explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Category talk:Popular Comics

2024-11-30T11:53:16Z

CommunityGuidelines:

== As it's created... ==

So, what's the consensus on what should actually be included/given this category? (Popular 'interactive' ones? Certain infographics? Classics/famous 'ordinary' comics?) Should we consider careful choosing (voting?) to narrow down to no more than a percentile (which'd currently give us 28 of the current comic corpus to call 'the most popular', which seems about right as a hand-wavy figure) as candidates. And then do we even remove the one most out of favour if it looks like a new Popular comic should be added?

Only asking because... it's all rather quite subjective, unless we can get hold of access-logs (either explainxkcd or, ideally, xkcd.com itself) and base it on actual intentional visits (plus or minus the Random visits).

I might have my own ideas about which to add to the current set, but I'll excercise restraint. And I would hope others do, too. At least until we establish what sort of ground-rules we're working with. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.241|172.70.91.241]] 20:05, 10 November 2023 (UTC)
:I'm basing this off of discussion page length, although I will add some if the explaination or trivia sections mention that there's a fandom wiki/wikipedia page about the comic, or that it explicitly says that it's very popular. [[User:B for brain|B for brain]] ([[User talk:B for brain|talk]]) 13:17, 11 November 2023 (UTC)

Category talk:Deleted comics

2024-11-30T11:52:49Z

CommunityGuidelines:

== Category description ==

Yeah sorry, that should've have had a reason. I removed the descriptions of the 3 comics because we don't usually describe every comic in a category in its description. I don't mind if it's reverted or we find another solution, maybe we could link to the #Trivia section of each comic to give more context? By removing it, my thinking was that people would open the comic and see all the context they needed in the trivia section instead of a one-sentence summary. I'm also open to just leaving as-is, I don't really mind. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:19, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Category talk:Noindexed pages

2024-11-30T11:52:11Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Frankie is still here. Actually, now it’s the discussion, too. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 19:14, 4 March 2019 (UTC)
:The user Frankie uses <nowiki>__NOINDEX__</nowiki> at his user page. So it's absolutely correct that it's shown up in this category. Any problems? --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:40, 4 March 2019 (UTC)
::This is supposed to be a hidden category. [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 11:52, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

Category talk:Extra comics

2024-11-30T11:51:16Z

CommunityGuidelines:

I sincerely believe that we should place this comic here due to this comic, while apparently part of the 5-minute comic series, is not a numbered one, despite still being one by Randall Munroe:
http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/940:_Oversight
[[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 17:30, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

== "What If" Illustrations/Comics? ==

Is there a dedicated place for [https://what-if.xkcd.com/ What If?] images? Else, I'd like to propose a major new subcategory here for them.

[[User:TPS|TPS]] ([[User talk:TPS|talk]]) 04:37, 14 April 2017 (UTC)

== As per disappearing comics... ==

I think [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Extra_comics&curid=16772&diff=316813&oldid=306011 this removal] of (example) reasons detracts from the experience. Any comic linked to should have its own explanation (in full/not needing extra references) but a ''brief'' summary of how/why can have been listed here (does not need to 'pre-repeat' any links) would be useful. And if new reasons develop, the category explanation can (eventually) be appended to at leisure. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.106|141.101.98.106]] 13:38, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
:I'm not sure if I understood your comment fully, but I had removed the deleted comics note because I also added the [[:Category:Deleted comics]] to the Extra comics category. I'll restore the old first bullet point in a few hours --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 15:39, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
::I perceive a bit of a garden path to my earlier comment, so just FYI:
::*Of course every comic explanation page for "Extras" will have full details of "This is outside the normal release, because <blah>", or whatever.
::*This also applies to "Deleteds"
::**...which may or may not be a subset of the "Extras" - I'd class bonus comics separate from removed/replaced comics, normally, although there has been a one-day bonus comic which inhabits both sets quite obviously.
::*Within these two Cats, we obviously want to avoid saying "<link>Comic X</link> was extra/deleted because... <link>Comic Y</link> was, because... <link>Comic Z</link>, because..." ''just'' above the list that consists (mostly?) of X, Y and Z links, seemingly already covered by the linking prose above.
::*However, perhaps remove the specifics and just summarise that "known reasons for <the special status of these comics> have been: ...", sufficient to generalise the full details as written up here (or past versions of here) ''and'' the full-blown Explanation version.
::*As future bonuses/deletions happen, normal Cat-adding will put them in the auto-list but it'll need intervention to determine if you need to add to the reason summary (say "typo, misclico, change of mind" hypothetically at least) with any additional classification ("corporate malfeasance"? Well, whatever... :P )
::...well, I leave it to you (and anyone else both willing and able to reshape things accordingly), this was just an opinion/suggestion on what works best for me. YMMV, etc. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.153|172.71.178.153]] 18:18, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
:::If I didn't fully understand what you said in the last comment, I definitely don't understand what you're trying to say now. What's a garden path??? What do you think should be done, about what? I only removed the "some of these comics were deleted" notice, is that what you're talking about? I don't mind if it is put back, I guess. I really just don't understand, sorry. [[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 21:11, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
::::[[2793: Garden Path Sentence]] - and if you don't understand my gist, still, then my gist clearly isn't worth further expanding and explaining with yet more words. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.178.153|172.71.178.153]] 06:32, 4 July 2023 (UTC)

Category talk:Comics edited after their publication

2024-11-30T11:50:36Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Do [[title text]] edits count? [[User:ChristmasGospel|ChristmasGospel]] ([[User talk:ChristmasGospel|talk]]) 17:01, 27 July 2024 (UTC)
:I'm not sure. By the way, please don't use [[:Category:Pages to delete]] while creating a talk page. [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 11:50, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

Category talk:Monday comics

2024-11-30T11:48:57Z

CommunityGuidelines: Reply

Is this category really necessary? How is it useful to group comics by the day of the week that they were posted? [[User:RamenChef|RamenChef]] ([[User talk:RamenChef|talk]]) 18:21, 14 September 2017 (UTC)
:[[Randall]] has the habit of posting three comics per week. [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 11:48, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

Category talk:Incomplete explanations

2024-11-30T11:47:44Z

CommunityGuidelines: Duplicate

==Main Page==
Why is the main page in this category? [[User:Schiffy|Schiffy]] ([[User_talk:Schiffy|Speak to me]]|[[Special:Contributions/Schiffy|What I've done]]) 18:51, 22 June 2013 (UTC)
: Because the current comic is transcluded in it, and as the most recent page, it usually contains the {{tl|incomplete}} tag. You'll notice that the main page is also included in the categories that the current comic happens to be part of. We really ought to figure out a way to avoid that... --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]]) 15:57, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

== Incomplete explanations bolded in category pages? ==

Is this possible? I believe this could help explaining the rest of the comics faster, by directing even more attention towards them. [[User:MrGameZone|0100011101100001011011010110010101011010011011110110111001100101]] ([[User talk:MrGameZone|talk page]]) 04:25, 16 July 2014 (UTC)
:It's not actually possible to assign attributes to a link based on what category the page behind it is, although it is possible to assign custom CSS to pages in a category. Also, good lord your signature. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:06, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

== Terminator Category Incomplete? ==

Why is the terminator category listed as incomplete?[[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 18:37, 12 October 2015 (UTC)

== Change incomplete explanation every week or month? ==

I was wondering if we should change the incomplete explanation of the day maybe not every day but at least every week or month so that other explanations could get some attention, Online Communities 2 is a hard comic to write an explanation for, if it's rotated then simpler comics could get good explanations and Online Communities 2 could get rotated back in later.
21:58, 8 February 2016 (UTC)~

== Number Sorting ==

What happened to the number sorting? One day they're all together under no heading, the next they're slumming it under the number initial headings. I know how it works (I changed the default sorts for 980: Money/Prices in tables and 1190: Time/Translator (again) so they were with their parent pages (again)), but why this sudden change in ordering? Anonymous 21:05, 11 March 2016 (UTC)

== Requests ==

DON'T PUT ONLINE COMMUNITIES 2 IN THE SPOTLIGHT. THE SPOTLIGHT IS FOR BAD COMIC EXPLANATIONS, NOT HUGE COMICS WHO'S EXPLANATIONS ARE GREAT BUT DON'T HAVE EVERY GRATING DETAIL! PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON SOMETHING ELSE!

802 isn't even considered "incomplete" anymore. Could someone get it out of the spotlight? Thanks. {{unsigned}}

:Done '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 16:04, 26 April 2016 (UTC)

:Learn how to spell whose.

:How do you edit the notice and why does it say 2034 is incomplete when it's not? [[User:Lysdexia|Lysdexia]] ([[User talk:Lysdexia|talk]]) 01:57, 5 January 2019 (UTC)

It's been stuck in 1688 for like, forever. Can someone write a scrip that prevents the "big" comics from being put in the spotlight? Also, some of the comics are still incomplete because of one small thing that we know nothing about (what on earth is Pseudoephedrine?!?!?!?!?!?), but most readers won't want to know about it. So can we just finish the explanations without explaing those things?

Here's a request: change the header from 1688: map age guide to 1975: right click or 1193: externalities as map age guide is complete.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.71.10|172.69.71.10]] 14:57, 9 November 2021 (UTC)BUmpf (yes i know i made pretty much the same comment on map age guide but shhhh)
: PLEEEEEEEAAAAAASSSEEEE Ms/Mr/Mrs/Dr/Whatever monitor, remove "Map Age Guide" from the header. 17:18, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

== No incomplete explanations ==
What do we do now? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.243|108.162.237.243]] 16:43, 15 June 2016 (UTC)
:Proofread [[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 16:54, 15 June 2016 (UTC)
:: We have exactly as many incomplete explanations as we did two days ago. An IP and a ridiculously fresh account (not sure if one user or two) deleted all the remaining "incomplete" templates in a dozen or so successive edits. This is vandalism in all but name (and that only because no one else seemed to notice). If nobody else complains, I'm putting them all back tomorrow morning. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.10.43|172.68.10.43]] 18:07, 15 June 2016 (UTC)
::Just do it now, I don't think anyone's going to stop you.[[User:Lackadaisical|Lackadaisical]] ([[User talk:Lackadaisical|talk]]) 18:14, 15 June 2016 (UTC)
:::Just noticed it too, exercising the rollback button. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 19:49, 15 June 2016 (UTC)

== Why complete them? ==

Right now, all pages are completed, according to one random sample of 5 pages.
Proportionally, if the amount of incomplete explanations remain stagnant, they will be a negligible amount of the total pagecount in about 9000 pages.
The solution, of course, is not to complete uncompleted explanations, but to work together to discover immortality before Randall drops dead.
This is obviously a more reasonable solution than fixing the incomplete pages. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.58.83|172.68.58.83]] 18:29, 1 October 2018 (UTC)
:I picked five random chars and all are not vowels - my conclusion: The alphabet doesn't contain vowels. You probably understand my point. And more seriously we have three different types of incomplete explanations here:
:*recent comics (more than a week ago) still needing a review
:*serious reasons given in the tag
:*BIG comics probably never will get complete, but people like to add some details time by time
:So, you're right that most is assumed to be complete, but even that's not true. You always can be sure that most people here working on the latest explanations, and Randall is far away from dropping dead. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:44, 1 October 2018 (UTC)

== Fresh Pairs ==

Let's see whether getting 100% completion happens before Megan gets her [[Fresh Pears]].[[Special:Contributions/172.68.211.40|172.68.211.40]] 05:50, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

== Should this category be split? Renamed? ==

'''SPLIT'''

If this category is used to describe three groups of strips (quoting Dgbrt):

# recent comics (more than a week ago) still needing a review
# serious reasons given in the tag
# BIG comics probably never will get complete, but people like to add some details time by time
... then it seems that this should be three categories:

# could and probably should just be a list of the most recent N strips, if it's even needed at all.
# seems like it might be a fun category to browse and edit if one has time on their hands, but these pages are not incomplete in any meaningful sense, and probably shouldn't be here because there can be no valid definition of done for them.
# is the list of "open questions", and feels like the only ones that truly should be in this category.

'''RENAME'''

The category itself, because of its ambiguous name, is perpetually wrong. Because of this, there's been much discussion on it here, on the main page, etc. I'd argue for renaming it to "Open Questions". That makes the removal criteria (the "definition of done") for the tag far clearer, and encourages people to be bold and remove it once they feel they have answered the question.

