explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1692: Man Page

2016-06-11T13:08:37Z

173.245.54.34: left note about man page sections

I do not entirely understand how wikis work; however, I have attempted to add a transcript. I apologize if anything breaks. I also apologize if this is not how I should be apologizing.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.135|108.162.241.135]] 04:27, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

The Pope flag is referencing the time of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy Avignon Papacy] --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.243|108.162.237.243]] 04:56, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

:Would have frickin' loved Randall if he inserted a reference to Pope of Dope here. :D [[User:Todor|Todor]] ([[User talk:Todor|talk]]) 08:17, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

OK, -e -h -v doesn't seem to work, it keeps halting at an input line!

Also, -p "AVIGNON" only works if I specify -D -I, -O, or -jk.

Why isn't -x documented on this man page? -x seems to do ''something'' but I'm not sure what the value of it is.

-y just returns "CHROMOSOME MISMATCH".

-a -e -f -n -o -r -S works if I specify -g, but -R starts to return CloudFlare errors after the first few million sites.

-v -d seems to make debug.exe speak out loud, but eventually it just starts spouting seemingly random numbers, unless I use -q. Is this desired behavior, or a bug?

{{unsigned ip|255.255.255.0}}
(-jk | off) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.8|108.162.221.8]] 20:19, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

The horrible thing about this comic is that somebody is sure to have implemented this program by the end of the day... {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.140}}

:Found one on Github: https://github.com/iKevinY/blerp . It has a man page file, but the program itself just outputs "bleep blerp" and doesn't implement any of the flags (yet?). [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.141|141.101.104.141]] 08:05, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

"Behavior Not Defined" might be a reference to undefined behavior, where a program is allowed to do anything including make demons fly out your nose: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undefined_behavior [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.12|108.162.219.12]] 06:48, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.135.36|162.158.135.36]] 06:58, 10 June 2016 (UTC) Søren Mors

I thought Ansel was a deliberate misspelling of ANSI, the most common 8 bit codepage. {{unsigned ip|162.158.135.36}}

The commit "Revision as of 07:08, 10 June 2016" reverted an IMO good explanation for the debug option with a bad one. Consider changing it back. [[User:Todor|Todor]] ([[User talk:Todor|talk]]) 07:20, 10 June 2016 (UTC)
:I agree. The bad explanation also mixed up {{w|Pipeline (Unix)|piping}} with {{w|Redirection (computing)|redirection}} --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.76|141.101.104.76]] 07:41, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

I don't think `blerp -a -d -t -p "AVIGNON"` is a valid call to blerp, because the syntax line syntax is utterly off. For example, the first line has an unclosed open [, whereas the second line – in addition to having the corresponding unmatched ] – plays with the fact that even though {} is usually used to list a set of required items, {} is also how `find` (which might do something similar to blerp, and is in fact mentioned in -v) denotes its results when passed to an exec. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.30}}

Command line options do not normally use n-dashes; they use hyphens. Another problem with this option is that n-dashes and m-dashes cannot usually be displayed properly in the fixed-width fonts commonly used for command line terminals. The usual custom is to use two hyphens to represent a dash (which for proportional font display will often be converted to either an n-dash or m-dash).
: In groff (GNU troff, the language in which man pages are written) the code for an m-dash is '''\(em'''. It will display as either two hyphens "'''--'''" or as an actual m-dash "'''—'''" depending on the character set specified in the locale environment variables. [[User:Locoluis|Locoluis]] ([[User talk:Locoluis|talk]]) 17:17, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

While "check whether input halts" clearly alludes to the halting problem, it may not actually be impossible, depending on what blerp actually does and what sort of input it accepts. (It says nothing about actually ''reporting'' the result, and it makes no guarantees that it will itself halt.)

—[[User:PhantomLimbic|PhantomLimbic]] ([[User talk:PhantomLimbic|talk]]) 07:30, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

:Indeed. Turing's proof for the halting theorem says that there is no algorithm that allows a Turing machine to determine whether any possible program/input combination will halt. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that it's impossible to develop an algorithm that determines whether a particular, fixed program will halt on an arbitrary input. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.141|141.101.104.141]] 08:14, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

Currently, there is no mention of the unmatched square brackets in the synopsis, or unmatched parenthesis in the title text. Presumably a reference to XKCD comic 859. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.77|141.101.98.77]] 07:51, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

Attack Mode might be a reference to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu-Gi-Oh!_Trading_Card_Game Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.85.117|162.158.85.117]] 08:23, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

In the description of -b the computer (Named "Hex") from discworld uses ants not bees.
Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(Discworld) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.125|141.101.98.125]] 09:13, 10 June 2016 (UTC)Bluewhelk
:Hmm. Reading the wiki article further Hex uses a beehive for long term storage! My bad [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.125|141.101.98.125]] 09:20, 10 June 2016 (UTC)Bluewhelk

"Or best offer" doesn't need to reference a financial offer, it may also mean that anyone offering to reuse the article with an alternative license is allowed to do so. Attack Mode and Stealth Mode seem to me to be references to computer viruses. Stealth Mode is also an option in some applications that can hide their presence when run, often because of malicious behavior, such as remote access tools, keyloggers, etc. Piping is not only used in Unix, it is also common in MS-DOS. Opposite Day has a good explanation on Wikipedia. Literal quote from Wikipedia: "Once Opposite Day is declared, statements mean the opposite of what they usually mean.". --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.222.217|162.158.222.217]] 11:17, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

Is there any evidence that Opposite Day may refer to Cyanide & Happiness? Opposite Day is a fairly well-known concept (at least from what I know growing up in the U.S.), and I don't see any direct connections to the specific C&H video short. I think that speculation should be removed. [[User:Sayno2quat|Sayno2quat]] ([[User talk:Sayno2quat|talk]]) 14:33, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

I could be wrong, but I think the program is also "simulating" a man (a play with the words because it's a '''man''' page). If you think like that a lot more commands makes sense (especially, -D, -e, -f, -g, -jk, -R, -u). Just a penny for a thought. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.134|108.162.241.134]] 11:52, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

If someone wants a history of the useragent string (possibly a reference for that "citation needed"), then [http://webaim.org/blog/user-agent-string-history/|this might be of interest]. --[[User:Draco18s|Draco18s]] ([[User talk:Draco18s|talk]]) 16:12, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

The <code>-n</code> option might be a reference to <code>echo</code>, where it is an option often used but which does not work on all systems. 
Am I the only one to see the “k” capitalized in <code>-jK</code>? 
[[User:Ltrlg|Ltrlg]] ([[User talk:Ltrlg|talk]]) 18:55, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

I interpreted "CHECK WHETHER INPUT HALTS" as simply determining whether the input was a finite string. (while at the same time referencing the halting problem) --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.68.59|162.158.68.59]] 20:22, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

I think that "suppress bees" probably indicates a smoke situation, a situation where the magic smoke is let out of the computer, such as halt-catch-fire. Smoke is the way to suppress bees. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.158|108.162.249.158]] 20:24, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

What does "BSD 4(2)" mean? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.65|162.158.255.65]] 20:54, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

blerp -v | blerp -ha [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 21:28, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

The word "bug" doesn't actually come from an insect; see the Etymology section of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_bug [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.117|108.162.245.117]] 04:37, 11 June 2016 (UTC)

Some remarks to the current explanation:
- I think the description is more specific than suggested. It is true that command-line programs regularly read stdin and output something to stdout, but I would categorize only some of them grep/sed/awk/sort/... as filter in the narrower sense. Also that it can access remote files (URL syntax) is a clue
- In the syntax we have args, option, options, and flags
- the environment variables are never described
- attack mode could refer to a network attack, e.g. trying to break into protected servers, or not just filtering the information, but also using it in a damaging way
- suppress bees hints that for normal operation bees are used, something you would not expect from a typical command line program
- the em dashes are probably used from there on on the command line (right of this option)
- piping output to the MS-DOS debug.exe can be used for entering small assembly programs (including saving them typically as .com command), changing memory contents or accessing I/O ports. Normally it is used interactively. In a pipe setup it enhances the abilities of a text processing filter to do some enhanced actions on the target computer
- execute something, similar to the find program which can execute an external program per match; could also mean a specified algorithm and refer to halting check; in any case "something" is quite vague for a man page
- use google: either for input (e.g. read URLs by searching for ARG and getting the first found webpage) or some special Google API; possibly Google is so powerful, it can replace some of the functionality of the program. Just use Google
- Check whether input halts hints that the input processing including algorithm execution is so complex that it can run into an infinite loop, but easy enough to be not yet Turing complete or it is and -h is the joke; or some input never halts, e.g. /dev/random, or it refers to the robot theory, e.g. whether the attacked victim halts
- ignore case probably refers to the actual input files instead of to the command line
- overwrite would be funny with speech output
- the true pope is seemingly important fir filtering. Could refer to important faith settings for other programs, e.g. which editor to use vim/emacs or it us important for knowledge processing
- randomize arguments is good for some test procedures
- as mentioned in the explanation the copyright refers to the man page, not the program, here the explanation is inconsistent in the current revision
Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.83.168|162.158.83.168]] 08:55, 11 June 2016 (UTC)

With reference to the See Also, the multiple blerps are due to different sections, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_page#Manual_sections [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.34|173.245.54.34]] 13:08, 11 June 2016 (UTC)

101: Laser Scope

2016-06-06T14:08:50Z

173.245.54.34: /* Removed "BUT HER AIM IS GETTIN' BETTER!" Reason: Not necessary */

{{comic
| number = 101
| date = May 12, 2006
| title = Laser Scope
| image = laser_scope.jpg
| titletext = I wish I'd missed you then so I wouldn't be missing you now
}}

==Explanation==
This comic plays on the {{w|homonym}}ic relationship between "miss" (to feel sad due to the absence of someone) and "miss" (to fail to hit – in this case, with a gunshot). "Miss your loved ones?" is a question which would generally use the former "miss". However, its use on the package for a laser scope implies the latter "miss".

A sighting scope can be attached to a firearm to aid in aiming the weapon. The addition of a laser improves the accuracy of the weapon by making it easier to aim consistently. The model number RJX-21 does not appear to be a reference to anything, and this comic is primarily a play on a common marketing technique of adapting a common saying to your own product by use of homonym or {{w|homophone}}; in this case, it is perhaps an inappropriate use, as one would not be expected to be aiming a firearm at their loved ones. In real life, this would imply a serious family breakdown with extreme feelings of pain and revenge, which is actually a tragically sad story, not the normal fodder for a light-hearted joke.

The title text hammers it home with the dual use of the word "miss", as the writer wishes he had missed (failed in his attempt to shoot) someone so they would not miss them (feel bad that they are not there).

==Transcript==
:[Box with a mailing label on one side, and in the front:]
:Miss your loved ones?
:[Picture of a laser scope.]
:YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
:RJX-21 Laser Scope

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Language]]

1633: Possible Undiscovered Planets

2016-03-19T16:25:41Z

173.245.54.34: /* Explanation */ Changed "of two time within" to "of two times within"

{{comic
| number = 1633
| date = January 22, 2016
| title = Possible Undiscovered Planets
| image = possible_undiscovered_planets.png
| titletext = Superman lies near the bird/plane boundary over a range of distances, which explains the confusion.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about {{w|Planet Nine}}, a possible Neptune-sized planet far beyond the farthest planet, {{w|Neptune}}. Astronomers {{w|Michael E. Brown|Mike Brown}} and {{w|Konstantin Batygin}} published a paper on 2016-01-20, only two days before the release of this comic. The paper is called ''[http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/22 Evidence for a Distant Giant Planet in the Solar System]'' and shows indirect evidence that such a planet may exist, inferred from an otherwise unlikely correlation between the unusual orbits of several {{w|dwarf planets}}. See for instance also explanations, for the layman, of the results here: ''[http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system Astronomers say a Neptune-sized planet lurks beyond Pluto]'' and ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfv3Oay_pY Planet X Discovered??]''

