrate the book: [[1608: Hoverboard]]. In this game the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/e2/1608_0976x1079y_Space_capsule_with_parachutes.png space capsule] used for landing back on earth is shown, thus both referencing the book and this comic. This part of the space ship can also be seen in the book above the ''Sky toucher'' and the moon landing is also depicted in ''Worlds around the sun''. When the book was released Randall had ''Minute Physics'' do a "commercial" [https://youtu.be/2p_8gx-XHJo version of this comic].

The news about the upcoming release of the book was sent out on the [[Blag]] in May as [http://blog.xkcd.com/2015/05/13/new-book-thing-explainer/ New book: Thing Explainer]. After that, the book was advertised at the top of the xkcd page with link to the Blag article and links to Preorder at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indie Bound, and Hudson. Also, there were two other news with links: "In other news, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygrdAvmr-MA Space Weird Thing is delightful], and I feel surprisingly invested in [https://twitter.com/xkcdbracket @xkcdbracket's] results." (The link was removed sometimes before Monday the 10th of August 2015. within two weeks of the brackets final result was revealed.)

The song ''Space Weird Thing'' is a tribute to {{w|David Bowie}}'s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D67kmFzSh_o Space Oddity] rewritten in the simple language used in this comic, which is also attributed in the text about the YouTube video. The other news item is related to [[1529: Bracket]], see that comic for more details.

The title text may be a reference to ''Kerbal Space Program'', where a big problem is mixing up the staging and deploying the parachute before launching.

==Transcript==
:US Space Team's Up Goer Five
:The only flying space car that's taken anyone to another world (explained using only the ten hundred words people use the most often)
:[A list of Saturn-V parts, top to bottom, with their "Up Goer" description follows.]
:[Launch Escape System (LES)]: Thing to help people escape really fast if there's a problem and everything is on fire so they decide not to go to space
::[LES side nozzle]: Thing to control which direction the escaping people go
::[LES fuel]: Stuff to burn to make the box with the people in it escape ''really fast''
::[LES bottom nozzles]: Place where fire comes out to help them escape
:[Apollo spacecraft.]
::[Command Module (CM)]: Part that flies around the other world and comes back home with the people in it and fall in the water.
:::[CM capsule parts]: People box, door, chairs
::[Service Module (SM)]: Part that goes along to give people air, water, computers and stuff. It comes back home with them but burns up without landing.
:::[SM oxygen tanks]: Cold air for burning (and breathing). This part had a ''VERY'' big problem once.
::[Lunar Module (LM)]: Part that flies down to the other world with two people inside
:::[LM descent stage]: Part that stays on the other world (it's still there)
:::[LM feet]: Feet that go on the ground of the other world
:[Instrument Unit]: Ring holding most of the computers
:[S-IVB third stage]: Part that falls off third (this part flew away from our world into space and hit the world we were going toward)
::[Fuel tanks]: Wet and ''very'' cold
:::[Liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank]: The kind of air that once burned a big sky bag and people died and someone said "Oh, the [humans]!" (used for burning)
:::[Liquid oxygen (LOX) tank]: The part of air you need to breathe, but not the other stuff (used for burning)
:::[Helium pressurizing tanks]: Things holding that kind of air that makes your voice funny (it's for filling up the space left when they take the cold air out to burn it.)
::[J-2 engine nozzle]: Fire comes out here
:[S-II second stage]: Part that falls off second
::[LH2 tank]: More sky bag air (for burning) (cold + wet)
::[LOX tank]: More breathing-type air (for burning) (cold + wet)
::[Tank-to-engine fuel lines]: Thing that brings in cold wet air to burn
::[J-2 engine nozzles (qty. 5)]: Fire comes out here
:[S-IC first stage]: Part that falls off first
::[LOX tank]: More breathing-type air (for burning) (cold + wet)
::[Helium pressurizing tank]: More funny voice air (for filling up space)
::[LOX fill line]: Opening for putting in cold wet air
::[RP-1 fuel tank]: This is full of that stuff they burned in lights before houses had power.It goes together with the cold air when it's time to start going up.
::[F-1 engine nozzles (qty. 5)]: Lots of fire comes out here.
:[Bottom of spacecraft]: This end should point toward the ground if you want to go to space. If it starts pointing toward space you are having a bad problem and you will not go to space today.

==External links==
*[http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/saturn_apollo/documents/First_Stage.pdf First Stage Fact Sheet]
*[http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/saturn_apollo/documents/Second_Stage.pdf Second Stage Fact Sheet]
*[http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/saturn_apollo/documents/Third_Stage.pdf Third Stage Fact Sheet]
*[http://splasho.com/upgoer5/ The Up-Goer Five Text Editor]
*[http://xkcd.com/simplewriter/ A word checker tool written by Randall]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Simplified language]]

Talk:2067: Challengers

2018-11-03T08:01:17Z

172.68.189.163:

'''New category elections'''

I've created a new category for elections: [[:Category:Elections]]. Please help and add this category to other comics I've missed so far. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 09:47, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

'''Further discussions'''

''Calling it now'': lots of complaining about campaigning, by folks who prefer jokes. [[User:KangaroOS|Kangaro]][[User talk:KangaroOS|OS]] 06:25, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

There are hidden comics. I've found three so far:
Attack ad comic in north half of Texas.
Ballot measure comic in north half of California.
Gerrymandering comic in north half of Washington.
IronyIsGood 06:16, 2 November 2018 (AEST) {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.184}}

: Steve King comic in north-western Iowa
: St Louis comic on the border of Missouri and Illinois {{unsigned ip|162.158.90.144}}
: "Abigail Spanberger for Congress", just below Richmond, Virginia [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.165|172.69.54.165]] 08:17, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
: "Only Poll That Counts" comic on border of California and Nevada, South West of Las Vegas [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.56|141.101.77.56]] 08:21, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
: "I can see my house from here" in Washington DC [[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.88|172.68.110.88]] 09:17, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
: "If elected..." North Western Nebraska. {{unsigned|ManSpider}}
: "Carlymandering plan..." North Washington. {{unsigned ip|162.158.202.88}}

Non-Republican/Democrat candidate found in Alaska, in green - only one I've found so far. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.143|172.69.226.143]] 09:08, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
: There is also one southwest of Dallas {{unsigned ip|162.158.202.88}}

'''Serious bug report:'''

This damn thing must be geolocked or something, because apparently not being an American means I can't edit the map. I can't even get around it with a VPN. Help? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.214|162.158.38.214]] 10:18, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:This map will be changed by US citizens on November 6, 2018. Nobody can edit this map at xkcd. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 10:33, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:: The complain was about the fact non-US citizens can't "edit" it by voting. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:42, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

'''Loading screen'''

please, include the [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/challengers.png loading screen] in the explanation. --[[User:Valepert|valepert]] ([[User talk:Valepert|talk]]) 11:19, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:Someone has mentioned it at the first paragraph. This was also the first version uploaded by the BOT: [[:File:challengers.png]]. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:09, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::Note that loading screen is only thing you see if you have old browser ... I suspect the used javascript is ES6. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 23:43, 2 November 2018 (UTC) "To see the full zoomable picture go to the original comic page." - really? I had to come HERE to see what xkcd was supposed to look like, under the assumption that a permanent "loading" message wasn't much of a joke. I'm glad there's something HERE that I can actually see. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.163|172.68.189.163]] 08:01, 3 November 2018 (UTC)

'''Links to politicans'''

I'm not sure if we all haven't recognized that all larger names provide a link to a homepage. Maybe Randall has fixed an error right now. Nonetheless I've mentioned this in the first paragraph. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:26, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:It seems most links just use Google like this example: https://google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&btnI=1&q=kyrsten+sinema+senate+arizona which shows directly the first search result. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:41, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

'''What's with all the place names?'''

