explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2964: Olympic Sports

2024-07-29T18:08:38Z

172.70.90.94: /* Explanation */ Wikilinking

{{comic
| number = 2964
| date = July 26, 2024
| title = Olympic Sports
| image = olympic_sports_2x.png
| imagesize = 553x328px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Thankfully for everyone involved, the Winter Olympics officials spotted me and managed to stop me before I got to the ski jump.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by A VERY CONCERNED OLYMPIC OFFICIAL - Provide an explanation of each sport for the convenience of those unfamiliar with some or all listed sports. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic was officially published on the day of the opening ceremony of the {{w|2024 Summer Olympics|2024 Paris (Summer) Olympics}}, though it actually appeared early the following day.

In this comic, [[Randall]], who has no athletic training, imagines himself participating in various Olympic events, with his degrees of failure measured in terms of their humor potential.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Olympic sports ranked by how funny it would be if a regular person competed
! How funny !! Sport !! Reason !! Depiction
|-
|rowspan=5| Not that funny || {{w|Rowing}} - One or more people row a boat to a destination.|| The person would struggle to row effectively, falling out of cadence and fouling the oars of the other rowers in their boat. However, if Randall competed in the single sculls, such coordination would not be an issue, and he would likely just be much slower than the other competitors. Or fall in the water. ||
|-
| {{w|Fencing}} - Two contestants attempt to land hits on each other with a long fencing weapon.|| They might fail to land any hits, but it wouldn't be overly humorous. Randall is evidently not masochistic enough to consider putting on protective equipment disastrously wrong and hospitalization funny. ||
|-
| {{w|Weightlifting}} - Contestants lift weights, getting heavier with each round, until all but one fail to lift the weight.|| They might just fail to lift the weights. ||
|-
| {{w|Golf}} - Contestants attempt to hit, with golf clubs, a golf ball into one or more holes in as small a number of hits as possible.|| They would likely miss the ball or hit poorly, due to an incorrect stance/swing when hitting, using a club whose loft (angle of the front face) is inappropriate, or just basic lack of skill. || The illustration depicts Randall missing the hole at very close range.
|-
| {{w|Archery}} - Using a bow and arrow, contestants attempt to hit a target with as much accuracy as possible.|| Arrows might miss the target, but it's not particularly amusing (unless Randall forgoes armbraces & discovers the bowstring's propensity for smacking the inside of his wrist after releasing it). || Randall misses all his shots on the target.
|-
|rowspan=5| Pretty funny || {{w|Swimming}} - Contestants swim to a destination or complete lengths as fast as possible.|| They might struggle to stay afloat (particularly in open water swimming, where they would be buffeted by other contestants) or {{w|Eric Moussambani|swim awkwardly}}. They are also likely to have a markedly different physique to the other competitors, which would have a comic effect. ||
|-
| {{w|Long jump}} - Contestants, with a running start, attempt to jump as far as possible.|| They would likely make a very short jump, or perhaps foul every jump. ||
|-
| {{w|Pole vault}} - Using a bendable pole, contestants attempt to propel (vault) themselves over a bar.|| They might miss the plant and end up dropping the pole and running under the bar. If they did manage to get some lift, but failed to get enough to reach the mat, it would probably be concerning, rather than funny. ||
|-
| {{w|Diving}} - Contestants attempt to fulfil multiple criteria while diving into water.|| Awkward or painful-looking dives could ensue. Potential for injury would be high. ||
|-
| {{w|Hurdles}} - Contestants run on a track with hurdles positioned at various places.|| They might trip and fall over the hurdles, or just knock them all over as they fail to clear them. || Randall repeatedly and unpleasantly runs into the hurdles, unable to jump over any of them. He has his arm raised bent in front of his face in a classic hurdler's pose, but appears to have failed to get much, if any, height off the ground.
|-
|rowspan=5| Incredibly funny || {{w|Figure skating}} [The only Winter Olympic discipline featured in the main comic] Competitors perform artistic routines set to music while skating on an ice rink, and are judged on a combination of skating skill, composition, and presentation. || They might slip and fall continually on the ice (high risk for sprained joints or bone fractures). This might have particular comic potential if Randall were skating as part of a pair, awkwardly attempting to lift and spin a partner, or perhaps doing nothing but being lifted and dragged around by them. ||
|-
| {{w|Horizontal bar}} - A horizontal bar is used to perform gymnastics.|| They might fail to perform any flips or lose their grip on the bar, falling to the safety mats below. In all likelihood, having been lifted to the bar, they would simply hang helplessly beneath it, managing minimal swings backwards and forwards. ||
|-
| {{w|Equestrian sports}} - Various activities involving the use of horses.|| They might struggle to control the horse or fall/get thrown off. || Randall is completely unable to control his horse. He is in the process of falling off and is flailing his arms.
|-
| {{w|Freestyle BMX}} - Contestants ride BMX bikes and perform various tricks, and are then judged by trick quality.|| They might crash or fail to perform tricks. ||
|-
| {{w|Pommel horse}} - Using a gymnastic device somewhat similar to a horse, gymnasts perform various tricks.|| They might awkwardly flop around, fall off, or lose their balance & risk crushing {{tvtropes|GroinAttack|a particularly squashy part}} of their anatomy, which could, depending on one's sense of humor, the context, & the exact aesthetics of the incident, elicit laughter. || Randall is attempting to perform a routine, but the rather basic {{w|The_Lexicon_of_Comicana|agitrons}} surrounding him suggest he is not very graceful, balanced, or typically dynamic. However, he seems to be unaware of this, excitedly demanding that people look at what he presumably thinks is an impressive feat of athleticism.
|}

The title text may be a reference to ski jumper {{w|Vinko Bogataj}}, whose spectacular crash at a (non-Olympic) {{w|Ski_flying|ski flying}} event in 1970 in Oberstdorf, (then) West Germany became emblematic of the expression "the agony of defeat" in the opening narration of the popular US television program "{{w|Wide World of Sports (American TV program)|Wide World of Sports}}". Alternatively the reference may be to {{w|Eddie the Eagle}}, whose poor performance in the {{w|Ski_jumping|ski jump}} at the {{w|1988 Winter Olympics}} led to the introduction of a rule requiring entrants to be ranked internationally in the top 50 and top 30%.

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

:[Header above three panels:]
:Olympic Sports ranked by how funny it would be if I, a regular person without athletic training, snuck onto the team to compete:
:[Three panels are shown with a header, a bullet list with five listed sports in each, and one or two depictions of sports.]

:Not that funny
:Rowing
:Fencing
:Weightlifting
:Golf
:Archery
:[Cueball putts a ball with a golf club and misses the hole from a close distance.]
:[Cueball is aiming with a bow. Three arrows are on the ground at various distances from the target.]

:Pretty funny
:Swimming
:Long jump
:Pole vault
:Diving
:Hurdles
:[Cueball runs stomach-first into a hurdle, while holding an arm in front of his head. Another hurdle behind him has fallen down.]
:Cueball: [Bonk] Ow! [Bonk] Ow!

:Incredibly funny
:Figure skating
:Horizontal bar
:Equestrian
:BMX freestyle
:Pommel horse
:[Cueball tries to balance himself on a pommel horse. His both hands and one leg are down, while the other leg is slightly raised.]
:Cueball: Look! Look!
:[A horse rider wearing a black helmet is struggling to maintain balance on the running horse, with both hands and one leg raised.]
:Horse rider with black helmet: AAAAA!

