explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

977: Map Projections

2021-05-12T11:27:59Z

Avmarle: There are other alternatives, like AZERTY

{{comic
| number = 977
| date = November 14, 2011
| title = Map Projections
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = map_projections.png
| titletext = What's that? You think I don't like the Peters map because I'm uncomfortable with having my cultural assumptions challenged? Are you sure you're not... ::puts on sunglasses:: ...projecting?
}}
{{TOC}}
==Explanation==
{{w|Map projection}}, or how to represent the spherical Earth surface onto a flat support (paper, screen...) to have a usable map, is a long-time issue with very practical aspects (navigation, geographical shapes and masses visualization, etc.) as well as very scientific/mathematical ones, involving geometry or even abstract algebra among other things. There is no universal solution to this problem: Any 2D map projection will always distort in a way the spherical reality. Many projections have been proposed in various contexts, each intending to minimize distortions for specific uses (for nautical navigation, for aerial navigation, for landmass size comparisons, etc.) but having drawbacks from other points of view. Some of them are more frequently used than others in mass media and therefore more well-known than others, some are purely historical and now deprecated, some are very obscure, etc.

[[Randall]] suggests here the idea that someone's "favorite" map projection can reveal aspects of their personality, then goes through a series of them to show what they can mean.

He may actually believe that all map projections are in a way bad. This could be inferred from the fact that he much later began publishing a series of [[:Category:Bad Map Projections|Bad Map Projections]], starting with [[1784: Bad Map Projection: Liquid Resize]], which was Bad Map Projection #107 on his list, and was followed up by #79: [[1799: Bad Map Projection: Time Zones]]. The projections below could be #1-#12 on that list, although the last one, where Randall hates those that love it, might be somewhat further down the list.

===Mercator===
[[File:MercatorProjection.jpg|frame|The Mercator projection]]
The {{w|Mercator projection}} was introduced by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. The main purpose of this map is to preserve compass bearings; for example 13 degrees east of north will be 13 degrees clockwise from the ray pointing toward the top of the map, at every point. A mathematical consequence is the mapping is conformal, i.e. if two roads meet at a certain angle on the surface of the Earth, they will meet at that same angle on the map. It also follows that at every point the vertical and horizontal scales are the same, so locally i.e. considering only a small part of the map, geographical features (shapes, angles) are well represented, which helps a lot in recognizing them on-the-field, or for local navigation in that small part only. For this reason, that projection (or a close variant) is used in several online mapping services (such as Google Maps when this comic was published, but they switched to a globe, see below), which means that it is frequently encountered by the general public. A straight line on the map corresponds to a course of constant bearing (direction), which was very useful for nautical navigation in the past (and thus made that projection very well-known).

However, from a global point of view, this projection is radically incorrect in how it shows the size of landmasses (for instance, Antarctica and Greenland seem gigantic), and furthermore, it always excludes a small region around each pole (otherwise the map would be of infinite height), so it doesn't provide a complete solution for the problem of map projection. The comic implies that people who like that projection aren't very interested with map issues, and typically use what they are offered without thinking much about it.

{{clear}}

===Van der Grinten===
[[File:VanDerGrintenProjection.jpg|frame|The Van der Grinten projection]]
The {{w|Van der Grinten projection}} is not much better than the Mercator. It was adopted by {{w|National Geographic}} in 1922 and was used until they updated to the Robinson projection in 1988.

The Van der Grinten projection is circular as opposed to the Mercator projection. The fictional person believes a circular map is more fitting to the real Earth's three-dimensional spherical nature because both are round. This belief fails to recognize that a two-dimensional circle has very little in common with the surface of a sphere, and thus this projection still causes a vast distortion of space and area. Because of this, Randall implies the Van der Grinten enthusiast to be optimistic and childishly simple-minded (e.g. "you like circles").

{{clear}}

===Robinson===
[[File:RobinsonProjection.jpg|frame|The Robinson projection]]
The {{w|Robinson projection}} was developed by {{w|Arthur H. Robinson}} as a map that was supposed to look nice and is often used for classroom maps. National Geographic switched to this projection in 1988, and used it for ten years, switching to the {{w|Winkel tripel projection|Winkel-Tripel}} in 1998.

{{w|The Beatles}} was a rock band that enjoyed great commercial success in the 1960s, and are widely considered the best act ever in the genre of popular music. The Beatles, coffee, and running shoes are all things that are very commonly enjoyed and largely uncontroversial, as well as being comforting. Liking these specific things suggests an ordinary, easygoing lifestyle paralleled by the projection.

{{clear}}

===Dymaxion===
[[File:DymaxionProjection.jpg|frame|The Dymaxion projection]]
Also called the Fuller Map, the {{w|Dymaxion map}} takes a sphere and projects it onto an icosahedron, that is a polyhedron with 20 triangular faces. It is far easier to unwrap an icosahedron than it is to unwrap a sphere into a 2D object and has very little skewing of the poles. {{w|Buckminster Fuller}} was an eccentric futurist who believed, for example, that world maps should allow no conception of "up" or "down". He was therefore more than happy to defy people's expectations about maps in the pursuit of mathematical accuracy.

Randall associates the projection to geek subculture and niche markets:
*{{w|Isaac Asimov}} was an American science-fiction writer, who (as well as publishing many textbooks) is considered the father of the modern concept of robots. He invented the {{w|Three Laws of Robotics}}. He also worked on more than 500 books throughout his career.
*{{w|XML}} is the eXtensible Markup Language. It is used to represent data in a format that machines can read and understand, as well as being human-readable. In practice, XML is cumbersome to read.
*{{w|Vibram FiveFingers|Toed shoes}} are a [[1065: Shoes|favorite]] of Randall's to pick on. In society they are seen as a {{w|geek}} clothing item.
*Brought to the world by {{w|Dean Kamen}}, the {{w|Segway PT}} was supposed to be a device that changed the way cities were built. In reality, most jurisdictions have put in place rules specifically against Segways, making them a frustration to own and use within the law (in some states in Australia, it is illegal to use them on public footpaths or roads). Also, the former owner of {{w|Segway Inc.}}, the late {{w|Jimi Heselden}}, accidentally rode his Segway off a cliff in 2010.
*At the time of comic release, 3D goggles, nowadays widely known as {{w|Virtual reality headset|VR headsets}}, were considered a gimmick at best. The original idea is as old as 3D graphics, but it never really took off until mid-2010s. Earlier products were very unwieldy and offered poor graphics quality, so no one took this technology seriously.
*{{w|Dvorak Simplified Keyboard|Dvorak}} is an alternate keyboard layout to {{w|QWERTY}}. According to legend, QWERTY was invented to help keep manual typewriters from jamming (by placing the most used keys far from each other) but Dr. {{w|August Dvorak}} performed many studies and found the mathematically optimal keyboard layout to reduce finger travel for right handed typists. While some claim Dvorak is technically better than QWERTY, QWERTY had become the standard. Most keyboards were laid out in QWERTY format, but a lot of software exists to remap the keys to DVORAK for those interested in typing faster. Retraining the brain to use Dvorak takes perhaps a week. It has become a [[:Category:Dvorak|recurrent theme]] on xkcd.
**It seems likely that Randall looked at this comic when he made the [[1784: Bad Map Projection: Liquid Resize]], and given that he then released a comic about Dvorak, [[1787: Voice Commands]], the week after that, it seem like this old comic may also have inspired that Dvorak reference, see this [[1787: Voice Commands#Trivia|trivia item]].

{{clear}}

===Winkel-Tripel===
[[File:Winkel-TripelProjection.jpg|frame|The Winkel Tripel projection]]
Proposed by Oswald Winkel in 1921, the {{w|Winkel tripel projection}} tried to reduce a set of three (German: Tripel) main problems with map projections: area, direction, and distance. The {{w|Kavrayskiy VII projection|Kavrayskiy projection}} is very similar to the Winkel Tripel and was used by the USSR, but very few in the Western world know of it.

The comic links this projection to {{w|hipster}} subculture. The hipster stereotype is to avoid conforming to mainstream fashions. "Post-" refers to a variety of musical genres such as {{w|post-punk}}, {{w|post-grunge}}, {{w|post-minimalism}}, etc. that branch off of other genres.

;Trivia
*In German "Winkel-Tripel-Projektion" means Winkel's triple projection, and therefore the hyphen shouldn't be there: "Winkel Tripel" or "Winkel tripel".
*This projection was later used in [[2242: Ground vs Air]].

{{clear}}

===Goode Homolosine===
[[File:GoodeHomolosineProjection.jpg|frame|The Goode Homolosine projection]]
The {{w|Goode homolosine projection}} takes a different approach to skewing a sphere into a roughly circular surface. An orange peel can be taken from an orange and flattened with fair success; this is roughly the procedure that {{w|John Paule Goode}} followed in creating this projection. Randall is suggesting that people who like this map also prefer relatively easy solutions to other things in life, despite those solutions having nuanced problems that are more difficult to address.

Common people make arguments that if normal people would run the United States, then the US wouldn't be in the trouble it is. This is from the belief that career politicians are simply out to make money and will only act in the interest of their constituency when their continued easy life is threatened (usually around election time).

Airline food is another, much maligned, problem. How do you store enough food to feed people on long airplane trips? What kind of food can be served in an enclosed, low-air-pressure environment? The common solution is to use some kind of prepackaged, reheated meal. Randall is saying that the people in favor of the Goode Homolosine wonder why the airlines don't simply order meals from the restaurants in the airport, store that food, and serve it, rather than using bland reheated food.

Older cars burned oil like mad fiends, and oil back then would become corrosive to the innards of an engine, so oil had to be changed often. But, with the introduction of synthetic motor oil and better designed engines, new cars only need their oil changed about every 10,000 to 15,000 miles. A common conspiracy theory is that modern automobile oil manufacturers still recommend that car owners change their oil every 3,000-5,000 miles to "drum" up more business, even though that frequency is unnecessary.

All of these references suggest that people who like the Goode Homolosine projection are fans of easy solutions to problems. However, the solutions would not necessarily work in practice. For instance: the restaurants might have trouble making enough food for the whole plane, and it could get cold before being served; the air conditions [http://www.nbcnews.com/health/one-reason-airline-food-so-bad-your-own-tastebuds-6C10823522 aboard planes] can affect taste, so airlines say they optimize for this; there is no such thing as a "normal" person, and if there were, he/she would have virtually no chance at actually getting into government office; and the Goode Homolosine projection, while mostly resembling a flattened orange peel as suggested by the earlier analogy, does indeed cut down on distortion, but also has serious problems of its own, such as leaving huge gaps of nothingness between the continents, making distances across the oceans difficult to visualize.

{{clear}}

===Hobo–Dyer===
[[File:Hobo-DyerProjection.jpg|frame|The Hobo–Dyer projection]]
The {{w|Hobo–Dyer projection}} was commissioned by Bob Abramms and Howard Bronstein and was drafted by Mick Dyer in 2002. It is a modified {{w|Behrmann projection}}. The goal was to be a more visually pleasing version of the Gall–Peters.

As is discussed in the Gall–Peters explanation, the Gall–Peters was developed to be equal area, so that economically disadvantaged areas can at least take comfort in the fact that their country is represented correctly by area on maps.

Randall associates the Hobo–Dyer projection to "crunchy granola" — a stereotype associated with vegetarianism, environmental activism, anti-war activism, liberal political leanings, and some traces of {{w|hippie}} culture.

With feminism becoming mainstream and alternative genders being more widely accepted, some have begun to invent gender-neutral pronouns so that when referring to a person whose gender is not known they cannot be offended by being referred to by the wrong pronouns. In {{w|Middle English}} 'they' and 'their' were {{w|Singular they|accepted genderless pronouns that could replace 'he', 'she'}} as well as be used to represent a crowd, but this usage is considered by some to be grammatically incorrect because of the plural/singular debate ([https://www.merriam-webster.com/video/the-awkward-case-of-his-or-her stupid Victorian Grammarians!]). There have been {{w|gender-neutral pronoun#Invented pronouns|many attempts at popularizing invented gender-neutral pronouns}} and they are beginning to achieve some degree of success in the mainstream.

{{clear}}

===Plate Carrée===
[[File:PlateCarreeProjection.jpg|frame|The Plate Carrée projection]]
Also known as the {{w|Equirectangular projection}}, it has been in use since, apparently, 100 AD. The benefit of this projection is that latitude and longitude can be used as x,y coordinates. This makes it especially easy for computers to graph data on top of it.

According to the comic, the projection appeals to people who find much beauty in simplicity.

{{clear}}

===A Globe!===
[[File:GlobeProjection.jpg|frame|The Globe "projection"]]
In any good discussion there has to be at least one smart-ass. This is a comic about map projections, that is, the science of taking a sphere and flattening it into 2 dimensions. The smart-ass believes that we shouldn't even try: a sphere is, tautologically, the perfect representation of a sphere.

To quote ''{{w|The Princess Bride}}'': "Yes, you're very smart. Shut up."

A globe is, of course, the "map projection" used by {{w|Google Earth}}, and recently by other mapping software (including Google Maps) as computers and phones get increasingly powerful 3D graphics.

{{clear}}

===Waterman butterfly===
[[File:WatermanButterflyProjection.jpg|frame|The Waterman Butterfly projection]]
Similar to the Dymaxion, the {{w|Waterman butterfly projection}} turns a sphere into an octahedron, and then unfolds the net of the octahedron, which was devised by mathematician {{w|Waterman polyhedron|Steve Waterman}} based upon the work of {{w|Bernard J.S. Cahill}}.

Bernard Cahill published a [http://www.genekeyes.com/B.J.S._CAHILL_RESOURCE.html butterfly map] in 1909. Steve Waterman probably has the only extant "ready to go" map following the same general principles, though Gene Keys may not be far behind. Waterman has a poem with graphics in a similar vein to this xkcd comic that is worth reading.[http://web.archive.org/web/20120118095915/http://watermanpolyhedron.com/worldmap.html]

[https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/pcr.2016.48.issue-4/pcr-2016-0014/pcr-2016-0014.pdf Polyhedral projections] like Cahill, Dymaxion or Waterman typically offer better accuracy of size, shape and area than flat projections, at the expense of compass directionality, connectedness, and other complications.

The joke is that the person responding deeply understands map projections; anyone who knows of this projection is a person that Randall would like to get to know.

{{clear}}

===Peirce quincuncial===
[[File:PeirceQuincuncialProjection.jpg|frame|The Peirce Quincuncial projection]]
The {{w|Peirce quincuncial projection}} was devised by {{w|Charles Sanders Peirce}} in 1879 and uses {{w|complex analysis}} to make a {{w|conformal mapping}} of the Earth, that conforms except for four points which would make up the midpoints of sides and lie on equator (the equator is represented by a square and the corners connect the sides in the middle.)

{{w|Inception}} was a 2010 movie about {{w|meta}} {{w|lucid dream}}ing. It has a complex story that is difficult to follow and leaves the viewer with many questions at the end, and almost needs to be watched multiple times to be understood.

The human brain is not well developed to deal with oddly obvious things. One example is that everyone has a skeleton, but everyone is surprised to see a part of their body represented by an X-ray. Another is the fascinating complexity of the human hand, a machine which is amazingly complex, driven by a complex interplay of electrical and chemical signals; yet is the size of the hand and so useful. A fascination with or fixation on {{tvtropes|ContemplatingYourHands|such thoughts}} is often associated with an altered state of mind brought on by marijuana consumption. Therefore, Randall may be implying that this map would appeal to stoners.

{{clear}}

===Gall–Peters===
[[File:Gall-PetersProjection.jpg|frame|The Gall–Peters projection]]
The {{w|Gall–Peters projection}} is mired in controversy, surprisingly for a map. {{w|James Gall}}, a 19th-century clergyman, presented this projection in 1855 before the {{w|British Association for the Advancement of Science}}. In 1967, the filmmaker {{w|Arno Peters}} created the same projection and presented it to the world as a "new invention" that put poorer, less powerful countries into their rightful proportions (as opposed to the Mercator). Peters played the marketing game and got quite a few followers of his map by saying it had "absolute angle conformality," "no extreme distortions of form," and was "totally distance-factual" in an age when society was very concerned about social justice. All of these claims were in fact false. The Mercator projection distorts size in favor of shape, and Gall-Peters distorts shape in favor of size, being especially inaccurate at the equator and the poles.

The implication is that the fans of this map are pompously concerned with social justice, and willing either to lie or convey marketing mistruths to promote that cause. Alternatively Randall just dislikes this map projection so much due to the above mentioned inaccuracies, that he hates anyone who likes it.

{{clear}}

===Title text===
The title text makes a joke that goes to the familiar meme from ''{{w|CSI: Miami}}'', in which the star, David Caruso starts a sentence, then puts on his sunglasses and ends the sentence with a corny pun. In this case, the pun is on {{w|map projection}} and {{w|projection (psychology)|projection}} in psychology. Psychological projection is an unconscious defense mechanism wherein a person who is uncomfortable with their own impulses denies having them and attributes them to other people, and blames these people for these impulses. The Sunglasses internet meme has been used [[:Category:Puts on sunglasses|in other comics]] as well.

==Transcript==
:What your favorite
:'''Map Projection'''
:says about you
:[All of these are organized as Title, a copy of the particular projection underneath, and what it says about you under that.]

:*Mercator
:**You're not really into maps.
:*Van der Grinten
:**You're not a complicated person. You love the Mercator projection; you just wish it weren't square. The Earth's not a square, it's a circle. You like circles. Today is gonna be a good day!
:*Robinson
:**You have a comfortable pair of running shoes that you wear everywhere. You like coffee and enjoy The Beatles. You think the Robinson is the best-looking projection, hands down.
:*Dymaxion
:**You like Isaac Asimov, XML, and shoes with toes. You think the Segway got a bad rap. You own 3D goggles, which you use to view rotating models of better 3D goggles. You type in Dvorak.
:*Winkel-Tripel
:**National Geographic adopted the Winkel-Tripel in 1998, but you've been a W-T fan since ''long'' before "Nat Geo" showed up. You're worried it's getting played out, and are thinking of switching to the Kavrayskiy. You once left a party in disgust when a guest showed up wearing shoes with toes. Your favorite musical genre is "Post–".
:*Goode Homolosine
:**They say mapping the Earth on a 2D surface is like flattening an orange peel, which seems enough to you. You like easy solutions.You think we wouldn't have so many problems if we'd just elect ''normal'' people to Congress instead of Politicians. You think airlines should just buy food from the restaurants near the gates and serve ''that'' on board. You change your car's oil, but secretly wonder if you really ''need'' to.
:*Hobo-Dyer
:**You want to avoid cultural imperialism, but you've heard bad things about Gall-Peters. You're conflict-averse and buy organic. You use a recently-invented set of gender-neutral pronouns and think that what the world needs is a revolution in consciousness.
:*Plate Carrée (Equirectangular)
:**You think this one is fine. You like how X and Y map to latitude and longitude. The other projections overcomplicate things. You want me to stop asking about maps so you can enjoy dinner.
:*A Globe!
:**Yes, you're very clever.
:*Waterman Butterfly
:**Really? You know the Waterman? Have you seen the 1909 Cahill Map it's based— ...You have a framed reproduction at home?! Whoa. ...Listen, forget these questions. Are you doing anything tonight?
:*Peirce Quincuncial
:**You think that when we look at a map, what we really see is ourselves. After you first saw ''Inception'', you sat silent in the theater for six hours. It freaks you out to realize that everyone around you has a skeleton inside them. You ''have'' really looked at your hands.
:*Gall-Peters
:**I ''hate'' you.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps‏‎]]
[[Category:Dvorak]]
[[Category:Puts on sunglasses]]
[[Category:Puns]]

21: Kepler

2019-10-11T03:40:48Z

Avmarle:

{{comic
| number = 21
| date = October 17, 2005
| title = Kepler
| image = kepler.jpg
| titletext = Science joke. You should probably move along.
}}

==Explanation==
A Cueball-like guy asks [[Cueball]], the store manager, how they keep the store so clean, and he is told that they have hired Kepler, a hard worker who doesn't mind the monotony and sweeps out the same area every night.

{{w|Johannes Kepler}} was a German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer, best known for his laws of planetary motion. By using {{w|Tycho Brahe}}'s observations of our solar system (Brahe gave Kepler the job of observing and explaining the motion of the planet Mars), Kepler was able to deduce that planets in the system do not move in a circular orbit around the Sun, but rather in an elliptical one.
In doing so, he directly contradicted Brahe's own conviction that the Earth was the centre of the universe.

According to {{w|Kepler's_laws_of_planetary_motion#Second_law|Kepler's Second Law}}, "A line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time." This looks like sweeping a broom over the floor.

In the comic, the janitor Kepler also sweeps the same area, although in this case, "area" is used in the sense of "surface" (of floor) rather than in the purely mathematical sense. It is also very monotonous, like a planet's set orbit, but Kepler doesn't mind this.

The comic could also be seen as a subtle reference to the Kepler space telescope that was searching for exoplanets (planets outside the Solar system) from March 2009 to August 2013, by looking at exactly the same spot in the night sky over and over again. Even though the telescope was not launched until 4 years after this comic was published, the details of Project Kepler had been disclosed by NASA press releases as early as 2001. [https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2001/01_107AR.html]

==Transcript==
:[Two Cueball-like guys stand in an aisle in a store.]
:Cueball-like guy: Nice store. How do you keep the floors so clean?
:Cueball the store manager: Oh, we hired this dude named Kepler, he's really good. Hard worker. Doesn't mind the monotony. Sweeps out the same area every night.

==Trivia==
*This was the 20th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[20: Ferret]].
**The next was [[44: Love]].
*Original title: "Monday's drawing"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "Another one which, if you don't get, you're probably better off."
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
**This is the same day that NASA announced the delay of Project Kepler due to budget cuts.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 20]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Physics]]

1145: Sky Color

2019-03-12T03:30:19Z

Avmarle:

{{comic
| number = 1145
| date = December 10, 2012
| title = Sky Color
| image = sky_color.png
| titletext = Feynman recounted another good one upperclassmen would use on freshmen physics students: When you look at words in a mirror, how come they're reversed left to right but not top to bottom? What's special about the horizontal axis?
}}

==Explanation==
The point of this comic is that often, curious children ask their parents simple questions about understanding how the world works. Often, although the question is simple, the answer is not. "Why is the sky blue?" is a common example, since most parents are not familiar with {{w|Rayleigh scattering}}, and thus are unable to answer the question.

[[Randall]]'s hobby is to make those questions even harder, so that the parents who ''are'' familiar with the subject (scientists, for example) will be stumped.

Another point of this comic is that we often think that we understand a scientific phenomenon (e.g. why is the sky blue?); however, a certain simple question (e.g. why isn't the sky violet?) can often uncover large gaps in our actual understanding.

{{W|Rayleigh scattering}} is the phenomenon that explains the color of the sky, where light of every wavelength gets scattered in the air by the inverse quartic (fourth power) of its wavelength as given in the comic. In the {{w|visible spectrum}}, blue light has a wavelength of 450–495 nm while violet has a shorter wavelength of 380–450 nm. Violet light does indeed get scattered more than blue light, however the lower portion of the spectrum for sunlight consists of blue light and eyes are much more sensitive to blue light than violet light. Furthermore, the sunlight contains more blue than violet to begin with as a result of the surface temperature of the sun. This leaves the impression of a blue sky. A good explanation, including why blue and not violet, can be found in [http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/BlueSky/blue_sky.html Usenet Physics FAQ :: Why is the sky blue?], but note that human color perception [http://blog.asmartbear.com/color-wheels.html is more complicated] than described there.

The title text refers to a {{w|mirror image}}, and is discussed by the famous American theoretical physicist {{w|Richard Feynman}} in a famous BBC documentary [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tuxLY94LXw], as one of the problems which he used to have fun with first years (British English for first year student or freshman).

A mirror image is a virtual image produced by the reflection of light on a mirror. In the mirror image, only front and back are switched around — like a printing press or a rubber stamp. Left and right are still left and right in an absolute reference frame — wave your left arm in front of the mirror and the "mirror person" also waves the arm on the left side. It is only when using "personal" reference frame —tied to the individual— that we can say that the "mirror person" is moving their right arm. The apparent inversion comes from the fact that the mind projects itself onto the person in the mirror.

