explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

User:FaviFake

2025-02-22T18:56:42Z

172.71.146.108: /* Your suggestions! What should I ask? */

<big>{{TOC}}</big>'''Hey everyone! I got in touch with [[Randall Munroe]] himself!! Here's what you need to know.'''

I emailed him to ask for the official release date of [[36: Scientists]] (see [[36: Scientists#Trivia|the trivia for more info]]). Surprisingly, he got back to me! You can read the conversation, with a summary of his messages, below. I'll keep you posted if I receive more messages! You can [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:FaviFake&action=watch add this page to your watchlist] to keep track of it. I haven't received his explicit permission to feature his messages in full, so it seemed ethical to hide his messages. My emails have not been altered, but in the copy-pasting, links have been removed. These emails were all hyperlinked, I now added back only a few links. The reason I waited a few days before publishing them is because I was very busy.

In his last email, Randall expressed willingness to answer a few more questions, particularly simpler, administrative questions (like the one he answered already), but kindly explained he prefers to avoid too much meta-commentary. Because I didn't want to come up with every question and I wanted to hear everyone, I'll try to send him some that you want, if he agrees to receiving more! You can [[#Your suggestions! What should I ask?|add your suggestions here!]].

===Email thread===
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Question from the Explain xkcd wiki regarding one of your comics'''
Email thread - 4 messages —
Here's a [https://imgur.com/a/2StTkvJ screenshot of one of the emails], if you need some sort of proof.
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|'''FaviFake''' <[email redacted]@gmail.com>
|14 February 2025 at 19:16 CET
|-
| colspan="2" |To: Randall Munroe <[Randall's email redacted]@gmail.com>
|-
| colspan="2" |

Hi,
I'm an editor at explainxkcd.com, which you probably know is the wiki that explains all your comics and provides as much info as possible on them.
{| class="wikitable"
|''[In the copy-pasting, links have been removed. These emails were all hyperlinked, I now added back only a few links.]''
|}
In pursuit of that goal, we have always had an unsolved mystery only you can solve. Comic [[36: Scientists]] was originally posted as a duplicate of comic [[10: Pi Equals]]. You corrected this sometime between April 23, 2006 and July 5, 2006 , when the current version showed up in the web archive (see the two links). The comic looks like one of your old drawings.

So, explain xkcd thinks that when you realized your mistake (over three months after it was originally posted), you probably found an old unused drawing and posted it, to not make it stand out compared to the other comics from that time. This all means we have no date for this comic, since it could've been posted anytime between the two dates mentioned above. You can read more about this here. (If you're interested, we have a more comprehensive history of your webcomic here.)

Could you kindly help us figure this out by checking when you released comic #[[36]], so we can add an official date to it? This is one of the only official comics which we don't know the date of.

Kind regards,

FaviFake

editor @ explain xkcd
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Randall Munroe''' [Randall's email redacted]
|14 February 2025 at 22:20 CET
|-
| colspan="2" |To: FaviFake <[email redacted]@gmail.com>
|-
| colspan="2" |FaviFake,
{| class="wikitable"
|''[Randall replies, giving the official date when [[36: Scientists]] was swapped: April 28th.]''
''[He ends with:]''
|}
Thank you for your tireless documentation effort :)
{| class="wikitable"
|''[He signs]''
|}
[Quoted text hidden]
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|'''FaviFake''' <[email redacted]@gmail.com>
|15 February 2025 at 17:39 CET
|-
| colspan="2" |To: Randall Munroe <[Randall's email redacted]@gmail.com>
|-
| colspan="2" |Hello Randall,

Thank you so much for your response!! I'm certain the rest of the community will be thrilled to have an official answer.

Unfortunately, this is by far not the only "unsolved mystery" we have encountered in our research of your comic. Because we don't get to talk to you very often, I'd like to ask you if you can answer more of our many questions, if you're up for it. Of course, I do not want to annoy you or waste your time, so please let me know if this is something you'd enjoy! I will try to keep the questions entertaining for you.