There are an immense number of placenames on the map - many of these look to be jokes. Maybe specific places you can go to vote or something? What's the deal with that? [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 12:58, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:These are {{w|List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state|US Landmarks}} as mentioned at the first paragraph. If you find a place that doesn't belong to this list it should be mentioned. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:10, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::Some further investigations on the json file gave me this:
::*9 embedded comics
::*17,643 labels, much more than the 2,500 landmarks. This includes all names so far.
::Most links are just links to Google. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:41, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:::I just can't believe my hometown in on it... with a wlink to it's wikipedia page. [[User:Linker|Linker]] ([[User talk:Linker|talk]]) 13:49, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::::Besides actual place names, there are a lot of radio stations (Wxxx codes). Also, there's XKCD just on the left of the Boston label (Massachusetts). Is that where Randall lives?{{unsigned ip|108.162.229.10}}
::::: There are other things, as well. Next to Ogden, Utah, there's a link to the Wikipedia article for the "Hi-Fi Murders," which is an event, not a landmark. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.143.240|172.68.143.240]] 16:21, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::::::I'm pretty sure the landmarks are just all of the wikipedia pages that contain some kind of location information. That's why for example the wikipedia pages "List of largest summits" point to Alaska where the largest summit actually is. Similarly the {w|Xkcd} wikipedia page has a GPS coordinate in the 'Inspired activities' section, which points to Boston, the same place where the XKCD label is on the map. While there might be some easter egg there, I think the grey labels are simply just wikipedia pages with coordinates or other geolocatable texts in their contents. [[User:Sztupy|Sztupy]] ([[User talk:Sztupy|talk]]) 16:54, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::::::Went through the map-data.json file and confirmed that all gray labels match the wikipedia link, so I don't think there's going to be any intentional easter eggs there. Similarly can't find any discrepancies between the candidate's name and their google search results - they all seem to be autogenerated [[User:Sztupy|Sztupy]] ([[User talk:Sztupy|talk]]) 17:51, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

'''Subcomics layout'''

I know the Editor FAQ about tables, but am I the only one who thinks the previous table layout for the subcomics was much easier to read? I find that with the current list layout, it is more difficult to ignore the transcript for those of us who don't need to read it.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.10|108.162.229.10]] 14:31, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
: Could make the transcript collapsible maybe, and also move the images back from thumbnails into the main body, so they are close to the explanations? [[User:Sztupy|Sztupy]] ([[User talk:Sztupy|talk]]) 14:47, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
::This is one of those overwhelming comics that can't be covered by a FAQ in general. But a table is still a bad layout because the text will grow and it's a horror to read it on a smartphone. Nonetheless the layout still needs some improvements. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 17:45, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:::I've done an update to the layout. You often think too much about tables, a simple floating text with less headers looks much better. Right now the pictures are larger than the text, but I'm sure there will be more text soon. Otherwise we could reduce the size of the pictures slightly. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:00, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

'''Candidate in wrong place?'''

Noticed Robert Arlett, the Republican challenger for US Senate from Delaware, is listed in Washington DC. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.196|172.69.62.196]] 15:36, 2 November 2018 (UTC)
:There are a bunch of errors we are going to need an erreta section. Eastern Iowa has a link to the "murder of Yangjie Li" a murder that happened in 2016 in germany maybe they meant the "Murder of Shao Tong" from 2014 a murder of one Chinese student of another while at university in Iowa. {{unsigned|Echo Hotel}}
::Yes, if you check the [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Yangjie_Li&action=edit source of that wikipedia page] you can see that it has a GPS coordinate set that points to Hollywood Bld, Iowa City. It was likely added by mistake from the content creator and was never removed. [[User:Sztupy|Sztupy]] ([[User talk:Sztupy|talk]]) 18:32, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

'''Carlymandering'''
Carly is Canadian, so not eligible to vote in US elections. The result in the Carly district should be zero all tie, usually resulting in drawing lots for the winner. Any non-zero result would be clear evidence of election fraud.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.142|162.158.75.142]] 16:27, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

'''House'''

Alternately, the "I can see my House from here" could refer to the U.S. House of Representatives, in Washington DC, which theoretically represents all US voters. Many of the ballots being cast are to fill House of Representatives seats at the Federal level. [[User:Leftcontact|Leftcontact]] ([[User talk:Leftcontact|talk]]) 17:23, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

'''Speck in the title image'''
It looks like there's a speck of minuscule text in the comic title header image, in the lower right side. Is this readable to anyone, or is he messing with us?

'''Blank map?'''
The map is blank on my iPad, is this happening to anyone else? [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 23:21, 2 November 2018 (UTC)

Is he taking petitions to change landmarks? Im going to assume YES. It seems like the most Randall thing to do. Why wouldnt he? I would like to stake my claim as first and offer replacing John F. Kennedy High School (Mt. Angel, Oregon) with John F. Kennedy High School (Bloomington, Minnesota). [[User:Choochoobob123|Choochoobob123]] ([[User talk:Choochoobob123|talk]]) 04:41, 3 November 2018 (UTC)

'''Map of interesting features'''
It is nice to have the "map of interesting features", but it is not explained at all. There is not even a key to distinct the red, blue and green X-es. They seemingly all indicate the comics to zoom in, when you read the line above. Only Trivia helps to give an idea, what they could stand for.--[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:30, 3 November 2018 (UTC)

526: Converting to Metric

2018-10-14T06:32:30Z

172.68.189.163: Transcript tables make everything incomplete

{{comic
| number = 526
| date = January 5, 2009
| title = Converting to Metric
| image = converting to metric.png
| titletext = According to River, "adequate" vacuuming systems drain the human body at about half a liter per second.
}}
==Explanation==

{{incomplete|Please help in the crusade against transcript tables.}}

Most people will eventually develop an intuitive feel for how big certain measurements are (e.g., how long an inch or a foot is, how much a pound weighs). This comic points out that people who were brought up using the {{w|United States customary units|United States system of customary units}} probably don't have the same intuitive understanding for metric units and attempts to provide some benchmarks for these people. Most of the benchmarks are common sense, highly-useful ones (e.g., if it's 30 degrees Celsius, you'd be quite comfortable outside dressed for the beach) but some of the benchmarks are humorous and/or completely useless as can be seen below.

