explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1113: Killed in Action

2023-12-09T15:54:01Z

172.69.194.244: Undo revision 330462 by 172.69.134.190 (talk) Needs rewriting, if useful, but right now I haven't tbe time.

{{comic
| number = 1113
| date = September 26, 2012
| title = Killed in Action
| image = killed in action.png
| titletext = We can't let this happen again. We need to build a secure TWO-day-before-retirement safe room.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic plays with the TV and film trope of {{tvtropes|Retirony}}, in which a cop is killed in action only a short time before (often the day before) retirement, usually producing a sense of even greater tragedy in the timing of the death. The humor of this strip arises from the notion that, given so many policemen are killed the day before retirement, retiring cops could be sequestered in a secure facility on the day before their retirement to avoid retirony. Unfortunately this merely results in tragedy when a cop is killed the day before being sequestered.

The title text is a reference to the reactionary nature of security procedures often put in place in the aftermath of an incident, and how they typically fail to address the root cause of the problem. If the logic expressed in the title text was followed repeatedly, eventually the number of days police officers spent in the secure room would encompass their entire career. Perhaps even quicker, if combined with another expandable scheme designed to protect rookie cops from similar {{tvtropes|FirstDayFromHell|'first day accidents'}}.

A certain similarity could be drawn between this and the US Army's problematic policy of only having combat troops serve for a single year in combat during the Vietnam war (unlike during WWII, when combat units were put into the front line and left there until the war was over, with losses being made up with a constant flow of individual replacements, which was even more problematic). Having troops only serve for a single year led to a far lower rate of troops "broken" from constant combat stress, but it also led to soldiers increasingly avoiding risk once the halfway point of their year was passed and their time to go home got closer; not only that, but the stress of the last few months, knowing one was almost "home safe", yet forced into danger repeatedly could also psychologically damage men. It also created an incentive to just make it alive through the war, no matter what it took, unlike a situation where a soldier knows they are stuck there until the war is over; this can be a great incentive to fight harder, or at least to just give up any real hope that you'll live long enough to see the end anyway. They later revisited this "combat year" approach also, and tried yet another new idea.

See also the {{w|Unexpected hanging paradox|paradox of the "unexpected hanging"}}.

==Transcript==
:([[Hairbun]], [[Danish]] and [[Cueball]] are standing in the background by a coffin. A second Cueball, as the policeman and [[Ponytail]], as the policewoman, are standing in the foreground.)
:Ponytail: Good cop. It's a real shame—
:Ponytail: He was just one day away from getting put in the locked, heavily guarded room where all cops stay for the last day before they retire.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

2862: Typical Seating Chart

2023-12-05T18:44:29Z

172.69.194.244: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2862
| date = December 1, 2023
| title = Typical Seating Chart
| image = typical_seating_chart_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x943px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Now that airlines have started adding wheel locks to their drink carts, less than half of flights have one accidentally fall out through the hole.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOEING 777 PASSENGER SHOOTING A ROGUE A-10 WARTHOG TO REACH PLATINUM MEDALLION STATUS- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic shows a seating chart for a 182-seat airplane (and its fighter escort) with several unusual features.

{|class = "wikitable"
! Label !! Location !! Notes
|-
|{{w|Cowcatcher}}
|Front of plane
|This looks like a {{w|Cowcatcher|train cowcatcher}}, a metal grate on the front of some trains, which is intended to ''deflect'' obstacles (including animals) rather than to capture them. This one could help deflect livestock both on the ground – while taxiing – and perhaps also in the air – to "catch" flying cows, such as any that have decided to jump over the moon.

A bit of trivia: in railroad parlance, the cowcatcher is known as a ''Pilot''.
|-
|Please only pick these seats if you're a pilot
|Cockpit
|These are the cockpit seats, typically saved for the airline's employee pilots. However it's possible the airline might have a system like in [[726: Seat Selection]], where a passenger can pick this seat.
|-
|Main stage
|rowspan="3"|First Class
|This plane is set up to hold a concert or other performance in flight.
|-
|Mosh pit
|A {{w|mosh pit}} is common in punk and heavy metal concert performances. Moshing during take-off, landing and (potentially) during periods of in-flight turbulence would not be very safe, but moshers (and any performers) would presumably also have a booked seat.
|-
|Various fancy classes
|Airlines make a point of distinguishing between their "fancy classes", such as First Class and Business Class, but this one humorously buckets them together. (This is the first actual seating type.)
|-
|Some airplane companies waste this space
|Wings
|The comic suggests that wing space is traditionally wasted. In reality the space inside the wings is often used for fuel, and it is not advised to sit in or on the wing.

The {{w|Junkers G.38}} was one airplane that had seating in the wing (and forward facing windows).
|-
|Lookout
|End of wings
|A "lookout" is more common at the edges of things like army encampments or pirate ships, not planes. These passengers seem to look for any dangers – perhaps the pursuers mentioned in the description of the tail gunners.
|-
|Passenger has to pedal
|Propellers
|Exit row seats come with additional responsibilities to help in the case of an emergency. These passengers' responsibility is to pedal, turning the propellers. It is not feasible for two passengers to contribute sufficient power to make a significant difference to that already supplied by the two equipped jet engines. {{w|Human-powered aircraft|Pedal-powered planes}} do exist, although not in combination with jet engines.
|-
|Hole for trash
|Middle of plane, just behind wings
|In reality, a big hole here would reduce cabin pressure and be a danger to people or things falling through the hole (such as drink carts as mentioned in the title text). Planes try to keep all trash on board until they land.

There have been reported incidents of waste (from bathrooms) falling from airplanes in the form of "{{w|Blue_ice_(aviation)|Blue Ice}}", though these are by accidental leaks rather than by design.
|-
|Sidecar
|Attached to left side of plane, behind wings
|Some vehicles like motorbikes have a sidecar, a small device attached to the main vehicle. An airplane sidecar would make it less stable unless accounted for in the initial design. The {{w|Rutan Boomerang}} and {{w|Blohm & Voss BV 141}} are notable exceptions, but their sidecars are not for passengers.
|-
|Extra middle seats
|Back of plane
|Here instead of having an aisle between three seats on the left and three on the right, the aisle separates one seat on the left and five on the right. Those five seats are an aisle seat, three middle seats, and a window seat. This setup could actually exist, although it would be inconvenient to traverse. Middle seats are considered less desirable than aisle or window seats, so intentionally adding more is unusual. Those who might actually like this arrangement include larger families with small kids who wish to sit together, as well as solitary travelers who want a seat that's both an aisle and a window, with no one next to them.
|-
|Bumper car seating
|Just in front of tail
|These seats are presumably not attached to anything, instead able to move freely like bumper cars – not exactly a safe way to fly.{{Actual citation needed}} Alternatively, the seats could simply be {{w|Bumper cars}}.
|-
|Penthouse
|Tail (rudder)
|A seat located in the tail, presumably higher than the rest. The tail of a plane doesn't usually have any seating, and airlines do not generally appreciate having passengers "higher than the pilot".

Some Etihad Airways planes actually have an apartment like cabin class called "the residence" that is sometimes called a penthouse by the media. That is located at the front of the plane, though, and it's unclear if this a reference to that.
|-
|Extra legroom
|Hanging off of front of left side of tail
|A common complaint with airplane seating is the lack of legroom. These seats do not have this problem – in fact, they have the entire atmosphere as legroom. Loss of shoes and/or glasses or other loose clothing could be an issue, as these seats appear to be outside the protection of the pressure-controlled main cabin, so passengers would bear the brunt of the wind.
|-
|Fighter escort
|Separate, smaller plane
|A smaller fighter jet flying alongside the main plane, apparently with seating options for 14 passengers. A few seats are at the front of the fighter, which means that those passengers may have to operate the jet if it's not autonomous.