Kind regards,

FaviFake

[Quoted text hidden]
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|'''Randall Munroe''' <[Randall's email redacted]@gmail.com>
|17 February 2025 at 19:02 CET
|-
| colspan="2" |To: FaviFake <[email redacted]@gmail.com>
|-
| colspan="2" |FaviFake,
{| class="wikitable"
|''[He expresses willingness to answer some additional questions, particularly simpler, administrative questions (like the one he answered), but kindly explains he prefers to avoid too much meta-commentary]''
''[He ends with:]''
|}
And seriously, my heartfelt thanks to you and everyone there. It's such a privilege to make something that people think is worth so much effort to explain <3

—Randall

[Quoted text hidden]
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|'''FaviFake''' <[email redacted]@gmail.com>
|20 February 2025 at 18:07
|-
| colspan="2" |To: Randall Munroe <[Randall's email redacted]@gmail.com>
|-
| colspan="2" |Randall,

Thank you for the kind words!! I really appreciate the offer. Next time, I'm thinking of asking the community for other simple and administrative questions, because I'm sure I don't represent everyone.
{| class="wikitable"
|''I also asked for his permission to feature this conversation here:''
|}
(Also, would it be okay to feature your responses on our wiki?)

I had drafted the paragraphs below in advance and I'm not sure if they fall outside the boundaries you mentioned, but I figured I’d ask anyway since this is a topic the other editors are very curious about. Of course, no worries if you’d rather not get into the details! We have plenty of simpler questions we can't answer ourselves. Here you go:

On June 17, 2009, you released [[Conservation]] (along with IBM's accompanying blog post), the first comic created with IBM for their "A Smarter Planet" blog. You used the filename conservation.png, as usual. On August 11, 2009, the second comic of the series, [[Prescriptions]], was released (with its blog post), but this time you used an unusual filename: ibm_hc_1.png.

We initially believed these were the only comics you created, mainly because they were the only ones featured on your page xkcd.com/asmarterplanet, but a little over a month ago we discovered two additional never-before-seen comics by experimenting with the image URLs for [[ibm_hc_2]].png and [[ibm_hc_3]].png. We believe you created these two comics as part of the IBM partnership, but for some reason they were never released publicly and were only accessible from imgs.xkcd.com. (Interestingly enough, they are still available!)

Any additional info you can give us would help a ton! For example: their titles, when they were drawn or supposed to be released, or why they were never officially published. Thank you!

—FaviFake
|}
===What I think I should reply back===
*I first asked for permission to make the conversation public, so you all can read what he said. I wasn't told not to make it public, I just think I should ask for permission first. I'm not even sure if this was the right thing. If you have thoughts, [[User talk:FaviFake#Contacting Randall Munroe|please send them to me on my talk page]]!
*I didn't think it was fair to do everything myself, so I wanted to also hear what you wanted to ask! Randall asked for simpler, administrative questions (like the one he answered), and not ones that required too much explaining. Please add your suggestions to the section below!
*I think in the first message we should send some of the easiest questions to answer, quick ones like "when was this released", and then we can start to ask slightly more complex (but still administrative) questions.

===Your suggestions! What should I ask?===
{{notice2|Remember, he said only simple questions. I'm assuming he'd like questions similar to the one he replied to(short, sweet, no explaining needed), or questions that shouldn't require him to explain his comic more than he has already done.

'''What's something relatively important that we don't know and that only Randall can answer in a few words?'''}}
{{notice|Format your suggestions like this:

At the bottom, add:

<nowiki> SUMMARY OF SUGGESTION --signature
</nowiki> <nowiki>
* Explain in more detail your suggestion.</nowiki> <nowiki>* Discuss it and vote --signature</nowiki> Add new suggestions below the other ones.}}

'''The deleted what if? article ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20161205191559/http://what-if.xkcd.com/153 Peptides]''''' --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:34, 21 February 2025 (UTC)
*[[what if? (blog)]] is a blog written by [[Randall]] with entries posted occasionally. On December 5, 2016, the article ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20161205191559/http://what-if.xkcd.com/153 Peptides]'' was published as number {{what if|153|153}}. However, it was [https://web.archive.org/web/20161206171630/http://what-if.xkcd.com/153/ removed the following day] and was replaced by a notice: "''Whoops. This article is still in progress. An early draft was unintentionally posted here thanks to Randall's [http://xkcd.com/1597/ troubled approach to git], and it took a little bit to get everything sorted out and rolled back. Sorry for the mixup!"''. No finished version of the article was ever published, and the URL was later reused for ''{{what if|153|Hide the Atmosphere}}''.
*I this this one is very interesting, but it might not be as administrative and short as Randall wants. He'd need to explain the reason why it wasn't published and why it looks like a complete article, not a "draft". --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:34, 21 February 2025 (UTC)

