explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

886: Craigslist Apartments

2015-04-04T05:15:39Z

173.245.56.184: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 886
| date = April 15, 2011
| title = Craigslist Apartments
| image = craigslist apartments.png
| titletext = $1600 / 1386153BR 3BATH, MODERN SLIDING DOORS, GUEST ROOMS, GARBAGE DISPOSAL. FREE MANDATORY PARKING (ENFORCED). CONVENIENT TO ALDERAAN.
}}

==Explanation==
This is a comic about the potential pitfalls in finding an apartment on {{w|Craigslist}}. Just as in Craigslist, some of the posts are re-posted several times. Additionally, lots of posts use lots of tildes, exclamation points or asterisks as above to set their posts apart from others.

'''BR''' means bedroom, e.g. 3BR means that apartment has 3 bedrooms (common measurement of apartment size).

*'''$1600 / 2BR <nowiki>~~~</nowiki> Hardwood floors, utilities included. Cats OK, limit one per square foot.'''
:This ad is aimed at "crazy cat ladies/bachelors" who compulsively keep a number of animals much greater than is appropriate to the living space.

*'''$1100 / **** GREAT DEAL SQUARE HOUSE DOOR IN FRONT!!! ****'''
:This is the first repetition of an entry that appears multiple times. It is also extremely generic, telling the reader little useful about the house. The square house might be a garage, or just a regular square house. Beside that, most houses have a door in front, there's nothing special about a door.

*'''$2300 / 3BR !!!!!!!! Elegant apartment permanently lit by strobe light!!!! No floor.'''
:A strobe light is a very bright light that, instead of remaining on, flashes very quickly. It's frequently used in parties. A constant strobe light and the stated lack of a floor would probably make indeed living in the apartment somewhat difficult.

*'''$980 / 1BR New "hammock"-style dwelling. Water and heat free from same dispenser. Viking landlord.'''
: This is a post to live as an oarsman on a {{w|Viking ship}}. The water and heat presumably both come from the sky, in the form of rain and sunlight.

*'''$1550 / 2BR (one inside the other). Has running water, in a sense. Free heat in short, intense bursts. Klein stairs.'''
: This is a completely alien landscape, meant to be unimaginable and maddening. Possibly this represents some "other universe" or an extraterrestrial living space. Clearly this is unlivable, for humans at least. Short instance bursts of heat disturb if not kill. Stairs that do not have a clear top or bottom and rooms that can be seen as inside of each other would be confusing and impractical if not impossible to navigate. Water that runs in a sense is disturbingly vague. Seems to be on a planet with a quick rotation, also close to a star, hence the "short, intense bursts" of heat.

*'''$3200 / 1BR W/trimmed carpet and pert fixtures. Previous tenants clean. Call now, want you inside. $120/night (no animals)'''
:This is a disguised "adult services" (sex) posting, with references to trimmed pubic hair, an attractive body, and a lack of {{w|Sexually transmitted disease|STD}}s. Craigslist no longer allows posts for this, because prostitution is illegal in most places in the US. This post tries to evade the adult services ban by pretending to be something else.

*'''$2100 / 3BR on scenic Ash Tree Lane. Builder unknown; house has always existed. Walls shift; center of house may contain minotaur.'''
: This {{w|Minotaur}} house is an ad for the house in the novel ''{{w|House of Leaves}}''.

*'''$600 / 5BR Three floors w/pool, rooftop garden, beautiful glass facade, no catch, 5-min drive to historic Pripyat.'''
:This is an ad for a residence in the {{w|Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant}}, located near to the town of {{w|Pripyat}}, in northern Ukraine. The NPP is a 3-level structure, and contains a pool for temporary spent nuclear fuel storage. The rooftop now has plants growing on it after years of neglect, and the glass facade references radioactive glassy minerals created by the explosion.