Some people argue for switching to metric units in the US, and these people became part of the comic [[1982: Evangelism]].

In the book [[Thing Explainer]] a similar chart for metrics is shown in the explanation for ''How to count things'', with four of the five measures from this comic also explained in simple language. Only volume is left out there. Only thing used in both explanations is the weight of a cat, but in the book it weighs 5 kg rather than 4 kg in this comic.

===Temperature===
*60⁠ °C - {{w|Extremes on Earth|Earth's hottest}}: The hottest temperature recorded on earth is actually {{W|List_of_weather_records#Heat|"only" 56.7 °C}}. There have been reports of temperatures ten-twenty degrees higher (70−80 ⁠°C) but these measurements are not verified or accepted as world records.
*45 °C, 40 °C⁠, 35⁠ °C: Various heat waves. {{w|Dubai}} is a city in the United Arab Emirates, and is smack-dab in the middle of an equatorial desert, so their heat waves can get ''hot!''. The southern United States will typically be a few degrees hotter than the northern United States simply because it's closer to the equator, but as mentioned they're both above "Beach Weather".
*30 °C: A little too hot so perfect for a trip to the beach.
*25 °C: Would as mentioned be too warm for room temperature...
*20 °C: Defined as room temperature in many experimental settings. For some this would feel a little cool.
*10 °C: Definitely wear a jacket. Especially if there is just a little breeze.
*0⁠ °C: The freezing point of water.
*−5 °C, −10 °C: In Moscow −10 °C is not really that cold - it can go "spit goes clink" cold in {{W|Moscow#Climate|Moscow}}, whereas −5 °C in {{W|Boston#Climate|Boston}} may be very cold.
*−20 °C - FuckFuckFuckCold, −30 °C - Fuuuuuuuuuuck!: This is implied to be basically what some people would say when they step outside at this temperature. In reality, it would be best to keep ones's mouth firmly closed. At −30 °C, without taking wind chill into account, exposed skin will feel painful in under a minute and frostbite could begin in as little as ten minutes [http://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=5FBF816A-1]. The differing statements seem to imply that at −20 °C, the user would be saying "fuck" repeatedly, whereas at −30 °C, the user is incapable of closing their mouth after starting the first "fuck", and so extends it into one long one.
*−40⁠ °C - Spit goes "clink": As shown in the drawing your spit would freeze ''before'' it hits the ground. This is the agreement point of the two temperature scales i.e. −40 °C = −40 °F.

See also [[1643: Degrees]] about not being able to choose between the two temperature scales and [[1923: Felsius]] about a compromise between the two scales. In the comic [[1982: Evangelism]], some people are stated to argue for the US to convert to the metric system, except for the Fahrenheit scale which they wish to keep.

===Length===
*1 cm - Width of microSD card, 3 cm - Length of SD card: Refers to the {{w|MicroSD card|memory cards}} used in cell phones, digital cameras, etc.
*12 cm: CD-ROM is a common object so nice to know it is a dozen centimeters.
*14 cm: Most males would probably exaggerate the size of their penis, but 14–15 cm is very average.
*15 cm: A Bic pen.
*80 cm: A typical doorway width is also of standard size. This is barely over the minimum size typically required by codes for buildings (30 inches or 76.2 cm in the US), but more than 50% over the size required for aircraft emergency exits. (It may seem illogical that larger doors are required in buildings than in airplanes, given airplanes are arguably more dangerous. However, there is no real disadvantage to using larger doors in buildings, which are not significantly pressurized, but using larger doors in aircraft would increase the force on the door caused by cabin pressure proportionally.)
*1 m - {{w|Lightsaber|Lightsaber blade}}: Refers to the weapon used in the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' movie franchise. Canonically, the length of a lightsaber's blade varies greatly depending on the setting of the weapon, but "one meter" is by no means a bad approximation.
*170 cm - {{w|Summer Glau}}: Refers to the height of the actress who portrays the character River Tam on the TV show {{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}.
*200 cm - {{w|Darth Vader}}: Refers to the height of the main antagonist from ''Star Wars''.
*2.5 m: A ceiling - of course very much depending on which type of building you are in!
*5 m: A car length - also very much depending on the car...
*16 m 4 cm - Human tower of Serenity crew: Again, this refers to the Firefly TV show, which takes place mostly on a space ship called Serenity.
**Presumably, if all the crew of Serenity were stacked on top of each other, this would be their combined height.
**The comic depicts four characters from the show standing on top of each other; the bottom figure is the crew's captain, {{w|Malcolm Reynolds}} in his signature coat. Judging from the other drawing of Summer Glau from the volume section, she is standing on top of the captain.
**The other five members of the crew should also be stacked on top of these four to reach the 16.04 m height - giving them an average height of 1.78 m (8 cm more than Summer Glau's height!)

===Speed===
:Here both the SI unit m/s as well as the more commonly used unit kph (km/h) is given. Note that the SI prefers "km/h" over the non-standard abbreviation "kph".
*5 kph - 1.5 m/s: Walking at a normal pace.
*13−25 kph - 3.5−7 m/s: Jogging to sprinting.
*35 kph - 10 m/s - Fastest human: As of 2009, the fastest a human has been recorded to run in a single sprint is actually 12.4 m/s or 44.7 km/h, a record set by {{w|Usain Bolt}}.
*45−55 kph - 13−15 m/s: Both cats and rabbits go much faster than normal people.
*75 kph - 20 m/s - Raptor: It's a comic written by [[Randall]]; of course a reference to the {{w|velociraptors}} from ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}'' was going to be here.
*100 kph - 25 m/s: A slow highway. (25 m/s actually exactly equals 90 km/h.)
*110 kph - 30 m/s - Interstate (65 mph): Refers to the {{w|Interstate|American highway system}}. (65 mph would actually be only 104.6 km/h.)
*120 kph - 35 m/s - Speed you actually go when it says "65": People routinely break the aforementioned speed limit, and the police typically don't mind as long as it's not posing any danger.
*140 kph - 40 m/s - Raptor on hoverboard: The {{w|hoverboard}} and its speed (~88 mph) is probably a reference to the ''{{w|Back to the Future Part II}}'', though hoverboards are a fairly common trope in older science fiction stories. Randall obviously did a lot of google searching on this subject the week before - see [[522: Google Trends]].

