explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2425: mRNA Vaccine

2021-02-16T01:12:24Z

172.69.55.104:

Well, RIP Cueball-on-Leia's-fake-Death-Star. [[User:Bubblegum|bubblegum]]-[[User_talk:Bubblegum|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Bubblegum|contribs]] 22:11, 15 February 2021 (UTC)

Is the "Hairy" guy with a beard [https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Jan_Dodonna]? Or I guess it could just be a generic person. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.148|172.69.34.148]] 23:13, 15 February 2021 (UTC)
:Bail Organa (Leias 'father')? This could be an alternate Ep4 in which various unseen prior events went smoother than unfolded in the sky-scrawled start. (i.e. What the vaccine did was somehow bypass the whole Rogue One job on Scarif, with a much earlier copy of data being obtained). Alderaan thus gets a heads-up? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.104|172.69.55.104]] 01:12, 16 February 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2423: Project Orion

2021-02-11T21:06:43Z

172.69.55.104:

If you read xkcd long enough, the comics always tend toward being about conversations tending toward something. (Okay, that’s not true; there’s one other comic like this and it was a conversation tending toward being about species tending toward being built like crabs. Still funny to think about, though.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.244|108.162.215.244]] 01:09, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
:All xkcd comics eventually become conversations about conversations. [[User:Captain Video|Captain Video]] ([[User talk:Captain Video|talk]]) 01:15, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
Just wanted to point out that "dusty plasma fission fragment rockets" is a [[856:_Trochee_Fixation|series of trochees]].[[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.117|162.158.183.117]] 05:45, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
: TIL trochee means something different for English than for Greek, Latin, Hungarian etc. [[User:Torzsmokus|Torzsmokus]] ([[User talk:Torzsmokus|talk]]) 08:35, 11 February 2021 (UTC)

The current explanation mentions other examples of topics, specialists from different fields apparently tend to converge on. Can anyone confirm whether those are actually true, or at least commonly known stereotypes? I've never heard of any such claim. The claim being, that all conversations converge on these topics, not the topics themselves. [[User:Bischoff|Bischoff]] ([[User talk:Bischoff|talk]]) 13:35, 11 February 2021 (UTC)

Now I understand a bit better what may have influenced some plot elements of Neal Stephenson's book Anathem.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.220|172.69.62.220]] 15:28, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
:More specifically? It's not striking a chord for me. All Sci-Fi conversations eventually come around to multiverse phenomena? [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 20:12, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
::Well, there definitely was an Orionesque system. With the pre-detection theorising by the core characters ''possibly'' being juxtaposed with more mundane gardening information within the Math/enclave. (Must re-read it!) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.104|172.69.55.104]] 21:06, 11 February 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2420: Appliances

2021-02-07T09:28:47Z

172.69.55.104:

This seems related to [[1890: What to Bring]]. [[User:Bubblegum|bubblegum]]-[[User_talk:Bubblegum|talk]]|[[Special:Contributions/Bubblegum|contribs]] 02:55, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

I actually disagree with the stove and washing dishes. In a large pot with water and with some stirring one can remove stains from cloths and kill germs. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.28|141.101.96.28]] 07:08, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

It's interesting that all green squares are mirrored along the diagonal, with one exception, but no yellow ones at all. Usually you would assume that somewhat similar things result in a yellow square on both sides. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 07:35, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

== A washing mashine can (and does) spin-dry clothes ==

A spin-drying program can usually be selected separately without getting the clothes wet. While this is not effective as a dryer, still much better than nothing.
----

