explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

250: Snopes

2016-07-17T02:28:10Z

173.245.55.60: typo

{{comic
| number = 250
| date = April 18, 2007
| title = Snopes
| image = snopes.png
| titletext = The MythBusters are even more sinister.
}}
==Explanation==
{{w|Snopes}} is a popular website for checking the validity of {{w|Urban legend|urban legends}}. Snopes proves or disproves facts, but another urban legend is known that suggests Snopes runs a spam operation to create sources for their own benefit. The joke here is that Snopes disproves its own urban legend, creating a circular, invalid argument.

The title text suggests that {{w|MythBusters}}, another group which debunks myths, also participate in the practice of spreading misinformation for the opportunity to test it.

==Trivia==
Snopes is also mentioned in the much later comic [[1081: Argument Victory]], in a much more positive light.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Another urban legend? You should check out Snopes before sending me this stuff.
:Friend: Oops; yeah.
:Cueball: Man, Snopes is really great--independent fact-checkers trawling our collective discourse, filtering out misinformation.
:Friend: Yeah, but they have their dark side. The couple that runs snopes.com also runs a network of spam servers that start many of those forwarded stories in the first place, ensuring they'll always have business.
:Cueball: That's absurd. Plus, it's definitely not true--it was debunked by...
:Friend: Yes?
:Cueball: ...Oh my God.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]
[[Category:Internet]]

954: Chin-Up Bar

2016-07-08T21:39:32Z

173.245.55.60:

{{comic
| number = 954
| date = September 21, 2011
| title = Chin-Up Bar
| image = chin up bar.png
| titletext = Those few who escaped found the emergency cutoff box disabled. The stampede lasted two hours and reached the bottom three times.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Black Hat]] has a plan to block traffic on the {{w|Escalator#Longest individual escalators|longest, single-tier escalator}} in the Western hemisphere. At the time of the comic's publishing, this record was held by a 70-meter escalator in the {{w|Wheaton (WMATA station)|Wheaton station}} in {{w|Washington D.C.}}'s {{w|Washington Metro}} subway system.

An {{w|escalator}} is a motorized stairway. [[Black hat]] totes a {{w|chin-up bar}} up the escalator, resulting in a conversation about [[Black hat]]'s motives for doing such, where [[Black hat]] uses sly conversing methods to avoid saying his true motives. Upon reaching the top, he quickly locks the bar in place at about chest height.

Chin-up bars are typically capable of holding up a 300 pound (130 kg) person without moving. The unexpected appearance of a solidly attached bar at the top of a crowded escalator could be disastrous. The first people would probably stumble backward to avoid it or hit it and topple backwards, and collide with the passengers immediately behind them, knocking them off their feet and likely creating a {{w|domino effect}} all the way down. As the escalator continues to move people forward, the wave of falling people is moving backward, however its {{w|Theory of special relativity|apparent speed}} will be slower than its actual speed.

That is the joke in the title text, that over two hours the wave can reach the bottom three times, whereas if this were a simple staircase the event would only last once and be over as quickly as people can fall down. The people that actually made it to the bottom were unable to use the emergency shutdown because Black Hat had disabled it.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is standing on an escalator as it ascends. He is carrying a pole with what looks like a bracket on each end, resting on his shoulder. In front of him is Ponytail, and in front of her is a punk with spiked hair and pimples. Behind Black Hat is Cueball. Behind Cueball is a man wearing glasses with a goatee standing next to someone with short hair.]

:[The view closes on Black Hat and Cueball. In the background a girl can be seen standing on the descending escalator.]
:Cueball: This is a long escalator.
:Black Hat: 70 meters. Longest in the country.

:[In the background the girl from the last panel has now passed the group and a few other people can be seen descending.]

:Cueball: Why're you carrying a chin-up bar?
:Black Hat: Why aren't you wearing a hat?

:[The view opens up a bit more to show the two riders ahead, and the two behind.]
:Cueball: I'm not really a hat person.
:Black Hat: And I'm not really a not-carrying-a-chin-up-bar person.

:[Close up on Cueball.]

:[The view opens up to show the same people in the first panel. They're near the top of the escalator now and Ponytail is beginning to step off.]
:Cueball: Seriously, why did you bring it?
:Black Hat: How should I know? I'm not a psychologist.

:[As Black Hat steps off the escalator he turns and installs the chin-up bar such that it blocks people from leaving the escalator, about waist height. Cueball turns to observe what Black Hat is doing.]
:''Twist''
:''Click click''

:[They get onto the descending escalator. The man with glasses and a goatee and his companion are blocked from leaving the escalator by the chin-up bar.]

:[The view shows an extended section of the escalator, the top right has become a pile of people all squished together and on top of each other. One person has grabbed another by the hair and is standing on a third person in an attempt to not fall. Someone is falling off the pile and another person is running down the escalator to avoid them. People closer to the bottom of the escalator are looking horrified at the scene ahead of them. In the background hat man and his companion are visible. Black Hat is looking toward the bottom of the escalator, not caring or noticing the chaos unfolding. Cueball looks back pensively.]

==Trivia==
*It would appear that the glasses-and-goatee'd man behind Cueball is the psychologist from [[435: Purity]], and that the person he is with is the sociologist from the same comic. This gives new meaning to Black Hat's line about not being a psychologist.

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

169: Words that End in GRY

2016-07-04T21:52:48Z

173.245.55.60: typo

{{comic
| number = 169
| date = October 11, 2006
| title = Words that End in GRY
| image = words_that_end_in_gry.png
| titletext = The fifth panel also applies to postmodernists.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a reference to a mistelling of a {{w|-gry#Alternate versions|joke}} (see the first of the meta versions under the wiki link).

The original, correct telling of the joke is:
:''Think of words ending in "-gry". "Angry" and "Hungry" are two of them. There are only three words in the English language. What is the third word? Hint: The word is something that everyone uses everyday. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is.''
Phrased this way, the answer is "language" because "There are only three words in (the phrase)'' 'the English language' ''."

However, this joke is often mis-told by poorly phrasing the original riddle, as it is in the comic. By instead saying, "There are three words in the English language that end in '-gry,'" the teller of the joke has actually removed any chance of determining the correct answer.

As such, when [[Cueball]] attempts to say the answer is "language" and act smugly about it, [[Black Hat]] is unimpressed and cuts off Cueball's hand.

However, as Black Hat mentioned in the comic, if you count obscure and archaic words, there are English words that ends with "-gry". Some are listed [http://www.snopes.com/language/puzzlers/gry.asp here]

The title text refers to {{w|postmodernism}}, a philosophy and corresponding art movement. Postmodern music is often {{w|minimalist}}, as exemplified by the weird sounds of {{w|Philip Glass}} and {{w|Steve Reich}}, and {{w|Postmodern art#Movements in postmodern art|postmodern visual art}} saw trends such as lowbrow and installation art gain attention. Apart from a rejection of modernism, however, it is difficult to outline postmodernism to justify the strange works of art. {{w|Deconstruction}} is another important concept, but it is difficult to describe the process. In short, postmodernists make art that no one understands and may act smugly about it; but they do not adequately explain what their art means or it doesn't really mean anything i.e. there is nothing to understand. Thus, Black Hat's statement: ''that such practice is not "cleverness"'', applies to them as well.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat and Cueball are standing next to each other.]
:Cueball: There are three words in the English language that end in "gry". "Angry" and "Hungry" are two. What's the third?

:Black Hat: I don't think there is one, unless you count really obscure words.
:Cueball: Ha! It's "language"! I said there are three words in "the English--" Hey!
:''GRAB''
:[Black Hat grabs Cueball's hand, with a knife in hand.]

:Cueball: What th--AAAAAAAAAA
:[Black Hat slices off Cueball's hand with the knife.]

:[Cueball is bleeding profusely.]
:Black Hat: Ok, listen carefully.
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

:Black Hat: Communicating badly and then acting smug when you're misunderstood is not cleverness.
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

:Black Hat: I hope we've learned something today.
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

==Trivia==
Around the time this comic was posted, Randall also posted [[Blue Eyes]]: The Hardest Logic Puzzle in the World. He apparently took his own advice to heart as he explicitly states he has gone over the wording of the puzzle several times before publishing it to make it as unambiguous as possible.

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

1683: Digital Data

2016-05-20T04:15:59Z

173.245.55.60: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1683
| date = May 20, 2016
| title = Digital Data
| image = digital_data.png
| titletext = Ã¢â¬ÅIf you can read this, congratulationsÃ¢â¬âthe archive youÃ¢â¬â¢re you're using still knows about the mouseover textÃ¢â¬Â!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

[Cueball and a White Hat are walking.]

Cueball: The great thing about digital data is that it never degrades.

[The next panel is slightly pixelated]

Cueball: Hard drives fail, of course, but their bits can be copied forever without loss.

