explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3260: Messi

2026-06-17T20:53:21Z

An architect:

{{comic
| number = 3260
| date = June 17, 2026
| title = Messi
| image = messi_2x.png
| imagesize = 393x343px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Commentators agree that this will probably be the last World Cup in which Messi faces serious competition.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created in Lionel Messi's 398th goal. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
In the vein of [[605: Extrapolating]], this comic utilizes the incorrect application of extrapolation to humorous ends. Extrapolation is a form of estimation in which existing data points are used to estimate new data points beyond the range of the existing ones. In this case, Randall appears to have fit several data points regarding soccer superstar {{w|Lionel Messi}}'s average goals per {{w|FIFA_World_Cup|World Cup}} game to a curve using what appears to be polynomial or exponential {{w|extrapolation}}. It illustrates the danger of a small {{w|sample size}}, as the data point for "2026 (so far)" is based on only ''one'' game (the day before this comic, in his inaugural game of the 2026 World Cup, Messi scored three goals), and that data point is used to support extrapolation of a rapidly rising number of goals-per-game into the future. The data points for previous World Cups, which bounce around among various values but are all less than or equal to 1.0, are each based on many more games, and as such are likely to be much better estimates of how many goals-per-game Messi will score in the future.

As well as that, if this graph would be true, this would imply that in future games Messi would be scoring multiple goals per second, which would be impossible in real life{{citation needed}}.

The title text says that this World Cup is the last one in which Messi will face serious competition. This is likely true, but humorously so, as this is almost certainly Messi's last World Cup period. However, the commentators may well have been consulting the chart, and instead be referring to how if this chart was to be true, in future games Messi would theoretically score hundreds of goals, which, assuming no-one else has the exponential rate of goals, would easily beat other players.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[A graph is shown, with 1 axis having the numbers 1, 2, & 3 going up it, and the other having 24 unlabelled marks. There are 6 points on the graph itself, with them being labelled 2006 (.33), 2010 (0), 2014 (.57), 2018 (.25), 2022 (1), and 2026 (3), the latter having '(so far)' under it. There is a grey dotted curve going up in exponentially.]
:[Title of graph:]Lionel Messi [new line] world cup points per game.
:[Caption below text:]At this rate, by 2040 Lionel Messi will be scoring hundreds of goals per game.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Extrapolation]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Soccer]]

3253: Sunbeam

2026-06-01T21:07:27Z

An architect:

{{comic
| number = 3253
| date = June 1, 2026
| title = Sunbeam
| image = sunbeam_2x.png
| imagesize = 398x347px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = While weather control is typically thought of as a superpower, the unconscious ability of astronomers and astrophotographers to summon clouds is more properly classified as a curse.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A TABLE SOON TO BE LIT BY THE SUN. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{{w|Astrophotography}} is the act of taking pictures of very distant (often celestial) objects, such as nebulae. This is done mostly at night, although [[Beret Guy|a certain someone]] probably could do it during the day. However, during special circumstances (most obviously solar eclipses) astrophotographers will be active during the day. However since all celestial objects move the same way across the sky astrophotographers will always aware of how the sun moves anyway and hence how a sunbeam coming through a window will progress across a room, an ability that [[Randall]] calls an "extremely minor superpower."

However, regular people could easily determine where the sun will fall as well, making its claims as a 'superpower' questionable at best. As well as that even as a superpower it's hardly useful, just preventing people from being in a bad sunspot for their meal. Hence it's being called a very minor superpower.

The title text talks about another minor "superpower" that astrophotographers have which makes clouds always seem to show up in front of the night sky. Because this "ability" is actually just coincidence that might appear causal to some and also interferes with their work by ruining their photos, the title text more accurately classifies it as a curse, which is why the rest of the comic describes astrophotographers having only one "actual" superpower.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball, Megan, and White Hat are in a large dark room, presumably a restaurant, with two tables and a large window, with 4 panels and a topsection. The window is casting a large sunbeam between the two tables.]
:Cueball: Let's take the far table.
:Cueball: The closer one will be in the sun soon.
:[Caption below the panel:]
:Astrophotography gives you exactly one extremely minor superpower.
{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Photography]]

Talk:3250: Flag Design

2026-05-26T02:24:03Z

An architect:

Could there possibly be a reference to New Zealand’s laser kiwi flag? [[Special:Contributions/2A02:6B6F:E226:B00:2D7E:D360:EEA6:2104|2A02:6B6F:E226:B00:2D7E:D360:EEA6:2104]] 22:01, 25 May 2026 (UTC)

