explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1517: Spectroscopy

2015-04-27T15:21:58Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1517
| date = April 27, 2015
| title = Spectroscopy
| image = spectroscopy.png
| titletext = Although right now I'm more excited about ESPRESSO's radial velocity measurements, so I'm listening to This Kiss, her song about measuring "centrifugal motion" on "a rooftop under the sky".
}}

==Explanation==
This comic mixes the method of using ''{{w|spectroscopy}}'' to detect {{w|oxygen}} on {{w|exoplanets}} (planets outside our {{w|Solar system}}) with [http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/faithhill/breathe.html the lyrics] for the {{w|Faith Hill}} song "{{w|Breathe (Faith Hill song)|Breathe}}" (listen to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCmsZUN4r_s "Breathe" on YouTube]).

From the lyrics:
:''I watch the sunlight''
:''dance across your face''
:''I can '''feel''' you breathe''
In the comic the word '''feel''' has been changed to '''see'''. The two first panels are one line in the song. The last line is from the chorus and is repeated five times during the song, although not right after the first two lines.

In the first and second panel the singer examines the spectra of a remote planet by ''watching the sunlight'' during the transit of the planet as this sunlight ''dances across the planet's face''. Finally we determine that breathable oxygen exists. Since we cannot (as Faith can) ''feel'' the planet we have to ''see'' it. And by doing this ''I can see you breathe''.

Measuring the light output of stars (spectra) we are able to determine a number of details of the star, including rotation, relative radial velocity, chemical composition, temperature, and to some degree, distance and size. When a planet, as pictured, moves between the star and the observer, then by looking at the spectrum received, the viewer is able to determine the contents of the planet's atmosphere from the specific wavelengths of light that are {{w|Absorption spectroscopy|absorbed}} in this. If it turns out that the atmosphere absorbs the lines corresponding to molecular oxygen (O2) this is a clear indication that the planet has large quantities of breathable oxygen (but {{w|Exoplanet#Abiotic_oxygen|not necessarily life}}). But for life to exist (and breathe) as we know it, the there must be oxygen in large amounts in the atmosphere. So it is clear why [[Randall]] would be interested in exoplanets with oxygen

This comic came out four days after this article about [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/23/nasa-nexss-search-for-life_n_7123788.html NASA's New NExSS Initiative]. {{w|NASA}} will search for signs of life on other planets, for instance by using "the light passing through the atmospheres of these exoplanets". And they "will study chemicals that have been detected on other worlds, such as oxygen and methane, to see if they were produced by biology".

The title text refers to determining {{w|radial velocity}} in the {{w|ESPRESSO}} program (Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanet- and Stable Spectroscopic Observations). By noting that the radial velocity of the star changes slightly as the planet that orbits it moves around the star (centrifugal acceleration), the ESPRESSO program should be able to detect the masses of planets as they are moving towards the Earth in their orbit around their distant stars. It is so precise that is should be able to detect {{w|Terrestrial planet|planets as small as Earth}} and the other of the Solar systems inner planets.

Randall is now even more excited about ESPRESSO, than he is about the oxygen levels, because it is now possible to detect these "very" small planets. So he is no longer listening to "Breathe", but to another Faith Hill song: "{{w|This Kiss (Faith Hill song)|This Kiss}}" (listen to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dls_cBmUt7Q "This Kiss" on YouTube]).

From the [http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/faithhill/thiskiss.html lyrics]:
:''It's centrifugal motion''
:''On '''the''' rooftop under the sky''
The first line is part of the chorus and it is repeated four times. But not in connection with the second line, which is changed a bit, so '''the''' is changed to an '''a'''. Also the "on" is not part of the quoted line in the title text.

The song is not about measuring but, of course, about the (a) kiss. Since the ESPRESSO is part of the {{w|Very Large Telescope}}. It is located on the {{w|Cerro Paranal}} mountain in the {{w|Atacama desert}} in {{w|Chile}} at an elevation of 2,635 meters (8,645 ft.) above sea level. So it could be said that it is measuring on a rooftop under the sky. Although it is radial velocity it measures not {{w|Centrifugal force|centrifugal motion}}, the object it does measure will all be experiencing this {{w|Fictitious force}}, as the planets are in orbit around a star.

Randall has previously made [[:Category:Exoplanets |several references to exoplanets]] in his comics, most notable are the two comics with the same name: [[786: Exoplanet]] and [[1071: Exoplanets]]. The latter comic came out when there were exactly 786 exoplanets found. Today more than 1900 has been discovered (1915 as of Wikipedia on the release day of this comic), much more than twice that amount. And now they can find even smaller planets, and detect the atmosphere since the first exoplanet comic came out in 2010.

==Transcript==
:[A dark panel with a bright star in the center. To the left a planet (drawn as a new moon) approaches the star. Text is written above in white with two musical notes, one on each side of the text.]
:I watch the sunlight

:[Same image but now the planet eclipses the star. Small lines around the planet indicate the atmosphere, as seen from the light from the star passing through it. Text is again written above in white with two different musical notes, one on each side of the text.]
:Dance across your face

:[A white frame with a black line. It Is the spectrum of the planets atmosphere. Two distinct absorbtion peaks are visible. The first one is labeled with an arrow. Text is again written above, now in black, with two, again, different musical notes, one on each side of the text.]
:I can see you breathe
:Label: O2

:[Below the panels is the following caption:]
:'''Faith Hill on exoplanet spectroscopy'''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Science]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]
[[Category:Exoplanets]]

1516: Win by Induction

2015-04-24T15:27:12Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1516
| date = April 24, 2015
| title = Win by Induction
| image = win by induction.png
| titletext = This would be bad enough, but every 30th or 40th pokéball has TWO of them inside.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Does the "induction" have any relevance to the fact that Pikachu are "Electric-type" Pokémon?}}

{{w|Pikachu}} is a type of {{w|Pokémon}} from the cartoon series Pokémon. In the show, human characters frequently 'battle' each other. This involves each character choosing a Pokémon to battle in their stead, and the Pokémon attack each other. Choosing a Pokémon is done by saying the name of a particular Pokémon and "I choose you!" and then throwing a Pokéball to the ground. The named Pokémon then appears from the Pokéball.

In this comic a Pokémon chosen at some point was a Pikachu which does not intend to engage in the battle himself. Instead, the Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for him. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.

Nearby stand Cueball, holding a closed Pokéball, and Megan, looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting for the battle to actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan (who may have chosen the original Pikachu) is growing impatient with the delay.

The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof with a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps. Each step leads to the next, thus proving something for all cases. This title seems to suggest that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will not end, effectively postponing the battle indefinitely.

If there were a single Pikachu in each ball, this would spawn an unlimited number of Pikachu forming a single line. Since, as title text notes, there's occasionally two of them in a Pokéball, this would lead to exponential rather than linear growth, even more quickly forming a huge mob.

==Transcript==
:[There's a long queue of Pikachu extending out of the frame to the left. They are all just out from their ball, at least the last eight Pikachu's open balls lie in two parts on the ground at their feet. They are standing in front of Megan and Cueball. Cueball is holding a closed pokéball while Megan checks the time on her watch. The front most Pikachu, holding a closed pokéball, speaks.]

:Pikachu at the front: Pikachu, I choose ''you!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Pokémon‏‎]]

1516: Win by Induction

2015-04-24T15:23:32Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1516
| date = April 24, 2015
| title = Win by Induction
| image = win by induction.png
| titletext = This would be bad enough, but every 30th or 40th pokéball has TWO of them inside.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Does the "induction" have any relevance to the fact that Pikachu are "Electric-type" Pokémon?}}

{{w|Pikachu}} is a type of {{w|Pokémon}} from the cartoon series Pokémon. In the show, human characters frequently 'battle' each other. This involves each character choosing a Pokémon to battle in their stead, and the Pokémon attack each other. Choosing a Pokémon is done by saying the name of a particular Pokémon and "I choose you!" and then throwing a Pokéball to the ground. The named Pokémon then appears from the Pokéball.

This comic suggests that a Pokémon chosen at some point was a Pikachu which does not intend to engage in the battle himself: carrying a Pokéball instead, Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for him. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.

Nearby stand Cueball, holding a closed Pokéball, and Megan, looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting for the battle to actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan (who may have chosen the original Pikachu) is growing impatient with the delay.

The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof with a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps, in which each step leads to the next, thus proving something for all cases. This title seems to suggest that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will not end, effectively postponing the battle until the opponent gives up.

If there were a single Pikachu in each ball, this would spawn an unlimited number of Pikachu forming a single line. If, as title text suggests, there's occasionally two of them in a Pokéball, this would lead to exponential rather than linear growth, quickly forming a huge mob.

==Transcript==
:[There's a long queue of Pikachu extending out of the frame to the left. They are all just out from their ball, at least the last eight Pikachu's open balls lie in two parts on the ground at their feet. They are standing in front of Megan and Cueball. Cueball is holding a closed pokéball while Megan checks the time on her watch. The front most Pikachu, holding a closed pokéball, speaks.]

:Pikachu at the front: Pikachu, I choose ''you!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Pokémon‏‎]]

1516: Win by Induction

2015-04-24T15:23:01Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1516
| date = April 24, 2015
| title = Win by Induction
| image = win by induction.png
| titletext = This would be bad enough, but every 30th or 40th pokéball has TWO of them inside.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Does the "induction" have any relevance to the fact that Pikachu are "Electric-type" Pokémon?}}

{{w|Pikachu}} is a type of {{w|Pokémon}} from the cartoon series Pokémon. In the show, human characters frequently 'battle' each other. This involves each character choosing a Pokémon to battle in their stead, and the Pokémon attack each other. Choosing a Pokémon is done by saying the name of a particular Pokémon and "I choose you!" and then throwing a Pokéball to the ground. That Pokémon then appears from the Pokéball.

This comic suggests that a Pokémon chosen at some point was a Pikachu which does not intend to engage in the battle himself: carrying a Pokéball instead, Pikachu chooses another Pikachu to fight for him. This process then repeats itself. Behind the Pikachu with the Pokéball is a long line of other Pikachu, suggesting that this process has been going on for a while.

Nearby stand Cueball, holding a closed Pokéball, and Megan, looking at her watch. This suggests that Cueball intends to have his own Pokémon fight the Pikachu, but is waiting for the battle to actually begin (waiting in vain, if the above described process repeats indefinitely), while Megan (who may have chosen the original Pikachu) is growing impatient with the delay.

The joke in this comic comes from analogy with the mathematical {{w|proof by induction}}, which is a proof with a base case, followed by a never ending sequence of steps, in which each step leads to the next, thus proving something for all cases. This title seems to suggest that the process of Pikachu choosing Pikachu will not end, effectively postponing the battle until the opponent gives up.

If there were a single Pikachu in each ball, this would spawn an unlimited number of Pikachu forming a single line. If, as title text suggests, there's occasionally two of them in a Pokéball, this would lead to exponential rather than linear growth, quickly forming a huge mob.

==Transcript==
:[There's a long queue of Pikachu extending out of the frame to the left. They are all just out from their ball, at least the last eight Pikachu's open balls lie in two parts on the ground at their feet. They are standing in front of Megan and Cueball. Cueball is holding a closed pokéball while Megan checks the time on her watch. The front most Pikachu, holding a closed pokéball, speaks.]

:Pikachu at the front: Pikachu, I choose ''you!''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Pokémon‏‎]]

1515: Basketball Earth

2015-04-22T15:35:55Z

199.27.128.120: /* Cat */

{{comic
| number = 1515
| date = April 22, 2015
| title = Basketball Earth
| image = basketball earth.png
| titletext = How many points do you get for dunking every basketball in existence at once?
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic [[Cueball]] is repeatedly attempting to make a comparison for the {{w|Earth}}-{{w|Moon}} system; for an Earth the size of a {{w|Basketball (ball)|basketball}}, (24.6 cm) the Moon would be 6.7 cm, about the size of a some other smaller type of ball.[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/02/24/how-far-away-is-the-moon/] He handily illustrates this with two balls of those sizes that look like the Earth and the Moon. They are invisibly suspended, and—as seems clear from the first row of panels—they are actually the real Moon and Earth shrunk to the relevant size, hence the title ''Basketball Earth''. (This would place Cueball and his "friends" in {{w|God}}-like positions).

But, repeatedly, before Cueball can finish with this common type of comparison, he is interrupted and must begin all over again.

We never learn which type of ball (if any—it could have been an {{w|apple}}) he would have compared the Moon with. It is not unlikely that he would have mentioned a {{w|Baseball (ball)|baseball}}, but the comparison would be better using a {{w|tennis ball}}. A basketball has an average diameter of 24.6 cm (9.7 inches) vs. a tennis ball with an average diameter of 6.7 cm (2.6 inches). The ratio between a tennis ball and basketball is 0.273, which is the same (to three digits) as the ratio given on the Wikipedia page for the Moon: ''Mean radius 1737.10 km (0.273 Earths)''. If he used the slightly larger baseball as an example, with an average diameter of 7.4 cm (2.9 inches), the ratio would be 0.300. Still this would be close enough for demonstrative purposes, as it would be with an apple.

It is common to describe the relationship between very large (and very small) objects by analogy to common objects on a more human scale. Here is a similar example where someone has made a comparison of the sizes of the Solar system based on a [http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/silveira60.html Sun the size of a basketball]. And here, coming from smaller scales, is an [http://www.infoplease.com/dk/science/encyclopedia/atoms.html#ESCI024ATOMS001 example] that states the following: "Imagine an atom magnified to the size of a football stadium. The nucleus of the atom would be the size of a pea in the centre of the stadium."

It is almost certainly not a coincidence that today is {{w|Earth Day}}, which is celebrated annually on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. This seems to be something that [[Randall]] cares about a lot, as he has made several comics demonstrating the need for the human race to begin taking better care of our globe. See, for instance, [[1321: Cold]] and [[1379: 4.5 Degrees]].

This comic clearly demonstrates four examples where the inhabitants of Earth did not take care of the well being of our globe, although here on a somewhat grander scale than what individuals can usually do. The typical case is that people did not do this out of bad intentions, but only because they were careless, curious, playful, or just plain stupid.

===Interruptions===
The four interruptions are described below. Each of the four attempts has its own row of four panels in the comic. It is clear from panels one and two in each row that the Basketball Earth is rotating quite fast compared to the time frame of the comic since the {{w|continents}} have moved considerably between frames. It is thus not necessarily the interrupters that have moved the Basketball Earth between frames two and three, except of course in the final interruption.

No matter how fast it rotates or whatever happens, we always see the Basketball Earth from the same side, as seen from far above the {{w|Atlantic Ocean}}. We can see the continents of the {{w|Americas}} as well as {{w|Africa}} and sometimes part of {{w|Europe}}, all of which are the borders for this ocean.

It seems most likely that Cueball starts all over every time, with a completely fresh and new Earth-Moon system, since they look the same regardless of the catastrophe befalling the prior Basketball Earth, and the interruptions—the second especially—would be difficult to reverse. We can thus suppose that there is still "normal" life going on for each Basketball Earth before the interruption. This life will most likely completely perish for all of the last three cases.

====Black Hat====
In the first interruption, [[Black Hat]] comes in and is amazed by this cool floating globe. Of course, being Black Hat, he has to prod this nice globe with a digit. But by putting his finger into one of the oceans of this "real" Basketball Earth without a second thought, he apparently generates a {{w|megatsunami}} that rolls in over an unidentified city with skyscrapers, utterly dwarfed by a breaking wave.

This is similar to a scene in "{{w|Men in Black II}}" where K messed with a globe that actually is a small planet, and his finger become visible in the sky of its inhabitants. It is also reminiscent of {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}} in which a meteor strike causes exactly such a tsunami to hit the {{w|East Coast of the United States}}. Since Black Hat puts his finger down in the Atlantic Ocean, the tsunami would hit all bordering coastlines. Since the coast seems to be an eastern coast, and because Randall lives there, the city could be {{w|New York City}} or {{w|Boston}} or one of the other large US cities on the East Coast. Of course, the wave would also affect the coast line (far into land) for all the other continents.

====Megan====
The second interruption occurs when [[Megan]] arrives and pours liquid (perhaps water) from a sports {{w|water bottle}} onto the Basketball Earth, seemingly flooding its entire surface. This would cause {{w|List of flood myths|extensive flooding}}, almost certainly extinguishing all land-dwelling life. The most famous somewhat analogous situation is from the {{w|Bible}} in the {{w|Genesis flood narrative}} about {{w|Noah's Ark}}. This time, however, the deluge is from the ocean, not rain, and the life in the sea may also perish due to the change in the constitution of the sea.




====Cat====
In the third interruption a cat walks into shot and then playfully attacks the Basketball Earth rolling around with it like it would do with a ball of {{w|yarn}} (see real life example in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1rTAI2aExI this video]).

The people living upon this Basketball Earth would experience cataclysmic events far greater than Blackhat's digital prodding caused, especially as the Basketball Earth is no longer suspended and was thus taken "out of its orbit" and will eventually hit the floor very hard. One way or another, that will surely cause (undepicted) disasters of tremendous magnitude.

====Ponytail====
In the fourth and final interruption, [[Ponytail]] uses Basketball Earth as an actual basketball. She comes running by Cueball, grabs the Basketball Earth, probably bouncing it off the floor while {{w|Dribbling#Basketball|dribbling}} towards the {{w|Backboard (basketball)|basketball hoop}} where she actually jumps in an attempt to {{w|Slam dunk|dunk}} the Basketball Earth. This would ''not'' be good for any residents of Basketball Earth; the combined pressure, movement, and impact damage from this simple sequence would surely kill off all life on Basketball Earth.

====Title text====
This simile-callback is continued in the title text with the idea that "every basketball in existence" (i.e., every basketball upon the Basketball Earth, as well as the Basketball Earth itself) is counted towards the score from a single dunking.

Randall may or may not know exactly how many basketballs there are, perhaps through research for some [[what if?]] question or other research, but almost certainly assumes that there are no extraterrestrial basketballs ''not'' on Basketball Earth. But there might be some question about whether the Basketball Earth's own sub-scale basketballs fall within the regulations.


==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing next to a floating Basketball Earth indicating it with his left hand. The continents are clearly visible as seen from above the Atlantic Ocean. This remains the same all through the comic, except that the Basketball Earth rotates a bit from frame to frame.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Cueball is now indicating, with his right hand, a small pockmarked moon (also floating), in the correct proportions (size and distance) to the Basketball Earth, which is on his other side. Black Hat walks into the panel towards Earth.]
:Cueball: The Moon would be—
:Black Hat: Hey, cool!

:[Black Hat is touching the Basketball Earth with a digit.]
:Cueball: Um.

:[In the next scene we see a megatsunami on the verge of crashing down onto a coastal city with skyscrapers. The A's are cut of on each side of the panels frames, i.e. they begin outside and finishes outside the frame.]
:Aaaaaaaa

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: Let's try that again. If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except now it is Megan that walks into the frame towards the Basketball Earth holding a sports water bottle.]
:Cueball: The Moon would be—

:[Megan squirts the Basketball Earth with the liquid in her water bottle while Cueball just stands watching with the Moon behind him].

:[Megan just walks away while Cueball stares at his "water" Basketball Earth where the continents have disappeared completely beneath the liquid.]

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except now he spots a cat coming into the frame from the left.]
:Cueball: The Moon— would…

:[While Cueball watches with the Moon behind him, the cat jumps at the Basketball Earth.]
:Cat: Mrowl!

:[Cueball continues to watch while the cat rolls around playing with the Basketball Earth as if it was a ball of yarn.]
:Cat: Rrrrr

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except this time it is Ponytail who enters the frame at a run coming from the left.]
:Cueball: The Moon would, uh…

:[While Cueball watches with the Moon behind him, Ponytail has grabbed the Basketball Earth and is dribbling it out of the frame, still running.]

:[Zoom out from Cueball who continues to watch while Ponytail reaches a basketball hoop and jump towards it with the Basketball Earth, obviously in an attempt to make a slam dunk.]

{{comic discussion}}



[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1515: Basketball Earth

2015-04-22T15:34:47Z

199.27.128.120: /* Megan */ Would it actually make tsunamis (waves), or just raise water levels world wide (as with unending rainfall)?

{{comic
| number = 1515
| date = April 22, 2015
| title = Basketball Earth
| image = basketball earth.png
| titletext = How many points do you get for dunking every basketball in existence at once?
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic [[Cueball]] is repeatedly attempting to make a comparison for the {{w|Earth}}-{{w|Moon}} system; for an Earth the size of a {{w|Basketball (ball)|basketball}}, (24.6 cm) the Moon would be 6.7 cm, about the size of a some other smaller type of ball.[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/02/24/how-far-away-is-the-moon/] He handily illustrates this with two balls of those sizes that look like the Earth and the Moon. They are invisibly suspended, and—as seems clear from the first row of panels—they are actually the real Moon and Earth shrunk to the relevant size, hence the title ''Basketball Earth''. (This would place Cueball and his "friends" in {{w|God}}-like positions).

But, repeatedly, before Cueball can finish with this common type of comparison, he is interrupted and must begin all over again.

We never learn which type of ball (if any—it could have been an {{w|apple}}) he would have compared the Moon with. It is not unlikely that he would have mentioned a {{w|Baseball (ball)|baseball}}, but the comparison would be better using a {{w|tennis ball}}. A basketball has an average diameter of 24.6 cm (9.7 inches) vs. a tennis ball with an average diameter of 6.7 cm (2.6 inches). The ratio between a tennis ball and basketball is 0.273, which is the same (to three digits) as the ratio given on the Wikipedia page for the Moon: ''Mean radius 1737.10 km (0.273 Earths)''. If he used the slightly larger baseball as an example, with an average diameter of 7.4 cm (2.9 inches), the ratio would be 0.300. Still this would be close enough for demonstrative purposes, as it would be with an apple.

It is common to describe the relationship between very large (and very small) objects by analogy to common objects on a more human scale. Here is a similar example where someone has made a comparison of the sizes of the Solar system based on a [http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/silveira60.html Sun the size of a basketball]. And here, coming from smaller scales, is an [http://www.infoplease.com/dk/science/encyclopedia/atoms.html#ESCI024ATOMS001 example] that states the following: "Imagine an atom magnified to the size of a football stadium. The nucleus of the atom would be the size of a pea in the centre of the stadium."

It is almost certainly not a coincidence that today is {{w|Earth Day}}, which is celebrated annually on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. This seems to be something that [[Randall]] cares about a lot, as he has made several comics demonstrating the need for the human race to begin taking better care of our globe. See, for instance, [[1321: Cold]] and [[1379: 4.5 Degrees]].

This comic clearly demonstrates four examples where the inhabitants of Earth did not take care of the well being of our globe, although here on a somewhat grander scale than what individuals can usually do. The typical case is that people did not do this out of bad intentions, but only because they were careless, curious, playful, or just plain stupid.

===Interruptions===
The four interruptions are described below. Each of the four attempts has its own row of four panels in the comic. It is clear from panels one and two in each row that the Basketball Earth is rotating quite fast compared to the time frame of the comic since the {{w|continents}} have moved considerably between frames. It is thus not necessarily the interrupters that have moved the Basketball Earth between frames two and three, except of course in the final interruption.

No matter how fast it rotates or whatever happens, we always see the Basketball Earth from the same side, as seen from far above the {{w|Atlantic Ocean}}. We can see the continents of the {{w|Americas}} as well as {{w|Africa}} and sometimes part of {{w|Europe}}, all of which are the borders for this ocean.

It seems most likely that Cueball starts all over every time, with a completely fresh and new Earth-Moon system, since they look the same regardless of the catastrophe befalling the prior Basketball Earth, and the interruptions—the second especially—would be difficult to reverse. We can thus suppose that there is still "normal" life going on for each Basketball Earth before the interruption. This life will most likely completely perish for all of the last three cases.

====Black Hat====
In the first interruption, [[Black Hat]] comes in and is amazed by this cool floating globe. Of course, being Black Hat, he has to prod this nice globe with a digit. But by putting his finger into one of the oceans of this "real" Basketball Earth without a second thought, he apparently generates a {{w|megatsunami}} that rolls in over an unidentified city with skyscrapers, utterly dwarfed by a breaking wave.

This is similar to a scene in "{{w|Men in Black II}}" where K messed with a globe that actually is a small planet, and his finger become visible in the sky of its inhabitants. It is also reminiscent of {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}} in which a meteor strike causes exactly such a tsunami to hit the {{w|East Coast of the United States}}. Since Black Hat puts his finger down in the Atlantic Ocean, the tsunami would hit all bordering coastlines. Since the coast seems to be an eastern coast, and because Randall lives there, the city could be {{w|New York City}} or {{w|Boston}} or one of the other large US cities on the East Coast. Of course, the wave would also affect the coast line (far into land) for all the other continents.

====Megan====
The second interruption occurs when [[Megan]] arrives and pours liquid (perhaps water) from a sports {{w|water bottle}} onto the Basketball Earth, seemingly flooding its entire surface. This would cause {{w|List of flood myths|extensive flooding}}, almost certainly extinguishing all land-dwelling life. The most famous somewhat analogous situation is from the {{w|Bible}} in the {{w|Genesis flood narrative}} about {{w|Noah's Ark}}. This time, however, the deluge is from the ocean, not rain, and the life in the sea may also perish due to the change in the constitution of the sea.




====Cat====
In the third interruption a cat walks into shot and then playfully attacks the Basketball Earth rolling around with it like it would do with a ball of {{w|yarn}} (see real life example in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1rTAI2aExI this video]).

The people living upon this Basketball Earth would experience cataclysmic events far greater than Blackhat's digital prodding incurred, especially as the Basketball Earth is no longer suspended and was thus taken "out of its orbit" and will eventually hit the floor very hard. One way or another, that will surely cause (undepicted) disasters of tremendous magnitude.

====Ponytail====
In the fourth and final interruption, [[Ponytail]] uses Basketball Earth as an actual basketball. She comes running by Cueball, grabs the Basketball Earth, probably bouncing it off the floor while {{w|Dribbling#Basketball|dribbling}} towards the {{w|Backboard (basketball)|basketball hoop}} where she actually jumps in an attempt to {{w|Slam dunk|dunk}} the Basketball Earth. This would ''not'' be good for any residents of Basketball Earth; the combined pressure, movement, and impact damage from this simple sequence would surely kill off all life on Basketball Earth.

====Title text====
This simile-callback is continued in the title text with the idea that "every basketball in existence" (i.e., every basketball upon the Basketball Earth, as well as the Basketball Earth itself) is counted towards the score from a single dunking.

Randall may or may not know exactly how many basketballs there are, perhaps through research for some [[what if?]] question or other research, but almost certainly assumes that there are no extraterrestrial basketballs ''not'' on Basketball Earth. But there might be some question about whether the Basketball Earth's own sub-scale basketballs fall within the regulations.


==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing next to a floating Basketball Earth indicating it with his left hand. The continents are clearly visible as seen from above the Atlantic Ocean. This remains the same all through the comic, except that the Basketball Earth rotates a bit from frame to frame.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Cueball is now indicating, with his right hand, a small pockmarked moon (also floating), in the correct proportions (size and distance) to the Basketball Earth, which is on his other side. Black Hat walks into the panel towards Earth.]
:Cueball: The Moon would be—
:Black Hat: Hey, cool!