*'''$7100 / 60BR Sleek modern w/extreme running water. Previous tenants may resist entry. Contains all new wiring and is a submarine.'''
:This house is a submarine, as indicated by the advertisement, presumably operated by a navy. The "previous tenants", being members of the armed forces, would undoubtedly resist entry of someone attempting to board their submarine. The sixty bedrooms refers to the crew members' bunks on board the ship, which are in extremely tight quarters and can be very uncomfortable. This may also be a reference to [[496: Secretary: Part 3]], which makes reference to [[Black Hat]] stealing a submarine, presumably for [[405: Journal 3]] - apparently this is him trying to get rid of it.

*'''$1616 / 3BR + 2Bath, tub full of blood. Closet full of board games which play themselves. Pets OK but won't survive long.'''
: This is an ad for a house in a generic horror movie.

The title text (''$1600 / 1386153BR 3bath, modern sliding doors, guest rooms, garbage disposal. Free mandatory parking (enforced). Convenient to Alderaan.'') is a reference to the {{w|Death Star}} in ''Star Wars''. {{w|Alderaan}} is the home planet of {{w|Princess Leia}}, which was obliterated by the Death Star. Mandatory parking references the tractor beams used to drag nearby ships (such as the Millennium Falcon) into the base. The garbage disposal refers to an iconic scene from Star Wars aboard the Death Star involving a garbage disposal. It seems somewhat inconvenient that this "apartment" has over a million bedrooms but only three bathrooms.

==Transcript==
:[The comic is a single panel, presented as an apartment search.]
:[Title bar.]
:All apartments
:Search for: [_______] in: All apartments ( ) Title only (*) Entire post Search
:Rent: [Min] [Max] 0+ BR [ ] Cats [ ] Dogs [ ] Has image
:[Date bar.]
:Fri Apr 15
:[Begin the apartment listings.]
:$1600 / 2BR <nowiki>~~~</nowiki> Hardwood floors, utilities included. Cats ok, limit one per square foot.
:$1100 / **** GREAT DEAL SQUARE HOUSE DOOR IN FRONT!!! ****
:$2300 / 3BR !!!!!!!! Elegant apartment permanently lit by strobe light!!!! No floor.
:$1100 / **** GREAT DEAL SQUARE HOUSE DOOR IN FRONT!!! ****
:$980 / 1BR New "hammock"-style dwelling. Water and heat free from same dispenser. Viking landlord.
:$1550 / 2BR (one inside the other). Has running water, in a sense. Free heat in short, intense bursts. Klein stairs.
:$1100 / **** GREAT DEAL SQUARE HOUSE DOOR IN FRONT!!! ****
:$1100 / **** GREAT DEAL SQUARE HOUSE DOOR IN FRONT!!! ****
:$3200 / 1BR W/trimmed carpet and pert fixtures. Previous tenants clean. Call now, want you inside. $120/night (no animals)
:$2100 / 3BR on scenic Ash Tree Lane. Builder unknown; house has always existed. Walls shift; center of house may contain minotaur.
:$1100 / **** GREAT DEAL SQUARE HOUSE DOOR IN FRONT!!! ****
:$600 / 5BR Three floors w/pool, rooftop garden, beautiful glass facade, no catch, 5-min drive to historic Pripyat.
:$7100 / 60BR Sleek modern w/extreme running water. Previous tenants may resist entry. Contains all new wiring and is a submarine.
:$1616 / 3BR + 2Bath, tub full of blood. Closet full of board games which play themselves. Pets ok but won't survive long.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1504: Opportunity

2015-03-31T03:49:10Z

173.245.56.184: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1504
| date = March 27, 2015
| title = Opportunity
| image = opportunity.png
| titletext = We all remember those famous first words spoken by an astronaut on the surface of Mars: "That's one small step fo- HOLY SHIT LOOK OUT IT'S GOT SOME KIND OF DRILL! Get back to the ... [unintelligible] ... [signal lost]"
}}

==Explanation==

This comic is talking about the robotic science platform {{w|Opportunity (rover)|''Opportunity''}}. On January 25, 2004, the ''Opportunity'' rover landed on the surface of {{w|Mars}} for the purpose of gathering data about the surface of Mars. Opportunity has proven remarkably robust, and the comic extrapolates the rover's resilience to absurdity for comedic effect.