Oooh, I like a good Flag comic. Not been one for a while, and I used to use one of them as my xkcd fora avatar. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 22:09, 25 May 2026 (UTC)

what is that animal [[User:Mathmaster|Mathmaster]] ([[User talk:Mathmaster|talk]]) 22:22, 25 May 2026 (UTC)

The inner flag doesn't have its own inner flag... [[User:AoPS is superior|AoPS is superior]] ([[User talk:AoPS is superior|talk]]) 22:43, 25 May 2026 (UTC)
:Which suggests to me is that ''this'' flag is of one nation/entity that incorporates the national flag of another nation (often done... see Hawaii's flag). It only says "National flag" (which, as it happens, has many identical features, just not all), rather than "''this''' nation's national flag", so it needn's necessarily be "The People's Republic of Drosteland" being totally self-referential through infinite recursion. [[Special:Contributions/81.179.199.253|81.179.199.253]] 23:38, 25 May 2026 (UTC)

Isn't the "tribute to topology" a half-turn to make the flag one-sided (Möbius strip)? [[Special:Contributions/130.216.50.126|130.216.50.126]] 00:54, 26 May 2026 (UTC)

Wifi transmitter? it looks liek the contactless icon for cards so i was thinking it'd at least work in that NFC-adjacent way, which needs no power source. [[Special:Contributions/193.61.208.1|193.61.208.1]] 00:56, 26 May 2026 (UTC)

The state flags of Costa Rica, Colombia, and Haiti, and the national flags of El Salvador and Ecuador have themselves on the flag, via the state seals [[Special:Contributions/104.58.95.236|104.58.95.236]] 01:27, 26 May 2026 (UTC)

I think the customize option doesn't refer to customizing the flag itself, but customizing privacy options for the data it collects. It is similar to the options shown on a website when it asks about using cookies. [[User:An architect|An Architect]] ([[User talk:An architect|talk]]) 02:24, 26 May 2026 (UTC)

3184: Funny Numbers

2026-05-19T17:23:08Z

An architect:

{{comic
| number = 3184
| date = December 22, 2025
| title = Funny Numbers
| image = funny_numbers_2x.png
| imagesize = 360x453px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = In 1899, people were walking around shouting '23' at each other and laughing, and confused reporters were writing articles trying to figure out what it meant.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic refers to the recent meme {{w|6-7 meme|"6-7"}}, which is often accompanied by moving your hands up and down. This meme is often referenced in physical space, primarily among the younger generation, often to the great annoyance of their elders.

Like many youth trends, this habit is often looked down upon by adults, who may see it as anything from an irritating fad to a symptom of social and intellectual decay. This strip takes exactly the opposite tack, depicting a Mathematical Society (apparently composed entirely of adults) noting this trend with no hint of condemnation. Rather, their attitude seems indulgent and nostalgic. The strip references a long history of young people adopting specific numbers as slang, often for quasi-arbitrary reasons, and treats this latest meme as simply a continuation of that history. Seen from that perspective, the trend seems like something that the different generations have in common, with one researcher fondly saying that she's "glad they're still doing that". There's also the implication that the Mathematical Society would likely be full of people who love numbers, and so appreciate the fact that people are taking joy in numbers.

The numbers listed are:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Number!!Adopted!!class="unsortable"|Explanation
|-
|data-sort-value="23"|23 (skidoo!)||data-sort-value="1899"|around 1899||The number relates to leaving quickly (a suggestion to go away), for indeterminate reasons.
{{w|23 skidoo|It was a death row prisoner's number}} in a then-new stage play based on ''A Tale of Two Cities'' by Charles Dickens, but it's unclear whether that was the source of the slang. Soon after its coining, it was popularly combined with a term of similar use to become the phrase "{{w|23 skidoo}}".