Ideally the template would have an "answered" flag or date field instead that they could set, which would allow it to be added to a "needs verification" category, for other editors to check it to verify it really was answered. But that might be way overcomplicating things. -- [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.27|162.158.75.27]] 17:43, 21 February 2022 (UTC)

== Add Incomplete Transcripts to the top bar ==

Highlighting the Incomplete Explanations category but not the Incomplete Transcripts category is causing a huge disparity between the number of incomplete explanations and incomplete transcripts despite most transcripts being complete, and just not having editors come by and remove the incomplete tag once the comic goes off the incomplete explanations category. We should add it as an extra number along side the explanations like 'We still have X explanations and Y transcripts we need to complete. All incomplete explanations are here and all incomplete transcripts are here' with links to their appropriate category pages. Would direct more users towards editing and completing transcripts. {{unsigned|Xurkitree10|18:26, 28 September 2024}}
:Seems like a good idea to me. Especially as the Transcript incomplete tags don't have an auxiliary humorous purpose, unlike the customisable top-of-Explanation one.
:But a bit of a guide as to what is expected would be nice, on the way to visiting 'i complete transcripts' to have a go. Colon-indented, []s surrounding descriptions, not relying upon formatting (colour/tables, esp. certainly explain such things in text descriptors), no wikilinking/etc (that's for the Explanation bit). That ''sort'' of thing, anyway, if I've got any of that wrong off the top of my head. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.49|162.158.74.49]] 20:52, 28 September 2024 (UTC)

== Duplicate ==
This talk page may be a duplicate of [[Template talk:incomplete|this page]]. [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 11:47, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

Template talk:incomplete

2024-11-30T11:46:45Z

CommunityGuidelines:

I like the idea of this template. But I'm wondering if we can make it more vertically compact by shrinking the characters a bit. I think it takes up a bit more space than it needs to. Also, this way, we could use the general format of the bar for other header notices. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:31, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

:Originally, the characters were sized at 45px, but with the broken image scaling they showed up as broken images. While somewhat apropos for the template, it wasn't what was intended. So I took out the 45px scaling, and they were too large. Given the choice between broken images or large images, I decided to leave them large. Once the image scaling issue is solved, I'm all for shrinking them back to 45px. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 14:38, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

::I've just created {{tl|ambox}} akin to wikipedia's {{w|template:Ambox}} for header messasges on pages. Not sure if we'll really need many of them but I thought why not standardize. I do like that your box is a bit more narrow and compact, but I thought uniformity might win out over a single pretty template.

::To that end, I updated this template but put it in a beta location for the time being because, as you say, scaled images are broken. {{tl|Incomplete/beta1}} is what I propose to replace this with once scaling is fixed. Feel free to discuss here whether you like it or not. We could ultimately setup a "type" field for ambox rather than manually putting in a color like they do at wiki (red for big issues, and colour coded down depending on the type of issue) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:47, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

:::I didn't create this template, merely edited it. It was created by [[User:Omega|Omega]], I believe. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 14:50, 21 August 2012 (UTC)

::::As I've stated in [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Proposals#Notice templates]], I changed the template to use the {{tl|notice}} template that is already being used in several places, and I'll delete {{tl|ambox}} as it's redundant. Note that the styling of {{tl|notice}} can always be changed. --[[User:Waldir|Waldir]] ([[User talk:Waldir|talk]])

Recently there have been a lot of people preemptively removing incomplete tags. I think it would be a good idea to add a note to this template along the lines of "do not remove this too early". [[User:RamenChef|RamenChef]] ([[User talk:RamenChef|talk]]) 16:20, 13 March 2017 (UTC)
:I've done this manually a few times in the past. But my BOT will add this in the future.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:59, 13 March 2017 (UTC)

Can someone add the “Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon” part to the template instead of having people manually put that in the reason field? [[User:Aaron Liu|Aaron Liu]] ([[User talk:Aaron Liu|talk]]) 19:23, 22 December 2023 (UTC)
:Right now (or, at least, until the recent "Incompleteness wars" with precipitous removals and fervant re-adding), the relevent BOT tended to include all that and it would stick around (to entertain new visitors, if nothing else) until significantly after its creation. But at least after the next comic arrived, usually, whilst the article was most likely to still be subject to 'improvement' outside of landing on one by the Random button or leapfrogging by reference from an actual later one.
:Which is not to say that the template couldn't be edited to supply such default text if not given an override (for those whose intent in using it does ''not'' require that). But it would need some careful thinking, checking the pages that are currently extant users of it (because I happen to think that certainly the last week's worth of comics are fair game to continue to display the incompleteness tagging unless ''proven'' to be explained to within an inch of its metaphorical life, though clearly others don't; and at least for the next week or so changing the transcluded text could make for silly stuff like doubling up that request or changing the actual latest intention of one).
:...anyway, I can't edit it myself. And I perhaps also tend to prefer the status quo (both in usage(/removal) and application), but these are my suggestions for how to procede if so... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.119|162.158.74.119]] 21:49, 22 December 2023 (UTC)

Category talk:Incomplete explanations

2024-11-30T11:45:59Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Category talk:Language

2024-11-30T11:45:07Z

CommunityGuidelines:

I think the language category should include only comics whose joke or topic is ''about'' language. Surely, almost all comics has to do with language i some way. Most comics here fits into the first description, just want to check... --[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 10:59, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

Category talk:Comics featuring real people

2024-11-30T11:43:05Z

CommunityGuidelines:

As I look at the categories I realize that the meta categories for comics with specific people/characters are called Comics by __________. With that realization, I apologize for creating this page with a different naming scheme.

I'd like to move this to [Category:Comics by real people] despite how that might be confused with [[:Category:Guest Week]]. If no one says "nay" by 23:00 UTC 2012-10-17 I'll be moving everything over.

-- [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 20:46, 17 October 2012 (UTC)

How about "Comics by featured Real People" to avoid confusion? It would also still conform to convention of "Comics by featured characters"? --[[User:Bpothier|B. P.]] ([[User talk:Bpothier|talk]]) 01:31, 18 October 2012 (UTC)
:Comics by real people implies that those people made the comics. It's not causing any structural damage the way it is right now, so it should be fine. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 09:34, 18 October 2012 (UTC)

Is this only supposed to be for comics where a real person is part of the comic as a drawn character, or is it enough when a real persons name is mentioned? I think it is often used for the latter, but that may be an error? --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 09:34, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

Category talk:Dynamic comics

2024-11-30T11:42:16Z

CommunityGuidelines:

To me "Dynamic" is too flowery and abstract. I don't like this as a category, having out-of-the-ordinary, Interactive, and Large Comics categories is both more specific, and more helpful for finding like comics. Calling them Dynamic(!) sounds like a marketing term.

Now, if Randall ever comes up with a purely non-deterministic comic (something that randomly generates content for each pageview/ip address/time-of-day/geo-location/position-about-the-sun/lunar-phase I'd consider that Dynamic. However, none of the comics currently in existence are that. Umwelt comes the closest, but each one was still hand-drawn, and not absolutely non-deterministic.

-- [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 19:48, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

Category talk:CAPTCHA

2024-11-30T11:40:59Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Strange CAPTCHA images are also discussed on [http://www.zhihu.com/question/394419357 other websites]. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 03:31, 16 November 2024 (UTC)

Category talk:Periodic table

2024-11-30T11:39:52Z

CommunityGuidelines:

'''Note for editors:''' Periodic table comics, as well as those with chemical equations, would almost unavoidably contain lowercase letters, due to IUPAC's strict rules. If you see a lowercase letter, use the [[:Category:Comics with lowercase text]]. [[User:CategoryGeneral|CategoryGeneral]] ([[User talk:CategoryGeneral|talk]]) 12:37, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Category:Squirrels

2024-11-30T11:39:00Z

CommunityGuidelines: Fixed double "the"

Squirrels are often used in xkcd comics and What if? posts as a way of avoiding reality.

Although the first comic given below is [[167: Nihilism]], this was only a mention of Squirrels. The first comic with a drawing of squirrel was [[635: Locke and Demosthenes]].

*'''Click''' to expand for a more detailed explanation:
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed leftAlign" style="width:100%">
 

==Uses in other xkcd media:==
''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'':
*[http://what-if.xkcd.com/21/ Machine Gun Jetpack]
*[http://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol]
*[http://what-if.xkcd.com/102/ Keyboard Power]
*[http://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism]

[[Blag]]:
*[http://blog.xkcd.com/2008/02/15/the-laser-elevator/ The Laser Elevator]

''[[Thing Explainer]]'':
*There are at least four squirrels in the book.
**Most prominent in the explanation for ''Boxes that make clothes smell better'' (i.e. {{w|Washing machine}} and {{w|Clothes dryer|dryer}}).
***There is a drawing of a squirrel at the bottom right. Above this there is an arrow pointing to it and the text:
:::"'''Wait'''
:::Why is this in your house?"
::*So in this case it was not to hide something unpleasant as has been the case in what if?
:*The other squirrels are under the pipe at the bottom of the explanation for ''Big tiny thing hitter'', in the top of the ''Tree'' and of course in the ''Tree of life''.
</div>
 

{{navbox-characters}}
[[Category:Animals|Squirrels]]

Category:Squirrels

2024-11-30T11:38:07Z

CommunityGuidelines: Fixed double "the"

Talk:543: Sierpinski Valentine

2024-11-30T11:35:15Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Circular version at [[17]] [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 11:22, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

Sorry! This site is experiencing technical difficulties. [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 11:35, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

3001: Temperature Scales

2024-11-30T11:32:05Z

CommunityGuidelines: Fixed double "the"

{{comic
| number = 3001
| date = October 21, 2024
| title = Temperature Scales
| image = temperature_scales_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x535px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = In my new scale, °X, 0 is Earths' record lowest surface temperature, 50 is the global average, and 100 is the record highest, with a linear scale between each point and adjustment every year as needed.
}}

==Explanation==

Since the invention of the {{w|thermometer}}, a number of different {{w|temperature}} scales have been proposed. In modern times, most of the world uses the 1745 {{w|Celsius}} scale for everyday temperature measurements. A small number of countries (the USA and {{w|Territories of the United States|its territories}}, the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Liberia, and Palau) retain the {{w|Imperial units|imperial system}} (or the related {{w|United States customary units|US customary system}}), which uses the 1724 {{w|Fahrenheit}} scale. The other widely used temperature scale is the 1848 {{w|Kelvin}} scale, which uses the same degrees as Celsius, but is rooted at {{w|absolute zero}}, making it both useful in scientific calculations and easy to convert to and from Celsius (which, along with degrees Fahrenheit, is now defined relative to kelvins.) The Kelvin scale has been part of the widely adopted official {{w|metric system}} since 1954. Even in countries that use Fahrenheit, scientific measurements are usually made in degrees Celsius or kelvins.

The comic compares these scales, and a number of others, on [[Randall]]'s scale of "cursedness." The joke is highlighting how different the temperature scales are, and how impractical most of them are. All of the listed scales (except Randall's new °X scale defined in the title text) are real, but most are obsolete. See also [[1923: Felsius]].