To help understand why this effect happens, imagine that you are holding a sign which says "MIX" and facing a mirror. Initially, you face the sign towards you. The M is on the left and the X on the right. Now, you turn the sign around so that the sign faces the mirror. Now, even without paying any attention to the mirror, simply because you have turned it around, now the M is on the right and the X is on the left and if you could see through the back of the sign, it would say "XIM" from your perspective. When you look at it in the mirror, you are now able to see that orientation and it appears to read "XIM". If instead of turning the sign around horizontally to look at it in the mirror, you flipped it vertically and looked at it in the mirror, it would appear to say "WIX" in the mirror. Thus the mirror is only revealing how the text is oriented relative to your eyes. Or, to put it more succinctly: mirrors ''don't'' reverse left to right, ''turning around'' does. Mirrors reverse along whatever direction is perpendicular to the plane of the mirror. You can induce a mirror to reverse left and right only --- by standing next to it instead of in front of it, facing along the plane of the mirror itself. If you lift your right arm, you can clearly see your image's left arm raising, without having to adjust for frame of reference. Similarly, you can induce a mirror to reverse top and bottom only by holding it flat above your head or laying it flat on the ground and standing on it (or perhaps standing under a suitably equipped bedroom ceiling).

==Transcript==
:[Science Girl and her mother, Megan. Megan is at a desk and facing the girl.]
:Science Girl: Mommy, why is the sky blue?
:Megan: Rayleigh scattering! Short wavelengths get scattered ''way'' more (proportional to 1/''λ''4). Blue light dominates because it's so short.
:Science Girl: Oh.
:Science Girl: So why ''isn't'' the sky violet?
:Megan: Well, because, uh... ...hmm.

:My hobby: Teaching tricky questions to the children of my scientist friends.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Science Girl]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

992: Mnemonics

2019-03-04T07:06:32Z

Avmarle:

{{comic
| number = 992
| date = December 19, 2011
| title = Mnemonics
| image = mnemonics.png
| titletext = 'Sailor Moon's head exploded once' and 'Some men have explosive orgasms' both work for the Great Lakes from west to east (Paddle-to-the-Sea order).
}}

==Explanation==
A {{w|mnemonic}} is a trick that makes memorization easier. To memorizing a sequence of names, a common type of mnemonic takes the initials of the sequence and invents another phrase to them. For example, the order of operations goes '''P'''arentheses, '''E'''xponentiation, '''M'''ultiplication and '''D'''ivision, '''A'''ddition and '''S'''ubtraction, and the traditional mnemonic goes '''P'''lease '''E'''xcuse '''M'''y '''D'''ear '''A'''unt '''S'''ally. To make them more memorable, mnemonics are usually quite silly and often vulgar. In this comic, Randall invents various scientific mnemonics, some of them as suggested replacements for traditional ones.

The category is listed at the top of the box, the members are listed below that. Then there is the traditional mnemonic that children are usually taught in school to help them remember. Below the comic is one or two options for new mnemonics suggested by Randall. The top one is illustrated in the frame.

*{{w|SI}} Prefixes are the prefixes for the systems of units from large to small and since there are so many, the mnemonic needs two lines.
**{{w|Karl Marx}}, as visible in the comic, was a German philosopher and economist who, among other things, popularized the ideas of socialism and communism. Central to his ideas was the {{w|dictatorship of the proletariat}}, or the working class achieved by an uprising of the lower class, which taken literally could be done using zeppelins.
**{{w|Microsoft}}'s {{w|Zune}} was a failed mp3 player that Microsoft brought to market. It never caught on.

*{{w|Taxonomy}} is the science of identifying and naming species. {{w|Katy Perry}}, portrayed in the panel, is an {{w|United States|American}} {{w|pop music}} singer, whose popular songs are ones like "Fireworks" or "I Kissed A Girl".

*In the geologic periods frame, the illustration is of a month's worth of "the pill", a common contraceptive. The affliction Polycystic Ovarian Cyndrome, causes women to have an irregular menstrual period. This can be treated with a low powered version of the contraceptive pill.

*In {{w|Resistor}} Color Codes, {{w|Glenn Beck}} is in the illustration. Beck is a far-right conservative commentator in the US, who used to have a show on the {{w|Fox News}} Network.
**The prevailing mnemonic for resistor color codes is pretty terrible (and memorable), hence Randall's comment "none I care for".
**{{w|WP:BOLD|Be Bold}} is a {{w|Wikipedia}} credo. Respect Others may be a reference to {{w|WP:AGF|Assume Good Faith}}, another Wikipedia philosophy.

*In the Planets frame, the illustration is of Mary and Joseph, who in the story of the Birth of Jesus in the Bible, were mother and father to Jesus. However, Mary's conception of Jesus was from God and Mary was still considered a virgin. This mnemonic shows Joseph not really believing that story. Ironically the upstairs neighbour could have multiple meanings as you can't get more upstairs than heaven and thus God. Given the snarky tone of most xkcd comics take, it is likely a corporeal neighbor that is being suspected, but it is curious that a neighbor of the upstairs variety is specifically referenced especially given the lack of urban density in the time of Christ.
**Most traditional Planets mnemonics include Pluto, which was "officially" considered a planet before 2006.

*The {{w|Great Lakes}} mentioned by the title text are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario
**''{{w|Sailor Moon}}'' is a manga series.
**''{{w|Paddle-to-the-Sea}}'' is an illustrated children's book by {{w|Holling C. Holling}} about a toy boat's journey through the Great Lakes.

==Transcript==
:XKCD Presents:
:'''Some New Science Mnemonics'''

:''(Pattern goes:''
:''Subject''
:''Elements''
:''Traditional mnemonic''
:''Contents of frame''
:''New mnemonics)''

:'''Order of Operations'''
:Parentheses, Exponents, Division & Multiplication, Addition & Subtraction
:Traditional: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
:[Person having a shark delivered to his laptop.]
:Please Email My Dad A Shark
:or
:People Expect More Drugs And Sex

:'''SI Prefixes'''
:Big: Kilo, Mega, Giga, Tera, Peta, Exa, Zetta, (Yotta)
:Milli, Micro, Nano, Pico, Femto, Atto, Zepto, (Yocto)
:Traditional: [I never learned one.]
:[Graph of the declining profits of the Zune.]
:[Karl Marx delivering a number of zeppelins to a bunch of confused proletariats.]
:Big: Karl Marx Gave The Proletariat Eleven Zeppelins(, Yo)
:Small: Microsoft Made No Profit From Anyone's Zunes(, Yo)

:'''Taxonomy'''
:Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
:Traditional: King Philip Came Over For Good Sex
:Katy Perry: I'm not sure who doubts this, really.
:Katy Perry Claims Orgasms Feel Good Sometimes
:or
:Kernel Panics Crash Our Family Game System.

:'''Geologic Periods'''
:(Precambrian), Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene
:Traditional: [I never learned one.]
:[A month's set of birth control pills.]
:PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome Does Cause Problems That Judicious Contraceptves [sic] Partially Negate

:'''Resistor Color Codes'''
:Black Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, Gray, White
:Traditional: [none I care for]
:[Glenn Beck holding the traditional "Nanobot Vaccine Chemtrail 9/11" sign.]
:"Big Brother Reptilian Overlords", yelled Glenn, "Brainwashing Via Ground water!!";
:or
:Be Bold, Respect Others; You'll Gradually Become Versatile, Great Wikipedians!

:'''Planets'''
:Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
:Traditional: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos
:[A pregnant Mary attempting to explain things to an incredulous Joseph with black hair and full beard]
:Mary's "Virgin" Explanation Made Joseph Suspect Upstairs Neighbor.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Airships]]
[[Category:Sharks]]

850: World According to Americans

2019-01-28T01:36:14Z

Avmarle: /* Table of items in the map */ spelling

{{comic
| number = 850
| date = January 21, 2011
| title = World According to Americans
| image = world according to americans.png
| titletext = It's not our fault we caught a group on their way home from a geography bee. And they taught us that Uzbekistan is one of the world's two doubly-landlocked countries!
}}
*A [http://xkcd.com/850_large/ larger version] of this image can be found by clicking the image at xkcd.com - the comic's page can also be accessed by clicking on the comic number above.

==Explanation==
There's a somewhat well-circulated image on the internet entitled "[http://google.com/search?q=the+world+according+to&tbm=isch The World According to Americans]" which plays on the stereotype of the ignorant American. In it, the entirety of Eastern Europe and most of Asia are entitled "commies" and the Middle-East as "evil-doers," and so on. Later, other people created similar maps to re-do the concept. It later spread to other cultures.

This comic is an anti-joke playing on that idea. You expect to see something which plays on the stereotypes that exist in American culture of various parts of the world. However, instead, the map is remarkably well-informed, and shows how sampling bias can be used to conflate results. The title text explains that the people who were interviewed had studied for a geography bee. See below the [[#Table of items in the map|table of items in the map]].

The title text jokes that in fact the only reason that the map is fairly well annotated is that the group of people labeling it were actually on the way back from a {{w|National Geographic Bee|geography bee (competition)}}. This could add weight to the 'Ignorant American' stereotype as these individuals should know more than the common person (Although, as the illustrators wrote below Cape Horn, the reason they did not draw Antarctica or many South American, Middle Eastern and British countries and the lack of detail may be because the people who asked them to draw this map was beginning to 'look impatient' since they did not get the expected ignorant result.)

A {{w|landlocked country}} is a country that does not border any major bodies of water. Furthering the concept, a {{w|Landlocked_country#Doubly_landlocked|doubly-landlocked}} country is a country that not only has no connection to water, but is only bordered by ''other'' landlocked countries. As the title text states, there are only two such countries in the world as of 2012: {{w|Uzbekistan}} and {{w|Liechtenstein}}. This is the type of fact that may be stereotypically expected of a geography bee competitor.

===Table of items in the map===
{| class="wikitable"
!style="width: 25%;"|Annotation
! Further details
|-
| Hey so what projection should we use? I’ll aim for “Robinson”.
| Any flat [[977|map projection]] of a sphere must have inaccuracies. {{w|Mercator projection}} displays shapes well at the expense of size. For example, Mercator's Greenland appears larger than South America, but is actually one eighth the size. {{w|Gall-Peters projection}} does the opposite, showing accurate surface area with distorted ("awful") shapes. {{w|Robinson projection}} compromises between shape & size for aesthetics; hence Greenland is "still too big".
|-
| Did you know Maine is actually the US state closest to Africa?
| The distance is about 5076 km (~3754 mi). Measurement points are {{w|Sail Rock (disambiguation)|Sail Rock (Maine)}}, the most eastern point of the USA, and a point which seems to be the most southern (and as such western) point of el-Beddouza Beach, {{w|Morocco}}. It's not the most western point of Morocco (or Africa), though.
|-
| Do we have to label all the Virgin Islands?
| Which are {{w|Virgin_Islands#Larger_Islands|9 larger}} and about 100 {{w|List of Caribbean islands#British Virgin Islands|smaller}} {{w|List of Caribbean islands#United States Virgin Islands|islands}} - surely a lot of labels.
|-
| French, and I think Dutch and English
| The three separated areas are (from west to east) {{w|Guyana}} (former British colony), {{w|Suriname}} (former Dutch colony) and {{w|French Guiana}} (still officially part of France). The former two often switched between French, Dutch and British colonial rule. The latter was French most times except of a short Portuguese episode.
|-
| Brazil (Portugese-speaking )
Rest of South America (Spanish-speaking)
| In green is Portuguese-speaking (misspelled) Brazil, and in blue are the Spanish speaking Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina.
|-
| {{w|Greenland}} (Still too big!)
Yeah, but the Peters map is awful
| Relating back to the choice of map projection, the apparent size of Greenland is one of the most commonly known projection based inaccuracies. The {{w|Gall-Peters projection}} shows accurate surface area, but with distorted ("awful") shapes.
|-
|Scandanavia
| A typo of {{w|Scandinavia}}. The area shown includes Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, but the actual area of Scandinavia excludes Finland. The Scandinavian peninsula countries include Norway, Finland, and Sweden, and those can be collectively (and nerdily) referred to as "Fennoscandia."
|-
| Western Europe
Eastern Europe
| The line here approximately follows that of the {{w|Iron Curtain}} that separated the {{w|Warsaw Pact}} states (the Soviet Union and other Communist allies) from the {{w|NATO}} (US-allied) and neutral states. However, all of Germany is included in Western Europe (when during the Cold War it was divided into East and West Germany) while Austria (which was officially neutral in the Cold War but closely tied to the West and therefore blocked off from its Communist neighbors) is marked as Eastern Europe. Here, Eastern Europe also includes the {{w|Balkans}} (the southern peninsula east of Italy), which are usually considered separate. During the Cold War, the Balkans were divided between Soviet-allied Albania (which later left the Pact) and Bulgaria, NATO-allied Greece and Turkey, and Yugoslavia, which was a neutral Communist state. It's also worth noting that there should be a blob of Russian red in the middle of Eastern Europe, representing the Russian exclave of {{w|Kaliningrad oblast}}.
|-
| British Isles
Ireland
| Although {{w|Ireland}} belongs to the {{w|British Isles}} geographically, it does not belong to the {{w|British Islands}} politically. That may be the reason why Ireland is labeled additionally - to show it's known that Ireland does not belong to the {{w|United Kingdom}}. {{w|Northern Ireland}} does, though.
|-
| Rainforest DRC
| The area shown is actually not completely the {{w|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} (DRC), but since one of the persons who made this map says he doesn't know the African map very well (see statement below), it's fairly accurate. Also the area called rainforest is somewhat larger than the area depicted as {{w|tropical rainforest}} on Wikipedia.
|-
| So this is one of those things where you point out our ignorance and stereotypes?
Yeah – I mean I freely admit I don’t know the African map very well, which speaks volumes in itself.
| Here two of the persons involved in drawing this map discusses what their lack of knowledge about Africa says about them. The African portion of the map is for sure the most poorly labeled, which lends weight to the stereotype of the 'Ignorant American'. Although it has to be mentioned, that the geography of Africa is in general not well known - at least within the Western world. So that's not really an American thing, here. The few countries which are labeled here mostly are well known because of their unstable political situation or because of their remarkable location. The labeled locations (and the presumably reasons of their "publicity") are west to east, north to south: {{w|Morocco}} ({{w|Arab Spring}}, location), {{w|Algeria}} (Arab Spring, {{w|Algerian Civil War|Civil War}}), {{w|Sahara|Sahara Desert}} (largest hot desert of the world), {{w|Sudan}} ({{w|Second Sudanese Civil War|Civil war}}, Arab Spring), {{w|West Africa}} ({{w|West Africa#Postcolonial eras|Lots of Civil wars}} and thus bad humanitarian situation, {{w|Blood diamond|Blood diamonds}}), {{w|Somalia}} ({{w|Somali Civil War|Civil war}}, {{w|Piracy in Somalia|pirates}}), {{w|Lake Victoria}} (largest lake of Africa, quite remarkable even at large scale maps (as here)), {{w|Mozambique}} ({{w|Mozambican Civil War|Civil war}}), {{w|Angola}} ({{w|Angolan Civil War|Civil War}}) and {{w|Madagascar}} (one of the worlds large island at the east coast - quite remarkable).
|-
| Cape Horn
| {{w|Cape Horn}} is the southern tip of ''South America'', not ''Africa''. The southern tip of Africa is called {{w|Cape of Good Hope}}.
|-
| Should we include {{w|Antarctica}}?
Let’s not – these guys are looking impatient
| Here it is made clear that since those who came with this assignment is getting impatient since their project of proving how little Americans know about the world failed miserably. And now they are getting impatient. It also shows that if some labels or parts are missing then it could be because of this and not for lack of knowledge. This is also a joke on the lack of labels that would be required for the map of Antarctica. Drawing Antarctica and labeling it would probably take less time than having the discussion about whether to include it, and then writing that discussion on the map.
|-
| {{w|Aral Sea}} (Gone)
| Former one of the largest fresh-water lakes of the world, now actually not completely gone, but almost.
|-
| Various former soviet states
| Which are (west to east) {{w|Kazakhstan}}, {{w|Turkmenistan}}, {{w|Uzbekistan}}, {{w|Tajikistan}} and {{w|Kyrgyzstan}}. The former {{w|Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics}} was dissolved in 1991 and thus the {{w|Cold War}} had ended.
|-
| Middle East
| Drawn here to include {{w|Egypte}} and {{w|Turkey}}. Whether these should be included depends on whether you mean the phrase ''Middle East'' politically or geographically. They are both Muslim countries, but geographically Egypte is in Africa and Turkey is usually not included because of its close affiliation with Europe.
|-
| Boxing Day quake
Wait, “Boxing day”? There’s no way you’re American.
I read BBC News, OK?
| On December 26, 2004, a {{w|2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|huge earthquake}} struck off the coast of Indonesia, causing severe tsunamis. December 26, the day after {{w|Christmas Day}}, is celebrated as {{w|Boxing Day}} in the UK, Canada, Australia, and some other English-speaking countries, but not the US. As such, the earthquake became known as the Boxing Day Quake.
One of the people who came asked these people to draw this map picks up on the use of 'Boxing Day' as something no American would say and questions that this person is in fact American. But an American reader of {{w|BBC News}} (part of the British Broadcasting Corporation) may start to use the phrase "Boxing Day" about the Tsunami.
|-
| India -> Mostly Muslim
India -> Mostly Hindu
| In general {{w|India}} is separated in {{w|Religion in India|two religious groups}}. Muslims in the north-west, Hindus in the rest.
|-
| Tibet (contested)
| The area was annexed by the {{w|People's Republic of China}} in the 1950s. Since then there are struggles to gain independence, again. The marked area is fairly inaccurate, though. Today's {{w|Tibet Autonomous Region}} (former {{w|Kingdom of Tibet}}) is roughly the southern half of the marked area extended a bit to the south-east.
|-
| Kamchatka Peninsula, but I admit I only know this one from Risk
|''{{w|Risk (game)|Risk}}'' is a board game played on a map of the world, where players own territories and battle each other for world domination. The person in the comic admits to knowing {{w|Kamchatka Peninsula}} only from the territory "Kamchatka" in the game. Kamchatka is notable among the territories in the game because it and Alaska are connected, despite being on opposite sides of the board- a fact that can easily be overlooked.
|-
| Koreas
| The two Koreas are the ''{{w|Democratic People's Republic of Korea}}'' (North Korea) and the ''{{w|Republic of Korea}}'' (South Korea).
|-
| Japan, duh.
| Well... {{w|Japan}}.
|-
| Taiwan (actually called “The Republic of China” – it’s complicated.
| This is a reference to the complicated political history of {{w|Taiwan}}. After the {{w|Chinese Civil War}}, the Nationalists fled China for Taiwan and set up a government in exile there, vowing to return. In the intervening 70 years or so, Taiwan eventually began to transform into a democracy and a country of its own, but hasn't shed the name, or the animosity with China. Taiwan and China are separate countries, but due to the name, Taiwan is often wrongly said to be part of China. It also doesn't help that the government of China keeps claiming that Taiwan belongs to them when it doesn't... hence the it's complicated tag.There is also a missing end-paren here, which is either a typo or a reference to [[859]]. The tag 'it's complicated' is one of the options for relationship statuses on Facebook, and denotes two people whose relationship defies the usual labels. In this case it is the relationship between the countries which is complicated.
|-
| Sulawesi
| As a running gag, the island of {{w|Sulawesi}} (formerly known as Celebes) is depicted in several map-like drawings and charts (see [[256: Online Communities]], [[273: Electromagnetic Spectrum]], [[802: Online Communities 2]], and [[1555: Exoplanet Names 2]]). Of course, there are good reasons to show it on an actual world map like the one here.
|-
| Paupa New Guinea
| A spelling mistake of {{w|Papua New Guinea}}.
|-
| Phillipines
| A spelling mistake of the {{w|Philippines}}.
|}

==Transcript==
:THE WORLD
:According to a Group of
:'''AMERICANS'''
:who turned out to be unexpectedly good at geography, derailing our attempt to illustrate their country's attitude toward the rest of the world.

:[Left to right, up to down.]

:[North of Canada.] Hey so what projection should we use?
:I'll aim for "Robinson."

:[North America.] Alaska; Canada; Hudson Bay; Québec; United States
:Did you know Maine is actually the US state closest to Africa?; Bermuda (British!)

:[Central America.] Baja California (Mexico); Mexico; Central America; Panama Canal; Gulf of Mexico; Cuba; Hispañola; POR.; Jamaica
:Do we have to label all the Virgin Islands?

:[South America.] Rest of South America (spanish-speaking); Brazil (portugese-speaking); French, and I think Dutch and English; Tierra del Fuego

:[Greenland.] Greenland (still too big!); Yeah but the Peters map is awful; Iceland

:[Europe.] British Isles; Ireland; Gibralter; Scandanavia; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; Black sea; Middle East

:[Africa.] Morocco; Algera; Sahara Desert; West Africa; Sudan; Rainforest DRC; Lake Victoria; Somalia; Angola; Mozambique; South Africa; Cape Horn; Madagascar

:[West of DRC.] So this is one of those things where you point out our ignorance and stereotypes?
:Yeah – I mean, I freely admit I don't know the African map very well, which speaks volumes in itself.

:[West Asia.] Russia; Aral sea (Gone); Various former Soviet states; Afghanistan & Pakistan; India; Mostly Muslim; Mostly Hindu

:[Indian Ocea.] Sri Lanka; Boxing Day Quake
:Wait, "Boxing day"? There's no way you're American.
:I read BBC News, OK?

:[East Asia.] Mongolia; Tibet (contested); China; Southeast Asia

:[Pacific Ocean.] Kamchatka Pennisula, but I admit I only know this one from Risk.
:Koreas; Japan, duh.; Taiwan (actually called "The Republic of China." – it's complicated.); Phillipines; Malaysia; Indonesia; Sulawesi; Paupa New Guinea; Australia; Tasmania; New Zealand

:[South of Africa.] Should we include Antarctica?
:Let's not – these guys are looking impatient.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Maps]]

850: World According to Americans

2019-01-28T01:35:07Z

Avmarle: /* Table of items in the map */

{{comic
| number = 850
| date = January 21, 2011
| title = World According to Americans
| image = world according to americans.png
| titletext = It's not our fault we caught a group on their way home from a geography bee. And they taught us that Uzbekistan is one of the world's two doubly-landlocked countries!
}}
*A [http://xkcd.com/850_large/ larger version] of this image can be found by clicking the image at xkcd.com - the comic's page can also be accessed by clicking on the comic number above.

==Explanation==
There's a somewhat well-circulated image on the internet entitled "[http://google.com/search?q=the+world+according+to&tbm=isch The World According to Americans]" which plays on the stereotype of the ignorant American. In it, the entirety of Eastern Europe and most of Asia are entitled "commies" and the Middle-East as "evil-doers," and so on. Later, other people created similar maps to re-do the concept. It later spread to other cultures.

This comic is an anti-joke playing on that idea. You expect to see something which plays on the stereotypes that exist in American culture of various parts of the world. However, instead, the map is remarkably well-informed, and shows how sampling bias can be used to conflate results. The title text explains that the people who were interviewed had studied for a geography bee. See below the [[#Table of items in the map|table of items in the map]].

The title text jokes that in fact the only reason that the map is fairly well annotated is that the group of people labeling it were actually on the way back from a {{w|National Geographic Bee|geography bee (competition)}}. This could add weight to the 'Ignorant American' stereotype as these individuals should know more than the common person (Although, as the illustrators wrote below Cape Horn, the reason they did not draw Antarctica or many South American, Middle Eastern and British countries and the lack of detail may be because the people who asked them to draw this map was beginning to 'look impatient' since they did not get the expected ignorant result.)

A {{w|landlocked country}} is a country that does not border any major bodies of water. Furthering the concept, a {{w|Landlocked_country#Doubly_landlocked|doubly-landlocked}} country is a country that not only has no connection to water, but is only bordered by ''other'' landlocked countries. As the title text states, there are only two such countries in the world as of 2012: {{w|Uzbekistan}} and {{w|Liechtenstein}}. This is the type of fact that may be stereotypically expected of a geography bee competitor.

