explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

explain xkcd talk:Explanation Completion Project

2014-08-25T03:00:12Z

199.27.133.6: /* Incomplete Explanation of the Day??? */

:"That's twice this thing has failed now. Do we just not have a big enough following for this to work, or is this not a good idea? If it fails again, I'll probably discontinue this" 
No, it's totally working, we just need a judge to check each page at midnight to actually remove the incomplete tag, because NONE of us are comfortable doing it ourselves [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.66|199.27.128.66]] 21:18, 15 November 2013 (UTC)
:I can totally do that. I'm checking all these anyways at the changeover. It'll just take a wee bit longer to read them. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:24, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

Um, it's been stuck on 503: Terminology for three days. Is something wrong? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.66|199.27.128.66]] 18:51, 12 December 2013 (UTC)
:Yeah, I had final exams and this slipped my mind. My bad, switch'd. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:08, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

::Can we do 256 soon? I've nearly got it done, but there's a few bits, like "The Lonely Island", "The Wet Sea" and "Chasm" which I'm really not sure if I'm missing something obvious. I can probably have the framework fully in place soon. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.149|141.101.98.149]] 05:13, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
:::I'm loath to do it so soon after chucking Online Communities 2 at people. I'll do it in a few days. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:36, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
::::<s>When ready, it's actually just a small bit more work to be completely done, which would be a rather good thing for one of the large images. =) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.235|141.101.99.235]] 05:42, 9 January 2014 (UTC)</s>
::::Finished it today. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.235|141.101.99.235]] 12:06, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

[[843]] should be the Incomplete Explanation of the Day for February 4th. It's just appropriate. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 00:45, 1 February 2014 (UTC)
:I don't know where this is coming from, but sure. Why not? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:55, 1 February 2014 (UTC)
::Oh, sorry. February 4th will be the first Tuesday of the month, and that's the specific day of the month that that particular comic references. Since that comic's page still had the incomplete tag, I thought it would be a fun sort of meta-humor. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 14:39, 1 February 2014 (UTC)
:::Aaah I'll be doing that then. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:41, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

== Things we can do after this is finished ==

Along with the 3 items already listed, should we add "explain" pages for each of the weekly "What If" pages on xkcd?
:This is requested a lot. I might make it a thing, but I'm reluctant to do so since they're already pretty self explanatory in themselves. Randall even cites all his sources and everything. I'm not quite sure what we could add to that. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:24, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

=== Adding dates to every comic ===

The dates for every comic is in the tooltip for cominc 45 onwards on
http://xkcd.com/archive/
-- Some of the comics are related to current events and it would be worth having every explain page containing a date. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 14:37, 31 July 2014 (UTC)
:That's not limited to after we've finished every explanation though, we could do that right now if we had access to that information. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:52, 31 July 2014 (UTC)
:: Agreed -- I have created this page [[explain_xkcd:xkcd_by_date]] with the data -- keeping it up-to-date should be a bot task, but at least this is a start [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 19:52, 11 August 2014 (UTC)
:::I don't see any need for this new page. At the [[List of all comics]] you can sort by date and much more. And I prefer two different date formats: ISO (2014-08-11) or easy readable for humans (August 11, 2014). --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:41, 11 August 2014 (UTC)
:::: Humm.. good point, didn't see that page -- Im not sure how to delete it again. Davidy22? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:26, 11 August 2014 (UTC)
:::::Done and done. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:39, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

== Incomplete Explanation of the Day??? ==

"Incomplete Explanation of the Day" -- these are now staying around for weeks or a month without changing, so maybe they should be called something else, like "Incomplete Explanation currently needing attention" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.6|199.27.133.6]] 02:59, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

explain xkcd talk:Explanation Completion Project

2014-08-25T02:59:19Z

199.27.133.6: /* Incomplete Explanation of the Day??? */ new section

:"That's twice this thing has failed now. Do we just not have a big enough following for this to work, or is this not a good idea? If it fails again, I'll probably discontinue this" 
No, it's totally working, we just need a judge to check each page at midnight to actually remove the incomplete tag, because NONE of us are comfortable doing it ourselves [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.66|199.27.128.66]] 21:18, 15 November 2013 (UTC)
:I can totally do that. I'm checking all these anyways at the changeover. It'll just take a wee bit longer to read them. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 00:24, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

Um, it's been stuck on 503: Terminology for three days. Is something wrong? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.66|199.27.128.66]] 18:51, 12 December 2013 (UTC)
:Yeah, I had final exams and this slipped my mind. My bad, switch'd. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 23:08, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

::Can we do 256 soon? I've nearly got it done, but there's a few bits, like "The Lonely Island", "The Wet Sea" and "Chasm" which I'm really not sure if I'm missing something obvious. I can probably have the framework fully in place soon. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.149|141.101.98.149]] 05:13, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
:::I'm loath to do it so soon after chucking Online Communities 2 at people. I'll do it in a few days. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 15:36, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
::::<s>When ready, it's actually just a small bit more work to be completely done, which would be a rather good thing for one of the large images. =) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.235|141.101.99.235]] 05:42, 9 January 2014 (UTC)</s>
::::Finished it today. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.235|141.101.99.235]] 12:06, 17 January 2014 (UTC)

[[843]] should be the Incomplete Explanation of the Day for February 4th. It's just appropriate. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 00:45, 1 February 2014 (UTC)
:I don't know where this is coming from, but sure. Why not? '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:55, 1 February 2014 (UTC)
::Oh, sorry. February 4th will be the first Tuesday of the month, and that's the specific day of the month that that particular comic references. Since that comic's page still had the incomplete tag, I thought it would be a fun sort of meta-humor. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.64|108.162.237.64]] 14:39, 1 February 2014 (UTC)
:::Aaah I'll be doing that then. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:41, 2 February 2014 (UTC)

== Things we can do after this is finished ==

Along with the 3 items already listed, should we add "explain" pages for each of the weekly "What If" pages on xkcd?
:This is requested a lot. I might make it a thing, but I'm reluctant to do so since they're already pretty self explanatory in themselves. Randall even cites all his sources and everything. I'm not quite sure what we could add to that. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 06:24, 8 March 2014 (UTC)

=== Adding dates to every comic ===

The dates for every comic is in the tooltip for cominc 45 onwards on
http://xkcd.com/archive/
-- Some of the comics are related to current events and it would be worth having every explain page containing a date. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 14:37, 31 July 2014 (UTC)
:That's not limited to after we've finished every explanation though, we could do that right now if we had access to that information. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 14:52, 31 July 2014 (UTC)
:: Agreed -- I have created this page [[explain_xkcd:xkcd_by_date]] with the data -- keeping it up-to-date should be a bot task, but at least this is a start [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 19:52, 11 August 2014 (UTC)
:::I don't see any need for this new page. At the [[List of all comics]] you can sort by date and much more. And I prefer two different date formats: ISO (2014-08-11) or easy readable for humans (August 11, 2014). --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:41, 11 August 2014 (UTC)
:::: Humm.. good point, didn't see that page -- Im not sure how to delete it again. Davidy22? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:26, 11 August 2014 (UTC)
:::::Done and done. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:39, 12 August 2014 (UTC)

== Incomplete Explanation of the Day??? ==

"Incomplete Explanation of the Day" -- these are now staying around for eeks or months, so maybe they should be colled something else, like "Incomplete Explanation currently needing attention" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.6|199.27.133.6]] 02:59, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

1406: Universal Converter Box

2014-08-25T02:56:00Z

199.27.133.6: "String" is not a reference to CAN-bus

{{comic
| number = 1406
| date = August 11, 2014
| title = Universal Converter Box
| image = universal_converter_box.png
| titletext = Comes with a 50-lb sack of gender changers, and also an add-on device with a voltage selector and a zillion circular center pin DC adapter tips so you can power any of those devices from the 90s.
}}

==Explanation==
Converter boxes are used to connect two devices together which otherwise couldn't be, due to differently shaped plugs, different voltages, or different protocols of communication.

Converter boxes or converter cables are commonly found for several of the plugs at the top of the list - such as from USB to micro-USB.

The humour from this comic comes from the sheer number of [[927: Standards|different standards]] that at different times aimed to be the universal way to connect two devices (at least in their target market), as well as the progressively ridiculous conversions that this box is capable of doing, for example, converting audio from a 1/8inch / 3.5 mm headphone jack, into a variety of petrols suitable for running your car.

===Different connectors===
====Left side====
*{{w|VGA_connector|VGA}} (Video Graphics Array): This is the (usually blue) plug (attached to a cable) that connects your monitor (like, your LCD screen) to your desktop computer. A type of video connector, it has fifteen pins in a D-shell (a trapezoidal metal skirt that protects the pins, prevents the connector from being plugged in the wrong way, and makes the physical connection more secure). Most often used with computers and monitors or projectors. Some newer televisions have them, too, so you can use your laptop with a REALLY big screen (e.g. for watching movies). First used in 1987, and with new versions being developed since then, it is an extremely common type of video connector.
*{{w|Digital_Visual_Interface|DVI}} (Digital Visual Interface): This is the (usually) white plug (attached to a cable) -- same purpose as the above, but newer. Another type of video connector, it also uses a D-shell connector, except the pins are flat instead of round. DVI is not compatible with VGA ports, though DVI can transmit an analog signal.
*{{w|HDMI}} (High Definition Multimedia Interface): The latest & greatest: A connector that can transmit both video and audio over the same cable, HDMI has slowly been replacing DVI and VGA ports on newer devices due to the simplicity (both audio and video in one connector) and the smaller footprint and overall dimensions.
*{{w|Thunderbolt_(interface)|Thunderbolt}}: A multimedia/data connector, Thunderbolt can transfer both video signals to a monitor, audio signals to speakers, and send and receive data at the same time, over the same port. It also is far faster than almost any connector on the market for transferring data. However, the limited adoption by manufacturers, the higher costs of the hardware, and the security concerns inherent to the interface have limited the adoption by consumers.
*{{w|IEEE_1394|Firewire}} (IEEE 1394): A bidirectional data transfer connector, similar to USB, Firewire can be used for many applications (e.g. networking computers), but it mostly finds use connecting audio/video equipment to computers. Because Firewire is designed to allow {{w|backplane}} access and {{w|direct memory access}} (DMA) to devices, there are additional conversion (and security) issues with it.
*{{w|Component_video|Component}} and {{w|RCA_connector|RCA}}: Both component video and RCA are ways of transmitting video and audio signals. Technically, RCA is the name of the connector type that they share; the "RCA" video connection is also called composite video. Both use two plugs for audio (left and right channels), but RCA (composite) uses one plug for video where component uses three: Y (luma), Pb (Blue - Y), Pr (Red - Y).
*{{w|Phone_connector_(audio)|1/8" audio/video}} (3.5 mm phone connector): A very common type of connector, perhaps best known as a headphone plug, but also used for other audio equipment and (as the comic indicates) for some video equipment. The video plug only has 3 contacts (Tip, Ring and Sleeve) so it isn't the reasonably common 3.5 mm video + audio plug on some equipment which has 4 contacts (Tip, Ring, Ring and Sleeve). 1/8" is only an approximation using {{w|Imperial units}}. The standard actually specifies a size in the {{w|Metric system}} of 3.5 mm.
*{{w|Parallel_port|Parallel port}}: A largely obsolete computer interface, mostly used to connect printers to PCs. While no longer common in homes or offices, parallel connections are still used in some {{w|embedded system}}s.
*{{w|S-Video_(analog_video_standard)|S-video}}: Another video standard similar to component and RCA, but with the video signal split in Y (luma) and C (chroma).
*{{w|In-flight_entertainment#History|Airline pneumatic tube audio}}: Connector for pneumatic headphones used by in-flight entertainment systems manufactured from 1963 until 1979. The seat would contain a passenger control unit (PCU) that contained an audio transducer with 2 loudspeakers. The headphone connected to this unit only needed a pneumatic tube to conduct the sound which made them very cheap to produce.
*{{w|PS/2_port|PS/2}}, PS/3 and PS/4: The PS/2 connector was used for mouse and keyboard connections in older computers; it has been superseded by USB. There are no such connectors as PS/3 and PS/4 -- the joke here is that the {{w|PlayStation 2}} console is similarly abbreviated to PS2, and there have been two models of PlayStation since, abbreviated PS3 and PS4.
*{{w|NEMA_connector|120V AC}}: This style of plug is used for domestic power outlets in the US, Canada, Mexico, and some other parts of the Americas. Note that while AC adapters are necessary—and widely available—to suit sockets in other countries, this "universal" converter does not feature any other AC power plugs. The pin marked "removable" (in jest) is the ground pin. Not every device requires a ground pin, and some (older) sockets do not have a hole for it, presumably leading some frustrated users to abuse the connector to get power. {{w|Cheater plug}}s exist to connect a NEMA grounding-type plug (three prongs) to a NEMA non-grounding receptacle (two slots), but the use of such an adapter can be hazardous if the grounding tab is not connected to electrical ground. A safer alternative is to replace the outlet with a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) breaker outlet.
*{{w|Floppy_disk|Floppy}}, {{w|Parallel_ATA|IDE}}, {{w|Hard_disk_drive|2.5"}}, {{w|SCSI_connector|SCSI}}: These are various disk drive {{w|Insulation-displacement_connector|IDC connectors}} for different numbers of pins, and hence different widths of {{w|Ribbon_cable|cable}}. Despite this similarity, real plugs do not have break-away parts for different devices as the pinout has no similarities at all and the connectors are all keyed differently. It is unlike the (unrelated, but doubtless inspirational) motherboard-powering connectors from the Power Supply Unit of a PC, which may involve multiple additional 4, 6 and 8-pin 'breakout' supply cables that have this feature (and specially 'keyed' pin-sheaths as well) to allow forward/backward compatibility between various versions of PSU and motherboard that could be used (and power-hungry GPUs of various kinds, as well).

====Right side====
*{{w|USB#Connectors_and_plugs|USB}} connectors: This bidirectional data connection is used for connecting many different devices to computers, each other, and to power supplies and chargers. The USB standard has many different types of plugs, necessitating convertors like the one in the comic (though generally less featureful). The types present here are USB-A ("USB"), USB-B ("USB weird other end"), mini-USB, micro-USB, and the non-existent "macro-USB" (a joke on the previous two as a macro i.e. larger version of USB). Note that some embedded systems (such as cash registers) actually do use larger USB connectors to include 12V and/or 24V power connections. These are not, however, called "macro-USB", and are not as large.
*{{w|F_connector|F connector}}: A type of coaxial plug used for various television signals and for cable modems.
*{{w|Optical_fiber_connector|Fiber}}: Optical fiber cables are used for various data transmission purposes. Interestingly, the fiber depicted does not seem to have any of the (over one hundred) existing optical fiber connectors; it may be simply a loose end.
*{{w|Registered_jack#RJ11.2C_RJ14.2C_RJ25_wiring_details|RJ11}}: The "smaller than RJ45" connector which is used for land-line telephones in the US. (Other countries often use RJ11-ended cables with locally-specific adapter-ends, e.g. the BS 6312 in Britain. Broadband microfilters may make use of this difference by splitting a relevent telephone plug standard into the local non-RJ11 style of telephone plug for an "audio-only" pass-through socket and an RJ11 for the router/modem to be cabled up to for the abstracted "data-only" signal) -- making an adapter for this will be nearly impossible.
*{{w|Registered_jack#RJ45|Ethernet}} (RJ45): The most common consumer-grade fixed wire connection for computer networking.
*{{w|Token_ring|Token ring}}: A now-outdated networking technology, token ring was a late-80s competitor to Ethernet for fixed-wire network connection. Its connectors were large and boxy, but were unique in that they were genderless, so no gender changing adapter will be needed in that bag.
*{{w|MagSafe}}: Magnetically-attached power connectors used on Apple devices. The original MagSafe (introduced in 2006) was later replaced by MagSafe 2 (introduced in 2012); both come in "L" and "T" shapes (as shown here for MagSafe and MagSafe 2, respectively), but are incompatible. MagSafe 3 and 4 do not actually exist (yet). Also, the MagSafe 4 "connector" appears to be broken or else have a large number of individual pin leads; this may be a joke about the {{w|MagSafe#Criticisms_and_defects|poor quality}} of the original MagSafe 1 cables, or a joke about how Magsafe cables are theoretically intended to work no matter which direction they're connected.
*{{w|Bluetooth#Communication_and_connection|Bluetooth dongle}}: a USB device that allows the converter to connect via the {{w|Bluetooth}} wireless networking standard to accessories like phones and computers for audio, general purpose file transfer, mouse and keyboard interaction and a wide variety of other uses.
*{{w|SCART}}: An audio/video connector mostly used in Europe; it replaced other connectors like component video, but has itself been superseded by HDMI.
*{{w|Tin_can_telephone|String}}: For connecting to a "tin can telephone", an analogue device for transmitting sound through a physical connection rather than electronically or radio waves.
*{{w|Fuel_dispenser#Nozzles|Fuel nozzle}}, with a switch to choose between different {{w|Octane_rating|octane ratings}} and {{w|Diesel_fuel|diesel fuel}}: Dispensers for fossil fuels used to power internal combustion engines. There are two common systems for showing octane numbers on fuel pumps; the numbers shown (87, 91, 93) most closely map to {{w|Octane_rating#Anti-Knock_Index_.28AKI.29|Anti-Knock Index}} values which is used for the North American market and a number of other countries, the other system used in the rest of the world is Research Octane Number. In the AKI system; 87 octane (91 RON) is regular US, 91 octane (95 RON) is regular European and 93 octane (98 RON) is premium/super US. A standard diesel nozzle (24mm) is slightly larger diameter than a standard petrol nozzle (21mm) so you cannot tank diesel into a petrol car but if this nozzle has the petrol nozzle diameter you are still able to tank with it into some diesel cars. Some manufacturers such as Volkswagen fit a misfueling guard and fuel filler neck cap or have redesigned the the fuel filler to prevent a petrol nozzle being used in a diesel car.