{| class=wikitable
! scope="col" | Unit
! scope="col" | Water freezes
! scope="col" | Water boils
! scope="col" | Notes
! scope="col" | Cursedness
! scope="col" | Explanation
|-
| {{w|Celsius}} || 0 || 100 || Used in most of the world || 2/10 || The Celsius (°C) scale, also known as "centigrade", was devised by Swedish astronomer {{w|Anders Celsius}} in 1742 and revised in 1745, a year after his death. 0°C represents the freezing point of water and 100°C represents the boiling point, both under {{w|standard atmospheric pressure}}. The Celsius scale is now defined in terms of kelvin. By the given "cursedness," it is regarded as one of the least problematic temperature scales.
|-
| {{w|Kelvin}} || 273.15 || 373.15 || 0K is absolute zero || 2/10 || Kelvins (plural with a lowercase 'k' as a temperature unit, like meters, ohms, watts, and amps; or as the symbol 'K', without the degrees symbol '°', unlike most other such units) are a unit of temperature devised by {{w|Lord Kelvin}} in 1848. They use the same degrees as Celsius do, but shifted by 273.15 to set absolute zero at 0K (based on the {{w|Boltzmann constant}}.)
<center>Celsius = kelvin – 273.15</center>
<center>kelvin = Celsius + 273.15</center>
While kelvins are very useful for calculations in {{w|thermodynamics}} and material physics, they can be unintuitive to laypersons.
|-
| {{w|Fahrenheit}} || 32 || 212 || Outdoors in most places is between 0–100 || 3/10 || Fahrenheit (°F) is officially used in a few countries and informally in several others. It originated in a time when factors of 360 (amount of ''degrees'' in a circle) were favored in science over powers of 10, which is why the freezing and boiling points of water are set 180° apart. Devised around 1724, {{w|Daniel Fahrenheit}} chose to base 0° on the coldest temperature he could achieve: the freezing point of an {{w|ammonium chloride}} {{w|brine}} solution.
<center>Celsius = (Fahrenheit – 32) × 5/9</center>
<center>Fahrenheit = Celsius × 9/5 + 32</center>
Although those reference points are now considered arbitrary and outdated by modern scholars, the scale gained popularity in Anglophone countries, and - as Randall notes - some retroactive justification coined that claims 0°F to 100°F as covering the entire range of temperatures humans would encounter in daily life. 100°F is {{w|Human body temperature#Historical understanding|close to normal human body temperature}} (the original intent was to set 90°F as exactly this, 90 being a quarter of 360). The Fahrenheit scale remains officially used only in the U.S., its territories, the Bahamas, Belize, the Cayman Islands, Liberia and Palau.
|-
| {{w|Réaumur scale|Réaumur}} || 0 || 80 || Like Celsius, but with 80 instead of 100 || 3/8 || Abbreviated as °Ré, this system devised by {{w|René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur}} in 1730 was used in some places until the early 20th century, mostly for cheese-making.
<center>Celsius = Réaumur / 0.8</center>
<center>Réaumur = Celsius × 0.8</center>
The rating (3/8) is a joke on the boiling point of water in this system being 80 instead of 100 as it is in the Celsius scale; converting this to an out-of-ten scale would give 3.75/10, labeling it as more cursed than Fahrenheit but less so than Rømer.
|-
| {{w|Rømer scale|Rømer}} || 7.5 || 60 || Fahrenheit precursor with similarly random design || 4/10 || Abbreviated as °Rø, this scale was created by the Danish astronomer {{w|Ole Rømer}} around 1702. Much like Fahrenheit, it originally used the freezing point of ammonium chloride brine as the benchmark for 0°, and the scale is built with factors of 360 in mind with the boiling point of pure water at 60°. Like the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point of pure water was not originally considered significant by Rømer, but the scale was later updated to give the value of 7.5 at this point.
<center>Celsius = (Rømer – 7.5) × 40/21</center>
<center>Rømer = Celsius × 21/40 + 7.5</center>
The Rømer scale is considered the predecessor of both the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales, because Réaumur was inspired by Rømer's scale, Celsius based his work on Réaumur and Fahrenheit specifically designed his scale with more divisions than Rømer's to reduce the necessity for fractions.
|-
| {{w|Rankine scale|Rankine}} || 491.7 || 671.7 || Fahrenheit, but with 0°F [''sic''; should be 0°Ra] set to absolute zero || 6/10 || The Rankine scale (°R or °Ra), created by {{w|William Rankine}} in 1859, is to Fahrenheit what the Kelvin scale is to Celsius: an absolute temperature scale. The scale is mostly obsolete, but is still occasionally used in legacy industrial operations where absolute temperature scales are required. It is described as more cursed than the otherwise identical Fahrenheit scale, despite being rooted at a more universal zero point.
<center>Celsius = (Rankine – 491.67) × 5/9</center>
<center>Rankine = (Celsius + 273.15) × 9/5</center>
<center>Rankine = Fahrenheit – 491.67</center>
[[2292: Thermometer]] expresses disdain for this scale.
|-
| {{w|Newton scale|Newton}} || 0 || 33-ish || Poorly defined, with reference points like "the hottest water you can hold your hand in" || 7-ish/10 || The famous scientist and mathematician {{w|Isaac Newton}} published this scale in 1701, which was referred to by the °N symbol. Unfortunately, the degrees of temperature specified do not correlate exactly with amounts of {{w|heat}} because his scale is nonlinear. His scale used three fixed-points: 0ºN, the temperature of air when water begins to freeze, 12ºN, the heat of blood in the human body, and 34ºN, rapidly boiling water.<ref>https://www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-whipple-collections/meteorology/early-thermometers-and-temperature-scales</ref> Therefore:
<center>Celsius = 37 × Newton / 12 if Newton ≤ 12; 63 × (Newton – 12) / 22 + 37 if Newton > 12</center>
<center>Newton = 12 × Celsius / 37 if Celsius ≤ 37; 22 × (Celsius – 37) / 63 + 12 if Celsius > 37</center>
Very few other than Newton ever used this scale, but it did appear on commercial thermometers around 1758.<ref>https://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10413117&wwwflag=&imagepos=43</ref> The cursedness rating (7-ish/10) jokes about the vagueness of the scale's definition.
|-
| {{w|Wedgwood scale|Wedgwood}} || –8 || –6.7 || Intended for comparing the melting points of metals, all of which it was very wrong about || 9/10 || Created by the potter {{w|Josiah Wedgwood}} in 1782, the '°W' scale was based on the shrinking of clay when heated above red heat, but was found to be very inconsistent.
<center>Celsius = (Wedgwood + 8) × 100/1.3</center>
<center>Wedgwood = (Celsius × 1.3/100) – 8</center>
The comic has a typo, as the scale is actually called Wedgwood, without the second 'e', but is spelled in the comic as "Wedgewood".
|-
| Galen || –4? || 4?? || Runs from –4 (cold) to 4 (hot). 0 is "normal"(?) || 4/–4 || The Greek physician {{w|Galen}} suggested a "neutral" temperature around 180 AD<ref>https://www.loebclassics.com/view/galen-temperaments/2020/pb_LCL546.3.xml</ref> when he was a prominent physician in the {{w|Roman Empire}}. Created by mixing equal parts of boiling water and ice, on either side of this neutral point he described four degrees of heat and four degrees of cold. Assuming his extremes were those points, Galen's scale is also nonlinear:
<center>Celsius = 22 × (Galen + 4) / 4 if Galen ≤ 0; 78 × Galen / 4 + 22 if Galen > 0</center>
<center>Galen = 4 × Celsius / 22 – 4 if Celsius ≤ 22; 4 × (Celsius – 22) / 78 if Celsius > 22</center>
This range from +4 to –4 is humorously used as its rating, implying –100% cursedness. Technically this makes it the least cursed of all the listed scales, but the idea of negative cursedness, and cursedness itself, is not clear. There is no standard modern abbreviation for Galen's scale.
|-
| {{w|Celsius#History|''Real'' Celsius}} || 100 || 0 || In Anders Celsius's original 1742 specification, bigger numbers are ''colder''; others later flipped it || 10/0 || Most scales' temperatures can be indefinitely large, but have an absolute minimum temperature. By starting at a maximum value and counting down, this scale is indeed cursed, as nearly all possible temperatures through 1.42×1032K, the maximum attainable physical temperature,<ref>https://doi.org/10.4236/jamp.2024.1210198</ref> will be negative on this scale. The cursedness rating (10/0) is a joke on the scale "flipping" the fixed points of modern Celsius. Division by zero is strictly undefined (see [[2295: Garbage Math]]) and may be interpreted in a number of counter-intuitive ways.
<center>Celsius = 100 – ''Real'' Celsius</center>
<center>''Real'' Celsius = 100 – Celsius</center>
The original logic was that zero could be easily calibrated to the height of a {{w|Millimetre of mercury|column of mercury}} at the temperature of boiling water, and further measurements then made of the amount it ''reduced'' in height under cooler conditions. This orientation survives in the historic {{w|Delisle scale}} devised in 1732 by French astronomer {{w|Joseph-Nicolas Delisle}}, which arguably inspired the Celsius scale. The scale originally used by Professor Celsius was changed, to more or less the form already described above, after his death in 1745. Delisle's scale was never reversed.
|-
| [https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/459851/john-daltons-temperature-scale#459863 Dalton] || 0 || 100 || A nonlinear scale; 0°C and 100°C are 0 and 100 Dalton, but 50°C is 53.9 Dalton || 53.9/50 || {{w|John Dalton}} proposed a logarithmic temperature scale in 1802 during his work on what became {{w|Charles's Law}}. The scale is defined so that absolute zero is at negative infinity, with the exponent chosen to match the Celsius scale at 0 and 100:
<center>Celsius = 273.15 × ''e''(Dalton / 320.55) – 273.15</center>
<center>Dalton = 320.55 × {{w|Natural logarithm|''ln''(}} (Celsius + 273.15) / 273.15 )</center>
There is no standard abbreviation for Dalton's scale. While Dalton temperature is defined for all positive and negative numbers, the nonlinear scale is difficult to work with since the amount of heat represented by a change of one degree Dalton is not constant. Degrees Dalton differ from Celsius ones by as much as 3.9 degrees between 0 and 100, but diverge much more for more extreme temperatures. The rating (53.9/50) is a joke about the unit, as 53.9 Dalton equates to 50 degrees Celsius — i.e., it could be said to be 107.8% (even more than entirely) cursed.
|-
| °X || 42.9 || 151.4 || '''Title text:''' "In my new scale, °X, 0 is Earths' [''sic''] record lowest surface temperature, 50 is the global average, and 100 is the record highest, with a linear scale between each point and adjustment every year as needed." || Randall has not stated the cursedness of his new scale. || The {{w|Lowest temperature recorded on Earth|record lowest surface temperature on Earth}} as of 2024 is –89.2°C (–128.6°F), recorded at the {{w|Vostok Station|Vostok Research Station}} in Antarctica on July 21, 1983.<ref>https://wmo.asu.edu/content/world-lowest-temperature</ref> The average surface temperature as of 2023, the most recent available, is 14.8°C (58.6°F.)<ref>https://climate.copernicus.eu/climate-indicators/temperature</ref> The {{w|Highest temperature recorded on Earth|record highest temperature}} is 56.7°C (134.1°F), recorded on July 10, 1913 at {{w|Furnace Creek, California|Furnace Creek Ranch}} in Death Valley, California.<ref>https://wmo.asu.edu/content/world-highest-temperature</ref>

{{cot|Derivation and graph}}
To break the scale into two linear parts (below and above 14.8°C), we define two separate equations for each range:

1. Below 14.8°C (from –89.2°C to 14.8°C):
* 0 °X corresponds to –89.2°C
* 50 °X corresponds to 14.8°C

We calculate the slope m₁:

<center>m₁ = (50 – 0) / (14.8 – (–89.2)) = 50 / (14.8 + 89.2) = 50 / 104 ≈ 0.48</center>

Now, using the point (14.8°C, 50 °X), we calculate the intercept b₁:

<center>50 = 0.48 × 14.8 + b₁</center>

<center>50 = 7.1 + b₁</center>

<center>b₁ = 50 – 7.1 = 42.9</center>

Thus, the equation for temperatures '''below 14.8°C''' is:

<center>'''X = 0.48 × C + 42.9'''</center>

2. Above 14.8°C (from 14.8°C to 56.7°C):
* 50 °X corresponds to 14.8°C
* 100 °X corresponds to 56.7°C

We calculate the slope m₂:

<center>m₂ = (100 – 50) / (56.7 – 14.8) = 50 / 41.9 ≈ 1.19</center>

Now, using the point (14.8°C, 50 °X), we calculate the intercept b₂:

<center>50 = 1.19 × 14.8 + b₂</center>

<center>50 = 17.6 + b₂</center>

<center>b₂ = 50 – 17.6 = 32.4</center>

Thus, the equation for temperatures '''above 14.8°C''' is:

<center>'''X = 1.19 × C + 32.4'''</center>

;Freezing and boiling points of water

Freezing point of water (0°C): Since 0°C is below 14.8°C, we use the equation X = 0.48 × C + 42.9:

<center>X = 0.48 × 0 + 42.9 = 42.9</center>

So, '''the freezing point is 42.9 °X.'''

Boiling point of water (100°C): Since 100°C is above 14.8°C, we use the equation X = 1.19 × C + 32.4:

<center>X = 1.19 × 100 + 32.4 = 119 + 32.4 = 151.4</center>

So, '''the boiling point is 151.4 °X.'''

[[File:XvsC.png|400px|center]]

See also [[2701: Change in Slope]] for a general discussion of separate linear scales between three points.
{{cob}}
<center>Celsius = (°X – 42.9) / 0.48 if °X < 50; or (°X – 32.4) / 1.19 if °X ≥ 50.</center>
<center>°X = 0.48 × Celsius + 42.9 if Celsius < 14.8; or 1.19 × Celsius + 32.4 if Celsius ≥ 14.8.</center>

Due to average temperature records increasing almost every year as a result of {{w|climate change}},<ref>https://www.space.com/last-12-months-broke-temperature-records</ref> Randall's new °X scale must be re-calibrated each year. While such °X values for everyday temperatures will vary over time, more extreme values like absolute zero or the {{w|Tungsten#Physical properties|melting point of tungsten}} will shift vastly more.

("Surface" temperatures are measured 1.5 meters above ground inside a shaded shelter, to accurately represent air temperature, because measurements closer to the ground are usually quite different due to sunlight, {{w|albedo}}, and the thermal capacity of soil.)
|}

[[File:Temperature Scales.png|center|600px]]

===Examples===

Some temperatures in the above scales:

{| class=wikitable style="text-align: center;"
! Unit scale
! Typical {{w|room temperature}}
! {{w|Properties of water#Melting point|Freezing point of water}}
! {{w|Boiling point#Boiling point of water with elevation|Boiling point of water}}
! Midrange {{w|human body temperature|human body core temperature}}
! Recommended {{w|Refrigerator#Temperature zones and ratings|refrigerator temperature}}<ref>https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/food/refrigerator-temperature</ref>
! Recommended {{w|Refrigerator#Freezer|freezer temperature}}<ref>https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/freezing-and-food-safety</ref>
! Typical warm bath temperature<ref>https://www.kohlerwalkinbath.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-ideal-bath-temperature/</ref>
! Typical {{w|Coffee#Brewing|hot coffee}} temperature
|-
| Celsius || 22 °C || 0 °C || 100 °C || 37 °C || 2.5 °C || –18 °C || 39 °C || 77 °C
|-
| Kelvin || 295 K || 273 K || 373 K || 310 K || 276 K || 255 K || 312 K || 350 K
|-
| Fahrenheit || 72 °F || 32 °F || 212 °F || 98.6 °F || 36.5 °F || 0 °F || 102 °F || 171 °F
|-
| Réaumur || 17.6 °Ré || 0 °Ré || 80 °Ré || 29.6 °Ré || 2 °Ré || –14.4 °Ré || 31.2 °Ré || 61.6 °Ré
|-
| Rømer || 19.1 °Rø || 7.5 °Rø || 60 °Rø || 26.9 °Rø || 8.8 °Rø || –2 °Rø || 28 °Rø || 47.9 °Rø
|-
| Rankine || 531 °Ra || 492 °Ra || 672 °Ra || 558 °Ra || 496 °Ra || 459 °Ra || 562 °Ra || 630 °Ra
|-
| Newton || 7.1 °N || 0 °N || 34 °N || 12 °N || 0.8 °N || –5.8 °N || 12.7 °N || 26 °N
|-
| Wedgwood || –7.71 °W || –8 °W || –6.7 °W || –7.52 °W || –7.97 °W || –8.23 °W || –7.49 °W || –7 °W
|-
| Galen || 0 || –4 || 4 || 0.8 || –3.5 || –7.3 || 0.9 || 2.8
|-
| ''Real'' Celsius || 78 || 100 || 0 || 63 || 98 || 118 || 61 || 23
|-
| Dalton || 24.8 || 0 || 100 || 40.7 || 2.9 || –21.9 || 42.8 || 79.6
|-
| °X || 59 °X || 43 °X || 151 °X || 76.4 °X || 44.1 °X || 34.3 °X || 78.8 °X || 124 °X
|-
| Felsius || 47 || 16 || 156 || 67.8 || 19.5 || –9.2 || 70.6 || 123.8
|}

Here are the conversion formulas for the [[1923: Felsius|Felsius scale]]:
<center>Celsius = (Felsius − 16) / 1.4.</center>
<center>Felsius = Celsius * 7/5 + 16.</center>

==Transcript==

:Temperature Scales

:[A table with five columns, labelled: Unit, Water freezing point, Water boiling point, Notes, and Cursedness. There are eleven rows below the labels.]

