explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1652: Conditionals

2016-03-07T22:51:24Z

173.245.63.144:

{{comic
| number = 1652
| date = March 7, 2016
| title = Conditionals
| image = conditionals.png
| titletext = 'If you're done being pedantic, we should get dinner.' 'You did it again!' 'No, I didn't.'
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is about the many different uses of {{w|conditional}} statements in human languages, such as those marked by the English word "if". The most obvious kind of conditional is a statement about conditions and consequences (i.e. {{w|causality}}). An expression such as "If A, then B" amounts to asserting that, if A is true, then B is also true is called {{w|conditional probability}}:

"If it rains, then the air gets cleaner." (a general law or observation)
"If it rains, then they'll cancel the event." (a prediction)

This kind of '''simple conditional''' statement is the most common case, and has been adapted for use in computer programming and formal logic. But consider the following statement:

"If Seattle is always rainy, Beijing is smoggy just as often."

This kind of "bleached conditional" doesn't at all assert that, if the left statement is true, the right one needs to be true. Rather, it's just a way of introducing the right statement (taken as novel) by comparing it with the left one (taken for granted). "As everyone knows, Seattle is always rainy, right? Well, Beijing is smoggy just as often".

So conditionals in language are more varied than those of conditionals when used in {{w|Strict conditional|logic}} or {{w|Conditional (computer programming)|programming}}. Another kind of linguistic conditional is as follows:

"There are biscuits in the sideboard if you want some".

No one would understand this statement as meaning "if you want biscuits, they'll magically pop up in the sideboard". The if-clause ("if you want some") doesn't specify the conditions in which the then-clause ("there are biscuits") is true. Rather, it describes the conditions in which it's ''relevant''. We can paraphrase it as: "If you want biscuits, then you'll be interested in knowing that there are some in the sideboard". If A is true, then it's relevant for us to talk of B. This construction is known to linguists as '''relevance conditionals''', or "biscuit conditionals", due to {{w|J.L. Austin|J.L. Austin's}} discussion based on the example above.

The humor in the comic is based on the difference between simple conditionals and relevance conditionals. [[Cueball]] gets a sms invitation on his phone to a social event: "I'll be in your city tomorrow if you want to hang out." This is an everyday relevance conditional, with a meaning like: "if you want to hang out, then it's relevant for you to know that I'll be in your city tomorrow".

However, Cueball interprets it as a simple conditional, just as in a formal logic. Under this interpretation, the message amounts to a claim that, if it's true that Cueball wants to hang out, then it's also true his conversation partner will be in his city. Cueball is willfully forcing this interpretation, due to his belief that simple conditionals are the only "proper" ones. That is, he's being a {{w|pedant}}. A pedant is a person who is excessively concerned with formalism, accuracy, and precision.

Under this deliberate misreading, if it's true that Cueball wants to hang out, then we automatically know the other person's location. But if Cueball does ''not'' want to hang out, we don't know anything about their location; they could be in the city or anywhere else. Since the person is only guaranteed to be in the city if Cueball wants to hang out, he asks them where they will be if he doesn't.

The other person then makes an excuse to drop their invitation, apparently tiring of his pedantry. Hence in the caption Cueball/[[Randall]] observes that being {{w|pedantic}} with regard to conditionals is likely to make your friends disinclined to hang out with you. So he tries not to be pedantic about it.

In the title text, the initiator of the conversation presents another "If A, then B" conditional: "If you're done being pedantic, we should get dinner". In most contexts, this kind of "If you're done being X" utterance marks relevance conditionals. Cueball assumes so, and answers "You did it again!". But the reply is "No, I didn't." Which means that ''this'' time they're actually using a simple conditional; because, if Cueball isn't done being a pedant, then they think it's a bad idea to have dinner together. And since Cueball was not finished being pedantic about conditionals, then the last no, would probably also end up being a no to having dinner...

The title text (and partly the subject of the comic) is literally a reference to [[725: Literally]], '''''if''' you know what I mean.''

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is shown texting on a phone with a friend. Above him in light gray rectangles with indentations pointing left are the two text messages from his friend, and between them in dark a gray rectangle with an indentation pointing right is Cueball's message.]
:Friend (text): I'll be in your city tomorrow if you want to hang out.
:Cueball (text): But where will you be if I ''don't'' want to hang out?!
:Friend (text): You know, I just remembered I'm busy.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Why I try not to be pedantic about conditionals.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Language]]

Talk:1649: Pipelines

2016-02-29T23:28:56Z

173.245.63.144:

No discussion yet? Strange ...

Anyway, the title text "and we'll all just show up with a bucket each day to take our share of the resulting smoothie" reminds me of this bit near the end of Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx0ME65y72E (Warning: not for the squeamish.) --[[User:RenniePet|RenniePet]] ([[User talk:RenniePet|talk]]) 16:21, 29 February 2016 (UTC)
:This comic came out very late today. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 19:16, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

I tried to discuss earlier but did not have permission to "create a page." Now I can comment, I assume because you created the page? Hrmm. Anyway, my comment is that the honey pipe seems so unreasonably large that I'm curious of the source and the math. I found figures for honey production in US, in pounds, did not convert it to volume or look up other values but it's hard to imagine it is correct in relation to ketchup, mustard, and mayo. Grocery stores sell honey in smaller bottles and much less often, than the others. Factory bakers and makers of cereal use a little honey but not much; it's so much more expensive than corn syrup or even sugar. Restaurants use all those other products at much higher volumes. McDonald's has honey at breakfast for biscuits but it's rarely requested, versus how many gallons per day of ketchup they must use per store, just on burgers, let alone packets given away. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.62|108.162.216.62]] 17:24, 29 February 2016 (UTC)wrybred
:Please (once you get permission to do create pages) do not try to create pages like this yourself. There is a bot that will do that when the comic has been out for a short while. And this comic was very late. And when people do it themselves there often goes a lot wrong with the functionality. And contributions may be lost when an admin has to fix this later. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:00, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

There is so much wrong with "cheese" labeled as a fluid...
Flavio from Switzerland {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.33}}
:Since there are both glass (not a solid) and meat (mostly solid) and cement, only liquid for a short time, then the question is if cheese (once milk) could not be measured as a liquid without being more strange than other substances in the table? I also think that some (strange to me) people like to eat cheese that is runny ;-p --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:00, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

I find it appropriate and satisfying that tea and sugar are the same size :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.180|108.162.245.180]] 18:38, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

Glass is a reference to the common misconception that glass is a slow moving liquid. (Spoiler: It's not)
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.161|141.101.106.161]] 19:31, 29 February 2016 (UTC)
:I believe he has mentioned this fact in a previous comic... One where he urges us to look at Wikipedias page for common misconceptions before going to a party and telling everyone that glass is a liquid! ;-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:00, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

To give an example: Americans drunk just under [https://www.wineinstitute.org/resources/statistics/article86 900 million gallons of wine in 2014], or just over 4 million cubic metres per year.
There are 31557600 seconds in a year, so about America drinks 0.13 m3/s. If the pipe is flowing at 4m/s The pipe must have an area of 0.032m^2 = 320cm^2. The radius of a pipe of area 320cm^2 is 10cm. The wine pipe should have a diameter of 20cm. How about a table of calulated diameters [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.91|141.101.70.91]] 19:38, 29 February 2016 (UTC)
:Fantastic. I did some recalculations of the numbers posted as a transcript, at the moment moved to a trivia section when I posted a real transcript. There was an error in the scaling which I have now fixed. And right now the number for wine diameter says 20 cm. I did just check the picture and I disagree a little as I come to 11.5 mm on the picture which would then make it 23 cm in diameter, but that would be close enough to fit with this wine calculation withing the uncertainty of both calculations measurement and Randall's accuracy. And yes there should be such a table as you mentions.
::Table now added. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 22:33, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

Thanks for the scale check. It's always nice to know someone else looked at this stuff. BTW - would suggest that you not compare "size" to "calculated size" - but rather multiply these diameters by 4 m/s and output "calculated annual output" v. "Annual Output" - any source that can be found for annual outputs. This would be a bit more elegant as sources can be verified instantaneously. (i.e. using the 23 cm wine for example - "Annual Output" would be 4 million cubic meters, "Calculated Annual Output" would be 5.24 million cubic meters. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.106.47|188.114.106.47]] 23:20, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

It's not blonde, it's albino. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.144|173.245.63.144]] 23:28, 29 February 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1593: Play-By-Play

2016-02-26T17:37:27Z

173.245.63.144:

First!
Sorry. On a more serious note, is "how rude" a reference to the ugly guy on the first Star Wars? I'm sleepy and can't think well. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 05:41, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
:I strongly doubt it, since this is a completely unrelated topic to Star Wars [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.231|162.158.38.231]] 06:07, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
:Also, the comic doesn't even include the phrase "how rude"... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.161|108.162.250.161]] 06:11, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
::Why is Star Wars and its trailer even mentioned? Completely unrelated. The trailer aired during a football game not baseball. If Randall was trying to make that point it would be as such. This is more akin to a non-sports minded son-in-law trying to enjoy the sport with his wife's father (been there done that). Or perhaps Randall is saying that baseball is having a hard time trying to attract new fans with all the scandals so baseball has turned to reeling in non-traditional fans who need the games rules and play-by-play toned down to an understandable level. Anything but Star Wars.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:56, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
::Sorry, I read "Wow. Rude" as "How rude." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.227|108.162.220.227]] 17:16, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Isn't the guy being yelled at in the "Wow. Rude." section the umpire? I think it's more likely that people would yell at an umpire (or maybe a coach) than any standard player. 21:19, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

