explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:886: Craigslist Apartments

2020-03-08T17:59:02Z

173.245.54.73:

The house with a house inside may be a reference to the tesseracted, 4D house from Robert Heinlein's "-And He Built A Crooked House." {{unsigned ip|‎173.225.52.131}}

I would have thought the klein stairs with the intense heat in short bursts may be a reference to a research fusion reactor. 'Net searches seem to suggest there may be connections between plasma behaviour and klein bottle mathematics. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.5}}

The Minotaur sounds like a reference to Doctor Who The God Complex. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.201|173.245.52.201]] 05:05, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

The closet full of board games which play themselves could be a reference to the movie Jumanji.
Can't remember a tub full of blood from that movie, though, however surely pets won't survive long. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.180|173.245.53.180]] 21:13, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

I explained the third one, but I have no idea about the lack of floor. Because of this and others, I added an 'Incomplete' tag with the appropriate reason. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.206|108.162.212.206]] 03:32, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

I believe that the "616" "$1616" is a reference to the number of the beast. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.90|173.245.54.90]] 18:53, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
:The number of the beast is 666. Not 616. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 01:54, 18 April 2014 (UTC)
::It sounds like you must have some good information to make that statement so plainly - maybe you should correct the appropriate section on Wikipedia ({{w|Number_of_the_beast#616}}) and add your references/citations. It would seem several sources (including the oldest known ''"version"'' of the text) indicates '616' as a "variant" [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 12:59, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

"including the oldest known ''"version"'' of the text"

Have you read that article?

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 23:20, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

I motion to close/complete this one. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.65|199.27.128.65]] 17:57, 17 April 2014 (UTC)

Regarding the house near Pripyat explanation, "the glass facade references radioactive glassy minerals created by the explosion" seems to be conflating the Corium produced at Chernobyl with the Trinitite produced by nuclear explosion at Alamogordo. There was a steam explosion at Chernobyl, but the Corium was produced by the heat of the subsequent meltdown, not by the force of the explosion. The current explanation also includes, "It may also be the nuclear facility itself, depending on interpretation; ...". It seems clear to me that the apartment for rent is the nuclear facility itself, and not some house in Pripyat, which is "5-min drive" away; why else the "Three floors w/pool, rooftop garden, beautiful glass facade". -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.43|108.162.219.43]] 12:03, 18 April 2014 (UTC)
:Agreed. I have edited to reflect the same, and have also noted the likelihood that the "pool" referenced is probably temporary containment for spent nuclear fuel. Not so sure about the "3-level" thing, though. My knowledge of nuclear power plant design is extremely limited. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 12:20, 22 July 2014 (UTC)

I just reread this and I think that the the pool in question may be the glass walled three story swimming pool azure in pripyat. The same one as was in modern warfare. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.167|173.245.54.167]] 13:48, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

Any idea what 1386153 means? Lucas often 'hid' 1138 everywhere, so could this be part of it? Other thoughts:
* [http://www.colorhexa.com/8a0699 RGB (138,6,153) is purple].
* It isn't prime
* It isn't [https://oeis.org/A082897 totient]
— [[User:Fluffy Buzzard|Fluffy Buzzard]] ([[User talk:Fluffy Buzzard|talk]]) 15:26, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

Is the (no animals) part of the veiled porn ad another reference to 'no furries' maybe?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.217|141.101.98.217]] 19:15, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

I think the square room with a door in front is an elevator, making several floor stops in the list. PaperDragonCA [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.89|108.162.216.89]] 21:43, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

I thought that "water and heat from same source" meant being pissed on by the Viking. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.246|173.245.50.246]] 17:34, 20 July 2017 (UTC)

I think that:
* "Strobe light" AND "no floor" together may refer to a greenhouse.
* Cats ok, up to 1/square foot --- literally cat-only animal shelter.
* Viking landlord AND same source for water and head --- the area is Iceland, near geothermal water source.
::My impression of the viking one was that it was on a hot spring. IIRC there are a lot of hot springs in scandanavia

