explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1506: xkcloud

2015-04-01T10:30:38Z

173.245.56.189: /* Interactive page */ Added basic details.

{{comic
| number = 1506
| date = April 1, 2015
| title = xkcloud
| image = xkcloud.png
| titletext =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This is one of those complicated interactive entries, more like reviewing a video game than explaining a normal comic.}}

==Transcript==

====Introduction====

:[Cueball sitting behind a desk labeled XKCD.COM.]
:Cueball: We've made a huge mistake.
:[Cueball points at a bunch of computers]
:Cueball: I figured starting a cloud services company would be easy. After all, I've got ''tons'' of computers!
:[A zoomed view on cueballs head.]
:Cueball: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr — They all struggle to protect privacy and user data... And ''we'' offered a solution. I forget what it was, though.
:[Cueball is standing with his arms up.]
:Cueball: Anyway, long story short, we screwed up ''immediately'' and lost ''tons'' of their data. Also a bunch of stuff is literally on fire?
:[Cueball standing behind a desk labeled XKCD.COM.]
:Cueball: We can fix this. But we need your help.
:Clickable button: Help us recover user data before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.

====Interactive page====

Help! we lost the picture that goes with this post! 
Reason for data loss: (This is a random string. Some examples:)
----
This copy of Ubuntu is not genuine and you have not yet resolved this issue.
Server fell in ocean.
LP0 on fire

Our policy regarding your personal data:
* Please stop sending us your personal data
* We are running out of places to put it
* Is this even yours?
* Does anyone recognize whose data this is?
* Oh jeez never mind here comes more data
* Why are you doing this
* Please stop
* Help

This page allows users to submit entries to the "xkcloud", which has other images (drawn by other people? Someone confirm) to vote on, or "Draw Your Own" image options.

There is also a variant in which one creates text to go with an image.

xkcloud has "like-like" buttons, with random adjectives applied to an xkcd-style "Like" button.

==Trivia==
*It's the first and only comic without a title text.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:April fool's comics]]
[[Category:Comics without title text]]

Randall Monroe

2015-03-30T04:30:55Z

173.245.56.189: *sigh* Randall's last name is MUNroe, not MONroe.

#REDIRECT [[Randall Munroe]]

Talk:1493: Meeting

2015-03-02T19:54:24Z

173.245.56.189: My hands are typing words.

It's been registered since [http://who.is/whois/http://companyname.website November], just what the hell was Randall planning on doing with this site four months ago? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 05:32, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:He's said before that he buys domains and holds them until he finds a use. Maybe this was one of those? {{unsigned|Mikemk}}

I want to know what that "physically cannot die" thing is about. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.179}}
:Let's see... mystical powers check. Immortality check. If he weren't so naive and clueless, I'd think Beret Guy is supposed to represent God. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 07:54, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
::The phrase that comes to mind is "Quantum Immortality", although that doesn't seem to produce what I want from a web-searth, so perhaps I've got the term wrong. Basically, at every point where a quantum-level decision leads (immediately or eventually) to death or life for an individual, we only follow the probability path (in a many-worlds type scenario) that leads towards life. The fully observed "living cat" in Schrödinger's experiment, each and every time you try the experiment, so to say. Forever, given that accidents can be avoided by taking a different route home, serious diseases can be avoided by not catching them, physical aging/illness can (probably!) be avoided by not accumulating various nasty biological copy-errors (not sure what happens with mental processes, even assuming the physical impediments to brain function (such as plaques) are already dealt with, but let's assume that there's a "best result" in this life-path, also). Call it "life save-scumming", perhaps. Given how White Hat seems to have a charmed life, it would certain explain how things things seem to always turn out for the better (and more interesting, in a nice way) for him. Though obviously there's also a "many worlds" White Hat company board that has been this 'lucky' so far but ''now'' finds that their offices get struck by a de-orbitting bit of space-debris, against all odds. (Not that we'd follow them. We'd be more likely to see the versions that had built/rented their offices fifty yards further down the street, thus avoiding that fate.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.181|141.101.98.181]] 11:50, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
: That which can eternal lie, can not die.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.98|108.162.254.98]] 16:25, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:Remember that this is Beret Guy we're talking about. They may actually be unable to die. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 19:54, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Ok I may be way off base here but could it be possible that he is referencing the show Helix? In the show there is a group of immortals who formed a corporation name Ilaria and it's not clear how they make their money. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.85}}

Now that we have [[1032|three]] [[1293|comics]] on the subject ([[1021|arguably]] [[1117|more]]), should we have a Category:Beret Guy's Business? '''''[[User:LockmanCapulet|LockmanCapulet]][[User talk:LockmanCapulet| I plead the third!]]''''' 08:01, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:Done :-). --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 16:01, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Could the immoralitly refer to the whole "corporations as a legal person" thing? [[User:CDave]]

I think 'beetle' might refer to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_New_Beetle VW Beetle] given that they're talking about cars. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.54|108.162.254.54]] 09:00, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
:I doubt it, because it was in the hall. Probably a literal beetle. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.119|108.162.217.119]] 16:01, 2 March 2015 (UTC)
::Just because they were talking about a car earlier doesn't mean they're still talking about a car. I suspect he's talking about the insect. Adding a layer about Volkswagen into the joke just doesn't seem funny enough. I think the line claiming it could be a Volkswagen should be removed from the explanation. --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.38|199.27.133.38]] 18:52, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Could this be an intentional parody of Randall's own business model for xkcd? Since, beyond the store and his book he hardly operates as a standard business, but people just keep giving him money to do what he does anyway. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.21}}