The big issue I have is that he says there's no one else. There is the catcher. Would have made more sense to say two men are playing catch and someone else is rudely trying to hit the ball. Or that they're playing monkey in the middle... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.236.235|108.162.236.235]] 15:18, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

;Simple Words

Could someone check if this is an instance of Randall Munroe doing a comic using only the 1000 most commonly used words? It looks like it might be. {{unsigned ip|108.162.218.197}}

:Nope! Lots of difficult words like "Wow" and "shelves" and "teammates" {{unsigned ip|198.41.235.59}}
::Yes should this even be references in the trivia. I vote for deleting the trivia, as I do not see this as an example of Beret Guy trying to speak simple, he just uses other words because he do not know the baseball version for these. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:50, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

:I put the transcript and title text into Randall's word checker and came up with eleven words that didn't make the cut: "bat", "shelves", "wow", "rude", "teammates", "pillow", "rules", "yikes", "hopefully", "king", and "jail". --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.65|108.162.218.65]] 12:47, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
:Now that I've read ''Thing Explainer'', I have some guesses for what the simple word replacements could be:
:"bat"→"stick", "None of his teammates are"→"No one else on his team is", "pillow"→"plate", "Hopefully"→"I hope".
:--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.144|173.245.63.144]] 17:37, 26 February 2016 (UTC) (Same guy as 108.162.218.65 above.)

;Surreal

I do not see this as surreal at all. His description is spot on, assuming that he knows nothing about the game.--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.79.73|141.101.79.73]] 06:32, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

What's surreal is the (somewhat implausible) scenario where someone who knows nothing about baseball (or softball, I suppose. Or sport...) whould be commentating on a game.[[User:ChrisBedford|ChrisBedford]] ([[User talk:ChrisBedford|talk]]) 06:46, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
: That's not surreal. That's ironic. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.81|108.162.237.81]] 15:11, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
:: It's also business as usual. "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrrx5CgdZaA And that happened!]"--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.127|108.162.242.127]] 15:54, 3 November 2015 (UTC)
;Pillow

Why is beret guy talking about a pillow? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.49.125|173.245.49.125]] 07:12, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

:I read it as a reference to the points on the field (“bases”?) that the runner has to go around. The ones that are used as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_metaphors_for_sex a euphemism for touching genitalia]. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.236|141.101.104.236]] 07:19, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
::See [[540: Base System]]! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:50, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
: Historically, the bases were made from stuffed fabric, they were essentially pillows.[[User:Tverma|Tverma]] ([[User talk:Tverma|talk]]) 08:15, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

;Baseball and cricket

Not being American, and never having watched a game of baseball in my life, this sounds like pretty much the way I would see baseball. Americans can get the same effect by watching a game of cricket. [[User:GreenWyvern|GreenWyvern]] ([[User talk:GreenWyvern|talk]]) 07:28, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
:Until he said "second pillow" I wasn't sure if it was commentary on baseball or cricket.[[User:Tverma|Tverma]] ([[User talk:Tverma|talk]]) 08:05, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
::Agreed, when you never have watched a full game of baseball even the explanation above is not enough to understand the rules and events he is talking about. So spot on ;-) We only play this in early school as we think it is a kids game (probably like many Americans consider soccer?) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:50, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
:::And just like the football/'soccer' difference in naming local variants in Association Football, our baseball is generally called 'rounders'. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.75.185|141.101.75.185]] 13:21, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

:While the description of the game might match someone who never saw any baseball, the failure to identify cheering and heckling suggest he never saw ANY game nor other sport event, which seems improbable. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:25, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
::Although not for Beret Guy! --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 12:50, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

Main text says the words are not part of the "10,000" common words. But Randall's simplespeak is only a 1000 word corpus -- ten hundred. <digressing rant> That's somewhat irrelevant given the dubious qualities of Randall's simplespeak anyway. "bat" for example is a common word that kids learn early in kindergarten and elementary school when they learn the CVC pattern, not to mention it's a fairly common theme for Halloween and children books. Same goes to some of the other words. "wow" is not a word but an onomatopoeia, and "rude" is a basic English word known to everybody {{Citation needed|}}. Somewhere along the line, followers forgot this is all a game and are taking it way too seriously. </rant> [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 16:48, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

;Variant games

It might be interesting to mention which comments by the Beret Guy lead to the elimination of other ball and bat games, especially when only a single comment does so. For instance, it looks like the description of the game would also fit [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pes%C3%A4pallo pesäpallo], a Finnish ball and bat game, save that in that game you don't throw the ball at the batter. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.164|173.245.54.164]] 13:37, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

This comic makes me think of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptrSoRSq8vw&feature=youtu.be [[User:Macarthur1950|Macarthur1950]] ([[User talk:Macarthur1950|talk]]) 20:27, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

It reminded me of this IT-crowd scene (never actually watched the IT crowd, just seen the video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjC38Z4T6zc [[User:Jack|Jack]] ([[User talk:Jack|talk]]) 22:15, 21 October 2015 (UTC)

It's amusing to see various games ruled out in the notes. The one game that can't be ruled out is Calvinball. Being utterly random, there is a possibility that at the moment Beret Guy is commenting that the game overlaps the rules of baseball. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.82}}

:It can also be Nomic :D. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.155|198.41.235.155]] 05:06, 9 November 2015 (UTC)

The chair shelves are the bunker, not the bleachers, no? This would make the people yelling from the chair shelves his team mates, providing "noise" and instructions about where to hit the ball?
AFAIK In pro baseball, it's a slightly recessed secure box from which they send "signals" to the batter, telling them what to do -- either bunt, hit left field, keep infield, allow the steal, etc
The batter has to not acknowledge the signals, and that way the fielding team doesn't know whether there was actually a signal sent at all. The psych strategy has the hitting team constantly send random signal "noise" i.e. movements that look like they *might* be signals, but mean nothing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugout_(baseball) Bottom picture on the page shows the chair in the dugout (bench) and the plastic seats the crowd is in (basically the same as in any other stadium) https://www.google.com.au/search?q=dugout&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIhMiVt9DUyAIVYjimCh1JKw9N&biw=1549&bih=965#imgrc=dtPIvP1bSgcIMM%3A Importantly, dugout benches are often mounted to the dugout wall. Whereas bleachers (stadium seats) are mounted on poles attached to the ground. This, in my mind, makes me think that "chair shelves" would need to be wall-mounted, therefore dugout. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.217|162.158.2.217]] 22:52, 21 October 2015 (UTC)
:Not at all. Most dugouts are actual benches. Hes talking about the folding chairs in the stands.
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT8wD8kiPsUKZz9dqfSgiQE3vztPd0rj60WDKKCVDxdMDSM2_dzbA

Notice they mount to the wall behind them. Some don't but some do. His explanations aren't perfect presumably because Randall isnt a baseball fan. Everyone is way over thinking this. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.60}}

;Second Pillow
The text currently complains that Beret Guy wouldn't know which pillow was second, but this is the fifth period, folks! Beret Guy is not dumb just lacking experience. It's not unreasonable that enough runners have reached the second pillow or even gotten all the way back to the house pillow and given up, for Beret Guy to figure that out. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.236.175|108.162.236.175]] 14:06, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

;Reference
Could this also be a reference to all the nerds being 'forced' to watch Monday night football to watch the new The Force Awakens trailer released just two days before this comic? {{unsigned ip|162.158.255.82}}

It reminds me of the scene in OotP where Luna referees a Quidditch match SPECTACULARLY.
("Loser's Lurgy", ha ha ha) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.72.191|162.158.72.191]] 21:38, 4 December 2015 (UTC)

;The inning
he says their on part five of hitting game could that also mean their in the top of the third {{unsigned ip|Fdfpi47}}
:I'd say it's possible. Since it's likely Beret Guy is watching the game live in front of him, he may not know the distinction of top/bottom innings. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.223.239|108.162.223.239]] 05:45, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

;Title
Can someone please explain the title "play-by-play"? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.149|162.158.114.149]] 22:28, 22 October 2015 (UTC)
:In sport reporting, [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play-by-play play-by-play] means giving detailed descriptions (in some level) of the events happening on the field. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.223.239|108.162.223.239]] 05:45, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

;Isn't there another comic where Beret Guy uses all the wrong words for things?

