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		<title>explain xkcd - User contributions [en]</title>
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		<updated>2026-06-24T08:47:22Z</updated>
		<subtitle>User contributions</subtitle>
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	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2087:_Rocket_Launch&amp;diff=327692</id>
		<title>Talk:2087: Rocket Launch</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2087:_Rocket_Launch&amp;diff=327692"/>
				<updated>2023-11-02T13:47:56Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;172.70.90.7: &lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div&gt;&amp;lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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I had to fight the urge to type Care Bare [[User:Arachrah|Arachrah]] ([[User talk:Arachrah|talk]])&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This was published during the Arianespace launch livestream, between launch and satellite deployment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpHJoo0h8GQ [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 17:11, 19 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Looks like it could be an Ariane5 in the comic, it is a 3 stage. Anyone know if Max-CB is a real thing (and before I get any wisecracks, I know there aren't any Care Bears in the clouds) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.214|162.158.63.214]] 20:27, 19 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
: A search for rocketry terminology reveals that Cb stands for Ballistic Coefficient, which is a measure of the ability to coast.  It is related to both velocity and air density, which vary throughout a rocket launch, so it makes sense that there might be some point of maximum ballistic coefficient. (Note: I am not a rocket scientist, and this is clearly rocket science, so take this with a grain of salt!) [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 21:13, 19 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::That point is called &amp;quot;Max-Q&amp;quot;. Source: I've seen a lot of rocket launches recently and they always mention it, because it's the second most likely moment to have a failure (first is the launch, of course). [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 07:28, 20 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
: Pontificating further, it is reasonable to conjecture that as a rocket accelerates to higher speeds, the drag from the atmosphere increases with increasing speed, but past a certain point the drag begins to decrease as the air gets thinner. This suggests there is some point somewhere during the launch sequence where aerodynamic drag reaches a maximum value - aka Max Cb. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 21:26, 19 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
: Finally one I can help with! Okay, I don't think this is ballistic coefficient for several reasons: 1. Ballistic Coefficient is typically noted by the greek letter Beta, not Cb. 2. Ballistic coefficient is mass divided by drag area (drag coefficient times reference area). Basically a shape parameter. So while the mass does change over the course of the flight (burning fuel), the drag area does not. Making this a somewhat useless parameter for a launch vehicle 3. Ballistic Coefficient is typically reported as a static parameter rather than a time-varying parameter, so &amp;quot;Max ballistic coefficient&amp;quot; is a rather unusual metric (and would occur on the launch pad in any case, when mass is highest). Finally, as an aside, objects with high ballistic coefficients tend to fly through the air easily and are not influenced very much by wind (such as rocks or bullets), whereas low-beta objects can by pushed and slowed down a lot by the wind (such as balloons). [[User:Tyanderson91|Tyanderson91]] ([[User talk:Tyanderson91|talk]]) 03:17, 20 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:: For rockets with side boosters, as the one shown, drag will potentially change dramatically at each staging event; when the side boosters are jettisoned they are no longer dragging on the rocket, and it's possible that the stage will have a higher ballistic coefficient because there's less surface area and not significantly less mass. Chad[[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.84|172.68.47.84]] 10:30, 20 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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r/shittyspacexideas --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.139|173.245.52.139]] 19:53, 19 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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If you trace the dotted lines, it seems that the Boosters are the winners[[User:CCCVVVA|CCCVVVA]] ([[User talk:CCCVVVA|talk]]) 03:02, 20 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:When I did it, I noticed that the boosters lost. After reading your comment, I traced it again and noticed that the last time they meet, when I saw them not crossing, could actually be interpreted as crossing (though it still seems to me that not crossing is more likely). Wonder if thst's purposeful confusion. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.223|162.158.89.223]] 01:26, 21 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This was posted on the day SpaceX was supposed to launch the GPS-III-2 satellite, which may be the reason for the mention of GPS [[User:Tyanderson91|Tyanderson91]] ([[User talk:Tyanderson91|talk]])&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The max CB is clearly meant to spoof the real problem of rockets hitting birds. Since birds can't fly in the he upper part of the atmosphere, the point of highest likelihood of hitting a bird would presumably be below max-Q and not above it as in the comic. It is worth noting that there are no clouds at the altitude where max CB is shown in the comic, so it seems unlikely that any hypothetical cloud castle would be that high.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