:[Black Hat is touching the Basketball Earth with a digit.]
:Cueball: Um.

:[In the next scene we see a megatsunami on the verge of crashing down onto a coastal city with skyscrapers. The A's are cut of on each side of the panels frames, i.e. they begin outside and finishes outside the frame.]
:Aaaaaaaa

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: Let's try that again. If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except now it is Megan that walks into the frame towards the Basketball Earth holding a sports water bottle.]
:Cueball: The Moon would be—

:[Megan squirts the Basketball Earth with the liquid in her water bottle while Cueball just stands watching with the Moon behind him].

:[Megan just walks away while Cueball stares at his "water" Basketball Earth where the continents have disappeared completely beneath the liquid.]

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except now he spots a cat coming into the frame from the left.]
:Cueball: The Moon— would…

:[While Cueball watches with the Moon behind him, the cat jumps at the Basketball Earth.]
:Cat: Mrowl!

:[Cueball continues to watch while the cat rolls around playing with the Basketball Earth as if it was a ball of yarn.]
:Cat: Rrrrr

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except this time it is Ponytail who enters the frame at a run coming from the left.]
:Cueball: The Moon would, uh…

:[While Cueball watches with the Moon behind him, Ponytail has grabbed the Basketball Earth and is dribbling it out of the frame, still running.]

:[Zoom out from Cueball who continues to watch while Ponytail reaches a basketball hoop and jump towards it with the Basketball Earth, obviously in an attempt to make a slam dunk.]

{{comic discussion}}



[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1515: Basketball Earth

2015-04-22T15:32:37Z

199.27.128.120: /* Black Hat */

{{comic
| number = 1515
| date = April 22, 2015
| title = Basketball Earth
| image = basketball earth.png
| titletext = How many points do you get for dunking every basketball in existence at once?
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic [[Cueball]] is repeatedly attempting to make a comparison for the {{w|Earth}}-{{w|Moon}} system; for an Earth the size of a {{w|Basketball (ball)|basketball}}, (24.6 cm) the Moon would be 6.7 cm, about the size of a some other smaller type of ball.[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/02/24/how-far-away-is-the-moon/] He handily illustrates this with two balls of those sizes that look like the Earth and the Moon. They are invisibly suspended, and—as seems clear from the first row of panels—they are actually the real Moon and Earth shrunk to the relevant size, hence the title ''Basketball Earth''. (This would place Cueball and his "friends" in {{w|God}}-like positions).

But, repeatedly, before Cueball can finish with this common type of comparison, he is interrupted and must begin all over again.

We never learn which type of ball (if any—it could have been an {{w|apple}}) he would have compared the Moon with. It is not unlikely that he would have mentioned a {{w|Baseball (ball)|baseball}}, but the comparison would be better using a {{w|tennis ball}}. A basketball has an average diameter of 24.6 cm (9.7 inches) vs. a tennis ball with an average diameter of 6.7 cm (2.6 inches). The ratio between a tennis ball and basketball is 0.273, which is the same (to three digits) as the ratio given on the Wikipedia page for the Moon: ''Mean radius 1737.10 km (0.273 Earths)''. If he used the slightly larger baseball as an example, with an average diameter of 7.4 cm (2.9 inches), the ratio would be 0.300. Still this would be close enough for demonstrative purposes, as it would be with an apple.

It is common to describe the relationship between very large (and very small) objects by analogy to common objects on a more human scale. Here is a similar example where someone has made a comparison of the sizes of the Solar system based on a [http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/silveira60.html Sun the size of a basketball]. And here, coming from smaller scales, is an [http://www.infoplease.com/dk/science/encyclopedia/atoms.html#ESCI024ATOMS001 example] that states the following: "Imagine an atom magnified to the size of a football stadium. The nucleus of the atom would be the size of a pea in the centre of the stadium."

It is almost certainly not a coincidence that today is {{w|Earth Day}}, which is celebrated annually on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. This seems to be something that [[Randall]] cares about a lot, as he has made several comics demonstrating the need for the human race to begin taking better care of our globe. See, for instance, [[1321: Cold]] and [[1379: 4.5 Degrees]].

This comic clearly demonstrates four examples where the inhabitants of Earth did not take care of the well being of our globe, although here on a somewhat grander scale than what individuals can usually do. The typical case is that people did not do this out of bad intentions, but only because they were careless, curious, playful, or just plain stupid.

===Interruptions===
The four interruptions are described below. Each of the four attempts has its own row of four panels in the comic. It is clear from panels one and two in each row that the Basketball Earth is rotating quite fast compared to the time frame of the comic since the {{w|continents}} have moved considerably between frames. It is thus not necessarily the interrupters that have moved the Basketball Earth between frames two and three, except of course in the final interruption.

No matter how fast it rotates or whatever happens, we always see the Basketball Earth from the same side, as seen from far above the {{w|Atlantic Ocean}}. We can see the continents of the {{w|Americas}} as well as {{w|Africa}} and sometimes part of {{w|Europe}}, all of which are the borders for this ocean.

It seems most likely that Cueball starts all over every time, with a completely fresh and new Earth-Moon system, since they look the same regardless of the catastrophe befalling the prior Basketball Earth, and the interruptions—the second especially—would be difficult to reverse. We can thus suppose that there is still "normal" life going on for each Basketball Earth before the interruption. This life will most likely completely perish for all of the last three cases.

====Black Hat====
In the first interruption, [[Black Hat]] comes in and is amazed by this cool floating globe. Of course, being Black Hat, he has to prod this nice globe with a digit. But by putting his finger into one of the oceans of this "real" Basketball Earth without a second thought, he apparently generates a {{w|megatsunami}} that rolls in over an unidentified city with skyscrapers, utterly dwarfed by a breaking wave.

This is similar to a scene in "{{w|Men in Black II}}" where K messed with a globe that actually is a small planet, and his finger become visible in the sky of its inhabitants. It is also reminiscent of {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}} in which a meteor strike causes exactly such a tsunami to hit the {{w|East Coast of the United States}}. Since Black Hat puts his finger down in the Atlantic Ocean, the tsunami would hit all bordering coastlines. Since the coast seems to be an eastern coast, and because Randall lives there, the city could be {{w|New York City}} or {{w|Boston}} or one of the other large US cities on the East Coast. Of course, the wave would also affect the coast line (far into land) for all the other continents.

====Megan====
The second interruption occurs when [[Megan]] arrives and pours liquid (perhaps water) from a sports {{w|water bottle}} onto the Basketball Earth, seemingly flooding its entire surface. This would make an {{w|List of flood myths|even worse tsunami}}, almost certainly extinguishing all land-dwelling life. The most famous somewhat analogous situation is from the {{w|Bible}} in the {{w|Genesis flood narrative}} about {{w|Noah's Ark}}. This time, however, the deluge is from the ocean, not rain, and the life in the sea may also perish due to the change in the constitution of the sea.




====Cat====
In the third interruption a cat walks into shot and then playfully attacks the Basketball Earth rolling around with it like it would do with a ball of {{w|yarn}} (see real life example in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1rTAI2aExI this video]).

The people living upon this Basketball Earth would experience cataclysmic events far greater than Blackhat's digital prodding incurred, especially as the Basketball Earth is no longer suspended and was thus taken "out of its orbit" and will eventually hit the floor very hard. One way or another, that will surely cause (undepicted) disasters of tremendous magnitude.

====Ponytail====
In the fourth and final interruption, [[Ponytail]] uses Basketball Earth as an actual basketball. She comes running by Cueball, grabs the Basketball Earth, probably bouncing it off the floor while {{w|Dribbling#Basketball|dribbling}} towards the {{w|Backboard (basketball)|basketball hoop}} where she actually jumps in an attempt to {{w|Slam dunk|dunk}} the Basketball Earth. This would ''not'' be good for any residents of Basketball Earth; the combined pressure, movement, and impact damage from this simple sequence would surely kill off all life on Basketball Earth.

====Title text====
This simile-callback is continued in the title text with the idea that "every basketball in existence" (i.e., every basketball upon the Basketball Earth, as well as the Basketball Earth itself) is counted towards the score from a single dunking.

Randall may or may not know exactly how many basketballs there are, perhaps through research for some [[what if?]] question or other research, but almost certainly assumes that there are no extraterrestrial basketballs ''not'' on Basketball Earth. But there might be some question about whether the Basketball Earth's own sub-scale basketballs fall within the regulations.


==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing next to a floating Basketball Earth indicating it with his left hand. The continents are clearly visible as seen from above the Atlantic Ocean. This remains the same all through the comic, except that the Basketball Earth rotates a bit from frame to frame.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Cueball is now indicating, with his right hand, a small pockmarked moon (also floating), in the correct proportions (size and distance) to the Basketball Earth, which is on his other side. Black Hat walks into the panel towards Earth.]
:Cueball: The Moon would be—
:Black Hat: Hey, cool!

:[Black Hat is touching the Basketball Earth with a digit.]
:Cueball: Um.

:[In the next scene we see a megatsunami on the verge of crashing down onto a coastal city with skyscrapers. The A's are cut of on each side of the panels frames, i.e. they begin outside and finishes outside the frame.]
:Aaaaaaaa

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: Let's try that again. If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except now it is Megan that walks into the frame towards the Basketball Earth holding a sports water bottle.]
:Cueball: The Moon would be—

:[Megan squirts the Basketball Earth with the liquid in her water bottle while Cueball just stands watching with the Moon behind him].

:[Megan just walks away while Cueball stares at his "water" Basketball Earth where the continents have disappeared completely beneath the liquid.]

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except now he spots a cat coming into the frame from the left.]
:Cueball: The Moon— would…

:[While Cueball watches with the Moon behind him, the cat jumps at the Basketball Earth.]
:Cat: Mrowl!

:[Cueball continues to watch while the cat rolls around playing with the Basketball Earth as if it was a ball of yarn.]
:Cat: Rrrrr

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except this time it is Ponytail who enters the frame at a run coming from the left.]
:Cueball: The Moon would, uh…

:[While Cueball watches with the Moon behind him, Ponytail has grabbed the Basketball Earth and is dribbling it out of the frame, still running.]

:[Zoom out from Cueball who continues to watch while Ponytail reaches a basketball hoop and jump towards it with the Basketball Earth, obviously in an attempt to make a slam dunk.]

{{comic discussion}}



[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Animals]]

1515: Basketball Earth

2015-04-22T15:30:58Z

199.27.128.120: /* Black Hat */ Just because it reminds us of something we shouldn't presume it was intended by the author. So say "reminiscent" rather than "refers".

{{comic
| number = 1515
| date = April 22, 2015
| title = Basketball Earth
| image = basketball earth.png
| titletext = How many points do you get for dunking every basketball in existence at once?
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic [[Cueball]] is repeatedly attempting to make a comparison for the {{w|Earth}}-{{w|Moon}} system; for an Earth the size of a {{w|Basketball (ball)|basketball}}, (24.6 cm) the Moon would be 6.7 cm, about the size of a some other smaller type of ball.[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/02/24/how-far-away-is-the-moon/] He handily illustrates this with two balls of those sizes that look like the Earth and the Moon. They are invisibly suspended, and—as seems clear from the first row of panels—they are actually the real Moon and Earth shrunk to the relevant size, hence the title ''Basketball Earth''. (This would place Cueball and his "friends" in {{w|God}}-like positions).

But, repeatedly, before Cueball can finish with this common type of comparison, he is interrupted and must begin all over again.

We never learn which type of ball (if any—it could have been an {{w|apple}}) he would have compared the Moon with. It is not unlikely that he would have mentioned a {{w|Baseball (ball)|baseball}}, but the comparison would be better using a {{w|tennis ball}}. A basketball has an average diameter of 24.6 cm (9.7 inches) vs. a tennis ball with an average diameter of 6.7 cm (2.6 inches). The ratio between a tennis ball and basketball is 0.273, which is the same (to three digits) as the ratio given on the Wikipedia page for the Moon: ''Mean radius 1737.10 km (0.273 Earths)''. If he used the slightly larger baseball as an example, with an average diameter of 7.4 cm (2.9 inches), the ratio would be 0.300. Still this would be close enough for demonstrative purposes, as it would be with an apple.

It is common to describe the relationship between very large (and very small) objects by analogy to common objects on a more human scale. Here is a similar example where someone has made a comparison of the sizes of the Solar system based on a [http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/silveira60.html Sun the size of a basketball]. And here, coming from smaller scales, is an [http://www.infoplease.com/dk/science/encyclopedia/atoms.html#ESCI024ATOMS001 example] that states the following: "Imagine an atom magnified to the size of a football stadium. The nucleus of the atom would be the size of a pea in the centre of the stadium."

It is almost certainly not a coincidence that today is {{w|Earth Day}}, which is celebrated annually on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. This seems to be something that [[Randall]] cares about a lot, as he has made several comics demonstrating the need for the human race to begin taking better care of our globe. See, for instance, [[1321: Cold]] and [[1379: 4.5 Degrees]].

This comic clearly demonstrates four examples where the inhabitants of Earth did not take care of the well being of our globe, although here on a somewhat grander scale than what individuals can usually do. The typical case is that people did not do this out of bad intentions, but only because they were careless, curious, playful, or just plain stupid.

===Interruptions===
The four interruptions are described below. Each of the four attempts has its own row of four panels in the comic. It is clear from panels one and two in each row that the Basketball Earth is rotating quite fast compared to the time frame of the comic since the {{w|continents}} have moved considerably between frames. It is thus not necessarily the interrupters that have moved the Basketball Earth between frames two and three, except of course in the final interruption.

No matter how fast it rotates or whatever happens, we always see the Basketball Earth from the same side, as seen from far above the {{w|Atlantic Ocean}}. We can see the continents of the {{w|Americas}} as well as {{w|Africa}} and sometimes part of {{w|Europe}}, all of which are the borders for this ocean.

It seems most likely that Cueball starts all over every time, with a completely fresh and new Earth-Moon system, since they look the same regardless of the catastrophe befalling the prior Basketball Earth, and the interruptions—the second especially—would be difficult to reverse. We can thus suppose that there is still "normal" life going on for each Basketball Earth before the interruption. This life will most likely completely perish for all of the last three cases.

====Black Hat====
In the first interruption, [[Black Hat]] comes in and is amazed by this cool floating globe. Of course, being Black Hat, he has to prod this nice globe with a digit. But by putting his finger into one of the oceans of this "real" Basketball Earth without a second thought, he apparently generates a {{w|megatsunami}} that rolls in over an unidentified city with skyscrapers, utterly dwarfed by a breaking wave.

This similar to a scene in "{{w|Men in Black II}}" where K messes with a globe that actually is a small planet, and his finger become visible in the sky of its inhabitants. It is also reminiscent of {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}} in which a meteor strike causes exactly such a tsunami to hit the {{w|East Coast of the United States}}. Since Black Hat puts his finger down in the Atlantic Ocean, the tsunami would hit all bordering coastlines. And since the coast seems to be an eastern coast, and because Randall lives there, it is likely for the city to be {{w|New York City}} or {{w|Boston}} or one of the other large US cities on the East Coast. Of course, the wave would also affect the coast line (far into land) for all the other continents, but the author is from this part of the US East Coast.

====Megan====
The second interruption occurs when [[Megan]] arrives and pours liquid (perhaps water) from a sports {{w|water bottle}} onto the Basketball Earth, seemingly flooding its entire surface. This would make an {{w|List of flood myths|even worse tsunami}}, almost certainly extinguishing all land-dwelling life. The most famous somewhat analogous situation is from the {{w|Bible}} in the {{w|Genesis flood narrative}} about {{w|Noah's Ark}}. This time, however, the deluge is from the ocean, not rain, and the life in the sea may also perish due to the change in the constitution of the sea.




====Cat====
In the third interruption a cat walks into shot and then playfully attacks the Basketball Earth rolling around with it like it would do with a ball of {{w|yarn}} (see real life example in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1rTAI2aExI this video]).

The people living upon this Basketball Earth would experience cataclysmic events far greater than Blackhat's digital prodding incurred, especially as the Basketball Earth is no longer suspended and was thus taken "out of its orbit" and will eventually hit the floor very hard. One way or another, that will surely cause (undepicted) disasters of tremendous magnitude.

====Ponytail====
In the fourth and final interruption, [[Ponytail]] uses Basketball Earth as an actual basketball. She comes running by Cueball, grabs the Basketball Earth, probably bouncing it off the floor while {{w|Dribbling#Basketball|dribbling}} towards the {{w|Backboard (basketball)|basketball hoop}} where she actually jumps in an attempt to {{w|Slam dunk|dunk}} the Basketball Earth. This would ''not'' be good for any residents of Basketball Earth; the combined pressure, movement, and impact damage from this simple sequence would surely kill off all life on Basketball Earth.

====Title text====
This simile-callback is continued in the title text with the idea that "every basketball in existence" (i.e., every basketball upon the Basketball Earth, as well as the Basketball Earth itself) is counted towards the score from a single dunking.

Randall may or may not know exactly how many basketballs there are, perhaps through research for some [[what if?]] question or other research, but almost certainly assumes that there are no extraterrestrial basketballs ''not'' on Basketball Earth. But there might be some question about whether the Basketball Earth's own sub-scale basketballs fall within the regulations.


==Transcript==
:[Cueball is standing next to a floating Basketball Earth indicating it with his left hand. The continents are clearly visible as seen from above the Atlantic Ocean. This remains the same all through the comic, except that the Basketball Earth rotates a bit from frame to frame.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Cueball is now indicating, with his right hand, a small pockmarked moon (also floating), in the correct proportions (size and distance) to the Basketball Earth, which is on his other side. Black Hat walks into the panel towards Earth.]
:Cueball: The Moon would be—
:Black Hat: Hey, cool!

:[Black Hat is touching the Basketball Earth with a digit.]
:Cueball: Um.

:[In the next scene we see a megatsunami on the verge of crashing down onto a coastal city with skyscrapers. The A's are cut of on each side of the panels frames, i.e. they begin outside and finishes outside the frame.]
:Aaaaaaaa

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: Let's try that again. If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except now it is Megan that walks into the frame towards the Basketball Earth holding a sports water bottle.]
:Cueball: The Moon would be—

:[Megan squirts the Basketball Earth with the liquid in her water bottle while Cueball just stands watching with the Moon behind him].

:[Megan just walks away while Cueball stares at his "water" Basketball Earth where the continents have disappeared completely beneath the liquid.]

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except now he spots a cat coming into the frame from the left.]
:Cueball: The Moon— would…

:[While Cueball watches with the Moon behind him, the cat jumps at the Basketball Earth.]
:Cat: Mrowl!

:[Cueball continues to watch while the cat rolls around playing with the Basketball Earth as if it was a ball of yarn.]
:Cat: Rrrrr

:[Back to Cueball standing with the Basketball Earth in the same position as the first panel.]
:Cueball: If the Earth were the size of a basketball,

:[Same situation as when Black Hat walked in, except this time it is Ponytail who enters the frame at a run coming from the left.]
:Cueball: The Moon would, uh…

:[While Cueball watches with the Moon behind him, Ponytail has grabbed the Basketball Earth and is dribbling it out of the frame, still running.]

:[Zoom out from Cueball who continues to watch while Ponytail reaches a basketball hoop and jump towards it with the Basketball Earth, obviously in an attempt to make a slam dunk.]

{{comic discussion}}



[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Animals]]

Talk:1301: File Extensions

2015-04-20T17:32:08Z

199.27.128.120:

The title text reference of "hand-aligned data" may refer to ASCII art. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.28|108.162.215.28]] 05:36, 9 December 2013 (UTC) Alan K.
:I'd think not, given that art isn't exactly data. My guess would be tables in the .txt - a .txt file is just raw text with no formatting, so putting a table in requires manually formatting it with a bunch of spaces/tabs. It's not hard, but can be time-consuming and obnoxious. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.47|108.162.219.47]] 23:57, 10 December 2013 (UTC)
::Any programmer would tell you to _never_ try and hand-align things with tabs. Different text editors will use anything from 3 to 8 spaces for a tab, meaning that what's aligned in your editor isn't in others.{{unsigned ip|108.162.236.13}}
:::Indent with tabs; align with spaces. More formally, tabs should only be at the beginning of a line, and should have a strong contextual relationship with the surrounding text. This is a reasonably thought out explanation: http://lea.verou.me/2012/01/why-tabs-are-clearly-superior/ [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.67|199.27.128.67]] 17:18, 19 February 2014 (UTC)

I think it's also a notable point, that the better rated document formats are more data centric while the low rated formats mix text informations with design elements and finally become pure graphic formats, which often is an indication, that the author didn't use the accurate file type for (mostly) pure text informations.
Something I don't understand is the gap between jpg and jpeg. The first suffix is AFAIK only an abbreviation used by older DOS/MS Systems to fullfill the 8.3 limitation for filenames. The note about hand alignment might concern the fact, that hand alignment is more time expensive which might increase the amount of the the author spend in overthink the content before layouting. Also often automated layouting as supported by many modern writing application might lead to unexpected and sometimes wrong results, because the automatism has no semantical knowledge about the authors intention, which might lead to post processed errors
Sorry for my bad english, I'm not a natural writer
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.239|108.162.231.239]] 05:45, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:"hand-aligned data" seems to me like (manually) space-indented paragraphs, perhaps even manual padding to achieve the desired justification (centering and right-and-left-margin-hugging). And of course neatly lining up an 'embedded table', perhaps originally extracted from a .csv output. Although a number of plain-text editors (in the days of CGA and pure terminal/fixedspace fonts) or text formatters and wrappers (e.g. Lynx, man-page creaters, etc) ''would'' do things like this for you. And still do. At least insofar as the justification and margining is concerned. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 08:35, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
If anyone has taken the time to hand align a text file (as in a README, or other info file), they want it to look attractive for people to read. Odd are you're not going to take the time to "hand pretty" the document just to be malicious. Back in the BBS days there were a large number of "online" groups who had "signature" text files which were (very probably) hand aligned, and made extensive use of extended ASCII codes to generate basic graphics. (Granted there were programs to help auto-generate "ascii art".) If you've ever seen these files you'd know. [[http://www.thuglife.org/tlv5/aabout.shtml Example 1]] - [[http://textfiles.com/piracy/NFO/ Example 2]] [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:14, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

I find it interesting that .jpg and .jpeg are at different levels. Aren't those the same thing? --[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 05:48, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
Perhaps the .gif could contain suddenly unexpected scary/surprising frames? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.172|108.162.208.172]] 14:54, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

:That JPG/JPEG thing indeed seems strange. The more important distinction is between JPEGs that are photographs (fine) and those that are not (stupid). Also, pre-PNG, non-photograph GIFs could be just fine. And with all the accounting scandals we've seen, why would those spreadsheet formats get any credibility? -- [[User:Dfeuer|Dfeuer]] ([[User talk:Dfeuer|talk]]) 06:06, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
::Alongside .jpeg ('full' extension format) and .jpg (MS '8.3'-compatible extension format), I'd have expected .jpe (often full extension historically truncated on an 8.3 system), I must be honest. (And interesting that .docx doesn't co-inhabit the .doc line... or be somewhere else.) And the disparity betwixt the two versions of JPEG extension ''may'' relate to the tendency for a higher artefact-intensity of images back in the early days (when a better option than GIFs for... certain pictures... e.g. on Usenet between *nix workstations with vastly restricted bandwidths and storage capacities) compared to today's users (cameras that regularly store 10+MP pictures in low-loss JFIF files, and/or in Raw format!). But that may be a spurious or off-track reasoning on my part. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 08:27, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

I measured the bars in photoshop to +/- 2pixels. If we scale .tex to a value of 100 like the transcript says, these are the values I get for the bar lengths (rounded to one decimal place)
.tex 100
.pdf 89.4
.csv 84.9
.txt 66.5
.svg 64.8
.xls 48.6
.doc 21.2
.png 15.1
.ppt 14.5
.jpg 3.4
.jpeg -8.4
.gif -35.8

Dunno if it is helpful - or even trusted given I'm a first time commenter - but there it is. Closer values than just estimating, though the eyeballed estimates aren't bad. Not going to adjust the actual transcript because I feel that's overstepping my bounds. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.56}}
:Not at all, wikis are free to edit for a reason. If we didn't want new users to be editing pages, we could have turned that off long ago. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:55, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

'''As the information that is provided by the graph comes as png, we should probably not trust her. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.120|141.101.92.120]] 09:03, 9 December 2013 (UTC)'''
: Ha, +1 Like :-) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])

I never saw image of cute cats lying to me ... I mean, the gif is STILL the preferred format for animation, mostly because it's the only one supported. Animation formats based on PNG didn't catched up, hard to say why ... on the other hand, gif animation apparently have huge number of weird extensions, judging by the number of animated images I found which don't render properly in anything EXCEPT the browser. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:27, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:The cute cat may not be lying, but since the format is used in other context -- like banner ads, then the average GIF may well be lying, also I believe there have been many security issues with GIFs and JPGs as they have been used as an attack vector for internet-bad-guys to take over your computer -- so while security issues is not specifically the topic for todays strip, then that may be worth noticing as well [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])
:It is also possible to create animations with svg which is (for good reason, I like that format) ranked higher. Especially for scientific purposes it can be handy. Unfortunately is the MediaWiki software unable to show them. For example in the previous comic is an animation of the Galilean moons shown. That is an gif but someone also uploaded an [[Wikipedia:commons:File:Galilean_moon_Laplace_resonance_animation_(en_-_monochrome_-_350x217).svg|svg animation]] and I would say it does look smoother than the gif. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.215|108.162.231.215]] 14:40, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:The Grumpy Cat is not grumpy in real life - so cat pictures DO lie! [[User:Schmammel|Schmammel]] ([[User talk:Schmammel|talk]]) 15:40, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
'''What is the scale of the chart? Does 'top' = most trusted'? Never assume anything with xkcd.''' [[User:David.windsor|David.windsor]] ([[User talk:David.windsor|talk]]) 18:29, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
: Brilliant. I didn't think of that at all. But now that you mention it... a .gif would be like a small part of a video. And people tend to trust those more than a static picture. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.209|108.162.222.209]] 08:58, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

Of course Randall does not really think that the file extension determines trustworthiness; the graph is tongue-in-cheek. Information can be trustworthy or untrustworthy no matter the format it's given in. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.221|108.162.216.221]] 18:50, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:Yes, I believe the explanation somewhat misinterprets Randall's intentions, especially when it comes to the image formats. I interpret it not as a question of loss of information due to compression but instead a more general impression of when and by whom these formats are used and, as a consequence, the trustworthiness of the information conveyed through these formats. That would explain the jpg/jpeg distinction as (in my experience though I can't provide data that support it) .jpg is nowadays the preferred compressed format in professional contexts and .jpeg looks slightly childish. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.117|141.101.80.117]] 23:59, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

Reading more into the linked info about viruses embedded in JPEGs, it appears that the only way to receive a virus from a JPEG file would be to have ''already'' received another virus from a standard executable file, where such a virus causes the computer to execute code in a JPEG file rather than simply display it as it normally would. Since such a possibility is independent of the file type (the first virus might just as well have enabled code execution in DOC files, for instance), I've removed that bit of info. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 03:44, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Can anyone explain the banner near the top of xkcd.com today, 10 Dec 2013? It reads,
"Dear Wikipedia readers: if everyone reading this _showed up at my house,_ (yellow highlight)I would be like "what {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.220}}
: I believe that is a reference to the similar banner that is on top of wikipedia right now asking for donations. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:02, 10 December 2013 (UTC)
::I don't see that banner, but it appears to be a play on Wikipedia's donation "pleas" that are often posted (including now) as banners at the top of Wikipedia which suggest that (to use the lates one:) "If everyone reading this donated, our fundraiser would be done within an hour". [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 18:05, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

I think it's a bit ambiguous whether Randall's references (for example) to jpg and gif means he doesn't trust that the images are accurate because of artifacting and stuff, or whether he's referring to jpgs and gifs that occasionally circulate with text on them as if to present information (e.g., lifehack images, or cat memes...) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 18:05, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

;missing suffices

Obviously .html & .htm are so far to the left, they're off the chart. :-)
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.117|108.162.249.117]] 17:43, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Any idea what file type was used to spread this hoax?
http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/apple-secret-bitcoin-mining-feature/
Various websites reporting on it use .JPG and .PNG, but I don't know what format the original graphic was.
[[User:InspectorClouseau|InspectorClouseau]] ([[User talk:InspectorClouseau|talk]]) 16:16, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

I'd be pretty wary of .flv...
[[User:Nick Douglas|Nick Douglas]] ([[User talk:Nick Douglas|talk]]) 15:16, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

I don't completely agree with ".png"'s explanation: "But since he rates the format so low, is Randall saying we shouldn't trust this chart?" I think it's being seen from the wrong perspective. In my opinion, ".png" is rated low due to being less capable and less commonly used to transmit trustworthy information than those rated higher. What do you all think? If you agree with me, please edit it, as I will not monitor this page.