I just can't remember which one it is... [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.116|173.245.54.116]] 17:41, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

:Neither do I. I ''do'' remember he said stuff like "stick trees" or whatever. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.72.191|162.158.72.191]] 21:26, 4 December 2015 (UTC)

:: It was this one: https://xkcd.com/1322/ [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.198|199.27.130.198]] 08:43, 9 January 2016 (UTC)

Any significance to the fact that Beret Guy is apparently wearing Beats brand headphones? Sportscasters generally do not use such, maybe another indicator of his inexperience? [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 02:34, 25 October 2015 (UTC)

;Stolen Base
If the runner ran to second base and no one noticed, wouldn't that imply that there was no attempt to get the runner out? If so, wouldn't that be [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Defensive_Indifference Defensive Indifference] instead of a stolen base? {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.51}}

;Fourth panel
Isn't "This thrower is good! He keeps making people leave by throwing balls at them." more likely a reference to the pitcher hitting the batters and advancing them to first base, rather than just walking them (or striking them out)? That interpretation would make Beret Guy's assessment of the pitcher's performance completely wrong (he's actually rather bad, not good), which seems to fit better with the tone of the comic. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.220|162.158.90.220]] 06:47, 28 October 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1618: Cold Medicine

2015-12-19T16:36:48Z

173.245.63.144:

How hard would it actually be to turn street drugs back into cold medicine? [[User:Benjaminikuta|Benjaminikuta]] ([[User talk:Benjaminikuta|talk]]) 05:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

- I'm unsure on the actual scientific accuracy of this, given it is a fake paper, but http://heterodoxy.cc/meowdocs/pseudo/pseudosynth.pdf [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 05:49, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

This is in reference to recent studies that have proven that Phenylephrine is no worse than a placebo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylephrine
http://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(10)60240-2/abstract
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.138|162.158.2.138]] 06:53, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

- I keep hearing about this Placebo. It seems like a very potent medicine that is good for everything. Where can you buy it? {{unsigned ip|162.158.90.213}}
:Just get anything that is labeled 'homeopathic'. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.153.101|162.158.153.101]] 10:55, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

:In more than 100 countries it is manufactured under the brand name {{w|Tic Tac}} and available even in supermarkets. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-I don't know about the paper specifically, but by the principle of microscopic reversibility (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microscopic_reversibility), not only can you turn the products back into the reagents, you can do so using the exact same mechanisms. Chemical reactions are always going both ways, and they will tend towards the equilibrium from the higher concentration ~pure meth. That does not say anything about practicality, I am not versed in meth-synthesis, but maybe it involves a process with a product harder to acquire than pseudoerphine (maybe because it is useless and simply disposed of) which would be required as a reagent in this case. I don't know. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.195|162.158.91.195]] 00:29, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

----

I don't think it's suggesting turning meth back to medicine. I think it's a reference to heroin and at least a handful(?) of other now-illegal drugs originally introduced purely as medicinal products. [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 12:13, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
:- i respectfully disagree, i reckon its exactly suggesting that ... Need cold medicine so bad i would buy illegal drugs made from cold medicine and seek to reverse the process. Obviously not the most practical way of getting cold medicine ... but thats the joke.[[User:Plm-qaz snr|Plm-qaz snr]] ([[User talk:Plm-qaz snr|talk]]) 13:08, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

Codeine was originally a cough suppressant. It was and is the most effective and reliable cough medicine available and very safe in the usual quantities. You can't get it, though -- for an ordinary cough -- because some people like to use a lot of it for fun and sometimes get addicted to large quantities of it. You could synthesize it or an analogue of it from heroin or oxycodone about as safely as any kitchen chemistry because they share the same opium base.

The principal cold medicines are cough suppressants (codeine is best -- other things work but much worse), decongestant (pseudoephedrine works great, phenylephrine is no more effective than a placebo), mild anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen, and antihistamines for anti-sneezing (there are many good ones based on Seldane like Claritin). Most people like to combine those at nighttime with a good mild tranquil sleep promoter -- I recommend whisky or rum. Note that pseudoephedrine is banned in some states of the USA such as Oregon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.65|108.162.216.65]] 13:58, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

I take the title text differently - that since buying pseudoephedrine-containing drugs legally in a larger than minimal quantity (e.g. to stockpile them at home to have them at hand when you need them) already makes you a criminal suspect with 100% certainty (because you have to show your ID), it may be safer to buy illegal drugs on the black market, where you have at least some chance of not being caught. As for turning meth back to PE - it is possible for sure, since all chemical processes are reversible in one way or another, but I am not versed enough in organic chemistry to say if it is easier or harder than the other way round. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 12:33, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
:Burning is chemical process. Creating wood from ash is generally considered unpractical. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:41, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
:Yes, it is impractical. However, due to one of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics being the fact that information can't be destroyed, only obfuscated, scatter, maybe even left out of reach, but never destroyed, all the information needed to turn the ash back into wood is still in the universe. All that is left to do is retrieve all that information and figure out a way by which everything can become uncombusted, and you have it turned back into wood. Sure, it would be easier to use the ash as fertilizer to help grow another tree, but it isn't impossible.[[User:Mulan15262|Mulan15262]] ([[User talk:Mulan15262|talk]]) 14:50, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

You'd have to reacquire and reassemble not just the ash, but the smoke and gases too. [[User:Miamiclay|Miamiclay]] ([[User talk:Miamiclay|talk]]) 05:47, 19 December 2015 (UTC)
-----

Today I learned that you can make methamphetamine from Pseudoephedrine! [[Special:Contributions/188.114.106.173|188.114.106.173]] 18:34, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

From the start of the pseudoephedrine/meth fiasco, the only thing I on my mind was "what a waste of perfectly good Sudafed!" [[User:Schiffy|<font color="000999">Schiffy</font>]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|<font color="FF6600">Speak to me</font>]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|<font color="FF0000">What I've done</font>]]) 02:09, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

-----

Is it worth mentioning that he posted a comic relating to colds two weeks prior? ([[1612: Colds]]) Perhaps Randall is in a rather extended bout and at the point where buying meth to synthesise pseudo just seems like the logical thing to do. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.159|108.162.250.159]] 03:13, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

This is actually semi serious. When I have a cold, literally the only thing that works is pseudoephedrine. And Sudafed, which is the registered label for pseudoephedrine, now sells Sudafed without the pseudoephedrine. In a cold induced daze I have actually managed to buy the not pseudoephedrine Sudafed, and only realized my mistake several days later when the cold symptoms aren't going away. "Give me the stuff I need an id to buy" is a pretty reasonable response, although of course asking for one of everything is a bit over the top and includes things that aren't pseudoephedrine.

1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar

2015-12-02T19:29:03Z

173.245.63.144: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1611
| date = December 2, 2015
| title = Baking Soda and Vinegar
| image = baking_soda_and_vinegar.png
| titletext = Sure, it may not meet science fair standards, but I want credit for getting my baking soda and vinegar mountain added to the Decade Volcanoes list.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Does it miss something about the reaction although that may not count as "real" science?}}
In popular fiction (and maybe in part in fact) the "{{w|Sodium bicarbonate|Baking Soda}} and {{w|Vinegar}}" {{w|volcano}} is often a staple image of the science nerd at the science fair (see [https://sciencebob.com/the-erupting-volcano/ example here]), unless all the science nerds are doing ''real'' imaginative science and the student(s) with the volcano exhibit are dragging out the old hackneyed stereotype. It may also be age-dependent, this being something that is relatively advanced science for the lower grades but rather a childish experiment in the hands of older students.

As [[Ponytail]] is probably about to point out, the 'volcano' exhibit doesn't (usually) actually demonstrate anything about volcanic activity, it is just simple chemistry - such as you usually conduct in a simple test-tube - dressed up to look more impressive, often with dye or other additives to make the 'lava' look realistic for the model, but unrelated to the geology it supposedly represents.

The girl with hair bun has made a little more of her volcano, however, as it seems to go beyond simple chemistry. The model replicates many of the dangers (aside from the pure lava) of a volcano, and appears to have been given scaled-down vehicles (not visible in the comic) trying (and failing) to escape the dangers of the resultant mud-flows (a.k.a. {{w|lahar|lahars}} in professional terminology) being modelled.

Even more, this is not an isolated 'model volcano' but a vinegar-powered representation of a geological 'hot spot', such as with the islands of Hawaii, in which the spot moves with respect to the Earth's crust (or vice-versa) and generates a new volcano some way off. Despite this model being supported on a table, it appears that the 'project' extends some way beyond that and has somehow contrived further eruptions away from the table, the room and probably even the building.

The 'project' seems to be turning into a very thorough model of a much larger geological process (a {{w|Supervolcano}} like {{w|Yellowstone Caldera|the one}} under {{w|Yellowstone National Park|Yellowstone}}) and destined to produce a ''very real'' {{w|volcanic winter}}. Where a magma-powered volcano could produce vast clouds of dust, preventing the sun's energy from warming the Earth, in this case it's the airborne salt (probably sodium acetate) from the chemical reaction that appears to be in danger of causing crop failure. There's no mention of the corresponding environmental effects of the vast amounts of carbon dioxide (and/or aqueous carbonic acid) necessarily released in proportion to the ejected salt (presumably itself not left in solution).

It is especially troubling that the child even mentions that her model volcano is an offshoot of a bakingsoda ''super''volcano. Supervolcanoes are massive volcanoes, far larger than even those on the list of {{w|Decade Volcanoes}} (mentioned in the title text), whose eruption would likely trigger species-level extinction events comparable to the dinosaur extinction. Humanity can only hope the child is exaggerating in her description, but the symptoms witnessed by the adult looking out the window suggest otherwise.

[[Randall]] has mentioned supervolcanoes before in [[1053: Ten Thousand]] (title text) and [[1159: Countdown]], making it a recurring interest of his.

In the title text the student expects extra credit for getting her model volcano added to the Decade Volcanoes list, a list maintained by {{w|International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior}} of the worlds most dangerous volcanoes (currently 16). It is either an absurd notion or a very troubling achievement that a science fair project could achieve the threatlevel posed by the likes of {{w|Mount Vesuvius}} (which destroyed ancient Pompeii in Italy, and threatens modern-day Naples in the same manner), {{w|Mount Rainier}} (whose lahars could potentially destroy parts of Seattle) or {{w|Mauna Loa}} (which threatens all of Hawaii). But at least that means that it was only a "local" volcano event and not a supervolcano event that she created. But considering the scale of her original model volcano, then the eruption of her supervolcano would probably fit with the difference between a normal single volcano eruption and that of one supervolcano! She kept it to scale!

