explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1913: A ï¿½

2017-11-08T21:03:39Z

Artyer:

"no update can never" is logically equivalent to "any update can". Not sure if this is intentional. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.60|162.158.106.60]] 16:49, 8 November 2017 (UTC)
: Isn't it logically equivalent to "any update can ''sometimes''"? Linguistically, of course, it can be equivalent either to this, or to "no update can".[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.198|141.101.105.198]] 16:59, 8 November 2017 (UTC)
: Or did Randall mean to type "no update can ever take this away" which makes more sense to me? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.76|172.68.54.76]] 19:08, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

Is this a comment on all those moral panics about 'the youth of today can't read or write because they're only learning to speak in emojis'? And/or about developers using 'undocumented features' in their applications, so that when they're fixed it breaks those applications?[[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.198|141.101.105.198]] 16:55, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

More like on how Randall appears to have strange habits. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.141.52|172.68.141.52]] 16:59, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

Hopefully somebody will make a full tutorial on how to accomplish the title text thing.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.89.241|162.158.89.241]] 19:03, 8 November 2017 (UTC)
:I could do this easily on the computer with AutoHotKey (which might be overkill), but I'm not sure about iPhones, which are likely the target for the idea. iPhones have built-in text replacement, but I think you have to follow the word to be replaced with a space for it to work, rather than it working instantly (as "mapping a key on your keyboard" implies). [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.41|172.68.26.41]] 19:15, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

The correct url for this comic would be something like [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1913:_A_%EF%BF%BD 1913:_A_%EF%BF%BD], but that is an invalid title. It would still probably be better to change it to "A ?" with a note instead of "A_%C3%AF%C2%BF%C2%BD". —[[User:Artyer|Artyer]] <big>([[User Talk:Artyer|talk]]<big>'''|'''</big>[[Special:Contributions/Artyer|ctb]])</big> 21:03, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1846: Drone Problems

2017-06-05T19:36:55Z

Artyer:

I wrote a short little explanation that needs a lot more. Maybe I'll add more after school.
[[User:LordFlashmeow|LordFlashmeow]] ([[User talk:LordFlashmeow|talk]]) 15:56, 5 June 2017 (UTC)LordFlashmeow

There's a much simpler, if less elegant, solution in buying a Mossberg 500. [[User:OldCorps|OldCorps]] ([[User talk:OldCorps|talk]]) 16:20, 5 June 2017 (UTC)

As I read it, the drones were flying around her, in the first place, because people can't control them properly. I find the comic even funnier, reading this way.
(New here. Is the below signature the right way to sign?)
<saim>

Wasn't there another comic where black hat builds something similar that shoots birds or squirrels or something? I can't find it now —[[User:Artyer|Artyer]] <big>([[User Talk:Artyer|talk]]<big>'''|'''</big>[[Special:Contributions/Artyer|ctb]])</big> 19:36, 5 June 2017 (UTC)

1819: Sweet 16

2017-04-04T12:46:50Z

Artyer: /* Table of the bracket */ In boxing/baseball/basketball, it doesn't say that the non-basketball team have to use their gear.

{{comic
| number = 1819
| date = April 3, 2017
| title = Sweet 16
| image = sweet_16.png
| titletext = Every year I make out my bracket at the season, and every year it's busted before the first game when I find out which teams are playing.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain individual markings better, explain title text}}
{{w|March Madness}}, with its championship on the day this comic was published, features 68 basketball teams in an elimination bracket. Due to the setup the final three rounds (including the championship game) feature 16 teams, and are sometimes called the "Sweet 16" (an American slang term also used to describe someone's 16th birthday).

In this comic however, the bracket of the final 16 is not filled in with actual names, but descriptions of the odd circumstances of each team. For example, the first team is "a school with a dog on their team", a reference to {{w|Air Bud}}. The team descriptions become increasingly bizarre, comprising varied sports and pop culture references and and often building on and playing off of previous team descriptions.

The first four teams on the left are comprised partially or completely of animals, which are most likely pets, but could be animals for assisting disabled persons, emotional support animals, police dogs, feral cats, etc. The next two teams consist of some form of baseball-basketball crossover. The bottom two teams on the left feature developers and players of NBA 2k17, a basketball video game by 2K Games.

The first team on the right, the 1988 LA Lakers is an actual NBA team. They are paired against a team of four kindergarteners and current Cleveland player Lebron James (born 1984), who was also a kindergartner in 1988.

The next two teams feature basketball-boxing crossovers. The bracket after that features teams on unconventional mobility aids, Segways and stilts.

The final two teams are Cinderella teams. A Cinderella story is when a weak team works hard to achieve success. The final team consists of players wearing glass slippers, often a part of the Cinderella fairy tale.

The title text explains what the heck [[Randall]] was doing to make this comic: Randall is incredibly out of touch with sports. During March Madness a popular pastime is to take a look at the starting bracket of all 68 teams and speculate who will win each round. Randall, when handed a blank bracket, instead fills it with teams he ''wants'' to see play rather than who is actually in the tournament. A bracket is considered "busted" when a number of predicted teams lose earlier than expected. In this case, since Randall has not correctly predicted any of the teams in the tournament, his bracket is busted from the beginning - none of the teams he picked have any chance of actually winning the NCAA tournament because none of them were selected for the official tournament bracket. Thus, Randall's bracket is busted - he can't win with the teams he picked.

Related to [[1529: Bracket]]

===Table of the bracket===

{| class="wikitable"
!Grouping
!Team
!Explanation
|-
|rowspan="2"|School dog teams
|A school with a dog on their team
|rowspan="2"|Possibly a reference to {{w|Air Bud}}. Given Buddy's abilities, this would be an interesting experiment to see if a team of dogs can outcompete humans.
|-
|A school whose team is entirely dogs

|-
|rowspan="2"|Dog teams
|A dog team with one human
|rowspan="2"|This might be the continuation of the experiment. The cat might serve as a control.
|-
|A dog team with one cat

|-
|rowspan="2"|Baseball/basketball mashup
|A baseball team playing basketball
|rowspan="2"|Perhaps this is to see if a baseball team can play basketball as well as a basketball team if they were handicapped with baseball gear. While basketball doesn't require any gear and favours outfits that permit free movement, baseball has helmets, bats and thick gloves, possibly giving the baseball team a chance.
|-
|A basketball team with baseball gear

|-
|rowspan="2"|NBA 2k17 (video game)
|NBA 2k17 top players
|rowspan="2"|Given that the video game includes not only the current NBA players, but also some of the most successful teams in history, it's hard to see how the game developers can stand a chance. Alternately, the developers might play the video game against the AI as the players. Or, "top players" may refer to the humans who are best at playing the video game NBA 2k17, playing a real game of basketball against the developers.
|-
|NBA 2k17 top developers

|-
|rowspan="2"|1988 players
|The 1988 Los Angeles Lakers
|rowspan="2"|The Los Angeles Lakers were at their height, winning a rare repeat victory. LeBron James is one of the most well-known basketball players. At the time of the 1988 finals, he was 4 years old, so even with his later talent and with the support of 4 kindergarteners, it would be tough for him to win the game. However, he might have a better chance if he played in the present, what with the 1988 Lakers team members being well over 50. It should be noted that the NBA requires a minimum of 13 team members.
|-
|Four kindergarteners and Lebron James

|-
|rowspan="2"|Boxer/basketball mashup
|Boxers playing basketball
|rowspan="2"|Perhaps this is to see if boxers team can play basketball as well as a basketball team if the basketball team were handicapped by having to wear boxing gloves.
|-
|Basketball players in boxing gloves

|-
|rowspan="2"|Elevated players
|A team playing on stilts
|rowspan="2"|Not unlike {{w|segway polo}}, segway basketball would have the benifit of reducing physical exertion. Stilts, on the other hand, could help reach the hoops.
|-
|A team playing on segways

|-
|rowspan="2"|Cinderella teams
|A bad team that would make a good Cinderella story
|rowspan="2"|In a regular match, a good team could easily win against a bad team, but with glass slippers only for the good team, the bad team's chances increase drastically. That the team would make a good Cinderella story implies that the team will win against all expectations. Note: Regular glass would break when moving around too much, safety glass or similarly resilient material is recommended.
|-
|A good team playing in glass slippers

|}

==Transcript==
:[The comic shows a direct elimination bracket (a single-elimination tournament): there is a single match played by every pair of teams, and the winners of those matches are paired up for the next round of matches, this continues until there are no more matches to be played. There are sixteen teams described here (hence the number in the title), eight on each side of the empty rectangle in the middle. Every two teams are connected, these connectors are then also connected, these connectors are yet again connected, and a final pair of connectors, after making one counter-clockwise right angle turn, end up in the top and bottom edges of the central rectangle. The bracket is empty, no results of any of the matches are indicated.]

:{| class="wikitable" style="background:transparent;border:none;width:100%;"
| style="background:transparent;border:none;" |
 [These are paired.]
 A school with a dog on their team
 A school whose team is entirely dogs

 [These are paired.]
 A dog team with one human
 A dog team with one cat

 [These are paired.]
 A baseball team playing basketball
 A basketball team with baseball gear

 [These are paired.]
 NBA2K17 top players
 NBA2K17 top developers

| style="background:transparent;border:none;" |
 [These are paired.]
 The 1988 Los Angeles lakers
 Four kindergarteners and Lebron James

 [These are paired.]
 Boxers playing basketball
 Basketball players in boxing gloves

 [These are paired.]
 A team playing on stilts
 A team playing on Segways

 [These are paired.]
 A bad team that would make a good Cinderella story
 A good team playing in glass slippers

|}

{{comic discussion}}

1638: Backslashes

2017-03-19T20:41:03Z

Artyer: /* Backslash explosion and alternatives */ \

{{comic
| number = 1638
| date = February 3, 2016
| title = Backslashes
| image = backslashes.png
| titletext = I searched my .bash_history for the line with the highest ratio of special characters to regular alphanumeric characters, and the winner was: cat out.txt | grep -o "\\\[[(].*\\\[\])][^)\]]*$" ... I have no memory of this and no idea what I was trying to do, but I sure hope it worked.
}}

==Explanation==
Most programming languages use the concept of a {{w|String literal|string}} literal, which is just a text between some delimiters, usually quotes. For example, "Hello, world" is a string literal. The text being represented is ''Hello, world'' without the quotes. However, the quotes are also written to mark the beginning and end of the string. This is a problem when the text itself contains a quote, as in "This is a "quoted" string". The quotes around the word "quoted" are intended to be part of the text, but the {{w|Lexical analysis|language processor}} will likely confuse it for the end of the string, which would thus be two strings with ''quoted'' outside these strings (probably resulting in a syntax error).

To avoid this problem, an {{w|Escape character|escape character}} (usually a backslash) is prepended to non-string-terminating quotes. So, the previous text would be written as "This is a \"quoted\" string". The language processor will substitute every occurrence of \" with only the quote character, and the string terminates at the quote character which does not immediately follow a backslash. In this case the resulting text string would be ''This is a "quoted" string'' as intended.

However, the problem now is that the intended text might contain a backslash itself. For example, the text "C:\" will now be interpreted as an unterminated string containing a quote character. To avoid this, literal backslashes also are escaped with a second backslash, i.e. instead of "C:\" we write "C:\\", where the language processor interprets \\ as one single backslash and the quote terminates the string to give ''C:\'' as the output.

This doubling of backslashes happens in most programming and scripting languages, but also in other syntactic constructs such as {{w|Regular expression|regular expressions}}. So, when several of these languages are used in conjunction, backslashes pile up exponentially (each layer has to double the number of slashes). See example of a backslash explosion and alternatives to avoid this [[#Backslash explosion and alternatives|below]].

This kind of backslash explosion is known as {{w|Leaning toothpick syndrome}}, and can happen in [[1313: Regex Golf|many situations]]. Below is an explanation of all the [[#Entries in the list|entries in the comic]].

The backslash explosion in the '''title text''' is about a {{w|Bash (Unix shell)|bash}} command (which uses the backslash to escape arguments) invoking the {{w|grep}} utility which searches for text following a pattern specified by means of a regular expression (which also uses the backslash to escape special characters). This leads to 3 backslashes in a row in the command, which could easily become 7 backslashes in a row if the text being searched for also contains a backslash.

Even advanced users who completely understand the concept often have a hard time figuring out exactly how many backslashes are required in a given situation. It is hopelessly frustrating to carefully calculate exactly the number of backslashes and then noticing that there's a mistake so the whole thing doesn't work. At a point, it becomes easier to just keep throwing backslashes in until things work than trying to reason what the correct number is.

It's unclear whether the regular expression in the title text is valid or not. A long discussion about the validity of the expression has occurred here on this explanation's [[Talk:1638: Backslashes|talk page]]. The fact that many editors of the site, often themselves extremely technically qualified{{Citation needed}}, can't determine whether the expression is valid or not, adds a meta layer to the joke of the comic. This is an example of [[356: Nerd Sniping|nerd sniping]] (oh, the irony\!\!\!\).

===Entries in the list===
*The first four examples have names that are (somewhat) based on what they actually produce:
**'''Backslash''': 1 backslash appropriately named
**'''Real backslash''': 2 backslashes are labeled correctly as they do indeed refer to an escaped backslash.
**'''''Real'' real backslash''': 3 backslashes would refer to an escaped backslash followed by an unescaped one. The first two backslashes would combine to make a ''real backslash'' while the third one would combine with the character following it to form an {{w|Escape sequence|escape sequence}}. The name does thus not make a lot of sense, as this is two escape sequences and not a single "very real" one.
**'''Actual backslash, for real this time''': 4 backslashes form one single backslash escaped twice (the first escaping produces two backslashes, the second escaping doubles each of the backslashes). This is so common that even the documentation for the {{w|Python (programming language)|Python}} regular expression library has a section called [https://docs.python.org/2/library/re.html Regular expression operations] that mentions "\\\\" explicitly. In this case, the backslash has to be escaped once for being part of a regular expression and then once more as the regular expression is inside a Python string. This is named in reference to the fact that the previous examples didn't contain enough escaping.
*The remaining five examples of backslashes have more and more occult names (explanations) and do not refer to any more real uses of backslash escapes:
**'''Elder backslash''': 5 backslashes would be a doubly-escaped backslash plus an unescaped one. The reference to {{w|Elder}} in the comic has many meanings. It has become known through fantasy media; Most prominent with the {{w|Elder Days}}, which are the first Ages of {{w|Middle-earth}} in {{w|The Silmarillion}}, the more-or-less prequel to {{w|The Lord of the Rings}}. More recently it has been used in the {{w|Harry Potter}} universe where the ''Deathly Hallow'' called the ''{{w|Magical_objects_in_Harry_Potter#Deathly_Hallows|Elder wand}}'', made from {{w|Sambucus|Elder wood}}, is a very important part of the last book ''{{w|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}''. Other examples are the {{w|Elder Gods}} of the {{w|Cthulhu Mythos}} as well as various 'Elder' magical items and beings in the {{w|Dungeons and Dragons}} mythologies.
**'''Backslash which escapes the screen and enters your brain''': 6 backslashes is a play on the word "escape" as the backslash is supposed to be an "escape character" but obviously not "escaping the screen" and entering your brain. This could also be understood as the programmer is getting backslashes on his mind, when he goes beyond the ''Elder backslash'' domain...
**'''Backslash so real it transcends time and space ''': 7 backslashes goes further than escaping the screen as they now {{w|Transcendence (philosophy)|transcends}} both {{w|Spacetime|time and space}}
**'''Backslash to end all other text''': 8 backslashes would be a triply-escaped backslash (same as 4 backslashes but with an additional escaping layer). It is said to "end all other text", i.e. there should never be anymore text if someone uses eight in a row. But there could be more as indicated in the last example.
**'''The true name of Ba'al, the Soul-Eater''': {{w|Infinity|∞ backslashes}} (11 are shown but followed by "..." to indicate that they continue forever). If you could write an infinite number of backslashes it would actually be ''The true name of {{w|Baal (demon)|Ba'al}}, the {{w|Soul eater (folklore)|Soul-Eater}}''. This indicates that if you continue misusing backslashes like this you will end up devoured by a demon, for instance {{w|Beelzebub}}, for being so thoughtless... Ba'al has been mentioned before in the title text of [[1246: Pale Blue Dot]] and in [[1419: On the Phone]].

===Backslash explosion and alternatives===
A reasonable example of a backslash explosion would be a {{w|PHP}} script on a web server which writes {{w|JavaScript}} code with a {{w|Regular Expression}} to be run on the client. If the JavaScript code has to test a string to see if ''it'' has a double-backslash, the Regular Expression to do so would be:
\\\\
where the first two backslashes represent a single backslash and the second two also represent a single backslash, so this searches for two consecutive back slashes.
And the JavaScript would be:
RegExp("\\\\\\\\").test(str);
where every two backslashes means just one backslashes in the string, so the 8 backslashes in JavaScript become 4 backslashes in the Regular Expression.
However, since this JavaScript code is to be written through a PHP script, the PHP code would be:
echo "RegExp(\"\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\").test(str);";
where:
* The word <code>echo</code> is the PHP command for writing something
* The first quote starts the string
* The <code>RegExp(</code> - including the open parenthesis - is written literally
* The <code>\"</code> following that is a literal quote to be written
* The first two slashes produce one single slash
* And so on until 8 backward slashes are written
* The next <code>\"</code> produces a literal quote character
* The <code>).test(str);</code> is written literally
* The next quote finishes the string.
* The final semicolon terminates the <code>echo</code> command
So, the presented scenario has escalated from a simple test for <code>\\</code> to no less than seventeen backslashes in a row without stepping out of the most common operations.

If we go a bit further and try to write a {{w|Java (programming language)|Java}} program that outputs our PHP script, we'd have:
System.out.println("echo \"RegExp(\\\"\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\").test(str);\";");
Here, we have 35 backslashes in a row: the first 34 produce the 17 we need in our PHP script, and the last one is for escaping the quote character. (This comes closer to ''The true name of Ba'al, the Soul-Eater'').

Some programming languages provide alternative matching string literal delimiters to limit situations where escaping of delimiters is needed. Often, one can begin and end a string with either a single quote or a double quote. This allows one to write <code>'This is a "quoted" string'</code> if double quote marks are intended in the string literal or <code>"This is a 'quoted' string"</code> if single quote marks are intended. Both kinds of delimiters can't be used in the same string literal, but if one needs to construct a string containing both kinds of quote marks one can often concatenate two string literals, each of which uses a different delimiter.

Another feature that seems to be popular in modern programming languages is to provide an alternative syntax for string delimiters designed specifically to limit leaning toothpick syndrome. For example, in Python, a string literal starting with <code>r"</code> is a "raw string" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_literal#Raw_strings] in which no escape processing is done, with similar semantics for a string starting with <code>@"</code> in C#. This allows one to write <code>r"C:\Users"</code>  in Python or <code>@"C:\Users"</code> in C# without the need to escape the backslash. This does not allow one to embed the terminating delimiter in the middle of the string and prevents the use of the backslash to encode the newline character as <code>\n</code>, but comes in handy when writing a string encoding of a regular expression in which the backslash is escaping one or more other punctuation characters or a shorthand character class (e.g., <code>\s</code> for a whitespace character). For example, when looking for an anchor tag in HTML, I may encode the regular expression as <code><[Aa]\s[^>]*></code>. If I express this regular expression as a raw string literal, my code looks like <code>r"<[Aa]\s[^>]*>"</code> instead of <code>"<[Aa]\\s[^>]*>"</code>. The point here is that leaning toothpick syndrome is such a real problem that it has influenced programming language implementations.

==Transcript==
:[A list of the names of different numbers of backslashes. After each "item" there is a gray line to the text describing each item. As the text is aligned above each other, the lines becomes shorter as the sequence of backslashes becomes longer until there is just a line with the length of a single hyphen for the last item. There are 1 to 8 backslashes and then 11 plus "..." in the last entry.]
:\------------ Backslash
:\\----------- Real backslash
:\\\---------- ''Real'' real backslash
:\\\\---------- Actual backslash, for real this time
:\\\\\--------- Elder backslash
:\\\\\\-------- Backslash which escapes the screen and enters your brain
:\\\\\\\------- Backslash so real it transcends time and space
:\\\\\\\\------ Backslash to end all other text
:\\\\\\\\\\\...- The true name of Ba'al, the Soul-Eater

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Regex]]
[[Category:Programming]]

1810: Chat Systems

2017-03-13T21:21:34Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */ Reordered

{{comic
| number = 1810
| date = March 13, 2017
| title = Chat Systems
| image = chat_systems.png
| titletext = I'm one of the few Instagram users who connects solely through the Unix 'talk' gateway.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Fill in the table and explain the title text. The main purpose of an euler diagram needs to be explained. (E.g. BBM in eMail; WhatsApp in eMail and SMS)}}
In the world of social media, connecting to and communicating with friends, relatives, and other acquaintances can be extremely easy, but due to the large amount of networks and systems through which to communicate, and the selective nature of the people using them, it can be difficult to keep track of who uses which system(s), and thus, communication can be more complicated by social media as well.

;Chat systems mentioned
{| class="wikitable"
!System
!Number of people in group
!Explanation
|-
| {{w|Email}}
|35
|A popular form of electronic communication that saw first widespread use in the 1960s. It allows you to send electronic "letters" to people using pre-exchanged email addresses. Many people use this platform, hence the large size of the corresponding circle.
|-
| {{w|SMS}}
|39
|Short Message System; a text-based messaging system connecting most worldwide phone systems that had its beginnings in the 1980s and has since represented the most common form of data transmission for most people. It is principally used to send short text messages between mobile phones, but most phone carriers provide facilities to send-to-email or send-to-voice (for use with landline phones). Most major phone carriers also provide support for email-to-SMS.
|-
| {{w|Hangouts}}
|9
|Google Hangouts is Google's instant messaging system. It can be used to share data and for video chat.
|-
| {{w|Signal_(software)|Signal}}
|8
| An app used for encrypted communications.
|-
| {{w|iMessage}}
|6
|Apple's SMS service
|-
| {{w|IRC}}
|5
|IRC is an old chat system that many people refuse to switch off of.
|-
| {{w|Slack_(software)|Slack}}
|5
|A team instant messaging service
|-
| {{w|Twitter|Twitter DM}}
|4
| "Direct messages" between users on Twitter.
|-
| {{w|AIM}}
|2
|AOL Instant Messaging service; a popular messaging system from the 1990s that suffered a severe decline in 2005 upon the release of Gmail and Google Chat. It is based on the closed source OSCAR protocol, but AOL created the TOC/TOC2 protocol specifications, and made specifications openly available, for third parties to connect to their service. There have been short-lived dalliances with other protocols since 2008; it has never had direct support for the other widely used protocols here.
|-
|The "chat" tab in an old {{w|Google Doc}}
|2
|Google Docs is an online word processor reminiscent of Microsoft Word. One of the notable features is online collaborative editing, with a rudimentary chat feature for communication. Randall apparently communicates with someone using the chat in an old Google Doc.
|-
| {{w|Facebook_Messenger|FB Messenger}}
|2
|Facebook's chat system.
|-
| {{w|Instagram|Instagram DM}}
|2
|Direct Messaging, a feature of Instagram that allows users to post personal messages to each other.
|-
|{{w|Peach_(social_network)|Peach}}
|2
|
|-
| Telegram
|2
|Could refer to a cloud based instant messaging system by this name ({{w|Telegram (software)|Telegram}}), or to actually sending messages using {{w|telegrams}}. Telegrams were messages sent by electric telegraphy, which were often typed out and hand-delivered to the recipient. This was the first system for rapid communication across long distances that was widely available, originally developed in the 19th century. Naturally, telegraphy is now wildly obsolete (though some local services apparently do still exist) which would explain why Munroe communicates with so few people that way.
|-
| {{w|Skype}}
|2
|Microsoft's chat client. It offers VoIP video and audio calls, instant messaging and phoning from within the app.
|-
| {{w|WhatsApp}}
|2
|Billed as encrypted end-to-end chat, allows VoIP chats, text chats, video and image sharing. Caters for group chat as well.
|-
| {{w|WeChat}}
|2
| A free, cross-platform and instant messaging application
|-
|{{w|Apache_HTTP_Server|Apache}} Request {{w|Server_log|Log}}
|1
|A file used by Apache HTML server to log page access requests by users, usually stored as access_log. Its use as a communications tool would require the user to embed their messages in URLs and the admin to look for the messages in the logs. It would be inconvenient and time consuming for both parties.
|-
| {{w|BlackBerry Messenger|BBM}}
|1
|Blackberry message. A chat system available on {{w|BlackBerry}} phones, now largely obsolete.
|-
| {{w|Snapchat}}
|1
|Snapchat is an image messaging app.
|-
|Wall (bathroom)
|1
|Apparently a chat system based around writing on the wall in the bathroom. Not an electronic system. Alternatively, this could mean the person is an extreme introvert, and hides in his bathroom instead of interacting with others.
|-
|{{w|Wall (Unix)}}
|1
|Short for "write all", the "wall" command copies its argument to every user logged into the same Unix system, and so can be used as a primitive chat system. {{w|Wall_(Unix)}}
|-
| {{w|Zephyr (protocol)}}
|1
| Zephyr was designed as an instant messaging protocol and application-suite with a heavy Unix background.
|-
| {{w|ICQ}}
|1
|An older open-source instant messaging application.
|-
|{{w|Talk_(software)|Unix 'talk'}}
|*
|This is in the title text, and the only user is Munroe. Old peer-to-peer chat system whereby users logged into the same UNIX system could privately communicate with each other in a full-screen interface.
|}

;Related comics
*The ubiquity of standards - here, of messaging systems - was already covered in [[927: Standards]]
*For IRC see also [[1782: Team Chat]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[an Euler diagram with a large number of circles for various chat systems, overlapping in complicated ways]
:I have a hard time keeping track of which contacts use which chat systems.