Also sent to Mars on the same date was another Martian rover, {{w|Spirit (rover)|''Spirit''}}. Unfortunately, it became stuck and a sand storm covered its solar panels. On March 22, 2010, it was thought that ''Spirit'''s batteries finally ran out, marking the end of its mission. This was covered in [[695: Spirit]], in which the ''Spirit'' rover is portrayed with an anthropomorphic personality.

As of the release date of this comic in 2015, the Opportunity rover {{w|Opportunity mission timeline|is still alive and moving}}. The comic depicts the scientists at ground control being amazed at this.

However, in 2023, Opportunity has apparently become so powerful that it has become dangerous, presumably cannibalizing or destroying the {{w|Mars 2020|rover sent in 2020}}. Cueball and Megan note it even continues to operate without its original battery, suggesting it has developed a new power source. This evolution is similar to the stories of {{w|HAL 9000}} (from {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|''2001: A Space Odyssey''}}) and {{w|List of Star Trek characters (T–Z)#V'Ger|V'Ger}} (from ''{{w|Star Trek: The Motion Picture}}''), both of which became dangerous to human beings.

By 2450, humans have colonised and terraformed Mars. “Everything the light touches” is a reference to a line by {{w|List of The Lion King characters#Mufasa|Mufasa}} in ''{{w|The Lion King}}''. (Mufasa's son Simba then asks "What about that shadowy place?" and Mufasa tells him “That is beyond our borders. You must never go there”.) What this all implies is that ''Opportunity'' has dominated half of the planet.

The title text forecasts the first words of the first astronauts on the surface of Mars. At first, the astronaut copies the first words of Neil Armstrong on the Moon ("That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind") but it is interrupted by the ''Opportunity'' rover. Onboard the rover is a drill used for sampling rocks, but here it is heavily suggested that Opportunity uses the drill to attack the astronaut.

==Transcript==

:2010:
:[Ponytail and Hair Bun sitting at a computer, facing left.]
:Ponytail: After six years, ''Spirit'' is down, but ''Opportunity'' is still going strong.
:Hair Bun: Tough little rover!

:2015:
:[Opportunity traveling on Mars.]
:Offscreen: Eleven years, wow.
:Offscreen 2: Wasn't the original mission 90 days?
:Offscreen: This is starting to get weird.

:2023:
:[Cueball and Megan sitting at a computer, facing right.]
:Cueball: The battery is totally disconnected. How can it still be moving??
:Megan: Given what it did to the Mars 2020 rover, we may never know.

:2450, terraformed Mars, Martian imperial capital:
:[Some martian inhabits looking like Cueball and Megan pointing towards a dark, mountainous region]
:Cueball-Martian: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
:Megan-Martian: What's that dark area?
:Cueball-Martian: That is ''Opportunity's'' half of the planet. We must never go there.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Robots]]

Talk:850: World According to Americans

2014-11-02T20:35:54Z

173.245.56.184: hi

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

Made a typo with Phillipines. It's Philippines. @JFreund No stereotyping, please. I can list 51 or 52 countries and I'm not even in middle school. Add a bit more thinking and I've got to 58.[[User:Randomperson4000|Randomperson4000]] ([[User talk:Randomperson4000|talk]]) 01:59, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

@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

:Your brand of negativism, as well as the additional above, does nothing to advance any sort of constructive dialogue. Please check your misconceptions, generalizations, and inaccuracies about entire populations at the door. They're not welcome in communities of thinking people. [[User:Orazor|Orazor]] ([[User talk:Orazor|talk]]) 12:25, 21 July 2014 (UTC)

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)

*Randall considers this to be 'good at geography'?! They only named, like, 30 or so countries... There's 197!* [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.184|173.245.56.184]]

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)" {{unsigned ip|173.245.55.60}}
:This is a wiki. Edit it in yourself next time (done it for you this time).[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.11|141.101.104.11]] 05:32, 1 August 2014 (UTC)