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is standing behind a small girl with a hair bun who has one hand up. They are looking at a table with a model volcano.]
:Girl: My science project is a baking soda and vinegar volcano!

:[A larger frame that includes Megan who stands to the right. Ponytail is a little further back and the girl has taken her hand down. The baking soda volcano erupts in a small upwards explosion.]
:Ponytail: Why do people make these? It isn't really even a science project. It doesn't teach anything about-
:Volcano: '''''Foom! '''''

:[Smaller frame again. Ponytail has moved closer to the table, the girl moves around the table to the right, pointing at the volcano while Megan walks closer. The "lava" flows down the volcano on both sides.]
:Girl: See how the baking soda and vinegar mix with mud and ice to form deadly flowing lahars?

:[Zoom in on the girls head close to the stream of lave going down the lower part of the volcano's right slope.]
:Girl: You can see the tiny cars trying to flee.
:Girl: Whoops! Too slow.

:[Zoom in on Ponytail.]
:Ponytail: Um. This is a bit grim.
:Girl (off panel): Learning!

:[The girls stand to the right of the table looking at the now still volcano. Shaky lines surround a sound effect written over the top of this slim frame:]
:''Rumble''

:[Back to showing all three as before. The girl looks at something in her hand (a stopwatch maybe?)]
:Girl: And now we're learning that this volcano is an offshoot of a vinegar hotspot rising from deep within the earth.
:Girl: ''Annind...''

:[The girls turns away from the table looking right as a loud noise can be heard off-panel, depicted in white text on a wavy black bubble:]
:''Boooom''

:[Megan has walked over to a window to the right. It has the blinds drawn down. She opens a hole in the blinds by pulling down in the middle. It is dark outside. The other two are outside the frame to the left.]
:Girl (off panel): The baking soda supervolcano erupts, injecting clouds of salt into the stratosphere.
:Megan: Why is it getting dark outside?
:Girl (off panel): Learning is fun!

:[We see the girl standing close to the table, of which only the right leg can be seen. She holds up a tablet with a graph showing a rising trend. The other two are both out of the frame.]
:Girl: Sunlight dims. The earth cools. Summer frosts form. Crops die. We check the markets. Grain prices are rising.
:Megan (off panel): I want to stop learning now.
:Girl: Soon, we all will.

{{comic discussion}}

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

1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar

2015-12-02T19:28:11Z

173.245.63.144: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1611
| date = December 2, 2015
| title = Baking Soda and Vinegar
| image = baking_soda_and_vinegar.png
| titletext = Sure, it may not meet science fair standards, but I want credit for getting my baking soda and vinegar mountain added to the Decade Volcanoes list.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Does it miss something about the reaction although that may not count as "real" science?}}
In popular fiction (and maybe in part in fact) the "{{w|Sodium bicarbonate|Baking Soda}} and {{w|Vinegar}}" {{w|volcano}} is often a staple image of the science nerd at the science fair (see [https://sciencebob.com/the-erupting-volcano/ example here]), unless all the science nerds are doing ''real'' imaginative science and the student(s) with the volcano exhibit are dragging out the old hackneyed stereotype. It may also be age-dependent, this being something that is relatively advanced science for the lower grades but rather a childish experiment in the hands of older students.

As [[Ponytail]] is probably about to point out, the 'volcano' exhibit doesn't (usually) actually demonstrate anything about volcanic activity, it is just simple chemistry - such as you usually conduct in a simple test-tube - dressed up to look more impressive, often with dye or other additives to make the 'lava' look realistic for the model, but unrelated to the geology it supposedly represents.

The girl with hair bun has made a little more of her volcano, however, as it seems to go beyond simple chemistry. The model replicates many of the dangers (aside from the pure lava) of a volcano, and appears to have been given scaled-down vehicles (not visible in the comic) trying (and failing) to escape the dangers of the resultant mud-flows (a.k.a. {{w|lahar|lahars}} in professional terminology) being modelled.

Even more, this is not an isolated 'model volcano' but a vinegar-powered representation of a geological 'hot spot', such as with the islands of Hawaii, in which the spot moves with respect to the Earth's crust (or vice-versa) and generates a new volcano some way off. Despite this model being supported on a table, it appears that the 'project' extends some way beyond that and has somehow contrived further eruptions away from the table, the room and probably even the building.

The 'project' seems to be turning into a very thorough model of a much larger geological process (a {{w|Supervolcano}} like {{w|Yellowstone Caldera|the one}} under {{w|Yellowstone National Park|Yellowstone}}) and destined to produce a ''very real'' {{w|volcanic winter}}. Where a magma-powered volcano could produce vast clouds of dust, preventing the sun's energy from warming the Earth, in this case it's the airborne salt (probably sodium acetate) from the chemical reaction that appears to be in danger of causing crop failure. There's no mention of the corresponding environmental effects of the vast amounts of carbon dioxide (and/or aqueous carbonic acid) necessarily released in proportion to the ejected salt (presumably itself not left in solution).

It is especially troubling that the child even mentions that her model volcano is an offshoot of a bakingsoda ''super''volcano. Supervolcanoes are massive volcanoes, far larger than even those on the list of {{w|Decade Volcanoes}} (mentioned in the title text), whose eruption would likely trigger species-level extinction events comparable to the dinosaur extinction. Humanity can only hope the child is exaggerating in her description, but the symptoms witnessed by the adult looking out the window suggest otherwise.

[[Randall]] has mentioned supervolcanoes before in [[1053: Ten Thousand]] (title text) and [[1159: Countdown]], making it a recurring interest of his.

In the title text the student expects extra credit for getting her model volcano added to the Decade Volcanoes list, a list maintained by {{w|International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior}} of the worlds most dangerous volcanoes (currently 16). It is either an absurd notion or a very troubling achievement that a science fair project could achieve the threatlevel posed by the likes of {{w|Mount Vesuvius}} (which destroyed ancient Pompeii in Italy, and threatens modern-day Naples in the same manner), {{w|Mount Rainier}} (whose lahars could potentially destroy parts of Seattle) or {{w|Mauna Loa}} (which threatens all of Hawaii). But at least that means that it was only a "local" volcano event and not a supervolcano event that she created. But considering the scale of her original model volcano, then the eruption of her supervolcano would probably fit with the difference between a normal single volcano eruption and that of one supervolcano! She kept it to scale!

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is standing behind a small girl with a hair bun who has one hand up. They are looking at a table with a model volcano.]
:Girl: My science project is a baking soda and vinegar volcano!

:[A larger frame that includes Megan who stands to the right. Ponytail is a little further back and the girl has taken her hand down. The baking soda volcano erupts in a small upwards explosion.]
:Ponytail: Why do people make these? It isn't really even a science project. It doesn't teach anything about-
:Volcano: '''''Foom! '''''

:[Smaller frame again. Ponytail has moved closer to the table, the girl moves around the table to the right, pointing at the volcano while Megan walks closer. The "lava" flows down the volcano on both sides.]
:Girl: See how the baking soda and vinegar mix with mud and ice to form deadly flowing lahars?

:[Zoom in on the girls head close to the stream of lave going down the lower part of the volcano's right slope.]
:Girl: You can see the tiny cars trying to flee.
:Girl: Whoops! Too slow.

:[Zoom in on Ponytail.]
:Ponytail: Um. This is a bit grim.
:Girl (off panel): Learning!

:[The girls stand to the right of the table looking at the now still volcano. Shaky lines surround a sound effect written over the top of this slim frame:]
:''Rumble''

:[Back to showing all three as before. The girl looks at something in her hand (a stopwatch maybe?)]
:Girl: And now we're learning that this volcano is an offshoot of a vinegar hotspot rising from deep within the earth.
:Girl: ''Annnd...''

:[The girls turns away from the table looking right as a loud noise can be heard off-panel, depicted in white text on a wavy black bubble:]
:''Boooom''

:[Megan has walked over to a window to the right. It has the blinds drawn down. She opens a hole in the blinds by pulling down in the middle. It is dark outside. The other two are outside the frame to the left.]
:Girl (off panel): The baking soda supervolcano erupts, injecting clouds of salt into the stratosphere.
:Megan: Why is it getting dark outside?
:Girl (off panel): Learning is fun!

:[We see the girl standing close to the table, of which only the right leg can be seen. She holds up a tablet with a graph showing a rising trend. The other two are both out of the frame.]
:Girl: Sunlight dims. The earth cools. Summer frosts form. Crops die. We check the markets. Grain prices are rising.
:Megan (off panel): I want to stop learning now.
:Girl: Soon, we all will.

{{comic discussion}}

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

Talk:1608: Hoverboard

2015-11-29T04:23:52Z

173.245.63.144:

Well, this will be the next incomplete explanation for a while. -[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.165|162.158.90.165]] 21:58, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

Yes, one thing to note is how to get the hell out of the cave near the volcano [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.159|108.162.249.159]] 22:38, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

The image is made up of small images with addresses of the form http://xkcd.com/1608/XXXX:-YYYY+s.png (although not every coordinate inside the bounds has an image associated). A script could probably dump out all the images and paste them together. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.6|108.162.216.6]] 22:46, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

West -- Under Lava Pools -- Elon Musk's Secret Volcano Base (not as enjoyable as you might expect).