I also think that ".tex"'s explanation is lacking. It should be said it's a way to format text documents using programming, in order to make them better looking and easier (for some) to write and format.

Plus, I generally disagree with a lot of what is said about file extensions, since our whole operating systems could work just fine if all extensions disappeared (provided that programs look for the right files by name only, and maybe a few more folders where created). But that's my own opinion, and not something to be added here. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.125|108.162.219.125]] 02:57, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

One thing that seems to be overlooked here, is that GIFs are probably the least trustworthy because they can have those pop out horror images that scare you when you think you are just looking at a normal picture. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 17:32, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-16T16:29:27Z

199.27.128.120: /* The shout comes from Cueball */ clear, and to the point

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Anyone who can pinpoint a specific work with this scene in it?}}

This is a complex and challenging comic to understand, depending on the reader's familiarity with the {{w|Spice Girls}}, with quizzes about the Spice Girls, and with {{w|Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|postapocalyptic}} {{w|dystopia|dystopian}} fiction.

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or"Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with, what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

As can be seen, from the nicknames above, there is no Merciful Spice, and although Scary Spice may be the one you might at first associate with starting a war, that is not necessarily a reference to her.
''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble. This song is very slow and easy compared to ''Wannabe''.

===Two interpretations===
There are two ways of interpreting this comic, as it is not clear whether the "speech line" in the comic is coming from [[Cueball]] or through the wall adjacent to him. It leads to two very different interpretations!

====The shout comes from outside====
In this interpretation the four little lines at the end of the speech line show that the quiz question is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd outside the door. Presumably if Megan is "the one who started this war" the mob outside would be hostile toward her.

In this case it looks like Megan does not have any intention of answering, and she is preparing for when the people outside break down the door by loading her shotgun to defend herself. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by Megan Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation the four little lines at the end of the speech line show that the quiz question is being shouted by Cueball who is trying to determine if the person outside the door is merciful or hostile.

In this case it looks like Megan is preparing for the latter possibility, loading her shotgun to defend herself if the person/people outside break through the door. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the spice girl outside, its inherent challenge suggesting it is not the merciful one.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the (then) less-well-known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot
**''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];''
**Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Songs]]

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-16T16:24:50Z

199.27.128.120: /* The shout comes from outside */ clear, and to the point

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Anyone who can pinpoint a specific work with this scene in it?}}

This is a complex and challenging comic to understand, depending on the reader's familiarity with the {{w|Spice Girls}}, with quizzes about the Spice Girls, and with {{w|Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|postapocalyptic}} {{w|dystopia|dystopian}} fiction.

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or"Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with, what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

As can be seen, from the nicknames above, there is no Merciful Spice, and although Scary Spice may be the one you might at first associate with starting a war, that is not necessarily a reference to her.
''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble. This song is very slow and easy compared to ''Wannabe''.

===Two interpretations===
There are two ways of interpreting this comic, as it is not clear whether the "speech line" in the comic is coming from [[Cueball]] or through the wall adjacent to him. It leads to two very different interpretations!

====The shout comes from outside====
In this interpretation the four little lines at the end of the speech line show that the quiz question is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd outside the door. Presumably if Megan is "the one who started this war" the mob outside would be hostile toward her.

In this case it looks like Megan does not have any intention of answering, and she is preparing for when the people outside break down the door by loading her shotgun to defend herself. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by Megan Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line going to Cueball's indicate that he is shouting.

Cueball is shouting the question '''through a door''' at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war, in order to make sure the one he lets in is not some evil person but a merciful one. In this comic, Megan is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun, while a, possibly dangerous, Spice Girl is knocking on their door. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the spice girl outside.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the (then) less-well-known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot
**''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];''
**Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Songs]]

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-16T16:16:58Z

199.27.128.120: /* Two interpretations */

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Anyone who can pinpoint a specific work with this scene in it?}}

This is a complex and challenging comic to understand, depending on the reader's familiarity with the {{w|Spice Girls}}, with quizzes about the Spice Girls, and with {{w|Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|postapocalyptic}} {{w|dystopia|dystopian}} fiction.

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or"Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with, what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

As can be seen, from the nicknames above, there is no Merciful Spice, and although Scary Spice may be the one you might at first associate with starting a war, that is not necessarily a reference to her.
''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble. This song is very slow and easy compared to ''Wannabe''.

===Two interpretations===
There are two ways of interpreting this comic, as it is not clear whether the "speech line" in the comic is coming from [[Cueball]] or through the wall adjacent to him. It leads to two very different interpretations!

====The shout comes from outside====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line are only stopping near Cueball's, but is actually comming from (through) the wall to indicate that the question is shouted from outside.

This would then indicate that Megan is the Spice Girl (remember that Megan is not the same character from comic to comic so this is not a problem for this interpretation).

The quiz question is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd outside the door at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war. Cueball tries to protect "Megan Spice", who the crowd would be after. In case that she is The Merciful One there is not problem. But if she is the one that started this war they would like to apprehend her.

In this case it looks like Megan does not have any intention of answering, and she is preparing for when the people outside break down the door by loading her shotgun to defend herself. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the Megan Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line going to Cueball's indicate that he is shouting.

Cueball is shouting the question '''through a door''' at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war, in order to make sure the one he lets in is not some evil person but a merciful one. In this comic, Megan is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun, while a, possibly dangerous, Spice Girl is knocking on their door. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the spice girl outside.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the (then) less-well-known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice (see [[#Two interpretations|here]]): The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot
**''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];''
**Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Songs]]

Talk:1512: Horoscopes

2015-04-15T16:13:39Z

199.27.128.120:

So funny - especially the title text made me laugh :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:05, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
:Nine months later, it would certainly eliminate the stress of wondering if you were gonna "get lucky" that night. - Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 16:13, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The "coriolis effect" in the title text refers to the spin direction of vortices (rotating currents such as cyclones, whirlpools, and water draining from a basin), which is counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. The title text is a joke extending the reversal to the flow of time.
: The spin direction of whirlpools and basins is 'not' determined by the coriolis effect, on this scale its impact is way too small to make a difference. The title text refers to how the coriolis effect is often used to explain phenomena (especially with relation to the hemispheres), even when its wrong. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.5|198.41.242.5]] 08:23, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The events described during which the conception of a person with a given birth month occurred assumes that the parents were in the United States at that time. The seasons would be shifted by six months in the southern hemisphere, and the holidays of the 4th of July (Independence Day -- Aries), Halloween (Cancer, conception in October), Thanksgiving (Leo, conception in November), Mother's Day (Aquarius, conception in May), and the NCAA (college) basketball playoffs ("March Madness" -- Sagittarius) , might either not be celebrated or celebrated on a different day. [[User:The Dining Logician|The Dining Logician]] ([[User talk:The Dining Logician|talk]]) 08:11, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

"Today, horoscopes are admitted to be pseudoscience." Citation needed. But what rubbish. Horoscopes are not even pseudoscience, so who is it "admitting" they are? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.187|108.162.250.187]] 08:36, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

:Agree, I would like the citation for "today", as there were experiments disproving horoscopes in ancient Rome already (involving two babies born in same time, one rich, one slave). -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:48, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

The general trick to horoscopes is make them vague enough that anyone can think they're true, regardless of their sign. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 10:34, 15 April 2015 (UTC)
:"You will have an opportunity today, meet someone new and should take care of your finances. Family matters will continue as per the last few days." [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 13:41, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

I propose an addition to the "conceived during someone's wedding" -- it's more common that the conception is actually after the wedding, during the (somewhat expected) consummation by the actual married couple. Thus, "honeymoon babies"! --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.181|108.162.221.181]] 12:53, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-14T17:14:00Z

199.27.128.120: /* Speech lines in xkcd */ Oh, hell. Just screw it. The point was made. The rest is just repeating it ad nauseum. It can be interpreted to be either Cueball or someone outside shouting. Got it. Move on.

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Links to a specific quiz with this question in it, and a specific work with this scene in it, would be really helpful}}

This is a complex and challenging comic to understand, depending on the reader's familiarity with the {{w|Spice Girls}}, with quizzes about the Spice Girls, and with {{w|Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|postapocalyptic}} {{w|dystopia|dystopian}} fiction.

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or"Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with, what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

As can be seen, from the nicknames above, there is no Merciful Spice, and although Scary Spice may be the one you might at first associate with starting a war, that is not necessarily a reference to her.
''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble. This song is very slow and easy compared to ''Wannabe''.

===Two interpretations===
There are two ways of interpreting this comic, as it is not initially fully clear whether the "speech line" in the comic is coming from [[Cueball]] or through the wall adjacent to him. It leads to two very different interpretations!

====Speech lines in xkcd====
There is no discussion about the thumping on the door though. Everybody agrees that there is someone outside the door who thumps on it. The small lines on the door around the "speech line" for the Thump radiate all directions.

However, the small radiating lines on the wall around the "speech line" for the shouting are less spread. This has led to some disagreement as to whether the "Which are you" line is are coming from outside the room (through the wall) or from Cueball.

Speech that comes from on-screen characters is nearly always indicated without any radiating lines. In [[1489: Fundamental Forces]] radiating lines are shown coming from someone on-screen speaking normally, but it only occurs once out of four though (vs. four out of four for those from off-screen characters in that comic) so this may be an unintentional inconsistency by Randall.

Speech that comes from off-screen is always(?) indicated with these radiating lines as can be seen in the aforementioned [[1489: Fundamental Forces]], the last frame of [[1507: Metaball]] or twice in [[1493: Meeting]].

The problem in this comic is that the speech line points to Cueball's head and is close to it. Its distance from his face is similar to what Randall typically uses to indicate what a character is saying. They are often drawn a little closer than that, but it is not uncommon that there are some distance. So, absent the radiating lines, it would look very much like Cueball is the one speaking. Since the radiating lines '''are''' there, however, an interpretation is that the shout as coming out of the wall, just as the thumps are coming from the door.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line going to Cueball's indicate that he is shouting.

Cueball is shouting the question '''through a door''' at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war, in order to make sure the one he lets in is not some evil person but a merciful one. In this comic, Megan is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun, while a, possibly dangerous, Spice Girl is knocking on their door. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the spice girl outside.

====The shout comes from outside====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line are only stopping near Cueball's, but is actually comming from (through) the wall to indicate that the question is shouted from outside.

This would then indicate that Megan is the Spice Girl (remember that Megan is not the same character from comic to comic so this is not a problem for this interpretation).

The quiz questions is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd outside the door at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war. Cueball tries to protect "Megan Spice", who the crowd would be after. In case that she is The Merciful One there is not problem. But if she is the one that started this war they would like to apprehend her.

In this case it looks like Megan do not have any intention of answering and she is preparing for when the people outside breaks down the door, by loading her shotgun defend her self. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the Megan Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the then less well known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see interpretations above): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice: The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot, ''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];'' Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Songs]]

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-14T17:12:08Z

199.27.128.120: /* Speech lines in xkcd */ a bit more clean up. Then I gave up. There's only so much over-analyzing one can take. ("Note that the lines are separated by an angle of precisely 16 degrees, an angle Randall has used before to indicate...") Sheesh.

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Links to a specific quiz with this question in it, and a specific work with this scene in it, would be really helpful}}

This is a complex and challenging comic to understand, depending on the reader's familiarity with the {{w|Spice Girls}}, with quizzes about the Spice Girls, and with {{w|Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|postapocalyptic}} {{w|dystopia|dystopian}} fiction.

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or"Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with, what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

As can be seen, from the nicknames above, there is no Merciful Spice, and although Scary Spice may be the one you might at first associate with starting a war, that is not necessarily a reference to her.
''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble. This song is very slow and easy compared to ''Wannabe''.

===Two interpretations===
There are two ways of interpreting this comic, as it is not initially fully clear whether the "speech line" in the comic is coming from [[Cueball]] or through the wall adjacent to him. It leads to two very different interpretations!

====Speech lines in xkcd====
There is no discussion about the thumping on the door though. Everybody agrees that there is someone outside the door who thumps on it. The small lines on the door around the "speech line" for the Thump radiate all directions.

However, the small radiating lines on the wall around the "speech line" for the shouting are less spread. This has led to some disagreement as to whether the "Which are you" line is are coming from outside the room (through the wall) or from Cueball.

Speech that comes from on-screen characters is nearly always indicated without any radiating lines. In [[1489: Fundamental Forces]] radiating lines are shown coming from someone on-screen speaking normally, but it only occurs once out of four though (vs. four out of four for those from off-screen characters in that comic) so this may be an unintentional inconsistency by Randall.

Speech that comes from off-screen is always(?) indicated with these radiating lines as can be seen in the aforementioned [[1489: Fundamental Forces]], the last frame of [[1507: Metaball]] or twice in [[1493: Meeting]].

The problem in this comic is that the speech line points to Cueball's head and is close to it. Its distance from his face is similar to what Randall typically uses to indicate what a character is saying. They are often drawn a little closer than that, but it is not uncommon that there are some distance. So, absent the radiating lines, it would look very much like Cueball is the one speaking. Since the radiating lines '''are''' there, however, an interpretation is that the shout as coming out of the wall, just as the thumps are coming from the door.

On one hand the lines could indicate '''that Cueball is shouting'''. Then he do shout these quiz questions through the door as mentioned in the caption. Supporting this interpretation is the fact that when Megan shouts in [[1374: Urn]] and [[1360: Old Files]] it is indicated like this. Also in [[1393: Timeghost]] [[Megan]] shouts two times with these lines indicating this. In the case where Megan (and Cueball) do not shout there are no lines. The Timeghost has these lines every time it speaks, but this may because it is either a ghost (has no mouth) or because it is shouting. (Also there is a case of off-screen speak here with these lines).

On the other hand the lines could indicate '''that the speech is coming off the wall''', so the shouting is coming through the wall. That is a problem with this theory, since the line should then have been connecting through the door to make it fit better with the caption. Supporting this interpretation is the fact that when someone is speaking inside something these kind of lines is used to indicate from where the speech is, as can be seen in three different cases in [[1463: Altitude]] as well as in [[1458: Small Moon]].

On top of all this these lines can sometimes be used to indicate typing on a PC as in [[1454: Done]] or speaking from a TV program as in [[1435: Presidential Alert]]. This is not always the case see for instance [[1387: Clumsy Foreshadowing]]. It is also used when people speak through a mask as in [[1424: En Garde]] or when it is a thing that speaks as in [[1378: Turbine]].

All the above is mentioned to make it clear that the lines can be used in several different way, and it is thus not possible to determine the correct interpretation based on previous comics! Thus below are given the interpretation of the comic under these two different scenarios.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line going to Cueball's indicate that he is shouting.

Cueball is shouting the question '''through a door''' at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war, in order to make sure the one he lets in is not some evil person but a merciful one. In this comic, Megan is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun, while a, possibly dangerous, Spice Girl is knocking on their door. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the spice girl outside.

====The shout comes from outside====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line are only stopping near Cueball's, but is actually comming from (through) the wall to indicate that the question is shouted from outside.

This would then indicate that Megan is the Spice Girl (remember that Megan is not the same character from comic to comic so this is not a problem for this interpretation).

The quiz questions is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd outside the door at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war. Cueball tries to protect "Megan Spice", who the crowd would be after. In case that she is The Merciful One there is not problem. But if she is the one that started this war they would like to apprehend her.

In this case it looks like Megan do not have any intention of answering and she is preparing for when the people outside breaks down the door, by loading her shotgun defend her self. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the Megan Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the then less well known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see interpretations above): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice: The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot, ''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];'' Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Songs]]

1511: Spice Girl

2015-04-14T17:04:07Z

199.27.128.120: /* Speech lines in xkcd */ clarification, more parallel construction to clarify comparisons

__NOTOC__
{{comic
| number = 1511
| date = April 13, 2015
| title = Spice Girl
| image = spice_girl.png
| titletext = Haha, you'll see!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Links to a specific quiz with this question in it, and a specific work with this scene in it, would be really helpful}}

This is a complex and challenging comic to understand, depending on the reader's familiarity with the {{w|Spice Girls}}, with quizzes about the Spice Girls, and with {{w|Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction|postapocalyptic}} {{w|dystopia|dystopian}} fiction.

===The Spice Girls===
The Spice Girls are a British pop girl group formed in 1994. It consists of five girls who each have a "spice girl" nickname. The five girls with their respective nicknames are:
*{{w|Mel B}} (MB) or "Scary Spice"
*{{w|Mel C}} (MC) or "Sporty Spice"
*{{w|Emma Bunton}} (Em) or "Baby Spice"
*{{w|Geri Halliwell}} (G) or "Ginger Spice"
*{{w|Victoria Beckham}} (V) or"Posh Spice"
The letter in parenthesis are relevant for the interpretation of the [[#The title text|title text]]

===The internet quiz===
This is one example of a trend of on-line quizzes that would "identify" the user with one person/personality of a group based on a series of personality questions. This will most often concern which member of a band, TV cast/film cast or character from books etc. the quizzer most resembles. In this comic it is specifically [[#Spice girl quizzes|Spice girl quizzes]] that are the subject.

In this comic, [[Randall]] is suggesting that in order to cope with, what he probably considers to be irritating {{w|clickbait}} links to these quizzes, he imagines the link titles as ''being shouted through a door in a in a postapocalyptic dystopia''. This is a reference to a trope in movies set in such postapocalyptic settings (which Randall presumably enjoys more) in which the heroes must determine whether an unknown agent is friend or foe, which in some such media occurs by shouting through locked doors. It is not likely that Randall would actually complete these quizzes, but if he did in this fantasy setting, the stakes would be higher and each answer would be fraught with dangerous meaning. It would thus also be much more fun taking the quiz and the result would seem to be important.

As can be seen, from the nicknames above, there is no Merciful Spice, and although Scary Spice may be the one you might at first associate with starting a war, that is not necessarily a reference to her.
''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SQYLHWo8TA The Merciful One]'' could be a reference to the song with the same name by {{w|Zohar (band)|Zohar}}, another British music ensemble. This song is very slow and easy compared to ''Wannabe''.

===Two interpretations===
There are two ways of interpreting this comic, as it is not initially fully clear whether the "speech line" in the comic is coming from [[Cueball]] or through the wall adjacent to him. It leads to two very different interpretations!

====Speech lines in xkcd====
There is no discussion about the thumping on the door though. Everybody agrees that there is someone outside the door who thumps on it. The small lines on the door around the "speech line" for the Thump radiate all directions.

However, the small radiating lines on the wall around the "speech line" for the shouting are less spread. This has led to some disagreement as to whether the "Which are you" line is are coming from outside the room (through the wall) or from Cueball.

Speech that comes from on-screen characters is nearly always indicated without any radiating lines. In [[1489: Fundamental Forces]] radiating lines are shown coming from someone on-screen speaking normally, but it only occurs once out of four though (vs. four out of four for those from off-screen characters in that comic) so this may be an unintentional inconsistency by Randall.

Speech that comes from off-screen is always(?) indicated with these radiating lines as can be seen in the last frame of [[1507: Metaball]] or two times in [[1493: Meeting]]. However, in this comic the speech line is clearly not a line that comes off-screen.

The problem comes from the fact that the speech line is drawn very close to Cueball's head. It is almost exactly the same distance from his face as is the case with the first speech line for the officer in the previous comic. They are often drawn a little closer than that, but it is not uncommon that there are some distance. In the other interpretation, however, the lines would indicate the shout as coming out of the wall, just as the thumps are coming from the door.

On one hand the lines could indicate '''that Cueball is shouting'''. Then he do shout these quiz questions through the door as mentioned in the caption. Supporting this interpretation is the fact that when Megan shouts in [[1374: Urn]] and [[1360: Old Files]] it is indicated like this. Also in [[1393: Timeghost]] [[Megan]] shouts two times with these lines indicating this. In the case where Megan (and Cueball) do not shout there are no lines. The Timeghost has these lines every time it speaks, but this may because it is either a ghost (has no mouth) or because it is shouting. (Also there is a case of off-screen speak here with these lines).

On the other hand the lines could indicate '''that the speech is coming off the wall''', so the shouting is coming through the wall. That is a problem with this theory, since the line should then have been connecting through the door to make it fit better with the caption. Supporting this interpretation is the fact that when someone is speaking inside something these kind of lines is used to indicate from where the speech is, as can be seen in three different cases in [[1463: Altitude]] as well as in [[1458: Small Moon]].

On top of all this these lines can sometimes be used to indicate typing on a PC as in [[1454: Done]] or speaking from a TV program as in [[1435: Presidential Alert]]. This is not always the case see for instance [[1387: Clumsy Foreshadowing]]. It is also used when people speak through a mask as in [[1424: En Garde]] or when it is a thing that speaks as in [[1378: Turbine]].

All the above is mentioned to make it clear that the lines can be used in several different way, and it is thus not possible to determine the correct interpretation based on previous comics! Thus below are given the interpretation of the comic under these two different scenarios.

====The shout comes from Cueball====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line going to Cueball's indicate that he is shouting.

Cueball is shouting the question '''through a door''' at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war, in order to make sure the one he lets in is not some evil person but a merciful one. In this comic, Megan is preparing for the worst by loading her shotgun, while a, possibly dangerous, Spice Girl is knocking on their door. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the spice girl outside.

====The shout comes from outside====
In this interpretation the four little lines from the speech line are only stopping near Cueball's, but is actually comming from (through) the wall to indicate that the question is shouted from outside.

This would then indicate that Megan is the Spice Girl (remember that Megan is not the same character from comic to comic so this is not a problem for this interpretation).

The quiz questions is being shouted by an angry agent or crowd outside the door at a charged time during a postapocalyptic war. Cueball tries to protect "Megan Spice", who the crowd would be after. In case that she is The Merciful One there is not problem. But if she is the one that started this war they would like to apprehend her.

In this case it looks like Megan do not have any intention of answering and she is preparing for when the people outside breaks down the door, by loading her shotgun defend her self. The line from [[#The title text|the title text]] is said by the Megan Spice indicating that when they get through the door they will be in trouble.

===The title text===
The title text refers to the [http://lyrics.wikia.com/Spice_Girls:Wannabe lyrics] from the Spice Girls' debut single, ''{{w|Wannabe (song)|Wannabe}}'' (Listen to ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJLIiF15wjQ Wannabe on YouTube]'') Here below is the relevant excerpt from the song where the letters in the last four lines refer to the spice girls [[#The Spice Girls|as given above]]. This rap {{w|bridge (music)|bridge}} is sung by Scary Spice except for the line with Easy V which is sung by Ginger Spice:
:So here's a story from A to Z,
:You wanna get with me You gotta listen carefully
:We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
:You got G like MC who likes it on an
:Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
:And as for me, '''ha ha, you'll see'''

These lyrics function as a little introduction to the then less well known girl group. The final line takes on a threat-like tone in this new context of the comic. And it doesn't help that it is Scary Spice who sings it.

The text may seem a little confusing to understand, especially the line that finishes ''on an''. According to another lyrics-site, which also has [http://genius.com/3134866 explanations] to some parts of the text, it means that G and MC likes it (sex) together with {{w|MDMA|ecstasy}} - as "On an E" is slang for being on ecstasy (see it used in this [https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090518130834AA0QdJD discussion]). They could not sing this directly without resulting in a PG rating, thus they inserted the "E" in the next line as '''E'''asy V, a line which is even sung by another spice girl, Ginger spice, where the rest of this bridge is sung by Scary spice.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is trying to barricade a door with his own body (although it already has a bar in front of it). He is in a room that is deteriorating with Megan who is loading a shotgun while sitting behind some sort of box.]
:Knocking on the door: '''Thump Thump'''
:Voice (see interpretations above): '''Which Spice Girl are you?!'''
:Voice: The merciful one, or the one who started this war?

:[Caption below the frame:]
:'''When I see those quiz titles, I like to imagine they're'''
:'''being shouted through a door in a postapocalyptic dystopia.'''

==Spice girl quizzes==
*''What spice girl are you?'' quizzes
**[http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/which-spice-girl-are-you#.gbkv2p3jDX Buzzfeed]
**[http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/w-MjcRyEoFZ/Which+Spice+Girl+Are+You Zimbio]
**[http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-spice-girl-are-you/ Brainfall]
**[http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_spice_girl_are_you GoToQuiz]
*Kidspot, ''[http://www.kidspot.com.au/the-spice-girls-and-10-other-mummy-types-you-might-know/ The Spice Girls and 10 other mummy types you might know];'' Baby Mummy, Sporty Mummy, Scary Mummy, Posh Mummy, Ginger Mummy and 10 others.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Songs]]

1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-08T15:18:57Z

199.27.128.120: /* Map */

{{comic
| number = 1509
| date = April 8, 2015
| title = Scenery Cheat Sheet
| image = scenery cheat sheet.png
| titletext = At the boundary between each zone, stories blend together. Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, the Roadrunner is pursued by a tireless Anton Chigurh.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Only just started page.}}

{{w|GeoGuessr}} is a game using {{w|Google Street View|StreetView}} images that drops the player in a random location and challenges them to work out where they are. It is also referenced in [[1214: Geoguessr]].

The [[title text]] references ''{{w|Anton Chigurh}}'' (portrayed by Javier Bardem), who is the main antagonist of the film ''{{w|No Country For Old Men}}''.

Note that this is a map of where the stories are set, not where they were filmed.