A fighter escort would more normally be deployed to escort a plane that was considered a potential target, but not usually as a simple extension of the main flight.
|-
|Tail gunners (Must protect plane from pursuers but earn extra miles)
|Tail (riding above the stabiliser)
|People in these seats must protect the plane from any pursuers. The fact that these people are passengers is clear from the incentive of extra air miles. {{w|Frequent-flyer program|Frequent-flyer programs}} are a common system that airlines implement where passengers can receive special awards for flying often. It's not uncommon for different fare classes to earn different amounts of miles, but the difference is traditionally due to price or class, not because of in-flight services rendered.
|}

The total of 182 seats on the plane is a similar amount to a typically equipped Boeing 737-800, a very popular passenger plane. Up to 7,000 are in use around the world for short-range and mid-range flights. A typical Boeing 737-800 with 189 seats has a one-class layout in a 3x3 configuration, a bit simpler than what's seen here.

The presence of lookouts, tail gunners and a fighter escort suggests that this plane expects to be a target of air-to-air attacks, which suggests it may be carrying VIPs and flying over enemy airspace.

The title text expands on the hole, suggesting that it was a common occurrence for drink carts to fall down the hole until they implemented wheel locks. The lack of wheel locks would make it easier for a cart to slide towards the hole.

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

:Typical Airliner Seating Chart

:[Labeled items of a plane from front to back:]
:[Front of plane:]
:Cowcatcher
:[Cockpit (2 seats):]
:Please only pick these seats if you're a pilot
:[First Class section (22 seats):]
:Main stage
:Mosh pit
:Various fancy classes
:[Wings (2 x 55 seats):]
:Some airplane companies waste this space
:[Ends of wings (2 x 1 seat):]
:Lookout
:[Propellers (2 x 1 seat):]
:Passenger has to pedal
:[Middle of plane, just behind wings:]
:Hole for trash
:[Left side of plane, behind wings (7 seats):]
:Sidecar
:[Back of plane (24 seats):]
:Extra middle seats
:[Just in front of tail (4 seats):]
:Bumper car seating
:[Tail (1 seat):]
:Penthouse
:[Hanging off of left side of tail (3 seats):]
:Extra legroom
:[Tail (4 seats):]
:Tail gunners (Must protect plane from pursuers but earn extra miles)

:[Separate, smaller plane to the right (14 seats):]
:Fighter escort

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Aviation]]

186: Console Lines

2023-11-22T19:48:53Z

172.69.194.244: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 186
| date = November 20, 2006
| title = Console Lines
| image = console_lines.png
| titletext = If I get a Wii, it will be the first game console I've owned.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic relates to {{w|video game consoles}}. At the time this comic was published, there were three major competing products: the {{w|Playstation 3}} by {{w|Sony}}, the {{w|Xbox 360}} by {{w|Microsoft}}, and the {{w|Wii}} by {{w|Nintendo}}. When a game console gets released, fans are often seen queuing outside the stores or camping on the pavement in order to be among the first to get their hands on a console. The comic shows such a console camp and points out the differences between the fan communities. While the fans waiting in line for a Sony or Microsoft product are very rude, the Nintendo fans are apologetic and try to comfort (that is to say, ''console'') those who arrived too late to obtain a package. The cliché that Nintendo fans are nicer and more polite may be attributed to the fact that the Wii is targeted at children and families, while the PS3 and the Xbox are targeted at the more "serious gamer" crowd.

The title text primarily expresses [[Randall]]'s distance from the console wars (he has never owned a game console before), but also indicating an inclination towards the Nintendo Wii.

==Transcript==
:Fans turning away latecomers to all-night game console campouts:
:[Two different lines, presumably leading to video game stores, are shown.]
:[In the line labeled Sony/Microsoft:]
:Cueball: The line is full, asshole! Fuck off!
:[In the line labeled Nintendo:]
:Cueball: I'm so sorry, all the consoles are spoken for.
:Cueball: Do... do you want a hug?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Video games]]

Talk:2314: Carcinization

2023-11-22T10:38:41Z

172.69.194.244: Undo revision 329451 by W (talk) Unsigned, ambiguous, deliberate nonsense?

Honestly, what is there to explain here? The only thing I can imagine in this explanation page is an explanation of why carcinization happens, which isn't explaining the comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.119|162.158.62.119]] 22:52, 1 June 2020 (UTC)
:We might need to look at the differences between various 'false crabs' and their relatives, to show that ''in the false crabs' lifestyle'', some crab-feature they have and their close cousinshttps://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Lightcaller&action=edit&redlink=1 do not is a thing that the CCs would be unable to match if they lived in the FC-like style. This is probably the subject of a whole dissertation (if not several). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.80|141.101.107.80]] 00:22, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Does this mean all programming languages evolve into Rust?[[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.87|172.69.68.87]] 23:08, 1 June 2020 (UTC)
:I think this might be part of the joke here. Rust has partially replaced other programming languages in [https://old.reddit.com/r/rustjerk/comments/grspew/request_for_help_where_did_rust_replace/ well known companies], and it has been [https://stackoverflow.blog/2020/05/27/2020-stack-overflow-developer-survey-results/ the most beloved language] for four years straight (according to StackOverflow survey). There has been many XKCDs with programming themes, I don't think Rust would go unnoticed for so long. (Note: Rust's mascot is a crab) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.198|141.101.96.198]] 15:22, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Is it just a coincidence that today's Questionable Content also contained a reference to crabs? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.195|172.69.68.195]] 00:31, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

It may be of note that Qwantz (a comic previously parodied in [[145]]) did a [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=3547 comic about carcinisation] earlier this year [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.179|162.158.158.179]] 01:08, 2 June 2020 (UTC)
:Why do you call Dinosaur Comic Qwantz? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 11:51, 2 June 2020 (UTC) <-- because that's the web URL[[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 12:36, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Gotta say, this is the first xkcd in a while that made me laugh. [[User:Lightcaller|Lightcaller]] ([[User talk:Lightcaller|talk]]) 03:49, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Nature: Time for crab [[Special:Contributions/162.158.50.204|162.158.50.204]] 04:58, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

This comic was posted 3 weeks too early, seeing as Cancer doesn't start until June 21 or 22 [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 12:34, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

Looks like it already happened at one Taiwanese semiconductor company: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Realtek_logo_vector.svg. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 14:11, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

The word "evolution" predates Darwin by at least a hundred years. It means a gradual development. Darwinian descent with modification is a specific type of evolution but the term can and is used other forms of gradual development, without any implication that anything Darwinian is going on.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.63.241|172.69.63.241]] 10:08, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

: This is a typical confusion of means vs ends. Evolution is a description of the results - the ends. Darwin described ''natural selection'' - a means capable of producing those ends that works well with observed data. There were, and still are theories that describe other means, which fit observations to differing degrees. [[User:Shamino|Shamino]] ([[User talk:Shamino|talk]]) 12:56, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

=== Webcomic Name ===

IMHO, it's pretty likely the last panel is a reference to webcomic name - the formatting of "OH NO" with no punctuation, no other text, the fact it's the last panel etc all seem not particularly xkcd-ish, and very webcomic name-ish. Do we really need this disclaimer " But may have nothing to do with it, since having told Cueball about this and then seeing him turned into a crab, may indicate Megan was the cause! And either way, saying "oh no" to something bad is not particular to the mentioned web comic." [[User:Stevage|Stevage]] ([[User talk:Stevage|talk]]) 13:53, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

: Agreed, the rambling is not needed. Good edit. --[[User:V2Blast|V2Blast]] ([[User talk:V2Blast|talk]]) 19:05, 2 June 2020 (UTC)
:: I disagree that this is related to "webcomic name". "Oh no" doesn't necessarily relate to anything. It is unclear whether Randall is aware of or a fan of that comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.203|172.69.33.203]] 21:57, 2 June 2020 (UTC)
::: I removed it. It's not even lowercase. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.61|162.158.74.61]] 23:59, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

:By weird coincidence yesterdays Questionable Content ended with Ancient Aliens were Crabs gag...
https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4276
Not sure if that's relevant, but it's at least interesting. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.142|172.68.141.142]] 22:39, 2 June 2020 (UTC)