As this paper came out on the day of the previous comic's release ([[1632: Palindrome]]), this comic's release day was the first release day after the news came out. This explains why this comic was released in the late afternoon rather than just past midnight as is often the case with normal releases.
Once [[Randall]] heard this news, he had to decide to do this comic instead of the scheduled comic, and then invent and draw a completely new and actually very complicated comic (resulting in [[#Info on new version|several position errors]]) about "{{w|Planet X}}" before he could release this comic.

Now this planet could be called Planet IX (and is labeled ''Planet nine?'' on the chart), as {{w|Pluto}}, the previously "planet 9" has been degraded to a dwarf planet. The "X" did, however, not only refer to the roman numeral! Note that Mike Brown is the astronomer that {{w|How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming|killed Pluto}}, or at least reduced Pluto to a dwarf planet, something that has been a subject in {{xkcd}} before; see for instance [[473: Still Raw]].

This was the first of two times within a month where a new astronomical announcement (of something discovered months before the actual announcement) resulted in a related comic. The second being [[1642: Gravitational Waves]]. But in that case Randall seemed to know about it in advance, as he even changed the normal release schedule to post the comic on the day of the announcement, unlike here, where he seems to have been forced to make a new comic up on the fly.

Stating the obvious, this {{w|log–log plot}} shows that for an object to be an unknown planet it has to be very far away, since planets are big, to explain why we haven't seen it yet. With the log scale it is possible to go from a diameter of less than 1 mm to an {{w|astronomical unit}} (AU) on the Y-axis and from a distance of just 1 cm up to thousands of AU on the X-axis.

Randall's chart is very {{w|egocentric}} as it categorizes objects based on size but also on their distance from himself ("from me"). This distance starts at 1 cm, and an item on the chart reads "skin flora", thus distance is measured from the surface of Randall's body (skin/eyes) rather than from his center of mass. All the planets (and moon) that are marked on the chart are so far away that it will not matter if the distance is measured from Randall's surface, his center of mass, or by the way anywhere on {{w|Earth}}. Also, the planets' diameters are so much smaller than the distance from Earth that their real size would hardly take up any space in the chart due to the {{w|Logarithmic scale|log-scale}}. The dots marking these 7 planets are thus not drawn to scale that should represent their actual size compared with the other planets. But their distance from Earth (and Randall) is not constant even on the log-scale, especially not for the nearest planets, as they can be on either side of the {{w|Sun}} compared to Earth.

The chart correctly states that if there was a planet that was at a distance from him smaller than its diameter, he would be inside it (although at the bottom of that region, it's more like the planet that would be inside him, as this line goes down to a diameter of 1 cm). If the distance is to the planets center, this would also fit if he was only a radius away from the planet. As Randall is not inside the Earth but really close to it, Earth is correctly positioned on this line. However, for Earth, which is marked with the largest of the dots, he seems to have put himself a full Earth diameter away from Earth. Even using the center of mass of Earth as it's position he should only have been 6,350 km away from it, but now he places the measuring point of his distance to Earth on the opposite side of the Earth so his distance to it is equal to its diameter (which would make a choosing a distance of 0 km just as correct). Earth is just left of the 10,000 km line on both axis, and Earth has a diameter of 12,700 km, which will fit fine with the center of the dot, but not with the distance which should have been the maximum distance Randall could be from it (0 or 6350 km depending on the definition of distance from Randall).

The {{w|IAU definition of planet}} requires a solar orbit, gravitational rounding, and "clearing the neighborhood", a controversial (at the time of its introduction) calculation of relative size that excludes {{w|Kuiper Belt Objects}} such as Pluto. The calculation regarding Planet Nine would make it large enough to meet the IAU definition. Using this definition the chart quickly rules out birds and bugs, although at a glance they could be mistaken for planets, something that is especially the case for planes (at night) which are even called ''fool’s planets’'' in the chart, a reference to {{w|fool's Gold}}. Note that anything that is actually on Earth is positioned within 60 km from Randall. This is because if it is further away he cannot see them due to the curvature of the Earth. This does not mean that he intends to indicate that they cannot be further away from him than that.

The already known planets are prominently marked on the chart. They are the solid black dots. Besides Earth and ''Planet Nine?'', the bottom row of three small dots are {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}, {{w|Venus}} and {{w|Mars}}. The top row of four larger dots (but smaller than the dot that marks Earth) are (from left to right) {{w|Jupiter}} and {{w|Saturn}} (visible to the naked eye) and {{w|Uranus}} and Neptune (visible through a telescope).

It is unclear how Randall is calculating these distances, especially to the three {{w|terrestrial planets}}, since neither of these options work: closest approach, average, mean, current or maximum distance. In the comic [[482: Height]] Randall shows (among other) the distance from the Earths surface to all the planets. For especially Venus and Mars he shows that their distance changes a lot based on theirs and Earth's orbital positions. But he has neither used these loops to base the dot size or position, as these loops clearly go closer than 1 AU and only one of the planets are drawn closer than that. It is thus unclear which of the three represents which planet, but in the '''[[#Table of items in the chart|table below]]''' it has been reasoned that the dot situated at the largest diameter of the three inner planets planets should represent Venus (12,000 km) as it is almost twice as big as Mars (6,700 km), which on the other hand is more similar to Mercury (5,000 km) and given that the two dots furthest out are almost the same size, it would make most sense if they represent Mercury and Mars. Since the outer dot never comes closer than 2.5 AU and Mercury never gets further away than 1.5 AU it makes most sense to place Mercury as the middle of the three and Mars as the outer of the three dots.

Below some objects are mentioned that are not on the chart, and also other errors in position (probably due the hasty creation of such a complex comic.) Many of these objects as well as the planets with the errors mentioned clearly revealed can be see in this '''[http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ef/Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png modified image]''', which is also inserted and explained [[#Image used to create data for the table|in the trivia section]] below.

Pluto, no longer considered a planet (it was the ninth until 2006), is not marked on the chart, but it would be below Neptune just outside the pink region (2,300 km diameter and 30-50 AU away). This makes sense since that region is for dwarf planets not yet discovered and any one as big and close as Pluto would have been discovered by now. There is are thus also other dwarf planets that would not belong in the pink region, one of them is even much much closer and is easily visible with a telescope: {{w|Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres}}, which would appear roughly below Mars and Jupiter. (950 km diameter and 1.5-4 AU away from Earth). But this pink region is there to show where there could (and most likely will) still be undiscovered dwarf planets.

The {{w|Moon}} is also marked on the chart, with a gray dot (almost as large as the gas giants dots). The name is written in brackets since it's not a planet (because Earth is clogging up its neighborhood). Randall has messed up the positioning and the diameter of the Moon as it is clearly positioned past a million km, and it is only up to 400,000 km away from the Earth.

The Sun is not marked at all, even though it is extremely prominent, but as it is clearly not a planet it is left out. It would per definition have been at a distance of 1 AU, and with a diameter of 1.4x106 km it would be well inside the region of things that we can see during the day. Note that objects this big will always be shining, already a large planet such as Jupiter is [https://www.worldcat.org/title/jupiter-and-saturn/oclc/60393951&referer=brief_results brighter] than if it could reflect 100% of Sun's light. In general, ''planets ruled out because we would see them during the day'' refers to objects big enough to be {{w|stars}} or {{w|brown dwarfs}}, but {{w|List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs|the only star system}}, other than Sun, that would fit on the chart is {{w|Alpha Centauri}}, which at 4.37 {{w|light-years}} (ly) is well within the right boundary that falls at 5,68 ly, just before the distance to the next nearest star {{w|Barnard's Star}} at 5,96 ly from the Sun. A light year is 63,241 AU, and with the 10,000 AU mark far from the right edge of this log-log plot, it is clear that also 100,000 AU and thus a light year is within the chart. And this also goes for 5 ly.

"Planets ruled out by the WISE survey" refers to the {{w|Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer}} (WISE), a space telescope designed to look for warm objects such as brown dwarfs, which generate heat at their centers. It was capable of detecting Saturn-sized or larger planets in the outer reaches of our solar system, but did not find any. WISE would not have detected "Planet Nine" (even if it exists) because it is too small and thus too cold to be detected. There is a chance that it can be seen in some more temperature sensitive measurements. But these have not been checked for such a planet yet, (see [http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/feature-astronomers-say-neptune-sized-planet-lurks-unseen-solar-system here]).

The word ''satellites'' is written on the border of two regions indicating that these can be in both regions. Some are small enough (10 cm) to be comparable to the ''space junk'' below, (see {{w|cubesats}}), others are much bigger and would fit in the region above: ''Stuff we can see through telescopes''. Although it may not be called a satellite in daily talk, the {{w|International Space Station}} is in fact a satellite, which is over 100 m in the longest direction. It would thus be on the border to the ''Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house'' region just above the "A" in ''satellites'' (400 km above the surface). Some satellites can be seen without a telescope, like the space station.

The title text explains why some people {{w|It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman|confuse Superman for a bird or a plane}}, since {{w|Superman}} often flies at the limit between the two categories in the diagram. This is though not really true as can be seen in the bottom of the table below.