The title text is referring to connector "gender," which is a further complication in getting a connection. A connector is capable of making a connection to another device only through another connector of the opposite gender ("male" connector is plug, "female" connector is socket), except for rare "genderless" connectors, such as the token ring mentioned above. Gender adapters flip the gender of a connector, so that two connectors of the same gender can connect. Due to the number of connections this box is capable of, there would be a significant number of connectors, which would lead to them weighing 50-lbs in all. The weight of the petrol pump gender adapter is probably responsible for the bulk of this.

The "circular center pin DC adapter tips" in the title text are barrel jack power plugs. These were developed in the 1980s, and come in a staggering variety of dimensions. The "barrel" has both an inner diameter and an outer diameter, so even if the outer diameter of the barrel jack (which can be easily measured) is correct, the inner diameter might not be. Furthermore, there is the complication that the device requires power at a certain voltage and the supply must provide the correct voltage, and the polarity also has to be correct: positive on the barrel and negative on the inner pin, or vice-versa. This leads to frustration on the part of users when the original power supply cannot be found.

==Transcript==
:[Universal converter box with wires to connectors:]
:VGA
:DVI
:HDMI
:Thunderbolt
:Firewire
:Component
:[sharing connectors with Component:]
:RCA
:1/8" Audio
:1/8" Video
:Parallel Port
:S-Video
:Airline Pneumatic Tube Audio
:PS/2/3/4
:120V AC
::[pointing to ground pin:]
::Removable
:Floppy/IDE/2.5"/SCSI
::[pointing to sections in IDC connector:]
::Break here
:USB
:USB with (weird other end)
:Mini-USB
:Micro USB
:Macro USB
:F Connector
:Fiber
:RJ11
:Ethernet
:Token Ring
:MagSafe
:MagSafe 2
:MagSafe 3
:MagSafe 4
:Bluetooth Dongle
:SCART
:String (fits most cans)
:[Fuel nozzle with selector for:]
:87/91/93/Diesel

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Computers]]

1406: Universal Converter Box

2014-08-25T02:52:08Z

199.27.133.6: rj11

{{comic
| number = 1406
| date = August 11, 2014
| title = Universal Converter Box
| image = universal_converter_box.png
| titletext = Comes with a 50-lb sack of gender changers, and also an add-on device with a voltage selector and a zillion circular center pin DC adapter tips so you can power any of those devices from the 90s.
}}

==Explanation==
Converter boxes are used to connect two devices together which otherwise couldn't be, due to differently shaped plugs, different voltages, or different protocols of communication.

Converter boxes or converter cables are commonly found for several of the plugs at the top of the list - such as from USB to micro-USB.

The humour from this comic comes from the sheer number of [[927: Standards|different standards]] that at different times aimed to be the universal way to connect two devices (at least in their target market), as well as the progressively ridiculous conversions that this box is capable of doing, for example, converting audio from a 1/8inch / 3.5 mm headphone jack, into a variety of petrols suitable for running your car.

===Different connectors===
====Left side====
*{{w|VGA_connector|VGA}} (Video Graphics Array): This is the (usually blue) plug (attached to a cable) that connects your monitor (like, your LCD screen) to your desktop computer. A type of video connector, it has fifteen pins in a D-shell (a trapezoidal metal skirt that protects the pins, prevents the connector from being plugged in the wrong way, and makes the physical connection more secure). Most often used with computers and monitors or projectors. Some newer televisions have them, too, so you can use your laptop with a REALLY big screen (e.g. for watching movies). First used in 1987, and with new versions being developed since then, it is an extremely common type of video connector.
*{{w|Digital_Visual_Interface|DVI}} (Digital Visual Interface): This is the (usually) white plug (attached to a cable) -- same purpose as the above, but newer. Another type of video connector, it also uses a D-shell connector, except the pins are flat instead of round. DVI is not compatible with VGA ports, though DVI can transmit an analog signal.
*{{w|HDMI}} (High Definition Multimedia Interface): The latest & greatest: A connector that can transmit both video and audio over the same cable, HDMI has slowly been replacing DVI and VGA ports on newer devices due to the simplicity (both audio and video in one connector) and the smaller footprint and overall dimensions.
*{{w|Thunderbolt_(interface)|Thunderbolt}}: A multimedia/data connector, Thunderbolt can transfer both video signals to a monitor, audio signals to speakers, and send and receive data at the same time, over the same port. It also is far faster than almost any connector on the market for transferring data. However, the limited adoption by manufacturers, the higher costs of the hardware, and the security concerns inherent to the interface have limited the adoption by consumers.
*{{w|IEEE_1394|Firewire}} (IEEE 1394): A bidirectional data transfer connector, similar to USB, Firewire can be used for many applications (e.g. networking computers), but it mostly finds use connecting audio/video equipment to computers. Because Firewire is designed to allow {{w|backplane}} access and {{w|direct memory access}} (DMA) to devices, there are additional conversion (and security) issues with it.
*{{w|Component_video|Component}} and {{w|RCA_connector|RCA}}: Both component video and RCA are ways of transmitting video and audio signals. Technically, RCA is the name of the connector type that they share; the "RCA" video connection is also called composite video. Both use two plugs for audio (left and right channels), but RCA (composite) uses one plug for video where component uses three: Y (luma), Pb (Blue - Y), Pr (Red - Y).
*{{w|Phone_connector_(audio)|1/8" audio/video}} (3.5 mm phone connector): A very common type of connector, perhaps best known as a headphone plug, but also used for other audio equipment and (as the comic indicates) for some video equipment. The video plug only has 3 contacts (Tip, Ring and Sleeve) so it isn't the reasonably common 3.5 mm video + audio plug on some equipment which has 4 contacts (Tip, Ring, Ring and Sleeve). 1/8" is only an approximation using {{w|Imperial units}}. The standard actually specifies a size in the {{w|Metric system}} of 3.5 mm.
*{{w|Parallel_port|Parallel port}}: A largely obsolete computer interface, mostly used to connect printers to PCs. While no longer common in homes or offices, parallel connections are still used in some {{w|embedded system}}s.
*{{w|S-Video_(analog_video_standard)|S-video}}: Another video standard similar to component and RCA, but with the video signal split in Y (luma) and C (chroma).
*{{w|In-flight_entertainment#History|Airline pneumatic tube audio}}: Connector for pneumatic headphones used by in-flight entertainment systems manufactured from 1963 until 1979. The seat would contain a passenger control unit (PCU) that contained an audio transducer with 2 loudspeakers. The headphone connected to this unit only needed a pneumatic tube to conduct the sound which made them very cheap to produce.
*{{w|PS/2_port|PS/2}}, PS/3 and PS/4: The PS/2 connector was used for mouse and keyboard connections in older computers; it has been superseded by USB. There are no such connectors as PS/3 and PS/4 -- the joke here is that the {{w|PlayStation 2}} console is similarly abbreviated to PS2, and there have been two models of PlayStation since, abbreviated PS3 and PS4.
*{{w|NEMA_connector|120V AC}}: This style of plug is used for domestic power outlets in the US, Canada, Mexico, and some other parts of the Americas. Note that while AC adapters are necessary—and widely available—to suit sockets in other countries, this "universal" converter does not feature any other AC power plugs. The pin marked "removable" (in jest) is the ground pin. Not every device requires a ground pin, and some (older) sockets do not have a hole for it, presumably leading some frustrated users to abuse the connector to get power. {{w|Cheater plug}}s exist to connect a NEMA grounding-type plug (three prongs) to a NEMA non-grounding receptacle (two slots), but the use of such an adapter can be hazardous if the grounding tab is not connected to electrical ground. A safer alternative is to replace the outlet with a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) breaker outlet.
*{{w|Floppy_disk|Floppy}}, {{w|Parallel_ATA|IDE}}, {{w|Hard_disk_drive|2.5"}}, {{w|SCSI_connector|SCSI}}: These are various disk drive {{w|Insulation-displacement_connector|IDC connectors}} for different numbers of pins, and hence different widths of {{w|Ribbon_cable|cable}}. Despite this similarity, real plugs do not have break-away parts for different devices as the pinout has no similarities at all and the connectors are all keyed differently. It is unlike the (unrelated, but doubtless inspirational) motherboard-powering connectors from the Power Supply Unit of a PC, which may involve multiple additional 4, 6 and 8-pin 'breakout' supply cables that have this feature (and specially 'keyed' pin-sheaths as well) to allow forward/backward compatibility between various versions of PSU and motherboard that could be used (and power-hungry GPUs of various kinds, as well).

====Right side====
*{{w|USB#Connectors_and_plugs|USB}} connectors: This bidirectional data connection is used for connecting many different devices to computers, each other, and to power supplies and chargers. The USB standard has many different types of plugs, necessitating convertors like the one in the comic (though generally less featureful). The types present here are USB-A ("USB"), USB-B ("USB weird other end"), mini-USB, micro-USB, and the non-existent "macro-USB" (a joke on the previous two as a macro i.e. larger version of USB). Note that some embedded systems (such as cash registers) actually do use larger USB connectors to include 12V and/or 24V power connections. These are not, however, called "macro-USB", and are not as large.
*{{w|F_connector|F connector}}: A type of coaxial plug used for various television signals and for cable modems.
*{{w|Optical_fiber_connector|Fiber}}: Optical fiber cables are used for various data transmission purposes. Interestingly, the fiber depicted does not seem to have any of the (over one hundred) existing optical fiber connectors; it may be simply a loose end.
*{{w|Registered_jack#RJ11.2C_RJ14.2C_RJ25_wiring_details|RJ11}}: The "smaller than RJ45" connector which is used for land-line telephones in the US. (Other countries often use RJ11-ended cables with locally-specific adapter-ends, e.g. the BS 6312 in Britain. Broadband microfilters may make use of this difference by splitting a relevent telephone plug standard into the local non-RJ11 style of telephone plug for an "audio-only" pass-through socket and an RJ11 for the router/modem to be cabled up to for the abstracted "data-only" signal) -- making an adapter for this will be nearly impossible.
*{{w|Registered_jack#RJ45|Ethernet}} (RJ45): The most common consumer-grade fixed wire connection for computer networking.
*{{w|Token_ring|Token ring}}: A now-outdated networking technology, token ring was a late-80s competitor to Ethernet for fixed-wire network connection. Its connectors were large and boxy, but were unique in that they were genderless, so no gender changing adapter will be needed in that bag.
*{{w|MagSafe}}: Magnetically-attached power connectors used on Apple devices. The original MagSafe (introduced in 2006) was later replaced by MagSafe 2 (introduced in 2012); both come in "L" and "T" shapes (as shown here for MagSafe and MagSafe 2, respectively), but are incompatible. MagSafe 3 and 4 do not actually exist (yet). Also, the MagSafe 4 "connector" appears to be broken or else have a large number of individual pin leads; this may be a joke about the {{w|MagSafe#Criticisms_and_defects|poor quality}} of the original MagSafe 1 cables, or a joke about how Magsafe cables are theoretically intended to work no matter which direction they're connected.
*{{w|Bluetooth#Communication_and_connection|Bluetooth dongle}}: a USB device that allows the converter to connect via the {{w|Bluetooth}} wireless networking standard to accessories like phones and computers for audio, general purpose file transfer, mouse and keyboard interaction and a wide variety of other uses.
*{{w|SCART}}: An audio/video connector mostly used in Europe; it replaced other connectors like component video, but has itself been superseded by HDMI.
*{{w|Tin_can_telephone|String}}: For connecting to a "tin can telephone", an analogue device for transmitting sound through a physical connection rather than electronically or via radio waves. Probably also a reference to {{w|CAN bus}}.
*{{w|Fuel_dispenser#Nozzles|Fuel nozzle}}, with a switch to choose between different {{w|Octane_rating|octane ratings}} and {{w|Diesel_fuel|diesel fuel}}: Dispensers for fossil fuels used to power internal combustion engines. There are two common systems for showing octane numbers on fuel pumps; the numbers shown (87, 91, 93) most closely map to {{w|Octane_rating#Anti-Knock_Index_.28AKI.29|Anti-Knock Index}} values which is used for the North American market and a number of other countries, the other system used in the rest of the world is Research Octane Number. In the AKI system; 87 octane (91 RON) is regular US, 91 octane (95 RON) is regular European and 93 octane (98 RON) is premium/super US. A standard diesel nozzle (24mm) is slightly larger diameter than a standard petrol nozzle (21mm) so you cannot tank diesel into a petrol car but if this nozzle has the petrol nozzle diameter you are still able to tank with it into some diesel cars. Some manufacturers such as Volkswagen fit a misfueling guard and fuel filler neck cap or have redesigned the the fuel filler to prevent a petrol nozzle being used in a diesel car.

The title text is referring to connector "gender," which is a further complication in getting a connection. A connector is capable of making a connection to another device only through another connector of the opposite gender ("male" connector is plug, "female" connector is socket), except for rare "genderless" connectors, such as the token ring mentioned above. Gender adapters flip the gender of a connector, so that two connectors of the same gender can connect. Due to the number of connections this box is capable of, there would be a significant number of connectors, which would lead to them weighing 50-lbs in all. The weight of the petrol pump gender adapter is probably responsible for the bulk of this.

The "circular center pin DC adapter tips" in the title text are barrel jack power plugs. These were developed in the 1980s, and come in a staggering variety of dimensions. The "barrel" has both an inner diameter and an outer diameter, so even if the outer diameter of the barrel jack (which can be easily measured) is correct, the inner diameter might not be. Furthermore, there is the complication that the device requires power at a certain voltage and the supply must provide the correct voltage, and the polarity also has to be correct: positive on the barrel and negative on the inner pin, or vice-versa. This leads to frustration on the part of users when the original power supply cannot be found.

==Transcript==
:[Universal converter box with wires to connectors:]
:VGA
:DVI
:HDMI
:Thunderbolt
:Firewire
:Component
:[sharing connectors with Component:]
:RCA
:1/8" Audio
:1/8" Video
:Parallel Port
:S-Video
:Airline Pneumatic Tube Audio
:PS/2/3/4
:120V AC
::[pointing to ground pin:]
::Removable
:Floppy/IDE/2.5"/SCSI
::[pointing to sections in IDC connector:]
::Break here
:USB
:USB with (weird other end)
:Mini-USB
:Micro USB
:Macro USB
:F Connector
:Fiber
:RJ11
:Ethernet
:Token Ring
:MagSafe
:MagSafe 2
:MagSafe 3
:MagSafe 4
:Bluetooth Dongle
:SCART
:String (fits most cans)
:[Fuel nozzle with selector for:]
:87/91/93/Diesel

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Computers]]

1311: 2014

2014-08-24T06:34:18Z

199.27.133.6: birds

{{comic
| number = 1311
| date = January 1, 2014
| title = 2014
| image = 2014.png
| titletext = Some future reader, who may see the term, without knowing the history of it, may imagine that it had reference to some antiquated bridge of the immortal Poet, thrown across the silver Avon, to facilitate his escape after some marauding excursion in a neighbouring park; and in some Gentleman's Magazine of the next century, it is not impossible, but that future antiquaries may occupy page after page in discussing so interesting a matter. We think it right, therefore, to put it on record in the Oriental Herald that the 'Shakesperian Rope Bridges' are of much less classic origin; that Mr Colin Shakespear, who, besides his dignity as Postmaster, now signs himself 'Superintendent General of Shakesperian Rope Bridges', is a person of much less genius than the Bard of Avon. --The Oriental Herald, 1825
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs information on how much has come true, also information in general. This is also the longest title text?|1311: 2014}}
The comic includes many predictions from the 1800s and early 1900s. Many of them are for the twenty-first century in general, and only three specifically mention 2014 (two of them as in "a century from now").

*"It's desirable '''every thing printed should be preserved,''' for we '''cannot now tell how useful it may become''' two centuries hence." (1834)
:A good idea. Now, with Google Books, this can be done in an easier manner.

*"I predict that a century hence the '''Canadian people''' will be '''the noblest specimens of humanity on the face of the earth'''" (1863)
:Notably, there is a common joke nowadays that Canadians are always calm, mellow, polite peoples, even when insulting others.
:The rest of the quote goes as follows: ''"all that was good in the Celt, the Saxon, the Gaul and other races, combining to form neither English, Irish, nor Welsh, but Canadians, who would take their place among the churches of Christendom and the nations of the earth."''
:This religious prediction probably wasn't believed even by its author. It's only a harangue.

*"In the twenty-first century '''mankind will subsist entirely upon jellies.'''" (1903)
:Concentrates, which are gelatine like, form a large part of our food sources.
:Absurd if taken literally, but if he's talking about processed foods in general then he's not too far from the mark.

*"The twenty-first century baby is destined to be rocked and cradled by electricity, warmed and coddled by electricity, perhaps fathered and mothered by electricity. '''Probably the only thing he will be left to do unaided will be to make love.'''" (1905)
:Probably an exaggeration even in its time
:But still valid to some degree, as many electronics are used in rearing children today. From incubators, warming blankets, walkie-talkies, etc to the TV.
:On the same coin, however, these are merely tools of assistance; the process of child-''rearing'' is still a human task by and large.
:Of course, with Viagra, Cialis, vibrators, and other kinkier toys, we don't even have to make love unaided.