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Rankings]]

2963: House Inputs and Outputs

2024-07-26T16:23:23Z

172.70.90.94: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2963
| date = July 24, 2024
| title = House Inputs and Outputs
| image = house_inputs_and_outputs_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x684px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = People think power over ethernet is so great, and yet when I try to do water over ethernet everyone yells at me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a possible reference to [[1037: Umwelt]] in panel 16 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is another comic in a series depicting {{w|confusion matrix|confusion matrices}}, similar to [[2813: What To Do]], [[2420: Appliances]], and [[1890: What to Bring]]. It is arranged as a table of five columns of conduits to and from a house, by five rows of resources and people, each of which typically enter, exit or both enter ''and'' exit the house via at least one of the identified conduits. The table cells have a green background for compatible methods of transit; a red tint is used for the more problematic pairings. Each panel can be read as "[row label] [entering and/or exiting] the house via the [column label]", for example, "Fresh water entering the house via the well".

{| class="wikitable" style="background-color: lightpink;"
|+ Explanations of the "House Inputs and Outputs" table cell drawings
! !! Well !! Garage !! Power lines !! Front door !! Septic tank
|-
! Fresh water (Input)
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| The purpose of a well is usually to supply fresh water into the home, primarily for drinking or washing. It may be unnecessary in many places if a reliable {{w|water supply network}} is available. || Long gone are the days of {{w|Labours_of_Hercules#Fifth:_Augean_stables|having to clean up after your primary mode of transportation}}, for most people. A source of water may be useful to clean a vehicle itself, although this would perhaps be more commonly done outside. || Power lines conduct electricity, not water. The two functions are inherently dangerous if carelessly combined. Water can be used to cool high-energy lines, such as fast battery charger cables[https://www.connectortips.com/where-liquid-cooled-connectors-and-connectors-for-liquid-cooling-used-in-evs-faq/] and cables supplying electric arc furnaces, but not overhead residential power lines. || Many people prefer to control the amount of water they get, and the water may damage things inside the house. || Most people don't want anything they drink to contain (or go through pipes that have contained) sewage.
|-
! Cars (Input/Output)
| Most cars can't fit inside most wells.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| Garages are in fact built for the storage of cars and other similarly-sized vehicles. Placing a car in one will both help protect it from the elements and make it easier to access from inside your own home. || As of yet, cars cannot be transferred through power lines and require roads to travel on. This could significantly reduce travel costs. However, the illustration here has the car actually balancing upon the strained wire, indicating a more mundane (but still not easy!) method of transit. || Most cars can’t fit through doors, apart from the garage door. || Comedian {{w|Garrison Keillor}}'s 2008 ''More News from Lake Wobegon'' includes a story where an old septic tank is discovered to actually be a buried car.[https://theseriouscomedysite.com/comedy-cd-or-download/garrison-keillor-more-news-from-lake-wobegon/]
|-
! Electricity (Input)
| Wells are not a source of electric power, and attempting to obtain electricity from a well would likely contaminate its water supply. || In the United States, lightning is responsible for causing around 24,600 structure fires annually, resulting in $8 to $10 billion in losses. It is possible, though, for the house's junction box (where the main utility line terminates in order to supply the house's own wiring) to be located in or on the outside wall of the garage, so, in a sense, this may be workable.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| Power lines are designed to facilitate the connection of individual homes to the broader local power network. [[Randall]] omits the fact that electricity can also be an output; e.g. houses with solar panels regularly export electricity too. || {{w|Benjamin Franklin}} invented the {{w|lightning rod}} to prevent lightning strike damage to structures. || As Knit Cap observes, septic tanks are not a source of electric power.
|-
! People (Input/Output)
|style="background-color: lightpink"| This depicts a view from inside a well, a very dangerous place for most people.{{Citation needed}} As a [[:Category:Comics with inverted brightness|dark scene]], it is drawn red-on-black. The motif resembles poster art for the 2002 horror movie remake ''{{w|The Ring (2002 film)|The Ring}}'', which involves a girl left to die in a well who becomes a vengeful ghost (see also [[396: The Ring]]).
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| A person can enter and exit their home through a garage door, provided the garage has an internal door to the rest of the home. Not the best way to welcome unfamiliar guests though. || Overhead power lines to homes are generally not strong enough to climb, and attempting to do so incurs a very serious risk of electrocution.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| The front door of a home is designed for entry and exit of humans and similarly sized items. || In general, people find crawling through waste unpleasant. Also, the septic tank is not connected to the street.
|-
! Sewage (Output)
| Sewage in drinking water can cause disease. It is/was the main cause for most {{w|cholera}} epidemics.
|colspan=3| Sewage spills are smelly, disgusting and hard to clean. They can destroy carpets, floors, drywall and property value.
|style="background-color: palegreen;"| A {{w|septic tank}} is an underground chamber through which wastewater flows for basic {{w|sewage treatment}}.
|}

The title text references {{w|Power over Ethernet|power over ethernet (PoE)}}, first implemented in the early 2000s, to provide electric power along with data on twisted-pair Ethernet cabling. A welcome development, it removed the need for many separate power supplies. While networked water delivery ("running water") is also a welcome development, doing so over ethernet cables would be extremely problematic, risking the several top points of failure, while providing limited amounts of water. However, again, electric vehicle fast charging cables and arc furnace power inputs are sometimes water-cooled.

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

:[A 5x5 grid of squares. The columns are labeled: Well, Garage, Power lines, Front door, Septic tank. Each row's label has an arrow and a basic house icon next to it. The rows are: Fresh water (horizontal arrow towards house), Cars (two-directional horizontal arrow and house), Electricity (horizontal arrow into house), People (two-directional horizontal arrow and house), Sewage (vertical arrow out of bottom of house).]

:Well, Fresh water: [green]
::[A many-featured house front and cross-sectional subsurface infrastructure, with various aspects that recur throughout most further grid-squares in one or other form. This particular one is distinguished by an arrow indicating movement up through a pipe leading inwards from an adjacent external borehole]
::Voice from house: Mmm! Refreshing!

:Garage, Fresh water: [red]
::[An obliquely off-frontal view of the house, featuring a set of Cueball-like figures directing a hosepipe's stream of water into the open garage-port doorway]
::''Fwoosh''

:Power lines, Fresh water: [red]
::[A different oblique angle concentrated upon the edge of the house upon which the overhead powerlines connect to, from a pole with transformer box and other wire coming from off-frame; the house wire appears to be dripping liquid]

:Front door, Fresh water: [red]
::[Normal frontal view of the house, featuring the hosepipe cueballs directing water into the front door]
::Voice from house: Stop it!
::''Fwoosh!''

:Septic tank, Fresh water: [red]
::[Normal frontal view; The subsurface septic tank feature has an arrow leading up from it through the diagonal pipe that connects to the house itself]
::Voice from house: Eww.

:Well, Cars: [red]
::[A view only of a ground pipe/borehole-head; A car seemingly upended and balanced atop on a front corner, being manhandled by Cueball and Megan figures]

:Garage, Cars: [green]
::[Normal frontal view; Garage door open, car seen parked inside]

:Power lines, Cars: [red]
::[Two power-line poles, the rightmost with transformer, having cables from off-left, between the poles and off-right; Two cueballs stand on the ground below, looking at a car heavily balanced mid-way along the central stretch of wire]

:Front door, Cars: [red]
::[Frontal view of house; Front doorway has surrounding damage and a car tightly wedged into it with two figures (Beret Guy and a Cueball) visible through the windows]
::Beret Guy, from car: Do you think I scratched the paint?

:Septic tank, Cars: [red]
::[Frontal view of the house; Within the underground sceptic tank, displacing some of the shallow dark liquid, is a car with two occupants]

:Well, Electricity: [red]
::[Borehole pipe-head; Cueball holds a laptop with a power lead trailing down into the pipe]
::Cueball's laptop: ⚠Low battery

:Garage, Electricity: [red]
::[Frontal view of house, with lightning strike explosively hitting the area of the garage door]
::''BOOM''

:Power lines, Electricity: [green]
::[Frontal view of house, arrow leading down the power-cable and several 'electricity' symbols scattered around]

:Front door, Electricity: [red]
::[Frontal view of house, with lightning strike explosively hitting the area of the front door]
::''BOOM''

:Septic tank, Electricity: [red]
::[Toilet and cistern, seat raised, with Knit Cap looking at a computer system, set up nearby on the floor, with a power lead draped into the toilet-bowl and (sic) a single 'electricity' symbol indicating power flow]
::Knit Cap: Why won't my console turn on?