:[Row 1:] Celsius, 0, 100, Used in most of the world, 2/10
:[Row 2:] Kelvin, 273.15, 373.15, 0K is absolute zero, 2/10
:[Row 3:] Fahrenheit, 32, 212, Outdoors in most places is between 0–100, 3/10
:[Row 4:] Réaumur, 0, 80, Like Celsius, but with 80 instead of 100, 3/8
:[Row 5:] Rømer, 7.5, 60, Fahrenheit precursor with similarly random design, 4/10,
:[Row 6:] Rankine, 491.7, 671.7, Fahrenheit, but with 0°F set to absolute zero, 6/10
:[Row 7:] Newton, 0, 33-ish, Poorly defined, with reference points like "the hottest water you can hold your hand in", 7-ish/10
:[Row 8:] Wedgewood, –8, –6.7, Intended for comparing the melting points of metals, all of which it was very wrong about, 9/10
:[Row 9:] Galen, –4?, 4??, Runs from –4 (cold) to 4 (hot). 0 is "normal"(?), 4/–4
:[Row 10:] ''Real'' Celsius, 100, 0, In Anders Celsius's original specification, bigger numbers are ''colder''; others later flipped it, 10/0
:[Row 11:] Dalton, 0, 100, A nonlinear scale; 0°C and 100°C are 0 and 100 Dalton, but 50°C is 53.9 Dalton, 53.9/50

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Science]]

590: Papyrus

2024-11-30T11:30:40Z

CommunityGuidelines: Fixed double "the"

<noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 590
| date = May 29, 2009
| title = Papyrus
| image = papyrus.png
| titletext = I secretly, deep in my guilty heart, like Papyrus and don't care if it's overused. [Cue hate mail in beautifully-kerned Helvetica.]
}}</noinclude>

==Explanation==
One of the comics in the "[[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]]" series, this one touches on the fact that the font {{w|Papyrus (typeface)|Papyrus}} is considered to be overused by many typography geeks, including the font's own creator. Pretending that he doesn't know that, [[Cueball]] gives [[Ponytail]] a heartfelt card written in that font just to see her twitch.

The title text says that [[Randall]] actually ''likes'' Papyrus, even if it ''is'' overused, and refers to the fact that he will soon be receiving hate-mail from people who dislike Papyrus. Those mails will be written in {{w|Helvetica}}, another commonly-used sans-serif font that is highly esteemed by typography geeks, designers, and often hipsters. It suggests that the designers would also take the time to check the "{{w|kerning}}", editing the spacing between individual letters to be visually pleasing - a time-consuming activity that, it can be suggested, would only be noticed by other designers. See also [[1015: Kerning]].

==Transcript==
:[Caption above the panel:]
:<big>My Hobby:</big>
:Getting typography geeks heartfelt cards printed in "Papyrus" and watching them struggle to act grateful.

:[Ponytail is holding a card, with lines of indiscernible text, open and looking down, specifically neither on the card nor on Cueball, who is watching her instead. An angry tic is flicking on her forehead.]
:Ponytail: Thank you for the ''*twitch*'' ... lovely... ''*twitch*'' birthday card!

==Trivia==
Some editors have made a page that is a copy of this explanation in the Papyrus font, which can be accessed on [[590: Papyrus/Font]]. Note that the default browser font will only be overridden if Papyrus is installed on your device.

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

Talk:2022: Sports Champions

2024-11-30T11:29:48Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Since Kate Dopingscandal has a bike, it seems to me she's actually likely a direct reference to Lance Armstrong. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:46, 20 July 2018 (UTC)
:Yeah, that's why I included him as an example. Feel free to clarify if you want, of course.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.68|162.158.155.68]] 06:09, 20 July 2018 (UTC)
::Why is a bike directly a direct reference to Lance Armstrong? and why are additionally only "many russians" listed? It is clearly not a phenomena only seen with mr. Armstrong, and Russians, but with cylcing sports in general. The biggest Cycling event, the {{w|Tour_de_France}} is hit by a doping scandal every year. Also other events have many {{w|List_of_doping_cases_in_cycling|cases}}. Lately actually there have even be cases of [http://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/542/motor-doping-is-happening-and-weve-tested-it Motor Doping]. So I think Lance Armstrong can stay as maybe the most famous example, but we should say that it is many others and not Lance Armstrong and Russians. [[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 08:22, 21 July 2018 (UTC)
:::Because he's easily the most famous example. I realize there are plenty of others - the France native below portrays it as downright epidemic in the sport - but Lance was so highly unbelievably visible. My impression is that in North America (which is where both Randall and I live), cycling as a professional sport enjoys notably less popularity than most other sports, and less than it might elsewhere in the world. Yet virtually EVERYBODY has heard of Lance (I follow no sports whatsoever, and I can even discuss him here). Lance attained nearly a hero status, he beat cancer... He started and/or inspired The LiveStrong movement, its support bracelets spread far and wide, inspiring imitators. At which point the scandal hit. Now combine this heightened visibility with Randall's history of comics portraying him - as Cueball - as knowing nothing about sports. Lance is the only cycling doping scandal _I_ can name, or even cyclist I can name at all, chances are it's the same for Randall. This comic is certainly referencing Lance. I only commented because the description was only listing him as an example. (I said nothing about Russians, I don't know of any Russian doping scandal) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 13:46, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
:::Having re-checked the description, I can answer the Russian portion: It says "many Russians" because those words link to a Wikipedia article about Russia in general, not one particular incident. The mere existence of the article tells me that enough Russians have been hit by doping scandals that they rate their own Wikipedia article. It's a great find for this ExplainXKCD article, no wonder somebody made sure to include it. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 13:55, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
::::I put both those in. In fact, I wrote almost the entire article. I'm English, but I try to "think American" when editing. I immediately thought of Armstrong,and totally agree with your reasoning; if you do searches for "doping scandal" you immediately see him, but also, the Russian thing. Centered on the 2012 Olympics, and state-sponsored doping, their subsequent exclusion from the 2016 Olympics is amongst the biggest ever sporting scandals of all time, worldwide. Perhaps more so outside America, but it's certainly of epic proportions.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.138|141.101.107.138]] 16:54, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
::I'm 46 and live in France. As far as I can remember (1980 ?) cycling has always been THE sport associated with doping. I can remember some famous cases in other sports (Ben Johnson in the 1988 olympics) but for cycling it was said to be quasi systematic. The Armstong case was a worldwide scandal, but Tour de France had a much severe problem in 1998 where entire teams were involved and excluded from the race. Five years later, after several trials and new analysis of the 1998 samples with more evolved techniques it was revealed that at least the 5 first finishers (and many more) were doped. If you consult the Wikipedia article “doping in sport”, you will note that cycling is by far the largest section, and almost 100 years old in Tour de France. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.34|108.162.229.34]] 12:57, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
:::Ah, but in cases like this, where different cultures can have an effect, I always bring it back to this: Where does Randall live? In America. While people in France (and cycling fans) might be well aware of many, many, MANY cycling doping scandals, I'd say the average American is not. Plus, Randall has been quite vocal about not knowing sports. Chances are, Lance Armstrong is the only cyclist he can even name at all, never mind doping scandals. And now I cause myself to wonder, did Randall think of Armstrong because his last name is also one made of words, that Lance Armstrong would be on this list himself if he had excelled at arm wrestling? :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 13:46, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

He should have listed, in the sport of eXtreme Software Engineering, the dominance of Little Bobby Tables in the late 2020's. ---- {{unsigned ip|172.68.141.136}}
:Damn, what a missed opportunity. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 13:46, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

Would Jebediah be a reference to Kerbal Space Program? Things tend to go disaterously in it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.160|108.162.210.160]] 12:54, 20 July 2018 (UTC)

It's worth noting that the all-star right fielder for the Boston Red Sox, who are currently in first place in the MLB, is named Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts, with the initials "MLB." Aside from the fact that he's already won several divisional titles with his team, there's a good chance he'll soon be on a world series winning team as well, perhaps to become the next high-profile example. (Full disclosure: I'm a huge Red Sox fan) [[Special:Contributions/172.68.54.22|172.68.54.22]] 13:47, 20 July 2018 (UTC)

Art Ball (1890’s)
Full name Arthur Ball
Born April , 1872, Madison, Indiana
Died December 26, 1915, Chicago, Illinois
Buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois
First MLB Game: August 1, 1894; Final MLB Game: October 15, 1898
Bat: Unknown Throw: Right Weight: 168 {{unsigned ip|172.68.54.76}}

What, no Cecil Fielder? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.46|162.158.63.46]] 19:32, 20 July 2018 (UTC)
:I like Prince Fielder, Cecil's son, better, but only for the name. I'm not enough of a fan to have a preference for actual sports things. [[User:PuzzleMage|PuzzleMage]] ([[User talk:PuzzleMage|talk]]) 03:06, 5 November 2024 (note: timestamp added (it's 4 ~s to properly sign, not 3), plus paragraph indent)

What, no [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Moneymaker Chris Moneymaker? (Poker, 2000's)] [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 01:10, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

;Moved from the main talk page: --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 19:30, 21 July 2018 (UTC)
Misspelling in today's comic

Your article says: "Randall has chosen to spell his name as "Disasterous", rather than the more conventional "Disastrous"." Presumably he hasn't "chosen" to do this but merely made a spelling error. In that case, your comment is misleading. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.21|162.158.158.21]] 23:25, 20 July 2018 (UTC)

Brandon Sponsorship may also be read as Brand On Sponsorship, having two terms related.
:I know what you mean, and thought about it at the time, but the connection isn't completely obvious and I didn't want to bring in too much assumption on my part. I tried to reference it without making a judgement, by mentioning the word in the text, but not putting it in bold or directly saying that there was a connection. I think that's OK? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.214|141.101.98.214]] 16:27, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
(Previous person didn't sign) About the misspelling, I feel like that's a perfectly acceptable version of the word. It's how I'd instinctually spell it, he just added "ous" to the word "disaster". That's where the word comes from! It's actually ridiculous that this ISN'T the correct spelling! I blame the English language on this one. I'd guess that centuries ago that WAS the correct spelling, and the E just got dropped at some point, to streamline the pronunciation of the word. I just Googled it, and MANY articles showed up defining it as a common misspelling of the word, that's how common this spelling is. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 14:11, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

:There is no right or wrong spelling for a surname. You can be Mr. Tailor or Mr.Taylor, or a hundred other versions. That's why I deliberately wrote that Randall ''chose'' that spelling, and I think it's obvious from the way I phrased it that it's not the normal spelling of the word. I don't think we should pass judgement about his decision, even though there's a very high chance he just made a typo. I also concur with the opinion of NiceGuy1, so I have changed it back to the way it was. Best, [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.214|141.101.98.214]] 16:27, 22 July 2018 (UTC)
::Given that the USA has a dominantly prescriptivist spelling culture for non-names (i.e. in academics and business correctness is defined by books before common usage, coompare to descriptivist which would be the other way around), the phrasing here misleads the leader into believing that both spellings are currently considered correct, as is actually true for other words. There are a lot of misleading statements in this wiki; maybe we should be up-front about that until somebody has the energy to work through everything and stay on top of it all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.118|162.158.63.118]] 14:45, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
:::There I fixed it. [[User:Faultwire|I'm me(citation needed)]] ([[User talk:Faultwire|talk]]) 23:28, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
::::Still looks messy to me; what kind of citation do you want - a brainscan of Randall? You know he chose to write the word in that way. Why is beyond our knowledge. See further down this page for more discussion and opinions about it. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.104|162.158.155.104]] 04:28, 27 July 2018 (UTC)
From the transcript: "[Cueball with a golf club] Gary Player" and "[Cueball with a basketball] Lonzo Ball". I'm not familiar with all the conventions around here, but would it be NOT Cueball when it is very definitely someone else? Sure, the made-up names later on could be Cueball standing in for them, but for those, wouldn't it actually be the real person, just looking Cueball-ish due to the art style? (And as an aside, a slight pity that there wasn't a pool player named something like Randall Cueball in the comic... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.130|162.158.75.130]] 03:31, 23 July 2018 (UTC)

;Podium/Lectern

When I first wrote this explanation, without thinking much, I said Jeb was standing at a {{w|podium}}. Someone corrected it to "lectern", which is absolutely correct of them - see that Wikipedia article. But the interesting thing is, there is an xkcd cartoon about this very subject!

