explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1138: Heatmap

2013-12-27T17:24:13Z

173.245.55.210: o_O

So does this mean... that all the subscribers to Martha Stweart Living are secretly furries? *gasp* [[Special:Contributions/129.97.124.23|129.97.124.23]] 23:00, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

Clearly it means that the furries are, in general, Martha Stewart fans, not the reverse. Are you mad? {{unsigned|174.125.142.147}}

:It's a subtle hint that xkcd will be transitioning into Martha Stewart furry porn.[[Special:Contributions/76.20.159.250|76.20.159.250]] 05:05, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

I thought that it was implied that if they switched to furry advertising/content, they could be as successful as Marth Stewart... not that they should combine marth stewart and furry content into their site. {{unsigned|109.65.32.63}}

I was expecting some reference to George Lucas' ''THX 1138'' for this comics.

But then, it is not George Lucas who's editing Xkcd...

Paulo Sedrez [[Special:Contributions/139.82.111.111|139.82.111.111]] 18:39, 7 January 2013 (UTC)

There is an additional pun, and I do not know if it was intended. One adult furry publication is called Heat. A map of where furry porn is appreciated would therefore also be a Heat map. {{unsigned|Godel Fishbreath| 15:14, 17 May 2013‎ (UTC)}}

:I'm a little weirded out by the fact that our resident expert on the titles of adult furry publications has the name of "Fishbreath." Makes one wonder where his mouth has been. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.210|173.245.55.210]] 17:24, 27 December 2013 (UTC)

899: Number Line

2013-12-20T19:33:04Z

173.245.55.210: /* Explanation */ That's better

{{comic
| number = 899
| date = May 16, 2011
| title = Number Line
| image = number line.png
| titletext = The Wikipedia page List of Numbers opens with "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it."
}}

== Explanation ==
{{incomplete}}
Once again, Randall seems to be just messing around, this time with a number line.

*'''Negative numbers''' have the same magnitude as positive numbers but can only be used to represent the removal of that same magnitude (hence the term "difference" being used for subtraction).

*'''0.99'''.... is {{w|0.999...|provably equal to 1}} because there is no number between 0.99.... and 1. ([http://www.exploringbinary.com/binary-converter/ Binary 0.0000000000000000000000000001 = 0.0000000037252902984619140625])

*The '''{{w|Golden ratio}}''' is the ratio of length to width of rectangles that are most pleasing to the eye. This number is called "phi", after the Greek sculptor Phidias, and its numeric value is approximately 1.61803. This ratio turns up in some very unexpected places in the natural and historical world: for example, the {{w|Parthenon}} is a perfect rectangle in size, and the number of left- and right-handed spirals on the head of [http://www.popmath.org.uk/rpamaths/rpampages/sunflower.html Sunflowers] are also related by this ratio. In this case, Randall is playing on the fact that the golden ratio is oddly ubiquitous by implying that its existence is the subject of a conspiracy or other "fringe" theory.

*'''Forbidden Region''' and '''Unexplored''' are both map jokes.

*'''{{w|e (mathematical constant)|e}}''' (Euler's number) is 2.71828... and '''π''' (pi) is 3.14159265...

*'''2.9299372''' is a President's Day reference. It is the average of e and pi just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). (For non-US residents, Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.)

*'''{{w|Gird}}''' is a purely fictional number. (The glyph that Randall uses seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html archaic maps].) Gird could be a reference to any or all of:
** [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20001120/secret_number.shtml Bleem] - a fictional integer between 3 and 4
** iCarly's [http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/Derf Derf] - a fictional integer between 5 and 6
** George Carlin's [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bleen Bleen] - a fictional integer between 6 and 7
** [http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-033 SCP-033] - a fictional number that causes freaky things to happen

*'''Site of the Battle of 4.108''' is another map joke, implying that 4.108 is an actual location, where an eponymous battle was previously fought. It may be a reference (or homage) to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wolf_359 Battle of Wolf-359], a famous military conflict in the fictional universe of Star Trek.