1727: Number of Computers

2016-08-31T15:36:30Z

173.245.54.73: Fixed HTML markup to be valid

{{comic
| number = 1727
| date = August 31, 2016
| title = Number of Computers
| image = number_of_computers.png
| titletext = They try to pad their numbers in the annual reports by counting Galileo's redundant systems as multiple computers, but they're falling behind badly either way.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|More or less finished. Maybe something has been overlooked...?}}
This comic shows a {{w|semi-log plot}} with two red lines. The first line shows the increasing rate that {{w|computers}} have been created since the first came around in the 1940s. The graph shows this to occur around 1946. (The {{w|Computer#First_computing_device|precise date can be discussed}}, because when is a machine actually a computer? But it was {{w|Computer#Digital_computers|around that time}} that the concept began to be used on real working machines). After the first computer the number of computers created is shown to increase in a straight line, thus indicating {{w|exponential growth}}. At the time of the comics release (in 2016) the curve has passed above the 10 billion computers mark, and its projection into the 2020s predicts the numbers of computers to keep rising exponentially for at least 10 years to come.

The other graph represents all the computers destroyed by throwing them into {{w|Jupiter}}. So far this has only worked for the computers on two [[:Category:Space probes|space probes]], those on the {{w|Galileo (spacecraft)|Galileo orbiter}} and its {{w|Galileo Probe|probe}}, the latter's mission was to fly into Jupiter so it went first in 1995, the orbiter went only after it had completed its mission in 2003. That constitutes the first two steps on the graph.

Recently the {{w|Juno (spacecraft)|Juno space probe}} entered into orbit (as only the second after Galileo) and that was celebrated with [[1703: Juno]] on xkcd. Juno's main mission has hardly begun yet, as, at the time of this comics release, it is not even in its final orbit. But once its mission is completed it will also crash into Jupiter thus destroying a third computer. This is shown as the third step, but this section is shown with a dotted line, as the destruction may still fail, if {{w|NASA}} loose contact with the probe before giving it the order to {{w|deorbit}} into Jupiter. This is scheduled to occur in 2018. All three steps on the graph fits with these years. (Note the number of computer created is not drawn with a dotted line into the future, probably because [[Randall]] believes this continued increase in numbers of computers to be quite certain over the next 10-20 years, whereas the outcome of a space probe mission is never certain, even when the probe is already in orbit and only 1½ year before scheduled deorbit!)

Space probes sent to Jupiter are typically scheduled to deorbit and fall into Jupiter's atmosphere. There can be several reasons for this, but one very important it to avoid {{w|Interplanetary contamination|contaminating}} {{w|Moons of Jupiter|Jupiter's moons}} with Earth {{w|pathogens}}, especially the four {{w|Galilean moons}} including {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}} which {{w|Juno_(spacecraft)#Deorbit_and_disintegration|may harbor life}}. Also the huge [[681|gravity well]] of Jupiter that would have to be overcome for such a probe to leave the planet again, makes it impossible to have an orbiting probe return to Earth with samples.

The caption below the comic humorously implies that NASA's reasons for causing the probes to deorbit into Jupiter is merely as a mean for destroying all the computers of the world. The caption notes that they are failing horribly, given they have destroyed three computers out of more than 10 billions. However, due to the semi-log scale, those three computers seem as much more than they actually represents. The caption states that NASA really needs to pick up the pace (having only destroyed two since 1945 when computers were created), if they wish to actually finish the job of destroying all computers by hurling them in to Jupiter.

The title text continues the caption, by telling that in NASA's annual reports they try to make their numbers look better by counting the redundant computer system on Galileo and its probe, thus doubling the numbers of destroyed computers to four. This of course makes no difference out of 10 billions, which is also noted. This indicate that this is a top priority for NASA. That NASA might try to make themselves look better in a report, by doubling a number, could be realistic, to get better funding...

