explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

3198: Double-Pronged Extension Cord

2026-01-24T10:23:56Z

Bewa: Removed unrelated trivia suggesting underlying context. The DNA question is from the first What if? book (2014) and is merely animated. There is no connection.

{{comic
| number = 3198
| date = January 23, 2026
| title = Double-Pronged Extension Cord
| image = double_pronged_extension_cord_2x.png
| imagesize = 698x267px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Oh, and can I borrow 50 sacks of loose flour, a pile of lithium-ion batteries, a bucket of bleach, and a bucket of vinega--' 'NO!!!!!!'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by THE EXTENSION CORD FROM COMIC #509. I can't explain the anchoring it to the wall part yet, and I didn't do the title text. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
As Ponytail correctly points out, extension cords with prongs on both ends are lethally dangerous. They are also known as [https://www.consumerreports.org/home-garden/generators/why-suicide-extension-cords-are-so-dangerous-a1189731437/ suicide cords] for this reason.

Ponytail seems to relax when she persuades Cueball to use a regular extension cord instead. But then he elaborates that rather than wanting the cord to carry electricity, he actually intends to use it as a makeshift support similar to the screwdriver in Louis Slotin's infamous "Demon Core" or "Tickling the dragon's tail" experiment, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slotin#Criticality_accident which proved fatal]. Understandably, this horrifies Ponytail even more.

The title text escalates the innocently mentioned hazards...though arguably not as much as the radioactivity. Loose flour is a well known fire hazard and the key to a flour-air explosion; 50 bags of it plus some way to get it into the air could blow up a sizable building. Lithium batteries are well known fire hazards when overcharged, which is why the TSA restricts them in checked luggage and there have been numerous fires caused by the lithium batteries in "hoverboards" leading them to be oft-banned in cities, airports, and by retailers who might otherwise sell them. A bank of 50 might be overkill, but if charged in parallel (serial probably wouldn't work as well), could likely cause a noticable explosion or fire once one of them hit its limit. And while vinegar and bleach aren't a particular fire hazard, they do release chlorine gas when combined, which is rather unfortunately lethal. As such, the theme appears to be "innocuous-appearing substances which are actually quite dangerous" -- except for the plutonium, of course.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Cueball is approaching Ponytail from off, who is sitting at a desk, with a laptop.]
:Cueball: Do you have an extension cord with prongs at both ends? Can I borrow it?
:Ponytail: '''''No'''''!!!

:[Close up of Ponytail raising her arms in an exasperated fashion]
:Ponytail: No one should '''''ever''''' buy or make those!
:Ponytail: They start fires, destroy equipment, and risk electrocuting you or grid workers!
:Cueball: OK, OK, I get it.

:[The view zooms back out, showing Ponytail handing Cueball an extension cord.]
:Cueball: Can I just borrow a regular cord, then?
:Ponytail: Sure. Here.
:Cueball: The prongs aren't important. I just thought they'd help anchor it to the wall.
:Ponytail: Wait, what are you-

:[Cueball is walking away from Ponytail, who sits at her desk with her hands to her head.]
:Cueball: I need it to help hold up the top half of the reflector for this plutonium core that I'm-
:Ponytail: '''''AAAAAAAA!!!!'''''

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Chemistry]]

3068: Rock Identification

2025-03-26T21:14:28Z

Bewa: Check your wallets, folks!

{{comic
| number = 3068
| date = March 26, 2025
| title = Rock Identification
| image = rock_identification_2x.png
| imagesize = 430x409px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'Is it worth anything?' 'I dunno, is the answer to that question worth another $5?'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GEOLOGIC BOT THAT WILL DO IT FOR $4 - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
It is somewhat hard to identify rocks without knowing where they're from, but Randall insinuates that this is just a lie geologists insinuate to obtain free money from curious people looking to identify rocks and assures that the best way to get rocks identified is to pay the geologist you ask.

Alternate Explanation: garnets in mica schists actually grow in $5 bill environments. That was sufficient geologic context.

==Transcript==
[Cueball is holding a small spotted rock]
Cueball: Can you identify this rock I found?

Ponytail: Not without knowing '''where''' you found. It's difficult to identify minerals by sight without the geological context.

[Cueball is holding $5 bill under the same small spotted rock]

Cueball: Can you identify this rock I found wrapped in a $5 bill?

Ponytail: Sure! Looks like garnets in a mica schist.

{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[Caption above the comic:]
:how to ask geologists to identify a rock
:[A two-paneled comic, one panel being labeled "wrong:" and the other being labeled "right:"]
:[The panel labeled "wrong:"]
:[Cueball holds out a rock to Megan]
:Cueball: Can you identify this rock that I found?
:Megan: Not without knowing where you found it. It's difficult to identify minerals by sight without the geologic context.

:[The panel labeled "right:"]
:[Cueball holds out a rock wrapped in a $5 bill to Megan]
:Cueball: Can you identify this rock that I found wrapped in a $5 bill?
:Megan: Sure! Looks like garnets in a mica schist.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2912: Cursive Letters

2024-03-27T22:09:27Z

Bewa:

That Q is pretty easy to read, but a lot of people write it in a way that looks more like 2. That Q always throws me off. The 2 goes close to the bottom left, neither cool nor legible. [[User:EebstertheGreat|EebstertheGreat]] ([[User talk:EebstertheGreat|talk]]) 21:28, 27 March 2024 (UTC)

Cursive has been in the news lately, almost half the US states have recently passed laws requiring that cursive writing be taught in elementary schools. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 21:30, 27 March 2024 (UTC)

Is this the default cursive taught in US American schools? I’ve often seen this capital I, G and Q on (older) Hollywood films, but the (standard) cursive writing in Germany or France looks completely different. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.154.99|162.158.154.99]] 21:49, 27 March 2024 (UTC)

Labelled: https://i.imgur.com/dTdLgO6.png [[User:Bewa|Bewa]] ([[User talk:Bewa|talk]]) 22:09, 27 March 2024 (UTC)