{{Done}}'''[[ibm_hc_2]] and [[ibm_hc_3]], the newly-discovered comics''' --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 16:34, 21 February 2025 (UTC)
*I asked this one already, because I assume it's the most important one right now. You can see my question [[#Email thread|above]].

What happened to [[Five-Minute Comics: Part 4]]? --[[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 17:49, 22 February 2025 (UTC)
*A lost xkcd comic. He accidentally posted this instead of [[940]], and then erased all evidence of its existence by redirecting the direct image URL to a notice claiming it was a minor glitch in the universe. I'd get deleting the image outright, but just replacing it with what is essentially a sign to stop looking for it? Kinda weird. Also, how many more of these 5MCs has he made that are potentially lost media?

why ate some of the april fools' comics late? - [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.108|172.71.146.108]] 18:55, 22 February 2025 (UTC)

i mean why ''are''. sorry, typo - [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.108|172.71.146.108]] 18:56, 22 February 2025 (UTC)

User:FaviFake

2025-02-22T18:55:43Z

172.71.146.108: /* Your suggestions! What should I ask? */

Talk:2714: Cold Complaints

2022-12-22T05:58:24Z

172.71.146.108:

That study sounds like something that would win an Ig Nobel Prize. But the 2002 prize in medicine went to "Scrotal Asymmetry in Man and in Ancient Sculpture". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:37, 21 December 2022 (UTC)

Also common cold cannot really be cured, just wait and see. http://www.picturequotes.com/proper-treatment-will-cure-a-cold-in-seven-days-but-left-to-itself-a-cold-will-hang-on-for-a-week-quote-272191 [[User:Vdm|Vdm]] ([[User talk:Vdm|talk]]) 20:49, 21 December 2022 (UTC)

Are we sure that's the actual explanation? I thought the panels we see of the telemedicine are fibs to explain why Harry is acting this way. As in, he's pretending a medical professional told him to act like this. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.68.13|172.69.68.13]] 21:59, 21 December 2022 (UTC)

Can the citation be moved to a ref tag instead of just Being There? on a related note, why is the 58 bolded? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.166.76|172.71.166.76]] 22:32, 21 December 2022 (UTC) [[NonUser:Bumpf|Bumpf]] ([[NonUser talk:Bumpf|shh]])
:We usually don't bother with the cite and just use numbered links, especially in cases like this where the full cite is on the first page of the link. I'll change it. Journal volume numbers are written in bold in APA style. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.79|172.69.22.79]] 00:23, 22 December 2022 (UTC)
::In this case I prefer the full cite showing the counterintuitive quote comes from a pertinent peer-reviewed journal. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.211.90|172.70.211.90]] 03:38, 22 December 2022 (UTC)

I know far too many people who already follow this course of treatment. And not just for viruses, either. [[User:RAGBRAIvet|RAGBRAIvet]] ([[User talk:RAGBRAIvet|talk]]) 23:59, 21 December 2022 (UTC)

Is the accepted explanation for this comic that it is... mocking people who ask for sympathy or help when unwell for being "big babies"? That seems uncomfortably close to, say, making fun of people who seek treatment for mental illness... I understand that there is a disproportionate level of complaint relative to minor discomfort that is ridiculous and maybe even funny, but that doesn't seem to have been established here. I think we should emphasize that, "Hey, it's perfectly fine and even healthy to talk about the disappointment of feeling shitty, but don't take it to this extreme" - even if the original comic arguably doesn't do so. [[User:Notanotherusername|Notanotherusername]] ([[User talk:Notanotherusername|talk]]) 03:01, 22 December 2022 (UTC)
:I feel like the ''Journal of Clinical Psychology'' quote fulfills that purpose somewhat. Kudos to whomever found it. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.154.39|172.71.154.39]]