*It is often the case in the media that "It has been 7 years..." or "In the last 7 years..." etc. It is made to seem like a believable statistic but cannot always be true. Alternatively, it is intended as an absurd joke that the number 7 is just "not to be believed".

*'''8''' is not the largest even prime. 2 is. A joke intended for those who clearly know that the claim is false.

*The last entry seems to be a reference to {{w|discrete mathematics}}, which rarely deals with numbers higher than 9. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.

*The title text is a literalist joke implying that Wikipedia would like its "{{w|List of numbers}}" page to include every number from negative infinity to infinity.

== Transcript ==
:[Number line ranging from -1 to 10.]
:[Arrow pointing left, towards negative numbers] Negative "imitator" numbers (do not use)
:[Line right before the number one] 0.99... (acutally 0.0000000372 less than 1)
:[Line at the golden ratio.] Φ - Parthenon; sunflowers; golden ratio; wait, come back, I have facts!
:[Line at a region between two and 2.2] forbidden region
:[Line at Euler's number.] e
:[Line a bit before 3] 2.9299372 (e and pi, observed)
:[Line at π.] π
:[Line at 3.5 with a ribbon as the numeral] Gird - accepted as canon by orthodox mathematicians
:[Line a bit after 4.] site of battle of 4.108
:[Blob between 4.5 and 6.5 labeled unexplored.]
:[Line at seven.] Number indicating a factoid is made up ("every 7 years...", "science says there are 7...", etc)
:[Line at eight.] Largest even prime
:[Line at 8.75.] If you encounter a number higher than this, you"re not doing real math

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

899: Number Line

2013-12-20T19:31:00Z

173.245.55.210: /* Explanation */ Gird thy loins!

{{comic
| number = 899
| date = May 16, 2011
| title = Number Line
| image = number line.png
| titletext = The Wikipedia page List of Numbers opens with "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it."
}}

== Explanation ==
{{incomplete}}
Once again, Randall seems to be just messing around, this time with a number line.

*'''Negative numbers''' have the same magnitude as positive numbers but can only be used to represent the removal of that same magnitude (hence the term "difference" being used for subtraction).

*'''0.99'''.... is {{w|0.999...|provably equal to 1}} because there is no number between 0.99.... and 1. ([http://www.exploringbinary.com/binary-converter/ Binary 0.0000000000000000000000000001 = 0.0000000037252902984619140625])

*The '''{{w|Golden ratio}}''' is the ratio of length to width of rectangles that are most pleasing to the eye. This number is called "phi", after the Greek sculptor Phidias, and its numeric value is approximately 1.61803. This ratio turns up in some very unexpected places in the natural and historical world: for example, the {{w|Parthenon}} is a perfect rectangle in size, and the number of left- and right-handed spirals on the head of [http://www.popmath.org.uk/rpamaths/rpampages/sunflower.html Sunflowers] are also related by this ratio. In this case, Randall is playing on the fact that the golden ratio is oddly ubiquitous by implying that its existence is the subject of a conspiracy or other "fringe" theory.

*'''Forbidden Region''' and '''Unexplored''' are both map jokes.

*'''{{w|e (mathematical constant)|e}}''' (Euler's number) is 2.71828... and '''π''' (pi) is 3.14159265...

*'''2.9299372''' is a President's Day reference. It is the average of e and pi just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). (For non-US residents, Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.)

*'''{{w|Gird}}''' could be a reference to any or all of:
** [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20001120/secret_number.shtml Bleem] - a fictional integer between 3 and 4
** iCarly's [http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/Derf Derf] - a fictional integer between 5 and 6
** George Carlin's [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bleen Bleen] - a fictional integer between 6 and 7
** [http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-033 SCP-033] - a fictional number that causes freaky things to happen.
Interestingly, gird seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html this Ptolemaic world map from 1482].

*'''Site of the Battle of 4.108''' is another map joke, implying that 4.108 is an actual location, where an eponymous battle was previously fought. It may be a reference (or homage) to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wolf_359 Battle of Wolf-359], a famous military conflict in the fictional universe of Star Trek.