The Starship out east contains, among other things, Darth Vader, apparently explaining Steven Universe to a subordinate. (Steven and the Crystal Gems can be found a the west end of the ship, near an ice cream cooler.) The same ship contains an elaborate homage to the original Prince of Persia. {{unsigned ip|162.158.56.5}}

There, have at thee an image! [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 22:58, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

There are 168 coins spread throughout the map according to the source code [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.53|173.245.54.53]] 23:03, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

When using a device, instead of saying "use arrow keys to move", it says "tilt to move, tap to jump". It's also a lot harder to control. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.159}}

It's actually 169 coins (t.length). --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.129|188.114.111.129]] 23:22, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

I got 153 coins!! :D There's two starships, one's a star destroyer with an expansive maze dropping regular torpedoes on the other. May be noteworthy that there are various references to Star Wars and Steven Universe throughout. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 23:27, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

The second starship is the TantiveIV, Leia's ship at the beginning of episode 4. Note directly below the Tantive, the terrain seems to be sand dunes. Also there are two more space ships by the volcano; an X-wing at a gas station and an Apollo Command Module. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.24}}

https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js - Looks like there's an easier to read version of the code there. Maybe that'll help someone with extracting all the images. {{unsigned ip|

I've got all the images downloaded. Zipping/uploading now. Should I post a link here when complete or what's the best way to share these? I'm also working on setting up a zoomable map. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.53|173.245.54.53]] 23:57, 24 November 2015 (UTC)

The collision detection is glitchy. I keep landing/bumping against platforms I'm far away from. Is getting stuck against walls normal? --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.234|199.27.130.234]] 00:01, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Tiles are located here in a zip: https://up1.ca/#Gi51KPFyPRELe0T1D6q9Mw All I did was iterate over http://xkcd.com/1608/X:-Y+s.png from X=[916...1116] and Y=[916...1116]. I'm working on putting a zoomable map together. If anyone has interest in helping we could hop on IRC? [[User:Jcox|Jcox]] ([[User talk:Jcox|talk]]) 00:15, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I've written a zsh script to iterate over all possible tiles (does anyone know the height limits? the source only gives the left and right limits) and glue them together into one giant file. I'll upload the results as soon as it's finished. [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 00:17, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I don't think it's limited vertically at all. I found a zoomable map on the reddit topic http://codepen.io/KyleDavidE/full/605dc87b614ff6b2bd716f4c6f640203/ (by kyledavide) [[User:Miraries|Miraries]] ([[User talk:Miraries|talk]]) 00:21, 25 November 2015 (UTC)Mirages

Here's a zoomed out map of all the game area: https://i.imgur.com/rNU9ZgN.png. From ''luke_in_the_sky'' at Reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxc1245]. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.129|188.114.111.129]] 00:35, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Alright, the full png of the entire map is almost finished, I should have used white tiles as blank tiles but I guess I can fix that up in gimp, and I'm not sure how to account for the 1 pixel overlap with just imagemagick convert. The last step is to merge allthe layer images into one giant image, wish my laptop the best of luck! [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 01:00, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Someone beat you to it, but keep on it: that one doesn't have right limit tiles. https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxc0p8x --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.129|188.114.111.129]] 01:19, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps we can change the screenshot at the top to this? It's a quickly hacked overview of the entire map: http://imgur.com/Mz9arHz [[Special:Contributions/199.27.129.167|199.27.129.167]] 01:27, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
: I think it might make more sense to just add it as another image, mediawiki supports this after all. The syntax should be: <nowiki>[[File:filename.png|thumb|Subtitle|alt=alt]]</nowiki> [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 01:34, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

[http://files.mckaysalisbury.com/xkcd/hoverboard.html] This one loads all of the images quickly (From the xkcd site), and uses browser zooming. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.47|173.245.54.47]] 01:29, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

:The impassible backgrounds are RGB(0,0,0), and the passable ones are RGB(1,1,1). <code>#explore > :first-child {filter:brightness(30);-webkit-filter:brightness(30);-moz-filter:brightness(30);-o-filter:brightness(30);-ms-filter:brightness(30);}</code> ... See https://twitter.com/BadPhysics/status/669354631869304832 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.155|108.162.249.155]] 03:40, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Here are all the secret passages marked I could find: http://imgur.com/a/fKE1Q --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.220|162.158.91.220]] 00:50, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I wrote a tampermonkey script that shows you your coordinates and lets you teleport; will make coordinate sharing a lot easier. You do need tampermonkey installed for this to work. [https://github.com/minerguy31/xkcd-hoverboard-mod/raw/master/XKCD%20Hoverboard%20Mod.user.js Click to install] [[User:Minerguy31|Minerguy31]] ([[User talk:Minerguy31|talk]]) 04:17, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I got 159 coins without the map. If you guys are still wondering how to escape the volcano, move to the right for as long as you think you can, then start spamming the up key while switching between holding the left and right keys. It worked for me on my first try.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.252.119|162.158.252.119]] 07:06, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Didn't take down the coordinates, but the layout to the first level of the original Prince of Persia is in there, including the guard standing by with his scimitar! I found it in the ship atop the pyramid east of the play area. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.245|108.162.218.245]] 06:24, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Just thought this was interesting, when you "complete" the game by dropping coins, the following line of javascript is run, which sends your result to the server (L is number of coins, z is seconds used):
(new Image).src = "//xkcd.com/events.gif?coins=" + L + "&seconds=" + z;
Don't be tricked by the .gif extension, it doesn't show an image when opened, and the server probably handles this request by logging it to somewhere. {{unsigned ip|141.101.80.87}}
: It actually returns a 1 by 1 pixel white GIF. [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 13:14, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Is there a way that we can merge the "game" part of this comic with the map of [[1110: Click and Drag]]? Allowing us to explore that one in a similar way? [[User:Bon|Bon]] ([[User talk:Bon|talk]]) 11:03, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Well I managed to find (nearly) everything, except the floating rock island, and 162 coins without the map, but even with looking at several maps, I didn't pass any graveyard nor found the way to the grey ocean, which I assume is underneath the "continent". Does anyone know where the entrance is? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.218|162.158.90.218]] 11:54, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Just thought I should say; the comic supports some alternative movement controls, there's the arrow keys, WASD, and also the vi keys (hjkl), and the numpad (8426). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.125|108.162.242.125]] 13:29, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I was not able to get to some points because they were surrounded by text, people or other objects. Is that normal, or are there tricks to get to every coin without using cheats (console)? It would be nice if this could be mention / explained in the article. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.135.35|162.158.135.35]] 13:31, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
:In some cases you can come in from the side as opposed to trying to come down through or up through something. Example: at the X-Wing "gas station", to get that coin, land on the ground to the left of the X-Wing and move to the right on the ground towards the gas station. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:45, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

The list of "areas" in the map would be much easier to read, and much easier to correlate with the map, if the origin were set to the starting area (that is, if the coordinates of the starting area were set to x:0, y:0). What is the reason for the very large numbers? --[[User:BlueMoonlet|BlueMoonlet]] ([[User talk:BlueMoonlet|talk]]) 15:50, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
: The large numbers are the actual ones used by the game code and displayed by the hacked-up "radar" so it was a natural choice to use them as they are. We could define some origin and count coordinates from it but we would have to agree on its position and then change the "radar" code and recalculate all coordinates written down already. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 08:53, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

The starting area is in no way related to pac-man. The lines are not all right angles, there is a timer, there's gravity, there are no aggressors, you're collecting coins instead of pellets.... Not every line maze is pac-man. This is an erroneous reference that should be removed. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.235.167|198.41.235.167]] 17:16, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

The source code found at https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js does not seem to be complete. I would personally work on de-obfuscating the full source code using the fragment found there but technically the source is covered by implicit copyright laws and that means that if I published a derived work I would be breaking those laws. Should I just change the line from "The source code can be found at ..." to "The full (obfuscated) source code can be found at ...tigl.min.js and a deobfuscated piece of the source code can be found at ...tigl.js". [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]] ([[User talk:Arch-TK|talk]]) 18:28, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

I added quick coordinate / teleport access on right-click to the quick hack map. [[User:Kyledavide|Kyledavide]] ([[User talk:Kyledavide|talk]]) 20:45, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

Can't be bothered working out how to edit the page, but the explanation contains the phrase "People holding anchor lines to a Star Destroyer" - they're holding anchor lines to a CR90 Corvette, specifically the Tantive IV, commonly referred to as the "Rebel Blockade Runner", which in turn is being *attacked by* a Star Destroyer. I'll get my coat. {{unsigned ip|162.158.153.47}}

That's no 'Children's Swimming Pool', it's a ball pit! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.2.222|162.158.2.222]] 23:46, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
:If it is, it's filled with water as well. There are waves on the surface and fish live in it. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 09:00, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

I slightly improved the "direction to next coin"-code by displaying a compas. Code can be found here http://pastebin.com/PL6fv5XK . I'm new to this wiki and don't want to mess up the page, so I didn't put the code in there myself ... --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.209|162.158.90.209]] 00:01, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