I microwave can boil eggs, you just nweed to wrap them in foil and ensure they are covered by the boiling water. The foil acts as a faraday cage and ensures they only cook by conduction from the outside and the water stops arcing.
You cvan also make scrabled eggs and omlettes. [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]]) 09:31, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
:You seriously suggest putting foil into the microwave? I guess you don't mean tinfoil/aluminum? --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 09:58, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
::yes, read what they said. The aluminium foil happens to be unnecessary because they are immersing the eggs in water which will eventually boil. A fun thing to do is say to put a half a cup of water in the microwave, and listen to the screams from people who don't know that a couple of halved grapes are just fine with that half cup of water. One year old microwaves may not need the water; the half cup of water thing is from the directions for use on a twenty year old microwave. Edit by me[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.140|162.158.75.140]] 05:02, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
:: You can put a foil there IF you know what you are doing. Try dissecting a microwave popcorn bag - its bottom has an aluminium foil inside and acts as a pan. I was surprised by inclusion of egg as okay by Randall though - I thought egg yolks were famous for infrequent but nasty [https://abcnews.go.com/Health/dangers-microwaving-eggs/story?id=51630977 superheating surprises] when microwaved. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.165.116|162.158.165.116]] 10:41, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
::: You don't even need to know what you are a doing. I often don't bother to heat a skillet and fry two eggs in an oiled ceramic bowl. They don't cook evenly, so you gotta rearrange them.
500watt oven. For a 1500 one use a quarter power. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.52|108.162.216.52]] 05:17, 5 February 2021 (UTC)

I'm a bit weirded out by the idea that the eggs in the grid are specified as being poached. I'd have thought that "eggs in a microwave" meant scrambled, unless otherwise specified. And yes, OK, saying "poached" is specifying otherwise, you're right, thanks for mentioning it, but the implication is that poaching is the way that microwaves cook eggs. I've cooked a lot of eggs, microwave and otherwise, and today is the first day the idea of using a microwave to poach them has come up. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 00:59, 6 February 2021 (UTC)
----
I didn't get this at all until I read the explanation, as I am red-green colorblind and the shades of red and green that Randall chose appear completely identical to me.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.35|141.101.104.35]] 09:47, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
:Oh man, I wonder whether Randall is aware of the difficulty his choice in colors creates for colorblind readers. He's done comics referring to colorblindness before, hasn't he? I wonder if a subtle edit should be in order, on his part. (Alternatively, a confusion map of which vision types perceive differences between which colors, labeled in the same problematic colors, might have a certain apropos irony...?)
:[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 18:42, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
----

What a microwave does to bread is very weird. It seems to make the bread tougher (i.e., harder to bite through; in one case of a microwaved sandwich I was totally unable to bite off pieces), but doesn't make it stiffer (it ends up kind of like rubber). It doesn't wind up unevenly toasted like in the picture, but rather cooked in a completely different way. [[User:Magic9mushroom|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom|talk]]) 11:22, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

----
Using a microwave to dry clothes is generally a bad idea, there is quite a high chance of burns. The most household appliance to quickly dry clothes beside a dryer is actually the freezer. [[User:Perigril|Perigril]] ([[User talk:Perigril|talk]]) 13:20, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

----
Updated transcript from [[1890: What to Bring]]. Considering the increased size of this table maybe something else is wiser? Does anyone know why the three first items are separate, or why the washing machine appears only to wet parts of the shirt? Should the cited text from the comic be written in all caps to match the comic? Should the "with a" between the pairs be replaced with something better to indicate that unlike What to Bring, Appliances does not have an equivalent to the "Should you bring _____ to ______"-text? --[[User:IonIceXIII|IonIceXIII]] ([[User talk:IonIceXIII|talk]]) 13:22, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

----
Attempting to do as well as possible in each square could make an interesting short video series. Stove/oven could probably achieve 6 greens, at least for quality of results if not for the time required [[User:Jgt|Jgt]] ([[User talk:Jgt|talk]]) 13:41, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
:I love this. Where do I click "Like" & "Subscribe"? [[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:06, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
:I agree that the stove/oven deserves more green. I'm using the oven to dry (not just) clothes pretty often ;-) --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.82|141.101.96.82]] 21:08, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
----
A classic example of a diagonally dominant matrix. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.41|162.158.62.41]] 18:35, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

----
I'm surprised how many people persist in using "bad" toasters (slot loading). They're terrible at handling pretty much everything except sliced bread, & are completely impractical for more than half the things one might want "toasted". Even a sliced bagel turns out better in a half-decent "toaster oven" than in any slot-loader I've seen; & with a toaster oven you can toast the toppings too. (For instance: peanut butter is better toasted! Warm gooey cream cheese! Reheat muffins with loads of butter on top!) Try making a toasted sandwich in a slot loader; they're a nightmare. Even cleaning them is more effort than a toaster oven. Slot loaders are terrible, obsolete fire hazards, as far as I'm concerned. Yet when you say "toaster", people still visualize a slot loader. It's like if you said "pencil" & everyone visualized a stick of bare graphite. The graphite can conditionally be used for some purposes related to "pencil" but the wood cased design with rubber eraser is far more practical. Same situation with toasters; why use a slot-loader when you can get a good toaster instead?
[[User:ProphetZarquon|ProphetZarquon]] ([[User talk:ProphetZarquon|talk]]) 19:06, 4 February 2021 (UTC)
: It is an American thing. It is just how they believe toasters are supposed to look like. Also try telling them slices of real bread aren't square :D [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.104|172.69.55.104]] 09:28, 7 February 2021 (UTC)

