explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2282: Coronavirus Worries

2020-03-18T21:36:42Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2282
| date = March 18, 2020
| title = Coronavirus Worries
| image = coronavirus_worries.png
| titletext = Offscreen, bottom left: Whether the custom :coronavirus: Slack react emoji you just added was public domain or whether you should have put a Creative Commons credit somewhere
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WORRIED CORONAVIRUS (CC BY). Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is the eighth comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] (with at least eight in a row) about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus pandemic|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}.

[[Randall]] has created a {{w|scatter plot}} graph showing "more common" worries versus the "more healthy" worries. Presumably, "more healthy" refers to more important things to worry about concerning the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. From this graph, Randall notes that the "more healthy" concerns are not necessarily the ones that are the most common.

On the left side of the graph, signifying "less common" worries/concerns are concerns relating to the drinking of water, and resting. Drinking water (staying hydrated) and getting enough sleep each night are important ways to fight off disease. However, not drinking water, and not sleeping are not likely to cause coronavirus, though they could put one at a greater risk of becoming ill.

In the middle of the graph are "medium common" worries/concerns. The "most healthy" or vital concerns are being able to stay home and the ability for friends and family to stay home. Across much of the world, public gatherings have been discouraged, including requiring many workers to {{w|telecommute}}. This is following the principle of {{w|social distancing}}, to slow the spread of COVID-19. These are considered very healthy concerns to be having.

Below these two concerns is concerns about the government response, specifically if the government is "reacting wrong". Many world governments have been criticized for inadequate responses to the pandemic. Even less important than the government response is reacting to {{w|Internet trolls}} or to people who having different opinions to you, in comments on a news story.

The "most common" concerns are "whether you are getting enough work" done and "whether you have the virus...". Both of these concerns are considered of lesser importance than some of the others.

Telecommuting (working from home) may be less productive than working at the normal office, so Randall or others may be concerned about their work productivity. The most common concern according to Randall is "whether you have the virus". Though this is an important worry / concern, simply coughing a few times or "touching a doorknob" are unlikely reasons to suspect having COVID-19. Most cases of COVID-19 do include a cough, but also include other symptoms, including fever and difficulty breathing.

The title text lists an uncommon, unimportant concern: the copyright status of a "coronavirus emoji" on {{w|Slack (software)|Slack}} (a business instant messaging software). The {{w|Creative Commons license}} is a license allowing for fair use of published work (and presumably emojis) that are otherwise copyrighted. Something that is in {{w|public domain}} has no copyright protection on it, and can be used freely. Presumably, this is a concern that only Randall has, making it uncommon. It is also relatively unimportant in the greater scheme of the COVID-19 pandemic.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A scatter-plot, with 8 labeled dots. Both axis are labeled but neither has an arrow at its end. The dots are scattered from left to right and top to bottom. Below all labels are given, first for the axis, and then for each dot in approximately normal reading order, left to right, top to bottom:]
:Y-axis: More healthy
:X-axis: More common

:[Top left]: Whether you're remembering to drink water and rest
:[Very bottom, near left]: Whether forgetting to drink water or rest will make you get the coronavirus
:[Very top, near right]: Whether you're able to stay home
:[Top leaning, right]: Whether your friends and family are able to stay home
:[Middle, leaning right]: Whether your government is reacting wrong
:[Very bottom center]: Whether random people in a news story are reacting wrong
:[Toward bottom right]: Whether you're getting enough work done
:[Very bottom right]: Whether you have the virus because you just coughed and last week you touched a doorknob

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]

2282: Coronavirus Worries

2020-03-18T21:34:45Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2282
| date = March 18, 2020
| title = Coronavirus Worries
| image = coronavirus_worries.png
| titletext = Offscreen, bottom left: Whether the custom :coronavirus: Slack react emoji you just added was public domain or whether you should have put a Creative Commons credit somewhere
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WORRIED CORONAVIRUS (CC BY). Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is the eighth comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] (with at least eight in a row) about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus pandemic|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}.

[[Randall]] has created a {{w|scatter plot}} graph showing "more common" worries versus the "more healthy" worries. Presumably, "more healthy" refers to more important things to worry about concerning the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. From this graph, Randall notes that the "more healthy" concerns are not necessarily the ones that are the most common.

On the left side of the graph, signifying "less common" worries/concerns are concerns relating to the drinking of water, and resting. Drinking water (staying hydrated) and getting enough sleep each night are important ways to fight off disease. However, not drinking water, and not sleeping are not likely to cause coronavirus, though they could put one at a greater risk of becoming ill.

In the middle of the graph are "medium common" worries/concerns. The "most healthy" or vital concerns are being able to stay home and the ability for friends and family to stay home. Across much of the world, public gatherings have been discouraged, including requiring many workers to {{w|telecommute}}. This is following the principle of {{w|social distancing}}, to slow the spread of COVID-19. These are considered very healthy concerns to be having.

Below these two concerns is concerns about the government response, specifically if the government is "reacting wrong". Many world governments have been criticized for inadequate responses to the pandemic. Even less important than the government response is reacting to {{w|Internet trolls}} or to people who having different opinions to you, in comments on a news story.

The "most common" concerns are "whether you are getting enough work" done and "whether you have the virus...". Both of these concerns are considered of lesser importance than others.

Telecommuting (working from home) may be less productive than working at the normal office, so Randall or others may be concerned about their work productivity. The most common concern according to Randall is "whether you have the virus". Though this is an important worry / concern, simply coughing a few times or "touching a doorknob" are unlikely reasons to suspect having COVID-19. Most cases of COVID-19 do include a cough, but also include other symptoms, including fever and difficulty breathing.

The title text lists an uncommon, unimportant concern: the copyright status of a "coronavirus emoji" on {{w|Slack (software)|Slack}} (a business instant messaging software). The {{w|Creative Commons license}} is a license allowing for fair use of published work (and presumably emojis) that are otherwise copyrighted. Something that is in {{w|public domain}} has no copyright protection on it, and can be used freely. Presumably, this is a concern that only Randall has, making it uncommon. It is also relatively unimportant in the greater scheme of the COVID-19 pandemic.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A scatter-plot, with 8 labeled dots. Both axis are labeled but neither has an arrow at its end. The dots are scattered from left to right and top to bottom. Below all labels are given, first for the axis, and then for each dot in approximately normal reading order, left to right, top to bottom:]
:Y-axis: More healthy
:X-axis: More common

:[Top left]: Whether you're remembering to drink water and rest
:[Very bottom, near left]: Whether forgetting to drink water or rest will make you get the coronavirus
:[Very top, near right]: Whether you're able to stay home
:[Top leaning, right]: Whether your friends and family are able to stay home
:[Middle, leaning right]: Whether your government is reacting wrong
:[Very bottom center]: Whether random people in a news story are reacting wrong
:[Toward bottom right]: Whether you're getting enough work done
:[Very bottom right]: Whether you have the virus because you just coughed and last week you touched a doorknob

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]

2282: Coronavirus Worries

2020-03-18T21:33:18Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ slack

{{comic
| number = 2282
| date = March 18, 2020
| title = Coronavirus Worries
| image = coronavirus_worries.png
| titletext = Offscreen, bottom left: Whether the custom :coronavirus: Slack react emoji you just added was public domain or whether you should have put a Creative Commons credit somewhere
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WORRIED CORONAVIRUS (CC BY). Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is the eighth comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] (with at least eight in a row) about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus pandemic|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}.

[[Randall]] has created a {{w|scatter plot}} graph showing the "more common" worries versus the "more healthy" worries. Presumably, "more healthy" refers to "better" or more important things to worry about concerning the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. From this graph, Randall notes that the "more healthy" concerns are not necessarily the ones that are the most common.

On the left side of the graph, signifying "less common" worries/concerns are concerns relating to the drinking of water, and resting. Drinking water (staying hydrated) and getting enough sleep each night are important ways to fight off disease. However, not drinking water, and not sleeping are not likely to cause coronavirus, though they could put one at a greater risk of becoming ill.

In the middle of the graph are "medium common" worries/concerns. The "most healthy" or vital concerns are being able to stay home and the ability for friends and family to stay home. Across much of the world, public gatherings have been discouraged, including requiring many workers to {{w|telecommute}}. This is following the principle of {{w|social distancing}}, to slow the spread of COVID-19. These are considered very healthy concerns to be having.

Below these two concerns is concerns about the government response, specifically if the government is "reacting wrong". Many world governments have been criticized for inadequate responses to the pandemic. Even less important than the government response is reacting to {{w|Internet trolls}} or to people who having different opinions to you, in comments on a news story.

The "most common" concerns are "whether you are getting enough work" done and "whether you have the virus...". Both of these concerns are considered of lesser importance than others.

Telecommuting (working from home) may be less productive than working at the normal office, so Randall or others may be concerned about their work productivity. The most common concern according to Randall is "whether you have the virus". Though this is an important worry / concern, simply coughing a few times or "touching a doorknob" are unlikely reasons to suspect having COVID-19. Most cases of COVID-19 do include a cough, but also include other symptoms, including fever and difficulty breathing.

The title text lists an uncommon, unimportant concern: the copyright status of a "coronavirus emoji" on {{w|Slack (software)|Slack}} (a business instant messaging software). The {{w|Creative Commons license}} is a license allowing for fair use of published work (and presumably emojis) that are otherwise copyrighted. Something that is in {{w|public domain}} has no copyright protection on it, and can be used freely. Presumably, this is a concern that only Randall has, making it uncommon. It is also relatively unimportant in the greater scheme of the COVID-19 pandemic.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A scatter-plot, with 8 labeled dots. Both axis are labeled but neither has an arrow at its end. The dots are scattered from left to right and top to bottom. Below all labels are given, first for the axis, and then for each dot in approximately normal reading order, left to right, top to bottom:]
:Y-axis: More healthy
:X-axis: More common

:[Top left]: Whether you're remembering to drink water and rest
:[Very bottom, near left]: Whether forgetting to drink water or rest will make you get the coronavirus
:[Very top, near right]: Whether you're able to stay home
:[Top leaning, right]: Whether your friends and family are able to stay home
:[Middle, leaning right]: Whether your government is reacting wrong
:[Very bottom center]: Whether random people in a news story are reacting wrong
:[Toward bottom right]: Whether you're getting enough work done
:[Very bottom right]: Whether you have the virus because you just coughed and last week you touched a doorknob

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]

2282: Coronavirus Worries

2020-03-18T21:31:44Z

173.245.48.105: /* Transcript */ rearrange, i would read this in columns, left to right, and top to bottom

{{comic
| number = 2282
| date = March 18, 2020
| title = Coronavirus Worries
| image = coronavirus_worries.png
| titletext = Offscreen, bottom left: Whether the custom :coronavirus: Slack react emoji you just added was public domain or whether you should have put a Creative Commons credit somewhere
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WORRIED CORONAVIRUS (CC BY). Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is the eighth comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] (with at least eight in a row) about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus pandemic|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}.

[[Randall]] has created a {{w|scatter plot}} graph showing the "more common" worries versus the "more healthy" worries. Presumably, "more healthy" refers to "better" or more important things to worry about concerning the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. From this graph, Randall notes that the "more healthy" concerns are not necessarily the ones that are the most common.

On the left side of the graph, signifying "less common" worries/concerns are concerns relating to the drinking of water, and resting. Drinking water (staying hydrated) and getting enough sleep each night are important ways to fight off disease. However, not drinking water, and not sleeping are not likely to cause coronavirus, though they could put one at a greater risk of becoming ill.

In the middle of the graph are "medium common" worries/concerns. The "most healthy" or vital concerns are being able to stay home and the ability for friends and family to stay home. Across much of the world, public gatherings have been discouraged, including requiring many workers to {{w|telecommute}}. This is following the principle of {{w|social distancing}}, to slow the spread of COVID-19. These are considered very healthy concerns to be having.

Below these two concerns is concerns about the government response, specifically if the government is "reacting wrong". Many world governments have been criticized for inadequate responses to the pandemic. Even less important than the government response is reacting to {{w|Internet trolls}} or to people who having different opinions to you, in comments on a news story.

The "most common" concerns are "whether you are getting enough work" done and "whether you have the virus...". Both of these concerns are considered of lesser importance than others.

Telecommuting (working from home) may be less productive than working at the normal office, so Randall or others may be concerned about their work productivity. The most common concern according to Randall is "whether you have the virus". Though this is an important worry / concern, simply coughing a few times or "touching a doorknob" are unlikely reasons to suspect having COVID-19. Most cases of COVID-19 do include a cough, but also include other symptoms, including fever and difficulty breathing.

The title text lists an uncommon, unimportant concern: the copyright status of a "coronavirus emoji". The {{w|Creative Commons license}} is a license allowing for fair use of published work (and presumably emojis) that are otherwise copyrighted. Something that is in {{w|public domain}} has no copyright protection on it, and can be used freely. Presumably, this is a concern that only Randall has, making it uncommon. It is also relatively unimportant in the greater scheme of the COVID-19 pandemic.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A scatter-plot, with 8 labeled dots. Both axis are labeled but neither has an arrow at its end. The dots are scattered from left to right and top to bottom. Below all labels are given, first for the axis, and then for each dot in approximately normal reading order, left to right, top to bottom:]
:Y-axis: More healthy
:X-axis: More common

:[Top left]: Whether you're remembering to drink water and rest
:[Very bottom, near left]: Whether forgetting to drink water or rest will make you get the coronavirus
:[Very top, near right]: Whether you're able to stay home
:[Top leaning, right]: Whether your friends and family are able to stay home
:[Middle, leaning right]: Whether your government is reacting wrong
:[Very bottom center]: Whether random people in a news story are reacting wrong
:[Toward bottom right]: Whether you're getting enough work done
:[Very bottom right]: Whether you have the virus because you just coughed and last week you touched a doorknob

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]

2282: Coronavirus Worries

2020-03-18T21:29:30Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ explanation

{{comic
| number = 2282
| date = March 18, 2020
| title = Coronavirus Worries
| image = coronavirus_worries.png
| titletext = Offscreen, bottom left: Whether the custom :coronavirus: Slack react emoji you just added was public domain or whether you should have put a Creative Commons credit somewhere
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a WORRIED CORONAVIRUS (CC BY). Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is the eighth comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] (with at least eight in a row) about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus pandemic|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}.

[[Randall]] has created a {{w|scatter plot}} graph showing the "more common" worries versus the "more healthy" worries. Presumably, "more healthy" refers to "better" or more important things to worry about concerning the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. From this graph, Randall notes that the "more healthy" concerns are not necessarily the ones that are the most common.

On the left side of the graph, signifying "less common" worries/concerns are concerns relating to the drinking of water, and resting. Drinking water (staying hydrated) and getting enough sleep each night are important ways to fight off disease. However, not drinking water, and not sleeping are not likely to cause coronavirus, though they could put one at a greater risk of becoming ill.

In the middle of the graph are "medium common" worries/concerns. The "most healthy" or vital concerns are being able to stay home and the ability for friends and family to stay home. Across much of the world, public gatherings have been discouraged, including requiring many workers to {{w|telecommute}}. This is following the principle of {{w|social distancing}}, to slow the spread of COVID-19. These are considered very healthy concerns to be having.

Below these two concerns is concerns about the government response, specifically if the government is "reacting wrong". Many world governments have been criticized for inadequate responses to the pandemic. Even less important than the government response is reacting to {{w|Internet trolls}} or to people who having different opinions to you, in comments on a news story.

The "most common" concerns are "whether you are getting enough work" done and "whether you have the virus...". Both of these concerns are considered of lesser importance than others.

Telecommuting (working from home) may be less productive than working at the normal office, so Randall or others may be concerned about their work productivity. The most common concern according to Randall is "whether you have the virus". Though this is an important worry / concern, simply coughing a few times or "touching a doorknob" are unlikely reasons to suspect having COVID-19. Most cases of COVID-19 do include a cough, but also include other symptoms, including fever and difficulty breathing.

