explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3209: Plums

2026-02-20T18:09:21Z

Andrybak: better links

{{comic
| number = 3209
| date = February 18, 2026
| title = Plums
| image = plums_2x.png
| imagesize = 251x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My icebox plum trap easily captured William Carlos Williams. It took much less work than the infinite looping network of diverging paths I had to build in that yellow wood to ensnare Robert Frost.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a rebellious icebox. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This is a reference to the [[wikipedia:William Carlos Williams|William Carlos Williams]] poem [https://poets.org/poem/just-say This Is Just to Say], in which the narrator gives an apology, possibly insincere,{{acn}} for eating the plums in the icebox. In this comic, the joke is that [[Cueball]], learning that the person out of view has left themselves some plums in the refrigerator for tomorrow, cannot resist eating them as a reference to the poem.

The title text is another joke about trapping poets with situations based on their own poems, it is about another well-known poem, [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken The Road Not Taken] by Robert Frost, which has been recently referenced in another comic, [[3076: The Roads Both Taken]]. Of course, constructing a network of infinitely branching paths seems physically impossible [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|for Cueball]], though some kind of circular or looping arrangement might work. Of course, the choice that Frost makes would change over time in such an arrangement, if he always takes the path least-travelled, so this could prove complex.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk with a laptop on it. He is looking backward towards someone offscreen.]
:Out of view: I got you the ingredients for dinner tonight.
:Out of view: Oh, and the plums in the fridge drawer are for my yogurt tomorrow; you should just leave them.
:Out of view: Be back later!
:Cueball [thinking]: Oh no.
:Caption: Help. It actually happened. I shouldn't, but how can I not!?

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

3201: Proof Without Content

2026-02-03T00:36:36Z

Andrybak: /* Explanation */ add wikipedia:The Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of a Case of "Writer's Block"

{{comic
| number = 3201
| date = January 30, 2026
| title = Proof Without Content
| image = proof_without_content_2x.png
| imagesize = 259x353px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = There's also a proof without content of a conjecture without content, but it's left as an exercise for the reader.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page IS THE PROOF OF ITS OWN CREATION. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

This comic refers to a {{w|Proof without words|proofs without words}}, which rely on images or other geometric tools to visually demonstrate a concept without further explanation. The comic gives an example of a proof without any content at all, which proves its own existence. However, it claims to be a ''convincing'' proof, in which it might fall a bit short. Note that this conjecture cannot be generalized and the proof only proves this special case: the vast majority of all other conjectures cannot be proven without content.[[[285: Wikipedian Protester|proof needed]]]

This proof requires the conjecture to be stated, which could be construed as content.

This could also be a parody on scientists sometimes creating empty papers as an inside joke, such as [https://ciencias.ulisboa.pt/sites/default/files/fcul/outros/Chemical-Free.pdf a comprehensive overview of chemical-free consumer products] – the point with that paper being that the {{wiktionary|chemical#Usage notes|lay meaning}} behind "chemical-free" can be considered technically nonsensical, given that anything physical contains chemical elements, so no products can be free of them. (And, even in the various more vague senses that may be intended, it {{w|Appeal to nature#Examples|isn't necessarily}} as good a selling point as it may try to suggest.) Another example of an academic article without words is [[wikipedia:The Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of a Case of "Writer's Block"|The Unsuccessful Self-Treatment of a Case of "Writer's Block"]].

The title text refers to another proof without content, that a conjecture without content could exist. This would imply a conjecture-proof pair with no content whatsoever. This could only be discussed indirectly, which is why it is mentioned and left as an {{w|Proof by Intimidation|exercise for the reader}}. Alternatively, the exercise could be forming the conjecture and proof itself if the comic is interpreted as a blank sheet of paper.