[The third panel is more pixelated, the white is slightly discolored, and it contains part of the interface of some program]

Cueball: Film degrades, paint cracks, but a copy of a century-old data file is identical to the original.

[The fourth panel is even more pixelated and discolored, and contains watermarks and more 'frame' elements]

Cueball: If humanity has a permanent record, we are the first generation in it.

White Hat: Amazing.

{{comic discussion}}

1683: Digital Data

2016-05-20T04:15:29Z

173.245.55.60: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1683
| date = May 20, 2016
| title = Digital Data
| image = digital_data.png
| titletext = Ã¢â¬ÅIf you can read this, congratulationsÃ¢â¬âthe archive youÃ¢â¬â¢re you're using still knows about the mouseover textÃ¢â¬Â!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

[Cueball and a White Hat are walking.]

Cueball: The great thing about digital data is that it never degrades.

[The next panel is slightly pixelated]
Cueball: Hard drives fail, of course, but their bits can be copied forever without loss.

[The third panel is more pixelated, the white is slightly discolored, and it contains part of the interface for a viewer program]
Cueball: Film degrades, paint cracks, but a copy of a century-old data file is identical to the original.

[The fourth panel is even more pixelated and discolored, and contains watermarks and more 'frame' elements]
Cueball: If humanity has a permanent record, we are the first generation in it.

White Hat: Amazing.

{{comic discussion}}

1643: Degrees

2016-02-15T15:25:11Z

173.245.55.60: ... weird not wierd

{{comic
| number = 1643
| date = February 15, 2016
| title = Degrees
| image = degrees.png
| titletext = "Radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius?" "Uh, sorry, gotta go!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First explanation}}
[[Cueball]] is being asked by a friend for the temperature. There are two common ways to give this in the US: in degrees Celsius and degrees Fahrenheit. The former is the {{w |Metric_system|metric system}}, most often not used in America although it is {{w|Metric_Conversion_Act|the preferred system for trade and commerce}}. The latter is the {{w|Imperial_units|Imperial system}}. Cueball weighs up the benefits of both, but is rushed by his friend to give an answer, so he gives the answer in radians (which can be given the superscript c, or rad lest it be confused with the ° for angular degrees), which is a system used to measure angular measure, not temperature gradations of whichever scale. Thus, this answer is unhelpful.

The title text indicates that Cueball's friend still wants to know whether the answer is in radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius, which, despite being a silly way to express temperature, makes Cueball nervous, and he runs off. The answer Cueball gives is 0.173 radians, which is around 9.912 degrees.

The title text continues to put Cueball on the spot by asking "Radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius?" Cueball, likely realizing his initial answer has caused even ''more'' trouble, avoids answering.

===Summary of Reasons===
{| class="wikitable"
| | Reason
| | Explanation
|-
| |
International Standard
| |
Degrees Celsius is the unit in the SI system of units used in most countries today. Using the SI system would allow Cueball to be easily understood in most countries and is by far the most recognized system, but it is not the most commonly used in the United States, his actually location in the comic.

|-
| |
Helps Reduce America's Weird Isolationism
| |
The United States uses its own set of units, including Degrees Fahrenheit, based on the English Customary System, in contrast to most of the rest of the world which uses the SI system. The US's system of units is therefore considered "weird" as make the US different from most of the world for no real reason, but previous efforts to convert the US to the SI system have failed. Cueball evidently believes that by using SI units he will help to eventually convert the US to the SI system,bringing considerable trade and tourism benefits and reducing confusion when dealing with foreigners.
|-
| |
Nice How "Negative" Means Below Freezing
| |
On the Celsius scale, the freeing point of water is 0 degrees C, and any temperature below that is "below" the freezing point. On the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point is a less intuitive 32 degrees F.
|-
| |
Physics major Loyalty
| |
Cueball is apparently a physics major, like Randall, and SI units are always used for scientific work, even in the US. By using the Celsius scale in casual conversation he would show his loyalty to the system used by actual physicists.
|-
| |
Easier to Spell
| |
"Celsius" is generally considered to be an easier word to spell than "Fahrenheit." In this case the word is being spoken and the point is not immediately relevant, but part of the joke is that Cueball is overthinking things and worrying about the general use of the word when an answer is needed in this specific case.
|-
| |
We lost a Mars probe over this crap
| |
The {{w|Mars_Climate_Orbiter|Mars Climate Orbiter}} disintegrated in Mars' atmosphere because Lockheed used Imperial units instead of the contractually specified metric units.
|-
| |
Unit-aware computing makes Imperial less annoying
| |
|}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is looking at his phone]
:Off-screen person: Hey, what's the temperature outside?
:Cueball [thinks]: Should I give it in °F or °C?

:Degrees Celsius
:* International standard
:* Helps reduce America's weird isolationism
:* Nice how "negative" means below freezing
:* Physics major loyalty
:* Easier to spell
:* {{w|Mars_Climate_Orbiter|We lost a Mars probe over this crap}}

:Degrees Fahrenheit
:* 0°F to 100°F good match for temperature range in which most humans live
:* Rounds more usefully (70's, 90's)
:* Unit-aware computing makes imperial less annoying
:* SI prefixes are less relevant for temperatures
:* Fahrenheit is likely more clear in this context
:* Valuing unit standardization over being helpful possibly makes me a bad friend

:Cueball [thinks]: Crap, gotta pick something. Uhh...
:Cueball: ...0.173 radians.
:Off-screen person: I'll just go check myself
{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1643: Degrees

2016-02-15T15:23:03Z

173.245.55.60: If I remember correctly, not remembering

Rankine is a good compromise. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.65|173.245.56.65]] 14:11, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

0.173 rad = 10°. Now it could be 10°C (50°F) or 10°F (-12°C).--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.228.113|108.162.228.113]] 14:14, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

It should probably be noted that since 0.173 radians is equal to around 9.91 degrees, the temperature that Cueball gave is likely in 'radians Celsius', since 9.91 degrees Farenheit would be an unlikely temperature to occur, unless they're somewhere like Canada or northern Russia --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.59|162.158.152.59]] 14:17, 15 February 2016 (UTC)
:It would appear that that's already been noted since I started writing that comment. Ignore me. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.59|162.158.152.59]] 14:18, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Guys, we moved away from the Réaumur-scale: You can do the same for the Fahrenheit :-). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 14:20, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Considering how cold New England is today, I'm pretty sure it's Fahrenheit.

Temperature is given in F. Look at which month it is. And how this is a darn cold winter (at least in Canada). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.43|108.162.216.43]] 14:32, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

What's with the "We lost a Mars probe over this" remark? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.113|141.101.104.113]] 14:33, 15 February 2016 (UTC)
: One of the Mars probes crashed into Mars because one of the NASA contractors was using US Customary units instead of SI units. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 14:39, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

its currently 10F in the Boston area where Randall lives.

The mars probe remark is in reference to a mistake in switching navigational numbers from American standard to metric (namely in that they didn't) which caused the probe to slam into the surface of mars. If I remember correctly that is.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.78|108.162.238.78]] 14:43, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

1630: Quadcopter

2016-01-15T08:45:44Z

173.245.55.60: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1630
| date = January 15, 2016
| title = Quadcopter
| image = quadcopter.png
| titletext = I always have to turn off nature documentaries when they show these scenes.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}

Welcome to Quadcopter flying school.
Today we'll be learning the basics of- ...uhh..
'''Is carried off by quadcopters'''
Should we have helped?
No. It's cruel, but we have to let nature take it's course.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