Is the "cool red beetle" a ladybug? Would be consistent with Beret Guy not knowing many common nouns. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 15:42, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

To be fair, corporations aren't really immortal, in much the same way a football team isn't. The team, of course, is constantly changing out its members, and in this sense can remain vigorous long beyond the lifespan of an ordinary human. But corporations are vulnerable to the fatal flaw of being utterly dependent on engaging the interest of quite a lot of people during their whole lifespan. Football needs players, investors, managers and coaches, children playing and learning the game in the decades leading up to league level play - not to mention millions of fans. If any of those groups lose interest, the whole enterprise evaporates, practically overnight. So the chief concern of corporations, even above profits, is to convince large groups of people to engage them, as buyers, workers, suppliers and so on. I am not sure how aware they are of this, nor am I sure I want them aware of it, but that's what it boils down to. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.84|108.162.242.84]] 16:38, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1334: Second

2015-02-18T00:14:42Z

173.245.56.189:

Reference to how much Google knows about us and the 'Filter Bubble'?
OTOH could just be a straight-forward observation of the search habits of most people - if I don't find what you're looking for on the first page , I try to refine my search terms rather than goto page 2 .
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.225.132|108.162.225.132]] 05:52, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
:But you can remember a time when you ''did'' go to the second or third page with some frequency, back when the Gooooooooooogle at the bottom of each page was rendered in text and your mom thought it was just so cool that the red 'o' showed her which page she was on. [[User:Jameslucas|jameslucas]] ([[User talk:Jameslucas|" "]] / [[Special:Contributions/Jameslucas|+]]) 14:32, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
::What do you mean, “back when”? The Gooooooooooogle still behaves the way you described. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.64|108.162.254.64]] 16:58, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
:::Not quite. If you look at it, it's actually showing bits of an image, which happens to contain text. (The sprite sheet is http://www.google.com/images/nav_logo170_hr.png ) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.5|108.162.219.5]] 18:27, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
Interestingly, some research <citation missing> shows that Google's results are oriented more towards commercial results than other vendors, meaning that if you are looking for a non-commercial answer you might need to look at the second page (or switch search providers). [[User:Randymack|Randymack]] ([[User talk:Randymack|talk]]) 12:45, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
:I really want to see that citation. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 15:09, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
::You could probably Google for it... :) [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.84|199.27.128.84]] 17:16, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

The dictionary definition of "desperation" looks a bit out of place. What's the point in it? Also, is there an explanation for the talking rock? A mention to the symbolic over dramatization of the incident? [[User:Dulcis|Dulcis]] ([[User talk:Dulcis|talk]]) 15:43, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

Are we sure it's a desert? I know it mentions "desolate wastes", but it looks an awful lot like a seashore to me, not a desert. —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 17:09, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
:I can see that, but fairly certain it's a desert. His footprints linger to the right. If he were wading in water they'd not last. And the rock on the left has several smaller pebbles around it, which would be covered if the rock were in water. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.84|199.27.128.84]] 17:21, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

I think the title text is referring to the results from searching for a number like "19". Instead of information about nineteen, you get lots of pages which tangentially refer to it, such as "President correcting discrimination against 19 Jewish, Hispanic and African American soldiers" or pages with a copyright year of 19xx. -[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.7|108.162.219.7]] 17:10, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
:The title text actually says "page copyright year starts with '19'." I don't know how that can be interpreted as anything other than a reference to a year. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.84|199.27.128.84]] 17:21, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

I think the rock is a reference to World of Warcraft, where some quests lead you to a rock or pile of mud. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.221|141.101.96.221]] 22:43, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
:Unlikely, as none of them lead to a TALKING rock {{unsigned ip|141.101.70.133}}
::So bereft are you of intelligent content, at this point in your search of the barren desert, that even the speech of the humble ''rock'' is rendered grandiose of style, relative to all the ''other'' explanatory dialogues you may yet find yourself taking part in... (i.e. at this point a rock is the best bet for something that'll actually talk to you. Even the tumbleweeds are absent and the sand is notoriously of no help whatsoever.) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.41|141.101.99.41]] 13:38, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
*How is this accurate? When searching for sources while editing over at Wikipedia, I find useful info on the second and third pages all the time. I even once found something on the ''eighth'' page of my search. [[User:Jake|Jake]] ([[User talk:Jake|talk]]) 00:04, 23 May 2014 (UTC)
:Yes, but it's generally not done, if you will. Most people generally find what they need on the first page, or something close enough that they don't want to bother looking further, and don't need the second page. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 00:14, 18 February 2015 (UTC)

Talk:208: Regular Expressions

2015-01-30T00:52:30Z

173.245.56.189:

Hi, sorry about the previous "poor explanation". This one is pretty straight-forward (I think), given enough information about "regex"es and Perl. On a side-note, how did you find out the date for the comic? -- NariOx
:The explanation was mostly accurate, my gripe was with the fact that a number of fields were empty - the transcript, date and categories weren't done. You can find the date in the "all comics" page, accessible from the sidebar. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:26, 29 November 2012 (UTC)

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Grumble grumble*, email should be intrinsically treated as 7-bit ASCII. 200MB of email would be almost 210 million bytes, raw. Even assuming half of that is header overheads on top of a whole lot of short message bodies, that's a lot more characters still to processed than 5 million. Of course, if people send more complex data through common MIME extensions (or the old favourites of uuencoding, etc) so as to send extended characters and binary-attachments (including various compressed formats of data, but again needing significant overheads when not containing large documents within), then that reduces the amount of characters needing searching (but probably needs a few more "use <foo>::<bar>;" bits on your Perl code, in order to give you the tools to isolate such blocks and decode what's in them for further searching within). But things went downhill ever since people could start sending emails with fancy graphical signatures and backgrounds... Yeah, I'm an Old Fogey from the dark ages. [[Special:Contributions/178.98.31.27|178.98.31.27]] 00:00, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