----
I seem to recall a Cutthroat Kitchen episode where one of the chefs was forced to cook eggs with a toaster. I think they turned the toaster on its side, then put the egg in a shallow dish that was placed inside the slot. I don't remember if that chef was cut, though. - [[Special:Contributions/162.158.212.218|162.158.212.218]] 22:28, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

Wait, you can cook fish in a dishwasher? Guess I'm one of today's lucky 10,000. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 01:58, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
: Don't. It is like canning greenbeans with aspirin. The aspirin fucks up the flavor of the greenbeans and with or without the aspirin you must process the greenbeans properly. SDT[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.239|162.158.74.239]] 05:32, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
::Yeah I'm obviously not going to actually do that, but it's fun that I learned it's technically possible to cook fish like this. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 06:08, 5 February 2021 (UTC)

== Washing machine cooking options ==

Some modern dishwashing machines will hit fairly high temperature for part of the cycle.

https://www.reviewed.com/dishwashers/features/dishwashers-with-effective-sanitize-cycles

Our Miele dishwasher tits 65C during part of the washing cycle (not the drying part).

Classic sous vide egg poaching temperature is 64C so it should be able to poach an egg if you like your yolks runny. It's also plenty hot enough to sous vide fish (as long as it is a relatively thin fillet). Here I would be worried about overcooking white fish but firm fish like tuna or monkfish might work well. I'll give it a go tonight and report back!

== Main page error? ==

The main page currently has some sort of welcome template accidentally added to it.

Screenshot: https://ibb.co/F08GNnN

https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page&type=revision&diff=205838&oldid=158337

https://web.archive.org/web/20210205200636/https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.244|162.158.238.244]] 20:19, 5 February 2021 (UTC)

2417: 1/1,000th Scale World

2021-01-27T22:49:49Z

172.69.55.104: /* Table */

{{comic
| number = 2417
| date = January 27, 2021
| title = 1/1,000th Scale World
| image = 1_1000th_scale_world.png
| titletext = We're worried that a regular whale will get into a 30-foot-deep ocean trench section and filter-feed on all the tiny whales.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a STATUE OF LIBERTY MINIFIG. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a follow up to a previous two, [[2412: 1/100,000th Scale World]] and [[2411: 1/10,000th Scale World]], with a smaller scale and thus a larger world. As in the previous comics, [[Randall]] has another seemingly complete copy of Earth, this time at a 1:1000 scale, with various features and warnings labeled. Again, real-world features and phenomena are replicated at scale. As before, the model is very extensive, with several underground neutrino detectors/observatories being replicated.

Several of the warnings point out humorous consequences of the scale, such as goldfish eating blue whales.

===Table===
{| class="wikitable"
!Rule
!Reason
!Notes
|-
| Keep hot objects off the ice sheet over the south pole neutrino observatory
| Hot objects may emit Cherenkov radiation, which would result in the observatory detecting false positives of neutrino observations.
|
|-
| Be patient: Niagara falls will take a few minutes to fill your water glass
| The flow rate is scaled down with the size. According to https://what-if.xkcd.com/147/, the Niagara Falls flow is regulated to 100.000 cubic feet per second on the tourist season and to 50.000 cubic feet per second offseason and at night. Once scaled to 1/1000, that flow would be 2.83 or 1.41ml per second. If a standard glass of water is 250ml, it would take 1-2 minutes for the waterfall to fill it.