===Table of items in the map===
{| class="wikitable"
!style="width: 25%;"|Annotation
! Further details
|-
| Hey so what projection should we use? I’ll aim for “Robinson”.
| Any flat [[977|map projection]] of a sphere must have inaccuracies. {{w|Mercator projection}} displays shapes well at the expense of size. For example, Mercator's Greenland appears larger than South America, but is actually one eighth the size. {{w|Gall-Peters projection}} does the opposite, showing accurate surface area with distorted ("awful") shapes. {{w|Robinson projection}} compromises between shape & size for aesthetics; hence Greenland is "still too big".
|-
| Did you know Maine is actually the US state closest to Africa?
| The distance is about 5076 km (~3754 mi). Measurement points are {{w|Sail Rock (disambiguation)|Sail Rock (Maine)}}, the most eastern point of the USA, and a point which seems to be the most southern (and as such western) point of el-Beddouza Beach, {{w|Morocco}}. It's not the most western point of Morocco (or Africa), though.
|-
| Do we have to label all the Virgin Islands?
| Which are {{w|Virgin_Islands#Larger_Islands|9 larger}} and about 100 {{w|List of Caribbean islands#British Virgin Islands|smaller}} {{w|List of Caribbean islands#United States Virgin Islands|islands}} - surely a lot of labels.
|-
| French, and I think Dutch and English
| The three separated areas are (from west to east) {{w|Guyana}} (former British colony), {{w|Suriname}} (former Dutch colony) and {{w|French Guiana}} (still officially part of France). The former two often switched between French, Dutch and British colonial rule. The latter was French most times except of a short Portuguese episode.
|-
| Brazil (Portugese-speaking )
Rest of South America (Spanish-speaking)
| In green is Portuguese-speaking (misspelled) Brazil, and in blue are the Spanish speaking Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina.
|-
| {{w|Greenland}} (Still too big!)
Yeah, but the Peters map is awful
| Relating back to the choice of map projection, the apparent size of Greenland is one of the most commonly known projection based inaccuracies. The {{w|Gall-Peters projection}} shows accurate surface area, but with distorted ("awful") shapes.
|-
|Scandanavia
| A typo of {{w|Scandinavia}}. The area shown includes Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, but the actual area of Scandinavia excludes Finland. The Scandinavian peninsula countries include Norway, Finland, and Sweden, and those can be collectively (and nerdily) referred to as "Fennoscandia."
|-
| Western Europe
Eastern Europe
| The line here approximately follows that of the {{w|Iron Curtain}} that separated the {{w|Warsaw Pact}} states (the Soviet Union and other Communist allies) from the {{w|NATO}} (US-allied) and neutral states. However, all of Germany is included in Western Europe (when during the Cold War it was divided into East and West Germany) while Austria (which was officially neutral in the Cold War but closely tied to the West and therefore blocked off from its Communist neighbors) is marked as Eastern Europe. Here, Eastern Europe also includes the {{w|Balkans}} (the southern peninsula east of Italy), which are usually considered separate. During the Cold War, the Balkans were divided between Soviet-allied Albania (which later left the Pact) and Bulgaria, NATO-allied Greece and Turkey, and Yugoslavia, which was a neutral Communist state. It's also worth noting that there should be a blob of Russian red in the middle of Eastern Europe, representing the Russian exclave of {{w|Kaliningrad oblast}}.
|-
| British Isles
Ireland
| Although {{w|Ireland}} belongs to the {{w|British Isles}} geographically, it does not belong to the {{w|British Islands}} politically. That may be the reason why Ireland is labeled additionally - to show it's known that Ireland does not belong to the {{w|United Kingdom}}. {{w|Northern Ireland}} does, though.
|-
| Rainforest DRC
| The area shown is actually not completely the {{w|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} (DRC), but since one of the persons who made this map says he doesn't know the African map very well (see statement below), it's fairly accurate. Also the area called rainforest is somewhat larger than the area depicted as {{w|tropical rainforest}} on Wikipedia.
|-
| So this is one of those things where you point out our ignorance and stereotypes?
Yeah – I mean I freely admit I don’t know the African map very well, which speaks volumes in itself.
| Here two of the persons involved in drawing this map discusses what their lack of knowledge about Africa says about them. The African portion of the map is for sure the most poorly labeled, which lends weight to the stereotype of the 'Ignorant American'. Although it has to be mentioned, that the geography of Africa is in general not well known - at least within the Western world. So that's not really an American thing, here. The few countries which are labeled here mostly are well known because of their unstable political situation or because of their remarkable location. The labeled locations (and the presumably reasons of their "publicity") are west to east, north to south: {{w|Morocco}} ({{w|Arab Spring}}, location), {{w|Algeria}} (Arab Spring, {{w|Algerian Civil War|Civil War}}), {{w|Sahara|Sahara Desert}} (largest hot desert of the world), {{w|Sudan}} ({{w|Second Sudanese Civil War|Civil war}}, Arab Spring), {{w|West Africa}} ({{w|West Africa#Postcolonial eras|Lots of Civil wars}} and thus bad humanitarian situation, {{w|Blood diamond|Blood diamonds}}), {{w|Somalia}} ({{w|Somali Civil War|Civil war}}, {{w|Piracy in Somalia|pirates}}), {{w|Lake Victoria}} (largest lake of Africa, quite remarkable even at large scale maps (as here)), {{w|Mozambique}} ({{w|Mozambican Civil War|Civil war}}), {{w|Angola}} ({{w|Angolan Civil War|Civil War}}) and {{w|Madagascar}} (one of the worlds large island at the east coast - quite remarkable).
|-
| Cape Horn
| {{w|Cape Horn}} is the southern tip of ''South America'', not ''Africa''. The southern tip of Africa is called {{w|Cape of Good Hope}}.
|-
| Should we include {{w|Antarctica}}?
Let’s not – these guys are looking impatient
| Here it is made clear that since those who came with this assignment is getting impatient since their project of proving how little Americans know about the world failed miserably. And now they are getting impatient. It also shows that if some labels or parts are missing then it could be because of this and not for lack of knowledge. This is also a joke on the lack of labels that would be required for the map of Antarctica. Drawing Antarctica and labeling it would probably take less time than having the discussion about whether to include it, and then writing that discussion on the map.
|-
| {{w|Aral Sea}} (Gone)
| Former one of the largest fresh-water lakes of the world, now actually not completely gone, but almost.
|-
| Various former soviet states
| Which are (west to east) {{w|Kazakhstan}}, {{w|Turkmenistan}}, {{w|Uzbekistan}}, {{w|Tajikistan}} and {{w|Kyrgyzstan}}. The former {{w|Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics}} was dissolved in 1991 and thus the {{w|Cold War}} had ended.
|-
| Middle East
| Drawn here to include {{w|Egypte}} and {{w|Turkey}}. Whether these shoul be included depends on whether you mean the phrase ''Middle East'' politically or geographically. They are both Muslim countries, but geographically Egypte is in Africa and Turkey is usually not included bcause of its close affiliation to Europe.
|-
| Boxing Day quake
Wait, “Boxing day”? There’s no way you’re American.
I read BBC News, OK?
| On December 26, 2004, a {{w|2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|huge earthquake}} struck off the coast of Indonesia, causing severe tsunamis. December 26, the day after {{w|Christmas Day}}, is celebrated as {{w|Boxing Day}} in the UK, Canada, Australia, and some other English-speaking countries, but not the US. As such, the earthquake became known as the Boxing Day Quake.
One of the people who came asked these people to draw this map picks up on the use of 'Boxing Day' as something no American would say and questions that this person is in fact American. But an American reader of {{w|BBC News}} (part of the British Broadcasting Corporation) may start to use the phrase "Boxing Day" about the Tsunami.
|-
| India -> Mostly Muslim
India -> Mostly Hindu
| In general {{w|India}} is separated in {{w|Religion in India|two religious groups}}. Muslims in the north-west, Hindus in the rest.
|-
| Tibet (contested)
| The area was annexed by the {{w|People's Republic of China}} in the 1950s. Since then there are struggles to gain independence, again. The marked area is fairly inaccurate, though. Today's {{w|Tibet Autonomous Region}} (former {{w|Kingdom of Tibet}}) is roughly the southern half of the marked area extended a bit to the south-east.
|-
| Kamchatka Peninsula, but I admit I only know this one from Risk
|''{{w|Risk (game)|Risk}}'' is a board game played on a map of the world, where players own territories and battle each other for world domination. The person in the comic admits to knowing {{w|Kamchatka Peninsula}} only from the territory "Kamchatka" in the game. Kamchatka is notable among the territories in the game because it and Alaska are connected, despite being on opposite sides of the board- a fact that can easily be overlooked.
|-
| Koreas
| The two Koreas are the ''{{w|Democratic People's Republic of Korea}}'' (North Korea) and the ''{{w|Republic of Korea}}'' (South Korea).
|-
| Japan, duh.
| Well... {{w|Japan}}.
|-
| Taiwan (actually called “The Republic of China” – it’s complicated.
| This is a reference to the complicated political history of {{w|Taiwan}}. After the {{w|Chinese Civil War}}, the Nationalists fled China for Taiwan and set up a government in exile there, vowing to return. In the intervening 70 years or so, Taiwan eventually began to transform into a democracy and a country of its own, but hasn't shed the name, or the animosity with China. Taiwan and China are separate countries, but due to the name, Taiwan is often wrongly said to be part of China. It also doesn't help that the government of China keeps claiming that Taiwan belongs to them when it doesn't... hence the it's complicated tag.There is also a missing end-paren here, which is either a typo or a reference to [[859]]. The tag 'it's complicated' is one of the options for relationship statuses on Facebook, and denotes two people whose relationship defies the usual labels. In this case it is the relationship between the countries which is complicated.
|-
| Sulawesi
| As a running gag, the island of {{w|Sulawesi}} (formerly known as Celebes) is depicted in several map-like drawings and charts (see [[256: Online Communities]], [[273: Electromagnetic Spectrum]], [[802: Online Communities 2]], and [[1555: Exoplanet Names 2]]). Of course, there are good reasons to show it on an actual world map like the one here.
|-
| Paupa New Guinea
| A spelling mistake of {{w|Papua New Guinea}}.
|-
| Phillipines
| A spelling mistake of the {{w|Philippines}}.
|}

==Transcript==
:THE WORLD
:According to a Group of
:'''AMERICANS'''
:who turned out to be unexpectedly good at geography, derailing our attempt to illustrate their country's attitude toward the rest of the world.

:[Left to right, up to down.]

:[North of Canada.] Hey so what projection should we use?
:I'll aim for "Robinson."

:[North America.] Alaska; Canada; Hudson Bay; Québec; United States
:Did you know Maine is actually the US state closest to Africa?; Bermuda (British!)

:[Central America.] Baja California (Mexico); Mexico; Central America; Panama Canal; Gulf of Mexico; Cuba; Hispañola; POR.; Jamaica
:Do we have to label all the Virgin Islands?

:[South America.] Rest of South America (spanish-speaking); Brazil (portugese-speaking); French, and I think Dutch and English; Tierra del Fuego

:[Greenland.] Greenland (still too big!); Yeah but the Peters map is awful; Iceland

:[Europe.] British Isles; Ireland; Gibralter; Scandanavia; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; Black sea; Middle East

:[Africa.] Morocco; Algera; Sahara Desert; West Africa; Sudan; Rainforest DRC; Lake Victoria; Somalia; Angola; Mozambique; South Africa; Cape Horn; Madagascar

:[West of DRC.] So this is one of those things where you point out our ignorance and stereotypes?
:Yeah – I mean, I freely admit I don't know the African map very well, which speaks volumes in itself.

:[West Asia.] Russia; Aral sea (Gone); Various former Soviet states; Afghanistan & Pakistan; India; Mostly Muslim; Mostly Hindu

:[Indian Ocea.] Sri Lanka; Boxing Day Quake
:Wait, "Boxing day"? There's no way you're American.
:I read BBC News, OK?

:[East Asia.] Mongolia; Tibet (contested); China; Southeast Asia

:[Pacific Ocean.] Kamchatka Pennisula, but I admit I only know this one from Risk.
:Koreas; Japan, duh.; Taiwan (actually called "The Republic of China." – it's complicated.); Phillipines; Malaysia; Indonesia; Sulawesi; Paupa New Guinea; Australia; Tasmania; New Zealand

:[South of Africa.] Should we include Antarctica?
:Let's not – these guys are looking impatient.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Maps]]

2097: Thor Tools

2019-01-14T04:47:24Z

Avmarle:

{{comic
| number = 2097
| date = January 11, 2019
| title = Thor Tools
| image = thor_tools.png
| titletext = CORRECTION: After careful evaluation, we have determined that the axis label on this chart was printed backward.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Add a list of the tools in the comic. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In Norse mythology, {{w|Thor}} is (in Scandinavian languages) the name of a god of thunder and lightning. His signature weapon is a magic hammer called {{w|Mjölnir}}. In popular culture, he might be best known for his role in {{w|Thor (Marvel Comics)|Marvel comics and films}}, which his appearance here seems to be referencing. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, Avengers: Infinity War, Thor also wields an axe named Stormbreaker.

Although this hammer was historically a weapon, this comic interprets it as it would more commonly be interpeted today -- as a tool. The comic is listing various hand tools in order of utility and viability as Thor's weapon, besides his actual, enchanted hammer. Hammers are heavy, blunt, and can do large amounts of damage to an opponent, whereas a hand plane is sharp, but only in one place, and will only inflict surface wounds.

Some of these tools require power, which would generally require Thor to stay near an outlet or keep a battery charging, such as the circular saw, or Dremel. However, being the god of lightning may allow him to circumvent this, by producing electricity for the direct current (D.C.) tools, although he would need an inverter to convert the lightning (D.C.) to alternating current (A.C.) for the tools requiring it. Thor would also need compressed air for the nail gun or jackhammer, only allowing Thor so many shots before reloading the air tank at an outlet, or via a concentrated wind storm.

The nail gun and staple gun would also require nails or staples respectively to function as a weapon. Although Mjölnir is believed to return to Thor if thrown, it's not clear how similar system could work with nails and staples.

The usefulness of the nail gun as a weapon might depend on whether it was an older one that can be bump-fired or a newer one that requires a separate trigger pull for each nail.

In the title text, [[Randall]] writes that the order of the axis label should be reversed, making the plane the best tool and Mjölnir the worst. Considering that the title of the comic is "Thor Tools" ("tools", instead of "weapons"), the argument seems to be that a hammer is less useful than the rest, by seeing them as tools and not as weapons.

A few other interpretations of this could be:
* Randall proposes that Thor armed with a plane or digital calipers would be much more fearsome than with a hammer.
* The "value" of the more strange-seeming items would be much higher than his traditional hammer, perhaps more gory or more humorous.
* Thor tends to cause collateral damage, and would cause less with a plane or calipers.
* "Best" and "worst" are to be interpreted for Thor's enemies rather than Thor himself.
* Randall might just find the idea of Thor wielding a Plane as a weapon to be really funny.

The title may be a reference to Gary Larson's ''The Far Side'' comic, ''Cow Tools''.

===List of tools===

All shown tools are explained below:
;Hammer
:A {{w|hammer}} ''is a tool consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object''. Thor was a hammer-wielding god and produced the lighting by using this tool.
;Axe
:An {{w|Axe}} or just Ax is another old human tool used to split and cut wood, but it also was used as a dangerous weapon upon the medieval times.
;Claw hammer
:A {{w|claw hammer}} is a hammer tool primarily used for driving nails into other objects, but also for pulling nails from them.
;Circular saw
:A {{w|circular saw}} is using a, mostly electric powered toothed disc to cut materials. A stationary version is called a ''table saw'' but this one is only attached to a human hand. And since the power of the saw is far beyond the human power it could be lethal to the user itself.
;Shovel
:A {{w|shovel}} at the next is also a historic tool. It can be used to dig into the ground, moving snow, harvesting, and much more. Because it has a relatively thin metal blade at the end of a pole, it can be used as a weapon.
;Jackhammer
:Like the circular saw a {{w|jackhammer}} is a tool that is powered far beyond single human capabilities. It not only can destroy concrete.
;Socket wrench
:An attached handle to a {{w|socket wrench}} is mostly used to tighten bolts or nuts. But since its socket together with the wrench resembles the physical conditions like a hammer it also could be used similar...
;Bolt cutters
:{{w|Bolt cutters}} are cutters with very long handles, typically 2 or 3 feet long, and comparatively tiny jaws. The length of the handles provides the user enough mechanical advantage to sheer through things like bolts, chain links, and lock shackles. Although this tool can cut some fairly tough objects, its usefulness in combat is limited.
;Hacksaw
:A {{w|hacksaw}} is a type of hand saw with very small teeth. Hacksaws are well suited to cutting materials like metal and plastic, where the larger teeth of a wood saw would tend to bind or damage the material around the cut. Hacksaw blades are fairly unlikely to seriously injure people, though a hacksaw may be useful against metal baddies like Ultron.
;Nail gun
;Staple gun
;Coping saw
;Screwdriver (flat)
;Ball-peen hammer
;Screwdriver (Phillips)
;Awl
;Digital Caliper
:{{w|Digital calipers}} are an instrument for precisely measuring the dimensions of small objects. Typically, digital calipers can measure inner diameters, outer diameters, and depth. The reason they are considered more formidable than Dremels and planes is likely how supprisingly sharp the calipers are. They need to be sharp to make accurate measurements, but it is not uncommon for people to cut themselves while using a digital caliper.
;Dremel
;Plane

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Please check typos. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[A wide image is shown in a single frame.]
:Hand tools Thor could have ended up with
:[Below is a small centered horizontal line with arrows at both ends, labeled "Best" to the left and "Worst" on the right.]

:[The rest of the image shows an other horizontal line in the middle, also with arrows at both ends, covering the full width. Items are marked by a dot with a text above or below, and sometimes a figure wearing a winged helmet, above the line, uses a tool mentioned below:]
:Hammer
:Axe
:Claw hammer
:Circular saw
:[Above, the winged helmet guy uses a circular saw:]
:''Bzzzz zzzz''
:Shovel
:Jackhammer
:Socket wrench
:[Above, the winged helmet guy spins the socket of a socket wrench with a tiny sound.]
:Bolt cutters
:Hacksaw
:Nail gun
:Staple gun
:[Above, the winged helmet guy fires staples into the ground in front of him:]
:''Kachunk kachunk''
:Coping saw
:Screwdriver (flat)
:Ball-peen hammer
:Screwdriver (Phillips)
:Awl
:Digital Caliper
:Dremel
:[Above, the winged helmet guy shows a running Dremel to the left:]
:''Bzzzzz''
:Plane

{{comic discussion}}

804: Pumpkin Carving

2018-12-28T06:22:23Z

Avmarle:

{{comic
| number = 804
| date = October 11, 2010
| title = Pumpkin Carving
| image = pumpkin carving.png
| titletext = The Banach-Tarski theorem was actually first developed by King Solomon, but his gruesome attempts to apply it set back set theory for centuries.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a reference to the American custom of making {{w|Jack-o'-lantern|Jack-O'-Lantern}}s to set out on porches and front steps for the holiday of {{w|Halloween}}, which occurs on October 31. Typically they are made with {{w|pumpkins}} by emptying the inside leaving a hollow shell, carving a face or design on the side, then placing a light or candle inside. The Jack-O'-Lantern in the 3rd frame is the typical and standard design for a carved pumpkin.

The comic is set up as a typical TV program where an off-screen interviewer asks four (very) different people what they have made out of their Halloween pumpkin. In the [http://xkcd.com/804/info.0.json official transcript] the interviewer that talks in three of the panels is called an Interlocutor: "a person who takes part in dialogue or conversation."

In the first frame, [[Beret Guy]], naturally, stays oddly on-topic by physically carving an image of a pumpkin in his pumpkin. This means his answer, "I carved a pumpkin," could apply to either the image or the medium of his artwork.

In the second frame, [[Black Hat]] is shown with a container of {{w|nitroglycerin}} next to his pumpkin. Nitroglycerin is a highly explosive liquid that may explode violently with just a small bump. Black Hat has not carved a hole for his lamp, but it seems he has emptied the inside of the pumpkin as the stem at the top has been removed. This will make it possible to fill up the pumpkin with nitroglycerin. Teenagers are a rather impulsive and rebellious lot; as Halloween is a night with lots of meticulously erected decorations and more lax parental supervision, troublemaker teens see it as an enticing time to engage in rampant vandalism, including but not limited to pumpkin-smashing. Hence, the off-panel character presumes that Black Hat is setting up a trap to get back at these ne'er-do-wells. To top it off, Black Hat plans to put up a sign warning passers-by to not smash the pumpkin. This would only serve to tempt impulsive teenagers to disturb it, which is very likely what the sadistic and chaos-loving [[Classhole]] is hoping for. If he succeeds with his plan, with a completely hollowed out pumpkin of the shown size filled with nitroglycerin, it would seem likely that the resulting explosion would leave a largish crater, flatten wood-framed buildings nearby, shatter windows for blocks in all directions, and be more than sufficient to kill the vandal along with others in the surrounding area. This is clearly overkill for such a petty crime.

Black Hat, rather unconvincingly, insists that his pumpkin is suffering from chest pains, and that the nitroglycerin is merely intended for medical treatment. While it is true that this chemical is used to treat {{w|angina}} (chest pain due to blocked arteries in the heart), nitroglycerin used for this purpose is dispensed in the form of small pills containing only trace amounts, and controlled by prescription. Also, pumpkins are a vegetable and do thus not contain nervous or circulatory systems of mammalian complexity; even if they did, the process of pumpkin carving involves hollowing them out, making it a moot point.

In the third frame, [[Megan]] is our typical emotional xkcd comic character. She is the only one out of the four who actually carved a typical jack-o'-lantern; however, she is projecting herself onto it, and has named it Harold. Her dialogue suggests it (or he) is suffering from typical holiday depression, with symptoms such as using a lot of time daydreaming, worrying, and trying to distract herself with holiday traditions, but she already knows that it won't work. This is a possible reference to the classic {{w|Internet meme|meme}} [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/hide-the-pain-harold Hide The Pain Harold.]

In the fourth frame, [[Cueball]] is shown in front of two un-carved pumpkins exclaming that this is the result of carving one pumpkin. He is referencing the {{w|Banach-Tarski paradox}} (which is made clear in the title text), a theorem which states that it is possible to split a three-dimensional ball, in this case a pumpkin, into a finite number of "pieces," and then reassemble these "pieces" into two distinct balls both identical to the original. This paradox has been proven for theoretical shapes, but requires infinitely complicated pieces which are impossible for anything made of physical {{w|atomic theory|atoms}} rather than mathematical {{w|point (geometry)|points}}.

The off-screen interviewer in that frame references the {{w|Axiom of Choice}}. This axiom is the foundation for many theorems (including the Banach–Tarski paradox) and is extremely influential to modern mathematics; however, it has been historically controversial precisely because it enables this kind of weirdness. It is called an "axiom" because it is a statement that is not meant to be proven or disproven—only accepted or rejected depending on the theoretical framework one wishes to work with. Rejecting the Axiom of Choice results in a perfectly coherent alternate form of set theory. Since the proof for the Banach–Tarski paradox relies on accepting the axiom of choice, the interviewer is suggesting Cueball's unexpected result would not have happened without using the axiom.

The title text references a biblical story involving {{w|Solomon|King Solomon}}. In the story, known as the {{w|Judgment of Solomon}}, two women were brought before him both claiming that a particular child was their own. Solomon tested the women by saying the only solution was to cut the baby in half and give each woman one of the halves, knowing only the real mother would fight to save her child's life even if the price was giving up the whole child to the other woman. The joke is that if Solomon had developed the Banach–Tarski theorem first, then he could have actually believed cutting the baby into pieces was a valid solution. In that scenario, he would have tried to make two whole children from the original and given one to each woman. However, since babies are not infinitely divisible, his attempt would have failed miserably and set back set theory for centuries due to the appearance that he has "proved" the theorem wrong. Note that the title text actually mentions ''attempts'' indicating tht King Solomon killed several babies in this fashion.