Some 2 year old appears to have gotten access to a computer and is posting images of themselves in place of the comic. Attempting to undo.[[Special:Contributions/172.68.174.148|172.68.174.148]] 05:28, 22 December 2022 (UTC)
== Comic image ==

Some of them are re-uploading the comic image - if there's something that you can't see in the edit history, make sure [[File:cold_complaints_2x.png|50px]] is OK. [[User:Megan|Megan]] ([[User talk:Megan|talk]]) 04:21, 22 December 2022 (UTC)
:Also check [[Special:RecentChanges]] during any string of vandalism, because e.g. [[591]], [[2222]], and [[2713]] are currently also under attack. [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 04:27, 22 December 2022 (UTC)

We're currently actively under attack by CobsonTheGemson. I don't know if any admins will be on for a while, but I've tried to revert the 2x image and that didn't work, so I've created a new copy. I don't know why it's 2x in the first place so...
[[User:Eelitee|Eelitee]] ([[User talk:Eelitee|talk]]) 05:47, 22 December 2022 (UTC)
:Your reverts work even when they don't appear to. [[User:Liv2splain|Liv2splain]] ([[User talk:Liv2splain|talk]]) 05:50, 22 December 2022 (UTC)

Alright, it looks like they aren't a bot. I think I'm going to change a little to make it clearer. Sorry for inconvenience.
[[User:Eelitee|Eelitee]] ([[User talk:Eelitee|talk]]) 05:51, 22 December 2022 (UTC)
:holy schizo [[User:CobsonTheGemson|CobsonTheGemson]] ([[User talk:CobsonTheGemson|talk]]) 05:53, 22 December 2022 (UTC)
haha knew it~~
[[User:Eelitee|Eelitee]] ([[User talk:Eelitee|talk]]) 05:55, 22 December 2022 (UTC)
I find it amusing, but also kind of sad, that there are people who put in effort just to vandalize something like ExplainXKCD [[Special:Contributions/172.71.146.108|172.71.146.108]] 05:58, 22 December 2022 (UTC)

2714: Cold Complaints

2022-12-22T04:50:56Z

172.71.146.108: Undo revision 302251 by 172.70.110.237 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2714
| date = December 21, 2022
| title = Cold Complaints
| image = cold_complaints_2x.png
| imagesize = 1px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = [[File:Niggardly.jpg]]
}}
[https://basedjak.party welcome to the sharty]
Daniel Lau is a fagg0t and his bot sucks

@( /@@ ,(@@,
@& #@@,,@@@ @
@ . (
@ @ @
@ @ %@@ @
@ /@ (@@@@@@( @
@@@@@@@* *@ @@* *
@ @ @ @ @@ @
@@ ( @@@@@( @@ @ @@ @@ @ @@ @
@@ &@@@@ @ @@@@@@@@@@@ @ @
@ @ ## @ @@@@# @
@ ,( @ (@@@/ , @
@ # @@@@ @@@@ @ @ @
@ @@@( @
@ @
@
@ @
@ @
@ @
( @ @@( @
@ @ @ .@@@ @(@@
@@& ( @@@@@@@@@@# @ *@@ @@@
/@ ( @%// @( @ /% @@@ @/ @,
@@@ ( & @@ &@@@@
@@@ @ @ @@ (@&@@
@@/@ @ @ @@@@@@@
@@( ,@@@@ @
( &# *(@ @@@@@@
@@@@ @@@@ ( @(@
*@@@@ @, @@ @ #@@@ @#
@@@@@ @@@ @@@@@@@@@ @ @ @
..@@@ @ @ @@@ @@@@@@@ @@@ @@@ @
@ @@@@@@@@ ,@@@@@@(@@ #@&@%,@ @
(@/ @@/ @( @ @@@ @@@, @ @@ ( @@ @@@@
#@@@@ @ @& @@@@@@@ @@ @@@@@@@
@@@@.@@ @@@@@ ( @ @( @
@ @@@@ ( @@@@@ @@
@@@@@@@@ @ &@@@ @@ @@
( (@@@ @@@ #@@@

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GIGANTIC WHINING JANNIE - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Basedjak.party, also known as The Party, the 'Party, the 'arty, soy spinoff, soyfag.sharty, soyshart.farty, the 'sharty, and countless other names is an imageboard primarily dedicated to basedjak posting datamining. The party was founded by Soot, announced on /qa/ as "made a shitty imageboard" "basedjaks must be in every thread". Despite the uncerimonious debut, the date was chosen in order to commemorate the 44th anniversary of the crash of Turkish Airlines Flight 452, of course.