*It is often the case in the media that "It has been 7 years..." or "In the last 7 years..." etc. It is made to seem like a believable statistic but cannot always be true. Alternatively, it is intended as an absurd joke that the number 7 is just "not to be believed".

*'''8''' is not the largest even prime. 2 is. A joke intended for those who clearly know that the claim is false.

*The last entry seems to be a reference to {{w|discrete mathematics}}, which rarely deals with numbers higher than 9. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.

*The title text is a literalist joke implying that Wikipedia would like its "{{w|List of numbers}}" page to include every number from negative infinity to infinity.

== Transcript ==
:[Number line ranging from -1 to 10.]
:[Arrow pointing left, towards negative numbers] Negative "imitator" numbers (do not use)
:[Line right before the number one] 0.99... (acutally 0.0000000372 less than 1)
:[Line at the golden ratio.] Φ - Parthenon; sunflowers; golden ratio; wait, come back, I have facts!
:[Line at a region between two and 2.2] forbidden region
:[Line at Euler's number.] e
:[Line a bit before 3] 2.9299372 (e and pi, observed)
:[Line at π.] π
:[Line at 3.5 with a ribbon as the numeral] Gird - accepted as canon by orthodox mathematicians
:[Line a bit after 4.] site of battle of 4.108
:[Blob between 4.5 and 6.5 labeled unexplored.]
:[Line at seven.] Number indicating a factoid is made up ("every 7 years...", "science says there are 7...", etc)
:[Line at eight.] Largest even prime
:[Line at 8.75.] If you encounter a number higher than this, you"re not doing real math

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

899: Number Line

2013-12-20T19:28:10Z

173.245.55.210: /* Explanation */ phrasing, emphasis, sanity

{{comic
| number = 899
| date = May 16, 2011
| title = Number Line
| image = number line.png
| titletext = The Wikipedia page List of Numbers opens with "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it."
}}

== Explanation ==
{{incomplete}}
Once again, Randall seems to be just messing around, this time with a number line.

*'''Negative numbers''' have the same magnitude as positive numbers but can only be used to represent the removal of that same magnitude (hence the term "difference" being used for subtraction).

*'''0.99'''.... is {{w|0.999...|provably equal to 1}} because there is no number between 0.99.... and 1. ([http://www.exploringbinary.com/binary-converter/ Binary 0.0000000000000000000000000001 = 0.0000000037252902984619140625])

*The '''{{w|Golden ratio}}''' is the ratio of length to width of rectangles that are most pleasing to the eye. This number is called "phi", after the Greek sculptor Phidias, and its numeric value is approximately 1.61803. This ratio turns up in some very unexpected places in the natural and historical world: for example, the {{w|Parthenon}} is a perfect rectangle in size, and the number of left- and right-handed spirals on the head of [http://www.popmath.org.uk/rpamaths/rpampages/sunflower.html Sunflowers] are also related by this ratio. In this case, Randall is playing on the fact that the golden ratio is oddly ubiquitous by implying that its existence is the subject of a conspiracy or other "fringe" theory.

*'''Forbidden Region''' and '''Unexplored''' are both map jokes.

*'''{{w|e (mathematical constant)|e}}''' (Euler's number) is 2.71828... and '''π''' (pi) is 3.14159265...

*'''2.9299372''' is a President's Day reference. It is the average of e and pi just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). (For non-US residents, Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.)

*'''{{w|Gird}}''' Could be a reference to [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20001120/secret_number.shtml Bleem] - a fictional integer between 3 and 4, also see [http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/Derf iCarly's Derf] - a fictional integer between 5 and 6, [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bleen George Carlin's Bleen] - a fictional integer between 6 and 7 (both of which are in the "Unexplored Area", and [http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-033 SCP-033] - a fictional number that causes freaky things to happen.
**Interestingly, gird seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html this Ptolemaic world map from 1482].