==Transcript==
===Title===
:A '''cheat sheet''' for
:figuring out where in the US you are
:by recognizing the background from movies
:(for use by GeoGuessr players and crash-landed astronauts)

===Map===
[From top left, left to right, top to bottom]
{| class="wikitable"
! Movie Title
! Setting for Movie
! Actual Filming Location(s)
! Notes
|-
| {{w|Twilight (film)| Twilight}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fifty Shades of Grey (film)|50 Shades of Grey}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dances with Wolves}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fargo (film)|Fargo}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wild Wild West|Wild Wild West}}
| The southwest area
| Tuscon, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Pierce, Idaho
|
|-
| {{w|The Sandlot|The Sandlot}}
| Suburban Los Angeles
| Salt Lake City, Utah
|
|-
| {{w|Napoleon Dynamite|Napoleon Dynamite}}
| Preston, Idaho
| Preston, Idaho
|
|-
| {{w|Brokeback Mountain|Brokeback Mountain}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Oregon Trail (video_game)|Oregon Trail}}
|
|Video Game, not a film
| Might be referring to film "{{w|The Oregon Trail (1936 film)}}".
|-
| {{w|Interstellar (film)|Interstellar}} (Earth parts)
| rowspan="3"|
|
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek (2009)}} (Earth parts)
| Iowa
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Field of Dreams|Field of Dreams}}
| Dyersville, IA
|
|-
| {{w|The Music Man (1962 film)|The Music Man}}
| River City, IA
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Blues Brothers (film)|Blues Brothers}}
| Chicago
| Chicago
|
|-
| {{w|A Christmas Story|A Christmas Story}}
| rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|Jack & Diane|That song about Jack and Diane}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|8 Mile (film)|8 Mile}}
| Wayne County, Michigan
|
|
|-
| {{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day}}
| {{w|Punxsutawney,_Pennsylvania|Punxsutawney, PA}}, {{w|Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh}}
| Woodstock, IL
|
|-
| {{w|My Side of the Mountain|My Side of the Mountain (book)}}
| Adriondack Mountains, NY
| Catskill mountains, near Delhi, NY
| The area shown on the map is actually the Adirondack mountains, not the Catskills. I suspect this is an error.
|-
| {{w|Super Troopers|Super Troopers}}
| Vermont, NY ("Somewhere near the border")
|
|
|-
| {{w|Pet Semetary|Pet Semetary}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|What About Bob?|What about Bob}}
|Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
|Smith Mountain Lake, VA
|
|-
| {{w|The Departed|The Departed}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Signs (film)|Signs}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Village (2004 film)|The Village}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds (2005)}}
|
|
| Also referenced in [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]]
|-
| {{w|Jaws (film)|Jaws}}
| Amity Island (stand-in for Martha's Vineyard)
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Rock (film)|The Rock}}
| {{w|Alcatraz Island}}
| {{W|Alcatraz Island}}
|
|-
| {{w|Zodiac (film)|Zodiac}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Sideways|That movie about wine & talking}}
|
|
| He clearly means ''Sideways''
|-
| {{w|Top Gun|Top Gun}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Part of Independence Day}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner|Roadrunner cartoons}}
|
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz}}
| Kansas, Oz
|
| The Judy Garland version, presumably. The earth parts.
|-
| {{w|Twister (1996 film)|Twister}}
|
|
|
|-
| Anything by {{w|Mark Twain}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Walk the Line|Walk the Line}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|October Sky|October Sky}}
|
| East Tennessee
|
|-
| {{w|Dirty Dancing|Dirty Dancing}}
| {{w|Catskill Mountains|Catskill Mountains}}
|
|
|-
| [Generic City]
| Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia
| N/A
|
|-
| {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Hunt for Red October (film)|The Hunt for Red October}}
| Atlantic Ocean
|
|
|-
| {{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Forrest Gump|Forrest Gump}}
| Alabama
|
|
|-
| {{w|List of most expensive films|Every movie with a big budget...}}
|
|Hollywood, CA
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}} but with desert in the background
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|No Country for Old Men (film)|No Country for Old Men}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|True Grit (1969 film)|True Grit}}
|
|
| Or the {{w|True Grit (2010 film)|2010 version}}
|-
| {{w|Office Space|Office Space}}
| rowspan="3" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dazed and Confused (film)|Dazed and Confused}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Kill Bill|Kill Bill}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Duck Dynasty|Duck Dynasty}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Princess and the Frog|Princess and the Frog}}
| rowspan="2" |
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|All Dogs Go to Heaven|All Dogs go to Heaven}}
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|Big Fish|Big Fish}}
| rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|O Brother, Where Art Thou?|O Brother Where Art Thou}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Beasts of the Southern Wild|Beasts of the Southern Wild}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}}
| Northern Florida
| {{w|Seaside, Florida|Seaside, Florida}}
|
|-
| {{w|Adaptation (film)|Adaptation}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Miami Vice|Miami Vice}}
| Miami
|
| Or the {{w|Miami Vice (film)|film}}
|}

==See also==
*[https://geoguessr.com/ GeoGuessr's official website]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]

Talk:1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-08T15:14:49Z

199.27.128.120:

One objection: although ''What About Bob?'' was set at Lake Winnipesaukee, NH, it was actually filmed at Smith Mountain Lake, VA. {{unsigned|‎Jstech}}

The Napoleon Dynamite Idaho square doesn't cover Preston, where it was filmed.[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.121|199.27.133.121]] 06:00, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

The ''Twilight/50 Shades'' area really shouldn't cover eastern Washington and Oregon either. East of the Cascade Mountains is much more like Boise than Seattle. [[User:Tribble314|Tribble314]] ([[User talk:Tribble314|talk]]) 07:12, 8 April 2015 (UTC)
:Tribble314 is completely correct

It gets Forest Gump wrong, that is set in Alabama, including the Alabama gulf coast and not easter Georgia, The Tombstone section is on the wrong side of Arizona and Zorro is set, and filmed, in California. Anything By Mark Twain is too far south, and since Road Runner cartoons all have Saguaro and organ pipe cactus, it is amazing how the map outlines the exact part of Arizona where they don't exist
:It's not about where it's set. It's where it's filmed. And I object to the 'Anything by Mark Twain' on the grounds that it's basically just Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn without say Innocents Abroad or for that matter most of what was written by a guy who did a good bit of traveling in his lifetime.--Dude[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.183|108.162.237.183]] 09:28, 8 April 2015 (UTC)
::No, the map is about where it's set (generally). ''Star Trek'' wasn't actually filmed in Iowa, part of the movie was set there. In any event, the explanation provides a column for each. - Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 15:14, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Let's not forget ''A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court''! I'm pretty sure that doesn't fit in 'Anything By Mark Twain'-space. --[[User:PsyMar|PsyMar]] ([[User talk:PsyMar|talk]]) 12:46, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

I never even knew I lived so close to so many awesome movies. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 12:39, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia tells me that there are 3 2005 ''War of the Worlds'' movies. So... [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 12:43, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

A lot I'd like to argue with, but without proof (no time to look), I'll skip most except for this: The Twin Cities of Minnesota (Minneapolis & St. Paul) are clearly shown (Mpls. skyline at least) in ''Fargo'', yet the Twin Cities area is barely within ''Fargo'''s border. (Nitpick from the movie: the characters are coming FROM the north but the Mpls view is obviously from the south, I-35W Northbound.) Also, ''North Country'', whose story is based around taconite mining in Minnesota's Iron Range (north/northwest of Duluth), should have been included, and also shows a Mpls. skyline as an establishing shot for either lawyer's offices and/or a courthouse. (And one more thing: Thanks to whoever pointed out that Woodstock, IL is the true filming location for ''Groundhog Day''. I would show it on the map with a dot or star there, rather than the Pennsylvania area is supposedly represents.) --BigMal27 // [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.177|173.245.50.177]] 13:03, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-08T15:10:56Z

199.27.128.120: /* Map */

{{comic
| number = 1509
| date = April 8, 2015
| title = Scenery Cheat Sheet
| image = scenery cheat sheet.png
| titletext = At the boundary between each zone, stories blend together. Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, the Roadrunner is pursued by a tireless Anton Chigurh.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Only just started page.}}

{{w|GeoGuessr}} is a game using {{w|Google Street View|StreetView}} images that drops the player in a random location and challenges them to work out where they are. It is also referenced in [[1214: Geoguessr]].

The [[title text]] references ''{{w|Anton Chigurh}}'' (portrayed by Javier Bardem), who is the main antagonist of the film ''{{w|No Country For Old Men}}''.

Note that this is a map of where the stories are set, not where they were filmed.

==Transcript==
===Title===
:A '''cheat sheet''' for
:figuring out where in the US you are
:by recognizing the background from movies
:(for use by GeoGuessr players and crash-landed astronauts)

===Map===
[From top left, left to right, top to bottom]
{| class="wikitable"
! Movie Title
! Setting for Movie
! Actual Filming Location(s)
! Notes
|-
| {{w|Twilight (film)| Twilight}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fifty Shades of Grey (film)|50 Shades of Grey}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dances with Wolves}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fargo (film)|Fargo}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wild Wild West|Wild Wild West}}
| The southwest area
| Tuscon, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Pierce, Idaho
|
|-
| {{w|The Sandlot|The Sandlot}}
| Suburban Los Angeles
| Salt Lake City, Utah
|
|-
| {{w|Napoleon Dynamite|Napoleon Dynamite}}
| Preston, Idaho
| Preston, Idaho
|
|-
| {{w|Brokeback Mountain|Brokeback Mountain}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Oregon Trail (video_game)|Oregon Trail}}
|
|Video Game, not a film
| Might be referring to film "{{w|The Oregon Trail (1936 film)}}".
|-
| {{w|Interstellar (film)|Interstellar}} (Earth parts)
| rowspan="3"|
|
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek (2009)}} (Earth parts)
| Iowa
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Field of Dreams|Field of Dreams}}
| Dyersville, IA
|
|-
| {{w|The Music Man (1962 film)|The Music Man}}
| River City, IA
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Blues Brothers (film)|Blues Brothers}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|A Christmas Story|A Christmas Story}}
| rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|Jack & Diane|That song about Jack and Diane}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|8 Mile (film)|8 Mile}}
| Wayne County, Michigan
|
|
|-
| {{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day}}
| Western Pennsylvania and New York
| Woodstock, IL
|
|-
| {{w|My Side of the Mountain|My Side of the Mountain (book)}}
| Adriondack Mountains, NY
| Catskill mountains, near Delhi, NY
| The area shown on the map is actually the Adirondack mountains, not the Catskills. I suspect this is an error.
|-
| {{w|Super Troopers|Super Troopers}}
| Vermont, NY ("Somewhere near the border")
|
|
|-
| {{w|Pet Semetary|Pet Semetary}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|What About Bob?|What about Bob}}
|Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
|Smith Mountain Lake, VA
|
|-
| {{w|The Departed|The Departed}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Signs (film)|Signs}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Village (2004 film)|The Village}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds (2005)}}
|
|
| Also referenced in [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]]
|-
| {{w|Jaws (film)|Jaws}}
| Amity Island (stand-in for Martha's Vineyard)
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Rock (film)|The Rock}}
| {{w|Alcatraz Island}}
| {{W|Alcatraz Island}}
|
|-
| {{w|Zodiac (film)|Zodiac}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Sideways|That movie about wine & talking}}
|
|
| He clearly means ''Sideways''
|-
| {{w|Top Gun|Top Gun}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Part of Independence Day}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner|Roadrunner cartoons}}
|
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz}}
| Kansas, Oz
|
| The Judy Garland version, presumably. The earth parts.
|-
| {{w|Twister (1996 film)|Twister}}
|
|
|
|-
| Anything by {{w|Mark Twain}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Walk the Line|Walk the Line}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|October Sky|October Sky}}
|
| East Tennessee
|
|-
| {{w|Dirty Dancing|Dirty Dancing}}
| {{w|Catskill Mountains|Catskill Mountains}}
|
|
|-
| [Generic City]
| Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia
| N/A
|
|-
| {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Hunt for Red October (film)|The Hunt for Red October}}
| Atlantic Ocean
|
|
|-
| {{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Forrest Gump|Forrest Gump}}
| Alabama
|
|
|-
| {{w|List of most expensive films|Every movie with a big budget...}}
|
|Hollywood, CA
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}} but with desert in the background
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|No Country for Old Men (film)|No Country for Old Men}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|True Grit (1969 film)|True Grit}}
|
|
| Or the {{w|True Grit (2010 film)|2010 version}}
|-
| {{w|Office Space|Office Space}}
| rowspan="3" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dazed and Confused (film)|Dazed and Confused}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Kill Bill|Kill Bill}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Duck Dynasty|Duck Dynasty}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Princess and the Frog|Princess and the Frog}}
| rowspan="2" |
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|All Dogs Go to Heaven|All Dogs go to Heaven}}
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|Big Fish|Big Fish}}
| rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|O Brother, Where Art Thou?|O Brother Where Art Thou}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Beasts of the Southern Wild|Beasts of the Southern Wild}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}}
| Northern Florida
| {{w|Seaside, Florida|Seaside, Florida}}
|
|-
| {{w|Adaptation (film)|Adaptation}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Miami Vice|Miami Vice}}
| Miami
|
| Or the {{w|Miami Vice (film)|film}}
|}

==See also==
*[https://geoguessr.com/ GeoGuessr's official website]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]

1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-08T15:09:27Z

199.27.128.120: /* Map */

{{comic
| number = 1509
| date = April 8, 2015
| title = Scenery Cheat Sheet
| image = scenery cheat sheet.png
| titletext = At the boundary between each zone, stories blend together. Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, the Roadrunner is pursued by a tireless Anton Chigurh.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Only just started page.}}

{{w|GeoGuessr}} is a game using {{w|Google Street View|StreetView}} images that drops the player in a random location and challenges them to work out where they are. It is also referenced in [[1214: Geoguessr]].

The [[title text]] references ''{{w|Anton Chigurh}}'' (portrayed by Javier Bardem), who is the main antagonist of the film ''{{w|No Country For Old Men}}''.

Note that this is a map of where the stories are set, not where they were filmed.

==Transcript==
===Title===
:A '''cheat sheet''' for
:figuring out where in the US you are
:by recognizing the background from movies
:(for use by GeoGuessr players and crash-landed astronauts)

===Map===
[From top left, left to right, top to bottom]
{| class="wikitable"
! Movie Title
! Setting for Movie
! Actual Filming Location(s)
! Notes
|-
| {{w|Twilight (film)| Twilight}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fifty Shades of Grey (film)|50 Shades of Grey}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dances with Wolves}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fargo (film)|Fargo}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wild Wild West|Wild Wild West}}
| The southwest area
| Tuscon, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Pierce, Idaho
|
|-
| {{w|The Sandlot|The Sandlot}}
| Suburban Los Angeles
| Salt Lake City, Utah
|
|-
| {{w|Napoleon Dynamite|Napoleon Dynamite}}
| Preston, Idaho
| Preston, Idaho
|
|-
| {{w|Brokeback Mountain|Brokeback Mountain}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Oregon Trail (video_game)|Oregon Trail}}
|
|Video Game, not a film
| Might be referring to film "{{w|The Oregon Trail (1936 film)}}".
|-
| {{w|Interstellar (film)|Interstellar}} (Earth parts)
| rowspan="3"|
|
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek (2009)}} (Earth parts)
| Iowa
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Field of Dreams|Field of Dreams}}
| Dyersville, IA
|
|-
| {{w|The Music Man (1962 film)|The Music Man}}
| River City, IA
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Blues Brothers (film)|Blues Brothers}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|A Christmas Story|A Christmas Story}}
| rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|Jack & Diane|That song about Jack and Diane}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|8 Mile (film)|8 Mile}}
| Wayne County, Michigan
|
|
|-
| {{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day}}
| Western Pennsylvania and New York
| Woodstock, IL
|
|-
| {{w|My Side of the Mountain|My Side of the Mountain (book)}}
| Adriondack Mountains, NY
| Catskill mountains, near Delhi, NY
| The area shown on the map is actually the Adirondack mountains, not the Catskills. I suspect this is an error.
|-
| {{w|Super Troopers|Super Troopers}}
| Vermont, NY ("Somewhere near the border")
|
|
|-
| {{w|Pet Semetary|Pet Semetary}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|What About Bob?|What about Bob}}
|Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
|Smith Mountain Lake, VA
|
|-
| {{w|The Departed|The Departed}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Signs (film)|Signs}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Village (2004 film)|The Village}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds (2005)}}
|
|
| Also referenced in [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]]
|-
| {{w|Jaws (film)|Jaws}}
| Amity Island (stand-in for Martha's Vineyard)
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Rock (film)|The Rock}}
| {{w|Alcatraz Island}}
| {{W|Alcatraz Island}}
|
|-
| {{w|Zodiac (film)|Zodiac}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Sideways|That movie about wine & talking}}
|
|
| He clearly means ''Sideways''
|-
| {{w|Top Gun|Top Gun}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Part of Independence Day}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner|Roadrunner cartoons}}
|
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz}}
| Kansas, Oz
|
| The Judy Garland version, presumably. The earth parts.
|-
| {{w|Twister (1996 film)|Twister}}
|
|
|
|-
| Anything by {{w|Mark Twain}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Walk the Line|Walk the Line}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|October Sky|October Sky}}
|
| East Tennessee
|
|-
| {{w|Dirty Dancing|Dirty Dancing}}
| {{w|Catskill Mountains|Catskill Mountains}}
|
|
|-
| [Generic City]
| Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia
| N/A
|
|-
| {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Hunt for Red October (film)|The Hunt for Red October}}
| Atlantic Ocean
|
|
|-
| {{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Forrest Gump|Forrest Gump}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|List of most expensive films|Every movie with a big budget...}}
|
|Hollywood, CA
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}} but with desert in the background
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|No Country for Old Men (film)|No Country for Old Men}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|True Grit (1969 film)|True Grit}}
|
|
| Or the {{w|True Grit (2010 film)|2010 version}}
|-
| {{w|Office Space|Office Space}}
| rowspan="3" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dazed and Confused (film)|Dazed and Confused}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Kill Bill|Kill Bill}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Duck Dynasty|Duck Dynasty}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Princess and the Frog|Princess and the Frog}}
| rowspan="2" |
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|All Dogs Go to Heaven|All Dogs go to Heaven}}
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|Big Fish|Big Fish}}
| rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|O Brother, Where Art Thou?|O Brother Where Art Thou}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Beasts of the Southern Wild|Beasts of the Southern Wild}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}}
| Northern Florida
| {{w|Seaside, Florida|Seaside, Florida}}
|
|-
| {{w|Adaptation (film)|Adaptation}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Miami Vice|Miami Vice}}
| Miami
|
| Or the {{w|Miami Vice (film)|film}}
|}

==See also==
*[https://geoguessr.com/ GeoGuessr's official website]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]

1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-08T15:08:03Z

199.27.128.120: /* Map */

{{comic
| number = 1509
| date = April 8, 2015
| title = Scenery Cheat Sheet
| image = scenery cheat sheet.png
| titletext = At the boundary between each zone, stories blend together. Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, the Roadrunner is pursued by a tireless Anton Chigurh.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Only just started page.}}

{{w|GeoGuessr}} is a game using {{w|Google Street View|StreetView}} images that drops the player in a random location and challenges them to work out where they are. It is also referenced in [[1214: Geoguessr]].

The [[title text]] references ''{{w|Anton Chigurh}}'' (portrayed by Javier Bardem), who is the main antagonist of the film ''{{w|No Country For Old Men}}''.

Note that this is a map of where the stories are set, not where they were filmed.

==Transcript==
===Title===
:A '''cheat sheet''' for
:figuring out where in the US you are
:by recognizing the background from movies
:(for use by GeoGuessr players and crash-landed astronauts)

===Map===
[From top left, left to right, top to bottom]
{| class="wikitable"
! Movie Title
! Setting for Movie
! Actual Filming Location(s)
! Notes
|-
| {{w|Twilight (film)| Twilight}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fifty Shades of Grey (film)|50 Shades of Grey}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dances with Wolves}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fargo (film)|Fargo}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wild Wild West|Wild Wild West}}
| The southwest area
| Tuscon, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Pierce, Idaho
|
|-
| {{w|The Sandlot|The Sandlot}}
| Suburban Los Angeles
| Salt Lake City, Utah
|
|-
| {{w|Napoleon Dynamite|Napoleon Dynamite}}
| Preston, Idaho
| Preston, Idaho
|
|-
| {{w|Brokeback Mountain|Brokeback Mountain}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Oregon Trail (video_game)|Oregon Trail}}
|
|Video Game, not a film
| Might be referring to film "{{w|The Oregon Trail (1936 film)}}".
|-
| {{w|Interstellar (film)|Interstellar}} (Earth parts)
| rowspan="3"|
|
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek (2009)}} (Earth parts)
| Iowa
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Field of Dreams|Field of Dreams}}
| Dyersville, IA
|
|-
| {{w|The Music Man (1962 film)|The Music Man}}
| River City, IA
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Blues Brothers (film)|Blues Brothers}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|A Christmas Story|A Christmas Story}}
| rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|Jack & Diane|That song about Jack and Diane}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|8 Mile (film)|8 Mile}}
| Wayne County, Michigan
|
|
|-
| {{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day}}
| Western Pennsylvania and New York
| Woodstock, IL
|
|-
| {{w|My Side of the Mountain|My Side of the Mountain (book)}}
| Adriondack Mountains, NY
| Catskill mountains, near Delhi, NY
| The area shown on the map is actually the Adirondack mountains, not the Catskills. I suspect this is an error.
|-
| {{w|Super Troopers|Super Troopers}}
| Vermont, NY ("Somewhere near the border")
|
|
|-
| {{w|Pet Semetary|Pet Semetary}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|What About Bob?|What about Bob}}
|Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
|Smith Mountain Lake, VA
|
|-
| {{w|The Departed|The Departed}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Signs (film)|Signs}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Village (2004 film)|The Village}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds (2005)}}
|
|
| Also referenced in [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]]
|-
| {{w|Jaws (film)|Jaws}}
| Amity Island (stand-in for Martha's Vineyard)
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Rock (film)|The Rock}}
| {{w|Alcatraz Island}}
| {{W|Alcatraz Island}}
|
|-
| {{w|Zodiac (film)|Zodiac}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Sideways|That movie about wine & talking}}
|
|
| He clearly means ''Sideways''
|-
| {{w|Top Gun|Top Gun}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Part of Independence Day}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner|Roadrunner cartoons}}
|
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz}}
| Kansas, Oz
|
| The Judy Garland version, presumably. The earth parts.
|-
| {{w|Twister (1996 film)|Twister}}
|
|
|
|-
| Anything by {{w|Mark Twain}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Walk the Line|Walk the Line}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|October Sky|October Sky}}
|
| East Tennessee
|
|-
| {{w|Dirty Dancing|Dirty Dancing}}
|
|
|
|-
| [Generic City]
| Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia
| N/A
|
|-
| {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Hunt for Red October (film)|The Hunt for Red October}}
| Atlantic Ocean
|
|
|-
| {{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Forrest Gump|Forrest Gump}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|List of most expensive films|Every movie with a big budget...}}
|
|Hollywood, CA
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}} but with desert in the background
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|No Country for Old Men (film)|No Country for Old Men}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|True Grit (1969 film)|True Grit}}
|
|
| Or the {{w|True Grit (2010 film)|2010 version}}
|-
| {{w|Office Space|Office Space}}
| rowspan="3" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dazed and Confused (film)|Dazed and Confused}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Kill Bill|Kill Bill}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Duck Dynasty|Duck Dynasty}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Princess and the Frog|Princess and the Frog}}
| rowspan="2" |
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|All Dogs Go to Heaven|All Dogs go to Heaven}}
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|Big Fish|Big Fish}}
| rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|O Brother, Where Art Thou?|O Brother Where Art Thou}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Beasts of the Southern Wild|Beasts of the Southern Wild}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}}
| Northern Florida
| {{w|Seaside, Florida|Seaside, Florida}}
|
|-
| {{w|Adaptation (film)|Adaptation}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Miami Vice|Miami Vice}}
| Miami
|
| Or the {{w|Miami Vice (film)|film}}
|}

==See also==
*[https://geoguessr.com/ GeoGuessr's official website]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]

1509: Scenery Cheat Sheet

2015-04-08T15:04:59Z

199.27.128.120: /* Map */

{{comic
| number = 1509
| date = April 8, 2015
| title = Scenery Cheat Sheet
| image = scenery cheat sheet.png
| titletext = At the boundary between each zone, stories blend together. Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, the Roadrunner is pursued by a tireless Anton Chigurh.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Only just started page.}}

{{w|GeoGuessr}} is a game using {{w|Google Street View|StreetView}} images that drops the player in a random location and challenges them to work out where they are. It is also referenced in [[1214: Geoguessr]].

The [[title text]] references ''{{w|Anton Chigurh}}'' (portrayed by Javier Bardem), who is the main antagonist of the film ''{{w|No Country For Old Men}}''.

Note that this is a map of where the stories are set, not where they were filmed.