[[1661: Podium]]

Should this somehow be mentioned in the explanation? I thought probably not, because Randall made no mention of it; it was purely my own error, and just an interesting connection to today's comic. Right? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.138|141.101.107.138]] 16:36, 22 July 2018 (UTC)

;Margaret Court
She wasn't the best choice. Recently in Australia someone let her near a microphone & it turns out she's quite homophobic.
* Perhaps not in terms of PR and exposure of the sport (and I certainly am among those who don't approve), but that doesn't detract from the point of the comic which looks in terms of on-field accomplishments and their last names. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.121|173.245.52.121]] 15:15, 27 July 2018 (UTC)
* Margaret was neé Smith, she married Barry Court in 1967. But she definitely belongs here, especially since a COURT was named after her at the venue for the Australian Open. They were smart enough NOT to name it Margaret Court Court, opting for "Margaret Court Arena" [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.226|172.69.62.226]] 07:45, 18 December 2018 (UTC)

;Jebediah's Sport

It appears that, based on the person's name, their sport could be debating, public speaking, or giving live postgame press conferences.

[[User:Milesman34|Milesman34]] ([[User talk:Milesman34|talk]]) 03:48, 23 July 2018 (UTC)milesman34

:I agree, it says each sport produces a player with a name related to that sport. The explanation here suggests he plays another sport and participates in post-game conferences. His actual SPORT, however... I don't know. Any ideas, anyone?? [[User:Nyx goddess|Nyx goddess]] ([[User talk:Nyx goddess|talk]]) 22:15, 18 December 2018 (UTC)

;Why Baseball is a Problem

Did you ever notice that players named "White" are almost always black, and players named "Black" are usually white? Why is that? The last White major leaguer who was actually white was Mike White, who played for Houston in the early sixties. Since then we've had Bill White, Roy White, Frank White, and Jerry White, all of whom were black; Mike White probably would have been black except that his father played in the majors in the thirties and they didn't allow you to be black back then. The Royals also had a Black on their roster, Bud, who of course is white; in fact, the Royals had to set some sort of record by having four colored people on their team, White, Black, Blue, and Brown. Scott Brown is not any browner than anyone else, Vida is definitely not blue, nor for that matter is Darryl Motley. I suppose that is the nature of names, as with Peacekeeping Missiles and Security Police, to disguise the truth more often than they reveal it. Horace Speed stole only four bases in his career. Vic Power was a singles hitter, Bill Goodenough was not good enough, and Joe Blong did not belong for long.

-- Bill James, 1983

Me, I'm disappointed that Jim Gentile wasn't Jewish. [[User:WHPratt|WHPratt]] ([[User talk:WHPratt|talk]]) 12:16, 24 July 2018 (UTC)

;Chosen spelling - Citation needed

Re. Randall has chosen to spell his name as "Disasterous", rather than the more conventional "Disastrous".

Putting <nowiki>{{citation needed}}</nowiki> on that is a bit silly. You can see he chose to spell it that way from the cartoon. It's self-evident. What's the issue, what needs a citation? As to why he decided to spell it that way, nobody but Randall knows, and we're unlikely to ever find out. It's probably a typo, but isn't that just an assumption? He chose to type the word that way - whether that's because he doesn't know how to spell it correctly, or because he likes it that way. Nobody but Randall knows.

A couple of people think it should say he misspelled it, but see the discussions; others agree with me that there is not correct spelling of surnames (e.g. Tailor/Taylor). It's a name, not the word.

IMHO, the cite-needed is just clutter and confusing. I think the wording was good, without a messy tag. It's not really something I want to argue pointlessly and endlessly about, so I won't remove it myself right now; I'll see what other people say. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.138|141.101.107.138]] 14:52, 26 July 2018 (UTC)

:Eh, it's been several days, nobody seems bothered, so I'll remove it now. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.36|141.101.107.36]] 15:05, 30 July 2018 (UTC)

::The idea (or more properly, the joke) behind {{Citation needed}} isn't that a citation is truly needed, it's that something that should be blatantly obvious has been stated (see point 3 in the trivia for citation needed). Randall wrote what he did, whether he chose to or not is up to interpretation, no matter how obvious that interpretation is. The tag is not meant to be taken literally. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.54|172.68.47.54]] 23:17, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
:::The <nowiki>{{citation needed}}</nowiki> template was meant to be a joke. But seeing this joke on more than 250 different explanations isn't funny at all. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 16:12, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
::::That's less than 15% of the explanations on this wiki, we have more incomplete explanations than that. I'd agree that having it more than once in an single page is a bit much, and this particular instance wasn't funny enough to keep, but I don't think overuse is the issue here. Did it get old after over 100 "What if?" articles? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.11|172.69.33.11]] 23:33, 29 August 2018 (UTC)
:::::Check the top of the main page: ''"We have an explanation for all 2038 xkcd comics, and only 22 (1%) are incomplete."'' Just saying...--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 13:10, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
::::::Ahh I read 22%. Well that's embarrassing. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.99|173.245.48.99]] 19:39, 30 August 2018 (UTC)
:::::::Try reloading the page if the problem persists :P [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.124|172.69.62.124]] 14:32, 17 July 2020 (UTC)
;Kerbal
why am i the first one to see the kerbal space program reference? where are you my fellow kerbals?
:It's a bit of a tenuous link. I get it, Kerbal has disasters, and has a person named Jebediah, but it's a reasonably common name; there's nothing space-related in the cartoon to suggest a connection. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.104|162.158.155.104]] 04:21, 27 July 2018 (UTC)

;table -> descr.list
: in my neverending quest to rid this wiki of misued tables I've changed it to a description list. This makes reading easier (to me, at least) and should help for mobile users, once such a layout gets implemented. I feel like I'm pushing a bit with this one, so feel free to revert my change if it doesn't fit the style. [[User:Gir|//gir.st/]] ([[User talk:Gir|talk]]) 14:23, 25 August 2018 (UTC)
::I'm really happy with this, but the first line below the header should not be indented. Like your comment above as well. This is also easier for editors with less experience on Wiki syntax. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 14:43, 25 August 2018 (UTC)

Tiger Woods is perhaps a more specifically golf-related example than Player, so if the title-text means the list gets updated... [[Special:Contributions/172.69.62.124|172.69.62.124]] 14:32, 17 July 2020 (UTC)

Did nobody notice the duplication of "2050s"? I'm pretty sure Randall meant the first one to be 2040s but lettered it wrong. [[User:Nitpicking|Nitpicking]] ([[User talk:Nitpicking|talk]]) 01:24, 25 July 2022 (UTC)
:2030s and 2060s are doubly-represented, also. If it was an error, it wasn't the only one. I suspect if he wanted to do 1960s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s, etc, one per decade, he could have (finding true historic nominative determinisms to fill the gaps already passed by date of authorship) and continued forward, but it was intended to be a general 'history', with no (in-universe) reason ''not'' to have two strangely apt names per any given decade (possibly far more), rather than "exactly once in every decade, ''this'' happens..." [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.238|141.101.99.238]] 08:58, 25 July 2022 (UTC)

It may be logical to shorten to Leg for a sprinter surnamed Leggitt/Legat/Legatus. — [[User:物灵|物灵]] ([[User talk:物灵|talk]]) 11:53, 6 July 2024 (UTC)

;Mathematicians
"Alan '''Math'''ison Turing" and "Norman Mar'''gol'''us" were both mathematicians. "GoL" is abbreviation of Conway's Game of Life. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 04:09, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Talk:1412: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

2024-11-30T11:29:02Z

CommunityGuidelines: I haven't been here for a long time

Looks like they renamed the Wikipedia article mentioned as "Maple Syrup Urine '''Syndrome'''" to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_syrup_urine_disease Maple Syrup Urine '''Disease'''].[[User:Keavon|Keavon]] ([[User talk:Keavon|talk]]) 05:03, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

This rythmic sounding has to do with metrical <strike>foots</strike> feet, I think. Maybe someone more into it than I can explain...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_%28prosody%29 [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.164|108.162.229.164]] 05:21, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

: It's just a 4-foot trochaic ("trochaic octameter"?) meter. ^- ^- ^- ^-. Also, I'm curious now, is "foots" the proper plural when discussing meter, or is that just a typo/misunderstanding? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.150|199.27.128.150]] 06:37, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

:: Oh, right, the plural must be "feet". I just had a brain fart. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.164|108.162.229.164]] 10:23, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

:: It is a trochaic tetrameter. Tetra = 4, octa = 8.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.38|108.162.216.38]] 12:26, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

::: Right, it's number of feet, not number of syllables. My mistake. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.150|199.27.128.150]] 15:04, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

: This one is definitely related: http://xkcd.com/856/ --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.68|141.101.104.68]] 08:08, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Unless "Gloucester" is two syllables, Randall made a mistake/wanted to see if we're awake.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.224|108.162.246.224]] 06:33, 25 August 2014 (UTC)
:Depending on where you're from, it can be pronounced (quasi-phonetically) as "Glow-ster". [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:24, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

: Actually it is. Silly British accents. It's pronounced roughly "Gloss-ter". [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.150|199.27.128.150]] 06:37, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

::In that case, I retract my previous statement and apologize.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.224|108.162.246.224]] 07:20, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

With regards to the roll-over text, mention could be made of the long-running BBC radio show "I'm sorry I haven't a clue" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Sorry_I_Haven%27t_A_Clue ). It is comedy panel game, and one of the regular rounds is 'One Song to the Tune of Another'. It may be coincidence, but one panellist of the show is Barry Cryer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Cryer ) who happened to have recorded Purple People Eater... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.184|141.101.98.184]] 08:26, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Why isn't Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the list? [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.120|103.22.201.120]] 11:41, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

There's a typo in "Quantuum vacuum plasma thruster". [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.184|141.101.98.184]] 12:08, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Dang someone beat me to writing in the transcript. Oh well, you did a much better job than I was doing anyway. =8o) [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:24, 25 August 2014 (UTC)

Is it just me, or do these lyrics not REALLY match the TMNT title song? The first three lines are OK, but the following lines just repeats the pattern - the TMNT song has a different rhythm. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.169}}

:Each title is meant to be sung only to the "TMNT" part of the song. They aren't meant to be sung one after another to match the whole song. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.211|173.245.52.211]] 03:09, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

If you speak with a western US accent like me, museum is pronounced with 2 syllables (myoo zahm). I guess if you pronounce it correctly, its more like myoo-zee-uhm, which would make 'Edgar Allan Poe Museum' fit. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.213|108.162.246.213]] 03:18, 26 August 2014 (UTC)
:Please check with your friends and relations about the pronunciation of museum. All dictionaries show /mjuˈzi.əm/ (myoo-ZEE-um). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.144|108.162.238.144]] 19:49, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

It's a shame that "Infra Turbo Pigcart Racer" has a syllable too many, because that would've been perfect. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.197|141.101.104.197]] 08:31, 26 August 2014 (UTC)
:What's the extra syllable? I count In-fra Tur-bo Pig-cart Ra-cer. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.144|108.162.238.144]] 19:50, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

Is there any particular need to have a separate section for the wikilinks, rather than just embedding them in the transcript?--[[User:Marcus Hill|Marcus Hill]] ([[User talk:Marcus Hill|talk]]) 09:26, 26 August 2014 (UTC)
:I wouldn't think so - that's how they were originally... [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 13:19, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

This makes me think of "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.150}}

Damnit Monroe, for two reasons: 1. Now this all I can think about whenever I find a phrase that fits the syllable stress pattern, and 2. Why couldn't you have held off until 1413 for this - XKCD fourteen thirteen fits the stress pattern as well. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.204|108.162.250.204]] 06:15, 19 September 2014 (UTC)

I still don't know what the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme sounds like, but I can't look at more than one or two of these tetrametric trochees without immediately thinking of the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oysMt8iL9UE Peter Gunn theme] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gunn_(song)] (which then stays stuck in my head for hours...). —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 17:25, 24 October 2015 (UTC)

Does anyone know how Randall compiled the list? {{unsigned ip|199.27.129.119}}

;Deleted pages

"Places named for Adolf Hitler" was deleted recently, which makes me wonder, how many other pages on Wikipedia that are linked here were also deleted? {{unsigned ip|108.162.237.135}}

;Missed articles
Is anyone compiling a list of articles that Randall missed, but that fit the rhythm? I can think of at least one: "Random number generator". [[User:Promethean|Promethean]] ([[User talk:Promethean|talk]]) 09:58, 5 August 2017 (UTC)
:I know Béla Viktor János Bartók fits the scheme. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.249|162.158.74.249]] 19:10, 31 October 2019 (UTC)
:"Universal basic income" fits. It's just a redirect and not a proper page though. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.69.206|172.69.69.206]] 19:40, 10 July 2020 (UTC)
:[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Bayern_Munich_(women) FC Bayern Munich (women)] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.203.15|162.158.203.15]] 14:48, 10 March 2021 (UTC)
:[[:Category:Monday comics|Category:Monday comics]], [[:Category:Tuesday comics|Category:Tuesday comics]], etc, Also don't forget disambiguation pages.
:: And [[:Category:Airplane banner]]. [[User:I27.O.O.I|I27.O.O.I]] ([[User talk:I27.O.O.I|talk]]) 02:13, 28 February 2023 (UTC)
:: [[2729|Planet Killer Margarita]]. {{unsigned|I27.O.O.I|06:12, 3 March 2023}}
::: [http://conwaylife.com/wiki/Honey_thieves_with_test_tube_baby Honey thieves with test tube baby], and also [http://conwaylife.com/wiki/Category:Oscillators Category Oscillators]. [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 12:44, 4 March 2023 (UTC)
:: Another example is "[[User:Memo Spike Connector]]". [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 23:39, 3 April 2023 (UTC)
: What kind of English are you speaking? [[User:I27.O.O.I|I27.O.O.I]] ([[User talk:I27.O.O.I|talk]]) 23:03, 4 March 2023 (UTC)
: Today I was at {{w|Multi Router Traffic Grapher}} and it immediately reminded me of this comic... —[[User:Scs|Scs]] ([[User talk:Scs|talk]]) 20:58, 22 June 2021 (UTC)

Does "[http://neography.fandom.com/wiki/category:gallifreyan Category:Gallifreyan]" fit? Or did I mispronounce the word?