*'''Site of the Battle of 4.108''' is another map joke, implying that 4.108 is an actual location, where an eponymous battle was previously fought. It may be a reference (or homage) to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wolf_359 Battle of Wolf-359], a famous military conflict in the fictional universe of Star Trek.

*It is often the case in the media that "It has been 7 years..." or "In the last 7 years..." etc. It is made to seem like a believable statistic but cannot always be true. Alternatively, it is intended as an absurd joke that the number 7 is just "not to be believed".

*'''8''' is not the largest even prime. 2 is. A joke intended for those who clearly know that the claim is false.

*The last entry seems to be a reference to {{w|discrete mathematics}}, which rarely deals with numbers higher than 9. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.

*The title text is a literalist joke implying that Wikipedia would like its "{{w|List of numbers}}" page to include every number from negative infinity to infinity.

== Transcript ==
:[Number line ranging from -1 to 10.]
:[Arrow pointing left, towards negative numbers] Negative "imitator" numbers (do not use)
:[Line right before the number one] 0.99... (acutally 0.0000000372 less than 1)
:[Line at the golden ratio.] Φ - Parthenon; sunflowers; golden ratio; wait, come back, I have facts!
:[Line at a region between two and 2.2] forbidden region
:[Line at Euler's number.] e
:[Line a bit before 3] 2.9299372 (e and pi, observed)
:[Line at π.] π
:[Line at 3.5 with a ribbon as the numeral] Gird - accepted as canon by orthodox mathematicians
:[Line a bit after 4.] site of battle of 4.108
:[Blob between 4.5 and 6.5 labeled unexplored.]
:[Line at seven.] Number indicating a factoid is made up ("every 7 years...", "science says there are 7...", etc)
:[Line at eight.] Largest even prime
:[Line at 8.75.] If you encounter a number higher than this, you"re not doing real math

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

899: Number Line

2013-12-20T19:17:58Z

173.245.55.210: /* Explanation */ Bippity-boppity-battles!

{{comic
| number = 899
| date = May 16, 2011
| title = Number Line
| image = number line.png
| titletext = The Wikipedia page List of Numbers opens with "This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it."
}}

== Explanation ==
{{incomplete}}
Once again, Randall seems to be just messing around, this time with a number line.

*Negative numbers have the same magnitude as positive numbers but can only be used to represent the removal of that same magnitude (hence the term "difference" being used for subtraction).

*'''0.99'''.... is {{w|0.999...|provably equal to 1}} because there is no number between 0.99.... and 1. ([http://www.exploringbinary.com/binary-converter/ Binary 0.0000000000000000000000000001 = 0.0000000037252902984619140625])

*The {{w|Golden ratio}} is the length to width of rectangles that are most pleasing to the eye. The number which is about 1.61803, is the numeric value is called "phi", named for the Greek sculptor Phidias. The {{w|Parthenon}} is a perfect rectangle in size. The number of spirals on the head of [http://www.popmath.org.uk/rpamaths/rpampages/sunflower.html Sunflowers] are also said to exhibit the Golden mean/ratio.

*Forbidden Region and Unexplored are both map jokes.

*{{w|e (mathematical constant)|e}}(Euler's number) is 2.71828... and π(pi) is 3.14159265...

*2.9299372 is a President's Day reference. It is the average of e and pi just as the American Presidents' Day is always observed on the 3rd Monday of February (between {{w|George Washington}} and {{w|Abraham Lincoln}}'s birthdays). (For non-US residents, Washington and Lincoln were the 1st and 16th Presidents of the USA, respectively. Each has a celebrated place in American history.)

*{{w|Gird}} Could be a reference to [http://www.strangehorizons.com/2000/20001120/secret_number.shtml Bleem] - a fictional integer between 3 and 4, also see [http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/Derf iCarly's Derf] - a fictional integer between 5 and 6, [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bleen George Carlin's Bleen] - a fictional integer between 6 and 7 (both of which are in the "Unexplored Area", and [http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-033 SCP-033] - a fictional number that causes freaky things to happen.
**Interestingly, gird seems to resemble an older shape of the digit 4, such as seen on [http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/mappinghist/large2296.html this Ptolemaic world map from 1482].