However, a 1/1000th replica of scale Niagra falls would be over a meter wide, so without some kind of system to divert the whole flow into one spot, it would not be possible to fill a glass this quickly. Also, the height of the scaled-down Niagra falls would be 5cm, with another 5cm between the water level and the riverbed, so it might be difficult to fill a glass depending on its height.
| This item is likely to be a reference to the famous Arthur C. Clarke quote: "Getting information from the internet is like getting a glass of water from the Niagara Falls."
|-
| Watch for small planes
| Taking the popular Cessna 172 as an example, 1/1000th scale small planes would be about 8mm in length, and cruise at speeds of about 6cm/s, much slower than comparable flying insects. A Cessna of that size traveling at that speed would probably cause much more damage to itself than a person if it crashed into one, so the warning is probably there to protect the models rather than the guests.
|
|-
| Warning! Choking hazard! Keep small children away from ascending/descending airliners
| Airplanes are apparently small enough for children to fit into their mouths but large enough to potentially make them choke.
| In the US, small parts are defined by [https://www.cpsc.gov/Business--Manufacturing/Business-Education/Business-Guidance/Small-Parts-for-Toys-and-Childrens-Products 16 C.F.R. Part 1501.2] as fitting in a cylindrical test fixture of 1.25 inches diameter that approximates the size of the fully expanded throat of a child under three years old. Once scaled, any object smaller than 31.75 meters would fit in that cylinder. A lot of medium-sized and small airplanes would qualify. Furthermore, since pieces that break off during testing that simulates use or abuse by children could also pose a choking hazard, even large airliners are also a choking hazard because stripped wings and parts of the fuselage would fit in the required size.
|-
| Do not remove safety caps
| This is a reference to the warning, "Be careful not to step on cities with especially pointy towers, like Toronto, Seattle, and Dubai" from [[2411: 1/10,000th Scale World]]. It's possible that many visitors to that scaled world did not heed the warnings and complained to the scaled world's creators, causing them to cover pointy towers with safety caps for this scaled world. However, now there are [[Black Hat|people who apparently want to cause harm to others]], or at least don't care about not causing harm to others, by removing these safety caps.
The tip of the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the scale world - appears to be about a meter and a half wide, or 1.5mm at 1/1000th scale.
|
|-
| No open flames in Zeppelin area
| Zeppelins are filled with hydrogen due to its very low density, which allows them to float. However, it is also very flammable and prone to explosions. The most famous of these Zeppelin disasters was when the {{w|Hindenburg disaster|Hindenburg exploded}} in 1937.
|-
| Do not bother the meteor crater ducks
| Meteor Crater in Arizona is over a kilometer wide, so at 1/1000 scale it could be a small duck pond of 1.186m diameter, and 17cm deep at its deepest point. This is (barely) enough space for a duck to swim in if filled to the brim with water.
| Meteor Crater is not filled with water, or ducks, in real life.
|-
| Trip hazard: The Gateway Arch
| The {{w|Gateway Arch}} is a monument in Saint Louis, Missouri. Being a 192 m high arch, once scaled it would be 19.2 cm high, ideal for tripping.
|
|-
| Drone altitude limit
| The FAA drone altitude limit is 400ft above the ground, which would be about 12cm in 1/1000th scale. This appears to be the number Randall is using, as the limit in the comic is about the same height as the pyramids, which are also around 400ft tall in the real world.
|
|-
| Do not mix up the USS Enterprises
|