Talk:1572: xkcd Survey

2015-12-05T06:44:47Z

173.245.55.60: Hypothesis

Mildly interesting to note that the ordering of most of the checkbox/radiobutton lists randomise each time the survery is loaded. Also, there is at least one other comic where Randall comments about not having figured out HTML imagemaps. Anyone remember which? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 10:52, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
:It was in one of his "under the logo" news bars, about him starting What If, iirc --[[User:Aescula|Aescula]] ([[User talk:Aescula|talk]]) 11:28, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
I wonder how many people, on reading 'Type "cat" here:', typed '"cat" here:'? I know I did... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.214|141.101.98.214]] 11:58, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
:Guilty...--[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 12:08, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
: Me too... However you could have typed '"cat" here:', as well... (/edit: I wonder how many different entries the survey's result will reveal) (/edit2: I did not read properly... sorry. I typed '"cat"' not '"cat" here:' -.-)[[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:27, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
: I typed meow -[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.86|141.101.105.86]] 12:41, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
::Where it said "Type five random words" I typed "five random words" (without the quotes).
::--[[User:Lou Crazy|Lou Crazy]] ([[User talk:Lou Crazy|talk]]) 11:24, 3 September 2015 (UTC)
:::My first thought there was "Correct Horse Battery Staple"[[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.47|162.158.255.47]] 04:42, 4 September 2015 (UTC)
::::Those were the first four of my five "random words". -- [[User:Pne|Pne]] ([[User talk:Pne|talk]]) 17:18, 4 September 2015 (UTC)
::::Man, why didn't I think of that? [[User:Sobsz|Sobsz]] ([[User talk:Sobsz|talk]]) 06:37, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
:::I tried to make it at least a bit random, rather than arbitrary, with a bash script: <nowiki>for _ in 1 2 3 4 5; do sed -n "$(((((32768*RANDOM)+RANDOM) % $(wc -l </usr/share/dict/words) ) + 1))p" /usr/share/dict/words; done</nowiki> -- ferret [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.121|141.101.99.121]] 11:58, 5 September 2015 (UTC)
Not sure if it was just me, but the comic wasn't a link at all! The cursor changed into a No cursor for me everytime I mouseover'd the comic. I went to survey using the "Bonus Link!" below the comic page. [[User:Brilliantnut|Brilliantnut]] ([[User talk:Brilliantnut|talk]]) 12:01, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
:Never mind, this was probably due to the WebComics reader extension that I have in my browser. [[User:Brilliantnut|Brilliantnut]] ([[User talk:Brilliantnut|talk]]) 12:03, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
From hearing people on reddit comment about not being able to completely fill the text box (not just the visual box) with the error "Answer too long", it's caused by a 10k character limit. Presumably by Google Docs. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.192|108.162.249.192]] 13:18, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

Can we get a note on the title text? Something about the [[1493]]-like vacuousness of "Big Data for a Big Planet". Also, I added a defn for "revergent"; future researchers, anyone who knows that one is probably a fern biologist. [[User:FourViolas|FourViolas]] ([[User talk:FourViolas|talk]]) 20:51, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
:I just did a bit on the title text, but I don't think that I did the best job at explaining it, so someone should look over what I did.[[User:Mulan15262|Mulan15262]] ([[User talk:Mulan15262|talk]]) 23:32, 4 September 2015 (UTC)

;Validation
The validation choices are interesting.
* "Enter a number between 1 and 100" rejects numbers outside this range (e.g. -1) but also reject valid responses (e.g. π).
* "Enter your age" and "Enter the number of $SIBLING" accept invalid responses such as -1. [[User:Paddles|Paddles]] ([[User talk:Paddles|talk]]) 13:29, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
:-1 is not an "invalid response" for "Enter your age" if you are an unborn fetus. On the day of birth and all subsequent days less than one year later, a baby's age is zero. So from one year before birth to the day before birth, a fetus's age is negative one.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.214.233|108.162.214.233]] 06:49, 30 November 2015 (UTC)
:I (with ''fairly'' honest intention) tried to give non-numeric answers to the two Think Of A Number questions and my the age one (honestly, I had to actually think about that one, for a moment) and found them restricted to numbers only. So obviously Randall's not ''so'' subversive as to allow free text. (BTW, I've ''only'' driven 'stick shift', though an old friend of mine has just gotten an automatic, I think for the first time, which said was rather posh of him.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.108|141.101.99.108]] 15:55, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
I used an HTML inspector tool to create a unique response to one of the radio button questions. The form claimed to submit successfully; it should be obvious in the results if it worked. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 16:29, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

;Identification
"it's possible that someone may be able to identify you by looking at your responses"
Then why send those informations to Google ? I find the idea of thee survey interesting but why Google doc ? There are other options like Lime Survey. [[User:Seipas|Seipas]] ([[User talk:Seipas|talk]]) 13:37, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
: Given the stated intention to make the collected dataset available publicly, there's no information-security reason to prefer another survey tool over Google. [[User:Paddles|Paddles]] ([[User talk:Paddles|talk]]) 14:21, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
:: Technically Google could de-anonymize the data if you're logged in or otherwise identifiable when submitting the survey. When Randall publishes the data set it can be completely anonymized. Not that I care if Google knows I claim to consider myself half-cat, half-person. [[User:Jestempies|Jestempies]] ([[User talk:Jestempies|talk]]) 21:15, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

;Not a transcript
This is mildly interesting, but it is not a transcript. Transcripts are meant mainly for blind people and search engines. Different letter sizes and a frame are not needed. [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 12:54, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
:{| style="text-align:center; border:1pt black solid;"
|| Introducing '''THE XKCD SURVEY''' A search for weird correlations Note: This survey is anonymous, but all responses will be posted publicly so people can play with the data. '''Click here to''' '''take the survey''' Or click here, or here. The whole comic is a link, because I still haven't gotten the hang of HTML imagemaps. 
|}
::The transcript is not only for blind people. And an enhanced layout doesn't harm them but instead it would help them. A speech synthesizer would tell them something like "headline" or "small text at bottom" so that the impaired people would get a much better feeling of the comic. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:12, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

I wonder how many people included "battery, horse, staple, correct" in the five random words box. {{unsigned ip|173.245.56.64}}
:I typed ');drop table survey; -- at the end of the random characters text box. I must have been the first person to think of that because the survey was still working. [[User:Jeremyp|Jeremyp]] ([[User talk:Jeremyp|talk]]) 13:46, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
:I typed "cat, cat, cat, cat, cat" in random words and "lion, cat, dog, horse, '''''lettuce'''''" for the random animals. Yes, I was trolling. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.150|108.162.221.150]] 06:38, 4 September 2015 (UTC)

I wish it was funny. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.148|108.162.241.148]] 16:20, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

;Tables Vs Bulleted List

The list of questions and possible responses has been added to the explanation by myself and xhfz, in different formats. I went for a wikitable, xhfz used a bulleted list. Rather than just overwrite each other, I think we need to have a discussion on which is the best choice. The reasons I believe a wikitable is the best option:
:*Far better expandability, in anticipation of survey results
:*More structured and neater presentation
In general I tend to lean towards tables, but it is probably a constructive discussion to have for the wiki as a whole. I would be interested to hear opinions of bulleted list vs tables in these types of situation.--[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 13:42, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

If we have a table we need colspan instead of rowspan. On the other hand a table is very difficult to maintain. In addition, the table didn't have space for explanations (another column, maybe). [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 13:44, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

:If you used colspan, questions like "How many of these 20 words do you know" would be excessively wide. Perhaps a combination of colspan and rowspan, or simply a single cell with the responses listed as comma seperated list. As far as adding a column for explanations, its pretty trivial. What I'm getting at is that perhaps the format of a table would need to be optimised, but that is entirely feasible.
:I agree with you as far as tables being more intimidating to edit and maintain, but once set up they aren't that bad.
:Bulleted lists (to me at least) look messy, and tend to lack a coherent structure. As more information is added, sub-levels and sub-sub-levels are added without much thought as to the overall intent. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 14:14, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

By colspan I mean this:
{| class="wikitable"
!Question
!Possible Answers
|-
|colspan="2"|When you think about stuff on the internet, where do you picture it being physically located? Even if you know it's not really how things work, is there a place you imagine websites and social media posts sitting before you look at them? If so, where is it?
|-
|
|''Multi-line text box''
|-
|colspan="2"|Which of these words do you know the meaning of?
|-
|
|Slickle
|-
|
|Rife
|-
|
|Soliloquy
|-
|
|Fination
|-
|
|Stipple
|-
|
|Peristeronic
|-
|
|Modicum
|-
|
|Trephony
|-
|
|Tribution
|-
|colspan="2"|Have you ever thrown out all your different pairs of socks/underwear, bought a bunch of replacements that were all one kind, and then told all your friends how great it was and how they should do it too?
|-
|
|Yes
|-
|
|No
|-
|
|I did the throwing out thing, but didn't talk to everyone about it
|-
|
|No, but I'm totally doing that now
|}
[[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 14:44, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

: Yeah, if someone just did that, that would be great. [[User:Nk22|The Twenty-second. The Not So Only. The Nathan/Nk22]] ([[User talk:Nk22|talk]]) 18:54, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

;Missing questions
Something notably missing which would have greatly helped later analysis was a question about where someone is - Country and/or State. Some of the questions and answers will be differently understood because of that (eg meaning if 'sandwich') --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.65|141.101.98.65]] 14:23, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

:I think that is the whole point though, to provide a data set that actively attempts to ''prevent'' the obvious simple analysis. There are plenty of statistics on how people from place A are more likely to do thing B. What I want to know is "How many people who would class a taco as a sandwich and can drive stick shift are able to juggle?". Also, is it true that most people think they are above average drivers? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:09, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
::If you're actually curious about those questions, the answers are "0" and "yes". No one classes a taco as a sandwich. The only thing that this data set will provide is how many sandwich-trolls ''claim'' to be able to drive stick shifts and juggle.--[[User:Antipudder|Antipudder]] ([[User talk:Talk/talk/talk|talk]]) 15:10, 7 September 2015 (UTC)