{{comic discussion}}

1810: Chat Systems

2017-03-13T21:13:09Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */ Fixed some links

{{comic
| number = 1810
| date = March 13, 2017
| title = Chat Systems
| image = chat_systems.png
| titletext = I'm one of the few Instagram users who connects solely through the Unix 'talk' gateway.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Fill in the table and explain the title text. The main purpose of an euler diagram needs to be explained. (E.g. BBM in eMail; WhatsApp in eMail and SMS)}}
In the world of social media, connecting to and communicating with friends, relatives, and other acquaintances can be extremely easy, but due to the large amount of networks and systems through which to communicate, and the selective nature of the people using them, it can be difficult to keep track of who uses which system(s), and thus, communication can be more complicated by social media as well.

;Chat systems mentioned
{| class="wikitable"
!System
!Number of people in group
!Explanation
|-
| {{w|Skype}}
|2
|Microsoft's chat client. It offers VoIP video and audio calls, instant messaging and phoning from within the app.
|-
| {{w|Email}}
|35
|A popular form of electronic communication that saw first widespread use in the 1960's. It allows you to send electronic "letters" to people using pre-exchanged email addresses. Many people use this platform, hence the large size of the corresponding circle.
|-
| {{w|SMS}}
|39
|Short Message System; a text-based messaging system connecting most worldwide phone systems that had its beginnings in the 1980's and has since represented the most common form of data transmission for most people. It is principally used to send short text messages between mobile phones, but most phone carriers provide facilities to send-to-email or send-to-voice (for use with landline phones). Most major phone carriers also provide support for email-to-SMS.
|-
| {{w|AIM}}
|2
|AOL Instant Messaging service; a popular messaging system from the 1990's that suffered a severe decline in 2005 upon the release of Gmail and Google Chat. It is based on the closed source OSCAR protocol, but AOL created the TOC/TOC2 protocol specifications, and made specifications openly available, for third parties to connect to their service. There have been short-lived dalliances with other protocols since 2008; it has never had direct support for the other widely used protocols here.
|-
| {{w|Slack_(software)|Slack}}
|5
|A team instant messaging service
|-
| {{w|Hangouts}}
|9
|Google Hangouts is Google's instant messaging system. It can be used to share data and for video chat.
|-
| {{w|ICQ}}
|1
|An older open-source instant messaging application.
|-
| {{w|iMessage}}
|6
|Apple's SMS service
|-
| {{w|IRC}}
|5
|IRC is an old chat system that many people refuse to switch off of.
|-
| {{w|Snapchat}}
|1
|Snapchat is an image messaging app.
|-
| {{w|Signal_(software)|Signal}}
|8
| An app used for encrypted communications.
|-
| {{w|Facebook_Messenger|FB Messenger}}
|2
|Facebook's chat system.
|-
| {{w|Instagram|Instagram DM}}
|2
|Direct Messaging, a feature of Instagram that allows users to post personal messages to each other.
|-
| {{w|Zephyr (protocol)}}
|1
| Zephyr was designed as an instant messaging protocol and application-suite with a heavy Unix background.
|-
| {{w|WhatsApp}}
|2
|Billed as encrypted end-to-end chat, allows VoIP chats, text chats, video and image sharing. Caters for group chat as well.
|-
| {{w|WeChat}}
|2
| A free, cross-platform and instant messaging application
|-
| Telegram
|2
|Could refer to a cloud based instant messaging system by this name ({{w|Telegram (software)|Telegram}}), or to actually sending messages using {{w|telegrams}}. Telegrams were messages sent by electric telegraphy, which were often typed out and hand-delivered to the recipient. This was the first system for rapid communication across long distances that was widely available, originally developed in the 19th century. Naturally, telegraphy is now wildly obsolete (though some local services apparently do still exist) which would explain why Munroe communicates with so few people that way.
|-
|{{w|Apache_HTTP_Server|Apache}} Request {{w|Server_log|Log}}
|1
|A file used by Apache HTML server to log page access requests by users, usually stored as access_log. Its use as a communications tool would require the user to embed their messages in URLs and the admin to look for the messages in the logs. It would be inconvenient and time consuming for both parties.
|-
| {{w|Twitter|Twitter DM}}
|4
| "Direct messages" between users on Twitter.
|-
| {{w|BlackBerry Messenger|BBM}}
|1
|Blackberry message. A chat system available on {{w|BlackBerry}} phones, now largely obsolete.
|-
|{{w|Peach_(social_network)|Peach}}
|2
|
|-
|{{w|Talk_(software)|Unix 'talk'}}
|*
|This is in the title text, and the only user is Munroe. Old peer-to-peer chat system whereby users logged into the same UNIX system could privately communicate with each other in a full-screen interface.
|-
|{{w|Wall (Unix)}}
|1
|Short for "write all", the "wall" command copies its argument to every user logged into the same Unix system, and so can be used as a primitive chat system. {{w|Wall_(Unix)}}
|-
|Wall (bathroom)
|1
|Apparently a chat system based around writing on the wall in the bathroom. Not an electronic system. Alternatively, this could mean the person is an extreme introvert, and hides in his bathroom instead of interacting with others.
|-
|The "chat" tab in an old {{w|Google Doc}}
|2
|Google Docs is an online word processor reminiscent of Microsoft Word. One of the notable features is online collaborative editing, with a rudimentary chat feature for communication. Randall apparently communicates with someone using the chat in an old Google Doc.
|}

;Related comics
*The ubiquity of standards - here, of messaging systems - was already covered in [[927: Standards]]
*For IRC see also [[1782: Team Chat]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[an Euler diagram with a large number of circles for various chat systems, overlapping in complicated ways]
:I have a hard time keeping track of which contacts use which chat systems.

{{comic discussion}}

1810: Chat Systems

2017-03-13T21:06:27Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */ Swapped columns so it's easier to read and added Wikipedia links

{{comic
| number = 1810
| date = March 13, 2017
| title = Chat Systems
| image = chat_systems.png
| titletext = I'm one of the few Instagram users who connects solely through the Unix 'talk' gateway.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Fill in the table and explain the title text. The main purpose of an euler diagram needs to be explained. (E.g. BBM in eMail; WhatsApp in eMail and SMS)}}
In the world of social media, connecting to and communicating with friends, relatives, and other acquaintances can be extremely easy, but due to the large amount of networks and systems through which to communicate, and the selective nature of the people using them, it can be difficult to keep track of who uses which system(s), and thus, communication can be more complicated by social media as well.

;Chat systems mentioned
{| class="wikitable"
!System
!Number of people in group
!Explanation
|-
| {{w|Skype}}
|2
|Microsoft's chat client. It offers VoIP video and audio calls, instant messaging and phoning from within the app.
|-
| {{w|Email}}
|35
|A popular form of electronic communication that saw first widespread use in the 1960's. It allows you to send electronic "letters" to people using pre-exchanged email addresses. Many people use this platform, hence the large size of the corresponding circle.
|-
| {{w|SMS}}
|39
|Short Message System; a text-based messaging system connecting most worldwide phone systems that had its beginnings in the 1980's and has since represented the most common form of data transmission for most people. It is principally used to send short text messages between mobile phones, but most phone carriers provide facilities to send-to-email or send-to-voice (for use with landline phones). Most major phone carriers also provide support for email-to-SMS.
|-
| {{w|AIM}}
|2
|AOL Instant Messaging service; a popular messaging system from the 1990's that suffered a severe decline in 2005 upon the release of Gmail and Google Chat. It is based on the closed source OSCAR protocol, but AOL created the TOC/TOC2 protocol specifications, and made specifications openly available, for third parties to connect to their service. There have been short-lived dalliances with other protocols since 2008; it has never had direct support for the other widely used protocols here.
|-
| {{w|Slack_(software)|Slack}}
|5
|A team instant messaging service
|-
| {{w|Hangouts}}
|9
|Google Hangouts is Google's instant messaging system. It can be used to share data and for video chat.
|-
| {{w|ICQ}}
|1
|An older open-source instant messaging application.
|-
| {{w|iMessage}}
|6
|Apple's SMS service
|-
| {{w|IRC}}
|5
|IRC is an old chat system that many people refuse to switch off of.
|-
| {{w|Snapchat}}
|1
|Snapchat is an image messaging app.
|-
| {{w|Signal_(software)|Signal}}
|8
| An app used for encrypted communications.
|-
| {{w|Facebook_Messenger|FB Messenger}}
|2
|Facebook's chat system.
|-
| {{w|Instagram|Instagram DM}}
|2
|Direct Messaging, a feature of Instagram that allows users to post personal messages to each other.
|-
| {{w|Zephyr (protocol)}}
|1
| Zephyr was designed as an instant messaging protocol and application-suite with a heavy Unix background.
|-
| {{w|WhatsApp}}
|2
|Billed as encrypted end-to-end chat, allows VoIP chats, text chats, video and image sharing. Caters for group chat as well.
|-
| {{w|WeChat}}
|2
| A free, cross-platform and instant messaging application
|-
| {{w|Telegram (messaging service)}} or {{w|Telegram|Telegram (Long distance written messages)}}
|2
|Could refer to a cloud based instant messaging system by this name, or to actually sending messages using telegrams. Telegrams were messages sent by electric telegraphy, which were often typed out and hand-delivered to the recipient. This was the first system for rapid communication across long distances that was widely available, originally developed in the 19th century. Naturally, telegraphy is now wildly obsolete (though some local services apparently do still exist) which would explain why Munroe communicates with so few people that way.
|-
|{{w|Apache|Apache Request Log}}
|1
|A file used by Apache HTML server to log page access requests by users, usually stored as access_log. Its use as a communications tool would require the user to embed their messages in URLs and the admin to look for the messages in the logs. It would be inconvenient and time consuming for both parties.
|-
| {{w|Twitter|Twitter DM}}
|4
| "Direct messages" between users on Twitter.
|-
| {{w|BBM}}
|1
|Blackberry message. A chat system available on {{w|Blackberry}} phones, now largely obsolete.
|-
|Peach
|2
|
|-
|{{w|Talk_(software)|Unix 'talk'}}
|*
|This is in the title text, and the only user is Munroe. Old peer-to-peer chat system whereby users logged into the same UNIX system could privately communicate with each other in a full-screen interface.
|-
|Wall (Unix)
|1
|Short for "write all", the "wall" command copies its argument to every user logged into the same Unix system, and so can be used as a primitive chat system. {{w|Wall_(Unix)}}
|-
|Wall (bathroom)
|1
|Apparently a chat system based around writing on the wall in the bathroom. Not an electronic system. Alternatively, this could mean the person is an extreme introvert, and hides in his bathroom instead of interacting with others.
|-
|The "chat" tab in an old Google Doc
|2
|Google Docs is an online word processor reminiscent of Microsoft Word. One of the notable features is online collaborative editing, with a rudimentary chat feature for communication. Randall apparently communicates with someone using the chat in an old Google Doc.
|}

;Related comics
*The ubiquity of standards - here, of messaging systems - was already covered in [[927: Standards]]
*For IRC see also [[1782: Team Chat]]

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[an Euler diagram with a large number of circles for various chat systems, overlapping in complicated ways]
:I have a hard time keeping track of which contacts use which chat systems.

{{comic discussion}}

File:not found.png

2017-02-04T23:22:48Z

Artyer: Artyer uploaded a new version of "File:not found.png": 404 page changed as the server switched to nginx.

Page displayed when page is not found on Firefox and Chrome.

what if?

2016-10-18T20:48:49Z

Artyer: /* Articles */ Added latest article

:''Not to be confused with [[17: What If]].''
[[File:whatifbanner.jpg]]

'''''[http://what-if.xkcd.com/ what if?]''''' is a blog hosted on the [[xkcd]].com domain and written by [[Randall Munroe]] with entries posted [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/once-in-a-blue-moon.html occasionally]. Before publishing the what if? book, articles were posted weekly.

On the blog, Randall uses his degree in physics and strong scientific background to discuss hypothetical physics questions apparently submitted by readers.
Since 2014, there's also a book of the blog.

Unlike other sites which answer readers' questions, ''what if?'' typically takes the question beyond the original scope likely intended by the reader and takes it to some extreme for humorous effect. For example, in {{what if|1|the first article}}, he discusses what would happen if a baseball were pitched at 90% of the speed of light. After effectively describing what would occur as a nuclear explosion, leveling the stadium and the surrounding mile radius, he concludes with the note ''"A careful reading of official Major League Baseball Rule 6.08(b) suggests that in this situation, the batter would be considered 'hit by pitch', and would be eligible to advance to first base."''

The questions Randall tackles range from realistic possibilities (e.g. the probability of achieving a {{what if|2|perfect SAT score by guessing}}) to completely fictional questions (e.g. {{what if|3|How much Force power}} can {{w|Yoda}} output?). In his explanations, Randall, often uses diagrams in an ''xkcd'' style. Regardless of the context, Randall tends to take the questions extremely literally and responds seriously to them, even if they are whimsical (such as the Yoda question). This is clear from his response to the question of what would happen if everybody on Earth stood together and {{what if|8|jumped at the same time}}. After acknowledging that the question has been answered elsewhere, he recaps the result, but then focuses more intently on the unasked resulting issue of the aftermath of everyone on Earth being magically transported to one location as they all try to return home.

This site is not under [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License] like [[xkcd]] is.

==Release schedule==
*The two first articles were released on the same day, Tuesday July 10, 2012, probably to get the blog going, and let users of xkcd see that there was going to be more.
**After that they were released weekly for almost three years, with just a few times with two (and once three) weeks between releases, up until article 136 was released on April 12, 2015 (2 years and 40 weeks).
**First after 25 releases was there a two week Christmas break before article 26 was released on December 31, 2012.
**After that there were five more two weeks break, one three week break (before December 11, 2014) and two releases in a row (133-134 towards the end of this period of 136 articles), where the release dates where shifted so the two came out over three weeks' time with about 1.5 weeks between them.
**The second break came a year after the first and was also a Christmas break before article 77 was released on December 31, 2013
**Then from August 2014 there came several two week breaks, one in August, one in September and two in November, the last lasting three weeks into December, and on top of that the normal two weeks Christmas break.
**After this less orderly period there came a period of 10 weeks in a row with 10 releases starting on January 1, 2015.
*The release day was fixed to once a week on a given weekday, except for a few articles that were delayed a day (or two) in one week, but then next week's article would again be released on the normal day.
**To begin with the release day was '''Tuesdays''', and the third article was released a week after the first two on Tuesday July 17, 2012.
**The release day shifted to '''Wednesday''' from article 100 released on Wednesday June 11, 2014.
**The release day shifted once more to '''Thursday''' from article 117 released on Thursday October 23, 2014.
**The final six articles in this period were released on four different week days, only two of them with one week apart.
*The result of the above is that over the first 144 weeks 136 articles where released with never more than 3 weeks between releases. As the first two were released on week 1, this means that there were 134 articles released over the next 143 weeks, meaning there were only 9 weeks without an article.
*After article 136 was released on April 12, 2015, Randal took a '''13 weeks break''' from updates until July 14, 2015.
**At the time Randall wrote a note stating "What If updates are temporarily on hold, and will resume on July 14th, 2015 at 7:49:59 AM EDT."
**This was the date and time that the {{w|New Horizons}} probe achieved its closest approach to {{w|Pluto}}.
**The article 137 from July 14, 2015 was about the New Horizons probe.
*After the break only three articles were released, two more were released after article 137 over three weeks, the last article 139 released on August 4, 2015.
**But then there were '''two more breaks''', so only one more article was released in 2015, with article 150 released after more than 6 weeks on September 18, 2015.
*First after 17 more weeks releases began again with article 141 on Tuesday January 16, 2016.
**After that articles began coming out regularly with a total of 9 releases out before the end of March 2016, mainly on Tuesdays to begin with, then one on a Friday before the last two came on Saturdays with two weeks breaks before each, the last being article 149 on March 26, 2016.
*Since then only two more articles have been released with about 8 weeks between them.
**So, at the moment of writing this, summer 2016, it seems it is down to about one release every two months.
*See more details for breaks in the releases in the table with a list of all the [[#Articles|articles]] down below.

==The book==
Randall announced his ''what if?'' book on 12 March 2014 in [http://blog.xkcd.com/2014/03/12/what-if-i-wrote-a-book/ the blag]. It was published on September 2, 2014, and the UK edition of the book was published on September 4, 2014. It is the 2nd book published by Randall.
[[Image:What_If?.jpeg|frame|The general cover of the book]]
It is just like 'xkcd:volume 0' a compilation of some questions from the website, but half of them are new.

In the UK edition of the book, Randall included a preface about his thoughts on the units used in the UK. (The Metric System)
====Summary====
'''The summary on the back of the book reads:'''

''Randall Munroe left NASA in 2005 to start up his hugely popular site XKCD 'a web comic of romance, sarcasm, math and language' which offers a witty take on the world of science and geeks. It now has 600,000 to a million page hits daily. Every now and then, Munroe would get emails asking him to arbitrate a science debate. 'My friend and I were arguing about what would happen if a bullet got struck by lightning, and we agreed that you should resolve it . . . ' He liked these questions so much that he started up What If.

*If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive?
*How dangerous is it, really, to be in a swimming pool in a thunderstorm?
*If we hooked turbines to people exercising in gyms, how much power could we produce?
*What if everyone only had one soulmate?
*When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British empire?
*How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live?
*What would happen if the moon went away?

''In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, studded with memorable cartoons and infographics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion. Far more than a book for geeks, WHAT IF: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much the smarter for having read.''

'''The summary on the back of the UK edition of the book reads:'''

''Hey! Thanks for looking at my book. If you're thinking about buying it, here are some things you might want to know:''

Humans can't digest the cellulose in paper, but if we could, eating this book would give you about 2,300 calories (including the cover).

This book can't stop most bullets; if you want to use it for armour, you may want a lot more than one copy.

If you have a good arm, you could probably throw this book about 45 feet. With practice, it's possible to throw a book every 800 milliseconds, which means that if human attackers are sprinting towards you, you'll have three or four chances to hit them before they reach you. If, on the other hand, you're being attacked by a coyote, it's higher top speed means you'll have only one chance to hit it. Aim carefully.

''HIDDEN FEATURE: The inside of this book has words and pictures, plus a special UK foreword.'' It answers many important questions, including whether you could jump from a plane with a helium tank and inflate balloons fast enough to slow your fall and survive (yes) and whether you could hide from a supersonic windstorm in Finland (yes, but it won't help).

==Trivia==
*There is an easy way to link to a given what if? story by using [[Template:what if|a template]]. For instance write the following:
**<nowiki>See the [[what if?]] ''{{what if|147|Niagara Straw}}''.</nowiki>
*Copy paste the above text and correct the number and the title to get this result:
**See the [[what if?]] ''{{what if|147|Niagara Straw}}''.