The party has 7 boards, but the majority of its activity is on the basedjak board /soy/, which can get hundreds of posts every hour. A VPN or can be used for privacy or ban evasion since public IPs are not banned from posting, though you will still be tracked thanks to (((SOOT))) formerly being a world leader in datamining technology.

Following the Great Purchase, the reluctant webmaster Soot finally handed over Basedjak.party to Kuz.

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

>DUDE i just LOVE the hustle and bustle of the big city, it’s so DYNAMIC and makes me feel like i’m in one of my favourite TV SHOWS. you should totally come on down to my studio apartment, it’s got EXPOSED RED BRICK walls and everything, we can crack open a nice hoppy ipa or three and get crazy watching some cartoons on adult swim! and dude, dude, DUDE, we have GOTTA go down to the barcade- listen here, right, it’s a BAR where us ADULTS who do ADULTING can go DRINK. BUT!!!! it’s also an ARCADE like when we were kids, so we can play awesome VIDEO GAMES, without dumb kids bothering us. speaking of which megan and i have finally decided to tie the knot- literally -we’re both getting snipped tomorrow at the hospital, that way we can save money to spent more on ourselves and our FURBABIES. i’m fufsdgfhjin JACKED man, i’m gonna SLAM this craft beer and pop open another one!!!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cobson]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Jewish magic]]
[[Category:Doctor Ponytail]]
[[Category:Medicine]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2714: Cold Complaints

2022-12-22T03:26:38Z

172.71.146.108: Undo revision 302138 by 172.70.86.105 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 2714
| date = December 21, 2022
| title = Cold Complaints
| image = cold_complaints_2x.png
| imagesize = 1px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = [[File:Niggardly.jpg]]
}}
______________77777777777777777777__________________________
_________77777____________________777_______________________
______777____________________________777____________________
_____5____________77777777______________77__________________
___17_______________________77777777_______77_______________
___4________________________________________7u______________
__5_______________________7777________________5_____________
_n7____________________________77777777________5____________
_4_____________________________________________u____________
17______________777_______777____________777777u7___________
3______________n______________77________________77__________
4______________________________71_____u__________5__________
3___77777_________71nnnnnnnnn17__________________n7_________
4__07___7771n5nnnu0____77___7774u_777___4un665nnn5q_________
4__b1_____________8___7____7_7__8u7_7733q_7__77__134________
_3________________8__7____n477__0______46___16_7_576________
_77_______________077_7_____7__7q______417____7___6q________
__5_________________71nnn5unnnu17____7775u43443nu544________
___u7_________________________________u7____________777_____
____71__________777_____________________17____77777____7____
_____17______77____717_______u7_________71__7u_____77___1___
______o_____1______1__777____u77__7___771_77__7______7__717_
______3_____7_____7______777___________n77____7______1__75__
______3_____7____7________7__77777__777________1_____1__7647
______3_____7___7_________7__________7_________7____7___7567
_____17_1____7777________7____________1_________1__77__157__
_____u_1477____u_________1____________1_________1_7____5b7__
____117_7547____777_____7_____________7________71____33_77__
___n7___n_7571_____77___n_____________7_____777__777147_____
__n7______n1757u1_____7717_________77777777____7134177______
77_______u7___4_u571777_____77777______77_1711455771________

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GIGANTIC WHINING JANNIE - Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

When people are ill, they will often complain about the symptoms that they're suffering from. A common sterotype is that men will revert to infantile behavior when miserably sick. This can be annoying to the people around them, but they typically tolerate such behavior out of compassion. The joke in this comic is that [[Cobson]] spoke to a medical professional via {{w|telemedicine}}, when he was explicitly advised to act like this, since his condition has no effective medical treatment. He takes the advice to, "act like you're the first person ever to have a cold," literally, stating it specifically when his companion asks about it.