:Well, People: [red (though overwhelmingly black)]
::[A mostly black tile with a rough circular outline of sketchy red lines]

:Garage, People: [green]
::[Frontal view of house; A Cueball exits the open (darkened) garage doorway, waving]
::Cueball: Bye!

:Power lines, People: [red]
::[Oblique side view of house; A Cueball is climbing up the power-line towards the top of the pole]
::Cueball: Bye!

:Front door, People: [green]
::[Frontal view of house; A cueball exits the open front doorway, waving]
::Cueball: Bye!

:Septic tank, People: [red]
::[Frontal view of house; A Cueball crawls into the elbow-deep dark liquid of the subsurface septic tank, emerging from the house-draining pipes]
::Cueball: Bye!

:Well, Sewage: [red]
::[Frontal view of house; Speech-line emerges from the house]
::Voice from house: ''Why do I keep getting sick???

:Garage, Sewage: [red]
::[Frontal view of house; Garage door is open, revealing Cueball knee-deep in dark liquid]
::Cueball: Oh no.

:Power lines, Sewage: [red]
::[Oblique side view of house; Wide pipe-end emerges from the roof, disgorging a stream of dark liquid out onto the rising power-cable]
::Cueball: Eww.

:Front door, Sewage: [red]
::[Frontal view of house; Front door is open, revealing Cueball knee-deep in dark liquid]
::Cueball: Oh ''no''.

:Septic tank, Sewage: [green]
::[Frontal view of house; Dark liquid drains down drain-pipes into sceptic tank, with an arrow indicating the direction of flow]
::''Flush''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Confusion matrices]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Charts]]

2957: A Crossword Puzzle

2024-07-25T11:43:22Z

172.70.90.94: /* Explanation of clues */ 45-Down: add link to {{w|The Rain in Spain}}

{{comic
| number = 2957
| date = July 10, 2024
| title = A Crossword Puzzle
| image = a_crossword_puzzle_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x937px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Hint: If you ever encounter this puzzle in a crossword app, just [term for someone with a competitive and high-achieving personality].
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a CROSSWORD MAKER FREE FALLING - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{notice|<big>'''SPOILER ALERT!'''</big> Stop scrolling! These crossword clues comprise a single hidden joke, which you can figure out yourself. If you read on, the joke is spoiled and your chance of finding out the joke yourself is gone instantly!|image=warning!!.png}}

This crossword may seem extremely difficult, with questions covering a wide variety of trivia, linguistics, mathematics in various forms, alongside wordplay typical of crossword puzzles. But the joke is that every single letter of every single answer is "A".

The name of this comic, “A Crossword Puzzle”, is a double entendre which could, in itself, be considered a cryptic clue; the “A” can be interpreted both as the indefinite article “a”, and as an identifier saying that this crossword puzzle is specifically an “A” puzzle, due to the answer being all “a”s.

The title text is a play on a "type A" personality. The term for someone with a competitive and high-achieving personality is "Type A". In the context of the title text, this answer is a hint that the entire puzzle can be completed in a crossword-solving app by typing the letter A repeatedly.