==Transcript==
:[A graph with two red lines. The X-axis is a time-line with eight ticks with every second tick labeled below the axis, ranging from around 1940 to 2030. The Y-axis is a logarithmic count ranging from one to 100 billion. There are 12 ticks with the first and then every third tick after that larger than the two ticks in between. All the large ticks are labeled, but only the first two of the small ticks are similarly labeled. Labels are written to the left of the axis. All labels on both axes are written in gray. The first red line is a straight line (thus exponentially growing), starting close to the bottom left corner eventually reaching the upper right edge of the graph. The other red line begins around 1990 and has three straight steps. Each step is labeled with gray text, the last part of the line (after the present 2016), is dotted. Both of the red lines have an arrow pointing to them with a label above the arrow.]
:Left red line: Number of computers created
:Right red line: Number of computers destroyed by hurling them into Jupiter
:Labels on right red line:
::Galileo probe
::Galileo orbiter
::Juno (scheduled)
:Y-axis:
::1 billion
::1 million
::1,000
::100
::10
::1
:X-axis: 1960 1980 2000 2020

:[Caption below the panel:]
:NASA needs to pick up the pace if they ever want to finish the job.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Timelines]]
[[Category:Space probes]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1687: World War III+

2016-06-02T14:25:12Z

173.245.54.73: /* Explanation */ Most crossbows are not more deadly. They are less accurate and many put less force behind the bolt than a longbow. However, they take far less time to learn to use properly.

{{comic
| number = 1687
| date = May 30, 2016
| title = World War III+
| image = world_war_iii.png
| titletext = I hate how the media only ever uses the first part of this quote, stripping it of its important context.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic takes a famous quote {{w|wikiquote:World War III |attributed}} to {{w|Albert Einstein}}, and expands upon it to absurd levels. The original quote is: "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." The basic premise of this quote is that World War III would be so devastating to the world that all humanity's progress would be wiped out and we would return to the technological level of the Stone Age.

This comic expands the original quote letting Einstein suggest what other weapons future World Wars will be fought with:
*V: {{w|Crossbow}}s. Crossbows are type of bow that is easier to use than a regular longbow, but is much more difficult to load. Most often used in medieval era.
** It's also notable that the crossbow was the only weapon to be banned by the Vatican, due to the comparative lack of skill required to operate.
*VI: {{w|Laser}}s. In science fiction, blasts of lasers are often used instead of conventional guns. This suggests that society would have managed to rebuild lasers by World War VI.
*VII: {{w|Blowgun}}s. A blowgun is a small tube loaded with a small dart or other projectile, fired by blowing into one end. Once again, the world has been devastated, and returned to a simpler technology.
*VIII-XI: Skipped over.
*XII: The same weapons as III, but in underground tunnels. This is a parody of saying that X is basically Y 'but in space/underwater/etc', and, if the quote's well-known meaning is accepted, this has terrifying implications for the state of the world. It could also be a reference to HG Well's {{w|The Time Machine}} where the {{w|Morlock}}s are the master race of the future living in underground caves. Also the fact that he did not know which weapons were used in III makes it weird that he knows the same weapons will be used again later.
*XIII is completely unmentioned. This could be an error, but it makes some sense, considering that 13 is a number considered unlucky in many Western cultures and is sometimes skipped. For example, many tall buildings don't have a floor numbered 13, skipping straight from 12 to 14.
*Before Einstein can discuss World War XIV, the audience of his quote seems to be going away. Einstein claims to have 'a whole list', suggesting that he may know a lot about the future wars to come more so than he has already suggested.

In the title text [[Randall]] feigns annoyance about how the media only use the first part of the quote, thus taking it out of context. He implies that this is actually a full quote by Einstein and that all other occurrences using only the "original" version of this quote are misrepresenting it. In this particular case it is a much stronger quote than the long version from the comic, but it is often the case that quotes taken out of context seem to have an entirely different meaning than originally intended.

==Transcript==
:[A quote with white text on black background:]
:{| class="wikitable"
|style="background-color:black;"|"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. World War V will be fought with crossbows, World War VI will be lasers, and World War VII will be blowguns. I don't know about World Wars VIII through XI. World War XII will use the same weapons as III, but will be fought entirely within underground tunnels. World War XIV will—Hey, come back! I have a whole list!"                   —''Albert Einstein''
|}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]

1682: Bun

2016-05-22T02:43:29Z

173.245.54.73: This comic is about rank-size distribution, at least in part. Don't get the "bun" joke though.