;Subsections were added for ease of editing

You can delete the subsections later. [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 15:30, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
:Ok, I agree on that. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 15:42, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

;I think we shouldn't force the reader to go to Wikipedia

I added explanations in "Activities" and twice they were deleted. Why? [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1572:_xkcd_Survey&diff=prev&oldid=100879] [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1572%3A_xkcd_Survey&diff=100921&oldid=100920] [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 15:39, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

:Personally, I think those activities are so easily understood, that adding an "explanation" is not necessary. I think wiki links are sufficient, so that if somehow people don't know what the activities are, they can go look. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 15:45, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

::I know 20,000 words in [http://testyourvocab.com testyourvocab.com]. I also know soliloquy, modicum, amiable and salient. I had never heard of dunk, sheet bend, bowline, or stick shift, but I know the meaning of manual transmission without going to Wikipedia. [[User:Xhfz|Xhfz]] ([[User talk:Xhfz|talk]]) 15:47, 2 September 2015 (UTC)

:::For the record, it wasn't me who deleted the explanations. The fact that Randall included those words in his survey without any explanation shows that they are fairly common words. In the context of the question, the meaning becomes clearer (Tie a sheet bend or bowline = its very likely those are knots), and if people still don't know, they can click on the wiki link. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 16:14, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
:::From a different perspective, I ''understand'' a number of the words and terms, even though they aren't the ones I'd use, locally. i.e. gas/petrol, stick-shift/gears, cell phone/mobile phone, soda/pop (and where would cordial, to be diluted with water, sit in that list of drinks..? either way, I chose "fruit juice" so maybe that covers it). Also I think I would call an "open-faced sandwich" a {{w|Sm%C3%B6rg%C3%A5sbord|'Smorgasbord'}}, but that seems to be a childhood misunderstanding of what the scandinavian term actually represents (the whole buffet, not any individual item bread-and-topping construct that you end up with on your platter). "Condiments" obviously means something differently, too. For me that's the likes of salt, pepper and vinegar - along with other chopped herbs at a push - but from context it sounds like it includes dips such as mayonnaise, and/or sauces like ketchup/brown/tartar. A different world, truly! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.108|141.101.99.108]] 17:46, 2 September 2015 (UTC)
::::It's a poorly worded question to which people in some countries would answer the opposite of that intended because of the way the question is worded. Very few cars run on gas (a friend's van runs on LPG), but many use petrol or diesel. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.239.32|198.41.239.32]] 05:55, 3 September 2015 (UTC)
:::::Fellow Brits? No, IP of the latter appears to be Arizona (or at least the ISP, in Phoenix). Strange. Anyway, thanks to copious imports of 'Merkin TV and film, it'd be obvious to most(/all?) people I know that gas(olene) would be the common word in the US for the fuel that I'd call petrol(eum). Or so I was under the impression of, until now. Of course there is ''actual'' gas (modern LPG or [https://www.pinterest.com/pin/155585362099248762/ wartime contingencies]) but so far liquid hydrocarbons seem to still be king, inclusive of DERV. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.188|141.101.98.188]] 07:51, 3 September 2015 (UTC)

:I changed them to Wikipedia links because it seemed neater, uses the hypertext features of HTML for the reason they were intended, and seemed more in line with general style here. No-one is forced to go to Wikipedia, but providing useful hyperlinks instead of having to explain everything inline is generally considered A Good Thing &tm;. It wasn't intended as a personal affront. This is a wiki - we can all edit to make things (hopefully) a bit better. [[User:Paddles|Paddles]] ([[User talk:Paddles|talk]]) 12:40, 3 September 2015 (UTC)

;Can we access the results now?

Are the contents available at a known URL? I use Google Docs but have never done a survey before...[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.24|141.101.105.24]] 06:03, 3 September 2015 (UTC)

;Maple syrup

The current article comments that the "Maple syrup" option to the ''any that you drink'' question is a joke. Are you sure? I have met several people (to clarify, adults, I'm not even considering children) who drink straight maple syrup, and many times more who pour maple syrup into their drinks (notably coffee, tea, and milk are the most common I see people pour it into). There are webpages devoted to maple syrup drink recipes (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and people debating other people's opinions on whether maple syrup is better drunk hot, cold, or room temperature. There is a possibility that Randall was not intending this question as a joke since it seems to be "a thing" among some people. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.11|108.162.220.11]] 12:16, 3 September 2015 (UTC)
:I was very delighted to see maple syrup under the drink options! When I started the survey with my co-workers I came to the condiments question and was explaining to them how I even drink maple syrup. So I was very giddy when I came to the drink question! Yes, I do drink maple syrup and not as a joke, usually at night and only Grade B. --[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:40, 4 September 2015 (UTC)

;Regarding "Difficult words" not currently linked
*Trephony - Another (equally obselete) term for Trepanning. The not listed directly on the Wikipedia page for the topic (the article uses gerund forms in discussing other names for the procedure), but the related gerund "trephining" is listed. Cf. also Trephine, which was the actual surgical instrument used for these procedures (and for which Trephony occasionally served as an alternate spelling).
*Tribution appears to be the result of converting the [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tribute#Verb tribute (when used as a verb)]into a noun by use of the [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-tion#English -tion suffix]. While this is a standard form, it is also nonsense (as the nounal form is also tribute).
*Unitory - An obsolete spelling unitary used in mathematics, chiefly British. Several examples appear in the of the papers of the [https://books.google.com/books?id=Wl1BAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA5-PA27&lpg=RA5-PA27&dq=unitory+method&source=bl&ots=rfRKJXAJqV&sig=Wsr_gV7xG6Airah9Lx1M0hi-7Zc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBmoVChMInd_R9qTbxwIVChU-Ch36IAh_#v=onepage&q=unitory%20method&f=false 1913 Imperial Education Conference] (I've linked to the instance on page 97 as an example). You will still occasionally see this spelling in use when discussing the Unitary Method in former British Colonies.
*Cadine -- the french term also saw some use in English as a loanword. Cf. [https://books.google.com/books?id=4yz-Y-_OOO0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=cadine&f=false page 146 of Volume 99 of The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle (published 1829)] for several examples.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.36|108.162.216.36]] 16:54, 3 September 2015 (UTC)
;Apricity: this appears to be an obsolete, poetic and/or pompous word to describe the sun's heat in winter. It shows up in several dictionaries from the 1700's through the Victorian era; e.g., [http://books.google.com/books?id=CFBGAAAAYAAJ&pg=PT76&dq=apricity#v=onepage&q=apricity&f=false Bailey 1775] - Anonymous

Should we move the survey section to a different page (e.g. [[1572: xkcd Survey/Survey]])? It takes up most of the current page. {{User:17jiangz1/signature|13:10, 04 September 2015}}
:The survey section is a transcript, so I moved it appropriately for now. {{User:17jiangz1/signature|13:14, 04 September 2015}}
::The survey is not a transcript. And even if it was it is not the comic and should thus not be listed as part of this comics transcript. But the survey section is used to explain the survey and this is certainly not supposed to happen in a transcript. I have moved it above the transcript again. But it could be an idea to make separate survey page and link to it from the comic page. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:39, 5 September 2015 (UTC)

If one is free to skip any question, how does the survey distinguish between a skiped question and a question for which the answer is nothing, e.g. if one does not dislike any named beverage? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.241|162.158.90.241]] 11:47, 8 September 2015 (UTC)

'''[[Difficult words]]'''
Does anyone have access to a good bio-org chemistry reference? I seem to remember "-fination" as a valid suffix for O-Chem usage for fixation of certain kinds of reactions (ex. Pearson ole-fination), but I don't remember if there is a general meaning of the term. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.36}}