The title text lists an uncommon, unimportant concern: the copyright status of a "coronavirus emoji". The {{w|Creative Commons license}} is a license allowing for fair use of published work (and presumably emojis) that are otherwise copyrighted. Something that is in {{w|public domain}} has no copyright protection on it, and can be used freely. Presumably, this is a concern that only Randall has, making it uncommon. It is also relatively unimportant in the greater scheme of the COVID-19 pandemic.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A scatter-plot, with 8 labeled dots. Both axis are labeled but neither has an arrow at its end. The dots are scattered from left to right and top to bottom. Below all labels are given, first for the axis, and then for each dot in approximately normal reading order, left to right top to bottom, but in the order it would make sense to read them:]
:Y-axis: More healthy
:X-axis: More common

:[Top left]: Whether you're remembering to drink water and rest
:[Very top, near right]: Whether you're able to stay home
:[Top leaning, right]: Whether your friends and family are able to stay home
:[Very bottom, near left]: Whether forgetting to drink water or rest will make you get the coronavirus
:[Middle, leaning right]: Whether your government is reacting wrong
:[Toward bottom right]: Whether you're getting enough work done
:[Very bottom center]: Whether random people in a news story are reacting wrong
:[Very bottom right]: Whether you have the virus because you just coughed and last week you touched a doorknob

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Scatter plots]]

2280: 2010 and 2020

2020-03-13T23:31:56Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ coronavirus series; more changes

{{comic
| number = 2280
| date = March 13, 2020
| title = 2010 and 2020
| image = 2010_and_2020.png
| titletext = 2030: "I just bought a house for one bitcoin. No, it's the equivalent of a dollar. Houses are often transferred for a nominal fee because the buyer is taking responsibility for containing the holo-banshees in the attic."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SARS-CoV-2 VIRUS. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is the sixth comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] (with at least six in a row) about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}.

[[White Hat]], who lives in 2010, and [[Cueball]], who lives in 2020, are in contact with each other via some kind of time travel. White Hat wants to learn about life in 2020 and is particularly interested in {{w|bitcoin}}, a decentralized {{w|cryptocurrency}} which was released in 2009, and whether it had become an acceptable currency. Cueball answers that bitcoin still exists, and that he just bought a bottle of {{w|hand sanitizer}} for the price of one bitcoin. White Hat probably assumes that bitcoin is a widely accepted currency worth a few dollars, and thinks that the situation is "normal". (In April 2010, one bitcoin was worth about 14 cents.)

At the time of this comic, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, commonly known as "the coronavirus", is spreading around the world, causing thousands of people to die and billions to panic. This increased the demand for hygiene products, including hand sanitizers, and therefore their price has also increased. One bitcoin was worth about $5,400 on the day this strip was published, not a few dollars. Therefore, buying a hand sanitizer for one bitcoin is not as normal as White Hat assumes.

The price of hand sanitizer has not reached the price of a bitcoin (yet), although some people on sites such as {{w|Amazon.com}} are attempting to sell it for ludicrous amounts and there are attempts by Amazon, eBay, and other selling platforms, as well as potential legislation, aimed at curtailing such {{w|price gouging}}.

The title text claims that, in 2030, bitcoin will again be worth about one dollar, but houses will also be worth only one dollar due to the difficulty inherent in containing "holo-banshees". What a holo-banshee is is not explained, but one can guess as to what it might mean. "Holo" is generally short for {{w|hologram}} and typically denotes some kind of 3D looking digital visual form, and a "{{w|banshee}}" is a mythological wailing creature or spirit. So even if not a physical object, constant shrieking would be undesirable.

Of course, assuming holo-banshees are present in every house, this would make no sense.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[White Hat and Cueball are walking to the right of the panel. There is a gray outline around Cueball, indicating he is from the future]
:White Hat: What are things like ten years from now in 2020?
:White Hat: We have this new "bitcoin" thing -- does it ever catch on and become normal?

:[A frameless panel, with White Hat and Cueball still walking to the right.]
:Cueball: It's still around. I just bought a bottle of hand sanitizer for one bitcoin.

:[A regular panel, with them continuing to walk]
:White Hat: Cool, that sounds pretty normal.
:Cueball: Well, here's the thing ...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category: Time travel]]

2275: Coronavirus Name

2020-03-04T05:09:57Z

173.245.48.105: Ce

{{comic
| number = 2275
| date = March 2, 2020
| title = Coronavirus Name
| image = coronavirus_name.png
| titletext = It's important to keep the spider from touching your face.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MUTANT T. ANNEXA WOLF SPIDER. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This is [[Randall|Randall's]] take on the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak}}. As of the publication date (March 3, 2020), the outbreak has infected more than 90,000 people, and has caused more than 3000 deaths.

The disease caused by the virus was officially named {{w|Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19}} on 11 February 2020, as "{{w|coronavirus}}" is a category of viruses named for their appearance, which is similar to a halo or crown, and includes the common cold. However, the virus itself is not called COVID-19, but is called {{w|severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2}} (SARS-CoV-2). So calling the virus or disease "coronavirus" is like calling a specific strain of flu ''The Influenza virus''. However, with extensive media coverage, the name "Coronavirus" has become associated with COVID-19, making it difficult to discuss other types of coronavirus later on.

COVID-19 in China has a 20% hospitalization rate and a 2% death rate by current estimates, compared to a [https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-myths.html typical rate of around 0.1% for the flu in the US].

In this comic, researchers [[Ponytail]], [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] are discussing that it is by now too late to try calling the disease its official name COVID-19, as the name coronavirus has stuck. [[Cueball]] reacts with dismay, since there are many other types of coronaviruses.

The comic becomes absurd when Ponytail compares the coronavirus naming to a giant "car eating spider" living on top of the skyscrapers of the town, which is also just called "The Spider" even though it is technically a mutated ''{{w|Tigrosa annexa}}'' {{w|wolf spider}}. Everyone knows what you mean when you say "Coronavirus", as they do when you mention "The Spider".

[[Megan]] then asks if they should not also do something about the spider, but Ponytail and Cueball agree that they can only tackle one problem at a time, and coronavirus takes up all their time. Only thing is that Ponytail now takes another commute, probably to avoid getting her car eaten.

On a more serious note, the comic may also reference the fact that that there are many other problems in the world (both spider and non-spider related) that kill many more people and cause more problems. So this draws a humorous comparison to the fact that we seem to have forgotten about all the wars, etc and focus just on the virus.

The title text references the health advice that people avoid touching their face with unwashed hands, in order to prevent infections that they picked up by touching things from entering their mucous membranes. (It's a lot easier for an infection to enter the body through the inside of your nose than your hands.) It is likewise quite important to keep the giant spider from touching your face, but for the dissimilar reason that it might bite and eat you.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is carrying a box with biohazard symbols on it towards a desk where Ponytail (wearing safety glasses) is working on a laptop, across from Cueball (also wearing safety glasses) who is putting a test tube into a centrifuge. There's also a flask on the desk.]
:Ponytail: Feels like we missed the window for the "COVID-19" renaming. "Coronavirus" is just too catchy.
:Cueball: But it's not specific! There are a lot of coronaviruses.

:[In a frameless panel, Ponytail (still wearing safety glasses) is pointing at a screen or picture showing a modern city skyline with a large spider crawling across three of the high-rise buildings.]
:Ponytail: I think it's fine. It's like, you know the giant spider downtown that sits on the buildings and sometimes eats cars? I think ''technically'' it's a mutant ''T. annexa'' wolf spider, but everyone is just calling it "the spider" and we all know what they mean.

:[Back to the setting from the first panel. Megan is standing and Ponytail had turned towards her and Cueball has stepped back from the machine.]
:Megan: I've been meaning to ask, what's '''''with''''' that spider? Should we...do something?
:Ponytail: Honestly I've been too busy with the virus stuff to look into it-I just changed my commute to avoid Main St.
:Cueball: Yeah, that's fair. One thing at a time.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Spiders]]

492: Scrabble

2018-11-14T23:49:43Z

173.245.48.105: Undo revision 165948 by 162.158.79.65 (talk) only one "s"

{{comic
| number = 492
| date = October 22, 2008
| title = Scrabble
| image = scrabble.png
| titletext = A veteran Scrabble player will spot the "OSTRICH" option.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic depicts a game of {{w|Scrabble}}, a popular board game where the goal is to form words with the letters in your hand. The joke here is that the obvious option here is the word "{{w|clitoris}}", which is an inappropriate word for a family Scrabble game, but gives a 50-point bonus for using all seven tiles. The title text points out that the letters in the hand can also form the word "OSTRICH", which is family friendly, but much lower scoring and not as obvious.

As the H appears to be on the center star square, the narrator will score 63 points if he plays "CLITORIS" (however he uses the two Is, as three of the tiles will fall on double letter scores), and 13 points if he plays "OSTRICH". The highest-scoring play is to hook the C and play "HIC" and "LICTORS", scoring 71 points.

==Transcript==
:[A first-person view of a family scrabble game at a table. The two letters on the board are 'HI' and the letters in your hand are 'CLTORIS.']
:This always happens to me in family Scrabble games.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Language]]

2069: Wishlist

2018-11-07T19:26:34Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ add RBG sketches on SNL; copyedit

{{comic
| number = 2069
| date = November 7, 2018
| title = Wishlist
| image = wishlist.png
| titletext = Disappointed that they caved to fan pressure and went with Ruth Bader Ginsburg over Elena Kagan.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please only mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
''{{w|Super Smash Brothers}}'' (titled as ''Super Smash Bros.'') is a crossover fighting game series published by Nintendo, primarily featuring Nintendo characters. As of publish date, there are 77 playable characters across the 5 games in the series. Starting with the third game, ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'', characters from third-party franchises (non-Nintendo) have been made available, though most of them had at least made major appearances on a Nintendo system at some point.

Fans have suggested new characters to add, and few of these suggestions have been implemented. The comic lists 16 "characters" that Randall wishes were made available in ''Super Smash Bros.'', ranging from plausible playable characters, to the absurd.

; Mario / Luigi hybrid
: {{w|Mario}} and {{w|Luigi}} are characters in the {{w|Super Mario}} series, one of Nintendo's flagship franchises. They are both playable characters in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series. A hybrid of these two characters would be quite interesting, though one could argue that {{w|Dr. Mario}} is a hybrid of these two in terms of moveset.

; The SkiFree monster
: {{w|SkiFree}} is a computer game for Windows released in 1991. The player controls a skier trying to avoid obstacles. After the end of a full run, a monster (possibly the Abominable Snowman) appears, and tries to catch the player. The SkiFree monster was a subject of the [[667: SkiFree]] comic. Unlike most of the characters on this list, the SkiFree monster at least has had an appearance on a Nintendo system, as the game had a Game Boy Color port as part of the "The Best of Entertainment Pack" in 2001.

; Siri
: {{w|Siri}} is the name given to Apple's personal virtual assistant for iOS, macOS, and its other operating systems. Siri is generally a voice without a visual representation, so it is unclear how Siri would be a playable character in ''Super Smash Bros.''

; Ellie from ''Up''
: Ellie is one of the characters in ''{{w|Up (2009 film)|Up}}'', a 2009 Pixar film. In the beginning of the film, Ellie passes away, leaving her husband Carl alone, and leading him to start his adventure in Paradise Falls. While there was a tie-in video game based on the movie released in the same year for multiple systems (including the Wii and Nintendo DS), Ellie was not playable in it.

; Zordon
: {{w|Zordon}} is a fictional character from the ''Power Rangers'' franchise who serves as the mentor for the earlier Ranger teams. While he is technically trapped in another dimension, he is usually depicted as a blurry head in a tube. He occasionally has lightning powers, and had a robot sidekick (Alpha 5) who might be able to move him around. Alas, he is currently dead, having used his life energy to remove all evil from the galaxy at that time. While there have been many Power Rangers video games over the years, including on Nintendo platforms, Zordon would be an unlikely character not only due to his lack of extremities, but also due to the fact that the Power Rangers franchise is primarily built on stock footage of the Japanese ''Super Sentai'' series.

; Clippy
: Clippit, commonly nicknamed {{w|Clippy}}, was one of the Office Assistants for Microsoft Office (versions 1997 to 2003). It was an intelligent user interface that assisted users. Clippy (and the other Office Assistants) was negatively received by users, and was eventually removed in Office 2007.

; The Sarlaac
: The {{w|Sarlaac}} is an alien monster that lived in {{w|Tatooine}} in the ''{{w|Star Wars}}'' universe. It is most prominently shown in the film ''{{w|Return of the Jedi}}'', when the main heroes are sentenced to death by being dropped into the Sarlaac's mouth. Notably, the Sarlaac is a large, stationary creature embedded in the ground (essentially, a pit).
: This could be a reference to the Piranha Plant being confirmed as a DLC character, as Piranha Plants are typically stationary and embedded in the ground, and also have their big, toothy mouth as a primary feature.
: The Sarlacc does not seem to have appeared in any Star Wars video games for Nintendo consoles, but even if it did, it's undefined appearance and lack of mobility would make it a poor choice for a character.

; InstallShield Wizard
: A ''wizard'' is a type of UI that simplifies configuration of an app or process by guiding the user through a number of screens in sequence. A user makes one decision on each screen, and the overall process puts less cognitive load on the user.
: {{w|InstallShield}} is a proprietary software tool for creating installer applications (or software packages) for Microsoft Windows. When the created package is being installed, the installer application can be shown in form of a 'standard Windows Wizard' dialog. Depending on the creativity of the user creating the package, the Wizard can display images while different stages of the installer are being executed.
: There are known instances of The InstallShield Wizard showing a wizard-like character images. Also, the standard wording of the installer text shown to the user ('software-to-be-installed is preparing the InstallShield Wizard, which will guide you through the program setup process') suggests that the Wizard is a 'real character'.

; Mr. Clean
: {{w|Mr. Clean}} is a brand and mascot for Procter & Gamble used for all-purpose cleaners and melamine foam cleaners.

; Comet Cursor
: {{w|Comet Cursor}} was Windows software that allowed users or websites to customise the mouse cursor. It was often installed with minimal user interaction and was accused of tracking users and being "spyware".

; Beto O'Rourke
: {{w|Beto O'Rourke}} is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. Representative for Texas's 16th congressional district since 2013. He was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2018 Texas U.S. Senate election (which was held the day before this comic appeared), running against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. O'Rourke received much media attention leading up to the election, with many considering the election abnormally competitive. He ultimately did lose against Ted Cruz.
: While not a video game character, it is more than possible to create a Mii Fighter based on Beto O'Rourke in the game. However, the game does not come with a Beto O'Rouke Mii, and Nintendo has not created an official Mii of Beto O'Rourke.

; The Monopoly boot
: The "boot" is one of the classic pewter tokens from the board game ''{{w|Monopoly (game)|Monopoly}}''. In 2017, the boot token was retired from the standard version of ''Monopoly''.

; Lot's wife
: Lot and his wife are characters from the book of Genesis in the Bible. According to the book of Genesis, Lot and his family had to {{w|Sodom_and_Gomorrah#In_the_Book_of_Genesis|flee the city of Sodom}}, which was being judged by God for its wickedness. They were commanded to flee and not look back at the city. However, Lot's wife looked back at the city and was turned into a pillar of salt. It is unclear which version of Lot's wife Randall wishes to be playable in the game.

; D.B. Cooper
: {{w|D.B. Cooper}} is the name popularly used to refer to an unidentified man who hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft on November 24, 1971. He extorted $200,000 in ransom and parachuted out of the plane. His identity and whereabouts have never been discovered. D.B. Cooper was a subject of the [[1400: D.B. Cooper]] comic. As mentioned above, an enterprising player could easily make a Mii Fighter based on D.B.. Cooper, though no such Mii has been provided by Nintendo.

; The Blair Witch
: The Blair Witch is the titular character of the ''{{w|The Blair Witch Project}}'', a 1999 "found footage" supernatural horror film. The film became one of the most successful independent films of all time.

; Mavis Beacon
: ''{{w|Mavis Beacon (character)|Mavis Beacon}}'' is a fictional character and the mascot of the ''{{w|Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing}}'' software series.