Haven't read all the comments above so maybe someone has written about it?
If you click up it seems to count how many times. So it will just show white and then when you release again, it will take longer to hit the ground the longer you have pushed up. Tried with 100 clicks (9-10 seconds) and 200 clicks (20 seconds).
I got about 163 coins in about 15886 seconds. (4 hours and 24 minutes.) That was with breaks. It was written so shortly on the screen I did not manage to take it down for certain. But after that I read here about the 169 and found that there where at least three in the volcano I had not noticed at first. And it seems likely that there would be three more I have missed. But really fun to explore. I wrote a lot of the transcript along the way (not from the very start though) This I have now posted without any real order in the [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]] page. Hope fully a full and useful transcript can emerge from this. I hope my text can be used if not used as it is written at the moment.--[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 02:05, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

I thought Atreyu's horse was Artax, not Artex. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 05:27, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

The beret guy riding a torpedo (/explosive device of some sort) looks like a Dr. Strangeloe tribute to me. {{unsigned ip|162.158.255.39}}

Just added in the 'collision detection' section the text "On a slow connection, it's possible to move into an 'open' area and then the black image loads in and (probably permanently, without tricks) traps you immobile." To expand upon this, if this is a risk to anyone else (I'm reliant on mobile internet, being away from any comparable landline capability) then you need to look out for perfectly horizontal/vertical edges. For example, hovering up the side of the Washington monument and encountering (typically above the 'bricks' line) a completely flat top. Drifting onto that soon gets you embedded in the remaining Monument, somewhere well below the eventual tip. Alternately, drifting sideways over the landscape and discovering a perfectly vertical cliff downwards (just past the bowling pins is a prime location) tempts you to drift down it and then suddenly the solid land 'happens' around you, forcing a page-refresh and restart (though doubtless there's also various console tricks that could be used). The well, also 'opens out', but it's a lie. I've ended up trapped 'in white' below the now closed black blocks that surround the well bottom (and not found any way back up). But if there a 'texture' (like other cliffs) or 'slope' (like the real Monument edge) to the surface, you're probably Ok. It's a genuine surface or wall that you can generally navigate around without fear of being misled. (Or so is my experience.) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227|162.158.152.227]] 09:12, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

Doesn't show anything but a blank page on the first generation iPad. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.184.11|162.158.184.11]] 10:41, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

I agree with [[User:Arch-TK|Arch-TK]]. I have changed the text referring to the source code, since it does not refer to the full sourde code, but just an obfuscated part.--[[User:Gamevang|Gamevang]] ([[User talk:Gamevang|talk]]) 14:36, 26 November 2015 (UTC)

I can't pass through text, anybody else experiencing this? I remember being able to pass through text without no clip mode earlier, but for some reason not anymore.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.36|173.245.54.36]] 18:16, 26 November 2015 (UTC)
:I found that I can't pass through ANYTHING non-white when using current version of Chrome on an iPad iOS 9.1. Makes the "game" much harder to play. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.63.144|173.245.63.144]] 04:23, 29 November 2015 (UTC)

----

We definitely need a better presentation of interesting objects/locations and their coordinates. Now, we have quite comprehensive multi-level bullet list and a newly-started table. Neither is perfect. We need some form that will show clearly what is where and where it belongs.

Issues to solve:
* Many objects are large and a single coordinates pair simply don't describe them well. We need a clear presentation form that will allow putting both a single pair and several ones, e.g. top and bottom for thin vertical objects (e.g. poles, The Monument), four corners for objects occupying large swaths etc.
* Grouping - we need to group objects that belong to an area, like all things within the Star Destroyer etc. Multilevel bullets are ok, but how to do that in a table?
* Order - within groups and between them, we need some ordering that will organize the entries. For example left-to-right then top-to-bottom or something like that.
* Coordinates system - the "native" game coordinates are large numbers, and negative values for the y coordinate to boot. Someone proposed setting a new origin and counting from there. I think it's a good idea, but will require a firm decision, rewrite of radar code and recalculating of all coordinates written down so far.

Any ideas?
-- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.224|162.158.90.224]] 09:24, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
:If it weren't for so much effort put in already, I think that we ''could'' re-class features as follows:
:* All coin locations, and/or links to the locations they are associated with (e.g. "in original game area" and "carried by a quadcopter drone"), if that's not considered 'unfair' to those wanting to actually play the game (without the self-discipline not to browse the list ;).
:* Locations of all characters, certainly all stick-figures, but maybe also 'wildlife' (or automata) of notable types.
:* All monologues/dialogues/labels (albeit that this is almost entirely a subset of the prior list).
:* Other notable landscape (or structural) features that are more than mere 'flavour' (e.g. the T-shaped mushrooms/whatevers to the east, but not random ground-boulders).
:* Notable move-through spots; inclusive of 'sink-into'able waters/magmas (waist-height, neck-height, fully-submerged?), even when not featuring further hidden routes, but excluding vegetation (ground-grasses/tree-trunks) that ''mostly'' are pass-throughable.
: Some of these are themselves useful references to other items (e.g. "inside front of Blockade Runner" or "beneath eastern stretch of magma") and so can probably be sub-grouped as all items in a given structure ("coins within the initial play area", "characters/speech within the Star Destroyer") and some things do occupy a swathe (the 'play area', the Monument, the ships, the kites, with their strings; the hail of (regular) torpedoes). And I bet there's a whole lot of arguments about what level of detail we could go to... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227|162.158.152.227]] 10:21, 27 November 2015 (UTC)
When you deposit 42 coins, the response, "No answers here" is a reference to "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."[[User:Hax|Hax]] ([[User talk:Hax|talk]])

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.252.149|162.158.252.149]] 03:33, 29 November 2015 (UTC)
Where can I get the uncompressed (original) source code? The reason I am asking is, ''/tigl.js'' is incomplete (no Easter Eggs, etc.), and ''/tigl.min.js'' seems complete, but is unreadable due to "minification" (compression).

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.252.149|162.158.252.149]] 03:33, 29 November 2015 (UTC)

1608: Hoverboard

2015-11-27T23:20:40Z

173.245.63.144: /* Cheats and Exploits */

{{comic
| number = 1608
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image = hoverboard.png

}}
To experience the interactivity, visit the [http://xkcd.com/1608/ original comic].
{{TOC}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|It's possible not all of the game's secrets have been unearthed yet.}}
The "comic" is actually a {{w|browser game}} made to celebrate the release of [[Randall|Randall's]] new book, ''[[Thing Explainer]]'', which was released on the same day as this comic (November 24th 2015). The comic appeared on a Tuesday, replacing that week's normal Wednesday release.

The game features [[Cueball]] riding on a {{w|hoverboard}}. The only controls are the arrow keys (or, on mobile, tilting to move left and right and tapping to jump). The player can jump repeatedly mid-jump to reach increasing heights. The player begins in a line-drawing maze with 17 gold coins located throughout and a "deposit" station. The ostensible goal of the game is to collect as many coins as possible and return them to the deposit in the fastest possible time, which returns a text message describing the result. Players consumed with obtaining the best possible time result for collecting the coins may not realize there is anything more to the game.

Beyond the maze on either side (just far enough that players who remain within the maze will not see) are tall walls seemingly designed to contain the player. However, the walls have a finite height and, combined with the ability to multi-jump, the player can leave the purported "play area" either to the sides or above the initial maze. This returns a flashing red error message "return to play area".

Outside the play area is an entire world to explore including numerous points of interest and {{w|Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs}} similar in style to comic [[1110: Click and Drag]]. The larger game world is physically bounded in the left and the right direction, but is technically unbounded upwards, however, past a certain point there appears to be nothing interesting in the up direction. However, the longer you continue to fly upwards by pressing the up arrow repeatedly, the longer will it take for Cueball to fall down again once you stop pressing. In principle it may also be unbound in the downwards direction, but there is only a few places you can "sink" into the ground/water/lava, and here you cannot go down indefinitely. It could be possible that there could be some unexplored parts of the map, but given the maps already made this seems unlikely. There are 152 more coins outside the initial "play area" for a total of 169 in the entire game.

===Areas===
{{incomplete|Help needed migrating the info into a table}}

{| class="wikitable"
! Coordinates || Description
|-
| x: 483735, y: -551990 || "What news of the world above? Please tell me - what's hot and viral? What's trending on twitter?"
|-
| x: 509587, y: -554621 || Washington Monument
|-
| x: 509587, y: -554621 || Captain's log
|}

===Technical aspects===
As previously noted, the comic bears considerable resemblance to [[1110: Click and Drag]]. The comic is made in much the same way, with 'drawn' images "glued" together to form a large "map", with the illusion of infinite bounds made possible through space saving techniques where blank tiles are not stored and are instead painted white. The boundary between blank squares and 'drawn' squares is made clear as any white space in the normal images has a very slight grey tint. Thus, seams between images and blank spaces can be discerned.

The tiles for the map are stored as simple PNG files in the naming scheme: X:Y+s.png. An example can be seen here: http://xkcd.com/1608/1013:-1096+s.png Each file is 513x513 pixels in size, one pixel is reserved as overlap to ensure seamless joining of images. So far, through experimentation, tiles in the range 928 to 1108 X and -1112 to -928 Y have been discovered, internally, the position of the player is divided by 512 and rounded down to give the position of the tile.

The collision map is encoded in the darkness of the black. Using an image manipulation program, one can easily find the secret pathways even in the zoomed out maps provided below by enhancing the contrast of the dark areas. On a slow connection, it's possible to move into an 'open' area and then the black image loads in and (probably permanently, without tricks) traps you immobile.