*Site of the Battle of 4.108 is another map joke, implying that 4.108 is an actual location, where an eponymous battle was previously fought. It may be a reference (or homage) to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wolf_359 Battle of Wolf-359], a famous military conflict in the Star Trek universe.

*It is often the case in the media that "It has been 7 years..." or "In the last 7 years..." etc. It is made to seem like a believable statistic but cannot always be true. Alternatively, it is intended as an absurd joke that the number 7 is just "not to be believed".

*8 is not the largest even prime. 2 is. A joke intended for those who clearly know that the claim is false.

*The last entry seems to be a reference to {{w|discrete mathematics}}, which rarely deals with numbers higher than 9. It finishes off the tone of the comic that seems to be shaping the number line terms of what is commonly useful to certain areas of applied mathematics, rather than a complete, accurate version of the number line.

*The title text is a literalist joke implying that Wikipedia would like its "{{w|List of numbers}}" page to include every number from negative infinity to infinity.

== Transcript ==
:[Number line ranging from -1 to 10.]
:[Arrow pointing left, towards negative numbers] Negative "imitator" numbers (do not use)
:[Line right before the number one] 0.99... (acutally 0.0000000372 less than 1)
:[Line at the golden ratio.] Φ - Parthenon; sunflowers; golden ratio; wait, come back, I have facts!
:[Line at a region between two and 2.2] forbidden region
:[Line at Euler's number.] e
:[Line a bit before 3] 2.9299372 (e and pi, observed)
:[Line at π.] π
:[Line at 3.5 with a ribbon as the numeral] Gird - accepted as canon by orthodox mathematicians
:[Line a bit after 4.] site of battle of 4.108
:[Blob between 4.5 and 6.5 labeled unexplored.]
:[Line at seven.] Number indicating a factoid is made up ("every 7 years...", "science says there are 7...", etc)
:[Line at eight.] Largest even prime
:[Line at 8.75.] If you encounter a number higher than this, you"re not doing real math

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Wikipedia]]

Talk:420: Jealousy

2013-12-13T17:19:25Z

173.245.55.210: Created page with "I love this one, if only for the fact that it's arguably the coldest, bitterest humor of any XKCD strip. ~~~~"

I love this one, if only for the fact that it's arguably the coldest, bitterest humor of any XKCD strip. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.210|173.245.55.210]] 17:19, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

42: Geico

2013-11-22T22:57:25Z

173.245.55.210: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 42
| date = November 28, 2005
| title = Geico
| image = geico.jpg
| titletext = David did this
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references a long-running ad campaign for {{w|Geico}} insurance in which a character (different in each commercial) lists a series of horrible events or news, but then caps it off with "but I've got good news: I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico" – news which may be good, but is usually either trivial compared to the magnitude of the preceding bad news, or else is said to the person whom all of the preceding bad news applied to, giving them false hope that the good news was for them. It became a recognizable pop culture phrase.

In this one-panel comic, [[Cueball]] parodies the punchline by saving money on his car insurance by intimidation, instead of choosing the best provider.

It is unclear who David is that is referred to in the title text, but he's referred to again in the image text for comic [[51: Malaria]] and [[100: Family Circus]]. It is similarly unclear what "this" is that he did, whether it is the comic, or whether [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] is suggesting that David saved money on his car insurance by threatening his insurance agent.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by threatening my agent with a golf club.

==Trivia==
*Original quote from [[Randall]]: "Current mood: :( sick"
*Original comment from [[Randall]]: "No laughing, 'less you want some of this too! *hefts golf club menacingly*"
*This is the thirty-eighth comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was [[35: Sheep]]. The next was [[38: Apple Jacks]].

{{Comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

39: Bowl

2013-11-22T22:55:26Z

173.245.55.210: /* Explanation */ Yay surrealism!