The title text refers to two US Supreme Court Associate Justices. {{w|Ruth Bader Ginsburg}} was appointed by Bill Clinton; {{w|Elena Kagan}} was appointed by Barack Obama. Both are considered to be on the “liberal” wing of the court, but Ginsburg’s forceful dissenting opinions may explain why she would have been a more popular character for Super Smash Bros. Additionally, Ginsburg has been parodied on ''{{w|Saturday Night Live}}'', adding to her popularity: [http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/cast/kate-mckinnon-15056/impersonation/ruth-bader-ginsburg-100221]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A bulleted list of items:]
*Mario/Luigi hybrid
*The SkiFree monster
*Siri
*Ellie from ''Up''
*Zordon
*Clippy
*The Sarlaac
*The InstallShield Wizard
*Mr. Clean
*Comet Cursor
*Beto O'Rourke
*The Monopoly boot
*Lot's wife
*D.B. Cooper
*The Blair Witch
*Mavis Beacon

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Super Smash Brothers never did end up adding anyone from my wishlist.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Video games]]

2068: Election Night

2018-11-05T17:58:32Z

173.245.48.105: ce

{{comic
| number = 2068
| date = November 5, 2018
| title = Election Night
| image = election_night.png
| titletext = "Even the blind—those who are anxious to hear, but are not able to see—will be taken care of. Immense megaphones have been constructed and will be in use at The Tribune office and in the Coliseum. The one at the Coliseum will be operated by a gentleman who draws $60 a week from Barnum & Bailey's circus for the use of his voice."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please only mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic compares media coverage on election results in 1896 and 2018.

While elections and voting have been a public staple for generations, election coverage by the media can result in {{w|voter fatigue}}. While voter fatigue is considered a major criticism of things like {{w|First-past-the-post_voting|first past the post}} voting systems, media outlets will also contribute.

Here, Randall is taking a unique opportunity to point out that unlike our recollection of history (which is usually modified by the {{w|misinformation effect}}, where we perceive the past as being easier and find a source to blame for the election night jitters) that in fact, in the past, a bombardment of fireworks every hour was used to convey the hour-by-hour play of the election night, a significantly more jarring effect that couldn't even be turned off. We have progressed, in some ways, to a more opt-in system, rather than the {{w|opt-out}} system of the past, where you had to leave Chicago to avoid the news.

==Trivia==
This is the first appearance of [[Top Hat Guy]].

==Transcript==

:[Megan and Cueball face each other while talking on the left of the panel]
:Megan: Ugh, I'm just going to hide out for election night. We'll know the results the next day anyway. The drama is so unnecessary.
:Cueball: Yeah. The internet and the 24-hour news have turned elections into a continuous, inescapable media onslaught.
:[A man in a top hat appears on the right side of the panel with a "Poof"]

:[Panel with just the man in a top hat, holding a newspaper]
:Man in a top hat: Hi! I'm a time traveler from 1896. Let me tell you about '''''our''''' election night coverage.
:Man in a top hat: *Ahem*
:Man in a top hat: From the ''Chicago Tribune''

:[Zoom in on head of the man in a top hat]
:Man in a top hat: "Once every hour from the roof of the Great Northern Hotel a series of bombs, which will ascend for several thousand feet, will be fired. Two colors will be used, blue and red."
:Man in a top hat: "Blue to indicate McKinley's election, red to indicate Bryan's election."
:Man in a top hat: "The bombardment of the skies will commence at 7 o'clock and will be repeated hourly."
:[Grey citation]: Chicago Tribune, Oct 30th & Nov 1st, 1896

:[Megan and Cueball on the left looking at the man in the top hat on the right]
:Megan: Yeah, well, we have a ''needle,'' though.
:Man in a top hat: A needle.
:Megan: It jiggles!
:Man in a top hat: Sounds awful.
:Cueball: Listen, you had to be there.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Time travel]]

2068: Election Night

2018-11-05T17:57:40Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ copyedit

{{comic
| number = 2068
| date = November 5, 2018
| title = Election Night
| image = election_night.png
| titletext = "Even the blind—those who are anxious to hear, but are not able to see—will be taken care of. Immense megaphones have been constructed and will be in use at The Tribune office and in the Coliseum. The one at the Coliseum will be operated by a gentleman who draws $60 a week from Barnum & Bailey's circus for the use of his voice."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please only mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic compares media coverage on election results in 1896 and 2018.

While elections and voting have been a public staple for generations, election coverage by the media can result in {{w|voter fatigue}}. While voter fatigue is considered a major criticism of things like {{w|First-past-the-post_voting|first past the post}} voting systems, media outlets will also contribute.

Here, Randall is taking a unique opportunity to point out that unlike our recollection of history (which is usually modified by the {{w|misinformation effect}}, where we perceive the past as being easier and find a source to blame for the election night jitters) that in fact, in the past, a bombardment of fireworks every hour was used to convey the hour-by-hour play of the election night, a significantly more jarring effect that couldn't even be turned off. We have progressed, in some ways, to a more opt-in system, rather than the {{w|}} system of the past, where you had to leave Chicago to avoid the news.

==Trivia==
This is the first appearance of [[Top Hat Guy]].

==Transcript==

:[Megan and Cueball face each other while talking on the left of the panel]
:Megan: Ugh, I'm just going to hide out for election night. We'll know the results the next day anyway. The drama is so unnecessary.
:Cueball: Yeah. The internet and the 24-hour news have turned elections into a continuous, inescapable media onslaught.
:[A man in a top hat appears on the right side of the panel with a "Poof"]

:[Panel with just the man in a top hat, holding a newspaper]
:Man in a top hat: Hi! I'm a time traveler from 1896. Let me tell you about '''''our''''' election night coverage.
:Man in a top hat: *Ahem*
:Man in a top hat: From the ''Chicago Tribune''

:[Zoom in on head of the man in a top hat]
:Man in a top hat: "Once every hour from the roof of the Great Northern Hotel a series of bombs, which will ascend for several thousand feet, will be fired. Two colors will be used, blue and red."
:Man in a top hat: "Blue to indicate McKinley's election, red to indicate Bryan's election."
:Man in a top hat: "The bombardment of the skies will commence at 7 o'clock and will be repeated hourly."
:[Grey citation]: Chicago Tribune, Oct 30th & Nov 1st, 1896

:[Megan and Cueball on the left looking at the man in the top hat on the right]
:Megan: Yeah, well, we have a ''needle,'' though.
:Man in a top hat: A needle.
:Megan: It jiggles!
:Man in a top hat: Sounds awful.
:Cueball: Listen, you had to be there.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Time travel]]

2065: Who Sends the First Text?

2018-10-29T17:36:23Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ intro explain

{{comic
| number = 2065
| date = October 29, 2018
| title = Who Sends the First Text?
| image = who_sends_the_first_text.png
| titletext = I sort of wish my texting app showed the percentage next to each person, but also sort of don't want to know.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please only mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
{{w|Text messaging}} is a back-and-forth communication via SMS between 2 users. In this comic, Randall shows a line graph of "who sends the first text more often?" This is meant to show who Randall initiates conversations with, and who initiates conversations with him.

On the left side of the graph are people with whom Randall initiates conversations with "100% of the time". On the right side of the graph are those who initiate conversations with Randall.

The chart is separated into 5 blocks. The two blocks on the left are those who are "just putting up with [Randall]". This is implied that they may not be close friends with Randall, but Randall still wants to be friends with them. Their reluctance to initiate conversation with Randall is shown by the fact that Randall usually sends the first text to them.

The largest block, in the middle, is "friends". These friends seems to range from Randall initiating a lot, to them initiating a lot. But there is a healthy range of who initiates first.

The next block to the right, is for "that really nice friend who keeps inviting me to things even though I flake consistently". This means that Randall promises to go to events that this friend invites him to, but does not always follow through. This friend is still persistent in inviting Randall. Additionally, Randall could be less close to this person, based on him on categorizing this conversation under "friends".

The final block is "automated alerts and political campaigns". Understandably, as these are automated systems, Randall would not initiate "conversation" with them.

In the title text, Randall wishes that he would know the percentage of "who sends the first text more often", for each person that he texts. But he is also wary of the potential implications of finding out this information.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A line graph with a segmented bar underneath it, and ranges from 100% on the left side, to 50/50 in the middle, and back to 100% on the right side. The left extreme is labeled "I text first 100% of the time" whereas the right extreme is labeled "They text first 100% of the time". The bar is divided into five sections:

The first bar on the end labeled "I text first 100% of the time" covers the 100%-96% range, and is labeled "...DEFINITELY just politely putting up with me".

The second bar on the end labeled "I text first 100% of the time" covers the 96%-81% range, and is labeled "people who I think of as friends but secretly worry that they're just politely putting up with me".

The third bar it the largest, ranging from 81% on the side of "I text first 100% of the time" to around 83% on the side labeled "They text first 100% of the time" is simply labeled "Friends".

The fourth bar, from around 83%-97% on the side of "They text first 100% of the time" is labeled "That really nice friend who keeps inviting me to things even though I flake constantly".

The last bar, from around 97%-100% on the side of "They text first 100% of the time" is labeled "Automated alerts and political campaigns".

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]

2063: Carnot Cycle

2018-10-24T21:18:28Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ links

{{comic
| number = 2063
| date = October 24, 2018
| title = Carnot Cycle
| image = carnot_cycle.png
| titletext = The Carnot cycle is more properly known by its full title, the "Carnot-Tolkien-Wagner Ring Cycle."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows a {{w|Pressure–volume diagram}} which is used in this case for a {{w|Carnot cycle}}, a theoretical thermodynamic cycle and covers most thermodynamics classes which looks very much like the figure drawn. However in this case, [[Randall]] has replaced the labels of the 4 stages of the real Carnot cycle with new ones.

Pressure–volume diagrams were first developed to understand the efficiency of steam engines and plot the change of pressure ''P'' with respect to volume ''V'' for a specific process. The process forms a cycle and the amount of energy involved can be estimated by the area under the curve on the chart. The Carnot cycle describes the ideal efficiency that such an engine can achieve during the conversion of heat into work, or vice versa like in a refrigeration system. The real steps are called:
#'''Isothermal expansion'''
#'''Isentropic expansion'''
#'''Isothermal compression'''
#'''Isentropic compression'''
An isothermal process is a change of a system, in which the temperature remains constant but in this diagrams the volume increases (expansion) or decreases (compression). The term isentropic describes a lossless process where no matter or energy is transferred, here the increased volume only causes a further decrease in pressure.

Each step in this comic is explained below:

'''1. Isometric expansion.''' When heated, the gas becomes larger due to increasing volume

The comic text uses a circular argument. Additionally, "isometric" (equal dimensions) could mean that the gas does ''not'' change in volume, in contrast to the change in volume here.

'''2. Isotonic expansion.''' The gas expands further due to dark energy while percent milkfat remains constant.

{{w|Isotonic}} is a descriptor commonly associated with sports drinks (and not thermodynamics), which contain similar concentrations of salt and sugar as in the human body. {{w|Dark energy}} is hypothesized to be a cause for the expansion of the universe. Percent {{w|Fat content of milk|milkfat}} is a measure of how much fat there is in milk, which obviously isn't relevant to thermodynamics.

'''3. Isopropyl compression.''' While inflation is held constant, the gas contracts due to tightening interest rates.

{{w|Isopropyl alcohol}} is commonly used for cleaning. Inflation and contraction could refer to changes in gas volume, but the reference to interest rates puts them in the context of {{w|macroeconomics}}. Raising ("tightening") interest rates tends to reduce {{w|inflation}} and/or "contract" the economy. In economics (and other sciences) to better understand model parameter relations, some parameter may be held constant in theory. This could refer to the {{w|Fisher equation}}. Holding one parameter constant is also done in the Carnot cycle (for a physical parameter): not only in theory but also in practice! (In free market economies the inflation cannot be directly held constant).

'''4. Decline and fall.''' The gas diminishes and goes into the West while remaining Galadriel, completing the cycle.

{{w|Galadriel}} is a character in ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}''. She is one of the leading {{w|Elf (Middle-earth)|elves}}, a race that in the time of the book is said to be dwindling (in number and importance) in {{w|Middle Earth}} and migrating westward to {{w|Valinor}}. Galadriel is one of the last elves to leave, after successfully resisting temptation to take the One Ring and become an all-powerful queen who dominates Middle-earth, instead saying "I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel." The title is a reference to {{w|Edward Gibbon}}'s 18th century masterpiece ''{{w|The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire}}''.

The title text refers to {{w|Richard Wagner}} and {{w|J.R.R Tolkien}}. Wagner's ''{{w|Der Ring des Nibelungen|Ring Cycle}}'' consists of four operas. Tolkien wrote ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'', which some have [[wikipedia:J. R. R. Tolkien's influences#Wagnerian_influences|suggested]] was inspired by Wagner's Ring. Their works are known as {{w|literary cycle}}s.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A cartesian plot in the first quadrant with axes labeled "P" on the y-axis and "V" on the x-axis, with a rhombus-shaped set of four points with arrows between them.]
:[Caption above the graph:]
:The four stages of the '''Carnot Cycle'''

:[The first line starts at the point at top left and goes right and slightly downwards to the next point. The label is:]
:'''1. Isometric expansion'''
:When heated, the gas becomes lager due to increasing volume

:[The next line starts at the last point and goes downwards, also still a little bit to the right.]
:'''2. Isotonic expansion'''
:The gas expands further due to dark energy while percent milkfat remains constant

:[The next line starts at this last point and to the left and slightly upwards.]
:'''3. Isopropyl compression'''
:While inflation is held constant, the gas contracts due to tightening interest rates

:[The last line goes upwards and slightly to the left, reaching the first point.]
:'''4. Decline and fall'''
:The gas diminishes and goes into the west while remaining Galadriel, completing the cycle

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:LOTR]]

2063: Carnot Cycle

2018-10-24T20:38:22Z

173.245.48.105: Explained the percent milkfat

{{comic
| number = 2063
| date = October 24, 2018
| title = Carnot Cycle
| image = carnot_cycle.png
| titletext = The Carnot cycle is more properly known by its full title, the "Carnot-Tolkien-Wagner Ring Cycle."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows a {{w|Pressure–volume diagram}} which is used in this case for a {{w|Carnot cycle}}, a theoretical thermodynamic cycle and covers most thermodynamics classes which looks very much like the figure drawn. However in this case, [[Randall]] has replaced the labels of the 4 stages of the real Carnot cycle with new ones.

Pressure–volume diagrams were first developed to understand the efficiency of steam engines and plot the change of pressure ''P'' with respect to volume ''V'' for a specific process. The process forms a cycle and the amount of energy involved can be estimated by the area under the curve on the chart. The Carnot cycle describes the ideal efficiency that such an engine can achieve during the conversion of heat into work, or vice versa like in a refrigeration system. The real steps are called:
#'''Isothermal expansion'''
#'''Isentropic expansion'''
#'''Isothermal compression'''
#'''Isentropic compression'''
An isothermal process is a change of a system, in which the temperature remains constant but in this diagrams the volume increases (expansion) or decreases (compression). The term isentropic describes a lossless process where no matter or energy is transferred, here the increased volume only causes a further decrease in pressure.

Each step in this comic is explained below:

'''1. Isometric expansion.''' When heated, the gas becomes larger due to increasing volume

The comic text uses a circular argument. Additionally, "isometric" (equal dimensions) could mean that the gas does ''not'' change in volume, in contrast to the change in volume here.

'''2. Isotonic expansion.''' The gas expands further due to dark energy while percent milkfat remains constant.

Isotonic is a descriptor commonly associated with sports drink (and not thermodynamics). Dark energy is hypothesized to be a cause for the expansion of the universe. Percent milkfat is a measure of how much fat there is in milk, which obviously isn't relevant to thermodynamics.

'''3. Isopropyl compression.''' While inflation is held constant, the gas contracts due to tightening interest rates.

Isopropyl alcohol is commonly used for cleaning. Inflation and contraction could refer to changes in gas volume, but the reference to interest rates puts them in the context of {{w|macroeconomics}}. Raising ("tightening") interest rates tends to reduce {{w|inflation}} and/or "contract" the economy. In economics (and other sciences) to better understand model parameter relations, some parameter may be held constant in theory. This could refer to the {{w|Fisher equation}} Holding one parameter constant is also done in the Carnot cycle (for a physical parameter): not only in theory but also in practice! (In free market economies the inflation cannot be directly held constant).