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

:[Within a panel, two boxes stacked vertically. Each one has a label above it.]
:Conjecture:
:[Within the box]
:It's possible to construct a convincing proof without words, pictures, or content of any kind.
:[The next label]
:Proof:
:[The box underneath this label is empty.]
:[Caption under the panel]
:Proofs without words are cool, but we can go further.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Math]]

417: The Man Who Fell Sideways

2024-05-11T20:36:21Z

Andrybak: /* Explanation */ update URL for tumblr of Jeph Jacques

{{comic
| number = 417
| date = April 30, 2008
| title = The Man Who Fell Sideways
| image = the man who fell sideways.png
| titletext = Strip originally conceived in conversation with Jeph Jacques. Soon to be a major motion picture.
}}

==Explanation==
[[File:A Matter of Some Gravity.png|right]]

This comic is humorously built-up like a short drama story, about a man (Cueball) with an unusual physics condition.

It might have been inspired by the {{w|Uncle Scrooge}} adventure comic "{{w|A Matter of Some Gravity}}" ([http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=D+96001 Inducks]) by {{w|Don Rosa}}, in which {{w|Magica de Spell}} makes gravity pull sideways at {{w|Scrooge McDuck}} and {{w|Donald Duck}}.
The same topic is covered by 1996 graphic novel ''{{w|L'enfant penchée}}'' (''The Leaning Child''), but, as it was only published in English in 2014, it’s very unlikely to be a source of inspiration for this comic.

"Soon to be a major motion picture" in the title text might refer to ''{{w|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button}}'', a film released later in 2008 (and based on a short story), in which the protagonist Benjamin suffers of the impossible condition of aging backwards.

"Over land... and sea" might be from the song "Nature Boy" by {{w|eden ahbez}}. Nat King Cole sung (the most famous version) about "A very strange, enchanted boy. They say he wandered very far, very far over land and sea."

The title text mentions {{w|Jeph Jacques}}, who runs the webcomic ''{{w|Questionable Content}}''. Jeph has also described the creation of this comic in his [https://jephjacques.tumblr.com/post/11265563239/qa-dump-09 blog] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20240511203429/https://jephjacques.tumblr.com/post/11265563239/qa-dump-09 archived]) while working at [https://ezplaytoys.com ezplay company].

When Cueball hits Megan, he knocks her down and "knocks her up", in what is probably intended to be a visual form of {{w|antanaclasis}}. Megan tells [[Hairy]] about a person knocking her over and tumbling into the distance. She hints that she is falling for him, which is a joke regarding Cueball's condition.

The baby shares his tendency to be pulled sideways by gravity, but this apparently does not start until she is born, because Megan and the doctor do not seem to have been expecting it. If gravity had affected the unborn fetus in the same way, Megan would have been able to feel it, would have noticed that her uterus was hanging differently, and would have had difficulty balancing due to the sideways forces.

The last panel is a reference to the opening scene of ''{{w|The Lion King}}'', called 'The Circle Of Life'.