;HTML image maps
As a web designer, I'm certain that a big part of the joke is that almost no one uses image maps anymore -- the technique of cutting up images and laying them out using CSS or HTML tables (the latter now mostly obsolete) won out back in the 90s. The trouble you have to go to to create an image map is nowhere near worth the payoff. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.91|199.27.128.91]] 21:30, 8 September 2015 (UTC)
:When it comes to ''that'', I know someone who (in the mid 2000s!) made a web-page by rendering the entire page (including all text-as-raster, and it was ''mostly'' text) into a single image file (vastly over-assuming the consistency of the end-user's screen/browser-window dimensions), and image-mapped it. Yes, CSS already existed, and even without I would never have used it. I did a byte-for-byte comparison with an HTML-rendered version (even though that has its own inefficiences in sprawling across multiple bytes, in <LONGTAGNAMES></LONGTAGNAMES> in particular) and it was horrific. Never mind horribly unfriendly to anyone with a non-standard/special-needs browsing environment!
:Which might in part be why (more intelligent!) image-mapping never took off in the adolescent years of the web (once it became predominantly dial-up by home users, rather than those sat directly upon academic/etc LANs sitting on high=bandwidth fat pipes to the internet in its infancy, with bandwidth already used (outside of 'proper' usage)to pre/early Eternal September propgation of Usenet and UUEncoded images sent over email), even though quite intelligent usages of the art had been long pioneered for such purposes as literal (i.e. geographical!) map-clicking rather than the Mysterious Meat navigation method.
:But then it might also have died out after the initial bloom of Geocities, when the tedious last remnants of the <BLINK> tag phenomenon merged into the ubiquity of the over-use of animated GIFs depicting some form of "Website under construction" message, and there were so many other tricks to (over-)use in a person's supposedly interesting self-publicising page. Ahh... nostalgia!
:Seriously, however, looking at the design elements of site design, e.g. curve-effect button/frame areas and scrolling galleries, amongst other things, and a simple markup imagemap (if not coordinate-sending to be processed by the server-side scripting through URL-query format) has outlived its easy usefulness (for the coder in a hurry, who has so many other tool-scripts available) and now we need this complicated and often vastly obfuscated client-side scripting to make the gloriously laid-out web-pages react (consistently) to the end-user in the way intended. I'm sure you make sure your web pages work in the likes of Lynx and even screen-readers (where practical, and of course imagemaps always did work horribly for both of these!), but modern bells-and-whistles have progressed far beyond imagemap tomfoolery. Not always because the new method is ''better'', for a given instance, but that's progress for ya. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.32|141.101.98.32]] 12:39, 11 September 2015 (UTC)

;Underwear

I still don't understand why the last question asks about "socks/'''underwear'''" instead of just "socks". Is there any species of underwear that comes in pairs, ''other than'' socks? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.167|173.245.56.167]] 15:39, 11 September 2015 (UTC)

:It is supposed to be read as "(pairs of socks)/underwear", NOT "pairs of (socks/undrwear)" [[User:Jaalenja|Jaalenja]] ([[User talk:Jaalenja|talk]]) 08:50, 12 September 2015 (UTC)

::That still doesn't answer my question: why would anyone care if their underwear is all one kind? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.116|173.245.54.116]] 02:27, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

:::'''Comfort''', primarily. Find one kind of underwear that you find enjoyable to wear, then make sure all your underwear are all that kind and throw out the others - then you'll never have to wear or think about the uncomfortable ones that you routinely shove into the darkest corner of your drawer, ever again. Also, if you go shopping later, when you wear holes in the current selection, then you know exactly which brand and style, no waffling necessary. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.167|108.162.245.167]] 06:02, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

::: C'mon guys. It's about matching. I like always having matching socks. I've thrown away all my socks and started from scratch, because after a while, you lose socks or one sock gets a big hole in it, and you have to reboot. The same may hold true for women, who have been known to wear matching underwear in two parts: bras and panties. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.53|108.162.216.53]] 19:37, 12 November 2015 (UTC)

Since the results still aren't in, I'm calling it now, so no one can accuse me of p-hacking: People who ended their entries in multiline textboxes with newlines are more likely to have opinions about text editors, suffer from colds, and show symptoms of insomnia. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.60|173.245.55.60]] 06:44, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1607: Supreme Court

2015-11-25T20:21:50Z

173.245.55.60:

Made some additions, since I'm the first person up at this ungodly hour. Well, it's ungodly in my time zone, anyway. (Why is it that the time changes depending on where you live, but the months don't?) I am a first-time editor, so please correct any mistakes in formatting. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.5|05:32, 23 November 2015‎}}

:I'm awake, it's 11:26 PM. PS, you forgot to sign, but IDK how to fix. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 05:36, 23 November 2015 (UTC)
::I do - I've added a signature. --[[User:Sophira|Sophira]] ([[User talk:Sophira|talk]]) 06:11, 23 November 2015 (UTC)
:The months change. Currently, it's November in Europe and the Americas, Kislev in Israel, Safar in Islamic countries, etc.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.56.191|162.158.56.191]] 04:53, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

He just might be... THE LAW! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.41|108.162.221.41]] 06:17, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Isn't the joke that xkcd people are stick men, so the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libra_(constellation)#History_and_mythology libra] could just be a man with a tiny head carrying two buckets..? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.159|162.158.91.159]] 10:00, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Currently there's nothing in the explanation of the titletext that addresses that Justice X is claiming to be ''either'' of two individuals, not even trying to properly impersonate a specific individual. Of course, logically, if they claimed to be a specific person then this specific person they claimed to be could so easily counter-claim. So that approach shouldn't work. But being vague would ''also'' be strange. Unlike a game of Mafia, when there might (occasionally) be reasons to be vague in this manner about one's role (and yet accept that this can look utterly Scummy, if this approach is directed at the Townies) to try to offset targetting by the opposing camp, this should ''still'' not work in a group where everyone already knows each other. So who knows how 'relatively illogical' the two approaches are, to each other... ;) But can anyone explain this better than me? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.5|162.158.152.5]] 11:32, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Although there are nine justices, 10 votes were counted... it is possible that the mysterious tenth person voted along with the majority, and one of the original justices has voted against. The supreme court rarely votes unanimously on anything regardless of how reasonable the majority seems.[[User:Swordsmith|Swordsmith]] ([[User talk:Swordsmith|talk]]) 11:50, 23 November 2015 (UTC)
:Not sure where you're getting your information. For the 2014 term, fully 2/3 of the decisions decided were unanimous 9-0 decisions. The most common splits are 9-0 and 5-4. Most unanimous decisions are on smaller, less widely important matters. Larger more important and notable decisions are more likely to be concerned with a disagreement of law or interpretation and therefore to not be unanimous. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.48|108.162.216.48]] 14:32, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Just a guess, but it could be in reference to [http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/20/obama-administration-appeals-immigration-ruling-supreme-court/76103084/ this article], where the nine represents the actual justices and the single is the President. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:35, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

In my opinion, "this guy" is the picture in the background. It looks like an emoticon with eyes/eyelids, eyebrows, and a nose. It seems to have two sides in balance, which could explain the Alito/Ginsburg reference.
[[User:Tlane|Tlane]] ([[User talk:Tlane|talk]]) 20:20, 23 November 2015 (UTC)
:That is the "scales of justice", a symbol of the weighing of arguments or the weighing of justice vs mercy, depending on the viewpoint. [[User:GonzoI|GonzoI]] ([[User talk:GonzoI|talk]]) 02:35, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

This is slightly funnier knowing there should be only nine on the panel. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 21:05, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Also, the thing in the picture is a symbol representing justice. So it is "justice," but it is not "a justice." [[User:Tlane|Tlane]] ([[User talk:Tlane|talk]]) 23:16, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

[[User:Atreides]] has mentioned at [[1600: MarketWatch]] that identifying the newsreader as [[Ponytail]] is questionable, but if she is there, she should be here too. [[User:Markhurd|Mark Hurd]] ([[User talk:Markhurd|talk]]) 00:19, 24 November 2015 (UTC)
:It is not Ponytail either places, and I have corrected [[1600]]. She has no tail! But it is interesting that he uses the same appearance for a news presenter/newscaster in two comics so close. Maybe he has used her before? New character? We already have blonde character [[Miss Lenhart]]. But she was a teacher not a presenter... If anyone can find and collect more of these presenters it could be interesting. So far [[1607]] and [[1600]] are two very similar comics with same presenter! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 14:58, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

It may be worth noting somewhere that not only are Alito and Ginsberg different genders, they also have very different judicial philosophies. A "surprisingly compelling" argument that the interloper could be either would make an interesting read simply because the two write very different opinions. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 23:08, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

I feel it's very shady still. "The supreme court ruled 9-1 ..." -- isn't that an admission that the 10th IS a justice? Because if he's not his vote should not be counted at all. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.129.101|199.27.129.101]] 01:30, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
:Pretty sure that's the joke.