'''4. Decline and fall.''' The gas diminishes and goes into the West while remaining Galadriel, completing the cycle.

{{w|Galadriel}} is a character in {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}. She is one of the leading {{w|Elf (Middle-earth)|elves}}, a race that in the time of the book is said to be dwindling (in number and importance) in {{w|Middle Earth}} and migrating westward to {{w|Valinor}}. Galadriel is one of the last elves to leave, after successfully resisting temptation to take the One Ring and become an all-powerful queen who dominates Middle-earth, instead saying "I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel." The title is a reference to {{w|Edward Gibbon}}'s 18th century masterpiece ''{{w|The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire}}''.

Title text: Richard Wagner's Ring cycle consists of four operas. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, which some have [[wikipedia:J. R. R. Tolkien's influences#Wagnerian_influences|suggested]] was inspired by Wagner's Ring. Their works are known as {{w|Literary cycle}}s.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A cartesian plot in the first quadrant with axes labeled "P" on the y-axis and "V" on the x-axis, with a rhombus-shaped set of four points with arrows between them.]
:[Caption above the graph:]
:The four stages of the '''Carnot Cycle'''

:[The first line starts at the point at top left and goes right and slightly downwards to the next point. The label is:]
:'''1. Isometric expansion'''
:When heated, the gas becomes lager due to increasing volume

:[The next line starts at the last point and goes downwards, also still a little bit to the right.]
:'''2. Isotonic expansion'''
:The gas expands further due to dark energy while percent milkfat remains constant

:[The next line starts at this last point and to the left and slightly upwards.]
:'''3. Isopropyl compression'''
:While inflation is held constant, the gas contracts due to tightening interest rates

:[The last line goes upwards and slightly to the left, reaching the first point.]
:'''4. Decline and fall'''
:The gas diminishes and goes into the west while remaining Galadriel, completing the cycle

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:LOTR]]

2063: Carnot Cycle

2018-10-24T16:56:43Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ wlink

1037: Umwelt

2018-10-18T05:32:22Z

173.245.48.105: /* Lake Diver Killer */ first description too literal and simple

{{comic
| number = 1037
| date = April 1, 2012
| title = Umwelt
| image = umwelt_the_void.jpg
| titletext = Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit--from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your web browser.
}}
<div class="toclimit-3" style="float:right; margin-left: 10px;">__TOC__</div>

==Explanation==
This was the third [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] released by [[Randall]]. The previous fools comic was
[[880: Headache]] from Friday April 1st 2011. The next was [[1193: Externalities]] released on Monday April 1st 2013.

This comic was released on April 1 even though that was [[:Category:Sunday comics|a Sunday]] (only the third comic to be released on a Sunday). But it was only due to the April Fool joke, as it did replace the comic that would have been scheduled for Monday, April 2nd. The next comic, [[1038: Fountain]], was first released on Wednesday, April 4th. This was the first that could be different for different readers.

An {{w|Umwelt}}, as the title text explains, is the idea that one's entire way of thinking is dependent on their surroundings. Thus, this {{w|April Fools}} comic changes based on the browser, location, or referrer. Thus, what the viewer is viewing the comic on, where they live, or where they came from determines which comic they actually see. As a result, there are actually multiple comics that went up on April Fools' Day, although only one is seen.
(Fun Fact: the German word "Umwelt" does not mean anything vaguely similar; it translates in all contexts almost exactly as "environment".)

Information about how the wide variety of data was collected and credit for the viewers who contributed can be found [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/rnst4/april_fools_xkcd_changing_comic/ here].

===The Void===
[[File:umwelt the void.jpg]]

If the device or browser you are using does not support Javascript, you will simply see a static image of a white swirl on a dark background.

Possible reference to The Ring (http://imgur.com/wlGmm), as though to suggest that using an alternative browser is dismal and horrific.

Davean (xkcd's sysadmin): "[This] comic isn't available everywhere and it can come up i[n] some situation[s] only for recognized browsers."

Browser: Alternative Browser

===Aurora===
[[File:umwelt aurora.png]]

One could interpret that since Megan didn't go out and therefore missed seeing the {{w|Aurora}} (northern lights), Cueball in his [[1350:_Lorenz#Knit_Cap_Girl|knit cap]] lied about it. That way, she wouldn't have felt sad that she missed out. Another interpretation could be that he decides that since she did not even bother to go outside to see such a spectacular sight he will not tell her about it. And yet another could be that he did not think it was interesting.

Cueball could possibly also be red-green colorblind, seeing the green aurorae as grey "clouds". This would serve as an example for the theme of the comic, as a non-colorblind person and a colorblind person seeing the same color would perceive it differently, one seeing it as its true color, and the other seeing it without the shade of color they cannot see.

This image changed based on the size of the browser window including different panels at different sizes.

Locations: Canada, Boston, Maine, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Minnesota, Norway, Denmark, France, Rhode Island (not sure if mobile only or not.) (also in virginia, but using ohio in the first panel) (also in maryland, but using canada in the first panel)

In [[1302: Year in Review]] a possibly different Megan has a completely different approach to the chance of seeing northern lights, as that was the only event she was looking forward to in 2013, and it failed. If this is the same Megan, perhaps she learned that there actually were northern lights in her area from another source, and so desperately wanted to have another chance to see them.

===Snake===
[[File:umwelt snake composite 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt snake composite.png|Full size]]

The joke here is the extreme length of snakes. The world's longest snake is the python, the longest ever being 33 feet or approx. 10 meters. The blue and orange circles refer to the hit game {{w|Portal}}.
There is also a reference to the book "The Little Prince" in the second panel, where there is a large bulge in the snake that looks like an elephant. The Little Prince starts out by mentioning a drawing that the author made when he was six that showed an elephant inside a snake.

Also, the number and content of the panels changes depending on the size of your browser window.

This image changed based on the size of the browser window including different panels at different sizes.

Specific AltText for this image: Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit -from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your browser window size.

Location: Texas (on Chrome Version 33.0.1750.154 m), New Jersey, California (on Chrome Version 39.0.2171.95), Maryland, Massachusetts (Safari for iOS, Chrome version 49.0.2623.112), Connecticut (Safari for iOS), Virginia (on Chrome), Michigan (Firefox v46.0.1), Penang (Chrome Version 65.0.3325.162).

===Black Hat===
[[File:umwelt tortoise 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt tortoise.png|Full size]]

Cueball as an analyst attempts to psychoanalyze [[Black Hat|Black Hat's]] [[72: Classhole|classhole]] tendencies. Cueball's quote and the whole setup is a direct reference to the movie {{w|Blade Runner}} (1982) and Black Hat is taking the Voight-Kampff test which is used to identify replicants from real humans.

Black Hat's reason for not helping the tortoise is that ''it ''''knows''' what it did'' and thus in Black Hat's world view it deserves being turned over. The final part of the joke is that when zooming out it turns out that there is a tortoise behind Black Hat and he has actually already turned it over for what it did.

Location: Seems to appear mostly in "other countries" — those without location-specific comics.

===Too Quiet===
[[File:umwelt too quiet 1024.png]]
[[:File:umwelt too quiet.png|Full size]]

A reference to {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} which has been [[87: Velociraptors|constantly]] [[135: Substitute|referred]] [[1110: Click and Drag|to]] [[155: Search History|before]] [[758: Raptor Fences|in]] this comic.

Also referencing the film {{w|2 Fast 2 Furious|2 Fast 2 Furious}}, an entertaining, yet intellectually unprovoking sequel in a popular film franchise, which is aimed at teenagers and young adults, prompting the blunt response from the stickman. The fact that Steve would use such a cliché {{w|2000s (decade)|noughties}} movie term in such an intense moment, and the subsequent curse, is the joke in this comic.

Location: short version — iPhone 5c Safari browser in Texas, iPhone 5 Chrome Browser in Minnesota, long version - Google Chrome browser in Indiana, Windows 8 Laptop

===Pond===
[[File:umwelt pond mobile.png]][[File:umwelt pond wide.png]]

Two different versions showed, the narrower version for mobile devices.

Location: The Netherlands and various other countries.

===Galaxies===
[[File:umwelt galaxies 1024.jpg]]
[[:File:umwelt galaxies.jpg|Full size]]

Megan is distracted from her conversation with [[Cueball]] by realizing that the space behind his head, from her vantage point, contains millions of galaxies. This is similar to an [http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/image/astro/hst_deep_field.jpg incredible photograph] taken by the Hubble Telescope, in which a tiny dark area of space in fact contained numerous galaxies.

The title text is an imaginative leap from this scenario: that the galaxies would be up to no good once Cueball is turned away from them. This is presumably a reference to [http://www.mariowiki.com/boo Boo], an enemy from certain Mario games who moves toward Mario only when Mario is facing away from Boo.

This comic was only reported once... the intended environmental context is a mystery.

Location: unknown

===xkcd Gold===
[[File:umwelt xkcd gold.png]]

This is probably a reference to the 4chan Gold Account, an implementation on 4chan that does not actually exist, and is usually used to trick newcomers into revealing their credit card numbers. The joke is that "Gold Account" users can supposedly block other users from viewing images they have posted. The fifth panel is probably a reference to Beecock, a notorious set of shocker images. 4chan's moderators have been known to give out "beecock bans" or "/z/ bans" to particularly annoying users, which redirect the user to a page containing beecock and the text "OH NO THE BOARD IS GONE".

Referrer: 4chan

===Yo Mama===
[[File:umwelt dog ballast.png]]

Possible reference to Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s "{{w|Harrison Bergeron}}."

Possibly a veiled criticism of Facebook. This could be slightly rewritten as: "This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid of dissent, so it tracks everyone at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop submitting information to Facebook. But that dystopian future is now."

Referrer: Facebook

===Reddit===
[[File:umwelt reddit.png]]

Reference to referencing, because Reddit, as a referring site, likes references to its referencing in its references.

This comic also features recursive imagery similar to [[688: Self-Description|Self Description]] where the second panel embeds the entire comic within itself.

Referrer: Reddit

===Buns and Hot dogs===
[[File:umwelt somethingawful.jpg]]

This is a reference to the question "Why do hot dogs come in packages of 6 while buns come in packages of 8?"

Another, more sexual reference to this question can be found in [[1641: Hot Dogs]].

Referrer: SomethingAwful, Questionable Content, & MetaFilter

===Twitter===
[[File:umwelt twitter.jpg]]

A summary of the content "typically" found on Twitter.

In the tweet feed, there are three tweets about some podcast on the top, followed by the tweet containing link they clicked on to get to the comic, tweets about Rob Delaney, unspecified passive-aggressive tweets, and a tweet from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_ebooks Horse Ebooks] retweeted by one of the users the reader follows.

On the left, the topmost dialog, with profile information, shows that the user has posted 1,302 tweets, but only follows 171 people and has even fewer followers, at a measly 48. This is marked with a sad face, implying that the user wants more followers.

Below that is the "who to follow" dialog, which is written up as consisting of "assholes".

Below that is the "trending tags" dialog for the United States. It is full of tags about word games, tags about misogyny, and tags about Justin Bieber.

Below that is an unidentified dialog full of "stuff your eyes automatically ignore". And finally, on the bottom is the background colour, which is "a really pleasant blue".

Referrer: Twitter

===Wikipedia===
[[File:umwelt wikipedia wide.jpg]]
[[File:umwelt wikipedia mobile.png]]

The term {{w|Mile High Club}} (or MHC) is a slang term applied collectively to individuals who have had sexual intercourse while on board of an aircraft. Randall says that reading the news articles on it has distracted him from making that comic.

Two different versions shown, the narrower version (the single panel with all the text) for mobile devices.

Referrer: Wikipedia

===Google Chrome===
[[File:umwelt chrome1.jpg]]

{{w|Sergey Brin}} (born August 21, 1973) is an American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur who, with Larry Page, co-founded Google, one of the most profitable Internet companies. As of 2013, his personal wealth was estimated to be $24.4 billion. Randall makes the joke that as the founder of Google, Brin's permission would be needed to use Google Chrome. Because there are millions of people who use Google, it is likely that at least some of the time Brin would be asleep, thus he would need to be woken.

Browser: Chrome

===Chrome/Firefox===
[[File:umwelt chrome2.png]]

Mozilla {{w|Firefox}} is a free and open-source web browser developed for Windows, OS X, and Linux, with a mobile version for Android and iOS, by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. Cueball is complaining about {{w|Google Chrome}}, to which [[Ponytail]] replies that there is an {{w|add-on}} that fixes what he is complaining about. When questioned, she replies that the add-on is Firefox, which isn't an add-on at all and is instead a different browser.

Browser: Chrome

===Google Chrome-2===
[[File:umwelt chrome3.png]]

This panel references Google Chrome's error screen, which shows a puzzle piece. The comic humorously implies that Chrome is looking for that piece. When completing jigsaw puzzles, a common strategy is to figure out where the pieces must be from their geometry rather than from the picture they create. In this case, the text suggests that Chrome believes the puzzle piece connects to the pieces which form one of the corners of the puzzle, which may seem impossible because any piece that links up to a corner would usually have at least one flat edge, which this piece has none. However, more complicated puzzles have complex shapes and are not always simply approximate squares with tabs and blanks.

Browser: Chrome or silk on desktop view

===Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing===
[[File:umwelt firefox incognito.png]]

Another reference to crashing web browsers.

Browser: Firefox (Incognito only?)

===Internet Explorer===
[[File:umwelt ie.png]]

Yet another reference to crashing web browsers

Browser: Internet Explorer

===Maxthon===
[[File:umwelt maxthon.png]]

Browser: Maxthon

===Netscape Navigator===
[[File:umwelt netscape womanoctopus.png]]

[[File:umwelt netscape man.png]]

{{w|Netscape Navigator}} was a web browser popular in the 1990s.

Browser: Netscape

===Rockmelt===
[[File:umwelt rockmelt.png]]

{{w|Rockmelt}} is a social-media-based browser.

Reference to the gospel song {{w|Longing for Old Virginia: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1934)|"There's no hiding place down here" by The Carter Family}}, later covered by Stephen Stills.

:I run to the rock just to hide my face
:And the rocks cried out, no hiding place
:There's no hiding place down here

It may additionally be a reference to the ''Babylon 5'' episode "And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place," which featured the song.

Browser: Rockmelt

===Plugin Disabled===
[[File:umwelt plugin disabled.png]]

When the Google Chrome web browser does not have the required software (called a plug-in) to display a web page's content, it displays a puzzle piece icon and an error message. In this case, Chrome informs the user that the content is impossible to display.

Browser: Plugin (?) Disabled, Safari Desktop

===Corporate Networks===
[[File:umwelt corporate general.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon firefox.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate amazon other.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate google chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft firefox.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate microsoft other.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate nytimes chrome.png]]
[[File:umwelt corporate nytimes other.png]]

These error messages appear if the user is on a network owned by one of the corporations noted. The error message includes a warning against speaking on the company's behalf.

ISP: Corporate networks of Amazon, Google, Microsoft, NY Times

===Military===
[[File:umwelt military.png]]

[[Cueball]] assumes that anyone using a military network has an important job like watching for incoming missiles. He includes a thank-you to the user for their military service.

ISP: Military networks

===T-Mobile===
[[File:umwelt tmobile.png]]

Reference to T-Mobile's distinguishing feature (at the time it was written) of weaker coverage, in relation to other major providers.

ISP: T-Mobile

===Verizon and AT&T===
[[File:umwelt verizon.png]]

[[File:umwelt att.png]]

Reference to Verizon and AT&T's scandals/controversy regarding implementation of bandwidth caps.