This comic was published during a "thrembodemic" in the U.S., involving {{w|COVID-19}}, {{w|influenza}}, and {{w|respiratory syncytial virus}} (RSV, a frequent cause of common colds) infections, the latter of which have no cure other than to wait them out with plenty of rest and fluids. It expounds on the finding that, "talking about troublesome events, including events with which one is dissatisfied, may ... result in improved physiological health."[http://people.uncw.edu/hakanr/documents/whining.pdf]

The title text describes a similar study, but where the {{w|institutional review board}} (IRB) halted the study because the participants were too annoying. This is ironic since they would be expected to whine annoyingly. IRBs are expected to review the ethics of a research project. Whining is not usually considered dangerous,{{citation needed}} but in this case it was presumably so intolerable that they had to put a stop to it.

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

:[Hairy sitting on a chair in front of a computer screen. There is an image of Ponytail on the screen speaking.]
:Ponytail: Well, it's not COVID or flu. Probably one of the other viruses.
:Hairy: Ughh

:[A zoomed out version of the image, Ponytail cannot be seen]
:Ponytail: There's not much you can do to speed up recovery other than rest, hydrate, and whine and complain and be a gigantic baby about it.

:[Same as previous panel]
:Hairy: Whine and complain?
:Ponytail: Yeah. You need to act like you're the first person ever to have a cold.

:[Hairy lying on a couch wrapped in a blanket, with a lot of paper tissues around]
:Off-screen voice: Are you '''''sure''''' that's what she said?
:Hairy: Unbelievable. Here I am, the only person ever to feel bad, and you're '''''doubting''''' me?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Doctor Ponytail]]
[[Category:Medicine]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]

2712: Gravity

2022-12-17T07:40:56Z

172.71.146.108: /* Spoiler Alert! */

{{comic
| number = 2712
| date = December 16, 2022
| title = Gravity
| image = gravity_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x700px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's a long way down.
}}

*To experience the interactivity, visit the [http://xkcd.com/2712/ original comic].
==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by HOTBLACK DESIADO’S TAX RETURNS - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
In this interactive comic, the viewer pilots a small spaceship throughout a vast area in space. The viewer is capable of exploring various bodies and planets within the play area, many containing easter eggs alluding to What If? 2 and previous xkcd comics. The flight mechanics are largely, if not entirely Newtonian, so the player vessel is capable of using the gravity of planets to alter its trajectory or even enter orbit. The player's spaceship has several indicator circles around it which appear when a gravitational body comes into range, showing the direction towards their center of gravity.

Throughout the play area are coins that change your rocket ship into different rockets and even non-space based vehicles, including humans.

The comic was released as a promotion for Randall's new book [https://xkcd.com/what-if-2/ What If? 2], which was released in September and is available for purchase. Many of the planets contain references to various What If? articles.

The comic is similar to [http://xkcd.com/1608/hoverboard hoverboard], which celebrated Thing Explainer instead.

===Spoiler Alert!===

The following is an incomplete table of features:

{|class="wikitable sortable"
!
!
!
! colspan="4"|References
!
|-
! Description
! Transcript
! Tiles (X, Y)
! What If
! XKCD
! Movies
! Other
! Explanation
|-
|'''Earth'''
|
|(14360, 14360)
|
|
|
|
|The starting planet. The player begins on the launch pad in a landed position.
|-
|'''Europa'''
|
|(13180, -2540)
|
|
|
|
|Europa, one of Saturn's many moons (in real life). A broken, icy crust has a single path into its core.
|-
|Europa's crust
|"It's so unfair we don't get to compete in EuroVision."
"The region of the solar system where liquid water can exist on the surface is the habitable zone, and the region where it can exist beneath the surface of moons is the Eurozone."

"WHIRRRR"
|
|Y
|
|
|
|Europa's crust, with a single entrance into the core demarcated by an octopus leaving a hole.
Cueball states that Europa is in the Eurozone, a pun on the ''other'' Eurozone, with liquid underneath its surface.

A roomba whirs across the icy crust.