==Articles==
*Below is a list of the articles released in the what if? blog.
**This list can also be found in the [https://what-if.xkcd.com/archive/ acrhive section] on the what if? blog.
**But here more data can be added...
{| class="wikitable " |
! No.
! Title
! Release date
! Weeks since last release
! Question(s) answered / Topic
! Comment/Short note on subject
|-
| 1 || {{what if|1|Relativistic Baseball}} || July 10, 2012 || || What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light? || The very first what if?
|-
| 2 || {{what if|2|SAT Guessing}} || July 10, 2012 || 0.0 || What if everyone who took the SAT guessed on every multiple-choice question? How many perfect scores would there be? || This second article was released on the same day as the first, probably to get the blog going, and let users of xkcd see that there was going to be more.
|-
| 3 || {{what if|3|Yoda}} || July 17, 2012 || 1.0 || How much Force power can Yoda output? || First regular release. From here on standard release day was Tuesday.
|-
| 4 || {{what if|4|A Mole of Moles}} || July 24, 2012 || 1.0 || What would happen if you were to gather a mole (unit of measurement) of moles (the small furry critter) in one place? ||
|-
| 5 || {{what if|5|Robot Apocalypse}} || July 31, 2012 || 1.0 || What if there was a robot apocalypse? How long would humanity last? ||
|-
| 6 || {{what if|6|Glass Half Empty}} || August 7, 2012 || 1.0 || What if a glass of water was, all of a sudden, literally half empty? ||
|-
| 7 || {{what if|7|Everybody Out}} || August 14, 2012 || 1.0 || Is there enough energy to move the entire current human population off-planet? ||
|-
| 8 || {{what if|8|Everybody Jump}} || August 21, 2012 || 1.0 || What would happen if everyone on earth stood as close to each other as they could and jumped, everyone landing on the ground at the same instant? ||
|-
| 9 || {{what if|9|Soul Mates}} || August 28, 2012 || 1.0 || What if everyone actually had only one soul mate, a random person somewhere in the world? ||
|-
| 10 || {{what if|10|Cassini}} || September 4, 2012 || 1.0 || What would the world be like if the land masses were spread out the same way as now - only rotated by an angle of 90 degrees? ||
|-
| 11 || {{what if|11|Droppings}} || September 11, 2012 || 1.0 || If you went outside and lay down on your back with your mouth open, how long would you have to wait until a bird pooped in it? ||
|-
| 12 || {{what if|12|Raindrop}} || September 18, 2012 || 1.0 || What if a rainstorm dropped all of its water in a single giant drop? ||
|-
| 13 || {{what if|13|Laser Pointer}} || September 25, 2012 || 1.0 || If every person on Earth aimed a laser pointer at the Moon at the same time, would it change color? ||
|-
| 14 || {{what if|14|Short Answer Section}} || October 2, 2012 || 1.0 ||
* How long would the Sun last if a giant water hose were focused upon it? My sixth grade brother, Adam, asked me this.
* What if you shined a flashlight (or a laser) into a sphere made of one-way mirror glass?
* If Michael Phelps could hold his breath indefinitely, how long would it take for him to reach the lowest point in the ocean and back if he swam straight down and then straight back up?
* In the first Superman movie, Superman flies around Earth so fast that it begins turning in the opposite direction. This somehow turns back time [... ] How much energy would someone flying around the Earth have to exert in order to reverse the Earth's rotation?
* How fast would you have to go in your car to run a red light claiming that it appeared green to you due to the Doppler Effect?
* What would happen if you opened a portal between Boston (sea level) and Mexico City (elev. 8000+ feet)?
* When my wife and I started dating she invited me over for dinner at one time. Her kitchen had something called Bauhaus chairs, which are full of holes, approx 5-6 millimeters in diameter in both back and seat. During this lovely dinner I was forced to liberate a small portion of wind and was relieved that I managed to do so very discretely. Only to find that the chair I sat on converted the successful silence into a perfect, and loud, flute note. We were both (luckily) amazed and surprised and I have often wondered what the odds are for something like that happening. We kept the chairs for five years but despite laborious attempts it couldn't be reproduced.
||
|-
| 15 || {{what if|15|Mariana Trench Explosion}} || October 9, 2012 || 1.0 || What if you exploded a nuclear bomb (say, the Tsar Bomba) at the bottom of the Marianas Trench? ||
|-
| 16 || {{what if|16|Today's topic: Lightning}} || October 16, 2012 || 1.0 ||
* How dangerous is it, really, to be in a pool during a thunderstorm?
* What would happen if you were taking a shower when you were struck by lightning? Or standing under a waterfall?
* What would happen if you were in a boat or a plane that got hit by lightning? Or a submarine?
* What if you were changing the light at the top of a radio tower and lightning struck? Or what if you were doing a backflip? Or standing in a graphite field? Or looking straight up at the bolt?
* What would happen if lightning struck a bullet in midair?
* What if you were flashing your BIOS during a thunderstorm and you got hit by lightning?
||
|-
| 17 || {{what if|17|Green Cows}} || October 23, 2012 || 1.0 || If cows could photosynthesize, how much less food would they need? ||
|-
| 18 || {{what if|18|BB Gun}} || October 30, 2012 || 1.0 || In Armageddon, a NASA guy comments that a plan to shoot a laser at the asteroid is like “shooting a b.b. gun at a freight train.” What would it take to stop an out-of-control freight train using only b.b. guns? ||
|-
| 19 || {{what if|19|Tie Vote}} || November 6, 2012 || 1.0 || What if there's LITERALLY a tie? || The release date in the archive is the wrong year 2013.
|-
| 20 || {{what if|20|Diamond}} || November 13, 2012 || 1.0 || If a meteor made out of diamond and 100 feet in diameter was traveling at the speed of light and hit the earth, what would happen to it? ||
|-
| 21 || {{what if|21|Machine Gun Jetpack}} || November 20, 2012 || 1.0 || Is it possible to build a jetpack using downward firing machine guns? ||
|-
| 22 || {{what if|22|Cost of Pennies}} || November 27, 2012 || 1.0 || If you carry a penny in your coin tray, how long would it take for that penny to cost you more than a cent in extra gas? ||
|-
| 23 || {{what if|23|Short Answer Section II}} || December 4, 2012 || 1.0 ||
* If my printer could literally print out money, would it have that big an effect on the world?
* What would happen if you exploded a nuclear bomb in the eye of a hurricane? Would the storm cell be immediately vaporized?
* If everyone put little turbine generators on the downspouts of their houses and businesses, how much power would we generate? Would we ever generate enough power to offset the cost of the generators?
* Using only pronounceable letter combinations, how long would names have to be to give each star in the universe a unique one word name?
* I bike to class sometimes. It's annoying biking in the wintertime, because it's so cold. How fast would I have to bike for my skin to warm up the way a spacecraft heats up during reentry?
* How much physical space does the internet take up?
* What if you strapped C4 to a boomerang? Could this be an effective weapon, or would it be as stupid as it sounds?
||
|-
| 24 || {{what if|24|Model Rockets}} || December 11, 2012 || 1.0 || How many model rocket engines would it take to launch a real rocket into space? ||
|-
| 25 || {{what if|25|Three Wise Men}} || December 18, 2012 || 1.0 || The story of the three wise men got me wondering: What if you did walk towards a star at a fixed speed? What path would you trace on the Earth? Does it converge to a fixed cycle? ||
|-
| 26 || {{what if|26|Leap Seconds}} || December 31, 2012 || 1.9 || Every now and then we have to insert a leap second because the Earth’s rotation is slowing down. Could we speed up Earth’s rotation, so that we do not need Leap Seconds? || The first two weeks Christmas break
|-
| 27 || {{what if|27|Death Rates}} || January 8, 2013 || 1.1 || If one randomly chosen extra person were to die each second somewhere on Earth, what impact would it have on the world population? ||
|-
| 28 || {{what if|28|Steak Drop}} || January 15, 2013 || 1.0 || From what height would you need to drop a steak for it to be cooked when it hit the ground? ||
|-
| 29 || {{what if|29|Spent Fuel Pool}} || January 22, 2013 || 1.0 || What if I took a swim in a typical spent nuclear fuel pool? Would I need to dive to actually experience a fatal amount of radiation? How long could I stay safely at the surface? ||
|-
| 30 || {{what if|30|Interplanetary Cessna}} || January 29, 2013 || 1.0 || What would happen if you tried to fly a normal Earth airplane above different Solar System bodies? ||
|-
| 31 || {{what if|31|FedEx Bandwidth}} || February 5, 2013 || 1.0 || When - if ever - will the bandwidth of the Internet surpass that of FedEx? ||
|-
| 32 || {{what if|32|Hubble}} || February 12, 2013 || 1.0 || If the Hubble telescope were aimed at the Earth, how detailed would the images be? ||
|-
| 33 || {{what if|33|Ships}} || February 19, 2013 || 1.0 || How much would the sea level fall if every ship were removed all at once from the Earth's waters? ||
|-
| 34 || {{what if|34|Twitter}} || February 26, 2013 || 1.0 || How many unique English tweets are possible? How long would it take for the population of the world to read them all out loud? ||
|-
| 35 || {{what if|35|Hair Dryer}} || March 5, 2013 || 1.0 || What would happen if a hair dryer with continuous power was turned on and put in an airtight 1x1x1 meter box? ||
|-
| 36 || {{what if|36|Cornstarch}} || March 12, 2013 || 1.0 || How much cornstarch can I rinse down the drain before unpleasant things start to happen? ||
|-
| 37 || {{what if|37|Supersonic Stereo}} || March 19, 2013 || 1.0 || What if you somehow managed to make a stereo travel at twice the speed of sound, would it sound backwards to someone who was just casually sitting somewhere as it flies by? ||
|-
| 38 || {{what if|38|Voyager}} || March 26, 2013 || 1.0 || With today's technology, would it be possible to launch an unmanned mission to retrieve Voyager I? ||
|-
| 39 || {{what if|39|Hockey Puck}} || April 2, 2013 || 1.0 || How hard would a puck have to be shot to be able to knock the goalie himself backwards into the net? ||
|-
| 40 || {{what if|40|Pressure Cooker}} || April 9, 2013 || 1.0 || Am I right to be afraid of pressure cookers? What's the worst thing that can happen if you misuse a pressure cooker in an ordinary kitchen? ||
|-
| 41 || {{what if|41|Go West}} || April 16, 2013 || 1.0 || If everybody in the US drove west, could we temporarily halt continental drift? ||
|-
| 42 || {{what if|42|Longest Sunset}} || April 23, 2013 || 1.0 || What is the longest possible sunset you can experience while driving, assuming we are obeying the speed limit and driving on paved roads? ||
|-
| 43 || {{what if|43|Train Loop}} || April 30, 2013 || 1.0 || Could a high-speed train run through a vertical loop, like a rollercoaster, with the passengers staying comfortable? ||
|-
| 44 || {{what if|44|High Throw}} || May 7, 2013 || 1.0 || How high can a human throw something? ||
|-
| 45 || {{what if|45|ISS Music Video}} || May 14, 2013 || 1.0 || Is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo this] the most expensive music video ever? ||
|-
| 46 || {{what if|46|Bowling Ball}} || May 21, 2013 || 1.0 || I've been told that if the Earth were shrunk down to the size of a bowling ball, it would be smoother than said bowling ball. My question is, what would a bowling ball look like if it were blown up to the size of the Earth? ||
|-
| 47 || {{what if|47|Alien Astronomers}} || May 28, 2013 || 1.0 || Let's assume there's life on the the nearest habitable exoplanet and that they have technology comparable to ours. If they looked at our star right now, what would they see? ||
|-
| 48 || {{what if|48|Sunset on the British Empire}} || June 4, 2013 || 1.0 || When (if ever) did the Sun finally set on the British Empire? ||
|-
| 49 || {{what if|49|Sunless Earth}} || June 11, 2013 || 1.0 || What would happen to the Earth if the Sun suddenly switched off? ||
|-
| 50 || {{what if|50|Extreme Boating}} || June 18, 2013 || 1.0 || What would it be like to navigate a rowboat through a lake of mercury? What about bromine? Liquid gallium? Liquid tungsten? Liquid nitrogen? Liquid helium? ||
|-
| 51 || {{what if|51|Free Fall}} || June 25, 2013 || 1.0 || What place on Earth would allow you to freefall the longest by jumping off it? What about using a squirrel suit? ||
|-
| 52 || {{what if|52|Bouncy Balls}} || July 2, 2013 || 1.0 || What if one were to drop 3,000 bouncy balls from a seven story parking structure onto a person walking on the sidewalk below? Should the person survive, what would be the number of bouncy balls needed to kill them? What injuries would occur and what would the associated crimes be? || The release date in the archive is the wrong month June.
|-
| 53 || {{what if|53|Drain the Oceans}} || July 9, 2013 || 1.0 || How quickly would the ocean's drain if a circular portal 10 meters in radius leading into space was created at the bottom of Challenger Deep, the deepest spot in the ocean? How would the Earth change as the water is being drained? ||
|-
| 54 || {{what if|54|Drain the Oceans: Part II}} || July 16, 2013 || 1.0 || Supposing you did {{what if|53|Drain the Oceans}}, and dumped the water on top of the Curiosity rover, how would Mars change as the water accumulated? ||
|-
| 55 || {{what if|55|Random Sneeze Call}} || July 23, 2013 || 1.0 || If you call a random phone number and say “God bless you”, what are the chances that the person who answers just sneezed? On average, not just in spring or fall. ||
|-
| 56 || {{what if|56|Restraining an Airplane}} || July 30, 2013 || 1.0 || If you wanted to anchor an airplane into the ground so it wouldn't be able to take off, what would the rope have to be made out of? ||
|-
| 57 || {{what if|57|Dropping a Mountain}} || August 6, 2013 || 1.0 || What if a huge mountain—Denali, say—had the bottom inch of its base disappear? What would happen from the impact of the mountain falling 1 inch? What about 1 foot? What if the mountain's base were raised to the present height of the summit, and then the whole thing were allowed to drop to the earth? ||
|-
| 58 || {{what if|58|Orbital Speed}} || August 12, 2013 || 0.9 ||
* What if a spacecraft slowed down on re-entry to just a few miles per hour using rocket boosters like the Mars-sky-crane? Would it negate the need for a heat shield?
* Is it possible for a spacecraft to control its reentry in such a way that it avoids the atmospheric compression and thus would not require the expensive (and relatively fragile) heat shield on the outside?
* Could a (small) rocket (with payload) be lifted to a high point in the atmosphere where it would only need a small rocket to get to escape velocity?
||
|-
| 59 || {{what if|59|Updating a Printed Wikipedia}} || August 20, 2013 || 1.1 || If you had a printed version of the whole of (say, the English) Wikipedia, how many printers would you need in order to keep up with the changes made to the live version? ||
|-
| 60 || {{what if|60|Signs of Life}} || August 27, 2013 || 1.0 || If you could teleport to a random place of the surface of the Earth, what are the odds that you'll see signs of intelligent life? ||
|-
| 61 || {{what if|61|Speed Bump}} || September 3, 2013 || 1.0 || How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? ||
|-
| 62 || {{what if|62|Falling With Helium}} || September 10, 2013 || 1.0 || What if I jumped out of an airplane with a couple of tanks of helium and one huge, un-inflated balloon? Then, while falling, I release the helium and fill the balloon. How long of a fall would I need in order for the balloon to slow me enough that I could land safely? ||
|-
| 63 || {{what if|63|Google's Datacenters on Punch Cards}} || September 17, 2013 || 1.0 || If all digital data were stored on punch cards, how big would Google's data warehouse be? ||
|-
| 64 || {{what if|64|Rising Steadily}} || September 24, 2013 || 1.0 || If you suddenly began rising steadily at one foot per second, how exactly would you die? Would you freeze or suffocate first? Or something else? ||
|-
| 65 || {{what if|65|Twitter Timeline Height}} || October 1, 2013 || 1.0 || If our Twitter timelines (tweets by the people we follow) actually extended off the screen in both directions, how tall would they be? ||
|-
| 66 || {{what if|66|500 MPH}} || October 8, 2013 || 1.0 || If winds reached 500 mph, would it pick up a human? ||
|-
| 67 || {{what if|67|Expanding Earth}} || October 15, 2013 || 1.0 || How long would it take for people to notice their weight gain if the mean radius of the world expanded by 1cm every second? (Assuming the average composition of rock were maintained.) ||
|-
| 68 || {{what if|68|Little Planet}} || October 22, 2013 || 1.0 || If an asteroid was very small but supermassive, could you really live on it like the Little Prince? ||
|-
| 69 || {{what if|69|Facebook of the Dead}} || October 29, 2013 || 1.0 || When, if ever, will Facebook contain more profiles of dead people than of living ones? ||
|-
| 70 || {{what if|70|The Constant Groundskeeper}} || November 5, 2013 || 1.0 || How big of a lawn would you have to have so that when you finished mowing you'd need to start over because the grass has grown? ||
|-
| 71 || {{what if|71|Stirring Tea}} || November 12, 2013 || 1.0 || I was absentmindedly stirring a cup of hot tea, when I got to thinking, "aren't I actually adding kinetic energy into this cup?" I know that stirring does help to cool down the tea, but what if I were to stir it faster? Would I be able to boil a cup of water by stirring? ||
|-
| 72 || {{what if|72|Loneliest Human}} || November 19, 2013 || 1.0 || What is the furthest one human being has ever been from every other living person? Were they lonely? ||
|-
| 73 || {{what if|73|Lethal Neutrinos}} || November 26, 2013 || 1.0 || How close would you have to be to a supernova to get a lethal dose of neutrino radiation? ||
|-
| 74 || {{what if|74|Soda Planet}} || December 3, 2013 || 1.0 || How much of the Earth's currently-existing water has ever been turned into a soft drink at some point in its history? ||
|-
| 75 || {{what if|75|Phone Keypad}} || December 10, 2013 || 1.0 || I use one of those old phones where you type with numbers—for example, to type "Y", you press 9 three times. Some words have consecutive letters on the same number. When they do, you have to pause between letters, making those words annoying to type. What English word has the most consecutive letters on the same key? ||
|-
| 76 || {{what if|76|Reading Every Book}} || December 17, 2013 || 1.0 || At what point in human history were there too many (English) books to be able to read them all in one lifetime? ||
|-
| 77 || {{what if|77|Growth Rate}} || December 31, 2013 || 2.0 || What height would humans reach if we kept growing through our whole development period (i.e. till late teens/early twenties) at the same pace as we do during our first month? || The second two weeks Christmas break
|-
| 78 || {{what if|78|T-rex Calories}} || January 7, 2014 || 1.0 || If a T-rex were released in New York City, how many humans/day would it need to consume to get its needed calorie intake? ||
|-
| 79 || {{what if|79|Lake Tea}} || January 14, 2014 || 1.0 || What if we were to dump all the tea in the world into the Great Lakes? How strong, compared to a regular cup of tea, would the lake tea be? ||
|-
| 80 || {{what if|80|Pile of Viruses}} || January 21, 2014 || 1.0 || What if every virus in the world were collected into one area? How much volume would they take up and what would they look like? ||