ISP: Verizon and AT&T

===France===
[[File:umwelt france.jpg]]

A common joke about France is that the nation does not win wars. This originated from France's annexation by Germany during World War II, and America's late entry into the war, which is sometimes portrayed humorously as a case of America 'saving' Europe, in this joke particularly France (the role of the French resistance is usually not mentioned), leading to a common American joke at the expense of France's military prowess [http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/victories.html][http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blpic-frenchmilitaryvictories.htm][http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokefrenchmilitaryhistory.htm]. When France did not form part of the coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003, aligning with the many countries that condemned U.S. action, the joke was revived.

A Google search of "French Military Victories" + 'I'm feeling lucky' used to direct to "did you mean: french military defeats" (due to a {{w|Google bomb}}). Cueball is trying to show this to his friend, who is French. However, his joke backfires, as his friends immediately points out that the stereotype of France not having military victories is undercut by the fact that one of the most innovative military commanders in history, Napoleon, was French, and in fact conquered much of Europe.

The last line of the comic further implies that Cueball is not as smart as he thinks he is in regards to anything French, as he mispronounces the French loan word "touche".

Locations: France & Quebec

===Germany===
[[File:umwelt germany.png]]

This comic references the {{w|Berlin airlift#The start of the Berlin Airlift|Berlin Airlift}}, a relief measure for citizens in West Berlin (surrounded by East Germany) instituted by the Western Allies after World War II. In reality, the Western Allies flew a grand total of 500,000 tons of food over the Soviet blockade in planes. Randall puts a twist on this event by making it more fun: dropping supplies from a grand chairlift. The play on words is that "chairlift" rhymes with "airlift" and thus makes an easy substitution. The chair force is also a name that other service branches use to make fun of the air force.

Location: Germany

===Israel===
[[File:umwelt israel.png]]

Transcript:

בחורה: אמא, פגשתי בחור נהדר! אבל הוא לא יהודי.‏

...

רגע, מה את אומרת, "גם אנחנו לא"?‏

אני לגמרי מבולבלת.‏

(Translation from Hebrew)

Person: Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ...Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

A reference to the multiple use of the word Jewish to denote both a religious group and a nationality/ethnicity.

Location: Israel

===Carnot Cycle===
[[File:umwelt japan.png]]

A pun on "cycle"; a "{{w|Carnot cycle}}" is a thermodynamic cycle (e.g. refrigeration). Its efficiency depends on the temperature of the hot and cold 'reservoirs' in which it is operating. The icon on the side of the motorcycle resembles a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carnot_cycle_p-V_diagram.svg graph of the Carnot cycle.]

Location: Japan

===UK===
[[File:umwelt uk.jpg]]

He worded this as though to imply that the UK is a state of the U.S., and an unimportant one at that, which pokes fun at the UK, creating a paradox (sort of).

Location: UK

===Blizzard===
[[File:umwelt disasters blizzard.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or blizzards are harsher conditions to live under.

For each location this displayed in, the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: Alabama, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Georgia, Halifax, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, the Northeast, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Texas, Toronto, Tennessee, New York, Wisconsin

===Tornado===
[[File:umwelt disasters tornado.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or tornadoes are harsher conditions to live under.

For each location this displayed in the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: Alabama, Dallas, Illinois, Georgia, The Midwest, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ottawa, Tennessee, Texas (and Virginia, but it used Ohio in the third panel)

Tornadoes are a [[:Category:Tornadoes|recurring subject]] on xkcd. The picture used in [[1754: Tornado Safety Tips]] reminds a lot of the one from this version of Umvelt. [[Category:Tornadoes]]

===Hurricane===
[[File:umwelt disasters hurricane.png]]

This comic is aimed at the debate over whether earthquakes or hurricanes are harsher conditions to live under.

For each location this displayed in the state name was substituted in the third panel.

Locations: D.C, Florida, Georgia, Houston, Miami, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia

===Lake Diver Killer===
[[File:umwelt lake diver.png]]

This comic shows a news reporter standing in front of a lake. She is reporting on a serial killer who targets divers. As more divers are sent in to investigate and/or search for bodies, more divers go missing and assumes that they were murdered. The more likely reason is the lake itself is dangerous for diving, and the divers probably drowned from natural hazards (undercurrents, entanglement, running out of oxygen in tanks, etc.) instead of a malicious assailant.

Location: Bay Areas, Metro Detroit, Vermont showed an image specifically referencing Lake Champlain

===Lincoln Memorial===
[[File:umwelt lincoln memorial.png]]

Locations: Illinois & Washington D.C.

===Helicopter Hunting===
[[File:umwelt helicoptor.png]]

In Alaska, governments and individuals have {{w|Wolf hunting#North America 2|shot wolves en masse from helicopters}} in an attempt to artificially inflate populations of game, such as moose and caribou, to make hunting them easier. This is opposed by many, as the game populations are not endangered (thus, this threatens ecological balance); wolves are a small threat to livestock in North America; most of the wolf body —including meat and bones— goes wasted as they are sought mainly for their pelts.

Location: Alaska

===Newspaper===
[[File:umwelt life scientists.png]][[File:umwelt life rit.png]][[File:umwelt life umass.png]]

Creating new life has long been a well understood process, in a lab or otherwise.

Location: Various

Specific versions appeared for RIT and UMass Amherst

===Robot Paul Revere===
[[File:umwelt paul revere.png]]

Combination of the legend of {{w|Paul Revere#"Midnight Ride"|Paul Revere}} and computer binary.

Location: Boston

===Counting Cards===

All four colleges in this series are in Massachusetts and, being similar, in pairs, rival each other to some extent (Harvard-MIT, and Smith-Wellesley). The comic contains a reference to the {{w|MIT Blackjack Team}}, which entered popular culture via the {{w|21 (2008 film)|film 21}}, and a possible reference to Orwell's book '1984' and/or {{w|Chain of Command (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|popular homage to it via Star Trek}}: "There are four lights."[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChYIm6MW39k]

Bonus: The thought-gears in panel 3 are spinning against each other.

Location: Harvard

[[File:umwelt counting cards harvard.png]]

Location: MIT

[[File:umwelt counting cards mit.png]]

"Course 15s" at MIT are the business major students, often mocked for taking a less-rigorous program.

Location: Smith

[[File:umwelt counting cards smith.png]]

Location: Wellesley

[[File:umwelt counting cards wellesley.png]]

Both Wellesley and Smith are all-women colleges in Massachusetts.

===Giant Box Trap===
[[File:umwelt box trap.png]]

Randall got his undergrad in Physics at the {{w|Christopher Newport University}}, and was scheduled to return shortly to give a talk.

Location: Christopher Newport University

===Chemo Support===
[[File:umwelt chemo.jpg]]

[[Cueball]] has shaved his head in support of people going through {{w|chemotherapy}} but, as he is always depicted as a stick figure with no hair, no one can tell.

Randall's now-wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, and apparently DFCI is where they've been spending much of their time.

Location: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

===Reviews===
[[File:reviews.png]]

The previous strip appears twice when using [[wikipedia:Tor (anonymity network)|Tor]].

Browser: Any using Tor, xkcd API (JSON, RSS, Atom), w3m, and reports of seeing it on a Kindle Fire HD; also happens if visiting with a browser that does not support JavaScript (such as Firefox with NoScript)

==Transcript==
:[Note to courageous readers- The transcript has been reordered in the order in which the comics appear in the picture and appropriate names have been given.]

:'''The Void'''
:[An epic void with a bright light shining right on you.]

:'''Aurora'''
:[Cueball heading out past Megan comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]
:Cueball: Apparently there's a solar flare that's causing some Great Aurorae. CBC says they may even be visible here! Wanna drive out to see?
:Megan: Hockey's on.
:Cueball: Ok. Later.

:[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

:Megan: See anything?
:Cueball: No, just clouds.
:Megan: Not surprised.

:'''Aurora-US'''
:[Cueball heading out past Megan comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]
:Cueball: Apparently there's a solar storm causing northern lights over Canada. CNN say they might even be visible {Options: "As Far South As Us", "Here in Boston", "Maine", "Ohio", "Oregon", "New York"}! Wanna drive out to see?
:Megan: It's cold out.
:Cueball: Ok. Later.

:[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]

:Megan: See anything?
:Cueball: No, just clouds.
:Megan: Not surprised.

:'''Snake'''
:[Two people standing next to each other. Megan is holding the head end of a snake. Depending on the width of your browser, the snake is: three frames, the third of which has a little bit of a bump; the first frame has a human-size bump, the second has a third person looking at the snake, and the third has the snake going though two Portals; a squirrel and the human-size bump in the first frame, a ring next to the third person in the second frame, and Beret Guy riding the snake in front of the portal; or The squirrel, a fourth person within the snake being coiled, and the human bump in the first frame, the ring, a fifth person in love, and the third person in the second frame, Beret Guy and the portal in the third frame, and the same two people in the fourth frame.]

:Megan: I found a snake, but then I forgot to stop.

:'''Black hat'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk. One is Black Hat. The other is an analyst. Black Hat has a number of terminals attached to his head.]
:Analyst: You come across a tortoise in the desert. You flip it over. It struggles to right itself. You watch. You're not helping. Why is that?

:Black Hat: It '''knows''' what it did.

:[View of the entire scene, with said turtle off in the distance on its back and trying to right itself.]

:'''Too quiet'''
:[A group of four scale down a wall into a field in the middle of the night. They walk off single-file.]
:Person 1: It's quiet.

:Person 3: Yeah - *Too* quiet.

:[A Velociraptor is off in the distance, following the group.]
:Person 4: Yeah - too *too* quiet.

:Person 2: Yeah - 2quiet2furious.
:Person 1: Fuck off, Steve.

:'''Pond'''
:[A landscape showing a pond, some reeds, and a set of mountains off in the distance.]

:'''Galaxies'''
:[A trio of galaxies.]
:Galaxy 1: He's not looking!
:Galaxy 3: Let's get him!
:[Lines draw in illustrating the eye-line of one of a pair of people.]
:Cueball: So he said he didn't get the text, but c'mon, he *never* misses texts. Right? ..hello?
:Megan: I'm just staring at your head freaked out by the fact that there are millions of galaxies *directly behind it*.

:'''xkcd Gold'''
:[Cueball holding bat.]

:Cueball: Sorry, but this comic

:[Cueball starts to wind up.]

:Cueball: requires

:[Cueball prepares to strike with bat.]

:Cueball: XKCD

:[Cueball swings at a beehive.]
:GOLD

:[Penis Bees fly out of the beehive.]

:'''Yo mamma'''
:[Cueball yells at a friend.]
:Cueball: Oh yeah? Well you mama's so ''cynical'', her only dog ballast is a ''leash''!
:(This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid dogs can hover, so it requires them to wear weights at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop buying dog weights.)

:'''Reddit'''
:Five seconds ago:
:[You sitting in front of a desk, reading a reddit thread.]
:You: Oh, hey, reddit has a link to some XKCD april fools comic.

:Now: [An image of the xkcd comic page.]
:Five seconds from now:

:You: ..hey

:30 seconds from now:
:[DANCE PARTY!]

:'''Buns and Hot dogs'''
:Cueball: What I wanna know is why do hot dogs come in packages of six while buns come in these huge sacks of ash and blood from which "Ave Maria" is faintly audible?
:[Chanting sacks of gore in the background.]

:'''Twitter'''
:[A Twitter account page with the following: Many tweets, fewer following, even fewer followers, A bunch of assholes in the suggested follow box, trending topics partitioned into: Word Games, Misogyny, and Bieber, stuff your eyes automatically ignore, A really pleasant blue. and the timeline: Something about a podcast, Someone confused because the description doesn't match the link, The link you clicked on to get to this comic, Rob Delaney, Passive Aggression, and horse ebooks.]

:'''Wikipedia'''
:[There's no comic here because instead of drawing one, I spent the last hour reading every news story cited in the Wikipedia article on The Mile High Club.]

:'''Google Chrome'''
:[A Chrome plugin error page.]
:Chrome: This plugin requires Sergey Brin's permission to run. Please wait while he is woken.

:'''Chrome/Firefox'''
:[Two people; Cueball is sitting at a desk in front of a laptop.]
:Cueball: Man, chrome's hardware acceleration really sucks.
:Ponytail: Oh - Theres' a great add-on that fixes it.
:Cueball: Oh? What's it called?
:Ponytail: "Firefox".

:'''Google Chrome-2'''
:[A Chrome plugin error page with the characteristic jigsaw piece.]
:Chrome: Chrome is looking for this piece. Have you seen it? Chrome thinks it links up with a corner.

:'''Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing'''
:[Firefox error page.]
:Firefox: Well, this is embarrassing. You know how I'm not supposed to peek at your browsing in private mode? Firefox.. is sorry. Firefox will not blame you if you
:[Button with text.]
:Click here to report this incident.

:'''Internet Explorer'''
:[IE error page.]
:IE: Error: Internet Explorer has given up.

:'''Maxthon'''
:Cueball: Maxthon? Hey, 2005 called. Didn't say anything. All I could hear was sobbing. This is getting harder. Anyway, yeah, Maxthon's still cool! Didn't know it was still around!

:'''Netscape Navigator'''
:[Two different versions exist: one with Cueball talking and one with Megan with tentacle arms talking.]
:Person: Netscape Navigator? Hey, the nineties called - drunk as usual. I hung up without saying anything. This is getting harder. Anyway - it's cool that you'e got netscape running.

:'''Rockmelt'''
:[Cueball running to laptop.]
:I ran to Rockmelt to hide my face

:[Cueball sitting at laptop.]
:But Rockmelt cried out -

:[Laptop shouting.]
:NO HIDING PLACE

:[zoom out.]
:NO HIDING PLACE DOWN HERE

:'''Google Chrome-3'''
:[A chrome plugin error page.]
:Chrome: There does not exist --nor could there '''ever''' exist-- a plugin capable of displaying this content.

:'''Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google - Chrome'''
:[Chrome error page.]
:Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Microsoft/Amazon - Firefox'''
:[Firefox error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Microsoft/The Times'''
:[Error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/The Times is a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Corporate - Generic'''
:[Error page.]
:Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, we work as a team; individual employees should ''never'' speak for the company without authorization.

:'''Military'''
:[Person looking at two browser windows.]
:Cueball: I know y'all know what you're doing. But if you're on a military machine and you're supposed to be watching for missiles or something, I hope you're keeping an eye on that in the background while you're reading comics. Also: Thanks.

:'''T-Mobile'''
:[Error page.]
:Data Error: T-Mobile was unable to establish a connection

:'''Verizon'''
:[Error page]
:Error: You have exceeded your Verizon monthly bandwidth cap. Mobile web browsing has been disabled.

:'''France'''
:[Two people; one of which is browsing using a laptop.]
:Cueball: Hey, you're French, right? Ever see what happens when you type "French Military Victories" into Google?
:French person: Does it take you to an article on Napoleon?

:French person: ..no? Strange, given how he kicked everyone's asses up and down Europe for over a decade.

:[Beat frame.]

:Cueball: Touche.
:French person: You know, that'd sound smarter if you didn't pronounce it like it rhymes with "douche".

:'''Germany'''
:[Cueball dropping food from an unorthodox high perch.]
:June 1948: In response to the Soviet blockade of East Germany, the western allies construct the Berlin Chairlift.
:Cueball on chairlift: Food!

:'''Israel'''
:[Person on phone.]
:Person (Translation from Hebrew): Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ...Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.

:'''Carnot Cycle'''
:[Ponytail on a motorcycle with a heat-entropy graph on the side.]
:Ponytail: Check out my new Carnot Cycle!
:Cueball: Neat - how fast does it go?
:Ponytail: Depends how cold it is outside.

:'''Great Britain'''
:[Illustration of the Atlantic ocean.]
:American person: Sorry I don't have a comic poking fun at the UK here. I only had time to get to the most ''important'' US states.
:British person: Hey - At least we have free health care and real ale.

:'''Earthquake-Blizzard'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Boston", "Chicago", "Dallas", "Georgia", "Halifax", "Illinois", "Michigan", "Minnesota", "Missouri", "the Northeast", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", 'Pennsylvania", "Philadelphia", "Texas", "Toronto", "Tennessee", "New York", "Wisconsin"}! That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..
:[Both people are trudging through a massive blizzard.]
:Danish: In pictures, snow always looked so nice and sof - ''AAAA! MY NECK! How do people live here?!''
:Cueball: Come on - it's only three more miles.