The first part of the comic has some resemblance to this much later comic: [[1376: Jump]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball standing, with a dotted line perpendicular to him and a 30 degree angle going downwards.]
:From a young age, gravity pulled him wrong.
:[Cueball bouncing around his house.]
:Sometimes east, sometimes west. When he was restrained, it grew erratic.
:''WHAM WHAM''
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground.]
:So he fell.
:Cueball: AAAA
:''THUMPA THUMPA''
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in a desert.]
:Constantly
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling off a rock on the ground in a desert.]
:Over land...
:Cueball: AAAAA-''THUD''-A
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in the desert.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in the desert.]
:Cueball: A-''THUD''-AAAAAA
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in the desert.]
:Cueball: AA-''THUD''-AAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:And sea.
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:Cueball: AAAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAA
:[Tree in the savanna, with Cueball off the panel.]
:He found, where he could, food-
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAA
:[Tree in the savanna, with Cueball still off the panel, but zoomed out so that part of Cueball's bounce/roll path is visible.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball upside-down, still bouncing/rolling in the savannah, with a gazelle galloping away from him.]
:''GALLOP GALLOP''
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Savanna with a tree in it.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAA
:[Megan standing, with Cueball off screen.]
:And love.
:Cueball: AAAA-''THUD''-AAAA
:[Megan standing, with Cueball off screen.]
:Cueball: ''THUD'' ACK ''CRASH''
:[Cueball crashing into Megan]
:Cueball: Hiwhat'syourname-
:''WHAM''
:[Megan on the ground, with Cueball off screen.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAA-''THUD''-AAA
:[Megan speaking to Hairy.]
:Megan: I met this guy. He knocked me over and tumbled into the distance.
:[Megan speaking to the same man from the previous panel, with Hairy's hand to his mouth.]
:Megan: We only shared a few seconds, but in his panicked scream I heard something beautiful.
:[Megan speaking to the same man from the previous panel.]
:Megan: I think... I think I'm...
:[Megan speaking to the same man from the previous panel.]
:Hairy: Falling for him?
:Megan: I wasn't going to say it.
:[Megan at hospital with doctor, giving birth.]
:She never saw him again. But nine months later...
:Doctor: Okay, push!
:[Megan at hospital with doctor and new baby, who is bouncing/rolling away.]
:Doctor: It's a gir—
:Megan: !!
:Doctor: Whoops!
:Baby: Ga! Ga!
:[Baby bouncing/rolling out of hospital.]
:Baby: WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE
:[Baby bouncing/rolling in front of a sunset.]
:Baby: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
:The End

==Trivia==
There is a [https://youtu.be/Rew-Q1b7kdo fan made animated version of this comic].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:The Lion King]]
[[Category:Comics with babies]]

User talk:Andrybak

2024-05-11T20:24:45Z

Andrybak: /* Welcome */ not actual anymore

==Welcome==
Hi, we don't upload the higher resolution images here. Just let the BOT do it's job. I'm open for any discussion about the higher resolution pictures, but than this must cover ALL comics. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:55, 1 October 2018 (UTC)
:This doesn't seem to be actual as of [[2671: Rotation]], which seems to be the first 2x image uploaded in the continuous uploads of 2x images since commit [https://github.com/theusaf/explainXKCDBot/commit/6ab51833c90bdc1cd4879c94323d437465e6500e 6ab5183 (BREAKING CHANGE: Use 2x-sized images, 2022-09-01)] in the code of [[User:TheusafBOT]]. [[2670: Interruption]] was the last one uploaded in small size. —⁠[[User:Andrybak|andrybak]] ([[User talk:Andrybak|talk]]) 20:24, 11 May 2024 (UTC)

File:incoming calls.png

2018-10-01T21:44:51Z

Andrybak: Andrybak uploaded a new version of File:incoming calls.png

417: The Man Who Fell Sideways

2018-06-21T22:56:08Z

Andrybak: /* Explanation */ add a note about Jeph's blog post which mentions the comic

{{comic
| number = 417
| date = April 30, 2008
| title = The Man Who Fell Sideways
| image = the man who fell sideways.png
| titletext = Strip originally conceived in conversation with Jeph Jacques. Soon to be a major motion picture.
}}

==Explanation==
[[File:A Matter of Some Gravity.png|right]]

This comic is humorously built-up like a short drama story, about a man with an unusual condition.

It might have been inspired by the {{w|Uncle Scrooge}} adventure comic "{{w|A Matter of Some Gravity}}" ([http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=D+96001 Inducks]) by {{w|Don Rosa}}, in which {{w|Magica de Spell}} makes gravity pull sideways at {{w|Scrooge McDuck}} and {{w|Donald Duck}}.
The same topic is covered by 1996 graphic novel ''{{w|L'enfant penchée}}'' (''The Leaning Child'') but, as it was only published in English in 2014, it’s very unlikely to be a source of inspiration for this comic.

"Soon to be a major motion picture" in the title text might refer to {{w|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)|The Curious Case of Benjamin Button}}, a film released later in 2008 (and based on a short story), in which the protagonist Benjamin suffers of the impossible condition of aging backwards.

