explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3204: Dinosaurs And Non-Dinosaurs

2026-02-07T06:52:28Z

91.84.189.119:

I don't think that's a stork. My guess would be that it's a heron.
The bird in the lower right also looks like some sort of shorebird, but I've got no clue. {{unsigned ip|99.26.146.61|19:45, 6 February 2026 (UTC)}}

I feel like this comic should be in the explanation https://xkcd.com/1211/
[[Special:Contributions/2600:4041:2E5:B900:66D3:74AD:D92D:356B|2600:4041:2E5:B900:66D3:74AD:D92D:356B]] 20:36, 6 February 2026 (UTC)

Could it have a brief layman's explanation of how/why the top right *aren't* dinosaurs? Y'know beyond just "well, technically..."
[[Special:Contributions/91.84.189.119|91.84.189.119]] 06:52, 7 February 2026 (UTC)

3119: Flettner Rotor

2025-07-23T21:58:33Z

91.84.189.119: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3119
| date = July 23, 2025
| title = Flettner Rotor
| image = flettner_rotor_2x.png
| imagesize = 385x359px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = "And in maritime news, the Coast Guard is on the scene today after an apparent collision between two lighthouses."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a spinning shaft. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

Randall is pointing out that a {{w|Flettner rotor}} can make a boat look like a lighthouse — and, since lighthouses are immovable while sailboats are not{{Citation needed}}, this would make other boats give a boat with the above affixations the right of way, by the simple expedient of avoiding its general vicinity and the presumed subsurface navigational hazards.

It is likely also an allusion to the famous {{w|Lighthouse and naval vessel urban legend|urban legend}} in which a Naval vessel insists that another radio operator at sea diverts course to avoid a collision, demanding right of way by citing them military importance, only to be embarassed when the other operator reveals they are not another sea vessel, but a lighthouse.

A vessel directly in the path of the moving boat would have to perhaps consider the possibility that they are drifting towards rocks, but how one ''at anchor'' (and not obviously dragging its moorings) could reconcile the conceptual movement, especially if GPS data gives no reason to believe it, is left unexplained.

The title text describes "an apparent collision between two lighthouses", which could refer to two Flettnerized boats colliding with each other because they both now assume everyone else will give them the right of way, or to a single Flettnerized boat colliding with an actual lighthouse.

==Transcript==
[A panel showing Cueball standing on a decorated Flettner Rotor Sailboat]

Text beneath panel: Sailing tip: If you have a Flettner Rotor Sailboat, you can add some fake plastic rocks and a light to make other boats give you the right of way.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

Talk:3119: Flettner Rotor

2025-07-23T21:48:09Z

91.84.189.119:

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)

Talk:3119: Flettner Rotor

2025-07-23T21:47:32Z

91.84.189.119:

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)