==Transcript==
===Title===
:A '''cheat sheet''' for
:figuring out where in the US you are
:by recognizing the background from movies
:(for use by GeoGuessr players and crash-landed astronauts)

===Map===
[From top left, left to right, top to bottom]
{| class="wikitable"
! Movie Title
! Setting for Movie
! Actual Filming Location(s)
! Notes
|-
| {{w|Twilight (film)| Twilight}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fifty Shades of Grey (film)|50 Shades of Grey}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dances with Wolves}}
| rowspan="2"|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Starship Troopers (film)|Starship Troopers}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Fargo (film)|Fargo}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wild Wild West|Wild Wild West}}
| The southwest area
| Tuscon, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Pierce, Idaho
|
|-
| {{w|The Sandlot|The Sandlot}}
| Suburban Los Angeles
| Salt Lake City, Utah
|
|-
| {{w|Napoleon Dynamite|Napoleon Dynamite}}
| Preston, Idaho
| Preston, Idaho
|
|-
| {{w|Brokeback Mountain|Brokeback Mountain}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Oregon Trail (video_game)|Oregon Trail}}
|
|Video Game, not a film
| Might be referring to film "{{w|The Oregon Trail (1936 film)}}".
|-
| {{w|Interstellar (film)|Interstellar}}
| rowspan="3"|
|
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Star Trek (film)|Star Trek (2009)}}
|
| "Earth Parts"
|-
| {{w|Field of Dreams|Field of Dreams}}
| Dyersville, IA
| Technically, all the earth parts of this movie too.
|-
| {{w|The Music Man (1962 film)|The Music Man}}
| River City, Iowa
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Blues Brothers (film)|Blues Brothers}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|A Christmas Story|A Christmas Story}}
| rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|Jack & Diane|That song about Jack and Diane}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|8 Mile (film)|8 Mile}}
| Wayne County, Michigan
|
|
|-
| {{w|Groundhog Day (film)|Groundhog Day}}
| Western Pennsylvania and New York
| Woodstock, IL
|
|-
| {{w|My Side of the Mountain|My Side of the Mountain (book)}}
| Adriondack Mountains, NY
| Catskill mountains, near Delhi, NY
| The area shown on the map is actually the Adirondack mountains, not the Catskills. I suspect this is an error.
|-
| {{w|Super Troopers|Super Troopers}}
| Vermont, NY ("Somewhere near the border")
|
|
|-
| {{w|Pet Semetary|Pet Semetary}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|What About Bob?|What about Bob}}
|Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
|Smith Mountain Lake, VA
|
|-
| {{w|The Departed|The Departed}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Signs (film)|Signs}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Village (2004 film)|The Village}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|War of the Worlds (2005 film)|War of the Worlds (2005)}}
|
|
| Also referenced in [[556: Alternative Energy Revolution]]
|-
| {{w|Jaws (film)|Jaws}}
| Amity Island (stand-in for Martha's Vineyard)
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Rock (film)|The Rock}}
| {{w|Alcatraz Island}}
| {{W|Alcatraz Island}}
|
|-
| {{w|Zodiac (film)|Zodiac}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Sideways|That movie about wine & talking}}
|
|
| He clearly means ''Sideways''
|-
| {{w|Top Gun|Top Gun}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Independence Day (1996 film)|Part of Independence Day}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner|Roadrunner cartoons}}
|
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz}}
| Kansas, Oz
|
| The Judy Garland version, presumably. The earth parts.
|-
| {{w|Twister (1996 film)|Twister}}
|
|
|
|-
| Anything by {{w|Mark Twain}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Walk the Line|Walk the Line}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|October Sky|October Sky}}
|
| East Tennessee
|
|-
| {{w|Dirty Dancing|Dirty Dancing}}
|
|
|
|-
| [Generic City]
| Washington DC, Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia
| N/A
|
|-
| {{w|Deep Impact (film)|Deep Impact}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Hunt for Red October (film)|The Hunt for Red October}}
| Atlantic Ocean
|
|
|-
| {{w|Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Forrest Gump|Forrest Gump}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|List of most expensive films|Every movie with a big budget...}}
|
|Hollywood, CA
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}} but with desert in the background
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|No Country for Old Men (film)|No Country for Old Men}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|True Grit (1969 film)|True Grit}}
|
|
| Or the {{w|True Grit (2010 film)|2010 version}}
|-
| {{w|Office Space|Office Space}}
| rowspan="3" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|Dazed and Confused (film)|Dazed and Confused}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Kill Bill|Kill Bill}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Duck Dynasty|Duck Dynasty}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Princess and the Frog|Princess and the Frog}}
| rowspan="2" |
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|All Dogs Go to Heaven|All Dogs go to Heaven}}
|Animated, not filmed
|
|-
| {{w|Big Fish|Big Fish}}
| rowspan="2" |
|
|
|-
| {{w|O Brother, Where Art Thou?|O Brother Where Art Thou}}
|
|
|-
| {{w|Beasts of the Southern Wild|Beasts of the Southern Wild}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|The Truman Show|The Truman Show}}
| Northern Florida
| {{w|Seaside, Florida|Seaside, Florida}}
|
|-
| {{w|Adaptation (film)|Adaptation}}
|
|
|
|-
| {{w|Miami Vice|Miami Vice}}
|
|
| Or the {{w|Miami Vice (film)|film}}
|}

==See also==
*[https://geoguessr.com/ GeoGuessr's official website]
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Maps]]

1506: xkcloud

2015-04-01T15:22:45Z

199.27.128.120: /* Trivia */

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

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This is one of those complicated interactive entries, more like reviewing a video game than explaining a normal comic.}}
In this interactive April Fools comic [[Cueball]], presumably representing Randall, admits to the readers he built a flimsy cloud services company using spare computers and parts. His setup failed and portions caught fire, causing him to lose data he was required to preserve as part of his service. He requests the readers help him recover, make up and reimagine the lost data by pressing the large red button at the bottom of the comic.

Pressing the button links to one of two interactive survey pages. One asks the reader to indicate which of several line-drawings best matches a given caption, or the reader can create their own drawing in a simple web-based "paint"-style app. The other asks the reader to indicate which of several captions best matches a given drawing, or the reader can create their own caption. The content of the "surveys" appear to come from reader submissions, and are different upon every click.

Below the "survey", the reader is presented with a listing similar to a Facebook news feed, listing several "posts" of the line-drawings apparently tagged with the captions as paired up by the survey results. The posts are made by apparently fictional randomly-named readers. These posts are accompanied by a button similar to Facebook's "Like" button which is labelled either Covet, Crave, Hanker, Thirst or Yearn. All of these are synonyms of "want". After completing the survey, the page refreshes with new "posts".

It is not immediately clear if the reader-create drawings or captions are, in fact, being cycled into the surveys and feeds, or if the displayed items were all created by Randall and the reader-created content is simply discarded.

Included in the cloud hardware are (from left to right) a Macintosh Classic, several old laptops, an Alienware tower, a Nintendo VirtualBoy and 2 other devices.

==Trivia==
*It's the first comic without a title text.
*Since being originally posted the words "CLICK HERE" have been added in large text to the top of the red button followed by the word "to" being added to the beginning of the existing text.
*From time to time, instead of the interactive page there is a page with three dots only. This might be due to access problems while xkcd fans all over the world try to submit graphics and text.
*[[908: The Cloud]] also related to cloud computing.

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only transcribes what can be seen in the first picture shown at the top of the explanation here. For more see link below]

:[One large frame with a five part comic and a large red button at the bottom.]
:[Cueball sitting behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We've made a huge mistake.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Cueball points at a bunch of computers]
:Cueball: I figured starting a cloud services company would be easy.
:Cueball: After all, I've got ''tons'' of computers!

:[A zoomed view on Cueballs head.]
:Cueball: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr— they all struggle to protect privacy and user data...
:Cueball: And ''we'' offered a solution.
:Cueball: I forget what it was, though.

:[Cueball is standing with his arms up.]
:Cueball: Anyway, long story short, we screwed up ''immediately'' and lost ''tons'' of their data.
:Cueball: Also a bunch of stuff is literally on fire?

:[Cueball standing behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We can fix this.
:Cueball: But we need your help.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Below the above is a large red rectangular clickable button, that will take the reader on to the interactive part of the comic. On the button it says in large white letters:]
:'''CLICK HERE'''
:To help us recover user data
:before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.

:[The standard text for the next possible pages can be seen on the link to the '''[[1506: xkcloud/Transcript|continued transcript]]'''. Also here will be a list (which may not be possible to make complete) with possible text for the lost data.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fool's comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1506: xkcloud

2015-04-01T15:22:20Z

199.27.128.120: /* Trivia */ Should explain how. Otherwise "might" be a reference to anything folks care to name.

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

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This is one of those complicated interactive entries, more like reviewing a video game than explaining a normal comic.}}
In this interactive April Fools comic [[Cueball]], presumably representing Randall, admits to the readers he built a flimsy cloud services company using spare computers and parts. His setup failed and portions caught fire, causing him to lose data he was required to preserve as part of his service. He requests the readers help him recover, make up and reimagine the lost data by pressing the large red button at the bottom of the comic.

Pressing the button links to one of two interactive survey pages. One asks the reader to indicate which of several line-drawings best matches a given caption, or the reader can create their own drawing in a simple web-based "paint"-style app. The other asks the reader to indicate which of several captions best matches a given drawing, or the reader can create their own caption. The content of the "surveys" appear to come from reader submissions, and are different upon every click.

Below the "survey", the reader is presented with a listing similar to a Facebook news feed, listing several "posts" of the line-drawings apparently tagged with the captions as paired up by the survey results. The posts are made by apparently fictional randomly-named readers. These posts are accompanied by a button similar to Facebook's "Like" button which is labelled either Covet, Crave, Hanker, Thirst or Yearn. All of these are synonyms of "want". After completing the survey, the page refreshes with new "posts".

It is not immediately clear if the reader-create drawings or captions are, in fact, being cycled into the surveys and feeds, or if the displayed items were all created by Randall and the reader-created content is simply discarded.

Included in the cloud hardware are (from left to right) a Macintosh Classic, several old laptops, an Alienware tower, a Nintendo VirtualBoy and 2 other devices.

==Trivia==
*It's the first comic without a title text.
*Since being originally posted the words "CLICK HERE" have been added in large text to the top of the red button followed by the word "to" being added to the beginning of the existing text.
*From time to time, instead of the interactive page there is a page with three dots only. This might be due to access problems while xkcd fans all over the world try to submit graphics and text.
*Might be related to [[908: The Cloud]].

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only transcribes what can be seen in the first picture shown at the top of the explanation here. For more see link below]

:[One large frame with a five part comic and a large red button at the bottom.]
:[Cueball sitting behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We've made a huge mistake.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Cueball points at a bunch of computers]
:Cueball: I figured starting a cloud services company would be easy.
:Cueball: After all, I've got ''tons'' of computers!

:[A zoomed view on Cueballs head.]
:Cueball: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr— they all struggle to protect privacy and user data...
:Cueball: And ''we'' offered a solution.
:Cueball: I forget what it was, though.

:[Cueball is standing with his arms up.]
:Cueball: Anyway, long story short, we screwed up ''immediately'' and lost ''tons'' of their data.
:Cueball: Also a bunch of stuff is literally on fire?

:[Cueball standing behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We can fix this.
:Cueball: But we need your help.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Below the above is a large red rectangular clickable button, that will take the reader on to the interactive part of the comic. On the button it says in large white letters:]
:'''CLICK HERE'''
:To help us recover user data
:before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.

:[The standard text for the next possible pages can be seen on the link to the '''[[1506: xkcloud/Transcript|continued transcript]]'''. Also here will be a list (which may not be possible to make complete) with possible text for the lost data.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fool's comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1506: xkcloud

2015-04-01T15:20:45Z

199.27.128.120: /* Trivia */ Eventually it may not be "the only". Saying it was first is sufficient.

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

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This is one of those complicated interactive entries, more like reviewing a video game than explaining a normal comic.}}
In this interactive April Fools comic [[Cueball]], presumably representing Randall, admits to the readers he built a flimsy cloud services company using spare computers and parts. His setup failed and portions caught fire, causing him to lose data he was required to preserve as part of his service. He requests the readers help him recover, make up and reimagine the lost data by pressing the large red button at the bottom of the comic.

Pressing the button links to one of two interactive survey pages. One asks the reader to indicate which of several line-drawings best matches a given caption, or the reader can create their own drawing in a simple web-based "paint"-style app. The other asks the reader to indicate which of several captions best matches a given drawing, or the reader can create their own caption. The content of the "surveys" appear to come from reader submissions, and are different upon every click.

Below the "survey", the reader is presented with a listing similar to a Facebook news feed, listing several "posts" of the line-drawings apparently tagged with the captions as paired up by the survey results. The posts are made by apparently fictional randomly-named readers. These posts are accompanied by a button similar to Facebook's "Like" button which is labelled either Covet, Crave, Hanker, Thirst or Yearn. All of these are synonyms of "want". After completing the survey, the page refreshes with new "posts".

It is not immediately clear if the reader-create drawings or captions are, in fact, being cycled into the surveys and feeds, or if the displayed items were all created by Randall and the reader-created content is simply discarded.

Included in the cloud hardware are (from left to right) a Macintosh Classic, several old laptops, an Alienware tower, a Nintendo VirtualBoy and 2 other devices.

==Trivia==
*It's the first comic without a title text.
*Since being originally posted the words "CLICK HERE" have been added in large text to the top of the red button followed by the word "to" being added to the beginning of the existing text.
*From time to time, instead of the interactive page there is a page with three dots only. This might be due to access problems while xkcd fans all over the world try to submit graphics and text.
*This comic may be a reference to the 2008 film ''{{w|Be Kind Rewind}}''.
*Might be related to [[908: The Cloud]].

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only transcribes what can be seen in the first picture shown at the top of the explanation here. For more see link below]

:[One large frame with a five part comic and a large red button at the bottom.]
:[Cueball sitting behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We've made a huge mistake.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Cueball points at a bunch of computers]
:Cueball: I figured starting a cloud services company would be easy.
:Cueball: After all, I've got ''tons'' of computers!

:[A zoomed view on Cueballs head.]
:Cueball: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr— they all struggle to protect privacy and user data...
:Cueball: And ''we'' offered a solution.
:Cueball: I forget what it was, though.

:[Cueball is standing with his arms up.]
:Cueball: Anyway, long story short, we screwed up ''immediately'' and lost ''tons'' of their data.
:Cueball: Also a bunch of stuff is literally on fire?

:[Cueball standing behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We can fix this.
:Cueball: But we need your help.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Below the above is a large red rectangular clickable button, that will take the reader on to the interactive part of the comic. On the button it says in large white letters:]
:'''CLICK HERE'''
:To help us recover user data
:before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.

:[The standard text for the next possible pages can be seen on the link to the '''[[1506: xkcloud/Transcript|continued transcript]]'''. Also here will be a list (which may not be possible to make complete) with possible text for the lost data.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fool's comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1506: xkcloud

2015-04-01T15:19:53Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

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

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This is one of those complicated interactive entries, more like reviewing a video game than explaining a normal comic.}}
In this interactive April Fools comic [[Cueball]], presumably representing Randall, admits to the readers he built a flimsy cloud services company using spare computers and parts. His setup failed and portions caught fire, causing him to lose data he was required to preserve as part of his service. He requests the readers help him recover, make up and reimagine the lost data by pressing the large red button at the bottom of the comic.

Pressing the button links to one of two interactive survey pages. One asks the reader to indicate which of several line-drawings best matches a given caption, or the reader can create their own drawing in a simple web-based "paint"-style app. The other asks the reader to indicate which of several captions best matches a given drawing, or the reader can create their own caption. The content of the "surveys" appear to come from reader submissions, and are different upon every click.

Below the "survey", the reader is presented with a listing similar to a Facebook news feed, listing several "posts" of the line-drawings apparently tagged with the captions as paired up by the survey results. The posts are made by apparently fictional randomly-named readers. These posts are accompanied by a button similar to Facebook's "Like" button which is labelled either Covet, Crave, Hanker, Thirst or Yearn. All of these are synonyms of "want". After completing the survey, the page refreshes with new "posts".

It is not immediately clear if the reader-create drawings or captions are, in fact, being cycled into the surveys and feeds, or if the displayed items were all created by Randall and the reader-created content is simply discarded.

Included in the cloud hardware are (from left to right) a Macintosh Classic, several old laptops, an Alienware tower, a Nintendo VirtualBoy and 2 other devices.

==Trivia==
*It's the first and only comic without a title text.
*Since being originally posted the words "CLICK HERE" have been added in large text to the top of the red button followed by the word "to" being added to the beginning of the existing text.
*From time to time, instead of the interactive page there is a page with three dots only. This might be due to access problems while xkcd fans all over the world try to submit graphics and text.
*This comic may be a reference to the 2008 film ''{{w|Be Kind Rewind}}''.
*Might be related to [[908: The Cloud]].

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only transcribes what can be seen in the first picture shown at the top of the explanation here. For more see link below]

:[One large frame with a five part comic and a large red button at the bottom.]
:[Cueball sitting behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We've made a huge mistake.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Cueball points at a bunch of computers]
:Cueball: I figured starting a cloud services company would be easy.
:Cueball: After all, I've got ''tons'' of computers!

:[A zoomed view on Cueballs head.]
:Cueball: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr— they all struggle to protect privacy and user data...
:Cueball: And ''we'' offered a solution.
:Cueball: I forget what it was, though.

:[Cueball is standing with his arms up.]
:Cueball: Anyway, long story short, we screwed up ''immediately'' and lost ''tons'' of their data.
:Cueball: Also a bunch of stuff is literally on fire?

:[Cueball standing behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We can fix this.
:Cueball: But we need your help.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Below the above is a large red rectangular clickable button, that will take the reader on to the interactive part of the comic. On the button it says in large white letters:]
:'''CLICK HERE'''
:To help us recover user data
:before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.

:[The standard text for the next possible pages can be seen on the link to the '''[[1506: xkcloud/Transcript|continued transcript]]'''. Also here will be a list (which may not be possible to make complete) with possible text for the lost data.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fool's comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]

1506: xkcloud

2015-04-01T15:16:58Z

199.27.128.120: || sentence structure

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

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This is one of those complicated interactive entries, more like reviewing a video game than explaining a normal comic.}}
In this interactive April Fools comic, [[Cueball]], presumably representing Randall, admits to the readers he built a flimsy cloud services company using spare computers and parts. His setup failed and portions caught fire, causing him to lose data he was required to preserve as part of his service. He requests the users help him recover, make up and reimagine the lost data by pressing the large red button at the bottom of the comic.

Pressing the button links to one of two interactive survey pages. One asks the reader to indicate which of several line-drawings best matches a given caption, or the reader can create their own drawing in a simple web-based "paint"-style app. The other asks the reader to indicate which of several captions best matches a given drawing, or the reader can create their own caption. The content of the "surveys" appear to come from user submissions, and are different upon every click.

Below the "survey", the user is presented with listing similar to a Facebook news feed, listing several "posts" of the line-drawings apparently tagged with the captions as paired up by the survey results. The posts are made by apparently fictional randomly-named users. These posts are accompanied by a button similar to Facebook's "Like" button, which reads, amongst other, Covet, Crave, Hanker, Thirst and Yearn. All of these are synonyms of "want". After completing the survey, the page refreshes with new "posts". Refreshing page and repeating the process brings up even more new posts.

It is not immediately clear if the user-create drawings or captions are, in fact, being cycled into the surveys and feeds, or if the displayed items were all created by Randall and the user-created content is simply discarded.

Included in the cloud hardware are (from left to right) a Macintosh Classic, several old laptops, an Alienware tower, a Nintendo VirtualBoy, and 2 other devices.

==Trivia==
*It's the first and only comic without a title text.
*Since being originally posted the words "CLICK HERE" have been added in large text to the top of the red button followed by the word "to" being added to the beginning of the existing text.
*From time to time, instead of the interactive page there is a page with three dots only. This might be due to access problems while xkcd fans all over the world try to submit graphics and text.
*This comic may be a reference to the 2008 film ''{{w|Be Kind Rewind}}''.
*Might be related to [[908: The Cloud]].

==Transcript==
:[This transcript only transcribes what can be seen in the first picture shown at the top of the explanation here. For more see link below]

:[One large frame with a five part comic and a large red button at the bottom.]
:[Cueball sitting behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We've made a huge mistake.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Cueball points at a bunch of computers]
:Cueball: I figured starting a cloud services company would be easy.
:Cueball: After all, I've got ''tons'' of computers!

:[A zoomed view on Cueballs head.]
:Cueball: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr— they all struggle to protect privacy and user data...
:Cueball: And ''we'' offered a solution.
:Cueball: I forget what it was, though.

:[Cueball is standing with his arms up.]
:Cueball: Anyway, long story short, we screwed up ''immediately'' and lost ''tons'' of their data.
:Cueball: Also a bunch of stuff is literally on fire?

:[Cueball standing behind a desk.]
:Cueball: We can fix this.
:Cueball: But we need your help.
:Desk: XKCD.COM

:[Below the above is a large red rectangular clickable button, that will take the reader on to the interactive part of the comic. On the button it says in large white letters:]
:'''CLICK HERE'''
:To help us recover user data
:before Facebook & Co notice we lost it.

:[The standard text for the next possible pages can be seen on the link to the '''[[1506: xkcloud/Transcript|continued transcript]]'''. Also here will be a list (which may not be possible to make complete) with possible text for the lost data.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fool's comics]]
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]

Talk:1505: Ontological Argument

2015-03-30T15:17:02Z

199.27.128.120:

Reminds me some kind of the [http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Babel_Fish#Philosophical_implications Babel Fish]... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:54, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

:Isn't the greatest fallacy of ontological argument the fact that the set of entities may not be well-ordered by "greatest" or "goodness"? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:17, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

::That's a great point, and (IMHO) a truly serious problem in these attempts to "order" gods (maybe it stems from being tied down to monotheistic thinking?). But it's not really a "fallacy," properly speaking. Not all flaws in reasoning are fallacies...

::I think that (using this argument) the first flaw arises when defining the "set of entities". How can we define it and make sure that it is indeed a set? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.245|141.101.98.245]] 14:56, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

::I think the greatest fallacy is that they start with the conclusion that the fantasy that God exists isn't a fantasy, and then try to "reason" their way into finding support for that conclusion. IOW, claiming to apply reason while working in exactly the opposite way that true reasoning demands. I realize ontological arguments, as the explanation currently says, "seek to prove that God exists using only premises about the nature of existence and logical deductions from them. This is '''in contrast to arguments that are based on observations of the world'''". But you don't get to reject the logical scientific method (marshal the facts and '''THEN''' draw conclusions from them) and then claim you're being logical. - Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 15:15, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Yay a potential large, all-encompassing argument about religion waiting to happen. Oh glory day. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 13:37, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Any chance this is really about an omnipotence paradox? Can god create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it? Is he so powerful that he can find a flaw in any argument that proves he exists?

Why is the William Lane Craig section in there? If there are dozens of versions of the ontological argument on wikipedia, it makes sense to list the original (Anselm), the most famous critique of it (Dawkins), and then refer the reader to wikipedia for more information. The Craig variant is not explained here and seems cherry-picked out of the long list on wikipedia for no clear reason. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:08, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1505: Ontological Argument

2015-03-30T15:16:08Z

199.27.128.120:

Reminds me some kind of the [http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Babel_Fish#Philosophical_implications Babel Fish]... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:54, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

:Isn't the greatest fallacy of ontological argument the fact that the set of entities may not be well-ordered by "greatest" or "goodness"? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:17, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

::That's a great point, and (IMHO) a truly serious problem in these attempts to "order" gods (maybe it stems from being tied down to monotheistic thinking?). But it's not really a "fallacy," properly speaking. Not all flaws in reasoning are fallacies...

::I think that (using this argument) the first flaw arises when defining the "set of entities". How can we define it and make sure that it is indeed a set? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.245|141.101.98.245]] 14:56, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

::I think the greatest fallacy is that they start with the conclusion that the fantasy that God exists isn't a fantasy, and then try to "reason" their way into finding support for that conclusion. IOW, claiming to apply reason while working in exactly the opposite way that true reasoning demands. I realize ontological arguments are, as the explanation currently says "seek to prove that God exists using only premises about the nature of existence and logical deductions from them. This is '''in contrast to arguments that are based on observations of the world'''". But you don't get to reject the logical scientific method (marshal the facts and '''THEN''' draw conclusions from them) and then claim you're being logical. - Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 15:15, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Yay a potential large, all-encompassing argument about religion waiting to happen. Oh glory day. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 13:37, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Any chance this is really about an omnipotence paradox? Can god create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it? Is he so powerful that he can find a flaw in any argument that proves he exists?

Why is the William Lane Craig section in there? If there are dozens of versions of the ontological argument on wikipedia, it makes sense to list the original (Anselm), the most famous critique of it (Dawkins), and then refer the reader to wikipedia for more information. The Craig variant is not explained here and seems cherry-picked out of the long list on wikipedia for no clear reason. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:08, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1505: Ontological Argument

2015-03-30T15:15:35Z

199.27.128.120:

Reminds me some kind of the [http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Babel_Fish#Philosophical_implications Babel Fish]... [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 06:54, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

:Isn't the greatest fallacy of ontological argument the fact that the set of entities may not be well-ordered by "greatest" or "goodness"? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 11:17, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

::That's a great point, and (IMHO) a truly serious problem in these attempts to "order" gods (maybe it stems from being tied down to monotheistic thinking?). But it's not really a "fallacy," properly speaking. Not all flaws in reasoning are fallacies...

::I think that (using this argument) the first flaw arises when defining the "set of entities". How can we define it and make sure that it is indeed a set? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.245|141.101.98.245]] 14:56, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

::I think the greatest fallacy is that they start with the conclusion that the fantasy that God exists isn't a fantasy, and then try to "reason" there way into finding support for that conclusion. IOW, claiming to apply reason while working in exactly the opposite way that true reasoning demands. I realize ontological arguments are, as the explanation currently says "seek to prove that God exists using only premises about the nature of existence and logical deductions from them. This is '''in contrast to arguments that are based on observations of the world'''". But you don't get to reject the logical scientific method (marshal the facts and '''THEN''' draw conclusions from them) and then claim you're being logical. - Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 15:15, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Yay a potential large, all-encompassing argument about religion waiting to happen. Oh glory day. [[User:YourLifeisaLie|The Goyim speaks]] ([[User talk:YourLifeisaLie|talk]]) 13:37, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

Any chance this is really about an omnipotence paradox? Can god create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it? Is he so powerful that he can find a flaw in any argument that proves he exists?

Why is the William Lane Craig section in there? If there are dozens of versions of the ontological argument on wikipedia, it makes sense to list the original (Anselm), the most famous critique of it (Dawkins), and then refer the reader to wikipedia for more information. The Craig variant is not explained here and seems cherry-picked out of the long list on wikipedia for no clear reason. [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:08, 30 March 2015 (UTC)

1505: Ontological Argument

2015-03-30T15:09:39Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */ redux

{{comic
| number = 1505
| date = March 30, 2015
| title = Ontological Argument
| image = ontological argument.png
| titletext = A God who holds the world record for eating the most skateboards is greater than a God who does not hold that record.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|First draft. Could use some attention from someone better-versed in theology and/or philosophy.}}

{{w|Ontology}} is the study of being, reality, and existence. {{w|Ontological argument}}s for the {{w|existence of God}} are those that seek to prove that God exists using only premises about the nature of existence and logical deductions from them. This is in contrast to arguments that are based on observations of the world. Megan's statement in the comic is a reference to what is considered the first ontological argument, that of 11th Century philosopher {{w|Anselm of Canterbury}}. His argument starts by defining God as "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". Another step in the argument is that you can conceive of such a being even if you don't believe it exists. Another step is the statement that a being of which one can conceive and which exists is certainly greater than a being of which one can conceive and which does not exist.

The comic makes fun of Anselm's ontological argument by extending to absurdity the claim that a being who exists is greater than one who does not exist, therefore God must exist. A God who can disprove the ontological argument must be greater than one who cannot disprove the ontological argument, therefore the ontological argument proves the existence of a God that disproves it.

The title text carries the absurdity a step further into the truly absurd.

{{w|Richard Dawkins}}, in his book "{{w|The God Delusion}}" takes a similar approach in a parody of Anselm's ontological argument that proves that God does not exist. In Dawkins' version, God's greatness is demonstrated by his creation of the world. A being that overcomes the great handicap of not existing and goes on to create the world is obviously greater than a being that exists who creates the world. Therefore, God, who by definition is "that than which nothing greater can be conceived" must not exist.

Not all ontological arguments for the existence of God rely on the notion that a God that exists is greater than one that does not exist. One example is the many-world argument of William Lane Craig. The Wikipedia article on {{w|Ontological argument}} lists a number of different arguments including that of Anselm of Canterbury and that of William Lane Craig.

==Transcript==

:[Megan and Cueball are walking side-by-side]

:Megan: ...But wouldn't a God who could find a flaw in the ontological argument be even '''''greater?'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

1505: Ontological Argument

2015-03-30T15:06:23Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1505
| date = March 30, 2015
| title = Ontological Argument
| image = ontological argument.png
| titletext = A God who holds the world record for eating the most skateboards is greater than a God who does not hold that record.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|First draft. Could use some attention from someone better-versed in theology and/or philosophy.}}

{{w|Ontology}} is the study of being, reality, and existence. {{w|Ontological argument}}s for the {{w|existence of God}} are those that seek to prove that God exists using only premises about the nature of existence and logical deductions from them. This is in contrast to arguments that are based on observations of the world. Megan's statement in the comic is a reference to what is considered the first ontological argument, that of 11th Century philosopher {{w|Anselm of Canterbury}}. His argument starts by defining God as "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". Another step in the argument is that you can conceive of such a being even if you don't believe it exists. Another step is the statement that a being of which one can conceive and which exists is certainly greater than a being of which one can conceive and which does not exist.