: Another example is "US State Abbreviations".

On my Neography Wiki, there is an active user called "[http://meta.miraheze.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Omniglot_Errata User:Omniglot Errata]". [[User:ClassicalGames|ClassicalGames]] ([[User talk:ClassicalGames|talk]]) 01:09, 11 September 2023 (UTC)

The secondary stresses apparently didn't count as stresses, according to the comic. But the new user [http://neography.miraheze.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Doctor_Who_Fanatic User:Doctor Who Fanatic] on Neography Wiki fits. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 09:52, 5 July 2024 (UTC) (Visitor on Neography Wiki)

:That account was locked due to someone else's strategy. What a pity. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 09:52, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

[[Chicken Pox and Name Statistics]] happen to fit. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 08:47, 23 July 2024 (UTC)

Neography Wiki on Miraheze has been sued and is no longer available. The links above may no longer work. If you are interested in Neography, try this: http://conwaylife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6276 [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 13:14, 25 September 2024 (UTC)

I found a list: http://conwaylife.com/w/index.php?title=User:Ian07/Trochaic_tetrameter [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 05:30, 17 August 2024 (UTC)

[http://esolangs.org/wiki/User:Quantum_logic_circuit Here is another one.] [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 10:42, 11 November 2024 (UTC)
:[http://esolangs.org/wiki/User:Rhythm_game_statistics Another example] - it actually rhymes with an XKCD comic. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 10:50, 11 November 2024 (UTC)
::If you consider "-eries" as two syllables, [http://esolangs.org/wiki/User_talk:ColorfulGalaxy%27s_CA_discoveries this one] would be an example of ''dactylic'' tetrameter. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 10:52, 11 November 2024 (UTC)

[[2220]] features iambic tetrameter. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 11:04, 11 November 2024 (UTC)

[http://esolangs.org/wiki/One_Instruction_Set_Computer One Instruction Set Computer]. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 03:24, 12 November 2024 (UTC)

They mentioned E'''S'''L but not E'''F'''L. Additionally, TOEFL would be trochaic '''penta'''meter. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 03:32, 12 November 2024 (UTC)

1589: Frankenstein

2024-11-30T11:26:10Z

CommunityGuidelines:

{{comic
| number = 1589
| date = October 12, 2015
| title = Frankenstein
| image = frankenstein.png
| titletext = "Wait, so in this version is Frankenstein also the doctor's name?" "No, he's just 'The Doctor'."
}}

==Explanation==
''{{w|Frankenstein|Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus}}'' is a novel by Mary Shelley published in 1818. In it, Victor Frankenstein is a human who creates a {{w|Frankenstein%27s_monster#Names|monster}} (who is never named). In popular culture, however, "Frankenstein" is taken to be the name of the monster, not its creator. The novel is later mentioned in [[2604]] and [[2799]].

While this is an often-corrected "error", it has been argued that it is not technically incorrect to call the monster "Frankenstein" as well, since he is the "offspring" of his "father", Victor Frankenstein. Since a child usually takes on the last name of their father, it may be said that the monster's last name actually ''is'' "Frankenstein". He also refers to himself in the novel as "the Adam of your labors" - a reference to the Biblical Adam, the first of his kind - and some have taken to calling the monster "Adam Frankenstein" to differentiate him from the scientist, Victor Frankenstein.

Others have argued that the monster's namelessness is an important part of his characterization in the story since it reflects the doctor's complete rejection of his creation. While the monster identifies Victor as his "father" in the novel, Victor does not consider the creature to be his "son".

Not helping matters is the equally-famous ''Frankenstein'' film series staring Boris Karloff, featuring a very different plotline and a very different portrayal of the monster. Within the movies themselves the monster once again goes unnamed, but the movie titles and posters refer to the monster simply as "Frankenstein." For example the 1935 film ''{{w|Bride of Frankenstein}}'' is a double-meaning, featuring brides for both the human Henry Frankenstein and the monster, thus implying the monster can be called "Frankenstein."

[[Randall]] apparently finds this argument tedious and pedantic, so he has created his own work of fiction, in which the monster is named Frankenstein. He rationalizes that it is now correct to call the monster Frankenstein, assuming that his comic strip is as authoritative as the original novel. "{{w|Canon (fiction)|Canonical}}" (rule, standard) means that this comic should be used as the authoritative work on the naming of the monster.

However, xkcd's ''Frankenstein'' would be unlikely to be accepted by anyone as canonical, except for its stated purpose of settling the naming argument. The original version of any story is usually assumed to be the canonical one, and any derivative work would have to have widespread influence and recognition to supplant it in the popular imagination. This is not likely to happen with xkcd's ''Frankenstein,'' as it makes almost no effort to stand on its own; it exists only to be a version of ''Frankenstein'' where the monster is named "Frankenstein." It emphasizes this point several times, and ends within a single panel, having accomplished its only goal. Almost no readers would find this version entertaining or substantive enough to displace Mary Shelley's original as the definitive version of the story.

The {{w|Public_domain|copyright}} on Mary Shelley's novel has expired long ago, before the moon landings (which began in 1969), so it is perfectly legal to create works derived from the original story. It should be noted, however, that Universal holds the copyright on the common [https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/10/24/how-universal-re-copyrighted-frankensteins-monster/ image of the monster] (green skin, flat-top head, scar, bolts on the neck and protruding forehead). To qualify as a {{w|derivative work}} the story needs to be substantially different from the original. The monster believing in {{w|moon landing conspiracy theories}} would probably qualify, but may reference retellings of the tale where a damaged or deranged brain was used (as an alternate 'explanation' why the supposedly perfect creation inevitably runs amok). Additionally, the original Frankenstein's monster was seen by its creator as hideous and repulsive due to its physical appearance despite the project being a success. Randall makes the same correlation in his version by having Frankenstein claim the moon landings were faked, which produces the same feelings in The Doctor.

Alternatively, the monster being a moon landing denier is meant as a throwaway absurdist non sequitur. As the only point of this story is to make a canonical version of ''Frankenstein'' where "Frankenstein" is the monster's name, it should logically end once it has finished making that point clear. However, Randall throws a curveball by having the monster blurt out an uncomfortable and controversial point of view before the ending, then ending the story abruptly before the monster's statements can be addressed.

It is also possible that Randall is making reference to the fact that the kind of people who become engrossed in the debate that is attempted to be resolved in this comic and would bother to create a piece like this (which incidentally, complicates matters further rather than simplifying it, similar to the effect of many pieces of evidence in internet discussions) could be compared to the kind of people who deny the Moon Landings in obscure forums. He is drawing attention to how inane and unnecessary the comic is.

The title text raises the question of what the monster's creator is named in this version, since the name "Frankenstein" is instead given to the monster. The canonical answer is that the creator is simply "The Doctor", like the title character of the series {{w|Doctor_Who|"Doctor Who"}}. This might be a reference to similar pedantic nitpicking that occurs when that character is incorrectly referred to as "Doctor Who" rather than "The Doctor" which is in turn referenced in comic [[1221: Nomenclature]]. As it happens, people who make that mistake can also claim canonical support, in that some early episodes of the series list the character's name as "Doctor Who" in the credits, or reference the recharacterization in the {{w|Dr. Who (Dalek films)|cinematic retellings}}.

==Transcript==
:[A text only panel. Between the last two lines is a lightning bolt.]
:Like many people, I'm tired of the nitpicking about Frankenstein's monster's name.
:Luckily, ''Frankenstein'' is public domain.
:Therefore, I present
:xkcd's
:'''''Frankenstein'''''
:(''The monster's name'')

:[Cueball is turning down a lever while looking at a monster with black hair that is lying on a bed under a bedsheet. There are two wires connecting to the neck of the monster.]
:Frankenstein: ''Graaar''!
:Cueball: Frankenstein is alive! I am a modern Prometheus!
:Frankenstein: ''Raaaar''!
:Cueball: To be clear, your name is ''Frankenstein'', canonically.
:Frankenstein: ''Graaaaar''!
:Frankenstein: ''The moon landings were faked''!
:Cueball: Wait, what?

:[Another text only panel. The first word is written between two curvy lines.]
:'''Fin.'''
:There.
:Feel free to call the monster "Frankenstein."
:If anyone tries to correct you, just explain that this comic is your canonical version.
:Thank you.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Frankenstein]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]

Talk:1418: Horse

2024-11-30T11:25:23Z

CommunityGuidelines: Reverted vandalism

*May the horse be with you Luke.
*The horse is strong with this one.
*I felt a tremor in the horse.
Why did he forget SW. That is not like Randall ;) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:50, 8 September 2014 (UTC)
: I gotta think maybe Randall's making a subtle statement that Star Wars just ain't so relevant these days... [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 21:50, 15 September 2014 (UTC)
::They are all news headlines [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.61|141.101.70.61]] 17:54, 5 June 2016 (UTC)
: Yeah, I'm surprised that the mouseover-text wasn't "Use the horse, Luke." or something. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.183|162.158.69.183]] 14:05, 4 May 2017 (UTC)

----

Following up on the title text... "Why was he suspended?" "Due to allegations of excessive horse."

[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.201|173.245.56.201]] 09:01, 8 September 2014 (UTC) Siuntio

So I linked it to the old substitutions page - gjgfuj [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.219|108.162.250.219]] 10:05, 8 September 2014 (UTC)

Like the "Clouds-to-butts" plugin for Chrome. {{unsigned ip|108.162.249.231}}
:More information in Reddit [http://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/24odjt/cloud_to_butts_extension/]. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.201|108.162.221.201]] 14:16, 8 September 2014 (UTC)

I added a modified version of Cloud-to-Butt plugin [https://www.dropbox.com/s/0mswga09c5uf9h4/cloud2butt2.xpi?dl=0 to my dropbox]. All credit for coding/programming goes to [https://github.com/DaveRandom/cloud-to-butt-mozilla Steven Frank], its creator - I just unpacked the XPI file, added the Force->Horse and force->horse text replacement (while of course still keeping "the cloud" going to "my butt" because that is awesome) and then repacked it. You can install it in Firefox like any other .XPI file. Enjoy! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.221|108.162.221.221]] 16:19, 17 October 2014 (UTC)

:I edited your comment. I suppose you meant "Force->Horse" but it was written "Horse->Horse", probably as a consequence of the plugin in action. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.99.189|188.114.99.189]] 05:21, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

----

Would it be funny the other way?
*The force population has been in decline since the industrial revolution
*Rules of polo: You need a force.
*People do not like it when there is force in their beef.
*Cause I'm coming at you like a dark force (in {{w|Katy Perry}}'s song "Dark Force")

*It is always that Bole comes first, and then comes the thousand-mile force. The thousand-mile force is common, but Bole is not common. (Excerpt from a well-known article) [[User:ConlangGuide|ConlangGuide]] ([[User talk:ConlangGuide|talk]]) 06:25, 12 July 2023 (UTC)

I do ;) —[[User:Artyer|Artyer]] ([[User talk:Artyer|talk]]) 18:33, 8 September 2014 (UTC)
:+1 for the reference to a certain beef production incident in europe [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.61|141.101.70.61]] 17:56, 5 June 2016 (UTC)

----
Correctforcebatterystaple [[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.163|173.245.56.163]] 22:18, 8 September 2014 (UTC)

I originally (earlier today) read it as "Iraqi Air [FH]orse grow'''l'''ing"... Which made less sense than I'd have expected, but I couldn't unread it until just now. Still surreal, but at least not outright Dada[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.233|141.101.98.233]] 00:21, 9 September 2014 (UTC)

"A police horse is a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to enhorse the law, protect property, and limit civil disorder. (...) Law enhorsement, however, constitutes only part of policing activity." --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.161|141.101.104.161]] 07:21, 9 September 2014 (UTC)

maybe the officer suspended from horse was a reference to the police officer who shot a black person? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.106|108.162.254.106]] 07:39, 9 September 2014 (UTC)

Aqua teen hunger horse. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.226|108.162.246.226]] 00:54, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

----

I had previously posted a grumpy comment here (now removed) --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 07:38, 11 September 2014 (UTC)
:Sorry, but that's totally wrong. The discussion section is meant to replace what used to be the old blog's comments section, and is for any discussion relevant to the comic. If you're new here, there's a section on the main page titled "New Here?" which explains the basics of explainxkcd, and it's worth checking out. It also lists the handful of rules we have, including the fact that the discussion page is for talking about the comic. [[User:Az|Az]] ([[User talk:Az|talk]]) 06:59, 11 September 2014 (UTC)
::Sorry about that, and thanks for the pointer. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 07:38, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

----
Explanation Quarks:
Sorry, could not resist... [[User:Tier666|Tier666]] ([[User talk:Tier666|talk]]) 11:39, 10 September 2014 (UTC)

How about the portion of the Police Horse who are on forceback? {{unsigned ip|173.245.52.170}}