I don't think a regex can isolate an address, it has so many forms that it can not be considered regular language. This discussion comes to similar conclusions: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9397485/regex-street-address-match [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.117|108.162.246.117]] 05:41, 1 November 2013 (UTC)
:It's an EMAIL address they're trying to match. Not quite obvious if you're not already thinking emails. At the same time, you COULD most likely catch a lot of the most common street address types, like 1234 Name Rd/St/Ave/etc. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 00:52, 30 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1478: P-Values

2015-01-26T20:06:23Z

173.245.56.189:

IMHO the current explanation is misleading. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-value p-value] describes how well the experiment output fits hypothesis. The hypothesis can be that the experiment output is random.
The low p-values point out that the experiment output fits well with behavior predicted by the hypothesis. The higher the p-value the more the observed and predicted values differ.[[User:Jkotek|Jkotek]] ([[User talk:Jkotek|talk]]) 08:54, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

I read this comic as a bit of a jab at either scientists or media commentators who want the experiments to show a particular result. As the significance decreases, first they re-do the calculations either in the hope that result might have been erroneous and would be re-classified as significant, or intentionally fudge the numbers to increase the significance. The next step is to start clutching at straws, admitting that while the result isn't ''[[Technically]]'' significant, it is very close to being significant. After that, changing the language to 'suggestive' may convince the general public that the result is actually more significant than it is, while also changing the parameters of the 'significance' value allows it to be classified as significant. Finally, they give up on the overall results, and start pointing out small sections which may by chance show some interesting features.

All of these subversive efforts could come about because of scientists who want their experiment to match their hypothesis, journalists who need a story, researchers who have to justify further funding etc etc. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 09:01, 26 January 2015 (UTC)
:I like how you have two separate categories - "scientists" and "researchers" with each having two different goals :) [[User:Nyq|Nyq]] ([[User talk:Nyq|talk]]) 10:12, 26 January 2015 (UTC)
: As a reporter, I can assure you that journalists are not redoing calculations on studies. Journalists are notorious for their innumeracy; the average reporter can barely figure the tip on her dinner check. Most of us don't know p-values from pea soup.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.78|108.162.216.78]] 16:44, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

This one resembles [https://mchankins.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/still-not-significant-2/ this interesting blog post] very much.--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.222|141.101.96.222]] 13:26, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

[[File:null_hypothesis.png]] 
[[User:Sten|'''STEN''']] ([[User talk:Sten|talk]]) 13:33, 26 January 2015 (UTC)
:Heh. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 20:06, 26 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1474: Screws

2015-01-16T09:06:11Z

173.245.56.189:

This page is now on the first page of google for "uranium screw". [[User:Mrmakeit|Mrmakeit]] ([[User talk:Mrmakeit|talk]]) 05:31, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I don't think that patent is the right one, it seems to describe a uranium decontamination procedure, not a screw made of uranium like in the comic. [[User:LeoDeQuirm|LeoDeQuirm]] ([[User talk:LeoDeQuirm|talk]]) 05:46, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure the "uranium screw" is just a reference to the fact that the head of the screw appears to have split in two ("fissioned"), as opposed to a normal flat head screw that still has the edges connected. [[User:Sam887|Sam887]] ([[User talk:Sam887|talk]]) 05:50, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Just a shot in the dark here, but a company that sells uranium ore and radiological equipment happens to also sell screws for one of its Geigers that look just like the screw cross-section in the comic. [http://www.uraniumrocks.com/products/replacement-circuit-board-mount-screws-for-victoreen-cdv-700-short] [[User:Conqu2|Conqu2]] ([[User talk:Conqu2|talk]]) 06:01, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I was wondering if the "uranium screw" was referring to the Demon Core -- two hemispherical domes that Louis Slotin was holding apart with a screwdriver. Then I remembered the Demon Core was plutonium, not uranium. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.119|173.245.48.119]] 06:49, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

I think the be was going for apple's pentalobe screw with the 5 ponted star

I don't think the uranium screws are named for their use in stuff to do with uranium, as I have both seen and used screws that look like that before. It's basically a flat head screw whose divot extends all the way across the face of the screw. I agree more with the previous commentor who notes that the screw looks like it has fissioned. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.182|108.162.237.182]] 06:34, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

An actual rivet is neither a screw nor a bolt; it's a fastener that is placed and then has one end plastically deformed -- traditionally by a rivet gun, but more often in smaller sizes by some sort of press or clamp. (Pop rivets are hollow, and are deformed by pulling a cone-sheaped wedge into the open end of the hollow core.) There's no way to remove one except to destroy it (drill it out or cut one end off). The item pictured could also be the head of a carriage bolt, but that's no help if you can't get at the other end of the bolt. Randall is slightly pessemistic, though: there *are* some "security" screws and bolts that use a slightly-elliptical domed head that's hard to tell from a rivet; they can be unscrewed, but only with a matching slightly-elliptical socket. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.70|199.27.133.70]] 06:35, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

All of which can be removed by a sonic screwdriver. Totally a real thing.