Geeze... Some of y'all are totally overthinking this. [[User:WaltG123|WaltG123]] ([[User talk:WaltG123|talk]]) 05:45, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I've never done this before but tell me where I'm wrong. A newscaster is reporting on the Supreme Court. She has the scales of justice in the background. She is talking about "this guy" who is apparently a tenth individual in addition to the nine justices. Normally a newscast would show the person being described, perhaps in the background behind the newscaster. In this case the scales have an emoticon-look with eyes/eyelids, a nose, and eyebrows, so they are like a face. That represents "this guy." The scales are in balance between two opposing sides, and as it turns out Alito and Ginsburg represent two opposing viewpoints on the court. Interestingly, the scales represent "justice" but the newsletter declares that they are not "a justice." There are other plays on words: how did "justice" get in here (to the Supreme Court), the Court does not know who justice is, all of the regular members seem to be voting against justice. [[User:Tlane|Tlane]] ([[User talk:Tlane|talk]]) 16:42, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
:Or it's just a joke about someone infiltrating the court & the USSC voting to determine if the person belongs there, with the scales pictured because Randall knows that:
:1) they're they symbol of the court
:2) there'd be no picture of this individual, as nobody knows who they are & cameras aren't allowed in the courtroom

:Anything can be complicated if you make it complicated. To quote Randall on this general subject: [http://spectralbovine.livejournal.com/184852.html "It was just the penis joke"] [[User:WaltG123|WaltG123]] ([[User talk:WaltG123|talk]]) 17:38, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I would bet almost anything that the 10th justice was [[Black Hat]]. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.60|173.245.55.60]] 20:21, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Talk:A Smarter Planet

2014-07-25T05:46:01Z

173.245.55.60:

I'm not sure whether we want to keep this page or not, it *is* an xkcd comic, but it's also not linked anywhere and I don't know where the hell to put a link to this on the wiki. As a side note, a comic that stands outside the chronology of the regular xkcd comics violates a couple of the assumptions made by we who wrote the comic template, and I'll fix it in two weeks when I'm done with finals. Upload relevant comic images to the red links to make them show up. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 21:47, 11 March 2014 (UTC)
:This isn't really new, and it's not a real xkcd comic, but since Randall did mention it here [https://xkcd.com/about/ xkcd.com/about] it should be mentioned also at this wiki. Maybe a new entry "A Smarter Planet" at the left navigation panel. Nevertheless, the standard navigation at the top of this page must be removed. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:46, 12 March 2014 (UTC)
I added substantially to the explanation, but I'm not quite sure it's complete yet. --[[User:Alex|Alex]] ([[User talk:Alex|talk]]) 23:04, 26 May 2014 (UTC)
:I'd say there's nothing more to add. The deforestation could use more of an explanation if a 5-year old was reading it.

825: Guest Week: Jeffrey Rowland (Overcompensating)

2014-07-15T04:50:09Z

173.245.55.60: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 825
| date = November 25, 2010
| title = Guest Week: Jeffrey Rowland (Overcompensating)
| image = guest_week_jeffrey_rowland_overcompensating.png
| titletext = Guest comic by Jeffrey Rowland of Overcompensating/Wigu. Jeffrey is famous as the picture on the Wikipedia article on 'Necrosis'.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall]] himself is talking to {{w|Jeffrey Rowland}}, who writes the popular web comics [http://www.overcompensating.com Overcompensating] and [http://www.wigucomics.com/adventures/index.php Wigu].

This may be a reference to Scott Adams' {{w|God's Debris}}, in which a delivery guy has a long conversation about the nature of the universe with an old man. While often dealing with complex questions, the old man in the story presents arguments in a very straightforward way. Some have called some of the arguments in the book very clever and original, albeit overly simplistic. This comic could be a parody on that style of philosophy.

The title text is completely true: After a brown recluse spider bit him, {{w|Jeffrey Rowland|Rowland}} started experiencing cell death in his leg. Although the wound itself is benign, it still is featured in Wikipedia articles (such as {{w|Loxoscelism}}).

Traditionally, {{w|turkey (meat)|turkey}} is the main dish of the U.S. {{w|Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving}} holiday. Thus, the theory mentioned in the last panel is that {{w|Turkey (animal)|turkeys}} started the holiday in order to drive themselves to extinction. This is a reference to the {{w|Voluntary Human Extinction Movement}}.
Ironically, Thanksgiving actually helped save the Turkey, which is generally considered one of the stupidest and most inept animals in the world; it will starve to death near food, it will drown in the rain, and it would have gone extinct a long time ago if humans didn't like its taste.

==Transcript==
:[Jeffrey Rowland and Randall are sitting together, with a globe between them. Mr. Rowland has a drink with a small umbrella over it.]
:Jeffrey Rowland: But enough of my theories about Thanksgiving. The ''real'' reason we're here is to discuss my hypothesis that dark matter ''itself'' is what consciousness is made of...

:[The frame focuses on Jeffrey Rowland.]
:Jeffrey Rowland: Unobservable to anything that is itself conscious in much the same way the mail-man won't deliver your mail if you are watching the mail-box

:[Mr. Rowland raises his drink.]
:Jeffrey Rowland: Which brings us to my theory about ghosts-
:Randall Munroe: Wait did you just say Thanksgiving was invented by the ''Turkey Voluntary Extinction Movement?''
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Guest Week]]

Talk:850: World According to Americans

2014-06-02T23:38:04Z

173.245.55.60:

NB: Paupa (sic!) New Guinea
[[User:Leob|Leob]] ([[User talk:Leob|talk]]) 20:10, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

:You're right, there's a typo in the comic! Good catch ;) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:10, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

98% of American's would only be able to locate about 4 countries so this is way too generous ~JFreund

@JFreund: That's not true... I'm a seventh grader who can't stand geography for the life of me, yet I can name a good twenty or so.
And as a very very simplified example, most fifth graders can easily name America (duh), Mexico, Canada, Russia, and England.
That is rather, for lack of a better term, racist of you. ~jazz14456

@jazz14456 Well for comparison I'm an seventh grader from europe(We call it year eight there) and I can name 64 off the top of my head, that's 320% more. Therefore the point of the comic and @JFreund 's point still stand. ~Samarthwiz

BTW, the Robinson drawing in the comic is '''much''' too accurate to be pure freehand. He probably used tracing or grid point marks. -- [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 21:46, 25 March 2014 (UTC)

It's probably sarcasm too that "Tibet" is incorrectly labelled on Xinjiang. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.223.47|108.162.223.47]] 01:20, 26 March 2014 (UTC)

"Aral sea (??Toane" is probably "Aral sea (gone)"

Talk:356: Nerd Sniping

2014-04-01T03:32:35Z

173.245.55.60:

Just because the problem contains an infinite series (or parallel) doesn't mean that it's unsolvable. It's tricky, certainly, and getting the "true" answer involves some rather heavy math, but it's not impossible. Indeed, Google shows that it's already been answered. [[Special:Contributions/76.122.5.96|76.122.5.96]] 20:42, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

I've always had an issue with this problem for one simple reason. In an infinite set of resistors, there is no space to apply a charge, thus there is no resistance. Ohm's law states Resistance = Voltage / I(current). So, in a system where there is no current (creating a divide by zero error), and there is no voltage (no change in electron work capacity, because we don't have a way to excite the electrons, because there is no power) Resistance is incalculable. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 22:22, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

We live in 3 dimensions, just place a battery above the grid with wires going to the 2 points. --[[Special:Contributions/84.197.34.154|84.197.34.154]] 22:59, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

:Not everybody does... --[[Special:Contributions/85.159.196.14|FlatlandDweller]] 11:08, 15 November 2012 (UTC)

This problem is "unsolvable" only if you try to just use the basic methods for finite networks.
There is a page on this at [http://mathpages.com/home/kmath668/kmath668.htm http://mathpages.com/home/kmath668/kmath668.htm] that reports that the cited points have a resistance of '''4/pi - 1/2''' ohms (.773234... ohms).
The 1/2 ohm resistance between adjacent nodes is actually well known.
[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 05:05, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

Solution here as well: http://mathworld.wolfram.com/news/2004-10-13/google/ [[User:Potie15|Potie15]] ([[User talk:Potie15|talk]]) 03:50, 18 March 2013 (UTC)

Nowhere it is said that the problem is unsolvable, just that it is interesting. Of course, the sniping is more effective is the problem is also difficult to solve, because otherwise the victim would get over it quickly. [[User:Dargor17|Dargor17]] ([[User talk:Dargor17|talk]]) 17:47, 16 June 2013 (UTC)

That method for parallel resistors is wrong. You don't divide resistances by the number of paths, you sum the reciprocals and then take the reciprocal of that. The method described only works if every resistor has the same value. While that's true in this problem, it's misleading to pass that off as a method that works for all cases. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.60|173.245.55.60]] 03:32, 1 April 2014 (UTC)

Talk:356: Nerd Sniping

2014-04-01T03:31:04Z

173.245.55.60:

936: Password Strength

2014-03-26T05:28:01Z

173.245.55.60: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 936
| date = August 10, 2011
| title = Password Strength
| image = password strength.png
| titletext = To anyone who understands information theory and security and is in an infuriating argument with someone who does not (possibly involving mixed case), I sincerely apologize.
}}

==Explanation==
Computer security consultant Mark Burnett has posted a [http://xato.net/passwords/analyzing-the-xkcd-comic/ discussion and analysis] of this comic on his blog.

This comic is saying that the password in the top frames "Tr0ub4dor&3" is easier for password cracking software to guess because it has less entropy than "correcthorsebatterystaple" and also more difficult for a human to remember, leading to insecure practices like writing the password down on a post-it attached to the monitor.

