explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1780: Appliance Repair

2025-07-28T02:37:48Z

47.14.13.170:

He took it apart because it's not working. It's not working because he took it apart. And so we are all a part of the Great Circle of Life. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.122.102|162.158.122.102]] 15:22, 2 January 2017 (UTC)

Reminds me of my Christmas present to my parents - a [https://www.amazon.com/Double-Socket-Electric-Sockets-Outlets/dp/B00S5ZJTY0 USB mains socket], and my time and work to install it. The old non-USB socket was working fine, but when I removed it, I couldn't get the new one installed due to some unusual wiring, and couldn't replace the old one either. This also cut the power to the fridge! We had to call an electrician to fix the problem - literally, that it wasn't working because somebody took it apart... [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 15:57, 2 January 2017 (UTC)

I added onto the transcript and description so it would be less barebones. If not, please add onto my work. Thanks. (It feels good to be back after so long. :)) --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:56, 2 January 2017 (UTC)
:Randall was right. :)) does look mismatched and wrong. How do you fix it?! --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 16:56, 2 January 2017 (UTC)
::I'm a fan of putting a space after the smiley (like this :) ) it can still make it look unbalanced, but in my opinion it is better than the double paren.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.11|108.162.238.11]] 12:24, 4 January 2017 (UTC)
:::Or, there's always unicode. 😀 --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|JayRulesXKCD]] ([[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|talk]]) 15:38, 4 January 2017 (UTC)

120V is a US standard - in the civilized world, or at least Europe, single phase domestic supply is 230V.

The three phases are 120 degrees apart. Wikipedia is over there.
[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.137|141.101.99.137]] 18:10, 2 January 2017 (UTC)

I removed all references to actual voltage values. I was thinking only for me... Canada also uses 120V (and 240V too, for house heating, clothes dryers, and ovens), along with another few countries.--[[User:Jeanrenaud|Jeanrenaud]] ([[User talk:Jeanrenaud|talk]]) 19:06, 2 January 2017 (UTC)

Not sure where you get the idea that Cueball is running an appliance repair business. Seems simpler to assume that he is taking apart his own humidifier. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 20:27, 2 January 2017 (UTC)

:The Tautology Club might be involved :-)
:--[[User:Lou Crazy|Lou Crazy]] ([[User talk:Lou Crazy|talk]]) 11:06, 3 January 2017 (UTC)

;Title Text

Maybe Randall is simply giving the game away here: If it is a three-phase motor, then it should not be referred to as the humidifier. And if it is being referred to as the humidifier, then it likely is leaking, or smoking, the smoke of which is confused for the production of mist. On top of the three-phase v.s. one-phase, I think we have a good game going. {{unsigned ip|108.162.222.16}}

There doesn't seem to be any direct indication of a repair service being run by Cueball. Also, the fact that he is holing a 3-phase motor doesn't mean the three phase motor is the problem. The comic directly states that the motor being removed, not the motor itself, is the problem. (not to mention that a three-phase motor by itself is not necessarily suspicious; instead of the type of mains-connected 3-phase motor described above, it could be a small brushless motor, many of which are 3-phase, and while more expensive can be expected in small electronics under digital control)[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.130|162.158.75.130]] 10:14, 4 January 2017 (UTC)

;The part is not necessarily broken

Cueball never says that the motor is broken (as most appliance repair people would do when they find the problem). He merely states that the part came from a broken machine--something that was already known. Updated description to include this subtlety. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.94|172.68.34.94]] 19:50, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

This reminds me of a couple of TV episodes:
*Young Sheldon, S2E1 (2018-SEP-24) "A High-Pitched Buzz and Training Wheels": Sheldon disassembles the family's fridge in an attempt to fix it, but is unable to put it back together himself
*Modern Family, S8E13 (2017-FEB-15) "Do It Yourself": despite it seeming like it's going to go badly, Phil successfully manages to replace the moisture sensor in the family's clothes-dryer
[[User:Sollyucko|Sollyucko]] ([[User talk:Sollyucko|talk]]) 01:36, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

Some brushless DC motors are three phase motors. Maybe that's why there would be one in a residential dehumidifier. [[Special:Contributions/47.14.13.170|47.14.13.170]] 02:37, 28 July 2025 (UTC)

Talk:562: Parking

2025-07-26T15:59:26Z

47.14.13.170:

Still waiting (read: hoping) to see a story about this in real life. Complete with the cheerful-but-circumspect bystanders. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.11|173.245.54.11]] 18:16, 5 November 2013 (UTC)
:There has been a russian mayor using a tank to crush illegally parked car. It is not the same thing, but close. {{unsigned ip|108.162.229.35}}
:I personally came extremely close to slashing someone's tires in this exact scenario the other day, does that count? {{unsigned_ip|162.158.167.91|15:20, 10 April 2025‎}}

I feel I should point out that Vilnius, where this happened is in Lithuania, which has been independent of Russia since 1918 (occupied by soviets for a while, but still fully independent for the last 27 years). Also worth noting the actual crushing was a setup with a prepared car, especially for publicity. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.4|108.162.249.4]] 16:27, 1 March 2017 (UTC)

I like how Black Hat has seemingly tried to respect the parker's wishes by retaining the apparently desired angle of the (pieces of his) car to the kerb.

I don't think the bystanders were wary of possible revenge from Black Hat. They were cheerful, not fearful. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 23:53, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

I think black hat merge with the psychologist. [[User:Mikemk|Mikemk]] ([[User talk:Mikemk|talk]]) 20:47, 5 March 2016 (UTC)

Is it just me, or does it look like Black Hat welded the car back together after moving the offending half? Anonymous 08:25, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

Good point, there are tack marks. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.40|108.162.221.40]] 14:41, 8 March 2016 (UTC)

I started by wondering whether the vehicle models were recognisable, then I noticed that, rather unusually, I would say, Randall mis-observed a detail repeatedly: the windscreen/windshield trapezoids are oriented the wrong way—the shorter parallel side should face the roof of the car, the longer parallel side the bonnet/hood. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.215|108.162.246.215]] 15:29, 29 April 2017 (UTC)

From a Reddit post I just came across the idea that the red car's owner might have been forced to park that way due to someone else before. D: [[Special:Contributions/103.22.200.72|103.22.200.72]] 06:44, 14 December 2018 (UTC)

Apparently someone actually did this, though the video might be staged https://youtu.be/-qc0aaY-3qY [[Special:Contributions/47.14.13.170|47.14.13.170]] 15:59, 26 July 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3109: Dehumidifier

2025-07-01T01:22:19Z

47.14.13.170:

Having network access can have some use for a dehumidifier, e.g. to remotely set the target humidity level, or get notifications when the water tank needs to get emptied. But having devices that depend on a specific app or a vendor-provided remote service risks having a useless device after a while ... --[[Special:Contributions/134.102.219.31|134.102.219.31]] 13:19, 30 June 2025 (UTC)
:Humidifiers typically have a physical control to set a target humidity level, and even the most basic models turn off when the water tank gets full. Since humans can't really tell the difference between 40-60%, which is the range of most humidifiers, there is no need for a remote control to change the humidity levels on a machine. As for the water tank, regular use of the humidifier will teach the user about how long it can run before turning off and needing to be emptied. {{unsigned ip|136.62.110.93|13:58, 30 June 2025 (UTC)}}
::Though there might be a device that attempts to do [[2753: Air Handler|both jobs]], note that this is a {{w|dehumidifier}} (as you functionally refer to) and not ''necessarily'' also a capable {{w|humidifier}} (as you namechecked it). [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 17:53, 30 June 2025 (UTC)

"if they discover a new kind of water" - There are several varieties of heavy water (common Hydrogen deuterium, tritium; common oxygen, various other isotopes), not to mention several [wiki:Phases of ice|phases of ice]. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 20:31, 30 June 2025 (UTC)
:I restored the part about phases of ice, because dehumidifiers do deal with ice (when icing up, and if the ambient temperature gets low). Mostly put it back because I thought a mention of {{w|ice-nine}} would be fun. [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:B2|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:B2]] 20:42, 30 June 2025 (UTC)

Is the salesman Hairy? Seems similar but not quite enough hair, I'm not sure who he's supposed to be --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 21:17, 30 June 2025 (UTC)
: I'd say it's him.--[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 22:19, 30 June 2025 (UTC)

hydrogen peroxide.--[[User:Bb777|me, hi]] ([[User talk:Bb777|talk]]) 01:12, 1 July 2025 (UTC)

Ice-nine is mentioned once in the trivia section. Did the user that added that mean to say ice-IX, were they unaware that ice-nine is fictional, or was it meant to be a joke? I thought that any "jokes" in the explanation were supposed to be technically factual, such as adding [citation needed] to a plainly obvious statement. Please forgive me for asking this stupid question. [[Special:Contributions/47.14.13.170|47.14.13.170]] 01:22, 1 July 2025 (UTC)