===Explanation of clues===
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|-
! Location !! Clue !! Explanation !! Squares
|-
| 1-Across || Famous Pvt. Wilhelm quote || Reference to the {{w|Wilhelm scream}}, a widely used stock sound effect. || 10
|-
| 11-Across || {{w|IPv6}} address record || An IPv4 record is an "A" record; an IPv6 record is four times the length and is designated an "AAAA" record. || 4
|-
| 15-Across || “CIPHERTEXT” decrypted with Vigenère key “CIPHERTEXT” || A "{{w|Vigenère Cipher}}" translates the original text by the distance from A from the key, letter by letter. For instance, if the plaintext is "XK" and the key is "CD", the C shifts X 2 forward to become Z, and the D shifts K 3 forward to become N, yielding a ciphertext of "ZN". Since the ciphertext and the key are the same in this case, decryption just shifts all the letters back to A, akin to subtracting a number from itself and getting 0. || 10
|-
| 16-Across || 8mm diameter battery || An {{w|AAAA battery}} is a 1.5 V battery that measures 8.3 mm in diameter, 2.2 mm smaller than the more common AAA battery. || 4
|-
| 17-Across || “Warthog” attack aircraft || The {{w|A-10 Warthog}} is an attack aircraft. Here, A-10 has been turned into AAAAAAAAAA (ten As). || 10
|-
| 18-Across || '''E'''ve'''r'''y t'''h'''ir'''d''' le'''t'''te'''r''' in the word for “inability to visualize” || {{w|Aphantasia}} is the inability to experience mental images. Following the example of the pattern in the clue, taking the first letter and every third one after (rather than just every third letter) we determine that '''A'''ph'''a'''nt'''a'''si'''a''' gives us the word "aaaa". This clue is particularly mean because of how it instructs you to visualize the letters highlighted within the word in order to get the answer. || 4
|-
| 19-Across || An {{w|acrostic}} hidden on the first page of the dictionary || The first page of the dictionary (if you ignore the copyright page and the index) is the list of words starting with A. An acrostic of this page, taking the first letter of each line and arranging them in order, would just be a sequence of As. || 15
|-
| 21-Across || Default paper size in Europe || {{w|A4 paper}} (here written as AAAA) is the default size in Europe. At 210×297 mm, it is approximately 0.24″ narrower and 0.71″ longer than the 8.5″×11″ paper used in the United States, and due to having an aspect ratio of 1:sqrt(2), can be cut or folded in half to create two half-sized sheets (A5) with exactly the same aspect ratio. A4 is, itself, also a halving of A3 and of identical ratio, as is the case with all A-sizes higher and lower in the sequence.|| 4
|-
| 22-Across || First four unary strings || A unary number system represents numbers using just one symbol. For example, 7 in unary would be 1111111. The first four strings in unary, if you used A as the first (and only) symbol, would be A, AA, AAA, AAAA. || 10
|-
| 23-Across || Lysine codon || {{w|Lysine}} is an amino acid, with codons AAA and AAG. || 3
|-
| 24-Across || 40 CFR Part 63 subpart concerning asphalt pollution || [https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-63/subpart-AAAAAAA?toc=1 "40 CFR Part 63"] refers to federal air pollutant regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations. The subpart for "asphalt processing and asphalt roofing manufacturing" is AAAAAAA (also part LLLLL). || 7
|-
| 25-Across || Top bond credit rating || The highest {{w|credit rating}} for bonds is AAA. || 3
|-
| 26-Across || Audi coupe || First of three Audi references. {{w|List_of_Audi_vehicles|Audi's car models}} range from A1 (subcompact hatchback) to A8 (full-size luxury sedan); the A5, the one referenced here, is a compact executive {{w|coupe}}. || 5
|-
| 27-Across || A pair of small remote batteries, when inserted || Two {{w|AAA_battery|AAA}} batteries, which are often used to power remote controls for domestic devices. These have been combined to give AAAAAA — "Inserted" is often a cryptic hint that one word should surround another, although such a cryptic clue would normally also contain a more direct clue (albeit ambiguously) to the full answer. || 6
|-
| 29-Across || Unofficial Howard Dean slogan || A reference to Howard Dean, an American Democrat who ran for the party's nomination in 2004. He famously [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6i-gYRAwM0 yelled at a rally] in a way that was thought to be bizarre and which, it is thought, doomed his campaign. || 7
|-
| 32-Across || A 4.0 report card || A 4.0 GPA, at least {{w|Academic_grading_in_the_United_States|in the USA}}, is all As. This clue assumes seven classes. || 7
|-
| 33-Across || The “Harlem Globetrotters of baseball” (vowels only) || The {{w|Savannah Bananas}}, the vowels for whom are aaaaaa. The {{w|Harlem Globetrotters}} are an exhibition basketball team, with the Savannah Bananas following a similar formula in baseball. || 6
|-
| 34-Across || 2018 Kiefer song || “[https://genius.com/Kiefer-aaaaa-lyrics AAAAA]”. This is the only five-letter song title in Kiefer's 2018 album ''Happysad''. || 5
|-
| 35-Across || Top Minor League tier || The top {{w|Minor League Baseball}} tier is AAA. || 3
|-
| 36-Across || Reply elicited by a dentist || With your mouth open at the Dentist, the only reply a dentist can elicit from a patient is AAAAAAA || 7
|-
| 38-Across || Anaa’s airport || {{w|Anaa}} is an atoll in the {{w|Tuamotu archipelago}} of {{w|French Polynesia}}. AAA is the {{w|IATA}} code for its airport. || 3
|-
| 41-Across || Macaulay Culkin’s review of aftershave || In the movie ''{{w|Home Alone}}'', Kevin (played by {{w|Macaulay Culkin}}) puts on his father's aftershave lotion. The eight-year-old boy is not used to the lotion's antiseptic and screams as the stinging sensation kicks in. || 10
|-
| 43-Across || Marketing agency trade grp. || The {{w|American Association of Advertising Agencies}}, also called the 4As (here AAAA). An abbreviated word in a clue, here "grp.", is a common way to signal that the answer also should also be written as its abbreviation. || 4
|-
| 44-Across || Soaring climax of Linda Eder’s ''Man of La Mancha'' || Refers to [https://youtu.be/BWP7l0OTXJI?t=130 the 18-second-long wordless passage in Eder's opus], or possibly the final high note in the song “The Impossible Dream”. || 15
|-
| 46-Across || Military flight community org. || The {{w|Army Aviation Association of America}}, or AAAA. || 4
|-
| 47-Across || Iconic line from ''Tarzan'' || Tarzan has a famous {{w|Tarzan yell|war cry}} he shouts, usually when swinging from a vine. || 10
|-
| 48-Across || '''E'''v'''e'''r'''y''' o'''t'''h'''e'''r letter of Jimmy Wales’s birth state || The birth state of {{w|Jimmy Wales}}, the co-founder of Wikipedia, is Alabama. Taking every other letter of '''A'''l'''a'''b'''a'''m'''a''' gives "Aaaa". || 4
|-
| 49-Across || Warthog’s postscript after “They call me ''mister'' pig!” || Pumba in ''{{w|The Lion King}}'' yells "aaaaaaaaaa" while charging at the hyenas who insulted him. || 10
|-
| 50-Across || Message to Elsa in ''Frozen 2'' || The call which Elsa hears in ''{{w|Frozen 2}}'' is a sequence of four notes which resemble the requiem music "{{w|Dies Irae#Music|Dies irae}}". The sequence is sung entirely with an open rounded vowel sound, or a soft "a" sound. || 4
|-
| 51-Across || Lola, when betting it all on Black 20 in ''Run Lola Run'' || In ''{{w|Run Lola Run}}'', Lola ({{w|Franka Potente}}) [https://youtu.be/OTSz1w-cuZM?si=2vc51WCWvn20Hjoo&t=116 screams loud enough to affect the outcome] of a roulette wheel where she has just bet all her money on Black 20. The scream could be transcribed as "AAAAAAAAAA" || 10
|-
| 1-Down || Game featuring “a reckless disregard for gravity” || ''{{w|AaAaAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity}}'' - notably the title is commonly extended in promotional material beyond 6 As. || 6
|-
| 2-Down || 1010101010101010101010102→16 || 10101010 10101010 10101010 in binary is equivalent to "AAAAAA" in hexadecimal. || 6
|-
| 3-Down || Google phone released July ’22 || The {{w|Pixel 6a}} was released in July 22. Stylized in this puzzle as "AAAAAA" ('A'×6) || 6
|-
| 4-Down || It’s five times better than that ''other'' steak sauce || Five times better than {{w|A1 steak sauce}} would be A5, stylized in this puzzle as AAAAA. || 5
|-
| 5-Down || ToHex(43690) || The decimal number 43690 converted to hexadecimal is AAAA. || 4
|-
| 6-Down || Freddie Mercury lyric from ''Under Pressure'' || A drawn-out 'Aaaaahhhh' rising in pitch, from a song by Queen and David Bowie. || 15
|-
| 7-Down || Full-size Audi luxury sedan || Second of three Audi references. As mentioned previously, the A8 referenced here is their full-size luxury sedan. || 8
|-
| 8-Down || Fast path through a multiple choice marketing survey || The "fast path" is just to select the first option over and over again. Usually the options are labeled A, B, C, and D (or more) - choosing the first option for every question would be answering entirely with As. || 7
|-
| 9-Down || 12356631 in base 26 || Randall is expressing base 26 using the letters of the alphabet with 1=A, in which case 1235663110 = AAAAAA26. (It's unclear how one would express the digit 026 this way.) || 6
|-
| 10-Down || Viral Jimmy Barnes chorus || A reference to the music video for Kirin J Callinan's song “{{w|Big Enough}}”, which features rocker {{w|Jimmy Barnes}} in a cowboy hat screaming "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" while in the sky over mountain scenes. || 15
|-
| 11-Down || Ruby Rhod catchphrase || Ruby Rhod is a radio host in the film ''{{w|The Fifth Element}}''; he has a scene with a memorable scream. || 5
|-
| 12-Down || badbeef + 9efcebbb || In hexadecimal, badbeef and 9efcebbb add together to equal AAAAAAAA (195,935,983, 2,667,375,547, and 2,863,311,530 in decimal respectively). || 8
|-
| 13-Down || In Wet Leg’s ''Ur Mum'', what the singer has been practicing || In the song "{{w|Ur Mum}}" by {{w|Wet Leg}}, the bridge starts with "Okay, I've been practicing my longest and loudest scream", which is apparently eight As long. || 8
|-
| 14-Down || Refrain from Nora Reed bot || The "Endless Scream" bot on social media, made by Nora Reed, posts "AAAAAAAAAAA" (with or without an h) at varying lengths. || 8
|-
| 20-Down || Mario button presses to ascend Minas Tirith’s walls || In ''Mario'' games you typically use the A button to jump. In games where you don't press a button to move (e.g., games with a joystick), then the button presses required to ascend a vertical structure would probably all be A. This clue might have been inspired by the {{w|A-button challenge}} / [https://ukikipedia.net/wiki/A_Button_Challenge A Button Challenge], which tallies the number of A presses needed to beat ''Super Mario 64''. Additionally, {{w|Minas Tirith}} is a fictional city in ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'' with seven concentric rings, each with a wall around it and higher than the last ring. Presumably, it takes seven jumps to get to the highest area of the city, so the answer is "AAAAAAA". || 7
|-
| 24-Down || Vermont historic route north from Bennington || {{w|Vermont Route 7A}}, or AAAAAAA. || 7
|-
| 26-Down || High-budget video game || A high-budget video game is usually referred to as a Triple-A game, or AAA. || 3
|-
| 28-Down || Unorthodox Tic-tac-toe win || {{w|Tic-tac-toe}} is usually won by getting either three Xs or three Os in a row, making XXX and OOO normal Tic-tac-toe wins. One could achieve a win of AAA by making the unorthodox choice of playing with the letter A instead of X or O. Alternatively, Randall is envisaging the grid as defined by rows 1, 2, 3, and columns A, B, C, so an AAA win would be simply playing in the first column each time - a strategy which should be obvious and easy to stop, even for young children who have not yet worked out that ''any'' route to winning can be blocked. || 3
|-
| 29-Down || String whose SHA-256 hash ends “…689510285e212385” || <code>printf AAAAAAAA <nowiki>|</nowiki> sha256sum</code> outputs <code>c34ab6abb7b2bb595bc25c3b388c872fd1d575819a8f55cc689510285e212385</code>.
Note that this 'clue' would be normally be ''particularly'' difficult, in isolation, as the nature of a {{w|hash function}} means that it is possible for multiple inputs to produce a given output, and that finding any of these (and definitely identifying ''all'' of them, to ensure you have the correct original) would require a {{w|brute-force attack}}; i.e. a test of all possible initial states to discover which of them might be viable candidates. Even more problematic is that we are only given a partial hash string, meaning we are possibly talking of a multiple of full hashes, each of them with a possible multiplicity of original plaintexts behind them. However, given the context of this puzzle, it's reasonable to guess that a sequence of 8 As might be the answer, and indeed its hash does match the clue given.
 The number of possible hashes in the clue is 1664/1616, i.e. 1648, or approximately 6x1054, although there really is no reason (aside from the fundamental impracticality) to try to solve this problem from each and every 'hash end'. Instead you would 'only' check every combination of 8 letters (presuming no digits, punctuation or whitespace would be inserted, that no “foreign”/accented characters are present and that uppercase is universally presumed, is 268; i.e. ~208 {{w|billion|short-scale billion}} possibilities) and discover which (one?) of these sufficiently matches the hash fragment given. Testing a hundred of these every second, it would take a little over 66 ''years'' to complete the task of checking every single possibility (rather than stopping at the first confirmed answer, which might well be the initial one in this particular case).
 In the context of a crossword such as this, however, you can significantly reduce this search by having established (or at least sufficiently narrowed down) the answers to the various across-clues which intersect with ever character of it (this form of crossword grid being of the {{w|Crossword#American-style crosswords|dense type}}, with no singly-clued spaces as with the more open lattice-types), reducing the necessary checks drastically. This could mean, having solved at least some of the perpendicular answers, that you have enough information to 'guess' at some likely answer, and then merely need to ''confirm'' that whatever guess(es) you make will resolve themselves into the clue-answer provided. (Much as you might with a more normally difficult clue, where you merely have to satisfy yourself that the surprise answer is at least justified as resulting from the original hint.)
| 8
|-
| 30-Down || Arnold’s remark to the Predator || A reference to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsFYPVxHKdc this scene] from ''{{w|Predator (film)|Predator}}'', starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. || 8
|-
| 31-Down || The vowels in the fire salamander’s binomial name || The vowels in {{w|Salamandra salamandra}} are aaaaaaaa. || 8
|-
| 32-Down || Janet Leigh ''Psycho'' line || The iconic scene in ''{{w|Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho}}'' is the shower scene, in which {{w|Janet Leigh}} gives a long piercing scream as she is murdered. This can be written as 8 As if one wishes. || 8
|-
| 34-Down || Seven 440Hz pulses || A sound with a frequency of 440 Hz is a middle "A" note. Seven such pulses would be AAAAAAA. || 7
|-
| 37-Down || Audi luxury sports sedan || Third of three Audi references. The A6, the one referenced here, is their executive car. Actually, the A7, their executive liftback sedan, would fit the prompt of "luxury sports sedan" better, but 37-Down only has room for six As. || 6
|-
| 38-Down || A half-dozen eggs with reasonably firm yolks || Eggs can be [https://www.saudereggs.com/blog/egg-grading-system/ "graded on a variety of aspects"], with grades B, A, or AA. Eggs with a reasonably firm yolk are graded A, so having half a dozen of them gives you AAAAAA eggs. || 6
|-
| 39-Down || 2-2-2-2-2-2 on a multitap phone keypad || A "{{w|multi-tap|multitap keyboard}}" is a text entry system for mobile phones. Most numbers are associated with three letters, and tapping the same number multiple times in rapid succession selects the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd letter. 2 is "A", 22 is "B", 222 is "C", 3 is "D", etc. 2-2-2-2-2-2 translates to "AAAAAA". (If pressed quickly enough, this input may accidentally wrap around the letter list twice and simply result in a "C".) || 6
|-
| 40-Down || .- .- .- .- .- .- || .- is {{w|Morse Code}} for A. It reads out as AAAAAA. || 6
|-
| 42-Down || Rating for China’s best tourist attractions || China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism provides ratings for many tourist attractions in China on a scale from A to AAAAA, with AAAAA being the best. Examples of well-known tourist attractions with the AAAAA rating include the {{w|Forbidden City}}, sections of the {{w|Great Wall of China}}, and the {{w|Terracotta Army}}. || 5
|-
| 43-Down || Standard drumstick size || 5A is a common, middle-range size for drumsticks (the sticks used to play drums, not the drumsticks that get eaten). Here, it's written as AAAAA. || 5
|-
| 45-Down || “The rain/in Spain/falls main-/ly on the plain” rhyme scheme || An AAAA {{w|rhyme scheme}} means each of the four lines ends with the same sound. Furthermore, the sound in question is the standard vocalization of the letter A. {{w|The Rain in Spain}} is a song from the musical {{w|My Fair Lady}}. || 4
|}