===Volume===
*3 mL: The amount of blood in a fieldmouse. A similar amount is used in comic [[434: xkcd Goes to the Airport]].
*5 mL: A teaspoon - a very common measure.
*30 mL - Nasal passages, 40 mL - Shot glass: The comic points out that you could just about fill a shot glass using the mucus from your nose. Since shot glasses are usually used for mixed drinks, the comic jokes that this mucus could constitute a new, disgusting drink - and this is depicted in the drawing.
*350 mL: Soda can (this is roughly correct for the cans used in the U.S., which hold 12 fluid ounces or 355 mL; in Europe, soda cans commonly hold 330 mL or 500 mL).
*500 mL: Water bottle (this is also the volume of a European water bottle).
*3 L - Two-liter bottle: Refers to a bottle which contains 2 L (in the US usually soda). There is debate as to the reason for the discrepancy in volume. It may be a reference to stereotypical Americans consuming a lot of high-calorie foods and drinks. The simpler explanation would be that it is a joke. The two-liter bottle is named using its volume. Labeling it with a volume of three liters is the joke.
*5 L: An adult male has about 5 L of blood in his body (An ''adequate'' vacuuming system could drain this blood out in 10 s - as per the title text!)
*30 L - Milk crate: Refers to a {{w|Milk crate|type of small box}} originally used to transport milk but now often in demand to be used as bicycle basket, storage spaces, etc.
*55 L - Summer Glau: Again, this refers to the actress from Firefly.
*65 L - {{w|Dennis Kucinich}}: An American politician belonging to the {{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic party}}, noted for his relatively strong (for the US) leftist views.
*75 L - {{w|Ron Paul}}: An American politician belonging to the rival {{w|Republican Party (United States)|Republican party}}, noted for his strong libertarian views.
*200 L: Volume of a refrigerator.
**As shown in the drawing of this part of the comic, the three persons mentioned above - Glau, Kucinich and Paul (summing up to 195 L) - could in principle all fit inside a standard refrigerator. Cueball thus attempts to push them all inside of one - though human bodies are not likely to be sufficiently malleable for this to succeed.

===Mass===
*3 g - {{w|M&M's|Peanut M&M}}: A small chocolate candy with a peanut inside.
*100 g - Cell phone: The weight of a cell phone very much depends on the age, type etc.
*500 g: A bottle of water contains 500 mL according to the volume section and thus has a mass of 500 g.
*1−3 kg: Different types of laptops. The newest and the best is the lightest...
*5 kg - {{w|LCD monitor}}: A modern flat-screen-style monitor.
*15 kg - {{w|CRT monitor}}: An older-style, cathode ray tube-based monitor.
**This ends the section on computer screens, which overrode the normal sequence by weight as the next two feline inspired entries are lighter than the two before. This was presumably done so that the reader's eye will be confused or amused at seeing (in the comic's caseless captioning font) CRT immediately followed by CAT in the vertical text column.
*4 kg - Cat, 4.1 kg - Cat (with caption): Refers to the internet's love of putting {{w|Lolcat|captions on cats}}. Usually, this is done in a graphics program, but here the cat is actually physically carrying around his caption. The "with caption" part is most likely a reference to [[262: IN UR REALITY]], where [[Black Hat]] glues captions to cats, after running out of staples.
*60 kg - Lady: For instance if she is Summer Glau - could be her again depicted in the comic - the average weight of an adult woman.
*70 kg - Dude: Here depicted as Cueball who is the average guy, and 70 kg is average weight for an adult man.
*150 kg - Shaq: {{w|Shaq|Shaquille O'Neal}}, a famously tall basketball player.
*200 kg - Your mom,
*220 kg - Your mom (incl. cheap jewelry),
*223 kg - Your mom (also incl. makeup)
**The last three refer to a common type of {{w|Your mom}} joking insult whereby someone insults someone else's mother in a creative way. Here, the comic slyly calls your mom fat, then implies she wears way too much jewelry and finally also 3 kg of makeup. This is a common theme in [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Your_Mom xkcd]. (20 kg of "cheap" jewelry has several times the volume than 20 kg of gold jewelry, because of the difference in density.)

===Title text===
The title text refers once again to Summer Glau's Firefly character, {{w|River Tam}}, who (after being subjected to a long series of medical experiments) is severely mentally ill and often comes out with macabre — though scientifically accurate — pronouncements. In Firefly episode "Safe" (season 1, episode 7), she says: "The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems."

===Conversion table===
The idea of the comic is to establish new metric reference points and ''not'' to resort to unit conversions. Nevertheless, the following table lists all units from the comic with their US customary equivalents:

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" | Temp.
! colspan="2" | Length
! colspan="3" | Speed
! colspan="2" | Volume
! colspan="2" | Mass
|-
|60 °C||140 °F||1 cm||0.4 in||km/h||mph||m/s||3 mL||0.10 fl oz||3 g||0.11 oz
|-
|45 °C||113 °F||3 cm||1.2 in||5||3||1.5||5 mL||0.17 fl oz||100 g||3.5 oz
|-
|40 °C||104 F||12 cm||4.7 in||13||8||3.5||30 mL||1.0 fl oz||500 g||1.1 lb
|-
|35 °C||95 °F||14 cm||5.5 in||25||16||7||40 mL||1.4 fl oz||1 kg||2.2 lb
|-
|30 °C||86 °F||15 cm||5.9 in||35||22||10||350 mL||12 fl oz||2 kg||4.4 lb
|-
|25 °C||77 °F||80 cm||31 in||45||28||13||500 mL||17 fl oz||3 kg||6.6 lb
|-
|20 °C||68 °F||1 m||3 ft 3 in||55||34||15||3 L||0.8 gal||5 kg||11 lb
|-
|10 °C||50 °F||170 cm||5 ft 7 in||75||47||20||5 L||1.3 gal||15 kg||33 lb
|-
| 0 °C||32 °F||200 cm||6 ft 7 in||100||62||25||30 L||7.9 gal||4 kg||8.8 lb
|-
| -5 °C||23 °F||2.5 m||8 ft 2 in||110||68||30||55 L||15 gal||4.1 kg||9.0 lb
|-
| -10 °C||14 °F||5 m||16 ft||120||75||35||65 L||17 gal||60 kg||130 lb
|-
| -20 °C||-4 °F||16.04 m||52 ft 7 in||140||87||40||75 L||20 gal||70 kg||150 lb
|-
| -30 °C||-22 °F|| || || || || ||200 L||53 gal||150 kg||330 lb
|-
| -40 °C||-40 °F|| || || || || || || ||200 kg||440 lb
|-
| || || || || || || || || ||220 kg||485 lb
|-
| || || || || || || || || ||223 kg||492 lb
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:'''Guide to Converting to Metric'''

:[There are five frames with tables for different units. Between the two upper frames is the following text:]
:The key to converting to metric is establishing
:new reference points. When you hear "26°C",
:instead of thinking "That's 79°F" you should think,
:"that's warmer than a house but cool for swimming."
:Here are some helpful tables of reference points:

:[The frame to the left of the above text:]
:Temperature:
:{| class="wikitable"
|60°C||Earth's hottest
|-
|45°C||Dubai heat wave
|-
|40°C||Southern US heat wave
|-
|35°C||Northern US heat wave
|-
|30°C||Beach weather
|-
|25°C||Warm room
|-
|20°C||Room temperature
|-
|10°C||Jacket weather
|-
|0°C||Snow!
|-
| -5°C||Cold day (Boston)
|-
| -10°C||Cold day (Moscow)
|-
| -20°C||Fuckfuckfuckcold
|-
| -30°C||Fuuuuuuuuuuck!
|-
| -40°C||Spit goes "clink"
|}
:[Next to the last three entries we see Cueball spitting on the ground. The spit bounces.]
:Cueball: Ptoo
:Spit: Clink!