EDIT: ok, after checking the numbers it seems like it is technically possible to encounter birds and clouds at heights above max-Q for some rockets, but the position shown in the comic still seems too high. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 04:23, 20 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I suspect &amp;quot;pursuit phase&amp;quot; refers either to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pursuit_predation predation] or to some aspect of air warfare (either involving missiles chasing craft or craft vs. craft). [[User:Magic9mushroom|Magic9mushroom]] ([[User talk:Magic9mushroom|talk]]) 08:08, 20 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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I believe &amp;quot;pursuit phase&amp;quot; refers to the Domestic Violence Cycle.  There are just too many correlations. [[User:iraytrace|iraytrace]] ([[User talk:iraytrace|talk]])  (02:38 21 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:I see no reason what so ever that Randall was thinking of domestic violence, just because he called a pursuit of one rocket of another a &amp;quot;pursuit phase&amp;quot;. Guess someone has this on their mind and see it everywhere. I would delete it but I don't have the time. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:01, 21 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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::Pursuit phase or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pursuit_guidance pursuit guidance] is something that crops up in missile guidance and ICBM interception a lot, which I think is probably more relevant here. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.203|108.162.246.203]] 18:24, 21 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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I feel a reference to [[1133: Up Goer Five]] and 'will not go to space today' is needed, but not sure where - after dogfight? Possibly Kerbal (Care Bear?) Space Program too. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.178|162.158.34.178]] 15:09, 21 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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I think there's some kind of a theme going on with the reunified stages &amp;amp; a traditional narrative arc of rise, fall &amp;amp; redemption (or something like that..). Like it's rising from its fall to try to regain a throne or something? I'm not sure where to put it but edit it in if you agree.&lt;br /&gt;
Also not changing it, but linking Wikipedia's article on 'pursuit guidance' as a 'possible reference' is a helluva stretch, don't you think? Cool article, but I don't think it's referenced any more than 'CB Radio' or 'Q-tips' would be&lt;br /&gt;
¯\_(ツ)_/¯  --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.224|172.69.22.224]] 18:46, 24 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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The GPS disabled may also be a reference to the COCOM altitude/speed limits placed on commercial GPS units. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.232|162.158.63.232]] 16:22, 25 December 2018 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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This comic can be solved by simply deleting a white space and replacing &amp;quot;a typical&amp;quot; with &amp;quot;atypical&amp;quot; [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.125|162.158.91.125]] 10:04, 4 January 2019 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Could the 'pilot panics' stage be a reference to JetBlue Flight 191, an incident where the pilot had an apparent mental breakdown and was locked out of the cockpit and restrained by passengers? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/JetBlue_Flight_191 [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.238|141.101.98.238]] 12:05, 2 November 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:If it had been less than six years prior, perhaps, and no other comparable incidents (like the Germanwings Flight 9525 one, that didn't turn out so well) betweentime. I think it's just a trope, at this point. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.7|172.70.90.7]] 13:47, 2 November 2023 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>172.70.90.7</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2849:_Under_the_Stars&amp;diff=327624</id>
		<title>2849: Under the Stars</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2849:_Under_the_Stars&amp;diff=327624"/>
				<updated>2023-11-01T17:17:42Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;172.70.90.7: /* Explanation */&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div&gt;{{comic&lt;br /&gt;
| number    = 2849&lt;br /&gt;
| date      = November 1, 2023&lt;br /&gt;
| title     = Under the Stars&lt;br /&gt;
| image     = under_the_stars_2x.png&lt;br /&gt;
| imagesize = 672x258px&lt;br /&gt;
| noexpand  = true&lt;br /&gt;
| titletext = If you live in Los Angeles (around 33°52'N, roughly the latitude of Hermosa Beach) the black hole in V404 Cygni passes over you each day. On Christmas Day it will be directly overhead around 2pm.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