{{comic
| number = 39
| date = December 5, 2005
| title = Bowl
| image = bowl.jpg
| titletext = For the moment it's a standoff
}}

==Explanation==
The comic roughly parodies a situation in which two characters are seeing who can wait longer to get the result they want. However in the comic, the model sailing ship is not alive and doesn't experience time (except perhaps if it absorbs water and falls apart). The comic compares the patience of a boy with that of an inanimate object. Also, it could imply that the boy has too much time on his hands.

Like many of the earlier comics, some of this comic's humor comes from the surreality of the situation. The gravity of the boy's statement is juxtaposed with the insignificance of a child's toy floating in a bowl of water. On one level, the absurdity of this is funny in itself; on another level, the audience is invited to imagine what might possibly be going through the boy's mind to make him take this toy and bowl so seriously.

==Transcript==
:[A boy is glaring at a model sailing ship floating in a bowl of water.]
:Boy: Sooner or later, my friend, one of us will run out of time.

==Trivia==
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "This is not the barrel boy. Current Mood: Final Exam-y"
*This is the forty-first comic originally posted to livejournal. The previous was [[43: Red Spiders 2]]. The next was [[45: Schrodinger]]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

666: Silent Hammer

2013-11-19T20:24:08Z

173.245.55.210: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number =666
| date =November 23, 2009
| title =Silent Hammer
| image =silent_hammer.png
| titletext ='I bet he'll keep quiet for a couple weeks and then-- wait, did you nail a piece of scrap wood to my antique table a moment ago?'
}}
==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
A skeptic is someone who doesn't believe in, or at least strongly doubts the possibility of, supernatural occurrences such as poltergeists or aliens. [[Black Hat]] has created a set of tools that work in complete silence so that he can go to his house late at night, do some rearranging of walls and moving of windows, just to screw with him in typical Black Hat fashion.

The number of this comic (666) just happens to be {{w|The Number Of The Beast}}, or the "devil" number (the devil being a supernatural entity, which skeptics believe to not exist).

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is hammering something on a table. Notably, the hammer makes a soft "whoosh" noise, rather than the typical loud "bang."]
:Cueball: What-
:Black Hat: Silent hammer. I've made a set of silent tools.
:Cueball: Why?
:Hammer: ''woosh woosh woosh''

:Black Hat: Stealth carpentry. Breaking into a house at night and moving windows, adjusting walls, etc.
:[He takes his silent hammer over to a tool bench with other things on it. Two boxes underneath are labeled "Drills" and "Non-Drills."]

:After a week or so of questioning his own sanity, the owner will stay up to watch the house at night. I'll make scratching noises in the walls, pipe in knockout gas, move him up to his bed, and never bother him again.
:[The events he's describing are shown in two mini-panels below.]

:Cueball, off-panel: Nice prank, I guess, but what's the point?
:Black Hat: Check out the owner's card, on the table.
:Cueball, off-panel: Chair of the American Skeptics Society? Oh, god.
:Black Hat: Yeah, this doesn't end well for him.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]

Talk:301: Limerick

2013-11-05T20:40:44Z

173.245.55.210: Created page with "Wow, I just stumbled across this comic via the "Random" button, and I realized that I haven't looked at Slashdot in over a year... Feels good to be free! Now back to obsessive..."

Wow, I just stumbled across this comic via the "Random" button, and I realized that I haven't looked at Slashdot in over a year... Feels good to be free! Now back to obsessively reloading Reddit... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.210|173.245.55.210]] 20:40, 5 November 2013 (UTC)

1286: Encryptic

2013-11-04T22:53:52Z

173.245.55.210:

{{comic
| number = 1286
| date = November 4, 2013
| title = Encryptic
| image = encryptic.png
| titletext = It was bound to happen eventually. This data theft will enable almost limitless [xkcd.com/792]-style password reuse attacks in the coming weeks. There's only one group that comes out of this looking smart: Everyone who pirated Photoshop.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Triple DES}} is an older but still relatively secure encryption algorithm that works on 64-bit (8 character) blocks. Assuming that the passwords are stored in plain ASCII, this means that each sequence of 8 characters on the same position is always encrypted to the same result and therefore two passwords starting with “12345678” would start with the same block after being encrypted. Furthermore, this means that you can actually get a very good idea of the length of the password since anything with only one block is a password with length between 1 and 8 characters, with two blocks it has between 9 and 16 characters etc.