Cueball has a hairdryer and is melting the surface of the crust. A direct reference to [https://what-if.xkcd.com/35/ What If's Hairdryer].
|-
|Europa's core
|
|
|
|
|
|
|A watery ocean with octopi looking out into the great unknown using telescopes. This is a reference to octopi's intelligence here on earth! There's also a secret path leading to a book club, through the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
|-
|'''B-612'''
|"Asteroid deflection mission to earth. The package is delivered. Commencing planetary threat neutralization."
|(2610,3700)
|
|Y
|
|
|A reference to [https://xkcd.com/618/ Asteroid]. The little prince is having his asteroid blown up as it was heading towards Earth, apparently.
|-
|'''Dog park planet'''
|
|(1240, 11230)
|
|
|
|
|A planet with a dog park. Covered in dogs, along with dog walkers and some fences. There's a hole being dug by two dogs and a dog bone empty space in the center.
|-
|'''What If? 2 scenario planet'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''The Sun'''
|
|(-14950, 12080)
|
|
|
|
|Difficult to escape from if you hit the core.
|-
|Sun's core
|
|
|Y
|
|
|
|Difficult to escape from. Can be escaped by rotating around the sun until an escape-like velocity could be reached.
|-
|'''Soupiter'''
|
|(-800, -9040)
|Y
|
|
|
|A planet made of soup, with a core. As commented by Cueball, noodle soup. Has several small versions of other planets floating around it.
|-
|'''Earth without Japan'''
|
|(-7680, -5850)
|Y
|
|
|
|Earth, except it's missing japan.
|-
|'''Just Japan'''
|
|
|Y
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''A blob labeled "Pigeons"'''
|
|(-9020, -2490)
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Starship Enterprise'''
|
|
|
|
|Y
|
|Star Trek reference
|-
|'''Dinosaur planet'''
|
|
|
|
|Y
|
|An homage to [https://www.qwantz.com/ Dinosaur Comics], a webcomic Randall has mentioned several times before. All the dinosaurs on the planet are black-and-white versions of the clip art dinosaurs in that comic. Also references the Jurassic Park movies, in which the long grass depicted is a plot point in later films.
|-
|'''What If? 1 scenario planet'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Cat blocking traffic flowing through portals'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|'''Edge of the Universe'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|It's actually just a planet labeled "edge of the universe", since there's no real edge.
|-
|'''A tree larger than the planet it's growing on'''
|
|
|
|Y
|
|
|May be a reference to [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2:_Petit_Trees_(sketch) Petit Trees]. More probably, a reference to ''The Little Prince'', a french children's novel about a traveller from a distant asteroid. In the novel, baobab trees are a serious threat to the Prince's home asteroid, as they are so large that their roots would engulf the asteroid entirely. Randall has alluded to The Little Prince numerous times before, especially in what-if articles.
|-
|'''Milliways'''
|
|
|
|
|Y
|
|Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy reference
|-
|'''The Great Attractor'''
|
|
|
|Y
|
|
|
|-
|'''Present'''
|
|(22820,-18920)
|
|Y
|
|
|The XKCD cast react to giving each other What if 2? as a present.
|-
|'''Black hole cluster'''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|A cluster of black holes with extremely high gravitational strength, set to the maximum of 2048. Not particularly easy to land on with multiple conflicting gravitational fields, but once landed on, rather difficult to escape.
|-
|'''Remnant'''
|"All right, that's close enough"
"Oh no"

"So don't delay, act now, supplies are running out"

"In 5 billion years, the Sun will run out of fuel and suffer gigennial burnout."

"The immense gravity of the sun's remnant means that this is the tallest possible skyscraper."
|(19620, 3800)
|
|
|
|
|A stellar remnant, with high gravity (making it difficult to escape, although it's possible to achieve escape velocity by flying sideways). Has various small landmarks, including a "skyscraper" and suspension bridge. There are bombs being dropped from above the planet, with one that seems to be sledding on the planet.
|}