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==Explanation==&lt;br /&gt;
{{incomplete|Created by a Black Hole passing overhead during the day time - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}&lt;br /&gt;
The phrase &amp;quot;under the stars&amp;quot; generally refers to being under a visible field of stars (either real stars visible at night, or representations of stars constructed by people, as in a dance hall). Megan points out that we're always under the stars, they're just obscured (&amp;quot;painted over&amp;quot;) during the day by the brightness of the sun and its interaction with the sky. Of course, this makes the 'under the stars' part of the remark redundant in the first place, because by this definition, sitting out is always under the stars. In fact, sitting in is arguably under the stars as well, since the stars are still there, but just obscured by a roof or other construction.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This is related to the concept of {{w|object permanence}}, which is the understanding that objects continue to exist even though we can't physically sense them. When you close your eyes, the universe doesn't go away even though you can't see it; similarly, when the sun is shining, the stars are still all there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{w|V404 Cygni}} is a binary system composed of a 9 solar masses black hole and a star smaller than the Sun. With a {{w|declination}} of +33° 52′ 02.0″, once a day it passes over any point of Earth with that latitude North.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Transcript==&lt;br /&gt;
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}&lt;br /&gt;
[Megan and Cueball are sitting in a field under a clear blue sky and bright sun.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: I love sitting out under the stars.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: ...It's daytime.&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: Yeah, but the stars are all still up there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: Constellations wheel overhead; they're just painted over with blue.&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: Every sky is full of stars.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: That's somehow terrifying.&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: It's okay—just look at that sunny sky and tell yourself space isn't real.&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: &amp;quot;Daytime&amp;quot; is us closing our eyes and pretending it makes infinity go away.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{comic discussion}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics with color]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Space]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Time]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>172.70.90.7</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2780:_Physical_Quantities&amp;diff=327207</id>
		<title>Talk:2780: Physical Quantities</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2780:_Physical_Quantities&amp;diff=327207"/>
				<updated>2023-10-27T23:52:35Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;172.70.90.7: &lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div&gt;&amp;lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Planck Length here actually refers to the length of Planck himself. The same may apply to other names. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 03:02, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
: And here I was thinking it meant the length of Planck ''planking''. [[User:Thisfox|Thisfox]] ([[User talk:Thisfox|talk]]) 22:00, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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I wonder if this is alluding to the [[wikipedia:Smoot|Smoot]], a unit of measure devised by MIT students to represent the height of Oliver R. Smoot. Probably worth a mention in the description nonetheless. [[User:Trimeta|Trimeta]] ([[User talk:Trimeta|talk]]) 03:45, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Hawking radiation: ~100 W (through heat)&lt;br /&gt;
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Planking is a thing.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planking_(fad) One pretends that one is a board, or plank. Are some funny pics. The opposite of planking would be good god how? How can even a cat!?!!  [Special:Contributions/172.69.58.161|172.69.58.161]] 06:26, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Hubble length is {{w|Hubble Space Telescope|13.2 m}}. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.64|141.101.98.64]] 10:30, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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The m³ unit for Broca's area is surely a typo, right? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.47|162.158.94.47]] 14:55, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:That would be my guess.  I sent a note to Randall to ask. [[User:BunsenH|BunsenH]] ([[User talk:BunsenH|talk]]) 21:24, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::The comic has been corrected to m&amp;lt;sup&amp;gt;2&amp;lt;/sup&amp;gt; now. ~underhat&lt;br /&gt;