===Table of items in the chart===
*This table lists the limits of all regions and dots in the image.
**Some of the more stretched out regions has also been split into two or three smaller parts.
**The planet dots has the limits from the edges of the circle the dots makes used for maximum and minimum limits.
*The table is sort-able, taking care of units even though these change throughout.
*The data has been read out using the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/e/ef/Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png image] inserted and explained [[#Image used to create data for the table|in the trivia section]].
**The image also shows the "correct position" of the planets and the Moon, and includes other objects discussed in the table and the explanation
**Note that superman is also drawn in on this image.
*The wiki links included below may have been used in the explanation above.
**They are only used once in this table though, but not necessarily the first time the word is used.
**Rather they are used in the section that has most to do with this object
***So Earth is first wiki-linked from the Earth dot
***And brown dwarfs first from the WISE region etc.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Regions and objects
! Min. distance
! Max. distance
! Min. diameter
! Max. diameter
! Explanation
|-
|{{w|Planets}} ruled out because I would be inside them||{{sort|012|1 cm}}||{{sort|02800|109 km}}||{{sort|0170|1 cm}}||{{sort|0440000|109 km}}||Planets that would either have Randall inside or, if smaller than Randall. would be inside Randall. Earth comes close since Randall is on its surface (most of the time). The line dividing this region from the'' Planets we see at night'' hits the Y-axis at 1 cm and then goes to the top at almost 10 AU. A dot representing Earth is on this line at around 12,700 km = Earth's diameter. This is strange since this means that Randall is 12,700 km from Earth. Of course this is how far he is from the far side of the Earth, but more logically it would either have been 6,350 km (from Earths center) or 1 cm, since his surface, that is his feet, touches Earth, except for the soles of his shoes.
|-
|Planets ruled out because they wouldn’t fit through my door||{{sort|0140|1 m}}||{{sort|012|60 m}}||{{sort|02300|1 m}}||{{sort|0190|60 m}}||As these "planets" are more than 1 m in diameter it is likely they would not fit through his door. It is assumed that if a planet were within 60 m from Randall that they would be within his house, but because objects in this triangle can't fit through his door,even though they should be in his house, they couldn't be in his house, and thus they can be ruled out (they do not exist). The real planets would of course also not fit through any door.
|-
|{{w|Birds}} that got into my house||{{sort|013|20 cm}}||{{sort|011|60 m}}||{{sort|0190|20 cm}}||{{sort|0140|1 m}}||Small birds that get into Randall's house. They are not planets… He has a fairly big house as they can be 60 m away from Randall (when he is inside) and still be inside his house.
|-
|Region with ''bugs'' and ''skin''||{{sort|011|1 cm}}||{{sort|0160|25 km}}||{{sort|011|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|012|20 cm}}||The ''giant bugs'' region is not inside this one, thus takes a cut out of the top right of this region. The bottom of the chart is at 0.15 mm. Only at the very bottom for very small items does the region stretch out beyond 10 km…
|-
|{{w|Bugs}} (Not planets)||{{sort|0160|10 m}}||{{sort|0130|1 km}}||{{sort|016|1 mm}}||{{sort|011|1 cm}}||This is only the approximate region where the words ''Bugs (not planets)'' are written. As the skin part probably is at the origin, the whole region is probably related to bugs. See above for the size of this region.
|-
|{{w|Skin flora}}||{{sort|010|1 cm}}||{{sort|010|1 cm}}||{{sort|010|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|010|0.15 mm}}||There is an arrow pointing to the corner of the diagram. The values are thus the same for min. and max. as it is a point value. Of course it may also mean that they are outside the chart, closer to Randall (i.e. on his skin) and smaller (i.e. they are not visible), but this is not clear.
|-
|{{w|Largest_organisms#Insects_.28Insecta.29|Giant}} {{w|Goliath birdeater|bugs}}||{{sort|0190|100 m}}||{{sort|0150|10 km}}||{{sort|0180|3 cm}}||{{sort|013|20 cm}}||Giant bugs are for Randall from about 5 cm. It seems like he tries to keep them at least 100 m away. The limit of 20 cm doesn't cover the range, as {{w|Giant huntsman spider|some spiders}} reach 30 cm leg span, and the length, with antenna, of {{w|Longhorn beetle|some insects}} may surpass 25 cm.
|-
|Planets which are {{w|List of largest birds|actually birds}}||{{sort|0170|60 m}}||{{sort|0170|45 km}}||{{sort|0200|20 cm}}||{{sort|0160|8 m}}||Birds bigger than the birds that can get into Randall’s house, and up to the biggest possible birds (and even bigger). These are so big that they actually look so much like planets that you have to be told that they are actually just birds.
|-
|{{w|Airplanes}} (Fool’s planets’)||{{sort|0200|200 m}}||{{sort|0180|60 km}}||{{sort|02700|8 m}}||{{sort|0200|100 m}}||Planes in the sky can often be mistaken for a planet, especially at night and at a distance. This may be a comment on {{w|fool's Gold}}, i.e. the metal Pyrite, that looks so much like gold that it is easy for people finding Pyrite to believe they have found gold. The same goes for airplanes and planets according to Randall
|-
|Region with ''Space junk'', ''Asteroids'' and ''Oort Cloud''||{{sort|02300|10 km}}||{{sort|04100000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|014|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02400|500 km}}||Space junk can get as close as 10 km from Randall and be of a sub millimeter size. And then the objects in the asteroid belt and Oort cloud that are not to be considered dwarf planets can be up to 500 km and can reach out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|{{w|Space debris|Space junk}}||{{sort|02200|10 km}}||{{sort|02100|105 km}}||{{sort|012|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|0170|10 m}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words ''Space junk'' are written in this large region. From the left to halfway to the next label for ''comets and asteroids'' and the max diameter taken at this point
|-
|{{w|Comets}} and {{w|asteroids}}||{{sort|0280000|105 km}}||{{sort|0350000|100 AU}}||{{sort|013|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02300|225 km}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words '''comets and asteroids''' is written in this large region. It goes from halfway to the previous label for ''Space junk'' and halfway to the next label for ''Oort cloud''. The max diameter is taken at this last point. A small part of this section just reaches into the Dwarf planet territory, making sense as {{w|Ceres}} is a dwarf planet in the {{w|asteroid belt}} which lies in this distance range. However, Ceres is much closer to Earth than the dwarf planet region. But that region is also the one where undiscovered dwarf planets should be! The main concentration of asteroids in the belt is between Mars and Jupiter. A very slim region in this log-log chart! Ceres is the only dwarf planet in the belt. The largest asteroid is {{w|4 Vesta|Vesta}} which is not gravitational rounded even with a diameter of 500 km. It would not fit inside this part of the chart due to its size (and distance of 2.4 AU). The best known comet is {{w|Halley's Comet}} which returns every 75 year (next time in 2061). At that time it is much closer to the Sun than Earth at just 0.6 AU, but in 7 years time when it is the farthest away it will be out at 35 AU, further out than Neptune. But is it only of the order of 10 km in diameter (11 km in mean, 8 km x 15 km). So it can only be seen when close to the sun for a few months. This comet would fit inside this region for most of the time, when it is more than 2 AU from the sun, above the word "and" near the top of this part of the region over that word.
|-
|{{w|Oort cloud}}||{{sort|045000000|1000 AU}}||{{sort|04000000|1 ly}}||{{sort|015|0.15 mm}}||{{sort|02500|500 km}}||For distance this is only the region where the words ''Oort cloud'' are written in this large region. This fits with the Wikipedia article that puts it in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud#/media/File:PIA17046_-_Voyager_1_Goes_Interstellar.jpg this range] from 1000 AU to more than one light-year (ly). The Oort cloud is speculated to stretch as far as 2 ly out from the Sun. It may even be so that the far edges of the cloud interferes with similar clouds from the nearby stars, which are 4-6 ly away.
|-
|{{w|Satellites}}||{{sort|02600|100 km}}||{{sort|02300|105 km}}||{{sort|02200|1 m}}||{{sort|0180|10 m}}||This is only the approximate region where the word ''Satellites'' is written. The words cross the border between the ''Space junk etc.'' region below and the ''Stuff we can see through telescopes'' region above. In principle it could thus go down into the space junk region and reach the 10 cm diameter of a {{w|cube sat}}, and up to the size of the {{w|International space station}} (100 m).
|-
|Stuff we can see through {{w|telescopes}}||{{sort|02500|60 km}}||{{sort|0370000|800 AU}}||{{sort|02600|1 m}}||{{sort|041000|430,000 km}}||The max and min. values are not very representative as the region follows a shifted diagonal. Close items can be seen with telescope even if they are small, and large object might not be visible if they are far enough away. Hence this section has been split in three, see below. At the top left of the region there are two dots representing Uranus and Neptune, the planets not visible to the naked eye.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (over ''satellites'')||{{sort|02400|60 km}}||{{sort|02200|105 km}}||{{sort|02400|1 m}}||{{sort|02100|1 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the satellite range.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (over ''asteroids'')||{{sort|0300000|106 km}}||{{sort|030000|10 AU}}||{{sort|02800|30 m}}||{{sort|02800|20,000 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the asteroids range.
|-
|Stuff we can see through telescopes (Past ''asteroids'')||{{sort|03800000|10 AU}}||{{sort|0380000|800 AU}}||{{sort|030000|100 km}}||{{sort|042000|430,000 km}}||This section has been split in three, see the entire region above. This is objects in the outer planet range. Here are also the two dots representing Uranus and Neptune, the planets not visible to the naked eye. The reason the upper cut of it at (almost) the same level through all this region it that if the "planets" got any bigger, then they would turn into brown dwarfs that could be seen during the day, or if they got even bigger they could even turn into a small star (or big star see below), and thus would be visible by day.
|-
|Region with both ''planets above house'' and ''visible at night''||{{sort|0180|60 m}}||{{sort|033000|43 AU}}||{{sort|02500|3.5 m}}||{{sort|038000|300,000 km}}||The max and min. values are not very representative as the region follows a shifted diagonal. Close items can be seen with the naked eye at night even if they are small, and large object might not be visible if they are far enough away. Hence this section has been split in two sections as there are two labels, see below. At the top left of the region there are five dots representing the five planets visible to the naked eye. Also the moon is shown with a gray dot (i.e. not a planet), this is more in the middle of the region, and finally the Earth is on the border to the region to the left, with planets that Randall would be inside if they did exist.
|-
|Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house||{{sort|02100|1 km}}||{{sort|02000|105 km}}||{{sort|02900|100 m}}||{{sort|02200|10 km}}||This is only the approximate region around where the words of this part of the region are written in this large region. Just to show how much smaller the limits are in the small scale of the region. However, this entire region is about things that are visible at night, including the five planets and the moon. Those can be seen as labels for the dots, not another label for the region. Also Saturn is above Randall’s house when he sees it! Of course this also goes for any another bright object down to only 1 km above his house. But anyway planet or not he would be able to rule it out as a new planet, as if there were any that close and this big they would have been spotted long ago.
|-
|{{w|Classical_planet#Naked-eye_planets|Planets we can see at night}}||{{sort|0320000|108 km}}||{{sort|031000|10 AU}}||{{sort|035000|10,000 km}}||{{sort|040000|300,000 km}}||This is only the edges of the region of the five dots representing the five planets visible to the naked eye. They do belong to the region of planets Randall can spot from above his house, and as such this section may just be a label for the five planet dots, and not for any special part of the entire region. But the limits here are interesting to compare with the entire region or with that of the part with smaller dimensions as shown above. The reason the upper limit cut of at the same level through all this region it that if the "planets" got any bigger, then they would turn into brown dwarfs that could be seen during the day, or if they got bigger they could even turn into a small star (or big star see below), and thus would be visible by day.
|-
| style="background-color:pink;"| Dwarf planets||{{sort|03900000|13 AU}}||{{sort|04300000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|031000|170 km}}||{{sort|02700|16,000 km}}||Dwarf planets can in principle be anywhere in the solar system. But this region is shaded pink as it only covers undiscovered dwarf planets (similar to undiscovered planets) and thus they should be at least a given distance away, before it is realistic they would not already have been discovered. Also they need to be a certain size to be able to round themselves under their own gravity. And if they are too big, it is not realistic that they are only dwarf planets. The region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
| style="background-color:#FF748C;"| '''{{w|Planets beyond Neptune|Possible undiscovered planets}}'''||{{sort|042000000|100 AU}}||{{sort|04400000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|032000|3,600 km}}||{{sort|039000|300,000 km}}||This is the region the whole comic is about. The label is not written in this light red shaded region, as there should be space to write a label for '''Planet Nine?'''. Instead the explanation is given with a label at a small rectangle at the top left with the same color. It is in this region there could still be undiscovered planets. They have to have a certain size to be a planet if they are this far away, and also have to be this far away before it is realistic they would not already have been discovered. If they were any bigger, it would be like with the other planet regions to the left, that they would turn into a brown dwarf, (or at least Saturn sized planet) and although maybe not visible with telescopes just above this size, they would have been spotted by the WISE survey (see below). The region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|Planets ruled out by the {{w|Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer|WISE survey}}||{{sort|043000000|450 AU}}||{{sort|04500000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|043000|70,000 km}}||{{sort|0430000|106 km}}||This region refers to the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a {{w|space telescope}} designed to look for warm objects such as {{w|brown dwarf}}s, which generate heat at their centers. It was capable of detecting Saturn-sized or larger planets in the outer reaches of our solar system, but did not find any. WISE would not have detected "Planet Nine" (even if it exists) because it is too small and thus too cold to be detected. If the objects got any bigger than the upper limit they would turn into small stars, which would be visible during the night probably even with the naked eye. This region is the last section below the ''could see them during the day'' region. The WISE region reaches out to the next star as the edge of the graph is almost at 6 light-years (ly)
|-
|Planets ruled out because we would {{w|Star|see them during the day}}||{{sort|0290000|360,000 km}}||{{sort|04200000|5.7 ly}}||{{sort|0450000|360,000 km}}||{{sort|0450000|109 km}}||This region covers object that are either brown dwarfs close enough to us that we could see them (even by day) or if even bigger real stars, that would be closer to us than almost any other star system. The upper limit is at the top of the chart which almost reaches 10 AU. The {{w|Sun}} fits into this region (at 1 AU per definition and at 1.4x106 km), but is not depicted. It still fits in even when it turns into a {{w|red giant}}, after its main sequence when it has {{w|Sun#After_core_hydrogen_exhaustion|exhausted its hydrogen}}, then it will swell up to a diameter of 2 AU and not only swallow the two inner most planets but also likely reach out to Earth. But there are also stars swelling up to more than 10 AU ({{w|UY Scuti}} is {{w|List of largest stars|the largest}} known star, it has a diameter of almost 16 AU). The max. distance actually reaches the nearest star system of {{w|Alpha Centauri}}. And the biggest of those stars would be inside this last region, as it is 1.2 times bigger than the sun, and thus have a diameter of approximately 1.7 106 km, and they are "only" about 4,37 {{w|light-years}} (ly) away and the graph goes to 5.7 ly. But these stars are definitely not visible during the day. If the graph had stopped at 10,000 AU, at the last tick, this may have been true, but now it is an error, as stars in this entire region will not be visible during day time. But they would at night, if not by eye then by telescope. So no planets in this region, and also no undiscovered objects of that size!
|-
|Gray Dot: ({{w|Moon}})||{{sort|0310000|1.3x106 km}}||{{sort|02400|3x106 km}}||{{sort|033000|5,000 km}}||{{sort|02600|12,000 km}}||This dot represents the Moon. It is gray and moon is written in brackets to indicate that it is not a planet. Randall seems to have misplaced the dot completely. The Moon has a diameter of 3,400 km and the min limit is 5,000 km. It is even worse with the distance which is a factor 10 too large, at least at the max. The moon is on average 380,000 km from earth, and at the max distance is 406,700 km, to which Randall can add 6000 km when on the other side of the Earth to get him about 413,000 km from the Moon (but then he cannot see it). However, the minimum distance given is more than one million km, and thus more than a factor two of, and the max distance is almost a factor 10 off. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 1: {{w|Earth}}||{{sort|027000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|0190|32,000 km}}||{{sort|034000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|02900|23,000 km}}||This dot represents Earth. The Earth has a diameter of 12,700 km and Randall is on top of it, thus distance is zero. Thus the dot makes no sense. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 2: {{w|Venus}}||{{sort|03300000|0.8 AU}}||{{sort|025000|1.2 AU}}||{{sort|038000|15,000 km}}||{{sort|03200|30,000 km}}||This dot either represents Mercury or Venus, as they are the one closest to 1 AU from Earth. Mercury comes closest to this limit as it never gets far from the sun and thus also never strays far from being 1 AU from the Earth. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.5 to 1.5 AU, with Venus coming close to this with a range from 0.25 to 1.7 AU. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. And for the distance this is within the limits for both Venus and Mercury's orbit. However, the diameter of Mercury is only 5,000 km and this does not fit well, so from that principle it fits better with Venus. But Venus can be much longer from the Earth when on the other side of the sun, and with a diameter of 12,000 km it doesn't even fit well with Venus. However, since Mars, the third planet is much closer in diameter to Mercury than Venus with 6,700 km, and two of the dots are of equal and smaller size, it makes most sense that this planet is Venus.
|-
|Dot 3: {{w|Mercury (planet)|Mercury}}||{{sort|03400000|1.2 AU}}||{{sort|026000|2.3 AU}}||{{sort|037000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|03100|25,000 km}}||This dot either represents Mercury or Venus, as they are the one closest to Earth. Venus can get closer to the Earth when they are on the same side of the sun. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.25 to 1.7 AU. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. The distance for this dot fits equally bad with both planets. The diameter is smaller than before, but it is still way too big for Mercury’s 5,000 km and it is not too small but just at the limit of the 12,000 km of Venus. This does thus fit better with Venus on both parameters. But Mercury is similar in size to Mars, the third dot, and the second and third dot are at the same diameter, which makes it more likely that the larger diameter for dot 2, should belong to Venus, making this dot Mercury.
|-
|Dot 4: {{w|Mars}}||{{sort|03500000|2.5 AU}}||{{sort|027000|4.7 AU}}||{{sort|036000|12,000 km}}||{{sort|03000|23,000 km}}||This dot represents Mars. Mars has a diameter of 6,700 km and, so here it is set to at least double its diameter. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes. The range of distances from Earth is from 0.4 to 2.7 AU. The min distance at least is lower than 2.7 AU thus making this the dot that fits best with Mars. Because putting Mercury at a dot well past 2 AU would simply not make any sense, even though Mars can actually get closer to Earth than Mercury.
|-
|Dot 5: {{w|Jupiter}}||{{sort|03600000|2.6 AU}}||{{sort|029000|6.7 AU}}||{{sort|0440000|100,000 km}}||{{sort|037000|240,000 km}}||This dot represents Jupiter. Jupiter has a diameter of 140,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 5 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 4 to 6 AU. This dot thus fit nicely on both parameters with the largest planet. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 6: {{w|Saturn}}||{{sort|03700000|6.7 AU}}||{{sort|032000|13 AU}}||{{sort|042000|53,000 km}}||{{sort|036000|126,000 km}}||This dot represents Saturn. Saturn has a diameter of 120,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 9-10 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 8 to 11 AU. This dot thus fit nicely on both parameters with the 2nd largest planet. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 7: {{w|Uranus}}||{{sort|04000000|21 AU}}||{{sort|034000|43 AU}}||{{sort|041000|38,000 km}}||{{sort|035000|83,000 km}}||This dot represents Uranus. Uranus has a diameter of 50,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 18-20 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 17 to 21 AU. This dot thus just reaches down to this distance, but it is within the limits on both parameters. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 8: {{w|Neptune}}||{{sort|04100000|45 AU}}||{{sort|0360000|100 AU}}||{{sort|040000|37,000 km}}||{{sort|03400|83,000 km}}||This dot represents Neptune. Neptune has a diameter of 49,000 km so it falls within the range. The distances from the sun is about 30 AU and thus from the Earth it ranges from about 29 to 31 AU. This dot is thus too far out on this parameter. The max and min given here is at the limit of the circle the dot makes.
|-
|Dot 9: '''{{w|Planet Nine}}?'''||{{sort|044000000|700 AU}}||{{sort|0390000|1550 AU}}||{{sort|039000|21,000 km}}||{{sort|03300|50,000 km}}||This is the dot representing the possible undiscovered planet that is the reason for this entire comic. As it is only speculations made on well documented features of dwarf plants orbits, nothing much is known. But the guess is that is has a diameter between 26,000 to 52,000 km (fine with the dots min and max) and although it could get into 200 AU this may take thousands of year, and it is expected that it will be further out than 700 AU most of the time going all the way out to 1200 AU, so this dot fits perfectly with the newest estimates.
|-
|{{w|Superman}} (title text)||{{sort|0150|1 m}}||{{sort|0140|10 km}}||{{sort|0210|50 cm}}||{{sort|0150|2 m}}||The limits are set as Arms length away (shaking hands with Randall), and he cannot be seen much more than 10 km away (like for big birds). He is about 2 m high and 0.5 m over the shoulder. This does not fit very well with the title text, as he is not even near the plane limit, but still at a distance it can be hard to tell if the flying object is a plane far away (on Earth scale) or a man closer or a small bird really close.
|}