The axiom of choice and set theory was later referenced in [[982: Set Theory]] and, much later, the axiom of choice was mentioned again in the title text of [[1724: Proofs]].

This comic was released 20 days before Halloween in 2010, possibly to inspire people with some great ideas for their pumpkins. It has been known (particularly by Randall) that people copy his ideas, for instance this earlier [http://xkcd.com/chesscoaster/ post] on xkcd based on [[249: Chess Photo]]. Soon after he even made a comic, [[254: Comic Fragment]], that was supposed to be impossible to copy, which he mentioned himself later (see the explanation).

==Transcript==
:[Beret Guy, holding his arms out, stands behind a large orange pumpkin with the stem on top. It is sitting on a table. The pumpkin has been carved out as a lamp with large hole, and a lit candle is visible in the hole. The hole is in the shape of another carved out pumpkin. An interviewer speaks from off panel.]
:Interviewer (off-panel): So what did you—
:Beret Guy: I carved a pumpkin!
:Interviewer (off-panel): ...

:[Black Hat stands behind a large orange pumpkin which has not been carved out as a lamp, but the stem at the top has been removed and is placed tilting on the side of the pumpkin. It is sitting on a table. A gray box stands next to and partly in front of the pumpkin. On the end of the box there is a label at the top with unreadable text and below that some kind of drawing with a circle at the top. The interviewer speaks from off panel.]
:Interviewer (off-panel): Taking on teen vandals, I see.
:Black Hat: Heavens, no. My pumpkin simply has chest pains. In fact, I'll leave a note ''warning'' them not to smash it.
:Text on box:
::Nitro-
::glycerin
::Do Not
::Shake

:[Megan stands next to a large orange pumpkin with the stem on top. It is sitting on a table. The pumpkin has been carved out as a typical Halloween lamp. The bottom part of a white candle stick is visible in the mouth shaped hole. The hole is in the shape of a typical jack-o' lantern, with two slanted eyes, double slit nose and a smiling mouth with a tooth sticking out from both upper and lower lip, on either side of the candle stick.]
:Megan: My pumpkin's name is Harold. He just realized that all the time he used to spend daydreaming, he now spends worrying. He'll try to distract himself later with holiday traditions, but it won't work.

:[Cueball stands next to a two orange pumpkins with their stems on top, the left pumpkin is slightly larger than the right which is partly in front of the larger pumpkin. They have not been carved out even though a knife lies next to them to the right in front of Cueball on the table where they both stand. The interviewer speaks from off panel.]]
:Cueball: I carved and carved, and the next thing I knew I had ''two'' pumpkins.
:Interviewer (off-panel): I ''told'' you not to take the axiom of choice.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Logic]]

2019: An Apple for a Dollar

2018-07-25T04:14:18Z

Avmarle: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2019
| date = July 13, 2018
| title = An Apple for a Dollar
| image = an_apple_for_a_dollar.png
| titletext = I'd like 0.4608 apples, please.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Megan]] is about to buy an apple at a grocery store when she is surprised that the price is exactly one dollar. A common practice in pricing items is to deliberately make them slightly less than a round number, such as $1.99 or $1.95 instead of $2, as a psychological trick to make the item price seem significantly less than it really is, as people often mentally catalog the item as "one dollar and some change" instead of "almost two dollars". Additionally, in most cases in the US, {{w|Sales taxes in the United States|sales tax}} must be taken into account, as it is generally not included in the list price (although [https://taxfoundation.org/which-states-tax-groceries/ most states] do exempt food sold in grocery stores from sales taxes), so a price rarely comes out to a round value. That it came out to an exact dollar is so strange for Megan that it throws her for a loop. Buying one apple for one dollar feels to her more like a simplified, imaginary ''Idea'' of a transaction (a "{{w|Platonic Ideal}}") than like something that could actually happen in real life.

Megan likely shares Randall's background of engineering and math. When learning science, engineering, and math in the education system, one studies examples where every number is some round value, and all situations are simplified to the barest essentials so as to demonstrate the ideas being taught. Then, when doing real problems in the real world, one spends the rest of one's life almost never being able to use the simplified tricks demonstrated as examples in school, because when math is used to describe the natural world, nothing is ever a round number unless by design.

Megan references {{w|Platonic Idealism}}, which is the theory attributed to Plato that abstract or non-physical Ideas represent the purest, most accurate version of reality, but we can only perceive of more flawed versions of Ideas because of our limited viewpoint (as explained in his Allegory of the Cave). Thus we can understand the concept of a perfect circle or a perfect line, even though we have never seen one, and cannot create one. Megan believes she has glimpsed a Platonic Ideal, because the absolute concept of currency is it is the exact worth of something in trade. Megan is awed because, if this is true, then she is witnessing the next layer of reality, which Plato often compared to heaven.

The harsh difference between being able to buy an apple for a dollar at this quaint store, and having to deal with arbitrary decimals and numbers in the rest of life could be touching on Megan's life experience of the world not being what she was prepared for, resulting in her intense response. Regardless if that is true or not, it seems the cashier is unable to figure out how to handle it (or does not want to), and raises the price to an arbitrary non-rounded value, which has the intended effect of halting Megan's outburst. The unexpected resolution of the rising tension is a source of humor in this strip.

Megan's references refer to common parameters used in solving science or math questions. A {{w|Frictionless plane}} is a scenario from the writings of Galileo to calculate the movement of an object down an {{w|inclined plane}}, since his equations did not account for {{w|friction}}.

"A train leaving Chicago at 40 mph" refers to common math questions, involving trains and solving for the distance required to overtake said train, although this problem involves the rather unrealistic assumption that the train's velocity keeps constant and doesn't need to accelerate in order to reach its speed. Like the frictionless plane, this is a common simplification that allows the problem to be solved with quite simple techniques, just like having round quantities (e.g. 1 dollar/apple) eases arithmetic problems. See also [[669: Experiment]]. Apples themselves are commonly used as units for math problems, including problems as simple as basic arithmetic.

The comic repeats a common theme in the strip of engineers and computer scientists trying to apply their technical experience to social situations. In this case, the conversation partner is "normal", and does not respond supportively, which is a common situation in the real world and a possible point of empathy with readers. -- An alternate viable reading is that the conversation partner responds extremely supportively (by cleverly removing the source of Megan's distress, rather than by questioning the validity of Megan's response). This is a possible point of wish-fulfillment for readers.

It seems that according to the title text, Megan only has (or only wants to spend) one dollar, so she would not be able to buy a whole apple at the new price (0.4608 × $2.17 ≈ $1). Stores usually sell whole apples, so asking for a fraction of one is not likely to work out.{{Citation needed}}

There are some stores, such as {{w|Dollar Tree}}, that specialize in selling everything in the store for one dollar per item, which would seems to be operating at that ideal... except they usually do charge sales tax on taxable items leading many sales to not be an even multiple of a dollar. If a store were to charge one dollar per item without charging sales tax, etc. separately (i.e. building the sales tax into the price of each dollar item), they might be able to simplify some operations, such as not dealing with coin change as much (though they would still need to accept coins), cashiers would be able to calculate the total in their heads, etc. Customers other than Megan would probably be happier.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is at the store counter, behind which Ponytail (the cashier) is waiting.]
:Megan: Just this apple, thanks.
:Ponytail: That will be one dollar.
:Megan: Exactly? No tax or anything?
:Ponytail: That's right.

:[Megan stares at the apple in a frameless panel.]

:[Scene zooms in on Megan.]
:Ponytail: ...Is that a problem?
:Megan: It's just weird to realize that every other transaction in my life will be more complicated than this.

:[Scene changes focus to Ponytail behind the counter.]
:Megan: This is like a platonic ideal exchange. An apple for a dollar.
:Ponytail: I see.

:[Scene changes back to Megan, once again lost in profound contemplation of the apple.]
:Megan: Are we on a frictionless plane? Is a train leaving Chicago at 40 mph? ''Should I solve for something??''
:Ponytail: Okay, apples are $2.17 now.
:Megan: That's... probably better for us both.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]

954: Chin-Up Bar

2018-07-12T04:32:10Z

Avmarle: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 954
| date = September 21, 2011
| title = Chin-Up Bar
| image = chin up bar.png
| titletext = Those few who escaped found the emergency cutoff box disabled. The stampede lasted two hours and reached the bottom three times.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Black Hat]] has once again showed everyone that he is a classhole, with a plan to block traffic on the {{w|Escalator#Longest individual escalators|longest single-tier escalator}} in the Western hemisphere. At the time of the comic's publishing, that placed the comic in the {{w|Wheaton (WMATA station)|Wheaton station}} in {{w|Washington D.C.}}'s {{w|Washington Metro}} subway system, where the 70-meter (230-foot) escalator is. An {{w|escalator}} is a motorized stairway. It's clear that Black Hat knows it is the longest and that this is the reason he has chosen this exact escalator for his plan.

Black Hat carries a {{w|chin-up bar}} over his shoulder up the escalator, resulting in a conversation with his friend [[Cueball]], riding up behind him, about Black Hat's motives for doing such. Black Hat uses sly conversing methods to avoid saying his true motives. First he counters the question with another question: ''Why aren't you wearing a hat?'' Cueball's reply is a normal ''I'm not really a hat person'', whereas Black Hat's copy reply is not a real answer; ''I'm not really a not-carrying-a-chin-up-bar person'', which is probably a sentence never used before this comic. It takes Cueball a second to process this answer, but he doesn't give up and asks why again. Black Hat continues deflecting his questions by stating that he's ''not a psychologist'', although he clearly is aware of his own motives and intentions. (One could argue that it wouldtake a psychology degree to explain those motives and intentions.)

After this they reach the top and once they get off Black Hat quickly turns around and locks the bar in place at about waist height (i.e. as high up as possible on an escalator), just before the moving part of the escalator ends.

Chin-up bars are typically capable of holding up a 300 pound (130 kg) person without moving, and a bar like Black Hat has brought with him can be [https://www.amazon.com/Sunny-Health-Fitness-Door-Chin/dp/B0016BNDXI/ref=sr_1_6?s=sports-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1470541509&sr=1-6&keywords=chin+up+bar installed easily in a doorway], or in the opening of an escalator…

The unexpected appearance of a solidly attached bar at the top of a crowded escalator could be disastrous. The first people would probably stumble backward to avoid it or hit it and topple backwards, and collide with the passengers immediately behind them, knocking them off their feet and likely creating a {{w|domino effect}} all the way down. Indeed, this is exactly what happens and is depicted in the last panel. Black Hat and Cueball are seen on the descending escalator in the background, Cueball has turned around looking at the scene and displaying worry about what Black Hat has done, but Black Hat isn't even looking at the chaos he has caused, completely ignoring all the falling bodies. Although it might be possible, the two are fairly lucky to be unscathed, as they could have been hit by someone in the pileup falling all the way over in their side of the escalator. Since they are most likely on the way down to a subway, the traffic should make it easy for them to get away on the next train, before anyone has a chance to try and find the perpetrator, so Black Hat gets away with his schemes once again.

In the title text it is made clear that the few people that actually escaped the moving stairs were unable to use the emergency shutdown because Black Hat had disabled the system, presumably before ascending in the first place. This is stated to have caused the {{w|stampede}} to last for two hours and waves of falling people would end up reaching the bottom three times, before ascending with the stairs again. The reason for this extended mayhem could be that only the very first people at the top of this domino effect who actually hit the chin-up-bar know what caused the problem to begin with. Since they are likely among those people too hurt to explain anything in time, the next group of people trying to get out after the first wave of falling people might just proceed to run into the same problem at the top once again. The problem is exacerbated by the disabled shutoff, so even if someone sees the chin-up-bar and knows how to escape, he would either be pulled back into the crowd of traffic or be free but unable to help. This helps to explain why the cycle of crowd collapse happened three times, and the use of the word "stampede" connotes the panicked, unorganized behavior of the trapped people that serves to make the problem worse.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat is in the middle of on an escalator with five other people as it ascends. He carries something like a a pole.]

:[Zoom in on Black Hat and Cueball.]
:Cueball: This is a long escalator.
:Black Hat: 70 meters. Longest in the country.

:[Black Hat goes upwards holding his pole.]

:[Cueball is still behind Black Hat.]
:Cueball: Why're you carrying a chin-up bar?
:Black Hat: Why aren't you wearing a hat?

:[The view returns to the original view only showing the six people ascending, only shifted so they are all a bit longer to the right.]
:Cueball: I'm not really a hat person.
:Black Hat: And I'm not really a not-carrying-a-chin-up-bar person.

:[Close up on Cueball on the escalator.]

:[Zoom out. Black Hat still has the pole in his hands.]
:Cueball: Seriously, why did you bring it?
:Black Hat: How should I know? I'm not a psychologist.

:[Zoom in on the top of the escalator where Black Hat steps off and installs the chin-up bar on the exit of the escalator.]
:''Twist'' ''Click'' ''Click''

:[View from above towards both ascending and descending escalators. Black Hat and Cueball are on the descending escalator.]

:[The final panel takes up two entire rows and shows all people falling down.]

==Trivia==
It would appear that the man behind Cueball with glasses and a goatee is the psychologist from [[435: Purity]], and then Megan next to him could be the sociologist from the same comic. This gives new meaning to Black Hat's line about not being a psychologist.

Escalators were also the subject of the earlier comic [[252: Escalators]], a rather more funny take on these dangerous devices.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Psychology]]

2017: Stargazing 2

2018-07-10T06:42:50Z

Avmarle:

{{comic
| number = 2017
| date = July 9, 2018
| title = Stargazing 2
| image = stargazing_2.png
| titletext = I mean, it wasn't exactly MY thesis. When the FAA came to shut down our observatory for using the telescope mirror to shine light at airplanes, I took a thesis and a bunch of doctorates from the supply cabinet on my way out.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an Angry FAA member - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the sequel to [[1644: Stargazing]] and continuous with Megan mixing accurate astronomical information with trivialities as well as utterly bizar statements. In the first panel, she voices surprise that the stars are visible again after disappearing during daylight.

"The Triangle" presumably refers to this constellation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulum . Megan then goes on to point out that one can form lots of triangles by connecting groups of three stars. hardly surprising, since any group of three points, provided they do not occur on a straight line, automatically forms a triangle.

Megan eventually goes off on a tangent, revealing that at one point during her studies she apparently used the reflective mirror of a telescope to shine light directly at airplanes, which caused the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to close the observatory.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[In a dark panel Megan is standing in front of a group of 5 people.]
:Megan: Welcome back to stargazing.
:Megan: When the stars disappeared this morning, I figured I had to find a new job, but they're '''''back!''''' This '''''rules!'''''

:[The panel switches to a white background and Megan points to the upper right. Three other people are looking to that direction.]
:Megan: Those three stars form a constellation called the triangle.
:Megan: Those three are another triangle.
:Megan: Lotta triangles. Very important shape.

:[Again in a dark panel Megan now points to the upper left in a close-up.]
:Megan: Those dots are planets, or "fool's stars." Without interstellar travel, they're the only ones we can realistically hope to dump trash on.
:Megan: Speaking of space trash, that dot is a satellite. There are apps that will tell you whose fault it is.

:[Another dark panel, Megan is now turned right still in a close-up.]
:Off-screen voice: What's that blinking one?
:Megan: Airplane. They're full of snacks and money and stuff, but don't bother trying to catch them- they're '''''way''''' too high up.
:Megan: Learned that the hard way in grad school.
:Megan: Got a thesis out of it, at least.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

2017: Stargazing 2

2018-07-10T04:30:44Z

Avmarle:

{{comic
| number = 2017
| date = July 9, 2018
| title = Stargazing 2
| image = stargazing_2.png
| titletext = I mean, it wasn't exactly MY thesis. When the FAA came to shut down our observatory for using the telescope mirror to shine light at airplanes, I took a thesis and a bunch of doctorates from the supply cabinet on my way out.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an Angry FAA member- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This is the sequel to [[1644: Stargazing]]

"The Triangle" presumably refers to this constellation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangulum . Megan then goes on to point out that one can form lost of triangles by connecting groups of three stars. hardly surprising, since any group of three points, provided they do not occur on a straight line, automatically forms a triangle.\

Megan eventually goes off on a tangent, revealing that at one point during her studies she apparently used the reflective mirror of a telescope to shine light directly at airplanes, which caused the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to close the observatory.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[In a dark panel Megan is standing in front of a group of 5 people.]
:Megan: Welcome back to stargazing.
:Megan: When the stars disappeared this morning, I figured I had to find a new job, but they're '''''back!''''' This '''''rules!'''''

:[The panel switches to a white background and Megan points to the upper right. Three other people are looking to that direction.]
:Megan: Those three stars form a constellation called the triangle.
:Megan: Those three are another triangle.
:Megan: Lotta triangles. Very important shape.

:[Again in a dark panel Megan now points to the upper left in a close-up.]
:Megan: Those dots are planets, or "fool's stars." Without interstellar travel, they're the only ones we can realistically hope to dump trash on.
:Megan: Speaking of space trash, that dot is a satellite. There are apps that will tell you whose fault it is.

:[Another dark panel, Megan is now turned right still in a close-up.]
:Off-screen voice: What's that blinking one?
:Megan: Airplane. They're full of snacks and money and stuff, but don't bother trying to catch them- they're '''''way''''' too high up.
:Megan: Learned that the hard way in grad school.
:Megan: Got a thesis out of it, at least.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Astronomy]]

1999: Selection Effect

2018-06-07T06:38:20Z

Avmarle:

<noinclude>:''"1999", this comic's number, redirects here. For the comic named "1999", see [[855: 1999]].''</noinclude>

{{comic
| number = 1999
| date = May 28, 2018
| title = Selection Effect
| image = selection_effect.png
| titletext = fMRI testing showed that subjects who don't agree to participate are much more likely to escape from the machine mid-scan.
}}

==Explanation==

The title refers to the effect in scientific fields where instead of investigating the whole population (i.e. ''all'' cancer patients or ''all'' trees) only a subset is analysed. This is common practice as the analysis of all specimens is often impractical. However, special care needs to be taken when selecting the sample to ensure that it accurately represents the general population. Otherwise the results are misleading and do not reflect reality. For example if 1000 people are asked about the numbers of cars they own but all live in a city the results cannot be generalised to the whole country. This is called the {{w|selection bias}}. If non-human subjects are studied this can be avoided by randomising the selection process, but this is not possible with humans as they cannot be forced to participate in a study against their will. For example, if people are asked to participate in a study about their political views it is likely that the responders care about politics while people with no clear opinion do not bother to respond. This is called the {{w|self-selection bias}}.

[[Ponytail]] says that people who agree to be in a study at their lab are less likely to attempt to escape. The only way Ponytail could have come to this conclusion is if she compared those people to people who did not agree to be in the study. This implies that Ponytail has recently kidnapped people for a study, and that most of the people she kidnapped called the police, as one should do when being kidnapped. This makes sense, since if you agreed to the study, you know why you are there, while if you didn't, you may have been kidnapped. As Ponytail presents this as a finding, it appears that she was attempting to establish a protocol for randomised selection of human subjects and comparing it to the normal selection process.

The comic shows Ponytail being allowed to present the results of this study at a conference; reputable scientific journals and conferences should not legitimize studies that clearly violate their ethical norms, such as by failing to obtain informed consent from human subjects before experimenting on them. Unfortunately, involuntary studies are published and presented, like this 2014 [http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/6/30/facebook-ethics-labratsemotionalcontagion.html Facebook's emotional contagion study]. It is not clear how many people who did agree to participate may have attempted to call the police for assistance regardless; compare the {{w|Stanford Prison Experiment}}. This is similar to previous comics where obvious things are presented in obfuscated, scientific ways (e.g. [[1990: Driving Cars]]). Of course, any study of the way people behave when being kidnapped for scientific experiments would inherently involve kidnapping them. Therefore there is no way this kind of research could be done in an ethical fashion.

The title text refers to a technique that measures brain activity, called {{w|Functional magnetic resonance imaging|Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)}}. The willingness to participate is here probably detected by a machine. And of course it's much more likely that those people will resist and escape before the scan is complete.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail stands on a podium giving a presentation in front of a chart with some box plots.]
:Ponytail: Our research shows that compared to the overall population, people who agree to participate in scientific studies are significantly less likely to call the police to rescue them from our lab.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Science]]

1990: Driving Cars

2018-05-08T01:56:23Z

Avmarle:

{{comic
| number = 1990
| date = May 7, 2018
| title = Driving Cars
| image = driving_cars.png
| titletext = It's probably just me. If driving were as dangerous as it seems, hundreds of people would be dying every day!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a SCARY CAR- Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic is about how dangerous cars are. [[Cueball]] observes that it is a giant machine, and that he is able to drive it simply because he once took a brief driving test. Note that the length and complexity of a driving test varies greatly per country. 20 minutes would be fairly normal for the USA, but much shorter than what is required on most other Western countries. This is similar to other comics (such as [[1075: Warning]]) (need more links) where Randall comments on how some of our "routine" everyday tasks are quite unusual when viewed from a certain perspective.

The joke is that driving ''is'' in fact one of the top five most common causes of death, yet many (most?) people do not think of driving as an especially "scary" activity.

The rest of the joke is in the title text, "It's probably just me. If driving were as dangerous as it seems, hundreds of people would be dying every day!" This could be considered sarcasm, because many people ([http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics over 3,000 per day] world-wide, about 100 per day in the USA) do in fact die in car accidents. These statistics indicate that driving ''is'' as dangerous as Cueball thinks it seems; it is not just him perceiving it that way.

In most regions of the US, automotive accidents are the leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 35.

Furthermore, an unknown and difficult to estimate number of people die prematurely as a consequence of pollution caused by cars. Many people would, however, argue that this human sacrifice is acceptable in view of the real and perceived advantages of being able to drive giant machines from A to B; people who do not drive but are nonetheless forced to share the consequences of automotive pollution may disagree.

A faded Cueball is visible above Cueball in the comic picture. This may be a previous draft that Randall drew on top of.

==Transcript==
:[In a panel, Cueball stands in front of a car with his hands together.]
:Cueball: Time to accelerate this giant machine up to terrifying speeds and steer it using my hands, which I am allowed to do because I took a 20-minute test in high school!

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Driving freaks me out.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1972: Autogyros

2018-03-27T05:45:15Z

Avmarle: /* Nothing like a plane */

{{comic
| number = 1972
| date = March 26, 2018
| title = Autogyros
| image = autogyros.png
| titletext = I understand modern autogyros are much more stable, so I've probably angered the autogyro people by impugning their safety. Once they finish building the autogyros they've been working on in their garages for 10 years, they'll come after me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Have created sections for explaining each of the statements, but they need to be expanded. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Randall]] has been looking at the facts about [[wikipedia:autogyro|autogyro]]s, hence the title of the comic. He has drawn [[Megan]] flying in such a vehicle with several statements of the facts he has unveiled.

Randall states that an autogyro is nothing like a [[wikipedia:helicopter|helicopter]] (which it looks like), nothing like a [[wikipedia:airplane|plane]] (but flies like one) and works like a powered [[wikipedia:parachute|parachute]] (without anything looking remotely as such). He continues to make a total of 12 [[#Statements|statements]] which will be explained individually below.

The final statement at the bottom right is the punch line of how strange these flying machines are, because they are safe, as long as you do not do what a pilot instinctively would do in a plane in case of a stall, because if you do so the autogyros will crash immediately... See the [[#Extremely safe|explanation below]]. That sentence is almost rendered unnecessary by the one above it that states that autogyros [[#Never stalls|never stalls]]!

Randall's conclusion is clear: Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

In the title text Randall continues on the last statement by saying that today autogyros are much more stable. Which must refer to that this was not always the case. And this new stability probably means that a [[#Never stalls|stall situation]] is much less likely and the last statement is then not so relevant anymore.