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Just a couple of others: 1 Watt is what it takes to invent the condensing steam engine and Euler's number doesn't exist, because he died before telephones were invented. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.247.45|172.69.247.45]] 15:08, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:There are lots of &amp;lt;someone&amp;gt;'s Number constants. We could have an entire phonebook of these. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:53, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::I tried phoning Graham's Number, once. I'm still not yet finished dialling! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.186|172.70.91.186]] 19:22, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:::I thought you meant Alexander Graham Bell's number. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.129|172.69.22.129]] 23:04, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::::Shouldn't AG Bell's number be 1? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:03, 27 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:::::Or 2. (Thomas Watson being on 1.) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.231|172.69.79.231]] 18:14, 27 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Chandresekhar's Limit = 3 pints? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 17:53, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Don't forget that numbers are now [[2721|Euler letters]]! [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.137|172.70.85.137]] 20:41, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
From a friend, regarding Fermi's current temperature:&lt;br /&gt;
''The typical ground temperature of a burial plot in Chicago depends on the depth and the season. According to the Illinois State Climatologist Office, the average soil temperature at 4 inches depth ranges from about 25°F in January to about 75°F in July. The average soil temperature at 8 inches depth ranges from about 30°F in January to about 77°F in July. These measurements are made under grass, so the soil temperature under other ground covers or under bare ground may vary somewhat from those shown here. In the winter, when the ground is frozen, cemeteries are able to continue burying the dead by using special equipment such as frost rippers or steamers to break through the frozen layer of soil. They also use heaters or blankets to keep the graves open until the burial service is completed.'' [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 23:09, 25 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Assuming his grave is 6 feet deep and his body is at 5 feet deep, he's going to be below the frost line, which is 40&amp;quot; in Chicago, so the temperature is never going to drop below 32°F. Based on the charts at https://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Cooling/EarthTemperatures.htm, he should see temperatures ranging from 40° to 62°. Interestingly enough, at that depth, the soil temperature will lag behind the surface temperature enough that the coldest temperatures will be in March and the warmest will be in September. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.89|162.158.63.89]] 03:36, 26 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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Pretty sure the Schwarzschild radius is the radius of a curled up child, not of Mr. Schwarzschild. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.40|162.158.203.40]] 08:49, 26 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
: 68cm diameter of a person curled up seems about right. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.139.32|172.68.139.32]] 15:23, 26 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Besides Smoot, there's [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s_number Erdős number].&lt;br /&gt;
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: The Erdős number (Hungarian: [ˈɛrdøːʃ]) describes the &amp;quot;collaborative distance&amp;quot; between mathematician Paul Erdős and another person, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
: The Erdős number or Paul Erdős is 0. Anyone who collaborated with him has Erdős number 1, and anyone who collaborated with someone with Erdős number 1 (but not Paul Erdős himself) has Erdős number 2 - and so on. Taking this comic's interpretation, the Erdős number should be either 1, 'cause there was only one Paul Erdős, or 0, because he's dead. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.139.32|172.68.139.32]] 15:23, 26 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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:: What is the Erdős number of Kevin Bacon? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.207|172.71.178.207]] 15:21, 30 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
::: I believe infinite, as he has published no relevant papers. {{unsigned ip|172.71.178.171|16:17, 26 October 2023}}&lt;br /&gt;
:::: That'd be 'undefined', then. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.7|172.70.90.7]] 23:52, 27 October 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
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: There's also the Helen: a unit of beauty named after Helen of Troy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_(unit)]&lt;br /&gt;
:: I believe ''Système international d'unités'' wishes, in a reversal from the kilogram, treat the millihelen (mH) as the fundemental base unit. But they are having trouble finding a better definition prototype than the original platinum-iridium ship. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.68|172.70.91.68]] 08:51, 31 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Actually, anyone using Celsius degrees on daily basis, would write 36.6 degrees as human body temperature. 37 is slightly elevated. So 37 looks like &amp;quot;American converted known value from Farenheit scale&amp;quot; {{unsigned|172.68.138.182|12:18, 29 May 2023}}&lt;br /&gt;