:[The frame to the right of the above text:]
:Length
:{| class="wikitable"
|1 cm||Width of microSD card
|-
|3 cm||Length of SD card
|-
|12 cm||CD diameter
|-
|14 cm||Penis
|-
|15 cm||BIC pen
|-
|80 cm||Doorway width
|-
|1 m||Lightsaber blade
|-
|170 cm||Summer Glau
|-
|200 cm||Darth Vader
|-
|2.5 m||Ceiling
|-
|5 m||Car-length
|-
|16 m 4 cm||Human tower of Serenity crew
|}
:[To the right of the table is a human tower of four of the people from the Serenity crew. The head of the upper person is right below the first entry.]

:[The frame below to the left:]
:Speed
:{| class="wikitable"
|kph|| m/s||
|-
|5||1.5||Walking
|-
|13||3.5||Jogging
|-
|25||7||Sprinting
|-
|35||10||Fastest human
|-
|45||13||Housecat
|-
|55||15||Rabbit
|-
|75||20||Raptor
|-
|100||25||Slow highway
|-
|110||30||Interstate (65 mph)
|-
|120||35||Speed you actually go when it says “65”
|-
|140||40||Raptor on hoverboard
|}

:[The frame below in the middle:]
:Volume
:{| class="wikitable"
|3 mL||Blood in a fieldmouse
|-
|5 mL||Teaspoon
|-
|30 mL||Nasal passages
|-
|40 mL||Shot glass
|-
|350 mL||Soda can
|-
|500 mL||Water bottle
|-
|3 L||Two-liter bottle
|-
|5 L||Blood in a human male
|-
|30 L||Milk crate
|-
|55 L||Summer Glau
|-
|65 L||Dennis Kucinich
|-
|75 L||Ron Paul
|-
|200 L||Fridge
|}
:[Next to the entry on nasal passages and shoot glass (starting one entry higher and finishing one entry lower) are the following text:]
:So, when it's blocked
:the mucus in your
:nose could about
:fill a shot glass.
:[Below this text is a drawing of a mucus filled shot glass.]
:Related: I've
:invented the
:worst mixed
:drink ever.
:[Below this next to the four last entries we see Cueball shoving Summer Glau, Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul into an open fridge. Above the fridge in a loosely drawn ellipse are the following text:]
:55+65+75<200

:[The frame below to the right:]
:Mass
:{| class="wikitable"
|3 g||Peanut M&M
|-
|100 g||Cell phone
|-
|500 g||Bottled water
|-
|1 kg||Ultraportable laptop
|-
|2 kg||Light-medium laptop
|-
|3 kg||Heavy laptop
|-
|5 kg||LCD monitor
|-
|15 kg||CRT monitor
|-
|4 kg||Cat
|-
|4.1 kg||Cat (with caption)
|-
|60 kg||Lady
|-
|70 kg||Dude
|-
|150 kg||Shaq
|-
|200 kg||Your mom
|-
|220 kg||Your mom (incl. cheap jewelry)
|-
|223 kg||Your mom (also incl. makeup)
|}
:[Next to the entries of cat and cat (with caption) are two drawings of cats. The second one has a caption across its chest.]
:Cat (with caption): Mrowl?
:[Below this and next to the lady and dude entries (and the Shaq entry) are drawings of Megan and Cueball.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]
[[Category:Firefly]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Summer Glau]]

424: Security Holes

2018-10-13T06:59:18Z

172.68.189.163: /* Transcript */ Fixed bad table

{{comic
| number = 424
| date = May 16, 2008
| title = Security Holes
| image = security_holes.png
| titletext = True story: I had to try several times to upload this comic because my ssh key was blacklisted.
}}

==Explanation==
The "Debian-OpenSSL fiasco" was a major security problem discovered in the {{w|Debian}} {{w|Linux distribution}} and its version of the {{w|Cryptography|cryptographic}} library called {{w|OpenSSL}}. With just a tiny change in the software, which was intended to have no effect on security, its {{w|Random number generation|random number generator}} was completely crippled, as was the security of all cryptographic keys generated by the system. The problem was created when a Debian developer removed one line of code which was crucial, even though it could seem like it did nothing useful. More detail about the fiasco: [http://trailofbits.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/hope-08-openssl.pdf ''Crippling Crypto: The Debian OpenSSL Debacle''], [http://wiki.debian.org/SSLkeys Debian's information page about the problem].

The title text refers also to this issue: After the security problem was found, all cryptographic keys generated or used on the broken operating system needed to be replaced. Many systems introduced special checks for such weak keys, adding the keys to {{w|Blacklisting|blacklists}}, thereby preventing their use and forcing users to create new keys. [[Randall]] claims he was affected by that when uploading this comic to the server.

The comics on the left presents Cueball as a programmer who, on a whim, removes pieces of code ([[156: Commented|commenting out]] the code by prepending the line with two slashes), presumably thinking they are not necessary. The first removed line, <code>MD_update(&m, buf, j);</code> is the exact piece of code which [http://svn.debian.org/viewsvn/pkg-openssl/openssl/trunk/rand/md_rand.c?rev=141&view=diff&r1=141&r2=140&p1=openssl/trunk/rand/md_rand.c&p2=/openssl/trunk/rand/md_rand.c was removed] in the Debian fiasco. The next panels show him commenting out fictitious lines of code apparently preventing bad things from happening.

The other part of the comic lists "security problems" which were allegedly discovered in other Linux variants afterwards:

Cryptographic software in {{w|Fedora Core}} was allegedly not secure against {{w|Secret decoder ring|toy decoder rings}}.

{{w|Xandros}} (used in {{w|Asus Eee PC}} netbooks) gave superuser privileges to anybody "if asked in a stern voice". This is likely a reference to fact that the preinstalled Xandros OS did not require a password for root privileges by default.

{{w|Gentoo}} would succumb to flattery, which may be a reference to Gentoo's notorious difficulty to manage. Any user who is capable of understanding it, might have a large ego, and therefore be susceptible to flattery.

{{w|One Laptop per Child|OLPC}} OS could have been attacked using {{w|Jeff Goldblum}}'s laptop computer, which refers to a scene in the {{w|Independence Day (film)|''Independence Day'' movie}}, where Jeff Goldblum's character was able to hack into an alien spaceship using his Apple {{w|PowerBook}} computer - which is a topic of [http://www.cracked.com/article_18720_7-famous-movie-flaws-that-were-explained-in-deleted-scenes.html great contempt] by geeks who point to the absurdity of such a construction.

