explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2593: Deviled Eggs

2023-05-12T08:37:55Z

172.69.42.106: I must not summarize. Summary is the mind-killer. Summary is the little-death that bring total obliteration. I will face my summary. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

First commit was accidentally wiped off because an edit conflict with somebody who changed "created by a bot" to "created by an EGG" :( Am sad now. [[User:Mumingpo|Mumingpo]] ([[User talk:Mumingpo|talk]]) 02:45, 15 March 2022 (UTC)
:Shouldn't that be "created by a CHICKEN", anyway? Although I suppose the chicken was created by an egg...[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.223|172.69.79.223]] 12:24, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

The blue flash mentioned in the title text represents Cherenkov Radiation. In the case of the Demon Core accidents, those who saw the blue flashes saw it because of gamma radiation being slowed by the fluid inside of their eyeballs. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.137|172.69.42.137]] 02:46, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

:Not according to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionized-air_glow Wikipedia]]. There it says that the blue glow in criticality incidents such as those with the demon core is not from Cherenkov radiation.

:[[User:While False|While False]] ([[User talk:While False|talk]]) 09:15, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

:: To quote that same wikipedia article on that specific point: [Citation needed.] The article explains a blue glow after an ionizing event, but it doesn't explain the blue flash during the event. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.106|172.69.42.106]] 08:37, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Pretty sure the blue flash relates to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_flash#Blue_flashes sunset phenomenon] (usually a green flash as mentioned in [[766: Green Flash]], but can be blue). [[User:Clam|Clam]] ([[User talk:Clam|talk]]) 02:47, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

Whenever the explanation is added, it needs to reference [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1242:_Scary_Names 1242: Scary Names], which talks about the Demon Core. [[User:Trimeta|Trimeta]] ([[User talk:Trimeta|talk]]) 02:49, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

Summary would likely be better formatted in table to match spatial arrangement of original comic labels[[User:Abstreudel|Abstreudel]] ([[User talk:Abstreudel|talk]]) 02:53, 15 March 2022 (UTC)
:Not really. It's four examples that happen to be two-by-two, no reason to need to keep/restore the row-neighbours and column-neighbours. It'd just potentially look messy.
:(If you're suggesting table of "Name | Description | ... ", with four rows within, then it would be consistent with other explanations, but unnecessarily white-space heavy compared to the current minor-header and explanatory paragraph(s) format.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.177|172.70.85.177]] 07:36, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

A comment was misplaced below this discussion form. I tried to delete it but ended up deleting the whole discussion section for a moment. Would someone take care of that? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.110.209|172.70.110.209]] 03:24, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

If anyone is curious about what the demon core event looked like, the movie "Fat Man and Little Boy" (1989) while (hilariously) bad, has a fairly accurate scene depicting the second experiment, which can be found on YouTube. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.91|172.70.130.91]] 14:23, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

I think something could be added about why the Demon Core is so famous at the moment. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.76.193|141.101.76.193]] 16:24, 15 March 2022 (UTC)
: Is this referencing recent events that have brought the Cherynobyl nuclear complex (and its {{w|Chernobyl disaster}}/criticality incident) into the headlines? [[User:Mwarren|Mwarren]] ([[User talk:Mwarren|talk]]) 17:16, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

Kyle Hill created a documentary on the Demon Core. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFlromB6SnU [[Special:Contributions/172.70.230.63|172.70.230.63]] 18:57, 16 March 2022 (UTC)

Is demon egg a pun on demon and devil being synonymous? [[2a02:1810:2f04:1d00:5dfb:d515:b384:91a3]] 11:33, 08 Jun 2022 (UTC)
:Well, yes and no. And they're loosely synonymous, at best, with classically ''the'' Devil may have ''many'' demons doing his bidding (you may have many devils, as subordinate mischief-makers, but there is rarely but one Demon in existence within a mythology, except insofar as a Demon King, overload of the various demonic substrata by whatever names) but enough for it to be an easy (or understandable) switch in terminology. Clearly a relationship, but too broad to be a full-on pun, IMO. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.22.175|162.158.22.175]] 12:32, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

2069: Wishlist

2018-11-08T19:15:24Z

172.69.42.106:

{{comic
| number = 2069
| date = November 7, 2018
| title = Wishlist
| image = wishlist.png
| titletext = Disappointed that they caved to fan pressure and went with Ruth Bader Ginsburg over Elena Kagan.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please only mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
''{{w|Super Smash Brothers}}'' (also titled as ''Super Smash Bros.'' and usually shortened to ''Smash'') is a crossover fighting game series published by Nintendo, primarily featuring Nintendo characters. As of publish date, there are 77 playable characters across the 5 games in the series. Starting with the third game, ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', characters from third-party franchises (non-Nintendo) have been made available, though most of them had at least made major appearances on a Nintendo system at some point. This comic is a parody of various fans' wishes for the roster of ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', which was announced in 2018 along with multiple trailers revealing new characters to appear in the roster. In the November 1st trailer it was stated every new character in the launch version of the game had been announced, though with five more characters coming in 2019 as {{w|downloadable content}}.

Throughout the series fans have suggested new characters to add; however, developer acquiescence to these requests is rare, with only five characters out of 77 (King Dedede, Sonic the Hedgehog, Ryu, Bayonetta, and Ridley) having been added this way. On November 3rd, the developer studio Sora Ltd. made a statement on Twitter telling fans that the unrevealed DLC characters were finalized and they were not accepting further requests.

This comic lists 16 "characters" that Randall supposedly wishes were made available in ''Super Smash Bros.'', ranging from plausible playable characters, to the absurd.

; Mario / Luigi hybrid
: {{w|Mario}} and {{w|Luigi}} are characters in the {{w|Super Mario}} series, one of Nintendo's flagship franchises. They are both playable characters in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. A hybrid of these two characters would be quite interesting, even though such a concept does not exist within the Super Mario series. When considering how Mario and Luigi have evolved throughout the Smash series, one could argue that {{w|Dr. Mario}} is a hybrid of these two in terms of moveset.

; The SkiFree monster
: {{w|SkiFree}} is a computer game for Windows released in 1991. The player controls a skier trying to avoid obstacles. After the end of a full run, a {{w|Yeti|white furry monster}} appears, and tries to catch the player. The SkiFree monster was a subject of the [[667: SkiFree]] comic. Unlike most of the characters on this list, the SkiFree monster at least has had an appearance on a Nintendo system, as the game had a Game Boy Color port as part of the "The Best of Entertainment Pack" in 2001.

; Siri
: {{w|Siri}} is the name given to Apple's personal virtual assistant for iOS, macOS, and its other operating systems. Siri is generally a voice without a visual representation, so it is unclear how Siri would be a playable character in ''Super Smash Bros.''

; Ellie from ''Up''
: Ellie is one of the characters in ''{{w|Up (2009 film)|Up}}'', a 2009 Pixar film. In the beginning of the film, Ellie passes away, leaving her husband Carl alone, and leading him to start his adventure in Paradise Falls. While there was a tie-in video game based on the movie released in the same year for multiple systems (including the Wii and Nintendo DS), Ellie was not playable in it.

; Zordon
: {{w|Zordon}} is a fictional character from the ''Power Rangers'' franchise who serves as the mentor for the earlier Ranger teams. While he is technically trapped in another dimension, he is usually depicted as a blurry head in a tube. He occasionally has lightning powers, and had a robot sidekick (Alpha 5) who might be able to move him around. Alas, he is currently dead, having used his life energy to remove all evil from the galaxy at that time. While there have been many Power Rangers video games over the years, including on Nintendo platforms, Zordon would be an unlikely character not only due to his lack of extremities, but also due to the fact that the Power Rangers franchise is primarily built on stock footage of the Japanese ''Super Sentai'' series.

; Clippy
: Clippit, commonly nicknamed {{w|Clippy}}, was one of the Office Assistants for Microsoft Office (versions 1997 to 2003). It was an intelligent user interface that assisted users. Clippy (and the other Office Assistants) was negatively received by users, and was eventually removed in Office 2007.