==Transcript==
:[A square 15x15 crossword puzzle is shown. Only 21 of the 225 squares are black. The black squares are in a pattern that are 180 degree rotationally symmetrical. Three black squares down from the 11th column and similarly three black squares up from the 5th column. Three black squares out from the right in row 7 and then two more black squares diagonally up from the end. Similarly three black squares out from the left in row 9 with two more black squares diagonally down from the end. A single black square is three above the first black square on the diagonal going down to the right and similarly there is a black square three under the first of the diagonal squares going down to the left. (Row 6 column 12 and Row 10 column 4). Finally there are three black squares on a diagonal crossing over the central point by going up from the left through the central point (Row 8 column 8). There are numbers at the top of every column (except the one that is a black square) and similarly at the left edge of all rows (except the one that is a black square). There are also numbers at the bottom of every black segment (except the one that reaches the bottom) and all rows after black segments except the one that reaches the right edge. In total all numbers from 1 to 51 are written. They are written in reading order from 1 to 51.]
:1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

:[Below the square there are two columns of clues for each number that belongs to across (rows) and to the right there is one column of clues for each number that belongs to down (columns). Both segments have an underlined and bold title above the clues. ]
:<big>'''Across'''</big>
:1. Famous Pvt. Wilhelm quote
:11. IPv6 address record
:15. "CIPHERTEXT" decrypted with Vigenère key "CIPHERTEXT"
:16. 8mm diameter battery
:17. "Warthog" attack aircraft
:18. '''E'''ve'''r'''y t'''h'''ir'''d''' le'''t'''te'''r''' in the word for "inability to visualize"
:19. An acrostic hidden on the first page of the dictionary
:21. Default paper size in Europe
:22. First four unary strings
:23. Lysine codon
:24. 40 CFR Part 63 subpart concerning asphalt pollution
:25. Top bond credit rating
:26. Audi coupe
:27. A pair of small remote batteries, when inserted
:29. Unofficial Howard Dean slogan
:32. A 4.0 report card
:33. The "Harlem Globetrotters of baseball" (vowels only)
:34. 2018 Kiefer song
:35. Top Minor League tier
:36. Reply elicited by a dentist
:38. ANAA's airport
:41. Macaulay Culkin's review of aftershave
:43. Marketing agency trade grp.
:44. Soaring climax of Linda Eder's ''Man of La Mancha''
:46. Military flight community org.
:47. Iconic line from ''Tarzan''
:48. '''E''''''v''''''e''''''r''''''y'''''' o''''''t''''''h''''''e''''''r''' letter of Jimmy Wales's birth state
:49. Warthog's postscript after "They call me ''mister'' pig!"
:50. Message to Elsa in ''Frozen 2''
:51. Lola, when betting it all on Black 20 in ''Run Lola Run''