Last time XKCD featured one of these text replacements, people started posting scripts for implementing the text replacement automatically in browsers. I'm surprised this hasn't happened yet. [[User:Diszy|Diszy]] ([[User talk:Diszy|talk]]) 22:03, 11 September 2014 (UTC)

:A few comments back... [[Special:Contributions/188.114.99.189|188.114.99.189]] 05:21, 25 November 2015 (UTC)

http://bitcoinshell.mooo.com/users/noiob/dev/horse.user.js Here you go. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.179|141.101.104.179]] 16:26, 13 September 2014 (UTC)

----
Interestingly, a sound change from an initial /f/ to /h/ happened in the evolution of Spanish. Examples: fornax --> horno, ferrum --> hierro, factus --> hecho. Of course, all h's subsequently went silent. {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.171}}

Cueball is using a desktop computer. Perhaps this will be the last desktop in xkcd? In the last 8 months its been all laptops. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.99}}

That first one certainly hits differently now. --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.145|172.70.90.145]] 21:40, 5 May 2022 (UTC)
:Only by some order of magnitude or so. Without looking up the exact dates, the comic was likely topically soon after the initial Crimea-grab and initiation of the 'hot' Donbas internal conflict with the 'rebels'. Including a somewhat more covert presence of actual Russians, back then, but only to 'deniable' levels, and even then not convincingly so to anybody who cared.
:Maybe it makes it less funny, now, or should have been considered less funny then, but I'm not sure this makes it so that it is/was bad-humour. Doesn't change the reality, for better or worse, though.
:Future readers may be more shocked, or more bemused, of course. I can only wave to The Future (hiya!) and hope they properly understand our current and prior perspectives. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.137|162.158.159.137]] 23:21, 5 May 2022 (UTC)

----
I'm no linguist, but "Force" rhymes with "horse". [[what if? (blog)|What If]] the word "force" as a ''verb'' get replaced by "horse"? Also there is "''horse''power" which measures power, not force. And, you know, the phoneme "f" and "h" sound very similar in some languages. [[User:Unreliable Connection|2659: Unreliable Connection]] ([[User talk:Unreliable Connection|talk]]) 08:43, 29 March 2023 (UTC)

[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67406779 Air Horse] Plane Makes Emergency Landing... (...is how I ''wouldn't'' have to rewrite such a headline). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.233|172.69.43.233]] 21:40, 15 November 2023 (UTC)

Talk:3018: Second Stage

2024-11-30T11:24:09Z

CommunityGuidelines: ? ? ?

Reminds me of enough KSP incidents where I was editing my stack badly enough so as to forget to have engines (and/or fuel and/or control) at a given (usually mid-stage) scheduled jetison/discarding point. Especially with complicated asparagus clusters with cross-linked fuel feeds. - Also, the current trend for "two stage to orbit" (Booster+Starship, etc) perhaps makes us forget that three or four stages (maybe or maybe not including the boosting/manoevering payload 'bus' atop the main stack) has been a fairly normal setup for all but the lightest loftable loads. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.163.145|172.70.163.145]] 14:16, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

Do we need the [[:Category:Rockets]]? [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 14:27, 29 November 2024 (UTC)
:yes [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']] ([[User talk:CalibansCreations|talk]]) 14:44, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

This comic contains dialogue but no visible human characters. What is the first comic to do that? [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 14:30, 29 November 2024 (UTC)
:Sounds like a new category. -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 15:42, 29 November 2024 (UTC)
:there ''might'' be comics with dialogue & only non-human characters? --Winter1760 [[Special:Contributions/162.158.62.198|162.158.62.198]] 18:00, 29 November 2024 (UTC)
:: I know there's one where an AI becomes sentient and launches a bunch of nukes into the sun to get rid of them. They're not visible because shot is a view of earth from space. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.180|172.69.22.180]] 05:41, 30 November 2024 (UTC)

Since when are the astonauts responsible for designing the rockets or ordering the parts? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 16:50, 29 November 2024 (UTC)
:In the U.S., astronauts (and test pilots) were expected to participate in engineering reviews, but I'm not sure how common that is anymore. At some point probably around the Space Shuttle era, the systems' complexity put astronaut involvement past the point of diminishing returns. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.246|172.71.150.246]] 18:49, 29 November 2024 (UTC)
::If Ed Mitchell hadn't been trained to reprogram the Apollo 14 guidance computer, their landing would have been aborted erroneously due to a mechanical switch fault. It couldn't have been done from the ground, unlike the Space Shuttle computer (which was a huge Ada program for which there was no developer console on board anyway.) But none of the astronauts were directly involved with the AGC design and original programming. On the other hand, I think some of the Mercury and Gemini program astronaut signatures are on some of their mechanical and systems design plans. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.42.37|162.158.42.37]] 19:11, 29 November 2024 (UTC)
:::If it was Ada (and I can quite imagine it was, from era and utility), then I'd have given my sympathies. Yes, it's a structured modular language with built-in collaborative cross-testing facilities, but I could never really get on with its structure and requirements (better than COBOL, or course). Or maybe I just thought more in the manner of Lisp or Forth, myself, but eventually they let us loose on C and I've never looked back as the many C-like dialects arose afterwards. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.122.184|172.71.122.184]] 19:46, 29 November 2024 (UTC)

User talk:Hdjensofjfnen

2024-11-30T11:23:40Z

CommunityGuidelines:

I don't know when you will come back to Explain XKCD. [[User:ConscriptGlossary|ConscriptGlossary]] ([[User talk:ConscriptGlossary|talk]]) 03:16, 12 November 2024 (UTC)

User:CalibansCreations

2024-11-30T11:23:20Z

CommunityGuidelines: Reverted vandalism

{{Infobox character
| image = BlackHat_head.png
| imagesize = 42px
| caption = :)
| first_appearance = inside your home
}}
still a wip lol

==The Barnstar Award==
{| style="border: 1px solid {{{border|gray}}}; background-color: {{{color|#fdffe7}}};"
|rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:middle;" | {{{{{|safesubst:}}}#ifeq:{{{2}}}|alt|[[File:Barnstar of Reversion Hires.png|100px]]|[[File:Barnstar_of_Reversion2.png|100px]]}}
|rowspan="2" |
|style="font-size: x-large; padding: 0; vertical-align: middle; height: 1.1em;" | '''The Anti-Vandalism Barnstar'''
|-
|style="vertical-align: middle; border-top: 1px solid gray;" | <div style="font-family: Cormorant Garamond"> For your help in reverting vandalism on my talk page, [[User:CalibansCreations|'''Caliban''']], I hereby award thee a Barnstar. Feel free to display it on your user page. '''[[User:42.book.addict|42.book.addict]][[User talk:42.book.addict|Talk to me!]]''' 21:13, 24 October 2024 (UTC) 
</noinclude>
|}

Talk:543: Sierpinski Valentine

2024-11-30T11:22:43Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Talk:543: Sierpinski Valentine

2024-11-30T11:22:26Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Circular version at [[17]]

Talk:543: Sierpinski Valentine

2024-11-30T11:22:13Z

CommunityGuidelines: This is a legitimate comic talk page.

No comments yet!

Circular version at [[17]]

explain xkcd:Sandbox

2024-11-09T09:51:51Z

CommunityGuidelines:

__NOTOC__{{DISPLAYTITLE:<big><big><big>'''explain [[xkcd]]''' sandbox!</big></big></big>}}
<center>
''<big><big><big>Welcome to the '''explain [http://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Xg4y1B7DF/ xkcd]''' sandbox!</big></big></big>'' 
We have an explanation for all [[:Category:All comics|'''{{#expr:{{PAGESINCAT:All comics|R}}-1}}''' xkcd comics]],

and only {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}}
({{#expr: {{PAGESINCAT:Incomplete explanations|R}} / {{LATESTCOMIC}} * 100 round 0}}%) [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|are incomplete]]. Help us finish them!
</center>

== <big><big><big>New to the '''explain [[xkcd]]''' sandbox?</big></big></big> ==
<div style="float:right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em">{{Special:ContributionScores/10/7/nosort,notools}}<div style="font-size:0.85em; width:25em; font-style:italic">[[Special:ContributionScores|Lots of people]] contribute to make this wiki a success. Many of the recent contributors, listed above, have [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Special%3AContributions&contribs=newbie just joined]. You can do it too! Create your account [[Special:UserLogin/signup|here]].</div></div>

You can read a brief introduction about this wiki at [[explain xkcd]]. Feel free to [[Special:UserLogin/signup|sign up for an account]] and contribute to the wiki! We need explanations for [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|comics]], [[:Category:Characters|characters]], [[:Category:Comics by topic|themes]] and [[:Category:Meta|everything in between]]. If it is referenced in an [[xkcd]] web comic, it should be here.
$hi$

* If you're new to wiki editing, see the [[explain xkcd:Editor FAQ]] for a specific guidance to this Wiki and the more general help on [[mw:Help:Editing pages|how to edit wiki pages]]. There's also a handy {{w|Help:Cheatsheet|wikicode cheatsheet}}.

* Discussion about the wiki itself happens at the [[explain xkcd:Community portal|Community portal]].

* You can browse the comics from [[List of all comics]] or by navigating the category tree at [[:Category:Comics]].

* There are incomplete explanations listed [[:Category:Incomplete explanations|here]]. Feel free to help out by expanding them!

== Make changes, try things out, or just have fun with the wiki here! ==

If you need assistance from an [[explain xkcd:Administrators|admin]], post a message to the [[explain xkcd:Community portal/Admin requests|Admin requests]] board.

{{comic discussion}}

Category:Pages using the "citation needed" template

2024-11-08T01:30:05Z

CommunityGuidelines: Warning

List of pages on this wiki that use the {{Template|Citation needed}} template.

'''WARNING''': Do not use templates in edit summaries. They won't work.

[[Category:explain xkcd]]

Talk:Title text

2024-11-08T01:29:00Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Everyone except this wiki calls it ‘alt-text’, Randall himself included. See XKCD 45. I vote for changing all occurrences of title text in this wiki to alt-text. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.212|173.245.51.212]] 20:55, 3 July 2014 (UTC)
: Randall also called it “title text” twice: [[442]], [[1045]]. —[[Special:Contributions/108.162.253.174|108.162.253.174]] 09:07, 23 June 2015 (UTC)
: The link doesn't give any evidence why calling this the 'alt text' is incorrect. But if you inspect the page source, you'll see Randall uses the 'title' attribute, rather than the 'alt' attribute for this purpose. {{unsigned|Accidus}}
:: This is because while a "title" shows up on mouseover, the "alt" shows up only if the image doesn't load, so you know what was supposed to be there. It'd be harder to cause the image not to load just to see a little extra joke. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.23|172.68.26.23]] 12:14, 22 January 2018 (UTC)
:::Please stop writing in all-capitals in your edit summaries. It sounds like you're shouting. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.105|162.158.93.105]] 08:33, 23 January 2018 (UTC)
:This is also because the "alt" attribute is older than the "title" attribute and most browsers used to show the value of "alt" as a tooltip if no "title" was given. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.105|162.158.93.105]] 08:33, 23 January 2018 (UTC)

Are there actually any comics without title text? If not, I propose removing the first "almost." [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.4|172.68.34.4]] 20:54, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

Is it possible to simulate title text on the wiki for pictures? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:13, 11 December 2022 (UTC)
:In what way? The standard comic-template already makes the title text an alt text (or whatever it is, tag-attribute-wise) to the image, if you hover/inspect the image. Which means a slow-loading page (whenever it's a bad connection) gives the placeholder TT ''and'' the subtitle TT, until the image is actually available. May depend upon browser/etc, but should be like that for most people. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.77|172.70.91.77]] 20:12, 12 December 2022 (UTC)
::Thanks, and what about title text for text? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 07:48, 13 December 2022 (UTC)
:::I'm not sure what you even mean by that (unless it's that covered by the separate Transcript section), but you can ellucidate further if you wish. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 23:46, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

;Running joke
The title text on XKCD is similar to the edit summary on Explain XKCD. The edit summary is used normally to explain the edit, but some users use it to expand the joke. [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 03:19, 18 September 2023 (UTC)
:This also happens in the [[template:incomplete]]. [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 01:29, 8 November 2024 (UTC)
::See [[User:ColorfulGalaxy]]'s, Victoria's, and [[User:ClassicalGames]]'s recent edits. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.246|172.69.22.246]]
Example: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2919:_Sitting_in_a_Tree&diff=prev&oldid=355009 U-N-D-O-I-N-G]

Talk:Title text

2024-11-08T01:26:24Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Everyone except this wiki calls it ‘alt-text’, Randall himself included. See XKCD 45. I vote for changing all occurrences of title text in this wiki to alt-text. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.212|173.245.51.212]] 20:55, 3 July 2014 (UTC)
: Randall also called it “title text” twice: [[442]], [[1045]]. —[[Special:Contributions/108.162.253.174|108.162.253.174]] 09:07, 23 June 2015 (UTC)
: The link doesn't give any evidence why calling this the 'alt text' is incorrect. But if you inspect the page source, you'll see Randall uses the 'title' attribute, rather than the 'alt' attribute for this purpose. {{unsigned|Accidus}}
:: This is because while a "title" shows up on mouseover, the "alt" shows up only if the image doesn't load, so you know what was supposed to be there. It'd be harder to cause the image not to load just to see a little extra joke. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.23|172.68.26.23]] 12:14, 22 January 2018 (UTC)
:::Please stop writing in all-capitals in your edit summaries. It sounds like you're shouting. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.105|162.158.93.105]] 08:33, 23 January 2018 (UTC)
:This is also because the "alt" attribute is older than the "title" attribute and most browsers used to show the value of "alt" as a tooltip if no "title" was given. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.105|162.158.93.105]] 08:33, 23 January 2018 (UTC)