In simple cases the {{w|Entropy (information theory)|entropy}} of a password is calculated as ''a^b'' where ''a'' is the number of allowed symbols and ''b'' is its length. A dictionary word (however long) has an entropy of around 65000, i.e. 16 bits. A truly random string of length 11 (not like "Tr0ub4dor&3", but more like "J4I/tyJ&Acy") has 94^11 = 72.1 bits. However the comic shows that "Tr0ub4dor&3" has only 28 bits of entropy. Another way of selecting a password is to have 2048 "symbols" (common words) and select only 4 of those symbols. 2048^4 = 44 bits, much better than 28.

It is absolutely true that people make passwords hard to remember because they think they are "safer", and it is certainly true that length, all other things being equal, tends to make for very strong passwords and this can confirmed by using [http://rumkin.com/tools/password/passchk.php rumkin.com's password strength checker]. Even if the individual characters are all limited to [a-z], the exponent implied in "we added another lowercase character, so multiply by 26 again" tends to dominate the results.

In addition to being easier to remember, long strings of lowercase characters are also easier to type on smartphones and {{w|Virtual keyboard|soft keyboards}}.

xkcd's password generation scheme requires the user to have a list of 2048 common words (log22(2048) = 11). For any attack we must assume that the attacker knows our password generation algorithm, but not the exact password. In this case the attacker knows the 2048 words, and knows that we selected 4 words, but not which words. The number of combinations of 4 words from this list of words is 211×4 = 44 bits. For comparison, the [http://world.std.com/~reinhold/dicewarefaq.html#calculatingentropy entropy offered by Diceware's 7776 word list is 13 bits per word]. If the attacker doesn't know the algorithm used, and only knows that lowercase letters are selected, the "common words" password would take even longer to crack than depicted. 25 ''random'' lowercase characters would have [http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=log2%2826^25%29 117 bits of entropy], vs 44 bits for the common words list.

{{w|Steve Gibson (computer programmer)|Steve Gibson}} from the {{w|Security Now}} podcast did a lot of work in this arena and found that the password <code>D0g.....................</code> (24 characters long) is stronger than <code>PrXyc.N(n4k77#L!eVdAfp9</code> (23 characters long) because both have at least one uppercase letter, lowercase letter, number, and "special" character, so length trumps perceived complexity. Steve Gibson makes this very clear in his password haystack [https://www.grc.com/haystack.htm reference guide and tester]:
:"Once an exhaustive password search begins, '''the most important factor''' is password length!"

The important thing to take away from this comic is that longer passwords are better because each additional character adds much more time to the breaking of the password. That's what [[Randall]] is trying to get through here. Complexity does not matter unless you have length in passwords. Complexity is more difficult for humans to remember, but length is not.

;Example
Below there is a detailed example which shows how different rules of complexity work to generate a password with supposed 44 bits of entropy. The examples of expected passwords were generated in random.org.(*)

If ''n'' is the number of symbols and ''L'' is the length of the password, then ''L'' = 44 / log2(n).

{|class="wikitable"
!Symbols
!Number of symbols
!Minimum length
!colspan="2"|Examples of expected passwords
!Example of an actual password
!Actual bits of entropy
!Comment
|-
|a||26||9.3||mdniclapwz||jxtvesveiv||troubadorx||16+4.7 = 20.7||Extra letter to meet length requirement; log2(26) = 4.7
|-
|rowspan="2"|a 9
|rowspan="2"|36
|rowspan="2"|8.5
|rowspan="2"|qih7cbrmd
|rowspan="2"|ewpltiayq
|tr0ub4d0r||16+3=19||3 = common substitutions in the comic
|-
|troubador1||16+3.3=19.3||log2(10) = 3.3
|-
|a A||52||7.7||jAwwBYne||NeTvgcrq||Troubador||16+1=17||1 = caps? in the comic
|-
|a &||58||7.5||j.h?nv),||c/~/fg\:||troubador&||16+4=20||4 = punctuation in the comic
|-
|a A 9||62||7.3||cDe8CgAf||RONygLMi||Tr0ub4d0r||16+1+3=20||1 = caps?; 3 = common substitutions
|-
|a 9 &||68||7.2||_@~"#^.2||un$l|!f]||tr0ub4d0r&||16+3+4=23||3 = common substitutions; 4 = punctuation
|-
|a A 9 &||94||6.7||Re-:aRo||^$rV{3?||Tr0ub4d0r&||16+1+3+4=24||1 = caps?; 3 = common substitutions; 4 = punctuation
|-
|rowspan="2"|common words
|rowspan="2"|2048
|rowspan="2"|4
|rowspan="2"|reasonableretailsometimespossibly
|rowspan="2"|constantyieldspecifypriority||reasonableretailsometimespossibly||11×4=44||Go to random.org and select 4 random integers between 1 and 2048; then go to your list of common words
|-
|correcthorsebatterystaple
|0
|Because of this comic this password has no entropy
|}

:a = lowercase letters
:A = uppercase letters
:9 = digits
:& = the 32 special characters in an American keyboard; Randall assumes only the 16 most common characters are used in practice (4 bits)

:(*) The use of random.org explains why <code>jAwwBYne</code> has two consecutive w's, why <code>Re-:aRo</code> has two R's, why <code>_@~"#^.2</code> has no letters, why <code>ewpltiayq</code> has no numbers, why "constant yield" is part of a password, etc. A human would have attempted at passwords that looked random.

==Transcript==
:The comic illustrates the relative strength of passwords assuming basic knowledge of the system used to generate them.
:A set of boxes is used to indicate how many bits of entropy a section of the password provides.
:The comic is laid out with 6 panels arranged in a 3x2 grid.
:On each row, the first panel explains the breakdown of a password, the second panel shows how long it would take for a computer to guess, and the third panel provides an example scene showing someone trying to remember the password.

:[The password "Tr0ub4dor&3" is shown in the center of the panel. A line from each annotation indicates the word section the comment applies to.]

:Uncommon (non-gibberish) base word
:[Highlighting the base word - 16 bits of entropy.]
:Caps?
:[Highlighting the first letter - 1 bit of entropy.]
:Common Substitutions
:[Highlighting the letters 'a' (substituted by '4') and both 'o's (the first of which is substituted by '0') - 3 bits of entropy.]
:Punctuation
:[Highlighting the symbol appended to the word - 4 bits of entropy.]
:Numeral
:[Highlighting the number appended to the word - 3 bits of entropy.]
:Order unknown
:[Highlighting the appended characters - 1 bit of entropy.]
:(You can add a few more bits to account for the fact that this is only one of a few common formats.)

:~28 bits of entropy
:228 = 3 days at 1000 guesses sec
:(Plausible attack on a weak remote web service. Yes, cracking a stolen hash is faster, but it's not what the average user should worry about.)
:Difficulty to guess: Easy.

:[Cueball stands scratching his head trying to remember the password.]
:Cueball: Was it trombone? No, Troubador. And one of the O's was a zero?
:Cueball: And there was some symbol...
:Difficulty to remember: Hard.

:[The passphrase "correct horse battery staple" is shown in the center of the panel.]
:Four random common words {Each word has 11 bits of entropy.}

:~44 bits of entropy
:244 = 550 years at 1000 guesses sec
:Difficulty to guess: Hard.

:[Cueball is thinking, in his thought bubble a horse is standing to one side talking to an off-screen observer. An arrow points to a staple attached to the side of a battery.]
:Horse: That's a battery staple.
:Observer: Correct!
:Difficulty to remember: You've already memorized it

:Through 20 years of effort, we've successfully trained everyone to use passwords that are hard for humans to remember, but easy for computers to guess.

==External links==
*Some info was used from the highest voted answer given to the question of "how accurate is this XKCD comic" at StackExchange [http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/6095/xkcd-936-short-complex-password-or-long-dictionary-passphrase].
*Similarly, a question of "how right this comic is" was made at AskMetaFilter [http://ask.metafilter.com/193052/Oh-Randall-you-do-confound-me-so] and [[Randall]] responded [http://ask.metafilter.com/193052/Oh-Randall-you-do-confound-me-so#2779020 there].
*Also the Wikipedia article on '{{w|Passphrase}}' is useful.
*In case you missed it in the explanation, GRC's Steve Gibson has a fantastic page [https://www.grc.com/haystack.htm] about this (and may have prompted this comic, as his podcast [http://www.grc.com/sn/sn-303.htm] about this was posted the month before this comic).

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Computers]]

482: Height

2014-03-13T20:26:59Z

173.245.55.60: /* Fictional Objects */ Black Hat being bad again

{{comic
| number = 482
| date = September 29, 2008
| title = Height
| image = height.png
| titletext = Interestingly, on a true vertical log plot, I think the Eiffel Tower's sides would really be straight lines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Lots of the little references aren't even mentioned, e.g. Human Altitude record, the space elevator, and I just added an explanation for "All Hail Discordia!" This is nearly there, but not yet.}}
The comic is a companion piece to [[485: Depth]], which explores a {{w|logarithmic scale}} from Earth's atmosphere down to the interior of a single proton. ''Height'' begins this process by viewing logarithmically smaller scales showing several objects in the universe, both real and fictional, from farthest (top) to closest (bottom). The comic starts with [[Black Hat]] throwing a cat off the edge of the universe, probably a reference to {{w|Schrodinger's cat}} (as since it is outside the {{w|observable universe}} (for us), it exists in a super-position of both living and dead until we actually 'observe' it and force it to be in one of the states). It may also refer to the common myth that a cat will always land on its feet, a myth Black Hat appears to be testing to the extreme. The top of the universe is shown as the distance from which the oldest rays of light reach Earth.