{{w|Slackware}} gave superuser privileges to anybody who "says Elvish word for 'friend'", which refers to a scene in ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'', where the entrance door to {{w|Moria}} could have been opened using a password ''mellon'', the Elvish word for "friend", as indicated on the door itself.

And {{w|Ubuntu}}, which is another Linux distribution, was allegedly found to be actually {{w|Windows Vista}}, the latest version of {{w|Microsoft Windows}} at this time in 2008. This may be a reference to Ubuntu being developed with non-advanced users in mind, with many fail-safes and additional features being turned on by default, which had more in common with Windows than any other Linux-based operating system at the time.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sitting at computer.]
:Cueball: I'll just comment out these lines...

:<code>// MD_update(&m, buf, j);</code>

:<code>// do_not_crash();</code>

:<code>// prevent_911();</code>

:In the rush to clean up the debian-openssl fiasco, a number of other major security holes have been uncovered:

[a two column table is shown:]

:;Affected System
::Security problem

----

:;Fedora Core
::Vulnerable to certain decoder rings

:;Xandros (EEE PC)
::Gives root access if asked in a stern voice

:;Gentoo
::Vulnerable to flattery

:;OLPC OS
:: Vulnerable to ajeff Goldblum’s PowerBook

:;Slackware
::Gives root access If user says aelvish word for “friend”

:;Ubuntu
::Turns out district is actually just Windows Vista with a few custom themes

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]

Talk:2051: Bad Opinions

2018-09-27T07:14:07Z

172.68.189.163: Fix formatting

just did my first transcript, hope its good :) [[User:Nintendo Mc|Nintendo Mc]] ([[User talk:Nintendo Mc|talk]]) 15:14, 26 September 2018 (UTC)

Same whoops -Welp

How the heck do you "violently express your opinion" in a non-physical medium? Seems like the logic of someone who is looking for an excuse to retaliate with actual violence. [[User:Andyd273|Andyd273]] ([[User talk:Andyd273|talk]]) 15:41, 26 September 2018 (UTC)

: You realize that literally punching a person is not the only form of aggression and abuse? The internet is still connected to real world and things done there can have consequences. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.190.10|172.69.190.10]] 21:22, 26 September 2018 (UTC)

:: Violence is not just aggression or abuse. You can be aggressive or abusive over the Internet, but the recent trend to start calling more things “violence” makes the word less useful. Yes, Internet abuse can be harmful, but it would be even more harmful if it had the potential to come with physical injury and a medical bill in extreme cases. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.19|172.68.189.19]] 07:13, 27 September 2018 (UTC)

''Cough'' Me and the Flat Earth Society. [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 15:44, 26 September 2018 (UTC)

This is clearly a reference to [[386:_Duty_Calls]]. The chair is the same. Cueball's posture is the same. The desk is the same. The subject matter is roughly the same. The monitor and keyboard are now a laptop. Cueball's unhealthy obsession (which is still relatable to many) has become insanity.[[User:KDulcimer|KDulcimer]] ([[User talk:KDulcimer|talk]]) 17:23, 26 September 2018 (UTC)

I think this comic is primarily commenting on the phenomenon of outrage addiction (relevant: [https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/between-church-and-hard-place/201209/is-our-political-outrage-addictive Psychology Today: "Is Our Political Outrage Addictive?"], [https://world.wng.org/2018/07/online_outrage_addiction World Magazine: "Online outrage addiction"], [https://qz.com/1333018/how-americans-can-break-their-outrage-addiction/ Quartz: "How Americans can break their outrage addiction"]). [[User:Ahiijny|Ahiijny]] ([[User talk:Ahiijny|talk]]) 20:26, 26 September 2018 (UTC)

Talk:2050: 6/6 Time

2018-09-24T16:15:58Z

172.68.189.163: Ancient Greek time

This is actually how time worked in ancient Greece, minus the 6 o'clock part. Sunrise was at 12, sunset at 12 and the length of each hour varied depending on the part of the year [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.163|172.68.189.163]] 16:15, 24 September 2018 (UTC)

2049: Unfulfilling Toys

2018-09-22T17:28:47Z

172.68.189.163: /* Title-text: Falling-Apart Rubik's cube */

{{comic
| number = 2049
| date = September 21, 2018
| title = Unfulfilling Toys
| image = unfulfilling_toys.png
| titletext = We were going to do a falling-apart Rubik's cube that was just 27 independent blocks stuck together with magnets, but then we realized it was actually really cool and even kind of worked, so we cut that one.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic lists and illustrates a number of classic toys that are missing a key piece or attribute that makes them work and/or that makes them unique.

====Rigid Slap Bracelet====
{{w|Slap bracelet}}s are flexible curved strips of spring steel that roll up and become a bracelet when you slap them against your wrist. This function operates on the same principle and basic design as the rolled band of metal inside a tape-measure. A rigid one would not twist and would be deeply frustrating and potentially painful.

====Sealed Stomp Rocket====
A {{w|stomp rocket}} has a rubber pouch full of air, connected via a hose to a vertical cylinder contained snugly within the base of an air propelled rocket. By stomping on the pouch, the air is forced out the top end of the cylinder, launching the rocket into the air. By sealing the air channel, the rocket would stay on the cylinder and the person would just be bounced into the air by the pouch -- acting like the world's smallest bouncy house -- or the pouch will burst rendering the toy even more useless.

====Pump-only Supersoaker====
A {{w|Super Soaker}}™ is a brand of water gun that works by first pumping air into the gun, thereby introducing pressurized air above the water, then releasing the water using the gun's trigger -- the extra pressure from the pumped air makes the water go much further than a traditional water gun which relies upon the pressure generated from a single pump of the trigger itself. In [[Randall]]'s version, the water cannot be released, so the fun part of the water gun -- getting to spray your friends -- isn't available.

====Glass Glow Stick====

In a classic {{w|glow stick}}, made of flexible plastic, one must first bend it enough to break the glass cylinder inside. This allows the chemicals inside to mix and begin glowing within the plastic tube. If the entire tube were made of actual glass, however, it would not only shatter into many sharp glass pieces, but would also cover the hands of the unfortunate user with a mixture of mild but not harmless chemicals.

====Wingless Sky Dancer====

In the {{w|Sky Dancers|original toy}}, a doll or figure with folded-up wings sits on top of a hand-held device with a wrapped string or other mechanism that lets it spin the doll very fast. As the doll spins, centrifugal force causes the wings to unfold and provide lift, and the doll rises up in the air and flies, spinning, sometimes going quite high. Without the wings, the doll will spin but otherwise remain flightless.

====No-strings-attached Yo-yo====
In a traditional {{w|yo-yo}}, one attaches a string to their finger and the other end of the string is looped around the shaft of the yo-yo, in such a way that it will hold the yo-yo but the yo-yo can still spin. In this case, the string is included but not attached to the yo-yo, so when the yo-yo reaches the end of its string it will fall off, instead of coming back to the person or spinning at the end of the string.