There is a clear parallel with Ionesco's Rhinoceros, even the term Rhinocerisation.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.119|173.245.54.119]] 20:02, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

Am I the only one who every time he sees this comic constantly thinks of the spooky South Park song "Crab People, Crab People. Look like crabs. Talk like people"? [[User:Gunterkoenigsmann|Gunterkoenigsmann]] ([[User talk:Gunterkoenigsmann|talk]]) 17:17, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

I wonder if this comic might also be a reference to Karcrab, a meme about [https://mspaintadventures.fandom.com/wiki/Karkat_Vantas Karkat]. Karkat is a character in Homestuck, which is also on Randall's list of favorite comics. Karkat is generally a very angry (and therefore crabby) alien. He wields a sickle that looks like a crab claw, and he has a lusus (basically an animal-like alien that acts like a parent) that is a crab. Since he's an alien, his crab-like attributes would lend support to the idea that crabs tend to evolve even on alien planets. Coincidence? - [[User:PsuedoBubble|PsuedoBubble]] ([[User talk:PsuedoBubble|talk]]) 02:06, 31 July 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2842: Inspiraling Roundabout

2023-11-19T16:13:51Z

172.69.194.244:

First edit. I'm unfamiliar with the road rules in the comic so I just added the transcript in it's most basic form. [[User:OmniDoom|OmniDoom]] ([[User talk:OmniDoom|talk]]) 02:00, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

:don't worry, even a wrong explanation is better than no explanation because it tricks people into being correct for you [[User:Certified_nqh|Me]][[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]][[Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template]] 03:15, 17 October 2023 (UTC)
: New here, not sure of the procedure for discussing interpretation: I disagree with the interpretation that this is navigable by entering all the way into the center then driving out in a clockwise direction - that would be driving against traffic, which would be illegal and seem to violate the assertion that this is "technically navigable" (anything is "technically navigable" if you have a big enough vehicle and disregard for other people's property, but I'm assuming that we want to stay legal). I believe that the "correct way" to navigate this would be to signal and change to the right-lane until you get to your exit. The inward spiral may give cars a circuit or two to wait for a clear lane to the right, but the deeper you get, the faster you have to change lanes to get out again? --[[User:Candu|Candu]] ([[User talk:Candu|talk]]) 14:37, 17 October 2023 (UTC)
::Dangerous, probably, but 'illegal' is kind of out the window here, since Randall has thrown all notions of sensible road design language out of the window. The lanes permit access to the other lanes at the centre, even if it's not a sensible move.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.50|172.70.85.50]] 09:39, 18 October 2023 (UTC)
::This IS Clockwise, look at the arrows. For some reason Randall drew a British roundabout. I assume because North America doesn't really have them but they're famously common in Britain? The thing is, driving clockwise each entering lane ends just at the next exit, meaning Randall conceived of this as a counter-clockwise spiral after all. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:28, 29 October 2023 (UTC)
:::Those aren't directional arrows. They're an "exit line" marking (something similar to the actual UK {{w|File:Give_Way_Road_Marking_UK.jpg|Give Way markings}}?) or the equivalent US {{w|Yield sign}} (I don't see any indication as to what the US paints on its roads for them, but see the {{w|Stop and yield lines|European version}} that is "shark's teeth"), as far as I can tell. You have two 'right-side driving' lanes entering into the spiralabout, from each direction, and one leaving it. (''Part one of three sections by [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.170|172.71.178.170]] 17:57, 29 October 2023 (UTC)'')
::::You should sign your comments (I don't quite know how to post-sign a comment/fix it, so oh well). Such markings aren't used anywhere I've seen in North America, though. So North American drivers would understand them as directional arrows. :) Them being on-road Yield signs makes sense, but I have literally never seen that, only ever seen actual road signs for Yield - which is what I would expect if this was implemented, just that Randall can't draw an overhead version of THAT, :) Not in a way that we'd know what the sign said. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:54, 19 November 2023 (UTC)
:::::*I did sign it. I wrote three paragraphs (excessive!?!), that was just the first...
:::::*What *I* do, to post-sign, is:
:::::*# Go into the edit-history/version comparison. Establish ''what'' was edited in without signing (if indeed it was, like [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2842:_Inspiraling_Roundabout&diff=327269&oldid=327255 this one wasn't),
:::::*# Copy the timestamp and ip (or username!) bit that applies,
:::::*# Go into (or back into the tab of) the page editor and add <nowiki>{{unsigned ip||}}, or just {{unsigned||}}</nowiki> if it was a proper user at fault, and then shuffle in the IP(/username) between the two verticals and the timestamp after the second.
:::::*# ...or, if it's an established username that I ''know'' knows how to sign things (must have just forgotten), I copy something like <nowiki>[[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:54, 19 November 2023 (UTC)</nowiki> from a signed comment and paste in the correct username (three times!) and timestamp and consider it just my good deed for the day!
:::::* When researching the above response (and below, where I mention not being familiar with them), I didn't find ''much'' use of on-road markings, in the US, but they do exist. Not visually good enough pictures to link, as I recall, and maybe rare enough (perhaps nowhere you've been/noticed). I was most struck thst they looked most like European "dragon's teeth" markings than the British "honking big single elongated triangle" standard, but then I'm used to our (emminently sensible!) road-marking/signage being aittle bit adrift of what much of the (non-Commonwealth?) world seems to have decided is their standard.
:::::** e.g., the only "diamond" sign we have, in the UK, is a passing-place one; which actually depects a deliberate point-widening of the road, if you think about it. Though (probably for manufacturing reasons?) even that seems to have changed to be square-set. But none of these yellow-diamond-signs (except in the rear windows of school buses/coaches, the "children" warning, just like a "baby on board" vanity rear-screen 'hanger' that I'm ''sure'' makes people think twice before ramming the car in front(!)... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.244|172.69.194.244]] 16:13, 19 November 2023 (UTC) (Part one of three sections, at this level.)
:::The confusing bit to me (not being familiar with US standard road-markings) is the dotted line acute 'elbow' where the (wrong-direction-)outspiraling hits the (right-direction-)outermost off-lane. It seems not to be a valid lane to enter (anticlockwise) but not be enough like the double-dashed 'give way line' that the UK uses (along with the Give Way 'inverted triangle' painted upon the road). (''Part two of three sections by [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.170|172.71.178.170]] 17:57, 29 October 2023 (UTC)'')
::::Yeah, those lane endings should be solid lines, probably more. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:54, 19 November 2023 (UTC)
:::::In the UK, single dashes (of various lengths/gaps) have certain meanings, double-dashes (at a juntion) are a Give Way (together with the big 'yield' triangle, as noted) and solid lines are either Stop (in that context, but also with painted(+signed) STOP) or "do not cross".
:::::e.g., central hashes (or chevrons, usually at junction merging/diverving) with a solid border indicate no driving into them (if you can help it), often leading up to central bollards, pedestrian-crossing islands and/or division of the road into dual-carriageway where you really do ''not'' want to be on/over the diagonal hashing.
:::::But central hashes on the lead up to a right-turn (cross-traffic, that is) lane-split will have (long-)dashed boundaries, so that those ''intending'' to move into the un-hashed crossing-zone (where short dashed lines separate the new lane from the 'through lane', and again from the opposing through-lane that you'd implicitly Give Way to cross) can, where traffic flow and speeds make it more practical, use a short stretch of the hashed section (but not over the solid line on the side of the opposing lane!) to 'pre-enter' the tirning-meridian. Not, of course, to overtake traffic, going forward, and if anybody is signalling to merge over into the turn (but was not as hot to use the diagonally-hashed area) you'd be cheeky to not let them do so. (Or risk them not realising that you were coming up on their offside as they ''do'' decide to make that manouevre - *crunch*!) See [https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/lines-and-lane-markings-on-the-road.html Rule 130] for the short version... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.244|172.69.194.244]] 16:13, 19 November 2023 (UTC) (Part two of three sections, this level)
:::So I reject the idea that Randall drew a clockwise/UK roundabout(-sort-of). It's still a US one, albeit weird for the reasons given (also, it's titled "''In''spiraling Roundabout", not the "''Out''spiralling Roundabout" that the UK-version-of-Randall would hae had to call it, including spelling change). [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.170|172.71.178.170]] 17:57, 29 October 2023 (UTC) (Third and final part!)
::::Oh, the joke requires that this was intended as counter-clockwise, just pointing out the seeming arrows, :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:54, 19 November 2023 (UTC)
:::::Well, 'arrow''heads''', maybe, but not road-arrows as I'd recognise them. {{w|File:UK traffic sign 873+876P.svg|This is just a sign}}, but does depict the style of arrow one ''might'' see painted to accenuate the awareness of which lane goes what direction. As {{w|File:UK traffic sign 521.svg|this one}}, again maybe also depicted upon the road, warns that one is about to re-enter bidirectional traffic (from a multilane dual-carriageway or other one-way traffic system, usually).
:::::But I find all the different approaches to these things interesting.
:::::I've never actually driven abroad. (Technically... I've cycled in Europe. And drove in the Legoland 'Driving School' in Billund when I was a child (cycling in Denmark!) and that Legoland was the ''only'' Legoland in the world. And ''once'' had to be reminded that "You're not in England now..." by the 'instructor' over his loadspeaker who could see me and my Union Jack car-adornment had turned across over to the LHS of the mini road system... ;) )
:::::But I've been a passenger in vehicles, in the US and EU, as well as walked along/across streets and lanes (leafy 'beyond-the-suburbs' ones in PA, for example, having no sidewalks so not really being sure if ''anyone'' in their right mind walked there, so perpetually ready to jump into the undergrowth if anything big/fast came rattling past, and possibly disobeying the US's unusually strong Jaywalking statutes at times).
:::::And, of course, one gets to see the weird mirror-world and distinctly different signage in anything depicting 'foreign' roads (Hollywood on down), whether that's "right turn on red" signs in whatever city it happens to be in the US(/Canada?), or a "Warning: kangaroos" diamond alongside some Aussie outback highway or other.
:::::Given the subtle state-by-state differences, I'm sure you'll know much more (from long exposure) about particular local peculiarities on the roads. Like how red traffic-lights tend to just suddenly appear out of nowhere (i.e. tree branches) if you're driving around Hazzard County, GA (or that their "Bridge Out" signs are considered merely advisary, if your vehicle is orange with a flag on its roof, but ''not'' if it is black-and-white with flashing lights atop).
:::::Though I'm not ''really'' sure what I learnt about US Freeways from The Matrix Trilogy, I must admit. (Certainly nothing about being brief and to the point!) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.244|172.69.194.244]] 16:13, 19 November 2023 (UTC) (Third and final bit of this awkwardly split reply-to-reply. To avoid more confusion than is inevitable.)