"Over land... and sea", might be from the song "Nature Boy" by eden ahbez. Nat King Cole sung (the most famous version) about "A very strange, enchanted boy. They say he wandered very far, very far over land and sea".

The title text mentions {{w|Jeph Jacques}}, who runs the webcomic {{w|Questionable Content}}. Jeph has also described the creation of this comic in his blog.<ref>http://jephjacques.com/post/11265563239/qa-dump-09</ref>

When Cueball hits Megan, he knocks her down and knocks her up. Megan tells [[Hairy]] about a person knocking her over and tumbling into the distance. She hints that she is falling for him which might be a joke regarding Cueball's condition.

The baby shares his tendency to be pulled sideways by gravity, but this apparently does not start until she is born, because Megan and the doctor do not seem to have been expecting it. If gravity had affected the unborn fetus in the same way, Megan would have been able to feel it, would have noticed that her uterus was hanging differently, and would have had difficulty balancing due to the sideways forces.

The last panel is a reference to the opening scene of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_King The Lion King], called 'The Circle Of Life'.

The first part of the comic has some resemblance to this much later comic: [[1376: Jump]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball standing, with a dotted line perpendicular to him and a 30 degree angle going downwards.]
:From a young age, gravity pulled him wrong.
:[Cueball bouncing around his house.]
:Sometimes east, sometimes west. When he was restrained, it grew erratic.
:''WHAM WHAM''
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground.]
:So he fell.
:Cueball: AAAA
:''THUMPA THUMPA''
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in a desert.]
:Constantly
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling off a rock on the ground in a desert.]
:Over land...
:Cueball: AAAAA-''THUD''-A
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in the desert.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in the desert.]
:Cueball: A-''THUD''-AAAAAA
:[Cueball bouncing/rolling on the ground in the desert.]
:Cueball: AA-''THUD''-AAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:And sea.
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:Cueball: AAAAAA
:[Cueball skating the surface of the sea.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAA
:[Tree in the savanna, with Cueball off the panel.]
:He found, where he could, food-
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAA
:[Tree in the savanna, with Cueball still off the panel, but zoomed out so that part of Cueball's bounce/roll path is visible.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Cueball upside-down, still bouncing/rolling in the savannah, with a gazelle galloping away from him.]
:''GALLOP GALLOP''
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAA
:[Savanna with a tree in it.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAA
:[Megan standing, with Cueball off screen.]
:And love.
:Cueball: AAAA-''THUD''-AAAA
:[Megan standing, with Cueball off screen.]
:Cueball: ''THUD'' ACK ''CRASH''
:[Cueball crashing into Megan]
:Cueball: Hiwhat'syourname-
:''WHAM''
:[Megan on the ground, with Cueball off screen.]
:Cueball: AAAAAAA-''THUD''-AAA
:[Megan speaking to Hairy.]
:Megan: I met this guy. He knocked me over and tumbled into the distance.
:[Megan speaking to the same man from the previous panel, with Hairy's hand to his mouth.]
:Megan: We only shared a few seconds, but in his panicked scream I heard something beautiful.
:[Megan speaking to the same man from the previous panel.]
:Megan: I think... I think I'm...
:[Megan speaking to the same man from the previous panel.]
:Hairy: Falling for him?
:Megan: I wasn't going to say it.
:[Megan at hospital with doctor, giving birth.]
:She never saw him again. But nine months later...
:Doctor: Okay, push!
:[Megan at hospital with doctor and new baby, who is bouncing/rolling away.]
:Doctor: It's a gir-
:Megan: !!
:Doctor: Whoops!
:Baby: Ga! Ga!
:[Baby bouncing/rolling out of hospital.]
:Baby: WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE
:[Baby bouncing/rolling in front of a sunset.]
:Baby: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
:The End

==Trivia==
There is a [https://youtu.be/Rew-Q1b7kdo fan made animated version of this comic].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:The Lion King]]

1530: Keyboard Mash

2015-05-27T10:55:54Z

Andrybak: /* Explanation */ added http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/on-the-internet-nobody-knows-youre-a-dog

