explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1916: Temperature Preferences

2017-11-15T05:46:56Z

172.68.54.100: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1916
| date = November 15, 2017
| title = Temperature Preferences
| image = temperature_preferences.png
| titletext = There's a supposed Mark Twain quote, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." It isn't really by Mark Twain, but I don't know who said itâI just know they've never been to McMurdo Station.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Edited by GLOBAL WARMING - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is a chart of major (and not-so-major) populated areas showing seasonal temperature patterns. The chart is a guide to where one might like to live depending on how much summer heat and winter cold they enjoy. There are four focused zones:

* Hate both cold and heat (eg. Quito, Addis Ababa)--Neither summers nor winters are too extreme
* Hate cold but love heat (eg. Rio, Bangkok, Manila)--Tropical regions, very hot in the summer
* Hate heat but love cold (eg. Moscow, Oslo)--High latitudes, very cold in the winter
* Love both heat and cold (eg. Seoul, Beijing)--Both summers and winters are too extreme

The summer heat axis is determined by {{w|humidex}}, a system that combines heat and humidity to generate an estimate of perceived "summer discomfort".

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

{{comic discussion}}

1913: A ?

2017-11-15T05:43:16Z

172.68.54.100: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1913
| date = November 8, 2017
| title = A �
| image = i.png
| titletext = If you want in on the fun, map a key on your keyboard to the sequence U+0041 U+0020 U+FFFD (or U+0021 U+0020 U+FFFD for the exclamation point version), and then no update can never take this away from you.
}}

==Explanation==

After the update to {{w|Apple Inc.|Apple's}} {{w|IOS_11#11.1|iOS 11.1}}, many (though not all) {{w|iPhone}} users suffered from a strange bug, where the {{w|autocorrection}} changed any input of the single lowercase letter "i" to either "A" or "!" followed by a space and a Unicode {{w|Variation Selectors (Unicode block)|variation selector 16}} (U+FE0F, on iOS displayed as a question mark in a square).<ref>http://www.loopinsight.com/2017/11/06/ios-bug-autocorrects-letter-i-to-a-plus-unicode-symbol-heres-a-workaround-and-a-clue-to-the-cause/</ref> Using a {{w|Specials_(Unicode_block)#Replacement_character|replacement character}} (U+FFFD) to approximate this display, the result of typing "i took" might be "A � took" or "! � took". In a handwritten text, the "�" symbol could then be mistaken for a censored word, signifying indignation against the person taking out the trash. This problem previously manifested as an "I" followed directly by the VS-16 "emojify character", turning them into an " �" without the "A".<ref>https://twitter.com/willkirkby/status/925865928193134593</ref>

The note in this comic is the equivalent of starting a text message with "i took out..." and triggering the iOS bug. The joke revolves around acceptance of the bug through repetition has influenced the writer's hand written style.

The codes in the title text refer to "A �" and "! �" respectively. The text provides a way to keep the "bug" active with the U+FFFD approximation, (which can be realized through the use of a {{w|Cydia}} tweak) even after it is patched. Although this would have no practical use, it is still a fun way{{Citation needed}} for iPhone users to keep the infamous bug fresh in everyone's mind, and to make sure that the Apple company never lives down the embarrassing incident.

The statement in the title text "no update can never take this away from you" is a {{w|Double negative|double negative}}, which is a considered non-standard grammatical use in modern English, although common in many dialects. Taking literally it could actually mean "any update can take this away from you". This may be a typo or a colloquial use, with the intended meaning to be "ever" instead of "never" with some exaggeration.

=== References ===
<references />

==Transcript==
:[A picture of a yellow post-it note with a handwritten message:]
:A ⍰ took out the trash but the dishwasher still needs to be run.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Apple can try to fix the autocorrect bug, but I've already incorporated it into my handwriting.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Unicode]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1892: USB Cables

2017-09-23T21:30:09Z

172.68.54.100: /* Explanation */ mention strain relief -- apple does this a lot.

{{comic
| number = 1892
| date = September 20, 2017
| title = USB Cables
| image = usb_cables.png
| titletext = Tag yourself, I'm "frayed."
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Randall]] states the 'Law of {{w|USB}} cables': You will never have more than one which has no problems now matter how many you get. Now that most devices charge off USB, having a cable (specifically, USB-A (the big end) to Micro-B or USB-C (the small end)) is essential. However, most USB cables are cheaply made, and carrying them around quickly damages them. This comic lists some common (and not so common) problems with USB cables.