Could the "cursed -1" be a Nethack reference? I don't know if Dungeons and Dragons has the "blessed/uncursed/cursed" status, but in Nethack cursed items with negative enchantments (denoted "cursed -whatever") are a pretty common occurrence. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.25|199.27.133.25]] 07:31, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

In Nethack, Cursed objects cannot be removed. Seems appropriate. At first I thought it was a pozidrive screw head. Posts on the fission screw head: where have you seen screws whose divot does *not* extend across the head?

[[User:Kreuiter|Kreuiter]] ([[User talk:Kreuiter|talk]]) 08:03, 16 January 2015 (UTC)from wikipedia: Louis Philippe Joseph d'Orléans (13 April 1747 – 6 November 1793) commonly known as Philippe, was a member of a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, the ruling dynasty of France. He actively supported the French Revolution and adopted the name Philippe Égalité, but was nonetheless guillotined during the Reign of Terror

I don't think it is specifically a reference to Nethack as a lot of ol games (both video and tabletop) use the mechanic of non removable cursed objects. It is common enough in my opinion that we could argue about until we are blue in the face and get nowhere.

--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.59|108.162.216.59]] 08:28, 16 January 2015 (UTC)
uranium screw may be a reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Slotin#Criticality_accident Louis Slotin], who died when he was using a screw driver to seperate two halves of a plutonium sphere as part of a science demonstration, and triggered a large burst of radiation when his hand slipped.

I'm thinking it might benefit the article to include a place in the wikitable for the correct term for each drive socket. Of course their are not correct terms for each of them. Not to mention rivets and Phillip's heads don't even have drive sockets. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 09:04, 16 January 2015 (UTC)BLuDgeons

Talk:1474: Screws

2015-01-16T09:04:32Z

173.245.56.189:

1474: Screws

2015-01-16T08:55:19Z

173.245.56.189:

{{comic
| number = 1474
| date = January 16, 2015
| title = Screws
| image = screws.png
| titletext = If you encounter a hex bolt, but you only brought screwdrivers, you can try sandwiching the head of the bolt between two parallel screwdriver shafts, squeezing the screwdrivers together with a hand at either end, then twisting. It doesn't work and it's a great way to hurt yourself, but you can try it!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft. Needs expansion, possibly with origins of the various real screws. Title text explanation required.}}

The comic features various real or imagined types of screws, listed below.

{| class="wikitable"
! Screw Type
! Description
|-
| Phillips head
| One of the most recognizable types of screws that is commonly used in construction.
|-
| Flat head
| Slot head screws are frequently erroneously referred to as flat heads. (A flat head screw refers, in fact, to the shape of the screw head, regardless of the shape of the drive socket.) The slot head is also commonly used in construction. The diagram shows the slot truncated, where in reality the slot almost always runs across the entire head of the screw (As per the uranium screw).
|-
| Star-shaped screw
| Manufacturers sometimes used screws that require special heads in order to remove them, in order to prevent the customer tampering with the product. The reference to amazon is the speaker's suggestion to look on Amazon.com for the appropriate screwdriver. A number of star shaped screw heads exist, notably the six-pointed {{w|Torx}}, and the Apple's rounded {{w|Pentalobe screw}}.
|-
| Cursed -1 phillips head
| A screw can be stripped by overuse, tightening the screw too much, or other misuse. This results in the plus symbol of the phillips head becoming worn off, and the screw can no longer be removed easily using an ordinary phillips head screw driver. This is what is meant by the addition of "cursed" to the title, it denotes that the screw is extraordinarily hard to remove. The -1 is a reference to Dungeons and Dragons, where magical items have a rating of either a positive or negative integer. As this screw head is cursed, it has a negative integer rating.
Additionally, phillips bit sizes are numbered, with larger numbers denoting smaller bits. The most common sizes are #2, #1, and #0. There are no negative sizes; smaller bits than #0 are indicated by repeating zeroes, for example #00. The "-1" could refer to an imaginary size smaller than any real phillips bit that would now fit in the stripped out head.
A very common cause of stripped Phillips head screws is the use of the wrong driver. A #2 or larger Philips driver has a blunted tip, and #2 is the most common screw size found around the house. A #1 driver may appear to fit well into a #2 screw but the point is sharp, and so, will fail to make good contact with the surface of the screw head. If you are having trouble with a Philips head screw, try a larger driver.
|-
| Rivet
| A rivet is not a screw - it is a permanent fastener which is secured by "bucking" (deforming the body of the fastener to create an interference fit with the material being fastened). Rivets cannot be removed with a screwdriver, they must be "drilled out".
|-
| Phillips head ruiner
| A reference to the fact that hex socket screws can, in a pinch, be removed with a Phillips screwdriver, but will likely damage the driver in the process.
|-
| Uranium Screw
| ???? perhaps [http://www.google.com/patents/US20060088457 this]
|-
| Phillip's head
| This is a rather morbid interpretation of "phillips head". Rather than refer to the screw type, this "screw" is actually a bloody bag containing the severed head of someone named Phillip. It is also a reference to some people's tendency to apostrophize words ending in -s, disregarding grammatical rules.
|}

==Transcript==

Phillips head

Flat head

Uh oh. Maybe it's on Amazon?

Cursed –1 Phillips head

Crap, it's a ''rivet''.

Phillips-head ruiner

Uranium screw (a real thing)

Phillip's head

{{comic discussion}}

1474: Screws

2015-01-16T08:33:40Z

173.245.56.189:

{{comic
| number = 1474
| date = January 16, 2015
| title = Screws
| image = screws.png
| titletext = If you encounter a hex bolt, but you only brought screwdrivers, you can try sandwiching the head of the bolt between two parallel screwdriver shafts, squeezing the screwdrivers together with a hand at either end, then twisting. It doesn't work and it's a great way to hurt yourself, but you can try it!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft. Needs expansion, possibly with origins of the various real screws}}

The comic features various real or imagined types of screws, listed below.