:'''Earthquake-Tornado'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Dallas", "Illinois", "The Midwest", "Missouri", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", "Tennessee", "Texas"}!
:Cueball: That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..
:[Both people are in a shelter in a prairie with a rapidly-approaching tornado.]
:Danish: AAAA CLOSE THE SHELTER DOOR!
:Cueball: Say the magic words...
:Danish: THIS PLACE IS THE WORST!
:Cueball: Thank you.

:'''Earthquake-Hurricane'''
:[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]
:Cueball: Stop jiggling your leg.
:Danish: I'm not ji-.. oh!
:Cueball: What!
:Danish: You'll get it..

:[EVERYTHING RUMBLES.]
:Cueball: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!
:Danish: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.

:Cueball: But this is {Options: "D.C", "Florida", "Houston", "Miami", "New Jersey", "North Carolina", "South Carolina", "Virgina"}! That was huge!
:Cueball: That was huge!
:Danish: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.
:Cueball: Oh ''really''...

:Six Months Later..

:[Both are in the middle of a hurricane. Danish is grabbing onto a signpost to avoid being swept away.]
:Danish: AAAAA WHAT THE SHIIIIT!
:Cueball: Calm down - this is barely a category 2.

:'''Lake Diver Killer'''
:[TV Field Reporter in front of a cordoned-off lake.]
:Reporter: Police divers searching the bay say they have recovered the body of another victim of the "Lake Diver Killer."
:Reporter: During the search, three more divers were reported missing.

:'''Washington'''
:[The statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.]
:In this Marble Prison As in the nightmares of the nation they tried to devour
:The nanobots that constituted Abraham Lincoln
:Are entombed forever.

:'''Alaska'''
:[A person with a gun chasing a helicopter on the back of a wolf in a snowy Alaskan field.]
:Some people hunt wolves from helicopters. I hunt helicopters from a wolf.

:'''Life in lab'''
:[Newspaper headline.]
:Scientists/UMass Amherst students/RIT students create life in lab
:[Caption under picture of scientists.]
:"The trick was fuckin'"

:'''American Revolution'''
:Robot Paul Revere: Remember: Zero if by land, One if by sea.

:'''MIT'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: I see their admission standards have been slipping.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''MIT Course 15c'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: I *knew* we shouldn't have picked course 15s.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''Smith/Wellesley'''
:[Two people in front of a group of students.]
:Cueball: I've hired a team of Smith/Wellesley students to count cards for us.
:Hairy: We'll be rich!

:[Hairy deals some cards while the students watch.]

:[The gears turn..]

:Student: Five. There are five cards.
:Cueball: We should've gone with Wellesley/Smith.
:Hairy: Yeah - there are actually four.

:'''CNU'''
:[Person unsuspectingly strolls under a giant box trap controlled by a Trible.]
:I worry that CNU only invited me back as a ruse because they realized I never turned in my final paper and want my diploma back. But if it turns out it's for real, I'll see you Wednesday at the Ferguson!

:'''Dana Farber'''
:[Cueball, pointing towards head.]
:Cueball: Check it out - In support of people going through chemo, I shaved my head.
:Lots of love to everyone reading this at Dana Farber. Cancer sucks. If you are new to DFCI, there's a great little garden on the third floor of the yawkey if you need somewhere quiet to just sit for a little bit and breathe.

:'''Reviews'''
:Shopping before online reviews:
:[Cueball and Megan stand in a store. Cueball points at a lamp on the table in front of him. There is another lamp on the table behind them.]
:Cueball: This lamp is pretty.
:Megan: And affordable.
:Cueball: Let's get it.
:Megan Ok!

:Shopping now:
:[Cueball points at a lamp on the table in front of him. Megan looks at her phone.]
:Cueball: This lamp is pretty.
:Megan: It's got 1 1/2 stars on Amazon. Reviews all say to avoid that brand.

:[Cueball and Megan are now both looking at their phones.]
:Cueball: This one has good reviews.
:Megan: Wait, one guy says when he plugged it in, he got a metallic taste in his mouth and his cats went deaf.
:Cueball: Eek. What about- ...no, review points out it resembles a uterus.

:[Cueball is still looking at his phone, Megan has hers at her side.]
:Cueball: Ok, I found a Swiss lampmaker with perfect reviews. Her lamps start at 1,300 Francs and she's only reachable by ski lift.
:Megan: You know, our room looks fine in the dark.

==Trivia==
*Reddit user [http://www.reddit.com/user/SomePostMan SomePostMan] created a [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/t6wmh/all_umwelt_1037_comics_in_two_imgur_albums/ post] that collected all of the Umwelt comics and added explanations. Much of his information is now included in this wiki.

*The transcript section for this comic also included a note alluding to its extreme length:
: <nowiki>[[Two people...]]</nowiki> ((..wait.. <scrolls through a listing of everything> oh goddammit Randall. Thanks a bunch, dude. I better get a raise for typing out all this))
: [[Two people standing next to each other. One is holding the head end of a snake...

*And the comic doesn't appear in iPad browsers. The top buttons and the bottom buttons are side by side, and you can only see the title in the top.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Danish]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]
[[Category:Puns]]
[[Category:Squirrels]]

2060: Hygrometer

2018-10-18T01:00:46Z

173.245.48.105: assume means randall

{{comic
| number = 2060
| date = October 17, 2018
| title = Hygrometer
| image = hygrometer.png
| titletext = I'm working on assembling a combination declinometer, sclerometer, viscometer, aleurometer, stalagmometer, and hypsometer. I'm making good progress according to my ometerometer, a device which shows the rate at which I'm acquiring measurement devices.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Here, [[Megan]] is talking to [[Cueball]] about hygrometers. But before she can even finish explaining what it does, Cueball has looked up, found, and purchased the product. A {{w|hygrometer}} is an instrument for measuring the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, or the amount of water in solids such as soil or wood.

It seems Randall (as Cueball) loves being able to measure things and therefore finds instruments or measurement tools that end in ''-ometer'' very interesting, and wishes to own all of them. Many {{w|Measuring instrument|measuring instruments}} use the suffix ''-meter'' which is derived from the Greek noun ''μέτρον'' for "measure". The character "o" always belongs to the first term, but it also belongs to old Greek words like ''thermo''-meter, ''micro''-meter, or even ''hygro''-meter. Other measurement devices such as speedometer use an English word with an "o" appended to mimic the Greek derived terms, purportedly for easier marketing. Because themes in science often based on Greek terminology that ending at the first part appears often. Nonetheless Cueball believes that this "o" belongs to the general term for measuring devices.

Below is a list of instruments mentioned in the title text that the author [[Randall]] states he is working on:

* A {{w|Declinometer|declinometer}} is an instrument to measure {{w|magnetic declination}}.

*A {{w|sclerometer}} is an instrument to measure {{w|scratch hardness}} of a solid by scratching it under some standard conditions and measuring the scratch. Instruments used to measure the elastic properties of concrete surfaces, like the {{w|Schmidt hammer}}, [https://www.pce-instruments.com/english/measuring-instruments/test-meters/concrete-test-hammer-sclerometer-kat_162426_1.htm are also often known as sclerometers].

*A {{w|viscometer}} is an instrument to test the viscosity (ease of pouring) of a liquid. For example, honey has high viscosity while water has low viscosity.

*An [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aleurometer aleurometer] is an instrument to evaluate the quality of flour for baking by measuring how much a wet mass of wheat can expand when heated, while keeping its adhesivity.[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleurometer]

*A {{w|Stalagmometric method|stalagmometer}} is an instrument to measure {{w|surface tension}} of fluids by producing a drop and weighing it - the bigger the drop is, the larger surface tension the fluid has.

*The word {{w|hypsometer}} can mean [https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hypsometer two unrelated instruments] to measure height. One measures heights of a building or a tree by triangulation. The other measures altitude by measuring air pressure through its effect on the boiling temperature of water. It should not be confused with the {{w|altimeter}} which measures altitude by mechanically measuring air pressure (and which also does not follow the -ometer rule and might therefore be of less interest to Cueball?).

*An ometerometer, being a concatenation of ''-ometer'' with itself, would be a device for measuring measuring devices.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball are walking and talking. Cueball is holding his phone with one hand, looking at it.]
:Megan: ...A hygrometer is a device for measuring—
:Cueball: ''I want one!'' Ooh, found one for $7.99 with free shipping! I'm buying it.
:Megan: —Humidity.
:Cueball: Oh, cool!

:[Caption below the frame:]
:For some reason, I feel a powerful compulsion to own any device whose name ends in "-ometer."

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2058: Rock Wall

2018-10-14T04:40:49Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ punctuation

{{comic
| number = 2058
| date = October 12, 2018
| title = Rock Wall
| image = rock_wall.png
| titletext = I don't trust mantle/core geologists because I suspect that, if they ever get a chance to peel away the Earth's crust, they'll do it in a heartbeat.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a frustrated mantle geologists. Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Mantle_(geology)|Mantle}} {{w|geologists}} study that {{w|Structure_of_the_Earth|part of the planet}} that's below the top "{{w|Crust_(geology)|crust}}" of the planet. The top layer of the planet, which is several dozen miles thick, is the only layer we've been able to explore, by {{w|mining|digging tunnels}}, {{w|spelunking}}, etc. The only way to study the mantle and other inner layers of the earth are through non-visual, non-tactile, indirect methods, and by analyzing old samples of the mantle that have made their way to the surface.

In this comic, [[Ponytail]], talking to [[Megan]], is describing her job as a mantle geologist as that of living on one side of a thick wall that is, and likely always will be, impossible to get through or around, but she has to study what is on the other side of the wall. In this case the wall is horizontal rather than vertical, the wall being the earth's crust.

In the title text [[Randall]] states that he doesn't trust mantle/core geologists. Because if they got the chance he believes they would not hesitate (even a heart beat) in stripping away Earth's crust to study the mantle or even worse the {{w|Inner core|core}} directly. Of course if they only did this locally to look at the mantle it would not shatter the Earth although that local area may become a volcano. But if they actually peeled the entire outer layer away, we humans would have no place to live, as the mantle is really hot and would melt easily (producing magmas and therefore lavas when magma’s exposed to surface, see title text of [[1405: Meteor]] to be more confused). However, after a while all these erupted lavas would solidify and become a new crust. Humanity needs to withstand just some millennia of active worldwide volcanism.

If they somehow exposed the core even locally something weird would be bound to happen.

But Randall is afraid that their craving to get around that 20 mile wall would prevent the researchers from even hesitating if they did get that chance. Fortunately, we can study planetary cores in the solar system without stripping Earth's surface by visiting an asteroid which is thought to be the exposed iron core of a protoplanet. The [https://www.llnl.gov/news/lab-instrument-will-explore-asteroid-psyche Pysche mission] is scheduled to launch in 2023 and arrive at {{w|16 Psyche}} in 2030.

This comics seems to be a spin off from the previous comic [[2057: Internal Monologues]], where Randall tried to find some interesting monologues from scientist from different research fields. Maybe he did not find an internal monologue he liked for geologists, but ended up with this idea instead. Thinking about the core or mantle, lava and Magma seems to be something Randall does a lot, and thus he must have some ideas about how a geologist would think, which was why this comic [[913: Core]], was also referenced in the previous comic as something geologist might have internal monologues about.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is gesturing towards Megan with her hand, while talking to her.]
:Ponytail: I live next to a wall of rock 20 miles thick. There's no way around or over it. I'm trapped on this side forever.
:Ponytail: I study the stuff on the other side.

:[Caption below the frame:]
:Mantle geology seems like the most frustrating field.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Science]]

564: Crossbows

2018-10-08T20:11:48Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 564
| date = April 3, 2009
| title = Crossbows
| image = crossbows.png
| titletext = I hate being the slowest guy in the lab.
}}

==Explanation==
There are conflicting theories as to the meaning of this comic.
#Since the experimental confirmation or denial of the {{w|Higgs mechanism}} was widely recognized as important to the development of physics, the experimenters involved were likely to receive Nobel Prizes. Nobel Prizes, however, are only given to living people and groups of up to three in size. The experimenters, therefore, are preparing to fight to the death when the discovery comes. Peter Higgs had [http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/04/07/us-science-particle-idUSL0765287220080407 made a statement] in 2008 hinting that the confirmation would come within one year, and that statement was made one year before the Tuesday mentioned in the comic. Tentative experimental confirmation of the Higgs boson was made in July 2013.
#At the time this was written, there was much hype about the Higgs mechanism, as it was a theory explaining how particles got their masses. Experimental confirmation of the Higgs mechanism and its signature particle (the {{w|Higgs boson}}) was seen with such importance that the boson was dubbed the "God particle". Detecting it, however, required accelerating particles to energies higher than ever before. Since this was at the cutting edge of physics, it was unknown what would actually happen. There were [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/05/lhc_to_leave_fabric_of_spacetime_continuum_unripped/ fears] that the experiment would create a micro black hole or worse. This comic could be seen as applying those fears to a common trope in horror movies and video games where a mutant infestation is created by unknowing scientists. The scientists here, apart from poor [[Cueball]], have done their research and armed themselves for any upcoming dangers. It is unknown whether these dangers are specific or not. Some argue that [[:Category:Velociraptors|velociraptors]] are a common enough theme in xkcd that the experimenters are preparing for a velociraptor attack. Others point out that the crossbow is a weapon in the game series ''{{w|Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life}}'', whose plot has a similar infestation following a failed physical experiment ripping dimensional seams. They mention that someone at the particle accelerator closely resembled one of the main characters of ''Half-Life''. Of course, the crossbows may just be a general preparation for danger.
#Finally, this comic may simply be general sympathy for those late to catch on to something. Substituting different things for "crossbow" and "Higgs excitation" would give a similar situation for Cueball. [[Randall]] apparently hates these situations. A layer of {{w|metahumor}} could be present here, as Cueball may represent the clueless readers of xkcd who have to go to the [http://forums.xkcd.com/index.php forum] or [[Main Page|this wiki]] to understand its comics.

In the first and second interpretations, the title text could refer to literally being the slowest in the lab, and therefore the least able to outrun whatever is making everyone carry crossbows.

The proper interpretation of this comic, or whether there even is one, remains an open question.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is pulling a crossbow out of a desk.]
:Cueball: Why do you have a crossbow in your desk?
:Megan (off-screen): You ''don't''?

:[Pan to Megan who looks towards Cuball who is off-screen to the left.]
:Cueball (off-screen): No—why would—
:Megan: You ''are'' studying the consequences of Higgs excitation, aren't you?
:Megan: Like the rest of the lab?

:[Cueball, now carying Megan's crossbow joins her as the panel extends to include another Cueball-like guy to her right, he also carries a crossbow.]
:Cueball: Yes, but why—
:Guy: Maybe he's slow with the math.
:Megan: Well, he has until Tuesday.
:Guy: Poor guy.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Crossbows]]

2056: Horror Movies

2018-10-08T17:34:59Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ fix per wikipedia

{{comic
| number = 2056
| date = October 8, 2018
| title = Horror Movies
| image = horror_movies.png
| titletext = "Isn't the original Jurassic Park your favorite movie of all time?" "Yes, but that's because I like dinosaurs and I WANT there to be an island full of them. If John Hammond's lab had been breeding serial killers in creepy masks, I wouldn't have watched!" "Wait, are you sure? That could actually be good." "Ok, I WOULD watch the scenes where Jeff Goldblum tries to convince a bunch of executives that the park is a bad idea."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Horror is a genre of film that sets out to elicit fear in the viewing audience. They often aim to evoke viewers' nightmares, fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown. Simply put, most horror films have "terrible things happen to people."

Randall, as Cueball, seems to not understand why people like horror films.