; The Sarlaac [sic]
: The {{w|Sarlacc}} is an alien monster that lived in {{w|Tatooine}} in the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' universe. It is most prominently shown in the film ''{{w|Return of the Jedi}}'', when the main heroes are sentenced to death by being dropped into the Sarlacc's mouth. Notably, the Sarlacc is a large, stationary creature embedded in the ground (essentially, a pit).
: This could be a reference to the Piranha Plant being confirmed as a DLC character, as Piranha Plants are typically stationary and embedded in the ground, and also have their big, toothy mouth as a primary feature.
: While the Sarlacc was featured in 1994's {{w|Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi}} for the {{w|Super Nintendo Entertainment System}}, its lack of mobility would make it a poor choice for a character.

; InstallShield Wizard
: A ''wizard'' is a type of UI that simplifies configuration of an app or process by guiding the user through a number of screens in sequence. A user makes one decision on each screen, and the overall process puts less cognitive load on the user.
: {{w|InstallShield}} is a proprietary software tool for creating installer applications (or software packages) for Microsoft Windows. When the created package is being installed, the installer application can be shown in form of a 'standard Windows Wizard' dialog. Depending on the creativity of the user creating the package, the Wizard can display images while different stages of the installer are being executed.
: There are known instances of The InstallShield Wizard showing a wizard-like character images. Also, the standard wording of the installer text shown to the user ('software-to-be-installed is preparing the InstallShield Wizard, which will guide you through the program setup process') suggests that the Wizard is a 'real character'.

; Mr. Clean
: {{w|Mr. Clean}} is a brand and mascot for Procter & Gamble used for all-purpose cleaners and melamine foam cleaners.

; Comet Cursor
: {{w|Comet Cursor}} was Windows software that allowed users or websites to customise the mouse cursor. It was often installed with minimal user interaction and was accused of tracking users and being "spyware".

; Beto O'Rourke
: {{w|Beto O'Rourke}} is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 16th congressional district since 2013. He was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2018 Texas U.S. Senate election (which was held the day before this comic appeared), running against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. O'Rourke received much media attention leading up to the election, with many considering the election abnormally competitive. He ultimately did lose against Ted Cruz.
: While not a video game character, it is more than possible to create a Mii Fighter based on Beto O'Rourke in the game. However, the game does not come with a Beto O'Rourke Mii, and Nintendo has not created an official Mii of Beto O'Rourke.

; The Monopoly boot
: The "boot" is one of the classic pewter tokens from the board game ''{{w|Monopoly (game)|Monopoly}}''. Despite the absurdity of the request, the boot appeared in the 1999 ''Monopoly'' video game adaptation for the Nintendo 64. In 2017, the boot token was retired from the standard version of ''Monopoly''.

; Lot's wife
: Lot and his wife are characters from the book of Genesis in the Bible. According to the book of Genesis, Lot and his family had to {{w|Sodom_and_Gomorrah#In_the_Book_of_Genesis|flee the city of Sodom}}, which was being judged by God for its wickedness. They were commanded to flee and not look back at the city. However, Lot's wife looked back at the city and was turned into a pillar of salt. It is unclear which version of Lot's wife Randall wishes to be playable in the game.

; D.B. Cooper
: {{w|D.B. Cooper}} is the name popularly used to refer to an unidentified man who hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft on November 24, 1971. He extorted $200,000 in ransom and parachuted out of the plane. His identity and whereabouts have never been discovered. D.B. Cooper was a subject of the [[1400: D.B. Cooper]] comic. As mentioned above, an enterprising player could easily make a Mii Fighter based on D.B. Cooper, though no such Mii has been provided by Nintendo.

; The Blair Witch
: The Blair Witch is the titular character of the ''{{w|The Blair Witch Project}}'', a 1999 "found footage" supernatural horror film. The film became one of the most successful independent films of all time.

; Mavis Beacon
: ''{{w|Mavis Beacon (character)|Mavis Beacon}}'' is a fictional character and the mascot of the ''{{w|Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing}}'' software series.