* '''Carry power but not data''' - USB cables have separate data and power lines. To save money (and sometimes for security reasons), the data lines can be omitted. This means it can be used for charging, but not data transfer. Two cables are shown with this problem.
* '''Carries data but not power''' - Not typically done, but it could happen if the wires or pins get damaged.
* '''Too short''' - Another money saving wheeze, some devices ship with pathetically short cables.
* '''Charges phone slowly''' - More likely a problem with the charger than the cable, but may happen if the wires are damaged. Refers to some chargers not delivering more than half an ampere. Could also be caused by thin wires which lead to a significant voltage drop, thereby reducing charging speed.
* '''Won't auto-activate portable charger''' - Most portable chargers (basically big batteries) should activate when the device is plugged in. Something about the cable (possibly the way the data lines are shorted) is interfering with this mechanism.
* '''Has annoying ferrite lumps''' - {{w|Ferrite bead}}s are used to filter out interference from the cable. High-performance applications need these, but on a phone charger you're just adding unnecessary weight and bulk. Two cables are shown with this problem.
* '''Heavy and not very flexible''' - Either a heavy-duty USB cable, with thicker insulation, or a shielded one with a metal sheath inside to keep out interference.
* '''Frayed''' - Cables with improper strain relief experience a lot of bending force at the ends, near the connectors, and these can easily burst the insulation as shown here. Two cables are shown with this problem.
* '''Plug doesn't fit through case''' - Manufacturers don't always follow the standard for what the plastic housing around the USB connector should look like, and sometimes these are molded so they don't quite fit in the phone socket or through the charging port of an external case.
* '''Needs to be twisted to keep working''' - The wires inside are damaged, and only connect when held in just the right way. One step away from total breakage.
* '''Weird shape''' - A normal USB cable but [http://read.pudn.com/downloads114/doc/comm/476505/usb_20_040908/usb_20/Micro-USB_final/Micro-USB_1_01.pdf#page=30 the connector is molded with a 90 degree turn (which is actually specified in the MicroUSB Specification, see pages 28-31)] for no apparent reason and might be not convenient in some situations.
* '''The good one''' - This is the one that really works out of the 15 shown, with 11 different problems. The funny thing is that it looks more or less exactly like at least 6 of the other 14. So it will take some time to find this cable.

The title text refers to the popular meme "[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/tag-yourself Tag yourself, I'm...]" which is used with pictures containing lots of strange phrases or other elements. People highlight individual details from the image with the phrase, usually self-deprecatingly. Here, Randall suggests that, like a USB cable, he's frayed. "I'm frayed" is also a pun on the sentence "I'm afraid" that is commonly added to the end of a comment which the speaker believes may leave a negative impression on the listener.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[15 USB cables are shown lying in a column. They are mostly very similar, with small differences. To the right of the cables there are 12 labels, as three of the labels belongs to three sets of two cables.]
:Carry power but not data
:Carries data but not power
:Too short
:Charges phone slowly
:Won't auto-activate portable charger
:Has annoying ferrite lumps
:Heavy and not very flexible
:Frayed
:Plug doesn't fit through case
:Needs to be twisted to keep working
:Weird shape
:The good one

:[Caption below the panel:]
:The law of USB cables: No matter how many you get, you only ever have one good one.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1890: What to Bring

2017-09-18T16:13:29Z

172.68.54.100:

Presumerably water in a gun fight _might_ work if the guns involved are particularly old fashioned (eg see [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintlock Flintlock]) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.55|162.158.154.55]] 06:35, 15 September 2017 (UTC) A flintlock style uses a metal 'frizzen' which hinges over the 'pan' into which the priming power is placed. This not only protects the powder from the weather (and a splash), but also keep the powder in the pan as the firearm is moved about. When the mechanism is fired, the flint comes striking down on the surface of the frizzen which both opens the cover and directs sparks into the pan. The type of firearm that might be made inactive with a splash of water is an older design called the matchlock which held a lit cord or match in a mechanism over the open pan. The gun is fired by allowing the match to fall into the pan and detonating the powder.

I see that bringing a lid to a knife or gun fight might serve as some sort of a shield? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.66|141.101.107.66]] 06:52, 15 September 2017 (UTC)

If your lid is big enough, you can extinguish a wood fire too [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.240|141.101.105.240]] 09:50, 15 September 2017 (UTC)

Is this Randall being political about the situation with North Korea? Maybe I'm reading too much into it, although the world would probably be a better place if more people (and countries) followed the tag text. [[User:Fluppeteer|Fluppeteer]] ([[User talk:Fluppeteer|talk]]) 10:29, 15 September 2017 (UTC)

But what if... you bring a wood fire... TO A KNIFE FIGHT?! Also, I'm not the only person thinking about BOTW's lowest-defense shield, am I? [[User:OriginalName|OriginalName]] ([[User talk:OriginalName|talk]]) 11:24, 15 September 2017 (UTC)