Displaying height logarithmically while displaying width linearly noticeably distorts the shapes of the terrestrial objects. The title text notes that this distortion would approximately cancel out the curve of the Eiffel Tower's profile, and speculates that the cancellation might in fact be exact enough to convert its silhouette to a straight-edged triangle.

The {{w|age of the universe}} is currently stated as 13.8 billion years. But the {{w|Observable universe}} is about 14.0 billion {{w|parsecs}} or 46 billion {{w|light years}}, as shown on the top of the image.

===Fictional Objects===

*[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cat-on-a-leopards-in-spaaace Cat on a leopards in spaaace].
*{{w|Ford_Prefect (character)|Ford Prefect}}, character from {{w|The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (franchise)}}, shown near his home star; Betelgeuse.
*The [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Romulan_Neutral_Zone Romulan Neutral Zone], marking the edge of the {{w|Star Trek}} Federation.
*{{w|Federation Sector 0-0-1}}, the sector of spaaace assigned to Earth in {{w|Star Trek}}.
*"missing WMDs", a reference to the controversy about {{w|Iraq and weapons of mass destruction}}.
*{{w|Bupkis}} is Yiddish for "nothing". Only a handful of objects are known to orbit between the outer edge of the Kuiper Belt and the inner edge of the Oort Cloud, hence "Bupkis".
*A comet scheduled to hit earth in 2063, to coincide with the latest date for a supposed [http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p971105.htm Biblically prophesized end of the world].
*Life on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, which may or may not exist.
**The arrows most likely points to the following moons:
**Jupiter’s moon {{W|Europa (moon)|Europa}} which may be covered by a deep ocean of water - which is again covered by layer of ice many kilometers thick. In such an ocean life could have formed.
**Saturn’s moon {{W|Titan (moon)|Titan}} is the only known moon to have an atmosphere - although nothing like the one on earth. There may be oceans on the moon, but not filled with water but with liquid methane and ethane. It is way too cold for liquid water. Still in such oceans life could also have formed.
**For either moon the oceans cannot be viewed from earth either due to thick ice or opaque atmosphere.
*The little spaceship from {{w|Asteroids (video game)}}.
*The {{w|Discovery One}} from {{w|2001: A Spaaace Odyssey}}, referring to the quote "open the pod bay door, HAL."
*The spaceplane is most likely the Planet Express from {{w|Futurama}}, where Fry once discussed "a big heaping bowl of salt." However, it could conceivably refer to these instead:
**The Quasi-elemental plane of Salt from the {{w|Inner Plane}} in {{w|Dungeons and Dragons}}.
**The Great Salt Vampire from [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/M-113_creature Star Trek TOS].
**A relative of {{w|Russell's teapot}}.
*A lunar lander with someone inside proclaming "In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land". The goal of {{w|Lunar Lander (arcade game)}} is to land the vehicle without crashing it. The quote is a reference to {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} where the main character Ellie Arroway after witnessing a celestial light show up close says "Poetry! They should've sent a poet.". The actual vehicle in the movie was round and not shaped like a lunar lander.
*{{w|Cory Doctorow}}'s balloon. (first referenced in [[239]].)
*[[Cueball]], who is apparently still using Python as shown in comic [[353]].
*A {{w|Spaaace elevator}} is a proposed method of transporting cargo or people into orbit, consisting of a station in a geosynchronous orbit, a cable connecting it to the Earth, and a climber that can scale the cable. No spaaace elevator has been built to date, but according to the comic, one will be deployed "one of these days, promise!"
*Black Hat throwing a cat off the top of the comic, presumably to determine whether it will land on its feet.

===Real Objects===

*{{w|Hubble Deep Field}}, a long-exposure photograph of extremely distant galaxies.
*{{w|Great Attractor}}, an unusual concentration of intergalactic mass.
*{{w|Antennae Galaxies}}, a pair of colliding galaxies.
*{{w|Andromeda Galaxy}}, a sibling to our Milky Way.
*{{w|Magellanic Clouds}}, a pair of nearby dwarf galaxies.
*{{w|Crab Nebula}}, {{w|Orion Nebula}}, and {{w|Horsehead Nebula}}, supernova remnants.
*{{w|Pleiades}}, {{w|Rigel}}, and {{w|Betelgeuse}}, stars. The Pleiades also have a derogatory remark, as per [[66: Abusive Astronomy]]
*The distance that human radio transmissions have traveled so far. See {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} for a depiction of this. This is also referenced in [[1212]].
*{{w|Pollux}}, {{w|Arcturus}}, {{w|Sirius}}, {{w|Alpha Centauri}}, and {{w|Barnard's Star}}, nearby stars.
*{{w|Oort cloud}}, a halo of ice balls surrounding our solar system.
*{{w|Pioneer 10}} and {{w|Voyager 1}}, two early probes headed out of the solar system.
*{{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}} and {{w|Pluto}}, a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|TNOs}} now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s. The "All hail Discordia!" after Eris is a reference to {{w|Discordianism}}, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek religion based around the goddess Eris.
*{{w|Neptune}}, {{w|Uranus}}, {{w|Saturn}}, and {{w|Jupiter}}, giant gas planets at our {{w|Solar System|solar system}}.
*The {{w|Asteroid|Asteroid belt}} between Mars and Jupiter.
*{{w|Mars}}, {{w|Venus}}, and {{w|Mercury}}, our neighboring inner planets. Note that Venus and Mars are shown with looping paths, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits (this is true for all planets, but more noticeable for these two because the ratio of smallest to greatest distance is particularly large).
*The {{w|Sun}} and the {{w|Moon}}.

==Transcript==
:[Map of the universe from observable universe to Earth. Each area of item is labelled.]
:[Labels left to right, up to down:]
:[Black Hat is standing on top, throwing a black kitty down.]
:Black Cat: mrowl!
::Top of Observable Universe
::46 Billion Light Years Up
::Hubble Deep Field Objects
:-One Billion Light Years-
::Great Attractor
:Antennae Galaxies (Colliding)
:Andromeda
:::Holy Crap Lots of Space
::-One Million Light Years-
::Magellanic Clouds
::Edge of Galaxy
::Galactic Center
::Crab Nebula
::Orion Nebula
::Horsehead Nebula
::Romulan Neutral Zone
:::The PLEIADES, Duh.
::Rigel
::Betelgeuse
::Ford Prefect
::-Expanding Shell of Radio Transmissions [Arrows are pointing up.]-
::Edge of Federation Sector 0-0-1
::Pollux
::Arcturus
::Missing WMDs
::Alpha Centauri
::Sirius
::Barnard's Star
:-One Parsec-
::-One Light Year-
::Oort Cloud (?)
::Bupkis
::Comet which will destroy Earth in late 2063
::Pioneer 10
::Eris (All hail Discordia!)
::Voyager I
::Pluto (Not a planet. Neener neener.)
::Neptune
::Uranus
:Saturn
::Asteroids
:::<~life~>
::Jupiter
::Venus
::Mars
::Sun
::Mercury
::Aircraft: Hey a heaping bowl of salt!
::"Open the fridge door, Hal."
::Moon
::Human Altitude Record (Apollo 13)
::2nd Place: Snoop Dogg
::Space Elevator - One of these days, promise!
::-Geosynchronous Orbit-
::GPS Satellites
::Lunar lander: In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land
::International Space Station
::Space Junk
::-Official Edge of Space (100 km)-
::Meteors
::-1/10 ATM-
::High Altitude Balloons
::Airliners
::-1/2 ATM-
::Cory Doctrow
::Shuttle Columbia Lost
::Everest
::Helicoptors
::Cueball: Woo Python!
::[vertical scale along right side of image, starting at 1 km and getting progressivly smaller and smaller.]
::-800 m-
::Burj Dubai (~800 m)
::Eiffel Tower (325 m)
::Kites
::Great Pyramid (140 m)
::Redwood (115 m)
::Pop Fly
::Oak (20 m)
::"Hey Squirrels!"
::Tallest Stilts
::Brachiosaur (13 m)
::Giraffe (8 m)
::[Megan and Cueball.] Folks
:The Observable Universe, from Top to Bottom ~On a log scale~
:Sizes are not to scale, but heights above the Earth's surface are accurate on a log scale (that is, each step up is double the height.)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]