The game was made by [http://chromakode.com Max Goodman] who has previously worked on [[1416: Pixels]]. The source code for the game can be found [https://xkcd.com/1608/tigl.js here].

===Areas===
[[File:thumb_1608.jpg|thumb|right|one incomplete compilation of the entire game area (note the missing pinnacle of the Washington Monument]]

Starting area - (x: 512187, y: -549668)

====West / Left====
*{{w|Washington Monument}} - (x: 509864, y: -549746)
**Invisible entrance through the Monument, indicated by arrow sign
**Secret entrance into the inside of the Monument, right side, about halfway up - (x: 509815, y: -552614)
***From there you can fall down to the fault line shown in about the middle of the monument. You cannot see Cueball while he is in the monument in either entrance.
*Girl in a hamster ball - (x: 505790, y: -549905)
*Yet [[1504|another dig]] at the Lion King and the lands touched by shadow - (x: 504998, y: -550676)
*An {{w|X-Wing}} at a gas station, with coin accessible from the left - (x: 503253, y: -551129)
**Go straight up from the cockpit for a coin, carried by african swallows (non-migratory)
*A well with a girl at the bottom of it (and one of the yellow game coins), claiming to not be a ghost. A possible reference to {{w|Sadako Yamamura|Sadako}}/{{w|Sadako Yamamura#Samara Morgan|Samara}} from Ring ({{w|Ring (Suzuki novel)|novel}},{{w|Ring (film)|film}},{{w|The Ring (2002 film)|remake}}) - (x: 501998, y: -551030)
*Landing re-entry capsule with parachutes - (x: 500040, y: -552369)
*Local Mom discovering This One Weird Bug - (x: 497994, y: -551334)
*Someone flying a kite, with a coin beside the kite.
*Volcano -
*Ponytail riding a cycle (a reference to [http://canvasrider.com/ canvas rider]?)? (x: 490610 y: -554364)
*LOTR Eagles - (x: 489661 y: -556811)
*A periscope peeking out of a shallow lava pool near two people playing "the lava is a floor" - (x: 488573 y: -556337)
*Lava pools -
*A dark grey ocean that isn't noticeable until you fall in
**With suicidal quadcopters taking footage of it over a coin - (x: 486640, y: -554838)
*{{w|Elon Musk}}'s Volcano Lair - (x: 484167, y: -549462)
**entrance hidden under volcano lava, before reaching Artex - (x: 483791, y: -551292)
*The ground, that presumably all grounded electronics are connected to - (x: 485125, y: -549062)
*Artex + Gandalf - (x: 483715, y: -554354)
*Basketball hoop, with coin
*Giant floating rock island in the sky (x: 507163, y: -567537)
*Hat underground
*A hole which traps(?) the player unless noclip mode is used
*A person sitting down and singing about gold (reference to the 1982 video game {{w|The_Hobbit_(1982_video_game)}})

====East / Right====
*People holding anchor lines to the Tantive IV (Star Wars: A New Hope), being attacked by an Imperial Star Destroyer - (the people: x: 518954, y: -549056)
*Desert with dunes - (x: 520000, y: -549114)
*Ocean Yelper (giving only 2.5/5 stars) - x: 522015, y: -549015
*Talking Rogue Wave - (x: 523460, y: -549013)
*Wedding - (x: 531558, y: -549386)
*Graveyard - (x: 534140, y: -549546)
*Remains of {{w|Ozymandias}}' Statue - (x: 535927, y: -549666)
*Huge pyramid - (x: 538167, y: -550906)
*Blackhat's hat on a stick - (x: 549997, y: -549777)
*Whitehat's head in the grass? - (x: 559826, y: -549847)
*Giant bird nest - (x: 567123, y; -550417)
*Beret Guy riding a torpedo - (x: 522754, y: -554342)

====Rebel Blockade Runner====
Up in the air is the CR90 Corvette, Tantive IV aka Rebel Blockade Runner with Princess Leia fro. The start of the original Star Wars movie.

*Coordinates:
**??
*Cueball is standing at a ledge with a fishing rod with something on the hook somewhere below the spaceship. Two birds are circling the line.

====Imperial Star Destroyer====
High up in the air there's a huge spaceship.

*Coordinates:
**top left at (513072, -560660)
**bottom left at (513080, -559470)
**top at (552154, -569022)
**top right at (556557, -567711)
**bottom right at (558244, -556542)
*Entrances (from bottom left clockwise):
**Tunnel at (513080, -559680)
**Tunnel at (513166, -560434)
**Shaft at (516560, -560912)
**Shaft at (519200, -561108)
**Shaft at (525255, -561527)
**Shaft at (527990, -561844)
**Shaft at (533087, -562298)
**Shaft at (539637, -563233)
**Tunnel at (540958, -563721)
**Shaft at (543789, -564670)
**Stairwell down at (547438, -565058)
**Tunnel at (552319, -566184)
**Tunnel to an isolated small room at (557774, -562042)
**Shaft at (556350, -556720)
**Glitchfloor at (547890, -556779)
**Shaft at (543850, -557500)
**Main ramp at (537260, -557969)
**Tunnel at (531840, -558547)
**Parachutists' ramp at (526624, -558664)
**Ramp at (525300, -558747)
**Shaft at (520440, -559100)
**Shaft at (516825, -559300)
*Interesting objects and places inside:
**Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems - (x: 551664, y: -567383)
**A nearly complete depiction of Level 1 of {{w|Prince of Persia (1989 video game)|Prince of Persia}} - (x: 551532, y: -563512)
**Emperor Palpatine Park and Gazebo - (x: 546819, y: -559584)
**Dancers (possibly [[162|spinning counter-clockwise]]) dancing to piano music - (x: 547536, y: -563301)
**Octopus guarding two coins - (x: 531646, y: -559663)
**A sign saying "Caution GlitchFloor" (falling straight down through it nets you a coin someway down) - (x: 547898, y: -556784)
**A huge light bulb - (x: 555405, y: -557769)
**The Emperor [[1596|birdwatching]] - (x: 554777, y: -567346)
**Ponytail recreating ''{{w|Joust (video game)|Joust}}'' on an ostrich - (x: 552048, y: -568045)
**A party on the ceiling (negative gravity?) - (x: 550350, y: -564354)
**A huge ant - (x: 552309, y: -560208)
**Tube slide - (x: 541813, y: -563721)
**A reservoir (?) with hidden passages - (x: 541300, y: -560330)
**A huge spark gap (?) - (x: 541900, y: -558110)
**Torpedo launcher room - (x: 529627, y: -558481)
**A {{w|Tetris}} block falling - (x: 529414, y: -529220)
**Lightsaber Piñata party - (x: 515353, y: -560329)
**Swimming pool - (x: 517346, y: -559831)
**Children's swimming pool (ball pit?) - (x: 514500, y: -560436)
**A crocodile - (x: 553623, -568091)
**Spiral tunnel - (x: 543320, y: -558314)
**A car - (x: 537750, y: -557937)

===Maps===
*[http://codepen.io/KyleDavidE/full/605dc87b614ff6b2bd716f4c6f640203/ Quickly hacked overview] - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/kyledavide kyledavide] on [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 reddit].
*[http://1101b.com/xkcd1608/ fully zoomable map w/ toggleable coins and passages] - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/lanzaa lanzaa] on the same reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 thread]
*[https://i.imgur.com/uYryxss.png png-map] - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/luke_in_the_sky luke_in_the_sky] on the same reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 thread]
*[http://paste.click/DsPuSL png-full-size-map] - might take a few minutes to download -> do not open directly in the browser! - courtesy of [https://www.reddit.com/user/0x90-0x90 0x90-0x90] on the same reddit [https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/3u4sy1/xkcd_1608_hoverboard/cxbyn86 thread]

===Controls===
The keyboard controls are as follows:

*'''Go Left''' - Left arrow key, a or h
*'''Go Right''' - Right arrow key, d or l
*'''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Up arrow key, w, or k
*'''Go Down (if gravity disabled)''' - Down arrow key, s, or j

This control scheme covers the three commonly used directional key sets: WASD a set of keys commonly used by modern games; HJKL a set of movement keys used by vi and applications which attempt to mimic vi key controls (vim); and the arrow keys, the most generic set of keys which is usually accepted by most applications which take movement as input, these were commonly used in older games.

On devices which have a touch screen and tilt sensor (portable devices like mobile phones and tablets) the controls are as follows:
*'''Go Left''' - Roll the device anticlockwise
*'''Go Right''' - Roll the device clockwise
*'''Go Up (jump or hover)''' - Tap the screen

After inspecting the source code, there appears to be no way to move down on a portable device, this is only relevant if gravity is disabled.