{{comic
| number = 1530
| date = May 27, 2015
| title = Keyboard Mash
| image = keyboard mash.png
| titletext = WHY DON'T YOU COME HANG OUT INSIDE MY HOUSE. WE CAN COOK BREAD AND CHAT ABOUT OUR INTERNAL SKELETONS.
}}

==Explanation==

[[Cueball]] is chatting online with [[White Hat]], who is frustrated because a barking dog is preventing him from sleeping. (It's not stated that it is his dog or one outside. It's most likely the latter) This might be a reference to "On the Internet, nobody knows your're a dog" joke.<ref>http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/on-the-internet-nobody-knows-youre-a-dog</ref> White Hat mashes the keyboard to show his frustration. (Keyboard mashing is often used in this way where the user makes their hands spasm across the keyboard, creating a line of text that can be compared to an angry groan in real life) Cueball is about to give some advice, but is confused by what White Hat has typed. Most of the characters he typed where on the home row of the QWERTY keyboard, (The home row is the middle set of letters on the keyboard, starting with the letters ASDF on a QWERTY keyboard) there are F, J, A, F, K, L and D, scattered in the text, but there is a 7 in the middle. Cueball, (being himself) wonders why White Hat put a seven in there, because if White Hat was keyboard mashing and touched the 7 key, he would have hit any of the QWERTY row keys because of Keyboard Mashing hand spasms, but he didn't. All the other characters were on the home row. White Hat berates Cueball for always focusing on strange, tiny details. When the final panel shows what's going on where White Hat is, we see a giant spider (There may be a joke about the spider "on the web" here) has imprisoned him in a web and is talking to Cueball, which explains how the keyboard mashing "White Hat" did was strange. The title text implies that the spider also wants to trap and (possibly eat) Cueball as well, or actually hang out with him in an attempt to make friends. Who knows?

==Transcript==
<nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Cueball]] approaches his desktop computer, which has emitted a "NEW CHAT MESSAGE" from seemingly [[White Hat]] as it displays a picture of him<nowiki>]</nowiki>

<nowiki>[</nowiki>Chat log is in all uppercase:<nowiki>]</nowiki> 
White Hat: CAN'T SLEEP. STUPID DOG KEEPS BARKING. 
White Hat: SO FRUSTRATING. FJAFJKLDSKF7JKFDJ 
Cueball: UGH, I'M SORRY. MAYBE YOU COULD... 
Cueball: ... OKAY, WAIT. I HAVE TO ASK. 
Cueball: HOW DID YOU HIT A "7" IN THE MIDDLE THERE? 
White Hat: HUH? 
White Hat: I WAS JUST RANDOMLY KEYBOARD MASHING. 
Cueball: SORRY, RIGHT. 
White Hat: ANYWAY, 
Cueball: I KNOW THIS IS SILLY, BUT LIKE ... ALL YOUR HANDS WERE CLEARLY RIGHT ON THE HOME ROW. 
Cueball: I DON'T GET HOW ONE FINGER COULD HAVE STRETCHED UP TO THE "7". 
White Hat: WHY DO YOU ALWAYS FIXATE ON THESE BIZARRE DETAILS? 
Cueball: I DON'T KNOW. 
Cueball: SORRY. 
White Hat: IT'S WIERD, IS ALL. 

<nowiki>[</nowiki>Chat transcript continues, but now we see a human-sized spider suspended from the ceiling by web is using three of its legs to type on a laptop computer. Behind the spider, White Hat is upside down, almost totally encased in spider web, also suspended from the ceiling, verbalising MMM!! MMPH!!! Between them, a chair has been knocked over onto its back.<nowiki>]</nowiki>

Spider (chat dialogue shows White Hat's picture): I AM A NORMAL HUMAN TYPING WITH MY HUMAN HANDS. 
Cueball: YEAH, OF COURSE. I KNOW. 

{{comic discussion}}


[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Red Spiders]]