|-
| 81 || {{what if|81|Catch!}} || January 28, 2014 || 1.0 || Is there any way to fire a gun so that the bullet flies through the air and can then be safely caught by hand? e.g. shooter is at sea level and catcher is up a mountain at the extreme range of the gun. ||
|-
| 82 || {{what if|82|Hitting a comet}} || February 5, 2014 || 1.1 || Astrophysicists are always saying things like "This mission to this comet is equivalent to throwing a baseball from New York and hitting a particular window in San Francisco." Are they really equivalent? ||
|-
| 83 || {{what if|83|Star Sand}} || February 11, 2014 || 0.9 || If you made a beach using grains the proportionate size of the stars in the Milky Way, what would that beach look like? ||
|-
| 84 || {{what if|84|Paint the Earth}} || February 18, 2014 || 1.0 || Has humanity produced enough paint to cover the entire land area of the Earth? ||
|-
| 85 || {{what if|85|Rocket Golf}} || February 25, 2014 || 1.0 || Assuming that you have a spaceship in orbit around the Earth, could you propel your ship to speeds exceeding escape velocity by hitting golf balls in the other direction? If so, how many golf balls would be required to reach the Moon? ||
|-
| 86 || {{what if|86|Far-Traveling Objects}} || March 4, 2014 || 1.0 || In terms of human-made objects, has Voyager 1 travelled the farthest distance? It's certainly the farthest from Earth we know about. But what about the edge of ultracentrifuges, or generator turbines that have been running for years, for example? ||
|-
| 87 || {{what if|87|Enforced by Radar}} || March 11, 2014 || 1.0 || I've occasionally seen "radar enforced" on speed limit signs, and I can't help but ask: How intense would radio waves have to be to stop a car from going over the speed limit, and what would happen if this were attempted? ||
|-
| 88 || {{what if|88|Soda Sequestration}} || March 18, 2014 || 1.0 || How much CO2 is contained in the world's stock of bottled fizzy drinks? How much soda would be needed to bring atmospheric CO2 back to preindustrial levels? ||
|-
| 89 || {{what if|89|Tungsten Countertop}} || March 25, 2014 || 1.0 || How far would a tungsten countertop descend if I dropped it into the Sun? ||
|-
| 90 || {{what if|90|Great Tree, Great Axe}} || April 3, 2014 || 1.3 ||
''If all the seas were one sea, 
''What a great sea that would be! 
''If all the trees were one tree, 
''What a great tree that would be! 
''If all the men were one man, 
''What a great man that would be! 
''If all the axes were one axe, 
''What a great axe that would be! 
''And if the great man took the great axe, 
''And cut down the great tree, 
''And let if fall into the great sea, 
''What a great splish-splash that would be!'' 
... How great would all of these things be?
||
|-
| 91 || {{what if|91|Faucet Power}} || April 8, 2014 || 0.7 || I just moved into a new apartment. It includes hot water but I have to pay the electric bill. So being a person on a budget ... what's the best way to use my free faucet to generate electricity? ||
|-
| 92 || {{what if|92|One-Second Day}} || April 15, 2014 || 1.0 || What would happen if the Earth's rotation were sped up until a day only lasted one second? ||
|-
| 93 || {{what if|93|Windshield Raindrops}} || April 22, 2014 || 1.0 || At what speed would you have to drive for rain to shatter your windshield? ||
|-
| 94 || {{what if|94|Billion-Story Building}} || April 29, 2014 || 1.0 || My daughter — age 4.5 — maintains she wants a billion-story building. It turns out not only is that hard to help her appreciate this size, I am not at all able to explain all of the other difficulties you'd have to overcome. ||
|-
| 95 || {{what if|95|Pyramid Energy}} || May 6, 2014 || 1.0 || What took more energy, the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza or the Apollo Mission? If we could convert the energy to build the Great Pyramid, would it be enough to send a rocket to the Moon and back? ||
|-
| 96 || {{what if|96|$2 Undecillion Lawsuit}} || May 14, 2014 || 1.1 || What if Au Bon Pain lost [http://loweringthebar.net/2014/05/2-undecillion-dollar-demand.html this lawsuit] and had to pay the plaintiff $2 undecillion? ||
|-
| 97 || {{what if|97|Burning Pollen}} || May 20, 2014 || 0.9 || What if you were to somehow ignite the pollen that floats around in the air in spring? Other than being a really bad idea, what effect would it have? ||
|-
| 98 || {{what if|98|Blood Alcohol}} || May 27, 2014 || 1.0 || Could you get drunk from drinking a drunk person's blood? ||
|-
| 99 || {{what if|99|Starlings}} || June 3, 2014 || 1.0 || I was watching [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eakKfY5aHmY this video] and was wondering: How many birds there would need to be for gravity to take over and force them into a gargantuan ball of birds? ||
|-
| 100 || {{what if|100|WWII Films}} || June 11, 2014 || 1.1 || Did WWII last longer than the total length of movies about WWII? For that matter, which war has the highest movie time:war time ratio? || From here on standard release day was Wednesday.
|-
| 101 || {{what if|101|Plastic Dinosaurs}} || June 18, 2014 || 1.0 || As plastic is made from oil and oil is made from dead dinosaurs, how much actual real dinosaur is there in a plastic dinosaur? ||
|-
| 102 || {{what if|102|Keyboard Power}} || June 25, 2014 || 1.0 || As a writer, I'm wondering what would be the cumulative energy of the hundreds of thousands of keystrokes required to write a novel. ||
|-
| 103 || {{what if|103|Vanishing Water}} || July 2, 2014 || 1.0 || What would happen if all the bodies of water on Earth magically disappeared? ||
|-
| 104 || {{what if|104|Global Snow}} || July 9, 2014 || 1.0 || From my seven-year-old son: How many snowflakes would it take to cover the entire world in six feet of snow? (I don't know why six feet...but that's what he asked.) ||
|-
| 105 || {{what if|105|Cannibalism}} || July 16, 2014 || 1.0 || How long could the human race survive on only cannibalism? ||
|-
| 106 || {{what if|106|Ink Molecules}} || July 23, 2014 || 1.0 || Suppose you were to print, in 12 point text, the numeral 1 using a common cheap ink-jet printer. How many molecules of the ink would be used? At what numerical value would the number printed approximately equal the number of ink molecules used? ||
|-
| 107 || {{what if|107|Letter to Mom}} || July 30, 2014 || 1.0 || What’s the fastest way to get a hand-written letter from my place in Chicago to my mother in New Jersey? ||
|-
| 108 || {{what if|108|Expensive Shoebox}} || August 13, 2014 || 2.0 || What would be the most expensive way to fill a size 11 shoebox (e.g. with 64 GB MicroSD cards all full of legally purchased music)? || The third two weeks break.
|-
| 109 || {{what if|109|Into the Blue}} || August 20, 2014 || 1.0 || If I shot an infinitely strong laser beam into the sky at a random point, how much damage would it do? ||
|-
| 110 || {{what if|110|Walking New York}} || August 27, 2014 || 1.0 || Could a person walk the entire city of NY in their lifetime? (including inside apartments) ||
|-
| 111 || {{what if|111|All the Money}} || September 2, 2014 || 0.9 || People sometimes say "If I had all the money in the world ..." in order to discuss what they would do if they had no financial constraints. I'm curious, though, what would happen if one person had all of the world's money? ||
|-
| 112 || {{what if|112|Balloon Car}} || September 17, 2014 || 2.1 || My 12-year-old daughter is proposing an interesting project. She is planning to attach a number of helium balloons to a chair, which in turn would be tethered by means of a rope to a Ferrari. Her 13-year-old friend would then drive the Ferrari around, while she sits in the chair enjoying uninterrupted views of the countryside. Leaving aside the legal and insurance difficulties, my daughter is keen to know the maximum speed that she could expect to attain, and how many helium balloons would be required. || The fourth two weeks break.
|-
| 113 || {{what if|113|Visit Every State}} || September 24, 2014 || 1.0 || How fast could you visit all 50 states? ||
|-
| 114 || {{what if|114|Antimatter}} || October 1, 2014 || 1.0 || What if everything was antimatter, EXCEPT Earth? ||
|-
| 115 || {{what if|115|Into the Sun}} || October 8, 2014 || 1.0 || When I was about 8 years old, shoveling snow on a freezing day in Colorado, I wished that I could be instantly transported to the surface of the Sun, just for a nanosecond, then instantly transported back. I figured this would be long enough to warm me up but not long enough to harm me. What would actually happen? ||
|-
| 116 || {{what if|116|No-Rules NASCAR}} || October 15, 2014 || 1.0 || If you stripped away all the rules of car racing and had a contest which was simply to get a human being around a track 200 times as fast as possible, what strategy would win? Let's say the racer has to survive. ||
|-
| 117 || {{what if|117|Distant Death}} || October 23, 2014 || 1.1 || What is the farthest from Earth that any Earth thing has died? || From here on standard release day was Thursday.
|-
| 118 || {{what if|118|Physical Salary}} || October 30, 2014 || 1.0 || What if people's incomes appeared around them as cash in real time? How much would you need to make to be in real trouble? ||
|-
| 119 || {{what if|119|Laser Umbrella}} || November 13, 2014 || 2.0 || Stopping rain from falling on something with an umbrella or a tent is boring. What if you tried to stop rain with a laser that targeted and vaporized each incoming droplet before it could come within ten feet of the ground? || The fifth two weeks break.
|-
| 120 || {{what if|120|Alternate Universe What Ifs}} || November 20, 2014 || 1.0 || Dispatches from a horrifying alternate universe ||
|-
| 121 || {{what if|121|Frozen Rivers}} || December 11, 2014 || 3.0 || What would happen if all of the rivers in the US were instantly frozen in the middle of the summer? || The only tree weeks break, the sixth break in total.
|-
| 122 || {{what if|122|Lava Lamp}} || December 18, 2014 || 1.0 || What if I made a lava lamp out of real lava? What could I use as a clear medium? How close could I stand to watch it? ||
|-
| 123 || {{what if|123|Fairy Demographics}} || January 1, 2015 || 2.0 || How many fairies would fly around, if each fairy is born from the first laugh of a child and fairies were immortal? || The third two weeks Christmas break, the seventh break in total
|-
| 124 || {{what if|124|Lunar Swimming}} || January 8, 2015 || 1.0 || What if there was a lake on the Moon? What would it be like to swim in it? Presuming that it is sheltered in a regular atmosphere, in some giant dome or something. ||
|-
| 125 || {{what if|125|Bowling Ball}} || January 15, 2015 || 1.0 || You are in a boat directly over the Mariana Trench. If you drop a 7kg bowling ball over the side, how long would it take to hit the bottom? ||
|-
| 126 || {{what if|126|Stairs}} || January 22, 2015 || 1.0 || If you made an elevator that would go to space (like the one you mentioned in the billion-story building) and built a staircase up (assuming regulated air pressure) about how long would it take to climb to the top? ||
|-
| 127 || {{what if|127|Tug of War}} || January 28, 2015 || 0.9 || Would it be possible for two teams in a tug-o-war to overcome the ultimate tensile strength of an iron rod and pull it apart? How big would the teams have to be? ||
|-
| 128 || {{what if|128|Zippo Phone}} || February 5, 2015 || 1.1 || What in my pocket actually contains more energy, my Zippo or my smartphone? What would be the best way of getting the energy from one to the other? And since I am already feeling like Bilbo in this one, is there anything else in my pocket that would have unexpected amounts of stored energy? ||
|-
| 129 || {{what if|129|Black Hole Moon}} || February 12, 2015 || 1.0 || What would happen if the Moon were replaced with an equivalently-massed black hole? If it's possible, what would a lunar ("holar"?) eclipse look like? ||
|-
| 130 || {{what if|130|Snow Removal}} || February 19, 2015 || 1.0 || I've long thought about putting a flamethrower on the front of a car to melt snow and ice before you drive across it. Now I've realized that a flamethrower is impractical, but what about a high-powered microwave emitter? ||
|-
| 131 || {{what if|131|Microwaves}} || February 27, 2015 || 1.1 || I have had a particular problem for as long as I can remember. Any time I attempt to heat left over Chinese food in a microwave, it fails to heat completely through somewhere. Usually the center but not always and usually rice, but often it will be a small section of meat. It's baffling and has made me automatically adjust heating times to over 2 minutes. In most cases this tends to heat the bowl or plate more than the food. So I suppose the question is what is the optimal time to heat left over Chinese food in the microwave, how about an 800 watt microwave? || The release date in the archive is the wrong year 2014. From here on there seems to no longer be a standard release day for some time.
|-
| 132 || {{what if|132|Hotter than Average}} || March 7, 2015 || 1.1 || I saw a sign at a hot springs tub saying "Caution: Water is hotter than average" with water at about 39°C. Although they were presumably trying to say "hotter than the average swimming pool," this got me wondering: What is the average temperature of all water on the Earth’s surface, and how does that temperature compare to 39°C? ||
|-
| 133 || {{what if|133|Flagpole}} || March 17, 2015 || 1.4 || So, you're falling from a height above the tallest building in your town, and you don't have a parachute. But wait! Partway down the side of that skyscraper there's a flagpole sticking out, sans flag! You angle your descent and grab the pole just long enough to swing around so that when you let go you're now heading back up toward the sky. As gravity slows you and brings you to a halt, you reach the top of the skyscraper, where you reach out and pull yourself to safety. What's the likelihood this could happen? || The first of two longer shifts in release day two weeks in a row which resulted in only two releases over three weeks, resulting in the eight break in total.
|-
| 134 || {{what if|134|Space Burial}} || March 28, 2015 || 1.6 || I've often joked I'd like to have my remains put into orbit. Not in a "scatter my ashes" sense, but, like, "throw my naked corpse out the airlock" sense. Honestly, my main motivation is to baffle someone in the distant future, but it's an interesting scientific question: what would happen to my body in orbit over the course of years, decades or centuries? || The second of two longer shifts in release day two weeks in a row which resulted in only two releases over three weeks, resulting in the eight break in total.
|-
| 135 || {{what if|135|Digging Downward}} || April 5, 2015 || 1.1 || What would happen if I dug straight down, at a speed of 1 foot per second? What would kill me first? ||
|-
| 136 || {{what if|136|Spiders vs. the Sun}} || April 12, 2015 || 1.0 || Which has a greater gravitational pull on me: the Sun, or spiders? Granted, the Sun is much bigger, but it is also much further away, and as I learned in high school physics, the gravitational force is proportional to the square of the distance. ||
|-
| 137 || {{what if|137|New Horizons}} || July 14, 2015 || 13.3 || What if New Horizons hits my car? || The second longest break up til summer 2016, the only one to have been announced. The ninth break in total.
|-
| 138 || {{what if|138|Jupiter Submarine}} || July 28, 2015 || 2.0 || What if you released a submarine into Jupiter's atmosphere? Would it eventually reach a point where it would float? Could it navigate? || The sixth two weeks break, tenth break in total.
|-
| 139 || {{what if|139|Jupiter Descending}} || August 4, 2015 || 1.0 || If you did {{what if|138|fall into Jupiter's atmosphere in a submarine}}, what would it actually look like? What would you see before you melted or burned up? ||
|-
| 140 || {{what if|140|Proton Earth, Electron Moon}} || September 18, 2015 || 6.4 || What if the Earth were made entirely of protons, and the Moon were made entirely of electrons? || First and shortest of two long breaks in a row, the 11th break in total.
|-
| 141 || {{what if|141|Sunbeam}} || January 12, 2016 || 16.6 || What if all of the sun's output of visible light were bundled up into a laser-like beam that had a diameter of around 1m once it reaches Earth? || Second and longest break so far of two long breaks in a row, the 12th break in total. From here on standard release day was again Tuesday.
|-
| 142 || {{what if|142|Space Jetta}} || January 20, 2016 || 1.1 || What if I tried to re-enter the atmosphere in my car? (a 2000 VW Jetta TDI). Would it do more environmental damage than it is already apparently doing? ||
|-
| 143 || {{what if|143|Europa Water Siphon}} || January 26, 2016 || 0.9 || What if you built a siphon from the oceans on Europa to Earth? Would it flow once it's set up? (We have an idea for selling bottled Europa water.) ||
|-
| 144 || {{what if|144|Saliva Pool}} || February 2, 2016 || 1.0 || How long would it take for a single person to fill up an entire swimming pool with their own saliva? ||
|-
| 145 || {{what if|145|Fire From Moonlight}} || February 9, 2016 || 1.0 || Can you use a magnifying glass and moonlight to light a fire? ||
|-
| 146 || {{what if|146|Stop Jupiter}} || February 16, 2016 || 1.0 || I understand that the New Horizons craft used gravity assist from Jupiter to increase its speed on the way to Pluto. I also understand that by doing this, Jupiter slowed down very slightly. How many flyby runs would it take to stop Jupiter completely? ||
|-
| 147 || {{what if|147|Niagara Straw}} || February 26, 2016 || 1.4 || What would happen if one tried to funnel Niagara Falls through a straw? || From here on there is no longer any standard release days.
|-
| 148 || {{what if|148|Eat the Sun}} || March 12, 2016 || 2.1 || What percentage of the Sun's heat (per day) does the population of Earth eat in calories per year? What changes could be made to our diets for the amount of calories to equal the energy of the Sun? || The seventh two weeks break, 13th break in total.
|-
| 149 || {{what if|149|Pizza Bird}} || March 26, 2016 || 2.0 || My boyfriend recently took a flight on a plane with wifi, and while he was up there, wistfully asked if I could send him a pizza. I jokingly sent him a photo of a parrot holding a pizza slice in its beak. Obviously, my boyfriend had to go without pizza until he landed at JFK. But this raised the question: could a bird deliver a standard 20" New York-style cheese pizza in a box? And if so, what kind of bird would it take? || The eight two weeks break, 14th break in total.
|-
| 150 || {{what if|150|Tatooine Rainbow}} || May 23, 2016 || 8.3 || Since rainbows are caused by the refraction of the sunlight by tiny droplets of rainwater, what would rainbow look like on Earth if we had two suns like Tatooine? || First two months break of at least two in a row, the 15th break in total.
|-
| 151 || {{what if|151|Sun Bug}} || July 21, 2016 || 8.4 || How many fireflies would it take to match the brightness of the Sun? || Second two months break of at least two in a row, the 16th break in total. The release date in the archive is the wrong month June. It was released [http://web.archive.org/web/20160718014924/http://what-if.xkcd.com/ between 18-20 July], as the link here was posted on the 20th. But on the [http://web.archive.org/web/20160724210016/https://what-if.xkcd.com/archive/ archive page] is says it was released on June 21, which should probably have been July 21.
|-
| 152 || {{what if|152|Flood Death Valley}} || October 18, 2016 || 12.6 || Since Death Valley is below sea level could we dig a hole to the ocean and fill it up with water? ||
|}



