explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics

2015-04-26T00:27:46Z

199.27.128.116: Created page with "The word "bicurious" has also been referenced in Dinosaur Comics: [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=311] [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=312] ~~~~"

The word "bicurious" has also been referenced in Dinosaur Comics: [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=311] [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=312] [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.116|199.27.128.116]] 00:27, 26 April 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1469: UV

2015-03-04T06:44:17Z

199.27.128.116:

Weird turn of event. Going from a comic about how disgusting your bathroom is, to how stupid the two characters are concerning insurance. Maybe this is just to show what happens to your brain once you realize how much dirt etc. are on your bathroom surfaces. And also to warn you not to look into it with a UV light/black light. I think Randall did this and regretted it - although it did give him "easy" inspiration for this comic :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:16, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Is it just me, or this strip is kinda similiar to #[[860]]? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.89|108.162.254.89]] 19:42, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
-It is, at least the first bit.

IMHO, this would have been better without the second half. It's reminding me a bit of 78. Here's hoping Randall throws off his Dadaist mood... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.156|108.162.238.156]] 01:50, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

I was expecting this would be a reference to some movie. Isn't there any movie quote on the lines of "we <action> and <action> and never stop!"? [[Special:Contributions/188.114.98.220|188.114.98.220]] 13:28, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

I think the two halves are tied together by a failure to think through the consequences, first not thinking through the UV light, and second not thinking through the claiming the insurance far enough to even have insurance. So the second half is a kind of commentary on how bad an idea the UV light was, and the title text is a commentary on how bad an idea the second half is.
--[[User:DanR|DanR]] ([[User talk:DanR|talk]]) 15:55, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Just to mention, this was actually covered in a mythbusters episode ~ http://mythbustersresults.com/hidden-nasties --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.187|108.162.238.187]] 15:34, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

I thought the title text was a reference to credit default swaps. See especially paragraph 5: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis#Credit_default_swaps [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.193|108.162.238.193]] 20:41, 15 January 2015 (UTC)
:Indeed. This also seems related: http://web.archive.org/web/20140701064837/http://abstrusegoose.com/460 (using an archived copy because abstrusegoose.com seems to be down as of this comment). [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.116|199.27.128.116]] 06:44, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

1487: Tornado

2015-02-16T05:27:13Z

199.27.128.116:

{{comic
| number = 1487
| date = February 16, 2015
| title = Tornado
| image = tornado.png
| titletext = Nearby, there were also no injuries when a multi-vortex tornado hit one of those spinning teacup rides.
}}

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

==Transcript==
:[Cueball stands in front of a small village]
:Cueball: The tornado touched down directly over a merry-go-round, in what victims are calling a "fun" and "awesome" disaster.

{{comic discussion}}

1487: Tornado

2015-02-16T05:26:24Z

199.27.128.116: Adding transcript. My first, so I understand if it sucks / isn't formatted properly / whatever. Please put what I did wrong in your edit summary.

{{comic
| number = 1487
| date = February 16, 2015
| title = Tornado
| image = tornado.png
| titletext = Nearby, there were also no injuries when a multi-vortex tornado hit one of those spinning teacup rides.
}}

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

==Transcript==
[Cueball stands in front of a small village]
Cueball: The tornado touched down directly over a merry-go-round, in what victims are calling a "fun" and "awesome" disaster.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1136: Broken Mirror

2015-01-28T03:39:24Z

199.27.128.116: Add link to relevant Men In Hats.

The lettering on the first word is unusually sloppy. I thought it said "COPS", as in Black Hat was about to be arrested for breaking the mirror, on the TV show Cops. - [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 11:16, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

:Yep, I read COPS, too. In another vein, is Black-hat getting all religious on us? Cueball, maybe. Beret guy, more likely. But Black-hat seems to be too machiavellian to quote biblical passages, except as a crutch or an "out". (Edit: now that I think about it, it's the latter: the same fate awaits everybody... as in, everybody will cut their feet on the shards.) -- [[Special:Contributions/207.225.239.130|207.225.239.130]] 20:05, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Does anyone have an opinion on how Black Hat broke the mirror? If it simply fell from the wall, he would not incur the bad luck. [[User:Jsbqvb|Jsbqvb]] 15:31, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

: I think his point is that it wouldn't matter; ''there ain't no such thing as bad luck'': the same fate awaits everybody. -- [[Special:Contributions/207.225.239.130|207.225.239.130]] 20:05, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

: Maybe he did it on purpose, just for that soliloquy at the end (I wouldn't put it past him...).--[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 20:59, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

:: I'd say so. "My fate is a these shards" ... to cause pain and suffering to all he comes in contact with. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 06:01, 20 November 2012 (UTC)

Time for some more obvious questions, which I dont get! So, why he decided not to tidy it, but to leave shards like that? [[Special:Contributions/83.166.112.53|83.166.112.53]] 05:44, 21 November 2012 (UTC)

What's the significance of the title text? "I am always [something]" rings a faint bell, but I can't place it.
[[User:Wwoods|Wwoods]] ([[User talk:Wwoods|talk]]) 19:49, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
:It made me think of "We have always been at war with Eastasia" (from Orwell's ''1984'') ...but that probably wasn't what Randall meant to evoke. —[[Special:Contributions/50.14.33.235|50.14.33.235]] 22:14, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

Could it be the comic where the title text ends with I AM ALWAYS BREATHING MANUALLY (Skynet, comic 1046) [[Special:Contributions/220.255.1.163|220.255.1.163]] 15:18, 21 November 2012‎ (UTC)

"All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrifices, and to him that does not sacrifice: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that swears an oath, as he that fears the results of a sworn oath." means:
Everyone dies eventually.