Phillips head: One of the most recognizable types of screws that is commonly used in construction.

Flat head: Slot head screws are VERY frquently erroneously reffered to as flat heads. A flat head screw refers, in fact, to the shape of the screw head, regardless of the shape of the driver needed to remove it. Screws with rounded heads are more common. The slot head is also commonly used in construction.

Star-shaped screw: Manufacturers sometimes used screws that require special heads in order to remove them, in order to prevent the customer tampering with the product and inadvertently break it. This is commonly seen in electronics. The reference to amazon is the speaker's suggestion to look on Amazon.com for the appropriate screwdriver. (Randall may have been attempting to draw a Torx head screw, but the Torx design utilizes a six-pointed star, like the Star of David, and Randall drew a five-pointed star. It may also be a reference to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentalobe_screw Pentalobe screw], which has been used by Apple in its products - it has five points, but they are a bit rounder.)

Cursed -1 phillips head: A screw can be stripped by overuse, tightening the screw too much, or other misuse. This results in the plus symbol of the phillips head becoming worn off, and the screw can no longer be removed easily using an ordinary phillips head screw driver. This is what is meant by the addition of "cursed" to the title, it denotes that the screw is extraordinarily hard to remove. The -1 is a reference to Dungeons and Dragons, where magical items have a rating of either a positive or negative integer. As this screw head is cursed, it has a negative integer rating.
Additionally, phillips bit sizes are numbered, with larger numbers denoting smaller bits. The most common sizes are #2, #1, and #0. There are no negative sizes; smaller bits than #0 are indicated by repeating zeroes, for example #00. The "-1" could refer to an imaginary size smaller than any real phillips bit that would now fit in the stripped out head.
A very common cause of stripped Phillips head screws is the use of the wrong driver. A #2 or larger Philips driver has a blunted tip, and #2 is the most common screw size found around the house. A #1 driver may appear to fit well into a #2 screw but the point is sharp, and so, will fail to make good contact with the surface of the screw head. If you are having trouble with a Philips head screw, try a larger driver.

Rivet: A rivet is not a screw - it is a permanent fastener which is secured by "bucking" (deforming the body of the fastener to create an interference fit with the material being fastened). Rivets cannot be removed with a screwdriver, they must be "drilled out".

Phillips head ruiner: A reference to the fact that hex screws can, in a pinch, be removed with a Phillips screwdriver, but will likely damage the driver in the process.

Uranium Screw: ???? perhaps [http://www.google.com/patents/US20060088457 this]

Phillip's head: This is a rather morbid interpretation of "phillips head". Rather than refer to the screw type, this "screw" is actually a bloody bag containing the severed head of someone named Phillip. It is also a reference to some people's tendency to apostophize words ending in -s, disregarding grammatical rules.

==Transcript==

Phillips head

Flat head

Uh oh. Maybe it's on Amazon?

Cursed –1 Phillips head

Crap, it's a ''rivet''.

Phillips-head ruiner

Uranium screw (a real thing)

Phillip's head

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:421: Making Hash Browns

2015-01-10T01:56:22Z

173.245.56.189: ~~~~

He could hit his friend with the potato who could then fall back onto his fork. [[Special:Contributions/98.229.99.185|98.229.99.185]] 20:09, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

He could dice the potato but not propel the freshly-made hash browns forward; they would instead fall on head. [[Special:Contributions/24.145.48.25|24.145.48.25]] 18:31, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

Because a potato getting dirty from the ground is totally one of the worst things that could happen. Newsflash: Potatoes come from the ground, and these ones don't look like they've been washed anyway. [[User:Alcatraz ii|Alcatraz ii]] ([[User talk:Alcatraz ii|talk]]) 00:06, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

That's probably not a glass of orange juice but a cardboard container in which the french fries are delivered at the fast-food restaurant, painted on the outside and white inside, of the characteristic shape with a cut-out on the front side. What can be more appropriate to catch the fries with? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.5|108.162.246.5]] 00:45, 31 January 2014 (UTC)
I think the "orange juice" looks like frying oil. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.45|108.162.221.45]] 08:10, 17 February 2014 (UTC)

I would have thought one of the ways it could go wrong would be if the glass of juice was literally half-empty. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.141|199.27.128.141]] 19:42, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

I feel it is important to include suspension of disbelief, such that we are assuming the tennis racket method has been devised properly and they can indeed fry and dice the potato with the tools they have aquired. Thusly, the searing hot potato could land on his friends face instead.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 01:56, 10 January 2015 (UTC)

explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous

2014-12-03T17:45:10Z

173.245.56.189: /* 2014 Christmas header */ new section

<noinclude>{{Community portal}}</noinclude>

== The Community Portal's design ==

{{tl|Community portal}} looks too Wikipedia-ish (because that's where I got it). Someone who can design things should probably fix that. It isn't protected for the time being, though it probably will be in the future (high-visibility template). --''[[User:Philosopher|Philosopher]]'' [[User talk:Philosopher|Let us reason together.]] 00:54, 4 August 2012 (EDT)

== Common mistake ==

This affects all pages that ever say "alt text" in reference to the TITLE text on xkcd images. "Alt text" is incorrect; Alt text refers to the text that is shown as an alternative when images are not displayed. Title text is what xkcd uses and is shown as a tool tip-like bubble when images are hovered over.