===Cheats and Exploits===
Aside from the obvious ability to move out of bounds in the game, there are some more obscure hidden features which can't be enabled through normal gameplay, the ones found so far are as follows:

'''Modes''' are activated by opening the Javascript Console (F12 [Or Command-Alt-I in most browsers under Mac OS X] to open Developer Tools, then Console tab) and writing corresponding commands:

*'''Gandalf Mode:''' ''window.i.am.gandalf = true'' - jumps and runs further. displays a white gandalf hat that works well in places where the avatar can't be seen.
*'''Speedhack:''' ''explorer.opts.speed= *Value*'' - Speed hacking, with 1 = normal speed
*'''Jump Hack:''' '' explorer.opts.jumpForce= -*Value*'' - Jump hacking, with -1 = normal jump (positive values cause the hoverboard guy to move down when jumping)
*'''Mewtwo mode:''' ''window.mewtwo = true'' - disables gravity
*'''Noclip mode:''' ''window.noclip = true'' - player is able to move around the map without collision. Combine with Gandalf and Mewtwo modes for free easy map traversal.
*'''Goggles mode:''' ''window.ze.goggles()'' - displays a small window showing area around the player in a pixelated manner. The goggles indicate collision boundaries (where the player touches the world) in cyan lines. Black pixels that are passable (such as other characters or text) will be highlighted red (allowing secret passages to be discovered).
*'''Position Tracking:''' ''window.explorer.pos'' - Returns the player location to the console. Can be used to track position and test to ensure you are still moving. Must be re-entered to compare positioning.
*'''Position Setting:''' ''window.explorer.pos.x = *Value* or window.explorer.pos.y = *Value*'' - Can be used to manually set a position within the world. The start is at x: 512106, y: -549612. The left terrain bound is at x: 475210, y: -553711. The right terrain bound is at x: 567281, y: -549712. Mewtwo and Noclip modes are a must for exploring in this way.
* '''All the above:''' ''window.explorer.opts'' - Contains all the game's parameters. You can directly mess with ''gravity'', collision (''disableCollision''), jump force (''jumpForce'') and speed (''maxSpeed''), among others. Run ''Object.keys(window.explorer.opts)'' to list all available parameters you can tweak.
* '''List all coins:''' ''window.explorer.objects'' - Array containing the position of the 169 coins of the game.
* '''Disable tilt input:''' ''getEventListeners(window)['deviceorientation'][0].remove()'' - on Macs with motion sensor, disables tilt input which causes problems controlling the avatar

'''Getting All Coins: ''' To instantly get all coins, input the below into the console window. Does not use standard formatting of [i] to avoid conflicts with window.i.am.gandalf

for (var T = 0; T < explorer.objects.length; T++) {
explorer.objects[T].got = true;
}

To teleport to the next coin every time you press the left or right arrow:

var T = 0;
document.onkeydown = function(event){
if (event.keyCode == 37) { T = T-1 }
else if (event.keyCode == 39) { T = T+1 }
else { return }
T = T % explorer.objects.length;
var coin = explorer.objects[T];
explorer.pos.x = coin.x1; explorer.pos.y = coin.y1;
}

For a quick tour of all the coins:

var delayInMilliseconds = 1000; // 1 second delay between each teleport. feel free to change this.
var index = 0;
explorer.objects.forEach(function(x){
setTimeout(function(){
explorer.pos.x = x.x1;
explorer.pos.y = x.y1;
x.got = true;
explorer.frame(); // forces a redraw
},
(index + 1) * delayInMilliseconds);
index++;
});

To see a list of coin coordinates you have not yet collected:

var L = 0;
for (var S = 0; S < explorer.objects.length; S++) {
var I = explorer.objects[S];
if (I.got) {
L++;
} else {
console.log(I.x1.toString() + ", " + I.y1.toString());
}
}
console.log("You've found " + L.toString() + " of 169 coins");

To display the distance and direction to the closest coin (with inverted colors once you have all the coins):

function distance(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x2 - x1;
var dy = y2 - y1;
return Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy);
}

function angle(x1, y1, x2, y2) {
var dx = x2 - x1;
var dy = y2 - y1;
return Math.atan2(dy, dx) * 180 / Math.PI;
}

function renderRadar() {
var mindist = 10000000000;
var closest = {
x1:512278.0, y1:-549613.0
};
var linecolor = "red";
for (var S = 0; S < explorer.objects.length; S++) {
var I = explorer.objects[S];
if (!I.got) {
var dist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, I.x1, I.y1);
if (dist < mindist) {
mindist = dist;
closest = I;
}
}
}
if (mindist == 10000000000) {
mindist = distance(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "red") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "red";
}
linecolor = "green";
} else {
if (document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor != "green") {
document.getElementById("radar").style.backgroundColor = "green";
}
}
var ang = angle(explorer.pos.x, explorer.pos.y, closest.x1, closest.y1);
var indicator = "";
if (ang > 112.5 || ang < -112.5) {
indicator += "left";
}
if (ang < 67.5 && ang > -67.5) {
indicator += "right";
}
if (ang > -157.5 && ang < -22.5) {
indicator += " up";
}
if (ang > 22.5 && ang < 157.5) {
indicator += " down";
}
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML = "Distance: " + mindist.toFixed(1).toString() + "<br/>";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += indicator + " (" + -ang.toFixed(1).toString() + "°)";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='circle' style='border: 1px solid black; border-radius: 50px; width: 100px; height: 100px; position:absolute; top:50px; left:25px'/>";
document.getElementById("radar").innerHTML += "<div id='line' style='width: 50px; height: 1px; background-color: " + linecolor + "; position:absolute; top:100px; left:75px; transform:rotate(" + ang + "deg); transform-origin:0% 0%'/>";
}

var d = document.createElement("div");
d.id = "radar";
d.style.position = "fixed";
d.style.left = "0px";
d.style.top = "0px";
d.style.width = "150px";
d.style.height = "160px";
d.style.border = "1px solid red";
d.style.zIndex = "2";
d.style.backgroundColor = "green";
d.style.color = "#8f8";
document.body.appendChild(d);

setInterval(renderRadar, 100);

To display your current coordinates:

function renderRadar2() {
document.getElementById("radar2").innerHTML = "x: " + explorer.pos.x.toFixed(1).toString() + "<br>y: " + explorer.pos.y.toFixed(1).toString()
}

var d = document.createElement("div")
d.id = "radar2"
d.style.position = "fixed"
d.style.left = "150px"
d.style.top = "0px"
d.style.width = "150px"
d.style.height = "35px"
d.style.border = "1px solid red"
d.style.zIndex = "2"
d.style.backgroundColor = "green"
d.style.color = "#8f8"
document.body.appendChild(d)

setInterval(renderRadar2, 1000)

===Functionality===
By observing page code while playing, the game grabs and displays images based on location, and subsequently clears all non-visible images. The game uses what seems to be a position syntax to retrieve the intended images live, and returns an error if such an image does not exist, such as a blank area. This technically means things could be added to the world and updated live. If the player is moving sufficiently fast or if the internet connection is slow, this means that the player can get stuck in a black area that does not load in time.

This also means that the game does not have coded top or bottom limits, so any attempt to find the ''ceiling'' of the game will be futile unless the game is tweaked. The game does however have side limits.

When you deposit a certain number of coins, you will get one of the following messages:
*0 coins : You got 0 coins in (n) seconds/ You successfully avoided all the coins.
*1 coin : You got a single coin in (n) seconds/ It's a start.
*2-4 coins : You got (n) coins in (n) seconds/ Not bad!
*5-9 coins : You got (n) coins in (n) seconds/ Terrific!
*17 coins : You got 17 coins in (n) seconds/ You found all the coins! Great job!
*42 coins : You got 42 coins in (n) seconds/ No answers here.
*169 coins : You got 169 coins in (n) seconds/ Are you Gandalf?
*All others: You got (n) coins in (n) seconds

Opening the console will display the text: what? hoverboard not enough for you!? in the log. Activating goggles mode will cause the text 'B-)' to appear in the log.

Leaving the play area will cause the red text 'RETURN TO THE PLAY AREA' to rapidly blink 3 times (150 msec duration), followed by a pause, and this will repeat 5 times for a total of 15 blinks. This will also reoccur if the player passes through the play area on their way back from exploring one side.

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only covers the starting page as shown on xkcd: {{xkcd|1608}}. A full transcript of the entire comic will be listed on a [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript|separate page]].]

:[Cueball is shown on a hoverboard in the centre of the comic. Around him is a simple maze with 12 yellow coins. Another Cueball without howerboard is shown standing on one of the platforms to the right. The bottom half of the window is black. Right of where Cueball stands is a ramp. Behind the ramp is a computer. There is lots of space left of the maze, outside the maze. Text is only written in white below in the black area. The first part of the text is written below Cueball on hoverboard. Then there is an arrow pointing to the computer and a label. Finally there is a line of text at the bottom of the black area.]

:[Under Cueball:]
:My new book,
:''Thing Explainer,''
:comes out today!
:To celebrate, here's
:a small game.

:[Under the arrow below the computer.]
:Deposit coins here

:[At the bottom:]
:Use the arrow keys to move

:['''For the full transcript of the entire comic see [[1608: Hoverboard/Transcript]].''']

==Trivia==
*There is as usual [[:Category:No title text|no title text]] for these interactive comics. But there is actually one listed in the [http://xkcd.com/1608/info.0.json info page] on xkcd. But this text: "Return to the play area", is never shown as a normal title text. But it will erroneously be shown in the unofficial mobile versions of the site.
**This is actually the text that is shown blinking red at the buttom of the screen when leaving the starting area.
*If the focus switches from the game to the page, the cueball can freeze in midair. The same thing can happen if the window border overlaps the play area.
*The Washington monument has an invisible floor next to the visible bricks which you can enter from further up the monument.
**You can also just walk through the monument at its base as shown by the sign.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:No title text]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
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[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
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