added longer explanation [[User:Certified_nqh|Me]][[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]][[Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template]] 03:05, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Could we create a category for these "traffic" or "driving" related comics? This would include this comic and the previous, and others that relate to driving/cars/traffic. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.37|172.70.211.37]] 04:02, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

in left lane driving countries this would work pretty well as a roundabout
:... Except going clockwise (as the arrows indicate), each entering lane ends at the next exit. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:28, 29 October 2023 (UTC)
::See above, it's not going clockwise. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.170|172.71.178.170]] 17:57, 29 October 2023 (UTC)

I've heard the Spanish and British road authorities are planing to implement this for roads going to France. [[Special:Contributions/172.64.236.144|172.64.236.144]] 06:39, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Actually, the correct solution is an out-spiraling roundabout, which if properly designed means that if you start in the correct lane, you end up at the correct exit without changing lanes. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 07:37, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Well if it spiralled the other way it would be a great roundabout design.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.28|162.158.203.28]] 08:14, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Out-spiraling roundabouts are getting more popular in the UK - they recently repainted the Wandsworth Bridge Roundabout as an out-spiral, and it's gone from one being one of the worst roundabouts in the area to one of the best. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.153|172.70.90.153]] 10:04, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

An example I designed several years ago... :https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5071913,-3.1457705,18z/data=!3m1!1e3 [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 19:34, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

About driving in circles for hours: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAgX6qlJEMc --[[User:Itub|Itub]] ([[User talk:Itub|talk]]) 11:32, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Uzumaki??? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.22.99|172.71.22.99]] 12:24, 17 October 2023 (UTC)Bumpf

I think the author of the explanation completely misunderstood the design. This is the turbo roundabout, except instead of getting everybody out it pulls everybody into the center, just like the highway supercollider from early xkcd. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.242.239|172.70.242.239]] 12:29, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Alternative ending/version - there is a singularity at the center of the roundabout [[User:Dllahr|Dllahr]] ([[User talk:Dllahr|talk]]) 12:42, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

I think the explanation as currently written is way overcomplicating the situation, it seems clear to me that this roundabout is designed (much like in the recent comic #[[2728]]), to require lane changes for some paths, and the inward spiral is simply to guide anyone that's indecisive or otherwise missing their exist out of the way of other drivers, and forcing them to make a decision rather than circling indefinitely to avoid a collision. The current description of having you go backwards out the spiral after reaching the end seems ridiculously over complicated and doesn't match any of the design elements of the path. [[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 14:36, 17 October 2023 (UTC)
:I agree. The broken lines indicate that lane changes are intended. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.230.25|162.158.230.25]] 15:42, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

This design has a regulating effect on the traffic mass. (Assuming changing lanes is allowed.) When there is light traffic, cars can easily change on the next lane to reach their destination. When there is heavy traffic, some cars will fail to change lanes quickly enough, and they become trapped in the spiral. When the traffic becomes light again, the outermost cars will be able to leave the spiral. I estimate that up to 50 cars can be temporarily removed from the local traffic this way. --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.150.31|172.69.150.31]] 16:57, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Should there be a category for this comic, [[2728: Lane Change Highway]], [[253: Highway Engineer Pranks]], and similar ones? --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.253.137|172.68.253.137]] 18:12, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Why hasn't the next comic been added to explainXKCD yet? I thought a bot posted the comics on explainXKCD. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.228|162.158.90.228]] 04:16, 19 October 2023 (UTC)

== Magic Roundabouts ==

See these two "unusual" roundabouts in England

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Hemel_Hempstead)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)

Actually, they are (no longer) roundabouts, but Ring Junctions. Effectively mini Ring Roads. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 07:37, 17 October 2023 (UTC)
:Yeah, I've never quite got the mystique of the "Magic Roundabout" - yes, it's kind of pretty and neat to look at, but in terms of usage, it's just a load of mini-roundabouts near each other. And "mini-roundabouts near each other" is just another name for "Britain's road network". [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 20:14, 19 October 2023 (UTC)
:Swindon, I've heard of that place... I wonder if that's the "Roundabout of Roundabouts" I've seen pictures of... [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:33, 29 October 2023 (UTC)
::Note that it's one of the four such ring junction {{w|Magic Roundabout}}s shown above, and I'm sure linked somewhere or other up and down this article. Yes, it's (in)famous enough, I'm sure you've heard of it. (Whether you've heard of {{w|Swindon}}, or not might depend upon whether you're a fan of {{w|Jasper_Fforde#Novels|Jasper Fforde}}, as much as anything else... :P ) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.170|172.71.178.170]] 17:57, 29 October 2023 (UTC)

In France at least this design would not create any conundrum because roundabout rules are clearly stated and independent of ground markings. It could still be somewhat confusing.{{unsigned ip|141.101.68.239|10:43, 17 October 2023}}

Pretty sure it isn't a reference to the {{w|Inspiral Carpets}}, but thought I should note them in passing... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.103|172.69.195.103]] 22:17, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