The title text refers to the ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park film}}'', which could be considered a "horror" film, as there are elements of fear and terror. However, it is usually placed in the adveenture or science fiction genre. Randall, instead of claiming that ''Jurassic Park'' isn't a horror film, replies by saying that he likes dinosaurs and would be pleased to visit an amusement park for dinosaurs. "Serial killers in creepy masks" refers to a horror movie trope from the ''{{w|Halloween (franchise)|Halloween}}'' and the ''{{w|Friday the 13th (franchise)|Friday the 13th}}'' series of films, among others. Randall's final comment indicates that though he does not like horror films, he does like {{w|Jeff Goldblum}}, and would watch the scene with him.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[White Hat and Cueball are talking.]
:White Hat: Wanna see a horror movie?
:Cueball: Sure! I love watching terrible things happen to people and feeling afraid!

:[Caption below the frame:]
:I know everyone's into what they're into, but I have never understood horror movies.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]

2050: 6/6 Time

2018-09-24T19:28:09Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2050
| date = September 24, 2018
| title = 6/6 Time
| image = 6_6_time.png
| titletext = You know how einstein figured out that the speed of light was constant, and everything else had to change for consistency? My theory is like his, except not smart or good.
}}

The original image has a link to a previous comic [https://xkcd.com/1061/ 1061: EST] which is explained [[1061: EST|here]].

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Cueball here suggests a regional time system similar to that used in many societies prior to the invention of [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-time-division-days-hours-minutes/ mechanical time keeping], such as [https://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Telling_Time Japan during the Edo period], where the day is separated into two parts based on night and day and then subdivided by hour, minute, and second to give season-variable lengths for each. The caption, though vague, can be assumed to relate to the gradual deviation of certain regions from the Coordinated Universal Time zones with "Daylight Savings Time" that is observed inconsistently and smaller regions opting for awkward fractional increments of deviation from Greenwich Mean Time.

The title text refers to Einstein's {{w|Special relativity|special theory of relativity}} which postulates that the speed of light is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of the light source (or the observers). An observer at high speed measures the same speed of light as an observer with no motion, measured from the same light source. In classical physics the speed of the moving observer would be added up but in special relativity this isn't true, instead the time runs slower for the moving observer. And additional to this {{w|Time dilation|time dilation}} there is also a {{w|Length contraction|length contraction}} without which the geometry wouldn't work.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball and White Hat are walking.]
:Cueball: Under my time system, the sun rises at 6 am and it sets at 6 pm, as it '''''should'''''.
:Cueball: The length of the second is different each day and night, and the current time shifts with your latitude and longitude.
:Cueball: Today is one of the two days each year when my clocks run at the same speed as everyone else's.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Time standards are so unfixably messy and complicated that at this point my impulse is just to try to make them worse.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Time]]

2050: 6/6 Time

2018-09-24T19:27:07Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2050
| date = September 24, 2018
| title = 6/6 Time
| image = 6_6_time.png
| titletext = You know how einstein figured out that the speed of light was constant, and everything else had to change for consistency? My theory is like his, except not smart or good.
}}

The original image has a link to a previous comic [https://xkcd.com/1061/ 1061: EST] which is explained [[1061: EST|here]].

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Cueball here suggests a regional time system similar to that used in many societies prior to the invention of [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-time-division-days-hours-minutes/ mechanical time keeping], such as [https://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Telling_Time Japan during the Edo period], where the day is separated into two parts based on night and day and then subdivided by hour, minute, and second to give season-variable lengths for each. The caption, though vague, can be assumed to relate to the gradual deviation of certain regions from the Coordinated Universal Time zones with "Daylight Savings Time" that is observed inconsistently and smaller regions opting for awkward fractional increments of deviation from Greenwich Mean Time.

The title text refers to Einsteins {{w|Special relativity|special theory of relativity}} which postulates that the speed of light is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of the light source (or the observers). An observer at high speed measures the same speed of light as an observer with no motion, measured from the same light source. In classical physics the speed of the moving observer would be added up but in special relativity this isn't true, instead the time runs slower for the moving observer. And additional to this {{w|Time dilation|time dilation}} there is also a {{w|Length contraction|length contraction}} without which the geometry wouldn't work.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball and White Hat are walking.]
:Cueball: Under my time system, the sun rises at 6 am and it sets at 6 pm, as it '''''should'''''.
:Cueball: The length of the second is different each day and night, and the current time shifts with your latitude and longitude.
:Cueball: Today is one of the two days each year when my clocks run at the same speed as everyone else's.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Time standards are so unfixably messy and complicated that at this point my impulse is just to try to make them worse.
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Time]]

Talk:924: 3D Printer

2018-09-24T09:56:09Z

173.245.48.105: Undo revision 163165 by Maria (talk) reverted an adbot edit

Godammit, that refill cartridge was expensive too. '''[[User:Davidy22|<u>{{Color|purple|David}}<font color=green size=3px>y</font></u><font color=indigo size=4px>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 09:22, 9 March 2013 (UTC)

Wouldn't this completely invert their targeted market? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.177.11|162.158.177.11]] 18:07, 28 February 2016 (UTC)

Four years later... 3D printers cost $400 and they are found hardly anywhere. [[User:625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8|625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8]] ([[User talk:625571b7-aa66-4f98-ac5c-92464cfb4ed8|talk]]) 22:47, 7 March 2017 (UTC)

2046: Trum-

2018-09-14T16:11:30Z

173.245.48.105: /* Transcript */ ce

{{comic
| number = 2046
| date = September 14, 2018
| title = Trum-
| image = trum.png
| titletext = Excited to vote for future presidents Bill Eisenhamper, Amy Forb, Ethan Obample, and Abigail Washingtoast.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Before {{w|Donald Trump}}, {{w|Harry S. Truman}} (1884-1972) was president of the United States between 1945 and 1953. Megan notes that both of these presidents' last names start with "T-R-U-M".

The joke is that of all the weird things in the present (Trump's) presidency, this is the "least weird". Trump's presidency has been plagued with [https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/trump-scandals-unprecedented-president-180908070216183.html various scandals].

The title text lists other "absurd" last names that start with the same letters as other presidents: Bill Eisenhamper, Amy Forb, Ethan Obample, and Abigail Washingtoast. These would refer to {{w|Dwight D. Eisenhower|Dwight D. '''Eisenh'''ower}}, {{w|Gerald Ford|Gerald '''For'''d}}, {{w|Barack Obama|Barack '''Obam'''a}}, and {{w|George Washington|George '''Washing'''ton}}.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball and Megan walking together while talking.]
:Megan: It's pretty weird that we've had two totally unrelated presidents whose last names start with '''"T-R-U-M-"'''.
:Cueball: Oh, sure, that's ''definitely'' the weirdest thing about the presidency right now.
:Megan: It's less weird than '''''every other fact'''''. But still weird.
:Cueball: True.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Politics]]

2046: Trum-

2018-09-14T16:05:46Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ add

{{comic
| number = 2046
| date = September 14, 2018
| title = Trum-
| image = trum.png
| titletext = Excited to vote for future presidents Bill Eisenhamper, Amy Forb, Ethan Obample, and Abigail Washingtoast.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please edit the explanation below and only mention here why it isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Before {{w|Donald Trump}}, {{w|Harry S. Truman}} (1884-1972) was president of the United States between 1945 and 1953. Cueball notes that both of these presidents' last names start with "T-R-U-M".

The joke is that of all the weird things in the present (Trump's) presidency, this is the "least weird". Trump's presidency has been plagued with [https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/trump-scandals-unprecedented-president-180908070216183.html various scandals].

The title text lists other "absurd" last names that start with the same letters as other presidents: Bill Eisenhamper, Amy Forb, Ethan Obample, and Abigail Washingtoast. These would refer to {{w|Dwight D. Eisenhower|Dwight D. '''Eisen'''hower}}, {{w|Gerald Ford|Gerald '''For'''d}}, {{w|Barack Obama|Barack '''Obam'''a}}, and {{w|George Washington|George '''Washing'''ton}}.

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Politics]]

Talk:1103: Nine

2018-09-14T13:30:02Z

173.245.48.105:

I really find that the hover-over text applies to me more often than not, unless I'm not in mixed company. This reminds me of a time that I was staying with a friend and she walked in on me changing the time on her microwave. When I explained to her that her microwave, stove, and coffee pot were all set to different times and it was bugging me, she just looked at me like I was crazy. --[[User:Grate314|"grate314"]] ([[User talk:Grate314|talk]]) 16:47, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
:I don't think that is what the title text meant. Also, anybody who reads an xkcd comic and remembers that they did that ''is'' crazy. --[[Special:Contributions/98.221.139.80|98.221.139.80]]
:I agree with grate314. I have to fix this every time the power goes out in my house because the stove, microwave, and radio all treat power outages differently. Between different rooms, though, it doesn't bother me. --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 19:04, 3 September 2012 (UTC)
::I know that that isn't specifically what the hover-over text was talking about, but I was thinking of it in a more general way. I've just found that whenever someone asks me what I'm thinking about, it's best to say 'nothing'. What I meant by 'mixed company' is a general social gathering, like a wedding or birthday party. I'm an EE student, so when someone asks me that question at school, I answer honestly. The answer is usually 'soldering'. I think about soldering a lot. Thanks, DanB, the clocks were all on top of each other, btw, I'm not sure how she lived in that chaos.--[[User:Grate314|grate314]] ([[User talk:Grate314|talk]]) 21:27, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Did anybody try doing what the title text is saying? Just wondering. --[[Special:Contributions/98.221.139.80|98.221.139.80]]

When I'm not following written instructions, I tend to use multiples of 1:11, out of laziness. So, if I figure something should take about 2-3 minutes, I'll nuke it for 2:22. That way, I can press one button 3 times without having to move my finger. [[User:MGK|MGK]] ([[User talk:MGK|talk]]) 17:23, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

If your microwave is connected to your home network you should accept that GCHQ have probably broken all your codes.[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 20:03, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

I'm lazy and like to use repeated digits rather than have to move my finger along to find the next one - thus 33, 55, 66 get used a lot. I also find that for most items, longer time at lower power settings is more effective at even heating, so I do a lot of 66 at 50% rather than 33 at 100%. Our current oven only has 10 power settings, unlike a previous one that had two digit power settings resulting in 66 sec at 55% being a fairly commonly used setup. Interestingly, the logic of every microwave oven I have encountered treats 99 entered in the seconds display the same as if one were to have entered 1minute and 33 seconds. Thus 99:99 would be 100 minutes and 33 seconds. [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 17:31, 3 September 2012 (UTC)

Oddly (apparently) my microwave has only 3 buttons (10 minutes, 1 minute, 10 seconds), though I do feel sorry for the 10 minute button.
:Maybe it would make more sense to change the 10 minutes button to a 6 minutes button [[Special:Contributions/212.23.140.110|212.23.140.110]] 16:39, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

I usually just push the "add 30 seconds" button until I reach the desired time (6 pushes for three minutes, 3 for 1:30, etc.). [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 16:06, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

:mine only has a single analogue dial that jumps up in increasingly large steps, and for some reason is numbered to skip over some sensible times, such as six minutes. however, no buttons, so problem solved. [[Special:Contributions/86.15.83.223|86.15.83.223]] 22:00, 29 December 2012 (UTC)

The 9 and 0 button are near each other so I do a lot of 90 (meaning 1 minute, 30 seconds). Sometimes, I'll get lazy<strike>er</strike> and press 99.

'''Quasar '''unit offers the additional accuracy/simplicity/utility of min 10, 1 and sec 10, 1 There are no other numbers on the control face, which has 14 buttons total. hmm, Minimum number of buttons required to accomplish nuking?--[[User:Idkrash|Idkrash]] ([[User talk:Idkrash|talk]]) 01:28, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
:For simplicity I would be in favor of 2 dials and 2 buttons. The dials could serve for power and time, which could output to digital displays. The buttons then could serve as start and stop. Pressing start and stop simultaneously would toggle the clock set function and you could use the dials to set the min and hour.----[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 10:47, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
::I suspect that sooner or later they'll all just have a power button and a touchscreen. [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 15:15, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
::Agreed that the touchscreen is likely but you could get away with just the two dials by having the time dial start the oven when it is pulled out and stop when pushed in. (#Analog) --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 19:18, 5 September 2012 (UTC)
::: My microwave already has a touch screen... we use the 30 second button on it a lot... --[[User:Tustin2121|Tustin2121]] ([[User talk:Tustin2121|talk]]) 16:36, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
:::The pushable dial isn't even necessary, have the machine start when the dial is twisted, which then ticks back to zero, and stop when the door is opened [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.65|141.101.99.65]] 14:13, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benford's_law Benfords law] pops to mind.

I don't use 20, 30 ,40, because find it easier to just click twice same button: 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99 and anything beyond 99 seconds - well, 200 {{unsigned ip|82.71.241.138|17:25, 6 December 2012‎ (UTC)}}

As a datum-point, my microwave has a (linear, clockwork, with mechanical bell-ding) dial, which is imprecise enough. Also it's a ''really'' old one (20 years old? 25? 30?) with a lower power than is common to see mentioned, so I look at the packaging recommendations, see perhaps 650W, 750W and 850W times, or 700W and 800W ones, and then add half again onto the lower rate's required time, and then perhaps a little more for good luck, as the amount I (roughly) twist the dial. I rarely use anything other than 'full'-power, out of the five settings. And I still sometimes need to renuke after testing. I really ought to get a new one. Probably would be more efficient, as well as accurate. ;) [[Special:Contributions/178.98.141.216|178.98.141.216]] 13:07, 31 March 2013 (UTC)

Shockingly, no one has mentioned Cirno from Touhou Project.--[[Special:Contributions/67.78.126.46|67.78.126.46]] 12:41, 14 October 2013 (UTC)

Shockingly, noone has mentioned that 159 seconds is closer to 3 minutes that it is to 2. [[User:Marklark|Marklark]] ([[User talk:Marklark|talk]]) 23:03, 29 December 2015 (UTC)
: I think it's a reasonable assumption that a the 1 gets bumped into the minutes column, otherwise all times would have to be entered in seconds or some other untidy interface would be necessary [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.65|141.101.99.65]] 14:13, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

Am I the only one that uses "99" whenever the instructions say something close to "1 minute 30 seconds"? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.49|108.162.216.49]] 15:11, 26 February 2016 (UTC)BenDanTomJack
If the instructions say 1:30, wouldn't 88 be a better choice than 99? A variance of 2 seconds under vs. a variance of 9 seconds over.

2044: Sandboxing Cycle

2018-09-12T00:50:20Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ wlink

{{comic
| number = 2044
| date = September 10, 2018
| title = Sandboxing Cycle
| image = sandboxing_cycle.png
| titletext = All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that so much to ask?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

A {{w|Sandpit|sandbox}} or sandpit is a playground where children can play safe without interfering the world outside. By this meaning the term was adopted by others like the {{w|Sand table|sand table}} in military uses, or as a {{w|Wikipedia:Sandbox|Wikipedia Sandbox}}, a playground for inexperienced editors to test their additions, and in {{w|Sandbox (computer security)|sandbox (computer security)}} which [[Randall]] probably references at this comic.

Software is getting more and more complex, and in an effort to reduce programming work and security vulnerabilities, large applications are composed of multiple programs. Getting these mostly self-contained programs to work with each other can be tricky, since requirements can vary a lot between different applications, requiring a rather general {{w|Interface (computing)|interface}} or {{w|API}} for communication. The more open such interfaces are, the higher the risk of unintended side effects, like vulnerabilities and overly permissive data access which could be exploited by hackers.

At the top left panel it could be a software collection whose parts are not yet fully connected to each other. A simple example is a typical {{w|Productivity_software#Office_suite|office suite}} used for documents, presentations, spreadsheets, charts, databases, and more. In the early days those separate applications weren't much connected together, copy and paste was one of the most important features; which suggests the applications haven't yet been fully developed. But software is never been fully developed as it can be seen further.

The next panel uses some "new technology" to interconnect those parts not only internal but also to the world outside at the internet. In the simple office suite example this means a document can now use a spreadsheet directly by using just a simple connection to another file. If that spreadsheet is changed the document uses this new content without any need of copying it manually.

But this leads to the third panel where many items are marked in red. The connections cause undesired changes in other applications because nobody can oversee everything in a large environment. It even may destroy the original document in this office suite example.