Nonetheless a so called {{w|Yo-yo#Off-string|off-string}} yo-yoing technique exists that has been a division of the {{w|World Yo-Yo Contest}} since 2003. The division specifies that the string is tied to one finger but not the yo-yo. It was popularized by yo-yo player Jon Gates. It differs from the manipulation of a {{w|Diabolo}} because the string is tied to one finger instead of being tied to two sticks. The return is accomplished with a twist of the string called a bind. Diabolos don't return. A good example is here at this video: [https://youtube.com/watch?v=tVpuh5aMhTQ Youtube: Crazy Stringless Yoyo Tricks!].

====Title-text: Falling-Apart Rubik's cube====
In order to build the magnetic {{w|Rubik's Cube}}, you would need to embed magnets in the inward-facing sides of each cube. This actually can be achieved by using a checkered pattern for the polarity of each piece, a single piece uses the same polarity at all its connecting sides while the immediate neighbor is configured in the opposite. This [https://youtube.com/watch?v=Xb8ENlS-5Go video] shows the principle and even a working 5x5x5 magnetic cube.

Because such a cube doesn't fall apart, and turned out to be a fun toy, Randall had to remove it from his "deeply unfulfilling versions of classic toys."

It might also refer to various square shaped neodymium magnet based toys, like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j0KRK2MZic this one], which although can be taken easily apart, it is a successful and very fulfilling product on it's own.

==Transcript==
:[The comic presents toys in six different frames.]

:[Cueball slaps his wrist with a strap-like item in his hand.]
:''Smack''
:Rigid slap bracelet

:[Cueball jumps on top of a pouch full of air connected via a hose to an air propelled rocket. The pouch does not budge and the rocket remains connected to its base.]
:Seal stomp rocket

:[Ponytail holds a water gun and makes use of its hand-operated pump system.]
:''Pump pump pump''
:''Pump''
:''Click''
:Pump-only SuperSoaker

:[Megan pulls an item apart between her hands. The middle section breaks into many pieces on the ground and liquid is falling from the end parts.]
:''Pop''
:Glass glow stick

:[Cueball holds a figurine sitting on top of a hand-held device and pulls a string connected to it.]
:''Spin''
:Wingless sky dancer

:[Megan holds a yo-yo until the yo-yo falls from the string and starts rolling on the ground.]
:''Roll''
:No-strings-attached yo-yo

:[Caption below the frames:]
:My least successful product line was probably "deeply unfulfilling versions of classic toys."

{{comic discussion}}

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

2043: Boathouses and Houseboats

2018-09-10T22:27:40Z

172.68.189.163: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2043
| date = September 7, 2018
| title = Boathouses and Houseboats
| image = boathouses_and_houseboats.png
| titletext = The <x> that is held by <y> is also a <y><x>, so if you go to a food truck, the stuff you buy is truck food. A phone that's in your car is a carphone, and a car equipped with a phone is a phonecar. When you play a mobile racing game, you're in your phonecar using your carphone to drive a different phonecar. I'm still not sure about bananaphones.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|BOTBOT or BOATBOAT is funny, but please also mention here the reason why this isn't complete - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Most English {{w|English compound|compound nouns}} can be constructed recursively. In many cases they are written ''open'' or ''spaced'' like "piano player" (a player of a piano.) But ''closed'' forms like "wallpaper" (paper for a wall) are not less common.

[[Randall]] is engaging in creative linguistics again. This time he is humorously suggesting to use a consistent naming scheme for things holding other things, the same way we call a boat holding a house a houseboat. He is extending this to all combinations boats, houses and cars. This would, however, be somewhat impractical, as these names do not include why one thing is on an other, and are also sometimes ambiguous: a carcar can be a tow truck as much as a car carrier, and a househouse can be either an apartment (house in a house) or an apartment building (house containing houses).

Additionally, he is somewhat inconsistent in some parts of the chart. While the chart is supposed to show examples of neologistic compound words <x><y> that refer to a <y> that ''holds'' an <x>, rather than a <y> ''in'' an <x>. However, Randall's examples sometimes are those of the latter example. He proposes to call lifeboats, which are boats held by other boats, "boatboat", instead of using that to refer to boats holding other boats, such as floating drydocks. Additionally, it is established naval practice to refer to a boat which is carried by another vessel as a "ship's boat", and call any vessel that carries a boat a "ship". In other words, according to usual naval terminology, a "boatboat" is a contradiction in terms; it is either a "boatship", synonymous with ship and hence redundant, or a "shipboat", the ship's boat. "Apartment" is a similar case: an apartment is a house in a house, while a house that holds a house is an apartment building or apartment complex. (However, in the title text, Randall points out an <x><y> could also refer to a <y> in an <x>, similar to the lifeboat and apartment examples. Nevertheless, "lifeboat" and "apartment" do not fit with the rest of the items of the chart and disobey the rule annotated in the corner.)

In the title text: "Truck food" is a theoretically valid term, however English parsing makes it sound like food FOR trucks rather than food FROM trucks. {{w|Car phone}}s were a feature in automobiles throughout the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, serving as the predecessors to mobile phones, although they were permanently installed into a car and not removable. ''{{w|Bananaphone}}'', a song by Raffi Cavoukian, is also mentioned.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Real term
! Actual definition
! Randall's definition
! Inaccuracies in Randall's definition
! Randall's term
|-
| Tow truck
| A truck that pulls or carries cars
| A Car that holds a Car
| A tow truck is too large to be considered a car
| Carcar
|-
| Garage
| A building for storing or repairing vehicles
| A House that holds a Car
| “Carhouse” actually does have Randall’s definition, but is far less popular than “garage.” It’s in the Oxford English Dictionary (using the spelling “car house”) and is used in To Kill a Mockingbird.
| Carhouse
|-
| Car ferry
| A boat that carries cars, especially across a river
| A Boat that holds a Car
| Most car ferries hold more than one car at a time
| Carboat
|-
| Mobile home
| A home that can be moved by a truck
| A Car that holds a House
| The term "mobile home" refers to the home that is moved by a separate vehicle, not to the vehicle that moves it. (If the home is self-propelled, then it is called an RV (recreational vehicle).)
| Housecar
|-
| Apartment
| A home within a building that has been divided into separate living units
| A House that holds a House
| The "apartment" is the individual home within the larger building, which is called an apartment building, possibly an apartment complex, but that usually refers to several apartment buildings on one property managed from the same office.
| Househouse
|-
| Houseboat
| A boat that is used as a house
| A Boat that holds a House
| A houseboat has a home that is part of the boat; it is not a separate home carried on a boat. However, a mobile home theoretically could be carried on a car ferry or a ship.
| Houseboat
|-
| Boat trailer
| A carrier that is towed behind a car or truck and holds a small boat
| A Car that holds a Boat
| The trailer is not the car; it is towed by the car.
| Boatcar
|-
| Boathouse
| A building for storing a boat
| A House that holds a Boat
| The word "house" typically refers to a residential building, but can refer to other buildings
| Boathouse
|-
| Lifeboat
| A small boat carried on a ship, meant to be used to evacuate the larger ship, especially if it starts to sink or catches fire
| A Boat that holds a Boat
| The "lifeboat" is the smaller vessel carried on the large one; it is not the larger vessel that carries the smaller one. And the larger vessel is usually a ship, not a boat.
| Boatboat
|}