*"To-day, in the city of New York, sixty-six different tongues are spoken. '''A century hence, there will probably be only one.'''" (1907)
:False. The number of languages spoken in New York City is believed to be greater than 100; some estimate as many as 800 languages are spoken there. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that in the greater New York metropolitan area, almost 7 million people speak a language other than English at home, including over 3.5 million who speak Spanish, 2 million who speak other Indo-European languages, 1 million who speak Asian or Pacific Island languages, and 300,000 who speak other languages. Also, New York City is the location of the headquarters of the United Nations, with diplomats from nearly every country in the world, and several official languages.

*"I often think '''what interesting history we are making for the student of the twenty-first century.'''" (William Carey Jones, 1908)
:Referring to the events that led to {{w|World War I}}. In 1908, {{w|Bosnian crisis|Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina}}. This led to the {{w|Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria|Sarajevo Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria}} in 1914 that is considered the starting event of the World War.

*"China may be a '''great shoe market''' a decade or a century from now." (1914)
:While it is true in 2013/14, the context behind it was false, as the premise originally was that the business in the western world could export shoes to China, when currently, most of the shoes are actually manufactured in China itself and exported to western world.
:Ironically though, the profits from the shoe selling go to overseas companies.

*"'''We cannot settle the problem,''' and I venture the prophecy that perhaps '''a century from now this same question may be brought before some future society and discussed very much as it is tonight.'''" (1914, on abortion)
:True - it is still heavily debated.

*"By the twenty-first century '''we shall all be telepaths.'''" (A character in Aldous Huxley's novel ''Antic Hay'', 1923)
:Since the quote talks about natural telepathy this prediction has not been fulfilled. Wikipedia article on {{w|Telepathy}} states: ''Scientific consensus does not view telepathy as a real phenomenon.''
:On the other hand, the widespread use of mobile phones allows us to communicate with many people from almost anywhere we're likely to be.
:More context for this prediction [http://books.google.com/books?id=pdXj2SZ1mT8C&pg=PA205]:
:"And it's my firm belief," said Gumbril Senior, adding notes to his epic, "that they [the birds] make use of some sort of telepathy, some kind of direct mind-to-mind communication between themselves. You can't watch them without coming to that conclusion." [...] "It's a faculty," Gumbril Senior went on, "we all possess, I believe. All we animals." [...] "By the twenty-first century, I believe, we shall all be telepaths. Meanwhile, these delightful birds have forestalled us."

*"The physician of the twenty-first century… may even criticize the language of the times, and may find that '''some of our words have become as offensive to him as the term "lunatic" has become offensive to us.'''" (1924)
:The word "lunatic" is still considered derogatory and because of that it would never be used in a clinical sense. At the time this was written, more specific terms such as "schizophrenic" were preferred, but now the noun use of that term (i.e., referring to the patient as "a schizophrenic") is itself deprecated in favor of more humanizing terms like "a patient with schizophrenia."
:He correctly predicts the trajectory of terms like "{{w|mentally retarded}}", itself adopted by his day to replace earlier terms for the intellectually disabled, such as "moron" and "imbecile", which had become pejorative. Soon enough the word "retard" joined them in that regard, and it now has largely been abandoned as a medical term.

*"Historians of the twenty-first century will look back with well-placed scorn on the '''shallow-minded days''' of the early twentieth century '''when football games and petting parties were considered the most important elements of a college education.'''" (1926)
:While media still encourages such images, colleges have started to become much more career oriented. Also, due to incidents involving sex-themed frosh weeks, there has actually been a greater emphasis to condemn sexual activities among college students.

*"'''In the year A.D. 2014''' journalists will be writing on the centenary of the great war — '''that is, if there has not been a greater war.'''" (1934)
:July 28, 2014 marks 100 years since the beginning of {{w|World War I}} (popularly called "The Great War" at the time), thus journalists will definitely write articles of this war. More than 9 million combatants were killed. However, unfortunately, there was a greater war, {{w|World War II}}, which killed around 25 million soldiers and an even greater number of civilians. Due to the larger scope, easily identifiable heroes and villains, and other factors, the second war occupies a much greater place in our collective memory.

The title text refers to a certain British officer, Mr. Colin Shakespeare, who experimented and promoted the use of rope suspension bridges in India, apparently for the ease of colonization and military operations.[http://books.google.com/books?id=aZRPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA367] The reference to "River Avon" is about the river of {{w|River Avon (Warwickshire)|Avon in Warwickshire}}, {{w|Stratford upon Avon}} being the town where {{w|William Shakespeare|Shakespeare (the playwright)}} was born and where he lived until his early twenties. The author is aware of the potential confusion that might result after decades or centuries have washed away the context, a topic xkcd has previously covered in [[771: Period Speech]]. As such, the author makes a point to separate the two Shakespeares.

==Transcript==
:(This is a series of quotes from various people of various timeframes. Each quote is followed by the author, the document of publication if applicable, and the year.)

:'''Notes from the past'''

:It's desirable '''every thing printed should be preserved,''' for we '''cannot now tell how useful it may become''' two centuries hence.
::Christopher Baldwin
:::'''1834'''

:I predict that a century hence the '''Canadian people''' will be '''the noblest specimens of humanity on the face of the earth'''
::Rev. John Bredin
:::'''1863'''

:In the twenty-first century '''mankind will subsist entirely upon jellies.'''
::''The Booklover''
:::'''1903'''

:The twenty-first century baby is destined to be rocked and cradled by electricity, warmed and coddled by electricity, perhaps fathered and mothered by electricity. '''Probably the only thing he will be left to do unaided will be to make love.'''
::Mrs. John Lane, ''The fortnightly''
:::'''1905'''

:To-day, in the city of New York, sixty-six different tongues are spoken. '''A century hence, there will probably be only one.'''
::''The American Historical Magazine''
:::'''1907'''

:I often think '''what interesting history we are making for the student of the twenty-first century.'''
::Willian Carey Jones
:::'''1908'''

:China may be a '''great shoe market''' a decade or a century from now.
::''Boot and Shoe Recorder''
:::'''1914'''

:'''We cannot settle the problem,''' and I venture the prophecy that perhaps '''a century from now this same question may be brought before some future society and discussed very much as it is tonight.'''
::Dr. Barton C. Hirst on the subject of '''abortion'''
:::'''1914'''

:By the twenty-first century I believe '''we shall all be telepaths.'''
::Gumbriel, character in ''Antic Hay''
:::'''1923'''

:The physician of the twenty-first century… may even criticize the language of the times, and may find that '''some of our words have become as offensive to him as the term "lunatic" has become offensive to us.'''
::Dr. C. Macfie Campbell
:::'''1924'''

:Historians of the twenty-first century will look back with well-placed scorn on the '''shallow-minded days''' of the early twentieth century '''when football games and petting parties were considered the most important elements of a college education.'''
::Mary Eileen Ahern, ''Library Bureau''
:::'''1926'''

:'''In the year A.D. 2014''' journalists will be writing on the centenary of the great war — '''that is, if there has not been a greater war.'''
::F.J.M, ''The Journalist''
:::'''1934'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Politics]]

1407: Worst Hurricane

2014-08-19T04:24:02Z

199.27.133.6: Betsy

{{comic
| number = 1407
| date = August 13, 2014
| title = Worst Hurricane
| image = worst_hurricane.png
| titletext = 'Finding a 105-year-old who's lived in each location and asking them which hurricane they think was the worst' is left as an exercise for the reader.
}}

This comic has a [http://xkcd.com/1407/large/ larger version] available.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|State, severity and remarks still need to be filled for all hurricanes.}}
The map divides America's Atlantic coastline into regions according to the worst hurricane that has hit each area in the last century, based on data from the North Atlantic hurricane database ({{w|HURDAT}}) and the {{w|National Centers for Environmental Prediction}} (NCEP). Most of the hurricanes are listed by their US reporting names, with hurricanes before 1953 (the year when the current naming system was established) being listed by their year and sometimes a sequence number or city name.

Hurricanes have a maximum wind speed in the eye-wall around the centre of the storm. After a storm passes over land it loses the warm water needed to power it, and rapidly dissipates. Around the Caribbean Sea there are major storms, like Katrina, that affect a long path inland, and storms such as Carmen that have had significant effects on local coastal areas. Further north the pattern changes, as hurricanes will be beginning to transform to an extra-tropical depression, and can intensify over land. There may be a degree of sample bias, as hurricanes from the early half of the twentieth century may not have been monitored as intensely after making landfall.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Date
! Name
! States
! Highest winds
! Lowest pressure
! Remarks
|-
|| 1915
|| {{w|1915_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1915 II}}
|| LA TX OK AR
|| 145 mph
|| 940 mbar
|| Hit hardest along the Texas coastline near {{w|1915_Galveston_hurricane|Galveston}}.
|-
|| 1915
|| {{w|1915_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1915 VI}}
|| LA MS AL TN KY WV PA
|| 145 mph
|| 931 mbar
|| Hit hardest in the areas near {{w|1915_New_Orleans_hurricane|New Orleans}}.
|-
|| 1916
|| {{w|1916_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Four|1916 IV}}
||
||
||
|| Caused severe floods in an area of North Carolina.
|-
|| 1916
|| {{w|1916_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1916 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest along the west side of {{w|1916_Texas_hurricane|Texas}}'s coastline.
|-
|| 1918
|| {{w|1918_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_One|1918 I}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in western Louisiana.
|-
|| 1921
|| {{w|1921_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1921 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in {{w|1921_Tampa_Bay_hurricane|Tampa Bay}}.
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_One|1926 I}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in {{w|1926_Nassau_hurricane|Nassau}} and a small area of north-eastern Florida.
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 III / II }}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 II}} did not hit land where indicated on the map. What is labelled "1926 II" is most likely Hurricane III which did make land around Lousiana but affected the entire coast line from Mobile Alabama. Hit hardest at the end of the Florida panhandle. {{w|1926_Louisiana_hurricane|Louisiana}}
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Seven|1926 VII / III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 III}} did not hit Miami as indicated on the map, instead it hit west Louisiana and Texas. What is labelled "1926 III" is most likely hurricane seven instead. It the {{w|1926_Miami_hurricane|Miami}} area the hardest. The costliest hurricane in US history.
|-
|| 1928
|| {{w|1928_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Four|1928 IV}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1928_Okeechobee_hurricane|Okeechobee}}
|-
|| 1932
|| {{w|1932_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1932 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1932_Freeport_hurricane|Freeport}}
|-
|| 1933
|| {{w|1933_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1933 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest along the western side of {{w|1933_Chesapeake-Potomac_hurricane|Chesapeake Bay}}.
|-
|| 1935
|| {{w|1935_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1935 III}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest on {{w|1935_Labor_Day_hurricane|Labor Day}} along two areas of western Florida. The 1935 hurricane is notable for being the strongest hurricane in American history.
|-
|| 1938
|| {{w|1938_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1938 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest around Long Island and Connecticut, {{w|1938_New_England_hurricane|New England}}. Although Sandy caused more monetary damage to the New Jersey/NYC area, the 1938 hurricane was more powerful and resulted in far more deaths.
|-
|| 1940
|| {{w|1940_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1940 III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1940_South_Carolina_hurricane|South Carolina}}
|-
|| 1941
|| {{w|1941_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1941 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1941_Texas_hurricane|Texas}}
|-
|| 1942
|| {{w|1942_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1942 III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1942_Matagorda_hurricane|Matagorda}}
|-
|| 1944
|| {{w|1944_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Seven|1944 VII}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1944_Great_Atlantic_hurricane|Great Atlantic hurricane}}
|-
|| 1944
|| {{w|1944_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Thirteen|1944 XII}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1944_Cuba–Florida_hurricane|Cuba–Florida}}
|-
|| 1946
|| {{w|1946_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1946 VI}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1946_Florida_hurricane|Florida}}
|-
|| 1947
|| {{w|1947_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Nine_.28King.29|1947 IX}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1947_Cape_Sable_hurricane|King}}
|-
|| 1949
|| {{w|1949_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1949 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1949_Florida_hurricane|Florida}}
|-
|| 1950
|| {{w|Hurricane_Easy_(1950)|Easy}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carol|Carol}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Edna|Edna}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hazel|Hazel}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1955
|| {{w|Hurricane_Connie|Connie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1955
|| {{w|Hurricane_Diane|Diane}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1957
|| {{w|Hurricane_Audrey|Audrey}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1958
|| {{w|Hurricane_Helene_(1958)|Helene}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1959
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gracie|Gracie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1960
|| {{w|Hurricane_Donna|Donna}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1961
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carla|Carla}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1961
|| {{w|Hurricane_Esther_(1961)|Esther}}
||
||
||
|| Labelled incorrectly as 1951.
|-
|| 1964
|| {{w|Hurricane_Dora|Dora}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1964
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hilda|Hilda}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1965
|| {{w|Hurricane_Betsy|Betsy}}
|| FL LA MS AR TE MO
|| 155 mph
|| 941 mbar
|| Tropical Cyclone
|-
|| 1966
|| {{w|Hurricane_Alma_(1966)|Alma}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1967
|| {{w|Hurricane_Beulah|Beulah}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1969
|| {{w|Hurricane_Camille|Camille}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1970
|| {{w|Hurricane_Celia|Celia}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1972
|| {{w|Hurricane_Agnes|Agnes}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1974
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carmen|Carmen}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1975
|| {{w|Hurricane_Eloise|Eloise}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1979
|| {{w|Hurricane_David|David}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1979
|| {{w|Hurricane_Frederic|Frederic}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1980
|| {{w|Hurricane_Allen|Allen}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1984
|| {{w|Hurricane_Diana_(1984)|Diana}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Elena|Elena}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gloria|Glora}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Kate_(1985)|Kate}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1989
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hugo|Hugo}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1991
|| {{w|Hurricane_Bob|Bob}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1992
|| {{w|Hurricane_Andrew|Andrew}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1995
|| {{w|Hurricane_Opal|Opal}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1996
|| {{w|Hurricane_Fran|Fran}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1998
|| {{w|Hurricane_Bonnie_(1998)|Bonnie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1999
|| {{w|Hurricane_Floyd|Floyd}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2002
|| {{w|Hurricane_Lili|Lili}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2003
|| {{w|Hurricane_Isabel|Isabel}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Charley|Charley}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Frances|Frances}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gaston_(2004)|Gaston}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Ivan|Ivan}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Jeanne|Jeanne}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Dennis|Dennis}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Katrina|Katrina}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Rita|Rita}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2008
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gustav|Gustav}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2008
|| {{w|Hurricane_Ike|Ike}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2011
|| {{w|Hurricane_Irene|Irene}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2011
|| {{w|Tropical_Storm_Lee_(2011)|Lee}}
||
||
||
|| Not a hurricane, but "just" a tropical storm
|-
|| 2012
|| {{w|Hurricane_Sandy|Sandy}}
||
||
||
|| Hitting the New York City and New Jersey area with devastating effects for the Jersey Shore area.
|}

A full list of North Atlantic hurricanes after {{w|Tropical cyclone naming}} was introduced can be found {{w|List_of_historic_tropical_cyclone_names#North_Atlantic|here}}.

The title text is a joke in light of this bleak humor, saying that finding residents in each of the regions who are old enough to have been alive through all of these is quite a daunting task. In principle, this would be the only way to confirm the "worst hurricane in living memory," and may be taken as a riposte to anyone who wishes to argue this map: "If you think there was a worse one, find a 105 year old resident who agrees!" 105 was likely chosen because most people can only remember back to an age when they were 5, so someone would have needed to be 5 years old to remember a hurricane in any detail 100 years later.

Hurricanes and especially their names have been featured before in comics [[453: Upcoming Hurricanes]], [[944: Hurricane Names]] and [[1126: Epsilon and Zeta]].

==Transcript==
:What's The
:;Worst Hurricane
:Anyone In Your Town Remembers?
:Estimated from Hurdat Database and NCEP rainfall totals
:1914-2014
:[A map of the east coast of the United States as far southwest as the Texas/Mexico border, as far northeast as the Maine/Canada border, and as far inland as Kentucky. The map has coastal regions blocked out with the name and year of the worst hurricane in the last 100 years.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Hurricanes]]

1407: Worst Hurricane

2014-08-19T04:17:17Z

199.27.133.6: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1407
| date = August 13, 2014
| title = Worst Hurricane
| image = worst_hurricane.png
| titletext = 'Finding a 105-year-old who's lived in each location and asking them which hurricane they think was the worst' is left as an exercise for the reader.
}}

This comic has a [http://xkcd.com/1407/large/ larger version] available.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|State, severity and remarks still need to be filled for all hurricanes.}}
The map divides America's Atlantic coastline into regions according to the worst hurricane that has hit each area in the last century, based on data from the North Atlantic hurricane database ({{w|HURDAT}}) and the {{w|National Centers for Environmental Prediction}} (NCEP). Most of the hurricanes are listed by their US reporting names, with hurricanes before 1953 (the year when the current naming system was established) being listed by their year and sometimes a sequence number or city name.