Randall then goes on to suggest that ''the autogyro people'' will be angered by this comic, which [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/impugn#English impugns] (i.e. attacks) the safety of their beloved machines. But he keeps on mocking them. In fact, he states that they will come after him, once they have finished building the autogyros they have been working on in their garage for the last 10 years. By this, he implies that the people who work on them do this as a home garage project so they will never get them finished and able to fly. Thus, they will probably never come after him.

But if a bunch of them do manage to finish their autogyros simultaneously and come after him as a pack, Randall will have trouble escaping the angry autogyro mob.

==Statements==
*Below each of the statements in the comic are explained
**The optimal reading order is to read them in the four columns they are arranged in:
**The left with four, the two single in the middle and the six on the right.

===Nothing like a helicopter===
''Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter''

It is like a helicopter in the sense that a horizontally spinning fan provides the lift. It is unlike a helicoper because A) the fan is not powered, B) the fan does not provide forward propulsion, C) it is incapable of hovering, or moving in any other direction than forward.

===Nothing like a plane===
''Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane''

Its flight pattern resembles a plane in that it can only move forward, turns by banking, and needs to maintain forward velocity in order to create lift. However, unlike a plane it has no wings to generate that lift.

===Powered parachute===
''Sort of like a powered parachute''

===Rare in the US===
''Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe. ''

===Big blade on top===
''Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely''

===Flown without a license===
''Can often be flown without a license''

===Cheap===
Helicopters are notorious for being extremely expensive to operate. At a typical general aviation service in the US, a two-seat aircraft may rent for under $100/hr, while a helicopter runs over $200/hr. Similarly, a small used helicopter may cost almost $200,000 while a small new autogyro may cost under $25,000. Since many people home-build their autogyros, it would often be even cheaper.

===Needs a runway to take off===
''Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one''

===Can land vertically===
An autogyro can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes vertical landings feasible.

===Cannot hover===
True hovering would require the rotor to be powered. However, an autogyro must be moving forward in order for the rotor to generate lift.

===Never stalls===
This is not entirely correct. If you reduce the forward speed of an autogyro, the rotor slows down, reducing lift so the autogyro will descend. Under most circumstances, this would lead to a controlled landing. However, if it happens at high altitude, you can run out of lift completely while still high above the ground causing a stall. This is more likely to happen if there is a strong tailwind.

===Extremely safe===
''Extremely safe, unless you do the one thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately''

On a normal airplane, one will push the yoke forward in a stall or engine out situation, to regain airspeed and to stabilize the plane. On an {{w|autogyro}}, this leads to negative angle of attack, decelerating the rotor, which may lead to a crash. Also pushing the yoke hard forward while flying full throttle may lead to a crash.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of Megan wearing aviator goggles, sitting in an autogyro and holding the control stick. The autogyro is surrounded by sentence fragments, explaining characteristics of it. The one above the blade that concerns the blade has an arrow pointing from the text to the blade. The sentences in columns from the left (i.e. left sentences first, then the two above the autogyros body and finally the sentences to the right):]
:Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter
:Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane
:Sort of like a powered parachute
:Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe.
:Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely
:Can often be flown without a license
:Cheap
:Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one
:Can land vertically
:Cannot hover
:Never stalls
:Extremely safe, unless you do the '''''one''''' thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1972: Autogyros

2018-03-27T05:43:41Z

Avmarle: /* Nothing like a helicopter */

{{comic
| number = 1972
| date = March 26, 2018
| title = Autogyros
| image = autogyros.png
| titletext = I understand modern autogyros are much more stable, so I've probably angered the autogyro people by impugning their safety. Once they finish building the autogyros they've been working on in their garages for 10 years, they'll come after me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Have created sections for explaining each of the statements, but they need to be expanded. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Randall]] has been looking at the facts about [[wikipedia:autogyro|autogyro]]s, hence the title of the comic. He has drawn [[Megan]] flying in such a vehicle with several statements of the facts he has unveiled.

Randall states that an autogyro is nothing like a [[wikipedia:helicopter|helicopter]] (which it looks like), nothing like a [[wikipedia:airplane|plane]] (but flies like one) and works like a powered [[wikipedia:parachute|parachute]] (without anything looking remotely as such). He continues to make a total of 12 [[#Statements|statements]] which will be explained individually below.

The final statement at the bottom right is the punch line of how strange these flying machines are, because they are safe, as long as you do not do what a pilot instinctively would do in a plane in case of a stall, because if you do so the autogyros will crash immediately... See the [[#Extremely safe|explanation below]]. That sentence is almost rendered unnecessary by the one above it that states that autogyros [[#Never stalls|never stalls]]!

Randall's conclusion is clear: Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

In the title text Randall continues on the last statement by saying that today autogyros are much more stable. Which must refer to that this was not always the case. And this new stability probably means that a [[#Never stalls|stall situation]] is much less likely and the last statement is then not so relevant anymore.

Randall then goes on to suggest that ''the autogyro people'' will be angered by this comic, which [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/impugn#English impugns] (i.e. attacks) the safety of their beloved machines. But he keeps on mocking them. In fact, he states that they will come after him, once they have finished building the autogyros they have been working on in their garage for the last 10 years. By this, he implies that the people who work on them do this as a home garage project so they will never get them finished and able to fly. Thus, they will probably never come after him.

But if a bunch of them do manage to finish their autogyros simultaneously and come after him as a pack, Randall will have trouble escaping the angry autogyro mob.

==Statements==
*Below each of the statements in the comic are explained
**The optimal reading order is to read them in the four columns they are arranged in:
**The left with four, the two single in the middle and the six on the right.

===Nothing like a helicopter===
''Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter''

It is like a helicopter in the sense that a horizontally spinning fan provides the lift. It is unlike a helicoper because A) the fan is not powered, B) the fan does not provide forward propulsion, C) it is incapable of hovering, or moving in any other direction than forward.

===Nothing like a plane===
''Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane''

===Powered parachute===
''Sort of like a powered parachute''

===Rare in the US===
''Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe. ''

===Big blade on top===
''Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely''

===Flown without a license===
''Can often be flown without a license''

===Cheap===
Helicopters are notorious for being extremely expensive to operate. At a typical general aviation service in the US, a two-seat aircraft may rent for under $100/hr, while a helicopter runs over $200/hr. Similarly, a small used helicopter may cost almost $200,000 while a small new autogyro may cost under $25,000. Since many people home-build their autogyros, it would often be even cheaper.

===Needs a runway to take off===
''Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one''

===Can land vertically===
An autogyro can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes vertical landings feasible.

===Cannot hover===
True hovering would require the rotor to be powered. However, an autogyro must be moving forward in order for the rotor to generate lift.

===Never stalls===
This is not entirely correct. If you reduce the forward speed of an autogyro, the rotor slows down, reducing lift so the autogyro will descend. Under most circumstances, this would lead to a controlled landing. However, if it happens at high altitude, you can run out of lift completely while still high above the ground causing a stall. This is more likely to happen if there is a strong tailwind.

===Extremely safe===
''Extremely safe, unless you do the one thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately''

On a normal airplane, one will push the yoke forward in a stall or engine out situation, to regain airspeed and to stabilize the plane. On an {{w|autogyro}}, this leads to negative angle of attack, decelerating the rotor, which may lead to a crash. Also pushing the yoke hard forward while flying full throttle may lead to a crash.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of Megan wearing aviator goggles, sitting in an autogyro and holding the control stick. The autogyro is surrounded by sentence fragments, explaining characteristics of it. The one above the blade that concerns the blade has an arrow pointing from the text to the blade. The sentences in columns from the left (i.e. left sentences first, then the two above the autogyros body and finally the sentences to the right):]
:Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter
:Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane
:Sort of like a powered parachute
:Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe.
:Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely
:Can often be flown without a license
:Cheap
:Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one
:Can land vertically
:Cannot hover
:Never stalls
:Extremely safe, unless you do the '''''one''''' thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1972: Autogyros

2018-03-27T05:43:19Z

Avmarle: /* Nothing like a helicopter */

{{comic
| number = 1972
| date = March 26, 2018
| title = Autogyros
| image = autogyros.png
| titletext = I understand modern autogyros are much more stable, so I've probably angered the autogyro people by impugning their safety. Once they finish building the autogyros they've been working on in their garages for 10 years, they'll come after me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Have created sections for explaining each of the statements, but they need to be expanded. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Randall]] has been looking at the facts about [[wikipedia:autogyro|autogyro]]s, hence the title of the comic. He has drawn [[Megan]] flying in such a vehicle with several statements of the facts he has unveiled.

Randall states that an autogyro is nothing like a [[wikipedia:helicopter|helicopter]] (which it looks like), nothing like a [[wikipedia:airplane|plane]] (but flies like one) and works like a powered [[wikipedia:parachute|parachute]] (without anything looking remotely as such). He continues to make a total of 12 [[#Statements|statements]] which will be explained individually below.

The final statement at the bottom right is the punch line of how strange these flying machines are, because they are safe, as long as you do not do what a pilot instinctively would do in a plane in case of a stall, because if you do so the autogyros will crash immediately... See the [[#Extremely safe|explanation below]]. That sentence is almost rendered unnecessary by the one above it that states that autogyros [[#Never stalls|never stalls]]!

Randall's conclusion is clear: Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

In the title text Randall continues on the last statement by saying that today autogyros are much more stable. Which must refer to that this was not always the case. And this new stability probably means that a [[#Never stalls|stall situation]] is much less likely and the last statement is then not so relevant anymore.

Randall then goes on to suggest that ''the autogyro people'' will be angered by this comic, which [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/impugn#English impugns] (i.e. attacks) the safety of their beloved machines. But he keeps on mocking them. In fact, he states that they will come after him, once they have finished building the autogyros they have been working on in their garage for the last 10 years. By this, he implies that the people who work on them do this as a home garage project so they will never get them finished and able to fly. Thus, they will probably never come after him.

But if a bunch of them do manage to finish their autogyros simultaneously and come after him as a pack, Randall will have trouble escaping the angry autogyro mob.

==Statements==
*Below each of the statements in the comic are explained
**The optimal reading order is to read them in the four columns they are arranged in:
**The left with four, the two single in the middle and the six on the right.

===Nothing like a helicopter===
''Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter''
It is like a helicopter in the sense that a horizontally spinning fan provides the lift. It is unlike a helicoper because A) the fan is not powered, B) the fan does not provide forward propulsion, C) it is incapable of hovering, or moving in any other direction than forward.

===Nothing like a plane===
''Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane''

===Powered parachute===
''Sort of like a powered parachute''

===Rare in the US===
''Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe. ''

===Big blade on top===
''Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely''

===Flown without a license===
''Can often be flown without a license''

===Cheap===
Helicopters are notorious for being extremely expensive to operate. At a typical general aviation service in the US, a two-seat aircraft may rent for under $100/hr, while a helicopter runs over $200/hr. Similarly, a small used helicopter may cost almost $200,000 while a small new autogyro may cost under $25,000. Since many people home-build their autogyros, it would often be even cheaper.

===Needs a runway to take off===
''Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one''

===Can land vertically===
An autogyro can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes vertical landings feasible.

===Cannot hover===
True hovering would require the rotor to be powered. However, an autogyro must be moving forward in order for the rotor to generate lift.

===Never stalls===
This is not entirely correct. If you reduce the forward speed of an autogyro, the rotor slows down, reducing lift so the autogyro will descend. Under most circumstances, this would lead to a controlled landing. However, if it happens at high altitude, you can run out of lift completely while still high above the ground causing a stall. This is more likely to happen if there is a strong tailwind.

===Extremely safe===
''Extremely safe, unless you do the one thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately''

On a normal airplane, one will push the yoke forward in a stall or engine out situation, to regain airspeed and to stabilize the plane. On an {{w|autogyro}}, this leads to negative angle of attack, decelerating the rotor, which may lead to a crash. Also pushing the yoke hard forward while flying full throttle may lead to a crash.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of Megan wearing aviator goggles, sitting in an autogyro and holding the control stick. The autogyro is surrounded by sentence fragments, explaining characteristics of it. The one above the blade that concerns the blade has an arrow pointing from the text to the blade. The sentences in columns from the left (i.e. left sentences first, then the two above the autogyros body and finally the sentences to the right):]
:Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter
:Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane
:Sort of like a powered parachute
:Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe.
:Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely
:Can often be flown without a license
:Cheap
:Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one
:Can land vertically
:Cannot hover
:Never stalls
:Extremely safe, unless you do the '''''one''''' thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1972: Autogyros

2018-03-27T02:12:20Z

Avmarle: /* Never stalls */

{{comic
| number = 1972
| date = March 26, 2018
| title = Autogyros
| image = autogyros.png
| titletext = I understand modern autogyros are much more stable, so I've probably angered the autogyro people by impugning their safety. Once they finish building the autogyros they've been working on in their garages for 10 years, they'll come after me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Have created sections for explaining each of the statements, but they need to be expanded. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Randall]] has been looking at the facts about [[wikipedia:autogyro|autogyro]]s, hence the title of the comic. He has drawn [[Megan]] flying in such a vehicle with several statements of the facts he has unveiled.

Randall states that an autogyro is nothing like a [[wikipedia:helicopter|helicopter]] (which it looks like), nothing like a [[wikipedia:airplane|plane]] (but flies like one) and works like a powered [[wikipedia:parachute|parachute]] (without anything looking remotely as such). He continues to make a total of 12 [[#Statements|statments]] which will be explained individually below.

The final statement at the bottom rightis the punch line of how strange these flying machines are, because they are safe, as long as you do not do what a pilot instinctively would do in a plane in case of a stall, because if you do so the autogyros will crash immediately... See the [[#Extremely safe|explanation below]]. That sentence is almost rendered unnecessary by the one above it that states that autogyros [[#Never stalls|never stalls]]!

Randall's conclusion is clear: Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

In the title text Randall continues on the last statement by saying that today autogyros are much more stable. Which must refer to that this was not always the case. And this new stability probably means that a [[#Never stalls|stall situation]] is much less likely and the last statement is then not so relevant anymore.

Randall then goes on to suggest that ''the autogyro people'' will be angered by this comic, which [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/impugn#English impugns] (i.e. attack) the safety of their beloved machines. But he keeps on mocking them. In fact, he states that they will come after him, once they have finished building the autogyros they have been working on in their garage for the last 10 years. By this, he implies that the people who work on them do this as a home garage project so they will never get them finished and able to fly. Thus, they will probably never come after him.

But if a bunch of them do manage to finish their autogyros simultaneously and come after him as a pack, Randall will have trouble escaping the angry autogyro mob.

==Statements==
*Below each of the statements in the comic are explained
**The optimal reading order is to read them in the four columns they are arranged in:
**The left with four, the two single in the middle and the six on the right.

===Nothing like a helicopter===
''Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter''

===Nothing like a plane===
''Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane''

===Powered parachute===
''Sort of like a powered parachute''

===Rare in the US===
''Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe. ''

===Big blade on top===
''Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely''

===Flown without a license===
''Can often be flown without a license''

===Cheap===
Helicopters are notorious for being extremely expensive to operate. At a typical general aviation service in the US, a two-seat aircraft may rent for under $100/hr, while a helicopter runs over $200/hr. Similarly, a small used helicopter may cost almost $200,000 while a small new autogyro may cost under $25,000. Since many people home-build their autogyros, it would often be even cheaper.

===Needs a runway to take off===
''Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one''

===Can land vertically===
An autogyro can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes vertical landings feasible.

===Cannot hover===
True hovering would require the rotor to be powered. However, an autogyro must be moving forward in order for the rotor to generate lift.

===Never stalls===
This is not entirely correct. If you reduce the forward speed of an autogyro, the rotor slows down, reducing lift so the autogyro will descend. Under most circumstances, this would lead to a controlled landing. However, if it happens at high altitude, you can run out of lift completely while still high above the ground causing a stall. This is more likely to happen if there is a strong tailwind.

===Extremely safe===
''Extremely safe, unless you do the one thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately''

On a normal airplane, one will push the yoke forward in a stall or engine out situation, to regain airspeed and to stabilize the plane. On an {{w|autogyro}}, this leads to negative angle of attack, decelerating the rotor, which may lead to a crash. Also pushing the yoke hard forward while flying full throttle may lead to a crash.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of Megan wearing aviator goggles, sitting in an autogyro and holding the control stick. The autogyro is surrounded by sentence fragments, explaining characteristics of it. The one above the blade that concerns the blade has an arrow pointing from the text to the blade. The sentences in columns from the left (i.e. left sentences first, then the two above the autogyros body and finally the sentences to the right):]
:Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter
:Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane
:Sort of like a powered parachute
:Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe.
:Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely
:Can often be flown without a license
:Cheap
:Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one
:Can land vertically
:Cannot hover
:Never stalls
:Extremely safe, unless you do the '''''one''''' thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1970: Name Dominoes

2018-03-23T05:08:03Z

Avmarle: added character descriptions

{{comic
| number = 1970
| date = March 21, 2018
| title = Name Dominoes
| image = name_dominoes.png
| titletext = In competition, you can only play a name if you know who the person is. No fair saying "Frank ... Johnson. That sounds like a real person! Let me just Google him real quick."
}}

*A large version of the comic picture can be found [https://xkcd.com/1970/large/ here].
*A numbered version can be found [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1970-_Name_Dominoes_-_The_large_image_with_numbers.jpg here].

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by Fats Domino: Table links should be checked and explanation and connections added. (Add a full transcript... "Done!" And good luck with that! "Thanks".) Do NOT delete this tag too soon. }}

{{w|Dominoes}} is a family of boardgames played with rectangular "domino" tiles. A domino tile is divided into two squares, each displaying a number. Under most rules, a domino tile is placed on the table adjacent to another tile, and the adjacent ends must match in some way (usually by the number displayed on the touching ends). Randall's "name dominoes" shows a set of domino tiles with people's names instead of numbers, and adjacent tiles are matched by whether the closest name is the same (such as how Chris Evans' family name matches Evan Taylor Jones' given name).

The title text spells out a rule that a player may only place a tile if they know who that person is. This is a variation of a rule in {{w|Scrabble}}, where a player loses a turn if their chosen word don't survive a dictionary challenge over the validity of the word. This rule implies that players are allowed to create new name dominoes tiles and that it is not a fixed set. In this case the player that is challenged has used the name Frank Johnson of which there are {{w|Frank Johnson|12 exact matches}} on Wikipedia along with six with a middle name and more. In a google search as of the day the comic came out the first hit was {{w|Frank Johnson (basketball)|Frank Johnson}} who is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. Randall has made several [[:Category:Basketball|references to basketball]] in his comics.

A large board is covered in rectangular "dominoes" (270), with each domino bearing the name of a "well-known" person or character (fictional). The dominoes are arranged as if a game of dominoes were being played, but instead of the game requiring the number of spots of adjacent dominoes to match up, this game requires adjacent ''names'' to match up. Because most people have two or more names, different matches are made at each end of a domino. Fun fact is that two of the people are "named after" the game: {{w|Fats Domino}} and {{w|Domino Harvey}}.

The match can be exact (e.g., "Kevin" on one domino adjacent to "Kevin" on another), homonymic (e.g., "Klein" adjacent to "Kline"), or nickname-based (e.g., "James" adjacent to "Jimmy", which in turn is adjacent to "Jim"). Sometimes last names are matched up with first names (e.g., "{{w|Elizabeth Warren}}" adjacent to "{{w|Warren Beatty}}"), and in some cases only a single name is used (e.g., "{{w|Columbo}}", "{{w|Drake_(musician)|Drake}}", "{{w|Garfield_(character)|Garfield}}", "{{w|Prince_(musician)|Prince}}"). Singular names are represented by a half-size square "domino" (or "{{w|Polyomino|monomino}}"), with a few exceptions: "{{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}}" has a full-size tile (a complex reference explained below), and "{{w|Batman}}" and "{{w|Superman}}" have full-size tiles and are placed as though they were two-part names: the first square of "Superman" is matched with "Super", and the second square is matched with the second square of "Batman" (as though both characters had the last name "Man"). Some people have three or more names (e.g., "{{w|Frank Lloyd Wright}}") and have a 3-square domino tile (or "straight {{w|Tromino|tromino}}", 50% longer than normal) which permits matching to a middle name (e.g. "Frank Lloyd Wright" is matched to "{{w|Lloyd Alexander}}" and "{{w|Harold Lloyd}}").

The names come from a wide variety of fields: scientists (e.g., {{w|Isaac Newton}}), historical figures ({{w|George Washington}}), musicians ({{w|Drake (musician)|Drake}}), politicians ({{w|John Kerry}}), actors ({{w|Kevin Costner}}), writers ({{w|Washington Irving}}), fashion designers ({{w|Oscar de la Renta}}), and so on. Most of the names are real people but a few are fictional characters, including some non-human characters like {{w|Garfield_(character)|Garfield}} and {{w|Grover#Super_Grover|Super Grover}}. In one case the nick name for a company is used: {{w|Ma Bell}} aka Bell System.

One notable reference beyond just the use of a name is in the bottom left, there is the connection [ {{w|William Safire}} ][ Garnet ][ {{w|Jack Ruby|Ruby, Jack}} ]. The connection seems to be based on the fact that {{w|Sapphire}}, {{w|Garnet}} and {{w|Ruby}} are all {{w|gemstones}}, which does not match the implied rules of the game. This tile is a reference to the character {{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}} in the cartoon {{w|Steven Universe}}, who is a "fusion" formed by two Gems: Ruby and Sapphire. Thus, the name "Garnet" is treated as though it was two names "Ruby" and "Sapphire", requiring a two-square tile despite having a one-word name. Randall has previously made references to this universe in [[1608: Hoverboard]]. (See [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png this] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png this] image from that comic).

Additionally, Ayn Rand, Paul Ryan and Rand Paul have been mentioned before, in the title text of [[1277: Ayn Random]]. That idea may have been the prototype for this.

In at least one case it is not entirely clear who is being referred to: "John Kelly" most likely refers to Gen. {{w|John F. Kelly}}, Donald Trump's chief of staff, but the name is extremely common and could equally refer to {{w|John Kelly|any number of people}}.

==Table of names==
*Work in progress
**The number # refers to the numbers on this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1970-_Name_Dominoes_-_The_large_image_with_numbers.jpg numbered picture].
***Read more on this page:
***[[1970: Name Dominoes/Numbered images]]
*Wiki links not tested as they were set in only from the name in the comic.
**Spell checking...