[[Category:Meta]]

List of all comics (1-500)

2016-08-15T13:28:56Z

Artyer:

This is the list of comics from '''1 to 500'''.

:For comics 501 to 1000, see [[List of all comics (501-1000)]].
:For comics from 1001 to 1500, see [[List of all comics (1001-1500)]].
:For comics from 1501 to{{LATESTCOMIC}}, see [[List of all comics]].
:The whole list is available at [[List of all comics (full)]].

{| class="wikitable sortable plainlinks table-padding"
|-
!xkcd
!Title
!Talk
!Image
!Date<onlyinclude>
{{comicsrow|500|2008-11-05|Election}}
{{comicsrow|499|2008-11-03|Scantron}}
{{comicsrow|498|2008-10-31|Secretary: Part 5|secretary_part_5.png}}
{{comicsrow|497|2008-10-30|Secretary: Part 4|secretary_part_4.png}}
{{comicsrow|496|2008-10-29|Secretary: Part 3|secretary_part_3.png}}
{{comicsrow|495|2008-10-28|Secretary: Part 2|secretary_part_2.png}}
{{comicsrow|494|2008-10-27|Secretary: Part 1|secretary_part_1.png}}
{{comicsrow|493|2008-10-24|Actuarial}}
{{comicsrow|492|2008-10-22|Scrabble}}
{{comicsrow|491|2008-10-20|Twitter}}
{{comicsrow|490|2008-10-17|Morning Routine}}
{{comicsrow|489|2008-10-15|Going West}}
{{comicsrow|488|2008-10-13|Steal This Comic}}
{{comicsrow|487|2008-10-10|Numerical Sex Positions}}
{{comicsrow|486|2008-10-08|I am Not a Ninja}}
{{comicsrow|485|2008-10-06|Depth}}
{{comicsrow|484|2008-10-03|Flash Games}}
{{comicsrow|483|2008-10-01|Fiction Rule of Thumb}}
{{comicsrow|482|2008-09-29|Height}}
{{comicsrow|481|2008-09-26|Listen to Yourself}}
{{comicsrow|480|2008-09-24|Spore}}
{{comicsrow|479|2008-09-22|Tones}}
{{comicsrow|478|2008-09-19|The Staple Madness}}
{{comicsrow|477|2008-09-17|Typewriter}}
{{comicsrow|476|2008-09-15|One-Sided}}
{{comicsrow|475|2008-09-12|Further Boomerang Difficulties}}
{{comicsrow|474|2008-09-10|Turn-On}}
{{comicsrow|473|2008-09-08|Still Raw}}
{{comicsrow|472|2008-09-05|House of Pancakes}}
{{comicsrow|471|2008-09-03|Aversion Fads}}
{{comicsrow|470|2008-09-01|The End is Not for a While}}
{{comicsrow|469|2008-08-29|Improvised}}
{{comicsrow|468|2008-08-27|Fetishes}}
{{comicsrow|467|2008-08-25|X Girls Y Cups}}
{{comicsrow|466|2008-08-22|Moving}}
{{comicsrow|465|2008-08-20|Quantum Teleportation}}
{{comicsrow|464|2008-08-18|RBA}}
{{comicsrow|463|2008-08-15|Voting Machines}}
{{comicsrow|462|2008-08-13|Freemanic Paracusia}}
{{comicsrow|461|2008-08-11|Google Maps}}
{{comicsrow|460|2008-08-08|Paleontology}}
{{comicsrow|459|2008-08-06|Holy Ghost}}
{{comicsrow|458|2008-08-04|Regrets}}
{{comicsrow|457|2008-08-01|Frustration}}
{{comicsrow|456|2008-07-30|Cautionary}}
{{comicsrow|455|2008-07-28|Hats}}
{{comicsrow|454|2008-07-25|Rewiring}}
{{comicsrow|453|2008-07-23|Upcoming Hurricanes}}
{{comicsrow|452|2008-07-21|Mission}}
{{comicsrow|451|2008-07-18|Impostor}}
{{comicsrow|450|2008-07-16|The Sea}}
{{comicsrow|449|2008-07-14|Things Fall Apart}}
{{comicsrow|448|2008-07-11|Good Morning}}
{{comicsrow|447|2008-07-09|Too Old For This Shit}}
{{comicsrow|446|2008-07-07|In Popular Culture}}
{{comicsrow|445|2008-07-04|I Am Not Good with Boomerangs}}
{{comicsrow|444|2008-07-02|Macgyver Gets Lazy}}
{{comicsrow|443|2008-06-30|Know Your Vines}}
{{comicsrow|442|2008-06-27|xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel}}
{{comicsrow|441|2008-06-25|Babies}}
{{comicsrow|440|2008-06-23|Road Rage}}
{{comicsrow|439|2008-06-20|Thinking Ahead}}
{{comicsrow|438|2008-06-18|Internet Argument}}
{{comicsrow|437|2008-06-16|SUV}}
{{comicsrow|436|2008-06-13|How it Happened}}
{{comicsrow|435|2008-06-11|Purity}}
{{comicsrow|434|2008-06-09|xkcd Goes to the Airport}}
{{comicsrow|433|2008-06-06|Journal 5}}
{{comicsrow|432|2008-06-04|Journal 4}}
{{comicsrow|431|2008-06-02|Delivery}}
{{comicsrow|430|2008-05-30|Every Damn Morning}}
{{comicsrow|429|2008-05-28|Fantasy}}
{{comicsrow|428|2008-05-26|Starwatching}}
{{comicsrow|427|2008-05-23|Bad Timing}}
{{comicsrow|426|2008-05-21|Geohashing}}
{{comicsrow|425|2008-05-19|Fortune Cookies}}
{{comicsrow|424|2008-05-16|Security Holes}}
{{comicsrow|423|2008-05-14|Finish Line}}
{{comicsrow|422|2008-05-12|A Better Idea}}
{{comicsrow|421|2008-05-09|Making Hash Browns}}
{{comicsrow|420|2008-05-07|Jealousy}}
{{comicsrow|419|2008-05-05|Forks and Spoons}}
{{comicsrow|418|2008-05-02|Stove Ownership}}
{{comicsrow|417|2008-04-30|The Man Who Fell Sideways}}
{{comicsrow|416|2008-04-28|Zealous Autoconfig}}
{{comicsrow|415|2008-04-25|Restraining Order}}
{{comicsrow|414|2008-04-23|Mistranslations}}
{{comicsrow|413|2008-04-21|New Pet}}
{{comicsrow|412|2008-04-18|Startled}}
{{comicsrow|411|2008-04-16|Techno}}
{{comicsrow|410|2008-04-14|Math Paper}}
{{comicsrow|409|2008-04-11|Electric Skateboard (Double Comic)|electric_skateboard_double_comic.png}}
{{comicsrow|408|2008-04-09|Overqualified}}
{{comicsrow|407|2008-04-07|Cheap GPS}}
{{comicsrow|406|2008-04-04|Venting}}
{{comicsrow|405|2008-04-02|Journal 3}}
{{comicsrow|404|2008-04-01|Not Found}}
{{comicsrow|403|2008-03-31|Convincing Pickup Line}}
{{comicsrow|402|2008-03-28|1,000 Miles North|1000_miles_north.png}}
{{comicsrow|401|2008-03-26|Large Hadron Collider}}
{{comicsrow|400|2008-03-24|Important Life Lesson}}
{{comicsrow|399|2008-03-21|Travelling Salesman Problem}}
{{comicsrow|398|2008-03-19|Tap That Ass}}
{{comicsrow|397|2008-03-17|Unscientific}}
{{comicsrow|396|2008-03-14|The Ring}}
{{comicsrow|395|2008-03-12|Morning}}
{{comicsrow|394|2008-03-10|Kilobyte}}
{{comicsrow|393|2008-03-07|Ultimate Game}}
{{comicsrow|392|2008-03-05|Making Rules}}
{{comicsrow|391|2008-03-03|Anti-Mindvirus|anti_mind_virus.png}}
{{comicsrow|390|2008-02-29|Nightmares}}
{{comicsrow|389|2008-02-27|Keeping Time}}
{{comicsrow|388|2008-02-25|Fuck Grapefruit}}
{{comicsrow|387|2008-02-22|Advanced Technology}}
{{comicsrow|386|2008-02-20|Duty Calls}}
{{comicsrow|385|2008-02-18|How it Works}}
{{comicsrow|384|2008-02-15|The Drake Equation}}
{{comicsrow|383|2008-02-13|Helping}}
{{comicsrow|382|2008-02-11|Trebuchet}}
{{comicsrow|381|2008-02-08|Mobius Battle}}
{{comicsrow|380|2008-02-06|Emoticon}}
{{comicsrow|379|2008-02-04|Forgetting}}
{{comicsrow|378|2008-02-01|Real Programmers}}
{{comicsrow|377|2008-01-30|Journal 2}}
{{comicsrow|376|2008-01-28|Bug}}
{{comicsrow|375|2008-01-25|Pod Bay Doors}}
{{comicsrow|374|2008-01-23|Journal}}
{{comicsrow|373|2008-01-21|The Data So Far}}
{{comicsrow|372|2008-01-18|To Be Wanted}}
{{comicsrow|371|2008-01-16|Compiler Complaint}}
{{comicsrow|370|2008-01-14|Redwall}}
{{comicsrow|369|2008-01-11|Dangers}}
{{comicsrow|368|2008-01-09|Bass}}
{{comicsrow|367|2008-01-07|Fandom}}
{{comicsrow|366|2008-01-04|Your Mom}}
{{comicsrow|365|2008-01-02|Slides}}
{{comicsrow|364|2007-12-31|Responsible Behavior}}
{{comicsrow|363|2007-12-28|Reset}}
{{comicsrow|362|2007-12-26|Blade Runner}}
{{comicsrow|361|2007-12-24|Christmas Back Home}}
{{comicsrow|360|2007-12-21|Writers Strike}}
{{comicsrow|359|2007-12-19|Rock Band}}
{{comicsrow|358|2007-12-17|Loud Party}}
{{comicsrow|357|2007-12-14|Flies}}
{{comicsrow|356|2007-12-12|Nerd Sniping}}
{{comicsrow|355|2007-12-10|Couple}}
{{comicsrow|354|2007-12-07|Startling}}
{{comicsrow|353|2007-12-05|Python}}
{{comicsrow|352|2007-12-03|Far Away}}
{{comicsrow|351|2007-11-30|Trolling}}
{{comicsrow|350|2007-11-28|Network}}
{{comicsrow|349|2007-11-26|Success}}
{{comicsrow|348|2007-11-23|Close to You}}
{{comicsrow|347|2007-11-21|Brick Archway}}
{{comicsrow|346|2007-11-19|Diet Coke+Mentos|diet_coke_mentos.png}}
{{comicsrow|345|2007-11-16|1337: Part 5|1337_part_5.png}}
{{comicsrow|344|2007-11-15|1337: Part 4|1337_part_4.png}}
{{comicsrow|343|2007-11-14|1337: Part 3|1337_part_3.png}}
{{comicsrow|342|2007-11-13|1337: Part 2|1337_part_2.png}}
{{comicsrow|341|2007-11-12|1337: Part 1|1337_part_1.png}}
{{comicsrow|340|2007-11-09|Fight}}
{{comicsrow|339|2007-11-07|Classic}}
{{comicsrow|338|2007-11-05|Future}}
{{comicsrow|337|2007-11-02|Post Office Showdown}}
{{comicsrow|336|2007-10-31|Priorities}}
{{comicsrow|335|2007-10-29|Mattress}}
{{comicsrow|334|2007-10-26|Wasteland}}
{{comicsrow|333|2007-10-24|Getting Out of Hand}}
{{comicsrow|332|2007-10-22|Gyroscopes}}
{{comicsrow|331|2007-10-19|Photoshops}}
{{comicsrow|330|2007-10-17|Indecision}}
{{comicsrow|329|2007-10-15|Turing Test}}
{{comicsrow|328|2007-10-12|Eggs}}
{{comicsrow|327|2007-10-10|Exploits of a Mom}}
{{comicsrow|326|2007-10-08|Effect an Effect}}
{{comicsrow|325|2007-10-05|A-Minus-Minus}}
{{comicsrow|324|2007-10-03|Tapping}}
{{comicsrow|323|2007-10-01|Ballmer Peak}}
{{comicsrow|322|2007-09-28|Pix Plz}}
{{comicsrow|321|2007-09-26|Thighs}}
{{comicsrow|320|2007-09-24|28-Hour Day|28_hour_day.png}}
{{comicsrow|319|2007-09-21|Engineering Hubris}}
{{comicsrow|318|2007-09-19|Nostalgia}}
{{comicsrow|317|2007-09-17|That Lovin' Feelin'|that_lovin_feelin.png}}
{{comicsrow|316|2007-09-14|Loud Sex}}
{{comicsrow|315|2007-09-12|Braille}}
{{comicsrow|314|2007-09-10|Dating Pools}}
{{comicsrow|313|2007-09-07|Insomnia}}
{{comicsrow|312|2007-09-05|With Apologies to Robert Frost}}
{{comicsrow|311|2007-09-03|Action Movies}}
{{comicsrow|310|2007-08-31|Commitment}}
{{comicsrow|309|2007-08-29|Shopping Teams}}
{{comicsrow|308|2007-08-27|Interesting Life}}
{{comicsrow|307|2007-08-24|Excessive Quotation}}
{{comicsrow|306|2007-08-22|Orphaned Projects}}
{{comicsrow|305|2007-08-20|Rule 34}}
{{comicsrow|304|2007-08-17|Nighttime Stories|nighttime_stories.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|303|2007-08-15|Compiling}}
{{comicsrow|302|2007-08-13|Names}}
{{comicsrow|301|2007-08-10|Limerick}}
{{comicsrow|300|2007-08-08|Facebook}}
{{comicsrow|299|2007-08-06|Aeris Dies}}
{{comicsrow|298|2007-08-03|Tesla Coil}}
{{comicsrow|297|2007-08-01|Lisp Cycles}}
{{comicsrow|296|2007-07-30|Tony Hawk}}
{{comicsrow|295|2007-07-27|DNE}}
{{comicsrow|294|2007-07-25|Bookstore}}
{{comicsrow|293|2007-07-23|RTFM}}
{{comicsrow|292|2007-07-20|goto}}
{{comicsrow|291|2007-07-18|Dignified}}
{{comicsrow|290|2007-07-16|Fucking Blue Shells}}
{{comicsrow|289|2007-07-13|Alone}}
{{comicsrow|288|2007-07-11|Elevator|elevator.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|287|2007-07-09|NP-Complete|np_complete.png}}
{{comicsrow|286|2007-07-06|All Your Base}}
{{comicsrow|285|2007-07-04|Wikipedian Protester}}
{{comicsrow|284|2007-07-02|Tape Measure}}
{{comicsrow|283|2007-06-29|Projection}}
{{comicsrow|282|2007-06-27|Organic Fuel}}
{{comicsrow|281|2007-06-25|Online Package Tracking}}
{{comicsrow|280|2007-06-22|Librarians}}
{{comicsrow|279|2007-06-20|Pickup Lines}}
{{comicsrow|278|2007-06-18|Black Hat Support}}
{{comicsrow|277|2007-06-15|Long Light}}
{{comicsrow|276|2007-06-13|Fixed Width}}
{{comicsrow|275|2007-06-11|Thoughts}}
{{comicsrow|274|2007-06-08|With Apologies to The Who}}
{{comicsrow|273|2007-06-06|Electromagnetic Spectrum}}
{{comicsrow|272|2007-06-04|Linux User at Best Buy}}
{{comicsrow|271|2007-06-01|Powers of One}}
{{comicsrow|270|2007-05-30|Merlin}}
{{comicsrow|269|2007-05-28|TCMP}}
{{comicsrow|268|2007-05-25|Choices: Part 5|choices_part_5.png}}
{{comicsrow|267|2007-05-24|Choices: Part 4|choices_part_4.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|266|2007-05-23|Choices: Part 3|choices_part_3.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|265|2007-05-21|Choices: Part 2|choices_part_2.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|264|2007-05-21|Choices: Part 1|choices_part_1.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|263|2007-05-18|Certainty}}
{{comicsrow|262|2007-05-16|IN UR REALITY}}
{{comicsrow|261|2007-05-14|Regarding Mussolini}}
{{comicsrow|260|2007-05-11|The Glass Necklace}}
{{comicsrow|259|2007-05-09|Clichéd Exchanges|cliched_exchanges.png}}
{{comicsrow|258|2007-05-07|Conspiracy Theories}}
{{comicsrow|257|2007-05-04|Code Talkers}}
{{comicsrow|256|2007-05-02|Online Communities|online_communities_small.png}}
{{comicsrow|255|2007-04-30|Subjectivity}}
{{comicsrow|254|2007-04-27|Comic Fragment|comic_fragment.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|253|2007-04-25|Highway Engineer Pranks}}
{{comicsrow|252|2007-04-23|Escalators}}
{{comicsrow|251|2007-04-20|CD Tray Fight}}
{{comicsrow|250|2007-04-18|Snopes}}
{{comicsrow|249|2007-04-16|Chess Photo}}
{{comicsrow|248|2007-04-13|Hypotheticals}}
{{comicsrow|247|2007-04-11|Factoring the Time}}
{{comicsrow|246|2007-04-09|Labyrinth Puzzle}}
{{comicsrow|245|2007-04-06|Floor Tiles}}
{{comicsrow|244|2007-04-04|Tabletop Roleplaying}}
{{comicsrow|243|2007-04-02|Appropriate Term}}
{{comicsrow|242|2007-03-30|The Difference}}
{{comicsrow|241|2007-03-28|Battle Room}}
{{comicsrow|240|2007-03-26|Dream Girl}}
{{comicsrow|239|2007-03-23|Blagofaire}}
{{comicsrow|238|2007-03-21|Pet Peeve 114}}
{{comicsrow|237|2007-03-19|Keyboards are Disgusting}}
{{comicsrow|236|2007-03-16|Collecting Double-Takes|collecting_double_takes.png}}
{{comicsrow|235|2007-03-14|Kite|kite.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|234|2007-03-12|Escape Artist}}
{{comicsrow|233|2007-03-09|A New CAPTCHA Approach}}
{{comicsrow|232|2007-03-07|Chess Enlightenment}}
{{comicsrow|231|2007-03-05|Cat Proximity}}
{{comicsrow|230|2007-03-02|Hamiltonian}}
{{comicsrow|229|2007-02-28|Graffiti}}
{{comicsrow|228|2007-02-26|Resonance}}
{{comicsrow|227|2007-02-23|Color Codes}}
{{comicsrow|226|2007-02-21|Swingset}}
{{comicsrow|225|2007-02-19|Open Source}}
{{comicsrow|224|2007-02-16|Lisp|lisp.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|223|2007-02-14|Valentine's Day|valentines_day.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|222|2007-02-12|Small Talk}}
{{comicsrow|221|2007-02-09|Random Number}}
{{comicsrow|220|2007-02-07|Philosophy}}
{{comicsrow|219|2007-02-05|Blanket Fort}}
{{comicsrow|218|2007-02-02|Nintendo Surgeon}}
{{comicsrow|217|2007-01-31|e to the pi Minus pi}}
{{comicsrow|216|2007-01-29|Romantic Drama Equation}}
{{comicsrow|215|2007-01-26|Letting Go}}
{{comicsrow|214|2007-01-24|The Problem with Wikipedia}}
{{comicsrow|213|2007-01-22|Ghostbusters Marathon}}
{{comicsrow|212|2007-01-19|Brain}}
{{comicsrow|211|2007-01-17|Hamster Ball Heist}}
{{comicsrow|210|2007-01-15|90's Flowchart|90s_flowchart.png}}
{{comicsrow|209|2007-01-12|Kayak}}
{{comicsrow|208|2007-01-10|Regular Expressions}}
{{comicsrow|207|2007-01-08|What xkcd Means}}
{{comicsrow|206|2007-01-05|Reno Rhymes}}
{{comicsrow|205|2007-01-03|Candy Button Paper}}
{{comicsrow|204|2007-01-01|America}}
{{comicsrow|203|2006-12-29|Hallucinations}}
{{comicsrow|202|2006-12-27|YouTube}}
{{comicsrow|201|2006-12-25|Christmas GPS}}
{{comicsrow|200|2006-12-22|Bill Nye}}
{{comicsrow|199|2006-12-20|Right-Hand Rule|right_hand_rule.png}}
{{comicsrow|198|2006-12-18|Perspective}}
{{comicsrow|197|2006-12-15|Ninja Turtles}}
{{comicsrow|196|2006-12-13|Command Line Fu}}
{{comicsrow|195|2006-12-11|Map of the Internet|map_of_the_internet.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|194|2006-12-08|Penises}}
{{comicsrow|193|2006-12-06|The Perfect Sound}}
{{comicsrow|192|2006-12-04|Working for Google}}
{{comicsrow|191|2006-12-01|Lojban}}
{{comicsrow|190|2006-11-29|IPoD}}
{{comicsrow|189|2006-11-27|Exercise}}
{{comicsrow|188|2006-11-24|Reload}}
{{comicsrow|187|2006-11-22|The Familiar}}
{{comicsrow|186|2006-11-20|Console Lines}}
{{comicsrow|185|2006-11-17|Wikifriends}}
{{comicsrow|184|2006-11-15|Matrix Transform}}
{{comicsrow|183|2006-11-13|Snacktime Rules}}
{{comicsrow|182|2006-11-10|Nash}}
{{comicsrow|181|2006-11-08|Interblag}}
{{comicsrow|180|2006-11-06|Canada}}
{{comicsrow|179|2006-11-03|e to the pi times i}}
{{comicsrow|178|2006-11-01|Not Really Into Pokemon}}
{{comicsrow|177|2006-10-30|Alice and Bob}}
{{comicsrow|176|2006-10-27|Before Sunrise}}
{{comicsrow|175|2006-10-25|Automatic Doors}}
{{comicsrow|174|2006-10-23|That's What SHE Said|thats_what_she_said.png}}
{{comicsrow|173|2006-10-20|Movie Seating}}
{{comicsrow|172|2006-10-18|Skateboarding is Not a Crime}}
{{comicsrow|171|2006-10-16|String Theory}}
{{comicsrow|170|2006-10-13|Turn Back}}
{{comicsrow|169|2006-10-11|Words that End in GRY}}
{{comicsrow|168|2006-10-09|Reverse Euphemisms}}
{{comicsrow|167|2006-10-06|Nihilism}}
{{comicsrow|166|2006-10-04|Misusing Slang}}
{{comicsrow|165|2006-10-02|Turn Signals}}
{{comicsrow|164|2006-09-29|Playing Devil's Advocate to Win|global_warming.png}}
{{comicsrow|163|2006-09-27|Donald Knuth}}
{{comicsrow|162|2006-09-25|Angular Momentum}}
{{comicsrow|161|2006-09-22|Accident}}
{{comicsrow|160|2006-09-20|Penny Arcade Parody}}
{{comicsrow|159|2006-09-20|Boombox}}
{{comicsrow|158|2006-09-18|Six Months}}
{{comicsrow|157|2006-09-15|Filler Art}}
{{comicsrow|156|2006-09-13|Commented}}
{{comicsrow|155|2006-09-11|Search History}}
{{comicsrow|154|2006-09-08|Beliefs|beliefs.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|153|2006-09-06|Cryptography}}
{{comicsrow|152|2006-09-03|Hamster Ball}}
{{comicsrow|151|2006-09-01|Mario}}
{{comicsrow|150|2006-08-29|Grownups}}
{{comicsrow|149|2006-08-28|Sandwich}}
{{comicsrow|148|2006-08-25|Mispronouncing}}
{{comicsrow|147|2006-08-23|A Way So Familiar}}
{{comicsrow|146|2006-08-21|Join Myspace}}
{{comicsrow|145|2006-08-18|Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics|dinosaur_comics.png}}
{{comicsrow|144|2006-08-17|Parody Week: A Softer World|a_softer_robot.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|143|2006-08-16|Parody Week: TFD and Natalie Dee|tfd_nataliedee.png}}
{{comicsrow|142|2006-08-15|Parody Week: Megatokyo|megaxkcd.png}}
{{comicsrow|141|2006-08-14|Parody Week: Achewood|achewood.png}}
{{comicsrow|140|2006-08-11|Delicious}}
{{comicsrow|139|2006-08-09|I Have Owned Two Electric Skateboards|electric_skateboards.png}}
{{comicsrow|138|2006-08-07|Pointers}}
{{comicsrow|137|2006-08-04|Dreams}}
{{comicsrow|136|2006-08-02|Science Fair}}
{{comicsrow|135|2006-07-31|Substitute}}
{{comicsrow|134|2006-07-28|Myspace}}
{{comicsrow|133|2006-07-26|The Raven|the_raven.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|132|2006-07-24|Music Knowledge}}
{{comicsrow|131|2006-07-21|Fans}}
{{comicsrow|130|2006-07-19|Julia Stiles|julia_stiles.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|129|2006-07-17|Content Protection}}
{{comicsrow|128|2006-07-14|dPain over dt|dPain_over_dt.png}}
{{comicsrow|127|2006-07-12|The Fast and the Furious|the_fast_and_the_furious.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|126|2006-07-10|Red Spiders Cometh|red_spiders_cometh.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|125|2006-07-07|Marketing Interview}}
{{comicsrow|124|2006-07-05|Blogofractal}}
{{comicsrow|123|2006-07-03|Centrifugal Force}}
{{comicsrow|122|2006-06-30|Quirky Girls}}
{{comicsrow|121|2006-06-28|Balloon}}
{{comicsrow|120|2006-06-26|Dating Service}}
{{comicsrow|119|2006-06-23|Worst Band Name Ever|hedgeclipper.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|118|2006-06-21|50 Ways}}
{{comicsrow|117|2006-06-19|Pong}}
{{comicsrow|116|2006-06-16|City|city.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|115|2006-06-14|Meerkat|meerkat.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|114|2006-06-12|Computational Linguists}}
{{comicsrow|113|2006-06-09|Riemann-Zeta|riemann-zeta.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|112|2006-06-07|Baring My Heart}}
{{comicsrow|111|2006-06-05|Firefox and Witchcraft - The Connection?|firefox_wicca.png}}
{{comicsrow|110|2006-06-02|Clark Gable|clark_gable.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|109|2006-05-31|Spoiler Alert}}
{{comicsrow|108|2006-05-29|M.C. Hammer Slide|mc_hammer_slide.png}}
{{comicsrow|107|2006-05-26|Snakes on a Plane! 2|snakes_on_a_plane_2.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|106|2006-05-24|Wright Brothers|wright_brothers.png}}
{{comicsrow|105|2006-05-22|Parallel Universe|parallel_universe.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|104|2006-05-19|Find You|find_you.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|103|2006-05-17|Moral Relativity|moral_relativity.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|102|2006-05-15|Back to the Future|back_to_the_future.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|101|2006-05-12|Laser Scope|laser_scope.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|100|2006-05-10|Family Circus|family_circus.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|99|2006-05-08|Binary Heart|binary_heart.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|98|2006-05-05|Fall Apart|fall_apart.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|97|2006-05-03|A Simple Plan|a_simple_plan.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|96|2006-05-01|Mail}}
{{comicsrow|95|2006-04-28|The Sierpinski Penis Game|the_sierpinski_penis_game.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|94|2006-04-26|Profile Creation Flowchart|profile_flowchart.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|93|2006-04-24|Jeremy Irons|jeremy_irons.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|92|2006-04-21|Sunrise|sunrise.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|91|2006-04-19|Pwned}}
{{comicsrow|90|2006-04-17|Jacket|jacket.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|89|2006-04-14|Gravitational Mass|gravitational_mass.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|88|2006-04-12|Escher Bracelet|escher_wristband.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|87|2006-04-10|Velociraptors|velociraptors.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|86|2006-04-07|Digital Rights Management|sony_microsoft_mpaa_riaa_apple.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|85|2006-04-05|Paths|paths.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|84|2006-04-03|National Language|national_language.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|83|2006-03-31|Katamari|katamari.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|82|2006-03-29|Frame|frame.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|81|2006-03-27|Attention, shopper|attention_shopper.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|80|2006-03-24|My Other Car|other_car.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|79|2006-03-22|Iambic Pentameter|iambic_pentameter.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|78|2006-03-20|Garfield|garfield.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|77|2006-03-17|Bored with the Internet|bored_with_the_internet.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|76|2006-03-15|Familiar|familiar.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|75|2006-03-13|Curse Levels|curse_levels.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|74|2006-03-10|Su Doku|su_doku.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|73|2006-03-08|Zeppelin|zeppelin.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|72|2006-03-06|Classhole|classhole.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|71|2006-03-03|In the Trees|in_the_trees.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|70|2006-03-01|Guitar Hero|guitar_hero.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|69|2006-02-27|Pillow Talk|pillow_talk.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|68|2006-02-24|Five Thirty|five_thirty.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|67|2006-02-22|Nerd Girls|nerd_girls.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|66|2006-02-20|Abusive Astronomy|abusive_astronomy.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|65|2006-02-17|Banter|banter.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|64|2006-02-15|Solar Plexus|solar_plexus.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|63|2006-02-13|Valentine - Heart|valentine.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|62|2006-02-10|Valentine - Karnaugh|valentine_karnaugh.png}}
{{comicsrow|61|2006-02-08|Stacey's Dad|staceys_dad.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|60|2006-02-06|Super Bowl|super_bowl.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|59|2006-02-03|Graduation|graduation.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|58|2006-02-01|Why Do You Love Me?|why_do_you_love_me.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|57|2006-01-31|Wait For Me|wait_for_me.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|56|2006-01-30|The Cure|the_cure.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|55|2006-01-27|Useless|useless.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|54|2006-01-25|Science|science.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|53|2006-01-23|Hobby|hobby.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|52|2006-01-21|Secret Worlds|secret_worlds.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|51|2006-01-18|Malaria|malaria.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|50|2006-01-17|Penny Arcade|penny_arcade.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|49|2006-01-14|Want|want.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|48|2006-01-12|Found|found.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|47|2006-01-09|Counter-Red Spiders|counter-red-spiders.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|46|2006-01-06|Secrets|secrets.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|45|2006-01-04|Schrodinger|schrodinger.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|44|2005-10-19|Love|love.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|43|2005-12-02|Red Spiders 2|red_spiders_2.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|42|2005-11-28|Geico|geico.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|41|2005-11-23|Old Drawing|unspeakable_pun.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|40|2005-10-21|Light|light.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|39|2005-12-05|Bowl|bowl.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|38|2005-11-30|Apple Jacks|apple_jacks.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|37|2005-10-28|Hyphen|hyphen.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|36|Unknown|Scientists|scientists.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|35|2005-11-26|Sheep|sheep.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|34|2005-11-09|Flowers|flowers.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|33|2005-11-21|Self-reference|self-reference.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|32|2005-11-19|Pillar|pillar.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|31|2005-11-16|Barrel - Part 5|barrel_part_5.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|30|2005-11-07|Donner|donner.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|29|2005-11-11|Hitler|hitler.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|28|2005-11-14|Elefino|elefino.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|27|2005-11-04|Meat Cereals|meat_cereals.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|26|2005-11-02|Fourier|fourier.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|25|2005-10-31|Barrel - Part 4|barrel_part_4.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|24|2005-09-30|Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey|godel_escher_kurthalsey.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|23|2005-10-26|T-shirts|t-shirts.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|22|2005-10-24|Barrel - Part 3|barrel_whirlpool.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|21|2005-10-17|Kepler|kepler.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|20|2005-10-14|Ferret|ferret.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|19|2005-10-12|George Clinton|george_clinton.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|18|2005-10-10|Snapple|snapple.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|17|2005-10-07|What If|what_if.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|16|2005-10-04|Monty Python -- Enough|monty_python.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|15|2005-10-02|Just Alerting You|just_alerting_you.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|14|2005-09-30|Copyright|copyright.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|13|2005-09-30|Canyon|canyon_small.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|12|Unknown|Poisson|poisson.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|11|2005-09-30|Barrel - Part 2|barrel_mommies.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|10|2005-09-30|Pi Equals|pi.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|9|2005-09-30|Serenity is coming out tomorrow|firefly.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|8|2005-09-30|Red spiders|red_spiders_small.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|7|2005-09-30|Girl sleeping (Sketch -- 11th grade Spanish class)|girl_sleeping_noline_(1).jpg}}
{{comicsrow|6|2005-09-30|Irony|irony_color.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|5|Unknown|Blown apart|blownapart_color.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|4|2005-09-30|Landscape (sketch)|landscape_cropped_(1).jpg}}
{{comicsrow|3|2005-09-30|Island (sketch)|island_color.jpg}}
{{comicsrow|2|2005-09-30|Petit Trees (sketch)|tree_cropped_(1).jpg}}
{{comicsrow|1|2005-09-30|Barrel - Part 1|barrel_cropped_(1).jpg}}</onlyinclude>
|}

[[Category:Comics| ]]

Talk:404: Not Found

2016-08-15T13:26:01Z

Artyer: Wikipedia section was removed, added link to oldid

Maybe it was skipped because he had to. In some, if not all websites, there's the 404.html file that is displayed when there's a 404 error (example: /var/www/404.html/), so it would have shown the '404' page that existed the whole time, because xkcd.com/404 would have shown 404.html.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.73|173.245.55.73]] 22:58, 2 April 2014 (UTC)
: But there's a 401, a 402, a 403, 405, a 451. If it was done because an error code got in the way, he would have had to skip these too (and going to them manually would show the respective error pages). Also, comic 404's page appears to be the server's default 404 page, which probably isn't even stored in the same directory as the comics. [[User:Hppavilion1|Hppavilion1]] ([[User talk:Hppavilion1|talk]]) 21:28, 10 August 2016 (UTC)

April 1st, 2008 was a Tuesday, so no xkcd comic would have normally come out then. For that week, [[403|xkcd 403]] was Monday, March 31st, 2008, [[405|xkcd 405]] was Wednesday, April 2nd, and [[406|xkcd 406]] was Friday, April 4th. 404 was just skipped. It is also skipped in the "previous comic"/"next comic" links on his site. I don't think it was an April Fools gag. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 19:03, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

:Well, I'd say that it certainy might be. In any case, it's an interesting observation! [[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 11:22, 23 November 2012 (UTC)

:Then again, his skipping from 403 to 405 (making 404 come up "404: Not Found") may have been his April Fool joke that year. The timing may have been coincidental, but I don't blame him for taking advantage of it. --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]]) 23:16, 15 April 2013 (UTC)

::No, because there was already another April's Fool joke in 2008: xkcd, Questionable Content and Dinosaur Comics rotated their content ([https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dinosaur_Comics&oldid=680776133#April_Fool.27s_jokes]). However the timing does seem quite suspicious. -- [[User:Xorg|Xorg]] ([[User talk:Xorg|talk]]) 21:52, 16 April 2013 (UTC)

This entry isn't on the list of all comics 1-500, and I made the mistake of adding this comic to the list. I was about to add an explanation, with a link to a webcomic about it, when I found this page. I think that this page should be liked in the all comics 1-500 list so that others don't make the same mistake and so that curious people can easily get to it. [[User:Rylon|Rylon]] ([[User talk:Rylon|talk]]) 18:10, 17 July 2013 (UTC)
:The link is changed.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 18:55, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

;The hidden link
Nobody did find that hidden link? A shame. Just a simple test on this [http://www.xkcd.com/test/ http://www.xkcd.com/test/] gives me a link to this comic: [[1335: Now]]. And this page still appears like it was on the original release date on February 26 this year. I'm pretty sure there is still a link, some avant-garde, and Randall still giggles about that nobody did find this within six years. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 23:12, 10 March 2014 (UTC)
: Actually, you may be interested to note that xkcd.com/test now links to the Lorenz comic (#1350). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.73|108.162.219.73]] 15:16, 16 April 2014 (UTC)
: It keeps changing then... Today it was [[1367: Installing]]. It was 12, then 15 and now 19 days between the test and the day the link pointed at it. [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 15:00, 31 May 2014 (UTC)
: Now it's [[1446: Landing]]. --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.182|199.27.128.182]] 22:56, 25 November 2014 (UTC)
::[[1485: Friendship]] now --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:52, 1 April 2015 (UTC)
::And now it links to [[1664: Mycology]] [[User:Zorlax the Mighty|Zorlax the Mighty would like to connect on Linkedin]] ([[User talk:Zorlax the Mighty|talk]]) 21:52, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

Template:comic discussion

2016-08-15T13:07:09Z

Artyer: Fixed again...