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the chart.]
:<big>'''Possible Undiscovered Planets'''</big>
:in our Solar System
:By <big>'''size'''</big> and <big>'''distance'''</big> (from me)

:[A chart of possible undiscovered planets with a log-log plot, with the objects diameter on the y-axis and the distance from “me” (Randall) on the X-axis. Both axes are labeled and have several ticks most of which also have labels. A region to the right, with possible new planets including Planet 9 with a “?”, is shaded light red, and a small rectangle at the top left with the same color tells what this color means. The region, of undiscovered dwarf planets, is shaded pink, also to indicate that here may be more of these, but the lighter color indicate that these will not be new “planets”. The eight known planets are marked with a black dot, and also this is explained with a dot under the colored rectangle. The Moon is indicated with a similar dot, but in gray, and the name is in brackets. The chart itself is divided into several labeled regions, the smallest with the label outside and an arrow pointing in. In one case a label breaks a border, and in two regions there are more labels, although these clearly belong to different regions within these regions, with different sizes and/or distances.]

:[Y-axis, with a label written to the left, from bottom and up, with an arrow pointing up, and 15 ticks with a label each:]
:Diameter
:1 mm
:1 cm
:10 cm
:1 m
:10 m
:100 m
:1 km
:10 km
:100 km
:1,000 km
:10,000 km
:100,000 km
:106 km
:107 km
:1 AU

:[X-axis, with a label written below, with an arrow pointing right, and 17 ticks but only 11 labels as the ticks at 100 km, between 1000 and 106 km, 107 km as well as 10 and 1000 AU is not labeled:]
:Distance from me
:10 cm
:1 m
:10 m
:100 m
:1 km
:10 km
:1000 km
:106 km
:1 AU
:100 AU
:10,000 AU

:[At the top left of the chart is the light-red rectangle and the black dot labeled:]
:Possible undiscovered planets
:Known planets

:[Going down and anti-clockwise from these two labels, the rest of the chart is transcribed:]
:Planets ruled out because I would be inside them
::Earth
:Planets ruled out because I would have noticed them above my house
:Planets ruled out because they wouldn’t fit through my door
:Birds that got into my house
:Skin flora
:<big>Bugs</big>
::(Not planets)
:Giant bugs
:Planets which are actually birds
:Airplanes
:(Fool’s planets’)
:<big>Space junk</big>
:<big>Comets and asteroids</big>
:<big>Oort cloud</big>
:<big>Satellites</big>
:Stuff we can see through telescopes
:Planets we can see at night
::(Moon)
:Dwarf planets
:Planet Nine?
::?
:Planets ruled out by the WISE survey
:Planets ruled out because we would see them during the day

