explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2722: Etymonline

2023-01-11T14:47:11Z

172.68.51.160:

Random fact: I recently finished reading etymonline.com from beginning to end. It taught me things about the English language that I didn't know that I didn't know. [[User:Darthpoppins|Darthpoppins]] ([[User talk:Darthpoppins|talk]]) 00:46, 10 January 2023 (UTC)
:Nice. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.167.235|172.71.167.235]] 04:16, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

Dear whomever wrote the current explanation, please take an English composition course. It's clear you mean well, but it's really hard to read your work. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.216|172.71.158.216]] 04:44, 10 January 2023 (UTC)
:Fair enough; I'll try to clean it up [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 05:33, 11 January 2023 (UTC)
::Also the complainer could take use of this being a wiki and make the changes himself ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:56, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

In the comic, french word "étymologie" is incorrectly spelled "ethimologie" which is referred to as "Old French". I wonder whether that mistake was done on purpose ?
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.68.222|141.101.68.222]] 08:12, 10 January 2023 (UTC)
: "Old French etimologie, ethimologie (14c., Modern French étymologie), from Latin etymologia, from Greek etymologia" from the Etymonline entry for "etymology"[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.223|172.70.162.223]] 10:25, 10 January 2023 (UTC)
: Given that it's over 350 years from now, it really ought to say 'from Old English etymology', with what we currently call Old English now being known as Really Old English.[[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.65|172.71.178.65]] 09:09, 10 January 2023 (UTC)
::Or Ancient English. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.160|172.68.51.160]] 14:47, 11 January 2023 (UTC)
:With the comic revelling in the degredation of contemporary knowledge as future history passes (perhaps like [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/BabylonFiveS04E22TheDeconstructionOfFallingStars here, especially in 2762]), I don't think this relatively minor glitch is an error. Merely flavour. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.141|172.71.242.141]] 12:21, 10 January 2023 (UTC)

In what is almost certainly not a coincidence, "etymology" and "blimp" are currently trending at #2 and #5, respectively, on etymoline.com as of right now (15:14, 10 January 2023 (UTC)) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.236|172.70.110.236]] 15:14, 10 January 2023 (UTC)
:Agree. Now Blimp is #1 and Etymology #3 as of now. Have made a screen shot with the date and ponder to insert it in the explanation under a trivia. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:56, 11 January 2023 (UTC)
::I have added the image. If someone could knows hot change the size of the image shown I would be happy. Not sure how to do that. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:28, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

Shouldn't it be "folk etymonline"? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.26|172.68.35.26]] 18:57, 10 January 2023 (UTC) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.26|172.68.35.26]] 18:57, 10 January 2023 (UTC) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.26|172.68.35.26]] 18:57, 10 January 2023 (UTC) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.35.26|172.68.35.26]] 18:57, 10 January 2023 (UTC)
:I believe it uses "etymology" since that comment is from the perspective of some "present day" scholar, or Randall himself [[User:Dextrous Fred|Dextrous Fred]] ([[User talk:Dextrous Fred|talk]]) 05:32, 11 January 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2719: Hydrogen Isotopes

2023-01-04T02:18:07Z

172.68.51.160:

This shows as a 404 on xkcd.com but in my RSS feed i can see the comic
: Works for me. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.9|172.69.34.9]] 02:25, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
::works for me now too but it didnt before
::: It works on m.xkcd.com and on the homepage of xckd, but the direct link gives me a 404. Various services such as the Wayback Machine show it as loading though. Could be a bad cache on some service. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.86|162.158.63.86]] 02:37, 3 January 2023 (UTC)

Could someone add an explanation of Nydnonen? I don't get it and it's google proof [[Special:Contributions/172.71.210.209|172.71.210.209]] 05:04, 3 January 2023 (UTC)Benzodiakanine
: Nothing. Was hopeful about {{w|List of Greek and Latin roots in English/N}} but nope. Tried stemming on all the Wiktionaries too. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.91|172.71.158.91]] 05:28, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
::Kudos to whomever figured it out, lol! [[Special:Contributions/172.71.158.231|172.71.158.231]] 08:02, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
:::Seems someone already did. There are four N's in that word replacing three of the consonant in Hydrogen so there are now four Ns one for each of the four neutrons in Nydnonen. ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:10, 3 January 2023 (UTC)