The comic makes fun of Anselm's ontological argument by extending to absurdity the claim that a being who exists is greater than one who does not exist, therefore God must exist. A God who can disprove the ontological argument must be greater than one who cannot disprove the ontological argument, therefore the ontological argument proves the existence of a God that disproves it.

The title text carries the absurdity a step further into the truly absurd.

{{w|Richard Dawkins}}, in his book "{{w|The God Delusion}}" takes a similar approach in a parody of Anselm's ontological argument that proves that God does not exist. In Dawkins' version, God's greatness is demonstrated by his creation of the world. A being that overcomes the great handicap of not existing and goes on to create the world is obviously greater than a being that exists who creates the world. Therefore, God, who by definition is a "being than which no greater can be conceived" must not exist.

Not all ontological arguments for the existence of God rely on the notion that a God that exists is greater than one that does not exist. One example is the many-world argument of William Lane Craig. The Wikipedia article on {{w|Ontological argument}} lists a number of different arguments including that of Anselm of Canterbury and that of William Lane Craig.

==Transcript==

:[Megan and Cueball are walking side-by-side]

:Megan: ...But wouldn't a God who could find a flaw in the ontological argument be even '''''greater?'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

1505: Ontological Argument

2015-03-30T15:05:44Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */ corrected quote

{{comic
| number = 1505
| date = March 30, 2015
| title = Ontological Argument
| image = ontological argument.png
| titletext = A God who holds the world record for eating the most skateboards is greater than a God who does not hold that record.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|First draft. Could use some attention from someone better-versed in theology and/or philosophy.}}

{{w|Ontology}} is the study of being, reality, and existence. {{w|Ontological argument}}s for the {{w|existence of God}} are those that seek to prove that God exists using only premises about the nature of existence and logical deductions from them. This is in contrast to arguments that are based on observations of the world. Megan's statement in the comic is a reference to what is considered the first ontological argument, that of 11th Century philosopher {{w|Anselm of Canterbury}}. His argument starts by defining God as a "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". Another step in the argument is that you can conceive of such a being even if you don't believe it exists. Another step is the statement that a being of which one can conceive and which exists is certainly greater than a being of which one can conceive and which does not exist.

The comic makes fun of Anselm's ontological argument by extending to absurdity the claim that a being who exists is greater than one who does not exist, therefore God must exist. A God who can disprove the ontological argument must be greater than one who cannot disprove the ontological argument, therefore the ontological argument proves the existence of a God that disproves it.

The title text carries the absurdity a step further into the truly absurd.

{{w|Richard Dawkins}}, in his book "{{w|The God Delusion}}" takes a similar approach in a parody of Anselm's ontological argument that proves that God does not exist. In Dawkins' version, God's greatness is demonstrated by his creation of the world. A being that overcomes the great handicap of not existing and goes on to create the world is obviously greater than a being that exists who creates the world. Therefore, God, who by definition is a "being than which no greater can be conceived" must not exist.

Not all ontological arguments for the existence of God rely on the notion that a God that exists is greater than one that does not exist. One example is the many-world argument of William Lane Craig. The Wikipedia article on {{w|Ontological argument}} lists a number of different arguments including that of Anselm of Canterbury and that of William Lane Craig.

==Transcript==

:[Megan and Cueball are walking side-by-side]

:Megan: ...But wouldn't a God who could find a flaw in the ontological argument be even '''''greater?'''''

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

1504: Opportunity

2015-03-27T15:53:12Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */ assumes facts not in evidence. for all we know it scared the astronaut and damaged the radio

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

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs citations.}}

This comic is talking about the robotic science platform {{w|Opportunity (rover)|''Opportunity''}}. On January 25, 2004, the ''Opportunity'' rover landed on the surface of {{w|Mars}} for the purpose of gathering data about the surface of Mars.

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

In 2015, the Opportunity rover is still alive and moving, amazing the scientists at ground control.

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

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

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

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
2010:
Ponytail (at a computer): After six years, Spirit is down, but Opportunity is still going strong.

Hair Bun: Tough little rover!

2015:
Opportunity:
Eleven years, wow!
Wasn't the original mission 90 days?
This is starting to get weird.

2023:
Cueball: The battery is totally disconnected! How can it still be moving?
Megan: Given what it did to the Mars 2020 rover, we may never know.

2450, Tereaformed Mars, Mars Imperial Capital:
Cueball and Megan are standing on a Martian cliff near a sci-fi city.

Cueball: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
Megan (pointing to some distant mountains): What's that dark area?
Cueball: That is Opportunity's half of the planet. We must never go there.

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

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

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Robots]]

1504: Opportunity

2015-03-27T15:51:52Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */ nothing indicates Cueball and Megan were responsible for disconnecting, or ever have any control over the rover. They are shown only as observers.

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

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs citations.}}

This comic is talking about the robotic science platform {{w|Opportunity (rover)|''Opportunity''}}. On January 25, 2004, the ''Opportunity'' rover landed on the surface of {{w|Mars}} for the purpose of gathering data about the surface of Mars.

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

In 2015, the Opportunity rover is still alive and moving, amazing the scientists at ground control.

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

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

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

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
2010:
Ponytail (at a computer): After six years, Spirit is down, but Opportunity is still going strong.

Hair Bun: Tough little rover!

2015:
Opportunity:
Eleven years, wow!
Wasn't the original mission 90 days?
This is starting to get weird.

2023:
Cueball: The battery is totally disconnected! How can it still be moving?
Megan: Given what it did to the Mars 2020 rover, we may never know.

2450, Tereaformed Mars, Mars Imperial Capital:
Cueball and Megan are standing on a Martian cliff near a sci-fi city.

Cueball: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.
Megan (pointing to some distant mountains): What's that dark area?
Cueball: That is Opportunity's half of the planet. We must never go there.

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

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

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

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

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Robots]]

1502: Wasted Time

2015-03-23T15:06:24Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1502
| date = March 23, 2015
| title = Wasted Time
| image = wasted time.png
| titletext = Since it sounds like your time spent typing can't possibly be less productive than your time spent not typing, have you tried typing SLOWER?
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[White Hat]] is pointing out to [[Cueball]] that his obsession with efficiency is inconsistent; something that is likely true of many people who claim to prize efficiency.

Here, Cueball raves about his new mobile keyboard which allows him to type 30% faster than his old keyboard. He notes that people (presumably himself particularly) do a lot of mobile typing, and a 30% reduction in the time that takes would allow more time for other activities.

White Hat, on the other hand, mocks Cueball for caring so much about mobile typing speed, suggesting that this may not be the first time Cueball has obsessed over minor improvements in efficiency. White Hat also notes that he's just seen Cueball open and close [http://news.google.com Google News] five times without reading anything, providing an example of how Cueball's other actions do not embody the same commitment to efficiency that he claims to have.

Cueball defends himself by saying that, since he wastes so much time, it's that much more important to improve efficiency in his life to make more time for important matters. The title text (presumably White Hat's reply) counters this defense by suggesting that Cueball may be better off using a ''slower'' keyboard, so that he will have ''less'' time to waste on stupid activities. This type of argument may be an example of a {{w|logical fallacy}} argument which suggests, perhaps incorrectly, that Cueball should spend less time doing stupid things to the extent that he spends longer doing things he already does.

Interestingly, in this comic, White Hat appears as the voice of reason to Cueball, an inversion of their typical dynamic. As Cueball and/or [[Randall]]'s misadventures in time management are a recurring topic (see [[874: Time Management]], [[974: The General Problem]], [[1319: Automation]], and [[1445: Efficiency]]). This may be an acknowledgment that, while Cueball may often make a fool of White Hat, he's far from perfect himself.

Mobile keyboard efficiency was previously tangentially referenced in [[1068: Swiftkey]], and Randall's habit of opening news sites only to quickly get bored or distracted was shown in [[1411: Loop]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball holding his smartphone in both hands is talking to White Hat.]
:Cueball: This new keyboard is like 30% faster! I'm never going back.

:[White hat replies and Cueball lifts his arms.]
:White Hat: Good, put those years of horror behind you.
:Cueball: C'mon. Sure, sometimes my focus on efficiency doesn't make sense. But we type a '''''lot'''''.

:[Cueball holding his smartphone in one hand while talking to White Hat.]
:Cueball: That 30% improvement pretty quickly adds up to a ''huge'' amount of wasted time rescued.

:[White hat replies and Cueball lifts one arm.]
:White Hat: I just watched you open Google News and then close it without reading it '''''five times in a row.'''''
:Cueball: The fact that I spend most of my time so stupidly only makes it '''''more''''' important not to waste any here.

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

1501: Mysteries

2015-03-20T22:57:41Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1501
| date = March 20, 2015
| title = Mysteries
| image = mysteries.png
| titletext = At the bottom left: The mystery of why, when I know I needed to be asleep an hour ago, I decide it's a good time to read through every Wikipedia article in the categories 'Out-of-place artifacts', 'Earth mysteries', 'Anomalous weather', and 'List of people who disappeared mysteriously'.
}}

==Explanation==

The X axis in this graph is weirdness. We assume that the far left is 0% (not that weird) and the far right is 100% (weird as hell).

The Y axis is explainability. We assume that the bottom is 100% (pretty clear) and the top is 0% (no explanation).

Items near the top-right corner (such as the {{w|Malaysia Airlines Flight 370|MH 370}} disappearance) are both mysterious and strange. Items near the bottom-left corner (such as Randall's absent-mindedness regarding ice cream) have a clear explanation and are not really strange either. Items near the top-left corner (such as the meaning of ''{{w|You're So Vain}}'') are mysterious but not really strange. Items near the bottom-right corner (such as the {{w|Dyatlov Pass incident}}) have a clear explanation but are quite strange.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Entry
!Weirdness
!Explainable
!Further Details
|-
|Who Carly Simon is singing about in ''You're So Vain''
|9%
|4%
|The ironically self-referential lyrics of the 1972 song include "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you." There has been {{w|You%27re_So_Vain#Subject_of_the_song|much speculation}} regarding the person or persons to whom Simon was referring.
|-
|Lindbergh Baby
|17%
|25%
|The {{w|Lindbergh kidnapping}} was the kidnapping and murder of 20-month old Charles Lindbergh Jr. in 1932. Various {{w|Lindbergh kidnapping#Controversy|conspiracy theories}} surround the event.
|-
|UVB-76
|40%
|23%
|{{w|UVB-76}} is a mysterious shortwave radio station, apparently originating from Russia, that has broadcast a monotonous buzz tone since 1982 with occasional other content.
|-
|Toynbee Tiles
|25%
|34%
|{{w|Toynbee tiles}} are colorful ceramic tiles with cryptic messages that have been found embedded in asphalt in the streets of various midwestern-to-eastern cities in the United States and four South American cities.
|-
|Jimmy Hoffa
|10%
|42%
|{{w|Jimmy Hoffa}} was an American labor union leader who disappeared in 1975. He is widely believed to have been murdered.
|-
|The WOW Signal
|55%
|20%
|The {{w|Wow! signal}} was a strong and clean radio transmission near 1420 MHz received by the Big Ear Radio Observatory at Ohio State University in 1977 that appears to have originated from interstellar space [http://www.universetoday.com/93754/35-years-later-the-wow-signal-still-tantalizes/]. This is the strongest evidence to date of radio signals transmitted by extraterrestrial intelligent beings.
|-
|Mary Celeste
|70%
|43%
|The ''{{w|Mary Celeste}}'' was a sailing ship found adrift, mysteriously abandoned yet otherwise undisturbed, in 1872. No explanation for these events has ever been determined. Its name has become a watchword for mysteriously abandoned ships.
|-
|DB Cooper
|76%
|20%
|{{w|D. B. Cooper}} was an airplane hijacker who jumped from a plane after successfully extorting a large ransom in 1971. No trace of him was ever found. Previously referenced in [[1400: D.B. Cooper]]; note that this comic was published shortly after Tommy Wiseau did a Reddit AMA.
|-
|Salish Sea Feet
|96%
|31%
|Over a dozen dismembered human feet {{w|Salish Sea human foot discoveries|were found}} between 2007 and 2014 on the coasts of the Salish Sea in British Columbia (Canada) and Washington (United States).
|-
|Lead Masks Case
|99%
|12%
|In 1966 two Brazilian electricians were found dead on a hill top. No injuries. {{w|Lead Masks Case|Both were wearing lead masks}}.
|-
|MH370
|100%
|0%
|On 8 March 2014, {{w|Malaysia Airlines Flight 370}} cut off radio contact and diverted from its flight path with 227 passengers aboard, eventually heading over open ocean towards Antarctica. No trace has been found.
|-
|Voynich Manuscript
|35%
|68%
|The {{w|Voynich manuscript}} is an illustrated codex hand-written in an unknown writing system. It came to public attention in the early 20th century and probably was written in Italy in the early 15th century. See also [[593: Voynich Manuscript]].
|-
|Why I keep putting ice cream back in the fridge instead of the freezer
|0%
|96%
|Apparently, Randall absent-mindedly puts his ice cream container into the refrigerator rather than into the freezer.
|-
|JFK
|38%
|86%
|The 1963 {{w|Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of President John F. Kennedy}} has inspired many conspiracy theories, beginning almost immediately after the event. The subsequent murder of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald added fuel to the fire by encouraging speculation that he was silenced to cover up the true story.
|-
|Oak Island Money Pit
|32%
|98%
|An indentation in the ground on {{w|Oak Island}} (off the east coast of Nova Scotia, Canada), led to over 200 years of treasure hunting, with the excavations repeatedly hampered by flooding pit collapses. A few flagstones, and periodic layers of logs are all that have been found. Rumours abound as to what it conceals: Marie Antoinnette's jewels, pirate treasure and Shakespeare's manuscripts have all been suggested. It is called The Money Pit, because of all the money that has been wasted in trying to solve the mystery.
|-
|Zodiac Letters
|62%
|62%
|A set of letters were written by the so-called {{w|Zodiac Killer}}, a serial killer who was active in California in the 1960s and 1970s. The letters are available at [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer_letters Wikisource]. Some of the letters are encoded, only some of which have been deciphered. The killings remain unsolved.
|-
|Amelia Earhart
|56%
|74%
|{{w|Amelia Earhart}} and her navigator tried to circumnavigate the earth along the equator in a small airplane in 1937, but {{w|Amelia Earhart#Speculation on disappearance|disappeared}} over the Pacific Ocean without any trace. See also [[950: Mystery Solved]].
|-
|Lost Colony
|74%
|83%
|The {{w|Roanoke Colony}} was the first English attempt to establish a permanent settlement in the New World. The colony of over a hundred settlers disappeared some time in the late 1580s, with no signs of violence and no definitive evidence as to what happened. However, given the hardships faced by the colonists when they were left and that the buildings in the colony were dismantled, indicating departure was not hurried, it is likely they moved and/or integrated with the local tribes. Which probably accounts for Randall's high "explainable" rating.
|-
|Bigfoot
|60%
|98%
|{{w|Bigfoot}} is a supposed animal or hominid that reputedly inhabits the Pacific Northwest region of North America.
|-
|Loch Ness Monster
|64%
|100%
|The {{w|Loch Ness Monster}} is a supposed animal that reputedly inhabits Loch Ness, a lake in Scotland.
|-
|Kentucky Meat Shower
|85%
|93%
|In 1876, a number of chunks of meat {{w|Kentucky meat shower|fell from the sky}} in Kentucky; this was possibly projectile vomit from vultures [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/2014/12/01/the-great-kentucky-meat-shower-mystery-unwound-by-projectile-vulture-vomit/].
|-
|Dyatlov Pass Incident
|93%
|96%
|On 2 February 1959, nine skiers in the northern Ural Mountains apparently {{w|Dyatlov Pass Incident|fled their tents without taking time to put on winter clothing}}. They were found dead, some with physical injuries. There are in fact a number of theories regarding this event, and it is not clear which one Randall regards as being obviously correct.
|}

The title text refers to Randall staying up late to read Wikipedia articles, which is apparently not very unusual for him and has an obvious explanation (following up on an idea that eventually led to today's cartoon).

Some of these mysteries have already been explored in xkcd. See [[950: Mystery Solved]] where Randall "solves" Amelia Earhart, Lost Roanoke Colony, Jimmy Hoffa; [[593: Voynich Manuscript]]; and [[1400: D.B. Cooper]]

==Transcript==

{{comic discussion}}

1501: Mysteries

2015-03-20T22:57:02Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */ Roanoke isn't really a mystery. YEARS passed between visits from Europe and in meantime all sorts of reasons the colonists could have moved (in an orderly manner as they did) from the original site.

{{comic
| number = 1501
| date = March 20, 2015
| title = Mysteries
| image = mysteries.png
| titletext = At the bottom left: The mystery of why, when I know I needed to be asleep an hour ago, I decide it's a good time to read through every Wikipedia article in the categories 'Out-of-place artifacts', 'Earth mysteries', 'Anomalous weather', and 'List of people who disappeared mysteriously'.
}}

==Explanation==

The X axis in this graph is weirdness. We assume that the far left is 0% (not that weird) and the far right is 100% (weird as hell).

The Y axis is explainability. We assume that the bottom is 100% (pretty clear) and the top is 0% (no explanation).

Items near the top-right corner (such as the {{w|Malaysia Airlines Flight 370|MH 370}} disappearance) are both mysterious and strange. Items near the bottom-left corner (such as Randall's absent-mindedness regarding ice cream) have a clear explanation and are not really strange either. Items near the top-left corner (such as the meaning of ''{{w|You're So Vain}}'') are mysterious but not really strange. Items near the bottom-right corner (such as the {{w|Dyatlov Pass incident}}) have a clear explanation but are quite strange.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Entry
!Weirdness
!Explainable
!Further Details
|-
|Who Carly Simon is singing about in ''You're So Vain''
|9%
|4%
|The ironically self-referential lyrics of the 1972 song include "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you." There has been {{w|You%27re_So_Vain#Subject_of_the_song|much speculation}} regarding the person or persons to whom Simon was referring.
|-
|Lindbergh Baby
|17%
|25%
|The {{w|Lindbergh kidnapping}} was the kidnapping and murder of 20-month old Charles Lindbergh Jr. in 1932. Various {{w|Lindbergh kidnapping#Controversy|conspiracy theories}} surround the event.
|-
|UVB-76
|40%
|23%
|{{w|UVB-76}} is a mysterious shortwave radio station, apparently originating from Russia, that has broadcast a monotonous buzz tone since 1982 with occasional other content.
|-
|Toynbee Tiles
|25%
|34%
|{{w|Toynbee tiles}} are colorful ceramic tiles with cryptic messages that have been found embedded in asphalt in the streets of various midwestern-to-eastern cities in the United States and four South American cities.
|-
|Jimmy Hoffa
|10%
|42%
|{{w|Jimmy Hoffa}} was an American labor union leader who disappeared in 1975. He is widely believed to have been murdered.
|-
|The WOW Signal
|55%
|20%
|The {{w|Wow! signal}} was a strong and clean radio transmission near 1420 MHz received by the Big Ear Radio Observatory at Ohio State University in 1977 that appears to have originated from interstellar space [http://www.universetoday.com/93754/35-years-later-the-wow-signal-still-tantalizes/]. This is the strongest evidence to date of radio signals transmitted by extraterrestrial intelligent beings.
|-
|Mary Celeste
|70%
|43%
|The ''{{w|Mary Celeste}}'' was a sailing ship found adrift, mysteriously abandoned yet otherwise undisturbed, in 1872. No explanation for these events has ever been determined. Its name has become a watchword for mysteriously abandoned ships.
|-
|DB Cooper
|76%
|20%
|{{w|D. B. Cooper}} was an airplane hijacker who jumped from a plane after successfully extorting a large ransom in 1971. No trace of him was ever found. Previously referenced in [[1400: D.B. Cooper]]; note that this comic was published shortly after Tommy Wiseau did a Reddit AMA.
|-
|Salish Sea Feet
|96%
|31%
|Over a dozen dismembered human feet {{w|Salish Sea human foot discoveries|were found}} between 2007 and 2014 on the coasts of the Salish Sea in British Columbia (Canada) and Washington (United States).
|-
|Lead Masks Case
|99%
|12%
|In 1966 two Brazilian electricians were found dead on a hill top. No injuries. {{w|Lead Masks Case|Both were wearing lead masks}}.
|-
|MH370
|100%
|0%
|On 8 March 2014, {{w|Malaysia Airlines Flight 370}} cut off radio contact and diverted from its flight path with 227 passengers aboard, eventually heading over open ocean towards Antarctica. No trace has been found.
|-
|Voynich Manuscript
|35%
|68%
|The {{w|Voynich manuscript}} is an illustrated codex hand-written in an unknown writing system. It came to public attention in the early 20th century and probably was written in Italy in the early 15th century. See also [[593: Voynich Manuscript]].
|-
|Why I keep putting ice cream back in the fridge instead of the freezer
|0%
|96%
|Apparently, Randall absent-mindedly puts his ice cream container into the refrigerator rather than into the freezer.
|-
|JFK
|38%
|86%
|The 1963 {{w|Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of President John F. Kennedy}} has inspired many conspiracy theories, beginning almost immediately after the event. The subsequent murder of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald added fuel to the fire by encouraging speculation that he was silenced to cover up the true story.
|-
|Oak Island Money Pit
|32%
|98%
|An indentation in the ground on {{w|Oak Island}} (off the east coast of Nova Scotia, Canada), led to over 200 years of treasure hunting, with the excavations repeatedly hampered by flooding pit collapses. A few flagstones, and periodic layers of logs are all that have been found. Rumours abound as to what it conceals: Marie Antoinnette's jewels, pirate treasure and Shakespeare's manuscripts have all been suggested. It is called The Money Pit, because of all the money that has been wasted in trying to solve the mystery.
|-
|Zodiac Letters
|62%
|62%
|A set of letters were written by the so-called {{w|Zodiac Killer}}, a serial killer who was active in California in the 1960s and 1970s. The letters are available at [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer_letters Wikisource]. Some of the letters are encoded, only some of which have been deciphered. The killings remain unsolved.
|-
|Amelia Earhart
|56%
|74%
|{{w|Amelia Earhart}} and her navigator tried to circumnavigate the earth along the equator in a small airplane in 1937, but {{w|Amelia Earhart#Speculation on disappearance|disappeared}} over the Pacific Ocean without any trace. See also [[950: Mystery Solved]].
|-
|Lost Colony
|74%
|83%
|The {{w|Roanoke Colony}} was the first English attempt to establish a permanent settlement in the New World. The colony of over a hundred settlers disappeared some time in the late 1580s, with no signs of violence and definitive evidence as to what happened. However, given the hardships faced by the colonists when they were left and that the buildings in the colony were dismantled, indicating departure was not hurried, it is likely they moved and/or integrated with the local tribes. Which probably accounts for Randall's high "explainable" rating.
|-
|Bigfoot
|60%
|98%
|{{w|Bigfoot}} is a supposed animal or hominid that reputedly inhabits the Pacific Northwest region of North America.
|-
|Loch Ness Monster
|64%
|100%
|The {{w|Loch Ness Monster}} is a supposed animal that reputedly inhabits Loch Ness, a lake in Scotland.
|-
|Kentucky Meat Shower
|85%
|93%
|In 1876, a number of chunks of meat {{w|Kentucky meat shower|fell from the sky}} in Kentucky; this was possibly projectile vomit from vultures [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/2014/12/01/the-great-kentucky-meat-shower-mystery-unwound-by-projectile-vulture-vomit/].
|-
|Dyatlov Pass Incident
|93%
|96%
|On 2 February 1959, nine skiers in the northern Ural Mountains apparently {{w|Dyatlov Pass Incident|fled their tents without taking time to put on winter clothing}}. They were found dead, some with physical injuries. There are in fact a number of theories regarding this event, and it is not clear which one Randall regards as being obviously correct.
|}

The title text refers to Randall staying up late to read Wikipedia articles, which is apparently not very unusual for him and has an obvious explanation (following up on an idea that eventually led to today's cartoon).

Some of these mysteries have already been explored in xkcd. See [[950: Mystery Solved]] where Randall "solves" Amelia Earhart, Lost Roanoke Colony, Jimmy Hoffa; [[593: Voynich Manuscript]]; and [[1400: D.B. Cooper]]

==Transcript==

{{comic discussion}}

593: Voynich Manuscript

2015-03-20T15:59:45Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */ In the 3rd panel Randal clearly spelled it with a "T", so saying "it is glossolalia" is clearly incorrect. It isn't. Although he may have intended it to be.

{{comic
| number = 593
| date = June 5, 2009
| title = Voynich Manuscript
| image = voynich_manuscript.png
| titletext = Wait, is that the ORIGINAL voynich manuscript? Where did you GET that? Wanna try playing a round of Druids and Dicotyledons?
}}

==Explanation==
The {{w|Voynich manuscript}} is a very detailed book written in an unknown script, describing plants and recipes, most of which lack a real-world analogue. Over the past few decades, linguists and cryptographers have unsuccessfully attempted to decode the book.

{{w|Tabletop role-playing game|Tabletop role-playing games}} (such as {{w|Dungeons and Dragons}}) are fantasy games with extremely detailed descriptions of fantastical worlds.

After being shown the manuscript for the first time by [[Megan]], [[Cueball]] argues that it should be obvious that it's just an ancient role-playing-game rulebook, since the human tendency to invent fantastical worlds must have also existed in the past.

After concluding this, a shocked Cueball then asks in the title text how Megan got her hands on the original manuscript (which is in the Yale University's ''{{w|Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library}}''). Megan unexpectedly suggests the prosaic activity of playing {{w|Druid|Druids}} and {{w|Dicotyledon|Dicotyledons}}, assuming such a game could be defined by the manuscript.

Note that the use of the pronoun "your" in the last frame is anachronistic, as in early modern English it was used as a plural pronoun, or as a singular pronoun only to a superior; the proper pronoun would be "thy": "Thy Druid doth lose two points."

In the third panel, Randal may have meant ''{{w|glossolalia}}'' rather than ''glossolatia''.

==Transcript==
:[Weird root vegetables surround a strange script.]

:[Megan holding up book.]
:Megan: This is the Voynich manuscript—a book, allegedly 500 years old, written in an unrecognized script. It's some kind of visual encyclopedia of imaginary plants and undeciphered "recipes".

:[Cueball opens the book.]
:Megan: It could be a hoax, a lost language, a cipher, an alien text, glossolatia—no one knows.
:Cueball: No one? But it's obvious.

:Megan: ...Obvious? Linguists and cryptographers have been stumped for decades.
:Cueball: They forget. Human nature doesn't change.

:Cueball: Just imagine someone found a book from our time, full of lists, illustrations, tables, and long, dry descriptions of nonexistent worlds written in an invented language. What have they found?
:Megan: ...Dear Lord. It ''is'' obvious.

:500 Years Earlier:
:[Three people are standing around pawns and a die. One is holding a sheet of paper, another is holding a book, the third is holding a scythe.]
:Person #1: Forsooth! I concoct an elixir of courage.
:Person #2: Nae! The source booke sayeth that requires some wolfsbane!
:Person #3: Your druid doth lose two points.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1501: Mysteries

2015-03-20T15:53:53Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */ Unless someone can point to how it's significant, "Croatoan" isn't a clue but an oddity.