==Trivia==
===Image used to create data for the table===
*This image was used for obtaining the data in [[#Table of items in the chart|the table above]].
*The image was created in a power-point slide show and moving lines along and reading out the position gave the values, with the help of Excel.
**The lines going all through the image goes through existing ticks on the axes
**Lines not going all the way out to the axes are not over existing ticks
**Values for the lines have been added both for those without ticks but also for ticks without values in the comic.
**Lines have been color coded, so red for metric, green for AU and purple for units that is not used in the comic.
*Superman has been drawn in as best as possible in blue (should probably have gone out to 10 km as for big birds, and closer by for a hug).
*An updated version with many more details have been added since the first version.
**See more details [[#Info on new version|below]] the image.
[[File:Modified_possible_undiscovered_planets.png]]
====Info on new version====
*New features in the image include more precisely marked dots of the planets and other objects.
*The dots used for planets or objects are always larger than the diameter range, and centered on the average diameter and average distance.
**All the diameters used here have been taken from the relevant Wikipedia page.
**The same orange color has been used for all planets and the Moon, except when two planets are too close on the log-log plot to be clearly distinct if the same color, then one is brown for only this reason.
***To avoid snide remarks Uranus is not one of those marked with brown…
**Dwarf planets and the like are pink
**The comet is also in brown as it is too close to other pink dots
**Images have been used for the suns two states and a yellow dot for the only other star.
*Distance:
*Earth can have three different distances from Randall which have all been marked:
**No distance because he is standing on top of it
**The radius (or the center of mass), since this is the average distance Randall is from the Earth
**Or the diameter (which is used in the comic) as the farthest distance from Randall is the opposite side of the Earth.
**Data:
***For the seven planets (and Pluto) the distance range and average distance from Earth has been taken from [http://distancefrom.facts.co/earthtomercury/distancebetweenearthandmercury.php this page]
****Which needs to be opened as a new page to not return to this page.
***For other objects the range has been taken from the relevant Wikipedia page
**The Moon’s distance range is small enough to be within the dot.
**For the four outer planets the dots will as a minimum cover the range from lowest to highest distance from Earth
**For the three terrestrial planets the distance varies so much that a bar has been added through the dot placed at the average distance, to indicate the range of distances.
*The original dot for planet nine covers the range of diameters (at the top just, and then further down at the bottom.)
**The distance is centered on 1000 AU and it is expected to be between 700 and 1200 AU away, which is covered by the dot.
**But it could be as close as 200 AU. But if it where we should have detected it by now.
*There are several planets/objects that are very far from the mark.
**The moon is far off on both parameters.
**All three terrestrial planets are way off.
***Except of course if the 2nd planet is Venus, then the deviation for that one would not be too bad.
***But it would not make sense to make Mercury bigger than Venus and it thus just seems that all three are far off the mark
**Jupiter is spot on, Saturn not far away and Uranus close enough.
***But Neptune is so close to Uranus on both parameters on the log-log plot, that this probably explains why it has been placed quite of the mark distance wise.
*Extra additions:
**Pluto has been included and it is not within the pink Dwarf planet region.
***This makes sense as it has been discovered, and any object this large and that close would have been discovered by now.
***Thus again indicating that this region is the region of Possible Undiscovered '''Dwarf''' Planets.
**Ceres and Vesta have been included and they are not within the asteroids region
***As they can be seen in telescopes and are the two largest objects in the belt this makes sense.
***Their distance range is indicated with bars and ranges this wide since their distance from Earth depend drastically on which side of the sun they are.
**Halley's Comet has been added and here a large bar is needed to indicate the distance.
***The distance from the sun has been used, as it can get very close to the Earth when passing it on the way in.
**The International Space Station has been included
***The distance range is given as the height above Earths surface which the line just covers (i.e. not distance from Randall when it is on the other side of the Earth.)
***The diameter is ranging from the height of 20 m to the width of 108 m (length 73 m).
**The Sun has been inserted
***Also when it becomes a red giant
***This is a case where an actual real object would put Randall inside them. As can be seen the Sun as a red giant would be in the ''Planets ruled out because I would be inside them'', as it in the end will reach a diameter of about 2 AU, it will thus reach out to Earth (as the radius is 1AU).
***Again the way this zone is depicted using diameter rather than radius makes no sense, since the 2 AU diameter sun would only just reach out to Earth, and not out to Mars. It would make more sense to locate the red star on the boarder of this zone, which would have been the case if Randall had used radius rather than diameter.
**The nearest star, Alpha Centauri A, has also been included.
***Thus only the largest of the three stars in that star system is shown.
**The other two stars are smaller than the sun, and the same distance away when compared to the total distance.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Space]]

1639: To Taste

2016-03-19T01:45:17Z

173.245.54.34: /* Explanation */ Changed "first place. the title text" to "first place. The title text"

{{comic
| number = 1639
| date = February 5, 2016
| title = To Taste
| image = to_taste.png
| titletext = Look, recipe, if I knew how much was gonna taste good, I wouldn't need you.
}}

==Explanation==
The imprecision of {{w|recipes}} is often a source of frustration to culinary novices, especially the more analytically-minded. [[Cueball]] expects a recipe to provide instructions precise enough that by following them carefully, a cook can create a dish exactly as the recipe author intended. Unfortunately, exact replication is impossible in cooking because of the natural variation of ingredients as well as differences in equipment. In addition, most home cooks lack the tools needed to make precise measurements, such as scales and thermometers. Thus, a recipe for strawberry {{w|smoothies}} might read "add sugar '''to taste'''" because the recipe-writer can't specify precisely how ripe the strawberries are to begin with. In addition, a smoothie recipe would typically specify imprecise quantities of fruit such as "1 banana" or "1 cup of strawberries" (much less precise than specifying the weight). Thus, it is impossible for the cook to determine the correct amount of {{w|sugar}} without actually tasting the drink.

The instruction "to {{w|taste}}" can also be used for ingredients that alter a simple aspect of the food's flavor, such as {{w|sweetness}}, {{w|Taste#Sourness|sourness}}, {{w|Taste#Saltiness|saltiness}} or {{w|Taste#Bitterness|bitterness}} without affecting the quality of the overall dish. Individual preferences can vary wildly and it's not possible for a recipe's author to predict how much the reader will want. Specifying any exact amount in these cases will inevitably lead to the food being too {{w|Bland diet|bland}} for some, while being too {{w|Pungency|strong}} for others.

In this comic, Cueball is shown as having no idea how to cook (or having a ridiculously large sweet tooth), and the suggestion that he is going to add large crates of sugar to a small pot is, of course, silly. This would ruin the dish, as whatever was in the pot would be drowned out by the sugar. Alternatively, he could simply bring in enough sugar to make sure he will not run out of this particular ingredient before it reaches the correct level of sweetness for his taste. This too would display a complete lack of understanding about what it is to cook; even a beginner cook should be able to logically deduce that this is far too much sugar.

The title text is [[Randall|Randall's]] (and Cueball's) personal comment on what he thinks a recipe should do to fulfill his needs. If he knew how much of each ingredient would be appropriate for a given dish, then he would not need the recipe in the first place. The title text actually scolds the recipe for being imprecise. In his view, mixing in imprecise or "use your own judgment" language makes it less of a "recipe" for the dish, and thus less suitable for those looking for the specific instructions to make the dish because they either have no cooking experience, feel they don't have the expertise to make their own decisions, or simply want to follow clearly defined steps without any decision making required.

This is the second comic this week that concerns one of the basic {{w|condiments}} for food, and also regards one of the five {{w|Taste#Basic_tastes|basic tastes}}. The first one, about salt, was [[1637: Salt Mine]]. Lately Randall has made several [[:Category:Food|food related comics]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing near a stove holding a pot just above it. He is looking away from the stove, reading the recipe from a piece of paper he is holding in the other hand.]
:Recipe: ...And add sugar to taste.

:[Cueball has placed the pot on the stove looking at it while holding the paper down along his side.]
:Cueball: ??

:[Cueball leaves the pot and stove to walks off-panel left with the recipe.]

:[Cueball returns backing up to the stove with a dolly loaded with three crates with labels. The bottom crate is still not fully inside the panel and the first letter cannot be seen.]
:Sugar
:Sugar
:ugar

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Food]]

526: Converting to Metric

2016-02-17T21:09:54Z

173.245.54.34: /* Temperature */

{{comic
| number = 526
| date = January 5, 2009
| title = Converting to Metric
| image = converting to metric.png
| titletext = According to River, "adequate" vacuuming systems drain the human body at about half a liter per second.
}}
==Explanation==
Most people will eventually develop an intuitive feel for how big certain measurements are (e.g., how long an inch or a foot is, how much a pound weighs). This comic points out that people who were brought up using the {{w|United States customary units|United States system of customary units}} probably don't have the same intuitive understanding for metric units and attempts to provide some benchmarks for these people. Most of the benchmarks are common sense, highly-useful ones (e.g., if it's 30 degrees Celsius [86 °F], you'd be quite comfortable outside dressed for the beach) but some of the benchmarks are humorous and/or completely useless. Benchmarks include:

===Temperature===
* {{w|Extremes on Earth|Earth's hottest}}: 60⁠ °C [140 °F]: The hottest temperature recorded on earth is actually {{W|List_of_weather_records#Heat|"only" 56.7 °C}}. There have been reports of ten-twenty degrees higher (70-80 ⁠°C) but these measurements are not verified or accepted as world records.
* Various heat waves: {{w|Dubai}} is a city in the United Arab Emirates, and is smack-dab in the middle of an equatorial desert, so their heat waves can get ''hot!''. The southern United States will typically be a few degrees hotter than the northern United States simply because it's closer to the equator, but as mentioned they're both above "Beach Weather".
*30 °C [86 °F]: A little too hot so perfect for a trip to the beach.
*20 °C [68 °F]: Is defined as room temperature in many experimental settings. For some this would feel a little cool. But 25 °C [77 °F] would as mentioned be too warm for room temperature...
*10 °C [50 °F]: Definitely wear a jacket. Especially if there is just a little breeze.
*0⁠ °C [32 °F]: The freezing point of water (32 °⁠F).
*-5 to -10 °C: In Moscow -10 °C is not really that cold - it can go "spit goes clink" cold in {{W|Moscow#Climate|Moscow}}, whereas -5 °C [23 °F] in {{W|Boston#Climate|Boston}} may be very cold.
*-20 °C: FuckFuckFuckCold and -30 °C - Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!: This is implied to be basically what some people would say when they step outside at this temperature. In reality, it would be best to keep ones's mouth firmly closed. At -30 °C, without taking wind chill into account, exposed skin will feel painful in under a minute and frostbite could begin in as little as ten minutes [http://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=5FBF816A-1]. The differing statements seem to imply that at -20 °C, the user would be saying "fuck" repeatedly, whereas at -30 °C, the user is incapable of closing their mouth after starting the first "fuck", and so extends it into one long one.
*-40⁠ °C: Spit goes "clink": As shown in the drawing your spit would freeze ''before'' it hits the ground. This is the agreement point of the two temperature scales i.e. -40 °C = -40 °F.

See also [[1643: Degrees]] about not being able to choose between the two temperature scales.