:Well, 33.2–38.2°C (or 91.8–100.8°F, if you prefer, give or take the rounding in both) can actually be ''normal'', given acceptible changes in conditions (environmental) and condition (physiological). And of course it depends on which way you measure the core/surface temperature, even for the same person at the same instant. But it's the oft-quoted value. And just because it normally drifts doesn't mean that it hasn't ''ab''normally drifted, so can still be taken as a cue to check why it's a degree or three off the 'standard'.&lt;br /&gt;
:I suspect you could be more exacting with an uncomplaining long-dead corpse, but perhaps you don't need quite so much analysis when you already know that it's a long-dead corpse you're dealing with, once you've gotten past the need to assess the rate of insect pupation/etc. ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.132|172.70.85.132]] 13:08, 29 May 2023 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>172.70.90.7</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1007:_Sustainable&amp;diff=327131</id>
		<title>1007: Sustainable</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1007:_Sustainable&amp;diff=327131"/>
				<updated>2023-10-26T10:28:45Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;172.70.90.7: Funny(ish), but reverting mainly because of the unclosed italics (which should have heen wikimarkup, ideally, anyway)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{comic&lt;br /&gt;
| number    = 1007&lt;br /&gt;
| date      = January 23, 2012&lt;br /&gt;
| title     = Sustainable&lt;br /&gt;
| image     = sustainable.png&lt;br /&gt;
| titletext = Though 100 years is longer than a lot of our resources.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
==Explanation==&lt;br /&gt;
This is a simple scatterplot showing how often the word &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot; has been used in English texts in the US each year. As can be seen, the y-axis is given a logarithmic scale, meaning that the apparently linear trend is actually exponential. [[Randall]] [[605: Extrapolating|humorously attempts to extend the graph]] to the point the frequency exceeds 100% about a century from now, which is obviously impossible (hence the quip that the word's usage is itself &amp;quot;unsustainable&amp;quot;).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The use of the word &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot; has been increasing as people become more aware of the steadily increasing use of nonrenewable resources and need to ensure that the Earth's resources do not become totally exhausted, through sustainable development. {{w|Sustainable development}} refers to the practice of using resources that simultaneously aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present time, but also for generations to come.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As Randall somewhat depressingly mentions in the title text, the ~100 years that it will supposedly take for the word &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot; to become unsustainable is actually a lot longer than most of our nonrenewable resources will last on the Earth. The idea that ''all'' of the Earth's coal, oil, natural gas, etc. that has built up over the past millions of years may be completely gone within the century is unsettling.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
More realistically, the actual use of &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot; is likely to be logistic rather than exponential growth. A logistic curve describes a trend that at first behaves exponentially, but then tapers off and reaches a cap. This is demonstrated by the [https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=sustainable&amp;amp;year_start=1940&amp;amp;year_end=2014&amp;amp;corpus=15&amp;amp;smoothing=3&amp;amp;share=&amp;amp;direct_url=t1%3B%2Csustainable%3B%2Cc0 Google ngrams graph of word usage for &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot;]. Logistic growth is commonly used to model data that naturally increases exponentially but has a limiting factor, which in this case is the meaningfulness of text consisting entirely or mostly of a single word.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This comic was used in the 2018 book ''[https://books.google.ca/books?id=J6grDwAAQBAJ&amp;amp;pg=PA128&amp;amp;lpg=PA128&amp;amp;dq=enlightenment+now+xkcd&amp;amp;source=bl&amp;amp;ots=8LvAVHQU2_&amp;amp;sig=ACfU3U27rxPWl4N8-muk1eRSm0BMMqWoHA&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;sa=X&amp;amp;ved=2ahUKEwjOkIne-rTkAhUYs54KHRCZCHsQ6AEwEHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&amp;amp;q=enlightenment%20now%20xkcd&amp;amp;f=false| Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress]'' by Steven Pinker as it discusses the concept of sustainable energy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Extrapolation of data has also appeared in the following comics [[605: Extrapolating]], [[1204: Detail]] and [[1281: Minifigs]]. And yes, &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot; has appeared in every paragraph so far.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The depicted increasing tendency in the relative frequency of the word &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot; among other words is also apparent within this very page.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It is observable, that the paragraphs get shorter, thus &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot; constitutes an increasingly higher percentage of the text.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the end the article might end up only consisting of simple sentences using &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This would be the opposite of &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unsustainable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Transcript==&lt;br /&gt;