The ship is presumably a model of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the longest naval vessel ever built, which would be 34cm long in 1/1000th scale.
The spaceship is the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) from the Star Trek franchise.
It's unclear whether mixing up the models is prohibited because it would damage them, or simply because that's not where they are supposed to be.
The Starship Enterprise might be corroded by seawater, or unable to handle external pressure (spacecraft are designed for the exact opposite pressures in a vacuum). If lifted into the air, the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise would probably fall back down because it can't fly (and be damaged or even destroyed upon hitting the ground or water surface), but then again, it's unclear how the model Enterprise is able to fly or hover.
The Enterprise from the JJ Abrams films has been seen to hide underwater and take off again without significant problems, and the Original Series version has been seen to fly (high) in the Earth's atmosphere on several occasions. However, it is unclear whether other versions of the Enterprise also possess this standard operational ability, nor which version is represented in the comic.
|
|-
| No connecting the Dead Sea to the ocean
| If there are models of Israeli and Jordanian cities next to the Dead Sea, they could get damaged by the water. Also, the model world would be less accurate because the Dead Sea is not connected to the ocean in real life.
|
|-
| Do not let ants into the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory
| Getting them out of the tunnel network would probably be difficult.
|
|-
| Only one person on the Golden Gate Tightrope at a time
| The {{w|Golden Gate Bridge}} is a suspension bridge in San Francisco, of width 27m. Scaled-down, it would be 2.7cm wide and it would be tempting to use it as a tightrope.
| In 1987, approximately 300,000 people [https://www.sfgate.com/local-donotuse/article/Golden-Gate-bridge-walk-1987-anniversary-disaster-13896571.php walked across the Golden Gate Bridge], which could be the largest weight it has supported: 80kg * 300,000 = 2.4*10^7kg. A visitor to the scaled world would expect to weigh (1000^3) times as much as a standard human: 8*(10^10), above the [https://www.vibrationdata.com/golden.htm total mass of the bridge]: 3.8*(10^8)
|-
| Do not remove Statue of Liberty LEGO minifig
| Whoever has made this model has decided to use a small LEGO minifigure rather than a more accurately sculpted replica of the Statue of Liberty. The person would likely not want it to be removed because it would then have to be replaced.
| LEGO has released a [https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/magnet-statue-of-liberty-2016-853600 Statue of Liberty minifigure] which is 5.3cm tall. The real Statue of Liberty, from head to toe, is 46 meters tall. At 1/1000 scale this would be a 4.6cm figurine, so the LEGO minifigure would indeed be an appropriate representation at that scale.
|-
| Please stop releasing goldfish into the ocean. They eat all of the blue whales.
| Blue whales usually grow to about 20m long in real life, meaning that at 1/1000th scale they would be only 2cm long, meaning that they could easily be consumed by a goldfish. Goldfish are omnivores, so they would eat tiny blue whales. But they are also freshwater fish, so would they survive long enough in seawater to put the whales at risk? This could perhaps be considered carping. And perhaps Randall's customers have access to [https://mashable.com/2017/09/20/saltwater-bearing-goldfish-australia/ Australian goldfish].
| This also begs the question of where one would get such tiny blue whales. In the mouseover text, Randall mentions that if real blue whales were to be released into the 1/1000th scale ocean they would filter-feed on the miniature versions. Blue whales usually eat minuscule krill, however, the tiny whales would provide a similarly-sized substitute.
|
|}