<noinclude>
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{{#ifeq:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{MediaWiki:mainpage}}|
|[[File:comment.png|link=]] [{{fullurl:{{TALKPAGENAME}}|action=edit}} '''add a comment!'''] ⋅ [[File:comment.png|link=]] [{{fullurl:{{TALKPAGENAME}}|action=edit&section=new}} '''add a topic (use sparingly)!'''] ⋅ [[File:Icons-mini-action refresh blue.gif|link=]] [{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|action=purge}} '''refresh comments!''']<h1>Discussion</h1><div style="border:1px solid grey; background:#eee; padding:1em;">
{{#ifexist:{{TALKPAGENAME}}
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2016-08-15T13:04:43Z

Artyer: Fixed blank logic

<noinclude>
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{{#ifeq:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{MediaWiki:mainpage}}|
|[[File:comment.png|link=]] [{{fullurl:{{TALKPAGENAME}}|action=edit}} '''add a comment!'''] ⋅ [[File:comment.png|link=]] [{{fullurl:{{TALKPAGENAME}}|action=edit&section=new}} '''add a topic (use sparingly)!'''] ⋅ [[File:Icons-mini-action refresh blue.gif|link=]] [{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|action=purge}} '''refresh comments!''']<h1>Discussion</h1><div style="border:1px solid grey; background:#eee; padding:1em;">
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2016-08-15T13:02:18Z

Artyer: Merged with Template:comic_discussion/Assist

<noinclude>
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{{#ifeq:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{MediaWiki:mainpage}}|
|[[File:comment.png|link=]] [{{fullurl:{{TALKPAGENAME}}|action=edit}} '''add a comment!'''] ⋅ [[File:comment.png|link=]] [{{fullurl:{{TALKPAGENAME}}|action=edit&section=new}} '''add a topic (use sparingly)!'''] ⋅ [[File:Icons-mini-action refresh blue.gif|link=]] [{{fullurl:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|action=purge}} '''refresh comments!''']<h1>Discussion</h1><div style="border:1px solid grey; background:#eee; padding:1em;">
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404: Not Found

2016-08-14T23:11:43Z

Artyer: Added image

{{comic
| number = 404
| date = April 1, 2008
| title = Not Found
| image = not found.png
}}

==Explanation==
There is no xkcd comic numbered 404. Randall did not skip a day, however; he put [[405: Journal 3|405]] up on April 2 (2008), which leads some to see the 404 as an April Fool's joke.

"404" is the HTTP Response Code for "{{w|HTTP 404|Not Found}}". [[Randall]] deliberately skipped comic number 404 in xkcd. Therefore, when people go to {{xkcd|404}} they get a "404 Not Found" error page. (This does not work in all browsers. In newer versions of Internet Explorer a message about the link being broken occurs without the 404 code.)

[[Randall]] has stated that he considers 404 [http://plus.google.com/111588569124648292310/posts/j6w9DkYApya an official, actual comic, albeit a rather avant-garde one], and that for a time he made it possible to find it using the "random" button on xkcd.com.

It may seem like a random coincidence that {{xkcd|403}} came out the day before April 1st 2008. And for sure it must have been by chance that it would come out close to that date when Randall began posting on xkcd. But when Randall noticed this fact, at some point prior to that date, he would, however, have had a chance to influence the release date. In November 2007, less than half a year before this April 1st, he released the [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:1337 1337 series] over five consecutive days. That would have moved the release date of 403 from Friday the 4th of April to the Monday it was actually released - making it possible to skip comic 404 as if it came out on April 1st without skipping a comic on a normal release day. There was at least one other series in 2007 to use all five day of a week ([http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Choices Choices]), so maybe he had this planned for a long time?

It is perhaps an interesting point that the very next comic, {{xkcd|405}} includes the line "So, you found me after all."

==Trivia==
*The web comic Comic JK made this spoof of this missing comic in total xkcd style:
**The [http://comicjk.com/comic.php/404 comic 404] that could have been.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:No title text]]

File:not found.png

2016-08-14T23:11:10Z

Artyer: Page displayed when page is not found on Firefox and Chrome.

Page displayed when page is not found on Firefox and Chrome.

1024: Error Code

2016-08-14T21:59:15Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1024
| date = March 2, 2012
| title = Error Code
| image = Error code.png
| titletext = It has a section on motherboard beep codes that lists, for each beep pattern, a song that syncs up well with it.
}}

==Explanation==
Complex computer programs often incorporate a numbering system for errors that are anticipated might occur. This way, the code can be referenced to tech support so that there is some feedback from the program as to what is wrong (akin to a car dashboard with multiple lights telling you if you have a battery problem or an engine problem or a cooling problem, etc.) Most people have seen at least one error code in their life. Perhaps the most famous error code is seen in web browsers, [[404]] (not found). Another code is 403 (forbidden).

The guy at the computer gets the error "-41", but cannot tell even what program it comes from. So, the other guy decides to look up the code in a book apparently called ''Error Codes''. The book then indicates to go to a lake instead of how to resolve the computer problem. Which seems like a great solution because it would be very relaxing! The panel with the image of the lake is fairly rare as far as xkcd comics go, in that it is approaching a photorealistic picture.

The beep codes referenced in the title text refers to the error codes produced by motherboards. Because the motherboard is sort of the "heart" of the computer, the designers apparently did not want to rely on any form of error display that might be compromised by the error itself (i.e. a visual display). Instead, motherboards typically have a code consisting of beeps from the system "PC" speaker which is expected to work without error in most situations, as it's wired directly to the motherboard. In a sort of {{w|Morse code|morse-code}}-type system, certain lengths and numbers of beeps refer to different errors like memory problems, video card problems, etc. The one quick beep that occurs on boot sequences is the POST (Power On Self-Test) beep, which detects vital parts of the system, like motherboard, memory, monitor, etc. The beep indicates that everything necessary to boot is present. Anyone who has built a few computers is probably familiar with less happy beep sequences.

It is possible [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] wanted comic number 1024 to be about computers because 1024 is a significant number in computer systems: it is exactly 210, and as such is sometimes used instead of 1000 as the power constant for file sizes for the sake of easier binary arithmetic. This was referenced in [[1000: 1000 Comics]].

==Transcript==
:[A guy sits at a computer, while a friend takes a book off a shelf behind him.]
:Computer guy: "Error -41"? That's helpful. It doesn't even say which program it's from!
:Friend: -41? I'll look it up...

:[The friend looks at the book.]
:Friend: It says -41 is: "Sit by a lake."

:[The two walk.]

:[The two sit down.]

:[A large, in-color painting of a lake with pond lilies.]

:[The two are still sitting.]
:Computer guy: I don't know where you got that book, but I like it.
:Friend: Hasn't been wrong yet.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

Bitcoin address

2016-08-14T17:37:07Z

Artyer:

Just above the "[[footnote]]", at the bottom of the xkcd, is tiny print reading:

BTC 1FhCLQK2ZXtCUQDtG98p6fVH7S6mxAsEey

The later portion (bitcoin address) also used to appear at {{xkcd|bitcoin/|xkcd.com/bitcoin/}}.
"BTC" is the abbreviation for {{w|bitcoin}}.

This is apparently xkcd's bitcoin address, perhaps the high-tech equivalent of a tip-jar. Details about this can be seen in [http://blockchain.info/address/14FHqYSgAi39CEJksUJJsK8JzJzyqFpLVk several] [https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5686.0;wap2 places].

Now, {{xkcd|bitcoin/|xkcd.com/bitcoin/}} says [http://blockchain.info/address/14Tr4HaKkKuC1Lmpr2YMAuYVZRWqAdRTcr <code>14Tr4HaKkKuC1Lmpr2YMAuYVZRWqAdRTcr</code>]. This BTC address may belong to xkcd{{Citation needed}}. Until confirmed, do ''not'' donate, as it may be that the page has been maliciously modified as the footnote has not been changed. Before those two adresses, it used to say [http://blockchain.info/address/1Lg2rvxbBPC8jp2YJoV5xL7sdyTjueMUot <code>1Lg2rvxbBPC8jp2YJoV5xL7sdyTjueMUot</code>].

[[Category:Meta]]

1144: Tags

2016-08-12T23:54:06Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1144
| date = December 7, 2012
| title = Tags
| image = tags.png
| titletext = <A>: Like </a>this.&nbsp;
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|HTML}} is a markup language used in web development, and is the subject of this comic. The comic employs multiple poor HTML practices while asking the rhetorical question of how best to annoy web developers, effectively answering the question that it poses.

First, in HTML, all tags should be matched with both an open and close tag of the same type <code><div>Like this</div></code>. Before HTML 4.01, all tags were uppercase (technically elements were uppercase and attributes were lowercase "to improve readability" [http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-html40-19980424/about.html#h-1.2.1]) to make it easier on the browser to parse what was markup and what was content on the page. As is the case with nearly every change to the HTML specification, many developers slowly got lazy and stopped making every tag uppercase forcing browser developers to check for both upper and lowercase as they parsed the markup. When the specification was bumped to XHTML 1.0 it stated that no one should use uppercase tags any more, everything should be lowercase.

Another basic idea of HTML is that all tags, or elements, must be properly nested — although they have slightly different meanings, the words "elements" and "tags" are generally used interchangeably. That is, anything inside a div must be closed before the div is closed.

{| class="wikitable" |
! Correct
! Incorrect
|-
|
<div>
<ol>
<li>Correctly nested</li>
</ol>
</div>
|
<div>
<ol>
<li>Incorrectly nested</li>
</div>
</ol>
|-
|}
The rules of proper nesting also put restrictions on which tags can be placed where — "block" elements, such as <code><div></code> cannot be placed inside "inline" elements, such as <code></code>, and inline elements must be placed inside a block element of some kind. Thus, <code><div></code> is forbidden, even if the tags are closed in the proper order.

Further, web developers make a distinction between ''semantic'' and ''structural'' elements. Semantic elements contain a clue in their name as to what kind of an element they are — for example, an <code><article></code> tag contains an article, such as a blog post or news article, while an <code><ol></code> tag contains an '''o'''rdered '''l'''ist. (It's wise to note that this is not an absolute rule; it's ''possible'' to put non-article content in an <code><article></code>, it's just not recommended.) Semantic tags do not, however, indicate how their contents are to be displayed; your browser might display an <code><article></code> in the default font, layout, and placement, while mine, a {{w|screen reader}}, might ignore everything on the page <code><article></code>s, and read <code><article></code>s in a [[462|soothing voice]].

Structural tags, on the other hand, give no clues as to what they contain; they just indicate how a web page is to be laid out. <code></code> and <code><div></code> are structural tags; they can contain anything. Their definitions in HTML simply indicate that <code><div></code> is a block tag (it can affect both what the text looks like and where it is on the page; by default, it is displayed in a separate block from the rest of the text in the page, and has at least one line break before and after its display) and <code></code> is an inline tag: it affects what its text looks like, but not where it is on the page. Without additional attributes, it's impossible for a browser to tell what's supposed to be inside a <code><div></code> or a <code></code>, which means that my screen reader can't just pluck out the blog posts and read those.

Currently, the standard of usage is shifting toward using semantic tags over structural tags, since they provide more information to browsers and people reading the source code of web pages. HTML5, the most recent version of the standard web development markup language, is introducing many semantically meaningful tags that can be styled using {{w|Cascading Style Sheets|CSS}} to follow the same behavior as a div or span, but that are easier to understand when reading the markup or parsing it with a non-standard browser. For example, this is in a span and <div style="background: #eeeeee;">this is in a div.</div>

The title text makes reference to <code>&nbsp;</code>, which is the {{w|HTML#Character and entity references|HTML escape code}} for {{w|non-breaking space}} which is a type of space that will keep two words together, and will not allow word wrapping to separate them. If the words come at the end of a displayed line, how this is handled depends on the browser and on the element's styling; some browsers and styles will force the connected words onto a new line, while others will "overflow" the edge of the container to accommodate the linked words. This is useful, for example, for keeping units with a number so it is easy to spot 100 km instead of needing to hunt for 100 km. Using a non-breaking space at the end of a line, without another word on its trailing end, is only useful in extremely rare and limited circumstances, and does not generally have a purpose.

The title text also uses an <code><A></code> tag, seemingly to indicate an answer. In fact, <code><A></code> is an anchor tag, which creates {{w|hyperlink}}s. It is not an answer tag. This tag is generally used with either the <code>href=</code> (which creates a link to another URL) or <code>name=</code> (which creates a named anchor on the page that can be linked to with <code>href=#</code>) attribute (but not generally both at once). In addition, the placement of <code><A></code> and <code><a></code> (the capitalization here is also irritating to a web developer who values consistency) indicates that ": Like " should be a link or named anchor, but "this." should not. Whether or not to include punctuation in an anchor is a matter of some debate among developers, but including excessive whitespace is generally frowned upon, and the anchor ''should'' include all of the relevant text.

==Transcript==
:<code><div>Q: How do you annoy a web developer?</code>

{{comic discussion}}

484: Flash Games

2016-08-12T23:05:41Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 484
| date = October 10, 2008
| title = Flash Games
| image = flash_games.png
| titletext = Although...who else can't wait for them to incorporate that Wiimote head-tracking stuff into games? Man, the future's gonna be *awesome*.
}}

==Explanation==
Dedicated hardcore gamers will often indulge in expensive, top-of-the-line equipment to get the most out of their video games.

{{w|Adobe Flash}} is a software platform allowing multimedia applications in the browser. Flash became a popular choice for game developers, since playing Flash games only requires a browser and the free cross-platform Flash runtime environment. [[Randall]] is right that Flash games are quite addictive, and gamers may find them more engaging than anything that runs on expensive (dedicated) gaming systems.

Nowadays, eight years after the making of this comic, Flash has been mostly phased out by modern browsers in favor of {{w|HTML5}} + {{w|JavaScript}}. The open-source movement especially prefers the latter, since no proprietary browser plugins are needed to run it. That said, the sheer number of Flash games that have been made over the last decade means that Flash will likely hold a special place in many gamers' hearts for the foreseeable future, to the point where "Flash game" has become a catch-all term for any {{w|Browser game}}.

The comic may also be commenting that some modern games are too focused on graphics and not enough on gameplay.

The title-text mentions the {{w|Wiimote}}, the standard controller for the {{w|Nintendo Wii}} video game console. Wii games are usually controlled by tracking the movement and orientation of the handheld Wiimote, but {{w|Johnny Lee (computer scientist)|Johnny Lee}} devised a method to use a Wiimote to track the position of the users head and demonstrated this with a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw desktop VR display]. It should be noted that this is not the same as the body-tracking that is available from Sony and Microsoft with the {{w|EyeToy}} and {{w|Kinect}} respectively, neither of which has earned any real praise as a practical gaming controller.

==Transcript==
:[On the left side of the panel, is a massive TV screen, large speakers, and similar devices, all connected to a "Game Station 20,000" console. Cueball, however, is over on the right side of the panel, on a modestly-sized computer.]
:Cueball: Ooh, I think I've got it figured out! Okay, one more hour.
:''Beep Plunk''
:The most powerful gaming systems in the world still can't match the addictiveness of tiny in-browser Flash games.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Video games]]

859: (

2016-08-11T22:01:19Z

Artyer: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 859
| date = February 11, 2011
| title = (
| image = (.png
| titletext = Brains aside, I wonder how many poorly-written xkcd.com-parsing scripts will break on this title (or ;;"'<nowiki/>'{<<[' this mouseover text."
}}

== Explanation ==

In programming, punctuation is often used to mark sections of code. Paired punctuation marks must always be matched up with a corresponding closing mark, otherwise a so-called {{w|syntax error}} occurs. The programming language {{w|Lisp_(programming_language)|Lisp}} (also featured in [[224: Lisp]]) is known for large numbers of nested/paired parentheses. Even in literary works intended only for human consumption, the absence of a matching closing parenthesis (as appears in this sentence or other "balanced" punctuation sets creates a mental expectation of eventual closure and completion that remains unfulfilled even long after the unmatched mark is encountered. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SelfDemonstratingArticle See what I mean?]

There is also reference to [[312: With Apologies to Robert Frost]] which could contain the missing parentheses.

It can also be interpreted as a {{w|metaphor}}, which compares the reader with a Lisp {{w|Interpreter (Computing)|interpreter}}. The interpreter looks for the parenthesis until the end of the file, where it eventually halts, and prints out the error. The comic claims that if you read an unmatched parenthesis, you will look for it for the rest of the day too.

It also refers to this awkward feeling when you see something (like an unmatched parentheses, speling error or a randomly-placed, comma.

The title text refers to the same issue as already highlighted in [[327: Exploits of a Mom]]: if your scripts trust external input, you sometimes will be surprised. At the time of this comic, there were quite a few websites that would grab the xkcd comic three times a week and publish them on their own site. This comic likely broke at least some of the websites because of either the unmatched brace or the extra unmatched markup that is in the title text.

==Transcript==
:[A frame with only text.]
:(An unmatched left parenthesis creates an unresolved tension that will stay with you all day.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Programming]]

1540: Hemingway

2016-08-03T20:45:16Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */ Tabularised

{{comic
| number = 1540
| date = June 19, 2015
| title = Hemingway
| image = hemingway.png
| titletext = Instead of bobcat, package contained chair.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the six-word short story ''{{w|For sale: baby shoes, never worn}}'', which has been commonly attributed to famous author {{w|Ernest Hemingway}}; however, [[Randall|Randall Munroe]] explicitly states that this might not be the case at all. Whether Hemingway once wrote this story and called it his best work is a matter of urban legend.

The comic plays on the fact that the original story takes the form of a short advertisement that might have been seen in a newspaper, and makes up alternate versions that use various modern 'standards' that did not exist in Hemingway's time. In keeping with the original, each example remains six words long. The title text obeys this rule, too. Many of the drafts poke fun at the tragedy that the original story suggests. With the original ("For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn"), readers could infer that the baby who would have worn the shoes must have died. Randall tries to make the reader infer other, more absurd things instead.

The comic also alludes to Hemingway's practice of repeatedly re-working drafts of his novels before publication. For example, he is [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/books/a-farewell-to-arms-with-hemingways-alternate-endings.html reported] to have rewritten the final passage of [https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=A_Farewell_to_Arms A Farewell To Arms] 39 times. Later editions of his works include these rough drafts, allowing the devoted reader to understand how the work developed.

The following are the various drafts offered in the comic.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="305" | Draft
! Explanation
|-
| For Sale: This gullible baby's shoes
| This suggests the seller somehow tricked the baby out of its shoes.
|-
| Baby shoes for sale by owner
| This suggests that a very intelligent baby is somehow selling its own shoes, or that someone is selling an old pair of shoes they had as a baby. This style represents the typical automobile or house sales ads, differentiating the sale by owner from the sale by a professional middleman (a car dealer or a realtor) and thus bypassing the extra expense of middleman's fee.
|-
| <strike>Actually, there’s no evidence Hemingway wrote</strike>
| A fragment of a preemptive rebuttal to the comic’s premise (or at least its title). This sentence was stopped at the sixth word, in keeping with the premise. Or it might suggest that Hemingway wasn't a writer at all, since the line on its own can express a valid sentence.
|-
| Free shoes, provided you overpower baby
| This suggests the person posting the ad is asking people to forcibly steal shoes from a baby. This alludes to the common expression "[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/like_taking_candy_from_a_baby like taking candy from a baby]", meaning a task is extremely simple and effortless. One doesn't necessarily need to overpower a baby to steal its shoes either; there are other methods such as annoying the baby until it throws its shoes or tricking the baby (see the first example above).
|-
| For Sale: Weird baby's toe shoes
| Randall once again displays his distaste for [[1065: Shoes|weird toe shoes]], that is, shoes with individual toes. Rather than the tragedy implied by the original story, this instead implies that someone bought a pair of shoes for the baby that were entirely unwanted.
|-
| For Sale: Baby shoes ✓Prime Eligible
| This is a reference to {{w|Amazon.com|Amazon}}, which offers Prime as a paid service to expedite shipping of items ordered on its website.
|-
| <strike>Though popularly attributed to Hemingway, the</strike>
| Another fragment of a rebuttal, written in an encyclopedic style, and also stopped at the sixth word.
|-
| This weird trick covers baby feet!
| This is modeled after common 'click bait' wording designed to get users to visit web pages, typically using words such as "this weird trick" or "secrets they don't want you to know" to artificially increase its apparent appeal. xkcd has previously parodied click bait in [[1283: Headlines]] and [[1426: Reduce Your Payments]].
|-
| For Sale: Baby shoes, just hatched
| This plays on the meaning of the phrase "baby shoes", reframing it to mean a newly-born shoe (similar to "baby bird"), rather than its typical meaning of footwear designed for babies.
|-
| Sale: Seven-league boots (expedited shipping)
| {{w|Seven-league boots}} are mythical boots that allow their user to move seven leagues (21 miles) per step. The "expedited shipping" part suggests that the people delivering these boots may be wearing seven-league boots themselves, allowing them to reach the customer much faster than if by airplane (except, of course, if the boots had to be shipped overseas).
|-
| Complete this survey for free shoes
| This is another reference to common internet marketing campaigns, where users are incentivized to take surveys in exchange for small compensation such as free samples or coupons.
|-
| ''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway {{Citation needed}}
| This is a reference to Wikipedia. "{{w|Citation needed}}" is used to mark claims that require additional evidence to justify as true. In this case, Randall is using this to question whether the short story was really written by Hemingway.
|-
| This is my greatest short story
| This is a completely different style that could also have been used to write a short story in six words. Rather than telling a story about shoes, this is more "meta" by referencing itself and being a self-fulfilling (or self-defeating) prophecy. (The sequel was titled "Don't bother reading my other stories").
|-
| For Sale: Baby shoes (-1) [Cursed]
| This is written like a description of a virtual item typically found in Roguelike games or MMOs. "-1" typically means the item will reduce its wearer's stats (such as defense or speed rating) by one point. "Cursed" usually means the item cannot be taken off the wearer's body once it is put on. It might also reference the fact the original story suggests the baby died, perhaps because of the cursed shoes.
|-
| <blink><marquee>Baby shoes!</marquee></blink>
| This is reminiscent of the style of HTML widely used in the 1990s. Both the <blink> and <marquee> tags make the text content ("Baby shoes!") appear more prominent and attention-grabbing. On a normal web page, these tags only affect how the text content is displayed on screen and aren't directly shown to visitors. However they are shown here to make the six words count, albeit in a lighter shade of gray to reinforce the fact that they're not part of the text content. An interesting note: When this comic was first posted to xkcd.com, the '/' in the </blink> tag was missing. This was fixed between the 19th and 20th of June, 2015, showing that the omission was, indeed, unintentional.
|-
| For Sale: Baby-sized saddle, bobcat
| This is a reference to [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]] in which [[Cueball]] says: 'Instead of office chair, package contained bobcat'. A 'baby-sized saddle' is presumably a very small saddle that's only usable if the user was a baby and was trying to ride a small animal such as a bobcat.
|-
| Hemingway busted for Craigslist shoe scam
| This is written like a news headline where Hemingway supposedly wrote about shoes in order to perpetrate a scam. {{w|Craigslist}} is a website where users can advertise and seek goods and services.
|}
The title text continues the reference to [[A-Minus-Minus|325: A-Minus-Minus]], but inverts the situation. Rather than unexpectedly receiving a bobcat by package, this time the package contains a regular item instead of the expected bobcat.