:[A large two-axis scatterplot graph with a caption below. The y-axis displays percentages on a logarithmic scale from 0.000001% to 1,000%, and is labeled &amp;quot;Frequency of use of the word &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot; in US English text, as a percentage of all words, by year. Source: Google NGrams.&amp;quot; The x-axis displays years from 1950 to 2140, and is labeled &amp;quot;Year&amp;quot;. Plotted data points show a high linear correlation (effectively exponential due to being a log scale), ranging from approximately 0.000005% in 1960 to approximately 0.003% in 2012. A linear trend line is drawn through the data points, and is extrapolated to the end of the graph. Four points on this trend line are marked and labeled:]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:(2012, ~0.003%): Present Day&lt;br /&gt;
:(2036, ~0.03%): 2036: &amp;quot;Sustainable&amp;quot; occurs an average of once per page&lt;br /&gt;
:(2061, ~0.5%): 2061: &amp;quot;Sustainable&amp;quot; occurs an average of once per sentence&lt;br /&gt;
:(2109, 100%): 2109: All sentences are just the word &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot; over and over.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[The trend line continues past the year 2109, exceeding 100% and breaking up into question marks.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Caption below the panel:]&lt;br /&gt;
:The word &amp;quot;sustainable&amp;quot; is unsustainable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{comic discussion}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Line graphs]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Extrapolation]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Google]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>172.70.90.7</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2831:_xkcd_Phone_Flip&amp;diff=324038</id>
		<title>Talk:2831: xkcd Phone Flip</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:2831:_xkcd_Phone_Flip&amp;diff=324038"/>
				<updated>2023-09-20T21:50:13Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;172.70.90.7: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;&amp;lt;!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~ and don't delete this text. New comments should be added at the bottom.--&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
this is my first time editing, did i do well? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.134.202|172.70.134.202]] 21:39, 20 September 2023 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Decent enough, assuming you were the one giving the reference to the Z-series. But it'll be expanded, improved and reformatted a lot, I predict. I put in my own (intended) first-edit, but clearly there's you (and possibly A.N. Other) already adding their own thoughts. (Which I am counting on, rather than trying to write it all in one go all by myself... I'll wait for it to settle down and ''then'' see if there are various tweaks I'll want try on whatever form it becomes.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.7|172.70.90.7]] 21:50, 20 September 2023 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>172.70.90.7</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2606:_Weird_Unicode_Math_Symbols&amp;diff=230318</id>
		<title>2606: Weird Unicode Math Symbols</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2606:_Weird_Unicode_Math_Symbols&amp;diff=230318"/>
				<updated>2022-04-13T23:20:19Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;172.70.90.7: /* Explanation */ Completed the missing explanations and added to the others.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{comic&lt;br /&gt;
| number    = 2606&lt;br /&gt;
| date      = April 13, 2022&lt;br /&gt;
| title     = Weird Unicode Math Symbols&lt;br /&gt;
| image     = weird_unicode_math_symbols.png&lt;br /&gt;
| titletext = U+2A0B ⨋ Mathematicians need to calm down&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Explanation==&lt;br /&gt;
{{incomplete|Created by SNAKES OVER THERE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This comic appears to have been inspired by [https://ionathan.ch/2022/04/09/angzarr.html this blog post], which went viral (in a limited sense) the same day the comic was published.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{| class=&amp;quot;wikitable&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|+ Symbols&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