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Illustrations of scale]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Scale World]]

2412: 1/100,000th Scale World

2021-01-16T01:29:42Z

172.69.55.104: /* Explanation */ Noting that I rephrased my edit, before submission, to not say "colour" and also decided to say "cotton candy" instead of "candy floss". Hands over the ocean, however...

{{comic
| number = 2412
| date = January 15, 2021
| title = 1/100,000th Scale World
| image = 1_100000th_scale_world.png
| titletext = The floor should be slightly curved, but we haven't figured out artificial gravity yet, so for now we just added a trace intoxicating gas to the air that messes with your inner ear and gives you a sense that the ground is tilting away from you.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TOXIC AURORA. Missing an explanation entirely. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is a sequel to the [[2411: 1/10,000th Scale World|previous one]]. There is a 1/100,000th scale world in this comic.

{| class="wikitable"
!Rule
!Reason
!Notes
|-
|Our aurora are probably non-toxic but please stop trying to taste them
| The aurora in the image is now temptingly at head height, and presumably look a lot like cotton candy or other inviting foodstuffs.
| The plural of "{{w|aurora}}" should actually be "auroras" or "aurorae"
|-
|No breaking off pieces of the ice caps to put in your drink
|
|
|-
|Warning: Limited cell network coverage above the ionosphere, crouch down to get more bars
| The ionosphere reflects radio signals, in this case keeping terrestrial cellular phone signals from reaching phones higher up
|
|-
|Do not step on Mt. Everest
| Mt. Everest, the highest peak on Earth, is several inches tall at 1:100,000 scale
|
|-
|Caution! Ocean floor slippery when wet
| Due to the smaller scale, the ocean depths would only be a few inches deep at most; this amount of liquid would cause more of a 'slippery surface' than a 'water region'.
|
|-
|Wear sunscreen; the ozone layer only protects you below the knees.
|
|
|-
|Beware of chest-level meteors
|
|
|-
| -100° mesopause vest recommended
|
|
|-
|If Lake Tahoe or the Dead Sea dries up, refill them with this 5oz wine glass
|
|
|-
|Safety glasses required for protection from reentering spacecraft
|
|
|-
|Do not anger the sprites
| {{w|Sprite (lightning)|Sprites}} are poorly understood electrical phenomena in the upper atmosphere. They are enormous but very short-lived.
| Sprites are also a name given to a form of forest spirit known for mischievous and sometimes harmful behaviour. In some fairy tales a warning would be given to not anger the spirits in case of grave repercussions.
|-
|Please stop digging through the Moho. Staff are tired of cleaning up large igneous provinces.
|Short for the {{w|Mohorovičić discontinuity}}, the Moho is the boundary surface separating the Earth's crust from the mantle. It can be found at a depth of 6-7 miles under the ocean bed, and about 24-30 miles under the continents.
|Using Randall's 1/100,000th scale world, 6-7 miles would be approximately 4 inches, while 24-30 miles would be about 16 inches, making the Moho easily accessible via digging. It would indeed create large igneous provinces, and make a big mess of lava that the staff would have to clean up, which would not be fun. The lava has a decent chance to burn through a mop or something, so it would be pretty tricky to clean up as well, since your cleaning stuff would light on fire unless soaked in water or something.
|-
|ISS (14 feet up) Returns every 90 minutes - Hit it with a nerf dart, win a prize!
| The {{w|International Space Station}} is the largest human-made object in space, and orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes.
| This idea of treating modern research as a toy is in the same general panel area as the weather balloon smacking from the previous comic.
|}

The title text states that the floor should be slightly curved. In fact, given that the model in the comic is about 10 meters long, it represents about 1000 km of Earth, that spans about 9 degrees of a great circle. Therefore, if the model wasn't larger than the part shown in the panel, its edges would have a very noticeable slope of 4.5 degrees.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
RULES:
Text: For visitors to my 1/100,000th scale world
1 meter = 100 km, 1 ft=100,000ft≈20 miles

Text: ISS (14 feet up)
Returns every 90 minutes
Hit it with a Nerf dart to win a prize!

Text: Our Aurora are probably non-toxic, but please stop trying to taste them

Text: [one cell bar] Warning: Limited cell network coverage above the ionosphere. Crouch down to get more bars

Text: Safety glasses required for protection from reentering spacecraft
Cueball: OW!
(off-screen): What?
Cueball: I got a Soyuz in my eye

Text: Beware of chest level meteors

Text: -100°C Mesopause vest recommended
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Illustrations of scale]]

Talk:2383: Electoral Precedent 2020

2020-11-10T08:32:07Z

172.69.55.104:

Can anyone identify the faded background text in the 2016 panel?

Is there some shadow text behind the main text in the 2016 square? I can barely make it out.
It looks like "No nominee whose first name contains a "k" has lost", which would be the same from the 1122 comic.
[[User:ChunyangD|ChunyangD]] ([[User talk:ChunyangD|talk]]) 00:54, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

It's the alternative text from the 2016 one: "No nominee whose first name contains a "K" has lost." [[Special:Contributions/172.69.235.143|172.69.235.143]] 00:58, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

I'm quite sure that Obama did in fact have a campaign website in 2008 when he was a challenger. See http://www.4president.us/websites/2008/barackobama2008website.htm [[User:Bobjr|Bobjr]] ([[User talk:Bobjr|talk]]) 01:15, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
:I think "challenger" means that they're going against the incumbent. Obama was up against McCain, who wasn't an incumbent. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:31, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

How much do we want the explanation for this one to repeat what is in that of 1122?--[[User:Troy0|Troy0]] ([[User talk:Troy0|talk]]) 01:19, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
:We shouldn't. If the explanation of 1122 is missing something it should be added there. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:21, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Didn't Clinton win after being impeached? [[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 01:21, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
:Yes, he was impeached during his first term. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:31, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
:: No, this is not true, Clinton was impeached during his 2nd term, in 1998, and he was not eligible for a 3rd term. George W. Bush won the following presidential election in 2000. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.42|172.69.34.42]] 01:35, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