23 gained some popularity again in the 1970s via the {{w|23 enigma}}, the suggestion that the number appears unusually often in significant contexts. This was first noticed by William S. Burroughs, and spread by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea's book ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'', and by ''Principia Discordia''.
|-
|42||1978||A number made popular by {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}, a radio play and book by Douglas Adams.
These works include a plot where a supercomputer is designed to answer {{w|Phrases from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy#The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is 42|"the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything"}} and (after a great deal of calculation) reports that the answer is "forty-two" (the joke being that the answer is useless because we don't understand the question). This number became a reference among fans of the series, and passed into more common usage. This number also appears in older works like the [https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/42.html King James' Bible] and [https://quantumtorah.com/forty-two-journeys/ Torah], to name a few.
|-
|69||data-sort-value="1795"|1790s?||Refers to {{w|69 (sex position)|the act of mutual oral sex}}, because the two digits (identical but inversely rotated) are reminiscent of two people in that sexual position.
This usage dates back at least as far as the eighteenth century (though the act itself is far older). The earliest known use was in French: "faire soixante-neuf", and it passed into English usage in the 1880s. It's not clear when the number began to be commonly referenced by young people, though it was arguably gained particular popularity due to a reference in {{w|Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure}} (1989).
|-
|420||1971||This number (originally the time "4:20 pm", and later connected to April the 20th) has become {{w|420 (cannabis culture)|slang}} for smoking {{w|marijuana}}.
Randall previously made reference to this number in [[2153: Effects of High Altitude]]. Michigan's 2026 budget assumes the increased tax on marijuana will raise precisely $420 million for road repairs.
|-
|1,337||data-sort-value="1985"|1980s?||"{{w|Leet}}-speak" is a form of textual obfuscation using an alternative orthography (various character substitutions and phonetic shifts) to 'spell' words. This particular type of orthography initially became popular among young computer hackers ("leet" being slang for "elite" — i.e. the self-description of the in-group who are using this system).
"1337" is the usual way to represent the term "LEET" ("1" is commonly a lower-case "L", "3"s are often used as "E"s – see 58,008's calculator-speak examples – and "7" somewhat resembles a "T").
Randall has previously referred to 1337 in the [[:Category:1337|1337]] series and in [[1337: Hack]].
|-
|58,008||data-sort-value="1975"|1970s?||The number "58008" {{w|Calculator spelling|when typed into a seven-segment display and inverted}}, spells "BOOBS". There is also a longer version "5318008" which spells "BOOBIES". When calculators with these displays became common in schools in the 1980s, young people (particularly young men) took delight in this discovery, and in the fact that they could use an apparently inscrutable number as a salacious reference.
|-
|data-sort-value="67"|6 7||2025||{{w|6-7 meme|This meme}} originated from the song "Doot Doot" by Skrilla and quickly became an in-crowd joke, together with hand actions, among many young people.
The meme quickly became sufficiently divorced from its original meaning that even many people referencing it didn't know its origins, leading to many people seeing it as [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/67-meme fundamentally meaningless], though that hasn't stopped people from trying to assign a meaning to it.

{{w|At sixes and sevens}} is a possibly unrelated expression meaning a condition of confusion or disarray.
|}

The title text claims that the media reaction to "23-skidoo" around the turn of the 20th century (''one'' of the oldest terms, ''possibly'' the first noted by the mathematicians of that day) was very similar to the current media reaction to "6 7". This highlights a perennial historical cycle of youth culture being confusing to the old; with the young generation growing old and, in turn, being confused by a new generation of youth culture.

Other cartoons featuring lists of symbolic numbers include [[487: Numerical Sex Positions]]. The trend of new manifestations of long-running phenomena being treated as signs of social decay is referenced in [[1227: The Pace of Modern Life]].

==Transcript==
:[A banner is hanging from the ceiling with a large line of text above a smaller one:]
:<big>Mathematical society</big>
:2025 meeting

:[Below the banner there are four people, three of them are standing close together to the left with Hairbun leftmost addressing Cueball and Megan who is looking at her. Ponytail is standing to the far right next to a whiteboard, and is using a marker to circle round the last of several items on the board.]
:Hairbun: Any other new developments from the year to cover before we wrap?
:Cueball: Oh, the teens picked a new funny number.
:Megan: Aww, I'm glad to hear they're still doing that.
:Ponytail: I'll add it to the list.

:[The board generally contains two columns of numbers, the first row having text after its number, thus across both columns. The last pair of digits is the new 'number' circled round by Ponytail. From top, in reading order, they are:]
:23 (skidoo!)
:42    1,337
:69    58,008
:420   6 7

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category: Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category: Math]]
[[Category: Language]]

3245: Results Age

2026-05-14T02:10:10Z

An architect: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 3245
| date = May 13, 2026
| title = Results Age
| image = results_age_2x.png
| imagesize = 478x669px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Please, we need your help. Our research suggests you're the last living descendant of the person who knew how to format this config file.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY AN INTERNET GRANDPA. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic shows how likely it is that a bug reported will be fixed, based on the age of some past post that matches your search for details of the problem.