The added link to the hours-long roundabout circling bicyclist is my first edit on this site, let me know if something should be done differently [[Special:Contributions/172.71.254.43|172.71.254.43]] 04:40, 20 October 2023 (UTC)
:Looks good, as it is. The sentence in which it is set could be slightly rewritten, perhaps, but that's just a personal reading (and not yet sure how I'd improve it) and doesn't make your workable markup addition at all wrong. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.123|141.101.99.123]] 05:43, 20 October 2023 (UTC)

Uhhh, why did American Randall draw a British roundabout? Look at the arrow indicators, he has drivers driving on the left... I mean, sure, roundabouts are uncommon (almost non-existent in my experience) in North America and notoriously common in Britain, but still... Plus THAT way each entering lane ends at the next exit, meaning Randall meant it as right side driving spiral after all. ??? I feel like something should be said about how roundabouts take skill and experience to flow through smoothly, meaning that in areas where drivers aren't used to them they're actually more dangerous. I mean, imagine a driver who is used to 4-way stops having half a second to align and merge with cars flowing in from the circle? It takes SUCH instant decision making to align, at least with highway entrances you have the on ramp to assess the traffic you're joining to find your gap! My brother lives in a newer area where the local idiots just put in several roundabouts where there used to be straightforward 4-ways before, so I've seen the difference, the new way spikes the adrenaline and triggers anxiety (except, I guess, in people who have been using them every day and got used to them, and I have to think always SOME). To me, needing to get used to them makes them a bad idea. And it's WEIRD! Just 3 days ago I was introducing a new driver to those roundabouts near my brother! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:28, 29 October 2023 (UTC)
:(He didn't... see above. As you had to add multiple related statements in various places in this page, in more or less the same edit, I felt compelled to put a similar number of mostly related responses to them all, to not let anyone thinking you'd been left hanging.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.170|172.71.178.170]] 17:57, 29 October 2023 (UTC)

1827: Survivorship Bias

2023-11-12T15:31:47Z

172.69.194.244: Undo revision 328749 by 172.71.154.244 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1827
| date = April 21, 2017
| title = Survivorship Bias
| image = survivorship_bias.png
| titletext = They say you can't argue with results, but what kind of defeatist attitude is that? If you stick with it, you can argue with ANYTHING.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a parody of entrepreneurial speeches. Entrepreneurial speeches are talks, such as graduation commencements or motivational speeches. The idea behind graduation commencements is that the entrepreneur, having accumulated wisdom and experience in the process of becoming successful, will share his insights and experience to the students, in the hope that they learn lessons that will help them achieve success as well. Companies hire motivational speakers to motivate employees to work hard.

A common theme in these talks is that the entrepreneur succeeded by persisting through hardship, sometimes despite other people telling them they would be better off giving up. They advise students to do the same, and to keep pursuing their dreams even through subsequent failure. Their message can be highlighted by demonstrating such successes by visual props such as the medals they won, or images of their encounters with other notably famous people. While this isn't necessarily bad business advice, this can give students a biased vision of reality, and lead them to imagine that they will succeed as long as they keep trying.

As the title and caption both suggest, a major problem with these speeches is {{w|survivorship bias}}. Survivorship bias refers to an issue in statistical analysis where a significant portion of potential cases aren't available to be counted, and therefore aren't included in the statistics, which creates a data set which is biased toward the cases that are counted. In this case, the people who are invited to and willing to give such speeches are overwhelmingly people who achieved success. People who are unsuccessful tend not to be highlighted or publicized, even if they followed the same path and made the same efforts as those who became successful. This is especially important because achieving success usually involves taking risks. If those risks pay off and result in success, a person will often be lauded as an example of achievement, but if the risk doesn't pay off, they'll often be ignored. This can result in a skewed view of how certain risks are to result in positive outcomes.

To parody this concept, the comic shows [[Hairy]] encouraging people to "never stop buying {{w|lottery}} tickets", and surrounded by bags of money to 'flex' their (eventual) financial success, This is an terribly unwise investment plan, because the chances of winning large jackpots are mathematically very low, even if a person buys huge numbers of tickets. With very few exceptions, people who play the lottery lose far more money than they win. But, because of the existence very large jackpots, a few people will win enough money to become genuinely wealthy. If our only exposure to lottery players is someone who won a major jackpot, it could give a false impression that continually buying tickets is a good strategy, when in reality, the odds are astronomical against making money that way. In the same way, talks from people who took risks and became successful can give us a false impression about the likelihood of success in any other field of endeavor.

The title text continues the humor by taking two common aspects of inspirational speeches. One is the claim that "you can't argue with success", suggesting that advice from successful people must inherently be good. The other is that "if you stick with it, you can [do] anything". Randall plays those two off one another, since one is a claim of what you can't do, and the other insists that there's nothing you can't do.

==Transcript==
:[Hairy, holding an arm out towards an unseen crowd, is standing on a podium with five large bags around him, each having a dollar sign on it.]
:Hairy: Never stop buying lottery tickets, no matter what anyone tells you.
:Hairy: I failed again and again, but I never gave up. I took extra jobs and poured the money into tickets.
:Hairy: And here I am, proof that if you put in the time, it pays off!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Every inspirational speech by someone successful should have to start with a disclaimer about survivorship bias.

==Trivia==
*Lottery with '''positive return''':
**When item prizes are donated to a lottery (for charity or advertising purposes), sometimes the value of those items may actually be larger than the total price for all of the lottery tickets, if you otherwise would be willing to pay full price for all the prizes.
**In some lotteries, if the jackpot gets too big -- or goes for too many drawings -- without anyone winning it, the jackpot amount gets "rolled down" and distributed across the lower prize levels. These can have a positive return on average -- but ''only'' on the drawings where the jackpot rolls down. People have formed investment groups to buy hundreds of thousands of tickets to exploit these; several such groups repeatedly profited from Massachusetts's {{w|Massachusetts_Lottery#Cash Winfall|Cash WinFall}} game especially. (The Massachusetts State Lottery has an official report ([http://www.mass.gov/ig/publications/reports-and-recommendations/2012/lottery-cash-winfall-letter-july-2012.pdf PDF, 144 KB]) on how such high-volume betting affected the game.)
*'''Examples''' of survivorship bias:
**Diogenes was shown paintings of people who had escaped shipwreck: "Look, you who think the gods have no care of human things, what do you say to so many persons preserved from death by their especial favour?", to which he replied: "Why, I say that their pictures are not here who were cast away, who are by much the greater number."
**Many people {{w|Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act|were smoking}} back in the 1930-70s, thus almost everyone above 80 either smoked cigarettes or was at least subjected to massive passive smoking during those years. Thus anyone above that age could be claimed to prove that you can live a long life while smoking. But they consist of the small group of people that survived in spite of all the smoke, where large sections of those that would have been 80 today, died from cancer or heart disease caused by smoking, long ago, maybe even before they retired. But since these people are dead and gone many years ago, they do not speak up,{{Citation needed}} and are thus the silent majority that is not heard, which is the problem with survivorship bias.
**During World War II, there was a study of the damage done to aircraft, and the recommendation was to add armor to the areas that showed the most damage. The statistician {{w|Abraham Wald}} noticed that the study didn't take into account aircraft that ''didn't'' return: the holes in the returning aircraft thus represented areas where a bomber could take damage and still return home safely.
**Anything created by an Earth-human in this universe. We think it's because we're special, rather than being special because we're here/we survived.
*In the title text, "defeatist" was originally misspelled as "defeatest". This was later corrected.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Public speaking]]
[[Category:Cognitive Bias]]

1826: Birdwatching

2023-11-12T15:31:14Z

172.69.194.244: Undo revision 328748 by 172.69.22.240 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1826
| date = April 19, 2017
| title = Birdwatching
| image = birdwatching_small.png
| titletext = No, tell the park rangers to calm down, it's fine--I put a screen on the front. I just want to get the birds a little closer.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Cueball]] and [[Knit Cap]] are out birdwatching (hence the title). {{w|Birdwatching}} is an activity to observe birds. Usually this is done at a distance, as birds are flying in the air, and are far away. It is thus helpful to use {{w|binoculars}}.

[[Knit Cap]] uses binoculars and manages to spot a {{w|hawk}} a mile up. Cueball, however, has brought his camera, probably his superzoom camera from [[1719: Superzoom]]. (He uses that again already two comics later in [[1828: ISS Solar Transit]]). It is very difficult to find anything in such a camera, especially if held in one's hand (as opposed to on a tripod) and zoomed in. Maybe Cueball is with his trained friend, out birdwatching for the first time. Cueball is frustrated and comments on the difficulty and is amazed [[Knit Cap]] can spot birds over such distances.

Frustrated with his camera, Cueball comes up with a solution, which is to use a {{w|vacuum cleaner}}, specifically a {{w|shop vac}}, to pull the birds in closer so he won't need the superzoom camera to see them. This is physically impossible with such a small device. Even if the shop vac created a perfect vacuum, it can only pull out air at the speed of sound, which amounts to approximately 1 cubic meter per second considering the apparent size of the hose. This is not enough to create a significant amount of wind or affect the atmosphere. (He might've borrowed it from [[Beret Guy]] who has many [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers]] that also extends to improving vacuum cleaners, which Cueball knows about as seen in [[1486: Vacuum]]).

Cueball's shop vac bird collector is similar in concept to [http://biostor.org/reference/76824/page/3 vacuum-based insect collectors] [http://media.nola.com/environment/photo/xuanchen1jpg-fca88349bf05fe83.jpg used by] [http://www.rinconvitova.com/d-vac.htm entomologists]. Cueball evidently thinks that a similar concept will work to easily collect birds.

The title text refers to {{w|park ranger}}s, who are officials in charge of protecting the natural elements (i.e. plants, animals, etc.) in many parks and would certainly object to birds being forced to coalesce via an extremely powerful vacuum. If such a vacuum were created and used for this purpose, it probably would pose a threat to the safety of birds. Cueball says he has solved this problem by placing a perforated screen in front. In doing so, he can safely attract the birds without trapping them inside the vacuum. He implies that this should remove the danger to the birds, which is not the case. While the birds can no longer enter the vacuum itself, having a large number of birds pulled into a (presumably small) screen would probably fare poorly for the birds, so Cueball's solution is rather poor.

When out birdwatching it is a great idea to have a silhouette chart to be able to recognize the birds by the shadow they make against the sky. Two comics before this one [[Randall]] made a comic with just such a chart, [[1824: Identification Chart]], although that was for combinations of birds and planes...

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Knit Cap with a knit cap are standing together looking up in the sky. Cueball holds a camera with a large lens down in front of him, and his friend holds binoculars down in front of him.]
:Cueball: Birdwatching is hard.
:Cueball: They're all way too small and far away.

:[In a frame-less panel they both raise their tool eyepieces to their eyes.]
:Cueball: That hawk is over a mile up! How did you even spot it?

:[Both lower their eyepiece again. The friend still looks up while Cueball looks down on his camera which he holds up in front of him. A black squiggly line above his head indicates that he is fuming over his camera's abilities.]

:[Cueball now has a vacuum cleaner with a big body and a large hose which he is pointing towards the sky, as air is visibly sucked in to the hose and the vacuum cleaner is making a very loud noise which extends beyond the frame of the panel.Cueball is holding one hand on the vacuum cleaner which has a label with its brand on it. Cueball's camera lies on the ground in front of the vacuum cleaner. The friend looks back at Cueball.]
:Vacuum cleaner: <big>'''''WHRRRRR'''''</big>
:Label: Shop Vac

==Trivia==
*This comic was originally published with a very large picture, much larger than the standard screen.
**The original image was named [https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/birdwatching_huge.png birdwatching_huge.png]
**The image at that location has also been downsized to normal dimensions.
**It was later updated to use an image without the "_huge" in its name, at the usual size.
*The unexpected size was at first interpreted as being part of the joke, see the [[#Discussion|discussion page]].
**The idea was that the reader was only seeing an inconvenient subset of the magnified image on the screen, just like Cueball was experiencing an inconvenient subset of the magnified sky through the zoom of his camera lens.
**It seems, however, that it wasn't meant to be like this, as both the size and name of the image were later corrected.
*Alternatively the size gave people trouble with reading the page, and made Randall change his mind and reset it to normal size.
**It seems weird he would make a "_huge" version by mistake?
*The premise is similar to the {{w|Superman_(1940s_cartoons)|Fleischer Superman}} cartoon {{w|The Magnetic Telescope}}, where a mad scientist does essentially the same thing with comets.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:2852: Parameterball

2023-11-09T17:30:33Z

172.69.194.244:

added transcript and a kinda crappy explanation [[User:Certified_nqh|Me]][[[285: Wikipedian Protester|''citation needed'']]][[Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template]] 17:36, 8 November 2023 (UTC)
: added a bit of crappy info to the explanation. also hi nqh [[User:SomeoneIGuess|someone, i guess]]([[User talk:SomeoneIGuess|talk i guess]]|[[Special:Contributions/SomeoneIGuess|le edit list]]) 17:42, 8 November 2023 (UTC)
: added crappy edits. also do i have an account or… [[User:TenGolf MathHacker|TenGolf MathHacker]] ([[User talk:TenGolf MathHacker|talk]]) 19:30, 8 November 2023 (UTC)

Does the tennis court in upper right look about 50% larger than normal to anyone else? The ping-pong table definitely looks too small, about half size. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 18:07, 8 November 2023 (UTC)

: I'd say the the upper right is similar width to a tennis court but is 25% longer. The lower left looks to be similar width to table tennis / ping pong but is about half as long. So the explanations for those need revising. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.51|162.158.62.51]] 18:13, 8 November 2023 (UTC)

I have some neat plans for that Incomplete template. Get ready for an occasional change to something random that uses anything but metric... [[User:SomeoneIGuess|someone, i guess]]([[User talk:SomeoneIGuess|talk i guess]]|[[Special:Contributions/SomeoneIGuess|le edit list]]) 18:29, 8 November 2023 (UTC)
: mobile account here, first of many implemented [[Special:Contributions/172.70.42.48|172.70.42.48]] 20:55, 8 November 2023 (UTC)
If no limits, then neutron star or black hole ball exists as much as more non lethal games. {{unsigned ip|172.71.151.139|00:06, 9 November 2023}}

Could the title text be talking about the mass of a bowling ball, rather than then density? If the diameter of a bowling ball is 20cm and the diameter of a table tennis ball is 4cm, which is consistent with a quick Google search, than the volume of the bowling ball is around 125 times as big as the table tennis ball (because we have to cube it for three dimensions). Let's assume a bowling ball is 12 pounds, which is about average. Therefore, a ping pong ball with the density of a bowling ball would weigh much less than a pound. A 12 pound table tennis ball, however, could easily cause equipment damage. [[User:Thexkcdnerd|Thexkcdnerd]] ([[User talk:Thexkcdnerd|talk]]) 02:44, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
:I'm sure a one-pound table tennis ball could do sufficient damage to destroy a racquet, but I guess there's really only one way to find out, and I don't know where to find a one-pound ping pong ball. Or is it pingpong? Ping-Pong? pingPong? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.62|172.70.214.62]] 05:03, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
::Originally "gossima", with hard rubber balls, even before "whiff-waff" (or "wiff-waff" or "whiff-whaff" or something). First ''properly'' marketed as "ping-pong", in its recognisable form though.
::A snooker/pool ball would probably have similar density to a bowling ball. I can well imagine equipment (and bodily) damage playing table tennis with a snooker ball.
[[Special:Contributions/172.71.122.115|172.71.122.115]] 09:07, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
:Isn't the bowling ball a reference to the 'bowling ball on a sheet' metaphor for the distortion of space-time by the gravitational fields of massive objects?[[Special:Contributions/172.71.123.146|172.71.123.146]] 09:31, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
:Also, isn't the density of a bowling ball also a changing parameter in the game of ten-pin bowling? Don't have bowling balls different weights, and unlike nine-pin bowling a fixed volume/size, and thus a variable density? It doesn't really matter for the explanation but describing the end point with an item that itself is variable isn't really helpful. The entries giraffe, screwdriver and large board game board are having the same problem. "A large boulder the size of a small boulder" https://twitter.com/SheriffAlert/status/1221881862244749315 [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:34, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
::The size isn't fixed, but yes, the weight can be changed by varying the size ''or'' density (within limits), and they can even have varying density within the ball.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.244|172.69.194.244]] 17:30, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
:Yes, too dense a ping-pong "ball" (e.g. a pebble) is able to damage the foam coating of a "more professional" racket models. As a kid I have had been yelled at by the PE teacher for such horseplay and I have been given a basic and inferior plywood-and-thin-rubber model (with the rubber peeling off) as a punishment. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.102.250|162.158.102.250]] 13:32, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

Does the screwdriver measurement relate to the drink or the tool?[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.245|172.69.194.245]] 09:32, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

The explanation claims that the max density depicted is that of a bowling ball. However, the balls in the first three panels look much too light for that, and the ball in the fourth would probably have crushed the player if it was that dense. I would guess a solid rubber ball would be a better estimate (although the one in the second panel is hard to judge).[[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.83|172.71.242.83]] 11:28, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

Only now have I learned that links can exist in the incomplete explanation text. It seems self-evident now,, but still. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.142|172.68.58.142]] 13:55, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

Can each player choose a different raquet[sic] size? None of the examples suggest this. Also, is the construction of the racket a parameter? Tennis rackets have woven strings in the racket head, which a really tiny ball could pass through, and would have trouble controlling something marble-sized. Ping-pong paddles have a solid head with a rubber surface, which nothing larger than atomic size is likely to pass through. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:54, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

The fact that people keep editing the EXPLANATION NEEDED template made me realize we should have an archive for that purely for the lols [[Special:Contributions/172.71.30.14|172.71.30.14]] 15:51, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
: That's a bet [[User:SomeoneIGuess|someone, i guess]]([[User talk:SomeoneIGuess|talk i guess]]|[[Special:Contributions/SomeoneIGuess|le edit list]]) 16:21, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
::I didn't think anyone would actually do that, thanks! =) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.30.178|172.71.30.178]] 16:51, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
:::Was actually planning on doing it earlier today, but this reminded me about it [[User:SomeoneIGuess|someone, i guess]]([[User talk:SomeoneIGuess|talk i guess]]|[[Special:Contributions/SomeoneIGuess|le edit list]]) 17:02, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
I wonder how long this will keep going. My guess is that I'll be the only one still doing it when the next comic gets released [[Special:Contributions/172.71.30.178|172.71.30.178]] 17:04, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
: I have a few more to push out (wink) [[User:SomeoneIGuess|someone, i guess]]([[User talk:SomeoneIGuess|talk i guess]]|[[Special:Contributions/SomeoneIGuess|le edit list]]) 17:06, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

2850: Doctor's Office

2023-11-06T09:33:27Z

172.69.194.244: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2850
| date = November 3, 2023
| title = Doctor's Office
| image = doctors_office_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x291px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "The police told me I can't be a doctor, but whenever they show up I just go into the Google Maps settings page I found and change the house to 'Police Headquarters' and then they have to do what I say."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Beret Guy]] has discovered how to add public labels to locations on {{w|Google Maps}}. He has used the tool to label his house as a physician's office, and then proceeded to impersonate a physician, making this another comic with one of his special [[:Category:Beret Guy's Business|businesses]].

It seems that Cueball has seen and trusted the label, and has arrived for a medical consultation. He apparently is a walk-in (that is, he does not have appointment), an unheard-of situation for a physician's office in contemporary United States of America that is not an urgent-care facility (for which Beret Guy makes no claim). Thus, Cueball has bought into Beret Guy's bizarre vision, as is typical for Beret Guy comics.

It is soon apparent that Beret Guy has no medical credentials. His "librarian for bones and blood" line in the first panel is nonsensical. The terms he uses while taking Cueball's temperature (second panel) are simplistic. The "little snacks that make you colder" are presumably a medicine to reduce fever, described farcically. In the third panel, he hands Cueball what's supposed to be a medical consent form, but is in fact a ''New York Times'' crossword puzzle. The ''New York Times'' crosswords are designed to get progressively more challenging over the course of each week, starting afresh each Monday. Beret Guy's claim on this subject, at least, is accurate.

In the fourth panel, Cueball finally questions whether Beret Guy's claim is accurate, and the facts of the situation are revealed - while Beret Guy wheels in a (section of a) {{w|Magnetic resonance imaging}} (MRI) device (usually a feature of a hospital or medical laboratory, not an individual physician's office, and, assembled, far larger/heavier than one person can manage on a dolly) and wonders aloud what it is for. He also comments that he bets it is loud, implying that he does not yet know and that this will be the first time he uses it. It should indeed be loud. Typically many loud noises are made, by both the actuators and from the hardware that controls and produces the magnetic fields, especially from the perspective of one laid inside the device.

In the title text, the police cite Beret Guy for impersonating a physician, but Beret Guy returns to Google Maps and relabels his house "Police Headquarters", thus (by implication) making himself Chief of Police to whose authority the officers must submit - by withdrawing the "impersonating a physician" charge. If this works as claimed, it's another of the [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers of Beret Guy]], and a substantial one. However, we have only Beret Guy's word that it does. Declaring oneself a physician, in an office of one, is different from declaring oneself the appointed/elected leader of an armed force. If it does work, maybe Beret Guy's next house label is the White House. The implications are nontrivial.

Beret Guy's comment that "It's a Monday, so [the crossword]'s not too hard" refers to the observation that
{{w|New York Times crossword puzzles}} increase in difficulty through the week, with the easiest on Monday and hardest on Saturday (there's also a larger Sunday puzzle, but it's in {{w|The New York Times Magazine}} rather than the newspaper, and is designed to be about as hard as a Thursday puzzle).

A physician imposter was also featured in [[699: Trimester]], while possibly authentic physicians behaving badly appear in [[938: T-Cells]], [[1471: Gut Fauna]], and [[1839: Doctor Visit]]. One can only hope that [[Randall]] doesn't have real-life models for these situations.

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy is sitting at a desk, wearing a lab coat. Cueball is walking in from the right as Beret Guy stretches an arm out towards him in greeting.]
:Beret Guy: Welcome to the doctor!
:Beret Guy: We're like librarians, but for your bones and blood.

:[In a frame-less panel Beret Guy is standing in front of Cueball while holding a device in his hand, which are attached with a coiling wire to a thermometer in Cueball's mouth. He reads something of the device while holding a pill bottle in the other hand.]
:Beret Guy: Uh-oh! This beeper says you're too hot.
:Beret Guy: You should eat some of these little snacks that make you colder.

:[Zoom in on the two persons where Beret Guy is holding a pen up towards Cueball who is holding a clipboard with a newspaper page stuck to it. Cueball is looking down at the page, which has a black picture in the top left corner and lots of unreadable lines across the rest of the page.]
:Beret Guy: We can make holes in you, but you have to fill out this form first.
:Cueball: This is a New York Times crossword.
:Beret Guy: Don't worry, it's a Monday, so it's not too hard.

:[Cueball is watching as Beret Guy drags in a machine labeled "MRI" on a dolly.]
:Cueball: This '''''is''''' a doctor's office, right?
:Beret Guy: Yeah! It used to be my house, but I found the setting on Google Maps to change it.
:Beret Guy: Hey, wanna help find out what this box does? I bet it's loud!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Beret Guy's Business]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Medicine]]

2805: Global Atmospheric Circulation

2023-11-05T18:57:40Z

172.69.194.244:

{{comic
| number = 2805
| date = July 21, 2023
| title = Global Atmospheric Circulation
| image = global_atmospheric_circulation_2x.png
| imagesize = 601x826px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Refs generally say that you can exercise enough altitude control to avoid the ground, but if you start strategically choosing air layers to steer yourself, that's traveling.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a POORLY TIMED PLAN. Needs: description of atmospheric circulation that provides for returning near to the same spot. - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this comic, [[Beret Guy]] shows [[Cueball]] a trick basketball shot. However, the trick is that he can use {{w|atmospheric circulation}} to roam across the globe, eventually drifting back over the basketball net after the passage of 1500 years. Of course, a normal human being would be {{w|Longevity claims|long dead after that time}}{{citation needed}}, and a normal balloon would [https://www.adamsgas.co.uk/2018/03/07/how-long-do-helium-balloons-float/ have lost all of its helium]. But, given [[:Category:Strange_powers_of_Beret_Guy|Beret Guy's special abilities]], it is presumed that he could indeed live that long. After waiting for several frames, Cueball is confused at Beret Guy drifting away under a balloon, and thus leaves the basketball court. In addition, Cueball would not be able to witness Beret Guy's shot anyway, as Cueball would be long dead. Beret Guy probably doesn't realize this at all, considering how naïve he is.

[[File:Albuquerquebox.png|thumb|500px|right|The Albuquerque box effect: southerly winds at low altitudes and northerly winds at high altitudes allow balloonists to change direction by adjusting their altitude]]

The title text refers to the fact that players in this atmospheric circulation basketball game are allowed to maneuver to avoid falling back to the ground, but once players begin to exploit different windspeeds at different altitudes, they are "traveling". This is a joke on the rules of {{w|Traveling (basketball)|traveling}} in basketball, where players are allowed to hold the ball without dribbling for two steps before they have to pass or shoot. There's a new rule that allows for readjust that doesn't count as a step, which makes counting the number of steps difficult. It's largely left up to the referee to call. Here too it seems somewhat arbitrary, between adjusting altitude to avoid hitting the ground versus adjusting altitude to steer.

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

:[Beret Guy, holding a basketball and a helium balloon, is talking to Cueball. There is a basketball hoop at the right of the panel.]
:Beret Guy: Check out my global atmospheric circulation trick shot!

:[Beret Guy continues to hold the basketball as he and his balloon rise from the ground and Cueball looks at him.]

:[Beret Guy holding the balloon rises higher and floats toward the left as Cueball continues to look at him.]

:[Cueball is alone. The basketball hoop is again shown at the right of the panel.]

:[Cueball is alone. The basketball hoop is again shown at the right of the panel.]
:Cueball [Thinks]: ???

:[Cueball walks off toward the left of the panel, with the basketball hoop at the right of the panel.]

:[Nobody is present. The basketball hoop is at the right of the panel.]

:[The basketball hoop is at the right of the panel. Beret Guy, seen from a distance in the background with his balloon, floats toward the right.]

:[Nobody is present. The basketball hoop is at the right of the panel.]

:[Again, nobody is present. The basketball hoop is at the right of the panel.]

:[The basketball hoop is at the right of the panel. Beret Guy, seen from a distance even further in the background and higher, floats toward the left with his balloon.]

:[Again, nobody is present. The basketball hoop is at the right of the panel.]

:[The basketball hoop is at the right of the panel. A caption says:]
:1500 years later...

:[The basketball hoop is at the right of the panel. Beret Guy, still holding his balloon and basketball, floats toward the right.]

:[Beret Guy, still floating, throws the basketball downwards toward the basketball hoop.]

:[The ball drops through the net as Beret Guy remains floating, now to the right of the hoop.]
:''SWISH''

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Basketball]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]] 
[[Category:Weather]]

702: Snow Tracking

2023-11-05T10:38:37Z

172.69.194.244: /* Explanation */ Sheep and goats!

{{comic
| number = 702
| date = February 15, 2010
| title = Snow Tracking
| image = snow_tracking.png
| titletext = I suppose that's more accurately a hare dryer.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a guide to recognizing various animals by their footprints. However, the comic typically detours into strange, ridiculous or pop-culture-referencing footprints. In order:

*The first panel is nothing special. Just a regular cat.
*"Moose and squirrel" is a reference to the cartoon ''{{w|Rocky and Bullwinkle}}''. Rocky and Bullwinkle were a flying squirrel and a moose, respectively, and were frequently referred to as "moose and squirrel" by the show's antagonist Boris Badenov.
*[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/longcat Longcat] is an internet {{w|meme}} from pictures of cats all stretched out that make them look very tall (or long).
*"Mouse riding Bicycle" is a reference to ''{{w|Ralph S. Mouse}}'', a series of novels by {{w|Beverly Cleary}}.
*The hair dryer has melted an irregular region around the rabbit. The title text is a pun on the Rabbit with a hair dryer frame, possibly an homage to {{w|Looney Tunes}}, where shows with {{w|Bugs Bunny}} would often contain a pun on the {{w|Leporidae|closely related term}} of "hare".
*{{w|Legolas}} is a reference to the character in the ''{{w|Lord of the Rings}}'' trilogy of books and movies. Legolas, as an elf, was so light-footed he could walk on top of snow, while the other races in his party were forced to trudge through it.
*The "Bobcat on pogo stick" panel is a possible reference to the character Bonkers D. Bobcat from {{w|Bonkers (TV series)}}
*The "Knight" panel is a {{w|chess}} reference, as the tracks move just like the knight piece in chess.
*The "kid with..." panels are a reference to ''{{w|Calvin and Hobbes}}'', a comic strip written by Bill Watterson. In it, Calvin has a pet tiger named Hobbes, and sometimes, a cardboard box that "transmogrifies" him to something else. In this panel we see tiger prints, meaning that Calvin became a tiger like Hobbes.
*The same cardboard box is now tipped on its side instead of upside down in the last panel. Now it functions as a duplicator, making multiple copies of whatever is in it. Calvin goes into it, duplicates himself, and they walk and duplicate again, and the cycle repeats.
*{{w|Prius}} is a reference to current events in which Toyota Prius's pedals have allegedly malfunctioned causing accidents. [http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/business/global/04prius.html]
*The {{w|Higgs Boson}} is an {{w|elementary particle}} which, at the time this strip was posted, had not yet been officially discovered (there had been detections at the Tevatron with 4 sigma certainty since the early 2000s). It was tentatively detected in March 2013 in the {{w|Large Hadron Collider}}. The “prints” in the snow in this case humorously resemble the tracks made by elementary particles following a collision of the kind used to search for the Higgs boson in a {{w|particle collider}}.

==Transcript==
:BACKYARD SNOW TRACKING GUIDE

:[Each panel contains an overhead view of tracks through the snow, with a caption indicating the apparent source.]

:[Standard paw prints through the snow.]
:CAT

:[Large split-toe tracks and smaller rodent tracks.]
:MOOSE AND SQUIRREL

:[Cat prints, but with more space between the pairs of prints.]
:LONGCAT

:[Two similar careening tire tracks.]
:MOUSE RIDING BICYCLE

:[Longer tracks, with a large melted ring surrounding a point in the middle of the frame.]
:RABBIT STOPPING TO USE HAIR DRYER

:[No visible tracks.]
:LEGOLAS

:[Single deep holes with cratering.]
:BOBCAT ON POGO STICK

:[Round prints that suddenly turn to the right halfway into frame.]
:KNIGHT

:[Human footprints up to a square melting pattern, turning into animal prints.]
:KID WITH TRANSMOGRIFIER

:[Human footprints up to a rectangular melted area, which are then doubled to another rectangular area, which are then doubled again up to another rectangular area, which are then doubled.]
:KID WITH DUPLICATOR

:[Right curve on a road, with tire tracks careening out of frame.]
:Out of Frame Garden Owner: MY VEGETABLE GARDEN!
:PRIUS

:[A series of spiraling and outwardly traveling lines extend from a point in the middle of the frame.]
:HIGGS BOSON

== Trivia ==
* A section of this comic, along with its title text, is used as the image for {{tvtropes|AltText|Alt Text}} on TV Tropes.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Calvin and Hobbes]]
[[Category:Bobcats]]
[[Category:Kids]]