:<big>'''Down'''</big>
:1. Game featuring "a reckless disregard for gravity"
:2. 1010101010101010101010102→16
:3. Google phone released July '22
:4. It's five times better than that ''other'' steak sauce
:5. ToHex(43690)
:6. Freddie Mercury lyric from ''Under Pressure''
:7. Full-size Audi luxury sedan
:8. Fast path through a multiple choice marketing survey
:9. 12356631 in base 26
:10. Viral Jimmy Barnes chorus
:11. Ruby Rhod catchphrase
:12. badbeef + 9efcebbb
:13. In Wet Leg's ''Ur Mum'', what the singer has been practicing
:14. Refrain from Nora Reed bot
:20. Mario button presses to ascend Minas Tirith's walls
:24. Vermont historic route north from Bennington
:26. High-budget video game
:28. Unorthodox Tic-Tac-Toe win
:29. String whose SHA-256 hash ends "...689510285e212385"
:30. Arnold's remark to the Predator
:31. The vowels in the fire salamander's binomial name
:32. Janet Leigh ''Psycho'' line
:34. Seven 440Hz pulses
:37. Audi luxury sports sedan
:38. A half-dozen eggs with reasonably firm yolks
:39. 2-2-2-2-2-2 on a multitap phone keypad
:40. .- .- .- .- .- .-
:42. Rating for China's best tourist attractions
:43. Standard drumstick size
:45. "The rain/in Spain/falls main-/ly on the plain" rhyme scheme

==Trivia==
*This comic got a [[Header_text#A_Crossword_Puzzle|comic-specific header text]] after the first day it was up.
**This was because one of the comics Randall lists as one of those he enjoys, [https://www.buttersafe.com/ Buttersafe], had already posted a similar comic back in 2011: [https://www.buttersafe.com/2011/02/17/crosswords/ Crosswords].
**Randall had forgotten this, but now pays tribute to this, stating that he must have been accidentally inspired by that comic.
*[[User:Elfakyn|Elfakyn]] posted a link to a picture of the solved crossword puzzle in the [[Talk:2957:_A_Crossword_Puzzle#Solved_puzzle_picture|comments]] and allowed it to be included here:
[[File:2957_A-Crossword_Puzzle-Solved.png|500px|center]]
*All the black squares are in a symmetrical pattern, which is generally the case for crossword puzzles in the US and UK. See description of the pattern in the [[#Transcript|transcript]].
*Crosswords have been mentioned previously in [[2896: Crossword Constructors]].
*Out of 60 clues in the puzzle, 10 are references to screaming or yelling, making the puzzle approximately 17% screams.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Songs]]
[[Category:Video games]]

Talk:2960: Organ Meanings

2024-07-19T09:55:49Z

172.70.90.94:

how is thymus formed [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.102|172.70.85.102]] 07:00, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
: It grows from seed.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.97|172.69.194.97]] 12:23, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

You think Randall might have made this one as a ploy to have explain xkcd educate him on the organs and metaphors mentioned? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.146.33|162.158.146.33]] 07:59, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Why is 'Liver' so high up on the metaphor scale? The only one I can think of is 'lily-livered', which doesn't appear to make much sense at all. On the other hand, I'd have 'Spleen' nearer the top, and 'Tongue' fairly high up as well. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.185|172.70.162.185]] 08:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:Agreed; personally I’d have liver and tongue switch places, and I’d guess the one who added silver-tongued and biting one’s tongue would probably agree also. But that might be because I understand the biological function of a liver better than the average person does. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.5|172.70.210.5]] 08:21, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:: Are those really metaphors, though? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.40.152|162.158.40.152]] 09:24, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
::: They aren't, or at least not metaphors to the tongue. Just done an edit, before having read this, to remove the visibility of "silver tongue" (a tongue that is metaphorically as silver... or maybe even quicksilver) and a "bitten tongue" (the tongue as if restrained by biting). Though there are other forms, the metaphor to biological function must be of the general "it is the tongue of the <something else>" type, maybe such as a tongue of lava or the tongue of an oil-can (one being an extending appendage, the other additionally being a contact depositor of liquid - though not always consistent in application).
::: Something can more easily be understood as the metaphorical heart/nerves/spine/etc of something, and we also have a good understanding of what the originals do. A sewage treatment plant can be considered the kidneys of a town (arguably more understood than a liver of one, for example, so I'd have personally switched the two), but it gets more complex with some of them. In the case of the appendix, we pretty much ''only'' know (in lay-use) that it's a spare fleshy bit that might or might not have any use, so the metaphorical 'equivalent biological function' of a "town's 'appendix'" is probably more understood than a body's ''actual'' appendix, for most people, the opposite of the situation with metaphorical/actual tongues. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.64|172.70.91.64]] 10:06, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:::: Your understanding of metaphors is... unique. A "silver tongue" certainly is a tongue-based metaphor; we're referring to someone's manner of speech as their "tongue".{{unsigned|Collapsinghrung}}
::::: From my perspective, that's a tongue-''targetting'' metaphor. "He has a tongue of silver" (in this case "tongue" is a metonym of "manner of talking", not a metaphor). Your understanding of what the tongue refers to is different from metaphor/simile, etc, as it ''is'' the thing (the talking) that is refered to. It's the silverness that's an metaphorical element. Or, like "To bite one's tongue", having become an established idiom. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.86.145|172.70.86.145]] 16:46, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
: The one I think of is "What am I chopped Liver". Though according to google that is usually a Jewish metaphor (which I am) {{unsigned ip|162.158.158.103}}
:Liver has medieval English metaphors for bravery too, but afaik usually in the context of weak-liver = cowardly; e.g. lily-livered. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.130.19|172.69.130.19]] 14:25, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:Euch ist wohl ne Laus über die Leber gelaufen! (German proverb, "=someone angered you?!") [[Special:Contributions/172.71.160.115|172.71.160.115]] 07:12, 19 July 2024 (UTC)

I'm not convinced that 'Metaphor meaning' is going to work as a column in the table - several of these have multiple metaphors associated, often with varied and little-related meanings.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.249|172.70.160.249]] 12:20, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

I just added the line about anatomical metaphors varying from culture to culture. Would people like to include any examples of culturally variable metaphors? I think it was Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything Is Illuminated" where an Eastern European character kept shouting out "spleen". [[Special:Contributions/172.70.46.172|172.70.46.172]] 12:58, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
:One example off the top of my head - and might need a proper reference to add - is the common use of Kidneys in metaphor. Afaik, the most common-slang in NA for that is "ow my kidneys" as in "I laughed so hard, my kidneys hurt now." Meanwhile, in many East Asian cultures, references to the 'kidneys' is most commonly used as an euphemism for sexual performance due to the connection to traditional medicine, where having sex is seen as 'exerting/damaging the kidneys.' E.g., feeding someone food 'good for the kidneys,' references to 'oh, your kidneys have been overexerted lately,' 'are your kidneys okay,' etc. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.214.38|172.69.214.38]] 14:05, 18 July 2024 (UTC)
::Kidneys are also often referred to, typically facetiously, as a high value object one can sell in a pinch. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.140.184|172.69.140.184]] 08:44, 19 July 2024 (UTC)

I think tongue is placed strangely low on the metaphor axis. Usage of "tongue" to mean language, conversation, or other speech (i.e. "mother tongue," "silver-tongued," "speaking in tongues") is well-established. Secondly, I also feel kidneys should be higher with the added metaphorical definition of value, as in "you'd have to sell a kidney." [[Special:Contributions/172.69.140.184|172.69.140.184]] 08:44, 19 July 2024 (UTC)
:Tongue (as per language) is a metonym, not a metaphor. And other examples I'm seeing are verging upon similes (also different from metaphors). People seem to be confused about this, but possibly also Randall (hard to tell, as he doesn't really give examples, just his graphic conclusions). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.185|172.70.162.185]] 09:48, 19 July 2024 (UTC)