If you sweep up the shards you will clean most of them up but will not gather every piece for sure. It looks like you care if you do that though. Black hat has an history of not caring. Not that anyone has the right to interpret what another man writes. Nor should one care so deeply as to do so. Especially not for a bloody comic! I think he was just pointing out that Cueball's statement, though possible, was not necessarily true or untrue.[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 14:35, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

Given that Black Hat is known to be based on Aram from Men In Hats, this seems relevant: http://meninhats.com/d/20031022.html [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.116|199.27.128.116]] 03:39, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1354: Heartbleed Explanation

2014-04-14T23:03:27Z

199.27.128.116:

I assume everybody got the (truncated) reference to the password "CorrectHorseBatteryStaple"... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.210|141.101.89.210]] 06:51, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
:Until I read this wiki, I did not get that. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.50|108.162.216.50]] 10:09, 11 April 2014 (UTC)BK201
:There are also references to (if I recall correctly): [[Missed Connections]], "snakes but not too long" from [[Umwelt]], there's boats (of which many comics exist), "bees in car why" may be slightly related to [[Parody Week: TFD and Natalie Dee]]... that's all I see. Also the ip (375.381.283.17) doesn't seem to represent anything, but you never know. {{User:Grep/signature|11:04, 11 April 2014}}
::The IP most certainly does not represent anything because it is invalid. Three of the octets are >255. [[User:Dan|Dan]] 21:19, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

While the bug is explained very good, there is one point missing: The word "user" seems to imply that Meg is known to server. But the bug doesn't require that - ANYONE can ask the server. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:03, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
: Nope, the word "user" does not indicate a logged in user. It's just a reference to anybody who happens to "use" (actually: connect to) the server at the moment. In fact, it is a particular network connection (TCP or else), on which other end there is a "user" Meg. -- [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.111|108.162.210.111]] 12:07, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

The transcript should include all the text in the servers memory, not just the highlighted text. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:04, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
:Nope, it can only do 64k per request. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.91|108.162.216.91]] 16:04, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
::I meant that the transcript here above the talk page should include all text. When I wrote my comment, only the highlighted text in the computers thoghts where transcripted. Now that I visit the page again, it seems to be complete. The text in the servers last speech is only half the 500 charachters long (251) but that is explained by OnePointEight in the comment below. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:20, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
:The speech bubble is formatted as truncated, but if it were complete it would be 500 characters which is what was requested by Megan and within the 64k max.[[User:OnePointEight|OnePointEight]] ([[User talk:OnePointEight|talk]]) 19:39, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

Heartbleed Explanation Explanation. Lovely. Also, I see that Eve is an administrator. Eavesdropper? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.218|108.162.237.218]] 15:24, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
:Also the attacker is Meg, which can be thought of as an alternate to Mallory/Trudy [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.65|108.162.221.65]] 16:45, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
::This is absurd. Meg is a common nickname for Margaret. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.84|173.245.50.84]] 20:38, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
:::As my main language is not English I'm not familiar with nicknames, but if Meg is a common nickname for Margaret then that is important and should be included in the explanation of the title text. I did not understand why Margaret suddenly turned up... [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:28, 11 April 2014 (UTC)
::::The explanation of the title text has presumably been expanded since you visited it. It's a reference to a book. --[[User:V2Blast|V2Blast]] ([[User talk:V2Blast|talk]]) 03:34, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

"Snakes but not too long"... great! --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.241|108.162.210.241]] 15:49, 11 April 2014 (UTC)

It looks like the "server key" is a phone number: 1-483-503-8534 {{unsigned ip|199.27.130.228}}

The User Ada is a reference to Ingress, in which Ada is the head of the blue team. Ingress, being an ARG, would be an IRL game.{{unsigned ip|108.162.219.10}}

Why has everyone here missed the reference to Portal 2? It almost seems so obvious :). [[User:YetAnotherGeek|YetAnotherGeek]] ([[User talk:YetAnotherGeek|talk]]) 09:23, 12 April 2014 (UTC)

Are we sure that the hacker in the comic is Megan? She has long, curly hair as opposed to short straight hair. Considering she has long hair and has malicious intent, she might be Danish. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.71}}
:The server refers to her as "Meg", and if she were spoofing the source address, the packets wouldn't go back to her. That would be an amplification DoS attack. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.4|108.162.246.4]] 22:42, 13 April 2014 (UTC)

Has anybody figured out what the selfie.jpg contents reaaly are? It isn't a valid JPG because the magic numbers don't match, and it isn't ASCII text because multiple bytes have the most significant bit set. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.45|108.162.215.45]] 07:52, 13 April 2014 (UTC)
:I put 834ba962e2ceb9ff89bd3bff8c into a file and [https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/809c727dee625e37c3487f6d57d42e295e2fdd74a8c1f89ce7e667d8ae3e2fcc/analysis/1397428742/#additional-info sent it to VirusTotal]. The magic literal seems to match "DBase 3 data file with memo(s)", so I'd say that it's just random data. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.4|108.162.246.4]] 22:51, 13 April 2014 (UTC)

Has anyone figured out if the words "potato", "bird", and "hat" are supposed to mean something in particular? --[[User:Dfeuer|Dfeuer]] ([[User talk:Dfeuer|talk]]) 07:43, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

I don't know about "potato" and "bird", but "hat" could possibly be a reference to Black Hat Guy, who often creates havoc to prove a point. Also, completely separately from Black Hat Guy, in security discussions, attackers are broken up between black hat ("bad") and white hat ("good") hackers. So "hat" could be a sort of generic reference for a hacker.