{{comic
| number = 1501
| date = March 20, 2015
| title = Mysteries
| image = mysteries.png
| titletext = At the bottom left: The mystery of why, when I know I needed to be asleep an hour ago, I decide it's a good time to read through every Wikipedia article in the categories 'Out-of-place artifacts', 'Earth mysteries', 'Anomalous weather', and 'List of people who disappeared mysteriously'.
}}

==Explanation==

The X axis in this graph is weirdness. We assume that the far left is 0% (not that weird) and the far right is 100% (weird as hell).

The Y axis is explainability. We assume that the bottom is 100% (pretty clear) and the top is 0% (no explanation).

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Entry
!Weirdness
!Explainable
!Further Details
|-
|Who Carly Simon is singing about in ''You're So Vain''
|9%
|4%
|The lyrics of the song include "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you". While this wording, almost certainly intentional, seems to suggest that the vain subject of the song is wrong in thinking that the song is about them, they are in fact the subject of the song. Carly is therefore technically suggesting that the subject's vanity will lead them to a correct interpretation of the song. {{w|You%27re_So_Vain#Subject_of_the_song|Wikipedia article describing possible interpretations of the songs subject}}.
|-
|Lindbergh Baby
|17%
|25%
|The {{w|Lindbergh kidnapping}} was the kidnapping and murder of 20-month old Charles Lindbergh Jr.
|-
|UVB-76
|40%
|23%
|{{w|UVB-76}} radio station.
|-
|Toynbee Tiles
|25%
|34%
|{{w|Toynbee tiles}} are colorful ceramic tiles with cryptic messages that have been found embedded in asphalt in the streets of various midwestern-to-eastern cities in the United States and four South American cities.
|-
|Jimmy Hoffa
|10%
|42%
|{{w|Jimmy Hoffa}} was an American labor union leader who disappeared in 1975. He is widely believed to have been murdered.
|-
|The WOW Signal
|55%
|20%
|The {{w|Wow! signal}} was a strong and clean radio transmission near 1420 MHz received by the Big Ear Radio Observatory at Ohio State University in 1977 that appears to have originated from interstellar space [http://www.universetoday.com/93754/35-years-later-the-wow-signal-still-tantalizes/]. This is the strongest evidence to date of extraterrestrial radio signals.
|-
|Mary Celeste
|70%
|43%
|The ''{{w|Mary_Celeste}}'' was a sailing ship found adrift, mysteriously abandoned yet otherwise undisturbed, in 1872. No explanation for these events has ever been determined. Its name has become a watchword for mysteriously abandoned ships.
|-
|DB Cooper
|76%
|20%
|{{w|D. B. Cooper}} was an airplane hijacker who jumped from a plane and was never found. Previously referenced in [[1400: D.B. Cooper]].
|-
|Salish Sea Feet
|96%
|31%
|The {{w|Salish Sea human foot discoveries}} occured in the coasts of the Salish Sea in British Columbia (Canada) and Washington (United States).
|-
|Lead Masks Case
|99%
|12%
|In the {{w|Lead Masks Case}} two Brazilian electricians were found dead on a hill top. No injuries. Both were wearing lead masks.
|-
|MH370
|100%
|0%
|{{w|Malaysia Airlines Flight 370}} disappeared on 8 March 2014
|-
|Voynich Manuscript
|35%
|68%
|The {{w|Voynich manuscript}} is an illustrated codex hand-written in an unknown writing system. See also [[593: Voynich Manuscript]].
|-
|Why I keep putting ice cream back in the fridge instead of the freezer
|0%
|96%
|Randall apparently frequently puts his ice cream container into the refrigerator rather than into the freezer.
|-
|JFK
|38%
|86%
|The {{w|Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of President John F. Kennedy}} has inspired many conspiracy theories, beginning almost immediately after the event. The subsequent murder of assassin Lee Harvey Oswald added fuel to the fire by encouraging speculation that he was silenced to cover up the true story.
|-
|Oak Island Money Pit
|32%
|98%
|An indentation in the ground on {{w|Oak Island}} led to over 200 years of treasure hunting, with the excavations repeatedly hampered by flooding pit collapses. A few flagstones, and periodic layers of logs are all that have been found. Rumours are abound as to what it conceals: Marie Antoinnette's jewels, pirate treasure and Shakespeare's manuscripts have all been suggested. It is called The Money Pit, because of all the money that has been wasted in trying to solve the mystery.
|-
|Zodiac Letters
|62%
|62%
|A set of letters written by the so-called {{w|Zodiac Killer}}, a serial killer who was active at California in the 1960s and 1970s. The letters are available at [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer_letters Wikisource].
|-
|Amelia Earhart
|56%
|74%
|{{w|Amelia Earhart}} tried to circumnavigate the earth around the equator in an airplane in 1937, but she, her navigator and the plane disappeared over the Pacific without any trace.
|-
|Lost Colony
|74%
|83%
|The {{w|Roanoke Colony}} was the first English attempt to establish a permanent settlement in the New World. The colony of over a hundred settlers disappeared some time in the late 1580s, with no signs of violence and few clear clues as to what happened. An oft cited oddity is the word "Croatoan" carved into a fencepost.
|-
|Bigfoot
|60%
|98%
|{{w|Bigfoot}} is a supposed animal or hominid that reputedly inhabits the Pacific Northwest region of North America.
|-
|Loch Ness Monster
|64%
|100%
|The {{w|Loch Ness Monster}} is a supposed animal that reputedly inhabits Loch Ness lake in Scotland.
|-
|Kentucky Meat Shower
|85%
|93%
|In the {{w|Kentucky meat shower}} chunks of meat fell from the sky in Kentucky in 1876; this was possibly projectile vomit from a vulture [http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/2014/12/01/the-great-kentucky-meat-shower-mystery-unwound-by-projectile-vulture-vomit/].
|-
|Dyatlov Pass Incident
|93%
|96%
|On February 2, 1959, nine skiers in the northern Ural Mountains apparently fled their tents without taking time to put on winter clothing. They were found dead, some with physical injuries: {{w|Dyatlov Pass Incident}}
|}

The title text refers to Randall staying up late to read Wikipedia articles, which is apparently not very unusual for him and has an obvious explanation (following up on an idea that eventually led to today's cartoon).

See also [[950: Mystery Solved]] where Randall "solves" Amelia Earhart, Lost Roanoke Colony, Jimmy Hoffa and also {{w|Franklin's lost expedition}}.

==Transcript==

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1500: Upside-Down Map

2015-03-18T15:23:24Z

199.27.128.120:

What's the point? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.173|108.162.249.173]] 09:59, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Australia is still the "right" way up! {{unsigned|Thematkinson}}
:No it is not. But Tasmania stays put as it is an island. Maybe that has caused some confusion? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:46, 18 March 2015 (UTC)
:What sort of projection have you been looking at if you think these three look the same when rotated 180 degrees? I'd forgive someone for thinking that about New Guinea, but for the other three it just seems laughable. Especially if you know what "map of Tasmamia" is slang for. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.190|108.162.249.190]] 14:13, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

"People often say that maps with the south pole at the top will change your perspective." Is this really something that people ''often'' say? I've never heard anyone say it... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 10:06, 18 March 2015 (UTC)
:I have heard it... --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:46, 18 March 2015 (UTC)
:I agree with Pudder. Who are these people and how often to they say it? Explanation edited. - Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 15:23, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Is perhaps the comic's explanation about a previous map version? The comment about Australia being the normal way is wrong. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.80|108.162.254.80]] 10:10, 18 March 2015 (UTC)
:could be - I see Australia as being pivoted just like all the other continents (?)
::Agreed - see my comment above when this was first mentioned here. Now it has been corrected in the explain. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:46, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Should the title text not say South Korea, rather than North Korea? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.101|141.101.106.101]] 10:41, 18 March 2015 (UTC)
:Well it is North Korea we have issues with today. But maybe it is not the former South Korea instead...? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 10:46, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

UK was rotated, Japan was not rotated. Sardinia, Cyprus and other are missing. Hmm... is it a pre-alpha release?
[[Special:Contributions/188.114.103.245|188.114.103.245]] 13:18, 18 March 2015 (UTC)
:Japan sure looks rotated. Maybe it just looks similar upside-down? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.180|108.162.237.180]] 13:45, 18 March 2015 (UTC)
:Japan is rotated. As a Sardinian, I noticed the absence of Sardinia (and Sicily) and now I'm wondering whether I'd live near Japan (my sister would be extremely happy about it) or near China [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.246|108.162.229.246]] 14:59, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

The explanation is inaccurate in a few spots in the "jokes" section. Specifically, all the points that say "X is now on the east/west (formerly west/east) of Y" are inaccurate. The whole point is that the spatial relationships of the land masses are unchanged with respect to the cardinal directions. In other words, Cuba is still off the east coast of the US, it's just that Seattle is where Miami used to be.

I always wanted a height-inverted map (ocean trenches are mountain ridges, and vice-versa), with realistic national boundaries set upon the land (that was sea) based on where they might have existed in the sea (that, for us, is land). But I suppose one could go ''too'' far in such fripperies... ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.63|141.101.98.63]] 14:44, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

1500: Upside-Down Map

2015-03-18T15:21:53Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1500
| date = March 18, 2015
| title = Upside-Down Map
| image = upside_down_map.png
| titletext = Due to their proximity across the channel, there's long been tension between North Korea and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Southern Ireland.
}}

==Explanation==
It has been said that maps with the {{w|South-up map orientation|south pole at the top}} will "change your perspective of the world". Such a map can easily be achieved by simply rotating a normal map 180 degrees, though the text labels would also be upside-down and perhaps harder to read. A [https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&q=upside-down%2Bmap%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bworld Google Images] search reveals many examples of upside-down maps with the text oriented correctly for reading.

This map is a comedic play on that where instead of the whole map being upside-down, each land mass is in the same position it would be in a traditional north-top map but rotated 180 degrees (presumably around some central point of the landmass) to the orientation it would have in a south-top map. Note that individual islands are rotated about their own centers, not following the rotation of the neighboring continent; however, they are displaced as necessary to keep them from being overlapped by the rotated continents (for instance, {{w|Madagascar}} would be overlapped by the {{w|Sahara}} if it remained in position, but is instead displaced eastward to keep it in the Indian Ocean).

To keep their familiar shapes on a rectangular map, the continents would also have to be heavily distorted compared to their actual shapes, becoming much narrower (along the lines of latitude) near the poles and wider towards the equator. See also [[977: Map Projections]].

It is interesting that to some people {{w|Australia}}, {{w|Tasmania}} and {{w|New Zealand}} do not look very much different from their normal appearance. They have asked "why Australia was not rotated". But they have been rotated, just like all other separate landmasses on the map.

This arrangement of the world's land masses would have great advantages for trade, because there are (presumably navigable) straits between the {{w|Americas}} and between Africa and {{w|Asia}}, removing the need for the {{w|Panama Canal}} and the {{w|Suez Canal}}.

The title text references the fact that in this new map, the {{w|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland}} (UK) is now next to Asia, specifically the {{w|Korean Peninsula}}. {{w|North Korea}}, is mentioned in the text, having a history of hostile relations with nearby countries. However, on this map North Korea would be the part of {{w|Korea}} we today know as {{w|South Korea}}, Further, {{w|Northern Ireland}} is now at the south of the {{w|island of Ireland}}, so the UK's full name would need to change to The United Kingdom of Great Britain and '''Southern''' Ireland. There have been several wars concerning the {{w|English Channel}}, mainly, but not only, between {{w|England}} and {{w|France}}. Since a similar channel now, on this world map, is between the UK and North Korea (our map's South Korea) there could obviously have been many wars for the dominance over said channel.

Along the same line of thinking, interesting speculations could be made from the following "new" facts:
*{{w|Cuba}} is now off the west coast (formerly east coast) of {{w|USA}} and {{w|Canada}}.
*{{w|Japan}} is next to the coast of {{w|Portugal}} and {{w|Spain}}.
*Madagascar lies next to {{w|Mauritania}} and the west (now east) coast of Sahara.
*{{w|Taiwan}} is now next to France. It is though doubtful whether they get along any better with the French than with the mainland {{w|China|Chinese}}.
*{{w|Greenland}} lies next to {{w|Mexico}}.
*{{w|Sri Lanka}} is located next to the {{w|Yamalsky District}} of {{w|Russia}}.
*The island {{w|Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego|Tierra del Fuego}}, an island just south of the southern tip of South America, which is divided between {{w|Argentina}} and {{w|Chile}} is now located in a similar manner next to {{w|Colombia}} and {{w|Venezuela}}. So it would probably have been divided between these two countries.
*The {{w|Falkland Islands}} (not shown in the map) where Argentina and UK have an ongoing {{w|Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute|sovereignty dispute}} now could be claimed by {{w|Ecuador}} or {{w|Peru}}.
*{{w|Aruba}} would be near Chile and the {{w|Chiloé Archipelago}} would be near Venezuela.
*{{w|Easter Island}} (part of Chile) and {{w|Galápagos Islands}} (part of Ecuador) could be claimed by {{w|Brazil}}.
* The basic climates for several areas would be distinctly different. For example, the the formerly-Central America area would be in the arctic zone while Siberia would be subtropical.

==Transcript==
:[Map of the world with all the landmasses rotated upside-down.]
:[Four oceans and all the visible continents have been named in large letters in a bold font. The Pacific has been named both to the left and right. Several islands (large and small) have been designated with name but in grey and in a much smaller normal font. For all continents the names are written on them. For the island the name is written in the ocean except for Greenland.]

:[Below the names on the map are given in the order they appear reading from left to right, first for the northern and then the southern hemisphere:]

:[Northern hemisphere:]
:'''North America'''
:Cuba
:Greenland
:'''Atlantic Ocean
:Iceland
:UK
:'''Asia'''
:Sri Lanka
:'''Europe'''
:'''Arctic Ocean'''
:Taiwan
:Japan
:'''Pacific Ocean'''

:[Southern hemisphere:]
:'''Pacific Ocean'''
:'''South America'''
:Tierra del Fuego
:'''Africa'''
:'''Indian Ocean'''
:Madagascar
:Indonesia
:'''Australia'''
:New Zealand

:[Below the main frame:]
:'''The Upside-Down Map will change your perspective of the world!'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Maps]]

1500: Upside-Down Map

2015-03-18T15:16:56Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1500
| date = March 18, 2015
| title = Upside-Down Map
| image = upside_down_map.png
| titletext = Due to their proximity across the channel, there's long been tension between North Korea and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Southern Ireland.
}}

==Explanation==
It has been said that maps with the {{w|South-up map orientation|south pole at the top}} will "change your perspective of the world". Such a map can easily be achieved by simply rotating a normal map 180 degrees.

This map is a comedic play on that where instead of the whole map being upside-down, each land mass is in the same position it would be in a traditional north-top map but rotated 180 degrees (presumably around some central point of the landmass) to the orientation it would have in a south-top map. Note that individual islands are rotated about their own centers, not following the rotation of the neighboring continent; however, they are displaced as necessary to keep them from being overlapped by the rotated continents (for instance, {{w|Madagascar}} would be overlapped by the {{w|Sahara}} if it remained in position, but is instead displaced eastward to keep it in the Indian Ocean).

To keep their familiar shapes on a rectangular map, the continents would also have to be heavily distorted compared to their actual shapes, becoming much narrower (along the lines of latitude) near the poles and wider towards the equator. See also [[977: Map Projections]].

It is interesting that to some people {{w|Australia}}, {{w|Tasmania}} and {{w|New Zealand}} do not look very much different from their normal appearance. They have asked "why Australia was not rotated". But they have been rotated, just like all other separate landmasses on the map.

This arrangement of the world's land masses would have great advantages for trade, because there are (presumably navigable) straits between the {{w|Americas}} and between Africa and {{w|Asia}}, removing the need for the {{w|Panama Canal}} and the {{w|Suez Canal}}.

The title text references the fact that in this new map, the {{w|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland}} (UK) is now next to Asia, specifically the {{w|Korean Peninsula}}. {{w|North Korea}}, is mentioned in the text, having a history of hostile relations with nearby countries. However, on this map North Korea would be the part of {{w|Korea}} we today know as {{w|South Korea}}, Further, {{w|Northern Ireland}} is now at the south of the {{w|island of Ireland}}, so the UK's full name would need to change to The United Kingdom of Great Britain and '''Southern''' Ireland. There have been several wars concerning the {{w|English Channel}}, mainly, but not only, between {{w|England}} and {{w|France}}. Since a similar channel now, on this world map, is between the UK and North Korea (our map's South Korea) there could obviously have been many wars for the dominance over said channel.

Along the same line of thinking, interesting speculations could be made from the following "new" facts:
*{{w|Cuba}} is now off the west coast (formerly east coast) of {{w|USA}} and {{w|Canada}}.
*{{w|Japan}} is next to the coast of {{w|Portugal}} and {{w|Spain}}.
*Madagascar lies next to {{w|Mauritania}} and the west (now east) coast of Sahara.
*{{w|Taiwan}} is now next to France. It is though doubtful whether they get along any better with the French than with the mainland {{w|China|Chinese}}.
*{{w|Greenland}} lies next to {{w|Mexico}}.
*{{w|Sri Lanka}} is located next to the {{w|Yamalsky District}} of {{w|Russia}}.
*The island {{w|Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego|Tierra del Fuego}}, an island just south of the southern tip of South America, which is divided between {{w|Argentina}} and {{w|Chile}} is now located in a similar manner next to {{w|Colombia}} and {{w|Venezuela}}. So it would probably have been divided between these two countries.
*The {{w|Falkland Islands}} (not shown in the map) where Argentina and UK have an ongoing {{w|Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute|sovereignty dispute}} now could be claimed by {{w|Ecuador}} or {{w|Peru}}.
*{{w|Aruba}} would be near Chile and the {{w|Chiloé Archipelago}} would be near Venezuela.
*{{w|Easter Island}} (part of Chile) and {{w|Galápagos Islands}} (part of Ecuador) could be claimed by {{w|Brazil}}.

==Transcript==
:[Map of the world with all the landmasses rotated upside-down.]
:[Four oceans and all the visible continents have been named in large letters in a bold font. The Pacific has been named both to the left and right. Several islands (large and small) have been designated with name but in grey and in a much smaller normal font. For all continents the names are written on them. For the island the name is written in the ocean except for Greenland.]

:[Below the names on the map are given in the order they appear reading from left to right, first for the northern and then the southern hemisphere:]

:[Northern hemisphere:]
:'''North America'''
:Cuba
:Greenland
:'''Atlantic Ocean
:Iceland
:UK
:'''Asia'''
:Sri Lanka
:'''Europe'''
:'''Arctic Ocean'''
:Taiwan
:Japan
:'''Pacific Ocean'''

:[Southern hemisphere:]
:'''Pacific Ocean'''
:'''South America'''
:Tierra del Fuego
:'''Africa'''
:'''Indian Ocean'''
:Madagascar
:Indonesia
:'''Australia'''
:New Zealand

:[Below the main frame:]
:'''The Upside-Down Map will change your perspective of the world!'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Maps]]

1500: Upside-Down Map

2015-03-18T15:15:18Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */ That observation is more a comment on the people and their lack of geography knowledge than any property of Australia et al.

{{comic
| number = 1500
| date = March 18, 2015
| title = Upside-Down Map
| image = upside_down_map.png
| titletext = Due to their proximity across the channel, there's long been tension between North Korea and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Southern Ireland.
}}

==Explanation==
It has been said that maps with the {{w|South-up map orientation|south pole at the top}} will "change your perspective of the world". Such a map can easily be achieved by simply rotating a normal map 180 degrees.

This map is a comedic play on that where instead of the whole map being upside-down, each land mass is in the same position it would be in a traditional north-top map but rotated 180 degrees (presumably around some central point of the landmass) to the orientation it would have in a south-top map. Note that individual islands are rotated about their own centers, not following the rotation of the neighboring continent; however, they are displaced as necessary to keep them from being overlapped by the rotated continents (for instance, {{w|Madagascar}} would be overlapped by the {{w|Sahara}} if it remained in position, but is instead displaced eastward to keep it in the Indian Ocean).

To keep their familiar shapes on a rectangular map, the continents would also have to be heavily distorted compared to their actual shapes, becoming much narrower (along the lines of latitude) near the poles and wider towards the equator. See also [[977: Map Projections]].

It is interesting that to some people {{w|Australia}}, {{w|Tasmania}} and {{w|New Zealand}} do not look very much different from their normal appearance. They have asked "why Australia was not rotated". But they have been rotated, just like all other separate landmasses on the map.

This arrangement of the world's land masses would have great advantages for trade, because there are (presumably navigable) straits between the {{w|Americas}} and between Africa and {{w|Asia}}, removing the need for the {{w|Panama Canal}} and the {{w|Suez Canal}}.

The title text references the fact that in this new map, the {{w|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland}} (UK) is now next to Asia, specifically the {{w|Korean Peninsula}}. {{w|North Korea}}, is mentioned in the text, having a history of hostile relations with nearby countries. However, on this map North Korea would be the part of {{w|Korea}} we today know as {{w|South Korea}}, Further, {{w|Northern Ireland}} is now at the south of the {{w|island of Ireland}}, so the UK's full name would need to change to The United Kingdom of Great Britain and '''Southern''' Ireland. There have been several wars concerning the {{w|English Channel}}, mainly, but not only, between {{w|England}} and {{w|France}}. Since a similar channel now, on this world map, is between the UK and North Korea (our map's South Korea) there could obviously have been many wars for the dominance over said channel.

Along the same line of thinking, jokes could be made of the following "new" facts:
*{{w|Cuba}} is now off the west coast (formerly east coast) of {{w|USA}} and {{w|Canada}}.
*{{w|Japan}} is next to the coast of {{w|Portugal}} and {{w|Spain}}.
*Madagascar lies next to {{w|Mauritania}} and the west (now east) coast of Sahara.
*{{w|Taiwan}} is now next to France. It is though doubtful whether they get along any better with the French than with the mainland {{w|China|Chinese}}.
*{{w|Greenland}} lies next to {{w|Mexico}}.
*{{w|Sri Lanka}} is located next to the {{w|Yamalsky District}} of {{w|Russia}}.
*The island {{w|Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego|Tierra del Fuego}}, an island just south of the southern tip of South America, which is divided between {{w|Argentina}} and {{w|Chile}} is now located in a similar manner next to {{w|Colombia}} and {{w|Venezuela}}. So it would probably have been divided between these two countries.
*The {{w|Falkland Islands}} (not shown in the map) where Argentina and UK have an ongoing {{w|Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute|sovereignty dispute}} now could be claimed by {{w|Ecuador}} or {{w|Peru}}.
*{{w|Aruba}} would be near Chile and the {{w|Chiloé Archipelago}} would be near Venezuela.
*{{w|Easter Island}} (part of Chile) and {{w|Galápagos Islands}} (part of Ecuador) could be claimed by {{w|Brazil}}.

==Transcript==
:[Map of the world with all the landmasses rotated upside-down.]
:[Four oceans and all the visible continents have been named in large letters in a bold font. The Pacific has been named both to the left and right. Several islands (large and small) have been designated with name but in grey and in a much smaller normal font. For all continents the names are written on them. For the island the name is written in the ocean except for Greenland.]

:[Below the names on the map are given in the order they appear reading from left to right, first for the northern and then the southern hemisphere:]

:[Northern hemisphere:]
:'''North America'''
:Cuba
:Greenland
:'''Atlantic Ocean
:Iceland
:UK
:'''Asia'''
:Sri Lanka
:'''Europe'''
:'''Arctic Ocean'''
:Taiwan
:Japan
:'''Pacific Ocean'''

:[Southern hemisphere:]
:'''Pacific Ocean'''
:'''South America'''
:Tierra del Fuego
:'''Africa'''
:'''Indian Ocean'''
:Madagascar
:Indonesia
:'''Australia'''
:New Zealand

:[Below the main frame:]
:'''The Upside-Down Map will change your perspective of the world!'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Maps]]

1500: Upside-Down Map

2015-03-18T15:11:45Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1500
| date = March 18, 2015
| title = Upside-Down Map
| image = upside_down_map.png
| titletext = Due to their proximity across the channel, there's long been tension between North Korea and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Southern Ireland.
}}

==Explanation==
It has been said that maps with the {{w|South-up map orientation|south pole at the top}} will "change your perspective of the world". Such a map can easily be achieved by simply rotating a normal map 180 degrees.

This map is a comedic play on that where instead of the whole map being upside-down, each land mass is in the same position it would be in a traditional north-top map but rotated 180 degrees (presumably around some central point of the landmass) to the orientation it would have in a south-top map. Note that individual islands are rotated about their own centers, not following the rotation of the neighboring continent; however, they are displaced as necessary to keep them from being overlapped by the rotated continents (for instance, {{w|Madagascar}} would be overlapped by the {{w|Sahara}} if it remained in position, but is instead displaced eastward to keep it in the Indian Ocean).

To keep their familiar shapes on a rectangular map, the continents would also have to be heavily distorted compared to their actual shapes, becoming much narrower (along the lines of latitude) near the poles and wider towards the equator. See also [[977: Map Projections]].

It is interesting that {{w|Australia}}, {{w|Tasmania}} and {{w|New Zealand}} do not look very much different from their normal appearance. They are so close that some have asked ''why Australia was not rotated''. But they have been rotated, just like all other separate landmasses on the map.

This arrangement of the world's land masses would have great advantages for trade, because there are (presumably navigable) straits between the {{w|Americas}} and between Africa and {{w|Asia}}, removing the need for the {{w|Panama Canal}} and the {{w|Suez Canal}}.

The title text references the fact that in this new map, the {{w|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland}} (UK) is now next to Asia, specifically the {{w|Korean Peninsula}}. {{w|North Korea}}, is mentioned in the text, having a history of hostile relations with nearby countries. However, on this map North Korea would be the part of {{w|Korea}} we today know as {{w|South Korea}}, Further, {{w|Northern Ireland}} is now at the south of the {{w|island of Ireland}}, so the UK's full name would need to change to The United Kingdom of Great Britain and '''Southern''' Ireland. There have been several wars concerning the {{w|English Channel}}, mainly, but not only, between {{w|England}} and {{w|France}}. Since a similar channel now, on this world map, is between the UK and North Korea (our map's South Korea) there could obviously have been many wars for the dominance over said channel.

Along the same line of thinking, jokes could be made of the following "new" facts:
*{{w|Cuba}} is now off the west coast (formerly east coast) of {{w|USA}} and {{w|Canada}}.
*{{w|Japan}} is next to the coast of {{w|Portugal}} and {{w|Spain}}.
*Madagascar lies next to {{w|Mauritania}} and the west (now east) coast of Sahara.
*{{w|Taiwan}} is now next to France. It is though doubtful whether they get along any better with the French than with the mainland {{w|China|Chinese}}.
*{{w|Greenland}} lies next to {{w|Mexico}}.
*{{w|Sri Lanka}} is located next to the {{w|Yamalsky District}} of {{w|Russia}}.
*The island {{w|Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego|Tierra del Fuego}}, an island just south of the southern tip of South America, which is divided between {{w|Argentina}} and {{w|Chile}} is now located in a similar manner next to {{w|Colombia}} and {{w|Venezuela}}. So it would probably have been divided between these two countries.
*The {{w|Falkland Islands}} (not shown in the map) where Argentina and UK have an ongoing {{w|Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute|sovereignty dispute}} now could be claimed by {{w|Ecuador}} or {{w|Peru}}.
*{{w|Aruba}} would be near Chile and the {{w|Chiloé Archipelago}} would be near Venezuela.
*{{w|Easter Island}} (part of Chile) and {{w|Galápagos Islands}} (part of Ecuador) could be claimed by {{w|Brazil}}.