! Codepoint !! Symbol !! Unicode Name !! Randall's meaning || Explanation&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+29CD || ⧍ || Triangle with Serifs At Bottom || Shark || May look like a shark fin sticking out of the water.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+23E7 || ⏧ || Electrical Intersection || Traffic circle || May look like a {{w|roundabout}}.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A33 || ⨳ || {{w|Smash product}} ||  ''Hashtag'' || Looks somewhat like a {{w|Number sign|hash}} (#) symbol turned by 45 degrees.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A7C || ⩼ || Greater-Than with Question Mark Above || Confused alligator || One metaphor used when teaching inequality signs in primary school is that the sign looks like an alligator mouth &amp;quot;eating&amp;quot; the larger number.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+299E || ⦞ || Angle with S Inside || Snack || May look like a mouth eating an S, where the S symbolizes some snack food.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A04 || ⨄ || {{w|Arity|N-ary}} Union Operator with Plus || Drink refill || Looks like a cup with a plus to indicate adding drink to the cup.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2B48 || ⭈ || Rightwards Arrow Above Reverse Almost Equal To || Snakes over there || Looks like two squiggles to represent snakes and an arrow indicating the direction where they may be found.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+225D || ≝ || Equal To By Definition || Definitely, for sure || &amp;quot;Def&amp;quot; is understood as &amp;quot;definitely&amp;quot;; the equal sign looks like a double underline, indicating heavy emphasis.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+237C || ⍼ || Right Angle with Downwards Zigzag Arrow || Larry Potter || Looks like the letter &amp;quot;L&amp;quot; and a lightning bolt. {{w|Harry Potter (character)|Harry Potter}} is known for having a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A50 || ⩐ || Closed Union with Serifs and Smash Product || Spider caught with a cup and index card || Spiders or other bugs found within someone's house or workspace may be caught with a glass and something flat, often a card or a magazine, to be released outside.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A69 || ⩩ || Triple Horizontal Bar with Triple Vertical Stroke || ℍ𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕥𝕒𝕘 || Hash symbol with one extra vertical and horizontal line.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2368 || ⍨ || APL Functional Symbol Tilde Diaeresis || :/ || Looks like a confused or disappointed face.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2118 || ℘ || Symbol for {{w|Weierstrass_elliptic_function|Weierstrass p-function}}|| Snake || This symbol coils around like a long snake, with a tapering-off tail on one end and a small &amp;quot;head&amp;quot; on the other.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2AC1 || ⫁ || Subset with Multiplication Sign Below  || &amp;quot;User experience&amp;quot;, written sideways || Looks like the letters Ux written sideways; Ux is an abbreviation for {{w|user experience}}.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+232D || ⌭ || {{w|Cylindricity}} || Rolling dough between your hands to shape it into a ball || Looks like two flat hands (perhaps like stickfigure arms) rolling a ball between them. Rolling dough between one's hands to make it into a ball is an important step in making many kinds of pastry.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A13 || ⨓ || Line Integration with Semicircular Path Around Pole || Integral that avoids a bee on the whiteboard || Looks like an {{w|integral}} symbol with a bump that goes around a dot, as if a professor was drawing an integral on a whiteboard but did not want to disturb a bee that had landed right in the path of his pen.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A0B (title text)|| ⨋ || Summation with Integral || Mathematicians need to calm down || This is a combination of two mathematical symbols. The comment given may make fun of mathematicians' tendency to form increasingly complex expressions in their work.&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Transcript==&lt;br /&gt;
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Title:] Weird Unicode math symbols&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Subtitle:] And their meanings&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{|&lt;br /&gt;
| U+29CD || ⧍ || Shark&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+23E7 || ⏧ || Traffic circle&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A33 || ⨳ || Hashtag [the text is slanted counterclockwise]&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+299E || ⦞ || Snack&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A04 || ⨄ || Drink refill&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2B48 || ⭈ || Snakes over there&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+225D || ≝ || Definitely, for sure&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+237C || ⍼ || Larry Potter&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A50 || ⩐ || Spider caught with a cup and index card&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A69 || ⩩ || [The word &amp;quot;hashtag&amp;quot; but with extra horizontal and vertical lines]&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2368 || ⍨ || :/&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2118 || ℘ || Snake&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2AC1 || ⫁ || [The words &amp;quot;user experience&amp;quot; rotated counterclockwise 90 degrees]&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+232D || ⌭ || Rolling dough between your hands to shape it into a ball&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| U+2A13 || ⨓ || Integral that avoids a bee on the whiteboard&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{comic discussion}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Unicode]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Math]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Harry Potter]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>172.70.90.7</name></author>	</entry>

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