Hurricanes have a maximum wind speed in the eye-wall around the centre of the storm. After a storm passes over land it loses the warm water needed to power it, and rapidly dissipates. Around the Caribbean Sea there are major storms, like Katrina, that affect a long path inland, and storms such as Carmen that have had significant effects on local coastal areas. Further north the pattern changes, as hurricanes will be beginning to transform to an extra-tropical depression, and can intensify over land. There may be a degree of sample bias, as hurricanes from the early half of the twentieth century may not have been monitored as intensely after making landfall.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Date
! Name
! States
! Highest winds
! Lowest pressure
! Remarks
|-
|| 1915
|| {{w|1915_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1915 II}}
|| LA TX OK AR
|| 145 mph
|| 940 mbar
|| Hit hardest along the Texas coastline near {{w|1915_Galveston_hurricane|Galveston}}.
|-
|| 1915
|| {{w|1915_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1915 VI}}
|| LA MS AL TN KY WV PA
|| 145 mph
|| 931 mbar
|| Hit hardest in the areas near {{w|1915_New_Orleans_hurricane|New Orleans}}.
|-
|| 1916
|| {{w|1916_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Four|1916 IV}}
||
||
||
|| Caused severe floods in an area of North Carolina.
|-
|| 1916
|| {{w|1916_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1916 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest along the west side of {{w|1916_Texas_hurricane|Texas}}'s coastline.
|-
|| 1918
|| {{w|1918_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_One|1918 I}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in western Louisiana.
|-
|| 1921
|| {{w|1921_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1921 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in {{w|1921_Tampa_Bay_hurricane|Tampa Bay}}.
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_One|1926 I}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in {{w|1926_Nassau_hurricane|Nassau}} and a small area of north-eastern Florida.
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 III / II }}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 II}} did not hit land where indicated on the map. What is labelled "1926 II" is most likely Hurricane III which did make land around Lousiana but affected the entire coast line from Mobile Alabama. Hit hardest at the end of the Florida panhandle. {{w|1926_Louisiana_hurricane|Louisiana}}
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Seven|1926 VII / III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 III}} did not hit Miami as indicated on the map, instead it hit west Louisiana and Texas. What is labelled "1926 III" is most likely hurricane seven instead. It the {{w|1926_Miami_hurricane|Miami}} area the hardest. The costliest hurricane in US history.
|-
|| 1928
|| {{w|1928_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Four|1928 IV}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1928_Okeechobee_hurricane|Okeechobee}}
|-
|| 1932
|| {{w|1932_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1932 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1932_Freeport_hurricane|Freeport}}
|-
|| 1933
|| {{w|1933_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1933 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest along the western side of {{w|1933_Chesapeake-Potomac_hurricane|Chesapeake Bay}}.
|-
|| 1935
|| {{w|1935_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1935 III}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest on {{w|1935_Labor_Day_hurricane|Labor Day}} along two areas of western Florida. The 1935 hurricane is notable for being the strongest hurricane in American history.
|-
|| 1938
|| {{w|1938_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1938 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest around Long Island and Connecticut, {{w|1938_New_England_hurricane|New England}}. Although Sandy caused more monetary damage to the New Jersey/NYC area, the 1938 hurricane was more powerful and resulted in far more deaths.
|-
|| 1940
|| {{w|1940_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1940 III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1940_South_Carolina_hurricane|South Carolina}}
|-
|| 1941
|| {{w|1941_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1941 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1941_Texas_hurricane|Texas}}
|-
|| 1942
|| {{w|1942_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1942 III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1942_Matagorda_hurricane|Matagorda}}
|-
|| 1944
|| {{w|1944_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Seven|1944 VII}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1944_Great_Atlantic_hurricane|Great Atlantic hurricane}}
|-
|| 1944
|| {{w|1944_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Thirteen|1944 XII}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1944_Cuba–Florida_hurricane|Cuba–Florida}}
|-
|| 1946
|| {{w|1946_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1946 VI}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1946_Florida_hurricane|Florida}}
|-
|| 1947
|| {{w|1947_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Nine_.28King.29|1947 IX}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1947_Cape_Sable_hurricane|King}}
|-
|| 1949
|| {{w|1949_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1949 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1949_Florida_hurricane|Florida}}
|-
|| 1950
|| {{w|Hurricane_Easy_(1950)|Easy}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carol|Carol}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Edna|Edna}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hazel|Hazel}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1955
|| {{w|Hurricane_Connie|Connie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1955
|| {{w|Hurricane_Diane|Diane}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1957
|| {{w|Hurricane_Audrey|Audrey}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1958
|| {{w|Hurricane_Helene_(1958)|Helene}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1959
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gracie|Gracie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1960
|| {{w|Hurricane_Donna|Donna}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1961
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carla|Carla}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1961
|| {{w|Hurricane_Esther_(1961)|Esther}}
||
||
||
|| Labelled incorrectly as 1951.
|-
|| 1964
|| {{w|Hurricane_Dora|Dora}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1964
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hilda|Hilda}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1965
|| {{w|Hurricane_Betsy|Betsy}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1966
|| {{w|Hurricane_Alma_(1966)|Alma}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1967
|| {{w|Hurricane_Beulah|Beulah}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1969
|| {{w|Hurricane_Camille|Camille}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1970
|| {{w|Hurricane_Celia|Celia}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1972
|| {{w|Hurricane_Agnes|Agnes}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1974
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carmen|Carmen}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1975
|| {{w|Hurricane_Eloise|Eloise}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1979
|| {{w|Hurricane_David|David}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1979
|| {{w|Hurricane_Frederic|Frederic}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1980
|| {{w|Hurricane_Allen|Allen}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1984
|| {{w|Hurricane_Diana_(1984)|Diana}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Elena|Elena}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gloria|Glora}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Kate_(1985)|Kate}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1989
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hugo|Hugo}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1991
|| {{w|Hurricane_Bob|Bob}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1992
|| {{w|Hurricane_Andrew|Andrew}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1995
|| {{w|Hurricane_Opal|Opal}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1996
|| {{w|Hurricane_Fran|Fran}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1998
|| {{w|Hurricane_Bonnie_(1998)|Bonnie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1999
|| {{w|Hurricane_Floyd|Floyd}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2002
|| {{w|Hurricane_Lili|Lili}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2003
|| {{w|Hurricane_Isabel|Isabel}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Charley|Charley}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Frances|Frances}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gaston_(2004)|Gaston}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Ivan|Ivan}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Jeanne|Jeanne}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Dennis|Dennis}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Katrina|Katrina}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Rita|Rita}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2008
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gustav|Gustav}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2008
|| {{w|Hurricane_Ike|Ike}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2011
|| {{w|Hurricane_Irene|Irene}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2011
|| {{w|Tropical_Storm_Lee_(2011)|Lee}}
||
||
||
|| Not a hurricane, but "just" a tropical storm
|-
|| 2012
|| {{w|Hurricane_Sandy|Sandy}}
||
||
||
|| Hitting the New York City and New Jersey area with devastating effects for the Jersey Shore area.
|}

A full list of North Atlantic hurricanes after {{w|Tropical cyclone naming}} was introduced can be found {{w|List_of_historic_tropical_cyclone_names#North_Atlantic|here}}.

The title text is a joke in light of this bleak humor, saying that finding residents in each of the regions who are old enough to have been alive through all of these is quite a daunting task. In principle, this would be the only way to confirm the "worst hurricane in living memory," and may be taken as a riposte to anyone who wishes to argue this map: "If you think there was a worse one, find a 105 year old resident who agrees!" 105 was likely chosen because most people can only remember back to an age when they were 5, so someone would have needed to be 5 years old to remember a hurricane in any detail 100 years later.

Hurricanes and especially their names have been featured before in comics [[453: Upcoming Hurricanes]], [[944: Hurricane Names]] and [[1126: Epsilon and Zeta]].

==Transcript==
:What's The
:;Worst Hurricane
:Anyone In Your Town Remembers?
:Estimated from Hurdat Database and NCEP rainfall totals
:1914-2014
:[A map of the east coast of the United States as far southwest as the Texas/Mexico border, as far northeast as the Maine/Canada border, and as far inland as Kentucky. The map has coastal regions blocked out with the name and year of the worst hurricane in the last 100 years.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Hurricanes]]

1407: Worst Hurricane

2014-08-19T04:16:03Z

199.27.133.6: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1407
| date = August 13, 2014
| title = Worst Hurricane
| image = worst_hurricane.png
| titletext = 'Finding a 105-year-old who's lived in each location and asking them which hurricane they think was the worst' is left as an exercise for the reader.
}}

This comic has a [http://xkcd.com/1407/large/ larger version] available.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|State, severity and remarks still need to be filled for all hurricanes.}}
The map divides America's Atlantic coastline into regions according to the worst hurricane that has hit each area in the last century, based on data from the North Atlantic hurricane database ({{w|HURDAT}}) and the {{w|National Centers for Environmental Prediction}} (NCEP). Most of the hurricanes are listed by their US reporting names, with hurricanes before 1953 (the year when the current naming system was established) being listed by their year and sometimes a sequence number or city name.

Hurricanes have a maximum wind speed in the eye-wall around the centre of the storm. After a storm passes over land it loses the warm water needed to power it, and rapidly dissipates. Around the Caribbean Sea there are major storms, like Katrina, that affect a long path inland, and storms such as Carmen that have had significant effects on local coastal areas. Further north the pattern changes, as hurricanes will be beginning to transform to an extra-tropical depression, and can intensify over land. There may be a degree of sample bias, as hurricanes from the early half of the twentieth century may not have been monitored as intensely after making landfall.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Date
! Name
! States
! Highest winds
! Lowest pressure
! Remarks
|-
|| 1915
|| {{w|1915_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1915 II}}
|| LA TX OK AR
|| 145 mph
|| 940 mbar
|| Hit hardest along the Texas coastline near {{w|1915_Galveston_hurricane|Galveston}}.
|-
|| 1915
|| {{w|1915_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1915 VI}}
|| LA MS AL TN KY WV PA
|| 145 mph
|| 931 mbar
|| Hit hardest in the areas near {{w|1915_New_Orleans_hurricane|New Orleans}}.
|-
|| 1916
|| {{w|1916_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Four|1916 IV}}
||
||
||
|| Caused severe floods in an area of North Carolina.
|-
|| 1916
|| {{w|1916_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1916 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest along the west side of {{w|1916_Texas_hurricane|Texas}}'s coastline.
|-
|| 1918
|| {{w|1918_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_One|1918 I}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in western Louisiana.
|-
|| 1921
|| {{w|1921_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1921 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in {{w|1921_Tampa_Bay_hurricane|Tampa Bay}}.
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_One|1926 I}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in {{w|1926_Nassau_hurricane|Nassau}} and a small area of north-eastern Florida.
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 III} / II}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 II}} did not hit land where indicated on the map. What is labelled "1926 II" is most likely Hurricane III which did make land around Lousiana but affected the entire coast line from Mobile Alabama. Hit hardest at the end of the Florida panhandle. {{w|1926_Louisiana_hurricane|Louisiana}}
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Seven|1926 VII / III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 III}} did not hit Miami as indicated on the map, instead it hit west Louisiana and Texas. What is labelled "1926 III" is most likely hurricane seven instead. It the {{w|1926_Miami_hurricane|Miami}} area the hardest. The costliest hurricane in US history.
|-
|| 1928
|| {{w|1928_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Four|1928 IV}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1928_Okeechobee_hurricane|Okeechobee}}
|-
|| 1932
|| {{w|1932_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1932 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1932_Freeport_hurricane|Freeport}}
|-
|| 1933
|| {{w|1933_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1933 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest along the western side of {{w|1933_Chesapeake-Potomac_hurricane|Chesapeake Bay}}.
|-
|| 1935
|| {{w|1935_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1935 III}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest on {{w|1935_Labor_Day_hurricane|Labor Day}} along two areas of western Florida. The 1935 hurricane is notable for being the strongest hurricane in American history.
|-
|| 1938
|| {{w|1938_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1938 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest around Long Island and Connecticut, {{w|1938_New_England_hurricane|New England}}. Although Sandy caused more monetary damage to the New Jersey/NYC area, the 1938 hurricane was more powerful and resulted in far more deaths.
|-
|| 1940
|| {{w|1940_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1940 III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1940_South_Carolina_hurricane|South Carolina}}
|-
|| 1941
|| {{w|1941_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1941 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1941_Texas_hurricane|Texas}}
|-
|| 1942
|| {{w|1942_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1942 III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1942_Matagorda_hurricane|Matagorda}}
|-
|| 1944
|| {{w|1944_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Seven|1944 VII}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1944_Great_Atlantic_hurricane|Great Atlantic hurricane}}
|-
|| 1944
|| {{w|1944_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Thirteen|1944 XII}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1944_Cuba–Florida_hurricane|Cuba–Florida}}
|-
|| 1946
|| {{w|1946_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1946 VI}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1946_Florida_hurricane|Florida}}
|-
|| 1947
|| {{w|1947_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Nine_.28King.29|1947 IX}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1947_Cape_Sable_hurricane|King}}
|-
|| 1949
|| {{w|1949_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1949 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1949_Florida_hurricane|Florida}}
|-
|| 1950
|| {{w|Hurricane_Easy_(1950)|Easy}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carol|Carol}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Edna|Edna}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hazel|Hazel}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1955
|| {{w|Hurricane_Connie|Connie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1955
|| {{w|Hurricane_Diane|Diane}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1957
|| {{w|Hurricane_Audrey|Audrey}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1958
|| {{w|Hurricane_Helene_(1958)|Helene}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1959
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gracie|Gracie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1960
|| {{w|Hurricane_Donna|Donna}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1961
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carla|Carla}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1961
|| {{w|Hurricane_Esther_(1961)|Esther}}
||
||
||
|| Labelled incorrectly as 1951.
|-
|| 1964
|| {{w|Hurricane_Dora|Dora}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1964
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hilda|Hilda}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1965
|| {{w|Hurricane_Betsy|Betsy}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1966
|| {{w|Hurricane_Alma_(1966)|Alma}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1967
|| {{w|Hurricane_Beulah|Beulah}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1969
|| {{w|Hurricane_Camille|Camille}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1970
|| {{w|Hurricane_Celia|Celia}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1972
|| {{w|Hurricane_Agnes|Agnes}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1974
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carmen|Carmen}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1975
|| {{w|Hurricane_Eloise|Eloise}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1979
|| {{w|Hurricane_David|David}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1979
|| {{w|Hurricane_Frederic|Frederic}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1980
|| {{w|Hurricane_Allen|Allen}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1984
|| {{w|Hurricane_Diana_(1984)|Diana}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Elena|Elena}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gloria|Glora}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Kate_(1985)|Kate}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1989
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hugo|Hugo}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1991
|| {{w|Hurricane_Bob|Bob}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1992
|| {{w|Hurricane_Andrew|Andrew}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1995
|| {{w|Hurricane_Opal|Opal}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1996
|| {{w|Hurricane_Fran|Fran}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1998
|| {{w|Hurricane_Bonnie_(1998)|Bonnie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1999
|| {{w|Hurricane_Floyd|Floyd}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2002
|| {{w|Hurricane_Lili|Lili}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2003
|| {{w|Hurricane_Isabel|Isabel}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Charley|Charley}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Frances|Frances}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gaston_(2004)|Gaston}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Ivan|Ivan}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Jeanne|Jeanne}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Dennis|Dennis}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Katrina|Katrina}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Rita|Rita}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2008
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gustav|Gustav}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2008
|| {{w|Hurricane_Ike|Ike}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2011
|| {{w|Hurricane_Irene|Irene}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2011
|| {{w|Tropical_Storm_Lee_(2011)|Lee}}
||
||
||
|| Not a hurricane, but "just" a tropical storm
|-
|| 2012
|| {{w|Hurricane_Sandy|Sandy}}
||
||
||
|| Hitting the New York City and New Jersey area with devastating effects for the Jersey Shore area.
|}

A full list of North Atlantic hurricanes after {{w|Tropical cyclone naming}} was introduced can be found {{w|List_of_historic_tropical_cyclone_names#North_Atlantic|here}}.

The title text is a joke in light of this bleak humor, saying that finding residents in each of the regions who are old enough to have been alive through all of these is quite a daunting task. In principle, this would be the only way to confirm the "worst hurricane in living memory," and may be taken as a riposte to anyone who wishes to argue this map: "If you think there was a worse one, find a 105 year old resident who agrees!" 105 was likely chosen because most people can only remember back to an age when they were 5, so someone would have needed to be 5 years old to remember a hurricane in any detail 100 years later.

Hurricanes and especially their names have been featured before in comics [[453: Upcoming Hurricanes]], [[944: Hurricane Names]] and [[1126: Epsilon and Zeta]].

==Transcript==
:What's The
:;Worst Hurricane
:Anyone In Your Town Remembers?
:Estimated from Hurdat Database and NCEP rainfall totals
:1914-2014
:[A map of the east coast of the United States as far southwest as the Texas/Mexico border, as far northeast as the Maine/Canada border, and as far inland as Kentucky. The map has coastal regions blocked out with the name and year of the worst hurricane in the last 100 years.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Hurricanes]]

1407: Worst Hurricane

2014-08-19T04:12:39Z

199.27.133.6: 1926 II and III

{{comic
| number = 1407
| date = August 13, 2014
| title = Worst Hurricane
| image = worst_hurricane.png
| titletext = 'Finding a 105-year-old who's lived in each location and asking them which hurricane they think was the worst' is left as an exercise for the reader.
}}

This comic has a [http://xkcd.com/1407/large/ larger version] available.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|State, severity and remarks still need to be filled for all hurricanes.}}
The map divides America's Atlantic coastline into regions according to the worst hurricane that has hit each area in the last century, based on data from the North Atlantic hurricane database ({{w|HURDAT}}) and the {{w|National Centers for Environmental Prediction}} (NCEP). Most of the hurricanes are listed by their US reporting names, with hurricanes before 1953 (the year when the current naming system was established) being listed by their year and sometimes a sequence number or city name.