The forth panel shows one solution to this problem known as {{w|Sandbox (computer security)|sandboxing}}. This is a security mechanism for separating running programs without risking harm to others. This can tighten up sloppy security. A direct consequence of restricted communication is that the programs now again can't connect easily to each other.

It is discussed that {{w|Orchestration (computing)|orchestrating}} as having an inherent intelligence or even implicitly autonomic control could overcome these issues but there is probably no solution without the interaction by humans not only because these applications are made for humans. And thus Randall's sandboxing just results to a situation very similar like in the first panel.

The dilemma is again stated in the title text: Randall wants both ease of use and high security. In practice, a tradeoff has to be made.

==Transcript==
:[The comic consists of four panels arranged in a circle around the center. Black arrows connecting them clockwise in an infinite loop. All panels show the same 14 tiny circles and three different rings embedding some of the circles while other circles are outside. A few circles and rings are connected by lines but there is no connection between them all.]

:[The panel at top left shows this configuration but with a few circles in red.]
:"I wish these parts could communicate more easily."

:[Clockwise the next panel on the right shows new lines in green connecting nearly all remaining also now green circles and the lower most circle has a dashed green line to the outside.]
:"Ohh, this new technology makes it easy to create arbitrary connections, integrating everything!"

:[At the third panel to the bottom right all green parts are now in black and even more connections are established. Parts of these and some others are now highlighted in red.]
:"Uh-oh, there are so many connections it's creating bugs and security holes!"

:[At the fourth panel to the bottom left all red parts are now in black, showing a complex structure. Four green rings separate the structure with only green connections between them and to the outside.]
:"Ohh, this new technology makes it easy to enclose arbitrary things in secure sandboxes!"

:[The arrow above the fourth panel connects it to the first and the circle continues from the beginning.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]

1676: Full-Width Justification

2018-09-04T20:24:32Z

173.245.48.105: Undo revision 162295 by 162.158.75.40 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 1676
| date = May 4, 2016
| title = Full-Width Justification
| image = full_width_justification.png
| titletext = Gonna start bugging the Unicode consortium to add snake segment characters that can be combined into an arbitrary-length non-breaking snake.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic refers to an irritating problem in laying out text to fit from margin to margin, the problem of {{w|justification (typesetting)|justification}}, where you want multiple-line text to line up on the left side (common), the right side (less common), or both sides, which is commonly called full justification. This strip is dealing with how to make text fit such that it lines up on both sides while still looking good. Sometimes, as with a shorter word between two long words like "relationship between [[:wikt:deindustrialization|deindustrialization]]," there's no universal good way to make the typography work. It is a difficult problem to make text look good and be easily legible especially in a narrow space, with the biggest issue being how to handle words that are too long to fit nicely.

The comic shows several solutions to this problem, some realistic and others less so, but each partly or wholly unsatisfying.

"'''Giving up'''" essentially means not attempting full justification for a particular line, which means it will not fit with the rest of the layout.

"'''Letter spacing'''" involves an conspicuously large amount of whitespace between letters, suggesting a reading where each letter is a word until the reader recognizes what is intended. This method is in somewhat common use in newspaper and magazine layout, where it is generally known by the name "tracking" (distance between all letters) and "kerning" (distance between particular pairs of letters that fit together easily). However, letter spacing is unavailable for justification purposes in some languages (such as German), in which it is used for emphasis, as italics are in English.

"'''Hyphenation'''" is confusing because it requires suspended recognition of the full word, confusing the eye into seeing, in the given case, the non-words "deindus" and "trialization". This creates difficulty in both pronouncing and parsing the word. Moreover, the decision of when and where to hyphenate is non-trivial, particularly for automated text layout; for example, breaking a word and leaving only two "orphaned" letters on the following line is generally considered an illegal hyphenation. Nevertheless, hyphenation is a very common means of handling extreme cases.

"'''Stretching'''" appears visually unnatural and unfamiliar, and may present technical difficulties in rendering.

Adding "'''filler'''" words is generally undesirable: in the worst case, the meaning may be unintentionally altered, or the tone might be rendered too informal, as in the given example, and even in the best case, the text becomes less concise and potentially more difficult to read. Automation is also difficult. However, filler words added by a human, especially the original author of the text, are the least visually conspicuous, and may be the most practical solution in some scenarios.

Finally, adding a decorative image like "'''snakes'''" (but not necessarily snakes in particular) to fill the extra spaaace is a justification practice of significant historical interest (it was particularly common for illuminated manuscripts in the medieval era and remained prominent until the invention of the printing press) but little modern relevance. There may be a particular absurdity to using a snake as it can be read as a word, such as "the relationship between snake deindustrialization" as would be done similar to a {{w|rebus}}.

In modern text layout programs, some combination of the above strategies may be used to achieve the most visually consistent effect. For example, in one case, hyphenation might be the best option to split a very long word, while another line might be too long by only one or two letters, in which case the program could apply a very slight degree of extra letter spacing, too small for the average reader to notice.

The title text suggests that in order to facilitate the "snakes" method of "solving" the problem, the {{w|Unicode Consortium}}, the organization in charge of the common text standard {{w|Unicode}}, should add "snake-building characters" (similar in concept to the existing {{w|Box Drawing}} block), to allow variable-length snake images to be used as filling. Currently, there are at least six snake characters in Unicode, not including at least ten more Egyptian hieroglyphs that represent specific snakes, some in specific combination with other hieroglyphs: [http://unicode-search.net/unicode-namesearch.pl?term=SNAKE]
*[https://codepoints.net/U+1DC2 U+1DC2]   <big>᷂</big>   <big>[S᷂]</big>
**A diacritical {{w|combining character}} used in Americanist phonetic notation to indicate lenis (weak) articulation.
*[https://codepoints.net/U+2E92 U+2E92]   <big>⺒</big>
**A {{w|CJK character}} which might be interpreted as "snake".
*[https://codepoints.net/U+8675 U+8675]   <big>虵</big>
**Another CJK character meaning "snake".
*[https://codepoints.net/U+86C7 U+86C7]   <big>蛇</big>
**Another CJK character meaning "snake".
*[https://codepoints.net/U+1D9DC U+1D9DC]   <big>𝧜</big>
**One of the poorly-supported characters in the {{w|signWriting|signwriting block}}.
*[https://codepoints.net/U+1F40D U+1F40D]   <big>🐍</big>
**An {{w|emoji}} snake.

One of the hieroglyphs ([https://codepoints.net/U+13192 U+13192 EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPH I009A]) is described in [https://mjn.host.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk/egyptian/unicode/tablemain.html source documents] as HORNED VIPER CRAWLING OUT OF ENCLOSURE, so it is literally a snake-building character.

"Non-breaking" in the title text refers to a similar process as zero-width joiners and no-break HTML and CSS; the whole snake would shift down if it were too wide to fit on a given line. This suggestion would likely be rejected; the Unicode consortium is very specific about which characters are added{{Citation needed}}, and always require a good reason{{Citation needed}} before adding a character or set of characters to the standard. Strange decisions by the consortium have previously been referenced in [[1253: Exoplanet Names]], [[1513: Code Quality]], and [[1525: Emojic 8 Ball]].

Within an hour or two of this comic being published, a thread on the subject started on the Unicode Consortium’s official Unicode Mailing List. As of two days later, it’s still running.

==Transcript==
:Strategies for full-width justification

:[Below the caption is a column with six boxes, each showing a different "strategy" for justification which is annotated beside it. Here the annotation is written at the top and the text below. The top and bottom of the text is cut of in the middle, but as it can be "read" this is written anyway. Only for hyphenation does an extra word appear at the end. In the last with snakes, a snake is drawn to cover the entire spaaace from the end of between to the right border.]

:Giving up
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::between
::deindustrialization
::and the growth of

:Letter spacing
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::b  e   t   w   e  e   n
::deindustrialization
::and the growth of

:Hyphenation
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::between deindus-
::trialization and the
::growth of ecological

:Stretching
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::<big><big><big>between</big></big></big>
::deindustrialization
::and the growth of

:Filler
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::between crap like
::deindustrialization
::and the growth of

:Snakes
::their famous paper
::on the relationship
::between 🐍 [a snake filling the gap]
::deindustrialization
::and the growth of

==Trivia==
*The full text (with alternate changes) reads:
::''...their famous paper on the relationship between [crap like]/[ 🐍 ] deindustrialization and the growth of [ecological]...''
*An approach not depicted is to treat justification as part of a spherical typesetting strategy which allows words to move between lines even where this is not locally optimal. Its net effect in a case like this is to pull words from the previous line for use as filler. This approach is used by {{w|TeX}}.
*In Arabic, it is common to stretch the lines connecting letters as a relatively elegant and satisfying resolution to this problem. This trick is called "{{w|kashida}}" (كشيدة). There does in fact exist a Unicode character, U+0640: (ـ), to help with this: using it to extend "كشيدة" would result in something like "كـــــشـــيـــدة" (which, incidentally, looks a lot like a snake).
*Jim Chapman, developer of Windows 10 e-reader app Freda, has implemented snake-justification in the app, now available on the [https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9wzdncrfj43b Windows Store]. For best results, use the 'settings' screen to switch 'hyphenation' to 'no', 'use snakes' to 'yes', and choose a large font size (33 or so). Then pick a book with long words and justified text, and read it in a narrow window.
*The comic has been discussed on the [http://www.unicode.org/mail-arch/unicode-ml/y2016-m05/0004.html Unicode Mailing List].
*The typesetting system [http://www.sile-typesetter.org/ SILE] implemented snake justification on the same day the comic was published.
*"Line Fillers" depicting animals (including snakes) were widely used in [http://www.medievalcodes.ca/2016/04/line-fillers.html medieval book art].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Unicode]]

585: Outreach

2017-11-02T05:03:40Z

173.245.48.105: /* Explanation */ balloon sizes, helium cost

{{comic
| number =585
| date =May 18, 2009
| title =Outreach
| image =outreach.png
| titletext =Completely implausible? Yes. Nevertheless, worth keeping a can of shark repellent next to the bed.
}}

==Explanation==
Scientific animal tracking is commonly used to learn more about other species, particularly endangered ones, as a way of better understanding their physiology, behavior, and what risks they face in the wild. It's used in a wide variety of sciences, including wildlife biology, conservation, wildlife management and zoology.

The scientists in this comic are working on a rather limited budget as [[Ponytail]] explains, say that they can't afford the (minuscule) cost of hiring someone to retrieve a tracking tag from the water. So they devise a plan that would actually cost far more: create one that will pop free, float to the surface, and inflate a giant helium balloon, causing it to gradually drift over land. Eventually, the balloon will slowly deflate and soft-land, and with any luck someone will find it and mail it back to the scientists. The shark is depicted much larger than the humans, and the quantity of helium necessary to lift it (as the later panels show) would be extremely expensive.

It goes horribly, hilariously wrong. The tag can't quite pop free from the shark, and proceeds to inflate the balloon ''while the shark is still attached''. Although the balloon is shown too small to lift the shark (a helium balloon can only lift approximately one gram per liter), but the shark miraculously rises right along with the tracker tag, drifts back over land, and goes right after the scientists that had been tracking it.

When [[Science Girl]] (maybe in her first appearance, before she got her buns) sees the two scientists running frantically from a flying shark, she figures that if such excitement is a daily part of a scientist's job, ''that's'' the job for her, as she tells her daddy [[Cueball]].

The title of the comic, '''Outreach''', refers to the type of activities that scientists do in order to motivate kids to become scientists when they grow up, and it clearly worked for Science Girl who displays keen interest and great knowledge on many subjects in her next appearances.

The title text suggests keeping shark repellent by one's bed to account for the quite-unlikely event of something like this happening. Because you never know. It may be a reference to the {{w|Batman (1966 film)|Adam West Batman film}} where Batman just happens to have some in his helicopter.

However, since sharks are fish, and fish cannot survive above water, the shark would die even if this could happened in real life. This doesn't stop movies like {{w|Sharknado}} (which was filmed after this comic) to portray sharks floating in the air.

In reality, a balloon meant for lifting a tracker tag would be much too small to lift the shark, which is portrayed as being larger than person, so there is no danger.

The title text of [[1910: Sky Spotters]] seems to be a reference to this comic.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail faces two Cueball-like guys. All three are wearing goggles and lab-coats. Between them on a shelve stands a microscope and a beaker.]
:Ponytail: The tracking tag will record the shark's movement and habits.

:[The capsule is shown to float upward towards a water surface.]
:Ponytail (narrating): Then, it will pop free and float to the surface.

:[A coast is shown, with arrows directed from water to land. A small white circle on one of the arrows indicate the balloon.]
:Ponytail (narrating): We can't afford a recovery program, so the capsules will inflate helium balloons, drift over land,

:[The capsule is shown in close up. It has a caption on it.]
:Ponytail (narrating): And hopefully be found and mailed to us. Any questions?
:Caption: If found please call

:[Ponytail is standing over a groggy shark on a boat, with water behind her and a coastline in the background. She attaches the tracking tag to the shark.]
:''Chunk''

:[The shark is dropped headfirst off the boat, into the water with a large splash.]
:''Sploosh''
:Shark: !!!

:[The course of the shark is shown, weaving around islands.]

:[The capsule is shown sticking out of the shark at the moment it is ready to pop free.]
:''Click''

:[The capsule remains attached to the shark.]

:[The balloon starts to inflate, still attached to the shark and underwater.]
:''Hissss''

:[As the balloon inflates, it starts to pull the shark to the surface.]
:Shark: ??

:[The balloon breaks the surface, pulling the shark with it.]

:[Science Girl with a black ponytail, eating an ice cream cone is standing together with Cueball to the right in an otherwise empty frame.]

:[Two screaming scientists (A Cuball-like guy and Ponytail) runs past the two, who turns to look after them. The guy is holding the microscope and Ponytail the beaker from the first frame.]
:Scientists: Aaaaaaaa

:[A shark attached to a huge balloon floats past the girl and Cueball, it follows the scientists while snapping it's jaws.]
:Shark: ''Chomp chomp''

:[After the shark is gone, Science Girl turns to Cueball.]
:Science Girl: Daddy?
:Cueball: Yes?
:Science Girl: I want to be a scientist.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Sharks]]

Talk:1741: Work

2016-10-04T02:32:10Z

173.245.48.105:

Whoa, I've never been early enough to beat the explanation before. {{unsigned ip|173.245.50.82}}
:To 173.245.50.82, please remember to sign your posts. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 13:21, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

I wrote the transcript. Feel free to change it so it's not so bare and write the explanation. Thanks. --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 13:20, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

To prevent fire hazards, objects in California are not allowed to surpass a certain temperature, 140 °C if I'm correct . Can't find the actual law quick. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.230|162.158.114.230]] 18:01, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

I think Randall underestimates the problem. I used to work for the research arm of the electronics multinational, Philips. When a product design was "finished", it had to go to a special committee who decided where, exactly, on the product did the word "PHILIPS" and their little shield logo go - and (rarely) whether these things should be done in black or white. It was VERY frequently the case that the committee would take longer to come to a conclusion than the product took to design. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 20:32, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

I often wonder about those tiny, cheap plastic toys that come in Xmas crackers (UK) or the 25 cent toy vending machines (USA). They are completely crappy things - but thinking that someone thought about what kind of toy should be made - then designed the shape of it, thought about the color of plastic to use, spent tens of thousands of dollars machining an injection mold for it - and STILL turned out a complete piece of junk...it's anyone's guess what effort that took. I know it costs around $40,000 to make a mold like that - but those toys look like someone who was being paid very, very little, spent no more than an afternoon designing each one! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 20:32, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

What a coincidence. I just got out of my Product Development class. I remember having to deal with so many of these things that it's completely relatable. [[User:Jeudi Violist|Jeudi Violist]] ([[User talk:Jeudi Violist|talk]]) 21:17, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

Wow, that curve would be a bitch to draw in AutoCAD. I still shudder... [[User:Papayaman1000|Papayaman1000]] ([[User talk:Papayaman1000|talk]]) 21:22, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

If anything, I'll bet the timeframes listed are shorter than they really took (only months of tip-over tests? only 9 hours of meetings on the arm?? David Lang