==Transcript==
:[A chart with three rows and three columns is shown, both with the same heading "car", "house", and "boat". On the top left a text with the word "this" two times embedded in a bubble and an arrow respectively pointing to the row and column heading reads:]
:A '''this''' that holds '''this'''

:[Most entries have the common word in black, but crossed out in red with another word below also in red. Two entries remain in green.]
:A Car that holds a Car: <s>Tow truck</s> Carcar
:A House that holds a Car: <s>Garage</s> Carhouse
:A Boat that holds a Car: <s>Car ferry</s> Carboat
:A Car that holds a House: <s>Mobile home</s> Housecar
:A House that holds a House: <s>Apartment</s> Househouse
:A Boat that holds a House: Houseboat (green text)
:A Car that holds a Boat: <s>Boat trailer</s> Boatcar
:A House that holds a Boat: Boathouse (green text)
:A Boat that holds a Boat: <s>Lifeboat</s> Boatboat

:[Caption below the frame:]
:I really like the words for "boathouse" and "houseboat" and think we should apply that scheme more consistently.

==Trivia==
The first version of the comic image used a different wording to indicate which word held the other. The column word holds the row. The original wording can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/3/38/20180907164439%21boathouses_and_houseboats.png here].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Language]]

Talk:2037: Supreme Court Bracket

2018-08-25T00:09:56Z

172.68.189.163:

Came here for insight, only to discover this is tomorrow's comic, I'm viewing Friday's comic on Thursday after midnight. D'oh! Damn, seeing a comic early and I can't provide or contribute to the explanation, LOL! I realize the bracket and "Sweet 16" are sports things, I think football and/or basketball, and I spotted the famous name Roe vs. Wade, so seems like court cases, but that's it. Looking forward to people explaining the smaller jokes (I spotted "Loving" and "Virginia", and I feel like I recall their license plates say "Virginia Is For Lovers" I think, I expect something there). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:58, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
:Protip: Thursday after midnight is Friday! Nonetheless this comic was released at 0:00 EDT meaning it was still Thursday at time zones westwards. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 07:03, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
:I got here at like 9:10 Pacific time and the comic was already up; normally I have to wait until like 1 AM before Randall posts it/you guys auto-mirror it.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.235|172.68.189.235]] 08:23, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
::The pages here are created automatically less than two minutes after the original was published on xkcd. Today, like some others in the recent past, this happened at 4:01 UTC (or GMT - the server time) which corresponds to 0:01 EDT (Randall time) and 21:01 PDT (the day before at your time.) The weekday is defined by Randall's time zone - US citizens should know about the shift from east to west. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:01, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

Errm. You can go back to the previous comic if you hit the [<Prev] button just above the current one. {{unsigned ip|141.101.107.36}}

I agree that this is a sports reference, but can someone also include some sort of note about the title? I think that the "Supreme COURT" is referring to a basketball COURT, connected to how brackets like this are used in basketball like with March Madness. [[User:B. A. Beder|B. A. Beder]] ([[User talk:B. A. Beder|talk]]) 05:50, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
:No, I'm pretty sure it's titled Supreme Court Bracket because the bracket consists of cases in which the Supreme Court of the United States made the rulings. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.6|162.158.90.6]] 10:35, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
::Why not both? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.82|108.162.219.82]] 18:49, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
:::There is an actual basketball court in the Supreme Court building: https://www.si.com/nba/2018/07/25/supreme-court-building-basketball-court [[User:Tplaza64|Tplaza64]] ([[User talk:Tplaza64|talk]]) 00:03, 25 August 2018 (UTC)

Well, how would the tournament turn out? We know who won the cases, so who's the king of the US legal system? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.66|162.158.90.66]] 06:41, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
: Many participants fail to reappear for the round 2, so not much progress yet. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.86|141.101.77.86]] 13:24, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

Moral of the story: If you are the respondent in a landmark case, you might as well give up. --[[User:Troy0|Troy0]] ([[User talk:Troy0|talk]]) 07:53, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
:I noticed that as well. Do most "landmark" cases go to the plaintiff or is this just an outlier sample?[[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.235|172.68.189.235]] 08:23, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
: But Marbury actually won the case, the court was unable to deliver the ruling [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.104|162.158.155.104]] 09:42, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
::"Marbury won"? Not according to the unanimous 4-0 ruling AGAINST Marbury.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.140|172.69.22.140]] 20:20, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
: As I see it (IANAL), the plaintiff goal in the Supreme Court usually is to change something (overrule a previous court decision, repeal a law), while the respondent typically fights to keep things the same. If the plaintiff loses, no changes are made. If nobody sees any changes in the country, why the case would be a landmark? Only when both outcomes change things for many people, like in the Dred Scott case, the respondent win makes a landmark. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.77.86|141.101.77.86]] 13:24, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

I think this comic is unique because the comic references real life events without throwing in any fake events for comic effect. Usually the comic would have some imaginary events included. I guess just the idea that winners of Supreme Court cases are going to come back to the court and compete against each other is comical enough. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 15:42, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

;Adding an image
I created an image showing the winners superimposed on the original comic so you can see who is due to "play" each other next. Is there any way to upload the file? the image is this: http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Special:UploadStash/thumb/15zj3hymeul4.6wctza.13964.png/600px-15zj3hymeul4.6wctza.13964.png [[User:Mrdownes|Mrdownes]] ([[User talk:Mrdownes|talk]]) 11:27, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
:In general we don't need such an image because it doesn't explain much and the winners are already highlighted at the explanation. This Wiki isn't a picture book. Nevertheless check the menu and you will find the entry "Upload file". --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 12:09, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
:I think that updated bracket image would be fun to see regardless. Please do post it. [[User:Wisnij|Wisnij]] ([[User talk:Wisnij|talk]]) 19:08, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

The Brown won the NLRB v Brown match in round 2. (https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/380/278/) -[[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.244|172.69.69.244]] 15:19, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

Just wanted to thank all you folks for the explanation! I couldn't make head or tail of this comic… (Comes of being a non-USian, I guess. Even after reading this page, I only recognised two of those cases. xkcd is usually pretty universal — within the geek world, anyway — and US-specific ones like this are pretty puzzling to the rest of us.) Cheers! — [[User:Gidds|Gidds]] ([[User talk:Gidds|talk]]) 23:56, 24 August 2018 (UTC)

The joke here is simply that, while court cases are competitions, the winner of a case does not challenge the winner of another case (unlike sports tournaments). It's a juxtaposition joke, made funnier by the fact that "court" is used in sports as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.163|172.68.189.163]] 00:09, 25 August 2018 (UTC)