Bodily fluids ({{w|humors}}) had the same overlap, with early doctors thinking that fluids influenced moods (giving us terms like "sanguine", "phlegmatic", "bilious"). Could someone add a section about that? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.47.23|172.70.47.23]] 15:28, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Your table in the article says that "appendix" has a metaphorical meaning of "uselessness", but I don't think this is true. Can you find a dictionary that has a figurative sense? Wiktionary for example does not [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/appendix]. I think Randall may be a little confused about what is a metaphor, and may have intended "appendix" here in the sense of an extra part added to a book or academic paper etc. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.138|172.70.85.138]] 08:05, 19 July 2024 (UTC)
: I have, albeit rarely, heard people refer to something as 'a mere appendix to ''x'' '. However, I suspect the metaphor in those cases is more in reference to appendix as a part of a book, rather than a biological organ.[[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.94|172.70.90.94]] 09:55, 19 July 2024 (UTC)

700: Complexion

2024-06-19T18:27:24Z

172.70.90.94: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 700
| date = February 10, 2010
| title = Complexion
| image = complexion.png
| titletext = Why do all my attempts at science end with me being punched by Batman? (P.S. benzoyl peroxide soap works great.)
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] suffers from {{w|acne}}. Like many others afflicted with the same condition, he uses skin care products designed to treat acne. Unlike most other people, he does his own controlled trial by using them on only one half of his face and measuring the effects; the blemishes on the treated half of his face are noticeably diminished, while the untreated half remains the same, allowing him to isolate the effects of the cream versus the effects of time.

He convinces his friends to try the same experiment with different treatments so they can find out which works the best. In order to properly randomize the trials, he flips a coin. However, because half of his face is "scarred" (with acne blemishes), he's flipping a coin, and appears to be threatening someone with acid, he's mistaken for the Batman villain {{w|Two-Face}}. (Two-Face flips a coin to decide whether his victims will live or die, and was badly burned by acid on exactly one half of his face.) Cueball is subsequently punched by Batman; the title-text implies this has happened before.

{{w|Salicylic acid}} and {{w|benzoyl peroxide}} are both chemicals known for their skin care effects (salicylic acid in particular is also used to treat {{w|psoriasis}}).

==Transcript==
:I get frustrated trying to judge whether acne creams are having any effect. In the spirit of a controlled trial, I used one on just half my face for a few weeks.
:[A graph shows pimples vs. time, with two lines: one remains steady, and one is declining.]

:It was cool seeing the effects so clearly, so I got some friends to try different treatments in an impromptu study.
:[Cueball looks in a mirror, sees a half-pimpled face, and applies a treatment.]

:[Cueball is talking to Ponytail and Megan, each with some pimples also.]
:Cueball: Okay, you try the salicylic acid first.
:Ponytail: Wait, we should randomize the trials. Got a coin?

:Cueball: Okay, call it. Heads, she gets the-
:(Off-panel): YOU!

:[Batman runs into frame and punches Cueball. The coin goes flying.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]

Talk:2819: Pronunciation

2023-08-23T22:48:48Z

172.70.90.94:

These are all heteronyms

(/ɪ/|/t/)+(/ɪ/|/juː/)+(/ɛ/|/ɨ/)+(/s/|/z/)+(/t/|/d/)+(/eɪ/|/æ/)+(/aɪ/|???) ...what's the alternate (anglophone) pronunciation for the 'y' in "gyro"? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.81|141.101.98.81]] 19:03, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
:...oh, ok, now there's an explanation on this. Not convinced by the alternate 'y' at all. And I pronounce "putting" exactly like "putting", as well. Consider me additionally confused. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.90|172.70.90.90]] 19:22, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
:gyro as in the sandwich (pronounced like Euro), or gyro as in short for gyroscope.
::Never even heard of a "gyro" sandwich. (And "Euro" can be YOU-ro, OY-ro, ERR-oh, etc, depending on which country you're(-oh) in.) Clearly something very Leftpondian, this comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.90|172.70.90.90]] 21:51, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
:::Oh man! Come on, we're going to the grocery store. You're one of today's lucky 10,000.- [[Special:Contributions/172.70.131.172|172.70.131.172]] 22:43, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
:::It's a Greek dish similar to a shawarma. It's pronounced YEE-ro, I believe. (Which is kind of similar to that first pronunciation of "Euro", so that's probably what they were going for.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.43.118|172.70.43.118]] 22:04, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
::::Putting/putting - think southern England if you want to appreciate the difference. The golfing sense is somewhere between "patting" and "potting"; the placing sense more like...well, like "putting". "Pooting," I suppose, with a "book" type "oo".[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 22:46, 23 August 2023 (UTC)

In Finland that's not far away. By startuing with T and removing æ you are almost correct. Tuesday in Finnish /Ti:stai/

Someone has GOT to find a better joke than "TOMATO BOTATO" - [[Special:Contributions/172.69.59.83|172.69.59.83]] 22:41, 23 August 2023 (UTC)
:I think maybe the {{w|Ghoti|counter-example}} of orthography might work for everyone? I linked it, for those who might still be confused. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.94|172.70.90.94]] 22:48, 23 August 2023 (UTC)

Talk:111: Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?

2023-08-08T10:50:55Z

172.70.90.94: Undo revision 320513 by 172.71.254.6 (talk) No sales 'cos nothing to sell. Dumb spambot. (Dumb advertising, giving no country code to telephone number. Presume the US, but not testing it.)

Correlation does not equal causation.... I think that's one of the underlying points of this. That, and people who use IE don't understand that. {{unsigned ip|‎108.162.219.56}}

The link to Revelation 22 is misleading. It was written several centuries before the Bible was compiled, and the phrase "this book" presumably refers to the Book of Revelation. A better scripture to link to is [[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+4%3A2&version=ESV Deuteronomy 4:2]], which prohibits editing the words that god commands you. That's not the entire bible, but it's enough that you could realistically call it closed source. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.90|199.27.128.90]] 00:23, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

The use of the open-source closed-source terminology is flawed here: open-source simply means that the source code (the program for IE and words for the Bible) is available to be read.

It does NOT mean that you can edit it (even if you don't distribute it) as anybody who owns a TiVo or has tried reading a Terms of Service document knows; that 'right' would come under the more important "Free Software" umbrella, as [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html this article by Richard Stallman] explains.
[[User:YatharthROCK|YatharthROCK]] ([[User talk:YatharthROCK|talk]]) 06:03, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
:Open source does mean you can edit it. See the [http://opensource.org/osd-annotated Open Source Definintion]: "The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.189|108.162.219.189]] 02:48, 2 November 2014 (UTC)
::Wouldn't that be opensource.org's definition? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.124|108.162.237.124]] 22:50, 21 November 2014 (UTC) Steven

It looks like Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's statistics on the relation between pirate's numbers and global temperature[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PiratesVsTemp(en).svg].--[[User:Anodibdogb|Anodibdogb]] ([[User talk:Anodibdogb|talk]]) 12:50, 3 September 2014 (UTC)

The Microsoft + Christianity is probably a reference to Microsoft acquiring Christianity. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]]

This comic was in June, not August, so it might not be brought to life like us three. EDIT: Sorry, I was wrong. He was actually brought to life and became one of the comic incarnates. And today's his birthday. [[User:Missed Connections|935: Missed Connections]] ([[User talk:Missed Connections|talk]]) 23:53, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2737: Weather Station

2023-02-15T15:54:43Z

172.70.90.94:

I'm not sure if the comment about the spinning speed in the explanation section is needed, still, added it for clarity. Feel free to remove it if it seems out of place. [[User:Xkcdjerry|Xkcdjerry]] ([[User talk:Xkcdjerry|talk]]) 07:13, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