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!style="width:15%"|Domino
!style="width:45%"|Notability and notes
!style="width:15%"|Connections
!style="width:20%"|Mode
!style="width:5%"|#
|-
|{{w|Christian Campbell}}
|
|
|
|1
|-
|{{w|Neve Campbell}}
|American actress, known for starring in the movie series Scream.
|
|
|2
|-
|{{w|Joe McCarthy}}
|May refer to the late American senator Joseph McCarthy.
|
|
|3
|-
|{{w|Eugene McCarthy}}
|
|
|
|4
|-
|{{w|Gene Vincent}}
|
|
|
|5
|-
|{{w|Gene Kelly}}
|American actor and dancer known primarily for musicals such as 'Singing in the rain'
|
|
|6
|-
|{{w|Kate Hudson}}
|Golden globe winning american actress.
|
|
|7
|-
|{{w|Rock Hudson}}
|American actor
|
|
|8
|-
|{{w|Gordon Brown}}
|Former British Prime Minister
|
|
|9
|-
|{{w|James Brown}}
|American singer, known as the Godfather of Soul
|
|
|10
|-
|{{w|Jon Brown}}
|
|
|
|11
|-
|{{w|John Howard}}
|Australian politician. Served as 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 1996-2007.
|
|
|12
|-
|{{w|Columbo}}
|Fictional character. Homicide detective from American TV show "Columbo"; portrayed by actor Peter Falk.
|
|
|13
|-
|{{w|Chris Columbus (filmmaker)|Chris Columbus}}
|Film director and screenwriter.
|Columbo Christopher Columbus Chris Hughes
|Last-Only (approximate) First-First (approximate) and Last-Last First-First
|14
|-
|{{w|Christopher Columbus}}
|Italian explorer. Credited with "discovering" the Americas in 1492 by leading voyages and establishing continued ties between Europe and the Americas.
|
|
|15
|-
|{{w|Naomi Campbell}}
|British model and actress.
|
|
|16
|-
|{{w|Joseph Campbell}}
|American author. Most known for his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces about the hero type found throughout world mythologies.
|
|
|17
|-
|{{w|Joseph Smith}}
|American religious leader; founder of Mormonism. Publisher of The Book of Mormon.
|
|
|18
|-
|{{w|Frank Vincent}}
|American actor.
|
|
|19
|-
|{{w|John Kelly}}
|White House Chief of Staff under President Donald Trump. Retired US Marine Corps general.
|
|
|20
|-
|{{w|Katherine Johnson}}
|African-American mathematician at NASA. Calculated trajectories, launch windows, and flight paths for NASA moon missions and the Space Shuttle.
|
|
|21
|-
|{{w|The Rock}}
|Nickname for Dwayne Johnson, a pro wrestler and actor.
|
|
|22
|-
|{{w|Chris Rock}}
|American comedian.
|
|
|23
|-
|{{w|Chris Isaac}}
|
|
|
|24
|-
|{{w|James Newton Howard}}
|
|
|
|25
|-
|{{w|John Wayne}}
|American actor, known primarily for roles in Westerns
|
|
|26
|-
|{{w|Howard Stern}}
|Radio talk show host. Known for {{w|The Howard Stern Show}}.
|
|
|27
|-
|{{w|Howard Hunt}}
|Former CIA operative, convicted for Watergate burglary.
|
|
|28
|-
|{{w|Chris Hughes}}
|
|
|
|29
|-
|{{w|Naomi Watts}}
| Australian actress, born in Britain
|
|
|30
|-
|{{w|Naomi Klein}}
|
|
|
|31
|-
|{{w|Kevin Kline}}
|American actor
|
|
|32
|-
|{{w|Francis Bacon}}
|16th century English philosopher. Commonly credited with the phrase "knowledge is power".
|
|
|33
|-
|{{w|Francis Drake}}
|English privateer
|
|
|34
|-
|{{w|Lyndon Johnson}}
|Former American president (1963-1969)
|
|
|35
|-
|{{w|Oscar the Grouch}}
|A muppet from the children's TV show {{w|Sesame Street}}.
|
|
|36
|-
|{{w|Oscar Isaac}}
|
|
|
|37
|-
|{{w|Isaac Hayes}}
|American singer-songwriter
|
|
|38
|-
|{{w|Isaac Newton}}
|Well-known 1600s physicist who created the three laws of motion.
|
|
|39
|-
|{{w|Wayne Newton}}
|
|
|
|40
|-
|{{w|Wayne Knight}}
|
|
|
|41
|-
|{{w|Helen Hunt}}
|American actress
|
|
|42
|-
|{{w|Helen Hughes}}
|
|
|
|43
|-
|{{w|James Watt|James Watt (Steam)}}
|
|
|
|44
|-
|{{w|James G. Watt|James Watt (Interior)}}
|
|
|
|45
|-
|{{w|Kevin Costner}}
|Academy award winning American actor.
|
|
|46
|-
|{{w|Kevin Bacon}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|Footloose (1984 film)|Footloose}}, and for {{w|Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon}}.
|
|
|47
|-
|{{w|Kevin Love}}
|
|
|
|48
|-
|{{w|Lisa Frank}}
|
|
|
|49
|-
|{{w|Frank Drake}}
|
|
|
|50
|-
|{{w|Drake}}
|Grammy award winning Canadian rapper.
|
|
|51
|-
|{{w|Oscar de la Renta}}
|
|
|
|52
|-
|{{w|Oscar de la Hoya}}
|
|
|
|53
|-
|{{w|Sean Hayes (actor)|Sean Hayes}}
|
|
|
|54
|-
|{{w|Wallace Shawn}}
|
|
|
|55
|-
|{{w|Wayne Howard}}
|
|
|
|56
|-
|{{w|Wayne Brady}}
|American comedian, known for {{w|Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?}}
|
|
|57
|-
|{{w|James Brady}}
|
|
|
|58
|-
|{{w|Tom Brady}}
|Quarterback for the {{w|New England Patriots}}. Notable for winning 5 Superbowls.
|
|
|59
|-
|{{w|Helen Thomas}}
|
|
|
|60
|-
|{{w|Tom Hanks}}
|Academy award winning actor. Known for {{w|Forrest Gump}}, {{w|Saving Private Ryan}}, {{w|Cast Away}}, and several other famous films.
|
|
|61
|-
|{{w|Hank Aaron}}
|Former Major League Baseball player. Hit 755 career home runs.
|
|
|62
|-
|{{w|Aaron Carter}}
|American singer.
|
|
|63
|-
|{{w|Stephen James}}
|
|
|
|64
|-
|{{w|Will Smith}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air}}
|
|
|65
|-
|{{w|Kevin Smith}}
|American movie director
|
|
|66
|-
|{{w|Kevin James}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|Paul Blart: Mall Cop}}
|
|
|67
|-
|{{w|Garfield (character)|Garfield}}
|A fictional cat and the star of the eponymous ''{{w|Garfield}}'' comic by {{w|Jim Davis (cartoonist)|Jim Davis}}. Previously appeared in [[78: Garfield]].
|
|
|68
|-
|{{w|James Garfield}}
|20th President of the United States. Notably, he was assassinated after only 6 months.
|
|
|69
|-
|{{w|Warren Buffett}}
|Billionaire and CEO of {{w|Berkshire Hathaway}}.
|
|
|70
|-
|{{w|Jimmy Buffett}}
|American country musician.
|
|
|71
|-
|{{w|Warren Beatty}}
|
|
|
|72
|-
|{{w|Elizabeth Warren}}
|Massachusetts state Senator since 2013. Known for her work as a consumer rights activist.
|
|
|73
|-
|{{w|Earl Warren}}
|
|
|
|74
|-
|{{w|Elizabeth Kolbert}}
|
|
|
|75
|-
|{{w|Stephen Colbert}}
|American talk show host. Known for {{w|The Colbert Report}} and {{w|The Late Show with Stephen Colbert}}
|
|
|76
|-
|{{w|George Wallace}}
|American politician, who initially supported, but later renounced racial segregation.
|
|
|77
|-
|{{w|Charles Wallace}}
|
|
|
|78
|-
|{{w|James Monroe}}
|Foundign father and Fifth president of the USA
|
|
|79
|-
|{{w|Marilyn Monroe}}
|American actress and pin up model from the 50s. She was immensely famous during her time, and unexpectedly committed suicide at age 36.
|
|
|80
|-
|{{w|Hank Williams}}
|
|
|
|81
|-
|{{w|William C. Williams}}
|
|
|
|82
|-
|{{w|Steve Harvey}}
|Host of {{w|Family Feud}}.
|
|
|83
|-
|{{w|Domino Harvey}}
|
|
|
|84
|-
|{{w|Harvey Milk}}
|American politician and gay rights activist.
|
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|85
|-
|{{w|James Saint James}}
|
|
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|86
|-
|{{w|Etta James|Etta James (1)}}
| Used again in 266
|
|
|87
|-
|{{w|Jim Jones}}
|
|
|
|88
|-
|{{w|James Earl Jones}}
|American actor. Voiced {{w|Darth Vader}} in the original Star Wars.
|
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|89
|-
|{{w|Charlie Parker}}
|
|
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|90
|-
|{{w|Ray Parker Jr.}}
|
|
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|91
|-
|{{w|Ray Charles}}
|American blues musician. Blind from the age of 7.
|
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|92
|-
|{{w|Charles Manson}}
|Cult leader of the {{w|Manson Family}}. Convicted of 7 murders.
|
|
|93
|-
|{{w|Marilyn Manson}}
|American musician. Known for esoteric performances.
|
|
|94
|-
|{{w|Robin Williams}}
|American stand up comedian. Voiced the Genie in {{w|Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin}}.
|
|
|95
|-
|{{w|Billy D. Williams}}
|American actor best known for playing {{w|Lando Calrissian}} in ''{{w|The Empire Strikes Back}}'' and ''{{w|Return of the Jedi}}''.
|
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|96
|-
|{{w|Will Wright}}
|
|
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|97
|-
|{{w|Fats Domino}}
|
|
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|98
|-
|{{w|Bill Clinton}}
|42nd president of the United States. Known for having an affair in office. His wife, {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, ran for against {{w|Donald Trump}} in the 2016 presidential election.
|
|
|99
|-
|{{w|Jimmy John}}
|
|
|
|100
|-
|{{w|Tom Jones}}
|Can refer to the Welsh Singer or to the fictional character from the book of teh same name by Henry Fielding
|
|
|101
|-
|{{w|Tommy John}}
|
|
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|102
|-
|{{w|Quincy Jones}}
|American Jazz musician
|
|
|103
|-
|{{w|James Earl Ray}}
|killer of Martin Luther King Jr.
|
|
|104
|-
|{{w|Man Ray}}
|
|
|
|105
|-
|{{w|Rachel Ray}}
|Celebrity chef.
|
|
|106
|-
|{{w|Ray Allen}}
|
|
|
|107
|-
|{{w|Tim Allen}}
|American actor. Voiced Buzz Lightyear in {{w|Toy Story}}.
|
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|108
|-
|{{w|Tim Cook}}
|
|
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|109
|-
|{{w|Tim Howard}}
|
|
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|110
|-
|{{w|Robin Wright}}
|American actress, aka Robin Wright-Penn
|
|
|111
|-
|{{w|Wilbur Wright}}
|
|
|
|112
|-
|{{w|Fatty Arbuckle}}
|
|
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|113
|-
|{{w|Fat Joe}}
|
|
|
|114
|-
|{{w|George Clinton}}
|
|
|
|115
|-
|{{w|John Kerry}}
|Secretary of State under {{w|Barrack Obama}}. Ran against {{w|George W. Bush}} in the 2004 presidential election.
|
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|116
|-
|{{w|Kerry Washington}}
|
|
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|117
|-
|{{w|John Irving}}
|
|
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|118
|-
|{{w|John Quincy Adams}}
|
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|119
|-
|{{w|John Adams}}
|
|
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|120
|-
|{{w|Amy Adams}}
|
|
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|121
|-
|{{w|Aimee Mann}}
|
|
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|122
|-
|{{w|Superman}}
|Superhero owned by DC comics.
|
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|123
|-
|{{w|Batman}}
|Superhero owned by DC comics.
|
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|124
|-
|{{w|Ayn Rand}}
|Russian political author, known for {{w|Atlas Shrugged}}. XKCD frequently makes fun of Rand's philosophy.
|
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|125
|-
|{{w|Lily Allen}}
|
|
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|126
|-
|{{w|Paul Allen}}
|
|
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|127
|-
|{{w|Ron Howard}}
|
|
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|128
|-
|{{w|Howard Hughes}}
|American business tycoon
|
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|129
|-
|{{w|Joe Kennedy}}
|Father of {{w|John F. Kennedy}}.
|
|
|130
|-
|{{w|George Bush}}
|{{w|George H. W. Bush}} and {{w|George W. Bush}} (father and son, respectively), were both presidents of the United States.
|
|
|131
|-
|{{w|George Wasington}}
|First president of the United States, and general during the Revolutionary War.
|
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|132
|-
|{{w|Wasington Irving}}
|
|
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|133
|-
|{{w|Martha Wasington}}
|Wife of George Washington.
|
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|134
|-
|{{w|Ma Rainey}}
|
|
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|135
|-
|{{w|Jack Ma}}
|
|
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|136
|-
|{{w|Super Grover}}
|
|
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|137
|-
|{{w|Jack Black}}
|
|
|
|138
|-
|{{w|Rand Paul}}
|Republican senator from Kentucky; member of the {{w|Tea Party movement}}. Ran in the 2016 republican presidential primary.
|
|
|139
|-
|{{w|Paul Ryan}}
|Republican representative from Wisconsin. Served as Speaker of the House at the time this comic was published.
|
|
|140
|-
|{{w|Paul Simon}}
|
|
|
|141
|-
|{{w|Ron Paul}}
|Libertarian politician. Known for running for president in many elections.
|
|
|142
|-
|{{w|John Hughes}}
|
|
|
|143
|-
|{{w|Langston Hughes}}
|
|
|
|144
|-
|{{w|John F. Kennedy}}
|35th president of the United States. Known for his public assassination during a parade; subject to many conspiracy theories.
|
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|145
|-
|{{w|Little Richard}}
|
|
|
|146
|-
|{{w|Rich Little}}
|
|
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|147
|-
|{{w|Martha Stewart}}
|American TV personality. Convicted of insider trading in 2004.
|
|
|148
|-
|{{w|Yo Yo Ma}}
|Chinese cellist. Known for winning 18 Grammys; considered a child prodigy.
|
|
|149
|-
|{{w|Ma Bell}}
|Aka Bell System, the system of companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by AT&T, which provided telephone services to much of the United States and Canada from 1877 to 1984.
|
|
|150
|-
|{{w|Grover Cleveland Alexander}}
|
|
|
|151
|-
|{{w|Grover Cleveland}}
|22nd and 24th president of the United States. Notably the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms (which is no longer possible).
|
|
|152
|-
|{{w|Jack White}}
|American musician. Part of {{w|The White Stripes}}.
|
|
|153
|-
|{{w|Jack Ryan}}
|Fictional character in the novels by Tom Clancy. Portrayed in Movies by Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin, and Ben Affleck
|
|
|154
|-
|{{w|Debby Ryan}}
|
|
|
|155
|-
|{{w|Carly Simon}}
|
|
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|156
|-
|{{w|Carly Hughes}}
|
|
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|157
|-
|{{w|Charles Evans Hughes}}
|
|
|
|158
|-
|{{w|John Williams}}
|American composer. Known for many famous movie soundtracks, including Star Wars and Harry Potter.
|
|
|159
|-
|{{w|Little John}}
|Fictional character in the Robin Hood Legend. Known for great stature and strength.
|
|
|160
|-
|{{w|Stuart Little}}
|Fictional character.
|
|
|161
|-
|{{w|Potter Stewart}}
|
|
|
|162
|-
|{{w|Kristen Stewart}}
|American actress. Known for {{w|Twilight (2008 film)|Twilight}}.
|
|
|163
|-
|{{w|Kristen Bell}}
|American actress, known for various romantic comedies.
|
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|164
|-
|{{w|Kristen Hooks}}
|
|
|
|165
|-
|{{w|Alexander Graham Bell}}
|Scottish inventor, credited with inventing the telephone.
|
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|166
|-
|{{w|Franklin Graham}}
|
|
|
|167
|-
|{{w|Lloyd Alexander}}
|
|
|
|168
|-
|{{w|Meg White}}
|
|
|
|169
|-
|{{w|Meg Ryan}}
|American actress. Known for 'WHen Harry met Sally'
|
|
|170
|-
|{{w|Debbie Reynolds}}
|American singer and actress.
|
|
|171
|-
|{{w|John Reynolds}}
|
|
|
|172
|-
|{{w|Carly Fiorina}}
|
|
|
|173
|-
|{{w|Grace Lee Boggs}}
|
|
|
|174
|-
|{{w|Wade Boggs}}
|American baseball player. Played with the {{w|Boston Red Sox}}.
|
|
|175
|-
|{{w|William Safire}}
|
|
|
|176
|-
|{{w|Prince William}}
|Member of the British Royal Family. Second in line for succession to the throne.
|
|
|177
|-
|{{w|Little Prince}}
|One of the main characters of ''{{w|The Little Prince}}'', a novella by {{w|Antoine de Saint-Exupéry}}. The Little Prince has previously appeared in [[618: Asteroid]], as well as [http://what-if.xkcd.com/68 article 68] of ''[[what if?]]''.
|
|
|178
|-
|{{w|Harry Potter}}
|Fictional character in the books by G.K. Rowling
|
|
|179
|-
|{{w|James Potter}}
|Fictional character, father of harry Potter
|
|
|180
|-
|{{w|James Hook}}
|Fictional character from 'Peter Pan'
|
|
|181
|-
|{{w|James Dean}}
|American actor and teen icon.
|
|
|182
|-
|{{w|Aretha Franklin}}
|
|
|
|183
|-
|{{w|Frank Lloyd Wright}}
|American architect, known for his unconventional buildings.
|
|
|184
|-
|{{w|Barry White}}
|
|
|
|185
|-
|{{w|Walter White}}
|Main character from the TV show {{w|Breaking Bad}}.
|
|
|186
|-
|{{w|Walt Whitman}}
|American poet. {{w|Walt Whitman Bridge|A bridge in Philadelphia}} was named after him.
|
|
|187
|-
|{{w|John Kelly}}
|
|
|
|188
|-
|{{w|Grace Lee}}
|
|
|
|189
|-
|{{w|Nancy Grace}}
|
|
|
|190
|-
|{{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}}
|A {{w|garnet}} is a gem stone and the two names around here are {{w|William Safire}} (almost {{w|Sapphire}}) and {{w|Jack Ruby}} as in {{w|Ruby}}. But it is not just used because they are all {{w|gemstones}}. It is instead a reference to the character {{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}} in the cartoon {{w|Steven Universe}}. She is a "fusion" formed by two gems: Ruby and Sapphire, hence the legal connection in the Name Dominoes... Randall has previously made references to this universe in [[1608: Hoverboard]]. (See [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png this] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png this] image from that comic).
|{{w|William Safire}} {{w|Jack Ruby}}
|Last-Only (as a Sapphire gem stone) Last-Only (as a Ruby gem stone) Both used to fuse together to Garnet.
|191
|-
|{{w|Prince (musician)|Prince}}
|American musician, part of the Rock and Roll hall of fame. He died two years prior to the release of this comic.
|
|
|192
|-
|{{w|Prince Felder}}
|
|
|
|193
|-
|{{w|Prince Harry}}
|Member of the British royal family. Fifth in line for succession to the throne.
|
|
|194
|-
|{{w|Harry Styles}}
|
|
|
|195
|-
|{{w|John Dean}}
|
|
|
|196
|-
|{{w|Benjamin Franklin}}
|One of the founding fathers of the United States. Credited with discovering electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm.
|
|
|197
|-
|{{w|Harrold Lloyd}}
|
|
|
|198
|-
|{{w|Harrold Ford}}
|
|
|
|199
|-
|{{w|Betty White}}
|American comedian. Known as the only surviving member of the {{w|The Golden Girls}}.
|
|
|200
|-
|{{w|Meg Whitman}}
|
|
|
|201
|-
|{{w|Christine Todd Whitman}}
|
|
|
|202
|-
|{{w|Megyn Kelly}}
|American TV news anchor. Worked for Fox news until 2017, then switched to NBC.
|
|
|203
|-
|{{w|Grace Kelly}}
|American actress and Princess of Monaco
|
|
|204
|-
|{{w|Grace Jones}}
|
|
|
|205
|-
|{{w|Jack Nicholson}}
|
|
|
|206
|-
|{{w|Jack Ruby}}
|Jack Ruby is known for shooting and killing {{w|Lee Harvey Oswald}} on national television. Oswald was the prime suspect in the {{w|assassination of John F. Kennedy}}. Ruby's involvement is the subject of many conspiracy theories.
|
|
|207
|-
|{{w|Jack Russel}}
|
|
|
|208
|-
|{{w|Harry Fielder}}
|
|
|
|209
|-
|{{w|Harry Truman}}
|33rd president of the United States. Known for authorizing the use of atomic weapons against Japan at the end of World War 2.
|
|
|210
|-
|{{w|Harry Jon Benjamin}}
|
|
|
|211
|-
|{{w|John Edward}}
|
|
|
|212
|-
|{{w|Benjamin Harrison}}
|
|
|
|213
|-
|{{w|Harrison Ford}}
|American actor. Known for playing Han Solo in {{w|Star Wars}}, and {{w|Indiana Jones}}.
|
|
|214
|-
|{{w|Henry Ford}}
|Founder of the {{w|Ford Motor Company}}. Credited with inventing the assembly line.
|
|
|215
|-
|{{w|Betty Ford}}
|Wife of Gerald Ford, 38th president of the United States.
|
|
|216
|-
|{{w|Betty Friedan}}
|
|
|
|217
|-
|{{w|Chris Christie}}
|
|
|
|218
|-
|{{w|Chris Pratt}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|Parks and Recreation}}
|
|
|219
|-
|{{w|Maggie Grace}}
|
|
|
|220
|-
|{{w|Grace Hopper}}
|American computer scientist. Helped develop the {{w|COBOL}} programming language.
|
|
|221
|-
|{{w|Russel Crowe}}
|Australian actor
|
|
|222
|-
|{{w|Russ Smith}}
|
|
|
|223
|-
|{{w|John Smith}}
|John Smith is the most common name in the United States. {{w|John Smith|See Wikipedia}} for a list of people this may refer to.
|
|
|224
|-
|{{w|Justin Long}}
|
|
|
|225
|-
|{{w|John Bel Edwards}}
|
|
|
|226
|-
|{{w|John Candy}}
|Canadian comedian and actor. Known for {{w|Spaceballs}}.
|
|
|227
|-
|{{w|John Henry}}
|American folk hero
|
|
|228
|-
|{{w|Henry James}}
|
|
|
|229
|-
|{{w|Bill James}}
|
|
|
|230
|-
|{{w|Chris Cooper}}
|
|
|
|231
|-
|{{w|Chris Hemsworth}}
|
|
|
|232
|-
|{{w|Chris Evans}}
|
|
|
|233
|-
|{{w|Topher Grace}}
|
|
|
|234
|-
|{{w|Van Morrison}}
|
|
|
|235
|-
|{{w|Sheryl Crow}}
|
|
|
|236
|-
|{{w|Sheryl Sandberg}}
|
|
|
|237
|-
|{{w|Cameron Crow}}
|
|
|
|238
|-
|{{w|Long John Silver}}
|Fictional antagonist from {{w|Treasure Island}}.
|
|
|239
|-
|{{w|Olivia Newton John}}
|American actress. Known for 'Grease'
|
|
|240
|-
|{{w|Huey long}}
|
|
|
|241
|-
|{{w|John Edwards}}
|American politician. Democratic candidate for presidential nomination in 200 and 2008.
|
|
|242
|-
|{{w|Candy Crowley}}
|
|
|
|243
|-
|{{w|Alestier Crowley}}
|
|
|
|244
|-
|{{w|James Fenimore Cooper}}
|
|
|
|245
|-
|{{w|James Cook}}
|18th century British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy.
|Alistair Cooke Cokie Roberts Alistair Cookie James Fenimore Cooper
|Last-Last (approximate) Last-First (approximate) Last-Last (approximate) First-First
|246
|-
|{{w|Robert Frost}}
|
|
|
|247
|-
|{{w|Bob Evans}}
|
|
|
|248
|-
|{{w|Evan Tayler Jones}}
|
|
|
|249
|-
|{{w|James Cameron}}
|American director. Known for {{w|Terminator}} and {{w|Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic}}.
|
|
|250
|-
|{{w|Cam Newton}}
|
|
|
|251
|-
|{{w|Cameron Diaz}}
|American actress. Voiced Fiona in {{w|Shrek}}.
|
|
|252
|-
|{{w|Huey Newton}}
|
|
|
|253
|-
|{{w|Huey Lewis}}
|
|
|
|254
|-
|{{w|John Lewis}}
|
|
|
|255
|-
|{{w|Jenny Lewis}}
|
|
|
|256
|-
|{{w|Ryan Lewis}}
|
|
|
|257
|-
|{{w|Burt Reynolds}}
|American actor. Known for a wide variety of western and/or action films.
|
|
|258
|-
|{{w|Alistair Cooke}}
|Name misspelled Alistiar Cooke in the comic.
|
|
|259
|-
|{{w|Monsterpiece_Theater#Alistair_Cookie|Alistair Cookie}}
|A parody of Alistair Cooke "played" by Cookie Monster in the Sesame Street sketch "Monsterpiece Theatre" in the 1980s, a parody of the PBS series "Masterpiece Theatre".
|James Cook Alastair Reynolds
|Last-Last (approximate) First-First (approximate)
|260
|-
|{{w|Cokie Roberts}}
|
|
|
|261
|-
|{{w|John Roberts}}
|
|
|
|262
|-
|{{w|Robert Johnson}}
|
|
|
|263
|-
|{{w|Robert E. Lee}}
|Confederate general during the {{w|American Civil War}}.
|
|
|264
|-
|{{w|Tommy Lee}}
|
|
|
|265
|-
|{{w|Tommy Lee Jones}}
|American actor known for 'The Fugitive'
|
|
|266
|-
|{{w|Etta James|Etta James (2)}}
|Used first time in 86
|
|
|267
|-
|{{w|John Oliver}}
|American talk show host. Known for {{w|Last Week Tonight}}.
|
|
|268
|-
|{{w|Ryan Reynolds}}
|Canadian actor. Known for several romantic comedies, and {{w|Deadpool (film)|Deadpool}}.
|
|
|269
|-
|{{w|Alastair Reynolds}}
|
|
|
|270
|}