This way of storing passwords does not follow the recommended way of using a suitable cryptographically-secure {{w|Hash function|hash function}} that yields only a single block so that there is no way to tell the length of the password from the result. It is also a good practice to {{w|Salt (cryptography)|add a salt}} specific to each user (like their username) so that two users with the same password would not have the same hash.

Adobe also stored hints users created for their passwords. That means that an attacker knows not only if the same 8 characters are used for multiple passwords but also has some hints for guessing them. That means that common password portions should be easy to recover and that any user may be “compromised” by someone else using a part of the same password and providing a good hint. As an example, a password having three hints “Big Apple”, “Twin Towers” and “If you can make it there” is probably “New York” (or a simple variation on that). The weakness here is that no decryption and therefore no hard cracking has to take place, you just group the passwords by their encrypted blocks and try to solve them like a crossword puzzle.

It seems the examples are not taken from the actual leaked file as that [http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/11/how-an-epic-blunder-by-adobe-could-strengthen-hand-of-password-crackers/ uses a different format].

The title text makes a reference to [[792|Black Hat’s trouble with what to do with stolen passwords]]. It also states that users of pirated Photoshop are the winners here. This is because in order to make Photoshop pirate-able, it was modified (cracked) by removing the requirement for registration so their passwords were not sent to Adobe and therefore are not present in the leaked file.

The title itself is a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptic_crossword cryptic crosswords]

==Passwords==
Note that characters in the passwords could be upper or lower case, and they may involve common substitutions like "0" (number zero) for "O" (letter O); therefore, the clues cannot guarantee that the answer shown here is precisely correct. Nevertheless, we have plenty of information for a brute force attack.