Are there actually any comics without title text? If not, I propose removing the first "almost." [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.4|172.68.34.4]] 20:54, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

Is it possible to simulate title text on the wiki for pictures? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:13, 11 December 2022 (UTC)
:In what way? The standard comic-template already makes the title text an alt text (or whatever it is, tag-attribute-wise) to the image, if you hover/inspect the image. Which means a slow-loading page (whenever it's a bad connection) gives the placeholder TT ''and'' the subtitle TT, until the image is actually available. May depend upon browser/etc, but should be like that for most people. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.77|172.70.91.77]] 20:12, 12 December 2022 (UTC)
::Thanks, and what about title text for text? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 07:48, 13 December 2022 (UTC)
:::I'm not sure what you even mean by that (unless it's that covered by the separate Transcript section), but you can ellucidate further if you wish. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 23:46, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

;Running joke
The title text on XKCD is similar to the edit summary on Explain XKCD. The edit summary is used normally to explain the edit, but some users use it to expand the joke. [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 03:19, 18 September 2023 (UTC)
::See [[User:ColorfulGalaxy]]'s, Victoria's, and [[User:ClassicalGames]]'s recent edits. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.246|172.69.22.246]]
Example: [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=2919:_Sitting_in_a_Tree&diff=prev&oldid=355009 U-N-D-O-I-N-G]

Talk:Title text

2024-11-08T01:25:20Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Everyone except this wiki calls it ‘alt-text’, Randall himself included. See XKCD 45. I vote for changing all occurrences of title text in this wiki to alt-text. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.212|173.245.51.212]] 20:55, 3 July 2014 (UTC)
: Randall also called it “title text” twice: [[442]], [[1045]]. —[[Special:Contributions/108.162.253.174|108.162.253.174]] 09:07, 23 June 2015 (UTC)
: The link doesn't give any evidence why calling this the 'alt text' is incorrect. But if you inspect the page source, you'll see Randall uses the 'title' attribute, rather than the 'alt' attribute for this purpose. {{unsigned|Accidus}}
:: This is because while a "title" shows up on mouseover, the "alt" shows up only if the image doesn't load, so you know what was supposed to be there. It'd be harder to cause the image not to load just to see a little extra joke. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.23|172.68.26.23]] 12:14, 22 January 2018 (UTC)
:::Please stop writing in all-capitals in your edit summaries. It sounds like you're shouting. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.105|162.158.93.105]] 08:33, 23 January 2018 (UTC)
:This is also because the "alt" attribute is older than the "title" attribute and most browsers used to show the value of "alt" as a tooltip if no "title" was given. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.105|162.158.93.105]] 08:33, 23 January 2018 (UTC)

Are there actually any comics without title text? If not, I propose removing the first "almost." [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.4|172.68.34.4]] 20:54, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

Is it possible to simulate title text on the wiki for pictures? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:13, 11 December 2022 (UTC)
:In what way? The standard comic-template already makes the title text an alt text (or whatever it is, tag-attribute-wise) to the image, if you hover/inspect the image. Which means a slow-loading page (whenever it's a bad connection) gives the placeholder TT ''and'' the subtitle TT, until the image is actually available. May depend upon browser/etc, but should be like that for most people. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.77|172.70.91.77]] 20:12, 12 December 2022 (UTC)
::Thanks, and what about title text for text? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 07:48, 13 December 2022 (UTC)
:::I'm not sure what you even mean by that (unless it's that covered by the separate Transcript section), but you can ellucidate further if you wish. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 23:46, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

;Running joke
The title text on XKCD is similar to the edit summary on Explain XKCD. The edit summary is used normally to explain the edit, but some users use it to expand the joke. [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 03:19, 18 September 2023 (UTC)
::See [[User:ColorfulGalaxy]]'s, Victoria's, and [[User:ClassicalGames]]'s recent edits. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.22.246|172.69.22.246]]

Talk:Title text

2023-09-18T03:19:35Z

CommunityGuidelines:

Everyone except this wiki calls it ‘alt-text’, Randall himself included. See XKCD 45. I vote for changing all occurrences of title text in this wiki to alt-text. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.51.212|173.245.51.212]] 20:55, 3 July 2014 (UTC)
: Randall also called it “title text” twice: [[442]], [[1045]]. —[[Special:Contributions/108.162.253.174|108.162.253.174]] 09:07, 23 June 2015 (UTC)
: The link doesn't give any evidence why calling this the 'alt text' is incorrect. But if you inspect the page source, you'll see Randall uses the 'title' attribute, rather than the 'alt' attribute for this purpose. {{unsigned|Accidus}}
:: This is because while a "title" shows up on mouseover, the "alt" shows up only if the image doesn't load, so you know what was supposed to be there. It'd be harder to cause the image not to load just to see a little extra joke. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.26.23|172.68.26.23]] 12:14, 22 January 2018 (UTC)
:::Please stop writing in all-capitals in your edit summaries. It sounds like you're shouting. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.105|162.158.93.105]] 08:33, 23 January 2018 (UTC)
:This is also because the "alt" attribute is older than the "title" attribute and most browsers used to show the value of "alt" as a tooltip if no "title" was given. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.93.105|162.158.93.105]] 08:33, 23 January 2018 (UTC)

Are there actually any comics without title text? If not, I propose removing the first "almost." [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.4|172.68.34.4]] 20:54, 17 November 2017 (UTC)

Is it possible to simulate title text on the wiki for pictures? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 20:13, 11 December 2022 (UTC)
:In what way? The standard comic-template already makes the title text an alt text (or whatever it is, tag-attribute-wise) to the image, if you hover/inspect the image. Which means a slow-loading page (whenever it's a bad connection) gives the placeholder TT ''and'' the subtitle TT, until the image is actually available. May depend upon browser/etc, but should be like that for most people. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.77|172.70.91.77]] 20:12, 12 December 2022 (UTC)
::Thanks, and what about title text for text? [[User:ColorfulGalaxy|ColorfulGalaxy]] ([[User talk:ColorfulGalaxy|talk]]) 07:48, 13 December 2022 (UTC)
:::I'm not sure what you even mean by that (unless it's that covered by the separate Transcript section), but you can ellucidate further if you wish. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.46|172.70.162.46]] 23:46, 13 December 2022 (UTC)

== Running joke ==
The title text on XKCD is similar to the edit summary on Explain XKCD. The edit summary is used normally to explain the edit, but some users use it to expand the joke. See [[Snapple]]. [[User:CommunityGuidelines|CommunityGuidelines]] ([[User talk:CommunityGuidelines|talk]]) 03:19, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

2293: RIP John Conway

2023-05-09T06:16:46Z

CommunityGuidelines: Rule

{{comic
| number = 2293
| date = April 13, 2020
| title = RIP John Conway
| image = rip_john_conway.gif
| titletext = 1937-2020
}}

==Explanation==

{{w|John Horton Conway|John Conway}}, an English mathematician, passed away of [[:Category:COVID-19|COVID-19]] on April 11, 2020. Two days later, [[Randall]] created this [[:Category:Tribute|memorial comic]]. It is the 6th memorial comic, but it is the first released in almost 5 years, since [[1560: Bubblegum]].

One of Conway's most famous creations was the {{w|cellular automaton}} known as {{w|Conway's Game of Life}}. A cellular automaton is a machine composed of cells, each of which can be in a different state. Every generation, each cell in the automaton may transition to a new state depending on a set of rules. (Conway's work in mathematics was vast and various, but he is perhaps best known in the field for discovering the {{w|surreal numbers}}, which inspired Donald Knuth to write a novel which may have been referenced back in [[505: A Bunch of Rocks]].)

Conway's Game of Life was first popularized to the general public in the form of a game, Life Genesis, bundled into some distributions of Windows 3.1, an operating system from the early-90s that Randall most likely used in his preteen years.

Conway's Game of Life is a 2-state automaton (i.e., every cell can be "alive" or "dead") that is implemented on a two-dimensional grid of cells using the {{w|Moore neighborhood}} - this means that each cell can only be influenced by the eight cells directly surrounding it, both orthogonally and diagonally. The transition rules that Conway used are as follows:

* If an "alive" cell has no live neighbors, or only one live neighbor, it becomes "dead". (This simulates death by isolation).
* If an "alive" cell has four or more live neighbors, it becomes "dead". (This simulates death by overcrowding).
* If a "dead" cell has exactly three live neighbors, it becomes "alive". (This simulates birth).

Despite the simplicity of these three rules, Conway showed that patterns of amazing complexity can nonetheless develop out of simple cell arrangements. Some patterns do not evolve at all ("still lifes"), some enter a cyclic, repeating state ("oscillators"), and some reproduce their own pattern displaced by an offset, resulting in patterns that can move across the grid under their own power ("gliders" and "spaceships"). This last category is of particular interest, as it allows the Game of Life to transmit information from one location to another, allowing for rich, dynamic behavior and even for the creation of computational machines within the automaton itself.

This comic begins with the shape of a stick figure as the starting cell configuration of the Game of Life. The black cells are "alive" and the white cells are "dead". This configuration then evolves via Conway's rules, disintegrating into nothingness except for a five-cell pattern known as a "glider", which ascends up and to the right. This visually suggests an eternal "soul" breaking away as the corporeal body disintegrates. The glider is perhaps the most iconic pattern of the Game of Life, and is often used symbolically to represent the phenomenon of emergence.

Here the topology of the grid on which the cells evolve is not known, the cellular automaton can be run on many topologies, for example you can choose to make cells reappear from the opposite side once they reach an edge (similarly to the behaviour of the well known Pacman). Here once the glider reaches the top right, we know for sure that the actual grid is bigger (since the glider leaves the frame while continuing its pattern), and we are only seeing part of the full grid.

The initial state presented in the comic does actually evolve in that manner, as can be verified by entering the pattern into a cellular automaton simulator such as [http://golly.sourceforge.net/ Golly] or web services such as [https://bitstorm.org/gameoflife/ this one] or [http://catagolue.hatsya.com/object/xkcd_48jsj8gzwe9e/b3s23 that one]. It seems that no one else have created this pattern before. At least, despite discussion in the comments, no one has found anything to show that this is not Randall's own discovery of this pattern.

The title text simply states Conway's birth and death year: 1937-2020.

Conway's Game of Life was previously mentioned in [[696: Strip Games]]. Cellular automata was also referenced in [[505: A Bunch of Rocks]].

This comic is the 18th comic in a row (not counting the [[2288: Collector's Edition|April Fools' comic]]) in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}. Although this comic is, of course, mainly a tribute to John Conway, the fact that he died of COVID-19 in the middle of this long series of coronavirus-related comics by Randall is relevant.

==Table of generations==
{| class="wikitable"
!Generation
!Notes
|-
|[[File:Generation 0.jpg|thumb]]||Starting state (or "zeroth generation").
|-
|[[File:Generation 1.jpg|thumb]]||First generation. Note that this image is not aligned with the previous one: the position of all cells has shifted downward by one cell. All further generations are aligned the same as this one.
|-
|[[File:Generation 2.jpg|thumb]]||Second generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 3.jpg|thumb]]||Third generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 4.jpg|thumb]]||Fourth generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 5.jpg|thumb]]||Fifth generation.
|-
|[[File:Generation 6.jpg|thumb]]||Sixth generation. The first appearance of the {{w|Glider (Conway's Life)|glider}}, a well-known formation in Conway's Game of Life.
|-
|[[File:Generation 7.jpg|thumb]]||Seventh generation. The glider takes on its other shape.
|-
|[[File:Generation 8.jpg|thumb]]||Eighth generation. The glider returns to its first shape, pointing right instead of up.
|-
|[[File:Generation 9.jpg|thumb]]||Ninth generation. The glider's second shape again, pointing right instead of up.
|-
|[[File:Generation 10.jpg|thumb]]||Tenth generation. The glider is now in its original form, but one cell higher and one cell to the right. It will continue to progress, cycling through these four states every four generations. The remains of the chaos down below will take two more generations to disappear completely.
|}

==Transcript==
:[A pixelated image of a stick figure using 21 pixels, could be a pixel Cueball, which waves with one hand up while holding the other hand down. The head consist of 7 pixels, the top row of three having two pixels beneath the two outer pixels, thus having two empty pixels beneath the central pixel. The neck and torso is a typical cross made from six pixels. The two legs are two pixels each shifted left and right of the cross. The arm to the left that waves is two pixels one down and the next back up to the level of the cross central beam. The arm to the right has the first pixel similarly but the second pixel continues one further step down. After less than one second it turns out that the image is animated, with the pixels changing according to the rules of Conway's Game of Life. The figure splits into three groups, two of which dissipates in a similar way at the bottom of the panel. The other becomes a 'glider' and moves off to the top-right corner of the image and out of the frame. The animation then repeats.]

==Trivia==

* "XKCD RIP John Conway" has been cited on [http://conwaylife.com/wiki/Pure_glider_generator LifeWiki]
* "XKCD RIP John Conway" is now available on [http://catagolue.hatsya.com/object/xkcd_48jsj8gzwe9e/b3s23 Catagolue] 

==Issues with some clients==

Some clients of the site crashed on this xkcd, most notably the Samsung Smart TV client.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Tribute]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Comics with animation]]
[[Category:Comics featuring real people]]