explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2998: Ravioli-Shaped Objects

2024-10-20T15:36:07Z

172.70.126.7:

I think its a missed opportunity not to include the 'bulging lithium battery' themed throw pillow.[[User:Xurkitree10|Xurkitree10]] ([[User talk:Xurkitree10|talk]]) 22:04, 14 October 2024 (UTC)
: [https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=455ef0c0e7ccb718&rlz=1C5CHFA_enPT1102PT1103&sxsrf=ADLYWILokQZ6eE3TWl2J_c07q1iHNDGgjw:1729080251272&q=%27bulging+lithium+battery%27+throw+pillow&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0Aa4sjWe7Rqy32pFwRj0UkWd8nbOJfsBGGB5IQQO6L3J_TJ4YMS4eRay1mUcjRHkZwkNnuzbvXdHSnZt8SI-ypebpRXuYkgug6DK-4Ut13H99ktA8Mqi1OEFqdR-eK48bJa__90OMgplgEoZnWValhUQ343gp_exU8Evdjtace2RF7oLL9h99qRkTgUJWLIWwzoXToL&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj72qjx7ZKJAxVOYPEDHe8mDMkQtKgLegQINxAB&biw=1920&bih=968&dpr=1#vhid=fdx7hJP7669_DM&vssid=mosaic Oh, these actually exist]--[[Special:Contributions/172.64.236.35|172.64.236.35]] 12:07, 16 October 2024 (UTC)
:: Although technically, the pillow itself is normal, it's the overlay / cover which is battery themed. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 05:08, 17 October 2024 (UTC)
::: Missing a trick by not having them be heated. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.202|172.70.90.202]] 08:49, 17 October 2024 (UTC)

Battery stories.
One of my backup batteries has started bulging so much I wrapped it in duct tape to hold the case onto it. It still works if I joggle the connectors well, but I’m worried.
Another time, I was trying to repair a cell phone but accidentally pierced the battery with my tiny screw driver. It started sparking and smoking and emitting dense dark noxious smoke. I threw it, it landed on a chair and burst into a small fire. The building filled with the dense noxious smoke, setting off all the alarms, coughing, opening the windows. When the fire calmed down (it didn’t spread) the chair seat was burnt in the shape of the battery, as well as the phone was bent and discolored and unusable in every way. But it still had its electronics in many parts. I want to image that flash chip and get my files!
A kid also once told me, they had an old phone they had taken to a very cold event (lithium batteries can hold power in proportion to temperature, so sudden drops could be a problem), and it started emitting s whining nosie. They threw it for safety, and it exploded away from them, according to their story.

Now, people also sell large expanded batteries for cell phones, which don’t fit in the case, and people mod or bend the case to get more power for their phones. Phone hacking, in some areas, has been getting easier and easier as information on it spreads and as design norms for phones stabilise. I used to mismatch phone batteries to save money and waste, but I was young and I would do crazy things like bunching up internal foil from candy wrappers, or bending paperclips, or pulling copper strands from discarded wires, and with my youngster manual dexterity i could measure the right voltages and jam, tape, or solder the disparate batteries to the internal connectors, and forcing the phone back on would then indeed yield things that looked like Randall’s drawings here.

Since traditional lithium batteries stop working after a few years, there’s pressure for people to do home battery mods.

But I bet nowadays you can find all sorts of clear descriptions of how to do these various things much better than I used to all over the internet somewhere, maybe even 3d print designs for parts. Maybe even a robot or drone exoskeleton for your phone, connecting with usb-serial or bluetooth or wifi.