I would correct this myself but I saw no way to edit the main page. --[[User:Jillysky|Jillysky]] ([[User talk:Jillysky|talk]]) 14:21, 6 August 2012‎ (UTC)

:You actually don't need to edit the main page to fix it, as what's there is just a mirror (transclusion) of the actual content from the comic page, at [[Curiosity]], which is open for editing by anyone. Then again, the "alt-text" in that case is generated by a template, {{tl|comic}}, so that's where we should fix this. The template's code, however, is currently a terrible mess (sorry!), so I went ahead and took care of it. Thanks for catching that! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:24, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:Ah? So it's wrong, for instance, on http://m.xkcd.com? because of that I took it for granted that we could call it the alt-text... - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 17:38, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:: Yes. If you look at the page's html source, you'll see:
<nowiki><img
id="comic"
src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/curiosity.png"
title="As of this writing the NASA/JPL websites are still overloaded. Trying CURIOSITY-REAR-CAM_[256px_x_256px].torrent.SwEsUb.DVDRip.XviD-aXXo.jpg instead."
alt="Curiosity"></nowiki>
::(line breaks added for clarity) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 23:54, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

:::That was my error in the template. I knew "image text" that has been commonly used by Jeff was not techically correct, but I didn't actually go back and confirm it was alt text before I included that tag in the template. That's to Waldir (I believe?) for correcting the template. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:14, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

== When the "official" transcript is wrong? ==
I did [[903: Extended Mind]]. Interestingly, the transcript on xkcd.com is missing the bottom line "When Wikipedia has a server outage, my apparent IQ drops by 30 points." I assume we want a complete transcript, rather than whatever xkcd.com says it is...? [[User:Stevage|Stevage]] ([[User talk:Stevage|talk]]) 04:10, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

:We're focusing on the actual transcript of the comic, not the xkcd.com transcript. The official transcript is usually right, but even Randall makes mistakes sometimes. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 04:24, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

== Milestone: half the comics explained!! ==

Hi all! I'm pleased to announce that we have just broke the 50% mark for xkcd explanations! The page that balanced the count (568 explained, 568 to go, at the time) was [[877: Beauty]], created 01:31 UTC, 21 November 2012 by [[User:Davidy22]]. Congratulations!! :D --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 03:10, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

:The caterer's been called! The punch will be arriving soon! Go [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]! [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:53, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

::[[File:freedom.png]] Punch is served! [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 07:11, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

But the Main page says 407 explanations, 731 to go! What's up with that? --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 21:00, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

== Reverse? ==

Why in the Archive why are all the thing up until "Heatmap" in Reverse? Can someone please answer? [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)
:Archive? Can you provide a link or screenshot? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:43, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

http://xkcd.com/archive/ [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

::Ah, that's because the comic right after that, rtl, has a right-to-left character in it that flips all the proceeding text. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:13, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Ah, ok, i see that now. When I 1st saw that RTL I just thought that it was random letters, thankyou for explaining it for me. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:28, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

It also depends on what browser you are on because on Google Chrome it was normal. [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 09:08, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Do you think this question was asked by one of the xkcd people? ==

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090301060752AAtYugc [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 08:38, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

== Matthew Reilly ==

I would just like to tell everyone that I asked Matthew Reilly (the author) if he is ever scared that a velociraptor is going to attack him, and he said NO! He clearly needs to start worrying about them! [[User:Tmack3|Tmack3]] ([[User talk:Tmack3|talk]]) 10:45, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

== What can we learn section ==
First of all I love your work. I believe deeper understanding of each XKCD can make a world a better place and I thank you sincerely for starting this webpage. I wanted to ask what you think about "What can we learn?" section I've been adding to some of the pages. Thank you - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:27, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:This site is actually the work of multiple editors working slowly and steadily to fill in explanations for all the old comics. Some of the xkcd comics are incredibly deep - comic [[956]] is such a poignant comic that digs into the DRM issue on so many levels. Your reflections on many of the comics are very much warranted and you're helping us create talk pages with high-quality opening posts, which is great for future discussion on this wiki. It'd be nice if you could refrain from putting headers in talk pages, technical limitations of the wiki make long explanation pages choke when headings are in the discussion page. Other than that, keep up the good work! '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:42, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::I've put in my 2 cents to comic [[956]], and thank you for teaching me how to comment and link to other comics - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::: FYI, you can always make pseudo-headings using a horizontal rule and a bold "header", but honestly I think a simple standard opening sentence would suffice. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:14, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

:Oh, and the guy who draws xkcd is called {{w|Randall Munroe}}. So many glowing things to be said about him. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:44, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

::Yes, I can't thank him enough for simplifying complex issues to funny stories, I think it's exactly what our generation needs - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:58, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:I'm in favor of a Mr. Rogers style of 'what lesson can be learned' on the talk page, but make sure your comments don't come across as sanctimonious and holier-than-thou as that can be really off-putting. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:06, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

:: You are absolutely correct, I have not thought of that, please trust me I did not do it on purpose. Thank you Mr. Lcarsos - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 19:55, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Thank you David, and I apologize that I've not made it clear that by your work, I do mean your collective work (the wiki is only as good as all the people behind it). I was trying to put the headers to allow others to find the section easier in case they start looking for it, perhaps I could make a suggestion to make it a standalone section so that others would be encouraged to contribute their own understanding of lessons they have noticed from each comic. I know the lessons I've seen, but I would love to learn from others as much as I hope they can learn from me and Mr. XKCD, thank you. - [[User:E-inspired|E-inspired]] ([[User talk:E-inspired|talk]]) 13:48, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

== DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD ==

Hello fellow editors. Do you remember the last time we were hit by a surge of automated spam? Neither do I. ConfirmEdit has really done a number on the volume of spam that we're eating - one spam account has been created since we finished configuring confirmEdit, and zero anon edits have been spam. Zero. Can you say happiness? Can you say party? '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:41, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

:Hehe, I'm glad! Thanks for being so relentless on the spam-fighting all this time! Maybe we should make up a new reason to make Jeff remove the /wiki/ in the URL? ;) –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 18:11, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

:: Awesome news! Finally the patrolling feature will be usable: [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideanons=1&hidepatrolled=1&from=20121204025000&days=365&limit=1000}} Unpatrolled changes by registered users] / [{{fullurl:Special:RecentChanges|hideliu=1&hidepatrolled=1&from=20121204025000&days=365&limit=1000}} Unpatrolled changes by anonymous users] :) --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 12:27, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

== 1000th comic explanation!! ==

Hi all! It apparently went unnoticed that '''we have recently surpassed the mark of 1000 comic explanations!''' Some calculations based on [[:Category:Comics]] and [[Special:NewPages]] led me to the conclusion that the 1000th explanation was [[681: Gravity Wells]], created by [[User:AlexRNL]] just yesterday! Yay! This calls for a celebration, no? Congrats to [[Special:ContributionScores|everyone]] who made this happen! I'll edit [[Mediawiki:Sitenotice]] with a congratulatory message. Way to go, guys! --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:04, 10 April 2013 (UTC)
:ps - I also took the opportunity to flesh out our [[explain xkcd|about/history page]]. Please take a look and fix/add any details I might have missed. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 16:06, 10 April 2013 (UTC)

== Style guide ==
Is there a style guide for this wiki? --[[User:PeterMortensen|PeterMortensen]] ([[User talk:PeterMortensen|talk]]) 20:14, 10 August 2013 (UTC)
:Oh, sorry, I did forget to answer here. A guide on this is not easy, many individual comics do need special layouts because they have content never can match to a style guide. But I will give a try [[Help:Style Guide]].--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:18, 15 August 2013 (UTC)

== Adblock ==

I've whitelisted the site in adblock, but the ads are still blocked.
Anyone know what' going on here and how I can fix it?--[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 04:34, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
:Huh. I was wondering why our impression counts weren't rising. I thought it was just because this site had high turnover. I've changed the webpage that the word whitelisting links to, try the instructions there instead. Project wonderful is our ad provider, and they've been pretty good to us so far. Also, thanks for helping to support the site! '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 04:40, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
::Great! I don't really mid ads as long as they aren't intrusive. Works now, Hope everyone else does it as well.--[[User:ParadoX|ParadoX]] ([[User talk:ParadoX|talk]]) 05:16, 27 September 2013 (UTC)
::I saw you wrote "the webpage that the word whitelisting links to" so I went to the search box and typed whitelisting. My search didn't yield anything useful: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?search=whitelisting&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch]. I don't know how to create the missing page but there oughta be a link for someone like me who searches for whitelist or whitelisting, to take them to the instructions you refer to. [[User:SaxTeacher|SaxTeacher]] ([[User talk:SaxTeacher|talk]]) 10:59, 17 May 2014 (UTC)
:::We already have this linked somewhere, but [https://www.projectwonderful.com/adblock.php this] is the link you want. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 13:41, 17 May 2014 (UTC)

I normally access this site through the android app "xkcd browser". That app only links to the content part of the site and doesn't show the side bar, so the adds aren't shown either. Might be worth discussing it with the author. [[Special:Contributions/109.158.126.139|109.158.126.139]] 08:06, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

:We support those avenues completely, you don't need to feel bad if you use an app to browse this site. We're only really concerned when we put up ads and our impressions are less than half our page hits, because that essentially means more than half our readers aren't contributing to server costs. That's really hard to deal with. We have enough daily page hits to qualify as web publishers at very big ad agencies, but we've had to settle for relatively low rates at the smaller Project Wonderful because 60% of our users were using adblock, so the agencies rejected us because our valuable "paying" audience was too low for them to consider us. That's been the difference between us using dedicated servers to host the site and hiring a contractor to set it up, and the (admittedly somewhat decent) shared hosting plan that we have to settle for now. We can only afford the shared hosting, because the small-scale advertisers at Project Wonderful don't even pay for full days of advertising; most of the time, we make less per day than the posted $3.90 price. That said, we're grateful that Project Wonderful would take us as a publisher when no one else would, but it really feels like the difference between being accepted to community college and being accepted to an ivy league school. For a similar reason, the Google ads route was not sufficient to satisfy our needs; not a large enough proportion of our users were looking at ads, so we either needed to spam them and degrade the site, or we needed to make them refresh, which makes pages slow and causes needlessly high traffic for a lot of users. We didn't want our ads to make the site worse, because that would drive away users and defeat the purpose of us being a public resource for xkcd readers. We actually decided to go the agency route pretty early, because adsense takes a massive cut of revenues and gives us little control over what ads or advertisers actually showed, which was not okay with us. Whoah, I wrote a lot. I hope it was coherent. Maybe someday I'll collect my thoughts and write a proper summary on how and why we advertise. Also, if you have any questions about anything ad-related, you can always ask us at [[explain xkcd talk:Advertise Here]]. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:15, 27 September 2013 (UTC)

== Feynman? ==

Feynman (both in [[182: Nash|living]] and [[397: Unscientific|zombie]] form) probably deserves an entry in the [[Template:Navbox characters|character navbox]] template doesn't he? [[Special:Contributions/128.250.152.198|128.250.152.198]] 02:21, 1 October 2013 (UTC)
:That's two comics out of 1200+. Three if you count the song. Not quite enough yet. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:27, 1 October 2013 (UTC)

== Job Interview (Electric Soup) ==

The soup is clearly being poured out of an electric socket. This "electric soup" is probably not a reference to the alcoholic brew favoured by Scottish tramps, but more likely to the virtual nature of the company. {{unsigned|Sulis}}
:Hey, go here [[Talk:1293: Job Interview‎]] for discussions. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:58, 20 November 2013 (UTC)

== Is there a similar, transcripted service for The Oatmeal? ==

Hi everyone - this site is a real gem, I've sent it to a friend of mine who can't read XKCD because she's blind. The transcripts on this site are a real boon!