==Transcript==
:[This comic a large grid with 270 black "domino" tiles. On each tile there is a name written with white text. The grid is arranged so that each touching side corresponds with the first or last name of another person (or at least there are some kind of relation between the names on the end of connecting tiles). Some of the domino tiles are rotated 90, 180 or 270 degrees so the text is either to be read down, up-side down or up. The names on the tiles are listed here below in approximate reading order, thus staring top left and moving over the grid from left to right and down. Each swipe left to right covers approximately tiles that are within a span of one standard tile in height. To be exact it lists the names in the order they were numbered in this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1970-_Name_Dominoes_-_The_large_image_with_numbers.jpg image]. One name is used twice, Etta James.]
:Christian Campbell
:Neve Campbell
:Joe McCarthy
:Eugene McCarthy
:Gene Vincent
:Gene Kelly
:Kate Hudson
:Rock Hudson
:Gordon Brown
:James Brown
:Jon Brown
:John Howard
:Columbo
:Chris Columbus
:Christopher Columbus
:Naomi Campbell
:Joseph Campbell
:Joseph Smith
:Frank Vincent
:John Kelly
:Katherine Johnson
:The Rock
:Chris Rock
:Chris Isaac
:James Newton Howard
:John Wayne
:Howard Stern
:Howard Hunt
:Chris Hughes
:Naomi Watts
:Naomi Klein
:Kevin Kline
:Francis Bacon
:Francis Drake
:Lyndon Johnson
:Oscar the Grouch
:Oscar Isaac
:Isaac Hayes
:Isaac Newton
:Wayne Newton
:Wayne Knight
:Helen Hunt
:Helen Hughes
:James Watt (Steam)
:James Watt (Interior)
:Kevin Costner
:Kevin Bacon
:Kevin Love
:Lisa Frank
:Frank Drake
:Drake
:Oscar de la Renta
:Oscar de la Hoya
:Sean Hayes
:Wallace Shawn
:Wayne Howard
:Wayne Brady
:James Brady
:Tom Brady
:Helen Thomas
:Tom Hanks
:Hank Aaron
:Aaron Carter
:Stephen James
:Will Smith
:Kevin Smith
:Kein James
:Garfield
:James Garfield
:Warren Buffett
:Jimmy Buffett
:Warren Beatty
:Elizabeth Warren
:Earl Warren
:Eliabeth Kolbert
:Stephen Colbert
:George Wallace
:Charles Wallace
:James Monroe
:Marilyn Monroe
:Hank Williams
:William C. Williams
:Steve Harvey
:Domino Harvey
:Harvey Milk
:James Saint James
:Etta James
:Jim Jones
:James Earl Jones
:Charlie Parker
:Ray Parker Jr.
:Ray Charles
:Charles Manson
:Marilyn Manson
:Robin Williams
:Billy D. Williams
:Will Wright
:Fats Domino
:Bill Clinton
:Jimmy John
:Tom Jones
:Tommy John
:Quincy Jones
:James Earl Ray
:Man Ray
:Rachel Ray
:Ray Allen
:Tim Allen
:Tim Cook
:Tim Howard
:Robin Wright
:Wilbur Wright
:Fatty Arbuckle
:Fat Joe
:George Clinton
:John Kerry
:Kerry Washington
:John Irving
:John Quincy Adams
:John Adams
:Amy Adams
:Aimee Mann
:Superman
:Batman
:Ayn Rand
:Lily Allen
:Paul Allen
:Ron Howard
:Howard Hughes
:Joe Kennedy
:George Bush
:George Wasington
:Wasington Irving
:Martha Wasington
:Ma Rainey
:Jack Ma
:Super Grover
:Jack Black
:Rand Paul
:Paul Ryan
:Paul Simon
:Ron Paul
:John Hughes
:Langston Hughes
:John F. Kennedy
:Little Richard
:Rich Little
:Martha Stewart
:Yo Yo Ma
:Ma Bell
:Grover Cleveland Alexander
:Grover Cleveland
:Jack White
:Jack Ryan
:Debby Ryan
:Carly Simon
:Carly Hughes
:Charles Evans Hughes
:John Williams
:Little John
:Stuart Little
:Potter Stewart
:Kristen Stewart
:Kristen Bell
:Kristen Hooks
:Alexander Graham Bell
:Franklin Graham
:Lloyd Alexander
:Meg White
:Meg ryan
:Debbie Reynolds
:John Reynolds
:Carly Fiorina
:Grace Lee Boggs
:Wade Boggs
:William Safire
:Prince William
:Little Prince
:Harry Potter
:James Potter
:James Hook
:James Dean
:Aretha Franklin
:Frank Lloyd Wright
:Barry White
:Walter White
:Walt Whitman
:John Kelly
:Grace Lee
:Nancy Grace
:Garnet
:Prince
:Prince Felder
:Prince Harry
:Harry Styles
:John Dean
:Benjamin Franklin
:Harrold Lloyd
:Harrold Ford
:Betty White
:Meg Whitman
:Christine Todd Whitman
:Megyn Kelly
:Grace Kelly
:Grace Jones
:Jack Nicholson
:Jack Ruby
:Jack Russel
:Harry Fielder
:Harry Trueman
:Harry Jon Benjamin
:John Edward
:Benjamin Harrison
:Harrison Ford
:Henry Ford
:Betty Ford
:Betty Friedan
:Chris Christie
:Chris Pratt
:Maggie Grace
:Grace Hopper
:Russel Crowe
:Russ Smith
:John Smith
:Justin Long
:John Bel Edwards
:John Candy
:John Henry
:Henry James
:Bill James
:Chirs Cooper
:Chirs Hemsworth
:Chirs Evans
:Topher Grace
:Van Morrison
:Sheryl Crow
:Sheryl Sandberg
:Cameron Crow
:Long John Silver
:Olivia Newton John
:Huey long
:John Edwards
:Candy Crowley
:Alestier Crowley
:James Fenimore Cooper
:James Cook
:Robert Frost
:Bob Evans
:Evan Tayler Jones
:James Cameron
:Cam Newton
:Cameron Diaz
:Huey Newton
:Huey Lewis
:John Lewis
:Jenny Lewis
:Ryan Lewis
:Burt Reynolds
:Alistiar Cooke
:Alistair Cookie
:Cokie Roberts
:John Roberts
:Robert Johnson
:Robert E. Lee
:Tommy Lee
:Tommy Lee Jones
:Etta James
:John Oliver
:Ryan Reynolds
:Alastair Reynolds

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]

1970: Name Dominoes

2018-03-23T02:17:27Z

Avmarle: added a number of descriptions

{{comic
| number = 1970
| date = March 21, 2018
| title = Name Dominoes
| image = name_dominoes.png
| titletext = In competition, you can only play a name if you know who the person is. No fair saying "Frank ... Johnson. That sounds like a real person! Let me just Google him real quick."
}}

*A large version of the comic picture can be found [https://xkcd.com/1970/large/ here].
*A numbered version can be found [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1970-_Name_Dominoes_-_The_large_image_with_numbers.jpg here].

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by Fats Domino: Table links should be checked and explanation and connections added. (Add a full transcript... "Done!" And good luck with that! "Thanks".) Do NOT delete this tag too soon. }}

{{w|Dominoes}} is a family of boardgames played with rectangular "domino" tiles. A domino tile is divided into two squares, each displaying a number. Under most rules, a domino tile is placed on the table adjacent to another tile, and the adjacent ends must match in some way (usually by the number displayed on the touching ends). Randall's "name dominoes" shows a set of domino tiles with people's names instead of numbers, and adjacent tiles are matched by whether the closest name is the same (such as how Chris Evans' family name matches Evan Taylor Jones' given name).

The title text spells out a rule that a player may only place a tile if they know who that person is. This is a variation of a rule in {{w|Scrabble}}, where a player loses a turn if their chosen word don't survive a dictionary challenge over the validity of the word. This rule implies that players are allowed to create new name dominoes tiles and that it is not a fixed set. In this case the player that is challenged has used the name Frank Johnson of which there are {{w|Frank Johnson|12 exact matches}} on Wikipedia along with six with a middle name and more. In a google search as of the day the comic came out the first hit was {{w|Frank Johnson (basketball)|Frank Johnson}} who is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. Randall has made several [[:Category:Basketball|references to basketball]] in his comics.

A large board is covered in rectangular "dominoes" (270), with each domino bearing the name of a "well-known" person or character (fictional). The dominoes are arranged as if a game of dominoes were being played, but instead of the game requiring the number of spots of adjacent dominoes to match up, this game requires adjacent ''names'' to match up. Because most people have two or more names, different matches are made at each end of a domino. Fun fact is that two of the people are "named after" the game: {{w|Fats Domino}} and {{w|Domino Harvey}}.

The match can be exact (e.g., "Kevin" on one domino adjacent to "Kevin" on another), homonymic (e.g., "Klein" adjacent to "Kline"), or nickname-based (e.g., "James" adjacent to "Jimmy", which in turn is adjacent to "Jim"). Sometimes last names are matched up with first names (e.g., "{{w|Elizabeth Warren}}" adjacent to "{{w|Warren Beatty}}"), and in some cases only a single name is used (e.g., "{{w|Columbo}}", "{{w|Drake_(musician)|Drake}}", "{{w|Garfield_(character)|Garfield}}", "{{w|Prince_(musician)|Prince}}"). Singular names are represented by a half-size square "domino" (or "{{w|Polyomino|monomino}}"), with a few exceptions: "{{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}}" has a full-size tile (a complex reference explained below), and "{{w|Batman}}" and "{{w|Superman}}" have full-size tiles and are placed as though they were two-part names: the first square of "Superman" is matched with "Super", and the second square is matched with the second square of "Batman" (as though both characters had the last name "Man"). Some people have three or more names (e.g., "{{w|Frank Lloyd Wright}}") and have a 3-square domino tile (or "straight {{w|Tromino|tromino}}", 50% longer than normal) which permits matching to a middle name (e.g. "Frank Lloyd Wright" is matched to "{{w|Lloyd Alexander}}" and "{{w|Harold Lloyd}}").

The names come from a wide variety of fields: scientists (e.g., {{w|Isaac Newton}}), historical figures ({{w|George Washington}}), musicians ({{w|Drake (musician)|Drake}}), politicians ({{w|John Kerry}}), actors ({{w|Kevin Costner}}), writers ({{w|Washington Irving}}), fashion designers ({{w|Oscar de la Renta}}), and so on. Most of the names are real people but a few are fictional characters, including some non-human characters like {{w|Garfield_(character)|Garfield}} and {{w|Grover#Super_Grover|Super Grover}}. In one case the nick name for a company is used: {{w|Ma Bell}} aka Bell System.

One notable reference beyond just the use of a name is in the bottom left, there is the connection [ {{w|William Safire}} ][ Garnet ][ {{w|Jack Ruby|Ruby, Jack}} ]. The connection seems to be based on the fact that {{w|Sapphire}}, {{w|Garnet}} and {{w|Ruby}} are all {{w|gemstones}}, which does not match the implied rules of the game. This tile is a reference to the character {{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}} in the cartoon {{w|Steven Universe}}, who is a "fusion" formed by two Gems: Ruby and Sapphire. Thus, the name "Garnet" is treated as though it was two names "Ruby" and "Sapphire", requiring a two-square tile despite having a one-word name. Randall has previously made references to this universe in [[1608: Hoverboard]]. (See [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png this] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png this] image from that comic).

Additionally, Ayn Rand, Paul Ryan and Rand Paul have been mentioned before, in the title text of [[1277: Ayn Random]]. That idea may have been the prototype for this.

In at least one case it is not entirely clear who is being referred to: "John Kelly" most likely refers to Gen. {{w|John F. Kelly}}, Donald Trump's chief of staff, but the name is extremely common and could equally refer to {{w|John Kelly|any number of people}}.

==Table of names==
*Work in progress
**The number # refers to the numbers on this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1970-_Name_Dominoes_-_The_large_image_with_numbers.jpg numbered picture].
***Read more on this page:
***[[1970: Name Dominoes/Numbered images]]
*Wiki links not tested as they were set in only from the name in the comic.
**Spell checking...