So according to Randall it’s totally safe to use my bulging lithium backup battery (even if a screen is a little cracked)? {{unsigned ip|172.69.59.66|22:29, 14 October 2024}}

Should we create a group/series for comics containing confusion matrices? This now makes 5, with the other 4 being 2963, 2813, 2420 and 1890. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.184|108.162.250.184]] 22:50, 14 October 2024 (UTC)
:Nevermind I just realised that this group exists, my bad. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.210.124|172.68.210.124]] 22:53, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

I wasn't expecting a comic about spicy pillows but I think it's awesome that we got one. I do think there should be mention of or links to how to safely dispose of expanding lithium batteries such as [https://www.call2recycle.org/ Call2Recycle] in the explanation, even if it's just to spread awareness about the dangers of spicy pillows and the proper disposal of them. [[User:OmniDoom|OmniDoom]] ([[User talk:OmniDoom|talk]]) 23:36, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

spicy pillows yummy [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 07:41, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Shouldn’t the bottomright square be yellow or even red? (I see it is mentioned in the explanation already) - - [[Special:Contributions/172.71.103.178|172.71.103.178]] 09:26, 15 October 2024 (UTC)
: I'm assuming that Randal has the experience in his community of never having an issue with installing an expanded battery. The comic appears to be saying that rumors that this is dangerous are false. But I don't know, maybe he's getting senile. In the "internetizen" or "hacker" spirit of the comic's demographic, trying out alternative approaches than the mainstream is (or was) the celebrated norm, and leads to many new discoveries that are (or were) shared online. There might be more information on irc or twitter. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.129|108.162.245.129]] 23:17, 15 October 2024 (UTC)
:My interpretation is that yellow indicates "weird" rather than safe/practical. Two two yellow-marked squares are no unsafe or impractical, they are merely weird. Having a bulging phone battery is not weird, and because it still functions (despite being dangerous/damaging), it can't be red either. I do think it's an odd choice though, emotionally. [[User:Maplestrip|Maplestrip]] ([[User talk:Maplestrip|talk]]) 09:41, 16 October 2024 (UTC)

:When I visit https://xkcd.com/2998/ the bottom right cell is red not green as on this page. If something has been update this might warrent a trivia section.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.92|162.158.154.92]] 04:21, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

::More importantly, the image here should be replaced by the one Randall now has on his site.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.224|162.158.134.224]] 07:42, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

In the phone/pillow square, we can see an edge under the front of the pillow, so maybe Cueball split the phone opened and placed the pillow between the parts. That would explain the red color. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.127.99|162.158.127.99]] 12:43, 15 October 2024 (UTC)
:If the intent is to put each battery/non-battery-substitute 'in' the battery compartment, then this makes sense. Given that it's typically a tight-tolerance fit (so that even a slightly 'blown' battery is hard to insert, or at least get the cover back over), anything bigger than the original battery will protrude, or at least distort the case heavily. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.55|172.71.26.55]] 14:38, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

It seems like Randall forgot to hide the sketch in the bottom left cell. {unsigned ip|162.158.167.83|20:50, 15 October 2024}}

Please do not eat old Samsung batteries. [[User:Psychoticpotato|P?sych??otic?pot??at???o ]] ([[User talk:Psychoticpotato|talk]]) 21:01, 15 October 2024 (UTC)
:Nor drink, nor use as headrests. Thank you fandoor your cooperation. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.22.191|172.68.22.191]] 23:50, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

: Eating a lithium (IIRC) battery is good for one and those about iff one is a zombie in Z Nation ( https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3843168/ ) Otherwise? Yikes.
:Aside: I'd advise against thinking that xkcd is an advice column. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.213|172.70.134.213]] 02:58, 16 October 2024 (UTC)

:Please do not eat other brand of lithium batteries either, no matter their age. Do not eat Apple batteries. Do not eat Google Pixel batteries. Do not eat Xiaomi batteries. Do not eat Huawei batteries. Do not eat Honor batteries. Do not eat Motorola batteries. Do not eat rechargable AAA batteries. Actually, do not eat non-rechargable AAA batteries either, although those are not lithium-based. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 05:15, 17 October 2024 (UTC)
::Nor AAs, CR2032s or PP3s. Although I suspect that {{w|D battery|D cells}} are perfectly ok, so long as you don't try to chew them and just swallow them whole... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.202|172.70.90.202]] 05:45, 17 October 2024 (UTC)
We need a row for cooking them because baked lithium ion batteries are tasty (The Batteries from those old T-mobile keyboard phones are the best kind they have extra flavor) {{unsigned|TiredQuill281|20:13, 18 October 2024}}

Would someone who has the necessary privileges please update the image file? The bottom-right square has changed colour. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 16:01, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:And, when done, it would be good to link the <code><nowiki>[[original image file]]</nowiki></code>, appropriately, in the text that currently explains the change.
:Normally, the picture would be updated and an addendum paragraph and/or Trivia item would be given to explain how it originally was before the 'correction', but the change is documented within the table already.
:Although yet another option would be to clean up that (perhaps overlong) cell to be just the "it is red" paragraph, and actually transfer into a Trivia statement the whole extracted "originally it was [color]green[/color], rather than [color]red[/color] or [color]yellow[/color]..." bit, slightly adjusted for Trvica-scope context. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.224|162.158.33.224]] 18:18, 19 October 2024 (UTC)
:Ok, direct followup to the above (162.158.33.224), which was me. I've just done what I suggested. "Originally the image was..." stuff sent into Trivia (with my own little touches and interpretations - feel free to edit as required!) and slightly compressed what was left in the changed tile's table-cell (again, could be refined, but I tried to put both "warnings about fire" in a narratively continuous context, rather than split across paragraphs). [[Special:Contributions/162.158.33.225|162.158.33.225]] 19:07, 19 October 2024 (UTC)

I think we need to work on the pillow instalation into phone because the protectors don't work well enough. Maybe it doesn't have to be fully inside.

1762: Moving Boxes

2024-01-29T09:33:55Z

172.70.126.7:

{{comic
| number = 1762
| date = November 21, 2016
| title = Moving Boxes
| image = moving_boxes.png
| titletext = Later, when I remember that I'm calling movers, I frantically scribble over the labels and write 'NORMAL HOUSE STUFF' on all of them, which actually makes things worse.
}}

==Explanation==

[[Randall]] talks about moving boxes and not labeling them until he forgets what's in them. Since he doesn't know what's in them, he writes silly things on the boxes as a joke. Some things are unusual/unlikely (e.g. sand, hydrants, peat) and some are abstract/impossible (e.g. elves, taupe, dark matter). Several of the categories overlap confusingly; for instance, "sand" and "silt" and "dark matter" are all generally considered as "particles"; "membranes", "edges", and "shawls" are all kinds of "manifolds"; "hooves" are part of "bison"; "fog" contains "water"; and "triangles" consist of three "edges". Another way to interpret this comic is that Randall actually has these items (or at least some of them) in the boxes and has simply forgotten which boxes contain what.

According to the title text, when Randall remembers that he is calling movers, he frantically scribbles "Normal House Stuff" on all the boxes. He says this makes the situation worse, possibly because the movers see the scribble and become suspicious. Alternatively, labeling every box with the exact same phrase will make it even harder to figure out what they contain and where they should go in the new dwelling.

===Explanation of boxes===
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
!Label
!Explanation
|-
!Box 1
|-
|Grids|| [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grid Grids] are mathematical drawings; they would be constructed by drawing them, not stored in a box (though {{w|graph paper}} might be). May refer to a classic {{w|snipe hunt}} where a hazing victim is tasked with finding "a box of grid squares".
|-
|Bison||{{w|Bison}}, sometimes mistakenly called {{w|Bubalina|buffalo}}, are large animals that would probably not fit in the box.{{Citation needed}}
|-
|Checkerboards||The tabletop gaming boards on which one plays {{w|English draughts|Checkers}}. It is also the name of the corresponding pattern and thus can be interpreted as an abstract term like many other "objects" in this comic. Note that a checkerboard ''could'' be considered a grid.
|-
|Fog||{{w|Fog}} is essentially low-lying clouds which, being gaseous, are hard to box using only cardboard.{{Citation needed}}
|-
!Box 2
|-
|Beacons||Beacons are devices designed to draw attention to themselves, for various reasons. From the generic term "beacon" this could mean anything from electronic GPS locator beacons to miniature replicas of naval lighthouses. Or, alternatively, it could be like what is referenced in the 7th panel of [[921: Delivery Notification]], which is used to summon elves (which happen to be in the same box).
|-
|Elves||Elves are a fictional{{Citation needed}} race (or rather, many, many fictional races) of human-like magical creatures.
|-
|Sand||Sand grains are fine particles of rock. While it's not unheard of for people to need to store sand, it's usually not stored along with your personal belongings on moving day.{{Citation needed}}
|-
!Box 3
|-
|Hemoglobin||{{w|Hemoglobin}} is the protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen around the body. This may be a solution of hemoglobin protein, but one human generally would not need a full box of it.{{Citation needed}}
|-
!Box 4
|-
|Water||As with sand, it's not unheard of for, say, a laboratory to store water samples for testing. But again, these wouldn't be stored along with your personal belongings on moving day. And if this is meant to be drinking water, it would be a waste of effort; it's taken as read that any house you're moving into has its own plumbing. Unless, of course, they insist on drinking bottled water (which some people do).
|-
|Hooves||{{w|Hooves}} are possibly best known as horse and cow 'feet'. This could also be read as a compound word, Water-Hooves akin to water-wings.
|-
!Box 5
|-
|Shorebirds|| Also known as {{w|Wader|Waders}}, these are an order of birds that wade in literal waters. Stuffing them in boxes would also be a bad idea.{{Citation needed}}
|-
!Box 6
|-
|Oil|| This could mean anything from cooking oil to petroleum; either way, most of a box full of oil bottles is unusual, but for different reasons (that's a lot of cooking oil, a ''lot'' of motor oil and a comically small amount of crude oil).
|-
|Vectors||{{w|Vector (mathematics and physics)|Vector}}s are properties with magnitude and direction, such as velocity, momentum, acceleration, etc., but can depend on the context. In any situation, they are not physical objects, so they cannot be put in boxes. Alternatively "vector" could mean a carrier of a disease, such as ticks or mosquitoes, but while more possible to box they would still not be practical to keep with common household goods and the intent of moving them as such would be dubious at best.
|-
|Silt|| Material between sand and clay size-wise. A sediment. See sand and water above for why this is unusual. Randall has a special place in his heart for rock particles of various sizes; see [https://what-if.xkcd.com/83/ What If #83].
|-
!Box 7
|-
|Membranes||Delicate thin pliable sheet or skin of various kinds. Usually fragile or cut easily. Not something you would expect to be packed with something sharp, which shards are likely to be, although these labels are incorrect.
|-
|Shards||These are broken pieces of smooth and hard objects, e.g. ceramic, glass, crystal. Something you would normally expect to be thrown out, rather than packed up for moving house.
|-
!Box 8
|-
|Shawls||{{w|Shawls}} are a simple item of clothing, worn loosely over one's shoulders. Also being of rectangular shape, they are supposed to be worn in colder weather.
|-
|Glucose||{{w|Glucose}} is possibly best-known as the sugar plants produce for energy, but can be manufactured.
|-
|Kits||A {{w|kit}} is any set of tools, supplies, and/or instructions for a specific purpose. These could be first aid kits, software development kits, bomb-making kits, sewing kits... It can also refer to juveniles of some mammals, such as foxes or rabbits (it is not very likely that such animals would be packed in a box - though compare [[325: A-Minus-Minus]]). Alternatively, this may be a compound word "Glucose Kits", diabetic assay tools to help the patient regulate their blood sugar.
|-
!Box 9
|-
|Hydrants||{{w|Fire hydrant}}s are likely too big to fit in boxes and are also simply odd objects to be packing into a box.
|-
|Particles||As almost all matter is composed of {{w|particles}}, it is hard to find exceptions. Thus, this is very vague.
|-
|Knots||{{w|Knot}}s are things tied in ropes; they can hold things or just be there. This would be hard to put in a box without rope.{{Citation needed}} Could also refer to knots in a piece of {{w|wood}}, which are hard to put in the box without the rest of the wood. Knots could also refer to the {{w|Knot_(unit)|unit of speed}}, used in maritime and air navigation, as well as meteorology, which would be impossible to box as it is not a physical object.
|-
!Box 10
|-
|Graphite||{{w|Graphite}} is a crystalline form of carbon, where the atoms are arranged in sheets. It is found in some household products (pencils and lubricant oil), though in either case the name of the end product would be a more likely box label. Graphite is also a color.
|-
|Taupe|| {{w|Taupe}} is a dark tan color in between brown and gray, again, not an object. May be a reference to Gliese 581f (a.k.a. Taupe Mars) from [[1253|xkcd #1253]].
|-
!Box 11
|-
|Field Lines||This could refer to {{w|field line}}s as used to depict electromagnetic fields, or possibly to the lines painted on an athletic field to mark the boundaries of play. The former is a visualization tool rather than physical objects; the latter consists of streaks of paint on grass or artificial turf, and thus neither kind of field line is the kind of physical object that could be packed into a box.
|-
!Box 12
|-
|Traps||May be a reference to 'My house is full of traps' from [https://what-if.xkcd.com/34// What-If #34], or possibly just generic traps such as {{w|Trapping#Foothold_traps|Bear traps}} and {{w|Booby traps}}
|-
!Box 13
|-
|Edges||An {{w|Edge_(geometry)|edge}} is a line segment joining two vertices. Even though physical objects do have edges, you cannot store edges themselves as they are just mathematical constructs.
|-
|Tribes||A {{w|tribe}} is a social group of people, and have existed before states were formed. It is impossible to store a group of people in the box, let alone multiple groups.{{Citation needed}}
|-
|Dough||{{w|Dough}} is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic, paste made out of any grains, leguminous or chestnut crops. It is used in the process of cooking, but it doesn't make sense to pack it while moving.
|-
!Box 14
|-
|Dark Matter||{{w|Dark matter}} is what is believed to be a big part of the mass of galaxies, but we have never observed it, so it is not possible to pack it.{{Citation needed}} Alternatively, if all dark matter were permanently packed in boxes like this, it would explain why it has never been observed. According to the {{w|Copenhagen interpretation}} of the uncertainty principle (in other words, the {{w|Schrödinger's Cat}}), dark matter may both be in the box and somewhere else in the universe until somebody opens the box.
|-
!Box 15
|-
|Manifolds||In topology, {{w|Manifold|Manifolds}} are spaces with certain "nice" properties (i.e. they are locally Euclidean). This is yet another mathematical construct that is impossible to pack into a box. Manifold could also refer to a pipe or chamber branching into several openings, for example, an engine exhaust manifold. While physical, it's unlikely that multiple are put in a box for moving.
|-
!Box 16
|-
|Triangles||Within the context of this comic, the reference is likely to the shape. On the other hand, it would not be unusual to pack one or more {{w|Triangle (musical instrument)|triangle}}s into a box.
|-
|Peat|| {{w|Peat}} is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation that forms in wetland bogs, moors, mires, and swamps.
|-
|Crowns|| These may be royal crowns or may be the coin worth five shillings in UK pre-decimal currency.
|-
!Box 17
|-
|Scrolls||A {{w|scroll}} is a roll of papyrus, paper, or parchment that contains writing. It is a common item in fantasy games (as elves and traps).
|}

==Transcript==
:[A bunch of cardboard boxes stacked up, each labeled]
:{| class="wikitable" style="background:white" align=center
| style="visibility:hidden" |
| colspan="2" height="80px" width="80px" style="background:#CFBC92"|
Contents: 
Grids 
Bison 
Checkerboards 
Fog
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92"|
Contents: 
Beacons 
Elves 
Sand
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Hemoglobin
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Water 
Hooves
| style="visibility:hidden" |
|-|
| style="visibility:hidden" |
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Shorebirds
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Oil 
Vectors 
Silt
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Membranes 
Shards
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Shawls 
Glucose 
Kits
| style="visibility:hidden" |
|-|
| style="visibility:hidden" |
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Hydrants 
Particles 
Knots
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Graphite 
Taupe
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Field Lines
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Traps
| style="visibility:hidden" |
|-|
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Edges 
Tribes 
Dough
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Dark Matter
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Manifolds
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Triangles 
Peat 
Crowns
| colspan="2" width="80px" height="80px" style="background:#CFBC92" |
Contents: 
Scrolls
|}

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I always forget to label my moving boxes until they're sealed up and I've forgotten what's in them.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Physics]]
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