{{comic
| number = 1682
| date = May 18, 2016
| title = Bun
| image = bun.png
| titletext = If a wild bun is sighted, a nice gesture of respect is to send a 'BUN ALERT' message to friends and family, with photographs documenting the bun's location and rank. If no photographs are possible, emoji may be substituted.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Ponytail]] is teaching a class about an animal referred to as a "bun". The word "bun" is short for {{w|bunny}}, an informal term used for a {{w|rabbit}}. The comic absurdly applies the concept of {{w|rank-size distribution}} to bunnies.

Ponytail tells that buns have a {{w|hierarchy}} in which the smaller the bun, the higher its ranking is - a rank-size distribution.

In the next panel, Ponytail states that "at this time of year, a lucky few may catch a glimpse of a king bun" - referring tp the {{w|king effect}}, the phenomenon where the top one or two members of a ranked set show up as outliers, and to the springtime arrival of tiny baby rabbits.

Also interesting to note is that in several Slavic languages (including Russian, Czech and Polish), the word for Rabbit literally means Little King

[[Megan]], who attends this biology class, expected to learn about rabbits and hares which are both {{w|Lagomorpha|lagomorphs}}, a mammalian {{w|Order (biology)|order}} that also includes the {{w|pika}}s. Megan thus clearly has the correct understanding of what a "bun" is. Ponytail then claims that the word ''bun'' is the scientific term, and states that rabbit, hare and lagomorph is the informal way to describe these animals, again being completely wrong as in reality ''bun'' is the most contracted and informal name for a rabbit.

Two students are then legitimately doubting that they're in the correct class and decide to check online (either the crude theories that Ponytail expressed, or their course schedule). A third student however appears to believe the lecturer uncritically, reminding the fellow students that they're looking upon the image of a king (i.e. a cute bunny).

The title text is presumably referring to photographing a rabbit and, for example, posting it on social media - something which would typically be done today if someone sees a rabbit in the wild. If the poster had failed to photograph the rabbit before it ran away, they may typically post a message saying something like "I saw a really cute bunny today!" with an {{w|emoji}} depiction of a rabbit (probably 🐇 or [http://www.amazon.com/WEP-Emoticon-Cushion-Stuffed-Colorful/dp/B01EMBET4A 🐰]). This is especially common in the area where [[Randall]] lives, as the urban rabbit population in the Cambridge/Somerville area has exploded, putting a large human population with relatively little previous experience with rabbit-sightings suddenly in the position of encountering them very frequently.{{Citation needed}}

A teacher teaching complete nonsense is depicted in [[1519: Venus]], but there it is clearly on purpose, which is not so clear here. There are also some similarities with [[1644: Stargazing]], but there the facts are true. Recently there was also another comic about spreading misinformation about the use of language in [[1677: Contrails]], which would be similar to this situation if Ponytail tries to deceive the students (as in a hobby).

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is a teacher and she holds a pointer to a picture of a rabbit on a board behind her.]
:Ponytail: Good morning class! Today, we will be learning about the bun.

:[Two rabbits are shown, one slightly smaller, and a greater than symbol indicates that the smaller one is "greater than" the larger one. Ponytail is talking off panel to the left.]
:Ponytail (off panel): Buns have a hierarchy.
:Ponytail (off panel): A bun's rank is determined by its size. Smaller buns are higher-ranking.

:[Two normal sized rabbits are sitting left and right of a very small rabbit. The smaller rabbit appears to give off a radiant light indicated with gray and white alternating rays going through the image. It is indicated that is shines on the larger rabbits as they are gray on the side turned away from the smaller rabbit and white on the front turned towards it. Ponytail narrates above the frame of this half sized panel:]
:Ponytail (narrating): Most buns you see are relatively low-ranking.
:Ponytail (narrating): But this time of year, a lucky few may catch a glimpse of a ''king bun''.