==Transcript==
:Hemingway's Rough Drafts

:[A list of rough draft stories.]
:For sale: This Gullible Baby's Shoes
:Baby Shoes For Sale By Owner
:<strike>Actually, there's no evidence Hemingway wrote</strike>
:Free Shoes, Provided You Overpower Baby
:For Sale: Weird Baby's Toe Shoes
:For Sale: Baby Shoes ✓ Prime eligible
:<strike>Though popularly attributed to Hemingway, the</strike>
:This Weird Trick Covers Baby Feet!
:For Sale: Baby Shoes, Just Hatched
:Sale: Seven-League Boots (Expedited Shipping)
:Complete this survey for free shoes!
:''Shoes'', by Ernest Hemingway [citation needed]
:This is my greatest short story.
:For sale: Baby shoes (-1) [cursed]
:<blink><marquee>Baby Shoes!</marquee></blink>
:For Sale: Baby-sized Saddle, Bobcat
:Hemingway Busted for Craigslist Shoe Scam

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Bobcats]]

514: Simultaneous

2016-05-08T13:25:50Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 514
| date = December 8, 2008
| title = Simultaneous
| image = simultaneous.png
| titletext = I'm leaving you for your twin. He's more mature than you by now.
}}

==Explanation==
''This comic links to {{w|Relativity_of_simultaneity|en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativity_of_simultaneity}}.''

[[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] are talking about the sex they just had. Cueball is remarking on how they both achieved orgasm simultaneously, but Megan disagrees.

This comic is a play on Einstein's {{w|Special relativity#Relativity of simultaneity|theory of special relativity}}. One piece of the theory deals with two observers who are moving at close to the speed of light relative to each other. According to Einstein, events that appear simultaneous to one observer will appear to happen at different times to the other.

So when one partner is moving and the other isn't, it's possible that they experience their orgasm at different times relative to each other. That would require one partner to be moving really fast in one direction, which would make him or her either a really bad partner, or a really good one. On small speeds this effect could not be measured.

The other joke is that partners often disagree with each other — even when the difference is minor and not important to the matter.

The title text is reference to the twin paradox, which arises from another piece of special relativity. In theory, if you stick one twin on a spaceship at near light speed and keep the other back on Earth, the former will only experience a few years while the latter will age decades. Megan (or Cueball if he rolls that way) expresses a preference for the older twin, who will be more "mature", meaning both older and less combative about simultaneity.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan in bed.]
:Cueball: Mmm, simultaneous orgasms.
:Megan: That wasn't simultaneous.
:Cueball: Huh? It totally was!
:A common disagreement when one of you is doing all the moving.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Sex]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

what if?

2016-04-08T22:19:11Z

Artyer: /* Articles */ Added latest article

1162: Log Scale

2016-03-13T19:03:51Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */ Updated link

{{comic
| number = 1162
| date = January 18, 2013
| title = Log Scale
| image = log scale.png
| titletext = Knuth Paper-Stack Notation: Write down the number on pages. Stack them. If the stack is too tall to fit in the room, write down the number of pages it would take to write down the number. THAT number won't fit in the room? Repeat. When a stack fits, write the number of iterations on a card. Pin it to the stack.
}}

==Explanation==
Uranium is stated to have 76 million MJ/kg, while the next highest material shown on the graph (gasoline) has 46 MJ/kg. Thus the uranium graph should be taller by a factor of 76,000,000/46 = 1.652 million. So, if the gasoline graph were 9mm in height, the uranium graph should be a bit more than 14.868 million mm tall, or nearly 15 km (9.2 miles) tall. Thus the need to fold the paper.

It should be noted that the method of extracting energy from the first 4 materials ({{w|combustion}}) is completely different from the method used with uranium ({{w|nuclear fission}}). If the technology existed to use {{w|nuclear fusion}}, then the first 4 materials would yield a higher energy density than uranium.

A {{w|Logarithmic scale|log scale}} is a way of showing largely unequal data sizes in a comprehensible way, using an exponential function between each notch on the y axis of a graph. So for example the first on a Y axis of a graph using a log-10-scale would be 1, then 10, then 100 and 1000 for the fourth. A {{w|logarithm|log/logarithmic function}} is the {{w|inverse function|inverse}} of a corresponding {{w|Exponential growth|exponential function}}.

The log scale can also be abused to make data look more uniform than it really is. On a log scale the energy density of uranium would look larger than that of the other materials, but not dramatically so. The joke is that if one wanted to make their point "properly," they would go ahead and use ridiculous amounts of paper to show the difference between bars using a non-logarithmic scale; this method would focus more on the shock factor of the differences in question, and less on actual communication/representation of data. Cueball seems to be passionate about the MJ/kg of uranium, so he would rather demonstrate the grandeur of the data than use a more efficient scale.

See {{w|Logarithmic scale#Common usages|these examples}} for well known day-to-day measurements which are measured on a log-scale.

The title text mentions computer scientist {{w|Donald Knuth}}; the fictional notation is a parody of {{w|Knuth's up-arrow notation}}. Using paper thickness as the basis for a log scale would probably give the exponential function a very large base. However, it can be noted that Knuth's up-arrow notation can handle numbers far, far larger than this paper stack notation; for example the number 3↑↑↑3, very compact in up-arrow notation, would require a number of iterations pinned to the stack on the order of several trillion. 3↑↑↑↑3 would require a number of iterations that is not only too large to write down, but attempting to write that number using the same paper stack notation would require printing off a ''second'' stack of several trillion iterations just to hold the ''number'' pinned to the first stack.

It should be noted that Randall has used log scales in past comics.

==Transcript==
:[A bar chart showing fuel energy density of different materials in megajoules/kg.]
:Sugar: 19, Coal: 24, Fat: 39, Gasoline: 46, Uranium 76,000,000
:[The uranium bar on the chart goes off the page onto a huge strip of paper folded up into a stack slightly taller than Cueball.]
:Science Tip: Log scales are for quitters who can't find enough paper to make their point ''properly''.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Math]]

1161: Hand Sanitizer

2016-03-13T18:54:47Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1161
| date = January 16, 2013
| title = Hand Sanitizer
| image = hand sanitizer.png
| titletext = Hipster CDC Reports Flu Epidemic Peaked Years Ago
}}

==Explanation==
The number of germs that would be left after using the hand sanitizer is 200 million times 0.01%. 0.01% is equivalent to 0.0001 in decimal, so the multiplication is 200 000 000 × 0.0001. That is 20 thousand germs, which is still a surprisingly large number of germs. Recently, scientists [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2257098/Larry-projectile-vomiting-robot-helping-British-team-learn-stop-spread-norovirus.html have shown] that it only takes 20 virus particles to infect someone (with analyzed virus; not all germs are equally effective). However, they have also previously noted that the effectiveness of hand sanitizer is actually higher than 99.99%, but it's a bit awkward to print a more precise decimal in an advertising slogan.

"Hipster CDC" is a combination of the acronym for the {{w|Centers for Disease Control and Prevention}}, an organization dedicated to studying infectious diseases and limiting their spread, with the label {{w|Hipster (contemporary subculture)|hipster}}. Hipsters form a cultural group associated with a distaste for popular culture; they stereotypically talk about how bands, authors, etc. were better before they "went mainstream" and proclaim that they liked a certain thing "before it was cool."

The title text extends this sensibility to the flu, which in fact did peak years ago, such as in 1918, when a {{w|1918 flu epidemic|world-wide flu epidemic}} killed tens of millions. The humor lies in the notion that the "Hipster CDC" apparently approves of the time when the flu was more widespread and fatal, while most people consider the diminishment of the flu is a good thing. This could be a jab at hipsters' common insistence on liking things before they "go mainstream": many things, before they go mainstream, just aren't very good, and therefore hipsters' taste in things is highly questionable.

==Transcript==
:Poster: An invisible sneeze droplet can contain ''200 million'' germs!
:Product label: Our hand sanitizer kills 99.99% of germs!
:Cueball (typing on calculator): 200 000 000 × 0.01% =
:Cueball: Ew.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Math]]

what if?

2016-02-27T09:01:58Z

Artyer: /* Articles */ Added latest article

1647: Diacritics

2016-02-24T16:55:35Z

Artyer:

{{comic
| number = 1647
| date = February 24, 2016
| title = Diacritics
| image = diacritics.png
| titletext = Using diacritics correctly is not my forté.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First draft. Add more details on the use of diacritics.}}

A {{w|diacritic}} (or a diacritical mark) is a {{w|glyph}} added to a letter. The main use of diacritical marks in the {{w|latin script}} is to change the sound-values of the letters to which they are added, typically vowels.

[[Cueball]] is writing an e-mail (maybe for a job application) and notes in the mail that he attaches his {{w|résumé}}. The word ''résumé'' uses two e's with an {{w|acute accent}} so they look like this: é.

Cueball/[[Randall]] usually forgets to add these '''diacritics''' (hence the title of the comic). So when he occasionally remembers them, for instance when he types a word where he knows they should be included, then he makes up for all those he must have forgotten until now, and adds a whole bunch at once.

The first diacritic he uses is the normal acute accent for the e to make it an é which does belong in ''résumé''. But the second diacritic he uses is a {{w|Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis}} (or umlaut) on the u making it into ü, which is not part of the word. (Although in French the ''u'' is pronounced like a {{w|Close_front_rounded_vowel|[y]}}, which is also the sound of a German or Turkish ''ü'').

He then goes all in on the last e which. similar to the first e, is supposed to have an acute accent. This e has a {{w|cedilla}} (which normally looks like ȩ), a {{w|Ring (diacritic)|ring}} (as in e̊ ), three acute accents, and is topped off by a {{w|breve}} (which normally looks like ĕ). In total, six diacritics are used on this e alone. Using more than one diacritic on one letter can happen, but usually only two ( for example ṏ). Using them in this fashion makes little sense.

To make sure everyone gets it, there are no less than three acute accents over the last full stop. This is not something that is ever used.

So for a word that is supposed to have two diacritics, Cueball uses eight, plus three for the full stop.

In the title text, [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/forte forte] has an acute diacritic over the e, where it does not belong proving Randall's point that it is not ''hís forte to ûsë dïäcrítìcs''. This may be a reference to {{what if|145|the What If?, ''Fire from moonlight''}}, in which note 9 reads "My résumé says étendue is my forté." (with the same error on "forte"). That spelling is probably a result of conflating the from-French word "forte" meaning "strong" and pronounced "fort" with the from-Italian word "forte" meaning "loudly" and pronounced "fortay"; trying to write the Italian one's pronunciation according to French spelling rules results in "forté".

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sitting in front of his lap top tying. The text above him is the one he is typing. The last e in resume has five diacritics above it and one below. The last "." has three "´" above it:]
:Cueball (typing): Attached please find my résümȩ̊́́́́̆.́́́

:[Caption below the frame:]
:I usually leave out diacritics when I type, so I make up for it by occasionally adding a whole bunch at once.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Language]]

1643: Degrees

2016-02-15T16:55:20Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1643
| date = February 15, 2016
| title = Degrees
| image = degrees.png
| titletext = "Radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius?" "Uh, sorry, gotta go!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First explanation}}
[[Cueball]] is being asked by a friend for the temperature. There are two common ways to give this: in degrees Celsius and degrees Fahrenheit. The former is the {{w |Metric_system|metric system}}, most often not used in the US although it is {{w|Metric_Conversion_Act|the preferred system for trade and commerce}}. The latter is the {{w|Imperial_units|Imperial system}}. Cueball weighs up the benefits of both, but is rushed by his friend to give an answer, so he gives the answer in {{w|radians}} (which can be denoted with the superscript c, but more commonly ㎭ or rad, lest it be confused with the ° for angular degrees), which is a system used to measure angular measure, not temperature gradations of whichever scale. Thus, this answer is unhelpful.

The title text indicates that Cueball's friend still wants to know whether the answer is in radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius, which, despite being a silly way to express temperature, makes Cueball nervous, and he runs off. The answer Cueball gives is 0.173 radians, which is around 9.912 degrees.

The title text continues to put Cueball on the spot by asking "Radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius?" Cueball, likely realizing his initial answer has caused even ''more'' trouble, avoids answering.

===Summary of Reasons===

{| class="wikitable"
| | Reason
| | Explanation
|-
| |
International standard
| |
Degrees Celsius is the unit in the SI system of units used in most countries today. Using the SI system would allow Cueball to be easily understood in most countries and is by far the most recognized system, but it is not the most commonly used in the United States, his actual location in the comic.

|-
| |
Helps reduce America's weird isolationism
| |
The United States uses its own set of units, including Degrees Fahrenheit, based on the English Customary System, in contrast to most of the rest of the world which uses the SI system. The US's system of units is therefore considered "weird" as make the US different from most of the world for no real reason, but previous efforts to convert the US to the SI system have failed. Cueball evidently believes that by using SI units he will help to eventually convert the US to the SI system, bringing considerable trade and tourism benefits and reducing confusion when dealing with foreigners.
|-
| |
Nice how "negative" means below freezing
| |
On the Celsius scale, the freeing point of water is 0° C, and any temperature below that is "below" the freezing point. On the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point is a less intuitive 32° F.
|-
| |
Physics major loyalty
| |
Cueball is apparently a physics major, like Randall, and SI units are always used for scientific work, even in the US. By using the Celsius scale in casual conversation he would show his loyalty to the system used by actual physicists.
|-
| |
Easier to spell
| |
"Celsius" is generally considered to be an easier word to spell than "Fahrenheit." In this case the word is being spoken and the point is not immediately relevant, but part of the joke is that Cueball is overthinking things and worrying about the general use of the word when an answer is needed in this specific case.
|-
| |
We lost a Mars probe over this crap
| |
The {{w|Mars_Climate_Orbiter|Mars Climate Orbiter}} disintegrated in Mars' atmosphere because Lockheed used Imperial units instead of the contractually specified metric units.
|-
| |
|-
| |
0°F to 100°F good match for temperature range in which most humans live
| |
While it might make sense to use Celsius temperatures for scientific or engineering measurements - or even cooking - where the freezing and boiling points of water (0°C and 100°C, respectively) are both significant, for weather reporting, 0°F and 100°F correspond to "just about as cold as it gets" and "just about as hot as it gets" in temperate zones, thereby making this a useful temperature scale for weather reporting where most people live. By contrast, in Celsius the scale of common temperatures in temperate zones goes from -20°C to 40°C, a less intuitive range.
|-
| |
Rounds more usefully (70's, 90's)
| |
An argument sometimes heard for the continued use of Fahrenheit temperatures is that each 10 degrees change is meaningful in how we feel the temperature. Thus, it is convenient to talk about the temperature being in the 70's today, or the 90's, etc. Since Celsius degrees are almost twice as large, a similar statement about the temperature being in the 20's or 30's is not as useful. However, this seems likely to be more a matter of which scale you are used to using than anything inherent in one scale or the other.
|-
| |
Unit-aware computing makes Imperial less annoying
| |
If you need to constantly convert between Imperial and SI measurements in your head, it gets annoying and is a strong argument for everyone using the same scale all the time. But, when it is easy to get the temperature reported in whatever units you want just by selecting the units you want your computer to report, then the annoyance is minimized, and the arguments for why we should stop using a familiar scale are weakened.
|-
| |
SI prefixes are less relevant for temperatures
| |
One of the nice things about SI measurements is how the same basic unit scales by factors of 10 with common prefixes - e.g., kilometer, millimeter, kilogram, milligram, etc. Imperial measurements don't have this feature - you don't talk about long distances as kiloinches or light weights as millipounds. But, we generally don't use scaled up-or-down temperature scales (millidegrees or kilodegrees), so this argument for using SI measurements for length, mass, volume, etc., doesn't apply for temperature scales.
|-
| |
Fahrenheit is likely more clear in this context
| |
Cueball apparently knows that the inquirer is most likely to assume the answer will be in degrees Fahrenheit, so giving the answer that way would be the least likely to be misinterpreted. If he surprisingly gives an answer in Celsius, without explicitly stating he is reporting the temperature in Celsius, then that could be confusing.
|-
| |
Valuing unit standardization over being helpful possibly makes me a bad friend
| |
The final thing Cueball considers is to question why he would give an answer that attaches more value to promoting standardization of units when all his friend wants to know is whether it is cold or warm outside. Wouldn't it be more friendly to just answer the question the way his friend will find most convenient?
| |
|}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is looking at his phone]
:Off-screen person: Hey, what's the temperature outside?
:Cueball [thinks]: Should I give it in °F or °C?

:Degrees Celsius
:* International standard
:* Helps reduce America's weird isolationism
:* Nice how "negative" means below freezing
:* Physics major loyalty
:* Easier to spell
:* {{w|Mars_Climate_Orbiter|We lost a Mars probe over this crap}}

:Degrees Fahrenheit
:* 0°F to 100°F good match for temperature range in which most humans live
:* Rounds more usefully (70's, 90's)
:* Unit-aware computing makes imperial less annoying
:* SI prefixes are less relevant for temperatures
:* Fahrenheit is likely more clear in this context
:* Valuing unit standardization over being helpful possibly makes me a bad friend

:Cueball [thinks]: Crap, gotta pick something. Uhh...
:Cueball: ...0.173 radians.
:Off-screen person: I'll just go check myself
{{comic discussion}}

1643: Degrees

2016-02-15T16:51:51Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1643
| date = February 15, 2016
| title = Degrees
| image = degrees.png
| titletext = "Radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius?" "Uh, sorry, gotta go!"
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|First explanation}}
[[Cueball]] is being asked by a friend for the temperature. There are two common ways to give this in the US: in degrees Celsius and degrees Fahrenheit. The former is the {{w |Metric_system|metric system}}, most often not used in America although it is {{w|Metric_Conversion_Act|the preferred system for trade and commerce}}. The latter is the {{w|Imperial_units|Imperial system}}. Cueball weighs up the benefits of both, but is rushed by his friend to give an answer, so he gives the answer in {{w|radians}} (which can be denoted with the superscript c, but more commonly ㎭ or rad, lest it be confused with the ° for angular degrees), which is a system used to measure angular measure, not temperature gradations of whichever scale. Thus, this answer is unhelpful.

The title text indicates that Cueball's friend still wants to know whether the answer is in radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius, which, despite being a silly way to express temperature, makes Cueball nervous, and he runs off. The answer Cueball gives is 0.173 radians, which is around 9.912 degrees.

The title text continues to put Cueball on the spot by asking "Radians Fahrenheit or radians Celsius?" Cueball, likely realizing his initial answer has caused even ''more'' trouble, avoids answering.

===Summary of Reasons===

{| class="wikitable"
| | Reason
| | Explanation
|-
| |
International standard
| |
Degrees Celsius is the unit in the SI system of units used in most countries today. Using the SI system would allow Cueball to be easily understood in most countries and is by far the most recognized system, but it is not the most commonly used in the United States, his actual location in the comic.

|-
| |
Helps reduce America's weird isolationism
| |
The United States uses its own set of units, including Degrees Fahrenheit, based on the English Customary System, in contrast to most of the rest of the world which uses the SI system. The US's system of units is therefore considered "weird" as make the US different from most of the world for no real reason, but previous efforts to convert the US to the SI system have failed. Cueball evidently believes that by using SI units he will help to eventually convert the US to the SI system, bringing considerable trade and tourism benefits and reducing confusion when dealing with foreigners.
|-
| |
Nice how "negative" means below freezing
| |
On the Celsius scale, the freeing point of water is 0 degrees C, and any temperature below that is "below" the freezing point. On the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point is a less intuitive 32 degrees F.
|-
| |
Physics major loyalty
| |
Cueball is apparently a physics major, like Randall, and SI units are always used for scientific work, even in the US. By using the Celsius scale in casual conversation he would show his loyalty to the system used by actual physicists.
|-
| |
Easier to spell
| |
"Celsius" is generally considered to be an easier word to spell than "Fahrenheit." In this case the word is being spoken and the point is not immediately relevant, but part of the joke is that Cueball is overthinking things and worrying about the general use of the word when an answer is needed in this specific case.
|-
| |
We lost a Mars probe over this crap
| |
The {{w|Mars_Climate_Orbiter|Mars Climate Orbiter}} disintegrated in Mars' atmosphere because Lockheed used Imperial units instead of the contractually specified metric units.
|-
| |
|-
| |
0°F to 100°F good match for temperature range in which most humans live
| |
While it might make sense to use Celsius temperatures for scientific or engineering measurements - or even cooking - where the freezing and boiling points of water (0°C and 100°C, respectively) are both significant, for weather reporting, 0°F and 100°F correspond to "just about as cold as it gets" and "just about as hot as it gets" in temperate zones, thereby making this a useful temperature scale for weather reporting where most people live. By contrast, in Celsius the scale of common temperatures in temperate zones goes from -20°C to 40°C, a less intuitive range.
|-
| |
Rounds more usefully (70's, 90's)
| |
An argument sometimes heard for the continued use of Fahrenheit temperatures is that each 10 degrees change is meaningful in how we feel the temperature. Thus, it is convenient to talk about the temperature being in the 70's today, or the 90's, etc. Since Celsius degrees are almost twice as large, a similar statement about the temperature being in the 20's or 30's is not as useful. However, this seems likely to be more a matter of which scale you are used to using than anything inherent in one scale or the other.
|-
| |
Unit-aware computing makes Imperial less annoying
| |
If you need to constantly convert between Imperial and SI measurements in your head, it gets annoying and is a strong argument for everyone using the same scale all the time. But, when it is easy to get the temperature reported in whatever units you want just by selecting the units you want your computer to report, then the annoyance is minimized, and the arguments for why we should stop using a familiar scale are weakened.
|-
| |
SI prefixes are less relevant for temperatures
| |
One of the nice things about SI measurements is how the same basic unit scales by factors of 10 with common prefixes - e.g., kilometer, millimeter, kilogram, milligram, etc. Imperial measurements don't have this feature - you don't talk about long distances as kiloinches or light weights as millipounds. But, we generally don't use scaled up-or-down temperature scales (millidegrees or kilodegrees), so this argument for using SI measurements for length, mass, volume, etc., doesn't apply for temperature scales.
|-
| |
Fahrenheit is likely more clear in this context
| |
Cueball apparently knows that the inquirer is most likely to assume the answer will be in degrees Fahrenheit, so giving the answer that way would be the least likely to be misinterpreted. If he surprisingly gives an answer in Celsius, without explicitly stating he is reporting the temperature in Celsius, then that could be confusing.
|-
| |
Valuing unit standardization over being helpful possibly makes me a bad friend
| |
The final thing Cueball considers is to question why he would give an answer that attaches more value to promoting standardization of units when all his friend wants to know is whether it is cold or warm outside. Wouldn't it be more friendly to just answer the question the way his friend will find most convenient?
| |
|}

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is looking at his phone]
:Off-screen person: Hey, what's the temperature outside?
:Cueball [thinks]: Should I give it in °F or °C?

:Degrees Celsius
:* International standard
:* Helps reduce America's weird isolationism
:* Nice how "negative" means below freezing
:* Physics major loyalty
:* Easier to spell
:* {{w|Mars_Climate_Orbiter|We lost a Mars probe over this crap}}

:Degrees Fahrenheit
:* 0°F to 100°F good match for temperature range in which most humans live
:* Rounds more usefully (70's, 90's)
:* Unit-aware computing makes imperial less annoying
:* SI prefixes are less relevant for temperatures
:* Fahrenheit is likely more clear in this context
:* Valuing unit standardization over being helpful possibly makes me a bad friend

:Cueball [thinks]: Crap, gotta pick something. Uhh...
:Cueball: ...0.173 radians.
:Off-screen person: I'll just go check myself
{{comic discussion}}

1643: Degrees

2016-02-15T14:31:17Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */ Removed duplicate paragraph

1643: Degrees

2016-02-15T14:22:13Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */

1643: Degrees

2016-02-15T14:09:23Z

Artyer: /* Transcript */

1643: Degrees

2016-02-15T14:01:15Z

Artyer:

what if?