A table is shown below of the explanations of each table row:
{| class="wikitable"
!Age of post !! Explanation given !! Full Explanation
|-
|2 hours ago || A service outage. Not very long to fix - Just wait. ||The recentness of the information implies that it has just happened, and other people have noticed it and started to post about the issue. Large-scale problems like a service outage are obvious priorities, and will (hopefully!) be fixed quickly.
|-
|5 days ago || A new update just broke something big. High chance to be fixed, but you might have to wait for a patch || Similar to before, a large breakage would be very high priority to be fixed. However, as it's been five days since reporting it, the bug is likely taking a while to be found, so - as pointed out in the comic - you could have to wait a bit longer for this one to be resolved.
|-
|3 months ago ||A new product isn't working for some users. Decent chance of finding a solution in replies || This problem is clearly not going to be fixed by the creators, judging by how long it's been there, and it possibly isn't an issue affecting everyone, or even a large proportion of users. However, people are innovative, and no doubt will someone have found their own fix, patch or kludge to get around the product limitations.
|-
|2 years ago||You've ran into an edge case. Low chance to be fixed, but there could be help in troubleshooting||An edge case is a rare situation that the developers did not think to account for, usually causing a logic error, where the program works, but outputs something unexpected which might cause an error down the line. Very few people will suffer from this precise problem, although others may have encountered similar issues on similar software, and noting how they solved ''their'' problem might lead you towards how to solve your own problem.
|-
|13 years ago||You're the only one with this problem. Very Low chance to be fixed, and the post is likely irrelevant||Given how long this 'problem' has been around without being fixed, it is likely the problem is a problem the user has specifically. Possibly through the tech being corrupted through use, or not being compatable with the thing itself. More than that, it suggests that your search has only found an old post that just happens to match your search-query, because there are no more definite answers to your precise question and the enquiry results in nothing more relevant to show you.
|-
|24 years ago||Oh god how is the Internet so old. Maybe whoever posted the message's children can help you out. || This is another comic [[:Category:Comics to make one feel old|where Randall makes people feel old]]. In this case by pointing out that the Internet is very old, and people posting comments in the early period of the Internet are now grown up with kids. Something [[Randall]] has repeatedly shown that he is uncomfortable with. It is also (presumably) rare enough to be a [[979: Wisdom of the Ancients|DenverCoder9 situation]], and 13 years is longer than the time in that comic, so 13 years might be such a situation too.
The Internet is in fact significantly older than 24 years old, being over fifty years old. The World Wide Web (to many, synonymous with the Internet) hails from the early 1990s, and Google (one of the more commonly used search engines, through which this error search might have been made) started working in the late 1990s. The biggest surprise might be that some information found on a web-page in 2002 (and still relevant to your search) survives on some still live web server (or as an archive of that original information on some successor site). For example, anything hosted on a {{w|GeoCities}} site would have normally been made inaccessible in 2014.

Title text seems to be describing what a conversation with the child of that person could look like, it is phrased in a way a dramatic fiction would do it.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

:Implications of the age of the posts you see when you Google an error message

:[A search engine prompt field is shown, containing part of an error code message (beginning with E-21 & what looks like a 9 & 3 next to it). Below this are search results shown as obscured text, except for a the phrase '3 years ago' in the first heading. This is expanded into an ellipse that obscures the rest of the search field.]
:[A table, with 3 columns, labelled "Age of post", "What it means", and "Probability of a fix"]

:[Row 1: Age of post:] 2 hours ago
:[What it means:] There's an infrastructure outage
:[Probability of a fix:] Very high -- just wait

:[Row 2: Age of post:] 5 days ago
:[What it means:] A recent update broke something big
:[Probability of a fix:] High, but you might have to wait for a patch

:[Row 3: Age of post:] 3 months ago
:[What it means:] A new product isn't working for some users
:[Probability of a fix:] Decent chance of a solution in the replies

:[Row 4: Age of post:] 2 years ago
:[What it means:] You've run into an edge case
:[Probability of a fix:] Low, but maybe the replies can help with troubleshooting

:[Row 5: Age of post:] 13 years ago
:[What it means:] You're the only person with this problem
:[Probability of a fix:] Very low -- post is likely not relevant

:[Row 6: Age of post:] 24 years ago
:[What it means:] Oh God how is the Internet this old
:[Probability of a fix:] Maybe whoever posted this message has kids who can help you

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Internet]]