Hurricanes have a maximum wind speed in the eye-wall around the centre of the storm. After a storm passes over land it loses the warm water needed to power it, and rapidly dissipates. Around the Caribbean Sea there are major storms, like Katrina, that affect a long path inland, and storms such as Carmen that have had significant effects on local coastal areas. Further north the pattern changes, as hurricanes will be beginning to transform to an extra-tropical depression, and can intensify over land. There may be a degree of sample bias, as hurricanes from the early half of the twentieth century may not have been monitored as intensely after making landfall.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Date
! Name
! States
! Highest winds
! Lowest pressure
! Remarks
|-
|| 1915
|| {{w|1915_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1915 II}}
|| LA TX OK AR
|| 145 mph
|| 940 mbar
|| Hit hardest along the Texas coastline near {{w|1915_Galveston_hurricane|Galveston}}.
|-
|| 1915
|| {{w|1915_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1915 VI}}
|| LA MS AL TN KY WV PA
|| 145 mph
|| 931 mbar
|| Hit hardest in the areas near {{w|1915_New_Orleans_hurricane|New Orleans}}.
|-
|| 1916
|| {{w|1916_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Four|1916 IV}}
||
||
||
|| Caused severe floods in an area of North Carolina.
|-
|| 1916
|| {{w|1916_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1916 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest along the west side of {{w|1916_Texas_hurricane|Texas}}'s coastline.
|-
|| 1918
|| {{w|1918_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_One|1918 I}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in western Louisiana.
|-
|| 1921
|| {{w|1921_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1921 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in {{w|1921_Tampa_Bay_hurricane|Tampa Bay}}.
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_One|1926 I}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest in {{w|1926_Nassau_hurricane|Nassau}} and a small area of north-eastern Florida.
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 III} / II}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 II}} did not hit land where indicated on the map. What is labelled "1926 II" is most likely Hurricane III which did make land around Lousiana but affected the entire coast line from Mobile Alabama. Hit hardest at the end of the Florida panhandle. {{w|1926_Louisiana_hurricane|Louisiana}}
|-
|| 1926
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Seven|1926 VII / III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1926_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1926 III}} did not hit Miami as indicated on the map, instead it hit west Louisiana and Texas. What is labelled "1926 III" is most likely hurricane seven instead. It the {{w|1926_Miami_hurricane|Miami}} area the hardest. The costliest hurricane in US history.
|-
|| 1928
|| {{w|1928_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Four|1928 IV}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1928_Okeechobee_hurricane|Okeechobee}}
|-
|| 1932
|| {{w|1932_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1932 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1932_Freeport_hurricane|Freeport}}
|-
|| 1933
|| {{w|1933_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1933 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest along the western side of {{w|1933_Chesapeake-Potomac_hurricane|Chesapeake Bay}}.
|-
|| 1935
|| {{w|1935_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1935 III}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest on {{w|1935_Labor_Day_hurricane|Labor Day}} along two areas of western Florida. The 1935 hurricane is notable for being the strongest hurricane in American history.
|-
|| 1938
|| {{w|1938_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1938 VI}}
||
||
||
|| Hit hardest around Long Island and Connecticut, {{w|1938_New_England_hurricane|New England}}. Although Sandy caused more monetary damage to the New Jersey/NYC area, the 1938 hurricane was more powerful and resulted in far more deaths.
|-
|| 1940
|| {{w|1940_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1940 III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1940_South_Carolina_hurricane|South Carolina}}
|-
|| 1941
|| {{w|1941_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1941 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1941_Texas_hurricane|Texas}}
|-
|| 1942
|| {{w|1942_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Three|1942 III}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1942_Matagorda_hurricane|Matagorda}}
|-
|| 1944
|| {{w|1944_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Seven|1944 VII}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1944_Great_Atlantic_hurricane|Great Atlantic hurricane}}
|-
|| 1944
|| {{w|1944_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Thirteen|1944 XII}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1944_Cuba–Florida_hurricane|Cuba–Florida}}
|-
|| 1946
|| {{w|1946_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Six|1946 VI}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1946_Florida_hurricane|Florida}}
|-
|| 1947
|| {{w|1947_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Nine_.28King.29|1947 IX}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1947_Cape_Sable_hurricane|King}}
|-
|| 1949
|| {{w|1949_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Hurricane_Two|1949 II}}
||
||
||
|| {{w|1949_Florida_hurricane|Florida}}
|-
|| 1950
|| {{w|Hurricane_Easy_(1950)|Easy}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carol|Carol}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Edna|Edna}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1954
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hazel|Hazel}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1955
|| {{w|Hurricane_Connie|Connie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1955
|| {{w|Hurricane_Diane|Diane}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1957
|| {{w|Hurricane_Audrey|Audrey}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1958
|| {{w|Hurricane_Helene_(1958)|Helene}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1959
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gracie|Gracie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1960
|| {{w|Hurricane_Donna|Donna}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1961
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carla|Carla}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1961
|| {{w|Hurricane_Esther_(1961)|Esther}}
||
||
||
|| Labelled incorrectly as 1951.
|-
|| 1964
|| {{w|Hurricane_Dora|Dora}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1964
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hilda|Hilda}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1965
|| {{w|Hurricane_Betsy|Betsy}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1966
|| {{w|Hurricane_Alma_(1966)|Alma}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1967
|| {{w|Hurricane_Beulah|Beulah}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1969
|| {{w|Hurricane_Camille|Camille}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1970
|| {{w|Hurricane_Celia|Celia}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1972
|| {{w|Hurricane_Agnes|Agnes}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1974
|| {{w|Hurricane_Carmen|Carmen}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1975
|| {{w|Hurricane_Eloise|Eloise}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1979
|| {{w|Hurricane_David|David}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1979
|| {{w|Hurricane_Frederic|Frederic}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1980
|| {{w|Hurricane_Allen|Allen}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1984
|| {{w|Hurricane_Diana_(1984)|Diana}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Elena|Elena}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gloria|Glora}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1985
|| {{w|Hurricane_Kate_(1985)|Kate}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1989
|| {{w|Hurricane_Hugo|Hugo}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1991
|| {{w|Hurricane_Bob|Bob}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1992
|| {{w|Hurricane_Andrew|Andrew}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1995
|| {{w|Hurricane_Opal|Opal}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1996
|| {{w|Hurricane_Fran|Fran}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1998
|| {{w|Hurricane_Bonnie_(1998)|Bonnie}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 1999
|| {{w|Hurricane_Floyd|Floyd}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2002
|| {{w|Hurricane_Lili|Lili}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2003
|| {{w|Hurricane_Isabel|Isabel}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Charley|Charley}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Frances|Frances}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gaston_(2004)|Gaston}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Ivan|Ivan}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2004
|| {{w|Hurricane_Jeanne|Jeanne}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Dennis|Dennis}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Katrina|Katrina}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2005
|| {{w|Hurricane_Rita|Rita}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2008
|| {{w|Hurricane_Gustav|Gustav}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2008
|| {{w|Hurricane_Ike|Ike}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2011
|| {{w|Hurricane_Irene|Irene}}
||
||
||
||
|-
|| 2011
|| {{w|Tropical_Storm_Lee_(2011)|Lee}}
||
||
||
|| Not a hurricane, but "just" a tropical storm
|-
|| 2012
|| {{w|Hurricane_Sandy|Sandy}}
||
||
||
||
|}

A full list of North Atlantic hurricanes after {{w|Tropical cyclone naming}} was introduced can be found {{w|List_of_historic_tropical_cyclone_names#North_Atlantic|here}}.

The title text is a joke in light of this bleak humor, saying that finding residents in each of the regions who are old enough to have been alive through all of these is quite a daunting task. In principle, this would be the only way to confirm the "worst hurricane in living memory," and may be taken as a riposte to anyone who wishes to argue this map: "If you think there was a worse one, find a 105 year old resident who agrees!" 105 was likely chosen because most people can only remember back to an age when they were 5, so someone would have needed to be 5 years old to remember a hurricane in any detail 100 years later.

Hurricanes and especially their names have been featured before in comics [[453: Upcoming Hurricanes]], [[944: Hurricane Names]] and [[1126: Epsilon and Zeta]].

==Transcript==
:What's The
:;Worst Hurricane
:Anyone In Your Town Remembers?
:Estimated from Hurdat Database and NCEP rainfall totals
:1914-2014
:[A map of the east coast of the United States as far southwest as the Texas/Mexico border, as far northeast as the Maine/Canada border, and as far inland as Kentucky. The map has coastal regions blocked out with the name and year of the worst hurricane in the last 100 years.]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Hurricanes]]

1404: Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma

2014-08-10T10:50:20Z

199.27.133.6: consolidated duplicate sentences

{{comic
| number = 1404
| date = August 6, 2014
| title = Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma
| image = quantum_vacuum_virtual_plasma.png
| titletext = I don't understand the things you do, and you therefore may represent an interaction with the quantum vacuum virtual plasma.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the [http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/08/jscs-stealthy-s.html recent news] of a {{w|Quantum vacuum plasma thruster|microwave thruster}} which allegedly produces thrust without expelling any propellant or microwaves, a violation of {{w|Momentum#Conservation|conservation of momentum}}. This type of thruster would provide delta velocity without conventional limits according to the {{w|Tsiolkovsky rocket equation}} since the initial mass and final mass are the same. And indeed, the authors of a recent presentation at a [http://rghost.net/57230791 conference (PDF)] spoke about the space applications of such a device if it worked as claimed. But while they hooked it up to a measurement apparatus, applied RF input and measured changes in the apparatus, their interpretation of the experiment conducted in an air-filled stainless-steel chamber as a tiny ''thrust'' explainable under the moniker of "quantum vacuum virtual plasma". An official statement by NASA's {{w|Johnson Space Center}} is still [http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/08/jsc-is-still-si.html missing].

The title of the comic directly refers to this hypothetical new physics mechanism of interacting with the "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," a [https://plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/WfFtJ8bYVya combination of] [http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2014/08/04/impossible-thruster-probably-impossible/ physics words] that don't normally go together.

The first part of the comic has Megan commenting on how the engine was, in layman's terms, "twitching", and states that with that much power she'd expect something more forceful.

The final frame is all jokes based on {{w|quantum mechanics}} and {{w|uncertainty principle}} which is famously exemplified through {{w|Schrödinger's Cat}} which is both alive and dead at the same time -- a reference to the {{w|Copenhagen interpretation}} of {{w|quantum mechanics}} where two opposite outcomes simultaneously exist until such a time where they are actually {{w|Observed#Observational_paradoxes|observed}}. The observation that "twitching" is an expected outcome for various complex systems, including biological ones, when arbitrarily large electric or microwave power is injected. The last panel is also a joke about quantum supposition, where equivalence between twitching and the hypothetical new physics is pooh-poohed, because Megan was not previously revealed to operate by the principle of "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," to which Megan responds that she is a complex entity and very well might have new physics inside her -- a misappropriation of the uncertainty principle suggesting it may be true since not yet {{w|Observed#Observational_paradoxes|observed}}.

The title text suggests that the authors of the NASA paper subscribe to the principle that unexpected behaviors of complex systems should best be explained by invoking new physics rather than by making a detailed study of the complexities of the system. This runs contrary to generally accepted approach in science.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking together in the foreground.]
:Cueball: Hear about that "impossible" microwave thruster?

:[They stop walking and Cueball turns to face Megan.]
:Megan: Yeah. Let me get this straight — they pumped 20 kilowatts into a box under ambient conditions
:...and it only twitched a ''little''?
:Cueball: Yeah.

:[Zoomed out - they are seen in silhouette walking together again.]
:Megan: ''That's'' surprising. If you pumped 20 kilowatts into ''me'', I'd twitch a ''lot''.
:Cueball: But you're not pushing on the quantum vacuum.
:Megan: I ''might'' be. I do a lot of things.
:Cueball: I guess we can't be sure.

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

1404: Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma

2014-08-10T10:43:16Z

199.27.133.6: typo

{{comic
| number = 1404
| date = August 6, 2014
| title = Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma
| image = quantum_vacuum_virtual_plasma.png
| titletext = I don't understand the things you do, and you therefore may represent an interaction with the quantum vacuum virtual plasma.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the [http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/08/jscs-stealthy-s.html recent news] of a {{w|Quantum vacuum plasma thruster|microwave thruster}} which allegedly produces thrust without expelling any propellant or microwaves, a violation of {{w|Momentum#Conservation|conservation of momentum}}. This type of thruster would provide delta velocity without conventional limits according to the {{w|Tsiolkovsky rocket equation}} since the initial mass and final mass are the same. And indeed, the authors of a recent presentation at a [http://rghost.net/57230791 conference (PDF)] spoke about the space applications of such a device if it worked as claimed. But while they hooked it up to a measurement apparatus, applied RF input and measured changes in the apparatus, their interpretation of the experiment conducted in an air-filled stainless-steel chamber as a tiny ''thrust'' explainable under the moniker of "quantum vacuum virtual plasma". An official statement by NASA's {{w|Johnson Space Center}} is still [http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/08/jsc-is-still-si.html missing].

The title of the comic directly refers to this hypothetical new physics mechanism of interacting with the "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," a [https://plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/WfFtJ8bYVya combination of] [http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2014/08/04/impossible-thruster-probably-impossible/ physics words] that don't normally go together.

The first part of the comic has Megan commenting on how the engine was, in layman's terms, "twitching", and states that with that much power she'd expect something more forceful.

The final frame is all jokes based on {{w|quantum mechanics}} and {{w|uncertainty principle}} which is famously exemplified through {{w|Schrödinger's Cat}} which is both alive and dead at the same time -- a reference to the {{w|Copenhagen interpretation}} of {{w|quantum mechanics}} where two opposite outcomes simultaneously exist until such a time where they are actually {{w|Observed#Observational_paradoxes|observed}}. The observation that "twitching" is an expected outcome for various complex systems, including biological ones, when arbitrarily large electric or microwave power is injected. The equivalence between twitching and the hypothetical new physics is pooh-poohed because Megan was not previously revealed to operate by the principle of "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," to which Megan responds that she is a complex entity and very well might have new physics inside her -- a misappropriation of the uncertainty principle suggesting it may be true since not observed. The last panel is also a joke about quantum supposition, since Megan "may or may not be pushing on the quantum vacuum" and Cueball concedes that until he sees the conclusion, he supposes Megan to be both and neither and "can't be sure" since not yet {{w|Observed#Observational_paradoxes|observed}}.

The title text suggests that the authors of the NASA paper subscribe to the principle that unexpected behaviors of complex systems should best be explained by invoking new physics rather than by making a detailed study of the complexities of the system. This runs contrary to generally accepted approach in science.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking together in the foreground.]
:Cueball: Hear about that "impossible" microwave thruster?

:[They stop walking and Cueball turns to face Megan.]
:Megan: Yeah. Let me get this straight — they pumped 20 kilowatts into a box under ambient conditions
:...and it only twitched a ''little''?
:Cueball: Yeah.

:[Zoomed out - they are seen in silhouette walking together again.]
:Megan: ''That's'' surprising. If you pumped 20 kilowatts into ''me'', I'd twitch a ''lot''.
:Cueball: But you're not pushing on the quantum vacuum.
:Megan: I ''might'' be. I do a lot of things.
:Cueball: I guess we can't be sure.

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

1404: Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma

2014-08-10T10:42:22Z

199.27.133.6: Rewrote a chunk to properly link and account for quantum mech and uncertainty principle

{{comic
| number = 1404
| date = August 6, 2014
| title = Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma
| image = quantum_vacuum_virtual_plasma.png
| titletext = I don't understand the things you do, and you therefore may represent an interaction with the quantum vacuum virtual plasma.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the [http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/08/jscs-stealthy-s.html recent news] of a {{w|Quantum vacuum plasma thruster|microwave thruster}} which allegedly produces thrust without expelling any propellant or microwaves, a violation of {{w|Momentum#Conservation|conservation of momentum}}. This type of thruster would provide delta velocity without conventional limits according to the {{w|Tsiolkovsky rocket equation}} since the initial mass and final mass are the same. And indeed, the authors of a recent presentation at a [http://rghost.net/57230791 conference (PDF)] spoke about the space applications of such a device if it worked as claimed. But while they hooked it up to a measurement apparatus, applied RF input and measured changes in the apparatus, their interpretation of the experiment conducted in an air-filled stainless-steel chamber as a tiny ''thrust'' explainable under the moniker of "quantum vacuum virtual plasma". An official statement by NASA's {{w|Johnson Space Center}} is still [http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/08/jsc-is-still-si.html missing].

The title of the comic directly refers to this hypothetical new physics mechanism of interacting with the "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," a [https://plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/WfFtJ8bYVya combination of] [http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2014/08/04/impossible-thruster-probably-impossible/ physics words] that don't normally go together.

The first part of the comic has Megan commenting on how the engine was, in layman's terms, "twitching", and states that with that much power she'd expect something more forceful.

The final frame is all jokes based on {{w|quantum mechanics}} and {{w|uncertainty principle}} which is famously exemplified through {{w}Schrödinger's Cat}} which is both alive and dead at the same time -- a reference to the {{w|Copenhagen interpretation}} of {{w|quantum mechanics}} where two opposite outcomes simultaneously exist until such a time where they are actually {{w|Observed#Observational_paradoxes|observed}}. The observation that "twitching" is an expected outcome for various complex systems, including biological ones, when arbitrarily large electric or microwave power is injected. The equivalence between twitching and the hypothetical new physics is pooh-poohed because Megan was not previously revealed to operate by the principle of "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," to which Megan responds that she is a complex entity and very well might have new physics inside her -- a misappropriation of the uncertainty principle suggesting it may be true since not observed. The last panel is also a joke about quantum supposition, since Megan "may or may not be pushing on the quantum vacuum" and Cueball concedes that until he sees the conclusion, he supposes Megan to be both and neither and "can't be sure" since not yet {{w|Observed#Observational_paradoxes|observed}}.

The title text suggests that the authors of the NASA paper subscribe to the principle that unexpected behaviors of complex systems should best be explained by invoking new physics rather than by making a detailed study of the complexities of the system. This runs contrary to generally accepted approach in science.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking together in the foreground.]
:Cueball: Hear about that "impossible" microwave thruster?