2016-02-04T22:19:12Z

Artyer: /* Articles */ Added latest article

what if?

2016-01-20T19:01:15Z

Artyer: /* Articles */ Added latest article

1632: Palindrome

2016-01-20T15:41:27Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */ Added old revision of Wiki page in case it changes

{{comic
| number = 1632
| date = January 20, 2016
| title = Palindrome
| image = palindrome.png
| titletext = I hope that somewhere in the world, "Panamax" is the last option on a "size" drop-down menu on a sex toy site.
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|palindrome}} is a word, phrase, or sentence that reads the same whether you read forwards or backwards, like ''race car''. Normally capitalization, spacing, and punctuation are ignored.

This comic is based on the famous palindrome: "A Man, A Plan, A Canal: Panama", devised by {{w|Leigh Mercer}}, which references the construction of the {{w|Panama Canal}} and is the first mentioned on the Wikipedia page for palindromes [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palindrome&oldid=700753837 at the time this comic was released].

[[Megan]] recites a much longer palindrome for [[Cueball]]. This palindrome is based on the original, (and was posted in this [http://www.talking-time.net/showthread.php?p=1370627#post1370627 forum thread] more than three years before the release of this comic). It is much less logical, and manages to include the word anal (which then refers to the title text and sex toys, see below).

[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nam 'Nam] is an apheresis of Vietnam. See more explanation of the words in the palindrome in the [[#Trivia|Trivia]] section. Note that in the original version from the link above there were a comma before tables so it is two items in the list: God's 'Nam, tables, etc.

Due to its list like structure, the Panama palindrome is easily extensible by adding additional [http://www2.vo.lu/homepages/phahn/anagrams/panama.htm noun phrases], and some of these extensions lay claim to being "[http://norvig.com/pal17txt.html The Longest Palindrome Ever]".

The title text references the maximum size of ships that can fit through the Panama Canal, which is {{w|Panamax}}. [[Randall]] would really enjoy if this was the last option(i.e. biggest size) on a {{w|drop-down menu}} on a {{w|sex toy}} site. For instance such a site could have a banner saying; "If you have a ''Panama Anal'', then try our ''Panamax {{w|Butt plug}}''".

===The Palindrome===
Although it is less logical it is indeed a palindrome:
:'''Original''':
:: A man, a plan, a God's 'Nam tables, nitrate, tar, tinsel, Batman's dog: Anal Panama.

: '''Palindrome''', i.e. original sentence reversed:
:: amanaP lanA :god s'namtaB ,lesnit ,rat ,etartin ,selbat maN' s'doG a ,nalp a ,nam A

: '''With no spaces''' or other punctuation and in all lowercase:
:: amanaplanagodsnamtablesnitratetartinselbatmansdoganalpanama

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are walking. She holds up her arm and hand while reciting a palindrome:]
:Megan: A man, a plan, a God's 'Nam tables, nitrate, tar, tinsel, Batman's dog: Anal Panama.

==Trivia==
*In the [http://www.talking-time.net/showpost.php?p=1370627&postcount=6286 version] posted on-line in 2012, there was an extra comma after God's 'Nam:
**A man, a plan, a God's 'Nam, tables, nitrate, tar, tinsel, Batman's dog: Anal Panama.
**This means that it is not ''God's 'Nam tables'', but rather two items ''God's 'Nam'' and ''tables'', since it is a list of items.
*The '''meaning of the words''':
**These words are from the original palindrome: Man, Plan and Panama
**But what about the rest, taking the original with the "," as mentioned above:
***{{w|God|God's}} 'Nam - [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nam 'Nam] is here short for {{w|Vietnam}}; God's 'Nam would refer to a Quagmire of God's creation. (The Quagmire is a figurative name of the {{w|Vietnam War}}).
***{{w|Tables}} - can either be a piece of furniture or a data table.
***{{w|Nitrate}} - a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO3− that are mainly produced for use as fertilizers in agriculture. But as an oxidizing agents it can be used to create explosives where the rapid oxidation of carbon compounds liberates large volumes of gases.
***{{w|Tar}} - is a black mixture of hydrocarbons and free carbon. Originally referred primarily to a substance derived from the wood and roots of pine. But it has also been used in {{w|Tar#Definition|other contexts}}. For instance naturally occurring "{{w|tar pits}}", actually contain {{w|asphalt}} rather than tar.
***{{w|Tinsel}} - Tinsel, is a type of decorative material that mimics the effect of ice, consisting of thin strips of sparkling material attached to a thread. When in long narrow strips not attached to thread, it is called "lametta", and emulates icicles. It was originally a metallic garland for Christmas decoration. The modern production of tinsel typically involves plastic, and is used particularly to decorate Christmas trees.
***{{w|Ace the Bat-Hound|Batman's dog}} - Ace the Bat-Hound was the canine crime-fighting partner of {{w|Batman}} and {{w|Robin (comics)|Robin}} in DC Comics of the 1950s and 1960s.
***{{w|Anal}} - relates to {{w|anus}}. Searching for "Anal Panama" will return links to pages with {{w|porn}}. This is because the most used form of ''Anal'' is in regard to {{w|Anal Sex}} which is often used in porn. (It is not long since another xkcd comic referred directly to porn - see [[1629: Tools]]).
*The '''meaning of the sentence''':
**There are no obvious meaning of this palindrome.
**As it also seems it is not of Randall's device, then it seems less important for this site, than if it where.
**The original palindrome was also a list of things that lead to choosing Panama.
***A man had a plan to make a canal. He chose Panama.
**This one is also in list form:
***A man had a plan to use the Vietnam war with nitrate, tar and tinsel (maybe some kind of explosives with Christmas decorations), finally adding Batman's dog to get Anal Panama...

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Sex]]

Talk:1631: Longer Than Usual

2016-01-18T16:55:28Z

Artyer:

Can we keep this as the explanation? [[User:Untothebreach|Untothebreach]] ([[User talk:Untothebreach|talk]]) 08:30, 18 January 2016 (UTC)
:I deleted the <nowiki>{{incomplete}}</nowiki> template. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.13|108.162.221.13]] 13:27, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

the "orgasm" part of the interpretation feel really shaky, i don't believe it to be what the strip is about; Gmail and firefox are not exclusive user of those specific messages, i am not sure whether an extended or complete list would help[[Special:Contributions/108.162.228.161|108.162.228.161]] 09:58, 18 January 2016 (UTC)
:Eh, it seems right to me unless "maybe we should just go to bed" is a quote from something. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.131|108.162.241.131]] 10:27, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

Understanding this comic seems to be taking longer than usual... oh, yes, OK, two responses to a single observation made in quite different situations. I think I'll just go to bed. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 11:11, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

I'm not completely convinced. The explanation is the first thing I thought of, but "bed" makes it awkward. Aren't you typically ''in'' bed, when the second thing happens? If that's the intended meaning, it seems ''so'' much better to use "sleep" that it makes me wonder if I am missing something. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.135|108.162.241.135]] 16:30, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

At first, I read it as 'maybe I/you should just go to bed', in which case it would merely be about the user being online too late. But 'we' seems a deliberate reference to two people. That makes the 'sex' meaning a lot more plausible.

I don't know about most places, but where I live, when lag ''stops'' I know I need to go to bed (Lag from ~7pm to 10pm) —[[User:Artyer|Artyer]] <big>([[User Talk:Artyer|talk]]<big>'''|'''</big>[[Special:Contributions/Artyer|ctb]])</big> 16:55, 18 January 2016 (UTC)

1625: Substitutions 2

2016-01-04T17:11:58Z

Artyer: /* Transcript */ Emboldened word.

{{comic
| number = 1625
| date = January 4, 2016
| title = Substitutions 2
| image = substitutions_2.png
| titletext = Within a few minutes, our roads will be full of uncontrollably-swerving cats and our skies full of Amazon delivery dogs.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page. Also, please add examples as per 1288 comic.}}

See also [[1288: Substitutions]].

See also [[1418: Horse]].

Examples:

*Original sentence (as per title text): Within a few years, our roads will be full of self-driving cars and our skies full of Amazon delivery drones.
:Modified sentence: Within a few minutes, our roads will be full of uncontrollably-swerving cars and our skies full of Amazon delivery dogs.

*Original sentence: North Korea’s Kim vows to raise living standards
:Modified sentence: North Korea’s Kim probably won't raise living standards

==Transcript==
More

'''Substitutions'''

That make reading the news more fun

{|
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Debate
| ➜
| Dance-off
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Self driving
| ➜
| Uncontrollably swerving
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Poll
| ➜
| Psychic reading
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Candidate
| ➜
| Airbender
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Drone
| ➜
| Dog
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Vows to
| ➜
| Probably won't
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | At large
| ➜
| Very large
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Successfully
| ➜
| Suddenly
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Expands
| ➜
| Physically expands
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | First/Second/Third-degree
| ➜
| Friggin' awful
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | An unknown number
| ➜
| Like hundreds
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Front runner
| ➜
| Blade runner
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Global
| ➜
| Spherical
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Years
| ➜
| Minutes
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Minutes
| ➜
| Years
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | No indication
| ➜
| Lots of signs
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Urged restraint by
| ➜
| Drunkenly egged on
|-
| style="text-align:right;" | Horsepower
| ➜
| Tons of horsemeat
|}

{{comic discussion}}

1620: Christmas Settings

2015-12-23T11:37:58Z

Artyer: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1620
| date = December 23, 2015
| title = Christmas Settings
| image = christmas_settings.png
| titletext = SOUND DOGS MAKE: [BARKING] [HISSING] [LIGHTSABER NOISES] [FLUENT ENGLISH] [SWEARING]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT , then partially explained by someone in a rush. Please update, then remove this message.}}

The comic starts out with Ponytail showing Megan a "Universe Control Panel", and starts out with dials that control Christmas.

Then we get a close up of one dial labeled "Santa enters houses through...", somewhat like a Mad Libs game. The dial has many settings; The one it's set to is the traditional chimney, but there are some other logical ones like the open window (Surprisingly not the door though), and increasingly weird and impossible ones ranging from the mail slot to the pores of one's skin.

As Megan approaches to get a better look however, she trips and catches herself on the Santa dial, messing it up. She asks what it was set to before so as to undo the mishap, but Ponytail forgets, so Megan simply guesses. (Notably, we hear/read the dial only clicks twice, implying it has moved two positions; Megan had most likely set the dial to "Kitchen faucet" or "Mail slot").

The title text continues this by showing another ad-lib dial: "SOUND DOGS MAKE", ranging from the norm (Barking) to "Lightsaber noises" to speech to swearing.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Megan and Ponytail are walking over to a console]
:Ponytail: Over here we have the universe control panel. These dials, for example, controls Christmas.

:[Dial labelled "Santa enters houses through...", currently set to "Chimney" with the other options being "Open Window", "Kitchen Faucet", "Cat Flap", "Toilet", "Shower Drain", "Mail Slot", "Heating Vents", :"Bathroom Mirror", and "Pores of Your Skin".

:[Megan trips and falls towards the console]
:SFX: "Trip"
:Megan: "Whoops!"

:[Megan accidentally turns the knob on the console]
:SFX: "Click Click"

:[Megan is standing in front of the console, Ponytail is standing behind it.]
:Megan: "What was the Santa dial set to before?"
:Ponytail: "I forget."
:Megan: "I'll just guess"
{{comic discussion}}

1617: Time Capsule

2015-12-16T15:44:13Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1617
| date = December 16, 2015
| title = Time Capsule
| image = time_capsule.png
| titletext = Oh no, I changed the future and now I'm disappearing! Wait, never mind, it was just my hat slipping down over my eyes.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is watching [[Ponytail]] who have unearthed a {{w|time capsule}}, that must have been buried in the ground many years ago.

A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a method of communication with future people and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists or historians.

However, when she manages to open the capsule [[Beret Guy]] turns out to have been hiding inside while the capsule has been buried. It turns out that he has mixed up the purpose of a {{w|Time travel|time machine}} and a time capsule; when Ponytail asks him where he came from he tells her: ''The past! I traveled here in this time machine.''

He cannot explain how he got there, but he claims that he could not have prevented this. This is a reference to the fact that you cannot avoid being pushed forward through time, see [[1524: Dimensions]]. Beret Guy has also previously traveled to the future in a similar manner, see [[209: Kayak]].

Beret Guy claims he has been eating newspapers to survive; newspaper clippings are a stereotype of time capsules. He also managed to live underground in the time capsule, which would typically be an airtight sealed box, for what must be assumed to be a at least several years. Although some time capsules are meant to be opened after just a few years (10 or 25 years for instance) the plan should be that is is not opened for at least several years after it is created. So this comic is one more example of the [[:Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy|strange powers of Beret Guy]] - i.e. living by eating paper and without breathing oxygen. But he has before displayed patience enough to sit still for five years in [[1088: Five Years]].

Beret Guy mentions he got inside his "time machine" to attempt an assassination of {{w|Adolf Hitler}}. This is a common trope in speculative fiction, a way to try to prevent the {{w|second world war}}.

Since he actually did not travel anywhere, but just let time pass, he did not get back to a time before Hitler died, and thus Ponytail can tell him that Hitler has been dead for a long time; at the time of this comics release for 70 years. So in the comic it is presumably at least this long ago, if the capsule was opened on the day of the release, maybe longer if this comic is set in the future. This fact does not bother Beret Guy, as he just realizes his job has already been done. What he thus fails to realize, is that he was supposed to kill Hitler before he got the second world war started. This was the same type of failure made by [[Black Hat]] in [[1063: Kill Hitler]]. Black Hat did actually travel 67 years back in time and killed Hitler, sadly it was in the last days of the war in 1945 just before Hitler would have died anyway, so it had no effect on history either (and the time machine was a one shot thing...)

When he finds out that his job is done he asks Ponytail if they should get some sandwiches. It is a known feature of Beret Guys that he likes bakers and bread, though not specifically sandwiches. Realizing he is in the future he suddenly becomes aware that this concept may have been forgotten, and he asks if they still exist in this future. This is a reference to another comic where Megan has traveled through time in the same way as Beret Guy (by traveling a second ahead for every second passing...) See [[630: Time Travel]].

In the title text Beret Guy becomes afraid that he will now disappear because he has changed the future in a way so he would no longer exist. This fear comes into him because he losses his sight, but it turns out it was just his beret that fell into his eyes. The fear is of course baseless since he traveled forward not backwards in time, and you can only change the future (or the present) by going back in time, and then experience the difference by going back to your starting point later in time.

A typical example would be to go back and kill you parents before you were born (or just prevent them from falling in love as in the movie ''{{w|Back to the Future}})''. This creates a {{w|Grandfather paradox|paradox}}, where you will never be born, and thus cease to exist. Of course the paradox is that you could thus not have prevented your birth in the first place, if you did not already exist.

Time machines has been referenced in many xkcd comics, see the [[:Category:Time travel|Time travel category]].

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is watching and Ponytail is about to open a time capsule that has just been dug out. A shovel is stuck in the ground next to a heap of dirt on the right side of a hole in the ground. Cueball is standing on the other side and Ponytail is in the hole, proceeding to lift up the lid of the box that makes up the time capsule.]
:Ponytail: All right, let's open the time capsule.

:[Slight zoom in on Ponytail and the box, without Cueball but still the shovel and dirt, when Beret Guy comes out of the capsule looking up at Ponytail who takes a step back up.]
:Beret Guy: Hi!
:Ponytail: Where did you come from?!
:Beret Guy: The past! I traveled here in this time machine.

:[Frame widens to include Cueball, in the same position as in the first frame. Ponytail relaxes a little and Beret Guy turns in the capsule to face Cueball.]
:Cueball: How did you ... '''''get''''' here from the past?
:Beret Guy: I dunno. I couldn't '''''not'''''.
:Cueball: But ... what did you ''eat?''
:Beret Guy: Newspapers, mostly.

:[Zoom in again in a bigger frame with Ponytail and the capsule, shovel and dirt. Beret Guy faces her again, but now he is holding a hammer.]
:Beret Guy: Anyway, I'm here to kill Hitler.
:Ponytail: But he died long ago!
:Beret Guy: Oh, good! That was easy.
:Beret Guy: Want to get sandwiches?
:Beret Guy: Do you still have sandwiches?

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Time travel]]

1608: Hoverboard

2015-11-24T22:08:52Z

Artyer:

{{comic
| number = 1607
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image =
| titletext =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Just created so people can start/comment}}
At first glance, this comic seems to be a simple game to see how fast you can collect coins, but you can go out of bounds to the left and right if you ignore the warnings. You are on a hoverboard, and can jump indefinately. Left or a to go left, k, w or up to jump and d, l or right to go right. There are 17 coins in the main area and 18 to the left.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete|Something similar to 1110: [[Click and Drag]]}}

{{comic discussion}}

1608: Hoverboard

2015-11-24T22:07:24Z

Artyer: Created page with "{{comic | number = 1607 | date = November 24, 2015 | title = Hoverboard | image = | titletext = }} ==Explanation== {{incomplete|Just created so people can s..."

{{comic
| number = 1607
| date = November 24, 2015
| title = Hoverboard
| image =
| titletext =
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Just created so people can start/comment}}
At first glance, this comic seems to be a simple game to see how fast you can collect coins, but you can go out of bounds to the left and right if you ignore the warnings. You are on a hoverboard, and can jump indefinately. Left or a to go left, k, w or up to jump and d, l or right to go right. There are 17 coins in the main area and 18 to the right.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete|Something similar to 1110: [[Click and Drag]]}}

{{comic discussion}}

File:What If?.jpeg

2015-11-18T16:23:07Z

Artyer: Artyer uploaded a new version of "File:What If?.jpeg": Reverted to version as of 18:44, 16 April 2015

== Summary ==
The general cover from the book
== Licensing ==
{{XKCD file derived}}

File:What If?.jpeg

2015-11-18T16:21:22Z

Artyer: Artyer uploaded a new version of "File:What If?.jpeg": Higher res

== Summary ==
The general cover from the book
== Licensing ==
{{XKCD file derived}}

what if?

2015-11-18T16:14:11Z

Artyer: /* Articles */ Capitalisation

Talk:1605: DNA

2015-11-18T16:11:25Z

Artyer:

The source for Google.com can be found at `<nowiki>view-source:https://www.google.com/</nowiki>` for Firefox and Chrome. Also [http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=u8SMf7G6 here]. —[[User:Artyer|Artyer]] <big>([[User Talk:Artyer|talk]]<big>'''|'''</big>[[Special:Contributions/Artyer|ctb]])</big> 16:06, 18 November 2015 (UTC)

1605: DNA

2015-11-18T16:11:07Z

Artyer:

{{comic
| number = 1605
| date = November 18, 2015
| title = DNA
| image = dna.png
| titletext = Researchers just found the gene responsible for mistakenly thinking we've found the gene for specific things. It's the region between the start and the end of every chromosome, plus a few segments in our mitochondria.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Good and short explanation; maybe someone needs an explanation for the tite text.}}

Because we have pretty much {{w|Human Genome Project|mapped the entire human Genome}}, it's tempting to think we now know what makes our bodies tick. But just knowing what the individual pieces are doesn't mean we know how they interact and behave in a complex system like our bodies.

In the comic, mapping the human genome is likened to knowing the {{w|source code}} for a program. By studying the source code for a program, a person can often understand why it does what it does, and make effective and fundamental changes to the program's operation. The comic points out that while in theory that could be the case with the human body, the reality is the human body is such a magnitude more complicated than the kinds of programs we have running that the comparison is not valid. Simply [http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=u8SMf7G6 looking at the source code] for the deceptively simple-looking Google home page shows there's a lot of complexity there.

What makes this worse for DNA is that although it can be thought of 'source code' it isn't for a comprehensive language, and that this code isn't written by someone but iteratively generated. This means that not all parts make sense and that there may by all kinds of side effects and parts that have several meanings. Looking at some obfuscated source code may make it clearer how misleading even simple looking code can be and how unreadable correct and well working code can be.

The joke in the title text is that "region between the start and the end of every chromosome" ''is'' the whole chromosome, implying all of your genes make you think you've found the gene for specific things.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat is standing with Megan while holding a laptop]
:White Hat: Biology is largely solved. DNA is the source code for our bodies. Now that gene sequencing is easy, we just have to read it.
:Megan: It's not just "source code". There's a ton of feedback and external processing.

:[White Hat walks past Megan toward a desk and chair]
:Megan: But even if it were, DNA is the result of the most aggressive optimization process in the universe, running in parallel at every level, in every living thing, for four billion years.
:White Hat: It's still just code.

:[White Hat sits down at the desk and opens his laptop]
:Megan: Ok, try opening google.com and clicking "View Source".
:White Hat: Ok, I-... Oh my god.
:Megan: That's just a few years of optimization by Google devs. DNA is thousands of times longer and way, way worse.
:White Hat: Wow, biology is impossible.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Science]]

1605: DNA

2015-11-18T16:07:43Z

Artyer: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1605
| date = November 18, 2015
| title = DNA
| image = dna.png
| titletext = Researchers just found the gene responsible for mistakenly thinking we've found the gene for specific things. It's the region between the start and the end of every chromosome, plus a few segments in our mitochondria.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Good and short explanation; maybe someone needs an explanation for the tite text.}}

Because we have pretty much {{w|Human Genome Project|mapped the entire human Genome}}, it's tempting to think we now know what makes our bodies tick. But just knowing what the individual pieces are doesn't mean we know how they interact and behave in a complex system like our bodies.

In the comic, mapping the human genome is likened to knowing the {{w|source code}} for a program. By studying the source code for a program, a person can often understand why it does what it does, and make effective and fundamental changes to the program's operation. The comic points out that while in theory that could be the case with the human body, the reality is the human body is such a magnitude more complicated than the kinds of programs we have running that the comparison is not valid. Simply [http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=GH6RdcQV looking at the source code] for the deceptively simple-looking Google home page shows there's a lot of complexity there.

What makes this worse for DNA is that although it can be thought of 'source code' it isn't for a comprehensive language, and that this code isn't written by someone but iteratively generated. This means that not all parts make sense and that there may by all kinds of side effects and parts that have several meanings. Looking at some obfuscated source code may make it clearer how misleading even simple looking code can be and how unreadable correct and well working code can be.

The joke in the title text is that "region between the start and the end of every chromosome" ''is'' the whole chromosome, implying all of your genes make you think you've found the gene for specific things.

==Transcript==
:[White Hat is standing with Megan while holding a laptop]
:White Hat: Biology is largely solved. DNA is the source code for our bodies. Now that gene sequencing is easy, we just have to read it.
:Megan: It's not just "source code". There's a ton of feedback and external processing.

:[White Hat walks past Megan toward a desk and chair]
:Megan: But even if it were, DNA is the result of the most aggressive optimization process in the universe, running in parallel at every level, in every living thing, for four billion years.
:White Hat: It's still just code.

:[White Hat sits down at the desk and opens his laptop]
:Megan: Ok, try opening google.com and clicking "View Source".
:White Hat: Ok, I-... Oh my god.
:Megan: That's just a few years of optimization by Google devs. DNA is thousands of times longer and way, way worse.
:White Hat: Wow, biology is impossible.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Science]]

Talk:1605: DNA

2015-11-18T16:07:19Z

Artyer:

The source for Google.com can be found at `<nowiki>view-source:https://www.google.com/</nowiki>` for Firefox and Chrome. Also [http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=GH6RdcQV here]. —[[User:Artyer|Artyer]] <big>([[User Talk:Artyer|talk]]<big>'''|'''</big>[[Special:Contributions/Artyer|ctb]])</big> 16:06, 18 November 2015 (UTC)