===Length===
*1 cm [.4 inch] : Width of microSD card and 3 cm - Length of SD card: Refers to the {{w|MicroSD card|memory cards}} used in cell phones, digital cameras, etc.
*12 cm [almost 5 inches]: CD-ROM is a common object so nice to know it is a dozen centimeters.
*14 cm [5 1/2 inches]: Most males would probably exaggerate the size of their penis, but 14–15 cm is very average.
*15 cm [almost 6 inches]: A Bic pen
*80 cm [31 1/2 inches]: A typical doorway is also of standard size. This is barely over the minimum size typically required by codes for buildings [30 inches or 76.2 cm], but more than 50% over the size required for aircraft emergency exits. (It may seem illogical that larger doors are required in buildings than in airplanes, given airplanes are arguably more dangerous. However, there is no real disadvantage to using larger doors in buildings, which are not significantly pressurized, but using larger doors in aircraft would increase the force on the door caused by cabin pressure proportionally.)
*1 m [39.37 inches]: {{w|Lightsaber|Lightsaber blade}}: Refers the weapon used in the {{w|Star Wars}} movie franchise. Canonically, the length of a lightsaber's blade varies greatly depending on the setting of the weapon, but "one meter" is by no means a bad approximation.
*170 cm [5 feet, 7 inches]: {{w|Summer Glau}}: Refers to the height of the actress who portrays the character River Tam on the TV show {{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}.
*200 cm [6 feet, 6 and 3/4 inches]: Darth Vader: Refers to the height of the main antagonist from Star Wars.
*2.5 m [a little over 8 feet]: Ceiling - of course very much depending on which type of building you are in!
*5 m [a little over 16 feet]: Car length - also very much depending on the car...
*16 m 4 cm: Human tower of Serenity crew: Again, this refers to the Firefly TV show, which takes place mostly on a space ship called Serenity.
**Presumably, if all the crew of Serenity were stacked on top of each other, this would be their combined height.
**The comic depicts four characters from the show standing on top of each other; the bottom figure is the crew's captain, {{w|Malcolm Reynolds}} in his signature coat. Judging from the other drawing of Summer Glau from the volume section, she is standing on top of the captain.
**The other five members of the crew should also be stacked on top of these four to reach the 16 m height - giving them an average height of 1.82 m (12 cm more than Summer Glaus height!)

===Speed===
:Here both the SI unit m/s as well as the more used unit kph (kilometers per hour, km/h) is given.
*5 kph [3 mph] - 1.5 m/s: Walking at a normal pace
*13-25 kph [8-15 mph]: Jogging to sprinting.
*35 kph [21.75 mph] - 10 m/s: Fastest human: As of 2009, the fastest a human has been recorded to run in a single sprint is actually 45 kph, a record set by {{w|Usain Bolt}}.
*45-55 kph: Both cats and rabbits go much faster than normal people.
*75 kph [46.6 mph] - 20 m/s: Raptor: It's a comic written by [[Randall]], of course a reference to the {{w|velociraptors}} from ''{{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}}'' was going to be here.
*100 kph - 25 m/s: A slow highway (62 mph).
*110 kph [68.35 mph] - 30 m/s: Interstate (65 mph): Refers to the {{w|Interstate|American highway system}}. (65 mph would actually be only 104.6 kph.)
*120 kph - 35 m/s: Speed you actually go when it says "65": People routinely break the aforementioned speed limit, and the police typically don't mind as long as it's not posing any danger. For the record, 120 kph is 74 mph.
*140 kph - 40 m/s (87-89 mph): Raptor on hoverboard: The {{w|hoverboard}} is probably a reference to the ''{{w|Back to the Future Part II}}'', though it's a fairly common trope in older science fiction stories. Randall obviously did a lot of google searching on this subject the week before - see [[522: Google Trends]].

===Volume===
*3 mL: The amount of blood in a fieldmouse. A similar amount is used in comic [[434: xkcd Goes to the Airport]], but instead of a fieldmouse, the measurement of blood is of a churchmouse, an imaginary animal created by Lewis Carroll. Click [[434: xkcd Goes to the Airport|here]] for a more on [[434: xkcd Goes to the Airport|comic 434]].
*5 mL: A teaspoon - a very common measure.
*30 mL: Nasal passages and 40 mL - Shot glass: The comic points out that you could just about fill a shot glass using the mucus from your nose. Since shot glasses are usually used for mixed drinks, the comic jokes that this mucus could constitute a new, disgusting drink - and this is depicted in the drawing.
*350 mL: Soda can (this is roughly correct for the cans used in the U.S., which hold 12 fluid ounces; in Europe, soda cans commonly hold 330 mL or 500 mL).
*500 mL: Water bottle (this is the also the volume of a European water bottle).
*3 L: Two-liter bottle: Refers to a bottle which contains two liters (in the US usually soda). There is debate as to the reason for the discrepancy in volume. It may be a reference to stereotypical Americans consuming a lot of high-calorie foods and drinks. The simpler explanation would be that it is a joke. The two-liter bottle is named using its volume. Labeling it with a volume of three liters is the joke.
*5 L: An adult male has about 5 L of blood in his body (An ''adequate'' vacuuming system could drain this blood out in 10 s - as per the title text!)
*30 L: Milk crate: Refers to a {{w|Milk crate|type of small box}} originally used to transport milk but now often in demand to be used as bicycle basket, storage spaces, etc.
*55 L: Summer Glau: Again, this refers to the actress from Firefly.
*65 L: {{w|Dennis Kucinich}}: An American politician belonging to the {{w|Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic party}}, noted for his relatively strong (for the US) leftist views.
*75 L: {{w|Ron Paul}}: An American politician belonging to the rival {{w|Republican Party (United States)|Republican party}}, noted for his strong rightist views.
*200 L: Volume of refrigerator.
*As shown in the drawing of this part of the comic, the three persons mentioned above - Glau, Kucinich and Paul (summing up to 195 L) - could in principle all fit inside a standard refrigerator. Cueball thus attempts to push them all inside of one - though it would obviously be very uncomfortable for all parties involved to be trapped in such a small space with not much room between them (not to mention practically impossible).

===Mass===
*3 g: {{w|M&M's|Peanut M&M}}: A small chocolate candy with a peanut inside
*100 g: Cell phone - this very much depends on the age of the cell phone, and the type etc.
*500 g [1 lb.]: A bottle of water contains 500 mL according to the volume section and thus have mass of 500 g.
*1–3 kg: Different types of laptops. The newest and the best is the lightest...
*5 kg [11 lb.]: {{w|LCD monitor}}: A modern flat-screen-style monitor.
*15 kg: {{w|CRT monitor}}: An older-style, cathode ray tube-based monitor.
**This ends the section on computer screens, which overrode the normal sequence by weight as the next two feline inspired entries are lighter than the two before. This was presumably done so that the reader's eye will be confused or amused at seeing (in the comic's caseless captioning font) CRT immediately followed by CAT in the vertical text column.
*4 kg: Cat and 4.1 kg - Cat (with caption): Refers to the internet's love of putting {{w|Lolcat|captions on cats}}. Usually, this is done in a graphics program, but here the cat is actually physically carrying around his caption. The "with caption" part is most likely a reference to [[262: IN UR REALITY]], where [[Black Hat]] glues captions to cats, after running out of staples.
*60 kg [130 lb.]: Lady - for instance if she is Summer Glau - could be her again depicted in the comic - average weight of an adult woman.
*70 kg [150 lb.]: Dude - here depicted as Cueball who is the average guy, and 70 kg is average weight for an adult man.
*150 kg: Shaq: {{w|Shaq|Shaquille O'Neal}}, a famously tall basketball player.
*200 kg [440 lb.]: Your mom
*220 kg: Your mom (incl. 20 kg of cheap jewelry) and
*223 kg: Your mom (also incl. 3 kg of makeup)
*The last three refer to a common type of {{w|Your mom}} joking insult whereby someone insults someone else's mother in a creative way. Here, the comic slyly calls your mom fat, then implies she wears way too much jewelry and finally also almost 7 pounds of makeup. This is a common theme in [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Your_Mom xkcd]. (20 kg of "cheap" jewelry has several times the volume than 20 kg of gold jewelry, because of the difference in density.)

===Title text===
The title text refers once again to Summer Glau's Firefly character, {{w|River Tam}}, who (after being subjected to a long series of medical experiments) is severely mentally ill and often comes out with macabre — though scientifically accurate — pronouncements. In Firefly episode "Safe" (season 1, episode 7), she says: "The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems."

==Transcript==
:'''Guide to Converting to Metric'''

:[There are five frames with tables for different units. Between the two upper frames is the following text:]
:The key to converting to metric is establishing
:new reference points. When you hear "26°C",
:instead of thinking "That's 79°F" you should think,
:"that's warmer than a house but cool for swimming."
:Here are some helpful tables of reference points:

:[The frame to the left of the above text:]
:Temperature:
:{| class="wikitable"
|60°C||Earth's hottest
|-
|45°C||Dubai heat wave
|-
|40°C||Southern US heat wave
|-
|35°C||Northern US heat wave
|-
|30°C||Beach weather
|-
|25°C||Warm room
|-
|20°C||Room temperature
|-
|10°C||Jacket weather
|-
|0°C||Snow!
|-
| -5°C||Cold day (Boston)
|-
| -10°C||Cold day (Moscow)
|-
| -20°C||Fuckfuckfuckcold
|-
| -30°C||Fuuuuuuuuuuck!
|-
| -40°C||Spit goes "clink"
|}
:[Next to the last three entries we see Cueball spitting on the ground. The spit bounces.]
:Cueball: Ptoo
:Spit: Clink!

:[The frame to the right of the above text:]
:Length
:{| class="wikitable"
|1 cm||Width of microSD card
|-
|3 cm||Length of SD card
|-
|12 cm||CD diameter
|-
|14 cm||Penis
|-
|15 cm||BIC pen
|-
|80 cm||Doorway width
|-
|1 m||Lightsaber blade
|-
|170 cm||Summer Glau
|-
|200 cm||Darth Vader
|-
|2.5 m||Ceiling
|-
|5 m||Car-length
|-
|16 m 4 cm||Human tower of Serenity crew
|}
:[To the right of the table is a human tower of four of the people from the Serenity crew. The head of the upper person is right below the first entry.]

:[The frame below to the left:]
:Speed
:{| class="wikitable"
|kph|| m/s||
|-
|5||1.5||Walking
|-
|13||3.5||Jogging
|-
|25||7||Sprinting
|-
|35||10||Fastest human
|-
|45||13||Housecat
|-
|55||15||Rabbit
|-
|75||20||Raptor
|-
|100||25||Slow highway
|-
|110||30||Interstate (65 mph)
|-
|120||35||Speed you actually go when it says “65”
|-
|140||40||Raptor on hoverboard
|}

:[The frame below in the middle:]
:Volume
:{| class="wikitable"
|3 mL||Blood in a fieldmouse
|-
|5 mL||Teaspoon
|-
|30 mL||Nasal passages
|-
|40 mL||Shot glass
|-
|350 mL||Soda can
|-
|500 mL||Water bottle
|-
|3 L||Two-liter bottle
|-
|5 L||Blood in a human male
|-
|30 L||Milk crate
|-
|55 L||Summer Glau
|-
|65 L||Dennis Kucinich
|-
|75 L||Ron Paul
|-
|200 L||Fridge
|}
:[Next to the entry on nasal passages and shoot glass (starting one entry higher and finishing one entry lower) are the following text:]
:So, when it's blocked
:the mucus in your
:nose could about
:fill a shot glass.
:[Below this text is a drawing of a mucus filled shot glass.]
:Related: I've
:invented the
:worst mixed
:drink ever.
:[Below this next to the four last entries we see Cueball shoving Summer Glau, Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul into an open fridge. Above the fridge in a loosely drawn ellipse are the following text:]
:55+65+75<200