:[They stop walking and Cueball turns to face Megan.]
:Megan: Yeah. Let me get this straight — they pumped 20 kilowatts into a box under ambient conditions
:...and it only twitched a ''little''?
:Cueball: Yeah.

:[Zoomed out - they are seen in silhouette walking together again.]
:Megan: ''That's'' surprising. If you pumped 20 kilowatts into ''me'', I'd twitch a ''lot''.
:Cueball: But you're not pushing on the quantum vacuum.
:Megan: I ''might'' be. I do a lot of things.
:Cueball: I guess we can't be sure.

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

1405: Meteor

2014-08-10T10:07:07Z

199.27.133.6: fixing usage of "meteor" to be streak of light

{{comic
| number = 1405
| date = August 8, 2014
| title = Meteor
| image = meteor.png
| titletext = No, only LAVA is called 'magma' while underground. Any other object underground is called 'lava'.
}}

==Explanation==
This is one of [[Randall]]'s [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]] comics. The author makes semantically incorrect statements to [[356: Nerd Sniping|frustrate nerds]] who know the correct word, and confuse people who don't know the precise word so they can go on to frustrate more nerds.

[[Cueball]] tells his friend that he found a piece of a "{{w|meteor}}". His friend corrects Cueball, telling him that what he found is called {{w|magma}}, and that the phrase "a piece of a meteor" would be correct if the object was in the air, once it hits the ground it is called magma. In doing so he attempts to confuse or annoy Cueball. In truth, {{w|meteorite}} is the expression for a piece of a {{w|meteoroid}} that has landed, only while descending through the atmosphere is the streak of light is called a {{w|meteor}}. Thus the first statement by him is a (partly) true correction of Cueball, but the second one is wrong.

The word "{{w|pedant|pedantic}}" means being overly concerned with being precise. It is usually a pejorative term used to refer to someone who is overly fussy and corrects someone's word choice even when the more ambiguous or slightly incorrect term they used was fine for informal communication. You would tend to believe a pedant, as they would usually know what they are pedantic about. So when he is making wrong statements that seems pedantic he may make people believe him.

The title text expands on the joke, as if the conversation had continued with a confused Cueball responding that he thought magma was underground. Randall attempts to confuse him further by talking about {{w|lava}} which indeed is the expression for magma that has reached the surface. But it's ridiculous to suggest that all other things are called lava when underground. In the sentence he also continues to imply that magma could also be found above ground.

The two sentences thus follows the same pattern with one true but pedantic part to begin with, and then a false statement to confuse the victim.

===Meteor & Magma===
Here is a list of the terminology that is being muddled:
* The descent of a small solid body from space:
** A {{w|meteoroid}} is a small solid body travelling through space outside the atmosphere.
** A {{w|meteor}} is a streak of light produced by a meteoroid as it burns up in the atmosphere.
** A {{w|meteorite}} is a piece of a meteoroid remaining after it strikes the ground.
* Molten rock:
** {{w|Magma}} flows underground.
** {{w|Lava}} has been extruded to a planet's surface, as through volcanic eruption.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball walks toward his friend holding a rock.]
:Cueball: Check it out - I got a piece of a meteor!
:Friend: ''Actually'', it's only called that while falling. Once it lands, it's called ''magma''.

:My Hobby: Mixing pedantic terms

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

1403: Thesis Defense

2014-08-07T19:49:29Z

199.27.133.6: undo

{{comic
| number = 1403
| date = August 4, 2014
| title = Thesis Defense
| image = thesis_defense.png
| titletext = MY RESULTS ARE A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ON THE STATE OF THE AAAAAAAAAAAART
}}

==Explanation==
In the comic, [[Megan]] is presenting evidence on her {{w|thesis}}, a theory on the evolution of threat defense in mammals, in front of a panel of professors. To conclude her exposition she charges at the audience, shouting a {{w|battle cry}}, and brandishing a sword. The audience flinches. As the audience is composed of mammals and is responding to a threat, we should assume that this response provides some key evidence about the threat defense in mammals.

This comic is a play on a thesis defense and the {{w|adage}} "{{w|The best defense is a good offense}}". The adage means that a strong offensive action will preoccupy the opposition and ultimately hinder its ability to mount an opposing counterattack, leading to a strategic advantage. A thesis defense generally involves an oral exam on the topic she has chosen, and should involve no physical violence.

For added humorous effect, in the title Megan extrapolates how she improved the state of the art, i.e. what she has added to her field of study, while screaming the word art.

==Transcript==
:[Megan runs towards a desk with two microphones on it, waving a broadsword high in the air. Cueball, Ponytail, and one other sitting behind the desk are taken aback, while Ponytail standing off to the side holds an arm in front of her face protectively. A slide is projected on a screen behind the sword-reading woman, reading "The evolution of threat defence in mammals".]
:Megan: In conclusion, AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
:The best thesis defence is a good thesis offense.

{{comic discussion}}

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

1403: Thesis Defense

2014-08-07T19:43:26Z

199.27.133.6: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1403
| date = August 4, 2014
| title = Thesis Defense
| image = thesis_defense.png
| titletext = MY RESULTS ARE A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ON THE STATE OF THE AAAAAAAAAAAART
}}

==Explanation==
In the comic, [[Megan]] is presenting evidence on her {{w|thesis}}, a theory on the evolution of threat defense in mammals, in front of a panel of professors. To conclude her exposition she charges at the audience, shouting a {{w|battle cry}}, and brandishing a sword. The audience flinches. As the audience is composed of mammals and is responding to a threat, we should assume that this response provides some key evidence about the threat defense in mammals.

This comic is a play on a thesis defense and the {{w|adage}} "{{w|The best defense is a good offense}}". The adage means that a strong offensive action will preoccupy the opposition and ultimately hinder its ability to mount an opposing counterattack, leading to a strategic advantage. A thesis defense generally involves an oral exam on the topic she has chosen, and should involve no physical violence.

For added humorous effect, in the title Megan extrapolates how she improved the state of the art, i.e. what she has added to her field of study, while screaming the word art.

==Transcript==
:[Megan runs towards a desk with two microphones on it, waving a broadsword high in the air. ]
:[Cueball, Ponytail, and one other sitting behind the desk are taken aback, while Ponytail standing off to the side holds an arm in front of her face protectively. ]
:[A slide is projected on a screen behind the sword-reading woman, reading "The evolution of threat defence in mammals".]

Megan: In conclusion, AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
:The best thesis defence is a good thesis offense.

Title text: MY RESULTS ARE A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ON THE STATE OF THE AAAAAAAAAAAART

{{comic discussion}}

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

1403: Thesis Defense

2014-08-07T19:41:57Z

199.27.133.6:

{{comic
| number = 1403
| date = August 4, 2014
| title = Thesis Defense
| image = thesis_defense.png
| titletext = MY RESULTS ARE A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ON THE STATE OF THE AAAAAAAAAAAART
}}

==Explanation==
In the comic, [[Megan]] is presenting evidence on her {{w|thesis}}, a theory on the evolution of threat defense in mammals, in front of a panel of professors. To conclude her exposition she charges at the audience, shouting a {{w|battle cry}}, and brandishing a sword. The audience flinches. As the audience is composed of mammals and is responding to a threat, we should assume that this response provides some key evidence about the threat defense in mammals.

This comic is a play on a thesis defense and the {{w|adage}} "{{w|The best defense is a good offense}}". The adage means that a strong offensive action will preoccupy the opposition and ultimately hinder its ability to mount an opposing counterattack, leading to a strategic advantage. A thesis defense generally involves an oral exam on the topic she has chosen, and should involve no physical violence.

For added humorous effect, in the title Megan extrapolates how she improved the state of the art, i.e. what she has added to her field of study, while screaming the word art.

==Transcript==
:[Megan runs towards a desk with two microphones on it, waving a broadsword high in the air. ]
:[Cueball, Ponytail, and one other sitting behind the desk are taken aback, while Ponytail standing off to the side holds an arm in front of her face protectively. ]
:[A slide is projected on a screen behind the sword-reading woman, reading "The evolution of threat defence in mammals".]
:Megan: In conclusion, AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
:The best thesis defence is a good thesis offense.

{{comic discussion}}

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

1404: Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma

2014-08-07T01:08:59Z

199.27.133.6: Changed the incomplete tag.

{{comic
| number = 1404
| date = August 6, 2014
| title = Quantum Vacuum Virtual Plasma
| image = quantum_vacuum_virtual_plasma.png
| titletext = I don't understand the things you do, and you therefore may represent an interaction with the quantum vacuum virtual plasma.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|re-write: (1) move the science to the comment section. (2) describe the jokes in the strip without science jargon}}

This comic is a reference to the recent news <ref name="Wired">D. Hambling, "Nasa validates 'impossible' space drive", ''Wired UK'' (2014-07-31) http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-07/31/nasa-validates-impossible-space-drive</ref> of a {{w|Quantum vacuum plasma thruster|microwave thruster}} which allegedly produces thrust without expelling any propellant or microwaves, a violation of {{w|Momentum#Conservation|conservation of momentum}}. This type of thruster would provide delta velocity without conventional limits according to the {{w|Tsiolkovsky rocket equation}} since the initial mass and final mass are the same. And indeed, the authors of a recent presentation at a NASA conference waxed lyrical about the space applications of such a device if it worked as claimed.<ref name="draft paper">D.A. Brady, H.G. White, P. March, J.T. Lawrence, and F.J. Davies, "Anomalous Thrust Production from an RF Test Device Measured on a Low-Thrust Torsion Pendulum" (conference proceedings). [http://rghost.net/57230791 Pre-print] retrieved on 2014-08-05</ref> But while they hooked it up to a measurement apparatus, applied RF input and measured changes in the apparatus, their interpretation of the experiment conducted in an air-filled stainless-steel chamber as a tiny ''thrust'' only explainable in terms of new (undefined) physics under the moniker of "quantum vacuum virtual plasma"<ref name="draft paper" /><ref name="nasa abstract">http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20140006052</ref> is an extraordinary claim on very weak data. This may fall under the category of "Tooth-Fairy (Pseudo-) science",<ref name="tooth fairy">http://www.skepdic.com/toothfairyscience.html</ref> trying to quantify a phenomenon before one has confirmed it exists.

The title of the comic directly refers to this hypothetical new physics mechanism of interacting with the "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," a combination of physics words that don't normally go together. <ref name="Baez1"> J. Baez, "The incredible shrinking force" [https://plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/WfFtJ8bYVya Google Plus] (2014-08-02) ""Quantum vacuum virtual plasma" is something you'd say if you failed a course in quantum field theory and then smoked too much weed." </ref><ref name="Orzel"> Chad Orzel, "Impossible Thruster Probably Impossible", [http://scienceblogs.com/principles/2014/08/04/impossible-thruster-probably-impossible/ Science Blogs] (2014-08-04) "certainly a collection of four words that turn up in physics papers."</ref>

The first part of the comic has Megan commenting on how the engine was, in layman's terms, "twitching", and states that with that much power she'd expect something more forceful. The final frame of the comic first makes the observation that "twitching" is an expected outcome for various complex systems, including biological ones, when arbitrarily large electric or microwave power is injected. The equivalence between twitching and the hypothetical new physics is pooh-poohed because Megan was not previously revealed to operate by the principle of "quantum vacuum virtual plasma," to which Megan responds that she is a complex entity and very well might have new physics inside her. Finally Cueball concedes that the complex behaviors of complex systems are not obviously predicable by our first stabs at modeling and suggests (humorously to anyone with an awareness of the history of science) that the answer will always lie in the realm of Man's ignorance.

The title text suggests that the authors of the NASA paper subscribe to the principle that unexpected behaviors of complex systems should best be explained by invoking new physics rather than by making a detailed study of the complexities of the system. This runs contrary to generally accepted approach in science.

===References===
<references />

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking together in the foreground.]
:Cueball: Hear about that "impossible" microwave thruster?

:[They stop walking and Cueball turns to face Megan.]
:Megan: Yeah. Let me get this straight — they pumped 20 kilowatts into a box under ambient conditions
:...and it only twitched a ''little''?
:Cueball: Yeah.

:[Zoomed out - they are seen in silhouette walking together again.]
:Megan: ''That's'' surprising. If you pumped 20 kilowatts into ''me'', I'd twitch a ''lot''.
:Cueball: But you're not pushing on the quantum vacuum.
:Megan: I ''might'' be. I do a lot of things.
:Cueball: I guess we can't be sure.

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

Talk:1402: Harpoons

2014-08-05T14:20:04Z

199.27.133.6: /* Sapient vs Sentient */

I took the sentient space craft joke to be a reference to the movie "Dark Star".{{unsigned ip|199.27.128.123}}

Harpoon is a brand of rum. Did a bottle make it into space? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.196|108.162.219.196]] 12:55, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

: I tried to find who makes it but wasn't able to find a definitive source. I added http://www.harpoon-rum.eu/ for now but it would be nice to have the link to the canonical source. Any pointers? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:24, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

: It's only headcannon. (ref to xkcd #1401) A headcannon which fires a harpoon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.80|108.162.216.80]] 17:52, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Did this comic upload quite late in the day for anyone else? Is anyone else experiencing or did anyone else experience that "Latest Comic" is still going to 1401 as ix XKCD.com and XKCD.com/# {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.216}}

"This is obviously a joke, as sentient spacecraft cannot be created with current technology." Yeah, will need a citation on that... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.148|108.162.229.148]] 13:23, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Definitely a joke. Appolo 12’s call sign was Yankee Clipper, and a clipper ship would not carry any harpoons.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.129|108.162.216.129]] 14:04, 1 August 2014 (UTC)
: I'd believe {{Template:Citation_needed}} someone might have smuggled some Harpoon (or even any brand of) rum up there, then brought it back down with them, ingested or otherwise (thus the drop right after the mission). Alternately, "incident" could be something more along the lines of losing an empty bottle of rum during a spacewalk (farfetched as it may be) and it reentering the atmosphere(?) - probably no more than stories, though - nothing official probably exists about anything like that going up or down in any manner.{{unsigned|Brettpeirce}}

Moby Dick is, let's say, extremely far-fetched. It was not the ship that was hunting the whale and harpooning it by itself. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.143|141.101.104.143]] 17:27, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Could the Apollo 12 bump possibly be a reference to Futurama? "We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.246|199.27.130.246]] 15:51, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Maybe it is a reference to a print ad by Bacardi-Martini, mentioned briefly in Buzz Aldrins book Magnificent Desolation. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.82|141.101.104.82]] 22:10, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

While it is more likely that a harpoon (or bottle of harpoon rum) went to space and returned with the Apollo 11 mission, the caption makes it sound like the harpoon was only in space for the duration of the incident. Might it have been created and destroyed there?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.171|108.162.219.171]] 22:54, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

The graph explicitly asserts the Apollo 12 incident caused a "harpoon" to be in space, but only for a short time. Therefore, the harpoon was destroyed in space or returned to earth. Perhaps harpoon rum ascended with the astronauts; then was consumed on the moon, burned up in earth's atmosphere, or returned with the astronauts. (DP) [[User:D peterson|D peterson]] ([[User talk:D peterson|talk]]) 14:49, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

;Whale killing
Saying "sailors would throw harpoons at a whale until it died" betrays a limited understanding of the process. Harpoons were barbed, and were meant to stick in the whale while it sounded (went deep.) A length of (about half-inch) rope kept the harpoon connected to the whaleboat. After the whale was exhausted (from towing the whaleboat while trying to shake off the harpoon? idk) the whaleboat could approach it, and the boatswain (''not'' the harpooner) would kill it with an unbarbed lance. Holling Clancy Holling's ''Seabird'' shows how it was done, with pictures and all. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]] 19:00, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

;Svend Foyn
Norwegian whaler Svend Foyn revolutionarized whaling by inventing explosive harpoon to hunt whales. He made whaling much easier and quicker. This method saved Norway from the famine thread in 19th century.{{unsigned|Multimotyl}}

;[Citation needed] joke.
I thought the sentence "of course, Rosetta is not sapient[Citation needed]", was sort of funny. It implied "of course, Rosetta is not sapient[or is it?]", adding a bit of humour and mystery to the explanation. {{unsigned ip|108.162.222.77}}
: i think it should be added back in, until somebody can cite a source showing that it is not sentient. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 02:24, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
;Suggestions for apollo 12 rum incident explanations
The Apollo Rum Incident is probably related to [http://www.arentfox.com/sites/default/files/pdf/ArentFox-Stories-01-Aiming-High.pdf Bacardi's advertising campaign] which altered the image of Buzz Aldrin (apparently from Apollo 11, not 12) to show him in shorts with a rum. I mean, unless it wasn't altered ... [[User:Arothfusz|Arothfusz]] ([[User talk:Arothfusz|talk]]) 16:44, 2 August 2014 (UTC) A. Rothfusz

Apollo 12 Preliminary Science Report NASA SP-235

"The Apollo 12 core-tube bit is far from optimal in design, but results in a smaller range of uncertainty. On the other hand, hammering a core into the soil is known to cause more disturbance to the sample than if the core is PUSHED into the soil at a HIGH, CONSTANT SPEED." ... (/rum horizontal)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.207|108.162.246.207]] 16:47, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

'''Some Coincidences'''

1. A daily rum ration was provided in British navy until 1970: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_ration

2. Harpoon cocktail was updated in 1970 to include option of gin as base: http://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2178/harpoon-cocktail

3. Apollo 12 actually flew in November 1969: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12

4. HMS Apollo Rum incident: http://idle-idle.blogspot.com/2008/02/hms-apollo-incident_15.html

5. There is a variety of hops called Apollo: http://beerlegends.com/apollo-hops

6. Harpoon is slang for harmonica, but there's no evidence a harmonica was on board.

7. The memorial 'Fallen Astronaut' was placed on the moon on August 1,1971 by Apollo 15 (the backup crew for Apollo 12): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallen_Astronaut

8. August 1, 1971 has been called the "greatest day of scientific exploration that we've ever seen in the space programme - possibly of all time.": http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/1/newsid_4101000/4101579.stm

9. To harpoon, is to strike with a pointed instrument. Apollo 12 was struck by lightning (twice) upon takeoff. John Aaron's command "SCE to Aux" restored flight telemetry causing him to be labelled a "steely-eyed missile man": http://www.universetoday.com/98484/this-day-in-space-history-apollo-12-and-sce-to-aux/

10. Such an unusual event is called a "rum go": https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/rum_go

11. The Apollo 12 landing area was, ironically, 'Ocean of Storms'. It landed 600 feet from Surveyor 3, making this the "only human artifact ever encountered in lunar exploration". Conrad intended on taking a self-portrait with Bean at Surveyor 3, but couldn't find the self-timer he had smuggled on board. When he later found it, he threw it as hard as he could out onto the moon (motivated like a harpooner).