US Military personnel use "lid" as a euphemism for their uniform hat. I think that interpretation is represented in the drawing for "lid to a knife fight". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.201|162.158.74.201]] 12:57, 15 September 2017 (UTC)

Using a gun to extinguish fire probably was influenced by this official tweet of a sheriff 5 days ago [https://mobile.twitter.com/pascosheriff/status/906712903868469249 "To clarify, DO NOT shoot weapons @ #Irma. You won't make it turn around & it will have very dangerous side effects"], which was necessary after stupid people started to try to fight the hurricane with guns. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.94|172.68.110.94]] 15:23, 15 September 2017 (UTC)

The sentence "which often come with lids suited to making an airtight seal" is inaccurate. Lids don't form an airtight seal, and airtightness is not necessary to extinguish a pan fire.--[[User:Pere prlpz|Pere prlpz]] ([[User talk:Pere prlpz|talk]]) 23:58, 15 September 2017 (UTC)

The phrase "don't bring a knife to a gun fight" is not a statement of general naive lack of preparation, but is specifically used to advocate literal firearms as a means of defense over literal knives. The "gun fight" refers to encounters with armed criminals who, the phrase suggests, will still use their gun to your disadvantage whether or not you are capable of fighting back. It has been subverted occasionally as an implied threat (usually in drama rather than reality) when the situation is reversed, ie. the criminal is armed with a knife and the would-be victim is armed with a gun. The violence implied by "a gun fight" tends to restrict more metaphorical use of the phrase. The title text seems to be based in the original meaning, with the implication that Randall expects a gun being used against an armed criminal to escalate violence.

Just noticed that the comic on xkcd got a little correction: The "Water to a knife fight" Cueball was missing an arm. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.202|162.158.202.202]] 23:12, 17 September 2017 (UTC)

1891: Obsolete Technology

2017-09-18T14:52:19Z

172.68.54.100:

{{comic
| number = 1891
| date = September 18, 2017
| title = Obsolete Technology
| image = obsolete_technology.png
| titletext = And I can't believe some places still use fax machines. The electrical signals waste so much time going AROUND the Earth when neutrino beams can go straight through!
}}

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

This comic appears to involve a character criticizing "obsolete" technology when it is actually sufficient for what it needs to do, saying that it is taking them "forever" to upgrade to technology with capabilities beyond what is necessary for the task, where the upgrade might have side effects.

{{w|MS-DOS}} is a computer operating system made by {{w|Microsoft}} that was dominant during parts of the 1980s. When Microsoft released Windows, a newer operating system (or series of operating systems), they encouraged people to switch to that, which many did. DOS became obsolete when Microsoft released Windows 95 in 1995 and Windows 2000 and Windows XP in the early 2000s, although Microsoft had released other versions of Windows that were newer than DOS that had partially displaced DOS even well before 1995.

Using nuclear weapons for fireworks would create a far larger explosion than what is needed for a fireworks display{{Citation needed}} and would cause problems such as radiation poisoning for spectators.

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

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:693: Children's Fantasy

2017-08-20T23:53:47Z

172.68.54.100:

The title text continues the thought by pointing out the impossibility of contributing anything to the scientific world after visiting a magical world, as the child would know many scientific baselines, and, indeed, most regularly practiced scientific theory to be false, but would be unable to say anything or convince anyone of what they knew.

That explains it.
Damn!

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 12:19, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

What if this applies to the TimeCube guy? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:50, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

Actually you won't relate the story to anyone for very long due to the skepticism and out right disbelief you wind up facing. Eventually you never repeat what happened to anyone anymore but YOU know it did. You wind up living a nomadic life due to the need to try to find somewhere or someone that will believe you but that doesn't ever happen.

And it does affect how you live the rest of your life because; how do you top that adventure in a world that doesn't believe in magic or people with special powers?

As you grow older you become bored and begin to wish it was all over with so you wouldn't be so depressed about the loss of that world. Eventually you'll get your wish but it makes life seem like an eternity. Until it's not. Trust me on this. [[User:Jakee308|Jakee308]] ([[User talk:Jakee308|talk]]) 19:01, 8 June 2015 (UTC)

For me, it immediately made me think of Michael Ende's "The Neverending Story", but I'm also German, and I think a lot of people my age grew up on Michel Ende's books (literally ALL the other ones are great, too!). The film is only the first (and more conventional) half of the book, and the rest pretty much deals with the issue of chosing the fantasy world or the one you came from. Then again, there is at least the bookseller who knows his adventures are real. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.100|172.68.54.100]] 23:53, 20 August 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1823: Hottest Editors