{|class="wikitable"
! Input
! Hint
! Password
! Explanation
|-
|<tt>4e18acc1ab27a2d6</tt>
|weather vane sword
|<tt>matthias</tt>
|In ''Redwall'', several characters are associated with a sword hung from a weather vane, but only Matthias shares the name of an apostle (6 lines down).
|-
|<tt>4e18acc1ab27a2d6</tt>
|
|<tt>matthias</tt>
|Although no hint was used, we know this password too, since it matches the previous one.
|-
|<tt>4e18acc1ab27a2d6 a0a2876eb1ea1fea</tt>
|name1
|<tt>matthias1</tt>
|Even without knowing the user's name, we already know how this starts, so the clue gives us a pretty good idea how it finishes (and another block useful 2 lines down)
|-
|<tt>8babb6299e06eb6d</tt>
|duh
|<tt>password</tt>
|Unfortunately, this is all too common, and the user practically told us that it's an easy one.
|-
|<tt>8babb6299e06eb6d a0a2876eb1ea1fea</tt>
|
|<tt>password1</tt>
|Although no hint was used, we know this by combining the previous two.
|-
|<tt>8babb6299e06eb6d 85e9da81a8a78adc</tt>
|57
|<tt>password57</tt>
|Since we know how this begins, this is a good guess.
|-
|<tt>4e18acc1ab27a2d6</tt>
|favorite of 12 apostles
|<tt>matthias</tt>
|This has only 12 possibilities to begin with (actually a few more, given variant spellings, variant lists, and one replacement), but actually we know already which one by combining with the clue 6 lines up.
|-
|<tt>1ab29ae86da6e5ca 7a2d6a0a2876eb1e</tt>
|with your own hand you have done all this
|<tt>Judith1510</tt>
|This is a quotation from Judith 15:10.
|-
|<tt>a1f9b2b6299e7a2b eadec1e6ab797397</tt>
|sexy earlobes
|<tt>Charlie Sheen</tt>
|This refers to an episode of ''Two and a Half Men''. Other answers are possible, but only this one fits the next line.
|-
|<tt>a1f9b2b6299e7a2b 617ab0277727ad85</tt>
|best TOS episode
|<tt>Charlie X</tt>
|"TOS" refers to the original series of ''Star Trek''. Although this had dozens of episodes, only one fits the previous line.
|-
|<tt>39738b7adb0b8af7 617ab0277727ad85</tt>
|Sugarland
|<tt>HoustonTX</tt>
|Sugarland is a suburb of Houston, Texas. This fits with the previous line.
|-
|<tt>1ab29ae86da6e5ca</tt>
|name + jersey#
|<tt>Judith15</tt>
|Even if we knew this user's name, we wouldn't know their jersey number. But the clue 4 lines up already gave us the answer.
|-
|<tt>877ab7889d3862b1</tt>
|alpha
|<tt>abc</tt>
|This password is also far too common, but this clue still isn't enough to narrow it down. Combine with the clue 3 lines below, however, and it's quite easy.
|-
|<tt>877ab7889d3862b1</tt>
|
|<tt>abc</tt>
|No hint, but the same as the surrounding passwords.
|-
|<tt>877ab7889d3862b1</tt>
|
|<tt>abc</tt>
|No hint, but the same as the surrounding passwords.
|-
|<tt>877ab7889d3862b1</tt>
|Michael Jackson
|<tt>abc</tt>
|Michael Jackson did many songs, but only one was alphabetical (3 lines up).
|-
|<tt>38a7c9279cadeb44 9dca1d79d4dec6d5</tt>
|
|
|No hint, but the same as the one below.
|-
|<tt>38a7c9279cadeb44 9dca1d79d4dec6d5</tt>
|he did the MASH, he did the
|<tt>Monster Mash</tt>
|
|
|-
|<tt>38a7c9279cadeb44</tt>
|Purloined
|
|
|-
|<tt>a8ae5754a2b7af7a 9dca1d79d4dec6d5</tt>
|fav water-3 Pokemon
|
|
|-
|}

==Transcript==
:Hackers recently leaked '''''153 million''''' Adobe user emails, encrypted passwords, and password hints.
:Adobe encrypted the passwords improperly, misusing block-mode 3DES. The result is something wonderful:

<pre>
User password Hint
------------- ----

4e18acc1ab27a2d6 weather vane sword
4e18acc1ab27a2d6
4e18acc1ab27a2d6 a0a2876eb1ea1fea name1
8babb6299e06eb6d duh
8babb6299e06eb6d a0a2876eb1ea1fea
8babb6299e06eb6d 85e9da81a8a78adc 57
4e18acc1ab27a2d6 favorite of 12 apostles
1ab29ae86da6e5ca 7a2d6a0a2876eb1e with your own hand you
have done all this
a1f9b2b6299e7a2b eadec1e6ab797397 sexy earlobes
a1f9b2b6299e7a2b 617ab0277727ad85 best tos episode
39738b7adb0b8af7 617ab0277727ad85 sugarland
1ab29ae86da6e5ca name + jersey#
877ab7889d3862b1 alpha
877ab7889d3862b1
877ab7889d3862b1
877ab7889d3862b1 obvious
877ab7889d3862b1 Michael Jackson
38a7c9279cadeb44 9dca1d79d4dec6d5
38a7c9279cadeb44 9dca1d79d4dec6d5 he did the MASH, he did the
38a7c9279cadeb44 Purloined
a8ae5754a2b7af7a 9dca1d79d4dec6d5 fav water-3 pokemon
</pre>

:The greatest crossword puzzle in the history of the world

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:813: One-Liners

2013-10-31T15:54:37Z

173.245.55.210: talk talk talk talk talk talk talk

I dunno, "Bangarang, motherfucker!" seems a lot more quotable to me than most of the others. Actually, I think I'm going to try to use it in my daily life. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.210|173.245.55.210]] 15:54, 31 October 2013 (UTC)