12. All Apollo 12 astronauts were from US Navy.

13. Episode 2 of 'Futurama' centers on a visit to an Apollo landing site & includes a song about whalers on the moon, carrying harpoons: http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Whalers_on_the_Moon
Fry uses a harpoon to derail a 'moon buggy' from an amusement ride so he can use it to visit the landing site. Fry says "yee-haw!" driving the buggy over a crater.

14. The 'Apollo 13' cocktail is based on rum: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink8506.html

[[User:Nathan Hillery|Nathan Hillery]] ([[User talk:Nathan Hillery|talk]]) 21:35, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Harpoon Rum did {{Template:Citation_needed}} go up with Apollo 12. Some miniatures were taken for Thanksgiving, but Charles Conrad order his crew-mates not to drink them. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.207|141.101.98.207]] 10:36, 4 August 2014 (UTC)
: Is there any online references for this claim? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 20:22, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Apollo 12's landing site was also known as Oceanus Procellarum. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc_20091104_apollo12.html#.U9-P-xD5eM0 {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.102}}

All I can think of now is "We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon". That'll be in my head for the rest of the day [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.184|141.101.99.184]] 10:49, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

== Sapient vs Sentient ==

Sapient : To posses wisdom (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sapient)

Sentient : To be self-aware (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sentient)

Wisdom is not required to be "Motivated" (which is what the space craft is claimed to be) however it does need to be self aware -- and therefore sentient. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.6|199.27.133.6]] 14:19, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1402: Harpoons

2014-08-05T14:19:34Z

199.27.133.6: /* Sapient vs Sentient */

I took the sentient space craft joke to be a reference to the movie "Dark Star".{{unsigned ip|199.27.128.123}}

Harpoon is a brand of rum. Did a bottle make it into space? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.196|108.162.219.196]] 12:55, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

: I tried to find who makes it but wasn't able to find a definitive source. I added http://www.harpoon-rum.eu/ for now but it would be nice to have the link to the canonical source. Any pointers? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:24, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

: It's only headcannon. (ref to xkcd #1401) A headcannon which fires a harpoon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.80|108.162.216.80]] 17:52, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Did this comic upload quite late in the day for anyone else? Is anyone else experiencing or did anyone else experience that "Latest Comic" is still going to 1401 as ix XKCD.com and XKCD.com/# {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.216}}

"This is obviously a joke, as sentient spacecraft cannot be created with current technology." Yeah, will need a citation on that... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.148|108.162.229.148]] 13:23, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Definitely a joke. Appolo 12’s call sign was Yankee Clipper, and a clipper ship would not carry any harpoons.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.129|108.162.216.129]] 14:04, 1 August 2014 (UTC)
: I'd believe {{Template:Citation_needed}} someone might have smuggled some Harpoon (or even any brand of) rum up there, then brought it back down with them, ingested or otherwise (thus the drop right after the mission). Alternately, "incident" could be something more along the lines of losing an empty bottle of rum during a spacewalk (farfetched as it may be) and it reentering the atmosphere(?) - probably no more than stories, though - nothing official probably exists about anything like that going up or down in any manner.{{unsigned|Brettpeirce}}

Moby Dick is, let's say, extremely far-fetched. It was not the ship that was hunting the whale and harpooning it by itself. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.143|141.101.104.143]] 17:27, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Could the Apollo 12 bump possibly be a reference to Futurama? "We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.246|199.27.130.246]] 15:51, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Maybe it is a reference to a print ad by Bacardi-Martini, mentioned briefly in Buzz Aldrins book Magnificent Desolation. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.82|141.101.104.82]] 22:10, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

While it is more likely that a harpoon (or bottle of harpoon rum) went to space and returned with the Apollo 11 mission, the caption makes it sound like the harpoon was only in space for the duration of the incident. Might it have been created and destroyed there?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.171|108.162.219.171]] 22:54, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

The graph explicitly asserts the Apollo 12 incident caused a "harpoon" to be in space, but only for a short time. Therefore, the harpoon was destroyed in space or returned to earth. Perhaps harpoon rum ascended with the astronauts; then was consumed on the moon, burned up in earth's atmosphere, or returned with the astronauts. (DP) [[User:D peterson|D peterson]] ([[User talk:D peterson|talk]]) 14:49, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

;Whale killing
Saying "sailors would throw harpoons at a whale until it died" betrays a limited understanding of the process. Harpoons were barbed, and were meant to stick in the whale while it sounded (went deep.) A length of (about half-inch) rope kept the harpoon connected to the whaleboat. After the whale was exhausted (from towing the whaleboat while trying to shake off the harpoon? idk) the whaleboat could approach it, and the boatswain (''not'' the harpooner) would kill it with an unbarbed lance. Holling Clancy Holling's ''Seabird'' shows how it was done, with pictures and all. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]] 19:00, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

;Svend Foyn
Norwegian whaler Svend Foyn revolutionarized whaling by inventing explosive harpoon to hunt whales. He made whaling much easier and quicker. This method saved Norway from the famine thread in 19th century.{{unsigned|Multimotyl}}

;[Citation needed] joke.
I thought the sentence "of course, Rosetta is not sapient[Citation needed]", was sort of funny. It implied "of course, Rosetta is not sapient[or is it?]", adding a bit of humour and mystery to the explanation. {{unsigned ip|108.162.222.77}}
: i think it should be added back in, until somebody can cite a source showing that it is not sentient. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 02:24, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
;Suggestions for apollo 12 rum incident explanations
The Apollo Rum Incident is probably related to [http://www.arentfox.com/sites/default/files/pdf/ArentFox-Stories-01-Aiming-High.pdf Bacardi's advertising campaign] which altered the image of Buzz Aldrin (apparently from Apollo 11, not 12) to show him in shorts with a rum. I mean, unless it wasn't altered ... [[User:Arothfusz|Arothfusz]] ([[User talk:Arothfusz|talk]]) 16:44, 2 August 2014 (UTC) A. Rothfusz

Apollo 12 Preliminary Science Report NASA SP-235

"The Apollo 12 core-tube bit is far from optimal in design, but results in a smaller range of uncertainty. On the other hand, hammering a core into the soil is known to cause more disturbance to the sample than if the core is PUSHED into the soil at a HIGH, CONSTANT SPEED." ... (/rum horizontal)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.207|108.162.246.207]] 16:47, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

'''Some Coincidences'''

1. A daily rum ration was provided in British navy until 1970: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_ration

2. Harpoon cocktail was updated in 1970 to include option of gin as base: http://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2178/harpoon-cocktail

3. Apollo 12 actually flew in November 1969: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12

4. HMS Apollo Rum incident: http://idle-idle.blogspot.com/2008/02/hms-apollo-incident_15.html

5. There is a variety of hops called Apollo: http://beerlegends.com/apollo-hops

6. Harpoon is slang for harmonica, but there's no evidence a harmonica was on board.

7. The memorial 'Fallen Astronaut' was placed on the moon on August 1,1971 by Apollo 15 (the backup crew for Apollo 12): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallen_Astronaut

8. August 1, 1971 has been called the "greatest day of scientific exploration that we've ever seen in the space programme - possibly of all time.": http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/1/newsid_4101000/4101579.stm

9. To harpoon, is to strike with a pointed instrument. Apollo 12 was struck by lightning (twice) upon takeoff. John Aaron's command "SCE to Aux" restored flight telemetry causing him to be labelled a "steely-eyed missile man": http://www.universetoday.com/98484/this-day-in-space-history-apollo-12-and-sce-to-aux/

10. Such an unusual event is called a "rum go": https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/rum_go

11. The Apollo 12 landing area was, ironically, 'Ocean of Storms'. It landed 600 feet from Surveyor 3, making this the "only human artifact ever encountered in lunar exploration". Conrad intended on taking a self-portrait with Bean at Surveyor 3, but couldn't find the self-timer he had smuggled on board. When he later found it, he threw it as hard as he could out onto the moon (motivated like a harpooner).

12. All Apollo 12 astronauts were from US Navy.

13. Episode 2 of 'Futurama' centers on a visit to an Apollo landing site & includes a song about whalers on the moon, carrying harpoons: http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Whalers_on_the_Moon
Fry uses a harpoon to derail a 'moon buggy' from an amusement ride so he can use it to visit the landing site. Fry says "yee-haw!" driving the buggy over a crater.

14. The 'Apollo 13' cocktail is based on rum: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink8506.html

[[User:Nathan Hillery|Nathan Hillery]] ([[User talk:Nathan Hillery|talk]]) 21:35, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Harpoon Rum did {{Template:Citation_needed}} go up with Apollo 12. Some miniatures were taken for Thanksgiving, but Charles Conrad order his crew-mates not to drink them. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.207|141.101.98.207]] 10:36, 4 August 2014 (UTC)
: Is there any online references for this claim? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 20:22, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Apollo 12's landing site was also known as Oceanus Procellarum. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc_20091104_apollo12.html#.U9-P-xD5eM0 {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.102}}

All I can think of now is "We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon". That'll be in my head for the rest of the day [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.184|141.101.99.184]] 10:49, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

== Sapient vs Sentient ==

Sapient : To posses wisdom (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sapient)
Sentient : To be self-aware (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sentient)

Wisdom is not required to be "Motivated" (which is what the space craft is claimed to be) however it does need to be self aware -- and therefore sentient. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.6|199.27.133.6]] 14:19, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1402: Harpoons

2014-08-05T14:19:03Z

199.27.133.6: /* Sapient vs Sentient */ new section

I took the sentient space craft joke to be a reference to the movie "Dark Star".{{unsigned ip|199.27.128.123}}

Harpoon is a brand of rum. Did a bottle make it into space? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.196|108.162.219.196]] 12:55, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

: I tried to find who makes it but wasn't able to find a definitive source. I added http://www.harpoon-rum.eu/ for now but it would be nice to have the link to the canonical source. Any pointers? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:24, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

: It's only headcannon. (ref to xkcd #1401) A headcannon which fires a harpoon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.80|108.162.216.80]] 17:52, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Did this comic upload quite late in the day for anyone else? Is anyone else experiencing or did anyone else experience that "Latest Comic" is still going to 1401 as ix XKCD.com and XKCD.com/# {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.216}}

"This is obviously a joke, as sentient spacecraft cannot be created with current technology." Yeah, will need a citation on that... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.148|108.162.229.148]] 13:23, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Definitely a joke. Appolo 12’s call sign was Yankee Clipper, and a clipper ship would not carry any harpoons.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.129|108.162.216.129]] 14:04, 1 August 2014 (UTC)
: I'd believe {{Template:Citation_needed}} someone might have smuggled some Harpoon (or even any brand of) rum up there, then brought it back down with them, ingested or otherwise (thus the drop right after the mission). Alternately, "incident" could be something more along the lines of losing an empty bottle of rum during a spacewalk (farfetched as it may be) and it reentering the atmosphere(?) - probably no more than stories, though - nothing official probably exists about anything like that going up or down in any manner.{{unsigned|Brettpeirce}}

Moby Dick is, let's say, extremely far-fetched. It was not the ship that was hunting the whale and harpooning it by itself. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.143|141.101.104.143]] 17:27, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Could the Apollo 12 bump possibly be a reference to Futurama? "We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.246|199.27.130.246]] 15:51, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Maybe it is a reference to a print ad by Bacardi-Martini, mentioned briefly in Buzz Aldrins book Magnificent Desolation. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.82|141.101.104.82]] 22:10, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

While it is more likely that a harpoon (or bottle of harpoon rum) went to space and returned with the Apollo 11 mission, the caption makes it sound like the harpoon was only in space for the duration of the incident. Might it have been created and destroyed there?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.171|108.162.219.171]] 22:54, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

The graph explicitly asserts the Apollo 12 incident caused a "harpoon" to be in space, but only for a short time. Therefore, the harpoon was destroyed in space or returned to earth. Perhaps harpoon rum ascended with the astronauts; then was consumed on the moon, burned up in earth's atmosphere, or returned with the astronauts. (DP) [[User:D peterson|D peterson]] ([[User talk:D peterson|talk]]) 14:49, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

;Whale killing
Saying "sailors would throw harpoons at a whale until it died" betrays a limited understanding of the process. Harpoons were barbed, and were meant to stick in the whale while it sounded (went deep.) A length of (about half-inch) rope kept the harpoon connected to the whaleboat. After the whale was exhausted (from towing the whaleboat while trying to shake off the harpoon? idk) the whaleboat could approach it, and the boatswain (''not'' the harpooner) would kill it with an unbarbed lance. Holling Clancy Holling's ''Seabird'' shows how it was done, with pictures and all. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]] 19:00, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

;Svend Foyn
Norwegian whaler Svend Foyn revolutionarized whaling by inventing explosive harpoon to hunt whales. He made whaling much easier and quicker. This method saved Norway from the famine thread in 19th century.{{unsigned|Multimotyl}}

;[Citation needed] joke.
I thought the sentence "of course, Rosetta is not sapient[Citation needed]", was sort of funny. It implied "of course, Rosetta is not sapient[or is it?]", adding a bit of humour and mystery to the explanation. {{unsigned ip|108.162.222.77}}
: i think it should be added back in, until somebody can cite a source showing that it is not sentient. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 02:24, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
;Suggestions for apollo 12 rum incident explanations
The Apollo Rum Incident is probably related to [http://www.arentfox.com/sites/default/files/pdf/ArentFox-Stories-01-Aiming-High.pdf Bacardi's advertising campaign] which altered the image of Buzz Aldrin (apparently from Apollo 11, not 12) to show him in shorts with a rum. I mean, unless it wasn't altered ... [[User:Arothfusz|Arothfusz]] ([[User talk:Arothfusz|talk]]) 16:44, 2 August 2014 (UTC) A. Rothfusz

Apollo 12 Preliminary Science Report NASA SP-235

"The Apollo 12 core-tube bit is far from optimal in design, but results in a smaller range of uncertainty. On the other hand, hammering a core into the soil is known to cause more disturbance to the sample than if the core is PUSHED into the soil at a HIGH, CONSTANT SPEED." ... (/rum horizontal)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.207|108.162.246.207]] 16:47, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

'''Some Coincidences'''

1. A daily rum ration was provided in British navy until 1970: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_ration

2. Harpoon cocktail was updated in 1970 to include option of gin as base: http://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2178/harpoon-cocktail

3. Apollo 12 actually flew in November 1969: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12

4. HMS Apollo Rum incident: http://idle-idle.blogspot.com/2008/02/hms-apollo-incident_15.html

5. There is a variety of hops called Apollo: http://beerlegends.com/apollo-hops

6. Harpoon is slang for harmonica, but there's no evidence a harmonica was on board.

7. The memorial 'Fallen Astronaut' was placed on the moon on August 1,1971 by Apollo 15 (the backup crew for Apollo 12): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallen_Astronaut

8. August 1, 1971 has been called the "greatest day of scientific exploration that we've ever seen in the space programme - possibly of all time.": http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/1/newsid_4101000/4101579.stm

9. To harpoon, is to strike with a pointed instrument. Apollo 12 was struck by lightning (twice) upon takeoff. John Aaron's command "SCE to Aux" restored flight telemetry causing him to be labelled a "steely-eyed missile man": http://www.universetoday.com/98484/this-day-in-space-history-apollo-12-and-sce-to-aux/

10. Such an unusual event is called a "rum go": https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/rum_go

11. The Apollo 12 landing area was, ironically, 'Ocean of Storms'. It landed 600 feet from Surveyor 3, making this the "only human artifact ever encountered in lunar exploration". Conrad intended on taking a self-portrait with Bean at Surveyor 3, but couldn't find the self-timer he had smuggled on board. When he later found it, he threw it as hard as he could out onto the moon (motivated like a harpooner).

12. All Apollo 12 astronauts were from US Navy.

13. Episode 2 of 'Futurama' centers on a visit to an Apollo landing site & includes a song about whalers on the moon, carrying harpoons: http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Whalers_on_the_Moon
Fry uses a harpoon to derail a 'moon buggy' from an amusement ride so he can use it to visit the landing site. Fry says "yee-haw!" driving the buggy over a crater.

14. The 'Apollo 13' cocktail is based on rum: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink8506.html

[[User:Nathan Hillery|Nathan Hillery]] ([[User talk:Nathan Hillery|talk]]) 21:35, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Harpoon Rum did {{Template:Citation_needed}} go up with Apollo 12. Some miniatures were taken for Thanksgiving, but Charles Conrad order his crew-mates not to drink them. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.207|141.101.98.207]] 10:36, 4 August 2014 (UTC)
: Is there any online references for this claim? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 20:22, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Apollo 12's landing site was also known as Oceanus Procellarum. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc_20091104_apollo12.html#.U9-P-xD5eM0 {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.102}}

All I can think of now is "We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon". That'll be in my head for the rest of the day [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.184|141.101.99.184]] 10:49, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

== Sapient vs Sentient ==

Sapient : To posses wisdom (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sapient)
Sentient: To be self-aware (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sentient)

Wisdom is not required to be "Motivated" (which is what the space craft is claimed to be) however it does need to be self aware -- and therefore sentient. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.6|199.27.133.6]] 14:19, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

1402: Harpoons

2014-08-05T14:09:52Z

199.27.133.6: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1402
| date = August 1, 2014
| title = Harpoons
| image = harpoons.png
| titletext = To motivate it to fire its harpoons hard enough, Rosetta's Philae lander has been programmed to believe it is trying to kill the comet.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Needs more work, especially the top section, too much speculation in the explanation which should belong in the comment section}}

Continuing a recurring theme (as seen in comics [[111]] and [[231]]), two unrelated but interesting objects have been juxtaposed graphically with humorous results. In this case, it's the fact that old-timey, man-made {{w|harpoon}}s (a cool word) have been placed among the equipment for a space flight (a cool concept). According to Randall, this has happened twice.

The latter peak on this graph refers to the {{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}} unmanned spacecraft. As part of its mission, it's carrying a lander (called {{w|Philae (spacecraft)|Philae}}), which has two tethers to anchor itself to the comet {{w|67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko}}. Rosetta was launched in March 2004 (as shown in the graph) and is scheduled to encounter the comet in August 2014, making this a timely comic.

The first peak is probably a joke. Officially, {{w|Apollo 12}} carried neither harpoons nor rum. However, as a former NASA contractor, Randall may know more about space shenanigans than the general public, and may be implying (perhaps jokingly) that a bottle of the [http://www.harpoon-rum.eu/1.html Harpoon] brand of {{w|Rum#Regional variations|Jamaican rum}} made it aboard in a "[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoodleIncident noodle incident]".

The title text compares the Philae lander's method of deploying its tethers to whaling, in which sailors would throw harpoons at a whale with the intent of killing the whale. It was important to throw hard so the harpoon would stick in the whale so it could not get away and would tow the whaling boat until it got tired and could be killed. Thus the title text implies that the spacecraft is sentient and needs a motivation to fire the harpoons hard enough to stay anchored to the comet; to this end it has been programmed to believe that its mission is to kill the comet.

==Transcript==
:'''Number of harpoons in space'''
:by year
:[A chart with a red graph is drawn below]
:[The y-axis]
:0 1 2 3
:[The x-axis]
:1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
:[The graph is at zero until a sharp peak to 1 in 1970. The peak is labeled]
:Apollo 12 rum incident
:[The graph then stays at 0 until 2004. Then it rises to 2 and stays there until today, continuing as a dotted line after 2014. The rise is labeled]
:Rosetta comet mission launched carrying lander with harpoon tethers

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

Talk:1402: Harpoons

2014-08-05T14:06:19Z

199.27.133.6:

Talk:1402: Harpoons

2014-08-05T14:02:27Z

199.27.133.6:

I took the sentient space craft joke to be a reference to the movie "Dark Star".{{unsigned ip|199.27.128.123}}

Harpoon is a brand of rum. Did a bottle make it into space? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.196|108.162.219.196]] 12:55, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

: I tried to find who makes it but wasn't able to find a definitive source. I added http://www.harpoon-rum.eu/ for now but it would be nice to have the link to the canonical source. Any pointers? --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 17:24, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

: It's only headcannon. (ref to xkcd #1401) A headcannon which fires a harpoon. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.80|108.162.216.80]] 17:52, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Did this comic upload quite late in the day for anyone else? Is anyone else experiencing or did anyone else experience that "Latest Comic" is still going to 1401 as ix XKCD.com and XKCD.com/# {{unsigned ip|141.101.99.216}}

"This is obviously a joke, as sentient spacecraft cannot be created with current technology." Yeah, will need a citation on that... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.148|108.162.229.148]] 13:23, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Definitely a joke. Appolo 12’s call sign was Yankee Clipper, and a clipper ship would not carry any harpoons.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.129|108.162.216.129]] 14:04, 1 August 2014 (UTC)
: I'd believe someone might have smuggled some Harpoon (or even any brand of) rum up there, then brought it back down with them, ingested or otherwise (thus the drop right after the mission). Alternately, "incident" could be something more along the lines of losing an empty bottle of rum during a spacewalk (farfetched as it may be) and it reentering the atmosphere(?) - probably no more than stories, though - nothing official probably exists about anything like that going up or down in any manner.{{unsigned|Brettpeirce}}

Moby Dick is, let's say, extremely far-fetched. It was not the ship that was hunting the whale and harpooning it by itself. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.143|141.101.104.143]] 17:27, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Could the Apollo 12 bump possibly be a reference to Futurama? "We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon" [[Special:Contributions/199.27.130.246|199.27.130.246]] 15:51, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Maybe it is a reference to a print ad by Bacardi-Martini, mentioned briefly in Buzz Aldrins book Magnificent Desolation. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.82|141.101.104.82]] 22:10, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

While it is more likely that a harpoon (or bottle of harpoon rum) went to space and returned with the Apollo 11 mission, the caption makes it sound like the harpoon was only in space for the duration of the incident. Might it have been created and destroyed there?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.171|108.162.219.171]] 22:54, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

The graph explicitly asserts the Apollo 12 incident caused a "harpoon" to be in space, but only for a short time. Therefore, the harpoon was destroyed in space or returned to earth. Perhaps harpoon rum ascended with the astronauts; then was consumed on the moon, burned up in earth's atmosphere, or returned with the astronauts. (DP) [[User:D peterson|D peterson]] ([[User talk:D peterson|talk]]) 14:49, 2 August 2014 (UTC)

;Whale killing
Saying "sailors would throw harpoons at a whale until it died" betrays a limited understanding of the process. Harpoons were barbed, and were meant to stick in the whale while it sounded (went deep.) A length of (about half-inch) rope kept the harpoon connected to the whaleboat. After the whale was exhausted (from towing the whaleboat while trying to shake off the harpoon? idk) the whaleboat could approach it, and the boatswain (''not'' the harpooner) would kill it with an unbarbed lance. Holling Clancy Holling's ''Seabird'' shows how it was done, with pictures and all. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.153|173.245.54.153]] 19:00, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

;Svend Foyn
Norwegian whaler Svend Foyn revolutionarized whaling by inventing explosive harpoon to hunt whales. He made whaling much easier and quicker. This method saved Norway from the famine thread in 19th century.{{unsigned|Multimotyl}}

;[Citation needed] joke.
I thought the sentence "of course, Rosetta is not sapient[Citation needed]", was sort of funny. It implied "of course, Rosetta is not sapient[or is it?]", adding a bit of humour and mystery to the explanation. {{unsigned ip|108.162.222.77}}
: i think it should be added back in, until somebody can cite a source showing that it is not sentient. [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 02:24, 3 August 2014 (UTC)
;Suggestions for apollo 12 rum incident explanations
The Apollo Rum Incident is probably related to [http://www.arentfox.com/sites/default/files/pdf/ArentFox-Stories-01-Aiming-High.pdf Bacardi's advertising campaign] which altered the image of Buzz Aldrin (apparently from Apollo 11, not 12) to show him in shorts with a rum. I mean, unless it wasn't altered ... [[User:Arothfusz|Arothfusz]] ([[User talk:Arothfusz|talk]]) 16:44, 2 August 2014 (UTC) A. Rothfusz

Apollo 12 Preliminary Science Report NASA SP-235

"The Apollo 12 core-tube bit is far from optimal in design, but results in a smaller range of uncertainty. On the other hand, hammering a core into the soil is known to cause more disturbance to the sample than if the core is PUSHED into the soil at a HIGH, CONSTANT SPEED." ... (/rum horizontal)

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.207|108.162.246.207]] 16:47, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

'''Some Coincidences'''

1. A daily rum ration was provided in British navy until 1970: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rum_ration

2. Harpoon cocktail was updated in 1970 to include option of gin as base: http://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2178/harpoon-cocktail

3. Apollo 12 actually flew in November 1969: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_12

4. HMS Apollo Rum incident: http://idle-idle.blogspot.com/2008/02/hms-apollo-incident_15.html

5. There is a variety of hops called Apollo: http://beerlegends.com/apollo-hops

6. Harpoon is slang for harmonica, but there's no evidence a harmonica was on board.

7. The memorial 'Fallen Astronaut' was placed on the moon on August 1,1971 by Apollo 15 (the backup crew for Apollo 12): https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallen_Astronaut

8. August 1, 1971 has been called the "greatest day of scientific exploration that we've ever seen in the space programme - possibly of all time.": http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/1/newsid_4101000/4101579.stm

9. To harpoon, is to strike with a pointed instrument. Apollo 12 was struck by lightning (twice) upon takeoff. John Aaron's command "SCE to Aux" restored flight telemetry causing him to be labelled a "steely-eyed missile man": http://www.universetoday.com/98484/this-day-in-space-history-apollo-12-and-sce-to-aux/

10. Such an unusual event is called a "rum go": https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/rum_go

11. The Apollo 12 landing area was, ironically, 'Ocean of Storms'. It landed 600 feet from Surveyor 3, making this the "only human artifact ever encountered in lunar exploration". Conrad intended on taking a self-portrait with Bean at Surveyor 3, but couldn't find the self-timer he had smuggled on board. When he later found it, he threw it as hard as he could out onto the moon (motivated like a harpooner).

12. All Apollo 12 astronauts were from US Navy.

13. Episode 2 of 'Futurama' centers on a visit to an Apollo landing site & includes a song about whalers on the moon, carrying harpoons: http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Whalers_on_the_Moon
Fry uses a harpoon to derail a 'moon buggy' from an amusement ride so he can use it to visit the landing site. Fry says "yee-haw!" driving the buggy over a crater.

14. The 'Apollo 13' cocktail is based on rum: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink8506.html

[[User:Nathan Hillery|Nathan Hillery]] ([[User talk:Nathan Hillery|talk]]) 21:35, 3 August 2014 (UTC)

Harpoon Rum did {{Template:Citation_needed}} go up with Apollo 12. Some miniatures were taken for Thanksgiving, but Charles Conrad order his crew-mates not to drink them. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.207|141.101.98.207]] 10:36, 4 August 2014 (UTC)
: Is there any online references for this claim? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 20:22, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Apollo 12's landing site was also known as Oceanus Procellarum. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/multimedia/lroimages/lroc_20091104_apollo12.html#.U9-P-xD5eM0 {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.102}}

All I can think of now is "We're whalers on the moon, we carry a harpoon". That'll be in my head for the rest of the day [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.184|141.101.99.184]] 10:49, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1403: Thesis Defense

2014-08-05T13:57:37Z

199.27.133.6:

Sorry, but if your best defense is frightening counter attack a good offense will destroy you. The best defense is a good offense because a weakened or destroyed opponent can mount no offense.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.132|173.245.48.132]] 05:58, 4 August 2014 (UTC)BluDgeons

:Depends on type of counter attack. For example, the best defense against missiles is to fire anti-missile missiles, which may be seen as type of attack. Of course, the phrase is older than missiles, but I believe similar principles applied: not retaliation nor first strike, but attacking the enemy units which are trying to attack you. Alternatively, attacking enemy army supply lines may also force it to interrupt her attack on you. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:22, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

::No. Anti-missile missiles are an absolutely dreadful defense agaisnt missiles. Their success rate is well below 100% and has only recently risen above 0%. The actual best defense against missiles is to blow them up on the ground, before they are launched, i.e. An offensive attack. [[User:JamesCurran|JamesCurran]] ([[User talk:JamesCurran|talk]]) 20:12, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

The expression is based on a concept that is military and ancient, but I wonder if the expression itself, in English, originated with American football, sometime since the game's birth in the 1860s. It is so specifically applicable to this game, where a team's defense and offense are completely separate units, run separately and spoken of separately and yet an extremely effective way to keep the opponent from scoring is to maintain possession of the ball while the game clock ticks down. [[User:Wrybred|Wrybred]] ([[User talk:Wrybred|talk]]) 13:18, 4 August 2014 (UTC)wrybred

: While it is applicable in most attacking sports, then I seriously doubt that it originated in American Football -- I has been some time since I read {{w|Sun Tzu}}'s {{w|The Art of War}} which is one of the oldest texts in existence, but I suspect it may already be in there predating anything else [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:05, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

May or may not also be inspired by Studio C: Thesis Defense http://youtu.be/Lrlro3YJ15o Teagan N {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.134}}

Can anyone make out what's written on the board? {{unsigned ip|141.101.105.220}}
: No, probably not -- [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 21:57, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

: My best guess after resizing the image a few times is
:: [The|To] [F|Falcons?] [at|of] [T|Times?]
:: [D|Displays?] [a|is|its] [M|Moods?]
:: [by?] {illegible first name (short maybe Meg)} {illegible surname (long)
:: [C|{illegible}] [the] {illegible 1 short word 1 long word or only 1 long word}
:: {illegible mid size word} {illegible short word maybe is} {illegible short word a} {illegible} {illegible} {{unsigned|Meerkat}}

: Looks to me like "The Evolution of [Thesis/Turtle] Displays & Moods" something illegible, probably her name, followed by "Candidate for [illegible]"[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.52|141.101.98.52]]

: I read "The Evolution of Threat Displays in Murder" as the topic after lots of enlargement.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.207|173.245.54.207]] 14:30, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

: Going off on the poster above me and taking into account the topic of the comic, I think it is probably "The Evolution of Thesis Displays in Murder" [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.185|141.101.98.185]] 08:41, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

Thanks! Came here today for this, created account to say thanks :) [[User:Mathiastck|Mathiastck]] ([[User talk:Mathiastck|talk]]) 18:18, 4 August 2014 (UTC)
: You'r welcome [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 21:59, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

"In conclusion" suggests she's almost finished with her presentation. I wonder what the panel thought of her holding a sword many times thicker than her stick-body for the duration of her defense.[[User:Alanbbent|Alanbbent]] ([[User talk:Alanbbent|talk]]) 00:00, 5 August 2014 (UTC)
: "In conclusion" is the APA style of creating a summary section -- hence she has just finished her presentation, and she is now moving on to the questions-answers with the examiners defending her thesis. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.6|199.27.133.6]] 13:57, 5 August 2014 (UTC)

;Incomplete?

looks to me that this pretty complete -- remove the incomplete tag? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 22:50, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

It's still missing the presentation text. [[User:cDave]]

1403: Thesis Defense

2014-08-05T13:54:49Z

199.27.133.6: incomplete tag

{{comic
| number = 1403
| date = August 4, 2014
| title = Thesis Defense
| image = thesis_defense.png
| titletext = MY RESULTS ARE A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT ON THE STATE OF THE AAAAAAAAAAAART
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Presentation text missing, but may not be legible}}

This comic is a play on the {{w|adage}} "{{w|The best defense is a good offense}}". Generally, the idea is that strong offensive action will preoccupy the opposition and ultimately hinder its ability to mount an opposing counterattack, leading to a strategic advantage.

In this instance however, [[Megan]] is defending her academic {{w|thesis}} in front of a panel of professors. This generally involves an oral exam on the topic she has chosen, and should involve no physical violence. She seems oblivious to this meaning of the word "defense" however, and is charging her thesis committee, shouting a {{w|battle cry}}, brandishing a sword.

The title text is an example of another battle cry Megan supposedly used while defending her thesis. This expands on the joke of confusing thesis defense with physical defense by making a battle cry out of a sentence that Megan would have used in a normal thesis defense.

==Transcript==
:[Megan at the front of some kind of meeting room, caught between a presentation on the wall behind her and an audience. Brandishing a huge sword and bellowing a battle cry, she charges the audience, the members of which -- Cueball, Ponytail, and one other -- scramble to defend themselves or flee.]
:Megan: In conclusion, '''''AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!'''''
:The best thesis defense is a good thesis offense.

{{comic discussion}}

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

1402: Harpoons

2014-08-01T15:48:50Z

199.27.133.6: Wikipedia link apollo 12

{{comic
| number = 1402
| date = August 1, 2014
| title = Harpoons
| image = harpoons.png
| titletext = To motivate it to fire its harpoons hard enough, Rosetta's Philae lander has been programmed to believe it is trying to kill the comet.
}}

==Explanation==
The latter peak on this graph refers to the {{w|Rosetta_(spacecraft)|Rosetta}} unmanned spacecraft. As part of its mission, it's carrying two tethers to anchor itself to the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Rosetta was launched in March 2004 (as shown in the graph) and is scheduled to encounter the comet in August 2014, making this a timely comic.

The first peak is probably a joke. Officially, {{w|Apollo 12}} carried neither harpoons nor rum. However, as a former NASA contractor, Randall may know more about space shenanigans than the general public, and may be implying (perhaps jokingly) that a bottle of the Harpoon brand of Jamaican rum made it aboard.

The caption implies that the spacecraft is sentient and believes that its mission is to kill the comet. This is likely a parody of the novel ''Moby Dick'', in which Captain Ahab hunts a sperm whale named Moby Dick using traditional harpoons out of vengeance for the whale's biting off his leg.

==Transcript==
:'''Number of harpoons in space'''
:by year
:[A chart with a red graph is drawn below]
:[The y-axis]
:0 1 2 3
:[The x-axis]
:1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
:[The graph is at zero until a sharp peak to 1 in 1970. The peak is labeled]
:Apollo 12 rum incident
:[The graph then stays at 0 until 2004. Then it rises to 2 and stays there until today, continuing as a dotted line after 2014. The rise is labeled]
:Rosetta comet mission launched carrying lander with harpoon tethers

{{comic discussion}}