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!style="width:15%"|Domino
!style="width:45%"|Notability and notes
!style="width:15%"|Connections
!style="width:20%"|Mode
!style="width:5%"|#
|-
|{{w|Christian Campbell}}
|
|
|
|1
|-
|{{w|Neve Campbell}}
|American actress, known for starring in the movie series Scream.
|
|
|2
|-
|{{w|Joe McCarthy}}
|May refer to the late American senator Joseph McCarthy.
|
|
|3
|-
|{{w|Eugene McCarthy}}
|
|
|
|4
|-
|{{w|Gene Vincent}}
|
|
|
|5
|-
|{{w|Gene Kelly}}
|American actor and dancer known primarily for musicals such as 'Singing in the rain'
|
|
|6
|-
|{{w|Kate Hudson}}
|Golden globe winning american actress.
|
|
|7
|-
|{{w|Rock Hudson}}
|American actor
|
|
|8
|-
|{{w|Gordon Brown}}
|Former British Prime Minister
|
|
|9
|-
|{{w|James Brown}}
|American singer, known as the Godfather of Soul
|
|
|10
|-
|{{w|Jon Brown}}
|
|
|
|11
|-
|{{w|John Howard}}
|Australian politician. Served as 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 1996-2007.
|
|
|12
|-
|{{w|Columbo}}
|Fictional character. Homicide detective from American TV show "Columbo"; portrayed by actor Peter Falk.
|
|
|13
|-
|{{w|Chris Columbus (filmmaker)|Chris Columbus}}
|Film director and screenwriter.
|Columbo Christopher Columbus Chris Hughes
|Last-Only (approximate) First-First (approximate) and Last-Last First-First
|14
|-
|{{w|Christopher Columbus}}
|Italian explorer. Credited with "discovering" the Americas in 1492 by leading voyages and establishing continued ties between Europe and the Americas.
|
|
|15
|-
|{{w|Naomi Campbell}}
|British model and actress.
|
|
|16
|-
|{{w|Joseph Campbell}}
|American author. Most known for his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces about the hero type found throughout world mythologies.
|
|
|17
|-
|{{w|Joseph Smith}}
|American religious leader; founder of Mormonism. Publisher of The Book of Mormon.
|
|
|18
|-
|{{w|Frank Vincent}}
|American actor.
|
|
|19
|-
|{{w|John Kelly}}
|White House Chief of Staff under President Donald Trump. Retired US Marine Corps general.
|
|
|20
|-
|{{w|Katherine Johnson}}
|African-American mathematician at NASA. Calculated trajectories, launch windows, and flight paths for NASA moon missions and the Space Shuttle.
|
|
|21
|-
|{{w|The Rock}}
|Nickname for Dwayne Johnson, a pro wrestler and actor.
|
|
|22
|-
|{{w|Chris Rock}}
|American comedian.
|
|
|23
|-
|{{w|Chris Isaac}}
|
|
|
|24
|-
|{{w|James Newton Howard}}
|
|
|
|25
|-
|{{w|John Wayne}}
|American actor, known primarily for roles in Westerns
|
|
|26
|-
|{{w|Howard Stern}}
|Radio talk show host. Known for {{w|The Howard Stern Show}}.
|
|
|27
|-
|{{w|Howard Hunt}}
|Former CIA operative, convicted for Watergate burglary.
|
|
|28
|-
|{{w|Chris Hughes}}
|
|
|
|29
|-
|{{w|Naomi Watts}}
| Australian actress, born in Britain
|
|
|30
|-
|{{w|Naomi Klein}}
|
|
|
|31
|-
|{{w|Kevin Kline}}
|American actor
|
|
|32
|-
|{{w|Francis Bacon}}
|16th century English philosopher. Commonly credited with the phrase "knowledge is power".
|
|
|33
|-
|{{w|Francis Drake}}
|English privateer
|
|
|34
|-
|{{w|Lyndon Johnson}}
|Former American president (1963-1969)
|
|
|35
|-
|{{w|Oscar the Grouch}}
|A muppet from the children's TV show {{w|Sesame Street}}.
|
|
|36
|-
|{{w|Oscar Isaac}}
|
|
|
|37
|-
|{{w|Isaac Hayes}}
|American singer-songwriter
|
|
|38
|-
|{{w|Isaac Newton}}
|Well-known 1600s physicist who created the three laws of motion.
|
|
|39
|-
|{{w|Wayne Newton}}
|
|
|
|40
|-
|{{w|Wayne Knight}}
|
|
|
|41
|-
|{{w|Helen Hunt}}
|American actress
|
|
|42
|-
|{{w|Helen Hughes}}
|
|
|
|43
|-
|{{w|James Watt|James Watt (Steam)}}
|
|
|
|44
|-
|{{w|James G. Watt|James Watt (Interior)}}
|
|
|
|45
|-
|{{w|Kevin Costner}}
|Academy award winning American actor.
|
|
|46
|-
|{{w|Kevin Bacon}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|Footloose (1984 film)|Footloose}}, and for {{w|Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon}}.
|
|
|47
|-
|{{w|Kevin Love}}
|
|
|
|48
|-
|{{w|Lisa Frank}}
|
|
|
|49
|-
|{{w|Frank Drake}}
|
|
|
|50
|-
|{{w|Drake}}
|Grammy award winning Canadian rapper.
|
|
|51
|-
|{{w|Oscar de la Renta}}
|
|
|
|52
|-
|{{w|Oscar de la Hoya}}
|
|
|
|53
|-
|{{w|Sean Hayes (actor)|Sean Hayes}}
|
|
|
|54
|-
|{{w|Wallace Shawn}}
|
|
|
|55
|-
|{{w|Wayne Howard}}
|
|
|
|56
|-
|{{w|Wayne Brady}}
|American comedian, known for {{w|Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series)|Whose Line Is It Anyway?}}
|
|
|57
|-
|{{w|James Brady}}
|
|
|
|58
|-
|{{w|Tom Brady}}
|Quarterback for the {{w|New England Patriots}}. Notable for winning 5 Superbowls.
|
|
|59
|-
|{{w|Helen Thomas}}
|
|
|
|60
|-
|{{w|Tom Hanks}}
|Academy award winning actor. Known for {{w|Forrest Gump}}, {{w|Saving Private Ryan}}, {{w|Cast Away}}, and several other famous films.
|
|
|61
|-
|{{w|Hank Aaron}}
|
|
|
|62
|-
|{{w|Aaron Carter}}
|American singer.
|
|
|63
|-
|{{w|Stephen James}}
|
|
|
|64
|-
|{{w|Will Smith}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air}}
|
|
|65
|-
|{{w|Kevin Smith}}
|American movie director
|
|
|66
|-
|{{w|Kevin James}}
|
|
|
|67
|-
|{{w|Garfield (character)|Garfield}}
|A fictional cat and the star of the eponymous ''{{w|Garfield}}'' comic by {{w|Jim Davis (cartoonist)|Jim Davis}}. Previously appeared in [[78: Garfield]].
|
|
|68
|-
|{{w|James Garfield}}
|20th President of the United States. Notably, he was assassinated after only 6 months.
|
|
|69
|-
|{{w|Warren Buffett}}
|Billionaire and CEO of {{w|Berkshire Hathaway}}.
|
|
|70
|-
|{{w|Jimmy Buffett}}
|American country musician.
|
|
|71
|-
|{{w|Warren Beatty}}
|
|
|
|72
|-
|{{w|Elizabeth Warren}}
|Massachusetts state Senator since 2013. Known for her work as a consumer rights activist.
|
|
|73
|-
|{{w|Earl Warren}}
|
|
|
|74
|-
|{{w|Elizabeth Kolbert}}
|
|
|
|75
|-
|{{w|Stephen Colbert}}
|American talk show host. Known for {{w|The Colbert Report}} and {{w|The Late Show with Stephen Colbert}}
|
|
|76
|-
|{{w|George Wallace}}
|American politician, who initially supported, but later renounced racial segregation.
|
|
|77
|-
|{{w|Charles Wallace}}
|
|
|
|78
|-
|{{w|James Monroe}}
|Foundign father and Fifth president of the USA
|
|
|79
|-
|{{w|Marilyn Monroe}}
|American actress and pin up model from the 50s. She was immensely famous during her time, and unexpectedly committed suicide at age 36.
|
|
|80
|-
|{{w|Hank Williams}}
|
|
|
|81
|-
|{{w|William C. Williams}}
|
|
|
|82
|-
|{{w|Steve Harvey}}
|Host of {{w|Family Feud}}.
|
|
|83
|-
|{{w|Domino Harvey}}
|
|
|
|84
|-
|{{w|Harvey Milk}}
|American politician and gay rights activist.
|
|
|85
|-
|{{w|James Saint James}}
|
|
|
|86
|-
|{{w|Etta James|Etta James (1)}}
| Used again in 266
|
|
|87
|-
|{{w|Jim Jones}}
|
|
|
|88
|-
|{{w|James Earl Jones}}
|American actor. Voiced {{w|Darth Vader}} in the original Star Wars.
|
|
|89
|-
|{{w|Charlie Parker}}
|
|
|
|90
|-
|{{w|Ray Parker Jr.}}
|
|
|
|91
|-
|{{w|Ray Charles}}
|American blues musician. Blind from the age of 7.
|
|
|92
|-
|{{w|Charles Manson}}
|Cult leader of the {{w|Manson Family}}. Convicted of 7 murders.
|
|
|93
|-
|{{w|Marilyn Manson}}
|American musician. Known for esoteric performances.
|
|
|94
|-
|{{w|Robin Williams}}
|American stand up comedian. Voiced the Genie in {{w|Aladdin (1992 Disney film)|Aladdin}}.
|
|
|95
|-
|{{w|Billy D. Williams}}
|American actor best known for playing {{w|Lando Calrissian}} in ''{{w|The Empire Strikes Back}}'' and ''{{w|Return of the Jedi}}''.
|
|
|96
|-
|{{w|Will Wright}}
|
|
|
|97
|-
|{{w|Fats Domino}}
|
|
|
|98
|-
|{{w|Bill Clinton}}
|42nd president of the United States. Known for having an affair in office. His wife, {{w|Hillary Clinton}}, ran for against {{w|Donald Trump}} in the 2016 presidential election.
|
|
|99
|-
|{{w|Jimmy John}}
|
|
|
|100
|-
|{{w|Tom Jones}}
|Can refer to the Welsh Singer or to the fictional character from the book of teh same name by Henry Fielding
|
|
|101
|-
|{{w|Tommy John}}
|
|
|
|102
|-
|{{w|Quincy Jones}}
|American Jazz musician
|
|
|103
|-
|{{w|James Earl Ray}}
|killer of Martin Luther King Jr.
|
|
|104
|-
|{{w|Man Ray}}
|
|
|
|105
|-
|{{w|Rachel Ray}}
|Celebrity chef.
|
|
|106
|-
|{{w|Ray Allen}}
|
|
|
|107
|-
|{{w|Tim Allen}}
|American actor. Voiced Buzz Lightyear in {{w|Toy Story}}.
|
|
|108
|-
|{{w|Tim Cook}}
|
|
|
|109
|-
|{{w|Tim Howard}}
|
|
|
|110
|-
|{{w|Robin Wright}}
|American actress, aka Robin Wright-Penn
|
|
|111
|-
|{{w|Wilbur Wright}}
|
|
|
|112
|-
|{{w|Fatty Arbuckle}}
|
|
|
|113
|-
|{{w|Fat Joe}}
|
|
|
|114
|-
|{{w|George Clinton}}
|
|
|
|115
|-
|{{w|John Kerry}}
|Secretary of State under {{w|Barrack Obama}}. Ran against {{w|George W. Bush}} in the 2004 presidential election.
|
|
|116
|-
|{{w|Kerry Washington}}
|
|
|
|117
|-
|{{w|John Irving}}
|
|
|
|118
|-
|{{w|John Quincy Adams}}
|
|
|
|119
|-
|{{w|John Adams}}
|
|
|
|120
|-
|{{w|Amy Adams}}
|
|
|
|121
|-
|{{w|Aimee Mann}}
|
|
|
|122
|-
|{{w|Superman}}
|Superhero owned by DC comics.
|
|
|123
|-
|{{w|Batman}}
|Superhero owned by DC comics.
|
|
|124
|-
|{{w|Ayn Rand}}
|Russian political author, known for {{w|Atlas Shrugged}}. XKCD frequently makes fun of Rand's philosophy.
|
|
|125
|-
|{{w|Lily Allen}}
|
|
|
|126
|-
|{{w|Paul Allen}}
|
|
|
|127
|-
|{{w|Ron Howard}}
|
|
|
|128
|-
|{{w|Howard Hughes}}
|American business tycoon
|
|
|129
|-
|{{w|Joe Kennedy}}
|Father of {{w|John F. Kennedy}}.
|
|
|130
|-
|{{w|George Bush}}
|{{w|George H. W. Bush}} and {{w|George W. Bush}} (father and son, respectively), were both presidents of the United States.
|
|
|131
|-
|{{w|George Wasington}}
|First president of the United States, and general during the Revolutionary War.
|
|
|132
|-
|{{w|Wasington Irving}}
|
|
|
|133
|-
|{{w|Martha Wasington}}
|Wife of George Washington.
|
|
|134
|-
|{{w|Ma Rainey}}
|
|
|
|135
|-
|{{w|Jack Ma}}
|
|
|
|136
|-
|{{w|Super Grover}}
|
|
|
|137
|-
|{{w|Jack Black}}
|
|
|
|138
|-
|{{w|Rand Paul}}
|Republican senator from Kentucky; member of the {{w|Tea Party movement}}. Ran in the 2016 republican presidential primary.
|
|
|139
|-
|{{w|Paul Ryan}}
|Republican representative from Wisconsin. Served as Speaker of the House at the time this comic was published.
|
|
|140
|-
|{{w|Paul Simon}}
|
|
|
|141
|-
|{{w|Ron Paul}}
|Libertarian politician. Known for running for president in many elections.
|
|
|142
|-
|{{w|John Hughes}}
|
|
|
|143
|-
|{{w|Langston Hughes}}
|
|
|
|144
|-
|{{w|John F. Kennedy}}
|35th president of the United States. Known for his public assassination during a parade; subject to many conspiracy theories.
|
|
|145
|-
|{{w|Little Richard}}
|
|
|
|146
|-
|{{w|Rich Little}}
|
|
|
|147
|-
|{{w|Martha Stewart}}
|American TV personality. Convicted of insider trading in 2004.
|
|
|148
|-
|{{w|Yo Yo Ma}}
|Chinese cellist. Known for winning 18 Grammys; considered a child prodigy.
|
|
|149
|-
|{{w|Ma Bell}}
|Aka Bell System, the system of companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by AT&T, which provided telephone services to much of the United States and Canada from 1877 to 1984.
|
|
|150
|-
|{{w|Grover Cleveland Alexander}}
|
|
|
|151
|-
|{{w|Grover Cleveland}}
|22nd and 24th president of the United States. Notably the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms (which is no longer possible).
|
|
|152
|-
|{{w|Jack White}}
|American musician. Part of {{w|The White Stripes}}.
|
|
|153
|-
|{{w|Jack Ryan}}
|
|
|
|154
|-
|{{w|Debby Ryan}}
|
|
|
|155
|-
|{{w|Carly Simon}}
|
|
|
|156
|-
|{{w|Carly Hughes}}
|
|
|
|157
|-
|{{w|Charles Evans Hughes}}
|
|
|
|158
|-
|{{w|John Williams}}
|American composer. Known for many famous movie soundtracks, including Star Wars and Harry Potter.
|
|
|159
|-
|{{w|Little John}}
|
|
|
|160
|-
|{{w|Stuart Little}}
|Fictional character.
|
|
|161
|-
|{{w|Potter Stewart}}
|
|
|
|162
|-
|{{w|Kristen Stewart}}
|American actress. Known for {{w|Twilight (2008 film)|Twilight}}.
|
|
|163
|-
|{{w|Kristen Bell}}
|American actress, known for various romantic comedies.
|
|
|164
|-
|{{w|Kristen Hooks}}
|
|
|
|165
|-
|{{w|Alexander Graham Bell}}
|Scottish inventor, credited with inventing the telephone.
|
|
|166
|-
|{{w|Franklin Graham}}
|
|
|
|167
|-
|{{w|Lloyd Alexander}}
|
|
|
|168
|-
|{{w|Meg White}}
|
|
|
|169
|-
|{{w|Meg ryan}}
|
|
|
|170
|-
|{{w|Debbie Reynolds}}
|
|
|
|171
|-
|{{w|John Reynolds}}
|
|
|
|172
|-
|{{w|Carly Fiorina}}
|
|
|
|173
|-
|{{w|Grace Lee Boggs}}
|
|
|
|174
|-
|{{w|Wade Boggs}}
|American baseball player. Played with the {{w|Boston Red Sox}}.
|
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|175
|-
|{{w|William Safire}}
|
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|176
|-
|{{w|Prince William}}
|Member of the British Royal Family. Second in line for succession to the throne.
|
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|177
|-
|{{w|Little Prince}}
|One of the main characters of ''{{w|The Little Prince}}'', a novella by {{w|Antoine de Saint-Exupéry}}. The Little Prince has previously appeared in [[618: Asteroid]], as well as [http://what-if.xkcd.com/68 article 68] of ''[[what if?]]''.
|
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|178
|-
|{{w|Harry Potter}}
|
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|179
|-
|{{w|James Potter}}
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|180
|-
|{{w|James Hook}}
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|
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|181
|-
|{{w|James Dean}}
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|182
|-
|{{w|Aretha Franklin}}
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|183
|-
|{{w|Frank Lloyd Wright}}
|American architect, known for his unconventional buildings.
|
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|184
|-
|{{w|Barry White}}
|
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|185
|-
|{{w|Walter White}}
|Main character from the TV show {{w|Breaking Bad}}.
|
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|186
|-
|{{w|Walt Whitman}}
|American poet. {{w|Walt Whitman Bridge|A bridge in Philadelphia}} was named after him.
|
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|187
|-
|{{w|John Kelly}}
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|188
|-
|{{w|Grace Lee}}
|
|
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|189
|-
|{{w|Nancy Grace}}
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|
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|190
|-
|{{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}}
|A {{w|garnet}} is a gem stone and the two names around here are {{w|William Safire}} (almost {{w|Sapphire}}) and {{w|Jack Ruby}} as in {{w|Ruby}}. But it is not just used because they are all {{w|gemstones}}. It is instead a reference to the character {{w|Garnet_(Steven_Universe)|Garnet}} in the cartoon {{w|Steven Universe}}. She is a "fusion" formed by two gems: Ruby and Sapphire, hence the legal connection in the Name Dominoes... Randall has previously made references to this universe in [[1608: Hoverboard]]. (See [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/3/39/1608_1031x1095y_Steven_Universe_family_and_ice_cream_prediction.png this] and [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/f/fa/1608_1077x1109y_Darth_Vaders_talks_about_Steven_Universe_on_the_bridge_Megan_adjust_antenna.png this] image from that comic).
|{{w|William Safire}} {{w|Jack Ruby}}
|Last-Only (as a Sapphire gem stone) Last-Only (as a Ruby gem stone) Both used to fuse together to Garnet.
|191
|-
|{{w|Prince (musician)|Prince}}
|American musician, part of the Rock and Roll hall of fame. He died two years prior to the release of this comic.
|
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|192
|-
|{{w|Prince Felder}}
|
|
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|193
|-
|{{w|Prince Harry}}
|Member of the British royal family. Fifth in line for succession to the throne.
|
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|194
|-
|{{w|Harry Styles}}
|
|
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|195
|-
|{{w|John Dean}}
|
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|196
|-
|{{w|Benjamin Franklin}}
|One of the founding fathers of the United States. Credited with discovering electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm.
|
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|197
|-
|{{w|Harrold Lloyd}}
|
|
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|198
|-
|{{w|Harrold Ford}}
|
|
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|199
|-
|{{w|Betty White}}
|American comedian. Known as the only surviving member of the {{w|The Golden Girls}}.
|
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|200
|-
|{{w|Meg Whitman}}
|
|
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|201
|-
|{{w|Christine Todd Whitman}}
|
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|202
|-
|{{w|Megyn Kelly}}
|American TV news anchor. Worked for Fox news until 2017, then switched to NBC.
|
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|203
|-
|{{w|Grace Kelly}}
|
|
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|204
|-
|{{w|Grace Jones}}
|
|
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|205
|-
|{{w|Jack Nicholson}}
|
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|206
|-
|{{w|Jack Ruby}}
|Jack Ruby is known for shooting and killing {{w|Lee Harvey Oswald}} on national television. Oswald was the prime suspect in the {{w|assassination of John F. Kennedy}}. Ruby's involvement is the subject of many conspiracy theories.
|
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|207
|-
|{{w|Jack Russel}}
|
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|208
|-
|{{w|Harry Fielder}}
|
|
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|209
|-
|{{w|Harry Truman}}
|33rd president of the United States. Known for authorizing the use of atomic weapons against Japan at the end of World War 2.
|
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|210
|-
|{{w|Harry Jon Benjamin}}
|
|
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|211
|-
|{{w|John Edward}}
|
|
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|212
|-
|{{w|Benjamin Harrison}}
|
|
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|213
|-
|{{w|Harrison Ford}}
|American actor. Known for playing Han Solo in {{w|Star Wars}}, and {{w|Indiana Jones}}.
|
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|214
|-
|{{w|Henry Ford}}
|Founder of the {{w|Ford Motor Company}}. Credited with inventing the assembly line.
|
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|215
|-
|{{w|Betty Ford}}
|Wife of Gerald Ford, 38th president of the United States.
|
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|216
|-
|{{w|Betty Friedan}}
|
|
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|217
|-
|{{w|Chris Christie}}
|
|
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|218
|-
|{{w|Chris Pratt}}
|American actor. Known for {{w|Parks and Recreation}}
|
|
|219
|-
|{{w|Maggie Grace}}
|
|
|
|220
|-
|{{w|Grace Hopper}}
|American computer scientist. Helped develop the {{w|COBOL}} programming language.
|
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|221
|-
|{{w|Russel Crowe}}
|
|
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|222
|-
|{{w|Russ Smith}}
|
|
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|223
|-
|{{w|John Smith}}
|John Smith is the most common name in the United States. {{w|John Smith|See Wikipedia}} for a list of people this may refer to.
|
|
|224
|-
|{{w|Justin Long}}
|
|
|
|225
|-
|{{w|John Bel Edwards}}
|
|
|
|226
|-
|{{w|John Candy}}
|Canadian comedian and actor. Known for {{w|Spaceballs}}.
|
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|227
|-
|{{w|John Henry}}
|
|
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|228
|-
|{{w|Henry James}}
|
|
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|229
|-
|{{w|Bill James}}
|
|
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|230
|-
|{{w|Chirs Cooper}}
|
|
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|231
|-
|{{w|Chirs Hemsworth}}
|
|
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|232
|-
|{{w|Chirs Evans}}
|
|
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|233
|-
|{{w|Topher Grace}}
|
|
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|234
|-
|{{w|Van Morrison}}
|
|
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|235
|-
|{{w|Sheryl Crow}}
|
|
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|236
|-
|{{w|Sheryl Sandberg}}
|
|
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|237
|-
|{{w|Cameron Crow}}
|
|
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|238
|-
|{{w|Long John Silver}}
|Fictional antagonist from {{w|Treasure Island}}.
|
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|239
|-
|{{w|Olivia Newton John}}
|
|
|
|240
|-
|{{w|Huey long}}
|
|
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|241
|-
|{{w|John Edwards}}
|
|
|
|242
|-
|{{w|Candy Crowley}}
|
|
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|243
|-
|{{w|Alestier Crowley}}
|
|
|
|244
|-
|{{w|James Fenimore Cooper}}
|
|
|
|245
|-
|{{w|James Cook}}
|18th century British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy.
|Alistair Cooke Cokie Roberts Alistair Cookie James Fenimore Cooper
|Last-Last (approximate) Last-First (approximate) Last-Last (approximate) First-First
|246
|-
|{{w|Robert Frost}}
|
|
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|247
|-
|{{w|Bob Evans}}
|
|
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|248
|-
|{{w|Evan Tayler Jones}}
|
|
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|249
|-
|{{w|James Cameron}}
|American director. Known for {{w|Terminator}} and {{w|Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic}}.
|
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|250
|-
|{{w|Cam Newton}}
|
|
|
|251
|-
|{{w|Cameron Diaz}}
|American actress. Voiced Fiona in {{w|Shrek}}.
|
|
|252
|-
|{{w|Huey Newton}}
|
|
|
|253
|-
|{{w|Huey Lewis}}
|
|
|
|254
|-
|{{w|John Lewis}}
|
|
|
|255
|-
|{{w|Jenny Lewis}}
|
|
|
|256
|-
|{{w|Ryan Lewis}}
|
|
|
|257
|-
|{{w|Burt Reynolds}}
|American actor. Known for a wide variety of western and/or action films.
|
|
|258
|-
|{{w|Alistair Cooke}}
|Name misspelled Alistiar Cooke in the comic.
|
|
|259
|-
|{{w|Monsterpiece_Theater#Alistair_Cookie|Alistair Cookie}}
|A parody of Alistair Cooke "played" by Cookie Monster in the Sesame Street sketch "Monsterpiece Theatre" in the 1980s, a parody of the PBS series "Masterpiece Theatre".
|James Cook Alastair Reynolds
|Last-Last (approximate) First-First (approximate)
|260
|-
|{{w|Cokie Roberts}}
|
|
|
|261
|-
|{{w|John Roberts}}
|
|
|
|262
|-
|{{w|Robert Johnson}}
|
|
|
|263
|-
|{{w|Robert E. Lee}}
|Confederate general during the {{w|American Civil War}}.
|
|
|264
|-
|{{w|Tommy Lee}}
|
|
|
|265
|-
|{{w|Tommy Lee Jones}}
|
|
|
|266
|-
|{{w|Etta James|Etta James (2)}}
|Used first time in 86
|
|
|267
|-
|{{w|John Oliver}}
|American talk show host. Known for {{w|Last Week Tonight}}.
|
|
|268
|-
|{{w|Ryan Reynolds}}
|Canadian actor. Known for several romantic comedies, and {{w|Deadpool (film)|Deadpool}}.
|
|
|269
|-
|{{w|Alastair Reynolds}}
|
|
|
|270
|}

==Transcript==
:[This comic a large grid with 270 black "domino" tiles. On each tile there is a name written with white text. The grid is arranged so that each touching side corresponds with the first or last name of another person (or at least there are some kind of relation between the names on the end of connecting tiles). Some of the domino tiles are rotated 90, 180 or 270 degrees so the text is either to be read down, up-side down or up. The names on the tiles are listed here below in approximate reading order, thus staring top left and moving over the grid from left to right and down. Each swipe left to right covers approximately tiles that are within a span of one standard tile in height. To be exact it lists the names in the order they were numbered in this [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/7/73/1970-_Name_Dominoes_-_The_large_image_with_numbers.jpg image]. One name is used twice, Etta James.]
:Christian Campbell
:Neve Campbell
:Joe McCarthy
:Eugene McCarthy
:Gene Vincent
:Gene Kelly
:Kate Hudson
:Rock Hudson
:Gordon Brown
:James Brown
:Jon Brown
:John Howard
:Columbo
:Chris Columbus
:Christopher Columbus
:Naomi Campbell
:Joseph Campbell
:Joseph Smith
:Frank Vincent
:John Kelly
:Katherine Johnson
:The Rock
:Chris Rock
:Chris Isaac
:James Newton Howard
:John Wayne
:Howard Stern
:Howard Hunt
:Chris Hughes
:Naomi Watts
:Naomi Klein
:Kevin Kline
:Francis Bacon
:Francis Drake
:Lyndon Johnson
:Oscar the Grouch
:Oscar Isaac
:Isaac Hayes
:Isaac Newton
:Wayne Newton
:Wayne Knight
:Helen Hunt
:Helen Hughes
:James Watt (Steam)
:James Watt (Interior)
:Kevin Costner
:Kevin Bacon
:Kevin Love
:Lisa Frank
:Frank Drake
:Drake
:Oscar de la Renta
:Oscar de la Hoya
:Sean Hayes
:Wallace Shawn
:Wayne Howard
:Wayne Brady
:James Brady
:Tom Brady
:Helen Thomas
:Tom Hanks
:Hank Aaron
:Aaron Carter
:Stephen James
:Will Smith
:Kevin Smith
:Kein James
:Garfield
:James Garfield
:Warren Buffett
:Jimmy Buffett
:Warren Beatty
:Elizabeth Warren
:Earl Warren
:Eliabeth Kolbert
:Stephen Colbert
:George Wallace
:Charles Wallace
:James Monroe
:Marilyn Monroe
:Hank Williams
:William C. Williams
:Steve Harvey
:Domino Harvey
:Harvey Milk
:James Saint James
:Etta James
:Jim Jones
:James Earl Jones
:Charlie Parker
:Ray Parker Jr.
:Ray Charles
:Charles Manson
:Marilyn Manson
:Robin Williams
:Billy D. Williams
:Will Wright
:Fats Domino
:Bill Clinton
:Jimmy John
:Tom Jones
:Tommy John
:Quincy Jones
:James Earl Ray
:Man Ray
:Rachel Ray
:Ray Allen
:Tim Allen
:Tim Cook
:Tim Howard
:Robin Wright
:Wilbur Wright
:Fatty Arbuckle
:Fat Joe
:George Clinton
:John Kerry
:Kerry Washington
:John Irving
:John Quincy Adams
:John Adams
:Amy Adams
:Aimee Mann
:Superman
:Batman
:Ayn Rand
:Lily Allen
:Paul Allen
:Ron Howard
:Howard Hughes
:Joe Kennedy
:George Bush
:George Wasington
:Wasington Irving
:Martha Wasington
:Ma Rainey
:Jack Ma
:Super Grover
:Jack Black
:Rand Paul
:Paul Ryan
:Paul Simon
:Ron Paul
:John Hughes
:Langston Hughes
:John F. Kennedy
:Little Richard
:Rich Little
:Martha Stewart
:Yo Yo Ma
:Ma Bell
:Grover Cleveland Alexander
:Grover Cleveland
:Jack White
:Jack Ryan
:Debby Ryan
:Carly Simon
:Carly Hughes
:Charles Evans Hughes
:John Williams
:Little John
:Stuart Little
:Potter Stewart
:Kristen Stewart
:Kristen Bell
:Kristen Hooks
:Alexander Graham Bell
:Franklin Graham
:Lloyd Alexander
:Meg White
:Meg ryan
:Debbie Reynolds
:John Reynolds
:Carly Fiorina
:Grace Lee Boggs
:Wade Boggs
:William Safire
:Prince William
:Little Prince
:Harry Potter
:James Potter
:James Hook
:James Dean
:Aretha Franklin
:Frank Lloyd Wright
:Barry White
:Walter White
:Walt Whitman
:John Kelly
:Grace Lee
:Nancy Grace
:Garnet
:Prince
:Prince Felder
:Prince Harry
:Harry Styles
:John Dean
:Benjamin Franklin
:Harrold Lloyd
:Harrold Ford
:Betty White
:Meg Whitman
:Christine Todd Whitman
:Megyn Kelly
:Grace Kelly
:Grace Jones
:Jack Nicholson
:Jack Ruby
:Jack Russel
:Harry Fielder
:Harry Trueman
:Harry Jon Benjamin
:John Edward
:Benjamin Harrison
:Harrison Ford
:Henry Ford
:Betty Ford
:Betty Friedan
:Chris Christie
:Chris Pratt
:Maggie Grace
:Grace Hopper
:Russel Crowe
:Russ Smith
:John Smith
:Justin Long
:John Bel Edwards
:John Candy
:John Henry
:Henry James
:Bill James
:Chirs Cooper
:Chirs Hemsworth
:Chirs Evans
:Topher Grace
:Van Morrison
:Sheryl Crow
:Sheryl Sandberg
:Cameron Crow
:Long John Silver
:Olivia Newton John
:Huey long
:John Edwards
:Candy Crowley
:Alestier Crowley
:James Fenimore Cooper
:James Cook
:Robert Frost
:Bob Evans
:Evan Tayler Jones
:James Cameron
:Cam Newton
:Cameron Diaz
:Huey Newton
:Huey Lewis
:John Lewis
:Jenny Lewis
:Ryan Lewis
:Burt Reynolds
:Alistiar Cooke
:Alistair Cookie
:Cokie Roberts
:John Roberts
:Robert Johnson
:Robert E. Lee
:Tommy Lee
:Tommy Lee Jones
:Etta James
:John Oliver
:Ryan Reynolds
:Alastair Reynolds

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Large drawings]]

1966: Smart Home Security

2018-03-13T02:45:25Z

Avmarle:

{{comic
| number = 1966
| date = March 12, 2018
| title = Smart Home Security
| image = smart_home_security.png
| titletext = If they're getting valuable enough stuff from you, at least the organized crime folks have an incentive to issue regular updates to keep the appliance working after the manufacturer discontinues support.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a FACELESS ENGINEER - Can someone find some examples if anyone has been spied on by "hackers"? Confirm that the graph means "the oldest the device, worst the best-case is".}}

With all the sensors on a smart appliance, a common fear is that someone (Whether it be a hacker, or even the company that released the product) is spying, collecting information on everything you do.

Now, with all the potential incentive, it is pretty likely that hackers are, and have been trying to find exploits to take over the device.
Assuming it is taken over, it could be added to a {{w|botnet}}. The collected data could then be sold, and the hardware could be used for DDOS attacks etc. Either could yield the "hacker" a hefty profit.

With the potential threat always looming, security updates must be constantly pushed, and exploits must be found by the original developers and "white hat" hackers (The faceless team of engineers [[Randall]] describes), before they could be found (and get used) by "black hat" hackers. At any time, these people could quit, leaving devices defenseless.

The graph shows the various cases of how well things go on the y axis, compared to how long it has been owned on the x axis. The older a device/software is, the less likely it is to consistently receive security updates for protection, so they are more likely to be hacked, even in the best case. After 10 years, the device/software, is most likely outdated and is not being used anymore. Companies then no longer find it profitable to continually update the product, and then pull support out, even if people are still using it, leaving them vulnerable. The exact thing happened to many users, when Microsoft halted updates to Windows XP in 2014, even though many people still used the operating system.

The title text suggests that being easy to hack may actually be a positive thing for an older device, because it means that criminals have a vested interest in providing system support to keep it operational after the manufacturer has stopped supporting it.

==Transcript==
:[A graph is shown inside a frame. There is one dotted line going from the middle of the left edge, then dipping slightly before rising slowly at first, then more rapid and finally slowing its ascend down as it nears the top right corner.]

:[Above the frame is the title of the x-axis, and from each end of this text, there is a small line going out and then down, to indicate a time range, which is shown below with four times:]
:How long you've had your smart appliance
:6 months     1 year     5 years     10 years

:[Along the left part of the frame there runs a double arrow and at the top and bottom of these arrows there are legends at the top and bottom of the panels height:]
:Best-case
:Worst-case

:[Inside the panel there is text above the dotted line to the right, and below the dotted line to the left:]
:You're constantly being rescued from peril by a faceless team of engineers who could wander away at any time

:Your appliance is part of a botnet run by organized crime

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Virtual Assistants]]