==Data Dump==

extracted from a JSON blob near the bottom of <code>https://xkcd.com/2712/comic.js</code>.
I believe this to be all the data but i'm not sure. this should probably be on a different page but i'll leave that up to the smart people
<pre style="height:10em;overflow-y:scroll;">
{
"items": {
"coin-cannonball": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship-tintin",
"image": "coin",
"loc": [
359,
-815
],
"size": [
40,
40
]
},
"coin-figure": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship-figure",
"image": "figure",
"loc": [
-15050,
-2984
],
"size": [
40,
40
]
},
"coin-regular": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship2",
"image": "regular",
"loc": [
-29976,
-8077
],
"size": [
40,
40
]
},
"coin-soccerball": {
"consumable": "yes",
"effect": "transformship|ship-soccer",
"image": "soccerball",
"loc": [
15293,
11140
],
"size": [
40,
40
]
}
},
"locations": {
"b612": {
"gravity": 60,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
2610,
3700
],
"radius": 82,
"width": 2048
},
"dogplanet": {
"gravity": 300,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
1240,
11230
],
"radius": 337,
"width": 2048
},
"earth": {
"gravity": 21000,
"height": 16384,
"loc": [
14360,
14360
],
"radius": 3275,
"width": 16384
},
"enterprise": {
"gravity": 200,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
1010,
30440
],
"radius": 160,
"width": 2048
},
"europa": {
"gravity": 5000,
"height": 8192,
"loc": [
13180,
-2540
],
"radius": 1625,
"width": 8192
},
"goodhart": {
"gravity": 5000,
"height": 8192,
"loc": [
-13300,
-3260
],
"radius": 1625,
"width": 8192
},
"greatattractor": {
"gravity": 450000,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
-297000,
-125000
],
"radius": 800,
"width": 4096
},
"japanmoon": {
"gravity": 50,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-5930,
-5800
],
"radius": 67,
"width": 2048
},
"maw1": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-31576,
-9077
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw10": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29516,
-6321
],
"radius": 15,
"width": 2048
},
"maw11": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29381,
-6248
],
"radius": 12,
"width": 2048
},
"maw12": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-26832,
-5928
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw13": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-31743,
-4724
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw14": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-26071,
-10824
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw2": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-30211,
-8831
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw3": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-27975,
-8266
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw4": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29546,
-7971
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw5": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29791,
-7631
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw6": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29328,
-7575
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw7": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29700,
-7426
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw8": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-29165,
-7160
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"maw9": {
"gravity": 2000,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-30772,
-6910
],
"radius": 18,
"width": 2048
},
"nojapan": {
"gravity": 80,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-7680,
-5850
],
"radius": 200,
"width": 2048
},
"origin": {
"gravity": 1500,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
0,
0
],
"radius": 630,
"width": 4096
},
"outside": {
"gravity": 200,
"height": 16384,
"loc": [
0,
-14500
],
"radius": 125,
"width": 16384
},
"peeler": {
"gravity": 50,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-9270,
620
],
"radius": 40,
"width": 2048
},
"pigeons": {
"gravity": 100,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
-9020,
-2490
],
"radius": 160,
"width": 2048
},
"present": {
"gravity": 300,
"height": 2048,
"loc": [
22820,
-18920
],
"radius": 195,
"width": 2048
},
"qwantz": {
"gravity": 1400,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
11060,
24870
],
"radius": 850,
"width": 4096
},
"remnant": {
"gravity": 9000,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
19620,
3800
],
"radius": 537,
"width": 4096
},
"roads": {
"gravity": 40,
"height": 16384,
"loc": [
13240,
-11510
],
"radius": 30,
"width": 16384
},
"soupiter": {
"gravity": 1300,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
-8000,
-9040
],
"radius": 812,
"width": 4096
},
"steerswoman": {
"gravity": 600,
"height": 4096,
"loc": [
-35070,
-2500
],
"radius": 520,
"width": 4096
},
"sun": {
"gravity": 9000,
"height": 16384,
"loc": [
-14950,
12080
],
"radius": 540,
"width": 16384
}
},
"player": {
"animation": "player.png",
"animcount": 4,
"startloc": [
0,
750
],
"targetheight": 59
},
"tile_height": 1024,
"tile_source": "tile",
"tile_width": 1024
}

</pre>

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

Welcome!

To celebrate the world of what if? 2, here is your very own planet to explore!

Give someone the science question-and-answer book what if? 2 for Christmas:
xkcd.com/whatif2

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Book promotion]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]