The title text refers to two US Supreme Court Associate Justices who were supposedly added to ''Smash''. {{w|Ruth Bader Ginsburg}} was appointed by Bill Clinton; {{w|Elena Kagan}} was appointed by Barack Obama. Both are considered to be on the “liberal” wing of the court, but Ginsburg’s forceful dissenting opinions may explain why she would have been a more popular character for Super Smash Bros. Additionally, Ginsburg has been parodied on ''{{w|Saturday Night Live}}'', adding to her popularity: [http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/cast/kate-mckinnon-15056/impersonation/ruth-bader-ginsburg-100221]

==Transcript==
:[In a frame a bullet-list is shown:]
:Mario/Luigi hybrid
:The SkiFree monster
:Siri
:Ellie from ''Up''
:Zordon
:Clippy
:The Sarlaac
:The InstallShield Wizard
:Mr. Clean
:Comet Cursor
:Beto O'Rourke
:The Monopoly boot
:Lot's wife
:D.B. Cooper
:The Blair Witch
:Mavis Beacon

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Super Smash Brothers never did end up adding anyone from my wishlist.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Video games]]

2065: Who Sends the First Text?

2018-11-05T22:04:43Z

172.69.42.106: I specified a detail in the comic

{{comic
| number = 2065
| date = October 29, 2018
| title = Who Sends the First Text?
| image = who_sends_the_first_text.png
| titletext = I sort of wish my texting app showed the percentage next to each person, but also sort of don't want to know.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please only mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Text messaging}} is a back-and-forth communication via SMS between two users. In this comic, Randall shows a line graph of "who sends the first text more often?" This is meant to show who Randall initiates conversations with, and who initiates conversations with him.

Maintaining a friendship or relationship (whether intimate, friendship, casual, or business) typically requires communication; often that communication takes place when two individuals are not in the same location by means of an exchange of text messages. A normal balanced relationship typically involves both parties involved to have an approximately equal interest in making conversations happen, as measured in this case by "who sends the first text". The person who desires that a particular communication take place typically will send a text message, and once the other person responds the conversation happens, and the relationship progresses. If neither person initiates, the relationship will likely suffer.

While this graph shows the majority of his relationships involve friends whereby both sides are prone to initiating conversations, the graph also shows some groups that are a little more at the extremes, some where Randall texts a lot but they typically don't initiate text conversations to him, and some where others text him a lot but he rarely initiates text conversations with them.

On the left side of the graph are people with whom Randall initiates conversations with "100% of the time". On the right side of the graph are those who initiate conversations with Randall.

The chart is separated into 5 blocks. The two blocks on the left are those who may be, or definitely are, "just politely putting up with [Randall]". This is implied that they may not be close friends with Randall, but Randall still wants to be friends with them. Their reluctance to initiate conversation with Randall is shown by the fact that Randall usually sends the first text to them.

The largest block, in the middle, is "friends". These friends range from Randall initiating a lot, to them initiating a lot. There is a healthy range of who initiates first.

The next block to the right is for "that really nice friend who keeps inviting me to things even though I flake consistently". This means that Randall promises to go to events that this friend invites him to, but does not always follow through. This friend is still persistent in inviting Randall. Additionally, Randall could be less close to this person, based on him not categorizing this person under "friends".

The final block is "automated alerts and political campaigns". Randall would certainly not be likely to initiate "conversation" with automated systems, and would be very unlikely to initiate conversations with political campaigns, though the fact that the bar is not purely 100% suggests that he has on rare occasion initiated such a conversation, perhaps for a campaign he believes in, or perhaps to request to be added to an automated alert system (i.e. opt-in). The fact that it includes political campaigns is a reference to the incessant texts being sent to Americans about the upcoming midterms.

In the title text, Randall wishes that he would know the percentage of "who sends the first text more often", for each person that he texts. But he is also wary of the potential implications of finding out this information.
(Many old school messenger like pidgin offer such statistics through plugins thought)

==Transcript==
:'''Who sends the first text more often?'''
:[A line graph with a segmented bar underneath shows a 50/50 marker in the middle while the left end is labeled "I text first 100% of the time" whereas the right end is labeled "They text first 100% of the time".]

:[The bar below is divided into five sections:]

:[A small part at the left, and a next, slightly larger part. The text below points to the second part:]
:People who I think of as friends but secretly worry that they're just politely putting up with me

:[Below this a text is shown for the first part:]
:...'''''definitely''''' just politely putting up with me

:[In the middle is a big part:]
:Friends

:[To the right the parts are symmetric, the first is larger:]
:That really nice friend who keeps inviting me to things even though I flake constantly

:[The last small bar at the right:]
:Automated alerts and political campaigns

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]