Does anyone know if there is a similar service for The Oatmeal? I've searched and searched, but found nothing so far.

Thanks :)

Jeff

:As far as I know we are kind of unique in the web comics world. I think we get away with it because Randall publishes all his comics as Creative Commons Attribution, Non-Commercial. We liberally link back to xkcd, and we don't make a penny (The ads are just to cover server expenses, because wikis and the databases that support them get big when you're covering a body of work like xkcd). I haven't looked into the copyright Matt uses for the Oatmeal, but he seems like a cool enough guy to not kill a community transcripting effort of his comics. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:32, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

== what if 103: Vanishing Water - comics ==

Please explain the 2nd and the 4th comics from http://what-if.xkcd.com/103/

"Just tried to sail my boat over land, because I didn't learn from that kid in the Zephyr." (who's the kid from Zephyr?)

"A third time?" (maybe whales were dropped twice before in other what-ifs?) [[User:Daniel Carrero|Daniel Carrero]] ([[User talk:Daniel Carrero|talk]]) 21:57, 9 July 2014 (UTC)

== Discussion usage ==

Am I being a killjoy in feeling that the discussion section should be mainly limited to discussion on improving the explanation, gathering consensus and that type of thing.
Specifically, the discussion for [[1418: Horse]] is quickly turning into every man and his dog posting a sentence in the style of the comic, which doesn't really add anything to the page other than clutter.

Personally, I'd just delete most of them, but I think I might be turning into a grumpy old bugger... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 20:32, 10 September 2014 (UTC)
:The discussion is also there for just talking about the comic. Those guys aren't wildly off-topic, there's no need to clamp down on what they get to talk about. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 17:44, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

::Yep, I must just be grumpy and draconian! Lesson learned --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 20:32, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

== 2014 Christmas header ==

Since the header for the site current contains a [http://imgs.xkcd.com/store/store_default.png graphic link to the store] that promises that Randall probably won't ship you a [[:Category:Bobcats|bobcat]], it seems to me that probably ought to be preserved and explained somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.189|173.245.56.189]] 17:45, 3 December 2014 (UTC)

1452: Jurassic World

2014-11-27T01:03:57Z

173.245.56.189: /* Trivia */ Randal fixed the error, editing to reflect that and minor punctuation fixes.

{{comic
| number = 1452
| date = November 26, 2014
| title = Jurassic World
| image = jurassic_world.png
| titletext = Hey guys! What's eating you? Ha ha ha it's me! Oh, what fun we have.
}}

==Explanation==
This strip refers to ''{{w|Jurassic World}}'', the new ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}'' movie. [[White Hat]] explains that the movie's plot involves genetically engineering a better {{w|Tyrannosaurus Rex}}. [[Megan]] doesn't feel that the historic Tyrannosaurus can be improved upon, but White Hat insists they've created an even more terrifying, smarter T.rex for this new movie.

White Hat refers to T.rex as "two decades old", at which point he has switched topics from the movie's plot line to the animation techniques that created the {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|T.rex on-screen}} in 1993 vs. today. Clearly, in the computer animation world, we should be able to create something more convincing with modern technology. But Megan objects to this notion that the T.rex is only 20 years old, staying with the line of thought that White Hat started with.

In the final panel, White Hat introduces the new T.rex, who is immediately recognizable as the T.rex from {{w|Ryan North|Ryan North's}} ''{{w|Dinosaur Comics}}'' (which in turn is from clip art[http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/interview-with-ryan-north-creator-of-dinosaur-comics-15523444/]). Anyone who has read so much as a handful of ''Dinosaur Comics'' will know that its T.rex is about as far from smart and scary as it is possible for a T.rex to be.

Characters from ''Dinosaur Comics'' also appeared in [[145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics]] and [[1350: Lorenz]] (see under [[1350:_Lorenz#Dinosaur|Dinosaur]]).

==Transcript==
:[White Hat and Megan are walking together.]
:White Hat: In ''Jurassic World'', we've used genetic engineering to create a ''better'' dinosaur.
:Megan: Tyrannosaurus is the most charismatic animal that ever lived, and you think you'll ''upstage'' it?

:[White Hat and Megan walks on.]
:White Hat: ''Tyrannosaurus'' was cool, but it's two decades old!
:Megan: I think it's a ''little'' older than that.

:[White Hat points up.]
:White Hat: We took Tyrannosaurus and we ''improved'' it. Made it scarier, deadlier, smarter.
:Look – there it is!

:[White Hat (without hat) and Megan stare up at a green Tyrannosaurus.]

==Trivia==
*In the last panel [[Randall]] had made the error of forgetting White Hat's hat, thus drawing him as [[Cueball]]. Since Megan is still there it is obvious that it was a mistake. This has been fixed.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Dinosaurs]]
[[Category:Jurassic_Park]]