:[The frame below to the right:]
:Mass
:{| class="wikitable"
|3 g||Peanut M&M
|-
|100 g||Cell phone
|-
|500 g||Bottled water
|-
|1 kg||Ultraportable laptop
|-
|2 kg||Light-medium laptop
|-
|3 kg||Heavy laptop
|-
|5 kg||LCD monitor
|-
|15 kg||CRT monitor
|-
|4 kg||Cat
|-
|4.1 kg||Cat (with caption)
|-
|60 kg||Lady
|-
|70 kg||Dude
|-
|150 kg||Shaq
|-
|200 kg||Your mom
|-
|220 kg||Your mom (incl. cheap jewelry)
|-
|223 kg||Your mom (also incl. makeup)
|}
:[Next to the entries of cat and cat (with caption) are two drawings of cats. The second one has a caption across its chest.]
:Cat (with caption): Mrowl?
:[Below this and next to the lady and dude entries (and the Shaq entry) are drawings of Megan and Cueball.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Velociraptors]]
[[Category:Your Mom]]
[[Category:Firefly]]

Talk:1595: 30 Days Hath September

2015-10-28T05:28:27Z

173.245.54.34:

THIS RHYME IS TERRIBLE. You can slot the months into it in nearly any order and it will still scan. The knuckle trick is far superior. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_days_hath_September#Knuckle_Mnemonic
[[User:CLAVDIVS|CLAVDIVS]] ([[User talk:CLAVDIVS|talk]]) 06:00, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

:I use the knuckle trick too. And I am Dutch, so not only the "German, French, Swiss, Romanians and Belgians" use that trick. I count from the index finger and reverse on the little finger for July and August. Might not be representative for all Dutch, I've heard the rhyme too. (suitably translated) -- [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.196|141.101.104.196]] 09:36, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

:From Jan to Jul(1~7) its odd numbers 31 days, while from Aug to Dec(8~12) its even numbers 31. Feb is 28 or 29. Much shorter. - MythSearcher {{unsigned ip|162.158.176.35}}
::Or (in other words) subtract 7 if number of month is above 7. Then odd always means 31 and even 30 or February. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.159|162.158.91.159]] 07:39, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
:As above, except that I use Hallowe'en and New Year as checks! {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.61}}
:I come from the UK. I have never heard the rhyme and everyone I know uses the knuckle trick. Though London is not exactly representative of the whole country... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.165|162.158.90.165]] 09:51, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
:I've been taught the knuckle mnemonic as a child; it went index finger to little finger, then to other hand starting from index finger again. Incidentally, I'm Russian (as opposed to German, French, Swiss, Romanian, Belgian, or Dutch). --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.81.77|141.101.81.77]] 10:00, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
Datum point: British, was taught the rhyme ('alone'-rhyming version) when young but then learnt the (apparently widespread) 'knuckle-trick' from I-don't-know-where. Little-finger knuckle is January, index-finger knuckle is July, then right-hand in reverse, for me, until out of months... So I tend to use the latter more, now. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.39.224|162.158.39.224]] 17:23, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
:I'm American and I also recall hearing the finger trick in school. I don't recall which ones I used though. At some point I just remembered that they alternate long/short but July and August are both long (I think my dad telling me the story of how Julius Caesar and Caesar Agustus both wanted a long month named after them was the reason) and just counted mentally, and at this point I just have each one memorized that way. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.34|173.245.54.34]] 05:28, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

I always heard "30 days hath september, april june and november, all the rest have 31, except february alone. And that has 28 days clear, with 29 in each leap year."
How do people remember it if it doesn't rhyme?- madness! {{unsigned ip|162.158.38.218}}
:Personally I could swear I heard "except for February which has none" as a child, and recall thinking as a child that made no sense. However, literally none of the other variants work- "alone" doesn't rhyme with "one" (...even though they should; are there any accents that pronounce those the same?), and it also doesn't scan; this comic actually sent me to Wikipedia to look; turns out they have a massive list of variants but the lack of rhyming there is painful. The only ones that work are those that give up on describing February (ex. "Except for February—and that's no fun!"). I strongly suspect based on the lack of rhyming that the rhyme originated with something like "which has none" and was modified to make sense at the expense of rhyming. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.34|173.245.54.34]] 05:28, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

:No no no, its "30 days hath November, August, March and December..." --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 11:31, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

:Pudder, No no no no no no, March and August and December have 31 days! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.163|108.162.249.163]] 23:30, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

In Spain both rhyme and knuckle are well-known, and usually taught to children (the rhyme suitably [https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendario_gregoriano#Duraci.C3.B3n_del_a.C3.B1o_gregoriano translated], of course). For some reason, I've always found it easier to just remember the number of days by memory than resorting to any mnemonic trick. I tend to use the known numbers to check if I remember the mnemonic correctly, and not vice versa. Also, it's usual to see people wondering which number corresponds to which month (e.g. October is month 10), which I also remember no problem since I have memory. [[User:Jojonete|Jojonete]] ([[User talk:Jojonete|talk]]) 12:37, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
::Of course if we hadn't moved the start of the year from March to January, September, October, November and December would make much more sense as months 7, 8, 9 and 10! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.204|162.158.34.204]] 15:30, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
:I'm from Denmark and here I have heard of the knuckle method, but we do not have a rhyme that is so well know that I have heard of it (but I'm sure someone has.) But as the Jojonete wrote I also just know which month have how many days by memory etc. But I have told my six year old daughter about the knuckle method. I think it is great that it works. And everyone knows that February is the one with 28 days, so that is not the difficult part to remember... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:50, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

I tried the mouseover text trick and got "7" for October. Someone help! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.119|162.158.255.119]] 17:10, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

:You are very funny. The mouseover text trick works great when your app is set to "month" view, but fails if set to "week" view. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.163|108.162.249.163]] 23:30, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

October of all months seems like a pretty easy one to keep track of, simply because October 31st is a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween pretty popular holiday.] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.11|108.162.220.11]] 18:48, 26 October 2015 (UTC)
: A holiday where? Why would it be a holiday? [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.33|198.41.238.33]] 03:00, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

;brain adaptation ridicule…celebration
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.66.5|141.101.66.5]] 09:44, 27 October 2015 (UTC) me thinks that while the absurdity of these life hacks has been explained well the deeper issue might yet be missed here: the cultural shift from relying on mental recall and concentration to adapting your brain to rely on technology more than before, reduced attention span and reduced factual memory (better childhood telephone number recall than children's mobile numbers recall) and optimized lookup routines {{unsigned ip|141.101.66.5}}

<big>digital amnesia!</big> --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.66.5|141.101.66.5]] 10:02, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

http://www.bbc.com/news/education-34454264 --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.66.5|141.101.66.5]] 10:38, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

+ http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/wyzowl/its-official-we-have-shorter-attention-spans-than-goldfish-infographic-01353885#w1RCPWdWy1LoDlvI.97 --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.66.5|141.101.66.5]] 10:48, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

My uncle had a nonsense rhyme based on this: 
Thirty days hath September, 
April, June, and no wonder 
All the rest ate peanut butter, 
Except Grandma, who rode a tricycle 
about this color. (holds hand 3 feet above ground) 
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.26|108.162.216.26]] 13:19, 27 October 2015 (UTC)

Yay! I came here specifically to post this version, but was beaten to it. It's from the Napolean XIV album from 1966: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvABMymQz_k {{unsigned ip|108.162.218.142}}

Talk:639: Lincoln-Douglas

2015-08-30T12:30:56Z

173.245.54.34: Created page with "Accurate enough anyway; dying generally does reduce one's debating skills. ~~~~"

Accurate enough anyway; dying generally does reduce one's debating skills.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.34|173.245.54.34]] 12:30, 30 August 2015 (UTC)

Talk:628: Psychic

2015-08-30T07:07:57Z

173.245.54.34:

Tip: No one picks 50. [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 01:35, 14 March 2013 (UTC)
:The '''Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything''' is 42. This comic is wrong ;) --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:52, 6 October 2013 (UTC)

Interestingly, it appears Megan was trying to trip Cueball up. The obvious choice would have been "42", a number with very geeky connotations, {{w|42_(number)#Popular_culture|to say the least}}. Megan may have thought of it immediately, known Cueball would suspect, and gone for the next higher number, 43. Of course, Cueball was smart enough to realize this simple trick, and knew Megan was, too. So he won anyway. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.91}}

I seems that 37 (or 73) would be most not-random random. Though I cannot say, that sources are 100% reliable: [http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/creatures/pages/random.html]
[http://catb.org/jargon/html/R/random-numbers.html]
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.88.219|141.101.88.219]] 08:57, 15 May 2015 (UTC) Koovert

Wait, if Cueball's probability to pick a specific number is 1/100 and Megan's probability to pick a specific number is also 1/100, wouldn't the probability of their picks being the same be 0.01%?
--[[User:Jogerj|Jogerj]] ([[User talk:Jogerj|talk]]) 02:11, 12 August 2015 (UTC)
::Yes, now multiply it by 100 because there can be 100 specific numbers. [[User:Anachor|Anachor]] ([[User talk:Anachor|talk]]) 10:17, 27 August 2015 (UTC)
::No, because you only have to have one of them match the other, not both of them match a number from some other source.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.34|173.245.54.34]] 07:07, 30 August 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1136: Broken Mirror

2015-08-29T05:49:47Z

173.245.54.34:

The lettering on the first word is unusually sloppy. I thought it said "COPS", as in Black Hat was about to be arrested for breaking the mirror, on the TV show Cops. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 11:16, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

:Yep, I read COPS, too. In another vein, is Black-hat getting all religious on us? Cueball, maybe. Beret guy, more likely. But Black-hat seems to be too machiavellian to quote biblical passages, except as a crutch or an "out". (Edit: now that I think about it, it's the latter: the same fate awaits everybody... as in, everybody will cut their feet on the shards.) -- [[Special:Contributions/207.225.239.130|207.225.239.130]] 20:05, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Does anyone have an opinion on how Black Hat broke the mirror? If it simply fell from the wall, he would not incur the bad luck. [[User:Jsbqvb|Jsbqvb]] 15:31, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

: I think his point is that it wouldn't matter; ''there ain't no such thing as bad luck'': the same fate awaits everybody. -- [[Special:Contributions/207.225.239.130|207.225.239.130]] 20:05, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

: Maybe he did it on purpose, just for that soliloquy at the end (I wouldn't put it past him...).--[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 20:59, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

:: I'd say so. "My fate is a these shards" ... to cause pain and suffering to all he comes in contact with. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 06:01, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Time for some more obvious questions, which I dont get! So, why he decided not to tidy it, but to leave shards like that? [[Special:Contributions/83.166.112.53|83.166.112.53]] 05:44, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

What's the significance of the title text? "I am always [something]" rings a faint bell, but I can't place it.
[[User:Wwoods|Wwoods]] ([[User talk:Wwoods|talk]]) 19:49, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
:It made me think of "We have always been at war with Eastasia" (from Orwell's ''1984'') ...but that probably wasn't what Randall meant to evoke. —[[Special:Contributions/50.14.33.235|50.14.33.235]] 22:14, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

Could it be the comic where the title text ends with I AM ALWAYS BREATHING MANUALLY (Skynet, comic 1046) [[Special:Contributions/220.255.1.163|220.255.1.163]] 15:18, 21 November 2012‎ (UTC)

"All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrifices, and to him that does not sacrifice: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that swears an oath, as he that fears the results of a sworn oath." means:
Everyone dies eventually.