==Transcript==
:[Map of the world with all the landmasses rotated upside-down.]
:[Four oceans and all the visible continents have been named in large letters in a bold font. The Pacific has been named both to the left and right. Several islands (large and small) have been designated with name but in grey and in a much smaller normal font. For all continents the names are written on them. For the island the name is written in the ocean except for Greenland.]

:[Below the names on the map are given in the order they appear reading from left to right, first for the northern and then the southern hemisphere:]

:[Northern hemisphere:]
:'''North America'''
:Cuba
:Greenland
:'''Atlantic Ocean
:Iceland
:UK
:'''Asia'''
:Sri Lanka
:'''Europe'''
:'''Arctic Ocean'''
:Taiwan
:Japan
:'''Pacific Ocean'''

:[Southern hemisphere:]
:'''Pacific Ocean'''
:'''South America'''
:Tierra del Fuego
:'''Africa'''
:'''Indian Ocean'''
:Madagascar
:Indonesia
:'''Australia'''
:New Zealand

:[Below the main frame:]
:'''The Upside-Down Map will change your perspective of the world!'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Maps]]

1497: New Products

2015-03-11T15:47:15Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1497
| date = March 11, 2015
| title = New Products
| image = new products.png
| titletext = If you ever hear "Wait, is that Kim Dotcom's new project? I'm really excited about it and already signed up, although I'm a little nervous about whether everyone should hand over control of their medical...", it's time to dig a bunker in your backyard.
}}

== Explanation ==

{{incomplete|First draft.}}

This comic points out an apparent paradox in product performance: Many products that are [https://www.google.com/search?q=No+wireless+Less+space+than+a+nomad+Lame criticized by techies when first announced] go on to great success, and many that are heavily hyped are total flops. The product in question may be a reference to the Apple Watch, which was announced around the time of this comic's release.

{| class="wikitable"
! If they say...
! Explanation
|-
|"It doesn't do anything new"
|A product that "doesn't do anything new" may still be successful for a variety of reasons. It may in fact do something new that the engineers and programmers are overlooking, or it may simply be a better presentation of an older idea. This latter category is the completion of the life-cycle mentioned later in the comic, those products whose "ideas will show up in something successful."
|-
|"Why would anyone want that?"
|If engineers and programmers can't figure out why anyone would want a product, that may actually be because the applications are highly avant-garde or niche. Although then it would never become a big success! Engineers and programmers themselves may be in a niche that doesn't share the tastes and priorities of non-technical people, and are therefore unable to understand and accurately assess the appeal that a product will have to the masses.
|-
|"Really exciting"
|Products that are "really exciting" to engineers and programmers, so much so that they have already pre-ordered them, may fail to succeed for two reasons. The product could turn out to be "nerd bait," so to speak. The developers promise a cool, groundbreaking new gadget or service, and people get so excited by the idea that they ignore whether or not it's actually feasible. When the developers can't follow through, unsurprisingly, the product flops. The ideas that it proposed, which were so intriguing to the programmers and the developers, will be worth billions once someone can figure out how to realize them.
Alternately, the product could have the features advertised, but other issues can interfere with the success of the product, which engineers prioritize lower than such features in their assessment of a product's quality or utility. These may include bad marketing (the masses don't hear about or "get" how good the product is), an unintuitive design or implementation (which more technical people may be able to "live with", but the general population may not be able or willing), or something as simple as a lack of aesthetics (which decreases appeal for use by owners and may temper the fervor which might otherwise encourage further sales).
|-
|"I've already preordered one"
|
|-
|"Wait, are you talking about <unfamiliar person's name>'s new project?"
|If a product's developer's name is well-known among engineers and programmers, but not among the general public, that's usually not a good sign. Quite likely, the developer is someone who goes a step farther than those in the previous category, not just announcing something cool and exciting they can't follow through on, but doing so ''knowing'' that they can't follow through yet still taking people's money. The state may press criminal charges against them (for fraud or such), or the angry investors may sue to get their money back.
|-
|"I would never put <company> in charge of managing my <whatever>"
|If engineers' and programmers' only objection is that they don't like the company behind the product, that's basically a tacit admission that there's nothing else wrong with it. For the average consumer, the perks of a groundbreaking new product outweigh whatever problems they may have with the company behind it.
|}

The title text imagines a product that fits into the second, third, and fourth categories. {{w|Kim Dotcom}} is a controversial entrepreneur and convicted criminal, who fits the mold of someone well-known to programmers and engineers, but perhaps not so much to your average Joe.
According to the chart, such a product would according to 2 from above flop, and according to 3 turn out to be a scam. However it will not necessarily end up in control of whatever it wants to control, because as per 2 that would at least have to be another project released several years later. This does not, however, still not sound good, and may even suggest the rise of some sort of malicious overtaking of our society starting when it acquires our medical records. (We would have handed those over of our own free will, in our excitement about this new fancy product.) Thus the suggestion to dig a bunker.

== Transcript ==

:Predicting the success or failure of a new product
:Based on what engineers and programmers are saying about it
:[A two-column table illustrating this. The words "if they say..." and "it means..." are the headers to the two columns; below, they are reprinted before the transciption of each row, for clarity's sake.]
::If they say...
:::"It doesn't do anything new"
:::"Why would anyone want that?"
::It means...
:::The product will be a gigantic success.
::If they say...
:::"Really exciting"
:::"I've already preordered one"
::It means...
:::The product will be a flop. Years later, its ideas will show up in something successful.
::If they say...
:::"Wait, are you talking about <unfamiliar person's name>'s new project?"
::It means...
:::The product could be a scam and may result in arrests or lawsuits.
::If they say...
:::"I would never put <company> in charge of managing my <whatever>"
::It means...
:::Within five years, they will.

== Trivia ==
* There is a typo on the first upload. "Preorded" should be "preordered".

{{comic discussion}}

1497: New Products

2015-03-11T15:46:16Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1497
| date = March 11, 2015
| title = New Products
| image = new products.png
| titletext = If you ever hear "Wait, is that Kim Dotcom's new project? I'm really excited about it and already signed up, although I'm a little nervous about whether everyone should hand over control of their medical...", it's time to dig a bunker in your backyard.
}}

== Explanation ==

{{incomplete|First draft.}}

This comic points out an apparent paradox in product performance: Many products that are [https://www.google.com/search?q=No+wireless+Less+space+than+a+nomad+Lame criticized by techies when first announced] go on to great success, and many that are heavily hyped are total flops. The product in question may be a reference to the Apple Watch, which was announced around the time of this comic's release.

{| class="wikitable"
! If they say...
! Explanation
|-
|"It doesn't do anything new"
|A product that "doesn't do anything new" may still be successful for a variety of reasons. It may in fact do something new that the engineers and programmers are overlooking, or it may simply be a better presentation of an older idea. This latter category is the completion of the life-cycle mentioned later in the comic, those products whose "ideas will show up in something successful."
|-
|"Why would anyone want that?"
|If engineers and programmers can't figure out why anyone would want a product, that may actually be because the applications are highly avant-garde or niche. Although then it would never become a big success! Engineers and programmers themselves may be in a niche that doesn't share the tastes and priorities of non-technical people, and are therefore unable to understand and accurately assess the appeal that a product will have to the masses.
|-
|"Really exciting"
|Products that are "really exciting" to engineers and programmers, so much so that they have already pre-ordered them, may fail to succeed for two reasons. The product could turn out to be "nerd bait," so to speak. The developers promise a cool, groundbreaking new gadget or service, and people get so excited by the idea that they ignore whether or not it's actually feasible. When the developers can't follow through, unsurprisingly, the product flops. The ideas that it proposed, which were so intriguing to the programmers and the developers, will be worth billions once someone can figure out how to realize them.
Alternately, the product could have the features advertised, but other issues can interfere with the success of the product, which engineers prioritize lower than such features in their assessment of a product's quality or utility. These may include bad marketing (the masses don't hear about or "get" how good the product is), an unintuitive design or implementation (which more technical people may be able to "live with", but the general population may not be able or willing), or something as simple as a lack of aesthetics (which decreases appeal for use by owners and may temper the fervor which might otherwise encourage further sales).
|-
|"I've already preordered one"
|
|-
|"Wait, are you talking about <unfamiliar person's name>'s new project?"
|If a product's developer's name is well-known among engineers and programmers, but not among the general public, that's usually not a good sign. Quite likely, the developer is someone who goes a step farther than those in the previous category, not just announcing something cool and exciting they can't follow through on, but doing so ''knowing'' that they can't follow through yet still taking people's money. The state may press criminal charges against them (for fraud or such), or the angry investors may sue to get their money back.
|-
|"I would never put <company> in charge of managing my <whatever>"
|If engineers' and programmers' only objection is that they don't like the company behind the product, that's basically a tacit admission that there's nothing else wrong with it. For the average consumer, the perks of a groundbreaking new product outweigh whatever problems people may have with the company behind it.
|}

The title text imagines a product that fits into the second, third, and fourth categories. {{w|Kim Dotcom}} is a controversial entrepreneur and convicted criminal, who fits the mold of someone well-known to programmers and engineers, but perhaps not so much to your average Joe.
According to the chart, such a product would according to 2 from above flop, and according to 3 turn out to be a scam. However it will not necessarily end up in control of whatever it wants to control, because as per 2 that would at least have to be another project released several years later. This does not, however, still not sound good, and may even suggest the rise of some sort of malicious overtaking of our society starting when it acquires our medical records. (We would have handed those over of our own free will, in our excitement about this new fancy product.) Thus the suggestion to dig a bunker.

== Transcript ==

:Predicting the success or failure of a new product
:Based on what engineers and programmers are saying about it
:[A two-column table illustrating this. The words "if they say..." and "it means..." are the headers to the two columns; below, they are reprinted before the transciption of each row, for clarity's sake.]
::If they say...
:::"It doesn't do anything new"
:::"Why would anyone want that?"
::It means...
:::The product will be a gigantic success.
::If they say...
:::"Really exciting"
:::"I've already preordered one"
::It means...
:::The product will be a flop. Years later, its ideas will show up in something successful.
::If they say...
:::"Wait, are you talking about <unfamiliar person's name>'s new project?"
::It means...
:::The product could be a scam and may result in arrests or lawsuits.
::If they say...
:::"I would never put <company> in charge of managing my <whatever>"
::It means...
:::Within five years, they will.

== Trivia ==
* There is a typo on the first upload. "Preorded" should be "preordered".

{{comic discussion}}

1497: New Products

2015-03-11T15:45:28Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */ There is no such word.

{{comic
| number = 1497
| date = March 11, 2015
| title = New Products
| image = new products.png
| titletext = If you ever hear "Wait, is that Kim Dotcom's new project? I'm really excited about it and already signed up, although I'm a little nervous about whether everyone should hand over control of their medical...", it's time to dig a bunker in your backyard.
}}

== Explanation ==

{{incomplete|First draft.}}

This comic points out an apparent paradox in product performance: Many products that are [https://www.google.com/search?q=No+wireless+Less+space+than+a+nomad+Lame criticized by techies when first announced] go on to great success, and many that are heavily hyped are total flops. The product in question may be a reference to the Apple Watch, which was announced around the time of this comic's release.

{| class="wikitable"
! If they say...
! Explanation
|-
|"It doesn't do anything new"
|A product that "doesn't do anything new" may still be successful for a variety of reasons. It may in fact do something new that the engineers and programmers are overlooking, or it may simply be a better presentation of an older idea. This latter category is the completion of the life-cycle mentioned later in the comic, those products whose "ideas will show up in something successful."
|-
|"Why would anyone want that?"
|If engineers and programmers can't figure out why anyone would want a product, that may actually be because the applications are highly avant-garde or niche. Although then it would never become a big success! Engineers and programmers themselves may be in a niche that doesn't share the tastes and priorities of non-technical people, and are therefore unable to understand and accurately assess the appeal that a product will have to the masses.
|-
|"Really exciting"
|Products that are "really exciting" to engineers and programmers, so much so that they have already pre-ordered them, may fail to succeed for two reasons. The product could turn out to be "nerd bait," so to speak. The developers promise a cool, groundbreaking new gadget or service, and people get so excited by the idea that they ignore whether or not it's actually feasible. When the developers can't follow through, unsurprisingly, the product flops. The ideas that it proposed, which were so intriguing to the programmers and the developers, will be worth billions once someone can figure out how to realize them.
Alternately, the product could have the features advertised, but other issues can interfere with the success of the product, which engineers prioritize lower than such features in their assessment of a product's quality or utility. These may include bad marketing (the masses don't hear about or "get" how good the product is), an unintuitive design or implementation (which more technical people may be able to "live with", but the general population may not be able or willing), or something as simple as a lack of aesthetics (which decreases appeal for use by owners and may temper the fervor which might otherwise encourage further sales).
|-
|"I've already preordered one"
|
|-
|"Wait, are you talking about <unfamiliar person's name>'s new project?"
|If a product's developer's name is well-known among engineers and programmers, but not among the general public, that's usually not a good sign. Quite likely, the developer is someone who goes a step farther than those in the previous category, not just announcing something cool and exciting they can't follow through on, but doing so ''knowing'' that they can't follow through, and take people's money. The state may press criminal charges against them (for fraud or such), or the angry investors may sue to get their money back.
|-
|"I would never put <company> in charge of managing my <whatever>"
|If engineers' and programmers' only objection is that they don't like the company behind the product, that's basically a tacit admission that there's nothing else wrong with it. For the average consumer, the perks of a groundbreaking new product outweigh whatever problems people may have with the company behind it.
|}

The title text imagines a product that fits into the second, third, and fourth categories. {{w|Kim Dotcom}} is a controversial entrepreneur and convicted criminal, who fits the mold of someone well-known to programmers and engineers, but perhaps not so much to your average Joe.
According to the chart, such a product would according to 2 from above flop, and according to 3 turn out to be a scam. However it will not necessarily end up in control of whatever it wants to control, because as per 2 that would at least have to be another project released several years later. This does not, however, still not sound good, and may even suggest the rise of some sort of malicious overtaking of our society starting when it acquires our medical records. (We would have handed those over of our own free will, in our excitement about this new fancy product.) Thus the suggestion to dig a bunker.

== Transcript ==

:Predicting the success or failure of a new product
:Based on what engineers and programmers are saying about it
:[A two-column table illustrating this. The words "if they say..." and "it means..." are the headers to the two columns; below, they are reprinted before the transciption of each row, for clarity's sake.]
::If they say...
:::"It doesn't do anything new"
:::"Why would anyone want that?"
::It means...
:::The product will be a gigantic success.
::If they say...
:::"Really exciting"
:::"I've already preordered one"
::It means...
:::The product will be a flop. Years later, its ideas will show up in something successful.
::If they say...
:::"Wait, are you talking about <unfamiliar person's name>'s new project?"
::It means...
:::The product could be a scam and may result in arrests or lawsuits.
::If they say...
:::"I would never put <company> in charge of managing my <whatever>"
::It means...
:::Within five years, they will.

== Trivia ==
* There is a typo on the first upload. "Preorded" should be "preordered".

{{comic discussion}}

1493: Meeting

2015-03-02T16:38:29Z

199.27.128.120: /* Explanation */ .

{{comic
| number = 1493
| date = March 2, 2015
| title = Meeting
| image = meeting.png
| titletext = Here at CompanyName.website, our three main strengths are our web-facing chairs, our huge collection of white papers, and the fact that we physically cannot die.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs to be expounded upon heavily.}}

[[Beret Guy]]'s business, as previously seen in [[1032: Networking]] and [[1293: Job Interview]], is going well, although it is unclear why. The common theme in these three comics is that Beret Guy misuses common business cliches. The following are examples and phrases that [[Randall]] is likely making a joke about:

* "If you're reading this, the webserver was installed correctly." When a web server is installed automatically (like apache using apt-get), it typically comes with a minimal configuration meant to deliver a single page saying all is working fine. Usually, a company will then configure the web server to provide actual meaningful content. It appears that in this case Beret Guy's company kept the page as is, but also trademarked the sentence as the company's motto, and proudly displays it under the company logo.

* "Welcome to a meeting!" The usual way to start a meeting is to welcome the participants by telling them in which meeting they are (e.g. "Welcome to the meeting on ..."). Here, the complete lack of specifics in this sentence is an indication that the meeting has, in fact, no purpose at all, except to be just "A meeting". It could also mean that Beret Guy does not know the proper way to welcome people to a meeting.

* "Just wanna touch bases." Often business professions will contact a customer to "touch base," meaning to check in for a status update. The use of the plural "bases" suggests Beret Guy does not know what this means. This could also be a word play on the expression "Cover some bases".

* "Self-driving car project" Google has been working on self-driving cars, which usually shouldn't be lost track of and found by the police. The statement "by accident during this morning's carpool" implies that the employees all somehow left the car while it was moving, and it kept moving until it somehow stopped (hit something, ran out of fuel, etc.)

* "Sales, any luck figuring out who our customers are?" In the real world, when companies want to find out "who [their] customers are", they are talking about learning more about their existing customers in order to more closely match these customers' needs, and to discover ways to attract more of them. Here, Beret Guy and [[Ponytail]] apparently use the phrase literally. In a normal enterprise, however, money doesn't usually appear from nowhere, and most businesses would be very unsettled if their cash flow was from an unknown source.

* "Bug tracker" usually refers to systems used to track discovery, analysis, and fixing of software bugs, not the location of actual bugs.

* "Web-facing" (title text) usually refers to software or a server that is connected to the internet using a web interface. However, in this case the term is applied to chairs placed in front of a computer with internet browsing capability.

* "White papers" (title text) are usually policy recommendations, but Beret Guy is likely talking about actual (near-worthless) blank white pieces of paper.

* "Main strengths" (title text) typically refer to one's skills, but "we physically cannot die" refers to the fact that incorporated companies are in a sense anthropomorphised—they're legally treated as "persons", with the ability to sue and be sued in civil courts.

"CompanyName.website" ([http://companyname.website which in real life redirects to xkcd.com]) and "If you're reading this, the web server was installed correctly" are both examples of generic placeholder text. However, given the trademark sign, it appears that Beret Guy is using these phrases as his company's legal name and motto, respectively.

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy is shown in silhouette. Above Beret Guy there is a black sign with white (and grey) text. Above this is his address to those in the meeting:]
:Beret Guy: Welcome to a meeting! I'm almost out of words, so I'll keep this short. Just wanna touch bases.
:[White text in the black sign (''.website'' in grey):]
:CompanyName.website
:''If you're reading this, the web''
:''server was installed correctly.''TM

:[Beret Guy stands in front of an office chair and a table talking]
:Beret Guy: First, a few updates. We've learned from the state police that the self-driving car project we launched by accident during this morning's carpool has come to an end about 90 miles outside of town. :Very exciting!

:[Pony tail sits at the table.]
:Beret Guy [off-panel]: Profits are up. Sales, any luck figuring out who our customers are?
:Ponytail: Nope. Money keeps appearing, but we have no idea how or why.
:Beret Guy [off-panel]: Great!

:[Back to the situation from frame two]
:Beret Guy: Oh, and one last thing— I saw a cool red beetle in the hall. Can someone add it to the bug tracker?
:Ponytail [off-panel]: Just did!
:Beret Guy: Thanks!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Beret Guy’s Business]]

Talk:1492: Dress Color

2015-02-27T16:50:14Z

199.27.128.120:

To me, they both look blue/gold [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 06:29, 27 February 2015 (UTC)
:To me as well. The one on the right, with a lighter background, appears more bluish and the collar is a darker brown. (The collar on the left, to my eyes, matches the face on the right.) But both definitely appear bluish with a dull yellow. - Equinox [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.120|199.27.128.120]] 16:50, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

What is the illusion supposed to be? The colors of the dress look a bit darker with the light background, but not very much. Is that the illusion? --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.82|141.101.80.82]] 07:07, 27 February 2015 (UTC)
: Agree. To me, it looks like it's definitely light blue (maybe "cornflower"?) with pale olive stripes. "Gold" would really be a stretch. It looks like that in all lighting conditions and in both backgrounds of the strip. Did I pass some kind of color-blindness test? Or fail? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.133|108.162.254.133]] 07:43, 27 February 2015 (UTC)
: This has nothing to do with color-blindness, but probably with certain arbitrary constants related to white-balance adjustment that differ brain-to-brain. Many people I know insist that even though the picture looks blue, it's a dress illuminated by a blue light, and based on this assumption their brain may essentially redden the whole picture to adjust for this light. The actual picture was taken in white light, not blue light. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.28|173.245.55.28]] 07:46, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

::It may also be related to white-balance of the MONITOR. I see original dress like black and blue and the one on left here as gold and light blue. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:00, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Apparently for some people the left-hand-side's general blueishness is adjusted against by the visual system enough to make the dress look white and gold instead of blue and brown. I am not one of those people. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.28|173.245.55.28]] 07:43, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Description says left for both [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.219|141.101.98.219]] 08:37, 27 February 2015 (UTC)
:Now changed. (Saw it myself before I saw your comment, and just lept straight in there. Hopefully I changed the right left so that it's right and not left the wrong left whilst producing the wrong right. Alright?) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.192|141.101.98.192]] 09:30, 27 February 2015 (UTC) (Also, "hello near-IP neighbour!"... The same digits, even. Creepy.)
::Y'all are both from London, and probably live on the same street. Congrats! You made a friend! :) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.192|108.162.216.192]] 16:25, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Are they really the same colour? 'Cause to me on the blue side it looks blue and black- while on the white side it looks white and gold. Is this normal? {{unsigned|FlyingPiggy}}

The figure on the right definitely has a beard. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.182|108.162.249.182]] 09:38, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

I checked with ColorZilla and the RGB values are identical. From my perspective, in the one on the left the dress appears pale blue with darker brown/gold stripes, and the one on the right appears a darker blue with lighter brown/gold stripes. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.63|141.101.98.63]] 10:10, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

This is just a polychromatic version of that checker shadow illusion, right? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checker_shadow_illusion [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.38|108.162.231.38]] 10:12, 27 February 2015 (UTC)
:That's what I thought too. But it looks the same (doesn't it?) and is the same (that, thankfully is non-subjective and verifiable with as little as MSPaint), so I'm at loss as to why this deserves a comic. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.136|141.101.104.136]] 10:47, 27 February 2015 (UTC)
: This is a common optical illusion (at least I've seen this many times) - most peoples eyes perform a white balance adjustment automatically which affects the perceived colours. If your eyes don't do this then you will do well in the paint colour matching business. http://www.moillusions.com/hue-optical-illusion/ I apologise for the jarring colours in the link.
:Here's a particularly good demonstration of the underlying "color perception" illusion (i.e. the Checker-Shadow illusion referred to above): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9Sen1HTu5o [[User:Arcanechili|Arcanechili]] ([[User talk:Arcanechili|talk]]) 15:45, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

The comic is a reference to the debate around the coloration of [http://amd.c.yimg.jp/amd/20150227-00000070-zdn_n-000-2-view.jpg this dress]. The band in the middle of the image shows some of the material of the dress. To some people, including me, the dress is obviously, unquestionably black and blue. But to others, including my wife, it's obviously, unquestionably, black and gold.
:And to others it's apparently a number of other combinations - I've seen claims of white/gold and blue/orange. However, surprisingly few people seem to have seen [http://www.romanoriginals.co.uk/invt/70931?colour=Royal-Blue this link] to the manufacturer's page for what appears to be the same dress; available in 4 colour combinations which according to the manufacturers' descriptions are ivory/black, scarlet/black, pink/black and royal-blue/black, with pictures available of all versions. As such I'm happy to accept the pictures doing the rounds are probably the blue/black variant (although most of the over-exposed versions I've seen appear light-blue/goldish-brown to me.

Our eyes are too efficient, which makes this illusion work. In dim light we dilate our eyes, so an enclosed room with one lamp seems bright, though it is a cave compared to the outdoors. If the bulb in our lamp is of a warm tone, our eyes adjust so we believe we see colours as though in daylight. I think that's what's happening in the dress illusion -- we are trying to allow for perceived lighting conditions in the photo -- so the actual illusion is in our guess as to what those light conditions actually are. And finally an artist quote: "I can paint you the skin of Venus with mud, provided you let me surround it as I will." - Eugene Delacroix [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.84|108.162.242.84]] 13:28, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Some Notes on camera color correction: it's worse than, and is not just an optical illusion. It's a camera screwup.

* [http://40.media.tumblr.com/a391a1b4b46dd6b498d379e50f96ecbc/tumblr_nkcjuq8Tdr1tnacy1o1_500.jpg Here is the original photo] as [http://swiked.tumblr.com/post/112159166305/katze-geht-meow-ijustloveyoutubers seen here]

* [http://media.tumblr.com/ec387ec0bb03230268a9e905d74097d9/tumblr_inline_nkeezsjAuH1svicb3.jpg Here is a second photo of the same dress in normal light] As [http://swiked.tumblr.com/post/112164479015/can-we-have-more-pictures-of-the-dress-please-we seen here]

* [http://www.romanoriginals.co.uk/invt/70931?colour=Royal-Blue Here is the online store where you can buy the dress]

* [http://www.romanoriginals.co.uk/content/ebiz/romanoriginals/invt/70931/70931rbl_zoom1.jpg Here is a high quality photo of the dress from the store]

* [http://imgur.com/RY2dTnW.jpg Here is an example of the color "correction" that happens when you calibrate things so that Dark Blue = White.] NOTE: This is a major readjustment of colors and there is no real color matching between the two images. White is not actually blue in this image, and up is not down, and you are not going crazy

Cheap cameras will try to adjust colors based on formulas that guess what the correct color scheme is.

If you take a photo while in the shade on a sunny day, you likely get most of your light from the bright *BLUE* sky. This can make you look awful. The camera is set up to guess the correct exposure. In this case the camera follows the rules, and guesses, wrongly, that the the overall majority color in the center of the photo is white, and transforms the rest of the colors to match

It's a camera screwup. It also depends on how bad your viewing device is behaving, because, based on how dark the screen is, you then get the optical illusion effect that Randall posted.

This is a secondary effect, and not the real reason why behind what is going on in the first place. The correct rendering of the camera screwup is going to be, on most devices with normal color rendition, white with gold. Because some monitors are lighter or darker depending on viewing angle, this also impacts color perception.

We can then get the actual optical illusion after all that. But as we have seen with good photos of the actual dress in normal light, the camera got it wrong.

TL;DR: It's a cell phone camera screwup. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.170|173.245.52.170]] 14:22, 27 February 2015 (UTC)ruary 2015 (UTC)

Is it possible that there's a connection between this comic and [[690: Semicontrolled Demolition]]? Some discussions I've seen about this topic involve the choice between white/gold and blue/black, so Randall coloured his dress gold/blue. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.122|108.162.216.122]] 16:20, 27 February 2015 (UTC)