:[A student represented by Megan is sitting at a desk with a few books on it, pencil in hand.]
:Megan: Ok, hang on.
:Megan: We're talking about rabbits and hares, right? Lagomorphs?

:[Ponytail is holding her finger up on her left hand, and is holding her pointer at her side with the other. Students reply to her off panel to the right.]
:Ponytail: Informally, yes. But in this course, we use the ''scientific'' term, "bun".
:Student #1 (off-panel): Are we sure this is the right room for ''introductory mammalogy?''
:Student #2 (off-panel) : I'll check online.
:Student #3 (off-panel): ''Shh!'' Show respect! We look upon the image of a king!

==Trivia==
*In the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/2/2c/20160518175345!bun.png original version] the word "hierarchy" in the 2nd panel was misspelled as "h'''ei'''rarchy". This led to speculation regarding the near-homonyms "heir" and "hare", but the spelling was later corrected.
*In [[1663: Garden]], the rabbit image had the filename "[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/2x-important-bun.png important-bun.png]":
::[[File:Garden Important bun.png]]

{{comic discussion}}

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

Talk:654: Nachos

2014-06-17T01:11:00Z

173.245.54.73:

[http://xkcd.com/258/] WiFi and microwaves use the same frequency band?! a conspiracy! the machines are taking over! [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 09:38, 15 April 2013 (UTC)
:If your microwave is interfering with your wifi then it's time to get a new microwave because your old one has a gaping hole. Microwave ovens form Faraday cages to contain EM radiation within them, and if the EM radiation is leaking that means the Faraday cage is violated somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/72.128.82.131|72.128.82.131]] 01:00, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
::Thank you, this information really improved my understanding of the joke. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 01:12, 7 January 2014 (UTC)
:::This is true. It's why you can stand in front of a microwave without boiling alive. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.73|173.245.54.73]] 01:11, 17 June 2014 (UTC)
Actually, Sniper doesn't have a "Boom! Headshot." line ingame, it's from the meet the team vids. UT maybe? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.121|108.162.231.121]] 08:03, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1365: Inflation

2014-05-07T15:23:59Z

173.245.54.73:

Space Jam! - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.147|108.162.225.147]] 04:51, 7 May 2014 (UTC)
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.186|173.245.63.186]] 04:54, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117705/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.186|173.245.63.186]] 04:54, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

I got "basketball" and "Space Jam", but I didn't get why it said Spalding on it. From reading the explanation, I'm guessing it's a brand. Thanks, because I never would have made the connection. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 05:29, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

<strike>Why did Randall choose a basketball? A rugby ball or an american football would fit the shape better</strike> [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 06:12, 7 May 2014 (UTC)
:Because of the curving lines like a basketball on the image. [[User:Fizzle|Fizzle]] ([[User talk:Fizzle|talk]]) 06:17, 7 May 2014 (UTC)
::Added the reasoning for choosing a basketball to represent the universe [[User:Condor70|Condor70]] ([[User talk:Condor70|talk]]) 08:46, 7 May 2014 (UTC)
::I have never heard of the Basketball version - in DK I have mainly heard of it like a balloon. The link is to a book - could someone find a link to a short article where this analogy is used? Also I agree that if you do not know a basketballs lines you would never think of that from the image - as it much more looks like an American football due to the shape. Of course the Space Jam/Michael Jordan title text makes it clear that it is a basketball. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:11, 7 May 2014 (UTC)
:This is no basketball! The lines on a basketball are different. On a basketball every line intersects exactly 4 times with other lines.

Should the image not be updated to the current one on XKCD? Then this image could be saved on XKCD and linked to from the explanation on the error. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 13:09, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

What's a basketball? (explain like i'm five <duck>) [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 14:19, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

Megan is not looking at the "actual image captured by the BICEP2 instrument", because BICEP2 has only a 20 degree field of view (targed at the "Southern Hole") http://www.caltech.edu/content/building-bicep2-conversation-jamie-bock