If you sweep up the shards you will clean most of them up but will not gather every piece for sure. It looks like you care if you do that though. Black hat has an history of not caring. Not that anyone has the right to interpret what another man writes. Nor should one care so deeply as to do so. Especially not for a bloody comic! I think he was just pointing out that Cueball's statement, though possible, was not necessarily true or untrue.[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 14:35, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

Given that Black Hat is known to be based on Aram from Men In Hats, this seems relevant: http://meninhats.com/d/20031022.html [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.116|199.27.128.116]] 03:39, 28 January 2015 (UTC)
The rain, it raineth on the just,
And also on the unjust fella.
But mainly on the just, because
The unjust steals the just's umbrella.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.34|173.245.54.34]] 05:49, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1385: Throwing Rocks

2015-08-29T04:13:47Z

173.245.54.34:

Current explanation says the rock in the second panel is seen "possibly sinking the boat." Whoever typed this apparently didn't notice the undisturbed leaf boat, floating approximately 2 feet away from the splash. - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.36|108.162.240.36]] 04:38, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

My boat sunk! THANKS, OBAMA! - [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.153|173.245.56.153]] 05:32, 23 June 2014 (UTC)
:SURE... BLAME OBAMA WHEN IT WAS BUSH WHO STARTED IT. ''(Sorry! Couldn't resist.)'' [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.239|103.22.201.239]] 11:15, 23 June 2014 (UTC)
:: Heh. Thanks. That started the day with a laugh. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.39|199.27.133.39]] 16:48, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Did we already know both Beret Guy and Megan are left handed? [[User:Wrybred|Wrybred]] ([[User talk:Wrybred|talk]]) 12:20, 23 June 2014 (UTC)wrybred
: They could be ambidextrous. Seriously I suspect that was easier to draw with them facing that way. And them facing the other way is just wrong.[[User:Halfhat|Halfhat]] ([[User talk:Halfhat|talk]]) 18:14, 23 June 2014 (UTC)
: I agree with halfhat - it is a tool to give the drawing the correct flow. They need to throw that way for the story to progress in the reading direction. And then it is easier to throw that way. Also remember that although we think of Megan as one person, this does not apply to Randal! Megan is just a stand-in for any girl (as are Cueball for any guy). Not so sure about Beret Guy though... I think it is a nice observation by the way. I did not see that. But to say that they are always left handed is not correct. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 19:33, 23 June 2014 (UTC)
:I don't know about you, but when I look at the image it could go either way in terms of which hand they are using. They are stick figures so you can't see shoulders, chests, or backs. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.161|108.162.237.161]] 23:19, 24 June 2014 (UTC)
:No, it's pretty clear from the angle of the water's edge which way round we're looking. For those to be right hands, Megan and Beret Guy would have to be standing at a very strange angle to the water. Also the swoosh from Megan's stone goes behind her head.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.215|108.162.249.215]] 04:22, 26 June 2014 (UTC)

Vinland != America
: "Vinland was the name given to an area of North America by Norse Vikings..." per Wikipedia. (Providing actual info rather than just yelling "NO!" is always more helpful. But I'll take your comment (and you posting it anonymously) was intended as being in the spirit of the comments Randall's poking fun at.) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.39|199.27.133.39]] 16:52, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Since "Leaf" Ericson is a pun on Leif, I think Vinland is a pun for Finland, but with the prefix "Vin" from "Vine". All of these puns make sense since the boat is made from a leaf. {{unsigned ip|199.27.130.228}}
:Try reading the wikipedia entry for Vinland. That makes a lot more sense. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.30|108.162.240.30]] 15:18, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Is it just me or does this sound a lot like the game discordian game "Sink"? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.240.30|108.162.240.30]] 15:15, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

The explanation says Megan's comment is in contrast, I felt it was more of a comparison or a parallel. News articles go away once they're a week old in some places, various comments could be seen as thrown rocks or stones. Am I the only one who read it this way? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.63|173.245.55.63]] 15:27, 23 June 2014 (UTC)
:I really feel that it would be more in line with my interpretation if the "In contrast, " was simply removed... I don't think it's in contrast to anything. She contemplates, then decides to join in. As for the metaphor of thrown stones, I'm not sure I really see it, except possibly as a meta-meta-reference... (if such a thing is a thing?) -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 12:47, 24 June 2014 (UTC)
: Come to think of it, I agree - it's a little loose, 'cuz while Beret Guy is throwing stones at the boat himself, Megan is just reading the comments (stones) that eventually sink the article (boat), but I see a metaphor, for sure! {{unsigned|Brettpeirce}}

Happy Leif Erikson day, everyone! Jinga-hinga-durga! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.171|141.101.98.171]] 17:15, 23 June 2014 (UTC)
:141.101, wɘnt to gɘt morɘ giant papEr. Uhhhh... [[User:MrGameZone|MᴙGam]][[User talk:MrGameZone|ɘZonɘ]] 18:19, 23 June 2014 (UTC)

Every day, I read the discussion on an explainxkcd page ;) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.73|173.245.50.73]] 14:26, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Ha! Great pun in the title text, though he could have had another had he said "Vineland". [[User:Jevicci|Jevicci]] ([[User talk:Jevicci|talk]]) 15:12, 24 June 2014 (UTC)

Somewhat off-topic, but for me, by definition a rock is something too big to throw (or throw easily). They must be throwing stones. (Or pebbles, but the objects look too large for that.) Is this one of those national/regional vocabulary things?--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.215|108.162.249.215]] 04:26, 26 June 2014 (UTC)

If a rock is something too big to throw (then likely or nearly too heavy to carry) how could one then have a rock collection? {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.187}}
--You could store it in iTunes, for example.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.34|173.245.54.34]] 04:13, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Any chance the title text is a reference to "you will not go to space today" from Up-Goer Five? [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 09:37, 9 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:582: Brakes

2015-08-29T03:45:58Z

173.245.54.34:

The shirt would have been even better if they would have put the alt-text underneath! -- mwburden [[Special:Contributions/70.91.188.49|70.91.188.49]] 20:53, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

Car Talk wasn't a live call-in show! You call them, and they call you back, and it's edited into a show structure!
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.50|173.245.54.50]] 00:48, 23 January 2014 (UTC)
True... but the version in the comic has to be a live show for the joke to work, and most listeners, unless they called in, probably didn't realize it wasn't live somewhere.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.34|173.245.54.34]] 03:45, 29 August 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1095: Crazy Straws

2014-01-27T09:51:27Z

173.245.54.34: famous for being famous?

Compare [[915:_Connoisseur|xkcd.com/915]]. [[User:Arlo James Barnes|Arlo James Barnes]] ([[User talk:Arlo James Barnes|talk]]) 10:06, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

*"Subcultures" is misspelled in the comic. Perhaps Randall will fix it and reupload? [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 15:17, 15 August 2012 (UTC)
**Randall has corrected the mistake, but the image on this page is still the old one. Would we want to keep both versions of the image in the interest of completeness? [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 00:02, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

* Have to admit, this one went a bit over my head. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 20:38, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

*Fractals not only have an unlimited level of detail; they are (most times) self-similar in the sense that you'll find the same pattern on every level of detail. Just like finding the equivalent of finding the "Paris hilton of the plastic straw subcultures' hobbyists' splinter group." [[User:BKA|BKA]] ([[User talk:BKA|talk]]) 09:06, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

*I think we should get the corrected comic, but note that it was originally misspelled in the explanation. Tebow Time, Twice a Day. 17:19, 16 August 2012 (UTC) ([[User talk:jjhuddle|talk]])

*It's a mistake to think the every-pickier level of detail is a flaw in these interest subcultures. Smaller and smaller levels of study are what flesh out our knowledge of the world. And myriad small subgroups of shared interests allow many people to achieve excellence and status, not just in their minds but in an (admittedly small) range of reality. Examples: the people who maintain and improve the Kennedy line of Boston Terriers; people whose specialty is tooth wear in prehuman hominids; people who parse xkcd comics.
** This comment was mine, attribution corrected.[[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 12:39, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

* I don't think that the comic means it as a flaw, I think it's a just a (humourous) observation, not a negative critisism.

* Agreed, and it even goes on here (just drop in on the community portal, to see tempests in a tea pot such as whether he's [[Cueball]] or [[Rob]]...) I couldn't help but think that RM poked his head in on this site and came up with this comic as a response. (Of course, that would be greatly overestimating our importance in the grand scheme of things, but we are all entitled to our little fantasies of grandeur, no?) Ah, well... it seemed perfect timing nonetheless. '''By the way, folks: please sign your posts.''' Four tildes, a la <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki>, is all it takes... -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:30, 16 August 2012 (UTC)

* I don't think the fractal analogy holds because human subcultures cannot be nested infinitely deep. At some point, subcultures will come down to individual humans, who aren't also (infinitely deep) subcultures. [[Special:Contributions/70.31.155.184|70.31.155.184]] 15:06, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
** Randall is using the term hyperbolically — his point is that subcultures have ludicrous amounts of detail, not necessarily infinite. [[Special:Contributions/108.233.253.211|108.233.253.211]] 18:26, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
*** Half of me disagrees with you, with the other half in an argument with itself over from which crazy straw will Paris Hilton look best drinking. [[Special:Contributions/146.186.149.47|146.186.149.47]] 18:49, 16 August 2012 (UTC)
**** Still, even people so crazy they are kept in straitjacket all the time can have only several dozens of personalities ... there's not enough space in brain for infinite. -- [[Special:Contributions/89.177.52.2|89.177.52.2]] 09:36, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
** I still believe Randall's point was not the infinite detail, but self-similarity. Regardless on whether you look at something very popular or a niche - you'll always find exactly the same social structures. [[User:BKA|BKA]] ([[User talk:BKA|talk]]) 06:05, 17 August 2012 (UTC)
** Funny, I was just reading the article http://www.economist.com/node/21560559 -- And while they're not infinite, there's a damn lot of (microbial) subcultures within a human too!

* Isn't there any reference to the [http://www.blinkenlights.com/classiccmp/gateswhine.html Open Letter to Hobbyists] and the famous hacker Eric Raymond?
** I keep coming back to this page to see who "Eric" is. I don't think it's Eric Raymond (no apparent connection, from what I can see). Any insights? [[User:Zelmo|Zelmo]] ([[User talk:Zelmo|talk]]) 03:56, 18 August 2012 (UTC)
*** "Eric" isn't an uncommon name, and in fact, there's a well documented "[http://www.catb.org/esr/ecsl/ Eric Conspiracy]" out there. While ESR is a prominent Eric, I see nothing to tie the Eric in this comic to ESR specifically. For that matter, I'd be hard pressed to see a reference to Bill Gate's "Open Letter to Hobbyists", either. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 17:54, 19 August 2012 (UTC)
*** I wonder if the comic is making an oblique reference to String theory and Loop Quantum Gravity. There was (and still is, in some places) a lot of hostility between the two camps, most easily visible in the articles and comments of various physics blogs. This would kind of tie in with the 'fractal' comment, since you see this same division into strings (or wiggly crazy straws) and loops - it's a pattern that repeats when you look at physics groups or crazy straw groups. In that case, the Eric would be "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Verlinde Erik Verlinde]". I know it's a bit of a stretch, but what do you think? [[User:Slouchingtb|Slouchingtb]] ([[User talk:Slouchingtb|talk]]) 01:56, 20 August 2012 (UTC)
**** Okay, at this point the depth of the discussion has just corroborated the point of the comic. Good job, everyone, pack it up. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.236|141.101.99.236]] 17:44, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

* IMO [[Kim Kardashian]] is a much better example of someone who is famous (just) for being famous. Hilton hotel scion etc. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.34|173.245.54.34]] 09:51, 27 January 2014 (UTC)