Are these to scale? I recently read that the Helium is smaller in terms of measured atomic radius than the Hydrogen. Possibly this is true of Deuterium as well? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.45|172.70.85.45]] 06:50, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
:They are almost the same size but it depends on temperature: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/anie.200800063 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.153|162.158.90.153]] 08:00, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
::Is the reason Helium is smaller not that there are double the positive charge which the electrons thus orbit in a lower orbit (I know this is not the correct in reality with the orbit). But if true then Deuterium would not have this effect as it is not the weight but the charge that changes the orbit. And Deuterium has the same charge as Hydrogen as does Tritium. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:10, 3 January 2023 (UTC)

Is "oops all neutrons" distinct from Neutronium, which is also all neutrons? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.100.131|172.70.100.131]] 07:38, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
:Neutronium is ultra-dense and bound by gravity, with a minimum of about 1.2x10<sup>58</sup> neutrons in a 40 kilometer diameter sphere. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.153|162.158.90.153]] 08:00, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
::Well actually a {{w|neutron star}} is only 10 km in radius (20 km in diameter) according to Wikipedia. And it is 10<sup>57</sup> neutrons acording to this [https://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/ryden.1/ast162_5/notes21.html lecture on Neutron Stars]. {{w|Neutronium}} was actually used as a name for neutrons without protons and suggested to be placed as number 0 on the periodical table. But is has also been used as a name for the matter in the center of neutron stars, but usually not in scientific papers! There it is called degenerate matter. The wiki article mentions how a single neutron decays to proton/electron/neutrino in 15 minutes. It also mentions that two neutrons could form for very short periods in nuclear decay. An then mentions that more than two neutrons together is not likely to exist. Specifically mentioning the three from Randall's Oops particle as not being stable for even the shortest of times. Of course a neutron would also not be able to orbit a group of neutrons. But even the three at the center is impossible. More neutrons together would be isotopes of number 0 element... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:22, 3 January 2023 (UTC)

I think "Maximum Strength" is a reference to medicines marketed as such - in particular brands of Ibuprofen "Maximum Strength Tablets". --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.132|172.69.79.132]] 14:59, 3 January 2023 (UTC)
: Yes - typically meaning that it contains far more of whatever its active ingredient is than is necessary to be efficacious.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.128|172.70.91.128]] 15:54, 3 January 2023 (UTC)

Considering that Deuterium is derived from Greek and Tritium works in both Greek and Latin, wouldn't the correct name for ⁴H be Tetartium?

721: Flatland

2022-12-22T13:16:10Z

172.68.51.160: Pun indented.

{{comic
| number = 721
| date = March 31, 2010
| title = Flatland
| image = flatland.png
| titletext = Also, I apologize for the time I climbed down into your world and everyone freaked out about the lesbian orgy overseen by a priest.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the satirical novel ''{{w|Flatland|Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions}}'', in which a society of flat shapes live in a {{w|Two-dimensional space|2D}} world. Half the book is a direct satire of {{w|Victorian era|Victorian}} society, and the other half explores the experience of discovering a new dimension, where a sphere introduces a square (named A. Square) to {{w|Three-dimensional space|3D}}. [[Cueball]] appears to have taken the place of this sphere, and the comic takes place after the square knows the third dimension exists.

Humans will never fully be able to fully grasp the concept of a fourth spatial dimension (at least not in the foreseeable future), but there are ways of squashing or slicing four dimensions to create partial visualizations of 4D space. ''{{w|Miegakure}}'' is a yet-to-be-released 4D game that uses cross-sections of 4D space. Cueball attempted to play a pre-release version of it, but after having his "mind blown", he gained more sympathy for A. Square, who'd had similar trouble understanding 3D. A. Square accepts his apology.

The joke here is that Cueball was being silly and drew lines on A. Square to make him look like {{w|SpongeBob SquarePants (character)|SpongeBob}}, which did not make the square happy. Cueball apologizes again.

The title text is a third apology for when Cueball crawled down into the second dimension. Being a stick figure, he is composed of a circle and straight lines. In Flatland, circles are priests (Flatland's highest social level), and all women are lines; thus, to a watcher in Flatland, Cueball would look very much like a priest above many connected women, which may look like a lesbian orgy.

Also worth mentioning is the pun in the greetings: A. Square - being on ground level - asks Cueball above him how he's doing by asking what's up.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball talks to a square on the ground.]
:Cueball: Hey, A. Square. How's Flatland?
:A. Square: Still flat. What's up?
:Cueball: I just spent an hour playing a demo of this 4D game called Miegakure.

:[In a frameless panel, a character in Miegakure jumps around the 4D landscape.]
:Caption above the panel: Trying to jump from block to block in four dimensions hurt my brain.

:[Cueball continues talking to A. Square on the ground.]
:Cueball: So I apologize for giving you a hard time when you were slow to understand 3D space. I sympathize now.
:A. Square: It's okay.

:[Zoom in on Cueball's head]
:Cueball: Also, I apologize for drawing arms, legs, and eyes on you to make you look like SpongeBob. That was out of line.
:A. Square: Yes, it was.

==Trivia==
*There is actually a SpongeBob episode featuring a flat creature that resembles a crude drawing of SpongeBob.

===UniXKCD===
*This comic was released on March 31, 2010 and was still up on April 1st, 2010.
**On {{w|April_Fools%27_Day|April Fools' Day}} in 2010 [[Randall]] altered the website to mimic a {{w|Unix}} command line interface.
**This interface is still available on [https://uni.xkcd.com uni.xkcd.com] and the source code is available on [https://github.com/chromakode/xkcdfools GitHub].
**See more on the [[UniXKCD]] April Fools' Day joke.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Geometry]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Homosexuality]]
[[Category:Sex]]

2659: Unreliable Connection

2022-12-06T02:02:52Z

172.68.51.160:

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Talk:2678: Wing Lift

2022-09-29T07:21:45Z

172.68.51.160: comment of plane of wing of plane

"The plane of the wing" - looks like Randall messed up on the title text [[User:InfoManiac|InfoManiac]] ([[User talk:InfoManiac|talk]]) 05:52, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

Or maybe not: It's the plane of the wing of the plane! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.160|172.68.51.160]] 07:21, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2052: Stanislav Petrov Day

2022-09-27T08:18:50Z

172.68.51.160: forgot to sign a comment

Wednesday was also Talk Like a Pirate Day [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:51, 28 September 2018 (UTC)
: What is a pirate's favorite letter?
: Aaaar!
: Many people think it's the 'R', but it's actually the 'C'! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.168|162.158.106.168]] 15:05, 28 September 2018 (UTC)
::...I feel like I've read that on a webcomic somewhere... [[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.16|172.68.174.16]] 15:32, 28 September 2018 (UTC)
:::It's a common audience participation joke when Paul and Storm perform The Captain's Wife's Lament, maybe that's what you're thinking of [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.123|162.158.62.123]] 13:36, 1 October 2018 (UTC)
:::Ye'd think they'd be the most fond if the 'C', but without 'P', they just be irate. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.100|108.162.241.100]] 16:01, 28 September 2018 (UTC)
Ayyy, got this one pretty fast. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.13|162.158.154.13]] 15:18, 28 September 2018 (UTC)
:I thought that International Talk Like A Pirate Day was September 19th. I've been celebrating it on that day for decades [[User:Mr. I|Mr. I]] ([[User talk:Mr. I|talk]]) 19:37, 29 September 2018 (UTC)

I just read about Mr Petrov the other day, maybe on Quora. I wonder if Randall received the same article in his daily digest :) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.78|141.101.107.78]] 16:26, 28 September 2018 (UTC)

'''History of Petrov Day as a holiday'''

My critics: Not explaining much to the comics content; even admires that a stupid citation is still needed; this Wiki isn't a link list; I can do more... But I don't want to do censorship so maybe we can put this into a single sentence belonging to an explanation. Otherwise some could be moved to a trivia section. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:17, 28 September 2018 (UTC)

I can't find anything specific, but a couple other articles list this BBC link https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-24280831 which states that his heroism was kept secret until after the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991ish) and that Mr. Petrov "kept silent for 10 years" - so 1993 or maybe 2001. [[User:Afbach|Afbach]] ([[User talk:Afbach|talk]])
:Read the first paragraph: "The incident was unknown to the public until it was revealed shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991." --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:41, 29 September 2018 (UTC)

I think everyone missed the subtle point in this comic - Stanislav was famous for correctly identifying the nuclear attack alert as a false alarm, and Cueball thought the calendar alert he received was a false alarm as well! I believe that's the real joke here! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:30, 29 September 2018 (UTC)
:I agree. Had already just added this when I read your comment --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:34, 30 January 2020 (UTC)

You all missed the joke of the “false alarm clock”, which is that if it keeps going off when it’s not supposed to, you very well might assume that it’s another false alarm when you are actually supposed to wake up, and thus will sleep late anyway, completely defeating the point of the alarm. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 20:33, 29 September 2018 (UTC)
:I agree. Have just added this after I read your comment --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:34, 30 January 2020 (UTC)

Is it just me, or does Eliezer Yudkowsky show up abnormally frequently in explainXKCD? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.118|108.162.241.118]] 04:35, 30 September 2018 (UTC)

So, corrolarily if that's a word, if you ''don't'' ignore the alarm clock and go back to sleep, the world ends?
(On a personal note, Stanislav Petrov day is the day before my birthday. It is somewhat gutting to think back on a day when I was opening presents, stuffing myself with cake, and running around the yard playing hide & seek with a bunch of other kids, and thinking just how different that day might have been).
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.59.30|172.68.59.30]] 17:45, 1 October 2018 (UTC)

Hmmm, at first I thought this incident may have been the inspiration for the movie "WarGames", but then hearing that it was kept secret until over a decade later, means that couldn't have been the case. Or could it? -Electro-- [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.231|172.69.68.231]] 21:59, 7 October 2018 (UTC)

Also, note the subtle choice of exclamation "Oh, shoot!" which would have been the response of Petrov's superiors if he had not chosen to ignore the alarm and done as he was directed.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.172|162.158.2.172]] 02:01, 26 November 2018 (UTC)
:Nice spotted. Have just added this after I read your comment --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:34, 30 January 2020 (UTC)

'''NASA's DART mission'''

I can't help pointing out that on 2022 Stanislav Petrov Day the DART probe hit the tiny asteroid moon Dimorphos in a mission to test how to redirect a potential future Earth-threatening asteroid. Looks like APL wanted to take part in the world-saving fame... -- [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.160|172.68.51.160]] 08:18, 27 September 2022 (UTC)

Talk:2036: Edgelord

2018-08-24T08:47:11Z

172.68.51.160:

Presumably has something to do with https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=edgelord
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.129|173.245.48.129]] 04:37, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

What is up with the wolverine? Am I missing a joke here? Possibly a reference somewhere else? {{unsigned ip|172.68.34.106}}
: That is a reference to Wolverine, the Marvel Comics character, who has retractable "claws" stowed in his forearms and come out the back of his hands. The claws of an actual wolverine, like others in the family Mustelidae, are permanently extended. [[User:Nutster|Nutster]] ([[User talk:Nutster|talk]]) 12:41, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
: It seems to me like the Wolverine thing is almost a non sequitur. I think a better comparison would be "like calling an engineering student a 'forcelord'" or "calling an astronomy PhD a 'Starlord'", or a pharmacologist a 'Druglord'. -- [[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 13:02, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:: Agree. Update made.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.65.90|172.68.65.90]] 13:19, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
::: Aww... You guys made a better comparison than me. I put in the wolverine thing just to make a point that it was silly yet technically (by the loosest definition) accurate. I'm sorry it confused you. [[User:V|V]] ([[User talk:V|talk]]) 22:25, 23 August 2018 (UTC) ~
:: And someone studying military theory would be a Warlord? Or Lord of War? [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:53, 24 August 2018 (UTC)
::: There is an academic title called Master of War https://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/master-war-studies-8571

If you are actually an "edgelord", wouldn't you answer "no" anyway to provoke once again? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 08:40, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

I feel like there should be some discussion of what an edge (or hyper-edge) is in graph theory. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.22|162.158.165.22]] 10:20, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

Good that he doesn't call his plumber a shitlord. Might need one again. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.54.75|172.69.54.75]] 11:54, 22 August 2018 (UTC)

So... is the joke just a half-working pun on "edge", or am I missing something? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.119|172.69.226.119]] 14:28, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:Yes <[[Special:Contributions/162.158.167.120|162.158.167.120]] 15:29, 22 August 2018 (UTC)>

So… Does this mean that white hat has a PhD in Graph Theory? {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.214}}
:It seems so. But please sign your comments. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:54, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
::Well, the White Hat in ''this'' comic has one. Doesn't necessarily imply the same thing about White Hats in any other comics. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.154|162.158.238.154]] 08:19, 23 August 2018 (UTC)

Nothing to do with the Doctor who is a Time Lord? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.94|172.68.34.94]] 20:16, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:That's where my mind went as well, but I have no way to make that connection. (P.S. I love Alton Brown's description of himself on Twitter as a "Thyme Lord". I almost wanted to add that as a "calling a chef" example above!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.124|162.158.63.124]] 14:41, 23 August 2018 (UTC)

Hehe "Starlord"--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.123|173.245.48.123]] 03:52, 24 August 2018 (UTC)