2017-04-20T19:33:43Z

172.68.54.100: why is vim the winner?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRISPR, a procaryotic immune defense system that, coupled with Cas9, has been used by molecular biologists as a technology for precise edition of a the genome of virtually any organism.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.216|141.101.105.216]] 14:59, 12 April 2017 (UTC) LinVl

So.. the M-x crispr command? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.51.172|172.68.51.172]] 15:54, 12 April 2017 (UTC)ZZ
You mean `ESC:crispr` ? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.183|162.158.62.183]] 13:54, 15 April 2017 (UTC)
The first editors are not for machine-readable Text. But for sourcecode which is human-readable.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.192|162.158.90.192]] 16:49, 12 April 2017 (UTC)
:Well, the compiler or interpreter can hopefully read your source code, so in some sense it's machine-readable :P. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.112|172.68.54.112]] 18:13, 12 April 2017 (UTC)

i noticed the article fails to mention the comic declaring vim as the winner in 2005... kind of a huge oversight. mayhaps there is bias in the author of this wiki? mayhaps the author is a huge emacs fan?
:Maybe he's alluding to this with CRISPR-VIM in 2025.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.51|162.158.74.51]] 22:12, 12 April 2017 (UTC)
:As a 30+ year Emacs user, I too wanted to know why vim was declared the winner. Is there some sort of objective basis for the declaration, or is it just a joke in the context of Emacs versus vi debate STILL going on? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.100|172.68.54.100]] 19:33, 20 April 2017 (UTC)

I'm surprised no female name is included. I mean, there must be lot of newspapers with female editors and some of them are likely hot. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:06, 13 April 2017 (UTC)

Could CRISPR being the hottest editor refer to DNA computing? https://www.britannica.com/technology/DNA-computing

"Sublime Text is the current "most popular" text editor according to Randall[citation needed]". Citation needed? Someone should link that phrase to this comic then, LOL!

And I want to mention, this site has been looking all wrong and messed up on my iPad 1 for the last week or two. The entire left side is missing, being relegated to looking wrong below, the logo is gone, the buttons are in some different Times-looking font, and this comment text box is only using the centre half of the screen, horizontally. It's like a style sheet got corrupted. Or it's been made prejudiced against older devices and OSes. :) - NiceGuy1 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.88|108.162.219.88]] 03:18, 14 April 2017 (UTC)

:Have you tried turning it off and on again? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.46|162.158.114.46]] 21:06, 14 April 2017 (UTC)

A modal editor with a modal modem : In the days of Hayes modems, using "+" in vi to move down a line (similar to "j") would not always work because "+++" sent in a short time period changes the modem from data mode to command mode. One could imagine a future Tesla having a debug mode entered through a similar key sequence.

: "Vim will make a comeback in DNA editing, thus having 'won' the battle with Emacs" - Why would Vim only win the battle with Emacs in 2025, when, according to the chart, Vim already was the hottest editor in 2005 (which Emacs never was)? --[[User:YMS|YMS]] ([[User talk:YMS|talk]]) 15:07, 19 April 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1792: Bird/Plane/Superman

2017-01-31T05:40:18Z

172.68.54.100:

The explanation says that "birds evolved from dinosaurs". But birds **are** dinosaurs --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.100|172.68.54.100]] 05:40, 31 January 2017 (UTC)

== Sunbathing ==
Randall missed that a plane can lose it's ability to fly via excessive icing on surfaces. While it is not usually the way in which it is cured (using deicing solution and onboard aircraft systems to melt them,) sunbathing the plane in greater than freezing temperatures is an excellent way to regain the ability to fly. (And without additional energy cost, too!) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.34|108.162.216.34]] 17:58, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

Now that we have solar planes, some planes may occasionally require a sunbath to get airborne again. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.88|162.158.114.88]] 21:51, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

== Flapping ==
Perhaps we should mention the pre-twentieth century attempts at powered flight some of which were powered by flapping.

Also should we mention that a hta craft pwered by flapping would be an ornithopter.

== Mating & Peeping David ==
Given their is only one David Attenborough and he does not spend his entire life making wildlife documentaries the chance of his observing any individual bird copulation is remarkably small.

[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.137|141.101.99.137]] 19:28, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

What sort of birds mate in mid flight? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.52|141.101.80.52]] 19:47, 30 January 2017 (UTC)
:Swifts for example. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 21:37, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

== mid flight poop ==
From what I understand, superman gets the majority of his energy from the sun. Is there any confirmation that he can poop mid flight, or even poop at all? Maybe he just slowly releases various gasses?--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.17|173.245.51.17]] 22:47, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

Well Superman does eat, so it is likely he does poop too. Sun gives him super power thing, but he frequents restaurants as Clark Kent. --[[User:Trimutius|Trimutius]] ([[User talk:Trimutius|talk]]) 04:00, 31 January 2017 (UTC)