You could also say Joe was the first President with a rescue dog [[User:Squire80513|Squire80513]] ([[User talk:Squire80513|talk]]) 01:57, 10 November 2020 (UTC)Squire80513
:Does not Lyndon B Johnson's dog, Yuki, count? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.128|162.158.159.128]] 02:30, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
::LBJ's Yuki was a "rescue" (found wandering aimlessly around a gas station) but not a "shelter" dog. Joe's dog is the first first canine from a shelter. It's subtle distinction that many repeating the statistic miss [[User:MAP|MAP]] ([[User talk:MAP|talk]]) 03:08, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Point of order, why is Biden being referred to as president elect? I was under the impression that the term shouldn't be used until the dispute is resolved. With several pending legal cases and the votes uncertified by the states.
: All major media sources have called the race for Biden as of Saturday, November 8th. XKCD, and this wiki, will follow the lead of the Associated Press or New York Times, both of whom say the race has concluded and Joe Biden is the president elect.
:: Not only that, but A) while "the votes uncertified by the states" may influence the exact total, they can't make Trump win, B) a Trump victory would require that ALL legal cases are resolved in Trump's favor (depending on uncertified votes) and C) the Republican party asked to Trump to concede victory, meaning that nobody with political experience believes those legal cases have a chance of success. The only unknown point is the result of the EC election, but it is naturally assumed they will vote for the elected candidate.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.104|172.69.55.104]] 08:29, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2383: Electoral Precedent 2020

2020-11-10T08:29:42Z

172.69.55.104:

Can anyone identify the faded background text in the 2016 panel?

Is there some shadow text behind the main text in the 2016 square? I can barely make it out.
It looks like "No nominee whose first name contains a "k" has lost", which would be the same from the 1122 comic.
[[User:ChunyangD|ChunyangD]] ([[User talk:ChunyangD|talk]]) 00:54, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

It's the alternative text from the 2016 one: "No nominee whose first name contains a "K" has lost." [[Special:Contributions/172.69.235.143|172.69.235.143]] 00:58, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

I'm quite sure that Obama did in fact have a campaign website in 2008 when he was a challenger. See http://www.4president.us/websites/2008/barackobama2008website.htm [[User:Bobjr|Bobjr]] ([[User talk:Bobjr|talk]]) 01:15, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
:I think "challenger" means that they're going against the incumbent. Obama was up against McCain, who wasn't an incumbent. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:31, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

How much do we want the explanation for this one to repeat what is in that of 1122?--[[User:Troy0|Troy0]] ([[User talk:Troy0|talk]]) 01:19, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
:We shouldn't. If the explanation of 1122 is missing something it should be added there. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:21, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Didn't Clinton win after being impeached? [[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 01:21, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
:Yes, he was impeached during his first term. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 01:31, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
:: No, this is not true, Clinton was impeached during his 2nd term, in 1998, and he was not eligible for a 3rd term. George W. Bush won the following presidential election in 2000. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.42|172.69.34.42]] 01:35, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

You could also say Joe was the first President with a rescue dog [[User:Squire80513|Squire80513]] ([[User talk:Squire80513|talk]]) 01:57, 10 November 2020 (UTC)Squire80513
:Does not Lyndon B Johnson's dog, Yuki, count? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.128|162.158.159.128]] 02:30, 10 November 2020 (UTC)
::LBJ's Yuki was a "rescue" (found wandering aimlessly around a gas station) but not a "shelter" dog. Joe's dog is the first first canine from a shelter. It's subtle distinction that many repeating the statistic miss [[User:MAP|MAP]] ([[User talk:MAP|talk]]) 03:08, 10 November 2020 (UTC)

Point of order, why is Biden being referred to as president elect? I was under the impression that the term shouldn't be used until the dispute is resolved. With several pending legal cases and the votes uncertified by the states.
: All major media sources have called the race for Biden as of Saturday, November 8th. XKCD, and this wiki, will follow the lead of the Associated Press or New York Times, both of whom say the race has concluded and Joe Biden is the president elect.
:: Not only that, but A) while "the votes uncertified by the states" may influence the exact total, they can't make Trump win, B) a Trump victory would require that ALL legal cases are resolved in Trump's favor (depending on uncertified votes) and C) the Republican party asked to Trump to concede victory, meaning that nobody with political experience believes those legal cases have a chance of success. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.104|172.69.55.104]] 08:29, 10 November 2020 (UTC)