:Totally needed. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:14, 14 February 2023 (UTC)
:: It's what Randall would have done [[User:Boatster|Boatster]] ([[User talk:Boatster|talk]]) 22:28, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

''Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!'' [[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 10:57, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

It would be great if the explanation also offered a comparison between Cueball's arm speed and the wind speed of most tornadoes, as knowing the speed that Cueball's spinning it at in a bid to make it think there's a tornado doesn't mean much if one doesn't know how fast tornadoes also go. --[[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.191|172.71.242.191]] 13:46, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

FYI the rain gauge in Borrowdale, Cumbria, England - reputedly the wettest place in England - is set into a wall at thigh-height, with a collecting spout. A local farmer told me that as a boy, the gauge was between the school bus drop-off and the farm, so he and his brothers used to regularly top it up by taking a p1ss....distorting weather records has a long history!
15:34, 14 February 2023 (UTC)[[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.187|172.71.178.187]] 15:34, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

:And wait until chinese weather balloons come into play ;-) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.129.139|162.158.129.139]] 17:59, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

::They don't. That's the point of shooting them down. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:14, 14 February 2023 (UTC)
::I haven't been watching Chinese weather reports, but have they been reporting that the weather over North America is explosive? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:17, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

No WAY "ten turns per second" is in a reasonable limit for a person. That's insanely fast! --[[User:Mushrooms|Mushrooms]] ([[User talk:Mushrooms|talk]]) 07:56, 15 February 2023 (UTC)

: Sorry, my bad :( should have made it clear that it meant something along hitting it with a hand to get it turning and not the hand rotating with it (which I agree would be ridiculous), any idea how to clarify that without making the paragraph too long? [[User:Xkcdjerry|Xkcdjerry]] ([[User talk:Xkcdjerry|talk]]) 08:33, 15 February 2023 (UTC)

: Afterthought: I tested the 10 r/s with a ruler, a aero-whatsit would probably have less friction from the bearings but much more air resistance so it might not be easy to get it up to speed. However I do not have the means to test *that* scenario. And I'll be ever so grateful if someone with the means would check if it can be done. If it can't the last sentence would be better off as something like "This speed is not acheveable by hand but can be reached by whatever" [[User:Xkcdjerry|Xkcdjerry]] ([[User talk:Xkcdjerry|talk]]) 08:51, 15 February 2023 (UTC)

: For the record, the top speed reached by a ping-pong ball (which should be a bit above the top speed of a human arm dut to the bit of length added by the racket) is 112.6km/h. So a bit less than what's needed for the minimum speed quoted. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.122.227|172.71.122.227]] 11:46, 15 February 2023 (UTC)

; Turning manually runs quickly into drag — cube of speed — so it is unlikely that high rotational speeds can be achieved.
[[Special:Contributions/172.71.222.76|172.71.222.76]] 12:27, 15 February 2023 (UTC)

: Using the drag equasion from google, a speed of 16m/s per the article, a drag coefficant of 0.38 when the air is blowing at the rounded side and human power 600W (10W/kg times an average-if-a-bit-low 60 kg) gives an estmate of [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=sqrt%28600W%2F%281%2F2*density+of+air*0.38*%2816m%2Fs%29%5E3*pi%29%29 max r] of ~43cm (which means it measures ~3 foot across), it's a rough calcuation but it should suggest that power itself shouldn't be an issue. The problem is how fast we can get the power flowing from the arm into the object (which is going to be the real pain). [[User:Xkcdjerry|Xkcdjerry]] ([[User talk:Xkcdjerry|talk]]) 13:13, 15 February 2023 (UTC)

: OK this is in no way revalent but when I calcuated the above figures I decided to plug in a cup that's 20cm across to see how fast we can make it go if we managed to dump all 600W into it and found we can make it spin at [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=%28600W%2F%281%2F2*density+of+air*0.38*%2810cm%29%5E2*pi%29%29%5E%281%2F3%29 43m/s] (96mph) and make the computer think wind speeds are at a ridiculous [https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=%28600W%2F%281%2F2*density+of+air*0.38*%2810cm%29%5E2*pi%29%29%5E%281%2F3%29*3 ''128m/s''] (289mph) which according to [https://www.weather.gov/ffc/fujita this chart] is a F5 "incredible tornado" capable of, cite: "Strong frame houses lifted off foundations and carried considerable distances to disintegrate; automobile sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters; trees debarked; steel re-inforced concrete structures badly damaged." (Which somehow this feels oddly satisfiying) [[User:Xkcdjerry|Xkcdjerry]] ([[User talk:Xkcdjerry|talk]]) 13:13, 15 February 2023 (UTC)
::Bear in mind that we're twiddling the 'cups' ''with'' the nominal wind, not against the (much more) static air. The force needed to rotate the cups by air is necessarily more than the force needed to send the cups rotating through air. (In normal operation, the cups on the 'unreceiving' side of the spin are moving into the wind that is forcing the 'receiving' cups to move. If wind is W and Creceive is ⅔rds that, as is suggested, then Copposing is going at (5/3)W, relatively. Which is probably why it actually reflects that ½ to ⅔ the wind, proportionately.) And the hand does not need to go the speed of the cup, it ''might'' only need to twiddle an index finger around near the base of a cup-arm. For 10rpm, it just needs to sustain a revolution every six seconds, and I can make a good slow circle at maybe 15cm radius with my finger, by flexing my wrist alone, ''if'' I need to do that to overcome rotational friction that twiddling nearer the axis would be difficult to do.
::(Noting that I'm sure that most anemometers are smaller than described, above, meaning they need to spin faster to give a similar windspeed. But also of negligable intrinsic friction (beyond the half 'counter-flow' resistance) so that almost the lightest breeze still conveys some decently proportional measurement of rotation. And I think I could easily 'force' such a device round at 60rpm or more for enough time to emulate the core of a passing tornado. In fact... I just now hastilly constructed a Lego 'spinner' with two large, flat plates that are fixed flat on to the rotational direction and, despite being omni-resistant to ''any'' airflow, I can rotate the pivoting beam around quite happily at a generous speed, without any of the streamlining of the 'non-cupped' sides of the cups. It generates quite the localised breeze, that I know isn't exactly full-strength tornado but then a full-strength tornado wouldn't turn this particular device very fast until it was basically at (or in) the vortex edge, for the necessary airflow differentials across the vanes, and I'm not sure even Lego would withstand those conditions.)
:: Bearing in mind the uncertainties of the particars of the device, the calculations are good but not necessarily the final word. I'm sure that instantaneous 'twister'-level rotations could be managed, perhaps even sustained, without too much difficulty. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.56|172.70.162.56]] 15:11, 15 February 2023 (UTC)
::: Addendum (from '172.70.162.56') - Whoops, I completely misread r/s as rpm. So ''less'' possible, but I still think I could twiddle something at nigh on 600rpm from a twiddle of a finger. (With an unloaded finger I can get 160-odd 'small circles' in 20 seconds, perhaps suitable for rotating the very centre of a rotor-bar of the right sort. The finger actually being slightly quicker than I can reliably tally the revolutions whilst keeping an eye on the stopwatch - but the muscles begin to burn a bit if I try to go for much longer than that without a rest.) Full on practical experiments with 'roadside' anemometers will have to await some chance I don't know if I'll ever get, though. (The nearest "container-based" environmental monitoring station is in the middle of a large roundabout near me, with near constant traffic, and I seem to think has been made vandal-proof (and thus "human tornado"-proof) around the top, to make it even more of a challenge. Until then, I'd have to consider some ersatz self-built rig of my own, for which I'd need to hook up a good counter/frequency-meter as well. :P [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.94|172.70.90.94]] 15:54, 15 February 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2737: Weather Station

2023-02-15T15:53:51Z

172.70.90.94: