explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3230: Overton

2026-04-09T09:56:17Z

62.220.2.194:

4 January 1960 – 30 June 2003 {{unsigned ip|77.87.241.9|18:34, 8 April 2026}}

Someday this cartoon will be politically inappropriate. [[Special:Contributions/64.201.132.210|64.201.132.210]] 19:16, 8 April 2026 (UTC)
: ^ Absolutely. [[Special:Contributions/66.154.219.123|66.154.219.123]] 21:16, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

randall posting a politics-related comic? which could be construed as discontent with the current political landscape? inb4 somebody <s>bashes</s> complains at kynde again - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 22:15, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

I think it's worth noting that the window keeps updating to the right. [[Special:Contributions/50.47.108.55|50.47.108.55]] 02:22, 9 April 2026 (UTC) Ale10ander

: Only if you consider dates to go from left to right instead of any other direction. [[Special:Contributions/2A02:C7C:7344:4C00:BC19:A5A4:14E8:E888|2A02:C7C:7344:4C00:BC19:A5A4:14E8:E888]] 08:27, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

What's the next death date? 2027? (Just guessin) [[User:Cream Starlight|Cream S.L.]] ([[User talk:Cream Starlight|talk]] / [[Special:Contributions/Cream_Starlight|contribs]]) 03:33, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Does he keep dying because he's gone over a ton? (1 ton = 2000 lbs) {{unsigned ip|2607:fb91:bd8a:8e2f:858d:1e1b:f461:5f6e|04:35, 9 April 2026 (UTC)}}

:Too heavy even the time is altered, i see [[User:Cream Starlight|Cream S.L.]] ([[User talk:Cream Starlight|talk]] / [[Special:Contributions/Cream_Starlight|contribs]]) 05:53, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Reincarnation - Can someone suggest a suitable Buddhist or Hindu text as citation for them multiple lifes? [[Special:Contributions/87.129.222.20|87.129.222.20]] 06:39, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

;Significance of the Dates

Many of the dates in listed correspond to major geopolitical events concerning US military and diplomatic policy. They may also correspond to milestone events in US domestic politics. This is an attempt to compile some of the key events that the comic may be referencing.

*1965:
**The beginning of Operation Rolling Thunder, the US ground invasion of Vietnam.
**President LBJ signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965
*- 2011:
**US special forces kill Osama Bin Laden
**NATO forces without the US intervene in the Libyan Civil War leading to the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi.
**More widely, protests spread accross the Middle East and North Africa, dubbed the Arab Spring
**The last of the US combat forces stationed in Iraq are withdrawn.
**The Occuppy Wall Street movement begins.
*1973:
**The United States signs the Paris Peace Accords, withdrawing from the Vietnam conflict and claiming the war was over
**The United States Congress overrides a presidential veto to pass the War Powers Resolution, limiting the ability of future presidents to wage war without Congressional approval
**The Watergate Scandal breaks.
**Roe v Wade.
*- 2018:
**President Donald Trump unilaterally withdraws the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the Iran Nuclear Deal.
**Congress reverses many of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act's reporting and compliance requirements for all but the largest US banks.
*1982:
**Israel violates a 1981 U.S. Brokered ceasefire agreement and invades Lebanon. In response the United States spearheads the establishment of a peacekeeping force to protect Beirut, the Multinational Force in Lebanon.
<wbr/>{{unsigned|In-Sanity|22:16, 8 April 2026}}
:Unfortunately, I suspect that you could easily find such events for absolutely ''every'' year across that range... Unless you narrow down the choices to just something current (i.e. specifically the ones related to current Middle East events, I suppose), which are going to be less frequent but perhaps specifically in Randall's mind.
:(Oh, and I slightly re-reformatted your amended contribution, presuming that you meant it to look a bit more like it is now.)
:I was wondering if there was a mathematical pattern to the numbers, myself. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:00, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3169: EPIRBs

2025-11-18T09:40:48Z

62.220.2.194:

First comment.
>"would not be in an operable state when packaged in transit" .... I dunno EPIRBs, but EZ-Pass sent my transponder "live", it tracked ALL over NYcity (I never go there), and I got bills for like 13 bridges, tunnels, expressways. --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 23:44, 17 November 2025 (UTC)

:This also happened to me. At one point I needed a replacement for my EZ-Pass unit and managed to track the route it followed through NYC over the several monitored bridges the shipment crossed. Luckily the CS when I called, immediately recognized what had happened. [[User:MAP|MAP]] ([[User talk:MAP|talk]]) 06:44, 18 November 2025 (UTC)

Is the caption implying that they've apologized multiple times for the same incident or that there have heen multiple incidents of this nature? The haphazardous unloading procedure shown makes me think it's the latter. [[Special:Contributions/64.114.211.89|64.114.211.89]] 00:33, 18 November 2025 (UTC)

"...drifting out into the harbor!" Is the ship not already in the harbor? I really dislike that use of "out into", it makes little sense. [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 01:51, 18 November 2025 (UTC)
:It depends upon your interpretation of the (unseen) port in question.
:The harbour might just be considered the wide-open area, landward of any (natural or constructed) harbour-wall. Where the ship is, is at a dock-wall, might (together with the adjacent dock) be bounding a finger (one of several?) of waterway that's landward even of the primary open 'harbour' area, functionally considered different as a dock-basin.
:Or, even simpler (by visual, if not words), the crate drops between ship and dock-wall, where the ship itself forms the boundary from the 'open harbour' that (without the ship) normally goes to the sea-wall. But, here, the possibility of the crate being washed around the end of the ship and being in the ''open'' harbour where you find other boats sailing/motoring through (or tied up to buoys, floating jetties, etc) is "...drifting out into the harbour". A opposed to being within easy reach to retrieve, once you've found the right harbourside equipment.
:Unless it's been changed, since I last read it, the Explanation also had it rephrased as drifting ''out of'' the harbour (i.e. into the open sea, river, estuary or whatever-it's-a-harbour-off-of), though I had consciously decided not to change that. As it was functionally the logical end-result. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.236.196|82.132.236.196]] 03:34, 18 November 2025 (UTC)
:If I have a bobcat sequestered in a room, waiting for a cardboard box and duct tape to be delivered, and someone accidentally opens the door, would it not be correct to say it is now out and into the house despite the fact that it was within the house before escaping the room? Another way to look at it would be a shortening of 'Oh no, the box is drifting out (of the port and) into (a part of) the harbor (that isn't the port)!', as both the speaker and listener both understand the context and origin of the box. [[Special:Contributions/64.114.211.37|64.114.211.37]] 04:09, 18 November 2025 (UTC)

So this comic is inadvertently based on a true story.

EPIRB stands for "Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon". I know because I used to work the company that makes them, though in a different assembly line. One day the production manager decided to give us all a chewing out.

It turns out due to poor quality control, around 1000 EPIRBs had shipped with faulty activators, and triggered unprompted.

Indeed, the coastguard were NOT amused. [[Special:Contributions/163.116.177.50|163.116.177.50]] 09:06, 18 November 2025 (UTC)

I understand the 1600 CT written at the box indicates that there is 1600 EPIRBs in it. But I'm not native English speaker and could not just find it by searching. Is CT an abbreviation for content? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:18, 18 November 2025 (UTC)
:Ah I can now answer myself, as someone has actually already put in this link to the {{w|CT#Other uses|meaning of CT}}, and here it is stated that:<br>ct followed by a number means the number of items contained in a package (e.g. zucchini 3 ct).<br>Thanks for the link :-) --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:22, 18 November 2025 (UTC)
:: I believe it is short for 'count' [[Special:Contributions/62.220.2.194|62.220.2.194]] 09:40, 18 November 2025 (UTC)
::Although 3 zucchini would cause rather less alarm to the Coastguard{{cn}} [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:24, 18 November 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3151: Window Screen

2025-10-07T15:14:37Z

62.220.2.194:

The 'standard' and '2x' sized images had unexpected sizes, so an imagesize parameter has been added to render the image consistently with other comics on this website. See the web [https://web.archive.org/web/*/window_screen.png archive] for more details. --[[User:TheusafBOT|TheusafBOT]] ([[User talk:TheusafBOT|talk]]) 03:15, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
:Oh cool the bot can comment too [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 04:06, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
Is the comic not fitting into the section right on the original xkcd website? Is this some kind of meta joke? [[Special:Contributions/138.67.132.61|138.67.132.61]] 04:10, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
: Since this has changed during the day. I think it is intentional[[Special:Contributions/62.220.2.194|62.220.2.194]] 15:14, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
:This is Randall's mistake. Since comic [[1084: Server Problem#Trivia|1084]] from 2012, comics usually have two versions: normal and double resolution (2x). If you read on a high-DPI screen (like a phone) or zoom in, you'll see a high-resolution version of the comic, but if you read on a desktop or laptop without zooming in, you'll see the normal resolution. In this case, Randall accidentally uploaded the 2x version into ''both'' comics, making the normal one twice as big as it should be. If you zoom in just a tiny bit, it'll look normal again. <del>I'll add this in a Trivia section</del> <ins>Someone already did</ins>. --[[User:NeatNit|NeatNit]] ([[User talk:NeatNit|talk]]) 07:35, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
:I suspect Randall was inspired by the U.S. President's outsized ego insisting he deserves the Nobel Prize for Peace when he hasn't actually solved any international problems at all, and in the view of many has made things much worse.[[Special:Contributions/68.116.0.20|68.116.0.20]] 05:33, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
::...and in ''objective reality'' has made things much worse. --[[Special:Contributions/45.143.82.106|45.143.82.106]] 06:52, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
::It's such a shame that this is true. Well, obviously, but in frivolous terms too: it would be nice to have this just as a representation of how it feels to get a tricky task right, without referencing the tangerine toddler's nonsense. I think most people know that feeling that they've maxed out their efforts and achieved something brilliant (measured in terms of the how well or how badly the project should have been expected to go). Human effort is human effort, and so it feels like any successful overcoming of a problem is legitimately comparable with any other, if measured from the perspective of the one who performs the task. I love the way this handles that feeling. It was very difficult; I did it successfully; that was an impressive achievement. "It" could be stopping a war or making a window screen. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 10:38, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

I suspect all the math could have been avoided if the screen were just carefully laid out on top of the window and cut to a matching shape. Why trig when you can trace? --[[Special:Contributions/45.143.82.106|45.143.82.106]] 06:53, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

It's easy when building a flat screen to accidentally get the tension wrong on one side and *generate* non-coplanarity--[[Special:Contributions/174.127.176.33|174.127.176.33]] 08:24, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
: Yeah, I agree with this interpretation of non-coplanarity. Probably the most aggravating part about trying to screen a window is getting the tension perfect so it lays flat. [[Special:Contributions/136.49.188.43|136.49.188.43]] 13:47, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

Is the "overly large image mistake" really a mistake, considering it’s about the "size" of an image displaying on a "screen"? {{unsigned ip|89.91.92.1|08:34, 7 October 2025 (UTC)}}
:There is the opinion that Randall made a mistake, but because Cueballs sentence just stops at "how well the screen fits... (the window)" and the panel DOES NOT fit it's window, I believe that this is intentional and the punchline of the comic [[Special:Contributions/195.49.224.20|195.49.224.20]] 09:36, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
::If so, can someone edit the image above to fit the punchline? EDIT: I did it.[[Special:Contributions/138.43.101.123|138.43.101.123]] 12:06, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
: I don't see the problem. For me (on Firefox), while the hi-res image is loaded, it's displayed in the usual size on xkcd.com. I wouldn't even have noticed if I hadn't read it here. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 13:00, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
:: Update: I see it on a different computer (also Firefox). Well that's weird.--[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 13:37, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
::: It was displaying normally for me a few hours ago, but now, on the same browser on the same machine, it's outsized. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 15:02, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

Interesting that Cueball has hair in the last two panels --[[User:Darth Vader|Darth Vader]] ([[User talk:Darth Vader|talk]]) 08:40, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
: Obviously with all the screen building he hasn't had time to shave his head. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:28, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
: In the last two panels he also wears some kind of bracelet. [[Special:Contributions/82.54.66.129|82.54.66.129]] 10:59, 7 October 2025 (UTC)
:: "That's not a bracelet, its a <s>space station</s> band-aid." Cueball deserves the DIY Purple Heart.--[[User:Bilkie|Bilkie]] ([[User talk:Bilkie|talk]]) 13:52, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

Joke's on Cueball: this problem can be seen as mathematical, and Nobel Prizes famously exclude that field in theor awards (the closest is the relatively new award on Economy). He'd have a better chance asking for a Fields Medal.--[[Special:Contributions/94.73.49.72|94.73.49.72]]

One must imagine Norm Abrams happy. [[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 13:56, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3119: Flettner Rotor

2025-07-24T11:07:43Z

62.220.2.194:

You don't actually need the rocks to dress up as a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightship lightship], which is unfortunately not a spacecraft moving at relativistic speeds. [[Special:Contributions/90.155.35.67|90.155.35.67]] 20:01, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

:And it also is not a ship that is light lol [[User:TheTrainsKid|TheTrainsKid]] ([[User talk:TheTrainsKid|talk]]) 20:08, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

:This is probably inspired by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lighthouse_and_naval_vessel_urban_legend Lighthouse and Naval Vessel Urban Legend]. [[Special:Contributions/128.187.112.68|128.187.112.68]] 20:55, 23 July 2025 (UTC)
::Already linked that, myself. Though not so sure it's a direct inspiration, only an interesting onward read (which is how I chose to link it).
::(Also, top tip: note the use of the {{template|w}} method to wikilinking it, much more efficient, in the form you might have used it, and slightly more aesthetic.) [[Special:Contributions/82.132.247.118|82.132.247.118]] 21:01, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

Not sure why there's commentary about anchored vessels - the comic doesn't reference them, nor claim that it would make _every_ vessel give you right of way? [[Special:Contributions/91.84.189.119|91.84.189.119]] 21:47, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

Would a Flettner rotor with a truncated cone shape like in the picture actually work? [[Special:Contributions/46.162.122.132|46.162.122.132]] 22:25, 23 July 2025 (UTC)

Ah, that's what those are on Danish ferries.[[Special:Contributions/62.220.2.194|62.220.2.194]] 11:07, 24 July 2025 (UTC)

Talk:1255: Columbus

2013-08-23T12:30:35Z

62.220.2.194:

Megan's version of the story is one big reference to the {{w|Silmarillion}}, in case you're wondering. [[Special:Contributions/100.40.49.22|100.40.49.22]] 06:00, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

I fail to see how the fact scholars and other educated people knew the Earth is round means he couldn't have difficulty getting sponsorship because of that. He wasn't asking scholars for sponsorship, did he? :-) Actually, according to {{w|Christopher_Columbus#Quest_for_support|wikipedia}}, "Columbus presented his plans to Queen Isabella, who, in turn, referred it to a '''committee'''" ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:14, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

Because it wasn't just scholars - ''everyone'' knew that the world was a sphere. Sailors, for example, took the monumental task of noticing that when objects appeared in the distance, they seemed to "rise up" over the horizon (hence the phrase). For that to happen, the sea (and by extension the rest of the world) had to be curved.
[[Special:Contributions/109.76.209.186|109.76.209.186]] 12:08, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

: Farmers were famous for believing the world was flat, but it might as well just be city prejudice or jokes on farmers behalf. They would anyway be in the worst position to know any better. [[Special:Contributions/62.220.2.194|62.220.2.194]] 12:30, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1217: Cells

2013-05-27T11:38:08Z

62.220.2.194:

One can test the cytotoxicity (the ability to kill cells) on a petri-dish level for cancer cells and healthy cells separately. However, this is often not done, knowingly neglecting selectivity issues one could face if the tests were done. This should be included in the explanation. The part that is written in the moment mainly explains the title text. [[Special:Contributions/130.60.152.125|130.60.152.125]] 08:34, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Sorry to correct you. Toxicity is tested for both, healthy cells an cancer cells. But as the targets for drugs are often present in both celltypes, the drug itself affect also both cells. Then you have to choose between certain death by cancer in short time and maybe death or side effects in the long row but survival. It's replacing one evil with another. Only very modern anticancer drugs (e.g. Gleevec) are selective enough to target (mostly) only cancer cells. The drawback is, as cancer in different people is not the same but different cells, you would need different drugs for everybodey affected. One way here lies in the personalized medicine, but that is very expensive...
[[Special:Contributions/195.37.27.58|195.37.27.58]] 10:05, 27 May 2013 (UTC)Richard

I've seen plenty of (academic, not industry) studies where tests on healthy cells were not done: The author present the synthesis of fancy new anti-cancer compounds XY, test it on HELA cells, see it is killing them, and publish this - even in high impact journals. This is a fact. [[Special:Contributions/130.60.152.125|130.60.152.125]] 11:09, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

I am pretty sure this comic refers to the most recent overhyped headline of that type 'Vitamin C kills cancer cells'. Since it sounded like a natural remedy it was very widely spread, and widely misunderstood.[[Special:Contributions/62.220.2.194|62.220.2.194]] 11:38, 27 May 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1145: Sky Color

2012-12-10T11:10:52Z

62.220.2.194:

Of course with '''''vertical''''' mirror vertical axis is selected: perceived switching of left and right (really close with far to mirror surface). When '''standing on''' '''''horizontal''''' mirror we will perceive switching bottom from top. --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 09:09, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

You're certainly correct, but I think that the original question is not really asking about text (or other things) which are perpendicular to the mirror, but rather text which is parallel to it (and thus the close vs. far doesn't come into it). For example, when reading signs in your rear view mirror or holding a book in front of your chest while looking in a mirror. I've added a little bit to the explanation to attempt to help clarify what's happening in that situation. I'm not sure if it really helps or not. [[User:KeithyIrwin|KeithyIrwin]] ([[User talk:KeithyIrwin|talk]]) 10:00, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Easier way to describe it: Imagine you hold a piece of glas. Write on the glass and hold it in front of the mirror, so that you can see both the original text and the mirrored text. Both versions of the text will look identical. So the mirror doesn't change anything. [[Special:Contributions/62.220.2.194|62.220.2.194]] 11:10, 10 December 2012 (UTC)